Ch.242Jagang Ducheon (10)

[— All allies within 500 meters receive additional effects.]

The Great Triangle effect had activated.

It meant reinforcements had arrived.

[Healing Power Enhancement (+20%)]

Other stats received additional effects too, but the healing buff was what mattered most to Eidel right now. Eidel smirked as he looked at his updated status window.

[— The ‘God of Humility and Healing’ heals your wounds.]

His head cleared immediately. The fatigue accumulated from research and combat was dissolving like salt in water.

That wasn’t the only good news.

Kuwoong!

Darwin’s Legion, which had been surrounding the laboratory, suddenly began to crumble from the rear, and soon their entire formation started to collapse.

The swordsmen who had come to support were launching an offensive.

However, the speed at which the rear was collapsing was extraordinarily fast.

“That, that woman…!”

Bruce was shocked.

Rustila von Rheinland.

She was cutting through the wave of monsters with terrifying momentum, charging straight toward Bruce.

Decapitation tactics.

Cut down the leader, and the rest of the monsters would fall apart. In small-scale battles, Omega-class swordsmen often executed such operations by maneuvering independently.

But Rustila wasn’t moving solely on such rational judgment.

Bruce.

The bastard who had tried to kill Eidel, her husband, not once but twice.

She absolutely could not let him live.

Cold fury was channeled into her sword energy.

“Damn it.”

Though he had abilities granted by the outer god, he instinctively knew they would be useless against Rustila.

Yet he couldn’t retreat either.

Bruce had lost everything.

Because of Eidel von Rheinland. Because of that insufferable man.

Kill or be killed. That was the only question.

Whoosh!

Rustila’s sword sliced through the air.

Bruce had already teleported in front of Eidel with his powerful monsters.

The recoil from the instantaneous movement followed. He spat out a mouthful of black blood and shouted.

“Rheinland, how dare you interfere with my paradise plan with your useless research! And Pina, you dare betray me after I fed you, sheltered you, did everything for you—in less than a week? I will never forgive either of you!”

Bruce commanded the Darwin-type monsters under his control.

“Get them, you bastards!”

But the monsters’ charge was short-lived; they were all taken down by a few quickly fired golden bullets.

“Impossible!”

An unbelievable sight.

Click.

A black-haired girl with a bob cut stepped in front of Eidel and aimed her gun.

“Just who are you…!”

Bang!

The girl didn’t even bother to answer before putting a hole in Bruce’s forehead.

But Bruce didn’t die.

“…This is unexpected. Who would have thought someone with such abilities existed.”

His head, which had been thrown back by the impact of the holy bullet, returned to its original position. The hole in his forehead writhed with surrounding tissue and reverted to its pre-shot state. Bruce cackled.

“What, surprised? That I didn’t die even after taking an Aether-filled bullet to the head?”

The girl, Ireh Hazlen, frowned.

Darwin-type incarnation.

In exchange for becoming a subordinate of the Perfect Being, Bruce had acquired regenerative abilities that defied common sense.

Bruce pulled out a massive driver.

The murder weapon he had used to kill his academic advisor long ago.

It transformed into something grotesque and oversized through the outer god’s power, becoming Bruce’s identity weapon.

“Rheinland, today is your death anniversary. How pathetic that a mere mortal would try to stop the utopia ruled by the Queen! How laughable! I’ll break that arrogance of yours today and present an elegant finale to Her Majesty!”

Eidel shouted back without backing down.

“You lunatic! Using a tool as a weapon! You don’t even know lab safety protocols and you call yourself a master’s graduate? Return your degree! Return it now!”

“Shut up! I’m not a master’s graduate, I’m a doctor—!!”

Clang!

The caliper and driver clashed in mid-air. They rang out gleefully, as if each had found its match.

“Die, Eidel von Rheinland!”

“I’ll get my doctorate before I die! Fake doctor!!”

“You son of a—!!”

Eidel had already recovered his original condition. He fought Bruce on equal footing.

Ireh provided covering fire, marking monsters that charged from all directions. The swordsmen who had joined at some point each held their positions and swung their swords.

The longer this dragged on…

The more disadvantageous it became for Bruce.

He had lost everything. All that remained was his thirst for revenge.

Nothing mattered anymore. If only he could kill Eidel von Rheinland, that insufferable young man before him, with his own hands.

“O Outer God!”

It was his final struggle. Bruce called out inwardly. He would sell everything to the outer god. He would abandon his humanity.

In exchange for power.

Since everything would disappear and merge into one body when the Queen reigned, he decided to use his body meaningfully first.

Perhaps the outer god responded to his desperation.

Bruce’s body began to transcend human boundaries.

[— ‘Bruce Aizof’ has been chosen as the avatar of ‘Pulsating White Feather’.]

[— You are now experiencing the effects of the Perfect Being!]

At that moment, Rustila, who had broken through the monster encirclement, launched a surprise attack on Bruce from behind.

She cut off both his arms with her multi-phased sword energy, then thrust her sword into his chest and twisted it almost half a turn.

However.

He didn’t die.

Instead, his severed arms regenerated, and the wound in his chest healed.

Organic blades sprouted from his shoulder blades. His teeth grew as long as an adult’s finger. His eyeballs bulged out, and barnacles erupted on his skin.

Ireh muttered.

“…So he finally gave up being human.”

“Master Bruce!”

“Pina, that person is no longer your former master. He’s been completely consumed by the outer god. Once you go that far, you can’t return to normal.”

Pina couldn’t hide her shock.

While she didn’t have many good memories, she could definitely say she had never cursed him to become such a hideous creature.

“Master…”

“Young master, it’s truly dangerous from here on. Please step back.”

Eidel nodded and retreated. He knew his limits. From now on, even if he fought his hardest, he would only be a hindrance to Rustila and Ireh.

Leaving the battle entirely to his wife and junior.

As a husband and senior, it was a disqualifying act.

But Eidel decided not to worry too much about it.

People had their roles in every situation.

“Ireh, back me up!”

“I was going to do that without you asking.”

Slash!

Dozens of blade-like tentacles erupted from Bruce’s spine. They surged toward Rustila as their primary target.

Ireh blocked them with her bullets.

“Insolent wenches!”

[— ‘Rustila von Rheinland’ uses <Hardening Body Technique>.]

[— ‘Ireh Hazlen’ uses <Annihilation Bullet>.]

[— Due to the ‘Great Triangle’ effect, the Aether effects of <Hardening Body Technique> and <Annihilation Bullet> are stacked!]

Before the organic matter Bruce spewed could contaminate the laboratory floor, sword strikes and bullets rained down from both sides.

The body technique not only cut through but also melted the prawn with stellar and Aether temperatures.

The annihilation bullet, by its nature, reached the “core” of the avatar faster than any other method and targeted its weakness.

Therefore.

[— Joint Transformation: <Annihilation Holy Bullet>]

It could painfully incinerate areas that might be weaknesses.

In this moment.

Bruce felt extreme burning pain.

“Kuuugh! This, this is impossible! This power was given by the outer god! How could mere primitive humans…!”

Cells regenerated, then were destroyed. The process repeated.

The important thing was that destruction was happening faster than creation.

“AAAAARGH!”

One blinded by twisted desire and jealousy.

His end was approaching.

***

After the situation was resolved, Eidel met with Zernya and talked for the first time in a while.

“I knew you’d be alive and well.”

Zernya spoke primly, but stuck close to Eidel’s side.

“I’m pregnant. You should be grateful I came to the battlefield in this condition.”

“Yes, yes.”

Though she said that, she was busy examining and treating Eidel. Checking if there were any other injuries or areas that might leave aftereffects.

“I thought men healed on their own?”

“Zernya, your words and actions don’t match.”

“Shut up.”

She was sulking.

Still, grateful that he was alive, Zernya’s face flushed.

“Seventeen injured, no casualties. All monsters have been eliminated. I just received the report from the unit.”

Rustila sat down, putting down her Plasma Sword. Her forehead was drenched in sweat.

“My, why did you come here instead of returning directly to your unit?”

“Zernya, I don’t want to fight with you right now.”

Rustila was very fatigued. This was true even with the effect of the ‘Great Triangle.’ She was mentally exhausted. Naturally, it was because she had been worried about Eidel.

Zernya, knowing this, stopped teasing her.

“Ah, so. I was really prepared for my life to end back then, you know? But at that moment, Ireh appeared and took out two Scolarants with a single bullet!”

“Stop proudly recounting stories about how you almost died!”

“There’s a reason men have shorter lifespans than women.”

Under the scolding of his two wives, Eidel shrank like a balloon in ice water. Ireh laughed silently.

“Thank you, Ireh. Without you, who knows what would have happened to this idiot…”

“Exactly. Why does a guy who only does research go to the frontlines! Do you think being a soldier is just for show?”

Eidel exchanged glances with Ireh without his wives noticing.

Smirk.

Ireh smiled.

They both knew. Although Eidel had been somewhat reckless, if he hadn’t continuously provoked and stood at the forefront, they wouldn’t have been able to defeat Bruce.

It was because Bruce’s anger toward Eidel was greater than his fear of death that they were able to eliminate the second of the Five Kings.

“Well then, we’ll be going now.”

“Ireh, I’m glad you’re here. Stop this idiot if he tries to do something stupid again.”

Ireh nodded.

After the two women left.

Ireh looked down at her right hand.

The place where Eidel’s cheek had touched.

The place she had willingly allowed to make contact.

“…Ah.”

She finally realized one thing.

I don’t feel repulsed when touching Eidel.