Chapter 21
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21
Boom! A sound like tearing air ripped outward, unleashing a tempestuous shockwave.
The atmosphere warped violently around the point of impact. Everything in the fist’s direct path was obliterated and swept away. Even the wall of the building behind Swallow began to crumble with a deafening roar. A moment later, the resulting backdraft whipped a violent gale through the auction house.
The only one standing firm, her posture unyielding, was the girl with the fluttering, light-blue hair.
Immediately after, a violent backdraft rushed in through the shattered wall to fill the vacuum.
A cloud of dust and debris swirled around where Swallow stood. Shards of stone shot in all directions, their sharp edges clawing through the empty air like the talons of a wild beast.
It was a blow that shook the building to its very foundations. Overwhelming, absolute power.
Yet, the expression on the face of the girl who had delivered that strike—the Hero, Uin Historia—remained grim.
"He's... not dead?" Uin muttered.
It wasn't just that he had survived. Normally, the mere shockwave of her strike would blow most opponents to pieces. An ordinary dungeon boss would have been vaporized without a trace.
And yet, this man—no, this thing in the shape of a man—had not only survived but hadn't even been pushed back.
She hadn't won. She had merely seized the initiative in their first exchange.
Creeeak. Crack.
The cracks spiderwebbing across the gauntlet protecting her fist spread rapidly. Fractured in countless places, the gauntlet shattered like brittle porcelain, its pieces clattering uselessly to the floor.
The 'Imitation of Apocalypse'—an artifact that could easily withstand three of her most devastating blows—had shattered after a single clash.
At the same time, as the dust settled, the figure who had taken her blow head-on was revealed. At first glance, the man-shaped entity appeared completely unharmed.
But the strike had definitely landed. As if to prove it, the man's right arm was a mangled mess. The skin was shredded all the way to his shoulder, his flesh torn away, and his bones scraped bare—and yet, the damage felt pitifully minor.
As even that wound began to regenerate in the blink of an eye, despair flooded Uin's eyes.
The substance that filled the man's ruined arm, instantly rebuilding bone and muscle, was black.
A pitch-black liquid.
'...Black blood.'
No, it wasn't blood. Watching the black substance ooze from his body to reconstruct his flesh, Uin was certain. Blood wouldn't cling to the body like that, refusing to drip to the floor.
Then what was it? More importantly, who was he? He wasn't human. Nor was he an ordinary monster.
What on earth was this being?
"What a pity."
Her train of thought ground to a halt.
Uin Historia felt the icy grip of impending death.
Instinctively, she threw her arms up in defense. Her eyes locked with the man's—with Swallow's. His sclerae were pitch-black, matching the substance oozing from his body, and his sharp, golden pupils stared down at her. She lowered her gaze slightly. His right arm, which should have been completely pulverized, had already regenerated perfectly. That very arm was now raised toward her. As if mimicking her own stance, he was winding up for a devastating blow, aiming directly at her.
'This is impossible...'
Just moments ago, that arm was completely…
"UIIIIIIIIIN!"
A deafening scream pierced the air. Uin stiffly turned her head toward the source of the sound. From the direction of the spectator seats, Garot was sprinting toward her, his hand outstretched in a desperate bid to save her.
No, Garot. Don't come.
You mustn't come.
If you come— Before she could even finish the thought, an unimaginable impact blasted Uin's slender frame into the air.
* * *
"S-Sir Swald! Are you unharmed? I was so worried! I truly thought you were done for just now...!"
"I know. It's a miracle I'm still in one piece."
Swallow turned to Melju, who was sighing in relief. Giving her a reassuring smile, he stood there in a daze, staring at his clenched fist.
His fingertips tingled. A strange sensation lingered in his regenerated right hand, almost like phantom pain. He clenched and unclenched his fist several times. He had joked to Melju about barely surviving, but it had indeed been a close call.
That strike had carried a level of power that far exceeded anything Swallow had anticipated. Simply put, it was not a level of force a human should be capable of wielding. Had he taken a direct hit to his core, his Polymorph might have shattered instantly.
For Swallow, who utilized an 'incomplete Polymorph,' his human form was merely a shell. It was nothing more than a mimicry of human flesh and organs. If this shell was shattered by an external force, his true form—the core—would be exposed regardless of his will. Revealing his true self here would have caused massive complications, not just for the humans, but for Swallow himself.
Despite its limitations, this 'shell' was supposed to be incredibly durable.
So what was that girl's deal? A hybrid born of a human and a monster? She hadn't looked like one. And even if she were, was it normally possible to become that strong?
No, more importantly...
'...They're gone.'
With a quiet click of his tongue, he scanned the auction house. The spectator seats, which should have been filled with hundreds of screaming, panicked humans, were completely empty. Only a heavy silence remained.
Every single one of them... had escaped.
"To think there wasn't just one skilled escaper, but two."
Was this why the humans hadn't set up anti-teleportation barriers or magic-disrupting fields inside the auction house? If so, their decision to block the teleportation hub made sense. Rather than tightening security, they had arranged things so they could evacuate via teleportation magic at a moment's notice. Realizing he had been outmaneuvered, Swallow let out a dry chuckle.
The one who had evacuated that massive crowd in such a short window—likely all at once—was undoubtedly that pink-haired woman.
When he had blasted the blue-haired girl away, Swallow had caught a glimpse of the pink-haired woman running toward them at the edge of his vision. By then, they were the only two humans left in the building.
She must have planned to evacuate everyone first, then come back to save the blue-haired girl. In fact, in that split second, the pink-haired woman had managed to cast multiple layers of protective magic over her companion.
And she had cast those multiple spells completely without incantations.
'Even so...'
The pink-haired woman had definitely been within range of the shockwave. There should have been some trace of her left behind.
There were bloodstains nearby, but the amount splattered on the floor was far too small to have come from a human body being torn apart.
Had she managed to escape using teleportation magic in that microsecond?
"Amusing."
A sneer played on Swallow's lips, though his expression remained cold. He didn't know if she was exceptionally skilled, but in the end, she was nothing more than a coward who excelled at running away.
No, the one who truly piqued his interest was the blue-haired girl.
Had she died from that last blow? She was highly unpredictable, so she might still be alive. The protective magic the pink-haired woman had cast on her weighed on his mind.
...Still, she had taken a direct hit. Even if she was lucky enough to survive, she would be crippled for life.
Swallow pondered, his face an unreadable mask.
Should he leave for Hastin and ignore the escapees?
Or should he hunt them down to eliminate any potential threats?
'Honestly, hunting them down and slaughtering them all is the smartest move.'
Ideally, he should leave no loose ends. But this was the imperial capital. Furthermore, he had already successfully retrieved Guillotine's Tooth.
Most importantly, he had a primary objective he couldn't afford to lose sight of.
"Melju, let's wrap things up."
Having made his decision, Swallow spoke quietly. Sensing hesitation in her reply of "U-Understood," Swallow glanced down at Melju. She looked deeply unsettled, her hand trembling as she clutched his worn collar.
"Is something wrong?"
"N-No, it is nothing."
"You certainly don't look fine."
When he waited in silence, Melju finally spoke up, her voice tentative.
"Sir Swald."
"Yes?"
"You are... incredibly strong."
"You certainly have a habit of stating the obvious."
"You are truly powerful. I knew you were strong from the beginning, but your power far exceeds my wildest expectations. Yes... you did say you were Lady Rene's companion, but..."
"..."
"You seem even stronger than the Lady Rene I know. Is this merely my misunderstanding? Or is Lady Rene actually far, far stronger than this?"
Sir Swald had claimed to be Lady Rene's companion.
He had said companion, but surely he was her subordinate. There was no way Sir Swald was a gatekeeper. Since the only being above Lady Rene was Lord Swallow himself, Sir Swald couldn't possibly rank higher than her.
Yes. She had concluded that Sir Swald must be one of Lady Rene's subordinates.
But if that were true, shouldn't Lady Rene also be capable of withstanding that strike from earlier? Could she have even launched a counterattack like Sir Swald did?
Melju couldn't bring herself to believe she could.
How many beings in existence were stronger than Lady Rene?
Then what did that make Sir Swald?
"Who... are you?" Melju asked, the question cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
Caught off guard, Swallow scratched the back of his head. If Melju's gaze had been filled with admiration before, it was now replaced by sheer awe. And the longer he hesitated, the more that awe began to warp into fear.
I suppose a half-baked excuse won't cut it anymore, Swallow thought. He answered in a low, quiet voice.
"Melju."
As he took a step forward, Melju instinctively took a step back.
"I am..."
Swallow reached out. Melju, trembling slightly, bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
"...?"
Feeling a gentle touch on her head, Melju opened her eyes and blinked like a startled rabbit.
Swallow was patting her head, wearing a complicated expression that was half-annoyed, half-gentle.
He gave her head two or three quick, half-hearted pats before pulling his hand back.
"I'm Sir Swald. For now, at least."
"...Huh?"
"Once we wrap all of this up, I'll tell you the truth."
"..."
"I mean, if you're absolutely dying of curiosity, I can tell you right now."
"N-No! I was being hasty. Tell me later. Yes, later is perfectly fine. If it is a secret you must keep, you do not have to tell me at all. It... it is not that I doubted you! I was merely... curious. I felt foolish acting without knowing anything. But no, you do not have to tell me!"
"Well, if you say so."
Though it feels like things have gone a bit too far to just brush it off, he thought.
"Then let's agree that I'll tell you when this is all over."
"...Yes, very well."
Swallow looked up. If they wanted to finish this 'job' without any more hiccups, they needed to hurry. A stiff breeze blew in through the gaping hole in the wall. As he watched Melju's purple hair whip in the wind, she finished her incantation and raised her staff high.
"Let's begin, Melju."
"Understood, Sir Swald."
Upper-tier magic, 〈Reconstruct〉.
The earth rumbled, and the building began to sink slowly into the ground, as if swallowed by an antlion pit.
* * *
Her only instinctive reaction had been to throw her arms up. Her breath caught. Her vision spun violently, making her stomach churn as her consciousness began to fade. In the dimming light of her mind, Uin thought:
At least it worked.
If I had doubted my instincts for even a split second, if I hadn't raised my arms... my body wouldn't have been blown back. Only my internal organs would have. A gaping hole would have been blasted straight through me, turning me into a human firework spraying a fountain of blood from my back.
When she finally came to, she was lying flat on the street.
Her entire body was paralyzed from the shock, leaving her unable to move so much as a finger. Naturally, she couldn't turn her head either. She was forced to stare straight up at the sky.
Clouds drifted across the purple sunset. A flock of birds flew beneath them, their sharp chirps sounding like death rattles in her ears.
Hearing a peaceful melody drifting from somewhere, she realized she must be lying in the middle of Survey Rose. Soon, the voices of a crowd gathering around her began to ring in her ears.
'Was I really defeated in a single blow?'
The Hero, bested by a nameless monster.
Only then did her body finally register the trauma, and a wave of agonizing pain washed over her. Blood welled up in her throat, choking her airway. The metallic stench was dizzying, but she couldn't even move her jaw to spit it out. Desperate to survive, she forced air through her nose. A sharp, electric shock tingled at the tips of her fingers.
It hurt. It hurt so much she felt like she was going to die.
Her consciousness, barely holding on against the pain, teetered on the edge of a precipice. If she let go for even a second, she would black out. A seductive urge crept in, whispering that it would be easier to just lose consciousness, to finally be free of the pain. Yet, Uin held on. Through the agony, the thoughts she had lost track of began to resurface one by one.
'The citizens...'
Were the people at the auction house safe?
The next image that flashed in her mind was the final scene before she was blown away. No, before that. When she had locked eyes with the monster. No, even before that.
When Garot had come running, screaming her name.
...Right. Garot.
Where was Garot?
"Ga... rot...?"
As she squeezed the name past her lips, the blood pooling in her mouth bubbled like boiling water.