Chapter 165
Chapter 165
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Plague Investigation (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Ugh…… ughhh……!”
Hearing the undead’s wail, Garot spread his arms wide in delight.
“This black mana! This murderous intent! You’ve finally achieved completion as an undead!”
Garot was a grand black mage of the Aberration School.
The Aberration School specialized in handling monsters. As such, a grand black mage from that school, Garot had observed countless monsters up to now.
Not a single monster he had encountered before could compare to the undead before his eyes.
“Now that you’ve become a true undead, you’ll need a name. What should it be? What name should I give you?”
After pondering for a moment, Garot spoke as if struck by a good idea.
“Fenrir! From now on, I’ll call you Fenrir!”
Fenrir was the name of a giant wolf from the myth of some foreign tribe.
It was the name of a monster said to devour gods and bring ruin to the world.
“I don’t know why you hate me so much…… but it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you’re complete!”
Garot grinned brightly.
The undead—no, Fenrir—simply glared silently at the man. Blood-red eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
“You’re dying to kill me! That’s cute and all…… but we’re going to be together from now on, so that won’t do. Time for a little training.”
Garot formed hand seals, and black chains tightened around the souls.
-Kyaaaak! It hurts! It huuuurts!
-S-st-stop! Please stop!
The souls’ screams grew even louder. At the same time, an enormous amount of black mana poured out.
This was the very reason Garot had spread the plague.
To bind the souls to his will, then torture them to extract their black mana.
Thanks to that, Garot could now draw on a massive amount of black mana whenever he wanted.
“First things first, let’s put up a fence so you can’t escape.”
Garot consumed all the black mana the souls had spewed to cast a black magic spell.
A black curtain unfurled from the sky. It completely isolated the area where Garot stood from the rest of the world.
It was an advanced black magic spell that sealed off a designated region. He had prepared it to prevent Fenrir from melting into the darkness and fleeing.
“Come on, then. Show me what you can do.”
Garot spread his arms wide as he spoke. Before he could finish, Fenrir charged.
Each time its paws struck the ground, the earth quaked. Its speed increased rapidly, friction with the air igniting sparks.
Garot formed hand seals. In that instant, a pocket dimension opened in front of Fenrir.
Something burst out from the pocket dimension, blocking Fenrir’s path.
It was an ogre, called the king of the forest. But unlike a normal ogre, it had three pairs of arms.
Fenrir opened its jaws to bite the ogre. The ogre seized its upper and lower jaws with all six arms.
“It’s a chimera made by fusing three ogres. Its strength is tripled. It won’t be an easy oppon——”
Fenrir clamped down on its jaw. The ogre’s arms and head vanished in one go.
“……Oh?”
Admiration appeared on Garot’s face. He hadn’t expected it to be killed in a single blow.
“You’re saying even this is nothing? Truly magnificent!”
Fenrir closed in right up to Garot’s nose. It gaped its maw to crush him.
Just before, something burst from a newly opened pocket dimension behind Garot and slammed into Fenrir.
The impact sent Fenrir flying backward. It bared its fangs and growled.
This time, the chimera that appeared was a lion.
Needless to say, it wasn’t an ordinary lion. For one, its size was enormous. Garot looked like a child standing beside it.
Size wasn’t the only abnormality. The lion had two heads.
Garot climbed onto the lion’s back. Gripping its mane, he shouted.
“Nemesis! Run!”
Nemesis dodged Fenrir and dashed through the forest. Fenrir pursued the lion.
The two beasts raced between the trees. Fenrir let out a long howl.
Then, the shadows of the forest began to writhe. Small wolves burst from the shadows.
“……Clones? You can even make these?”
Garot’s eyes widened twofold. He turned to Fenrir in admiration.
“Impressive! This ability alone proves your worth!”
The clones were far faster than Fenrir. They moved lightly like the wind, surrounding the lion.
“Nemesis. You’ll need to show something too, right?”
Both heads opened their mouths simultaneously. Sonic waves erupted from both maws. The clones that the waves touched burst like balloons.
“The clones’ durability is a shame! But don’t worry! I’ll reinforce them even more!”
Garot laughed triumphantly as he turned to Fenrir.
But Fenrir was gone. Garot muttered in a small voice, flustered.
“Where did it go?”
Suddenly, Fenrir leaped from Nemesis’s shadow. At the same time, it tore into Nemesis’s throat.
Crunch.
Both necks were ripped away simultaneously. The body lost strength and collapsed to the ground.
Just before it fell, Garot jumped to the ground. He landed lightly and turned to Fenrir.
“To fell even Nemesis…… You’re far greater than I imagined.”
Fenrir turned to Garot. Its maw was drenched in blood.
-Grrr.
Fenrir charged at Garot. This time, it meant to bite and kill him for sure.
That was when it happened.
Something struck Fenrir. With a thunderous boom, Fenrir’s body flew sideways.
Forest trees snapped one after another. It demolished dozens before finally stopping.
-Grrr!
Fenrir rose, glaring straight ahead. Something strange stood beside Garot.
A slightly hunched back and short legs. Long arms that nearly dragged on the ground.
It resembled a monkey, but certainty was impossible. The monster’s entire body was covered not in fur, but in black carapace.
“Allow me to introduce it. They call it Vagder.”
The Aberration School’s secret technique was creating chimeras by fusing multiple monsters.
Depending on the monsters fused and how the functions were arranged, the chimera’s abilities varied wildly.
“It’s the chimera I’ve poured my effort into, specifically to face master-class foes.”
Fenrir glared at Vagder with eyes full of wariness. Its attitude was different from when facing the other chimeras.
-Grk!
The moment passed, and Fenrir charged first. It aimed to tear Vagder’s scruff.
Clang.
But Fenrir’s fangs were blocked by Vagder’s carapace. Instead, its own teeth cracked.
“Oh dear…… You can’t just bite recklessly. Vagder’s carapace even deflects aura.”
Fenrir put more force into its jaw. Yet Vagder remained unmoved.
“Vagder, subdue it.”
Vagder seized Fenrir. In the next instant, Fenrir’s massive body soared high into the sky.
Bewilderment crossed Fenrir’s face. In its vision, Vagder appeared.
Vagder floated even higher than Fenrir. Clasping its two hands into a fist, it hammered down.
Fenrir’s body plummeted vertically. With an explosive blast, the entire forest shattered.
* * *
Because it was undead, it didn’t shed clumping blood or suffer internal injuries.
-Yelp!
But the pain was real. Mongchi let out a scream.
Even amid the agony, Mongchi immediately rose. It couldn’t show weakness with the enemy right there.
The moment that thought crossed its mind, Vagder lunged from the side and smashed its fist into Mongchi’s face.
With an impact that felt like its head might rip off, Mongchi tumbled across the ground.
Vagder pursued. It kicked off the earth and instantly closed in on Mongchi’s nose.
-Grrr!
Mongchi created clones to block Vagder.
Over a dozen clones rushed at Vagder. But they were all blocked by its carapace.
Vagder swung its fist down at Mongchi’s head. With a boom, Mongchi’s head was smashed into the ground.
The shock made the whole world shake. Its vision wouldn’t focus, and no strength entered its body.
This time, even Mongchi couldn’t endure. It collapsed to the ground, trembling.
Speed, power—everything was far superior. Overwhelmingly so. Mongchi could only feel deep despair from Vagder.
“Hmm.”
Then, a familiar voice rang in its ears. Mongchi forced its eyes open.
Garot had approached unnoticed. He stood right in front of its nose.
“Even you can’t handle Vagder, huh.”
Garot, who had stopped right before Mongchi’s nose, nodded as if it were only natural.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. This one contains everything I have. That means you’re incredibly strong.”
The moment it saw Garot, life returned to Mongchi’s eyes. Bursting with murderous intent, it lunged at him.
The enemy who killed its master was right there. If it could just open its mouth a little, it could rip his head off!
Just as it tried to crush Garot with its fangs, Vagder grabbed Mongchi’s head and body, slamming it into the ground.
-Grraaah!
Mongchi thrashed to shake Vagder off. But Vagder was immovable. It felt like a mountain pressing down.
-Grk! Grk!
Even so, Mongchi didn’t stop struggling to kill Garot.
That man had killed its master. And not content with that, he had done unspeakable things to its master.
It couldn’t give up like this. Then who would avenge its master’s grudge, its injustice!
“Oh dear…… You still hate me so much.”
Garot muttered with a pitying expression.
“Being hated like this doesn’t sit well with me…… I guess it’s a bit early, but time for some education.”
Garot gestured in the air. The souls bound by black chains began screaming again.
-Kyaaaak!
-Aaaah!
Black mana poured out along with the screams. Garot gathered it and formed a massive stake.
“First one.”
The black stake pierced Mongchi’s body and embedded in the ground. In that instant, Mongchi’s eyes widened hugely.
Agony like all its nerves were aflame struck Mongchi’s brain.
Every pain it had felt before seemed like child’s play.
“It’ll sting. This is a torture black magic spell developed to torment souls. A normal person would go mad just from touching the stake.”
Garot created a new stake. Its tip aimed at Mongchi’s torso.
“I wonder how many you can endure?”
When the second stake impaled it, the pain doubled. Mongchi writhed.
“Third.”
As the number of stakes increased, the pain grew. By the fifth stake, Mongchi’s body went limp.
“Five…… You last a long time. As expected of the undead I chose.”
In the endless torment, Mongchi’s eyes remained fixed on Garot.
Master……
Its master’s enemy was right there, yet it could do nothing.
Its master had vanished in agony. And it couldn’t even avenge him a little.
Black mana oozed from Mongchi’s eyes like clots. It trickled down its cheeks like tears before evaporating.
“Tears? From an undead? To witness something this rare!”
Garot cheered in delight. Mongchi could only glare at him, helpless.
“You truly are a beautiful creature! His Excellency will surely be sa——”
Suddenly, Garot looked up. A blue line was slashing across the black curtain overhead.
“……Is that getting cut?”
As Garot panicked, a square hole pierced the black curtain. Someone jumped down from it.
“……A human?”
The human man swung his sword. In that instant, aura blades rained from the sky. Garot’s eyes widened at the sight.
The aura blades blanketed the ground like a downpour. Just before, Vagder had grabbed Garot and fled the spot.
Aura crashed where Garot and Vagder had been. Countless sword scars etched the ground.
The human man landed right where Garot had stood moments before.
“……Who are you?”
Garot asked the man. Sheathing his sword, the man replied.
“Demian Haksen.”