Chapter 52

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Translator: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠8uhl

Chapter: 52

Chapter Title: Someone Became a Monster

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This time, my ribs were throbbing—probably broken. Every breath sent a stabbing pain through me.

Kiiiiii-!

'Silver Star or the snake?'

Kiiik-!

The beast figured there was no point wrestling for strength and tried hoisting me into the air.

I made my body heavier to resist.

'Heavier... even heavier!'

How was any of this possible?

The Toolsep latent in my body reacted exactly as I wished, as I imagined.

'They say there's a realm where you cast magic without mana. Am I there right now?'

Whatever. Basically, the Toolsep was standing in for mana.

Every bit of mana I cultivated got gobbled up by Toolsep, so the stuff better pull its weight if it has any conscience.

'As long as I don't overuse it, I can use it safely.'

Perfect.

With my body still heavy, I kicked both feet off the ground while gripping its fang.

My hands locked on the fang, I flipped sideways in midair like I was using a bar.

Crack-!

The two fangs couldn't withstand my mana-amplified weight and snapped clean off.

As I dropped, I jammed one fang straight into the beast's maw.

Squelch.

The fang pierced its lower jaw and embedded deep into the solid rock below.

Kyaaaaak-!

Its head pinned to the rocky ground, the Edna Muro writhed wildly.

"And with that, you're—"

Whoosh.

Damn it.

I'd planned to skull the last fang, but here came that tail again causing trouble.

Not falling for it this time.

Thud.

I twisted my body and caught the incoming tail under my armpit.

Then drove the remaining fang through it, pinning the tail to the ground too.

Kiaaaaa-!

"No way, you bastard. Keep thrashing. I don't mind if your tail comes off."

"Who's forgiving who here? Cry if you want. Beg all you like. I'm not forgiving shit."

Kiiiiii-!

With its head and tail fixed to the ground, all the beast could do was wriggle its massive body.

I'd used Toolsep, but hadn't exceeded my limit.

Meaning I could push further without strain.

Time to end this.

'I command thee—'

I summoned the Power of Magma.

A fireball the size of a baseball formed in my hand.

"Eat this."

I hurled it straight down its throat.

Boom—bang.

I kept blasting thick globs of molten fire until its throat was punched through and the thrashing body went still.

"Sorry for the pain, but think of it as payback for trying to take my life."

The Edna Muro, swallowing the fireball, could scream no more.

I'd overused Blue Eye and darted frantically through its venomous domain.

Dizziness hit me hard.

'World's spinning... maybe take a breather?'

I slumped against a boulder and glanced across the clearing.

The bandits were finishing off the snake with the blade lodged in its palate.

Fred led the charge, Yuderg covering his flank.

The ragtags hung back but still jabbed at its tail and belly.

Requiya cast curses from behind to keep it from targeting the weaklings.

'Yeah. Guess even those guys are earning their keep.'

I approached the Edna Muro—its head mostly melted, leaving just the massive skull—and rapped it with my fist.

"Would've been fine if you'd just gotten out of the way. You seem pretty old. Why rush to your death and make a fuss?"

The head was gone, but its heart still beat.

"Can't even scream without a throat. I'll put you out of your misery."

I wrapped both hands in flames.

At first, the fire had just been thick sludge, but now I could control its density. Practice had raised my proficiency.

Skills and instincts sharpened in the heat of battle.

Good to know I wasn't stagnating.

In this world, standing still meant death.

Facing down those who sought my life, growing stronger—that was me, no one else.

I lobbed a bowling-ball-sized fireball into its body.

Fwoomph-!

Fishy stench gave way to a savory aroma wafting through the air.

'Burnt to a crisp—not edible.'

'Don't say creepy shit. Never wanna meet one again. Not that strong, but way too scary-looking.'

Fred and his crew gathered in the clearing's center after wrapping up their raid.

Some bandits lingered, grunting as they pried fangs and scales from the snake corpse for souvenirs.

'Like bandits looting a gift shop. Comes so naturally.'

Legs buckling, the bandits flopped or sat in the clearing's center, grins blooming on their faces.

They shook their heads wildly, chattering away—sharing tales of the adventure they'd survived.

'That's the victor's leisure. This fight will be good experience for you all.'

The snake's body was mostly ash and bones now.

I'd dialed back the heat to keep the corpse from melting completely—for a reason.

'Smelled something off this thing. Like the scent from the mine. The haze was probably from that.'

Worried it might hold an Authority that'd burn up, I'd been careful with the flames.

I swept my hand wide, scattering the ashes.

Whoosh.

Amid where the heart had been lay an unburnt object.

As the ash cleared, a fist-sized orb floated up.

One red, one blue.

'Let's see...'

I activated Blue Eye to identify the orbs.

Now I could manage it solo without Silver Star's help.

The blue one was a mana crystal.

A kind of spirit pill—the essence spat out by a long-lived spirit beast upon death, a heavenly opportunity.

'Decent size. Absorbing this before cultivating mana should help.'

I set the blue orb aside and reached for the red one.

Blue Eye couldn't pierce its nature, so I had to touch it directly.

'What?'

Poruk Nepaska—ancient tongue for "Flesh Creation."

I wouldn't have even been surprised without Silver Star spelling it out.

'Creates bodies? That's possible? Were those snakes clones? They looked similar but not identical.'

Silver Star, having appraised the Authority, chattered with utter certainty.

I had no clue how this snake pup got such a power, but it fit—a snake making snake bodies for other souls.

I pondered, then asked.

'So one of us today might've been reborn as a snake?'

'What a bizarre Authority. But what's this?'

The snake-spawned Authority had limited uses.

Four total, three already spent—only one left.

'Why use three? Only two underling snakes.'

'Too bad. Curious. Did they fight among themselves?'

Hold on.

Did I need to think of it as bizarre?

'Anyway, means I can make one more.'

I'd never told a soul, but I'd always wondered. And worried.

What happens when Luke returns? What becomes of me?

Possess him again? Or cast out to wander the netherworld?

Natural fears.

Nothing scarier than an uncertain future.

'But with this... I could craft my own body later. Handsome, strong, sturdy...'

Whoa... chills.

Problem solved in a flash.

'I command thee! Come to me!'

Swoosh.

The red orb gaseousized and sucked into my hand.

Just like with Grurr's Authority, Silver Star whipped the newbie into line.

'Only one use left sucks, but beggars can't be choosers, right?'

The moment I absorbed it, memories stored in the Authority flooded in.

Unlike newborn Grurr with none, this snake Authority held ancient recollections.

Per Edna Muro's words, probably from a thousand years back.

A scantily clad woman fled down a dark forest path.

Her pursuers brandished pitchforks, scythes, flails—farm tools—and torches.

The scene screamed one thing.

'Witch hunt...'

Glancing back repeatedly as she ran, the woman tumbled off a cliff.

She came to in a cluster of mushrooms, each the size of a child's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head.

The largest housed this Authority.

She'd stumbled on it by chance, but blood loss had her dying.

The woman, absorbing the Authority, mumbled something.

No sound, but I read her lips.

'Nimble, big, strong... people... revenge.'

She crafted a giant snake body and injected her soul.

'Ah, that's the first use.'

The snake-woman devoured her former flesh.

Then slithered to the village, swallowing and crushing the villagers.

'Life did a total one-eighty.'

The rampaging Edna Muro fled an army to jagged rocky cliffs.

The colossal snake spent long ages alone, desolate.

Unable to bear it, she ate a bear, made a snake, injected the bear soul; ate a cow, made another.

But Edna Muro's emptiness seemed hard to fill.

Its vacant gaze at sky and horizon—pure desolation.

It waited ages for someone.

I could tell.

Waiting for a person.

'Craved companionship to ease the loneliness. Loneliness my ass. What's wrong with being alone?'

'Doesn't give you the right to hate and attack others just because you're alone and lonely.'

Pitiful enough for pity, but unforgivable.

It went after me and my crew's lives.

'Human nature. Can't be heartless.'

Died by my hand, but a tragic fate.

A woman persecuted as a witch, fleeing, then making snake companions in barren rocks after army chased her.

'Both witch-hunted fugitives, yet one founds the Holy Kingdom as saintess...'

Hellite's founding saintess had been branded a witch too.

Fled persecution to the Hellite Plateau—that's the Holy Kingdom's origin.

'Someone became a monster.'

Moment of silence.

'Rest in peace.'

Pitiful is pitiful.

A thousand years ago, the woman became a snake—and that snake, steeped in evil, died by my hand.

'Fin.'