Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Plague Investigation (4)
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Garot, being a black mage, couldn't initially grasp what was happening.
Demian Haksen's afterimage enveloped Vagder, and countless slashes began.
Blue sword strikes blanketed Vagder's entire body.
Vagder flailed his arms in panic.
But the slashes didn't stop.
"......No way?"
Only then did Garot realize it.
Demian Haksen was moving at tremendous speed, swinging his sword at Vagder.
"Vagder! Calm down! Demian Haksen can't cut through your carapace anyway!"
As Garot said, Vagder's carapace was intact.
It meant Demian Haksen's Aura couldn't slice through the carapace.
"Spew your poison! Shake off Demian Haksen and counterattack!"
At Garot's shout, Vagder opened his mouth.
Purple smoke billowed from his throat.
The grass and trees touched by the purple smoke rotted away in an instant.
If only Demian Haksen would get poisoned and die like this—it was a vain hope.
Demian Haksen had long since retreated to a spot the smoke couldn't reach.
But it had succeeded in shaking him off, as originally intended.
"......Vagder's being pushed back this easily."
Vagder was the chimera Garot had painstakingly crafted to face Master-class opponents.
To capture a Master-class's movements, he had transplanted countless monsters' nerves and sensory organs into Vagder.
Thanks to that, Vagder's senses were sharper than any monster's.
Even High-class couldn't handle Vagder.
But those painstakingly implanted sensory organs didn't work against Demian Haksen.
"Not just any ordinary High-class, huh?"
That didn't mean there was no way to counter him.
Vagder hadn't shown his true power yet.
"Vagder, activate the core."
The center of Vagder's torso glowed red.
At the same time, steam began rising from his entire body.
Activating the core enhanced all of Vagder's abilities further.
But it caused his body temperature to rise sharply, so he couldn't sustain it long—a side effect.
The pre-implanted cooling organs cooled his body temperature, producing the steam.
"Smashed him to pieces."
The ground caved in, and Vagder's body vanished.
In an instant, he appeared above Demian's head and swung down with both hands clasped together.
Demian Haksen leaped into the air to evade the attack.
Vagder's fist slammed into the ground.
An explosion rang out, and dust clouded the view.
Right after, the dust cloud tore apart as Vagder charged.
He whipped his arms toward Demian Haksen like lashes.
As his arms swung, the air burst with sound.
The ground shattered, and trees toppled over.
Attacks with terrifying speed and power continued in succession.
Demian Haksen kept retreating, dodging Vagder's assaults.
The tide had completely turned.
Demian Haksen was now being pushed back by Vagder.
"Second Ring."
At that moment, Demian Haksen murmured softly.
The vibration emanating from him grew even louder.
Demian Haksen's mana began spreading like wildfire.
The intense energy made even Vagder pause for a moment.
Suddenly, his body vanished.
The next instant, hundreds of slashes enveloped Vagder's body.
The slashes were much denser than before.
Vagder's form was barely visible amid them.
"......And it gets even faster from there?"
Garot muttered in horror.
Even with the core activated, Vagder couldn't react to Demian Haksen.
He was just helplessly shredded by the slashes.
"Vagder! You've got your carapace, so you're fine! Hold out, and Demian Haksen will tire first......"
Before he could finish, Vagder's carapace cracked like a net.
The flesh beneath was sliced away, and purple blood erupted.
-Kieeeek!
For the first time, Vagder screamed.
It was a cry utterly unfit for his imposing form.
"Calm down! That scratch won't kill you! Steady yourself and find Demian Haksen!"
Despite Garot's advice, Vagder flailed his arms wildly, not knowing what to do.
It seemed because he wasn't accustomed to pain.
"You idiot! Don't disgrace my creation like this!"
Garot spat in fury.
Meanwhile, wounds continued to carve into Vagder's body.
Blood streamed from the gaps in his carapace.
"Damn it...... forcing me to intervene after all!"
Garot cast black magic.
He placed a berserk curse on Vagder.
-Kieeeek!
Vagder's eyes filled with madness.
His reason vanished, but so did his pain.
"Vagder! Ignore those scratches! Demian Haksen's slashes are shallow anyway!"
It was true that Demian Haksen's Aura had cut the carapace, but the wounds weren't deep.
They were negligible.
"If you can't chase Demian Haksen, rampage! Get him caught in it and kill him!"
Vagder clenched his fists and began thrashing about.
He pounded the ground with his fists.
He demolished the forest.
Broken trees and rocks flew everywhere.
The slashes enveloping Vagder's body abruptly stopped.
Demian Haksen appeared a short distance away from Vagder.
"Yeah, if you don't want to get hurt, you have to back off."
Garot sneered at Demian Haksen.
He was about to order Vagder to counterattack.
Demian Haksen raised his sword high toward the sky.
It was a stance as if to split something in two.
"Third Ring."
The vibration from Demian Haksen grew even louder.
Now it was ear-piercing.
Aura exploded from the sword in his hand.
Like oil poured on flames, the Aura shot high into the sky.
Soon, it began compressing around the blade.
Aura is usually likened to a heat haze.
Because it lacks a clear form.
But the Aura now gathering on Demian Haksen's blade had a distinct shape.
It looked like a straight, sharp blade.
"What the hell is that......"
Garot, seeing it, muttered with a flustered face.
"Aurablade......? No, it's not quite there yet...... Not an Aurablade. But......"
Garot's face twisted in terror as he shouted.
"It's almost complete......!"
Demian Haksen swung down.
The compressed Aura on the blade shot out as a razor-sharp slash.
The ground and clouds split simultaneously.
Vagder's body in between was no exception.
At first, Vagder seemed fine.
But moments later, a straight line etched from his head down between his legs.
Purple blood gushed through the line, dyeing the world.
Vagder slowly knelt.
His upper body slowly slid off and fell to the ground.
* * *
"Huu......"
Demian slowly caught his breath.
Converging Infinite Art.
It truly was a powerful mana cultivation method.
The more rings activated, the exponentially greater the mana output.
Speed and Aura power leaped accordingly with the amplified mana.
It was mighty, but it consumed stamina just as heavily.
There was no helping that.
"This can't be!"
At that moment, Garot shouted loudly.
He knelt before Vagder's body, wailing.
"How much effort did I put into making you! Losing to some mere High-class who's not even a Master!"
Garot tore at his hair with both hands.
-My lord, shall I capture him?
Dominico said to Demian.
Demian raised a hand to stop him.
"Getting close now would be dangerous."
-......Pardon?
Garot glared at Demian.
His eyes were bloodshot.
"You dare...... destroy my Vagder...... trample my life's work like this? Stay right there...... I'll kill you right now......!"
Garot placed his hand on Vagder's body.
The flesh of his hand mashed together and fused with Vagder.
Garot's body was absorbed into Vagder.
-What?
Dominico cried out in shock.
But it was too early to be surprised.
Garot's face appeared on Vagder's forehead.
Soon, tentacles sprouted from the severed upper and lower halves.
The tentacles intertwined, rejoining the bisected body.
Vagder straightened his bent knees.
-Forcing me to use even this black magic!
Garot, protruding from Vagder's forehead, shouted loudly.
Garot had used his own body as material to revive Vagder.
Naturally, once fused, they could never separate again.
That's why this black magic was called the pinnacle and downfall of the aberration school.
-Demian Haksen! You'll pay dearly!
Garot stimulated the souls subjugated to him.
The souls screamed, producing black mana.
A massive amount of black mana poured into Vagder's body, and his size grew even larger.
"This is trouble. I can't fight anymore."
Thanks to using Converging Infinite Art, Demian's stamina was rock bottom.
"So, want to give it a try?"
Demian looked at Fenrir and asked.
Fenrir lifted his head to look at Demian.
-Grrrrowl!
Fenrir bared his fangs and growled.
Despite being so badly beaten by Garot and Vagder, Fenrir's fighting spirit remained unbroken.
"You want to complete your revenge with your own hands? Excellent."
Demian bit his thumb.
He let the blood drip into Fenrir's mouth.
"I'll show you a new world."
Using the blood as a medium, a contract formed between Demian and Fenrir.
Their minds connected.
In that instant, Fenrir's eyes widened.
His mind filled with the knowledge Demian imparted.
From it, Fenrir found the path he must take.
Fenrir slowly closed his eyes.
Soon, his shadow began gathering in one spot.
"Yes, that's it."
Demian said with a satisfied face.
"Your essence isn't in that decaying flesh."
That was merely a temporary body Fenrir had formed.
Fenrir's true body was elsewhere.
The shadow rose.
It soon shaped into a wolf.
A jet-black wolf, as if sculpted from torn darkness.
The wolf raised its head and howled.
The howling stretched on long.
Darkness spread from the wolf's paws.
Dense darkness blanketed the ground.
The darkness churned like a stormy sea.
-......What is this?
Garot asked with a flustered face.
-No matter how great that guy is...... this ability...... what the hell......!
In his previous life, Fenrir was called the Beast of Ruin.
Because of his unique ferocity, persistence, and this special ability.
'Shadow Assimilation'
With this one ability, Fenrir had plunged the imperial army into terror.
"Finish your revenge."
Demian said to Fenrir.
The darkness roiled at the feet of Garot, fused with Vagder.
The darkness took form.
A massive wolf burst from below, swallowing Garot.
Garot hurriedly thrust out both hands to grab the jaws.
But it was futile.
Garot's arms snapped without resistance.
-Th, this can't......!
Pillar-thick fangs crushed Garot.
A deathly scream burst from his mouth.