Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Full Moon Beast
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Ruby stepped out of the darkness, assessing the situation.
"Rteo?"
"He's probably dead."
"...I see."
Her eyes sharpened.
Rage boiled within her, but she didn't underestimate her opponent.
'He's strong....'
Ching was one of the strongest foes she'd encountered so far.
Only a rare few among the humans who'd invaded her paradise, Rubitorium, had been this powerful.
'Bill and Mori... they're in danger.'
She quickly judged the situation.
...And made her decision.
"Everyone fall back and seal off the perimeter. Don't get caught in the crossfire."
Bill and Mori respected her judgment.
"Got it."
"Don't die. We've got winnings to blow tonight."
She saw them off with a smile as they vanished, then slowly tuned into the fury churning inside her.
"You're awfully calm. Not that close to the dead guy, huh?"
"We were getting there, probably. But you...."
Ruby glared at him.
"You seem eager for us to have been close?"
"Keh... yeah. I was hoping you were."
This guy killed for amusement, not survival. A fool swallowed by pleasure.
His face was already grinning ear to ear, plotting how to cook her up.
Chilling—
A dangerous foe.
- Don't let anyone die.
She could feel why her master, Faust, had told the group's leader, Bill, exactly that.
'Run away?'
Bill and Mori were already far enough away, and Ching didn't know who they were.
Clashing head-on was risky, but escaping should be easy....
"Thinking of running?"
"......"
"I get it. No fun tangling with an old man. How about this, then?"
Sss...
Ching pulled a rolled-up parchment from his bosom.
"Got this not long ago. If you want info on the cult...."
She made one mistake. She blurted out her question.
"...Cult?"
She clamped her mouth shut too late. She'd taken the bait.
"You don't know the cult? Ha... so you're not connected to the East. This is rich... a bunch of posers show up out of nowhere.... Where'd you come from? Don't tell me you're tied to those idiots I killed in Chechelin?"
"......"
"Not gonna answer? Then just die."
Paaaaang—!
His muscle-bound body rocketed toward Ruby. Right hand extended in a palm strike, left hand prepping that same technique he'd used on Mori.
Paaaaak—!
Ruby kicked the ominous-glowing palm away with her foot and morphed her hand.
Wooduduk...
She lunged to grab Ching's neck, but...
Snap—
"Gotcha."
Udrudududuk—!
"Gyaaaaah!"
Feeling his entire arm's bones shatter, Ruby kicked him back to create distance.
"Softer than I thought? Come on, make it fun for me."
Whooo...
The feral power hidden in her body instantly realigned his pulverized bones.
Regeneration surpassing a troll's.
"Impressive. Thought I'd smashed it to bits."
Fwoooong...
[Ruby's basic ability: Inner Beast activates.]
[Ruby can morph parts of her body into werewolf form. Effect maximizes under a full moon.]
[Ruby's basic ability: Living Weapon activates.]
[Ruby cannot use weapons in Inner Beast form.]
[Ruby's Inner Beast duration extends with each successful attack; greatly extends on a kill.]
Ruby morphed both arms and legs into werewolf limbs. Luckily, a round moon hung in the night sky.
'Full moon tonight.'
Sudden shifts strained the body. And yielding unprepared to the full moon could strip her reason away entirely, so she had to drag it out.
Paaaaang—!
Ruby and Ching tangled in an instant.
Paaang—!
Paaaaang—!
They exchanged blows at blinding speed.
But up close, most of Ruby's attacks were caught and deflected by Ching's hands.
A master of decades of training.
The Eastern warriors had infiltrated the Aslren Empire thanks to their raw martial might alone, cultures and philosophies be damned.
Paaaaak—!
Soon, one of her legs got grabbed.
Fwoooong—!
Ching swung her with full force like a club.
Kwaaaaang—!
Ruby crashed and twitched.
"Boring."
"......"
"Maybe I'll wipe out your whole clan right here. ...Nah? Even if you're not the last tonight, I'll send the rest of your kind to the afterlife someday. Uhahahahaha!"
Ruby rose steadily at his words.
- You have to... survive.
- You must live...
- Live tomorrow for our shares too.
His single sentence dredged up memories she'd buried deep.
"...Having fun?"
"Loads! Hope you enjoy yours too. The death coming your way."
Ruby grinned.
"Yeah, I will."
Udduk...
Udrududuk...
It was time.
Her body began shifting into full werewolf form.
Wooduk...
Udduk...
"Ooh...."
Ruby hated this form.
Udruduk...
Her muzzle protruded, head ballooning several times larger.
Grrrgrrruk...
[Ruby uses Full Moon Beast.]
[All physical abilities greatly increase in Full Moon Beast state.]
Her clothes shredded, replaced by beast fur.
Grulk...
Ruby crouched low. Ching beamed at the sight.
"Now that's more like it...."
Piiiiing—!
Ching froze mid-stance.
Gulp...
Blood trickled from his right ear.
His missing right ear dangled from Ruby's hand.
"...Huh."
Pak—!
He tapped his temple a few times, staunching the blood.
"Finally up for it?"
His words were casual, but that strike had slipped his vision for a split second.
His heart began to race.
Pure joy at facing a worthy foe.
He was already a monster himself.
[Ching uses Blood Flow Explosion.]
[Blood carrying qi surges rapidly, boosting realm briefly.]
Hard to sustain long.
Ching's power, tailored for short bursts.
Bulruk... bulruk...
Veins bulged grotesquely across his face.
"Come on, let's go!"
Kwaaaaang—!
Kwaaaaaang—!
The two monsters clashed.
Puuuung—!
Puuuuuung—!
Each time Ching's fist hammered Ruby, massive shockwaves erupted as if space itself erased at the impact.
Ruby dodged instinctively on instinct, but glancing hits mangled and vanished chunks of her flesh.
Grrrrrr...
"Training a dog ain't hard!"
Fwooooong...
Paaaaak—!
His fist smashed down on Ruby's head like a hammer.
Uzizizik...
Skull-crushing impact.
Kraaaak!
She burrowed in on instinct and bit his shoulder.
"A true beast! Kehkeh...."
Ching wanted to hear this beast wail.
Curious if it'd be human despair or animal roar.
Pak—!
He struck her throat and reset his stance.
Ruby backed off a few steps, then charged again. She'd sensed instinctively that distance favored him.
Paak—!
Paaaaak—!
Ching wasn't struggling much either. To him, Ruby looked like a newborn with an old master's body.
Power overflowing, but no control. Trajectories obvious, intent readable.
A battle like solving a known puzzle.
Paaang—!
Paaang—!
Grab, toss.
'There's the opening!'
Full power into his palm, aimed at her gut.
"Die, beast pup."
Their eyes met as he said it.
'...Huh?'
In Ruby's eyes wasn't instinct or despair, but a thread of reason.
Something was wrong.
Whip—!
Ruby's hand coiled around his extended arm like a snake.
Exactly like Ching's move when he'd grabbed her before.
It was his martial art, but on a werewolf body. Naturally, destructive power differed.
Puhwaaaak—!
Arm ripped free in a blood fountain.
"Die..."
Ruby snagged his dodging ankle, hoisted, and slammed him down.
"...will be you."
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
Dust settled on Ching's corpse—everything above the shoulders gone.
"Hah... hah...."
Werewolves' infamy stemmed not just from iron bodies, but innate combat intellect.
Fail to kill a werewolf perfectly, and it kills you perfectly.
Now mere legend, but unlucky for Ching, that legend lived on today.
Sss...
Ruby reverted to human form, naked.
Flutter—!
A large robe draped over her.
"Ruby, we're leaving! Too much noise."
Bill's voice.
"...Yeah!"
Ruby left Ching's corpse, verified the note's authenticity, and departed.
Bill, Mori, and Ruby gathered to check the note.
- Ching, time to regroup. Romwell's on your tail. Even Baron Jariel's getting fed up with cleaning up your messes. In a week, a messenger from the cult's main branch will visit....
"...Cult?"
"Ching mentioned it. Cult... anyway, he offered cult info."
"Can't make heads or tails of it... Hmm."
"Baron Jariel was their backer. What's his game?"
The group read on. The rest was just rendezvous date and location—nothing special.
"Should inform Faust first."
They tied a letter with the note's contents to a bird trained by Dark Elf Queen Ariel and sent it to Faust. Days later, a reply arrived.
Bill's face darkened as he read it.
"What's it say?"
To Mori's question, Bill replied.
"...We leave now."
* * *
The info from Bill was clear at once.
"Ruby took down Ching?"
Lucky.
No, too lucky.
Ching was one of Episode 2's act bosses.
Weaker personally than Kal Kurso, but the nasty trio combined outmatched him.
Ruby had cut that bastard's throat. Maybe she was stronger than I'd thought.
'No, pure luck.'
Bad matchup, and she'd be the corpse instead.
My fault for pushing the spies too aggressively. But it all worked out—a happy end?
'...No.'
The note's cult mention. Recalling the nasty trio's origins clarified everything.
"The Blood Cult."
Info on the Blood Cult unlocks long after beating the nasty trio. In Episode 2, you just fight rogue Eastern warriors....
Seemed the story's later Blood Cult was moving far ahead of schedule.
Why? Traced back to that night.
"Damn Beth Cult."
Fate shifted that night we helped Beth Cult take out Baron Grimhall.