Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Executioner (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The doctor grabbed his spiky twin horns with his hands and screamed.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Suddenly, things had gone wrong.
The intruders had already taken out four chimeras. He kept sending more up, but even the regular(?) chimeras couldn't buy time.
"I have to bring out my treasures?"
He hadn't cut his nails in months; the crude, pointed things dug into his skin. He had clenched his fist that hard.
He considered going up himself and slaughtering them all, but the intruders seemed formidable.
It wasn't impossible to kill them, but it wouldn't be easy either.
If he got injured and had to delay the procedure he needed to complete now, he might die of frustration.
"Lincoln! Lincoln! Lincoooooooon!!"
That useless pig.
Treated like a bishop, and the fool thought he was something special!
It wasn't too late yet.
The procedure itself wouldn't take long. If Lincoln had the main body, one injection would end it all.
He had already prepared the body for transplantation.
The doctor looked at the boy sleeping on the operating table.
His name was Riki, right?
"If I just transplant the divinity into this kid, it's done!"
The simulation was perfect.
The previous brat had taken the divinity transplant perfectly, but when linking his consciousness to the worm-form main body, a massive amount of divinity evaporated.
Brainwave issue. If he'd fine-tuned the brainwaves more precisely, the divinity wouldn't have evaporated.
He didn't expect perfection this time either, but he was confident there wouldn't be as much loss as before.
The problem was the absence of the main body that Lincoln was supposed to have.
Until now, he'd made separate main bodies. But this time, he'd switched to recycling. He'd designed it to accumulate experience.
It had devolved to a one-day lifespan, but he'd secured data on how it operated.
That was enough.
'Hurry up and come. Even now, I'll forgive you!'
The doctor clasped his hands and prayed to a god he didn't even believe in.
Even so, he didn't slack on monitoring the upper levels.
With no choice, he sent up one of the five he'd been saving.
"Damn bastards!"
Killing it might be hard, but that chimera would buy plenty of time.
That was when it happened.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Lincoln!"
The doctor whipped around, his eyes bloodshot.
There stood Lincoln, looking utterly wrecked and exhausted.
"What the hell happened to you?"
"Some weirdo popped up out of nowhere and attacked me. That's what delayed me."
"Weirdo?"
"Seems like the guy who killed the chimera paladin. Tried to capture him, but he was too strong, so I had to go all out."
"Damn it. We've got intruders here too. Probably the same bunch."
"Intruders?!"
"No time to be shocked. Hand over the main body."
The doctor stood by the operating table, ignoring Lincoln's reaction, and just held out his hand.
"You said there are intruders. What if they interrupt while we're doing this?"
"It'll be quick anyway. And I sent up one of my treasures."
At the word "treasure," Lincoln's expression turned odd.
The doctor yelled irritably.
"What are you waiting for?!"
"Hold on."
"Damn it. Slow as you look."
"……"
When his plans went awry, the doctor turned into a completely different person.
Lincoln knew that, so he silently handed over the jar containing the main body. Provoking him further would make him destroy everything, experiment be damned.
The doctor grinned and shattered the jar. He took out the docile worm and placed it on Riki's heart.
"I wonder what level of chimera will be born. What do you think?"
Madness gleamed in his eyes, which looked ready to pop out.
When Lincoln didn't answer, the doctor twisted his neck grotesquely and shoved his face close.
"Why aren't you answering?"
"Obviously stronger than the failure."
"Hmph. Boring."
His lizard-like elongated neck shrank back.
The doctor pulled out the prepared syringe and plunged the needle straight into the worm.
It writhed in agony.
"Good, good!"
Delighted by the worm's reaction, the doctor began dancing around.
With his true nature unleashed, he was a complete madman.
Lincoln couldn't fathom how he suppressed it. In a day, he'd probably revert to his meek self like nothing happened.
"You're enjoying this too, right?"
"……What else would there be to enjoy?"
"What?"
That was when it happened.
The doctor's exhilarated voice sank.
As Lincoln looked at him puzzled, his face had cooled to match his tone.
"What did you just say?"
'Did I slip up?'
No way.
He'd just stated the plain truth.
The doctor pressed like an interrogator.
"Something else to enjoy?"
"It's just another chimera creation. No need to get excited."
"Who are you?"
The rampaging madman suddenly calmed.
He stared sharply at Lincoln and asked again.
"Who are you?"
"What are you talking about? I'm Lincoln, bishop of the Zenith Church's Hays branch."
"You're not Lincoln! Aaaaaaaargh!"
Dozens of tentacles lashed out at Lincoln.
No, at Jamie.
"The space is too cramped!"
"Two more ahead!"
"One on the ceiling!"
Ras clicked his tongue at the shadow knights' reports.
The chimeras were endless. Kill them, and more kept coming.
It felt like they were being mass-produced from inside.
"Tch!"
Holy aura sliced a mystery creature in half.
Fortunately, the chimeras weren't that strong. If they were all monster-level, this place would be their tomb.
"Push forward!"
"Yes, sir!"
All were Expert-level, and the shadow knights especially—trained to guard the Welton family from the shadows—displayed incredible teamwork.
The chimeras fell like autumn leaves.
The wave was nearing its end. He didn't know where they all came from, but they needed to get below and rescue Riki fast.
"Last one!"
A shadow knight's sword pierced the heart of a pig-faced chimera.
"Going down."
Led by Ras, they descended the stairs.
That instant—
Boom!
The right wall crumbled, slamming a shadow knight into the left wall.
Ras whirled around in shock.
Bursting through was a massive, jet-black muscular arm.
Two shadow knights launched at it with ghostly speed. So stealthy, they made no sound.
Slash—slash!
Sword ki grazed the black arm.
Blood sprayed into the air. But the arm ignored it, gripping the stairs. The hand was huge enough to span three steps.
"Sword of Judgment!"
Holy aura surged, forming the blade's full outline.
Boom!
The wall fully shattered, revealing a black-skinned monster.
It was too massive for the stairwell.
Ras charged swiftly, swinging his sword.
As priest and paladin of the goddess of mercy and punishment, Pyro, his blade was devastating against evil.
"Die!"
The Sword of Judgment bisected the monster.
The two shadow knights struck in sync.
Three lights converged at one point.
"Graaaaaargh!"
But the overlapping light shattered under a deafening roar.
Eardrums burst. Silence fell, replaced by ringing in their heads.
Ras felt his sense of balance fail.
He couldn't grasp the situation.
He hastily channeled divinity to accelerate self-healing.
Faster still, the monster reached out. It would crush him to death.
Thud!
Two swords pierced the monster's arm.
"Grwoooooor—"
It bellowed in pain.
"You okay?"
"Retreat for now!"
The shadow knights pinned the arm and supported Ras.
"Wh-what about you two?"
"We're trained for this."
They guarded the Weltons from the shadows. Prepared for torture and anomalies.
Ear-shattering noise was nothing to them.
"The other one?"
"We leave him."
Ruthlessly decisive.
But natural for them.
Leave the irreparable behind and continue the mission. If failure loomed, suicide.
That's how they were raised.
Even lifelong comrades—grieve only after success.
"Our mission is to aid Ras sir's objective."
"So we'll break through."
One shadow knight charged ahead.
The monster, rubbing its wound, recoiled in surprise from the sudden strike.
"Uwoooo!"
"Quick reflexes."
The knight spun his sword reverse, kicked off the ceiling, and plummeted sword-first at the monster.
Aura gathered on the downward blade.
"Follow me!"
The remaining knight pulled Ras along.
"That knight...!"
"Everything for the best outcome."
Ras couldn't respond to their sacrifice.
He'd thought his life harsh, but he was a frog in a well.
On one hand, he couldn't understand Count Welton raising shadow knights like this. No, any noble would have such an organization.
Who knew? Was it necessary?
What was a human life? As a servant of god, could he condone this?
Boom!
The stairs exploded, ceiling crumbling.
Debris buried the monster and knight.
Bang!
The monster's arm burst through, ignoring the collapsing ceiling, charging at terrifying speed.
In its left hand dangled a ragdoll-like shadow knight.
It hurled the knight with all its might.
"That's no way to treat him!"
Holy light poured from Ras's body.
The dark stairs blazed with brilliance.
"Ra-Ras sir!"
"I'm fine."
Not too late.
Clear his mind, give everything.
'I serve the Goddess Pyro. I am the Holy Executioner.'
A mantle of light draped Ras's shoulders, flowing long.
The rear shadow knight gasped at his changed aura.
"Vanish."
Light cleaved the monster.
Kraka-boom—!!
"It's rampaging like mad."
The doctor tsked lowly.
He eyed the panting boy opposite him.
"Never thought a brat like you was impersonating Lincoln. And a black sorcerer to boot?"
He glanced at the dozens of writhing tentacles from his right hand.
Jamie sneered at the doctor's horrific form.
"Modifying your own body now?"
"Perfection in all things."
Crunch—
His wing bones writhed violently, yellow fluid bursting as bird wings emerged.
His legs too—some running-specialized creature.
Arms were tentacles; eyes seemed normal but weren't human.
"Real brat or one in a brat's skin, doesn't matter."
The doctor glanced downward.
Riki slept soundly. The worm on his heart was dead.
The syringe still had contents. He needed to inject Riki's heart too.
"First, I'll sever your limbs. You'll make a fine test subject."
Tentacles flew to surround him.
Dodging was tough.
So he never planned to.
"Let's change venues."
"Who decides—"
"I do."
Darkness surged from the floor, enveloping Jamie and the doctor.
"Kuhahaha! With this paltry trick?!"
"Paltry, huh?"
"I'll just dispel this nonsense!"
The doctor tried to tear the engulfing darkness, but—
"Wh-what?!"
It didn't dispel.
Chimera form or not, he was a 6th-class mage.
Even black magic from a punk like that should dispel easily.
He shrieked in rage, but darkness fully consumed him.
When he emerged—
"……You little shit."
"Didn't want to get caught there too."
Jamie grinned, arms wide.
"Let's play in this forest."
"I'll disassemble you and turn you into my slave! Aaaaaaaargh!!"
The doctor's chest split, spewing tentacles.
Jamie laughed at the incoming barrage.
"Give it your best."
Darkness boiled around his glowing purple eyes.
The two powers clashed fiercely.
Meanwhile.
On the operating table, sleeping Riki opened his eyes.
A strange light flowed around his body.