Chapter 17 - Survival Comes First
Survival Comes First
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Survival Comes First
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'What’s this?'
Otto couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
‘I think I just heard something...’
Just then.
- Who’s there.
‘Uh…?’
- Who just coughed.
It wasn’t something he misheard.
It was clear that someone was speaking to him.
“Wh-Who’s there?!”
Otto shouted in fright.
However, the voice speaking to Otto didn’t belong to anyone nearby.
- Who are you that you dare wake me.
“Don’t tell me….”
Otto realized that the mysterious voice was resonating in his mind.
‘Could it be… this mace is speaking to me?’
Even Otto had never imagined such a thing.
[Kaïros’s Punishment]
The mace once wielded in life by the Cannibal Emperor Kairos, infamous as the strongest and most brutal tyrant in history.
Kairos, who was once a monk of the Atropos Order, is said to have used a blunt weapon in accordance with the doctrine that clergy must not wield bladed weapons.
It appears to be heavily infused with the malice of the cannibal emperor Kairos.
Category: Blunt Weapon (Mace)
Rank: Legendary
Durability: 31 / 1,000
Attack: Unknown
Magic Power: Unknown
Additional Effects:
- Unknown
- Unknown
- Unknown
- Unknown
Caution: This item allows one to wield immense power regardless of their stats, but prolonged use may drive the user mad.
Otto had used the [Kairos’s Punishment] item when clearing the [Condor’s Counterattack] event.
However, when playing the game, [Kairos’s Punishment] had never spoken to him.
[Notice: A cold chill washes over you!]
[Notice: A mysterious, sinister energy rises within you!]
[Notice: 'Kairos’s Punishment' bestows upon you a burst of immense power!]
[Notice: Warning!]
[Notice: Five minutes after using the item, 'Kairos’s Punishment' will seize control of your character!]
Only warning messages like the ones above had appeared.
‘So, in the end, the game and reality aren’t exactly the same?’ Otto thought.
It was when he was thinking that.
- Who are you that you have awakened me from my slumber.
“Uh… well, you see….”
- To disturb my rest… I shall never forgive you….
“I…? By any chance… are you Kairos?”
- How dare you!
The mysterious voice roared furiously.
“Argh!”
Otto screamed and grabbed his head as the thunderous voice echoed in his mind.
- How dare a worthless insect like you speak my name?!
“Th-that is...”
- Such a pitiful piece of trash… Good… this is perfect… I’ll use your body as my vessel to return… Kuhuhuhuhuhu…!!!
It was then.
“What are you mumbling about.”
Condor snarled, glaring at Otto.
When Otto suddenly screamed and started mumbling to himself, Condor felt fury boil up at the idea that he was being ignored.
“How dare you act so relaxed with me before you!”
At that moment, Condor lunged at Otto with frightening speed.
“Ahhh!”
Otto leapt away in the nick of time, dodging Condor’s strike.
The unknown voice didn’t matter for now; survival came first.
* * *
And so the duel began.
“Die! You damn bastard!”
Condor drove Otto back with truly terrifying momentum.
“Th... That kind of strength…!”
Camille was startled in fright at the sight of Condor.
Condor had been strong before, but now he was even stronger.
It seemed as though Condor had grown ten times stronger.
Even if Camille were to fight them himself, he felt he couldn’t last even a minute.
Yet, what shocked him even more was not Condor, but Otto.
“Ahhh! Aaaagh!”
“You little rat! How long do you think you can keep running!”
“Gah!”
Otto managed to dodge every one of Condor’s fearsome strikes.
Even if his clumsy, wobbling, rolling movements looked utterly ridiculous.
‘So it really is that mace granting the Lord strength. Without it, there’s no way he could evade Condor’s attacks.’
Otto had poor stamina and would get exhausted even after walking for about 30 minutes.
Not only did Otto show reflexes capable of evading attacks that even Camille couldn’t, but the fact that he didn’t get tired would have been impossible without the mace imbued with magical power.
“Ahhh!”
At the same time, Otto was putting all his strength into avoiding Condor’s strikes.
In fact, when facing Condor in the game, it wasn’t this difficult.
No, it had been far too easy.
Otto de Scuderia, wielding [Kairos’s Punishment], had smashed Condor with such ease.
However, reality differed from the game.
Experiencing it with his own body was a whole different story.
Just because he, Otto, had [Kairos’s Punishment] didn’t mean he could easily defeat Condor.
- You piece of trash!
The cannibal emperor Kairos’s voice berated Otto severely.
- Even with my power, you’re having trouble against such a small fry?!
“Sh-Shut up!”
- You’re utterly pathetic. I’ve never seen anyone as useless as you in my entire life.
“I can’t focus, so just shut up!”
Kairos or not, Otto had enough on his plate.
Dodging Condor’s attacks alone required immense concentration, leaving no room to respond to Kairos’s voice.
- You idiot! Attack! Make an attack! How long do you plan to keep running away!
“You’re telling me… to attack?”
- Are you just going to dodge until he gets tired?! Come on, attack! Strike!
“Ah, forget it! I’ll do it!”
Heeding Kairos’s advice, Otto swung the mace with all his might.
Wham!
The mace hit Condor squarely in the chest with a solid, heavy impact as they charged.
“Argh!”
Condor cried out and toppled over.
“D-Did it… work?”
Otto was dazed, even after seeing Condor fall.
To think he actually landed a hit on that terrifying monster..
- You couldn’t even defeat a trivial foe and struggled! You’re utterly hopeless!
“Sh-Shut up already!”
Otto shouted sharply at Kairos’s voice and then dashed toward the fallen Condor.
‘I can do this. If it worked in the game, it can work in real life too. No fear. Just strike!’
Scoring a counterattack gave Otto a surge of confidence.
“Die! You bastard!”
Otto wildly swung the mace at Condor.
“Gah!”
“W-Was the lord really that strong!”
“Whoa!”
Those observing the duel were astonished at the incredible power Otto demonstrated.
Who could have imagined that someone with seemingly no combat skills could wield that heavy mace as effortlessly as a broom?
“Die, Die!”
“Kraah!”
Condor struggled to find any chance to retaliate against Otto’s relentless attack.
The destructive power of the mace was considerable, but its speed was even faster than most swords, making it difficult to dodge.
“Kruuuugh! Y-you have this kind of strength… Kraah!”
Condor collapsed once again.
- You fool! Is that really all you can do!
Despite this, Kairos was far from satisfied with Otto’s combat ability.
- So frustrating! Absolutely frustrating! With such mediocre skill, you actually dare to wield the mace I treasured!
“Then why don’t you fight yourself if you’re so frustrated!”
- Kuhuhuhuhu!
When Otto shouted in irritation, Kairos let out a sinister laugh.
- Fine. I’ll take matters into my own hands and fight.
“What…?”
- If you give me your body! Kuhuhuhu!
And then, at that very moment.
Ding!
A notification popped up in front of Otto.
[Notice: 1 minute 21 seconds left!]
[Notice: 20 seconds!]
[Notice: 19 seconds!]
Only then did Otto’s face turn pale as he saw the notification window.
He had been so focused on the duel with Condor that he hadn’t realized nearly all of the 5-minute time limit had already passed.
* * *
- I’ll make full use of your pathetic body! Kuhuhuhu!
Kairos began to actively try to take Otto’s body.
“Ugh… Grrrgh!”
Otto struggled to maintain control of his body under the immense force of Kairos’s energy.
In the meantime.
“I will kill you… I’ll make sure of it… Grrrgh!!!”
Condor, now back on his feet, bellowed like a wild beast and lunged at Otto.
Whoooosh!
An immense amount of demonic power was pouring out from Condor.
As Otto’s reckless mace swings endangered him, Condor mustered his last strength and entered a berserk state.
His body had turned fully purple, two horns jutted from his head, and bat-like wings had sprouted from his back.
A complete demonic transformation.
It was evidence that Condor had made a pact with a Demon.
- Kuhuhuhu! Resisting is useless! Consider it an honor to offer even your worthless body to me!
“Krrgh….”
- In the end, you will submit to me..
“Sh.. Shut up….”
Otto mustered every ounce of his will to fight off Kairos’s attempt to seize his body.
Still, he held the mace tightly and faced the charging Condor.
He had only one shot.
If he failed to kill Condor in a single strike, Kairos would seize his body.
‘Focus… I have to focus… Krrgh.’
At that moment.
“Dieee!!!”
Condor lunged at Otto, almost airborne.
‘Now!’
Otto swung the mace, seizing the moment perfectly.
SMAAAACCKKK!!
The mace landed squarely on the side of Condor’s head.
[Notice: Critical!!!]
A critical strike landed.
Luck: 1
Though he had virtually no luck, the goddess of fortune smiled upon Otto this time.
“Graaaaaaagh!”
Condor went down, the left side of his head partially destroyed.
“Ooooooooh!”
“W-Wait… the lord won?”
“Did he really slay the Demon?”
While everyone watching was astonished.
“Krrgh… Gruugh…!!!”
Otto couldn’t even savor the joy of victory.
*Twitch* Swell
Otto's veins throbbed, swelling as if they could burst at any second.
His skin darkened to a purplish hue, just like Condor’s.
*Tremble* Tremble
He could barely move his body.
- Kuhuhuhu! You did well, but your body belongs to me now! Can’t you obediently give it over?!
“Uuuuurrghh…!!!”
Otto was nearly losing his mind trying to fight off Kairos’s attempt to seize his body.
He tried to let go of the mace, but it wouldn’t budge, as if stuck to his hand.
“My lord!”
Camille ran at a terrifying speed.
“C-Camille… th-this… use… this…!”
Otto opened his inventory and tossed something to Camille.
Camille instinctively caught it, his face instantly contorting in surprise.
“W-What is this! Seriously!”
The thing Otto threw… was none other than a fire poker.
The same one he had used last night to roast sweet potatoes in the fireplace.
“Q-Quickly… Hit….”
“Huh…?”
“Quickly… hit… Aaaaaagh!”
Camille, in response to Otto’s desperate shout, swung the fire poker with all his strength, letting fate take its course.
Bam
The fire poker hit Otto squarely on the back of his head.
Splash!
He toppled into a puddle of rainwater.
Plop!
The mace, which had seemed glued to his hand, slipped free and tumbled across the puddle-covered ground.
‘This…!’
Camille was shocked to see a bluish glow coming from the fire poker that had hit Otto’s head.
The fire poker he had used for roasting sweet potatoes turned out to be far from ordinary.