Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Shattering the Bone Demon
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*Crunch! Crack!*
*Shing! Shriiing!*
*Kwa-gagagak-!*
The battle dragged on endlessly.
The shockwaves kicked up clouds of dust, sending shards of pure white bone, mana, and rock fragments flying in every direction.
In the midst of it all, the bastard finally forced his mouth open.
"Kuhhuhu... Y-You, a real... mage?"
"Shut up. Your breath stinks."
Instead of a retort, I spat a curse and swung my sword.
*Slash-!*
Another rib bone sliced clean off.
That made twenty already.
And then.
*Boom! Crackle-crackle!*
"Hoo..."
Thompson, having smashed a long protruding spine with his elbow, caught his breath and sidled up beside me.
Twenty-one.
No matter how many times we pulverized it, the thing regenerated its bones as if nothing had happened...
"Kuhk...!"
Had it finally reached the limit of its patience?
For the first time, the bastard let out a groan.
'Acting all fine on the outside... Yeah, figures.'
Even for a human infused with demon blood, having your living bones cut and crushed had to hurt like hell.
The way its face twisted up, it must've hurt like a bitch.
Which also meant it was too exhausted to keep up a proper poker face.
If we kept this up, we could seize the advantage without issue.
'...Or maybe not?'
Truth be told, it was still too iffy to call it seizing the advantage.
We hadn't figured out its weak point yet.
Since it could even use disguise magic—putting it at mid-tier demon kin or higher—we couldn't fully take it down without finding that weakness.
In other words, we had to uncover its weak point somehow...
"Uncle, got any guesses?"
"Hmm, the ribs and spine seem vulnerable... but nothing else stands out?"
"Tch..."
The situation wasn't good.
If we kept trading blows in this war of attrition, we'd wear out first.
Demon kin also had that nasty passive: when exhausted, they had a chance to link up with their master.
In simple terms, once its stamina bottomed out, Valefor might lend it power.
'No good.'
In the end, I decided to pull out my last resort, the one I'd been saving.
Risk-wise, it was the safer bet.
I closed my eyes tight and focused on the sword in my hand.
'Fluidly, flexibly...'
*Wooong! Wooong! Wooong! Wooong!*
The light sword, which I'd handled smoothly until now, began to vibrate as if in resonance.
Soon enough.
*Fwaaah-!*
An even more brilliant light poured from the blade, already glowing bright.
[Essence of Light].
What Aldeon coveted so badly, a power I'd never shown anyone yet.
"...Number one? That sword..."
I didn't stop there, adding one more step.
*Chiiing-!*
Another force, one that inspired reverence just by looking at it.
The aura of holy power enveloped the blade.
Sure, I hadn't absorbed the pendant yet, so it was just a few stats' worth of holy power, but better than nothing.
The bastard regenerating right in front of us shrank back, sensing it.
"Uncle, support from here on out. I'm going all-in."
I said it with as grave a tone as possible.
Thompson nodded, visibly tensing up—but this was exactly what I wanted.
This was a true last resort, no turning back.
'I can't handle it perfectly yet.'
Was my understanding of the attribute lacking? Or was it low proficiency from barely using it...?
Whatever the reason, I knew for sure: this power was still too much for me to wield freely.
Just maintaining the sword form made my arm tremble and my mana plummet.
And with the awakening effect active, electric magic layered on, and holy power added...
Instinct told me.
If this dragged on, I'd black out again.
Just like the day I sealed the rift at Aldeon.
So.
'I end it before then!'
I steeled my resolve and kicked off the ground hard.
*Crackle! Taht!*
"W-Where do you...!"
Reacting to my blistering speed, the bastard flung its chest wide open.
Soon, the jagged bones sprouting from its chest surged toward me viciously.
That's when Thompson moved.
"Where do you think you're going, you fuck-!"
He'd been waiting in midair for his moment ever since I kicked off, now wrapping his body in rock.
*Crunch, cruuunch!*
Then dropped straight down.
*Kwabooom-!*
His massive bulk crushed the protruding bones.
"Kuaaaak!"
With multiple bones shattering at once, the bastard screamed in agony.
I didn't miss that opening, closing in tight and thrusting my arm forward.
-Proficiency correction 300% to all bladed weapons-
The thrust sank deep, carrying all my speed.
*Puuk!*
The light sword plunged far into its lower abdomen.
Was a sword infused with [Essence of Light] truly something else...?
It cut like piercing tofu.
"H-Heok!"
Pierced clean through, the bastard vomited a gush of purple blood.
But I didn't let my guard down.
From countless games facing Valefor's kin, I knew this was nowhere near fatal.
I twisted my waist, slashing upward.
*Trrrrk!*
The diagonal upward slice tore through bone, muscle, and flesh in sequence.
*Spluuurt-!*
Blood started pouring from its chest too.
The splatter made me grimace involuntarily.
*Thud.*
Its strength seemed to fail; arms limp, it dropped to its knees.
The pupils that had shown a hint of humanity were rolled back.
"It's... over?"
Thompson approached, looking stunned.
I thrust out an arm to block him from getting closer—danger.
"Not yet."
Anyone could see it was a ragged wreck now, but I knew better.
You never fell for this act.
Valefor-related bastards had cockroach-level vitality.
Plus, we still hadn't found the weak point.
Without destroying that, it was practically immortal.
As if to prove it.
"V-Valefor... sama..."
Eyes rolled back, it mumbled faintly.
"See?"
"It's alive? What the...!"
And in that instant.
*Hwoooo!*
A chilling demonic energy began spreading from its near-dead body again.
The signal for phase 2.
But this was also our chance.
Strike mercilessly now, and phase 2 or not, it'd be done.
As long as we smashed the weak point.
Of course, I didn't plan to kill—just carve enough to interrogate about Kayla's whereabouts.
"Stay back."
I'd decided, sword raised to strike down.
"A... Ah...?"
The bastard let out a puzzled moan, then purple mana poured from its eye sockets.
Yeah, this was definitely mana. Not demonic energy.
"This is..."
And it felt familiar.
*Roar!*
"Kuaaaak-!"
Soon, crimson pillars of fire erupted from its eyes, and we understood why the mana had surged.
*Thud.*
"Aw, damn..."
"W-We lived...!"
Two people had suddenly dropped from midair.
"...Kayla?"
"Miss!"
It was our missing comrade Kayla and the survivor auntie.
"O, Yoo Han!"
Kayla spotted me and waved happily.
That bright expression suggested no major injuries.
"What happened to you? Oh, hold on."
She started toward me but stopped abruptly.
"...Did this fucker die?"
She'd finally noticed the felled bastard in front of us.
"Well, if he's dead, you probably killed him."
No exaggeration.
Its eye sockets were charred black and hollow.
Since they appeared as those burned out, the eyes must've been its weak point.
"What're you talking about?"
Kayla tilted her head like she genuinely had no clue, but she wasn't asking me.
Unconcerned either way, she strode to the fallen bastard and patted his cheek.
*Slap, slap.*
"Hey, snap out of it. We've got a lot to talk about, you and me."
Her eyes blazed with fury.
Whatever happened, she was pissed.
And surprisingly.
"Grk, gruuuh..."
"Oh, alive."
It reacted to her touch.
Couldn't speak properly, but what insane vitality.
'...How's it even alive after that?'
I wondered if demon kin durability had evolved over the last century, but whatever.
Not a bad thing.
Why it was lurking at our first meeting spot, what happened to District 7's residents, if the shelter was real, why kidnap Kayla, how it knew the dungeon location—tons to ask.
"Prop this fucker up."
The full-scale torture-interrogation began.
***
Meanwhile, at the temporary shelter's entrance.
One man—no, one dwarf—was still fighting desperately.
*Keeek-!*
*Thwack!*
His name was Barundel.
Former veteran demon hunter, now part of a new party and back in fighting form.
*Keeek!*
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
A dwarf was a dwarf, after all.
Over ten years as a hunter, same time honing his skills without slacking, and his prowess showed no rust.
*Whirr-.*
One axe swing, one kill.
Every swing sent exactly one demon to the next world.
But...
"Hooo..."
Even he was starting to tire.
Endless demons swarmed, no end in sight.
Worse, the noise drew more from elsewhere.
Faster than he could kill them.
Of course.
"Just a bit longer, just hold on..."
It wasn't hopeless.
The mana and demonic energy clash from the second floor had just died down.
Soon, Yoo Han, Thompson, maybe even Kayla.
They'd rush down to help, feet to the fire.
That thought alone kept Barundel going.
But.
"Hahk, hahk... H-How... much longer...!"
After thirty minutes.
Barundel began doubting that conviction.
Plenty of time to come help already.
What the hell were they doing up there!
Such frustration began filling him.
Then, a sudden thought.
"Could be... they forgot me...?"
Too caught up in battle to remember him.
"...N-No, impossible!"
Slim chance, of course.
No matter how hectic, how do you forget a precious comrade?
Impossible for any person.
But if—just if—it were true...
"...I won't let them off."
Barundel thought.
Maybe before the demons...
They'd face the return of a true demon hunter—