Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Compeachicos (2)
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There were two facts I'd uncovered first.
To start with, at a glance, there was nothing remotely odd about this village. Just your run-of-the-mill settlement you could find anywhere. But things changed once I activated Time Stop.
The villagers had grotesque forms—like severed body parts crudely stitched together at random. The truly chilling part? They couldn't even recognize their own deformities.
They were gruesomely roasting and devouring their fellow villagers, yet not a single one noticed anything amiss. And that obliviousness extended even to me, an outsider.
Until Time Stop kicked in.
I hadn't spotted anything strange until then.
In other words, step into the village, and you're hit with hypnosis.
That was the conclusion I'd reached.
If I hadn't had my Time Stop ability, I'd have been done for the instant I crossed the threshold. On the bright side, it revealed that Time Stop also nullifies brainwashing. But I wasn't thrilled about the discovery.
Time Stop followed by hypnosis? That's straight out of the NTR playbook—one of the classic tropes. There might be plenty I could overlook, but this hypnosis prick? Absolutely unforgivable. Damn NTR-obsessed bastards.
Still, I had no intention of letting rage botch the job. Keeping my cool, I started using Time Stop to gather intel, piece by piece. Time Stop offered absolute safety.
Of course, there were limits to what I could learn that way. Even so, it let me collect a decent amount without risk. Here's what I pieced together:
[Dwarf forms are uniform—seems they view them as their twisted idea of "art."]
[Village center has a massive red tent that sticks out like a sore thumb—doesn't belong here.]
[Dwarves going in and out are mostly boys and girls with pristine appearances.]
In the end, that red tent was my only lead. I let out a deep sigh. I really didn't want to go in there. It scared the hell out of me. But I'd already taken the job.
No choice. And with my overpowered Time Stop ability in my pocket... I swallowed hard. If things got truly dicey, I'd bolt without a second thought.
First, I mapped the shortest path from the village entrance to the tent. Just two minutes. I hunkered down in a good hiding spot.
"Hoo, hoo!"
I couldn't charge in right away. Had to wait out the full Time Stop cooldown before entering. The second I stepped inside, an attack could come flying—and I'd be dead meat.
Once the cooldown ticked down, I slipped into the red tent. The interior was pitch black and dead silent. At least until I crossed the threshold.
Suddenly, fireworks-like bursts exploded across the ceiling. In a flash, the entrance I'd come through vanished. What the fuck? Was this a trap?
"As expected of the Royal Knights' Captain! Your sheer audacity leaves me in awe!"
"What the hell is that?"
The tent lit up. Audience seats ringed the space, encircling me. Kids filled them—each one grinning with an eerie, unnatural smile.
The voice echoed from thin air. I glanced up to see a man tightrope-walking a rope strung overhead. He was small in stature.
But decked out in ridiculously flashy clothes, his face smeared in clownish makeup. It wasn't just the outfit or the paint. Every word, every gesture—over-the-top exaggerated.
Watching him made my skin crawl. This wasn't some damn circus act. He kept prancing about with wild theatrics, hurling words at me.
"Surely the Captain of the Royal Knights wouldn't miss an obvious trap like this? Of course not!"
"......"
I kept my mouth shut. No point advertising to the enemy that I wasn't a total idiot. Best to act bold—put the fear of god in them.
"I won't dance to your tune. As a Royal Knight, I sever demon necks. That's it."
"So cool! Outstanding! The rising star of the Royal Knights' new Captain!"
"......But why the hell do you talk like that......"
"For such an excellent Captain!! We've prepared a special guest! A familiar face, no doubt?"
Fireworks erupted again. At the same time, monsters burst into existence from empty air—each one hideously twisted.
I activated Time Stop immediately.
Over the past two months, I hadn't been slacking. I'd sparred relentlessly with the Royal Knights, honing my skills to the max. Especially combat experience using Time Stop.
The result? I'd mastered moving swiftly in stopped time to decapitate foes. I kicked off the ground, closed the gap in an instant, and swung my sword.
Seruk!
Thanks to that prep, I could freeze time and strike the moment I saw them. Time resumed. Their heads hit the floor. The "Captain" cried out in shock.
"My god! No hesitation—you just cleaved them! Are you devoid of blood and tears?!"
I leveled my sword tip at him.
"Where's the mercy for enemies?"
I didn't even know who they were to begin with.
The ultimate stage. It had to be perfect.
That obsession was the driving force that elevated it to its current position. A madness nonexistent in mere beasts—it propelled this creature all the way to demon rank.
Blood Tide, lesser demon—such labels meant nothing. All it craved was a spectacle everyone could revel in. So it constantly pondered: How to craft the perfect stage?
How to make everyone laugh in delight? It obsessed daily. Devoured knowledge relentlessly. Even human literature, if it served the performance.
"Outstanding! Truly brilliant, human!"
It amassed vast experience. Knew that harming young ones drew the fiercest reactions. Realized pitting comrades against each other created the grandest show.
Behold.
The audience roared even now.
Royal Knights—our hated nemeses. Yet it harbored no grudge. They were merely actors cast as the loathsome rivals.
And a new performer had taken the stage. The freshly minted Captain, selected right after the Royal Knights' wipeout. A role that commanded every eye. Perfect. Utterly perfect.
Thus, it unleashed its finest-prepared actors. Once called Royal Knights, now stripped of pride and soul—mere puppets.
The experiments were complete. Comrades' reactions? Superb. Now, what would this one show? The anticipation had it pacing sleepless for days.
"For such an excellent Captain!! We've prepared a special guest! A familiar face, no doubt?"
One was a ratkin boy, top of the Twelve Tribes. The other, a renowned young dwarf knight from the dwarf duchies. Both prime knights once.
Now mangled beyond recognition—limbs grotesquely tangled. Yet their heads remained eerily intact...
To ensure their comrades could identify them. Even the new Captain wouldn't differ much. He'd recognize those faces.
Or so it thought.
In that split second, it witnessed the actors' heads sailing through the air, severed clean. No reaction—they crumpled pathetically.
"My god! No hesitation—you just cleaved them! Are you devoid of blood and tears?!"
Not even a flicker of doubt. Straight to enemy recognition, sword drawn and swung. Like total strangers. Impossible. Even rotten, a Royal Knights Captain would know his squad.
Unless they yanked some random refugee off the street. But he'd have met the previous members. Yet no hesitation whatsoever.
He aimed his sword point-blank. In that icy demeanor, it felt tension for the first time. No one had ever reacted that way.
"Where's the mercy for enemies?"
A touch flustered, but no issue.
It had one ace actor held back, just in case.
Former Captain versus current.
A guaranteed blockbuster, no?