Chapter 188: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (52)
Chapter 188: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (52)
Before long, the howling of the underground cavern, which had descended like the creeping shadows of dusk, shook the world.
Dust and debris rained down, and cracks began to spiderweb across the seemingly sturdy earthen walls. Watching this, I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
"…What have you done?"
A growling question escaped my throat, rasping against my vocal cords. Yet, even at that threatening tone, Mitram only burst into a delighted, boisterous laugh.
"A skilled hunter always prepares two traps. If things go awry, shouldn't one have a means to reset everything?"
As she spoke, the strings of mana in Mitram's hand writhed and rose like living things.
Their target was the Princess.
I immediately swung my sword down at the mana strings. With a harsh skree, the strings—their trajectory warped—wound around my arm instead and began to sear my flesh.
I shouted urgently at the female knight and the Princess, who were both still standing there in a daze.
"I told you to run, now!"
"He's right. It would be best if you fled quickly…"
Mitram’s voice was perfectly composed as she spoke.
However, she couldn't hide the faint euphoria and madness lurking beneath the surface. The woman’s mouth pulled back into an unnervingly wide, distorted grin.
"This cavern is scheduled to collapse very soon."
The female knight’s face turned ashen the moment she heard those words. If the cavern collapsed, the fate of those left inside was obvious.
Only death awaited.
The knight immediately stumbled to her feet. Just before turning to flee, she looked back at me with eyes full of hesitation.
The question she was about to ask came instead from the Princess’s lips.
"S-Sir Ian…"
Her panting voice, that single sentence still thick with unshed tears, made my body flinch.
"W-what are you going to do… It’s dangerous, you have to get out—"
"Your Highness."
Only then did my eyes meet the Princess’s pale gray orbs for the first time.
I forced a faint smile.
"…I’m glad you’re alive."
The Princess’s slit pupils widened.
She stood as still as an ice statue, motionless. Only the tears suddenly welling up in her eyes proved that the girl was a human being with emotions.
Before the Princess could even open her mouth to speak, I spat out a firm command.
"Leave."
Of course, the words weren't directed at the Princess.
If they had been, I wouldn't have used such a commanding tone in the first place.
The female knight bowed her head once with a sorrowful expression. Then, she immediately kicked off the ground and sprinted toward the exit.
The sound of her footsteps grew more and more distant.
Mitram did nothing to stop them. Instead, the woman even showed the leisure to watch the knight’s retreating back, letting out a casual whistle.
At my bewildered expression, Mitram laughed.
"The board is already ruined, isn't it? It will be difficult to secure the Princess’s eyes safely now, so I must choose the next best option."
"The next best option?"
"You."
Mitram’s eyes glared at me, smoldering with a faint heat. It felt as if her gaze alone could pierce through my body if left unchecked.
The corners of her mouth twisted upward.
"You are a stumbling block. Not just today, but likely in the future as well… Therefore, I shall be satisfied with eliminating you today."
I could only manage a bitter smile at those words.
It was an overrated assessment. It wasn't exactly the kind of praise I expected to hear from a Dark Priest who planted experimental subjects next to the Imperial family.
But for now, it didn't matter.
At the very least, the possibility of Mitram ignoring me to chase after the Princess had significantly diminished. For me, whose priority was protecting the Princess, this wasn't a bad situation.
However, her arrogant attitude rankled me just enough that I kept up my bravado until the end.
"Think you can actually kill me?"
It was then that another rumble swept through the cavern, vibrating through the ground.
Since it was the second tremor, I didn't lose my balance again. I simply bit my lip and sent a fierce glare toward Mitram.
Mitram muttered blankly, her eyes glazed.
"…There isn't much time left."
"What the hell did you do to this place?"
Instead of an answer, the woman offered a faint smile. She covered her mouth and let out a series of giggles.
"Didn't you find it a bit strange? Why on earth is there a cavern beneath the Academy? They could have done much more formal construction…"
With those words, dozens of strands of pale blue mana thread scattered downward.
It was a clear expression of hostility. I let out a groan but readjusted my grip on my sword.
My arm wasn't fully healed, I had accumulated injuries from the explosion, and even my ankle joint was out of alignment.
No matter how I looked at it, there wasn't a single positive sign. Nevertheless, the option of not fighting didn't exist.
In the first place, with a ruined ankle, I couldn't exactly outrun that monster.
The only thing I could do was buy enough time for the Princess to escape.
Mitram spoke in a voice tinged with a pale madness.
"…Ah, by the way. Do you happen to like dancing?"
The woman spun around, and dozens of strings rose like living snakes.
Today’s dance partner was an immortal monster that wouldn't die even if turned to ash.
Dozens of strings shot forward like awls.
The number of attacks had long since exceeded what I could handle with a single sword. Out of necessity, I held my sword in one hand and gripped my axe in the other.
The blades, swung at high speeds, shredded the mana threads like the loom of a master craftsman.
Despite that, I couldn't prevent several stray threads from burrowing into my limbs.
With a wet thud, my calf was pierced once again.
I retreated a couple of steps with a low groan.
Perhaps because I had grown used to it, even the stinging pain didn't evoke much of a reaction. My vision blurred, and my senses grew increasingly sharp.
The mana strings shot out again. This time, instead of blocking, I chose to simply grab the string.
The searing mana blade dug into my hand. Gritting my teeth, I yanked the string and threw her over my shoulder.
It was a counterattack delivered with every ounce of my strength.
Boom! Mitram’s body slammed into the ground like a fish caught on a hook.
Even so, Mitram burst into a wide, manic grin.
The intervals between the cavern's tremors were growing shorter.
Mounds of dirt had already fallen from the ceiling. The cavern walls, which had looked stable, were bulging here and there, vomiting out their contents.
Instinct and reason sounded the alarm simultaneously.
The collapse was imminent.
But Mitram simply shook her head a few times to clear the impact of being slammed into the ground and maintained her leisurely smile.
"Ian Percus, why do you deny it?"
"…Deny what?"
I asked back, panting for breath.
In truth, I didn't care what Mitram had to say. However, if she was willing to give me a moment to catch my breath, I didn't mind humoring her for a few words.
She must have known my intentions, yet Mitram’s smile only deepened.
"You. You're absolutely furious, aren't you?"
As she spoke, Mitram forced her neck—which had been tilted at a right angle—back into place with a sickening crack. She let out a sigh of relief as if she felt better and continued.
"Nobles are generally fools. Despite being more bound by rules and customs than anyone, they rely on antiquated thinking and try to explain the world as if they know it best… They cannot understand the greater cause. It's because their brains have already hardened that way."
"Bullshit," I muttered, tightening my grip on the hand axe.
Snap! A shockwave erupted as the hand axe was launched. A supersonic strike that didn't even leave a sonic boom tore through the air, tracing a pure white trajectory.
But Mitram didn't block it.
She simply giggled and let her head be severed.
Splat! Blood sprayed as Mitram’s head flew into the air.
The pale blue mana strings connecting the neck and the head pulled toward each other, like threads forming a silkworm's cocoon.
The moment the two pieces of flesh touched, Mitram’s mouth began to spew words once more.
There was no solution unless I cut those mana strings.
At the very least, my current Aura wasn't enough. They were strings of a strength that required multiple strikes just to fray.
Panting, I raised my hand and snatched the returning hand axe with a thwack.
Mitram displayed the composure befitting a powerhouse.
She continued her persuasion with a snicker.
"That's why you're angry."
Mitram took a step closer.
I gritted my teeth and threw the hand axe again.
Splat! Blood sprayed, and the result was the same.
The hand axe returned, and Mitram took another step forward.
"Those talentless morons! Because they act out without knowing their place, you're the one who gets hurt and suffers every day. If only they hadn't done that…!"
I lunged forward and shoved my blade into her mouth.
Blood trickled down from her wide-open maw. Still unsatisfied, my hand hacked down with the hand axe like a madman.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of the axe burying itself into flesh was drowned out by the sound of fragments splashing into the blood.
First came blood, then chunks of flesh, then bone marrow burst out, and even an eyeball popped out.
Mitram’s laughter didn't stop even then.
"Kh—kuek… Hehehe! I-if only… gasp… they hadn't! Would there have been… cough… a reason for you to be in pain? Pffft, khack… Hahahaha!"
Mitram’s stride didn't falter.
Having closed the distance to my chest, she grabbed my arm with a light gesture and slammed my body directly into the ground.
Thump! Along with the shockwave, blood erupted from my mouth with a ghack.
In terms of effective hits, I had landed dozens of times more than she had.
I thought that if I hacked at them enough times, even the sturdiest mana strings would eventually snap. But it didn't take long to realize that judgment was a miscalculation.
The mana strings connecting Mitram’s body parts were regenerating in real-time.
Unless I severed them in a single blow, it was impossible to cut that connection. This meant that Mitram, inhabiting another's body, was essentially immortal.
To cut mana strings of that density, one had to at least reach the level of an Expert.
As I writhed against the ground like I was having a seizure, Mitram whispered into my ear with a mouth that was slowly regenerating.
"…Do you want to win?"
Suddenly, that voice pierced through my brain, burrowing into the very core of my desires.