Chapter 275
Chapter 275
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Rematch (4)
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After the arrival of Marquis Lawrence, the Mage Tower Lord of the Imperial Palace, and his battle mages.
The incident in the rundown slums was quickly brought under control.
Starb, who had resisted to the end, couldn't hold out for long and was subdued. The few masked figures who realized they couldn't escape with the great mage's intervention attempted suicide...
"Guhk!"
"Eup!"
"Hey now, where do you think you're going? Behave yourself."
They were suddenly bound by curse threads wrapping around their mouths and bodies, stiffening rigidly before the mages arrived to seal all their means of resistance and drag them away.
'Truly incredibly useful.'
Hesperon glanced at his right hand, now radiating an even denser aura than before, and nodded.
Though the masked figures had let their guard down right before suicide, the fact that he could perfectly subdue foes of such high caliber was entirely thanks to the growth of the Arm of Craving, which had boosted its output.
Being able to wield detailed curses like 'Paralysis' more skillfully was no small gain either.
-Situation over! I survived thanks to you. Thanks, Hesperon.
-Haa... Thank goodness we weren't late. ...And this is my fault in a way, so I should apologize. I should have handled it properly from the start to avoid troubling you...
-It's fine, it's fine. That's just how the world works. Doing your best at the time is all that matters. We'll just keep doing our best from now on...!
As he leisurely encouraged the self-blaming Riley, Hesperon suddenly stopped speaking.
His gaze soon shifted back to his right arm.
Ssshh—
Dark curse energy began to creep up ominously.
The Arm of Craving, which had devoured resentment and been sated, was now slyly rearing its head again in defiance.
-Hesperon? What's wrong all of a sudden? You okay? Did you get hurt somewhere after all...!
-Ah, sorry. It's nothing. I just locked eyes with Starb for a moment and gave him a glare.
Yet even as he promptly answered her, Hesperon quietly stared at his right arm, now beginning to twitch violently.
'Oh, this is dangerous.'
Unlike what he'd told her, his pale face was starting to lose its color.
Drip, drip—
His expression remained calm, but nosebleed mixed with cold sweat dripped onto the floor from his sweat-soaked face.
The mages cleaning up nearby hurried over, but he had no attention to spare for them now.
Shaaa—
The curse energy, which had been testing the waters, now began to rampage wildly.
"Is this... a side effect?"
Even in that state, he maintained his composure using the Mind Hub and carefully checked his body bit by bit, frowning slightly.
No matter how successfully he'd contracted to wield the curse, its essence was a double-edged sword from the start.
And this wasn't an ordinary curse—it was a special entity with spirituality that had gained its own rank.
Unless he was someone like Immortal King Hans who could utterly ignore curses, he always had to handle it with care.
'...I definitely overused it this time.'
He hadn't just channeled power; he'd used it defensively, clashing head-on with black magic-infused attacks multiple times.
Even the filtered shock had shaken his internals badly—what about the accumulated damage in his arm?
Ssshh—
At that moment, a black dragon coiled around his arm gazed piercingly at him—its eyes gleaming serpentinely, unlike its usual majestic form.
The curse, previously confined to his right arm, began to stealthily expand its territory.
"Tch, that's why I should have listened to the doctor's warnings."
Hesperon quietly clicked his tongue at the behavior.
Though this was an unavoidable emergency, he still needed countermeasures of some kind.
He couldn't predict what might happen once the curse grew further.
"But not on my watch, you little monster."
Crackle—
As expected, the curse trying to expand halted at his shoulder line, writhing futilely.
Not only the bandage seal wrapped around his shoulder, but his skill Curse Predator fiercely resisted the invasion attempt.
'Now!'
Flutter—
Seizing the moment the curse hesitated.
At his will, the shoulder bandages unwound in an instant, then swiftly wrapped his right arm airtightly in the blink of an eye.
Crack— Crackle!
Black sparks flew in rebellion, the arm flailing wildly.
The black dragon flickered like a fluorescent light turning on and off.
Immense pain surged from his right arm, but his Mind Hub and Soul Firewall thoroughly blocked it, protecting his mind.
But he couldn't control his body's reactions, which were directly affected by the pain.
He wasn't Hari, who could control every muscle fiber and cell.
His pupils dilated from the pain seizing his brain and nerves, his whole body convulsing.
Thin streams of blood trickled from his mouth and nose against his pallid face, his body drenched in cold sweat as if dunked in water.
About five minutes passed like that.
Perhaps thanks to the Chains of Oath connected to the curse, constantly reining it in.
The rampaging Arm of Craving finally began to calm, and his body gradually stabilized.
'Whew, if this had happened mid-battle, it would've been game over.'
Letting out a sigh of relief, he massaged his throbbing right arm.
After carefully checking its state by moving the thoroughly bandaged arm around, he looked up.
"Are you... alright?"
Marquis Lawrence, who had approached unnoticed with a strange expression, cautiously spoke.
"Yes, I'm fine now."
Having encountered him often while learning magic at the palace, they were somewhat familiar.
Perhaps mindful of Riley, the next top authority, he occasionally offered advice.
"Hm... If you say you're fine, then that's that."
"Haha, sorry for the late thanks. I'm grateful you saved us. I was just feeling really endangered."
"No need. You held your own quite well too. I heard you'd only just started training, yet you're already at that level."
Continuing in astonishment, he paused and slowly scanned Hesperon again.
Dust covering his body, bloodstains everywhere, pallid face, cold sweat soaking him, muscles still twitching intermittently.
No matter how you looked, he didn't seem fine.
'Even without that, anyone who saw him earlier would think the same.'
Stroking his chin beard, Lawrence narrowed his eyes.
The clash between the out-of-control rampaging curse and the will suppressing it.
Just from the bodily reactions, one could guess the pain's intensity—yet Hesperon's face was now serene, as if nothing had happened.
'His mental strength and self-control are beyond words. What a shame, such a waste.'
His growth rate so far, and holding out against Starb until he arrived.
If taken as a disciple and trained well, he could even be a successor...
'Hm, maybe casually bring it up later.'
But now wasn't the time.
Better to do it right if he committed.
If side effects caused issues, he'd face the princess's resentment after saving him.
"Can't have that."
"...Pardon?"
"Come on, let's go."
"Ah... Yes."
Thus, unable to resist Marquis Lawrence's insistence, Hesperon was semi-forcibly admitted to the imperial hospital.
And upon hearing the full story from Riley, his long-term hospitalization was immediately decided.
With worried nagging transmitted via the Chains of Oath, asking why he said he was fine.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The base set up on the outskirts of Seoul.
Tap, tap, tap—
The sound of fingers drumming on the table echoed in the quiet room.
I stared blankly at the monitor displaying the printed security report email, then sank into thought.
'Outerica is entering its endgame.'
There were still minor loose ends, but the major events that could shake the world were mostly wrapped up.
What remained was for the avatars in their positions to steadily build influence and successfully wrap up the home theater?
'The big one left is the sanctions on the Hermanhart Ducal House...'
Even that didn't seem like it would drag on.
Riley was truly furious and moving more aggressively than ever.
She was still at the Roselia Sub-Temple, but she was commanding her amassed forces in perfect unison, launching major operations.
Not just politics, but business, academia, the Mage Tower, even mercenaries.
She even leaked stories about Starb becoming a Dark Knight to the Church, requesting Inquisitors—what more was there to say?
'I have a grudge too, so I accepted quickly.'
It came straight from the empire's representative.
That was ample justification for the Church to intervene directly, wasn't it?
'If it feels insufficient, just plant a few links to the Immortal King's undead army.'
Then... unbelievable!
The prestigious ducal house would simply become humanity's traitors!
Rebels blinded by power, joining hands with the Immortal King.
No matter their status as imperial dukes, a single house's downfall would be instantaneous.
Especially with the imperial family turning away—zero chance of recovery.
'But thinking about it, it's not wrong, is it?'
Upon reflection, I realized it wasn't even a false charge.
It was already confirmed that Duke Hermanhart was one of the executives of the Oath of Reverse Heaven.
What kind of group was the Oath of Reverse Heaven?
The evil organization plotting not just the Immortal King's resurrection, but opening the Abyss Gate to unleash madness, sinking the Enamel Continent, and sparking the Ion Continent's great war.
'I don't know how much he knew or collaborated, but facts are facts.'
Whether he knowingly risked continental destruction or just stirred crises for profit didn't matter now.
This was now just rightful punishment.
'...My thoughts wandered. Anyway, that's that side...'
My gaze returned to the security email on the monitor.
The forcibly uplifted mood for ventilation sank back down.
The sender was Andrew Weaver.
The slave... no, talent with the unique skill Trajectory Observation useful for intel gathering.
And this report proved the worth of recruiting him.
<Confirmed Location of Bancheon Society East Asia Branch>
<List of Candidate Locations for East Asia Branch Chief, the Rite Ruler>
'Rite Ruler...'
Suddenly, the image of him from Japan—utterly wrecked by Hans—flashed in my mind.
And the past brushed during the recent hospital terror.
Flames and explosions, heat, screams, blood scent.
Voices calling my name, gazes upon me, warmth, memories.
"Hup, huu—."
With deep breaths, emotions I'd buried for the urgent situation bubbled up.
Not yet the time—I'd shelved anger and grudge in Persona, but they now slowly raised their heads.
'Yeah, I've held back plenty. Time to... see some results.'
My twitching lips slowly curved upward.
East Asia Branch Chief, Rite Ruler.
And that meant.
<Operation Plan: 20XX August, Seoul Station>
That bastard was the decision-maker and mastermind of that terror, right?
I didn't plan to end with just him, but he'd at least quench this thirst as an appetizer.
I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair.
Darkened vision, faint hum of the computer.
And.
"Hans."
Darkness fell over the room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The deepest part of Outerica.
The Abyss.
Where standards of time, space, matter, and concepts blurred into meaninglessness, floating in chaos as always.
And it would remain so forever.
Crackle!
Yet.
Suddenly, anomalies began in this eternally unchanging place.
Shatter—
Crunch— Crack!
Sounds of space breaking and something shattering echoed.
Or perhaps not space.
Here, even such concepts couldn't fully exist—maybe the sound itself was illusion.
But regardless, the inexplicable changes continued.
And finally, it spat out another anomaly.
"Hm."
A man suddenly appeared there—who knew when.
Untouched by the riotously churning space, he slowly looked around and let out a low hum.
"Another bust?"
But he couldn't be sure yet.
Having infiltrated via exploit rather than formal entry, similar cases had happened before.
Security vulnerabilities were always in such remote spots beyond the admin's gaze.
So thought the man... ordinary yet imposing, vaguely indistinct—
The Bancheon Society's Chairman twisted his lips and spoke.
"Hope this time there's something worthwhile..."
But before his words finished.
⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ 《The XXened XXX gazes upon you.》 Thump—
The space shook with a fierce heartbeat.