Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Rampage of Madness - 2
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Jehard Dynons
He was the eldest son of the minor noble House Dynons, a knight among the nobility who had followed the typical elite path.
His younger brother, Eli Dynons, had little desire for position or material wealth, so he had withdrawn from the succession competition from the outset.
His fiancée, Rein Liford, felt affection for Jehard, who would claim the family head position. Jehard, in turn, had no reason to refuse the opportunity to gain ties and a beauty from House Liford.
However, his father, Zen Dynons, was still hale and hearty. Thus, Jehard needed to build his foundation as a knight by accumulating achievements and experience.
The path he chose was as escort and swordsmanship instructor to the lady of House Reinhardt. Though modest in noble prestige, their deep connections made acceptance straightforward.
"My future held such promise. It definitely did."
But that radiant future had been shattered by Leonardo's existence.
"If only you weren't there...! I wouldn't have ended up like this."
His parents treated him like a discarded child. His younger brother was now drawing attention as the successor in his stead.
His fiancée had abandoned him and was now desperately seeking another man.
"If only you weren't th...!"
"Yeah. You were so kind and capable that you evacuated, abandoning Aria. And I was so vicious and cunning that I confronted the Balrog alone. This is too much, huh?"
In the end, it was nothing but self-justifying nonsense laced with blame toward others.
"Hey, if you hadn't pulled that idiotic stunt, at least your family wouldn't have cursed you to your face. Where does a worm worse than a cockroach in a dumpster get off mouthing off?"
From the start, Jehard was doomed to be cast aside. His own pathetic tantrum had merely hastened it.
"Did you really think you'd get praised for ditching a girl to save your own skin? Did you sell your common sense and brains to the devil too?"
For the record, he probably never had any personality or conscience to begin with.
At those words, Jehard's face twisted. His eyes tore open, revealing inverted pupils, and sharp fangs protruded from his teeth.
"...Until you beg for your life, screaming... I'll tear you apart and toy with you..."
The purple skin and saw-like nails on his arms seemed to bear witness to that claim.
If not for the whirlwind of fireballs blazing around him.
From Leo's hidden opposite hand, fireballs spun and launched in rapid succession. Jehard was engulfed in the explosions and sent flying.
"What makes you think I'd play around with you? Your yapping while I drew the magic circle was annoying enough."
Leo hadn't been stalling without purpose. He had only kept talking to draw attention while composing the magic circle.
In truth, Leo didn't care whether Jehard died or ended up imprisoned.
"In a few minutes, the guards will arrive, so until then..."
What flew at him was a massive wooden crate—a size and weight impossible for that muscular, blazing body to hurl.
Kaang!!
The wooden crate split in half right before Leo's sword. The problem was that it wasn't a smokescreen attack.
'...Fire Storm is the maximum firepower magic I can unleash... The fact that he endured it means...'
"...A sneaky brat like you... better off chopped to pieces? Daring to ambush me while talking...!"
A portion of Jehard's head had truly been blown away. His skin and muscles were burned and melted, exposing bone.
Yet there was no sense that he would die.
"...Do you think I vanished for two years without a single thought...?!"
Kwaaaak!! Kwarang!!
The ensuing screams and blasts.
These weren't sounds from Leo or Jehard.
They came from outside, from the city center. The Sage hurriedly escaped the alley and levitated into the air.
They bore forms eerily similar to humans. Uncomfortably so.
"...You... went this far... just for something like that?"
Leo himself might have been deluded.
That everything up to now was merely a personal matter of disappearance and revenge. That handling the ringleader, Jehard, would resolve it all.
But that was an overly optimistic, soft judgment. He should have realized it the moment the demon appeared—amid the tower lords' visit and the disciplining of numerous mages.
"Kekeke... Heh... Taste the hell I endured..."
Mass slaughter. The massacre staged by demons and black mages seizing their chance.
And those who primarily carried out such massacres were...
"...I told you, didn't I?"
Jehard's body had regenerated into black, leathery flesh. His facial bones twisted as fangs and horns protruded grotesquely, perfect for ripping skin.
His entire form swelled to a size larger than an adult Balrog. It resembled the most repulsive depiction of a devil from human imagination.
"You'll be torn apart and toyed with until you scream for mercy..."
"...Shut up."
Interrupting the demon's words, Leonardo raised his sword.
"Shut your trap and come. I'll sew it shut so you can't even beg for your life."
Emotions beyond mere anger swirled around him.
"You arrogant... bastard..!"
The demon charged. Its speed already surpassed human limits. Even Aria wouldn't have been able to react.
Kwaaang!!
The first strike was a straight lunge. Dodging it succeeded. But the wall behind shattered like glass under the demon's hand.
Leo urgently thrust his arm out at a right angle and deployed a spell.
"Wind Burst...!!"
He barely managed to time it by invoking a chant. A cannon of gusts erupted from his arm, the recoil propelling him out of the alley.
Pang!
The wind shell struck the demon, halting its movement for an instant. It was a blow that would crack boulders, yet it left not a single scratch on the demon.
"...Is that all...?!"
"All?"
But the plan still had more in store. The debris from the collapsing building rained down on Jehard.
The ensuing impacts—that weight would injure even an advanced demon.
The areas on either side of the street were complete ruins. Something devouring corpses suddenly lunged at Leo.
"Ieeeeek...!!"
A pincer attack from right and left. The black stone shifted into dual swords, severing the necks of the grotesque figures on both sides.
The Sage's shocked words and expression. Leo examined the faces of the severed grotesqueries.
"...These fuckers too...!"
An unforeseen development—the one he least wanted to imagine.
"Why are modified humans here...!"
"You knew about that...?!"
A sudden voice, followed by flying chunks of wall debris.
'...Dual swords can't...!'
Dual swords couldn't block them. Though combos were swift, their shorter reach compared to a longsword dispersed the power.
"Urk...!!"
Not all debris could be slashed aside. Chunks struck his left arm, abdomen, and ribs.
Blood burst from his mouth. His ribs were fractured, piercing his lungs. His arm hadn't broken but was badly swollen.
'Still, for now...'
"Still...! Not screaming...?!"
The demon charged through the debris and dust. No dodging it. Its speed had already surpassed even Aria's.
He hurriedly launched a spear of lightning. The plan was to slow the demon with Lightning Lance and counter with dual swords.
Bursting through the lightning, the demon swung its fist. No paralysis took hold, nor any impact—it slammed straight into Leo.
"Krak!!"
Even blocking with dual swords, the destructive force overwhelmed his defense. His weakened left arm sent his body flying sideways.
Wind Armor
1-Circle Wind Defense Magic (Modified)
A 1-circle wind defense spell, a specialized modification of Wind Wall that enveloped the body in armor-like gales.
'...Low defense, but...!'
Such a fist couldn't be blocked outright, but it slowed his flight speed and minimized friction with the ground.
Moreover, Jehard's body had already regenerated. The arm that seemed twisted was realigned, and the wounds on his skin were neatly healed.
<Hate to admit it, but...>
Abilities tailored to counter Leo in every aspect.
The most troublesome foe for Leo right now.
From those modified humans earlier, these abominations were likely scattered across the entire city.
If there were enough tower lords or mages, it might have been manageable. But no such ideal scenario would come.
<Let's run.>
Leonardo began to sprint.
<Apologies, but I must focus now.>
With that, Leo reshaped the tattered dual swords in his hand. To buy that time, he dashed forward.
"Running was all you could come up with!? In the end, you're no different!!"
The pursuing Jehard—for pure speed, the demon held the advantage.
'...No choice but to try...!'
Leonardo hurled a black stone dagger prepared for throwing at Jehard.
"A toy like that's all a brat's got!!"
The dagger embedded in both arms, but its power was no more than a fingernail to the demon.
<The check's done. Now, as instructed.>
With that, Leo hurled the remaining daggers at the building.
The thrown daggers lodged into the outer wall, fixed firmly. The black stone wires connected to them supported Leo's weight, pulling him along.
<No faster way to move right now.>
The rewinding, coiling black wires allowed Leo's body to zip along at high speed, even airborne.
In terms of speed alone, even flight magic couldn't keep up.
"Petty tricks...!!"
Jehard frantically pursued. Speed favored Jehard, but Leo covered the gap with experience and technique, seizing the upper hand.
Rapidly reshaping black stone strained mind and mana. Likely no time to create enough distance to shake him.
"Doesn't matter."
Leo's flight was never for mere survival.
A hero's knight always fled for the sake of victory.
"Romantic, huh...? Guess the orphan brat didn't want to die alone!!"
Even to the taunt, Leo felt no anger. With the plan proceeding as expected, a leisurely smile formed.
"...Truth be told, I was prepared to die while running too. Fail this, and I truly have no way to kill you."
Leonardo gripped the black stone daggers he had prepared in his hand.
"You think toys like that can kill me?!"
At the same time, Jehard swung his demon claws at Leo. Using gravestones as cover, he dodged the attacks.
He began hurling daggers in rapid succession. To Leo, such hunting battles were akin to a stroll.
"It tickles!! With this...!!"
Before long, half the gravestones lay shattered. No cover remained nearby.
"It's overrrr!!!"
Jehard unleashed a punch. But for some reason, Leo no longer sought cover.
"...Over, right?"
No need.
"Why?"
Leo's plan had already succeeded.
"Arms and legs not moving as you thought?"
Jehard barely swung his fist at Leo. But a demon fist slowed to its limit had no chance of landing.
On the contrary, his torn joints twisted further, and Jehard collapsed to the ground.
"If the toys I threw had bounced off your flesh, even I'd have no method."
But Leo's daggers had precisely pierced the demon's flesh. He had simply underestimated them due to their short blades.
"No matter the regeneration, a living lump of meat can't regrow around an embedded dagger. Especially in critical joints like knees or elbows."
At those words, Jehard frantically tried to yank out the dagger with his hand. But with his joints in tatters, strength alone wouldn't suffice.
Yet mad laughter still spilled from Jehard's mouth.
"As expected, you're just a brat...!! Spouting all those crucial details...!!"
Then he could just amp up regeneration to push the flesh—and dagger—out.
"...Kinda disappointing if that's what you're thinking?"
"Why...?! Kwaaak...!?"
The dagger wouldn't budge, even with boosted regeneration. Instead, the regenerated flesh around it twisted grotesquely.
"Why would I reveal your escape route? For scum like you, dying in utter humiliation is the only way to sate me."
With that, Leonardo kindly revealed the dagger's secret right before Jehard's eyes.
"An old whaler taught me this during a voyage. No matter how strong, harpoons shaped like this never come loose."
After leaving the Hero Family, he had learned this harpoon blade design. It proved immensely useful against high-regen demons and monsters.
The earlier wall dagger had held firm for the same reason.
Pukseok.
In the end, this harpoon dagger snuffed out Jehard's light.
"Kwaaaak!!"
With both eyes crushed by the dagger, a scream was wrung out. Leo seized the hilt and twisted to fully eliminate his vision.
"Scream your fill now. Soon, you won't be able to even if you want."
With that, Leo inscribed a fire magic circle into the demon's mouth.
"Traditionally done with a torch for the full effect, but circumstances are urgent—bear with it."
Foreseeing what came next, Jehard began to flail pathetically. The sight resembled a spider with broken legs slowly devoured by an ant.
Ignoring the struggles, Leo gathered nearby straw and dry twigs, stuffing them into Jehard's mouth.
"Ugh...!? Krp...!"
"Even a high-regen demon heals slowly from cauterized necrosis. Ridiculously human at the core—can't breathe, and you're done."
Hwaruk.
"That's why I love this method. Burning and suffocating were the worst pains I endured."
Leo's flames used the crammed twigs and straw as a fuse, melting lips, flesh, and even organs.
As the firewood flames grew fiercer, the liquefied flesh and organs denatured, necrotizing and gradually clogging his throat and airways.
The oxygen in his lungs dwindled under the searing blaze, subjecting the demon to simultaneous agony of incineration and asphyxiation.
"I told you. I'd sew your mouth shut."
No response came.
And after Leo departed, minutes later, the demon died in silence.