Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: 7. Monster
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Judgment was instantaneous. Action was even faster.
Before my head could even think, driven by instinct, Leonidas's sword moved.
My arm was shredded into tiny pieces. Not a single chunk of flesh remained intact—it liquefied completely.
I immediately kicked off the ground with my feet and retreated backward.
I drew another new sword.
Taking some axis as our pivot, Leonidas and I began circling each other.
"You were playing dead and ambushed me from hiding? No. That's impossible. You definitely died instantly."
Leonidas stared at me.
"Who are you?"
"For the sake of God, offer the Emperor's neck to Him."
With that short reply, I charged at Leonidas.
One foot forward, twisting my body sharply to hide the sword behind my back.
The world's colors faded as a diagonal upward slash concealed its trajectory clashed with Leonidas's downward strike.
The result came first.
My upward slash shattered, and the fragments scattered everywhere, embedding into my body.
A metal shard pierced my left eye. The lens mixed with blood and flowed out.
A beat later, thunder roared.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!
A earth-shaking boom rang out along with a shockwave exploding in a ring.
"...Corpse Manipulation. You control the person you killed? So there was no external manipulator after all. You've been here from the start."
The café building collapsed.
I shed bloody tears, while Leonidas sweated stones.
A black-and-white world. The two sides of a coin. Our world.
In a realm where even color couldn't keep up, we exchanged thoughts.
"The higher-ups blabbered on about manipulation magic or black magic. But it seems none of that is right. It's not external control—it's internal manipulation."
"..."
"Impressive. It makes sense as a deception for a resurrection ability. What I killed wasn't the Cult Leader but the corpse you're controlling. That explains the leeway now."
The world crumbled.
"Then let's test the limits of that ability."
The two silhouettes accelerated, stepping over the falling debris.
From points to lines, lines to streaks—our forms raced through Eisenheim's bustling streets.
Leonidas and I crossed swords and brushed past each other.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
The belated wind gust engulfed the pedestrians.
Super high-speed combat too fast for the eye to follow.
Each step covered dozens of meters like a broad jump, each swing butchering dozens.
I killed people, Leonidas destroyed corpses.
Lead and follow.
Between the cycle-like links, sword strikes beyond cognition clashed.
'Arm. Leg. Neck. Upper body. Lower body. Left half. Right half.'
I drew deliberate dividing lines on the corpses I killed.
To see what body I would control next after being killed.
And what reaction would occur when controlling that body.
'Abnormally desensitized to murder. Born close to evil.'
While running, I kicked off the ground and launched my body into the air.
Body horizontal, twisting in midair. Five rotations. Followed by a barrage.
Kagagagagang!!
Leonidas blocked the dozens of thrusts, parried them, and closed in.
He unleashed a heavy blow crushing both sword and flesh.
The greatsword's strike shattered the blocking blade and bisected the body.
My spine severed, reaction speed died, and cognition-transcending swordplay mangled the flesh.
Possessing another corpse amid the liquefied chunks.
A torso with the right arm severed.
'Regenerate.'
A normal person's body. Awakening latent potential to mana activation: 0.02 seconds.
Regenerating the right arm with regeneration ritual: 0.3 seconds.
I poured all mana and vitality into body reinforcement.
While charging, I drew a weapon from sub-space. Not a sword this time.
Lannachal.
I deflected the greatsword, pressed it down, and thrust.
Not a line but a point. A distorted blow crushing space itself hurtled like a bullet.
Pababababang!!
The moment of thrust, space crumpled in a circle.
The glancing spear grazed Leonidas's neck, tearing off flesh.
Leonidas clutched his throat and retreated.
"...Regenerating the body means severing limbs on a corpse is pointless. But when the spine was cut, reaction speed died, so it's clearly affected by the body's condition."
I checked my body's state. Blood poured from my torn hand.
Limbs mangled. The subtle lag in response meant ligaments or bones were damaged for sure.
'Headache and dizziness. Brain damage too.'
Blood dripped from my nose.
Plop! Plip plip plop!
Explosions and screams echoed behind us. Aftermath of the battle.
Keeping my eyes fixed on Leonidas, I gripped the weapon harder.
Crack!
The spear shaft snapped like a tree branch. The blade was already torn.
"Cough! Cough! What... what the hell is going on...!"
A soldier in armor burst out from inside the collapsed building.
Leonidas's and my gazes crossed.
'Can't pull a corpse from sub-space. The moment I do, it'll be shredded whole. Can't use large-scale techniques either, or using civilians as shields won't work.'
'Everything so far used normal bodies. Despite the experience gap forcibly closing the margin. If he controls a trained body, it'll be even more dangerous.'
Then—
'Blind his vision.'
'Strike first.'
Leonidas and I swung our weapons simultaneously.
Ella escaped the city and reached the forest.
Broker's wooden puppet perched on a tree, overlooking the city.
"Th-that's..."
[We're surrounded. The Imperial Army has completely sealed off Eisenheim.]
Broker's voice was sharper than usual.
"Then we..."
[Hide for now. If you go back into the city, you'll die in the battle's aftermath.]
Broker raised the puppet's hand, pointing toward the city.
[See that?]
Ella looked where indicated. A massive golden net stretched across the city skies.
At the net's edges, enormous magic circles glimmered, occasionally sparking with purple lightning.
[Isolation barrier. It blocks everything in or out, and keeps internal events from leaking outside.]
Broker paused briefly.
[The barrier minimizes battle shockwaves while preventing info leaks. Sending only Leonidas inside is for the same reason.]
"Info... leaks?"
[Yeah. They plan to wipe out everyone inside. 'Swept up in the aftermath' is more accurate.]
Ella's breath caught.
"Then... the people in there...?"
[I told you. They all die.]
Instead of explaining more, Broker circulated mana.
An observation ritual linked to the internal puppets.
A circular magic circle expanded with unknown symbols.
A screen appeared. The puppet's view capturing the Cult Leader and Leonidas.
Something streaked by, but Ella couldn't make out its form.
"Wh-what...?"
[Leonidas and the Cult Leader. Moving at extreme speeds.]
The wooden puppet moved its stubby arm to zoom and pause the screen.
The frame froze.
The Cult Leader gripped a sword in one hand.
A greatsword without clear form twisted bizarrely, aimed at the Cult Leader's own neck.
The puppet, confirming the Cult Leader's face, tilted its head.
[Who the hell is this? Oh, an Eisenheim citizen. Already switched bodies over ten times.]
"Sw-switched?"
[You know this already. That bastard can hijack dead bodies.]
Over ten times. Ella's heart sank at those words.
Didn't that mean he'd killed at least ten more people?
The screen continued. Now from another puppet's view.
It showed the battle between Leonidas and the Cult Leader frame by frame.
Even so, it was hard to see. A scene straight out of another world.
[This is the direction you need to head. Battles between Domain seers feel exactly like this.]
Ella watched the Cult Leader switch bodies repeatedly.
Unyielding even in death, calmly hijacking another body to attack Leonidas.
Not a hint of hesitation in the process.
"It wasn't... a lie after all."
The bastard switches to another body upon death.
'Then my revenge...?'
Ella had thought revenge meant killing the target.
But this bastard doesn't die. Doesn't fear death.
A monster.
'Can I even take revenge on him?'
Ella ground her teeth.
'No. I will. Even if he's an undying monster, I definitely will.'
If I can't kill him, I'll find a way to kill him.
[If you're strong, you can do anything.]
Yeah.
To find it, I must first surpass that bastard.
Ella burned the Cult Leader and Leonidas's battle into her eyes.
That was the path she had to follow.
Whether killing the bastard for revenge or another way, Ella inevitably had to reach that level.
'To realize what I want, I need to get strong first. If I'm weak, all I can do is get done in. Making that bastard pay is impossible if I'm weak.'
Watching others die was painful.
But she endured it.
Because dying without choice due to weakness was even more agonizing.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!
A massive explosion erupted from the city.
Power enough to crack the barrier. The aftermath reached even here.
[My puppets...!]
All screens went dark at once. Every puppet annihilated in an instant.