Frenzy on the Plains
Beyond the horizon stretched the plains between the forest and the city. Monsters swarmed everywhere the eye could see.
You're seriously going in there? That's not going to end well.
"No. I will win."
What the hell are you on about?
Enoch traced a perfect arc through the air as gravity dragged him down. Boom! Purple lightning crackled through the rising cloud of dust. He emerged from the haze, planted his feet, and cracked an orc's bones like dry twigs. The creature died without a sound.
Sparks danced from the eyeholes of his mask as Enoch swept his gaze across the battlefield. "Lots of them."
The entire plain was a sea of monsters. Every eye locked onto him, every gaze dripping with killing intent. A shiver raced across his skin.
"Good."
Kiiiiiiing—! The halo spun. Gang Qi flooded his hands. The Heavenly Slaughter Lightning God Art answered as naturally as breathing. The instant Enoch seized a star in his palm, thunder rolled across the sky and purple lightning hammered down.
Heavenly Slaughter Lightning God Art
"Fuck..."
Max shuddered as he watched the distant storm of lightning rage across the plains. "I nearly got myself killed..."
Trying to scheme against a monster like that and still breathing was nothing short of a miracle. His luck had been absolute garbage lately. Apparently that run of terrible fortune had paid for his life. No better bargain than that.
Still...
Max's eyes traveled along the battlements. Every soldier was staring toward the far-off carnage. A battlefield? Or a hunting ground? Some wild beast was butchering monsters by the hundreds. Suppressing the chill crawling up his spine, he studied the lord.
"Hmm..."
The man looked deeply troubled, and for good reason. No matter how strong that creature was, it had not yet stepped outside the limits of humanity. It could not possibly kill every monster out there. This was no longer a question of strength but of endurance. The mana cost alone would be enormous. Sustaining that kind of output for long was impossible.
Maybe... just maybe the monster would exhaust itself and die on its own? Max really hoped the lord wouldn't open the gates under some nonsense excuse about providing support. He scratched his head roughly, muttering curses under his breath.
Spear, fist, axe, foot, claw, tooth, head, talon, body, arrow. Enoch's eyes darted everywhere. He had willingly walked into the center of the encirclement. Too many threats to track.
"Kiaak—!" A bipedal lizardman thrust its spear. Lizardman. The name flickered through his mind. He stepped forward and scattered the star clutched in his hand.
Ssssssh—! Five blades of Gang Qi tore through the front line. While severed corpses rained down, arrows whistled in. He drove one into the skull of a charging orc, then unleashed the spell he had prepared earlier.
Crackle—! Electricity flooded the area. Monsters froze mid-motion. In that brief window he swung, kicked, and cast simple spells. Heads flew. Hearts burst. Throats opened.
"Haa... Haa..."
His breathing grew ragged. The number of monsters he had ripped apart had passed three digits long ago. His body was hitting its limit. Yet the horde still stretched into the distance. Another sword came whistling in. He slapped the flat aside with his palm, then tore open the jaws of a dog-like monster with his bare hands. He yanked a missed spear from the air and caved in an orc's skull, leaped, spun, and unleashed a flurry of kicks.
Thudududu—! Crimson blood, blue blood, green blood—all of it mixed and sprayed through the air. The blackened mixture coiled around his ankles like living sludge. The battlefield's heat flooded his head. Killing intent burned through his veins.
Swish—! He jerked his head back just in time. Claws grazed his cheek. A fraction slower and his throat would have been shredded. His heart thundered. A euphoric grin spread across his face.
I am alive.
The senses he had grown numb to suddenly felt vivid again. "Hehe..."
Laughing like a madman, he waded deeper into the slaughter. His drying mana made his Gang Qi flicker. An orc seized the opening and counterattacked. Enoch was faster. He drove straight into its chest and crushed its heart.
Thump. Thump. The organ pulsed in his grip before he squeezed it into pulp. Still more monsters. Still more attacks. Dodging them all was becoming difficult. Wounds multiplied across his arms, legs, cheeks, and sides.
"Kyaaak—!" A black maw filled his vision. A gnoll. He shoved his hand between its jaws. Crunch—! Weakened mana met teeth. The pain only sharpened the ecstasy. He rammed his hand down its throat, grabbed something soft, and ripped.
The gnoll's eyes went dark as its own intestines spilled out. "Huu..."
Blood loss made his vision swim. Or perhaps it was the rising madness. "Hahahaha...!"
Jet-black killing intent erupted. The world around him went dark, yet every detail before his eyes became razor-sharp—the pulsing artery in a goblin's neck, the hot breath of an orc, the bloodshot eyes of a gnoll, the agonized screams, the steaming blood.
All of them—
Splash—!
Hey, you bastard!
A slap of water struck his cheek. Enoch blinked. A fist flew at his face. Thud—! Undine burst a lizardman's head before it could reach him. Enoch shook off the haze and moved again.
Isn't it about time you stopped!?
"Win."
Win what, you psychotic asshole!
His body felt strangely light. His muscles screamed as if they would tear apart, yet vitality surged through him stronger than ever. The wounds covering him had already begun to close. Was this the influence of the Heavenly Slaughter Star?
Humming a carefree tune, he smashed two monster heads together. This guy is a total motherfucker!
"Huk... I don't have a mother, though?"
He caught a blade with his bare hand and wrenched it free. He had learned swordsmanship, after all. Slice—! Limbs tumbled across the ground. Enoch giggled.
Not mother, murder! You murderous freak! Why do you look like you're having an orgasm while killing monsters!?
"...Vulgar."
You were the one doing it! Not me!
"Not fun anymore."
I wasn't doing it to entertain you!
His body was finally refusing to obey. The number of monsters had... oh. It had decreased quite a bit. The ground had become a carpet of corpses, though many still remained.
"Hmm."
The Lightning God Transformation finally flickered out. Strength drained from his limbs in an instant. Even with the output reduced, the technique was dangerous. A headache split his skull.
"Pass?"
Aish, you moron! What now!?
"Help me?"
This is ridiculous...
Undine sighed. She looked over Enoch's battered body with clear displeasure. If Rionne saw him like this, she would faint for real.
Better to die than suffer, I suppose...
She raised her tiny fist. Eight!
Thump—! A knuckle strike landed squarely on Enoch's head.
"Ugh...!"
He clutched his skull and dropped to one knee. At that exact moment—
BOOOOOOOM—!!!!
The world itself shook. Enoch staggered upright and looked up.
"Oh..."
A fist the size of a mountain, formed entirely of water. When it slammed into the earth, everything in its path vanished. The crushed corpses of monsters were pulverized into the soil. The stench of blood rose thick from the darkened ground.
"Good." Enoch raised a thumbs-up.
It was only today that Enoch finally understood the true meaning of the term "sage time."
"Ugh..."
His entire body felt limp and heavy. He had no desire to do anything. All he wanted was to sleep. He had heard that random thoughts vanished and the mind grew clear during sage time, but right now he was simply exhausted.
Hey, hey! Don't lie down here!
Undine hauled him to his feet. He trudged forward. The massive city gates swung open wide. Without a single thought in his head, he walked inside.
Kyuu...
Eri, who had been regulating her energy from his middle dantian, drooped tiredly across his shoulder. He gently stroked her head in appreciation for her hard work, then met the lord who had come out to greet them.
"...I wondered who it could be. So it was the Sword Queen's disciple."
The lord's gaze lingered on Undine, who stood with arms crossed and a sullen expression. The Tyrant Undine. He had heard the name many times, but never imagined she would be this intense. And the disciple was far from ordinary. The mask and hood had hidden it before, but the violent battle had revealed a face that could still be called a child's. A Master at such a young age. Rare even across the entire continent. Not some half-baked Master like himself, but a true Master who had formed his own star.
"Oh..."
Enoch paid no attention to the lord's reaction. His dazed eyes simply widened a fraction. Should he? Shouldn't he? A fierce internal debate raged. But in the end, it seemed instinct could not be suppressed even by sage time.
"One round?"
"......?"
"Might not be bad."
Fighting in a completely exhausted state. That had its own unique charm. The things he needed to consider would be different. The way he handled his techniques would change. Wasn't that already a brand-new experience?
Crackle— A faint spark of electricity danced in Enoch's eyes. At the same time, Undine's hand moved.
Smack—!
Hey, you idiot! Stay still! You think I'm going to heal you? Do you want to get yelled at by Rionne again before you finally come to your senses!?
"Ugh..."
Enoch rubbed the back of his head. For someone so small, her hand packed a surprising amount of power.
Sigh... Whatever. We're going back now, right? We only stayed to watch the monster wave. Though I guess "watch" isn't the right word.
"...More like a participation experience. We'll head home soon."
What? Wasn't your little runaway over?
"No. There's still something I need to do."