Chapter 571: Jealousy is My Power (71)
Chapter 571: Jealousy is My Power (71)
Everyone has a wound that should never be touched.
Even the most gentle and docile individuals are no exception. In life, one eventually encounters a matter where compromise is impossible, and in the face of such scars, most humans are utterly powerless.
It was an issue that couldn't be dealt with rationally in the first place.
Looking back, it was almost funny. Why did I have to have a weakness like this?
Was it because it was my first experience nearly losing someone I knew?
Or was it because the memory of Emma’s father weeping that day remained particularly vivid?
Either way, analyzing the cause was meaningless. The result wouldn't change regardless.
I hated seeing Emma bleed.
I hated it with a passion.
By the time I came to my senses, a rainbow of blood was arching before me.
"Wh-what... such speed!"
A face submerged in shock was etched into my five senses along with a groan. Was she the woman who had been taunting me just moments ago?
Before I knew it, one of her arms was flying through the air. Then came a silver waterfall, tracing a sharp downward angle to sever the connection between her limbs and her torso.
I took a breath alone within the sluggish flow of time.
It felt as if I had swallowed ice water. The breath, delivering a chill that wove through every fold of my brain, sharply awakened my instincts.
First, one.
The sword that had been falling like a waterfall snapped horizontally without a hint of a precursor. A sharp trajectory that sliced her chest in half.
The woman desperately straightened her remaining arm, trying to divert the blade's path. But it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
A blood-red mist rose to envelop the woman's arm.
Solidifying like a hard object, it seemed to possess impressive strength even at a glance. This was evident from the woman's expression, which didn't show a flicker of doubt.
Though she looked flustered by the unexpected speed, she didn't look like someone driven into a corner.
Of course, it was arrogance.
The blood-red mist she trusted implicitly failed to stop my sword. Instead, it was sliced clean through; the woman didn't even realize her end until the final moment.
Her head, still wearing a triumphant look, tilted precariously and then slid down along the trajectory that had passed through her chest.
Screams erupted from the surrounding Vampire Kin who witnessed the sight.
"Sister!"
Splat. Her head fell into a pool of blood.
The blood, splattered like paint, resembled an abstract work of art.
However, those who beheld this "masterpiece" all began to direct gazes filled with pure hatred toward me.
A heated voice rang out from somewhere.
"How dare you...!"
But those words were never finished.
Thwack.
Instead of an answer, the hand axe I hurled burst the monster's skull like a beam of light. The death occurred so instantaneously and naturally that the crowd momentarily held their breath.
Countless eyes were asking me.
Just how?
Naturally, I had no intention of giving them the answer. I simply raised my hand in silence and caught the hand axe as it returned to me.
The Vampire Kin didn't stay lost in thought for long. They had come here specifically targeting me, so they must have gathered some information beforehand.
It only took a moment for my suspicion to be proven.
"The, the Aura... don't let it touch your Aura!"
At that cry, the enemies' eyes instantly shifted to my sword and hand axe.
The faint silver Aura was flickering like starlight or a flame. It was a form distinctly different from most Auras, which crystallized as their density increased.
There weren't many techniques with such characteristics.
Especially if I was the one using it.
The hostility in the eyes piercing me like needles grew even sharper.
"Secret Technique: Unbinding... that petty thief witch's secret...!"
"Evade instead of clashing! Then there won't be a problem!"
It was a correct judgment.
Secret Technique: Unbinding only scatters the mana that comes into contact with the Aura. If they simply evaded, they wouldn't fall victim to it.
Provided, of course, that they didn't give me enough time.
The Vampire Kin made a fatal miscalculation. In their panic after losing two sisters in an instant, they made the mistake of giving me time to catch my breath.
Haah, haah, haah.
My breathing grew heavy along with my pounding heart. When my faint breaths became distinct, to the point where they hummed against my eardrums through my skull—
A gray hue settled over the world.
All things were robbed of their color and ceased to move. Within the frozen time, the Vampire Kin glared at me, each clutching their respective weapons.
In this stopped world, I was allowed only a few seconds.
It went without saying, but it was an excessive amount of time.
At least for a knight who had reached the level of High Expert.
And then, the world began to move again.
"Aaaah, aaahhh!"
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
Skulls burst in succession, erupting in fountains of blood. Arms and legs scattered into the air, and afterimages like light left long trajectories as they darted everywhere.
It was, quite literally, an instant.
A storm of blood raged so simultaneously that the order of events was indistinguishable. Even if they had foreseen it, escaping death would have been impossible.
Because only one person could move within the frozen time.
The dozens of women all wore expressions of utter bewilderment. It was as if they never imagined they would be overwhelmed so one-sidedly.
Some even began to glance back with frozen gazes. They seemed to be searching for an escape route, but there was no way I would allow that.
The price for looking away on the battlefield was always the same.
Thwack. Once again, blood and flesh scattered. I didn't even wait for the hand axe to return anymore.
I simply held my breath and lowered my stance slightly once more.
It was a warning of sorts. Even without it, the Kin, who had lost more than half their strength in a heartbeat, had no choice but to overreact to my movements.
For instance, by letting out a desperate shriek.
"Don't give him an opening! The time needed for the Aura's trait to manifest is shorter than what was report—!"
That was the end.
A white blur.
Before she knew it, the blade was piercing through the screaming woman, and the sword's trajectory, drawn in a single stroke, was soon dyed crimson.
The sound of a body collapsing followed.
It was the death rattle of the woman who had been giving orders to her sisters. Having passed her in the blink of an eye, I barely managed to swallow the blood welling up in my throat.
It was the price for forcing out the power of my Aura.
I needed a few seconds of preparation to stay within the stopped time. But now, I was moving my body while shortening that time as much as possible.
As for how this was possible—well.
The only thing coloring my mind right now was intense hostility. The supreme command that I had to slaughter every enemy before me—that I had to avenge Emma, who had collapsed with her entrails spilling out—kept awakening my shrinking muscles.
For a moment, my knees almost buckled.
But I endured. I saw blood-red spikes, whips, and spears flying at me simultaneously, along with women lunging at me with their claws bared.
The best move would be to neutralize the attacks through 'Unbinding' and wait for an opening to stop time again.
Nevertheless, my body did not follow the command of reason. Instead, a brilliant silver crystal began to form on my sword, bright enough to blind.
Another secret technique: Binding (結).
The blade of light, which would not break against anything, was swung with the full strength of a trained swordsman.
Clang!
With a shower of sparks, the blood-red armaments were sent flying toward the sky. Although a few attacks I couldn't parry with my sword grazed and tore my skin, what I gained was far more.
After all, the face of the woman standing right in front of me was currently contorted beyond recognition.
"You crazy...!"
Then, thwack. A blade embedded itself into the back of the woman's head.
It was the hand axe I had thrown earlier. I let go of the sword that could no longer be pulled back and yanked the hand axe from the dead woman's skull.
The Vampire Kin lunging at me had yet to recover their stances. Targeting an exposed chest was a simple task for a seasoned warrior.
Thud, thwack, crack!
Stabbing with the hand axe, slashing, and sometimes shattering jaws, I broke through the encirclement in an instant.
After several minutes of rampaging like a madman while sustaining wounds to my limbs—
Countless corpses now lay before me. Among them, only one was still alive and squirming.
The last remaining member of the Vampire Kin was slumped on the ground, frantically dragging her backside away.
"I-I have to tell Mother... Gwaaaaah!"
Of course, escape was not permitted.
A scream naturally leaked from the woman's mouth as her thigh was pierced by the sword I threw. Her startled body struggled to get away, but the sword, driven in like a stake, had no intention of letting its victim go.
My footsteps followed, thump, thump. I had several injuries, including abrasions and puncture wounds on my arms and legs, but they weren't critical, so they didn't hinder my movement yet.
I brushed my blood-soaked hair back to clear my vision. In the eyes of the woman looking at me, a whirlwind of emotions was swirling.
Shock, fear, doubt, and despair.
The woman squeezed out her last bit of courage and shouted at me.
"Wh-what did you do!"
"What you did to me."
I said as I dropped into a crouch. Even so, the difference in our eye levels was significant, so the woman still had to look up at me with terror-stricken eyes.
"And what you tried to do to all of us... you tried to take away and kill the people precious to me, didn't you?"
My voice, lowered to a murmur, carried little emotion.
A tone so cold it was chilling, and a blood-stained face devoid of even a hint of warmth.
Facing me in such a state, the woman began to act as if she were having a fit.
"I-I'm not asking about that! How on earth... what did you do to grow that much in such a short time!"
Then, silence.
I didn't give the woman a proper answer for a while. There was no need, as she was already writhing on the ground, squeezing out her voice.
"It's too different from the information... Were you hiding your skills all this time?! I heard you needed preparation to stop time, and that your mastery of Binding and Unbinding wasn't that high! Yes, you deceived us all...!"
"The Core of the Barrier."
It was a short counter-question.
But the emotionless voice felt even heavier, and it was more than enough to calm the paroxysm of the woman who was trembling like an aspen tree.
The question left my lips again.
"Where is it? And how many locations are there?"
"D-do you think I'd tell... Aaaaahhh!"
Crunch. The sound of the hand axe crushing slender fingers echoed.
A gesture without a hint of hesitation.
Even after committing such a gruesome act, my voice remained perfectly flat.
"Is there any reason for either of us to waste time? It would be better for you to just speak and be at peace."
"I-I said I won't talk..."
I remained silent for a moment at her tearful protest.
It was truly only for an instant.
Soon, the noise of my hand axe crushing flesh and bone echoed once more.
Along with the woman's scream.
"Guh, ugh... Gwaaaaaah!"
"I guess I'll find out when I see it."
Because there was still a little time left.
It was time for the screams and the blood to continue.