Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: A Past Connection (2)
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I couldn’t let these things out into the world. Humans steeped in demonic energy. What kind of madness was this?
It made me wonder what the hell the Empire was trying to accomplish. What could possibly drive them to fall so far, to commit acts that could no longer be called human?
And that portal. It was incredibly unsettling. The way it was constantly growing in size made it clear that it was on the verge of activating.
I didn’t know where that portal led. But if it opened, something could come through from the other side and make the situation even worse.
I had to take them down before that happened. Time attack! My deadline was before that portal opened.
I kicked off the wall, leaping over the tank and the swordsman, and landed right in front of the mage.
First, the mage! In any fight, you take out the ranged units first. They’re a pain in the ass when they chip away at you from a distance.
Their expressions were unnervingly blank. Their emotions had probably been stripped away. They were literally just human shells. Nothing more than puppets. Or maybe jiangshi?
*Crack—!*
My spiritual power-infused fist slammed into the shield, shattering it like glass.
*Clang—*
Dodge—!
I parried the sword of the swordsman who rushed me from behind, then kicked him in the stomach. Then I hurled a nearby rock at the tank.
It was all part of the process to smash that mage’s skull.
“Dammit, they’re just monsters.”
Even attacks that would make any normal human flinch or hesitate were parried as they charged at me like robots.
Holy shit, you’d think they were T-1000s.
I ducked under a fireball that shot from the mage’s fingertips and went for a full swing with the crowbar—!
*Thwack—!*
“Haa…”
Tough. They were fucking tough. What in the world had they done to their bodies?
I had swung the crowbar with the intent of breaking the arm he raised to defend himself and then cracking his skull.
But in reality, all it did was leave his arm dangling brokenly; it never even reached his head.
“Ah! That’s cheating.”
The wound was only temporary. Demonic energy was released like steam, and his broken arm slowly began to reform.
It’s like they have a damn healing factor!
*Grit—*
I tightened my grip on the crowbar. It was looking more and more like this would be a battle of attrition.
Still, it really hits you how much things have changed. To think that I would be fighting against creatures like these. And such insanely strong ones at that.
This was only possible because of who I was now. That’s why I had absolutely no desire to back down.
Retreating is also a habit.
You know how villains in comics always say, “Next time will be different!” or “Just you wait!” when they get beaten and run away?
It’s all a habit. They’re always looking for a way out, so they just keep making excuses to retreat.
But I don’t want to be like that. I know I’ll face countless crises in the future. The enemy in front of me right now is no pushover, either.
Of course, I’ll keep growing stronger, but to charge in again only after I’ve gotten stronger? That’s just an excuse.
Who knows when, where, how, or what kind of enemies I’ll run into? It’s not like I can always pick fights with weaker opponents.
So, am I just going to run away every time, always aiming for ‘next time’?
There’s no guarantee that as I get stronger, even stronger enemies won’t appear.
Yeah, just like now.
The moment I thought I’d gotten a bit stronger, I ran into these guys.
I shouldn’t forget. In my past life, if we’re talking Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I was a character with a martial prowess of about 1. A measly 1.
Of course, now I’m Lu Bu with a martial prowess of 99! Or maybe Lu Bu just starting to learn his weapons?
*Clang—!*
I parried the incoming sword. I spun my body, swinging the now-broken blade.
The tank stepped back and corrected its posture.
There was no hesitation. Hesitation was a luxury, one that would invite a life-threatening counterattack.
The droning hum of the portal no longer registered in my ears.
My surroundings blurred as if out of focus, and the center of my vision was filled only with their movements.
Their next moves began to form in my mind.
Upper right, a thrust. The tank follows up with a horizontal slash.
It was a truly rare experience to have the movements of all three imprinted in my mind simultaneously, their actions predicted.
A headache throbbed, but I was so deep in a trance-like state that I couldn’t even feel the pain.
Not a single shout or word could be heard in the battlefield.
There was only the drone of the portal, the clash of steel on steel, the explosion of magic, and the sound of ragged breaths.
“Hoo-wook. Hoo-wook.”
Ragged breaths escaped my lips nonstop, and my entire body was drenched in sweat. My stamina was definitely lacking.
To be this out of breath after a fight of this level.
If this were a game, how much of their HP had I chipped away?
10%? 20%?
Could I really finish this fight before that portal opened?
Ha, why is there no easy path in life? Not a single one.
***
“Hanna Shaw!”
As Hanna stood before the collapsed, dirt-covered entrance, clutching Anya and anxiously tapping her foot, a voice filled with fury called out from behind her.
“Mom!”
Pain and anger. Worry and relief. A voice mixed with all sorts of emotions.
Only then did Hanna’s heart calm, and her legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Hanna Shaw! You didn’t listen to me! What are you doing here! And all by yourself!”
“Ack—! Mom! People are watching! My butt! Not my butt! Ack—!”
Haveron took Anya from Hanna's arms, and thick tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Anya! Anya!”
Haveron carefully poured the potion he had received from some unknown person into Anya’s mouth.
Anyone else might have cried out, “Such an expensive potion!” but to Haveron, Anya was more precious than anything else in the world.
“And what on earth happened at the entrance… Did you do all this? It doesn’t look like you did. Did you come here with someone?”
At her mother’s question, Hanna seemed to remember and pointed at the blocked tunnel.
“In there! They’re fighting in there!”
Though her words were missing a lot of context, the urgency in her voice was enough to piece together the situation.
“Dig out the tunnel!”
Following Hattie Shaw’s command, the subordinates who had come with her quickly began to clear the collapsed entrance.
As they dug, the noise from inside traveled through the piles of dirt.
The sounds of battle. The incessant, chilling screams of something crashing.
“Stand back!”
Hattie Shaw shouted urgently as the hole grew larger.
A thick cloud of demonic energy was seeping out of the small opening.
“Dammit all. Such dense demonic energy. What in the world is this place?”
At this concentration, the demonic energy would not only fill the tunnel but would also affect the human body in an instant.
Hattie Shaw’s voice was coarse as she scattered the demonic energy. Even if it was a temporary measure, the goal was to buy some time.
She had already been horrified on the way here, seeing barrels filled with dreadful demonic energy strewn all over the place.
Who was the person fighting in that demonic energy? Who could possibly be fighting, unaffected, in the midst of it all?
Anyone of a decent level would have been affected by that concentration long ago.
And to do it all to save someone from this forsaken District 13.
Why were they fighting so hard in this place devoid of dreams and hope?
She grew more and more curious.
***
“Kugh—”
A groan I couldn’t swallow escaped my lips as I took a blow to the chest.
These things were fighting machines. Literally machines. Their only purpose was the annihilation of the enemy. I was curious as to how their thought processes even worked.
They’re like damn Daleks. And if they’re Daleks, I need to call the Doctor.
*Screeeech—*
With the sound of scraping metal, I slammed the swordsman against the wall.
This demonic energy. It was more than just a nuisance. They were already enhanced humans, and the demonic energy was definitively closing the gap in our physical strength.
“Keuk—!”
I parried the swordsman’s blade, my own sword scraping down his shoulder.
As he tried to dodge, the claw of the crowbar, shaped like a crow’s head, caught on a hose on his shoulder and tore it out, along with a chunk of skin.
*Pshhhhhh—*
Demonic energy sprayed from the hose, splattering everywhere.
“Kieeeeeeek—”
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the mouth of the thing that hadn’t even groaned once before.
“Huh?”
It writhed in pain. The flesh on its skin was visibly dying.
That demonic energy. Yes, that demonic energy was supplied throughout its body, creating a body like that.
That’s it!
I had thought they were just respirators for those things.
Knowing a weakness and exploiting it were two different things, but still, this meant I could take them down, right?
“Phase three, you bastards.”
I readjusted my grip on the crowbar, positioning the claw to properly tear out those hoses.
I’ll show you the true greatness of the crowbar.
They weren’t idiots, either. They lowered their stances, the tank taking the lead with its shield held firm.
A posture that made it difficult to see the demonic energy hoses plastered all over its body.
But did that mean I couldn’t get to the hoses? Weaknesses are meant to be exploited.
The pattern of the battle changed completely. I threw out bait, and when an opponent showed an opening, I dove in.
As another hose got caught on the crowbar and was destroyed, they shrieked. A scream like fingernails on a chalkboard.
The demonic energy spewing from the hoses had already filled the cavern. The spiritual power in my body was working frantically to fend it off.
Thanks to that, my regeneration had slowed, and the wounds on my body weren’t healing easily. My breath was caught in my throat, and blood dripped from various spots on my body onto the floor.
They weren’t in good shape either. Their healing factor seemed to have its limits, as I could see blood mixed with demonic energy flowing from their severed limbs.
The end of the battle was in sight.
Besides, the mage had long since left the battlefield. That must mean its mana had its limits, too.
After slinging spells that frantically.
“Let’s just end this, please.”
I charged at the swordsman again, intentionally creating an opening, hoping he would take the bait.
The mage was out. The tank was focused solely on defense. If I could just take out the swordsman, the difficulty would drop significantly.
Yes—! Take it!
The creature’s blade tore violently into the opening I had artificially created, and a fountain of blood erupted from my side.
Strength drained from my hand, and the crowbar fell to the floor.
As if it were the victor, the creature arrogantly raised its sword.
“Psych! You dumbass!”
*Grit—*
I spread my legs wide, planting my feet and tightening my thighs to catch my falling body.
My core muscles screamed as they were wrung tight. A hammer from my inventory appeared in my hand.
*Whoosh—!*
From my hand gripping the hammer, through my wrist and elbow, all the way to my shoulder.
Every muscle in what could be called an arm swelled, and with a strength I might never muster again, I swung the hammer up toward the creature’s chin.
*Splat—!*
Blood splattered before my eyes as the hammer met flesh and bone, sending bits of flesh and bone fragments flying everywhere.
“Haak… haak…”
*Never retreat, never stand by in the face of evil.*
The phrase I had heard in the Venatio ruins surfaced in Kratos’s mind.
Countless motes of light burst forth and were absorbed.
[Dexterity has increased by 1.]
[Annihilate Evil has increased by 3%.]
A dizzying array of notifications sounded in my ear.
My Annihilate Evil stat had gone up by a whole 3% just for taking down one guy steeped in demonic energy. How generous of you.
But hey, System, the fight’s not over yet.
All that was left was the tank and the mage who couldn’t use magic. A piece of cake.
Besides, my Annihilate Evil was now at 3.7. This wasn’t a game, so I couldn’t quantify it, but didn’t it mean that if I dealt 100 damage, an extra 3.7 damage would be added?
Probably. Though you couldn’t really quantify damage in reality.
“Brace yourselves, you bastards.”
I coated my fists with the last dregs of my spiritual power and charged at the tank, who had its shield raised.
***
After shattering the shield with my spiritual power-infused fist, the cleanup was relatively easy.
“Hooah—”
All the strength left my body, and I collapsed onto the floor. I was tired. So damn tired.
I was still far too weak. To struggle so much against enemies like these.
But there was still work to be done. Amidst the thick demonic energy, the portal had grown in size and stabilized.
The droning noise was also quieting down, which meant the portal would likely open completely soon.
“Let’s see… do I have any of these left? Ah. Just one.”
I had exactly one of the high-capacity explosive artifacts I’d used to blow up the Imperial Palace spire.
I wedged the bomb between their corpses, stacked two of them together, and hurled them through the portal.
“Adios, you damn bastards.”