Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Elf (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Damn it, where the hell did that bastard come from?"
The elder of the Oath of Reverse Heaven, Nurabe, gnashed his teeth as he watched his monsters and minions getting torn to shreds.
The culprit was that unidentified creature that had suddenly appeared—human, lycanthrope, or some other monster, he couldn't tell.
It was the one that had stolen their carefully prepared sacrifice and was now fleeing.
'Things were going too smoothly lately... and now this at the end!'
It had all started as usual, procuring an elf through a slave trader.
His faction specialized in contracting even stronger demons or summons through sacrificial rituals—the higher the value of the sacrifice, the greater the effect.
And that's when they discovered it while managing their slaves.
A sacrifice qualified to become a High Elf right in their grasp.
'We got lucky. The demon we summoned happened to have the ability to recognize it.'
He immediately followed the demon's advice and fitted the sacrifice with a seal stronger than usual around her neck.
To prevent the World Tree from easily exposing her information due to karmic laws.
Still uneasy, he scheduled the ritual as soon as possible.
He knew what a High Elf meant to the elves.
They would use any means to reclaim her.
He planned to complete the ritual cleanly and relocate before then...
'Was using the World Tree's branch too greedy?'
A 'qualified High Elf candidate' wasn't the same value as a true 'High Elf.'
It was only natural to want to make the most of such a top-grade sacrifice.
So he decided to use the World Tree's branch stored by the organization in the ritual alongside her.
He couldn't turn her into a real High Elf, but using the branch as a medium, he could temporarily make her a 'pseudo High Elf.'
It felt like all the luck in the world was on his side.
He planned to move immediately after finishing, gathering most of his personnel and starting the ritual smoothly.
Until a hole suddenly ripped open in the barrier.
'To think the World Tree would intervene at that exact moment!'
It targeted the fleeting instant when the ritual wavered.
The branch had been sealed until brought here, and once the ritual began, laws should have blocked interference.
The problem was that the ritual had faltered.
But due to various restrictions, the miracle manifested through just the branch wasn't that grand.
It merely moved the sacrifice from the deepest part of the cave a little outward.
Considering the cave's complex structure, it probably wasn't even much in a straight line.
The issue was the bastard who snatched her up and ran.
Fortunately, they quickly gave chase.
'The seal's still on, so her location hasn't been fully exposed. But we need to recover her fast or we'll miss the ritual window.'
He initially planned to overwhelm the intruder with monsters to drain his stamina and safely retrieve her, but the current situation made that impossible.
"Kahahaha! Come at me!"
His entire body swollen with bulging muscles, his form a grotesque mix of human and beast.
Yet despite the feral appearance, his refined movements left even the Dark Knights unable to keep up.
"This won't do after all. We can't waste more time."
He tried controlling him suspecting a monster hybrid, but it didn't work.
And while he regenerated endlessly from the surrounding monsters' flesh, he was more monster than monster.
Nurabe signaled the black mages.
At his command, a summoning circle was prepared in an instant.
And then.
The battle entered a new phase.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Kahahat! Trouble! This is real trouble! Hahaha!"
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
Precisely when the new enemies joined the fray.
A piercing killing intent stabbed at him again, and Harley's Ferocity reacted immediately.
Chwaaang!
The black greatsword wrapped in black magic bounced off his axe.
At the same time, a ore bolt flew at his head, but he wouldn't fall for it twice.
Harley's right hand twisted unnaturally to snatch the bolt and crush it.
'Tricky bastards. Not pushovers.'
The black mages seemed serious now, deploying high-level summons onto the field.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Not too shabby, mongrel!] Even demons.
The over-3-meter demon relentlessly pressuring him with its massive greatsword, along with the other summons, forced him to take heavy damage.
His entire body was drenched in blood, of course...
'Thanks to Ferocity, losing one eye hasn't dropped my combat power much.'
The biggest loss was his left eye.
The demon and summons' sudden entry turned it into chaos, and in an unavoidable spot, that earlier bolt pierced his eye.
'If it were just that, Regeneration could fix it.'
But the ore bolt exploded on impact, costing him the eye before he could react.
Moreover, wary of his Monstrous Feast recovery, the black mages pulled back the lesser monsters, making energy replenishment difficult.
Seemingly planning to overwhelm with a few strong summons.
'Doesn't matter—they're just premium nutrition now.'
Most of those strong ones were down now.
But he'd only salvaged mana stones from them, and their interference had drained his energy to the brink anyway.
At least Cecily was safer now.
A faint energy from the World Tree branch wrapped in leopard hide with her absorbed the shocks.
'Only indirect impacts, but without it, my movements would be more restricted.'
The fight demanded intense motion.
The enemies weren't targeting her directly, but the cumulative fallout would hurt her eventually.
'Won't last long, though. Even the World Tree's straining.'
The branch tip peeking from the hide was dried and withered, without a drop of moisture.
It hadn't been like that at first.
Whoooong!
Then a black magic-wreathed greatsword flew at him.
As Harley moved to counter.
'Ugh! That again!'
A split-second stiffening.
Fatal in a battle where instants decided life and death.
He urgently channeled aura to deflect the sword, but a long gash opened on his forearm again.
'Hoo, need to take that one out first.'
The trickiest after the demon.
The jewel humanoid aiming a metal crossbow from the rear.
'Looks expensive. High bounty.'
A human-shaped summon made of faintly glowing green gems.
The sniper using telekinesis that took his eye.
'That forehead eye's the problem.'
Three green eyes, but the forehead one was notably darker.
It flashed whenever controlling bolts or applying telekinesis—probably it.
"Heh heh... This is tight."
Monsters surrounded him, denying Monstrous Feast openings.
These could inflict worse damage during recovery—couldn't ignore.
Enduring the black mages' curses with Bio Aura had limits; strength faded, senses dulled.
Suppressing Regeneration to conserve energy left him bloodied all over.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Kekeke. Giving up, mongrel?] The demon ahead mocked him, tapping his shoulder with the greatsword.
"Kahaha! Can't even handle one-on-one, but your mouth's lively! Wasted size!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Nonsense! Without that sacrifice in your arms, I'd have diced you already, mongrel!] The bared-teeth demon paused, then gripped the sword straight and sneered.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Stalling for time, eh? Dream on!] It swung the greatsword right away.
Synchronized with attacks pouring in from all sides.
"Not wrong—we've already achieved our goal! Hahaha!"
Harley countered the onslaught with Ferocity's senses while eyeing the clustered black mages with his remaining eye.
Memorizing their position.
Right after.
Flash!
"...What?!"
"Holy power? Suddenly?!"
A burst of light exploded above the black mages, their panicked yells echoing simultaneously.
By then, Heinrich had appeared in midair, spinning his body like a top.
Gripping a massive light sword drawn with near-bishop-level holy power in both hands.
Skakakakak!
Full-power slashes of the ultimate opposing energy shredded their barriers in seconds.
Archbishop-level reinforcement holy spells overlaid on Blessing: Fortified Body, plus close-combat specialized skills.
Heinrich's light sword ravaged those slow to react.
"Kuhk!"
"What the...!"
Only one reacted in that split second amid the holy storm.
The rest were lucky outliers on the edge.
"You bastard! How...!"
The one who reacted to Heinrich's ambush.
The enemy leader, an old man with a lava-red face, trembled in rage.
His 'how' held many meanings, but...
"Hahp!"
Heinrich ignored him, charging the remaining black mages and swinging.
Over half the group died or were wounded in the first strike.
Control lost, monsters panicked.
Summons vanishing without contractors, others rushing to protect survivors—the battlefield turned to pandemonium.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Grk! You scum—!] The greatsword demon urgently launched toward Heinrich.
In that moment, Harley facing it was suddenly free.
A surge of liberation.
Prime chance for Monstrous Feast recovery, but he had prior business.
Harley's leg muscles swelled, charging the jewel humanoid in an instant.
He couldn't let that one escape!
"Hahat! Where are you looking?"
Ignoring him blatantly!
Harley plunged his right hand into the jewel humanoid.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [——!] His hand hesitated at the flashing green forehead eye.
But as a rear-guard support type protected throughout, its telekinesis couldn't overcome Harley's close-range strength.
Kwajik!
His sharpened nails pierced the forehead instantly, mercury-like silver liquid flowing down his hand.
"Kahahahat! Got you at last, you punk!"
This one cost him an eye.
One-eyed barbarian warrior!
Sounded cool, but...
'Nah, too early. Save that for when I've aged a bit.'
Other parts might regenerate, but with current power, complex organs like eyes—who knew the time?
'Super Regeneration would've fixed it instantly. But with Mutation, transplanting a good one should work... Wait?'
Why not transplant a high-performance one?
For example...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [——!] This thing in his grasp right now.
"Hey, you. Good eyes, huh?"
It had three eyes, perfect.
Considering he lost one because of it, pretty unfair.
So taking one was fair.
Perfectly self-defense.
"Hahaha! Let's share the good stuff!"
He yanked out the lustrous green gem without hesitation.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [——!] The jewel humanoid shuddered, emitting a strange vibration, then its ore body lost light and collapsed.
'Aw, whole it'd fetch a price. Shame.'
Now just dull ore pile.
The forehead gem must've been its core.
'Silicon-based lifeform or something?'
Unlike anything he'd seen.
A vague memory surfaced, but in this fantasy world where common sense didn't apply, it didn't matter.
Harley glanced at the gem in his hand.
Smooth sheen on the eyeball, intricately carved pupil.
More gem than tissue.
He shoved it into his empty left socket.
No clue if it'd work, but...
'Try and see!'
Currently a barbarian warrior, but his essence was the apex predator pursuing evolution via foreign genes.
Different composition, but a lifeform nonetheless—Harley could assimilate.
Not mere gem; Mutation activated, linking optic nerve.
But only that far.
Structure too alien for full compatibility.
Mind Hub detected agony in the eye area.
Veins bulging, muscles spasming around left eye.
'Nope? Species too different?'
The thought lasted a moment.
"Ha! Nonsense!"
How many beasts and monsters had he devoured?
When did similarity ever matter for assimilation?
Crystallized but still organic tissue.
Already linked to him.
This was his now.
Kududuk.
His near-mad obsession and mental fortitude fueled intense suggestion.
The linked gem warped under Body Alteration.
Areas except the glowing green pupil turned white and soft like a human eye.
And...
⚔ STATUS ⚔ You have transplanted a new body part. Due to the influence of the special skill 「Mutation」, you have acquired the skill 「Jewel Eye: Telekinesis」. "Wahahahat! Nothing's impossible, huh?"
Back to normal barbarian form, Harley threw his shoulders back and bellowed a hearty laugh, chomping monster meat for energy.
Of course, he had reason for this leisure.
Whoooosh!
A massive storm swept the area in seconds.
Fwaaah!
Dazzling radiance blanketed the zone, sealing space.
"I'll smash your skulls, heretics! Hahaha!"
"Hahp!"
Two paladins now rampaged across the field.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Kroooar!] A flame-wreathed giant demon emerged from the black mages' side, clashing with them, but it wouldn't last long.
'The one held back to safely retrieve Cecily, huh.'
Spewing flames everywhere, it wasn't suited for targeted damage without collateral.
'Just prey now, though... Shame demons as summons vanish like smoke—can't eat 'em. If only I could snack on that meat.'
He'd tried eating prior demons, but they dissipated.
To feast, he'd need to invade the demon realm for true ones.
As Harley plopped down, smacking his lips in regret...
"Oh! Forgot!"
He hurriedly unwrapped the hide from his chest.
The miraculously intact hide parted, spilling out the limp elf girl.
Clutching a now twig-like branch.
"Hey, miss. You okay?"
Breathing but unconscious—worried, he shook her gently.
After several calls.
"Stuffy... Dizzy... Gonna puke..."
Cecily mumbled and squirmed.
Seemed fine otherwise.
"Hahaha! Glad you're safe!"
He laughed carefree, watching the grand demon dissolve into smoke.
'Mission complete. Thrilling op.'
He grew plenty from the fight—worth it all.
'And gains aren't over yet.'
As the battlefield cleared...
Rapori with wind-wrapped elves flew from the sky toward Harley.