Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Purifier (4)
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So, boldly landing a solid hit on the Riverback Marquis felt great and all.
〚You fucking bastard—!〛
But in reality, the situation hadn’t changed much. I was still being chased by the Riverback Marquis, and I didn’t have many ways to actually hurt him.
Absolute matchup superiority sounded impressive, but it was limited to nullifying the opponent’s “unique” abilities.
Of course, considering how terrifyingly powerful most unique abilities were, that alone was a huge effect—but it wasn’t enough to break out of this mess.
Thanks to activating the King of Pandemonium, I’d nullified his unique skill “Purification,” but the overwhelming spec gap between him and me remained unchanged.
“Uh, crap.”
I flung my body sideways just as a statue next to me shattered into pieces from a black beam of light.
Lucky no bystanders got hit by the stray attack coming my way.
Probably because, following emergency protocols for the citywide crisis, all students and faculty had evacuated to the academy’s deepest areas.
In that sense, I almost owed the Riverback Marquis a thank-you for starting this mess.
‘That’s the problem...!’
I turned my head to look at the curtain of darkness unfurled around the Riverback Marquis’s body. The same thing that had blasted me hundreds of meters away earlier.
If I checked his skill set, it’d probably say something like this.
[ Skill: Black Mist ] [ Rank: A ]
[ Remnants of a demon spewing from demonic essence. It emits demonic energy to corrode any approaching targets. Can be used in various ways depending on the user’s capabilities. ]
A skill common to bosses who’d consumed essence and turned into demons. It could handle demonic remnants for both offense and defense.
Damage to anything entering its range—no questions asked—plus attacks that hit hard every time, and defense that bounced back most assaults.
That was headache enough, but there was more trouble piled on top.
[ Skill: Blessing of the Black Soul ] [ Rank: A ]
[ Due to the essence rooting into the body, all physical abilities are enhanced, with regeneration added. Strong resistance to all physical damage. ]
Beyond basic spec boosts and body regeneration, the overflowing demonic energy triggered all sorts of absurd effects.
That’s why even Elnor, a near-master in close combat, had struggled against him.
〚Why—why can a worm like you wield the grace of the gods—!〛
A garbled sentence came from behind. He sounded like he was losing it.
The silver lining? This guy was genuinely furious now, unlike before.
He’d been like that ever since realizing his Purification skill had been nullified by the effect of my King of Pandemonium.
‘Well, yeah.’
Put myself in his shoes for a second.
Considering his backstory, he was probably a bottom-rung black market merchant who got tangled with demon worshippers by chance, gritted his teeth, and earned their recognition.
The demonic essence some pioneer had spread was likely the crowning achievement of all his efforts so far. That’s what fueled his sense of omnipotence.
He’d crushed me and Elnor effortlessly with that power, after all—towers built over years of work.
But then.
The guy he thought he’d killed resurrects out of nowhere and casually uses a superior version of his own ability.
The same guy who’d just obliterated years of his progress in one go.
“...”
Yeah. I’d be pissed too.
Imagine two lifetime achievements—gone in less than a day, both to the same punk.
Even I wouldn’t stay calm.
Villain roles who drop like flies to ridiculous protagonist buffs probably feel less hard done by.
But flip that around, and...
“Is this ability any good? I wouldn’t know.”
It’s damn easy to rile him up.
Even while fleeing, I smirked and tossed the line at the Riverback Marquis.
〚...〛
“Hmm, I just got lucky and stumbled into it. Locked eyes with some guy for a second, and he handed it over like ‘here, take it.’ Feels kinda meh the more I use it.”
〚...You, you...〛
“Oh, no way. Surely the great Riverback Marquis didn’t twist himself into knots for years just to end up with something worse? That can’t be...”
〚Shut your goddamn mouth—!〛
Yup. Right on cue.
Nothing provokes like polite deception.
I cackled as the Riverback Marquis flipped out and charged, eyes rolled back.
Ego-driven, arrogant personalities like his couldn’t stay rational when provoked.
He could’ve pressed me effectively with his spec advantage, but instead, he was just blindly chasing my tail and flailing attacks hysterically.
In this setup, Desperate Situation without rank reduction would let me evade just fine.
Not that I was running blindly without a plan.
‘Almost time.’
I checked my watch.
The “appointed time” was closing in.
So, I needed to shake him off for a bit.
“...Hmm.”
I confirmed my position and deliberately slowed my escape.
〚Die!〛
Predictably, attacks came flying in hot.
[ Activating Soul Linker. ]
[ Receiving mana supply. ]
[ Using ‘Skill: Holy Shield.’ ]
The translucent shield generated by pouring mana into the Ultrim shattered against the Riverback Marquis’s demonic energy.
Without linking to ‘Skill: Asceticism,’ it probably couldn’t bridge the stat gap. The difference was too vast to hold.
Still, being holy power gave it a decent block—especially strong against demon types.
That’s what had let me dodge smoothly so far.
‘...Now that I think about it, this doesn’t add up.’
Running around with the King of Pandemonium let me nullify demon-type unique abilities temporarily, and I could wield divine power embedded in items.
An unfairly strong combo against demon foes.
Even at my pathetic growth level, it was plenty usable.
As the shield broke, the Marquis’s demonic energy scattered around. He sneered at the sight.
〚Ha! All that talk, but you’re just scrambling to dodge and block...〛
He shut up mid-sentence.
The rebounding demonic energy had just smashed part of the nearby “cathedral.”
Specifically, the spot where cathedrals always kept a holy relic outside.
I’d angled the shield to break right there on purpose.
Stained glass and relic shards rained down.
Obviously, a cathedral inside the Imperial Academy Elpante used only top-grade, fully consecrated items.
By system logic, that damage alone would burst the relic’s holy power outward like a grenade.
White light flashed everywhere. All divine power.
“Why not watch where you’re swinging? Check your surroundings.”
I jeered and turned to run.
From behind came the Riverback Marquis’s howls as the holy power engulfed him, setting his whole body ablaze.
‘Perfect.’
That should keep him off me for a bit.
Enough time to reach the meetup spot and grab the item.
Talion was sharp and reliable. If I’d specified the exact time, he’d deliver right on cue.
Sure enough, as I arrived and my watch beeped...
‘There we go.’
Talion raced into view at the edge of my sight, clutching the “item I’d requested.”
I smirked at the sight and reset my watch.
Yeah, stalled long enough.
Time to wrap this up.
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The Riverback Marquis’s head was boiling hotter than it ever had.
‘That bastard—I’ll skin him alive, chew his guts in front of him!’
He’d never felt rage like this in his entire life. Felt like his head veins might burst.
No one had ever toyed with and humiliated him this badly!
He brushed down his still-throbbing skin from the holy power burn, eyes gleaming as he scanned around.
In the moment he’d taken a hit and lost focus, that Dawood guy had vanished long ago.
But that wasn’t an obstacle at all. He’d swallowed demonic essence.
Tracking the punk’s location was child’s play, no matter where he hid.
"..."
The thick smoke drifting around erased even the faint human scents.
No other humans nearby made it even easier.
Soon enough, he pinpointed the location and scoffed.
‘Gregory Hall?’
The spire. One of Elpante’s tallest buildings.
He’d fled like a bat out of hell, so where to? And it was just here?
A dead end with nowhere left to run or hide due to the towering structure. And the guy was at the very top.
〚You idiot!〛
A calmer Riverback Marquis might’ve wondered ‘why’ he’d gone there.
But rage clouding his mind had dulled his judgment.
That’s why he rocketed straight for Gregory Hall without a second thought.
〚Hmph!〛
He accelerated in a flash, landing atop Gregory Hall with a ferocious glare, scanning around.
It didn’t take long to spot his target. Dawood Campbell stood there boldly in plain sight.
Though there was a new item at his waist that hadn’t been there before.
‘...What’s that?’
A cylinder about the length of an arm. Gold, unremarkable at a glance.
Suspiciously so.
〚...〛
But the Riverback Marquis decided not to dwell.
Resurrected from death with some mystery power, yet still a nobody fleeing him. Probably some lame trick.
He couldn’t calm down otherwise—had to belittle the guy.
〚I’ll make you taste every hell! You’ll beg for death!〛
He roared and accelerated. Black smoke billowed, pushing his speed to the max.
After all that running and enraging him, time to snag him in one go.
But this time, Dawood Campbell didn’t twitch.
He’d blocked a few times before with holy shields, but no sign of fleeing now.
〚...?〛
Even in his fury, the Riverback Marquis sensed something off.
What the hell was this guy doing?
‘Just kill him here and be done!’
The guy had been drawing mana from his wrist amulet and feeding it into the censer in his pocket nonstop.
But the amulet at the edge of his vision was drained dry. That last use must’ve been it.
No more defenses left!
Grinning wickedly, he raised a hand packed with condensed demonic energy. Point-blank range. No guard, no dodge with their spec gap.
Imagining the punk torn to shreds brought a natural smile.
“I told you. Watch your surroundings.”
But as those words slipped out...
The Riverback Marquis’s body froze solid.
No—more like “pinned.”
To the disc lying on the floor.
‘...A disc?’
What the hell was this doing here? He blinked in disbelief.
A crunch echoed as the rod connected to the disc slammed into the ground.
"Hmm."
Dawood smirked and spoke.
His own body was on the disc too.
“Good thing you didn’t return it.”
With those words...
The two men launched into the air with terrifying force.
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