Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Starry Sky at Night is Said to be the Tears of the Gods (2)
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A magical beast suddenly charged at us out of nowhere. The moment I tried to dodge—
A grotesque *thud* and *crunch* echoed as the beast collapsed. A round, pitch-black head poked out from between its split carcass.
"Master."
It was Pippin.
His calm voice drew a hollow laugh from me. Staying composed in a situation like this was a talent in itself.
Pippin shook off his saw, standing atop the beast's corpse. The blade, tangled with chunks of flesh, was a tattered mess.
"Did I keep you waiting long?"
Pippin spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and grinned.
"I didn't notice the time passing."
Pippin raised his saw and pointed off into the distance.
"We haven't settled things yet, though."
There, in the direction Pippin indicated, was Lecrophadas's true form.
"Woooong— wooooooong—"
Lecrophadas's cry resembled a foghorn or the vibration of a trumpet. It was an oddly subtle resonance for a monster's roar.
Its mottled form vaguely resembled a puppy, with large, round eyes. It was about the size of a buck, with three pairs of wings. The wings were fully spread and flapping—a gesture meant to intimidate, in its own way. A row of sharp spines protruded along its long, thick tail.
"Woooooong!"
No matter how you looked at it, the thing seemed terrified. It kept its eyes fixed on Pippin, flailing its stubby forelegs in a continuous threat display. With each wail, the demonic energy I'd felt earlier radiated outward.
I couldn't believe this pathetic, cute lizard had conjured that horrifying, fearsome monster illusion.
With Pippin's skill, he should have decapitated it in one go.
The reason Pippin was struggling was probably the same as mine earlier.
"Pippin. What are you seeing right now? Describe the monster in front of you."
"......"
Pippin hesitated to speak. Instead, he backed toward me. His arms were trembling.
Pippin was scared too. I grabbed his shoulder. He breathed raggedly and pressed closer to me, as if pleading for help.
"Master. The thing you're talking about... is it really a monster?"
"What?"
"Just one?"
I looked around. Burst garden jaws littered the ground here and there, with more magical beasts endlessly crawling out from their maws.
They varied in appearance, size, and ability, but none seemed like they could trouble Pippin. There were more corpses Pippin had already mangled than new beasts emerging.
"Does that include the ones popping out of the ground?"
"No. Those are no problem. I could kill them barehanded. But what I've been fighting... it's..."
"Your enemy is just one. A single terrified lizard. About the size of a person, with wings, but too scared to fly away. It's a hallucination-type magical beast. The monster you're seeing isn't real. It's just an illusion it's creating. No need to be afraid."
"Ah... Really?"
"Believe me."
Pippin's jaw trembled as if chattering, then he grinned ear to ear. That expression was straight out of a berserker. He was still just a young boy, but the sight sent a chill through me worse than any ghost.
"What the hell are you seeing, anyway?"
Pippin laughed silently before choking out the words.
"I see Sis."
"...Sis? Phoibe?"
"And Mom, Dad, and even Master too."
Pippin's voice shook. It was unstable, laced more with hesitation than rage.
"They're all in gruesome states. Like when they died... I don't even want to describe it. Honestly, I wanted to run. Because if our eyes met, what if they recognized me? What if it was real..."
"Pippin."
"So I couldn't fight properly. I'm sorry. I thought I'd wrap it up quick and get praise from you, Master, but I've never killed a person before... Never killed the dead again either..."
"Don't fall for it. It's an illusion."
His innocence was both Pippin's strength and weakness.
"I know, but my body won't move. I'm sorry..."
I gripped Pippin's shoulder hard. I wanted him to know I had his back.
"Close your eyes and focus on your senses. You can read killing intent—you can do this. It's just one lizard."
"Yes."
"Don't be fooled by what you see. Sense it."
Pippin couldn't use the Black Eyes skill, so closing his eyes was better. I'd learned from Kaku earlier: fall for the hallucination, and it hits like the real thing.
Don't look. Don't be deceived. Feel it with your animal instincts.
Pippin could win blindfolded.
"It's called Lecrophadas, the dragon of hallucinations. It's panicked because it's scared of you. Doesn't look like it'll attack us. Don't read its killing intent."
Lecrophadas kept its gaze locked on us as it opened its mouth. The instrument-like *woong, woong* grew higher in pitch. Its steps were clumsy.
It was like a kitten peacefully napping, suddenly dropped into a battlefield. It wanted to flee but was too flustered to move properly.
"Read its fear."
The instant I finished speaking, Pippin charged. He practically flew. Straight at Lecrophadas, without a hint of hesitation. My hunch was right. Block sight, and Pippin could pinpoint the enemy's true form like a ghost.
"This guy's seriously impressive."
*Whish, whoosh!* Pippin swung his saw without restraint. His charge rivaled a rhino.
Lecrophadas flapped its wings and dodged nimbly. Its cries grew more pitiful, its frantic flailing downright pitiable.
The three pairs of wings fluttered wildly. If it flew off, we'd be in trouble. Ideally, Pippin would kill it so we could capture the spirit.
"Pippin! Quit fumbling and kill it!"
"Yes!"
Impressive for fighting blind, but Pippin had limits.
New magical beasts kept bursting from the garden jaw corpses. One sudden obstacle tripped him up. With all focus on Lecrophadas, ignoring every hurdle was impossible.
Lecrophadas was fleeing for its life too. Right now just panicked scrambling, but who knew when it'd snap out of it.
The saw would graze, and the prey would bolt. He'd line up the neck shot, only to snag on a beast corpse. Rinse and repeat.
Watching Pippin trip and roll over jaws and beasts, I figured the hunt would take ten years at this rate.
"Sugar. Have your minions chew off Lecrophadas's wings."
[Sugar Lord's decree: Time to prove your loyalty.]
Sugar Lord waved its antennae in signal. Ant spirits swarmed toward Lecrophadas like black smoke rushing a dragon.
Pippin dodged the spirits with animal senses as he moved. Like with Veridis, he sensed them as my aura.
The spirits latched onto Lecrophadas in seconds. The beast wailed as wings were stripped to pale bone frames where spirits grazed. Lecrophadas slowed, letting Pippin target more swiftly and precisely.
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Name: Pippin
Class: Berserker
Personality: Rage - Accuracy decreases, but gains constant attack power boost
Trait: Confirmation Kill - Final blow always critically succeeds
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Maybe due to the personality effect, his accuracy was definitely low. But considering his track record slaughtering beasts, it was different.
A personality that lowers accuracy but boosts attack power. Perfect synergy for the already brutally strong Pippin.
You could tell from the butchered beasts. Clean kills to vitals. Pippin had one-shot every beast so far. First strike was final strike.
Lecrophadas seemed no different. One solid hit, and Pippin wins.
No need to worsen his already low accuracy further. Time to clear ground obstacles. No need for me to grab a broom that wasn't there.
"Hey, Manhole! Those beasts scattered on the floor..."
I glanced at the Door of Death. It froze mid-mumble, eyeing me warily. Multiple eyeballs tilted, showing only whites. A beast bone *clunked* from its mouth to the ground. A broad purple tongue flicked out, licking traces clean. The *smack smack* of savoring echoed loudly.
"...You're already eating them."
[...Yeah.]
"Good job. Eat more. But faster! All of them, like cleaning!"
[Yeah!]
The Door of Death swelled, gaping its maw wide. It barreled toward Pippin, scooping up floor beasts into its mouth.
Dark blue smoke billowed from its body and mouth simultaneously. Touched corpses melted like snow. No bones left behind.
[Delicious! Delicious! Drinking kin blood powers me up! Uhahahahaha!]
"Why do you sound so villainous..."
[Uuhahahahaha!]
The Door of Death bellowed heartily, growing monstrously larger with each bite. Its thick tail *thudded* down, blocking Lecrophadas's path.
*Wuukuuu!*
With Lecrophadas's cute wail, Pippin's attack landed. A spirit-grabbed wing chunk tore free.
"Good, Pippin! Now take its head!"
Kill it clean so we can extract the spirit!
At this point, I could leave Lecrophadas fully to Pippin.
"Sugar! Sweet swarm! You lot devour the remaining beasts too."
The spirits switched targets, aiding the cleanup. Joy from both Door and spirits resonated to me. Like minds harmonizing.
[Passive Skill Unlocked]
[Resonance: Spirit User and Familiars grow stronger together]
Not my imagination—the status flashed a new skill notice.
Maybe we unlock more skills as we power up.
Perfect timing—Lecrophadas hunt neared end. Lizard minus three wing pairs bared teeth at Pippin, but he ignored it.
[Pippin's Confirmation Kill trait activates]
No shout—just the saw surging. The bloodied blade pierced Lecrophadas's neck that instant.
[The smell of dangerous kin...]
The Door of Death hugged close to me. I'd been watching Pippin, but thrust out my arm in haste.
"Swarm! Bring Pippin back!"