Chapter 142: Awakening (5)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 142: Awakening (5)

Three minutes had passed since Dwalkie's magical support ended. Well, maybe even shorter. Still, it felt like ten minutes.

"I admit it, barbarian. I've never, in my entire life, met a bastard like you."

I did not look back once. Whether Vagos was trying to drive a wedge into this team or not, whether Dwalkie was in a state of panic or not—I decided it didn't make a difference.

But did this guy find that boring? "I will put your soul to good use. So, just die."

That meant that he was done playing around. He stabbed me with a dagger he took out from his waistband. It came in at such a perfect angle that it seemed impossible to block or avoid it. At best, all I could do was choose the lesser evil. I twisted my body as much as I could and gave him my lungs instead of my heart. It would be a near-fatal injury, but we still had the advanced potion left, right? After drinking it and treating this, I'd hold out somehow. Both Missha and Hikurod would wake up soon. Soul Exhaustion wouldn't last forever.

I made the plan in a split second and was just putting it into action when a dazzling light from behind me flooded the hallway.

Shhhhhh!

Dozens of magic arrows warped into being, emitting pure white light. At the sudden downpour, the man took a step back, bewildered. But just as when Hikurod, Rotmiller, and Missha stood up to him, his reaction didn't matter.

Whiiip!

The arrows of light pursued him, bending as if each shot had a mind of its own. In response, Vagos stopped running away and began to slash the arrows one by one using a small dagger. It didn't look much different from someone trying to dry out a river with a gourd.

Holy...

Surprisingly, though, his actions worked. Although he became a hedgehog whose whole body was pierced by arrows of light, Vagos succeeded in protecting his vitals.

Step.

Suddenly, I heard someone behind me, and only then did I come to my senses. I had actually kind of expected it, but Dwalkie was the one standing there. Simply put, that meant the spells just now were cast by him.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. It took me a while to make up my mind."

"Mind? What happ—"

"That we can discuss after we get rid of that man." Dwalkie looked away, dodging the question. At the sight, I was sure this was still the Dwalkie I knew.

What's going on?

I couldn't understand what was happening at all. Mana radiated from him, so concentrated that even a barbarian with a mana aptitude of zero could feel it.

It wasn't just me wondering this. "Wizard, what have you done?" the bastard asked, even as blood dripped down his entire body. If I were him, I'd be the first to run.

"You ask, yet you already know," Dwalkie said, his voice low and cold.

What? He knows?

As Dwalkie looked at him, Vagos went mute. What, did he really know?

"I'm sorry if you were trying to stall for time," Dwalkie added. "I know your time's running out."

The heck? What the hell is going on?

Since when was Dwalkie so on the ball? It had been a while since my head couldn't keep up with a situation. However, I could at least figure out one thing. This was a very positive development for me.

I can hear his explanation later.

I instead focused on what was right in front of me.

Dash.

Rather than sprint down the passageway and run away, Vagos's wounded form lunged at us. "Stand back," Dwalkie told me. "You might get hurt."

"Ah, oh. Sure." I couldn't adjust to the personality change, but I did as he said. What now?

[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight attack spell Ice Lance.]

Ice Lances large enough to fill half the passageway fired twice in a row.

Shooot!

Indeed, they shot at Vagos, releasing gusts of wind as they blew by. However, it appeared the guy had a lot of experience with magic on this scale. He calmly stared at the Ice Lances, then quickly took the arc longsword out of his subspace.

Pzzzzz!

The sword continued to spit out sparks, still rejecting his touch. However, he grabbed it and swung it anyway, the veins on his neck bulging.

Bam!

As befit an arc longsword with anti-magic properties, the huge Ice Lance shattered into pieces from a single touch of the blade. Even in the state he was in, Vagos kicked off the ground again to close the distance between us.

Dash.

Considering the way Dwalkie's eyes went wide, this was a surprise to him, too. But his shock didn't last long.

[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-seven attack spell Cold Storm.]

He completed the chant in less than one second.

Shaaa!

At this point, it wasn't ice shards but small Ice Lances pouring down. This time, too, that rotten arc longsword proved to be a problem. Vagos got closer and closer through the blizzard. When it was possible to see him with the naked eye, I spotted his form advancing forward while cutting down only the largest blocks of ice with his sword.

Yeah, he won't go down easy.

I let out a silent sigh and prepared for what would happen next. There was nothing special about it. My life was far from that of a freeloader, and wasn't it the fate of a tank to protect the damage dealer?

"Behelahhh!"

The first punch always won. Aiming for the moment Vagos escaped the blizzard, I swung my mace. But despite everything else going on, the guy was alert. Even though it was a surprise attack, he reacted swiftly and blocked the mace with his sword—a clash between first-grade iron and the sixth-grade material arc.

Slice!

Regardless of its thickness or density, the mace was cut through like tofu. However, Vagos was not satisfied with this and aimed for my neck next.

Pzzzzz!

At that moment, a frenzy of sparks bounced from the sword, and he flinched. His hand was red-hot and even steaming. Could the fact that his whole body was covered in burns have something to do with that sword? I couldn't know for sure, but he put the sword back into subspace as he decided that it was no longer possible to use.

Dash.

Vagos drew his dagger again and grabbed onto me. It was very clear what he wanted. I had been wondering why he would go so far to break through that spell, but it seemed that this was what he was aiming for.

I can hear his explanation later.

I instead focused on what was right in front of me.

Dash.

Rather than sprint down the passageway and run away, Vagos's wounded form lunged at us. "Stand back," Dwalkie told me. "You might get hurt."

"Ah, oh. Sure." I couldn't adjust to the personality change, but I did as he said. What now?

[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight attack spell Ice Lance.]

Ice Lances large enough to fill half the passageway fired twice in a row.

Shooot!

Indeed, they shot at Vagos, releasing gusts of wind as they blew by. However, it appeared the guy had a lot of experience with magic on this scale. He calmly stared at the Ice Lances, then quickly took the arc longsword out of his subspace.

Pzzzzz!

The sword continued to spit out sparks, still rejecting his touch. However, he grabbed it and swung it anyway, the veins on his neck bulging.

Bam!

As befit an arc longsword with anti-magic properties, the huge Ice Lance shattered into pieces from a single touch of the blade. Even in the state he was in, Vagos kicked off the ground again to close the distance between us.

Dash.

Considering the way Dwalkie's eyes went wide, this was a surprise to him, too. But his shock didn't last long.

[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-seven attack spell Cold Storm.]

He completed the chant in less than one second.

Shaaa!

At this point, it wasn't ice shards but small Ice Lances pouring down. This time, too, that rotten arc longsword proved to be a problem. Vagos got closer and closer through the blizzard. When it was possible to see him with the naked eye, I spotted his form advancing forward while cutting down only the largest blocks of ice with his sword.

Yeah, he won't go down easy.

I let out a silent sigh and prepared for what would happen next. There was nothing special about it. My life was far from that of a freeloader, and wasn't it the fate of a tank to protect the damage dealer?

"Behelahhh!"

The first punch always won. Aiming for the moment Vagos escaped the blizzard, I swung my mace. But despite everything else going on, the guy was alert. Even though it was a surprise attack, he reacted swiftly and blocked the mace with his sword—a clash between first-grade iron and the sixth-grade material arc.

Slice!

Regardless of its thickness or density, the mace was cut through like tofu. However, Vagos was not satisfied with this and aimed for my neck next.

Pzzzzz!

At that moment, a frenzy of sparks bounced from the sword, and he flinched. His hand was red-hot and even steaming. Could the fact that his whole body was covered in burns have something to do with that sword? I couldn't know for sure, but he put the sword back into subspace as he decided that it was no longer possible to use.

Dash.

Vagos drew his dagger again and grabbed onto me. It was very clear what he wanted. I had been wondering why he would go so far to break through that spell, but it seemed that this was what he was aiming for.

"Bjorn, get away from him!"

It was a strategy similar to the Barbarian Persistence Mode I used before: using me as a shield to suppress Dwalkie's magic. Huh, I didn't realize I would end up getting used like this.

[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-nine curse spell Slowdown.]

Instead of attack magic, curses were stacked on Vagos, but it wasn't easy to get rid of him because he was clinging to me and swinging the dagger.

Okay, let's try this.

I stabbed him with the mace that had been turned into a bamboo spear. After all, he didn't necessarily have to be killed with magic.

Stab!

He wasn't as difficult to deal with as before, thanks to the reinforced Slowdown spell. Instead of Ice Lance or Cold Storm, Dwalkie maintained and exerted fine control over a small number of Magic Arrows. The situation was clearly in my favor, but that made me even more alert.

There's no way he doesn't know that, too.

The bastard knew what was going on here, even though Dwalkie had avoided telling me. But he ran at me anyway. Why?

"I know your time's running out."

The answer was time. Dwalkie couldn't maintain this state for much longer. Perhaps Vagos knew more about the time he had left than even Dwalkie did.

"Dwalkie, use Cold Storm!" I made a snap decision. And, judging by the expression on Vagos's face, it was the right one.

However, Dwalkie hesitated. "But...!" Although he had changed somewhat, Dwalkie was still Dwalkie.

"Don't worry about me and just use it!"

When I shouted a reprimand, Dwalkie cast the spell. Cold swirled over Dwalkie's hand.

"Can you tolerate the cold well?" I asked Vagos.

"Deranged bastard."

Hey, more praise. I raised my shield and distanced myself from Vagos. Blocking the incoming chunks of ice with the shield, I was determined to get through this somehow.

Shaaaaaa!

Soon, a blizzard once again filled the part of the passageway the two of us were standing in, freezing our skin. But what was this? Through the blizzard, in which it was difficult to see even an inch ahead, the man thrust a dagger.

Stab!

A blade of about eight inches penetrated deep into my lungs. I couldn't breathe. In the meantime, chunks of ice flew at me and slammed into my body. Crystals as sharp as Ice Lances grazed my skin. But I wasn't just going to sit here and take more damage.

Stab!

My body reacted first, and I thrust the short spear that was once my mace forward with all my might. At that moment, the snowstorm ended earlier than expected and visibility returned.

Shaaaaa.

The first thing I did was take a quick look around. Surprisingly, in that short moment, three unexpected events had unfolded. The first was that Dwalkie was kneeling on the floor with blood pouring from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The second was that the short spear that I haphazardly thrust had pierced the guy's heart.

[The activation conditions for Regal Vagos's Second Heart have been met.]

The third was that it turned out that there was one more numbered item that he hadn't used yet. Ha, I really didn't want to curse like this anymore... but this fucking goddamned motherfucker.

[Until Regal Vagos's heart recovers, they will be under absolute protection.]

Something red, reminiscent of muscle, covered his body. Looking at this, I thought, How the hell am I supposed to kill this bastard? Could he really be killed? I didn't know, but for now, I just vomited blood.

Blechhh! Cough!

The heart-shaped shell did not even sizzle when covered in acid blood. I turned away without regret. No. 3120: Second Heart was a consumable numbered item that activated when instant-death damage was dealt to the heart. At my current level, no matter what I did, I couldn't break through that barrier surrounding him. So, I'd have to focus on what I needed to do.

Trudge, trudge.

I forced my body, which couldn't even breathe properly, to take slow steps. Thankfully, Dwalkie was a cold-attributed wizard. If it weren't for the Frostbite state he was in, blood would probably be gushing out of him by now.

"Dwalkie." To say that Dwalkie's condition, still on his knees, was bleak was an understatement. Blood flowed from every pore of his body. When I checked his pulse, I felt his heart palpitating like the speed limit on it was broken. "Please... hold on."

Since I couldn't see any external trauma, I poured an advanced potion into his mouth—only half of it, though, because there were other people dying right now.

Trudge, trudge.

I walked as fast as I could. With each step I took, my stomach twisted and I couldn't breathe, but I used the short spear as a staff to speed myself up.

"Rot... miller..." Fortunately, he was alive, at least for now. He was headed toward death in a completely different way than Dwalkie was. His heartbeat was faint like it could stop at any moment. I poured the remaining advanced potion on his wounds.

Chhhhhh!

The wounds boiled and began to heal. I sat down next to him and focused on my breathing. I kept coughing and blood gushed from my mouth, but all I could do was persevere and wait for Rotmiller to recover. After all, the two remaining potions were in this old man's Treasure Vault.

Maybe a minute had passed before... "B-Bjorn...!" The dwarf, who had passed out after getting his head slammed into the wall, came to his senses. "What about Dwalkie? Where is Dwalkie?"

Hey, I'm dying too. Does your best friend come first?

Without the strength to speak, I pointed in Dwalkie's direction.

"W-What the hell happened!?" He rushed over, inspected Dwalkie, and carefully picked him up to carry him toward us.

"Ugh..." Missha, who was lying about four yards away from the wall I was leaning on, struggled to raise her head. "...Bjorn?"

"Alive."

"Good..."

As always, I only have you.

Missha struggled to stand up, holding her broken ribs. Then she came over and sat down next to me. "Rotmiller...?"

"I gave him... a potion," I coughed.

It was like a gathering of the sick. I wanted to rest a bit, but after he finished transporting Dwalkie, Hikurod came to me and bandaged up my injury.

"Bjorn, what happened!? What is that strange shell over there?"

I didn't want to explain. I didn't have the energy, and what difference did it make, anyway? I focused on breathing and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry. You must be tired too. Rest. I'll take care of the rest somehow."

The dwarf apologized and headed back over to Dwalkie to get filled in.

[Your Soul Exhaustion has lifted.]

Finally, about a minute later, my stats returned to normal and it became a little easier to breathe. Even if I didn't have a natural regeneration ability anymore, the durability of my body itself was different. I slowly opened my eyes.

"...Hey! Hang on, my friend!"

"B-Bjorn...? Rotmillerrr is shaking. H-He should be fine, right...?"

The line between life and death was being drawn.

"Bjorn, get away from him!"

It was a strategy similar to the Barbarian Persistence Mode I used before: using me as a shield to suppress Dwalkie's magic. Huh, I didn't realize I would end up getting used like this.

[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-nine curse spell Slowdown.]

Instead of attack magic, curses were stacked on Vagos, but it wasn't easy to get rid of him because he was clinging to me and swinging the dagger.

Okay, let's try this.

I stabbed him with the mace that had been turned into a bamboo spear. After all, he didn't necessarily have to be killed with magic.

Stab!

He wasn't as difficult to deal with as before, thanks to the reinforced Slowdown spell. Instead of Ice Lance or Cold Storm, Dwalkie maintained and exerted fine control over a small number of Magic Arrows. The situation was clearly in my favor, but that made me even more alert.

There's no way he doesn't know that, too.

The bastard knew what was going on here, even though Dwalkie had avoided telling me. But he ran at me anyway. Why?

"I know your time's running out."

The answer was time. Dwalkie couldn't maintain this state for much longer. Perhaps Vagos knew more about the time he had left than even Dwalkie did.

"Dwalkie, use Cold Storm!" I made a snap decision. And, judging by the expression on Vagos's face, it was the right one.

However, Dwalkie hesitated. "But...!" Although he had changed somewhat, Dwalkie was still Dwalkie.

"Don't worry about me and just use it!"

When I shouted a reprimand, Dwalkie cast the spell. Cold swirled over Dwalkie's hand.

"Can you tolerate the cold well?" I asked Vagos.

"Deranged bastard."

Hey, more praise. I raised my shield and distanced myself from Vagos. Blocking the incoming chunks of ice with the shield, I was determined to get through this somehow.

Shaaaaaa!

Soon, a blizzard once again filled the part of the passageway the two of us were standing in, freezing our skin. But what was this? Through the blizzard, in which it was difficult to see even an inch ahead, the man thrust a dagger.

Stab!

A blade of about eight inches penetrated deep into my lungs. I couldn't breathe. In the meantime, chunks of ice flew at me and slammed into my body. Crystals as sharp as Ice Lances grazed my skin. But I wasn't just going to sit here and take more damage.

Stab!

My body reacted first, and I thrust the short spear that was once my mace forward with all my might. At that moment, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the snowstorm ended earlier than expected and visibility returned.

Shaaaaa.

The first thing I did was take a quick look around. Surprisingly, in that short moment, three unexpected events had unfolded. The first was that Dwalkie was kneeling on the floor with blood pouring from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The second was that the short spear that I haphazardly thrust had pierced the guy's heart.

[The activation conditions for Regal Vagos's Second Heart have been met.]

The third was that it turned out that there was one more numbered item that he hadn't used yet. Ha, I really didn't want to curse like this anymore... but this fucking goddamned motherfucker.

[Until Regal Vagos's heart recovers, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they will be under absolute protection.]

Something red, reminiscent of muscle, covered his body. Looking at this, I thought, How the hell am I supposed to kill this bastard? Could he really be killed? I didn't know, but for now, I just vomited blood.

Blechhh! Cough!

The heart-shaped shell did not even sizzle when covered in acid blood. I turned away without regret. No. 3120: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Second Heart was a consumable numbered item that activated when instant-death damage was dealt to the heart. At my current level, no matter what I did, I couldn't break through that barrier surrounding him. So, I'd have to focus on what I needed to do.

Trudge, trudge.

I forced my body, which couldn't even breathe properly, to take slow steps. Thankfully, Dwalkie was a cold-attributed wizard. If it weren't for the Frostbite state he was in, blood would probably be gushing out of him by now.

"Dwalkie." To say that Dwalkie's condition, still on his knees, was bleak was an understatement. Blood flowed from every pore of his body. When I checked his pulse, I felt his heart palpitating like the speed limit on it was broken. "Please... hold on."

Since I couldn't see any external trauma, I poured an advanced potion into his mouth—only half of it, though, because there were other people dying right now.

Trudge, trudge.

I walked as fast as I could. With each step I took, my stomach twisted and I couldn't breathe, but I used the short spear as a staff to speed myself up.

"Rot... miller..." Fortunately, he was alive, at least for now. He was headed toward death in a completely different way than Dwalkie was. His heartbeat was faint like it could stop at any moment. I poured the remaining advanced potion on his wounds.

Chhhhhh!

The wounds boiled and began to heal. I sat down next to him and focused on my breathing. I kept coughing and blood gushed from my mouth, but all I could do was persevere and wait for Rotmiller to recover. After all, the two remaining potions were in this old man's Treasure Vault.

Maybe a minute had passed before... "B-Bjorn...!" The dwarf, who had passed out after getting his head slammed into the wall, came to his senses. "What about Dwalkie? Where is Dwalkie?"

Hey, I'm dying too. Does your best friend come first?

Without the strength to speak, I pointed in Dwalkie's direction.

"W-What the hell happened!?" He rushed over, inspected Dwalkie, and carefully picked him up to carry him toward us.

"Ugh..." Missha, who was lying about four yards away from the wall I was leaning on, struggled to raise her head. "...Bjorn?"

"Alive."

"Good..."

As always, I only have you.

Missha struggled to stand up, holding her broken ribs. Then she came over and sat down next to me. "Rotmiller...?"

"I gave him... a potion," I coughed.

It was like a gathering of the sick. I wanted to rest a bit, but after he finished transporting Dwalkie, Hikurod came to me and bandaged up my injury.

"Bjorn, what happened!? What is that strange shell over there?"

I didn't want to explain. I didn't have the energy, and what difference did it make, anyway? I focused on breathing and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry. You must be tired too. Rest. I'll take care of the rest somehow."

The dwarf apologized and headed back over to Dwalkie to get filled in.

[Your Soul Exhaustion has lifted.]

Finally, about a minute later, my stats returned to normal and it became a little easier to breathe. Even if I didn't have a natural regeneration ability anymore, the durability of my body itself was different. I slowly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opened my eyes.

"...Hey! Hang on, my friend!"

"B-Bjorn...? Rotmillerrr is shaking. H-He should be fine, right...?"

The line between life and death was being drawn.