Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Clash with the Ebony Shadows (3)
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Ravi and Lenis stared at the half-mutated forms of Sophia and O'Brien, their faces twisting in disgust.
"That form..."
"It's just like the Vector Baron, isn't it?! Well, a bit more human-like, but still..."
Sophia and O'Brien exuded black energy from their bodies. The tendrils of darkness extended like tentacles, snatching up nearby imperial soldiers and dragging them into the multiple mouths lining their torsos.
As the soldiers were devoured alive amid horrifying sounds, Ravi—her keen rabbit ears folding down over her head—shuddered violently from head to toe.
Sophia and O'Brien looked equally displeased.
"Surviving is great and all, but this is a bit much, don't you think? I don't have a taste for cannibalism. What the hell is this? I can't even control it."
"I'm not into eating people either. It would've been nice to at least keep their heads, but that doesn't seem possible."
The two seemed to recover their stamina with every soldier they consumed.
Panting from the pain of the backlash damage, I forced myself to my feet and glared at the pair, now half-monstrous.
"Huff... huff... You bastards... I knew it, but I didn't expect you'd go this far. So the Underground Vermin have been pulling your strings all this time, behind every atrocity you've committed."
"Underground Vermin? Who's that supposed to be?"
Sophia spoke in a tone dripping with condescension, as if I'd said something utterly idiotic.
It seemed they called the Underground Vermin by a different name. In the first place, "Underground Vermin" was just what Linian had dubbed them, so it made sense that different people used different labels.
"No idea what you're talking about, but from the context, it sounds like you're referring to our clients."
"Ahh~ Calling someone else's clients 'Underground Vermin'? You've got quite the loose tongue, don't you?"
"Huff... I know everything you did in Aldebaran. I know you're deliberately stirring up conflicts at the other fortresses along this border using your mercenaries. And that you came to Libertà to kill Lenis and spark a civil war in the kingdom!"
"So?"
"You've run rampant this long, but that's over now. I'll stop you right here."
"Ha, you can barely stand, you pathetic cripple—spouting off with that mouth of yours."
Sophia openly sneered at me as I struggled to rise, my body trembling.
Ravi and Lenis watched me anxiously and tried to dissuade me.
"Alvis, is your condition acting up again? It's dangerous here. You should fall back."
"I can handle these psycho serial killers on my own, but I don't have the luxury to protect you while fighting! Get out of here—it's too risky!"
"Huff... cough..."
Damn it... My body wouldn't move the way I wanted.
After expending our trump cards, their firepower had weakened significantly. The black tentacles had pierced my abdomen, and Lenis had burned through nearly all her mana. We had little resistance left.
If Sophia and O'Brien recovered their strength and came at us again in that state... the two of them would die.
I'd prevent that bad end event no matter what.
With that resolve, I cranked up the Light Saber's output and called out to the pair.
"Ravi, Lenis. Get out of here."
"What?!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"You two barely have the strength to counterattack, and you've got piercing wounds on top of that. You won't last long with that bleeding. I'll hold them off here. Hurry and retreat—treat your wounds first."
"Alvis, but your condition...!"
They believed my periodic fits of agony were due to some chronic illness, since that's the excuse I'd given them.
"I can handle it. You're in worse shape than me right now. Go—run!"
"A tag-team switch? As if we'd let you!"
Sophia swung her multi-blade sword at Ravi again, targeting her pierced side. This time, not just the blade chains but black tentacles from her body joined the assault.
"Agh!"
Ravi twisted to dodge, but the abdominal wound made her falter. She evaded the sword but the tentacles grazed her skin, leaving gashes all over.
Lenis was in an even worse spot.
Having poured nearly all her mana into her ring's Falling Moon ability, she could barely defend herself, let alone attack.
Clang!
O'Brien's black tentacles shattered Lenis's barrier. Like Ravi, she was grazed, blood flowing from her shoulder.
"Damn it..."
"Honestly, without the measures our clients prepared, I'd be dead by now. As a sign of respect for your skills, miss—even if you've lost the will to fight and try to run, I'll still add you to my collection."
"How... touching. I don't need that kind of consideration!"
Lenis heaved labored breaths, trying to cast a spell, but...
Pffft—
With too little mana left, the magic circle above her wing staff was incomplete. The forced spell fizzled out like a dud, spewing only smoke.
"Die, you ape bitch!"
"Farewell, miss."
As Sophia and O'Brien moved to finish off Ravi and Lenis...
"I told you... you can't touch those two...!!!"
I swung the Light Saber with every ounce of strength I could muster.
The blade of light severed all the incoming tentacles, saving Ravi and Lenis.
But...
Pain like my entire body was being shredded by knives ravaged me, unbearable agony I couldn't compare to the stage 2 torment that had wrung my organs like a dry rag. I couldn't hold back my scream.
"Gah... Kraaaah...! Aaaaagh!!!"
"Alvis!!!"
"Aaaah... Uwaaaagh!! Cough... hack...!"
I couldn't suppress the surge from within and vomited up a massive clot of blood.
"Alvis! You'll make it worse! Hurry to safety..."
"I'm... cough... fine...!"
"Look at yourself! How are you fine?!"
Ravi and Lenis knew my state was far beyond serious and floundered, unsure what to do.
"No tag-team, no evacuation. You're all dying here by our hands."
"I don't know what you know about our clients, but they want it kept secret. Can't leave witnesses like you alive."
Sophia and O'Brien's surprise was fleeting; they prepared to attack again.
But then, light spread from the severed black tentacles on my Light Saber, flowing back along their mutated bodies.
Sensing something wrong, they halted, panicking as they checked themselves.
"W-what the hell is this?!"
"Light? Why is this happening all of a sudden... ugh!"
The indirect damage from the Light Saber, combined with the earlier lethal strikes from Ravi and Lenis, buckled their knees, sending them crashing down.
'Their damage wasn't fully healed!'
Ravi and Lenis's attacks had been beyond what Sophia and O'Brien could endure.
The Underground Vermin had some insurance to prevent instant death, but they were barely clinging to lives they should have lost, sustained by that power.
The Light Saber had severed the black energy maintaining it, and now the original damage was rebounding on them.
"Ravi! Lenis! Now! Kill them!"
Without time to respond, the two prepared their counterattack.
Ravi charged first, kicking Sophia's blackened arm. It crumbled like fragile ash, releasing one multi-blade sword completely.
"Kraaaah! You fucking bitch...!"
Sophia tried to swing her remaining sword with her unmutated arm.
At the same time, Lenis struck the stunned O'Brien. His blackened arm, mid-magic circle, shattered into powder just like Sophia's.
"Guuuugh...! What the...!"
The opening was there, but the pair had too little mana left.
They couldn't finish it off. Meanwhile, Sophia and O'Brien dragged their half-ruined bodies toward them to kill.
Gripping my sanity amid near-death agony, I thought desperately.
If only I could share mana... some power with them...
Screw stage 3 backlash or whatever. Just like when I helped the elves in Arborness, if I could aid them somehow...
Then, new text appeared before my eyes.
"!!!"
Without hesitation, I swung the Light Saber, scattering its energy toward Ravi and Lenis.
Thanks to the healing power gained from defeating the Vector Baron, some of their wounds closed. A faint golden glow enveloped Ravi's knuckles and Lenis's wing staff.
They noticed the change and flinched briefly. In that instant, Sophia and O'Brien prepared their attacks.
"We were one step faster!"
As the pair hesitated, Sophia and O'Brien lunged for their lives.
Reinforcing Ravi and Lenis would be for naught—the Ebony Shadow executives' strikes would hit first.
Krunch—
But just before, thick plant stems and roots erupted from the ground, wrapping around Sophia and O'Brien's limbs and halting their movements.
Looking back in alarm, I saw Elfin on the ramparts, drenched in sweat, on the verge of collapse, gasping raggedly.
"Haa... haa... Don't... haa... touch my comrades..."
Elfin, who had already exhausted herself carrying us all for over an hour, had squeezed out her last reserves despite her unhealed wounds, saving Ravi and Lenis from the crisis.
BOOM!!!
And then, the pair's attacks—infused with a share of the Light Saber's power—struck Sophia and O'Brien's hearts dead-on.