Chapter 179: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (43)
Chapter 179: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (43)
A fountain of blood erupted from where the demonic beast's head had been severed.
Warmth soaked the earth, followed immediately by a pungent, fishy stench that stung the nostrils.
Only then did the axe, trailing a sharp sonic boom, come into view. It spun through the air with a heavy whoosh.
Through the crimson curtain drawn by the axe’s trajectory, a man was revealed. He was busy driving a blade into the brow of another beast.
A cat-like demonic beast lunged at his back.
Despite the sudden ambush, the man didn't show a hint of panic. He thrust his blade back over his shoulder, and the silver steel buried itself deep into the roof of the beast's wide-open maw.
A clean thrust that pierced straight through to the brain—a feat of skill impossible without Aura.
He charged without hesitation toward the remaining beasts, which were hissing in confusion. Every time the man’s sword flashed, another cat-like beast collapsed.
Tak.
The hand axe returned to his grip, immediately tracing a vertical arc to crush the skull of another monster.
Blood and brain matter sprayed. The sight of flesh and bone exploding like a river caught in a torrential downpour felt almost surreal.
Even Lady Ruphesia found herself staring blankly at the scene of slaughter.
He was strong.
This was a level of skill unimaginable for a man who, until recently, had been ranked in the lower-mid tier of the Academy’s third-year Swordsmanship Department.
The two women were captivated by his seamless improvisation and a brand of blatant violence so raw it could almost be described as obscene.
The shrieks of the dying beasts drew more of their kind from the surroundings.
Several cat-like demonic beasts bared their teeth, letting out threatening growls. Regardless, the man, drenched in blood, simply stood there in silence.
It was then that a tiny cat dropped from the sky.
Its vertically slit pupils spun. Emma already knew what that beast was.
She cried out in a frantic voice.
"Ian, watch out—!"
But the cat-like beast’s self-detonation was faster.
Boom!
A storm of light and heat swept over the man. As a thick cloud of dust rose, the other beasts lunged in, determined not to miss the opening.
That was their fatal mistake.
A silver Aura drew a horizontal line through the air.
A full-powered horizontal slash possessed terrifying power on its own. With Aura layered on top, its cutting force was beyond words.
Two cat-like beasts were cleaved in half instantly.
Their bodies hit the ground with a wet thud, like severed bundles of straw.
However, large movements inevitably create large openings. Sensing this instinctively, the remaining beasts continued their charge.
They hadn't realized that the man had thrown his sword away along with that horizontal slash.
He tackled one of the leaping beasts, pinning it beneath him. A merciless rain of axe blows followed.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
Blood splattered with every rhythmic strike.
From the beast's head to its neck, not a single spot was left without an axe mark. He then had to face the second wave of beasts lunging at his exposed back.
Giving up on a direct counter, he rolled forward. Now finally facing the beasts head-on, he hurled his hand axe once more.
It buried itself in one beast's neck, then traced an almost right-angled trajectory to claim the life of the last one.
That was actually one of the cleaner deaths.
The final remaining cat-like beast was forced into an abrupt bout of hand-to-hand brawling with the man.
It was common sense that a beast held the advantage when no tools were involved. However, Ian, as he lunged at the creature, possessed a wildness that surpassed the beast itself.
Despite the clear scars from the explosion, he dove into the beast's reach without delay.
His fist slammed into the beast's face like a falling hammer.
The impact was so great that the beast's body bounced off the ground after the collision.
What followed was, as before, a display of one-sided violence.
With every punch, the sound of bones collapsing rang out—a sickening crunch. The gruesome noise continued without end.
It persisted even after the beast's body convulsed one last time and fell completely still.
The admiration and awe in Lady Ruphesia’s eyes gradually turned to terror.
He was strong, but more than that, he was cruel.
That was the essence the man harbored. Realizing this once again, Lady Ruphesia’s body trembled uncontrollably.
Blood, flesh, and the man’s ragged breathing mingled into a thick atmosphere.
His golden eyes burned with murderous intent. He gritted his teeth and continued to swing his fists.
Until someone approached him from behind.
The strength of the arms wrapping around his torso was incredibly weak. Had the man wanted to, he could have shaken them off easily.
But Ian couldn't.
Because the voice filtering into his ears was so warm and soft.
"…Ian, it’s okay now."
Only then did the monster’s breathing stop.
Why can I never protect anything?
The question suddenly pierced my mind like an awl. It was a strange sensation.
All my senses had been focused on the battle, and my body had been making the most precise decisions to kill the opponent.
Only my consciousness felt detached from that reality.
Floating thoughts brushed past several scenes.
The Great Forest in flames.
I lost my Master and Junior Sister there. From that day on, the smile vanished from the man’s face.
A plateau where blizzards raged.
I saw chunks of flesh covering the horizon. Even the Golden Lions, the pride of the North’s strength, couldn't withstand them.
The family that claimed to be the protectors of the North was exterminated.
And then, the flesh nests covering the earth and the unidentified demonic beasts.
I couldn't even hear the final breath of the woman I loved so dearly.
He felt suffocated. The sound of gasping breath echoed in his ears.
His pounding heart was screaming.
I have to kill them.
If I don't, I can't protect anything. The voices of regret I had repeated countless times rose like a tide in a coastal creek.
I felt like I was drowning.
I swung my fists like a madman. It was the same this time.
My blood-soaked fist was raised high.
Between the bite wounds from the beasts and the aftereffects of the explosion, my arm trembled violently. Even so, I couldn't hold back anymore.
My skin had long since been peeled away from striking bone, but I felt no pain.
I gritted my teeth, and just before I could bring my fist down on the pulp that could no longer be called a face—
Whoosh. A warm heat flowed along my spine.
My breathing hitched. As I hesitated for a moment, a woman’s whisper reached my ear.
"…Ian, it’s okay now."
What is? I wanted to ask.
Nothing was okay.
The world was racing toward destruction, and my precious people would die one by one.
As long as Delphirem and her Dark Cult remained, it was inevitable.
But before I could even utter those doubts, my consciousness snapped back to reality.
"Ah."
A low exclamation.
My mouth rediscovered the language it had lost. Calming my ragged breath, I slowly lowered my fist.
The strength in the arms hugging my torso increased.
It was still a weak force, but I felt the warmth against my back more clearly now.
A voice laced with tears vibrated through my spine.
"I-I’m… I’m okay. Ian, so you don't have to do this… You’re someone who saves people."
Whew. A deep breath escaped me.
I looked up at the sky. Crow-like demonic beasts were still flying in.
This raid wouldn't end just by killing the beasts.
There were hundreds, maybe thousands in their ranks. But demonic beasts lacked reason; for an attack to be this organized, someone had to be behind it.
I had to eliminate the source. Whoever was giving orders to the beasts.
"Not someone who kills… right?"
A bitter smile touched my lips as I heard the woman’s desperate voice.
Emma was right.
I mustn't mistake the objective.
Violence was merely a means, not the end.
I stumbled to my feet. Even then, Emma didn't loosen her grip on me.
"…Emma."
The girl’s body flinched at the sound of her name. I gently applied pressure to unwrap the arms around my chest.
Turning around, I saw her reddish-brown hair.
My hand naturally came to rest on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
At first, Emma’s eyes went wide as if she were startled.
It seemed she had only just realized what she had done. Gradually, her pale face began to flush.
Fidgeting and hanging her head to avoid my gaze, Emma finally managed to speak.
"…Yes."
She looked quite cute, so I let out a small chuckle.
The longer I laughed, the redder Emma’s face became.
After some time had passed, I said with the smile still on my face, "Then that’s enough."
Yes, Emma was right.
I am someone who saves people.
And right now, there was one person left I had to save.
Cien, the 5th Princess of the Empire.
Without a word, I gathered my sword and axe. Just as I was about to move, a voice stopped me.
"…Why did you save me?"
It was the noblewoman with golden hair and blue eyes, Lady Ruphesia.
She still looked like she hadn't quite shaken off her fear. Nevertheless, she had managed to stagger to her feet.
Her trembling pupils were fixed on me.
"E-Emma is just a commoner girl… and even if you saved her, you could have just let me die! It would have been better for you, with no future trouble to worry about…."
Her words were close to rambling.
I hadn't intended to save Lady Ruphesia in the first place. I had simply happened to save her while saving Emma.
Though, come to think of it, I did recall killing the one lunging at Lady Ruphesia while I was in the middle of my blood-frenzied slaughter.
It didn't take long for a sigh to escape my lips as I pondered for a moment.
Actually, there was something I needed to say before addressing those doubts.
"…Lady Ruphesia."
The woman flinched. Her gaze was full of wariness.
Her eyes were dripping with the fear that I might attack her again.
Regardless, I asked with a slightly sad smile, "Are you alright?"
Lady Ruphesia froze on the spot.
With her eyes wide open, she could only let out a fragmented, questioning sound.
"…P-Pardon?"
"I asked if you were alright, Lady Ruphesia."
It was a question that should naturally be asked of someone who had just escaped a life-threatening crisis—and a woman who might have suffered indelible scars at my hands.
But Lady Ruphesia looked as though she couldn't believe she was hearing such words from me.
Her wide eyes testified to her bewilderment.
She answered in a stuttering voice.
"I-I-I… I’m fine…."
"Then that’s enough."
I said that with a slight smile, and that was it.
I still had a place to go.
The only one grabbing my hand was Emma, who, as always, was overflowing with worry.
"I-Ian… where are you going?"
"To save someone."
It was a simple statement.
Those few syllables couldn't erase Emma’s worry, but I forced a tone of feigned composure.
"Don't worry. I still have the potions you gave me."
With that, I held out the potion pouch for her to see.
Seeing the pouch, which had significantly decreased in volume, Emma still looked concerned. But there was no more time to wait.
With a brief farewell, I quickly left the area.
In truth, my body hurt like hell.
I had been hit by self-detonation attacks twice, and the bite wound on my arm hadn't fully healed. I was a mess in many ways, but I had to go.
The underground cavern of Versia Palace.
The finale of this entire story would be waiting there.
Meanwhile, in the underground cavern of Versia Palace.
"Ugh, ah, ugh… Kyaaaaaaaaaaaak!"
The Princess's scream echoed through the darkness.