Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Imprisonment - 2
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Kaild growled at my calm words.
“You’re still acting all composed, and I hate it. Come to think of it, you’ve been like that since the first time we met.”
“It’s just how I am.”
“I’ll fix that for you.”
He crouched down.
Countless spikes began sprouting from his back.
[What the hell is that? A porcupine?]
‘When a person turns into a monster in an instant, you can’t freak out over something like that.’
I hurriedly assumed a stance.
*Snap. Shiiiing!*
Soon, his spikes came flying toward us ferociously.
“Ugh.”
-Truly Tremendously Slash!
It was originally an attack skill, but this time, just like Repia said, I’d have to use it as a curtain of blades.
My vision was soon filled with my sword.
They weren’t coming just from the front, so I had to strain a bit more than usual to expand my defensive zone.
*Clang. Clang-clang!*
*Crack.*
Crack?
Damn it. Is my sword under too much strain?
“Neril! Put some distance between us and him.”
“Oh, got it. Hang on.”
*Swish.*
I heard Neril forming hand seals.
Even though I’d asked her, I had no idea how she’d create that distance.
Neril widened the gap in a pretty creative way.
“Huh? Where are we?”
“Up in the air.”
In the blink of an eye, Neril and I were floating high in the sky.
It felt even higher than when we’d ridden Agril around before.
“How high up are we?”
“No clue. I just poured everything I had into it…… I didn’t expect it to go this far.”
“You look a bit out of breath.”
“Guess there’s not enough oxygen. One sec.”
Neril cast some kind of spell.
It felt much better right away.
I looked down below.
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Heh.”
“……We went a bit too high, huh?”
“Yeah. I can’t even see Kaild anymore.”
We were so high that Kaild wasn’t even a dot.
High enough to take in the entire starting line—which was the size of a territory—at a glance.
At this point, it felt more like space than the sky.
“You really are something else.”
“Forget the flattery. Let’s think strategy. At this distance, I should have time to prep a big one. What do you say?”
“Start right now.”
“Got it. Give me about three minutes.”
That’s when it happened.
“Where are you! Where are you hiding!”
Kaild’s voice rang in our ears, even though there was no way it should have reached this high.
If anything, it was on par with the voice of an oracle, give or take some exaggeration.
Neril shuddered.
I reassured her.
“Don’t get scared. Focus on your magic.”
“Hmph. Who’s scared?”
She curled one corner of her mouth up like it was ridiculous.
It was a rare expression for the much softer Neril lately, so I ended up smiling too.
*Swish.*
Neril began forming hand seals at a frightening speed.
She was even holding her spellbook in one hand, so it was probably a secret technique from the Enerica family.
‘I’m curious what it is. Probably a spell I’ve never seen before, even combining my lives before and after regression.’
Kaild’s shout came again.
“There you are!”
*Whiiiish.*
Shockingly, those spikes from before were flying straight at us.
He was attacking all the way up here, at an altitude better suited to calling it space than sky!
I hurriedly activated my skill.
-Truly Tremendously Slash!
The curtain of blades unfurled once more.
The distance was so immense that its power was much weaker than before.
But still.
*Clang. Thwack!*
My arms went numb each time I blocked a spike.
It gave me a fresh sense of just how strong Kaild was right now.
Even so, at this rate, three minutes should be……
*Crunch!*
“Gah.”
“M-Maide? You okay?”
“I’m fine. Hurry it up.”
“R-Right!”
Trail spoke in a tense voice.
[You’re not fine. There’s a clear crack in your sword.]
‘Damn. And it was one of my favorites.’
[It was made by Idria. That fake hero’s sword.]
‘Whoever forged it, the truth is I’ve used it well and kept it handy. Even after all my years as a mercenary, I’d never seen one this tough.’
Regrettable, but now wasn’t the time to dwell.
*Crunch. Crunch.*
The tiny crack near the center began spreading bit by bit.
Eventually, it covered the entire blade.
It really couldn’t hold out much longer.
“Neril. You ready yet?”
“Ten seconds!”
That should do it somehow.
Thinking this was the last one, I swung my sword again.
*Clang-clang! Crunch.*
“Five more seconds…… 4, 3, 2, 1. Done!”
The moment Neril shouted “Done!”
*Boom!*
My fake hero’s sword finally shattered completely.
The fragments rained down from the sky with me.
I couldn’t hide my bitterness.
‘You served me well all this time.’
[Save the farewells. More spikes are coming.]
‘Shit.’
I turned to Neril to dodge with her.
But there was no need to dodge.
“Ogrema Wave!”
Neril pointed at the incoming spikes.
In that instant, she became the sun.
More precisely, she fired the sun.
A massive beam of intense light shot from her finger toward the starting line.
*Roar. Whoosh!*
The spikes hurtling toward us melted away without resistance.
It was light in the truest sense.
No matter how great Kaild was, he couldn’t dodge its speed.
And no matter how strong, he couldn’t withstand its power.
*Kaboom!*
The entire starting line exploded soon after.
When we’d clashed with Kaild on the ground moments ago, it had only wrecked one section.
But this was different.
The starting line began to vanish.
Everything there exploded, burned, and evaporated.
“Neril. This is……?”
“Hah. Hah. How the hell did Biond make something like this?”
“Huh?”
“It’s the spell stored on page one of the book. Magic created by Biond Enerica.”
She steadied herself and caught her breath.
“It makes elements react with each other to cause an explosion. You get it—elements are……”
“No clue, so explain more later.”
“Hehe. Anyway, Biond developed it, but it was never used in real combat. Even a genius needed a year from prep to cast, and the range was limited to tens of meters.”
“……”
“It was just an experimental spell for theoretical research.”
“That was nothing like that just now.”
Neril’s eyes widened round.
“Thanks to you, I got the spellbook and could access the sealed pages. I’ve been studying it in secret every night, thinking it might come in handy someday.”
“Neril.”
“But I couldn’t have without using my reputation. Thanks again, Maide.”
“No matter how I look at it, I’m the one who should be thanking you right now.”
I looked down again.
The massive explosion Neril unleashed had birthed an enormous smoke cloud.
It felt just like a volcano erupting.
Neril spoke cautiously.
“You think he’s dead? Hope so.”
“No one could survive that…… but we should check ourselves. Can we go down?”
“Oh, yeah. Hang on. It’ll be too hot right now, so I’ll cast a quick spell.”
Neril waved her hand around.
“All set.”
“Good. Let’s descend.”
We headed back to the ground.
Unlike the ascent, we went slowly and carefully.
*Splat.*
A few minutes later, my feet touched down.
*Sizzle.*
I heard something burning and looked down.
Whoa. My shoes were on fire.
No wonder my feet felt hot.
“Oh, sorry. Forgot about that.”
Neril cast another spell, and I could breathe easy.
I scanned the surroundings, eyes wide.
“No sign of him. Probably the smoke.”
“We’re at the right coordinates from our first fight…… Should I clear the smoke?”
“Hm. No need. Look.”
I pointed to one side.
Neril narrowed her eyes and nodded.
“He’s down.”
Indeed.
Kaild was collapsed on the ground.
His whole body charred black.
[We got him…… No, never mind.]
‘Yeah. You held it together well.’
[But Neril’s magic is impressive. Her fame’s way below yours, yet this power……]
‘That’s why you don’t give mages time. They’re the type who can produce insane results beyond their base ability.’
Even so……
I clicked my tongue.
“We didn’t finish him.”
“What?”
No need to answer Neril’s question.
*Twitch.*
Smoke billowed from Kaild’s maw.
He coughed madly as he spoke.
“Th-this magic is…… what……?”
“Why won’t you just die! You should be dead after that!”
“Urk.”
He staggered to his feet.
But none of the vigor or presence from before remained.
He’d barely survived, put simply.
“Ugh…… m-my body……”
No need to say more; he was a mess.
Neril’s eyes gleamed.
“Right now, I bet I could kill him? You can’t, so I’ll do it.”
“Dunno. Didn’t Impellium say it wouldn’t work?”
“Hmph. Watch me.”
Neril formed hand seals.
*Whirr.*
A familiar spell unfolded.
Transcendent Decomposition.
The magic that once erased an entire mountain hurtled toward Kaild.
He didn’t even think to dodge, just stared blankly.
*Kaboom!*
“Gaaah!”
He screamed in agony.
But the fact that he could scream proved Neril’s spell hadn’t worked.
Normally, getting hit by Decomposition leaves no time to scream before you vanish.
Neril ground her teeth in frustration.
“Damn it. Why’s he so tough?”
“Velosian’s power is still dormant in Kaild. That’s what’s protecting his body.”
“Tch.”
“No choice. We stick to the original plan. Cancel the spell.”
Neril had no option but to cancel.
Kaild was already vomiting blood.
The gurgling gore garbled his words.
“Urk. Th-this can’t…… be. Impossible.”
“You look like you’re in pain. Go rest in here.”
I activated my skill again.
-Pull into Space.
*Crackle.*
My combo of Space Tear and Pull into Hole.
Earlier, Kaild hadn’t budged from this skill.
But now, battered as he was, it was different.
“N-no!”
*Zzzip.*
His body began getting dragged.
Into my space prison.
It looked just like a prisoner thrashing against restraints.
“Gaaah. L-let go. Let me go!”
“Cool off and reflect in there.”
He ended up face-planting.
His two legs weren’t enough; he clawed the ground with his arms too.
A pose that suited Kaild perfectly.
“No. I can’t be caught like this.”
“Give up.”
“Not yet. Not yet!”
What?
He was right.
His charred body regained vitality.
Light returned to his eyes, muscles swelled.
Velosian’s power dwelling in Kaild.
It was breathing new life into him.
“But you’re still not at full strength. You’re forcing it, right?”
“……!”
“For one, you’ve shrunk a lot. Down to about 2 or 3 meters now?”
“Hah. Hah. Sh-shut up. It’s still enough to crush you pests.”
As if.
Unlike before, he couldn’t generate new spikes.
Resisting my pull was probably his limit.
“Maide. Let me try again……”
“No. I’ll finish it.”
“Huh?”
“I need to show off a bit too.”
Neril smirked.
Well, truth was, I didn’t know what a cornered Kaild might pull at the end.
“Didn’t your sword just break? Unyielding Sword Emperor?”
“Even Sword Emperors crave bare-fisted brawls sometimes!”
I clenched my fist.
-Quick Dash!
In an instant, I charged at Kaild.
“Urk. Ack!”
“Please just…… die already, and stay down!”
He overlapped his hands and raised them to the sky.
Then slammed them toward my back.
I twisted away slightly but didn’t dodge fully, countering with a kick to his fist.
A kick powered by 1.2 million fame wasn’t just any kick anymore.
*Crack.*
His arms bent at grotesque angles.
“Gaaah!”
Frothing at the mouth, he kept attacking me.
*Thud. Thud!*
We traded blows endlessly.
But it was only a matter of time.
He couldn’t block my attacks one by one.
*Thump-thump-thump.*
Once to the face, once to the gut.
Sometimes to the chest.
Each time, he got crushed, shattered, or broken.
“Maide. Maide Mohan!”
“Yeah, that’s my name, so shut it.”
“Y-you’re crumbling me again. How long do I have to keep losing to you?”
“How long?”
I lowered my stance.
Pouring all my power into my right leg.
My eyes quickly scanned around.
Behind him was the space I’d created, in a straight line.
Perfect setup.
“Probably the next one ends it.”
“Wh-what?”
“Next time, I’ll kill you without mercy!”
*Boom!*
I unleashed a front kick with everything I had.
His body lifted backward.
With the massive leg support gone, my pull yanked him gleefully.
He thrust his arms out, nails digging into the ground.
*Scrape.*
I slowly placed my foot on his hand.
“Gaaaaah! N-no!”
“……”
“Maide, let me go.”
“Hah.”
“I-I won’t resist you again. Hero or whatever, take it all. I’ll live quietly, so forgive me.”
I grinned.
“You, give up being a hero? Like a dog quitting shit.”
*Thud!*
I stomped with all my might.
*Snap.*
His nails and hand bones shattered.
“Aaaaaaah!”
In the end, he vanished beyond my space.