Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Freyja's Child, Paiod Freyja
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Freyja's child, Paiod Freyja.
A race whose innate nature and body were optimized for combat.
And so, perhaps because of that.
Paiod had quickly grasped the essence of the Calamity he'd just acquired.
Calamity was fundamentally different from aura.
If aura was like a gas, Calamity was closer to a thick, viscous liquid.
A liquid that clung to the body once and never let go.
But precisely because of that.
It granted power on an entirely different level from what aura provided.
Boom!
Barutuga's black staff clashed against Paiod's curved sword.
In the past, Paiod would have been sent flying by the impact.
But this time, he withstood it completely.
A dark crimson energy surged from Paiod's body.
It was the activation of his secret technique, Rampage Transformation.
A Rampage that grew stronger the more he fought.
And when combined with Calamity, its scope expanded even further.
'That's not all.'
Paiod could feel that the capacity of his Rampage had also widened.
Rampage required the user to bear its full burden.
But after acquiring Calamity, it had changed.
Before, even a little exertion would push his body to its limits.
Now, even surpassing that threshold left him full of vigor.
'Feels like cheating.'
To think a world like this existed.
Paiod's mental focus began to heighten.
However, there was one fact he didn't know.
The reason he could wield Calamity so freely was entirely thanks to Havel.
Havel had carved pathways for Calamity throughout his body.
Thanks to that, Calamity flowed more smoothly through him than even aura.
Thud!
Barutuga's black staff was once again repelled by Paiod's curved sword.
Barutuga's face twisted in fury.
The more they clashed, the stronger Paiod grew.
'Damn it, how does this guy have so much Calamity in reserve?'
Barutuga ground his teeth as he faced Paiod.
From the feel of it, he'd only recently acquired Calamity.
Yet the total amount Paiod possessed was enormous.
Barutuga's gaze shifted elsewhere.
There, Elashiya was battling Merimolly's doll.
She was the same as this one.
Her Calamity reserves were abnormally vast.
But her handling of it still felt like that of a novice.
'Who knows how many more like this there are.'
Not having used Calamity for long meant...
"In the end, experience makes the difference!"
Barutuga shouted as he parried Paiod's curved sword.
Immediately after, his staff began to spin with a eerie whirring sound. ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Armed Calamity: Agon The suppressed Calamity within Agon unleashes its full power In that instant, pitch-black Calamity power erupted from the black staff.
Shrrrrk!
The Calamity coiled around Barutuga's body like chains.
Paiod hesitated for a split second at the sudden development.
By then, Barutuga's bulk had doubled in size.
The aura emanating from him was unmistakably ominous at a glance.
A black monkey with muscles bulging as if about to burst stood there.
Chills!
Goosebumps prickled Paiod's arms.
This sensation was unmistakably that of facing a Calamity Beast.
And unlike before, the power difference was viscerally felt.
With Calamity, the gap in strength stood out clearly.
Bang!
It happened in that moment.
Paiod suddenly found himself soaring through the air.
"Gah!"
The delayed impact rattled his body.
As he flew, he shifted his gaze to see Barutuga swinging his staff.
He hadn't seen it coming.
His eyes couldn't keep up.
Crash!
Paiod tumbled across the ground and hastily righted himself.
Barutuga approached leisurely, staff dangling at his side.
"Scared now?"
Barutuga let out a mocking sneer.
"Bullshit. Scared my ass."
Paiod gripped his dagger and curved sword tightly, scowling fiercely.
If it were before, maybe.
But Paiod no longer flinched at something like this.
After all, he'd seen a real monster.
'Compared to that guy, this is like spotting a water flea.'
Still, he knew.
That even that water flea outclassed him right now.
Paiod had once thought himself a top player in the world.
Not just on Freyja Mountain.
He was always at the forefront among his peers.
But stepping out into the world, powerhouses kept popping up everywhere.
He'd been a frog in a well, plain and simple.
"Kyaa!"
In that instant, a scream pierced Paiod's ears.
Elashiya was barely dodging the doll's attacks with blinks.
The doll had become utterly grotesque compared to before.
Scythes grown long like a mantis's arms in place of hands.
Legs as long as forest trees despite its small body.
And from its unspooling mouth came the constant screech of metal scraping.
Pew!
Elashiya's light magic shot forth, piercing the doll.
Shrrrk—.
Yet the doll's body regenerated on its own.
Watching this, Elashiya bit her lip hard.
Her firepower couldn't deal with the doll.
So she needed to take down the main body.
But locating it would take time.
Every doll scattered through the forest emanated presence.
"Hey, mage!"
Paiod's voice rang out then.
"What!"
She snapped back sharply, and Paiod was already kicking off the ground toward her.
"Don't frogs gotta stick together to stand a chance?"
Elashiya frowned as Paiod charged straight at her.
"What the hell kind of nonsense is that? Speak properly!"
Barutuga stared at them in disbelief.
"Whatever the fuck this is."
Barutuga pursued Paiod in a leap.
Closing the gap in an instant, he thrust his staff forward.
"Pointless."
The moment the staff reached Paiod.
Flash!
Light poured from Elashiya, illuminating the forest.
Even Barutuga was caught in the focused blast.
His vision blurred for a moment.
But underestimating him had consequences.
His senses had locked onto Paiod precisely.
The staff was already thrusting.
It would pierce Paiod's skull any second.
Whoosh!
Yet Barutuga's staff sliced through empty air.
He realized too late, eyes widening.
The Paiod he'd struck was a hazy afterimage.
A illusion conjured by light magic.
One infused with Calamity, fooling even Barutuga.
"You crazy—!"
Enraged, Barutuga snapped his head up.
A cluster of light had already gathered before him.
Pew!
A beam of light streaked toward his helmet.
"You think that'll hit me?!"
Even then, Barutuga tilted his head to dodge.
Insane reflexes.
The straight beam passed through the forest.
Then.
Barutuga sensed movement behind him.
His gaze whipped toward it.
Paiod surged forward, dark crimson energy roiling from his body.
Seeing this, Barutuga realized one thing.
"Merimolly!"
Merimolly was in the direction of that light.
The mage girl had pinpointed her location in an instant.
"Urk!"
Perhaps from overcasting, Elashiya stifled a scream.
Blood streamed from her nose.
Backlash from excessive magic use.
"Finish her off for sure!"
Merimolly appeared before Paiod.
Her silhouette clutching a doll wavered unsteadily.
As if about to flee.
In that moment, Paiod hurled his dagger at her.
A normal dagger might have been ignorable.
Kagagang!
But the red energy pouring from the flung dagger couldn't be ignored.
It sparked against her protective barrier.
Merimolly's face twisted savagely.
Paiod was charging right after the dagger.
At that instant, the doll in her hand swelled uncontrollably.
Cotton bursting forth as the doll blocked Paiod's path.
But Paiod didn't halt his charge.
His mind focused solely on the curved sword.
Thump!
With his pounding heartbeat, dark crimson energy formed into a greatsword shape.
Drdrdrdr rumble!
As his greatsword grew, the entire forest began to shake.
Barutuga's eyes widened.
Paiod, whom he'd dismissed as a novice moments ago.
Now, massive Calamity surged into his blade.
The moment the dark crimson light swept through the forest. ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Freyja Clan Rampage Technique Forest Overturn Paiod's greatsword cleaved through the forest.
Kagagagagagak!
Trees were felled entirely, dark crimson smoke billowing up.
A massive explosion turned the area into a wasteland.
"Haa, haa."
Paiod panted heavily, having poured everything into the strike.
Before him stood Merimolly, covered in dirt, her doll shredded.
Her body trembled.
"...This damn..."
Watching this, Barutuga halted and spat a curse.
"I'm out."
With a shout, he turned and fled immediately.
"Paiod!"
Elashiya's cry echoed.
Exhausted Paiod belatedly sensed something wrong too.
Merimolly's clothes before him were swelling up.
"My, Or, din."
Threads and cotton poured out, enveloping Merimolly.
To her, the doll Ordin was the trigger.
Her sole friend amid childhood abuse.
With Ordin destroyed, she began to rampage.
"Ordiin!"
A scream that tore the ears rang out as her form grew endlessly.
Threads and fabric tangled into a colossal doll.
Her body grew until her head scraped the sky.
Paiod looked up in stunned disbelief.
"Man, these frogs are gonna make me depressed."
As he muttered to himself, the giant doll raised both fists.
And just as a barrage of punches was about to rain down.
Crack! Kwooooaaang!
The doll's chest suddenly burst open.
Cotton sprayed like a fountain of blood from the pierced torso.
And at the center of that doll.
A man stood gripping Merimolly's nape.
Silver hair nearing white fluttered in the wind.
Paiod looked up at him and sighed deeply.
"Hey, mage. Looks like our job's done."
His spent body toppled backward as he lay down.
Elashiya couldn't deny it either, brushing dirt from her clothes.
Of course it was.
Havel had made his move.