Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Audacious (2)
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[Using 'Prospection'.]
[Loading the target's information.]
[The same target has a 24-hour reuse cooldown.]
A sigh escaped as I activated the skill.
[Valkasus Allan Armada]
[Status Info]
[Standard]
[ Strength: C
Agility: C
Durability: C
Luck: F
Authority: F ]
[Abilities]
[ Mana: F
Spell Power: F
Divinity: F ]
Valkasus, the key figure in Chapter 2, was someone whose specs made you wonder why he was gracing the chapter title at all.
Considering C as the baseline for an average person, aside from his divinity stat that had just barely crossed into D territory, he looked only slightly better than me, with all F stats marked.
But this man's true value lay elsewhere.
[Misc.]
-Current number of alchemies applied to the body: 2,134,423
“...”
The furiously stamped number made my head spin.
It wasn't something that showed up in a typical status window, but this was the driving force that turned Valkasus into a monster no one could even stand against.
Alchemy was one of the ancient arts now lost to time. It was like engraving 'techniques' into the body beforehand and pulling them out when needed.
The upper limit of power from a single alchemy was overwhelmingly superior.
To the point where the three great abilities—mana, spell power, and divinity—could never catch up.
Now, think about that carefully.
Throughout history, there have always been plenty of power-mad lunatics.
Yet alchemy was forgotten because even those guys couldn't handle the penalty.
I knew what that penalty was.
The 'cost' to synthesize a single alchemy was the life of one person, taken outright.
“...”
And right now.
There was a man who had crammed over two million of those alchemies into his own body.
Probably enough to fill a whole 'kingdom.'
The boy king who carried a fallen kingdom on his back.
The last ruler of the Armada Kingdom.
Had turned his people—all of them—into alchemies.
And 'harbored' them within his own body.
“Seen enough?”
Valkasus, still staring at the sky, spoke in a calm voice.
A wry smile tugged at my lips involuntarily.
It was the look of someone who had seen right through what I was doing.
“It's not practical in combat. No one would just sit there like you and let me scan them so obediently.”
“...Most people wouldn't even notice me using it.”
“The Foreseers seem to pay quite a bit of attention to that. In the future, you might have to face every single one of the 'Enlightened Ones.'”
“...”
I'd braced myself for it, but hearing it straight from him still felt like hell.
Just as Valkasus said, the Enlightened Ones were the kind who could dismiss a technique that scanned info just by looking from afar as 'impractical.'
They could kill me dozens of times over in those few seconds of staring.
Which was why they ended up as the final bosses in most chapters.
“...I doubt there are many at your level.”
Even among those monsters, pure combat power-wise, few surpassed Valkasus. Plenty might come close, though.
If he set his mind to it, this man could single-handedly destroy a small nation.
“...”
Valkasus's eyes gleamed as he looked me up and down after hearing my words.
“You really know everything, don't you?”
“Pardon?”
“The Foreseer tipped me off. Said you'd already grasped info about us long ago.”
“...”
Well, now.
That was new.
Just how much had that guy figured out about me?
As those thoughts swirled, Valkasus chuckled and continued.
“You already know who I am, yet you're approaching and chatting like this. Isn't that right?”
Fair point, as he said.
A man who could take on a nation alone, and who'd just declared he'd slaughter everyone in the academy three days from now.
Knowing all that and leisurely conversing up close would be insane.
But as he said.
“...That's why I know.”
I plopped down beside Valkasus, who was watching the setting sun, and continued.
“Why you're doing something like that.”
Anyone reasonable would have the obvious question by now.
Why was someone this terrifying showing up as early as Chapter 2?
And the answer was simple.
This man lacked the one thing that normally made someone an 'enemy' to others.
Malice.
Valkasus wasn't a bad person. Not in the slightest.
Even now, after declaring a massacre in three days, that held true.
His true intentions made it undeniable.
“...”
I gazed at that part of his body, exposed in the darkness and 'flowing' down.
If over two million human lives were bound as alchemies into one body, that vessel became virtually immortal.
Of course, the tradeoff for accepting such immense power was a body crushed and rotting, a mind under unimaginable strain. A normal person would collapse in seconds.
But even so.
This man had endured it all. For eons. Without a hint of complaint.
For one single goal.
And that goal?
As far as I knew, it was profoundly human.
Humble, even.
“Want to make a bet?”
“A bet? What kind?”
Seeing Valkasus smile and respond to my suggestion, I sighed inwardly.
“I'm offering this as someone who knows everything.”
I tallied it up in my head.
Valkasus's 'goal' was ultimately to save himself and his kingdom.
All that talk of turning the academy into wraiths and ruling them was just harsh packaging.
So.
I planned to toss him an offer he couldn't refuse.
“Go ahead with your plan. The academy raid in three days. I'm not trying to stop you.”
“...What?”
“You have no choice. That's why you're cooperating with the Foreseer.”
Yeah. Really.
The fact that this man was committing such a horrific act—and yet I still didn't see him as evil—carried a lot of weight.
“Do it. I'll handle stopping it.”
At those words, Valkasus's smile shifted to one of disbelief.
“You know who I am, yet you won't back down from facing me?”
“Sort of, but not in the way you think.”
I had no means or reason to fight him to the death.
What I planned was something more.
Tailored to him.
“I'll save you, Valkasus. You and your kingdom. Three days from now.”
Well, as always.
What I was about to do wasn't something sane people would recommend.
But the Foreseer was already acting outside my predictions. To match that, I needed to play a strong hand.
“In exchange, if I keep my word exactly.”
Survival Guide for Possession, Chapter 1.
Move unpredictably.
“Become my subordinate. For life.”
It started with.
Recruiting a human who was a cheat code in himself.
“...Mm.”
Lucien Grayhauncher groaned as she opened her eyes.
The smell of medicine. Bandages wrapped around her body. A soft, fluffy bed.
As that information registered one after another, one fact resurfaced in her mind.
‘...Conveniences provided by the Empire?’
The Holy Kingdom would never do this for her.
Born with immense divinity from the start, they'd just scoff and tell her to heal herself.
“...”
To be precise, a life 'engineered' to be born that way.
Homunculus. Artificial lifeform.
Not born from a human womb, but pieced together from materials.
Her position as a 'human chosen by God' wasn't innate. It was manufactured.
Lucien Grayhauncher was a girl raised from birth for such a 'purpose.'
Her only family was her younger sister, born at the same time.
A homunculus created alongside the saintess as a 'shield.'
Because of that.
They'd been treated as 'not even human.' The sisters.
‘...Yuria.’
Her hand clenched the blanket without her realizing it as she thought that.
Her sister, who stole the Holy Kingdom's national treasure—meant to be 'fused' with her to amplify divinity—and fled.
The last confirmed location was this Elpante Academy.
Racking her memory, she vaguely recalled seeing her just before blacking out.
She hadn't been able to react properly amid the excruciating pain tearing through her body.
‘Was she okay...? Did I see her...?’
She desperately clung to that thought.
From the moment she first came to this academy, her mind had been filled with Yuria.
‘...By now, the curse must have spread quite a bit.’
She and Yuria were fundamentally a paired creation. Without one, the other would develop a 'flaw' somewhere.
She might not perform at full capacity, but Yuria had held onto a cursed object for far too long. If she couldn't resist it properly...
“...”
Her uneasy gaze swept the room.
Then it locked onto Yuria, slumped asleep near the bed.
“Ah.”
A gasp slipped out unbidden.
She had no idea why she was here, and there were mountains of explanations needed.
But right now, her little sister was right there beside her.
Lucien started to bolt up and approach, but froze upon noticing something.
The sword Yuria clutched even in sleep, wrapped in chains.
The Holy Kingdom's national treasure. The sword that birthed the Curse of Severance.
Isolater.
“...”
As long as she gripped that, even Lucien would be sliced if she got close. Saintess or not.
Contempt and disgust flashed in Lucien's eyes. Considering how that sword became a treasure, she couldn't help the reaction.
‘...Not that right now.’
She pushed it aside. Something more important mattered.
Instead, she examined her sister desperately with her eyes.
No signs of 'corruption' from the curse? No changes from before?
Traces of a harsh fugitive life lingered everywhere, but nothing seemed critically wrong.
‘...Good.’
Lucien wiped the tears welling in her eyes and murmured inwardly.
Though the Holy Kingdom treated them unspeakably, she hoped the Empire might be kinder. But there were no guarantees.
She looked a bit thinner, but otherwise healthy. No signs of abuse.
‘You haven't lived too harshly, Yuria.’
As that thought crossed her mind, Lucien's gaze caught the 'collar' around Yuria's neck.
“...”
Her expression hardened instantly.
A collar?
Why would anyone put something like that on a person?
Yuria, you.
What kind of treatment are you getting in the Empire?
“...Dawood, sir, please...”
Right then, Yuria mumbled in her sleep.
“I'll serve as your master, so please, don't do anything so cruel...”
So, if Dawood had been there, he could've explained the collar's origin, meaning, and that this 'cruel act' just meant not abandoning her.
Unfortunately, that man wasn't present.
“...”
Horror flooded Lucien's face.
‘That Dawood guy, what...!’
What kind of beast was he, to make her mutter something like that even in sleep...!
‘I’ll show him what for...!’
Rage like a blazing fire consumed her.
●
The next morning.
I stretched and got ready for the day. My mind replayed yesterday's audacious talk.
Valkasus hadn't given a real answer.
Just a smile that said, 'Do as you please.'
‘...Fine, whatever.’
Then I'd do just that.
He didn't say no to the bet either. So I'd proceed, stop him, save him, and recruit him as my slave... no, subordinate.
‘And...’
The first step was this.
I checked the letter by my bedside upon waking.
[ The Saintess has regained consciousness. She says she wants to talk to you, so you'd best visit soon.
The Chairman. ]
Perfect timing.
It fit my plan exactly.
The academy raid—start of Chapter 2—was just two days away. My goal was to lift the curse on Yuria's sword, 'Isolater,' before then.
‘Normally, that's end-of-chapter stuff.’
In the original, you'd subdue Yuria as the final boss, recruit her, and then it becomes possible. But I didn't have time for that. Handling it now wasn't impossible. Exploits existed.
And once the Curse of Severance on that sword was lifted, somehow.
Yuria would become the key to clearing my Chapter 2.
‘...Though it depends on conditions.’
With the curse lifted, Yuria wielding Isolater becomes the undisputed close-range combat queen in 'specific situations'—even Elnor and Eliya would have to yield. She could sort out their pecking order if they rushed her together.
This Chapter 2 would definitely provide overflowing opportunities for those conditions.
‘Considering the progression...’
To use my planned 'exploit,' I absolutely needed the Saintess's cooperation.
She'd summoned me just as I needed to consult her. A stroke of luck.
That's what I thought.
[System Message]
[ Target 'Lucien''s anger has exceeded the threshold! ]
[ She burns with intent to deliver retribution upon you! ]
[ A negative influence is imprinted! ]
[ A receivable reward is granted! ]
[ Skill: Dominion of Evil activates. You gain 1 usable command on the target! ]
Until I saw this window, clearly popped up while I slept.
“...”
Something's off.
Didn't I go to all that trouble tangling with the Pope to save her?
So why is this triggering...?
●