Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Her (1)
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The Slayer Ghost was a master shrouded in veils of mystery.
Her origins, past, and even name were all unknown.
The Slayer Ghost first appeared during the time when Demian was actively working as a mercenary.
A gruesome and brutal incident occurred in a city of the neighboring kingdom.
Citizens began to be murdered one by one, and soon even knights started getting ambushed.
Those who examined the knights' corpses were plunged into great shock. Countless wounds were found all over the bodies.
The depth, shape, and size of the wounds all varied. It was as if a child had playfully slashed at them.
As the casualties mounted, several knights who could no longer stand by united their strength to capture the murderer.
The knights dug a trap to lure the killer in and then ambushed him.
The result was shocking. Instead, the knights were counterattacked, and the murderer slaughtered them all before leisurely escaping the scene.
The knights of the neighboring kingdom were deeply shaken. Realizing the murderer was no ordinary foe, they mobilized even more knights.
From that point on, the murderer became known by the moniker Slayer Ghost.
After a long pursuit, the knights finally succeeded in cornering the Slayer Ghost.
Numerous knights combined their strength to attack her, including some high-class ones.
But the outcome was the same. Every knight who attacked the Slayer Ghost became a guest who never returned. Even high-class knights were no exception.
Even after that, the Slayer Ghost evaded capture, wandering the continent and killing people.
Not long after, rumors spread that she was estimated to be master-class, and her name was added to the continent's list of public enemies.
'Her face is the same.'
Demian encountered the Slayer Ghost after he had transformed into a Death Knight.
At that time, despite being master-class, the Slayer Ghost looked no different from a beggar.
'Her eyes are better now.'
The future Slayer Ghost had eyes far more dull and murky, like rotten swamp water.
In comparison, the current Slayer Ghost's eyes were... so clear and pure that they were almost unsettling.
"You ignored my greeting?"
The Slayer Ghost tilted her head and asked. The bandits standing around spat curses.
"Th-this crazy bitch, what the hell did she just say!"
The bandits moved to attack the Slayer Ghost. Just before they did, she drew her twin swords with both hands.
Both swords were heavily rusted. They looked unfit for killing, as if they might snap at any moment.
Yet when the Slayer Ghost swung them, they sliced through the bandits' bodies repeatedly as if they were masterworks.
The slashes were so fast that it seemed like the bandits were the ones frozen in place.
"Uh... uhh..."
"Kuh... kugh..."
Blood lines appeared all over the bandits' bodies, and they fell apart in pieces.
'She already had her foundation solid even at this time.'
Demian admired the Slayer Ghost's swordsmanship. She had already established her own unique style.
'On top of that, she's aiming for middle-class.'
The Slayer Ghost was already at the cusp of low-class. Reaching middle-class was only a matter of time.
It wasn't on the level of Michael Ryanbloom, but it was still rare talent.
"I tried changing the angle of the cut, but the feel wasn't great."
The Slayer Ghost squatted down on the ground, looking at the corpses. She was poking at the cross-sections with her fingertips.
"It should slice more smoothly and cleanly. Should I narrow the angle a bit more?"
In his previous life, Demian had seen the Slayer Ghost do the exact same thing after killing. It was her habit when pondering better ways to kill.
'I should just kill her.'
Considering the chain of murders she would commit in the future, it would be right to eliminate her now. The number of knights she would kill exceeded three digits.
But Demian found her talent too valuable to waste. Even among master-class, such geniuses were hard to find.
There was the dangerous existence known as Dorgo. Letting such combat power vanish would be foolish.
It would be far better to turn her into an ally.
'Besides, she hasn't committed any crimes yet.'
The serial killings she would perpetrate were still a few years away from now.
The current her couldn't even be called the Slayer Ghost yet. That moniker was born from those very incidents.
Demian was only calling her that due to memories of his previous life.
'Should I try reforming her?'
It would be great if he could, but it wouldn't be easy. The Slayer Ghost had a fiercely rebellious spirit.
In his previous life, Dorgo had also highly valued her abilities and tried to recruit her.
Dorgo, who sought to destroy humanity, and the Slayer Ghost, immersed in murder.
The two had many common points.
-What? Destroy humanity? Then who the hell am I supposed to kill!
But the negotiations broke down right there. The Slayer Ghost was not the type to serve under anyone obediently.
'Dorgo failed, but there's one method that might work.'
Among the masters Demian fought in his previous life was one called the Personality Corrector.
He was probably the most absurd figure among the masters Demian knew.
To think he reached master-class by reforming criminals, of all things.
The Personality Corrector's method of reforming criminals was exceedingly simple.
He would first beat the criminal for one hour.
If they still didn't repent, he doubled the beating time.
From one hour to two, two to four, four to eight.
Rumor had it he once beat someone for 512 hours straight.
Moreover, he had a unique realm of his own, and it was said no one escaped reformation.
Perhaps he could reform the Slayer Ghost using the Personality Corrector's techniques.
That was when Demian thought that.
"I get it now! I figured out the angle to slash at!"
The Slayer Ghost jumped up excitedly, shouting. She beamed at Demian.
"Hey, I just thought of something super fun. Will you all help me out?"
The Slayer Ghost approached with her rusted twin swords dangling loosely. The mercenary group backed away in alarm.
"Just stand there. It won't hurt at all? It'll be over quick? So no need to be scared... What are you doing?"
The Slayer Ghost asked with a puzzled look. That was because Demian had cut a thick tree branch and begun sharpening it into a dagger.
A suitably thick club was made. Demian tapped his palm with it and spoke.
"What's your name?"
He couldn't keep calling her Slayer Ghost before the moniker existed. At Demian's question, the Slayer Ghost nodded and replied.
"Me? They call me Veronica Sanche."
"Good. Veronica Sanche. From now on, I'll reform you."
"Reform? Why me?"
"Why? Because you've done wrong."
"Wrong? I've never done anything wrong."
"No, you have."
Demian recalled the Personality Corrector from the past.
The Personality Corrector never tried to persuade his target. The reason was simple.
I'm right, and you're wrong. It was too obvious to bother convincing.
"Now, I'll make you accept that fact."
* * *
"What a crazy bastard."
Veronica Sanche stuck out her tongue.
"In that case, I'll kill you first!"
The rusted twin swords rained down on Demian. Though they were little more than scrap, he couldn't ignore them.
As he had just witnessed, the Slayer Ghost had diced up people with those broken blades.
'That bizarre footwork was developed even at this stage.'
Veronica Sanche's footwork was extremely peculiar.
She approached with her arms dangling limply, shaking her whole body. It was as if only her head was fixed in midair.
It looked comical at a glance, but he couldn't let his guard down. Veronica Sanche loved killing so much that she was a madwoman obsessed only with methods of doing so.
In other words, that footwork was optimized for killing people.
Indeed, most of the knights slain by the future Slayer Ghost had fallen victim to being deceived by that very footwork.
The shaking Veronica Sanche closed in on Demian in one burst and swung her twin swords.
Veronica Sanche's twin sword style had no grace or rules. At first glance, it seemed like a novice swinging wildly.
But the sharpness and weight of her slashes were extraordinary.
Demian deflected the Slayer Ghost's attacks with his club. Sparks flew repeatedly in the air.
"Huh? You're blocking well?"
Veronica Sanche's face lit up in surprise. Soon, a grin spread across it.
"So you do have the right to talk nonsense to me!"
Veronica Sanche shook her body wildly, shifting positions erratically while swinging her twin swords nonstop.
Just when a slash seemed to come from the front, she was suddenly behind.
Turn around, and she had already moved to the left.
'She's moving precisely outside the range of human vision.'
Right now, Veronica Sanche was swinging her weapons from beyond a person's line of sight.
It was a technique only possible for Veronica Sanche, who had studied humans to the extreme for the sake of killing them.
Any other middle-class would have been helpless.
But the one present was Demian Haksen.
His experience and skill far surpassed Veronica Sanche's. Moreover, Demian had directly fought the future Slayer Ghost.
'Behind.'
Demian turned first, batting away the twin swords aiming for his neck.
"...Huh?"
Disbelief appeared on Veronica Sanche's face. But she immediately stepped into footwork and vanished from sight.
'Left.'
Demian moved first once more.
He blocked the twin swords dropping from the left. Veronica Sanche's expression shifted from surprise to shock.
"Y-you! H-how!"
Veronica Sanche shouted in great agitation. That agitation led to an opening.
Exposing a gap before someone of Demian's caliber was as good as begging to be killed.
Demian smashed his club down on Veronica Sanche's head. With a bursting sound, she collapsed face-down.
"Ow! Aaaah! Uwaaaah! My head! My heeead!"
Veronica Sanche clutched her head and rolled on the ground.
Demian spoke to her in a cold tone.
"Don't make a fuss. You're fine."
At Demian's words, Veronica Sanche groped her head all over, muttering.
"H-how...? I-I thought it burst...?"
Even after hours of beatings from the Personality Corrector, criminals never faced life-threatening danger or even a single bruise.
The reason that was possible was the realm he had attained: 'Unscathed Beating'.
A realm where no wounds appeared no matter how hard one struck.
A realm for safely inflicting pain without worry of injury.
This bizarre realm was said to have been born from the Personality Corrector's 'pity' for the criminals.
"Now, repeat after me. Killing people is wrong."
"What bullshit is this all of a sudden!"
Veronica Sanche charged again with her twin swords. But all her movements were already read by Demian, rendering it pointless.
Demian dodged her attacks while smashing her head. Once more, with a gruesome sound, Veronica Sanche collapsed.
"You hit me again!"
"Repeat after me. Killing people is wrong."
"Who'd repeat that crap!"
Veronica Sanche rose with her twin swords once more. But Demian struck her head first.
"Kyak!"
With a weird yelp, Veronica Sanche's head hit the dirt. The Slayer Ghost rubbed her head, sniffling.
"Why... why only hit my head! You think I'm a bastard!"
"You're a bastard. A people-killing bastard."
"I'm not a bastard!"
Demian raised his club, and Veronica Sanche shielded her head with both hands.
"Repeat after me. Killing people is wrong."
"K-killing pe-people is... w-wrong my ass! This is how fun it is!"
Veronica Sanche grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and scattered it. Then she swung her twin swords...
"Gek!"
Demian smashed her head through the scattered sand.
"Last chance. If you don't repeat it this time, I'll beat only your head for an hour."
Demian issued his final warning. Veronica Sanche's body trembled.
"Killing people is wrong."
"...K-Killing people is w-wrong."
In the end, Veronica Sanche had no choice but to repeat after Demian.
Demian couldn't help but admire the change in Veronica Sanche.
'The Personality Corrector—that madman's method really works.'
It wasn't for nothing that the Personality Corrector was renowned as a reformation expert.
"Repeat again. Killing people is wrong."
"K-Killing people is... wrong."
"Good posture. Now, let's correct another mistake."
"Wh-what other mistake..."
"Repeat after me. I am weak."
At Demian's words, defiance flickered in Veronica Sanche's eyes again.
"I'm not weak!"
"Not weak? You're getting beaten like this by me."
"Th-that's... that's... Y-you're the weird one! Do you know how many people I've killed!"
Demian sneered at Veronica Sanche's protest.
"All you know is killing people, yet you've got a mouth on you."
"So what!"
"Do you know how to fight monsters? The undead summoned by black mages? The spirits summoned by elves?"
At Demian's words, Veronica Sanche's eyes went wide.
"I don't care about them!"
"That's your preference... I'm asking if you could win against them."
"Of course I could!"
"No, you couldn't."
Having fought Veronica Sanche directly in his previous life, Demian knew well.
Veronica Sanche was so fixated on murder that her skills plummeted against anything but humans.
It had been especially evident when fighting Demian as a Death Knight. The techniques that sliced human flesh like water didn't work on him at all.
"Ogres have tough stamina; they won't die from a few sword strikes. A rock spirit's hard shell can't be cut by ordinary Aura. Ghost warriors regenerate instantly even if slashed with Aura."
Unless it was an Aurablade from a master-class, Aura wasn't invincible.
"Th-that's..."
"If you understand, repeat after me. I am weak because I only know how to fight people."
Veronica Sanche's face twisted. Defiance gleamed in her eyes again.
"She's no pushover, as expected."
Demian gripped his club. At that sight, Veronica Sanche hurriedly shouted.
"I-I'm weak! I'm weak because I only know how to kill people!"
Demian halted his descending club.
He nodded with a very satisfied expression.
"You're finally admitting your wrongs. Very good attitude."
"Y-yeah, I'll admit it all. So can I go now?"
Veronica Sanche tried to sneak away from Demian. Demian shook his head at her.
"I'm not sure if you're truly reformed yet, so you'll travel with me for a while."
At Demian's words, Veronica Sanche's face fell.
"Hm? I still see some defiance?"
At Demian's words, Veronica Sanche grinned widely again.