Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: The Betrayal I Expected
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Rough, brutal roars continuously echoed across the wasteland expanded by the relic 'Open-Type Birdcage'.
With the roars came shockwaves spreading in concentric circles, sweeping through the wasteland and causing it to rumble violently. Thick sand dust billowed up, dyeing the view yellow.
—Grrrrr...!
"Can't even speak human words anymore, huh."
In the midst of that sand dust, Kubel stood unsteadily with its tongue hanging out, its once-overwhelming presence and majesty utterly lost in a pitiful state.
One eye punched clean through, a caved-in skull protruding sharply, a back wound split open enough to expose the spine, guts spilling from its belly, severed front leg and tail.
The black blood Kubel had spewed had already pooled so deeply across the area that it could be called a pond.
—Grrk, grrrk...!
Life was slowly draining from Kubel's eyes, now close to death, but in its place, a feral savagery was seeping in bit by bit.
Its sheer ferocity made skin crawl and spines tingle, as if it could lash out with claws or snap its jaws to tear anything apart at any moment.
"One more time, maybe two... Excellent. Kubel. You're proving your words through your actions."
—Grrrrr...!
Kubel didn't reply, merely scraping its vocal cords like a beast to bare its teeth, though it almost looked like a satisfied grin.
"Then..."
'Absolute Provocation Ring', 'Absolute Evasion Ring', 'Absolute Counterattack Ring'.
Using the three rings in sequence, Kubel—who had struck with the ferocity of a wounded beast despite its wretched state—took a counterattack exactly double its own power, splitting its throat open.
—Grrr, grrk...!
"One more time."
Flicker, flicker.
Life flickered in Kubel's eyes.
Its trembling legs could no longer support its body, staggering weakly, and even the blood from its drained form began to stop flowing.
"You've proven your words through your actions, Kubel. From now on, I'll fundamentally trust you and the gods of the divine realm. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll like it... but no need to drag this out. I'll make it quick. Good work, Kubel."
—Grrr...
Kubel narrowed its eyes like a farewell gesture and let out a low growl.
Watching that, he slowly focused his mind on the 'Absolute Provocation Ring'.
"...Kuh!"
At that moment, unexpectedly, a fierce Aura Blade flew in from Kubel's side.
A strike that would clearly take Kubel's life.
It was too fast for him to even see properly... but the other masters reacted as if they'd been waiting.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"What do you think you're doing!"
"You just had to cross the line."
Latifi's arrow and Wendy and Nemes's Aura Blades intercepted its path, creating a brilliant explosion that scattered fragments of aura across the sky.
"...What the hell is this?"
He slowly turned his head, glaring at the culprit who had launched the Aura Blade.
"Lira."
"......"
She clamped her mouth shut, gripping her raised sword tightly with a complex expression.
"Answer me, Lira. What the hell are you doing?"
"...I'm sorry, but I can't trust you."
"Ha."
He let out a hollow laugh, trying to suppress the slowly boiling emotions.
"Because my left arm is a demon's arm? Or some other reason?"
"...I'll ask one thing. Are you Starnassila Alzen?"
Observing her as if scrutinizing the obvious fact that everyone here, including her, knew, he smirked.
"Yeah. Was it that hard to believe? Lira."
"Please answer. Are you Starnassila Alzen?"
Her voice even sounded desperate.
As if pleading for him to affirm it, to acknowledge it, appealing silently and earnestly.
"You look like you desperately want to believe it."
"......"
"Unfortunately, I can't give you the answer you want."
"That means..."
"Yeah. I'm not Alzen. I'm a complete stranger, with no connection whatsoever to the Duke's Family. This body is just a shell."
"...Grit!"
As if steeling herself, and severing something, Lira ground her teeth and deployed her Aura Blade.
"...So, Lira. Let me ask again... what the hell is this?"
"I can't stand by and watch you grow stronger. What do you plan to do, getting stronger in Lord Alzen's body?"
"Hoo..."
Bubble bubble bubble!
His boiling emotions surged even fiercer, rising to his head as if about to overflow.
"......"
He started to say something, then closed his mouth.
No time for that now, and it'd probably just be curses anyway.
And honestly, he'd half-expected this.
A steadfast, loyal knight from a medieval fantasy land wouldn't act otherwise even with clear evidence right in front of them—that would be the weird part.
The matter was too grave to accept on a few words.
He understood.
...He only understood.
Because experiencing it firsthand made the back of his head throb and fury rise, making him want to kill her right then.
"Man, this must be what they mean by 'chopping your own foot with the axe you trust,' huh?"
"......"
"Never thought you'd pull something like this, Lira... Guess you've forgotten everything I've done for you?"
"...I am a knight of the Starnassila Knight Order, sworn to protect the Duke's Family. My top priority, above all else, is Starnassila."
"Haa, yeah. Of course you would."
It was so typically her that he downed his drink to soothe the frustration.
"But isn't this a bit stupid? If you wanted to interfere, there were stealthier, deadlier ways. You knew our group was on guard anyway... What were you thinking?"
"......"
She stayed silent, but her expression revealed her conflicted feelings.
She'd acted on her beliefs and sense of justice, but paradoxically hoped someone would stop her.
...Still, betrayal was betrayal.
"...Wendy, Nemes, Latifi. Keep that woman in check. I need to finish what I was doing. I'll decide how to deal with her later."
"Leave it to us."
"We'll stop her even if it costs our lives."
"Yes! We'll hold her off no matter what!"
Hearing their reliable responses, he turned back to Kubel.
—Grr, grrrk...
Truly at its limit, Kubel breathed shallowly, its eyes flickering with fading life as its body trembled feebly.
"...Sorry. I dragged out your suffering longer than intended. This really is the end now."
"Kugh! Stop it! That's Lord Alzen's body! A noble bloodline no unrelated stranger should toy with as they please!"
Lira's voice rang out alongside the deafening clash of Aura Blades.
Grimacing fiercely, he activated the 'Absolute Provocation Ring'.
Even on the brink of death, Kubel harbored no hostility toward him, so the ring activated without issue.
—Grr... Kraaaaaargh!!
As if squeezing out its very last strength, Kubel unleashed a deafening roar laced with metallic screeches, charging with terrifying energy enveloping its entire body.
But the purple aura of the 'Absolute Evasion Ring' had already coated his body.
Shirrrip! Zzgggrrrk!
With a bizarre sound effect, his body stretched fluidly like liquid to evade Kubel's attack, then he activated the 'Absolute Counterattack Ring'.
Black energy erupted like a tsunami in overwhelming force, slicing into Kubel's nape like biting jaws.
Splatter!
—Gr...rrr...
"Good work, Kubel."
Until the very end, Kubel remained the target of the 'Absolute Ring Set'.
Meaning it never once harbored ill will toward him.
He didn't know what death meant for a divine being, but it surely wasn't trivial.
"Your sacrifice had meaning. You provided undeniable help and support."
—.....
As if satisfied with his words, Kubel smiled with its eyes and slowly met its end.
"...Kugh!?"
And right after, a burning sensation flared in his right chest.
"Grk, grrrgh...!?"
As mind-numbing pain turned his brain white, he quickly pulled open his shirt to reveal a slowly wriggling, shape-shifting curse tattoo.
"Y-You bast...!"
If it was going to hurt this bad, they could've at least warned him.
"Guh, grrrrrgh...!"
"Han-gil!"
"Kang Han-gil!"
"Han-gil!"
Unable to endure the searing pain spreading from his chest throughout his body, he collapsed, hearing the women shout his name as they rushed over.
"Grgh... C-Calm... suppress, release..."
He wanted to tell them to keep a close eye on Beric and Lira, not knowing what they might do, but the words wouldn't come.
His jaw chattered, tongue numb and twisting uselessly.
"Grrk...!"
No pain he'd ever felt in life compared to this.
He wanted to scream his lungs out, but his trembling body had long escaped his control, denying even that.
"...Understood."
But they quickly regained composure and focused on subduing Beric and Lira.
Watching the scene through hazy vision while gritting his teeth, he could finally devote all his nerves to the pain once Lira was safely restrained.
...Naturally, focusing only made it worse.
"Gr, ugh, ughhh...!?"
And to make matters worse, this pain wasn't confined to the flesh.
Something he'd never known existed inside him, something he shouldn't have been able to feel.
Instinct told him it was his soul. Or... the core of his very existence.
The pain burrowed there too.
"...!!!"
Mouth agape, his whole body convulsed like a seizure.
It had surpassed mere pain.
"...!!...!?"
Dazzling light and ominous darkness flashed in his retinas.
His guts twisted, muscles tore, bones vibrated as if shattering.
Crack! Crunch! Rip!
"...!!"
No, they actually tore and shattered.
And reconstructed just as swiftly.
Weeeeeen—!!
A high-pitched ring echoed in his ears, and his wounded soul soared sky-high following it.
...It felt that way subjectively, but oddly, the soul still thrashed within his body.
Amid the confusion, something began to expand.
He didn't know what, but... it granted him a new world.
"Ah, ah...!"
Sensation tore open new horizons, expanding endlessly.
Perception saw and felt everything above and below.
The boundary between knowledge and ignorance vanished, flesh and soul blurred, and as if merging with the world itself, everything constituting him melted and faded.
"Ah...!"
In that state, he was drawn to something shining.
Instinct knew it was his; he clenched his fist around it.
"Grrrk...!"
And that marked the start of new torment.
What he'd thought was his soul writhed and transformed.
It grew then shrank, hardened then softened, sharpened then blunted.
The process felt like carving and reshaping his very being, terrifying him... but soon he realized.
The changes never touched the deep core... or origin.
Relieved, he embraced it more actively.
—Hahaha! Kang Han-gil! Looking forward to our date!
He thought he heard Demon King Rubias's voice, but it was probably his imagination.
Flicker. Opening his eyes, he knew immediately.
His body was in peak condition.
His mind was clear, vitality surging through every limb—he felt like bolting out and running wild.
"Mm."
...Anyway, unfamiliar ceiling.
Staring blankly at Ger's ceiling, he noticed something squirming below his vision and rolled his eyes downward in confusion.
"...What are you doing?"
"Eek!? What!? You're awake!? Why, why now of all times...!"
Charhela, stark naked astride him in a position right before merging, froze solid.
But seriously, this crazy woman.