Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Omen
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Talion Armand was, at the very least, someone with considerable pride in his own abilities.
The mere fact that he could hold his own against Eliya—who had been bestowed the hero's title, granted only to the most promising talents on the continent—was reason enough for that confidence.
Of course, lately he'd been feeling the gap between them widen to the point of heaven and earth.
It was making his confidence waver a bit these days.
Monsters always seemed to flock around Dawood Campbell. Even in his narrow circle of acquaintances, every single person was so ridiculously talented that such concerns felt trivial by comparison.
Starting with Eliya, as mentioned.
The Church's saintess. And the terrifying knight who always stuck by her side, capable of slaying a dragon in one strike. Even among the freshmen, there was Liru Garda, whom not even Eliya dared to provoke.
And all of them showed unwavering goodwill toward Dawood.
‘...Unwavering?’
Sometimes it bordered on excessive, but anyway.
It was inevitable to feel intimidated just being near that man.
“...”
And now, Talion realized one more thing.
That even feeling that way could be laughable.
Inferiority born of comparison only hits home when you see yourself as 'similar' to the other person.
If the opponent is a monster from some otherworldly realm...
Then feeling that way at all becomes absurd.
“Found it!”
The eternal blizzard-ravaged extreme frozen wasteland, perpetually infused with mana. Its ruler was a house-sized tiger. Known as the Ice Tiger.
Adorned with blue gemstones across its body, it enjoyed defensive power equivalent to armor forged from rare metals at all times. A mana beast that wielded innate elemental magic.
Like all special-grade mana beasts, the Ice Tiger wasn't typically considered a 'hunting' target.
It was the kind of creature that appeared only in hunters' legends. The sort used to scare misbehaving children: "If you don't listen, the Ice Tiger will come take you away." Utter nonsense.
Special-grade beasts required entire battalions of regular knights—who could handle mid-grade mana beasts without issue in groups of three or four—just to have a shot at subduing them.
Above them were dragonkin, interdimensional beasts, and the Four Asian Gods, the last of which were discovered decades ago.
And right now, such an Ice Tiger had been...
Simply locked eyes with and 'torn apart.'
“...”
When they first entered this hunting ground and Elnor asked him to take down the Ice Tiger in five minutes alongside her, Talion had figured it was just an exaggerated way of saying "hurry up."
Everyone at Elpante knew the student council president was a top-tier combatant of historic caliber, but she was still a student, after all.
That's what he'd thought.
Until Elnor, upon encountering the Ice Tiger, suddenly threw a punch from a standstill.
“...?”
It was the honest impression of a madwoman.
What was a knight doing without even drawing her sword against an opponent like that?
And it wasn't even a serious punch. She just stood there and thrust her fist forward like she was shoving away something in midair.
A bizarre motion that didn't even look like it intended to hit the target.
But.
With that casual motion, gray energy surged from Elnor's body.
-!!
-!!!!
-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The landscape before them was 'torn apart' entirely.
The Ice Tiger, swept up in the erupting energy, was shredded to pieces without even resisting.
Dawood had told him to instill 'fear,' not kill it outright, so she stopped just short—but it was clearly on the brink.
With this ridiculous attack.
Talion gaped at the sight.
“...”
This woman, really.
‘...No, wait.’
Is this even human?
As a scion of a venerable martial house, Talion could tell exactly that the technique Elnor had just unleashed didn't fall under ki, divinity, or any other known superhuman power. It was something entirely new.
The only things capable of this were otherworldly beings dismissed as fantasy by scholars or the demon lords of Pandemonium—and nothing else came to mind.
“...”
Demon.
Wait, demon?
He narrowed his eyes at Elnor.
The blood of the Tristan Ducal House harbored a demon.
It was a rumor openly whispered in imperial high society, though everyone hushed it up.
Absurd, of course.
But if it wasn't metaphorical.
If this house's bloodline truly had ties to that side?
‘...No way.’
It was too ridiculous.
For the empire's premier great noble to be entangled in something like that. If it were true, the entire empire would have erupted in scandal countless times over.
The rumor didn't even have a clear origin.
‘...I did hear it was spread by the imperial family, though.’
That was even more absurd than the rumor itself.
Why would the imperial family do such a thing? Against the Tristan Ducal House, which had pledged unwavering loyalty longer than anyone?
Unless they were deliberately trying to 'pressure' them. It made no sense.
“...Um, President.”
Of course, that was one thing.
The madness unfolding before his eyes was undeniable.
Talion spoke in a trembling voice.
“How did you do that?”
Elnor shrugged lightly in response.
“Just testing something.”
“Testing?”
“Seeing how far I could interfere with space without touching the time axis.”
“...”
What kind of insane talk was this?
"Twisting space" evoked the highest-tier magic said to be wieldable only by dragonkin—"Dimensional Warp"—or legendary techniques like the "Morning Slice," demonstrated by the first Tristan Duke with a single sword.
To replicate that with a punch from a standstill? Only demons or otherworldly beings could—
“...”
No. Seriously.
It defied logic. Completely.
If this woman was truly tied to a 'demon'—especially if the energy she emitted was 'gray'...
That fell into ancient myths tracing back to the Hero's era.
The 'color' described in the God-Demon War that created the void zone at the heart of the Golden Triangle.
And according to those accounts.
The vessel of the Gray Devil was the being bestowed the unprecedented title of 'Public Enemy of the Entire Continent' in history.
In other words.
This woman was destined to grow into the worst monster capable of facing the entire continent alone.
‘...No, impossible.’
Stunned, he looked down at the Ice Tiger sprawled on the ground, barely clinging to life, gasping laboriously.
Its ragged breaths confirmed it wasn't dead yet.
“Now, you said just to extract the claws here...”
Talion murmured as he approached.
He wouldn't have noticed otherwise, but there was a tiny creature lunging at his ankle.
“Whoa.”
Definitely the Ice Tiger's cub. The spitting image, just minuscule in size.
It kept up impotent snarls, as if trying to protect its mother, but posed no real threat.
Honestly, it was more cat than tiger. The sight of its tiny front paw—barely a claw—flailing wildly before the wounded mother was downright pitiful.
“...Man, this makes me feel like the bad guy. It's okay, it's okay. I'm not killing it, just taking the claws—”
Talion forced a wry smile, trying to finish the sentence.
Until he sensed 'something' behind him.
“...!”
The next instant.
Talion was rolling on the ground, shielding the cub with his entire body.
The Ice Tiger's claw had gouged into him, blood spraying, but he ignored it and wrapped around the cub completely.
The cub thrashed in his arms. Probably mistaking it for an attack.
Probably.
Had it not just discovered that the spot Talion had been standing was now pulverized by gray energy.
-...
The cub went limp.
Realizing Talion's action had 'saved' it.
“...President.”
He looked at Elnor with a tense expression.
Her red irises gleamed ferociously. Filled with bottomless, savage 'hostility.'
Just now, this woman had tried to crush it like a bug underfoot, unwilling to even tolerate the cub's pathetic struggles.
“Brother didn't say to touch the cub.”
“...”
As Talion cradled the trembling cub and spoke, Elnor stared at him blankly.
“It's unsightly.”
“...Pardon?”
“A life form that weak—its mere existence is repulsive to me—”
Elnor cut herself off mid-sentence.
“...”
Her eyes widened as she clamped a hand over her mouth.
As if shocked by her own words.
“...What did I just...”
At the same time, the 'hostility' in her eyes vanished.
As if something 'overlaid' on this woman had lifted.
“...Ah, no. Pretend you didn't hear that.”
“...”
“Collect the claws and let's head back.”
Watching Elnor hurry away with uncharacteristic haste, Talion's face twisted.
‘...What was that?’
For a fleeting moment.
Something had 'possessed' Elnor.
Not the usual student council president, with her mix of absentmindedness and cool composure.
Something that blindly hated everything before it.
‘...Brother, what kind of woman have you gotten yourself tangled with?’
Talion sighed, truly thinking it.
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[Done, Brother.]
I nod at the report from Talion, his voice sounding utterly drained.
Probably another reaction to whatever stunt Elnor pulled.
“...”
I get it.
The vessel that's consumed two shards is starting to match or exceed named NPCs in the game in terms of capabilities.
Probably surpassing Gideon by now.
‘...This'll be a headache later.’
Not a good development.
For future chapters, Gideon's combat power should always stay a notch above Elnor's.
After this chapter ends, time for a check-up on our dear Duchess.
[System Message]
[ Target 'Elnor' is growing accustomed to the demon's power. ]
[ Fusion of the second shard accelerates. The vessel begins to be affected! ]
That's why. To handle this.
As I said before.
I won't let Elnor turn into a murderous fiend, not even over my dead body.
Frowning at the window, my communicator buzzes in my pocket.
Message from Eliya.
[Ah, Teacher. Over here too—]
“Branding done there as well?”
[...]
Eliya falls silent at my question.
[...Well, it's done, but.]
On the video screen, Eliya glances back hesitantly.
Beyond her, the body of the Horned Demon, ruler of the jungle zone. And beside it, Yuria staring down at her drawn sword.
[Teacher, didn't you say this thing wouldn't die?]
“...? It's a mana lifeform too, so it shouldn't?”
Like the Ice Tiger, the Flame Demon, or the One-Horned Beast.
Elemental mana lifeforms don't die easily. That's the biggest reason they've claimed dominance over the elite mana beasts in the area.
The Flame Demon didn't die even after I smashed its head in one hit.
[But it's dead?]
“What?”
[It's not reviving. The branding or whatever—you sure it worked properly?]
“...”
I peer closely at the screen.
White energy billows thickly from Yuria's sword. The One-Horned Beast nearby is bisected from head to toe, lying utterly still.
No sign of it dissolving into its original element for revival, like the Flame Demon I killed.
‘...She actually killed it?’
How?
Even in the game, this was unheard of outside glitchy exploits...?
Fortunately.
The answer to 'how' appears right before my eyes.
[System Message]
[ Target 'Yuria' grows ever more adept with the demon's power. ]
[ A new curse awakens within the 'Severer.' ]
[ Target's Phase 1 fusion rate reaches 99%. ]
[ The second shard of the 'White Devil' will appear soon. Related events update! ]
“...”
Hey.
I have a ton to do today.
Cut me some slack, please.
[...You looked mentally off from the start. Is she really okay, Teacher...?]
I check Yuria on the screen at her words.
Her eyes are vacant. Standing stock-still, staring at the corpse with dead eyes.
Clearly not in a normal state.
“...”
Last saw her when she changed clothes, so hard to guess her thoughts now.
She'd looked utterly depressed after the gaslighting last time, and it seems worse.
[...If we leave her like this, she's gonna cause an incident soon.]
“Yeah. Probably. Leave her be.”
[...]
Eliya stares at me, speechless, so I just scratch my head instead of explaining.
From my experience so far.
Whenever an ominous sign appears, it never skips me. If there's a bad vibe, something bad happens.
So, in that case, what I should do isn't 'fix' it.
But turn it into 'momentum.'
First up: igniting Liru's temper.
Second: this.
[...Huh?]
“Eliya.”
I sigh at her puzzled repeat.
“You ever hear of fighting poison with poison?”
Poison is countered with poison.
One poison is just deadly toxin.
But two...
Can be turned into 'medicine.'
‘...That'll be fun.’
Honestly.
I'm curious about tomorrow.
Can't help but wonder what Tatiana will make of all this.
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