Chapter 102
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Oh Hero
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But that lasted only a moment.
Crowds of defense force soldiers poured in along the spectator seats surrounding the conference hall, as if they'd been waiting for this exact chance.
Click! Click! Click!
Gun barrels trained on Kyle at the round table in perfect unison.
"Intruder, listen up! You are surrounded! I repeat, you are surrounded! If you value your life, raise your hands and surrender! If you refuse..."
At that moment, the frontline defense commander cut himself off.
He couldn't help but question the transmission buzzing in his ear.
"...Yes?"
"What the hell are you all doing?!"
Kurtz, sprawled out in an undignified heap, yelled at the soldiers encircling him.
"Kill that bastard who defiled this sacred hall right now...!!"
One of the arriving executives quickly whispered in his ear.
Kurtz Shuleman's eyes widened as if he'd misheard.
"What?"
He muttered.
"Father said...?"
"Yes. He just ordered us to merely pretend to assist in quelling the disturbance..."
"What the..."
'Pretend to assist?'
Kurtz's brow furrowed.
'Why the hell...?'
His confusion at the inexplicable order was short-lived.
The defense soldiers grabbed him.
"More importantly, Director, we need to get you somewhere safe...!"
"No."
[Subspace]
In that instant, a massive greatsword shot out from empty air, grazing Kurtz's nape.
"?!"
"Nobody move."
Shuleman's gaze shook as he stared down at the blade gleaming coldly blue.
"That bastard...!!"
The on-site commander bristled, but he flinched under the man's murderous glare.
"!!"
"Didn't you hear the warning? Don't move."
Kyle's eyes narrowed.
Just as he'd expected.
He'd figured the zone director—who had to watch out for both the Mine Knights and the bloodkin—would have some high-ranking official presiding.
'Can't let a prime insurance policy slip away when I might need him later.'
Kurtz inwardly cursed up a storm.
'Shit...!'
He couldn't touch the guy anyway, per Father's orders—even without this stunt!
But it wasn't all bad for them, either.
This gave them a perfect excuse not to actively arrest him.
The Artist addressed Kyle with evident delight, like an artist reveling in his work.
"Let me say this upfront: taking him won't make him a hostage to me, you know that, right?"
"Of course."
The man was just one means to an end—getting the demonkin out of here.
A Mine Knight wouldn't bat an eye even if the zone director ended up a hostage.
"...Count. What are your orders?"
"......"
Meanwhile, the baron-class bloodkin turned to the count, who fell silent for a moment.
"Normally, for soiling these robes, I'd claim an arm just to sate my rage... but..."
The count narrowed his eyes.
"He doesn't seem to be our target, so let's watch for now."
As he rose and brushed dust from his clothes, the baron's face twisted oddly.
"You're serious?"
"Yes. You've piqued my interest."
"Interest, you say...?"
The count slowly scanned the insolent human who hadn't spared him—a great bloodkin—a single glance.
"I smell blood on him. Very familiar blood."
"...?"
"...A scent I know all too well."
The baron's brow twitched at the cryptic words.
The Artist shrugged off his cloak as if it annoyed him.
"Ah, it's been ages since anyone challenged me with such fire!"
He chuckled, lips curling up.
"And for one such as you, allow me to properly introduce myself."
He placed his right hand over his chest and bowed gracefully—a Mine Knight.
Glancing up slightly, he said,
"I am Lucian Rusk, a humble servant of the Demon King's darkness, one of the 'Rite' Knights, known as the 'Artist.'"
"...Kyle Clark."
Kyle gave his name curtly, when Miki's transmission came through.
[Artist... In the data. Possesses the unique ability 'Ice Stage'... Once an artifact craftsman and magitech scholar, he encased victims fused with artifacts into grotesque chimeras as 'artworks' in ice.]
So that's why the Artist.
"...What terrible taste."
[Little is known about the exact 'Rite.' But it doesn't outright kill... From scant info, most victims die unable to properly manifest their abilities.]
'A Rite that strips abilities?'
Whatever it was, it didn't matter to Kyle.
'Anyway.'
[Be careful, Kyle.]
"Don't worry."
Whatever that Rite was.
'...It means nothing to me.'
"I'm curious...!"
The Artist's lips curled wider.
"How long can you last on my stage? How faithfully can you play your role until the curtain falls on your death?!"
"You talk too much."
Kyle summoned draconic aura once more.
"If you won't come to me, I'll come to you."
The Artist snapped his fingers at him.
"No! Butcher!"
Spreading his arms like a comedic actor, he whispered dramatically.
"You're already on my stage!"
[Ice Snow Theater]
"Haven't we gathered quite the audience for once?"
The Artist's eyes curved into crescents.
"Dance with more flair, writhe in a manner befitting your role."
"...!"
Kyle realized it then.
The conference hall where they stood had transformed into some kind of stage.
"?!"
"Th-this is...!"
Panicked voices rose from all around.
The count's eyes tilted with interest.
"A lesser unique domain, perhaps."
It didn't erode reality too deeply.
'It's just a means to fulfill the Rite's conditions.'
The stage was likely crafted to suit the Rite, not vice versa.
Demonkin Guen shouted,
"If you move...!!"
"Guen?!"
"You can't move on the stage!!"
"...Inferior scum ruining the mood."
Irritated, the Artist launched himself at Guen.
[Bone Reinforcement]
[Agility Amplification]
[Strength Amplification]
The sheer explosive momentum of the bastard.
"You're twins anyway—one's enough."
"...!!"
As the shadow rocketed in to shred his face—
[Dragon's Manifestation]
Kyle intercepted in front of Guen, clashing fists with full force.
[Internal Force Fist Punch]
Ku, kuaaaaang—!!
A ferocious shockwave blasted outward.
Incredibly, the Artist burst into laughter at the sight of Kyle matching him blow for blow.
"Hahaha! What is this?! Surely you didn't come here to save these vermin?!"
Guen and the demonkin gaped at his words.
"S-save us...?"
"Us?"
Rniern, clutching Nien, trembled.
The Artist smirked.
"But you've moved once now, haven't you?"
"So?"
Solar lightning exploded over Kyle's dragon-shrouded hand.
Kuaaaaang—!!
The Artist dodged the [Lightning Stake] plummeting right before him and rolled his shoulders.
"Who knows? Why, indeed."
Kyle took another step forward. Guen snapped out of his daze and yelled again.
"No! Any more movement, and the Rite...!"
"Hey. Demonkin."
Kyle shot Guen a glance.
"I'll be the judge of that."
"What do you...!"
Guen cried out in disbelief.
"You don't know about the Rite?!"
"Not really."
Of course.
"No need to."
Guen's jaw dropped.
'Is he insane?'
Challenging a Mine Knight without knowing the Rite.
When even knowing it, you couldn't win!
He groaned unwittingly.
For a fleeting moment, the spark of hope in his chest had frozen solid.
Judging by his appearance, the human was likely from the surface.
Disappointed, Guen bit his lip.
'In the end... just the bravado of an ignorant fool...!'
In the motionless stage's center.
Step, step echoed hollowly.
As the Mine Knight grinned wickedly—
- One who steps on the Artist's Ice Stage five times or more.
- All mana temporarily sealed.
Kyle took his fifth step.
A pang! rang out as the Rite triggered.
Its power rippled past the defense forces and demonkin.
Guen and the demonkin squeezed their eyes shut, sensing it.
"Ahh...!"
"It's over now!"
"The Rite activated after all...!"
The Artist's mad laughter echoed across the stage.
"Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!! Fun! So much fun!!"
Staring at Kyle, who hadn't budged, he said,
"To walk into that warning with your own two feet! Well, you'd have to move in a fight anyway. Still, a moth to the flame like you? First I've seen! Haha! Masterpiece!"
He shook his head, laughing at the butcher as if his sides hurt.
"What were you thinking? That brazen charge here? Recklessness? Or did you think, like Sir Wilhelm, my Rite only targets humans?"
The Artist flung his arms wide theatrically.
"That would be a mistake! Alas, unlucky extra! My Rite spares no one...!"
"I see."
Suddenly, everyone held their breath.
"So, let me ask again."
The Mine Knight's eyes widened as he looked down at the voice right in front of him.
...There stood Kyle Clark, inches from his nose.
"So?"
What now?
"...?!"
[Dragon's Manifestation]
[Internal Force Fist Punch]
In a flash, the swung fist slammed into the Artist's solar plexus with everything Kyle had.
Puuuuck—!
"Wha...!"
The Mine Knight rocketed like a bullet, smashing into the wall.
Whiiish—! Kuaaaaang—!!
"......"
"......"
Silence blanketed the hall.
The watching bloodkin gaped in shock; the soldiers and demonkin were speechless.
Guen and Rniern's eyes quivered helplessly.
All gazes fixed on the one man calmly dusting off his hands, as if the Rite had done nothing.
"H-how...?"
"The Rite should've backfired!"
"How is he still...!"
Kyle peered through the Artist's soul with [Divine Eye] and said,
"I see. So this is how you've toyed with them all this time."
Unfurl the stage, seal mana with the Rite—leaving only raw physical prowess.
No matter the martial skill, without mana, its power halved dramatically.
On the other hand.
[Recovery Enhancement]
[Musculoskeletal Regeneration]
[Cardiovascular Amplification]
As a craftsman and magitech scholar, the Artist layered powerful buffs via implanted artifacts.
The gap against a mana-sealed foe would be vast.
"Must've been fun toying with them on your stage where you're the only real threat."
That was the 'play' the Artist spoke of.
A cruel fairy tale: unilaterally tormenting the defenseless, abusing them for sport.
"You...! You bastard!"
The Artist rose from the dust cloud, face twisting hideously.
"How...! Why didn't my Rite...! Unlike Sir Wilhelm's, mine doesn't discriminate targets!"
"Who knows."
Kyle smirked just as the Artist had.
"Why, I wonder?"
"Grrrr...!!"
[Agility Amplification x4]
[Strength Amplification x4]
[Musculoskeletal Hypertrophy x3]
[Skeletal Growth x3]
[Joint Reinforcement x4]
"Don't you dare look down on a mere extra like you...!!"
Crack! Crack! His upper body warped and swelled unnaturally.
"You think we inspire fear with just the Rite!!"
Kuaaaaang! A massive shockwave erupted as the monstrosity charged.
Kyle instantly pulled up his skill tree.
'If he's the type stacking artifact buffs...'
Perfect timing for a certain skill.
[Ion Circle] [Enhanced]
Wraps a powerful electromagnetic storm around your hand to strike close-range foes. If mana expenditure hits a threshold, disrupts and nullifies enemy buff skills. Effect varies by buff level or spell intricacy. Can also imbue weapons.
'Artifacts run on mana too, ultimately...!'
The Artist's hypertrophied frame barreled in like a massive truck.
"Die...!!"
In that moment, a pale purple longsword surged from [Subspace] into his grasp.
The Artist's eyes bulged upon seeing it.
"You—that sword...!"
[Ion Circle]
Kwajijijik!!
A ferocious electromagnetic storm swirled along the Phantom Sword's blade.
[Phantom Swordsmanship]
[Five Flashes]
Ting—! The hilt vibrated as five blades unfurled almost simultaneously.
"?!"
The panicked Artist tried to block with his enlarged frame, but too late.
As illusion and reality intertwined in Five Flashes, grazing his arm—
Kwajijik! Kuaaaaang—!!
The storm shredded even his stacked buffs.
"Wh-what is this...!!"
Feeling his strength and speed drain rapidly, the Artist spat in shock.
"What the...!"
Kyle stepped forward again.
A fluid step, like flowing water.
Ting—! The sound rang in ears once more.
[Five Flashes]
[Second Strike]
Materialized sword ki pierced limbs and throat in a blink!
Papapak! Chwaaaaaak—!!
"Kuaaaaaak!!"
Dark red blood sprayed like fountains.
"Kuhuk! Keuk! Grk!"
His body wrecked in an instant, the Mine Knight staggered back as if fleeing.
Breath steady, Kyle flicked blood from his blade—the stage's sole adversary.
"In-insane..."
"Hah...!"
Those witnessing it from start to finish gaped mutely.
The Mine Knight, who stripped and toyed with foes' powers.
Now stripped and unilaterally crushed.
Defense soldiers stammered.
"What... what's happening right now?"
"The Mine Knight's getting one-sidedly pushed...?"
"Wait, that's the Mine Knight! That monster!"
"Even if the Rite failed, how?!"
"Look! He isn't even breathing hard...!"
"Am I hallucinating?"
An overwhelmingly dominant fight.
'So that's why Father said just pretend...'
Kurtz Shuleman shuddered unwittingly.
'That's why...!'
Gazing up at the man standing tall amid the ice stage.
'Where the hell did this monster come from?!'
The rapidly regenerating Artist spoke again.
"You—how do you have that sword...!"
It was clearly Sir Wilhelm's sword and style!
Why could this man before him manifest the Phantom Sword perfectly?!
"What... what are you!!"
Why didn't the Demon King's Rite work?
How did he nullify all my powers?
And how did he wield Sir Wilhelm's sword...!
"What the hell are you!!"
Terror of the unknown filled his eyes.
Reading it, Kyle glared chillingly.
"What do you think?"
"...!!"
Etched into him—a curse amplifying fear.
[Amon's Fear Curse]
"Kuaaaak! B-butcher, buuuutcherrr!!"
Artifact buffs swirled anew as he lunged; electromagnetic storm exploded from the swung sword ki in response.
Kuaaaaang—!!
The stage cracked; snow clouds billowed violently.
Guen stared up at the white mist, eyes trembling.
- You don't know about the Rite?!
- Not really.
That's what he'd said.
- No need to.
'So when he said that...'
Literally.
'...He truly had no need to know?'
Chills raced over Guen.
...He'd always thought beating a Mine Knight impossible.
- Father...! Mother...!!
Their Rites absolute over them.
- R-run...! Hurry!! Guen!!
Their power absolute.
- Demonkin have but two choices.
The brutal knight commander's voice echoed vividly with closed eyes.
- Become our slaves, or sacrifices.
Can't win.
Can't kill.
Can't escape.
That was a Mine Knight.
To Guen, to demonkin.
So he gave up. Resigned, despaired.
What choice was there?
Against the unkillable.
'That's what I thought...'
A agonized scream pierced the white snow fog.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Not anyone else—the once-terrifying powerhouse.
"The Mine... Knight's..."
"Screaming..."
"That Mine Knight...! That monster!"
The one who'd always made them scream.
Because of a single human.
[Divine Eye]
[Awakening]
Kuaaaaaang—! The snow fog scattered, blinding momentarily.
Revealed: a black-haired man and the Artist kneeling pathetically before him.
Suddenly, deep blue glows bloomed around his eyes, scattering like mist.
"Ca...n't... even... talk..."
The Mine Knight's body crumbled away bit by bit.
Amid shattered tables, countless stunned gazes beheld the light shining upon them.
Guen, descendant of the 'En' clan, murmured unwittingly.
Gripping his sword tightly, slowly turning to them—the man.
"He... ro...?"
The demonkin's eyes quivered helplessly.