Chapter 243
Chapter 243
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: I Want to Reconcile. (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Kaaaaaaaagh————!!!!”
The Outcry fired through the Black Suit unleashed enough power to shake the entire lab as it slammed into Batori.
Even that menacing blood magic tore apart like paper in the face of power that defied common sense, sweeping Batori away with it.
Boom!! Crash! Boom-boom---!!! Rumble! Boom!!!
Countless walls shattered, kicking up thick clouds of dust that filled the surroundings.
For a moment, he worried the lab might collapse from the earth-shaking force, but Oliver paid no mind to such things.
Batori was still kicking.
Blood welled up from the ruins of the lab, which looked like it contained nothing at all, hardening into human form.
“That one hurt... a lot.”
“Pain alone isn't enough... Do you think we could reconcile right now, by any chance?”
Oliver asked in earnest.
Even after fusing emotions, life force, and magic power to craft a pea-sized artificial soul and reinforce the Black Suit, he still lacked confidence against Batori.
It might sound selfish, but if possible, Oliver wanted to make peace.
“You don't get to beat a woman black and blue and then suggest reconciling. Dave.”
“I'm sorry. If I hadn't hit you, I'd be dead... What did you say?”
“Guess that must be your name then. Dave?”
Oliver admitted it with silence. It was far too late to deny it now.
“...So you really can read minds.”
“No. But experience sharpens deduction skills. Randa, a black mage who can use magic, unique armor woven tightly from emotions and life force, a quarterstaff, that infuriating way of speaking... If anything, I was slow on the uptake.”
“? Sorry, but you sound like you already know all about me?”
“Not like. I do know. Your reputation's spreading through these circles.”
Oliver tilted his head, utterly baffled. He truly couldn't comprehend it.
Reading his thoughts, Batori kindly explained.
“You killed three underlings and four disciples of the Cannibal Chef, right?”
“Ah... That wasn't intentional. And one of them I just captured alive.”
Oliver declared it boldly, without a shred of falsehood.
It was true he'd killed the Cannibal Chef's disciples, but it had never been his intent. It was an unavoidable accident during the job.
And the last one, Benium, he'd captured alive and handed over to Pinkman without killing.
“Intentional or not, the Cannibal Chef doesn't sweat the details. What matters is you came after him.”
“...Is that so?”
“If anything, it's weird he hasn't come after you yet. He doesn't let anyone who mocks him slide...”
The old Oliver might have said, “Who knows,” or “No idea.” But this time, he narrowed his brows ever so slightly and stared straight at Batori.
As if something struck him as odd and intriguing.
Batori, a skilled black mage herself, picked up on that subtle shift in emotion.
“Staring at a lady's face like that is rude.”
“Ah... Sorry. It's just so strange.”
“And insulting. Calling a woman's face strange.”
“No, that's not what I meant. You're beautiful, Lady Batori.”
Oliver said it just like the angel house waitresses had taught him in a situation like this.
Compliment a woman's looks, no matter what. Pretty or not.
“Oh, thank you.”
“But your emotions are strange.”
“My emotions?”
“Yes. When you mention the Cannibal Chef, it's... complicated and nuanced, somehow.”
Batori fell silent, her expression hardening. Undeterred, Oliver continued like a sommelier appraising wine.
“When you speak of the Cannibal Chef, you exude tremendous hatred.”
Batori's pupils shrank, glaring fiercely at Oliver. But he was too absorbed in analyzing her emotions to stop.
“Unlike ordinary hatred, though, it's not hot—it's cold. Like it's aged, but that makes the grudge seem all the deeper.”
“...Enough. That's plenty.”
“The puzzling part I can't figure out...”
“Stop.”
“...is the longing and affection mixed in with the hatred.”
Fascinated by the peculiar emotion, Oliver ignored her and finished his thought.
Batori's face twisted in profound shame and rage, as if a hated secret had been exposed. And the target of that rage was none other than Oliver.
“...So you and the Cannibal Chef aren't just simple enemies.”
“Didn't I tell you to shut up?”
Batori showed emotional turbulence for the first time.
Veins bulged on her face, and massive fangs grew.
“Sorry. You didn't flinch even when your daughters died, but talking about the Cannibal Chef stirs you up differently, so I got curious... For the record, your daughters truly believed in you and loved you.”
Even amid his terror, Oliver recalled the female black mage who had tried to protect Batori.
Though all her limbs save one arm had burned away, she'd worried for Batori first.
“So what? What do you want?”
“Nothing, really. Just thought you should know. Felt like you needed to hear it.”
Oliver answered honestly, but the response wasn't good.
Batori's usual composure and smile twisted into displeasure and fury.
“Did I... say something wrong?”
Oliver asked apologetically, but Batori ignored him. She seemed done talking.
“I've got a read on your skills. Time to end this. You're no fun.”
Batori gathered magic in one hand and pressed it to the debris.
Vast magic flooded the building remnants in an instant, manipulating their molecular structure. Cement spears erupted from all directions, targeting Oliver.
Gaia school's earth magic, boasting overwhelming physical power.
Before the stone spears could crush him completely, Oliver darted forward, shattering them.
Not just shattering, of course.
The broken spears gained new spells from Oliver and flew at Batori, piercing her.
“Ngh...!!”
“Slipped a bit of Black Suit into the spear tips.”
Oliver closed the distance in a flash as Batori winced unexpectedly.
Now wary of his approach, Batori absorbed surrounding blood into one arm, building power, then swung at Oliver.
[Reremouse]
Bat-shaped blades infused with murderous intent and mana ravage walls, ceiling, and floor.
Killing intent and mana-laden blood from Batori's arm morphed into bat-shaped blades, carving gruesome wounds into walls, ceiling, and floor as they battered Oliver.
The force was so immense it even tore the Black Suit reinforced by the artificial soul, if only slightly.
“Tch.”
The moment a gap appeared, blood tentacles stabbed sharply. Oliver swiftly blocked with his quarterstaff.
He avoided a vital hit, but the momentum pushed Oliver sliding back.
Slash———Boom!!
Oliver crashed into the wall via the blood tentacles. But it didn't end there.
The cement still under Batori's control sucked him in like quicksand and tried interfering with his suit's magic.
It didn't go as easily as she'd hoped.
“Impressive technique. No infiltration at all.”
Oliver replied, his upper body emerging.
“Thanks for the praise.”
“Too bad. If you'd met me just a bit later, you might've been stronger... But that also means you're no match for me yet.”
With those words, Batori hardened the cement lump holding Oliver like steel and cast another spell.
Oliver sensed ominous movement above his head, looked up, and saw killing intent and mana massing beyond the ceiling.
The tangled mass, like mud, began spinning wildly, converging its power to a single point.
Like a drill, a typhoon...
“Oh, that looks seriously dangerous...”
[Impalement]
Massive blood stakes plummet from above, piercing everything.
Batori swept her hand downward with the incantation.
Blood stakes—enough for several people—burst through the ceiling, raining down on Oliver's head.
Even the artificial soul-enhanced Black Suit couldn't block that power.
Batori's fury was palpable.
————Boom!!
The colossal blood stake plummeted, piercing all in its path.
Had it hit, Oliver would've died for sure. If it had hit, that is.
'Made it.'
Instead of shaking off the cement lump, Oliver interfered with its magic and slipped inside, thinking that.
Batori's precise control and structured spells made hijacking tough, but using her own mana, he'd somehow pulled it off.
What a relief.
Failure would've meant eating that last attack head-on.
Oliver planned to escape to safety from here.
“As if.”
Sensing his presence, Batori hurled blood blades at him.
Even with Oliver boosting the cement's density via magic, her blades sliced through like cheese, dragging him out.
“You think you can escape me?!!”
Batori sprouted blood wings on her back and closed the gap instantly.
Oliver swung his quarterstaff in counterattack, but she evaded with astonishing agility, then swung both hands to unleash another bat blade barrage.
Clang-clang-clang!!!
The close-range blade storm shredded the Black Suit and wounded Oliver.
Blood naturally flowed from the wounds, and some was absorbed by the blades, returning to their master.
“Let's have a taste, shall we?”
Batori eyed Oliver's blood hungrily. He extended his hand and incanted.
"[Blood Fire]"
⟨ Blood Fire ⟩
The moment Batori tried tasting Oliver's blood, it exploded, sticky flames erupting and clinging to her face, burning her.
“Kyaaaaaaaagh!!!!”
Caught completely off guard, Batori shrieked in panic.
Better effect than expected.
'Ah... Blood is part of her body, after all. Causing more pain than other attacks might be natural.'
Considering fire magic counters fire best, it made perfect sense.
“Ironic...”
Oliver muttered as he smeared his flowing blood on the quarterstaff's tip and thrust it deep into Batori's abdomen.
The staff burrowed inside. Oliver detonated it.
[Blood Bomb]
Bloody explosion shreds the target from within.
Batori's body shattered in a crimson blast amid the Blood Fire.
Her flesh scattered everywhere, falling silent with the flames.
“That should've... ended it.”
Oliver glanced down at the blood grabbing his ankle.
Intense rage, resentment, and hatred toward him seeped from it.
He tried shaking it off, but it held fast. Looking up, Oliver saw...
“Ah...”
The impaled stake had risen again, firing straight at him.
Oliver blocked with his quarterstaff, but the blood spear pressed relentlessly with its mass, crushing him through the floor to the level below.
Boom!
He lost balance mid-fall, back slamming into the floor below.
Like an ant pinned by a finger. Then, excess blood from the spear tip twisted into human form. Batori.
“I acknowledge you. Among the men I've seen in my three hundred years, you're the second most irritating.”
“...The first being the Cannibal Chef?”
Even in dire straits, Oliver asked. Spot on—Batori's face contorted viciously as she raised the spear to impale him.
Oliver blocked again with the quarterstaff, to no avail.
With the tip blocked, Batori kicked his face and torso nimbly, stomped him, then unleashed a furious roar while swinging fists and claws.
“Kyahahahahaha———!!!”
Batori's emotion-fueled blows were fierce; the already drained Black Suit began cracking.
To add insult, the floor gave way under the pummeling impacts.
Boom——!!
“I want to see your emotions stained with fear, humiliation, hatred.”
Burning for revenge, Batori discarded the spear, coated her body in blood for reinforcement, and attacked again.
The shock collapsed the floor once more.
Boom———!!!
Yet she didn't stop. The floor kept crumbling under the onslaught.
Boom———!!!!
Boom————!!!!
Boom—————!!!!
Eventually, Oliver and Batori returned to the bottommost floor where they'd first met.
Haa... haa... haa...
Winded from the beating, Batori panted. The recipient, Oliver, was far from unscathed.
He'd desperately shielded his face, so the leather mask held, but he'd lost the quarterstaff midway, leaving him bare-handed. The Black Suit was half-destroyed, his vision blurred from impacts, and his body covered in bruises and wounds, reduced to rags.
Batori grabbed Oliver's throat and hoisted him up effortlessly.
“How's it feel?”
“...It hurts.”
Oliver answered flatly. No bluff—truth.
Batori didn't like his unflappability.
This novice black mage, in such straits, neither begged for life nor showed fear...
Unacceptable. Beyond victory or defeat, she wanted payback. To make him feel her rage, hatred, humiliation.
“Hey, know what I gain from blood besides magic, talent, and power?”
“Uh... the person's knowledge and info?”
“Memories, precisely... I'm going to drain every last drop of your blood and kill everyone precious to you. Slowly, painfully. As a tribute to your poker face.”
“...Don't have anyone like that.”
“No family, lover, friends?”
Oliver remained impassive.
An orphan, no lover. Friends...
“...You do, huh?”
Even facing death, Oliver's emotions flickered ever so slightly.
Because he did have a friend. Kant.
Batori savored immense pleasure from that, flashing a sinister smile at Oliver.
“Whoever it is, I'll track him down and kill him. Slaughter his loved ones one by one, kindly telling them it's your fault—then chop off his limbs and my pre—"
—Slash.
Oliver raised his hand sharply.
With it, Batori's arm gripping him severed and fell. His hovering legs touched ground again.
Cold silence descended. Batori slowly eyed Oliver's hand with dazed pupils.
A blade forged from emotion gripped in his fingertips.
“.......”
“.......”
Silent Oliver and Batori.
She staggered back, gripped by primal fear of a superior being. Then.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
Short, concise sounds sharper than any rang out as one arm and two legs floated in the air.
Batori collapsed, limbless on the floor.
Looking down at her, Oliver asked.
“Chop off the limbs... and then what?”