Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Derailment Frenzy - 4
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It felt like vomit was about to surge up.
Because the girl right in front of her had died instantly in just three seconds?
Because the girl's brother had turned into that grotesquely mangled monster?
No. Ariasfil knew the most repulsive truth.
She simply couldn't admit it, or the nauseating emotions would make her keel over dead.
"..."
Ariasfil fell silent.
"No impressions? Or is my performance still lacking?"
The Clay Mage smiled with Leonardo's face and shoved the modified girl aside.
"Want to play together? It'll change your impressions a bit. Since she's a girl, maybe play house."
"...Grrraaah...!"
The modified human let out a monstrous screech and charged at Ariasfil.
It wasn't threatening, but...
Whoosh.
The current Ariasfil couldn't counterattack.
"No counter? You like my clay doll that much?"
In speed and power, Ariasfil held the advantage. Switching from defense to offense would let her sever its neck instantly.
"Grrraaah...!!"
But Ariasfil didn't attack. She focused all her stance and movements on defense and evasion.
"Uggh... S-save... meee..."
The moment it became clear these monsters were all once human, Ariasfil couldn't bring herself to cut its throat.
This was the same girl who had killed her own brother with her own hands. Ariasfil couldn't strike down such a girl herself.
If she cut more, piled on more sins like that.
Ariasfil herself wouldn't be able to endure it.
This time, vines burst from the ground. The earth and plant spirits grew the vines, binding and subduing the monster.
"Wow, spirit arts~ Bad matchup for me~"
"...You... You're the only one...!!"
Ariasfil charged at the Clay Mage in genuine fury. Killing scum like him required no guilt.
"What's wrong? Don't like my artwork?"
"Shut your mouth...!!"
Ariasfil's sword strikes were fast and precise even in her passion. Even the Clay Mage, skilled in assassination and slaughter, couldn't fully dodge and took wounds.
"You turn people into that...! And say things like that...?!"
"Haha, that's too much."
The Clay Mage repaired the wounds and morphed his hands into blades.
"You've killed too, right? Why act like a hero and say it so boldly?"
At that moment, Ariasfil's thoughts froze. Memories of the first monster she beheaded and the girl's brother paralyzed her mind.
"You're a murderer too."
That girl had looked at her with the same thought earlier.
"Haha! Your weakness is so obvious. No twists."
Saying that, the Clay Mage grabbed Ariasfil's stomach.
"A twist is like this."
Sudden piercing pain, like each cell being plucked with tweezers and rewoven.
"Argh!"
In an instant, the Aura around Ariasfil exploded. The blast of wind and mana pressure repelled the Clay Mage's unique magic.
"Nice instinctual defense. Would've been more fun if you'd been even a bit slower."
She had defended, but it wasn't nullified—just endured. The pain lingered in her stomach.
Overexerting her Aura more than usual contributed too.
"Shall we change strategy?"
The Clay Mage extended both arms again, firing his unique magic. But the elongated forms made their trajectories visible, easy to dodge.
"Told you? It's an important twist."
What the extended hands grabbed were the two subdued monsters, still bound but clinging to life.
"I don't leave scraps."
The two monsters melted like wax in fire. Amid grotesque screams, the masses merged into one, forming a massive giant.
"A sister mingling with a strange man in front of her brother—decent title bait, huh?"
"...You... Demon...!"
It was evil that induced vomiting.
He wasn't just a human who felt no guilt over murder.
This murder fiend was a mad demon who truly found artistic beauty in fusing living corpses, deriving even greater sadistic pleasure from the reactions of those watching.
Ariasfil felt the stench deep in her soul.
"What's wrong? If you think about it, you're partly responsible for not killing them."
At that instant, something in her rationality snapped taut. Not from anger or hatred, but something else.
"...No...!! I...!"
"Really? You're not killing them out of worry for those people?"
The giant swung a fist. The harmony from the two heads connected to its torso could only be called sobbing.
"You just didn't want to dirty your hands. You didn't have the courage to bear the sin of murder."
"No...!! I said no!!"
Her fierce denial futilely affirmed it. Was she being tainted by the madman's madness? Her swordsmanship grew wildly ferocious and swift.
"But want me to tell you one thing?"
The giant attacked again. She dodged the monstrous strength, but the problem was the Clay Mage's cooperating hands.
If they touched now, she'd definitely fall. Calling spirits to block might just barely work.
"You're a murderer in the end. You've committed the same unforgivable sin for life as me."
Even the ability to communicate vanished. The taut thread of her mind boiled.
Because it was an undeniable fact, Ariasfil couldn't cover the momentary gap.
"Good material..."
That filthy arm tore off like an arrow and flew away.
"Of course it's different, you bastard."
That arrow wasn't the end. A barrage of arrows followed in succession.
"Who the hell do you think you are, comparing us?"
Four arrows struck true simultaneously: the giant's two heads and its heart.
"You're a pleasure-killing psycho murdering innocents, and the lady's a hero trying to stop it. Need it spelled out?"
The one firing arrows was the fake imitating the Clay Mage—and Ariasfil's knight.
"And what's wrong with not wanting to kill more? Even if they're like that, I like the lady who values lives. I really like that Ariasfil."
Leonardo hurled Fireballs in rapid succession. Three Fireballs hit the Clay Mage squarely.
Boom, KABOOM.
The Clay Mage flew back slightly from the explosion's shock. It was just pushed by the impact—no death, no flesh torn away.
But the smoke screen was enough. The heat and smoke obscured vision.
"So it doesn't matter if you've already killed or will kill. Even if the lady's sins last a lifetime, I'll bear them with her for life."
Declaring that, Leonardo dashed into the smoke-filled area. He grabbed Ariasfil's hand and started running.
"Hold tight. Follow me."
"Wha... Huh?!"
With those words, Leonardo fired a black stone wire toward the building.
The extended wire contracted, yanking Leo into the air.
"...Leo... Where did you... No, how...!"
"Answers when we're farther away."
With that curt reply, Leo leaped across rooftops and roofs, putting maximum distance from the spot.
In the meantime, Ariasfil saw it. No, being beside him, she had to see.
The wounds covering Leonardo's body: minor gashes, serious injuries, even life-threatening ones that would have killed without immediate cauterization or hemostasis.
She felt pathetic for crumbling to mere guilt.
"...Here... They won't find us right away."
"Leo... Your wounds..."
The barely staunched wounds had reopened from the earlier leap. The growing bloodstains on his clothes signaled the pain's intensity.
"Lady, use spirit arts to heal me first. Just healing will be fine."
"...O-okay..."
Ariasfil began calling surrounding spirits with mana. As many as possible; the world's mana concepts enveloped Leo.
"Heal Leo."
The spirits responded, infusing Leo's body with vital healing energy. Crushed and broken bones realigned, torn and split wounds knit closed.
'...Blood itself isn't restored... But this is pretty good.'
Performing high-speed healing with spirit arts learned only recently deserved praise.
"You okay?"
"Thanks to you. Without the lady, I'd have been in danger."
A lie, probably. If he'd chosen safety, he'd have fled to a big place like the magic tower and begged mages for treatment.
"Wh-what about... that guy? Swords don't work; he heals. Touch him and you're dead."
"...I have a plan. If it works, we both survive."
Classic Leo. Always calm, coldly calculating the next move.
"What plan..."
Crackle.
Lightly tapping her neck, Leo cast electric magic.
"Sorry."
For the relaxed Ariasfil, the shock was potent. She passed out instantly.
He then addressed the invisible spirits around.
"But please. Take Ariasfil somewhere safe. As far and secure as possible."
No audible reply. But as Ariasfil floated into the air and moved away, the message seemed delivered.
"...Alright then."
Leonardo gripped his weapon again.
"..."
Leonardo didn't answer. He just ran back to the scene.
"..."
The Sage demanded a response. But the boy remained silent.
"...Buy time."
Until Ariasfil could escape.
"..."
Silence was affirmation.
A caustic, cold assessment.
All true, utterly bleak.
Yet Leonardo ran.
Soon, the Clay Mage's monsters emerged. In the escape, he'd already used others as material.
"So I need to buy more time."
He cut down enemies. Blood sprayed, flesh tore. Amid screams and wails, Leo dispatched the monsters with his sword.
"...At least Ariasfil survives."
His own survival wasn't a premise.
It was a plan premised on his death.
Resigned words from the Sage.
For a moment, his sword trembled. He couldn't even glare at the Sage, just killed enemies.
He chopped them to pieces.
He severed necks.
He pierced hearts.
He killed and killed.
In the end, the boy exploded.
"Then what should I do!!"
Soon, a monster appeared from behind. As expected.
"To save Ariasfil for sure, this is the only way...!!"
But the Clay Mage burst from the slashed monster's innards. Like a snake shedding skin, he pressed a hand to Leo's face.
Counterattack too late. Even max Aura burst, the target was the brain.
Defense might succeed, but internal shock would damage the brain. No mental or physical way out.
An apology and last words.
With the Sage's final words, the Clay Mage flew away.
The force that sent him flying was sword wind—a blend of spirit and knight's sword strike.
"...Leo, I'm really pissed."
So saying, Ariasfil stood atop the rooftop.
"Why'd you lie?"
A potion flew to Leo. Likely a high-grade item from a nearby magic tower apothecary.
"...S-sorry..."
"You said you'd stay by my side forever."
"...Pardon?"
Incomprehensible words. Leo asked back.
"...What do you...?"
Ariasfil gazed at him with a chilling, radiant intensity.
"Stay by my side forever. Don't make choices. No matter what tricks you pull to shake me off, I'll keep you pinned to me. Rebellion's useless. Your opinion doesn't matter."
No matter the means, not even death could separate them.
"You're mine."