Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Great Escape (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A metallic clang tore through the air.
The two who had clashed leaped back simultaneously.
Thud!
Spera landed after flipping backward like a swallow, grinding her teeth as she growled.
"Hey. Just what the hell are you?"
Spera clutched her wrist.
Her fierce eyes twisted in pain.
Her rigid left hand trembled as if it had smashed into a boulder.
"You're completely different from when we first met. To think you were hiding this kind of power... Ugh."
Spera couldn't hold back the nausea and clamped her hand over her mouth.
The shock from clashing swords with Bran had traveled through her dagger and wrist, shaking her insides.
Monstrous strength that surpassed even Delgato.
If she'd been even a fraction slower in pulling back, her body would've been cleaved in two.
"Pot calling the kettle black."
Bran replied dryly.
He wanted to throw those words right back at her.
From behind him, Kael's shocked voice rang out.
"B-Bran! Your hand...!"
"Don't make a fuss. It's fine."
Bran shook his head without taking his eyes off Spera.
A single dagger was embedded in his left hand.
Blood dripped steadily from the blade tip protruding through the back of his hand.
Semachipool paralysis poison has infiltrated your body.
High mental strength and resistance resist the toxin!
The blade was even coated with paralysis poison.
Fortunately, being a plant-based toxin, he got a resistance bonus.
Since he was standing on the drawbridge instead of the ground, super regeneration wasn't kicking in.
Bran steadied his breathing.
'To think she'd be this fast. Not the boss for nothing.'
She was on another level from the likes of Delgato.
Definitely stronger than the Dementia Serpent.
The level difference shown in the game was just 1, but the actual gap felt insurmountable.
Spera let out a seductive laugh.
"Ahaha, but still, I just can't understand it. Sacrificing your hand for some worthless slave."
"He was worth it."
"Friendship or something? Kids your age sure bond quick."
Spera's gaze turned toward Kael.
Kael, finally grasping the situation, gasped.
"N-No way. You were protecting me...!"
Spera had been aiming for Kael from the start.
The dagger in Bran's hand was one she'd thrown at him.
Kael looked ready to burst into tears, but Bran ignored it.
"Forget the outfield. You're dealing with me."
Bran yanked the dagger from his left hand.
Blood spurted out, but it was bearable enough.
"Haha, sorry, but no can do. I'm taking everything from you."
Smooch. Spera kissed her dagger.
Her eyes curved like crescent moons, but her pupils burned with indescribable rage.
"Petty."
"...Petty? Ha, I'm petty?"
Spera barked a hollow laugh.
She swept back her bangs and jerked her chin toward her back.
"Hey. You still saying that after seeing that?"
The Black Stone Fortress was shattered beyond repair.
Buildings collapsed into the ground, smoke billowing from everywhere.
A tear trailed down one of Spera's cheeks.
"My everything..."
Harmeno burst through the fortress roof, growing like the beanstalk from a fairy tale.
Something he hadn't noticed before—a pig? No, a person?—was impaled at the tip.
Suddenly, Spera's face twisted into a demonic grimace.
"You took my everything! And you have the gall to spout that crap?!"
Her roar unleashed killing intent that pressed down on his shoulders.
Spera reached into her cloak and hurled two new daggers.
Whoosh!!
Like bullets. The speed was hard to even detect, but Bran had experienced this pattern before.
"Hup!"
Predicting the trajectory, Bran swung his longsword.
Clang! The metallic clash sent both daggers flying.
His hands buzzed. A slight misangle, and they'd have pierced his head and gut.
Spera didn't falter and prepped her next throw.
"Not bad! Think you can dodge this one too?!?"
Spera drew new daggers. Her storage capacity was impressive, but time was running out.
He had to end it before Power of the Great Tree wore off.
Without turning, Bran opened his mouth.
"Look ahead."
"...!"
Kael's eyes widened.
It was directed at him.
The meaning was clear.
"Got it!"
This wasn't the time for guilt.
Kael finally tore his eyes from Bran's hand and closed his own.
Whoosh!
A faint glow bloomed over Bran's shoulders.
Faint light of morning blesses you!
Stamina recovers slightly.
Athletic ability greatly enhanced temporarily.
The blood from his hand stopped flowing. Bran's thighs swelled massively.
Boom! He kicked off the drawbridge and charged forward.
"Kuh!"
Spera flinched.
The distance closed faster than expected. Bran pulled back his sword hilt.
The moment Spera urgently leaned back.
Whoosh!
The slashing arc grazed her chest.
"...Brutal."
Cold sweat dripped down Spera's temple.
A sound like from a siege weapon, not a sword.
And with one hand, no less.
"But still too slow."
Yet Spera didn't break. She drew a new dagger from her ankle and dove into Bran's reach.
Slash! The thrust missed, but a short slash cut his side.
"Ngh!"
Bran groaned lowly.
The two began clashing in earnest.
Bran's strikes were each lethal, but Spera dodged or deflected them by a hair's breadth, prolonging the fight.
Clang! Clang!
Metallic rings echoed with every blade clash.
"You! You already killed Delgato, didn't you?!"
Spera suddenly asked.
Her voice was loud amid the melee.
Bran didn't answer, so she continued on her own.
"You did! Good job. That homo bastard and I have the same tastes!"
"What?"
"Guess I can't help it. Even now, damn, you're handsome..."
Not out for sibling revenge, apparently.
Mid-life-or-death, Spera was lewdly stroking her own face.
Bran furrowed his brow.
What the hell was this lunatic saying?
"I'll chop off your limbs and take you! I'll love you every day, so look forward to it. Ahh, what face will you make every time I crush you?!"
"Crazy bitch."
"Your pretty little friend? I'll stuff him alive. Gouge out his eyes for jewelry, feed him preservatives and sand instead of food! Don't worry about your friendship breaking..."
Spera trailed off.
Chills ran up Bran's spine. Instinct blared alarms.
A mad smile crept onto Spera's lips.
"I'll make sure their corpses face each other when I display them!!"
Boom!
Spera leaped high. Her cloak unfurled.
Dozens of daggers glittered inside like starlight.
Black Stone Fortress boss, Spera, activates 'Black Chaos Dance'!
Boss fight courtesy of a warning window.
The moment her fully spread cloak resembled a crow's wings.
Whoosh!
All daggers launched at once, thick black mist pouring from inside the cloak.
Bran bit his lip.
"As expected."
The so-called ultimate move.
A technique unleashing dozens of daggers amid black mist brewed from toxic herbs.
The signature of Black Feather Spera—and the pattern that frustrated countless players.
"Gaaah! B-Bran!"
Kael screamed.
Like a black avalanche bearing down.
Get swept up, and death was certain.
But Bran didn't panic.
"It's fine."
This was the moment he'd been waiting for.
Power of the Great Tree's duration clung on precariously.
Pfft! Pfft!
Daggers surged with the mist, embedding in Bran's body.
"Guh!"
Bran groaned.
Five in total. Pain that brought tears, but no instant death—good enough.
Whoosh...
Morning's light gathered over his empty fist.
Vitality swirling in his body converged.
To land a proper blow.
Releasing his sword, Bran gripped his right wrist with his left.
"Haaah!"
He smashed down on the drawbridge with all his might.
BOOM!
A ferocious golden explosion sank the bridge's center.
"N-No way!"
Spera cried in shock.
Shattering a sturdy bridge meant for armies—with bare hands!
And she was mid-landing after unleashing Black Chaos Dance.
No matter how agile, she couldn't change course in midair.
Bang!
In a flash, a hole pierced the black mist—Bran emerging.
"Ah..."
Spera's eyes widened.
Bran's hand gripped his longsword once more.
Daggers studded across his body, yet he charged without hesitation.
She tried to evade, but he was already upon her.
The instant she crossed her daggers in defense.
CRASH!
The full-force thrust shattered the crossed daggers' intersection.
All three blades broke. A bone-crunching snap echoed inside her.
"Kuhk!"
Consciousness faded. Spera vomited blood.
BOOM!
Her body flew straight into the Black Stone Fortress depths.
"...Cough! Hack! Ahaha! F-Fucking hell!"
Sprawled out, Spera burst into convulsive laughter.
She'd inhaled the hallucinogenic bomb's gas.
The milky cloud had mostly dissipated, but for her near-death state, it was lethal.
"Aha, hehehe, don't make me laugh..."
Spera muttered.
She tried to rise, but couldn't even twitch a limb—let alone breathe properly.
Of course.
Not just Power of the Great Tree, but a Heavy Strike amplified by Morning's Blessing.
A clean slash might've ended her quick; half-blocking had shattered her bones instead.
"...Why? Ahaha, not finishing it?"
But something was off.
Bran hadn't killed her.
He tossed his ruined longsword hilt and descended the drawbridge, supported by Kael.
"Hurry... Kael..."
"B-Bran! Don't die!"
"Not dying... Cough, don't worry."
Bran shook his head.
Each dragging step left blood pouring from his limping leg.
Watching his back, Spera laughed.
"...Ahaha, no strength left to come finish me?"
Made sense, really.
No one could take five venom-coated daggers and stay fine.
What a shame. A few more steps, and he could've killed her.
Suddenly, a dismayed voice echoed nearby.
"My god! Boss Spera!"
"You guys... here...?"
Spera turned her head with effort, eyes bulging.
Thirty-odd bandits rushed over.
Astoundingly, all fully armed.
The leading man urgently supported her.
"We just finished the dispatch mission and returned. What the hell happened?!"
"Why is Harmeno...!"
The bandits gaped.
Too drastic for a few days' absence.
Pure despair.
Yet from the fortress mistress's lips came cheerful laughter.
"Aha. Ahahaha!"
"B-Boss?"
"Heehee, heaven helps me..."
This time, genuine joy.
Heaven pitied her enough to grant one last wish.
Straining, Spera lifted her torso and pointed beyond the gates.
"See those two over there? Heh..."
"Pardon? Ah, yes. We see them."
"Kill them... Hee, kill them now."
"B-Before that, your wounds first..."
"Forget that crap! Go tear them apart now!"
Spera raged.
Her men gulped under the killing intent.
Spitting bloody foam, she continued.
"Heehee! Nothing else matters now... Just kill those bastards... Cough! Hack!"
The truth.
Those two—the root of it all. Kill them, and she'd want for nothing.
Spare her life, and she'd rise again.
"U-Understood. We'll carry out the order."
"Hurry... Heehee, wounds are bad—they won't get far."
"Let's go! One stays to support the boss!"
The bandits prepped pursuit.
A cracked smile formed on Spera's lips.
These were the Crow Bandits' elites.
Catching dying brats would be child's play.
This is why the finish matters.
As Spera opened her mouth for victorious cackling.
BOOOOM-!!!
Something massive crashed onto the ruined drawbridge.
Light flashed.
The moat flipped, waves crashing over the fortress.
An explosive gust shredded clouds and Spera's black mist.
"Kyaaak!"
"Fuck, what is that?!"
"Protect the boss!"
The bandits fell into chaos.
The light faded soon.
The drawbridge was gone without trace.
A massive pillar impaled where it had been.
"...What the hell is that?"
"Fuckin' hell, scared me. A pillar?"
The bandits tilted their heads.
Couldn't guess its purpose.
Long and thick enough for a grand temple.
Ivory surface etched with dense geometric magic circles.
"That's."
Spera's upturned lips froze.
She alone knew it wasn't just a pillar.
"Anchor of Justice."
Watching from afar, Bran coughed blood-laced chuckles.
"Kuhuhu, you're the idiot, Spera."
"B-Bran... What is that?"
Kael asked in a trembling voice.
They'd reached the forest opposite the fortress.
Bran patted his head.
"Watch closely... Cough! Rare sight..."
Regrettable not finishing Spera personally, but no choice.
Escaping on time was miracle enough.
His pocket watch had just ticked past the set time.
Suddenly, an intense beam shot from the pillar.
Flash-!!!
The vertical ray pierced clouds and vanished.
Spera looked up desperately and froze.
"N-No."
A ghostly white airship hovered over Black Stone Fortress.
Its long, sleek hull resembled a sword.
A pair of wing-like sails bore the emperor's crest.
"Ehehe, hehe... How already!"
She'd forgotten momentarily.
The reason she'd nurtured otherworldly horrors to suppress Harmeno's growth.
What happens when that tree breaches the surface.
Bran obsessively checking time flashed in her mind.
"I-Im..."
Spera's face paled.
Shadows leaped from the airship.
A wail like from someone nailed hand and foot erupted from her.
"Imperial Knights!"
The Three Dragon Trees grown beneath heaven belong to the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.
A law those who tread the earth must uphold.