Chapter 85
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: The Fall of Purosange (5)
The knights of the Meursault House raised their weapons.
The rangers of Purosange—no, the undead—gripped their daggers and charged.
But.
[Grraaaaaah...]
They couldn't put up any resistance against the advancing Meursault knights.
Swords and shields covered in silver.
The pale light emanating from the pure silver crushed the undead's unholy aura.
And that wasn't all.
Craaaack! Boom!
The blades and shields, lightly coated in silver, were made of mithril alloy inside.
All the Meursault knights were armed with mithril mined from the abandoned Beauvoir mine.
"Crush them without leaving a single one behind!"
At Soleil's command, the emboldened soldiers followed the knights to suppress the undead.
"Die, you undead scum!"
"You'll pay the price for raising arms against the Meursault House!"
"This is all because you attacked our merchant caravan first—don't blame us!"
Thus, the sun of Purosange was fully setting.
Shedioldis was bewildered by the intense pain surging from her abdomen.
"W-What is this? Why this kind of pain...?"
Pain arose from damage to the body.
Pain this severe meant only one thing.
"The Death Knight has been destroyed? Impossible!"
Shedioldis ground her teeth.
The Death Ranger, created by corrupting Serubret, the patriarch of Purosange, couldn't be destroyed without considerable power.
To completely annihilate it required the strength of at least a 5th Circle knight.
"Federback... that brat's power is only 3rd Circle at best. Even if the Meursault patriarch Soleil himself stepped in, it'd be 4th Circle at most. How...?"
Shedioldis leaned against the wall, sweat pouring down coldly.
Her slit pupils, like a lizard's, narrowed vertically.
"Impossible. This can't be. The Death Knight made from Serubret could single-handedly destroy a castle. If anything, they should've had excess firepower, not lacked it..."
Shedioldis had been absolutely certain that the Meursault House would fall in this operation.
That's why she'd left them alone until Soleil led his knights across the frozen sea onto Purosange lands.
But the situation had completely changed.
She didn't know what happened outside, but the Death Knight had been destroyed.
All the time Shedioldis had spent devouring the Purosange House had turned to bubbles.
"No choice. I have to escape from here."
She hated troublesome things.
Shedioldis had been planning to devour another house to destroy the Meursaults.
"Guess I'll have to find another house. This time, excluding the five northern houses..."
At that moment.
Chill—
Shedioldis felt a cold shiver.
The basement was cold, but not enough to make her tremble.
Yet somehow, the temperature in the space had dropped far lower than before.
"What?"
Shedioldis looked up.
What entered her eyes was...
...Crack!
Icicles hanging from the ceiling, and frost whitening the walls.
"W-What? Why is there ice here...?"
Shedioldis backed away, unaware of the white breath escaping her mouth.
And then.
"Finally, face to face."
She came face-to-face with a boy descending the basement stairs.
Snow-white hair like frost had settled on it, and blood-red eyes peeking through.
Shedioldis's eyes narrowed.
"Blood Lily Duke. An honor to meet you again."
"What's the point of human etiquette when you're in monster form?"
"Hohoho—fair enough."
Shedioldis burst into laughter at Federback's retort.
Soon after, she shed the black robe covering her body.
Lizard scales visible beneath indigo-purple hair.
She had the appearance of a lizard and human fused halfway.
Federback said,
"You've worked hard day and night for the Demon King's revival."
"!"
Shedioldis's eyes widened in shock.
She bared her sharp teeth and asked,
"As I thought. You knew. That's why you acted without caring about public opinion at all."
"When humanity's on the brink of annihilation, who cares about public sentiment or whatever? Better to unify them quickly."
"Your words and actions make you seem inhuman too. Are you a demonkin?"
"I'm human."
"Don't lie. No human that age is as strong as you. Nor acts like you."
"Not here to convince you."
Federback drew the Dragon Fang Sword 'Adara' from his waist.
He then positioned the Dragon Scale Shield 'Yeokrin' to guard his body.
A clear battle stance.
Shedioldis extended her hand claws like longsword blades.
Graaaawrl!
Ten claws scraped the wall, sparking.
The grotesque limbs, existing solely to rend flesh and blood, lunged at Federback.
Clang—!
Federback blocked Shedioldis's right claws with his shield.
He then thrust low with his sword toward her abdomen.
...Clink!
But Federback's blade was stopped by Shedioldis's scales.
The composite scales covering her skin were hard enough to deflect even a dragon's fang.
"Hohoho—too bad. My body is quite sturdy."
"I see."
Federback prodded her body several times before quickly giving up.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Shedioldis kept slashing with her claws.
But she too couldn't pierce Federback's shield.
"Damn, that's tough. What is it made of?"
"Ice Dragon's reverse scale."
"Where'd you get that? You didn't hunt it yourself, did you?"
"Think what you want."
The tip of Federback's sword aimed for Shedioldis's eyeball.
But she arched her waist to the left, dodging the slash.
"Hoho—I figured you'd target soft spots since you can't pierce the scales."
Suddenly, a tail extended from her groin.
Federback hastily raised his shield, but couldn't block the tail already at his side.
Thud—!
With the sound of ribs cracking, Federback was pushed back.
Shedioldis wrapped her tail around Federback's waist and yanked.
"Hohoho—got you, you insolent brat. I bet my tongue you're demonkin, not human. A dissection will prove it... Huh?"
Her eyes rounded suddenly.
"D-Doesn't it hurt?"
Federback's expression, dragged by the tail, was as calm as ever.
Then, his mouth opened.
"Why use your tail there? Bouncing your waist for a breath attack or slashing upward with your left claws would've been more effective."
"G-Giving advice now? Whether I breathe fire, slash, or whip my tail—what's it to you?"
"It matters. Forcing a tail attack after twisting your waist left is unnatural."
Federback's gaze went to Shedioldis's left side.
"Something stuck there?"
"!"
Shedioldis had no time to react.
Federback stomped the floor with his boot heel.
Sproing—!
A silver awl shot from the boot's toe.
Whoosh—Thwack!
Federback's kick precisely struck Shedioldis's left side.
It was the spot where Washado's silver dagger—the last ranger of Purosange—had been buried to the hilt.
"Gaaaaaaaah!?"
Shedioldis dropped Federback from the pain surging from her left side.
Washado's silver dagger was driven even deeper by the awl on Federback's boot.
Federback, who had pierced the dagger's hilt dead center, nodded.
"As I thought. Something was stuck there. No wonder your movements were off."
"G-Guh... You... with broken ribs, how...?"
"My ribs are broken? Oh, this?"
At Shedioldis's words, Federback raised one arm.
Hidden beneath his cloak were several thick icicles.
"During fights, these keep forming on my body surface. Sometimes they act like armor."
Federback snapped off one icicle.
"Breaking one makes a sound just like cracking ribs."
"Y-You... you...!"
Shedioldis ground her teeth furiously.
Federback gripped his sword in reverse grip.
"I don't know who wounded you, but that'll be the key to your death."
"Shut uuuup!"
Shedioldis thrust her claws.
Federback raised his shield.
"Got you all figured out. You're nothing special."
At the same time, the shield flew through the air.
Spinning, its square edge slammed into the center of Shedioldis's forehead.
"Guhk!?"
The shield's edge burrowed into her skull, blanking her mind for a moment.
That instant was fatal.
Federback closed the distance in a flash and thrust Dragon Fang Sword Adara into her left side.
"Gaaaaaaah!"
The blade piercing her side destroyed Shedioldis's heart precisely.
Federback shrugged.
"Six hearts, huh."
So he thrust six times.
Stab—stab—stab—stab—stab—
Stab, withdraw, stab, withdraw, repeating five times in rapid succession.
All six hearts destroyed in an instant, Shedioldis vomited purple blood.
"Gaaaaaaah!?"
She rolled on the floor.
Then, clawing the stone with her nails, she lamented.
"Mom... Dad... Sorry... I wanted to fulfill the vow... and revive you... Forgive your worthless daughter..."
Then, Federback grabbed her hair and yanked her head back.
"Save the sob story. Not buying it."
Her throat exposed, taut.
The Dragon Fang Sword's blade sliced cleanly across it.
Spluuurt!
Purple blood sprayed with tremendous force.
Federback shrugged at Shedioldis, who gurgled without even screaming.
"Do bad things, you die. Why the excuses?"
Soon, Shedioldis's body slumped onto the cold stone floor.
"Huuuuh..."
Even in her final moments, she thrashed.
Her gaping mouth unleashed her tongue, severed.
Like a black thread serpent, it wriggled toward a floor crack.
Crunch—!
But Federback's boot crushed it into paste.
"Dragging this out to catch you was getting tiresome. Let's end it for good."
Federback poured oil over Shedioldis's corpse and set it ablaze.
Only after confirming everything reduced to ash did he nod.
"That ends the Purosange saga."
A clean finish, no loose ends or aftermath.