Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Werewolf Emerges
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"Time to prepare the red belt ceremony. Hehe."
Already a red belt.
Memories of all the times I'd taken beatings during training flashed through my mind.
It had been brutal.
Rolling on the floor had felt like my inescapable fate.
"...Lemon?"
Still, I was lucky.
No matter how good my ability was, without Roze, I never could have grown this fast.
In the Roze-ryu style, a red belt was a realm that ordinary martial artists spent their whole lives grinding toward but never reached.
It was also the benchmark for qualifying to join the instructor team.
"...Sorry? J-just do it for three days. Or two?"
How could I not be grateful?
"...How about one day? I want to eat food you make, Lemon."
"Roze."
"Yeah? So you'll do one day?"
"Thanks."
"...Huh? Why are you suddenly like this?"
"Thanks."
It was sincere.
Either way, Roze was the person I was most grateful to since being thrown into this merciless world.
Truth be told, a few words like this couldn't repay her, but it was about all I could offer right now.
I got to my feet.
Harsh training was off-limits for the time being, so I figured I should at least do the static exercises she'd mentioned.
But when I turned to ask about those static exercises, Roze had her face covered with both hands.
"What's wrong? Got something in your eye?"
"...No, you idiot!"
She even cursed at me.
What a day full of surprises.
"Oh, right—I made a promise to spar with Jang Werewolf. What should I do about that?"
"You promised to spar? With that zombie?"
So that's how Roze saw Jang.
In any case, given what she'd said, I should probably put the spar off until later.
"Well, there'll be other chances. I'll turn him down, like you said."
"No. Do it."
"Do it?"
"Yeah. But do it in front of me. No private spars."
"...Well, if you're cool with that, then thank you very much."
Perfect.
I'd been a little anxious, but with Roze coming along, I had nothing to worry about.
That said, Jang and I had agreed to meet alone, so I needed to give him a heads-up.
"Let's go eat."
Fill the stomach first.
*
The Crusade League responded to my proposal with unusually swift approval.
Jang messaged me the details and asked for a time, and I agreed.
Just like that, it was set.
"This place is pretty out of the way. First time here."
"It's a private spar, so I picked this spot on purpose."
It was late evening.
No one would come all the way out here without a special reason.
I'd chosen it with that in mind, just in case.
"Is that him?"
Jang was already waiting in the sparring room.
Alone, without the other trainees who usually accompanied him.
His eyes were closed, cross clutched in his hand, murmuring something softly. He looked up as we approached.
"Huh? You didn't know?"
Roze, who'd taken a dislike to Jang after watching his spar with Runshin last time, clamped her mouth shut.
Fortunately, she wasn't against the spar.
Jang didn't seem to care about anyone but me, either.
No time wasted.
"Shall we begin?"
I nodded and stepped forward.
Jang was ready.
As I approached, he leveled the twin spears in his right hand at me, blocking any further advance.
The moment I took my stance, he fired.
Relentless beam attacks rained down on me from every angle.
'No mercy.'
The beams packed serious power.
Before completing practical combat training, I wouldn't have been able to deflect them easily.
But now, it was fine.
My tempered body could shrug off high-output beams as mere scrapes.
Plus, attacks like beams or energy rounds didn't tax energy barriers much.
If I used a barrier, I'd take zero damage even if they all hit.
'But this is a spar.'
That would be too easy.
I had no intention of using the barrier, so I kept it hidden.
Pure physical ability it was.
Jang's fighting style was as tricky as expected.
All offense, no regard for his own body.
The harder I pushed attacks, the bigger gaps he opened—putting me at a constant disadvantage in the exchange ratio.
"Hup!"
Up to here, as expected.
I regulated my breathing and gradually ramped up my speed.
Oxygen flooding in through nose and mouth ignited my whole body, heating it up.
'Keep your eyes on the foe, your mind on the battlefield, your body free.'
My current physique moved like a creature with a mind of its own.
A combat weapon with Roze's teachings embedded in every single cell.
My body outpaced my thoughts.
It followed the optimal paths accumulated from moment-to-moment experience in battle.
The twin spears recoiled, unable to withstand the impact to their shafts.
Jang's left upper body exposed as his stance twisted.
But rather than cover the opening, he exposed it further, swinging the spear in a wide arc.
"Ha!"
I didn't hold back.
I surged forward until our foreheads nearly touched, grabbed his collar, and struck.
Jang's left upper body shattered under the impact.
Close-quarters.
A barrage of effective hits tore and pulverized his flesh.
Then something caught my eye.
'Smoke?'
Smoke rose from the wounded area, and before I knew it, the injury had fully healed.
Like it had regrown from nothing.
Despite how deep the wound had been.
'Let's see how far your limits really go.'
Even amid complex thoughts, I didn't let go of my momentum.
No matter how fast the recovery, there was a gap between heals.
Even if just for a split second.
I exploited those gaps, hammering attacks home.
I took extreme advantage of the spear's weaknesses as a long weapon, stuffing combos into ultra-close range.
And yet, no change.
Even after twenty minutes of clear defensive struggle, his face was the same as the start.
No drop in stamina—he seemed untouched.
'Does he really have no limits?'
The thought crossed my mind.
Runshin must have felt the same.
Like fighting a mirage.
As time dragged on, the situation flipped.
Healing factor aside, Jang was no pushover.
A powerhouse I couldn't hold onto without giving my all.
I'd prepared for a long fight, but sustaining this pace for over thirty minutes was apparently too much.
"Tch...!"
I ended up giving him an opening.
I'd pushed too hard wondering if smashing his head would do anything—and paid for it with my first wound.
It wasn't ineffective.
Just as short-lived as the other spots.
But Jang was clearly guarding his head, so targeting it again was too risky.
And with that, wounds started piling up on my body.
'Is this it?'
No different from Runshin in the end.
I'd just held on a bit longer.
At this rate, my loss was certain.
Still, I didn't stop.
I kept landing blows, even if it cost me scratches.
"Huh...?!"
But only for a moment.
Trouble soon followed.
The 'sensory' issue I'd been dealing with lately was the culprit.
My senses jolted for an instant, creating a huge gap.
Jang reclaimed his 'distance' and swung at my throat with precise force.
'Of all times!'
No choice.
I activated my energy barrier.
Power surged from my horns, flowing through my skin to repel Jang's attack.
The spear blade tore a chunk from the barrier and grazed my skin, but I safely avoided what could have been fatal.
"...!"
But in that moment.
A chill raced through my body.
For the first time since facing him, emotion showed on Jang's face.
Twisted, like he was holding something back.
"That horn!"
He hurled his spear aside and lunged, reaching for my head.
"What power...!"
Too sudden to dodge; I tried shoving him off, but his strength was insane.
Far beyond the limits I'd gauged during the spar.
'Force won't work.'
I grabbed his wrist and yanked both our arms down.
My rising knee perfectly smashed his jaw as his face naturally lowered.
A blow any sane opponent would have handled.
But whatever state he was in, it landed clean. Jang shook his head and staggered back.
"What the hell?"
"That horn...!"
No way, I thought, watching him warily.
Didn't expect to draw this out.
Jang's body swelled as smoke—visible only briefly during recoveries—now blanketed him entirely.
Moments later, only his silhouette remained.
But that silhouette alone made it clear he'd shed his human form.
Gleaming eyes.
Fangs sharpened like a predator's, ragged breathing.
Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing Jang as a wolf-like monster.
'So he reveals his true form.'
I knew.
That Jang was a modified human completed through biological experiments.
Captured as experiment fodder by the Elohim Order, he'd suffered the misfortune of live alien dissection.
He should have died like the others.
But he had a healing factor.
A potent one, strong enough to endure even the Order's vile experiments.
Thanks to it, he'd survived until the Crusade League rescued him.
'Aside from the side effects.'
I eyed Jang, drool dripping from his maw.
Still some reason left—he hadn't charged yet.
"Horn... Give me that horn!"
Jang had become a monster that craved 'hunger' for aliens.
Unable to contain his appetite before alien blood and flesh.
'But no alien corruption reaction...?'
I'd let my guard down.
Even with alien parts grafted in, that was it.
No obvious traits left.
But my assumption was wrong.
Jang was blatantly lusting after the blue demon horn fused to my head.
"Sorry, but this isn't some accessory I can just take off."
I replied, grabbing the horn and mimicking pulling it free.
Too short and thin for even a finger joint.
Fused to my skull—it couldn't be removed.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"
My answer snapped his patience.
Roaring so fiercely spit flew at me, Jang pounced.
'Fast...!'
Faster than the vice captain.
Savage attacks, 'emotion' in his strikes piercing like they could rend skin.
"Urk...!"
Minimizing damage was all I could manage.
Even with the barrier absorbing some, three long gashes from his claws remained on my forearm.
But counter openings weren't impossible.
Unlike before, this Jang was a beast through and through.
A beast overflowing with uncontrolled power, rampaging wildly.
His physical prowess was so overwhelming that exploiting gaps seemed nearly impossible, but with the right plan, doable.
I racked my brain, swallowing healing saliva pooled in my mouth.
Blood from my body painted the sparring room floor red as I endured, endured.
About ten exchanges later.
The next moment, as expected, claws swung wildly to rip my head off and plunged down.
'Now...!'
My calf swelled.
Thanks to that trait I'd acquired, jumping was superior to my other physical abilities.
Twisting my waist at the perfect time, the claws grazed my face and missed.
Using centrifugal force, my knee smashed the back of Jang's head dead-on.
CRACK!!
A breaking sound.
At the same time, Jang's claws pierced the room's inner barrier and embedded in the floor.
Contact sparked uncontrolled energy like fireworks.
'Stunned?'
The impact was huge—he wasn't moving.
In this state, his healing factor was restricted to control the alien factors.
Recovering took far longer than in human form.
This was my golden chance.
I could take down one of the Miracle Generation members, whom I'd barely glimpsed before.
Charging for the follow-up—
Something flashed.
"Lemon!!"
Something streaked by.
Then my vision flipped.