Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Dark Sword
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"Can't you heal that?"
Ruby looked down at the collapsed Saph and asked.
"The Light of Healing doesn't work on oneself. But it's fine. Sage will heal me."
Saph said.
"That old hag better hurry up."
"You were out cold the whole time, but you know Sage?"
"I only lost consciousness— I heard everything, I told you."
As she spoke, Ruby kept checking on Buffalord.
Buffalord clutched his head and rose to his feet. His mind was in utter chaos.
'That guy survived the Dukuboah poison?'
Fortunately for Buffalord, his sword lay not far away.
Buffalord staggered toward it and picked up the Dark Sword from the ground.
Ruby glanced at him and said,
"Don't go anywhere. I'll handle this and be right back."
Saph replied, pressing his bleeding eye with the palm of his hand.
"Do I need to hurry?"
"I said I got it."
Saph's words stung Buffalord's pride more than Ruby's casual demeanor.
'That bitch! What the hell?'
Ruby yanked the IV needle from her arm and walked out to the backyard. She was unarmed, empty-handed.
'She didn't bring the chains? Coming at me bare-handed? She's underestimating me. I'll pretend to stumble more. If she comes in for a big attack, I can counter and take her out in one shot.'
Buffalord calculated swiftly.
'She just woke up from the poison, so she can't be fully recovered. If I play it right, I can slice her down and kidnap her before the watchman arrives.'
Buffalord feigned flailing until Ruby entered striking range, then swung the Dark Sword down.
Ruby blocked the sword bare-handed.
Then she uppercut Buffalord's jaw with her fist.
For a brief moment, Buffalord's vision went black, and his body floated into the air.
'Huh? What attack was that just now?'
Ruby appeared above his airborne body in an instant. It was as if there were two of her.
Ruby smashed her fist into Buffalord's face. His massive frame crashed to the ground.
There was the sound of his spine snapping.
Ruby didn't let up and kicked the fallen Buffalord again. Bones cracked as his ribs shattered, and he spun through several trees before finally coming to a stop. He seemed to land softer than expected, but upon inspection, his neck was broken, and his arm twisted behind his shoulder.
'Huh? What happened?'
Ruby was ridiculously fast—he already knew that from their last fight. And he'd prepared for it. Yet what just happened hadn't registered in his eyes.
Buffalord couldn't even remember when, how, or where he'd dropped the Dark Sword.
'There's still a chance!'
Buffalord sprang up like a spring from his fallen position and landed on a thick tree branch. The moment he touched down, his head dangled downward, his vision spinning wildly.
'Why is my vision shaking like this? Did the hits mess up my balance?'
He reached up to steady his head, but felt his cheek instead of his head. His neck was broken, leaving his head lolling.
'What a humiliating injury. But it's fine. At least I successfully hid in the tree's shadow.'
Buffalord deliberately shouted loudly.
"Fool! You blocked the Dark Sword bare-handed twice just now? You're done for!"
His voice echoed, scattering in all directions.
The fake echoes mixed with the real ones, misleading as to his true position.
This was how he'd evaded the watchman for three years—hiding his presence completely behind trees while using echo magic simultaneously.
"Done for? What is?"
As expected, Ruby spoke toward a wrong spot.
"If I may speak of my Dark Sword, it was reforged by the hellforge smith in hellfire, its blade infused with a demon's poison that kills any living being on a mere graze. No matter how physically strong you are, before the demon's poison that denies life itself and the hellfire magic, you're powerless! It's nothing like Dukuboah's poison. So even if you survived that, getting hit by this Dark Sword means nothing you can do."
Buffalord continued, his triple-layered echo further masking his presence.
"All I have to do is wait for you to writhe in agony from the hellfire paralysis. Then, right before your eyes, I'll leisurely take Saph. And this time, I'll torment him for days."
"What about this sword?"
Ruby's voice came from directly behind him.
"What?"
Buffalord whipped around in shock.
Ruby stood three steps away, holding the Dark Sword.
"H-How... did you find... me...?"
Buffalord asked, his back against the tree. Now that his position was exposed, fleeing from this quick bastard was out of the question.
With his neck broken, he couldn't even leap from tree to tree.
"Your breathing didn't echo."
Ruby said.
Buffalord asked in confusion.
"My breathing?"
"Your voice echoed everywhere like an echo, so I couldn't pinpoint you. But your breathing didn't echo. It came clearly from right here. If you weren't injured like this, I'd have been completely fooled. Haha."
Ruby laughed heartily, then clutched her jaw.
"Ow, looks like the poison's still lingering? My jaw's numb from talking, and I just bit my tongue."
"See that! The demon's poison is slowly spreading through your body. Surrender now, and I might give you the antidote."
"The numbness right now is from the Dukuboah poison. That definitely paralyzed me. First time in my life I've passed out like that. I'll be more careful from now on. But this..."
Ruby gripped Buffalord's Dark Sword with both hands.
"...doesn't need caution. You think a demon's weapon works on an angel?"
Right before his eyes, Ruby snapped the blade in two.
As Buffalord stared in horror, Ruby said even more smugly,
"What, surprised I'm this strong? Let me explain. First, when we met yesterday, I was poisoned. My body could barely move at a tenth of normal. Second, I'm not wearing shackles right now. So I can move at least ten times faster than when I had them on."
Ruby dropped the broken blade beneath the tree and continued.
"In other words, I'm a hundred times stronger now than when you first met me. No wonder you're shocked."
Ruby tilted her head and asked,
"Anything to say?"
Buffalord quickly replied,
"I'll take you to Kauking. A being as strong as you could be his esteemed second-in-command..."
"No need. Forgot what I said the first time already?"
"Wh-what first time?"
"Starting now, it's 1 minute."
Ruby smashed Buffalord's head.
The branch underfoot snapped, and they fell together. Buffalord twisted to land on his feet, but Ruby pinned him, slamming his back down first.
His broken spine vertebrae pierced through his chest.
Ruby didn't stop there—she smashed his chest, shattering his ribs and crushing his heart.
The next punch flew straight at Buffalord's face.
'I never thought I'd use the escape method I swore I'd never touch.'
Buffalord tore his head off with his own arms.
Ruby's fist struck empty ground.
"Huh? What the—?"
Buffalord hurled his head through the bushes. Ruby glanced between the body and head, realizing the head was the real one, and turned that way.
"That way?"
Then Buffalord's headless body clamped onto Ruby in a tight embrace.
Ruby yelled at the head.
"Hey, where you going, you ugly mug! Not even 10 seconds yet!"
Buffalord's head soared high into the sky, crossing the forest.
'Perfect. Once I land somewhere, I'll burrow underground. He's good at fighting but probably sucks at searching.'
Buffalord had already planned ahead.
'No, I don't even need to hide. I can roll away like a stone without a trace and return to Kauking. On the way, if I find a perfect hiding spot, I can burrow there. Regenerating my original body will be tough, but I can shift to something more mobile. Wait, no—summon a few transform spawn to carry me? Simple. Just escape this situation. If I get out of here...
An arrow lodged into Buffalord's flying head. It spun him in the opposite direction—straight back toward Ruby.
Buffalord's arrow-pierced head landed beside Ruby. The arrow pinned it to the ground, preventing even rolling.
Ruby grinned, flashing white teeth, and raised her demon-blood-soaked hands. Buffalord's body, which had held her, now had its arms torn off.
"Oh? You're back?"
Buffalord's head gasped raggedly, eyes darting wildly.
"Th-this... what... h-how...?"
In his disoriented state, a forgotten fact resurfaced.
The Dark Forest watchman descended from the trees. He stepped on Buffalord's head with one foot and said,
"Finally, you've shown yourself before me."
Merald pressed down on Buffalord's head with his toes and said.
"You've woken up."
Ruby asked.
"Why butt in?"
"Butt in? I don't understand the question. I caught the escapee for you."
"I could have handled it."
"Then consider it me making your job easier."
"That's true."
Merald glanced toward Sage's hut and asked.
"Is Saph safe?"
"He's hurt. Badly."
Ruby walked toward the hut and continued.
"So go check on him. You handle this."
"Got it."
"And when's this Sage coming? Saph says she can heal him."
"She's on her way now."
"Jade?"
"With her."
Ruby nodded and turned to walk away.
Merald called after her back.
"You're awfully meek even seeing me. By your passed-out standards, you still see me as an enemy, no?"
"I heard while I was out. You're not the enemy."
Ruby suddenly stopped and turned.
"...Or do you want to fight me right now?"
"Nah, why bother?"
"Then why ask? We both know I'd win anyway—no need to fight."
Merald snorted and said.
"You think it's obvious? Strictly speaking, you lost to me once."
"You counting by rounds?"
Ruby narrowed her eyes and glared.
Merald replied nonchalantly.
"Just stating facts."
"Killing you here would be nothing, but I don't want to complicate things further, so I'll hold off. Once Jade arrives and sorts this out, we'll discuss that 'rounds' issue again."
Ruby snorted and walked off.
Merald watched her for a while, then knelt on one knee before Buffalord's arrow-pinned head.
"Well, we have plenty to talk about, don't we, Buffalord? Plenty of time before the mage who'll erase you arrives."
Merald said with a cold smile.
The massive bull head shot back without flinching.
"You're quite reliant on the light mage, watchman. Feels good erasing one Heldra, huh? But it's not over."
"It is. I burned Heldra away, and took out most of the Komora too."
"But you didn't kill them."
"There were just so many. Even the light mage got tired, to be fair."
"Exactly. No matter how many light mages you have... no matter how many Komora she erases... even more will be born. And as long as I live, my minions live. And as long as Kauking lives, I live."
Buffalord spat black blood from his mouth and continued.
"Watchman, you can't kill me."
"Why not? Just incinerate you completely."
Buffalord chuckled—pfft pfft pfft.
"How? With Sage's magic? Or pour oil on my head and set me aflame? Go ahead! Burning me like that just sends me back to hell. I just borrow a new body and pass through the hellgate. I'll return in a different form, different name."
"That possible? Don't lie."
"Wanna bet? How many days till I return?"
Merald shook his head.
"No."
"Why, not confident?"
"No need for a worthless bet like that. Forgot I said a mage who'll erase you is coming?"
"That human claims he can erase me too? He can't."
"Didn't you see him erase Heldra?"
"You think I blink at one lowly demon dead? Erasing me requires one more condition. But you'll never figure it out."
Buffalord sneered mockingly.
"One more condition?"
Merald tilted his head and asked.
"The demon's true name for the erasure incantation, perhaps, Antebas?"
Buffalord—no, Antebas—widened his eyes in undisguised shock.
Merald said with an icy smile.
"Yeah, I already knew. And you'll never figure out how I learned it."