Chapter 247: Bread and Wine (1)
Chapter 247: Bread and Wine (1)
The sensation of impact traveled up my hands.
It was the reaction that always followed a swing of The Hammer, but this time, it felt different.
…There was too little feedback.
I had clearly exerted enough force to gouge out the earth. Whether the attack landed or The Enemy endured it, there should have been some kind of tactile response.
Instead, the only thing I felt was a dull numbness in my hands.
I knew this feeling; it was rare, but I’d experienced it before. I just hadn't expected to feel it here.
It was the sensation of striking a solid steel pillar—like the kind used at construction sites to drill through bedrock.
Giving up on a follow-up attack, I leaped backward. I waited for the dust to settle within the two-man arena we had carved into the giant crater.
There was no sign of a breeze, so I considered swinging my hammer to clear the air myself, but—
Whoosh.
A massive gust of wind scattered the dust, clearing the view.
Standing there was Par, their arms equipped with giant, translucent blue claws made of mana. They must have been the one to blow the dust away with a swing of their hand.
Par took a ragged breath, staring at me with the red dots within their abyss-like eyes. I sensed a raw, violent killing intent and braced myself for a fight, but—
“…Not yet. It is not. Time. To fight. Ronia has not. Come out.”
Par spoke with a strained voice, looking as if they were suppressing something.
What they were holding back was likely rage. Why was that rage-aholic, who usually had zero self-control, suppressing their anger with sheer will? Was it really just because of Ronia?
It didn't seem that way.
Curiosity piqued, I lowered my combat stance and spoke. Regardless of the reason, my goal was still to buy time.
“What’s the reason you need to see Ronia so badly?”
“…It has. Nothing. To do with you.”
“Why not tell me? Who knows? Depending on what it is, I might even help you. You’re already struggling because you can’t break through that barrier.”
Of course, I’d stab them in the back once Ronia was dealt with. But that was then, and this was now.
Despite my banter, Par’s expression didn't shift. They spoke again in that eerie, ghostly voice.
“…I said. It has. Nothing. To do with you. My fight with you. Comes after. Ronia.”
They spoke as if they truly had no interest in me and tried to climb out of the crater.
Thud.
“I can’t let you do that.”
I kicked off the ground, intercepting their path.
“Move. Aside.”
Even as I obstructed them, Par continued to endure their rage. I placed a hand on their shoulder and smirked.
“No can do. You’re supposed to play with me. That’s the only way my friends can take down your adjutants.”
“…%#What^&$?”
The Otherworld translation glitched out at the same moment their killing intent spiked.
I immediately gripped their shoulder and swung hard, hurling Par into the air. Then, I spun around, tracking their predicted landing spot.
“Ah, dammit.”
A curse escaped my lips.
In my line of sight, Par was glaring down at me, having manifested platforms in mid-air.
Right. It was my mistake to think they were the same type as me. They just happened to have more physical strength; at their core, they were still a mage.
I wish I had platforms like that.
While I was grumbling over my relative deprivation, Par spoke, their movements unnervingly fragmented.
“…Ad.jutants?”
I noticed they reacted strangely to the mention of their adjutants.
“Yeah, your adjutants are a nuisance. I’m planning to have them retired this time around.”
“…Then. It will be. Hard. To catch Ronia.”
Even in this situation, it was still Ronia.
“Is that so? Then you should just catch me. If you don't break through me quickly, your adjutants will fall at the hands of my comrades.”
“…Last. Warning.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just fight me.”
Whatever they babbled, I was going to fight them anyway. Or they could just spill why they were so obsessed with Ronia.
To be honest, my heart leaned more toward Par than Ronia. I hoped they would open up, but I realized it was already too late.
“…Without. Regret.”
Crack.
Par’s left arm, still perched on the platform, exploded, and it emerged.
A Multi-jointed Arm made of parched, crimson muscle, stripped of its skin. It burst forth from their left arm, and simultaneously, the Mana Claws on both their hands shattered into the air.
As if they were no longer needed.
Then, Par’s expressionless face contorted.
Their mouth tore open endlessly. Their pupils grew deeper and deeper.
Perhaps because of that, their face began to look as simple as a smiley face. As their long, pale purple hair fluttered and obscured their features, their face seemed swallowed by darkness, leaving only the eyes and mouth visible.
I flinched in surprise for a split second.
Boom.
“Boom.”
Par’s voice echoed alongside the sound of the earth exploding.
My vision spun. I only realized what had happened after the pain caught up.
“Guh…!”
Agony surged through my body.
The cause was Par’s multi-jointed muscle arm. It had bypassed my perception and slammed into my solar plexus.
However, it wasn't a fatal wound.
Tsk.
Reacting like that just because I flinched for a second? That’s a bit much.
I immediately swung my hammer to form a defensive screen, moving to reclaim the initiative I’d lost.
This was the second time I’d seen Par’s Multi-jointed Arm. I had already thought of a countermeasure.
Clack.
I felt something catch on my swinging hammer. Without checking what it was, I immediately heaved The Hammer upward and threw it.
I already knew what it was.
As the weight on The Hammer vanished, I followed the figure flying into the sky with my eyes.
There was Par, their face obscured by the backlight of the setting sun. One of the joints on that long arm had been crushed by The Hammer and was flailing in the air.
…Having such a wide attack range is a weakness in itself.
I had simply swung The Hammer toward the area where an attack was likely to come from, and they’d gotten caught. I was prepared to take a few more hits, but the bait worked on the first try.
Let’s keep this up.
I’d learned one thing: Par’s arm had incredible speed and power, but its durability wasn't great. I hadn't even aimed for the arm directly; it had just gotten caught and snapped like that.
Seeing the arm still twitching, it didn't seem completely neutralized, but a few more hits should do the trick.
Now then, they’ll probably charge again, so I should prepare to block—
I watched Par as they plummeted through the air.
Gradually, the background began to shift.
From the sky.
To the crater.
And then, to the ground.
CRASH.
…What?
Why didn't he make a platform? Why did he just fall?
Is he planning something?
Startled by the sudden turn of events, I hesitated to give chase.
“It’s been a while.”
Par’s voice drifted up from the impact site. It was stable, the noise completely gone.
“…What has?”
I asked back, but Par didn't answer.
They stood up, their body shrouded in the rising dust, showing only their silhouette. They supported themselves with their half-broken, Multi-jointed Arm.
“Is it just you in this pit?”
“Yeah. I made this place for a one-on-one match with you.”
“I see. Then, let’s make a promise.”
“What kind of promise?”
“No matter who wins, we take down Ronia.”
“I was going to do that even if you didn't ask.”
It’s not like I’m on Ronia’s side and would lose on purpose.
“Good. Then. Let’s. Fight.”
His calm speech reverted to endless noise in an instant.
Crack.
Creeeeeak.
Cough. Gurgle.
Grotesque sounds filled the crater. The source was within that dust, where only Par’s silhouette was visible.
What on earth was happening?
Par’s body hadn't changed much. They were simply twisting their entire frame and vomiting something up.
About six seconds passed while those sounds echoed.
After those six seconds, which felt like an eternity, everything suddenly went silent.
【…Flesh… connected by blood…】
A sentence seared itself into my mind.
Otherworld Erosion!?
Startled, I tried to interpret it, but it wasn't a normal sentence. I couldn't decipher it.
Without knowing what kind of Otherworld Erosion it was, the world distorted.
A black sky and red clouds. A pitch-black place without a single ray of light.
The crater, which had been catching the last light of the setting sun, was swallowed by darkness.
In this lightless crater, nothing should have been visible, yet everything within the darkness was as clear as if it were under a bright sun.
And within that bright darkness, it walked out.
Step. Step.
A gender-neutral fairy with pale purple hair.
Lieutenant General Par.
Par no longer had the Multi-jointed Arm, nor that grotesque smile. They looked like they did when calm—the handsome, beautiful Lieutenant General Par.
Yet, Par’s current distortion was enough to overshadow all of that.
Purple blood flowed incessantly from their mouth. Purple blood leaked from their hollow pupils, which had been swallowed by the abyss. It poured out, threatening to drip off their face, but the viscous purple blood vanished into the air before it could fall.
And behind Par as they walked slowly toward me…
Something bizarre was floating.
Two withered arms made of crimson muscle. And a single spinal column supporting them.
No, it wasn't floating.
The spinal column had been ripped from Par’s back and towered high, and the withered arms were simply dangling from that spine.
What… is that?
Is Lieutenant General Par even alive?
What is this world? What was that broken Otherworld Erosion message earlier?
Amidst those questions, all I could do was watch them. But soon, I spotted something ominous.
…Flesh is filling in.
Around the spine, in a place you wouldn't notice unless you looked closely, purple flesh was growing. Something sticky was attaching itself.
What were the words from the Otherworld Erosion? Flesh and blood?
If the flesh referred to what was attaching to the spine, then the blood…
My gaze shifted to Par’s face. To the purple blood still pouring out.
So that’s the blood.
Then a long battle would be dangerous. They were already strong with just one of those distorted arms. Now it was clear that the single arm hadn't even been its complete form.
Still, one question remained.
If the Otherworld Erosion was about blood and flesh, why did the surrounding environment change so grotesquely?
Normally, I would interpret it through the sentences, but now that the sentences were broken, it was impossible to even guess.
…I’ll just ask him later!
“I won't kill you!”
Though my style is non-lethal anyway!
Shouting that, I gripped my hammer, lowered my stance, and charged at Par.
Perhaps reacting to my voice, Par, who had been walking calmly toward me, stopped.
With agonizing slowness, they turned their gaze toward me. They turned those hollow eyes, which didn't even have a red dot left in them, toward me as blood poured out.
They spoke in a hollow voice.
“…Ronia?”
“No.”
Answering them, I swung my hammer.
BOOM.
The impact immediately connected with Par’s body.
Crunch.
The flank hit by The Hammer twisted. Flesh was crushed, and Par’s body, which had been planted firmly on the ground, bent like a boomerang.
To anyone watching, it was a clear, decisive blow.
…Wait, what?
But my thoughts as the one who landed the hit were entirely different.
The feedback was there. The sensation of crushing flesh was a familiar one.
And yet, just like before, all the impact returned to my hands. It felt as if I had struck something impossibly hard.
If that were the case, Par shouldn't have moved, yet their body had clearly been bent back—
BAM.
BAM.
BAM.
BAM.
A barrage of impacts rained down.
From above my head. Striking my back. Then from above my head again.
A continuous pummeling that drove me into the ground.
“Fight! Fight! Are you even a soldier?! I’m! Telling you! To fight!”
BAM. BAM. BAM.
What the hell was happening?
I tried to grasp the situation, but the fists continuing to rain down on me as I was pinned to the ground made even that difficult.
Crack.
Dammit.
With the sensation of my spine snapping, my vision was dyed black.