Once Again

As I stared blankly at the completely collapsed corpse of the Chimera, I heard the sound of clapping near my ear.

*Clap-*! *Clap-*! *Clap-*!

It was Cassis, who hadn’t intervened in the fight and had simply watched the battle with a relaxed attitude. I spoke with a dumbfounded expression at his actions.

“You lost your precious Chimera, and you’re acting all relaxed?”

“It’s just one to me.”

At Cassis’s gesture, the pages of the book continued to unfold, and things exuding an enormous presence began to emerge from within.

“You lost an arm against just one. Who will be your next opponent?”

Cassis, wearing a bitter smile, gestured to the side.

“I have a Sword Master who is said to have split mountains, and a legendary adventurer. And…”

Finally, the being I had been waiting for, dressed all in black and wearing a mask, emerged from the book. The reason why Estelle wanted to kill Cassis.

“I also have the head of the clan that was called the world’s best assassin.”

Each one is an opponent against whom you can only predict a chance of victory by risking your life. But I never wanted a textbook fight.

Only, a fight that is advantageous to me.

*Kung-*!

The Imperial Guardian Golem, which had emerged from the spatial warehouse created above, blocked my path. As if happy with the appearance of a reliable ally, I deliberately raised one corner of my mouth.

“Haha, is a golem all you could think of?”

Cassis, with a disappointed expression as if golems were nothing, frowned and glared at me, tilting his head slightly.

“That’s your miscalculation.”

The corpses lined up in front of Cassis rushed towards the golem. With movements as fast as lightning, attacks of tremendous power were unleashed before the golem could react.

*Kwaaaang-*! *Kwang Kwang-*!

With just a few collisions, one of the golem’s arms was torn off. Cassis seemed to be planning to take care of the golem I had summoned before attacking me, completely ignoring me and only attacking the golem.

“You’re the one who made the miscalculation.”

I was just grateful for the opportunity to counterattack that disgusting composure. Suddenly, the golem and the corpses summoned by Cassis were all pushed back by an invisible force. They seemed to be resisting the force, but it was in vain.

—!

A [battlefield] was created for just the two of us, where no one could intervene. Cassis’s forces, pushed out of the boundary, can no longer interfere with me. Cassis, who had noticed the decisive battle spear in my hand, smiled bitterly.

“…So, you’re the one who obtained the Spear of Resolution.”

At Cassis’s appearance of maintaining a relaxed attitude even though he had fallen into a trap, I aimed the spearhead instead of answering.

“It was too much for that guy.”

“Then tell Kormo directly. I’ll send you to his side soon.”

At my words, Cassis twisted his lips and let out a sneer.

“You’re underestimating me, a summoner, because it’s an environment where subordinates can’t intervene?”

Cassis said, sweeping his hair back.

“You think you have a chance of winning in a one-on-one fight?”

In an instant, Cassis’s figure disappeared. I immediately swung the Spear of Resolution greatly and slashed through the space where I felt a slight presence.

*Pusyuk-*!

The sound of flesh tearing and blood spurting out was heard, but I reacted sensitively to the strange sensation transmitted from my fingertips, retrieved the spear, and immediately backed away.

*Kwang-*!

Cassis, who had his neck half-cut off, laughed like a monster as he slammed the place where I had been standing with his enlarged arm as if nothing had happened.

“Yes, I am a summoner who leads a legion, but… I am the immortal Cassis, whom even the world’s best assassin could not kill.”

The severed area instantly returned to its original state. A speed that surpassed ultra-fast regeneration. Cassis literally had an immortal body that could not be killed by any weapon. It was a different kind of immortality than an undead. No, to be precise, it was close to a trick.

If Cassis had known that I, the author, was the one who granted him that immortal ability, he would not have acted this way.

“You… thought you could kill me, the immortal… with your one arm missing? You were mistaken?”

I swung my spear to cut off the fist that Cassis swung. Even though his arm was completely split, the unstopped attack struck my face.

*Peoeok-*!

My head rang with the great impact that caused my nose to bleed, but I had to immediately pull back to avoid the following attacks. Using the [Boundary], I changed our roles through a dimensional passage created behind me in response to the action of driving me into a corner from which I could not escape with continuous attacks.

Using intangible breathing to maximize my speed, I unleashed a barrage of attacks, driving Cassis into a corner. However, Cassis, who had an immortal body, was cornered, cut and stabbed by the spear, but he regenerated at super-fast speed and fearlessly swung his fist at me to counterattack.

Unlike Cassis, who could ignore attacks, I, who suffered cumulative damage if I allowed even one attack, had no choice but to fight in a different way. Against Cassis, who recklessly swung his fist filled with indiscriminate magic power, I used space magic to reflect his fist or destroyed the fist itself by putting power into the spearhead to prevent him from landing an attack.

“How long do you think you can fight like this?”

I stabbed the spear into Cassis’s face, who was smiling with a wicked face, and stepped back. *Tuk-* I felt the end of the boundary touching the tip of my toe again. If there was nowhere to evade, I could just change my position again with space magic and repeat the same thing. ‘That’ had not yet appeared on the battlefield.

“It’s a meaningless fight. In the end, you are the one with the destiny of an Apostle. When you face the Pope-nim, your ignorance will disappear.”

“The Pope is just another masked guy like me.”

I thought he would be agitated by the provocation, but Cassis surprisingly wore a serious expression.

“…Perhaps it’s natural. The Pope-nim calls himself ‘the one who became the first from the end’.”

The one who became the first from the end…? I felt a strange feeling for some reason. Familiar yet unfamiliar… a sense of alienation.

“Even if you refuse, I plan to take you to the Order.”

Saying that, Cassis smiled and released magic power, throwing a punch at tremendous speed. I, who was preparing to counterattack, immediately moved to the end of the battlefield with space magic and unleashed attacks.

First, I create distance so that Cassis cannot approach. With that goal in mind, I diligently moved one arm and poured out ranged attacks with space magic. But even though his head and limbs were pierced countless times, Cassis did not stop moving. When I moved to the end of the battlefield again to avoid Cassis, who had approached again, Cassis shouted with an annoyed face.

“How long are you going to keep running away?”

“Try catching me if you’re not happy.”

Saying that, I used Wol-ah to cut off Cassis’s arm. Cassis, who looked down at the arm that had fallen to the floor, sighed and eventually took out the book as I intended.

“Don’t you know that you can’t summon anything on the battlefield?”

“I am well aware of the condition that no one can intervene. But if it’s not intervention, but absorption, that’s a different story.”

With the sound of something exploding from the book, flesh and blood spurted out and began to cling to Cassis’s body. Cassis, who was gradually growing in size over time, finally became large enough to look down on the battlefield.

“Hehe, you won’t be able to escape now.”

Cassis pointed his fingertip at me. Knowing what it was, I was able to react immediately.

*Pshushushushuk-*!

Enormous fingernails, like those fired from a ballista, rushed towards me. But just before reaching me, the fingernails were sucked into the dimensional passage and embedded back into Cassis’s body.

“Space magic… what a really annoying ability. Then…”

As Cassis drew up magic power, something exploded again from within the book, and pieces of flesh stuck to Cassis. As he gradually inflated his body, filling the battlefield boundary with himself, I threw the Spear of Resolution at Cassis’s face with all my might.

*Puhwaaaaaak-*!

The Spear of Resolution, which pierced his face, went further, but was blocked by the pieces of flesh and stopped.

“Your struggles don’t even hurt me. Hehe, if you are crushed under my body and all your bones are broken, I will put you in the book and take you to the Order.”

I smiled at Cassis, who was spouting such words. Because my plan was already complete. Before the flesh pierced by the Spear of Resolution could rise again, a dimensional exit was created. And by the magic stone bomb that came out of the exit, the flesh that had been rising instantly exploded.

*Kwaaaaaaaang-*!

“No matter how hard you try, I will not die. Because I am the immortal Cassis!”

Cassis does not die even if all the pieces of flesh are blown away by the chain explosion of the magic stone bomb. But what I was aiming for was the book that maintained Cassis’s ‘immortality’. The book was exposed to take out the sacrifices to grow Cassis.

That was Cassis’s main body.

And I had already unleashed an attack towards the book.

—!

A black flash pierced the book. Using the gap created by the magic stone bomb, I fired the materialized shadow spear with dimensional leap. Cassis, whose flesh was rising with the Spear of Resolution stuck in him, had a huge hole in his chest, just like the book.

“This doesn’t make sense…”

Cassis and I were not compatible. If it wasn’t me, none of the rescue team would have been able to kill Cassis. It would have been difficult to even make him take out the book, and it would not have been possible to attempt an attack inside the high-density defense magic around the book.

This is my victory, who has become stronger. Watching the battlefield boundary disappear, I turned around to inform Ellie and Estelle that the fight was over.

“Be careful―――!”

“…!”

Something pushed me to the side. I reacted reflexively, but I had no choice but to fall as I was, unable to use one arm due to the tremendous speed that seemed to have transcended space.

*Jureureuk――*

Something bright red gushes out endlessly, soaking the floor. Blood mixed with some pieces of flesh pours onto my body, which has fallen to the floor. And at the difficult voice that reached my ear, I had no choice but to raise my head with a dumbfounded face.

“…You stupid, pig….”

Estelle, whose one arm and half of her upper body had disappeared, collapsed powerlessly to the floor.