Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Blue Devil
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“So, what’s the plan!”
Talion nimbly twisted the rudder and tossed out the question.
It was a good call teaching him back then. Even in this mess, he was somehow keeping the boat balanced and under control.
“Plan... plan, huh...”
There was something like one.
Though I wasn’t sure if you could really call it a plan.
“For now, we need to squeeze out a bit more profit, right?”
“...Pardon?”
I glance at Liru, who’s charging full speed from way back there, outpacing even the boat we’re fleeing in. The distance is closing terrifyingly fast.
If she’s pissed off that much, I’ll have to offer something pretty valuable to calm her down.
So.
Something that’s reasonably precious to me, too.
And if I’m throwing that in, then I might as well wring every last drop out of her in this state.
“...Even in a situation like this, you’re thinking of grabbing more gains?”
“...”
Talion’s words come out almost like a scolding, and I fall silent.
Fair enough, you little punk.
I could feel my crisis instinct shifting into something like a life-or-death game whenever shit hit the fan, but that was way better than trembling under the pressure.
In that sense.
“One of them will be out of commission for a while...”
I say that while eyeing Tentacle Number One, writhing feebly in the sinkhole ahead.
It took a beating from Liru, and after its dignified entrance attempt, it’s frozen in place, just twisting its body.
A pattern I’d seen a few times in boss fights in the game. Big damage sends it into grogginess, unable to recover.
‘...This skips the intro phase alone.’
Normally, you fight the first tentacle that pops out, then dive into the final battle with the ‘main body’ emerging from that sinkhole below.
But right now, just by ‘burying’ Liru in it, we’ve saved a ton of time and resources, haven’t we?
“...”
“...”
I ignore Talion’s horrified stare.
The phrasing might be a bit off.
But it’s true, isn’t it?
Anyway, burying Liru once with each of the three bosses is pure profit, no question.
‘...The problem is.’
In the process, Liru is definitely going to rampage at least once.
Tatiana probably planted ‘that thing’ in Allan with exactly that in mind from the start.
Considering the mechanics of that bastard Incarnation from the game, Allan has to be embedded in one of those three giant cephalopod horrors right now.
“...”
I grit my teeth.
To be honest.
I absolutely don’t want Liru to see that.
I nearly puked myself when I saw it. That’s how disgusting it is.
But.
‘...It’s gonna happen eventually anyway, damn it.’
Even if I don’t want to show it to her, Tatiana will force it on Liru somehow. I can’t stop that.
Especially not compared to right now, where I’m goading her rampage like a matador to smash Phase 1. Better to let her go full throttle and take us both down in mutual destruction.
It’s more effective than I thought. Like with Elnor before, a fully rampaging demon is something even I have to rely on luck to subdue.
“...”
But what he overlooks is.
The Blue Devil is better off exploding spectacularly than half-ass rampaging.
Survival odds are way higher that way, seriously.
“Here, hold this for now.”
With a sigh, I pull the Ultrim of Divinity from my pocket and hand it to Talion.
“What’s this?”
“A holy relic. Even someone like you who can’t handle divine power should get some curse resistance from it.”
“I appreciate it, boss, but I can handle this much fine!”
Talion says that, sweating but with a spirited voice.
The air around us is thick with black mist billowing from the chunks of flesh Liru’s blasting apart.
Touch any of that, and a normal person would go mad without question—pure malicious curse residue.
“Take it. Even if you’re fine, the thing with you isn’t.”
I point at the ice cat languishing above Talion’s head. His face shifts to one of realization.
“Wait, boss, what about you...!”
“I’m good.”
I’m in a position where I actually need to ‘shed’ that resistance.
Desperate Situation boosts ‘all stats.’ The anti-magic stat in my status window is probably getting the full effect right now.
That won’t do.
“If my resistance is too high, then that.”
I scratch my head and continue.
“I can’t get ‘eaten’ by the other side.”
“...”
So.
Quit looking at me like that.
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My head feels numb.
And everything ahead is vivid blue.
The whole place looks shrouded in blue mist, dyed that color entirely.
‘...Why am I so pissed off?’
The thought flickers in one corner of my mind.
It was just that guy saying he wanted to be friends. Is that really worth this much anger?
-I like you, Liru Garda.
“...”
Oh.
Thinking about it, yeah, it is worth getting mad.
That damn playboy, scumbag, piece-of-shit bastard!
I channel the rage that whites out my mind and smash the ‘obstacle’ surging up ahead.
“I said get lost-!”
No idea how many of these things I’ve run into on the way here.
They keep lunging at me out of nowhere—these beasts.
Normally, I’d be questioning the hell out of this situation.
How am I running across the ocean?
What are these things? Why are they coming at me?
And how am I shattering them all with a single hit?
I’d at least try to grasp the basics.
But right now.
First things first, gotta plant a fist in that jaw.
That’s been my only thought from the start!
“Stop, getting, in my way-!”
Even as I pulverize the third massive tentacle with my fist, the momentum holds.
Chunks of flesh raining down like precipitation—it’s become routine.
But this time.
Something catches her eye amid it all.
“...”
Through the exploding flesh scattering everywhere.
Someone ‘buried’ in the middle of those meat chunks comes into view.
A massive body. And a lion tattoo etched on the abdomen.
Impossible to forget.
Allan Vator.
The human who point-blank challenged her grandmother—the one she revered—to a duel.
And mid-duel, raided the clan’s space, took their lives, and severed her grandmother’s limbs.
Even through reason blurred by rage that burned her mind white, those facts string up clearly.
Her fury-addled mind clears a bit.
Rusty gears grind back to motion.
Thanks to that.
Liru can focus fully on the ‘scene’ before her.
Something ‘protruding’ from Allan Vator’s body catches her eye.
A ‘sculpture’ packed with twisted imagination.
A grotesque lump of flesh, clearly brimming with some shamanic meaning.
“...”
Liru instinctively realizes this ties directly to the giant tentacles she’s been smashing so far.
Feels like she’s played a huge part in summoning them.
She focuses her awareness sharper.
It’s like crudely patching together half-made clay dolls.
Except it’s not clay—it’s all ‘human bodies.’
Made by using the remains of the dead for these sculptures.
And on those bodies.
The ‘tattoos’ clans share and etch into their skin stand out starkly.
All of them.
Garda Clan markings.
“...What the hell is this.”
The mutter slips out unbidden.
Every body making up that ‘sculpture’ bears those markings.
Impossible to forget.
The symbol her family proudly etched on themselves, teaching her never to lose her pride.
And yet.
The very ones who taught her that—her family—are now.
Being defiled like this.
Even in death, so pathetically.
“...”
No need to think deep on who did this.
The one who took the remains without handing them over to Liru under the guise of ‘funeral rites’—she remembers crystal clear even now.
Tatiana.
The High Priestess.
That bitch who deserves to be torn apart—she did this.
“...”
The next instant.
Blue energy erupts around Liru’s body like a wave.
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“...Third one.”
Talion mutters as he watches the tentacle shatter and fly apart.
That skips Phase 1 for all three boss mobs. Next up is the main body, which should pop out soon enough.
But the problem is.
“...Something’s off.”
Talion squints at Liru, who’s suddenly halted, and says so.
She’d been closing in at terrifying speed, then just stopped dead.
[System Message]
[ Target ‘Liru’ is enraged by an unbelievable sight! ]
[ Target ‘Liru’s’ corruption level exceeds 300%. ]
[ Target enters ‘rampage’ state! ]
[ Projected damage radius: ‘10km’. ]
[ Survival probability: 0.3%! ]
“...”
I close my eyes and apologize to Liru.
Really.
I’m truly sorry.
Sorry for letting you see that, Liru.
“...”
So.
The bastard who did that needs to pay the price properly.
And I’m about to take the first step.
“Stop!”
The moment I see Liru freeze, I bark the order at Talion.
As soon as the boat halts, I launch myself toward her with a running start, ‘flying’ over.
“Bo, boss?!”
Talion’s shocked scream echoes behind me.
Charging full tilt at the guy who’s been one-shotting everything in her path—makes sense he’d wonder what I’m thinking.
[ Activating ‘Skill: King of Pandemonium.’ ]
[ Absolute type advantage against demon-type enemies for 5 minutes! ]
[ Facing a target with equal ability. ]
[ Resisting target’s unique ability ‘Authority: Pulverize’! ]
Luckily, I have the ability to resist that authority for a few minutes.
I slam into Liru, who’s standing dazed on the water, hurtling like an arrow.
Normally, contact would shred me, but the skill keeps me mostly intact.
[System Message]
[ Aura of the ‘Blue Devil’ detected! ]
[ ‘Seal of the Otherworld’ reacts! ]
Confirming the message, I cling to Liru’s body to steady myself.
Feels similar to hanging onto Elnor when she was floating midair before.
Vessels on the verge of rampage don’t react much to sticking like this.
“...Hello. Nice to meet you.”
And.
Amid the blue energy surging around us, on the brink of explosion.
I carefully whisper to Liru.
“I’m Dawood Campbell.”
Like greeting someone I’m meeting for the first time.
“...I’ve come with an offer you can’t refuse.”
I exhale and continue.
“Shall we talk? Blue Devil.”
-...
Silence.
Silence.
And then.
The blue energy pouring from Liru’s body surges toward me, ‘enveloping’ me like a rush.
[System Message]
[ ‘Mental Barrier’ activated on you detected! ]
[ ‘Anti-Magic’ stat resistance roll... ]
[ ‘Anti-Magic’ stat resistance roll... ]
[ ‘Anti-Magic’ stat resistance roll... ]
[ Resistance failed! ]
[ Entering target’s ‘Mental World’! ]
Yeah.
Those resistance rolls were razor-thin. If I’d had the Ultrim, I might’ve actually succeeded.
I chuckle bitterly amid fading consciousness, that thought crossing my mind.
[I’m glad to meet you too, Dawood Campbell.]
And beyond the dimming awareness.
That voice rings out.
Unmistakably.
[I’ve been waiting to meet you like this.]
An incredibly calm and demure voice.
[My husband.]
One that could make you forget the speaker was a ‘demon.’
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