Chapter 42: The Imperial Heretics (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42: The Imperial Heretics (4)
Gis couldn't comprehend the situation.
He had been on the verge of plunging that arrogant bastard Cloud into the depths of despair.
Then, Frillite had suddenly appeared, ignored him, and started a conversation with Cloud.
Her attitude was as if he wasn't even there.
Annoyed, Gis’s brow furrowed deeply.
“What the fuck are these bastards up to?”
Only after he spat out the curse did the two Heroes’ gazes turn to him.
“Gis. Why don't you call it a day? Nothing good will come of this for you if you take it any further.”
“Nothing good? Why not? Seeing that fucker get screwed over would make my damn day.”
“Because I won’t let that happen. This is your warning to go back, unless you want to get hurt.”
“Go back unless I want to get hurt...? Heh heh... Frillite, I know why you’re doing this. You’re trying to maintain the balance between the four Heroes to protect that outdated tradition. Normally, I’d be annoyed but would have no choice but to back down. But right now, I’m feeling...”
Gis let out a vicious smile.
“...in a fucking shitty mood!”
Whoosh. Fwoosh!
The two chain scythes spinning around his arms flew toward Frillite.
Watching the incoming weapons, Frillite tightened her grip on her greatsword.
“I’ve been thinking I’d need to discipline the complacent Heroes someday... It seems today is that day.”
Frillite swung her greatsword horizontally.
The speed was unbelievable for a one-handed swing.
Clang—!
The flying chain scythes were deflected. With a flick of his wrist, Gis snapped the chains. Chrararak. A wave of energy traveled down their length.
The deflected chain scythes once again aimed for Frillite.
Gis thrust his hands into his coat, fitting daggers between his knuckles. As he swung his arms, eight daggers flew toward Frillite.
They were, of course, coated in a deadly poison.
Frillite watched the chain scythes and daggers approach.
Hooo... She let out a deep sigh.
She lowered the tip of her sword. Simultaneously, she vibrated the mana within her body.
The mana, which began to resonate internally, soon started to affect the world outside.
The secret technique of the Ferdiac family.
[Aura Wave]
A red aura flowed from her, surging violently.
Rumble.
The ground where Frillite stood caved in. From there, cracks began to spread across the floor around her.
The daggers aimed at her were shattered into pieces by the aura and scattered in all directions. The chain scythes, made of a special material, weren't destroyed but were sent flying back. However, their blades were inevitably and severely damaged.
“...Just as I’d expect from Frillite. She’s a bitch, but her skills are the real deal.”
Gis stared at his chipped chain scythes with a look of dismay.
Soon, a smile returned to his face.
“But I’m not the same man I used to be!”
Chwaaak.
The chain scythes intertwined, shooting straight toward Frillite.
The tangled chains, imbued with green mana, looked like two striking snakes.
Frillite raised her sword. A red sword aura enveloped the blade. She swung it down, and a crescent-shaped wave of red energy shot forward, splitting the two snakes.
When it had sliced them all the way to their tails, Gis was nowhere to be seen.
“Didn’t I tell you? Things are different now.”
Frillite heard Gis’s voice from her lower right.
She tilted her head back slightly.
An ornate dagger, a mix of orange and black, pierced the space where her cheek had been just a moment ago.
“It’s a dagger made from a wyvern’s tooth. It can tear through steel with ease, let alone a bit of human flesh... Ah, but don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”
[Reaper’s Strike]
A blow brimming with malice descended upon her.
*
[Gis has used Reaper’s Strike.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Gis has used Death’s Quadruple Strike.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Gis is preparing to use Annihilation’s 44-hit Combo.]
[Gis’s attack power has greatly decreased.]
[Gis’s accuracy has greatly decreased.]
[Half of Gis’s HP has been consumed.]
[All of Gis’s MP has been consumed.]
[Gis has used Annihilation’s 44-hit Combo.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
.
.
.
.
.
[Frillite has evaded the attack.]
[Gis has fallen into a weakened state.]
*
As Gis had expected, Frillite was strong.
She had dodged his surprise attack with ease, as if she had known it was coming.
She evaded the subsequent four strikes as well.
It was just like the woman who he, Lorian, and Cloud had failed to defeat even when they had ganged up on her in the past.
‘Yes, she has to be this strong for it to be worth breaking her.’
Once he defeated Frillite, he would be, in name and in reality, the greatest Hero on the continent.
No one would dare question his actions then.
The smile never left Gis’s face.
It was fine that his attacks couldn’t even graze Frillite’s skin for now.
He had a trump card up his sleeve.
Annihilation’s 44-hit Combo.
It was a technique he had learned from a legendary assassin, now retired.
Normally, Gis would never have even seen the man’s shadow, but he had the staunch support of his adoptive mother and her Snake Venom Society.
‘No matter how good you are, you’re still human. You won’t be able to handle this.’
The legendary assassin had created this technique for the sole purpose of killing humans.
Gis began the preparations to use the 44-hit combo.
The technique was incredibly powerful, but it came at a steep price.
It required him to half-lose his mind and unleash all of his body’s energy in a single, explosive burst of forty-four attacks.
Killing intent filled Gis’s eyes.
His heart began to pound, and his muscles started to pump.
The preparations were complete.
All that was left was to pour everything he had into it.
“Try dodging this, Frillite!!!”
Half-mad and consumed by bloodlust, Gis unleashed a merciless barrage of strikes at Frillite.
It was destructive and barbaric, yet paradoxically beautiful.
The 10th attack passed.
The 26th attack passed.
The 37th attack passed.
His dagger still hadn’t so much as grazed her skin. She was evading his attacks as leisurely as she had from the start.
Gis was utterly stunned.
He knew there was a gap between him and Frillite.
But was it this wide?
So wide that he couldn't even leave a scratch after giving it his all?
“Bullshit!”
Gis pushed his already exhausted body even harder, continuing the combo. His remaining attacks were sharper than before, but that was all.
Even after Gis’s 44-hit combo ended, Frillite hadn’t shed a single drop of blood.
“Damn it... Damn it...!”
Having spent all his strength, Gis placed his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He no longer had the energy to even hold his dagger.
“Is that all?”
Gis looked up.
Frillite, who had remained expressionless throughout the fight, was now looking down on him.
“Pathetic.”
Her face was filled with contempt.
Grind.
Gis ground his teeth.
“You bitch—”
Just as he summoned the last of his strength to lunge at Frillite, a massive impact struck his abdomen.
He was sent flying backward, tumbling across the ground.
“Keuk...!”
A single kick.
That was all it took to leave Gis sprawled on the ground, unable to rise.
The reason was simple.
The moment Frillite kicked him, she had sent a wave of aura into his body.
One had to counter energy with energy.
Utterly exhausted, Gis had failed to react in time, and as a result, his internal organs were severely damaged.
Clack, clack.
Frillite walked slowly toward Gis, who was flailing on the ground. She stomped on the chest of the man who was desperately trying to get up.
“Kuhuk!!”
A groan escaped Gis’s lips along with a trickle of blood. Ignoring it, Frillite stomped on both of his arms as well.
Crack.
The bones in his arms snapped cleanly.
Gis’s pained groans grew louder, but Frillite paid him no mind. She continued to look down on him with contempt as she spoke.
“You haven't changed at all, Gis. Still full of nothing but petty tricks. I’m sure you’ve been neglecting your training, indulging in a life of debauchery.”
“Ghh... Shut up...”
“All this time, you’ve been harassing innocent women and threatening their husbands. The actions of a scoundrel, not a Hero. And yet, I only ever gave you warnings. Do you know why?”
“Don’t... give a fuck...”
“Because you were a Hero. I once swore an oath to uphold the tradition of the four Heroes. That is why I was reluctant to create conflict with the others, fearing it would make it difficult to keep my vow. But...”
Frillite sighed and shook her head.
“Seeing you like this now fills me with regret. I should never have made that oath.”
“Heh... Thanks. For explaining in such detail... why you can’t kill me...”
“That’s right. I will not kill you. Nor will I punish your insolent behavior, as long as you don’t cross the line. All to keep my oath.”
“Heh... heh heh... How very thankf—”
“However, what about after we defeat the Demon King, as tradition dictates? What about after peace has come to the continent? Will I still have a reason to keep you alive then? A parasite who contributes nothing to peace and only eats away at the continent?”
“...”
Gis’s expression hardened.
Frillite released the pressure from the foot pinning his chest.
“I left your legs, so you should be able to walk. Get back to your quarters on your own.”
Frillite turned her back on Gis. He glared at her retreating figure and muttered.
“Bullshit... What do you mean, after the Demon King is dead? You and that bastard Cloud... Before I kill that fucker, I’ll first...”
“Ah, I forgot to add one more thing.”
Frillite suddenly turned around and strode back toward Gis.
Holding her greatsword in a reverse grip, she plunged it into his stomach.
“Gyaaaaaaaahk!!!”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
You said you wouldn’t kill me.
Did that bitch actually lie to me!?
Just as Gis screamed, both aloud and in his mind, Frillite added the words she had forgotten.
“If a situation arises where I must break my oath to protect something precious to me, I will do so without hesitation. I hope you take that to heart, Hero Gis.”
Shhhk—
Frillite pulled out the greatsword.
She did it so cleanly that none of Gis’s intestines were pulled out with it.
She took a potion from her coat and poured it over the hole in Gis’s stomach.
“It’s a high-quality potion, one of the best. You won’t die, so go back and have your Saint Candidate heal you.”
“Ghhk... Gyaaaaaaaahk!!! Fuuuck!!”
Gis let out a horrifying scream from the pain of his flesh knitting back together.
This time, Frillite truly turned her back on him for good.
“Frillite.”
Cloud, who had been leaning against a pillar at the inn’s entrance, called her name. Frillite’s eyes widened.
“Cloud, have you been outside this whole time? It might be fine for me, but it was a dangerous situation for you. What if you were hit by a stray dagger fragment...”
“I’m scared of you.”
“...”
Frillite’s lips pressed into a thin line.
She was a little hurt.