Ch.259Last Story

A satisfying impact sensation filled my left hand.

Isabella’s shattered fragments stained the waterway walls with a sticky mess.

Yes, this is the feeling…!

How long I’ve waited for this strike.

Even if it was a meaningless attack, I couldn’t resist throwing a punch the moment I saw her face.

I’ve been holding back for so long for this moment.

An idea I had four days ago.

My guess was spot on—if Isabella had one last resort, it would be reviving Nidhogg.

As expected, this worm had been slithering her way here.

And she just took a proper hit.

Even I have to admit it was a magnificent strike. If Leopold had seen it, maybe his lost hair would grow back?

Right now, he’s probably busy burning down the Benes territory.

—-

Four days ago,

Convincing others that Isabella had headed to the island was incredibly difficult.

Without mentioning the dragon, there seemed to be no reason for Isabella to go to the island.

And I couldn’t just say, “There’s a dragon’s corpse under the island, and the witch is definitely trying to resurrect it!”

Nobody would believe such a claim without evidence, and if they did believe it, they’d ask how I knew, and I’d have nothing to say.

So I had to resort to vague reasoning like “The witch might have left some of her forces on the island.”

I suggested she might have hidden troops somewhere in the underground waterways, planning to occupy the half-empty island, just like when the Werebeasts attacked before.

Naturally, this didn’t go over well.

My opinion was merely an unfounded conjecture at the “maybe” level, while the tens of thousands of insects swarming Benes territory were an immediate visible threat.

It would sound absurd to ignore the threat right in front of them and return to the island.

Of course, I wasn’t suggesting we recall all our troops.

That would take too long to reach the island, and honestly, regular knights wouldn’t be much help anyway. The monsters in Benes territory definitely needed to be eliminated too.

It’s not like those insects would suddenly disappear if Isabella died.

From the beginning, I only needed a few powerful fighters.

Unless Isabella had led an entire legion to the island, judging by how she left without being detected, her party probably consisted of just two or three people at most.

In other words, I only needed to bring the personnel absolutely necessary to eliminate Isabella.

Me, Lacy, and a few Masters.

Of course, the nobles in command weren’t pleased with this.

What commander would welcome core forces deserting for unconvincing reasons right before a major operation?

Lacy thought for a moment before nodding in agreement… but the other nobles’ reactions were lukewarm.

Ludwig groaned while smoking his Mana Herb, and Lord Wien outright refused.

The Duke of Faelrun pressured Leopold, asking when he could return north since he was worried about it.

…In my opinion, the Duke of Faelrun is probably the main reason for Leopold’s receding hairline.

Like father, like daughter when it comes to stubbornness. Or rather, the Duke of Faelrun is even more stubborn given his actual power and authority.

Leopold hesitated for a long time due to opposition from his nobles, but eventually allowed my impulsive action.

Perhaps he remembered how situations had deteriorated whenever he went against my opinion.

Or maybe he made his decision after seeing my left hand casually resting on my sword hilt.

Honestly, what could they do to stop me?

The situation worked out well, but my individual contribution was greater than the entire army of the Elector Prince.

Excluding the Ghost Sword, I’ve killed fourteen Masters, unintentionally killed thousands of soldiers, and quite a few knights as well…

I’d essentially eliminated the equivalent of an entire Elector Prince’s forces single-handedly.

No one was foolish enough to continue opposing my forceful proposition.

…In a way, I’ve more than achieved my initial goal of establishing my position within the Empire. Overachieved, even.

—-

Lacy to counter the witch’s powers, and the Master-level fighters Bells and Nigel.

Since we couldn’t withdraw too many people from the successful monster subjugation in Benes territory, these three were all I requested.

Plus Renault, who insisted on coming along until I had no choice but to bring him.

I couldn’t have selected more people anyway.

There aren’t that many female Masters…

There were some high-level female mages, but they were more needed in Leopold’s army than with me.

The reason I chose only women despite accepting the disadvantage in fighting power wasn’t some nonsense like “showing female power!” but to guard against Isabella’s charm curse.

The charm curse is fundamentally designed to bewitch the opposite sex.

It either has significantly reduced effect or fails completely when used on the same gender.

I’m not sure how it would affect homosexuals, but surely there wouldn’t be any among us.

Since Renault was coming with us, I had no choice but to leave Lena in Lilliez’s care.

Lena looked at me with desperate eyes, clutched like a teddy bear in the blonde nun’s arms, as if begging to be rescued…

Unfortunately, this forced march would be too much for Lena’s physical condition. It was a request I couldn’t grant.

—-

And so, leaving Leopold’s camp, I rode like mad toward the island with the other four.

We drove our horses until they were about to die from exhaustion, and when they actually died, we forcibly requisitioned new ones from nearby territories.

We took turns sleeping on horseback with no other rest periods in this forced march.

Everyone in the party looked almost like beggars, but as a result, we managed to reach the island in just three days.

On the way to the island, we stopped by Ophelia’s hideout and brought along Ophelia, who had been doing some incomprehensible, strange things.

Ophelia wasn’t a high-level mage yet, but she would still be helpful.

When I met Ophelia after a long time, she had Claire floating in a large glass tank and was kneading animal entrails and flesh to make something beside it…

I didn’t even dare ask what she was doing.

Thank goodness I had the others wait outside the hideout and met her alone. If Lacy had seen this, she would have tried to crush her head for being an evil witch, and I couldn’t have stopped her.

Anyway, my proposal to catch and kill Isabella seemed to appeal to Ophelia as well.

“That sounds good. If I can watch the witch who not only manhandled my sister’s body but also forced her to sleep with unwanted men burn to death, my sister would be happy too.”

It’s good that she’s eagerly preparing her weapons as if this is a great opportunity…

But in my opinion, you’re the one who’s using Claire’s body most freely…

That’s not even self-criticism. Claire would cry if she could hear this while floating in that tank like a fish.

—-

With our party now increased to five, we returned to the island and headed straight for the underground waterways—specifically, the restricted area of the waterways.

Nidhogg’s remains would be below the restricted area. I didn’t know the exact location, though.

…If I had known, I would have found it first and ground it to dust.

Access to the underground waterways had been strictly controlled since the Great Fire on the island, but no guard was thoughtless enough to stop me when I said I was on a secret mission from Leopold.

From the looks of things, Isabella hadn’t arrived yet. Our forced march had paid off.

I asked them to keep our visit secret, just in case.

If Isabella found out we had come here, who knows what that witch might try.

After opening the iron door to the restricted area and entering, we closed it again as naturally as possible using Ophelia’s mana.

From then on, we just waited.

Would she appear as I predicted, or was all this just my unfounded speculation?

I wasn’t certain. If Isabella was still in Benes territory… perhaps this choice would mean letting the witch escape when we had been about to kill her.

But I had already cast the dice, and having made my choice to come here, there was no other path.

I could only trust my judgment and endure the indefinite wait.

Conserving my strength as much as possible to kill Isabella.

Fortunately, with the fresh underground water flowing right next to us in the waterway, we had plenty of water to drink and wash with.

Enough for everyone to return from looking like beggars to looking human again.

—-

…The wait wasn’t that long.

After a day and a half, that disgustingly seductive voice finally began to echo.

The moment the iron door opened,

My left hand, filled with murderous intent, instinctively shot out—

And the result was right before my eyes.

Isabella’s lower body was sitting in a puddle of her own bodily fluids, legs spread and trembling.

True to her slutty nature, she was wearing something that barely qualified as underwear, exposing unpleasant parts for all to see.

Along the cross-section of her torn waist, scarlet entrails were tangled like wall hangings.

Anyone would see it as a brutally murdered corpse, but I couldn’t relax yet.

This was just the beginning.

[It hurts… it really hurts.]

A voice like thick honey, sinking stickily, echoed throughout the waterway.

Below Isabella’s legs. A strangely rippling shadow suddenly rose up.

Like a waterfall flowing upward, dense Dark Mana enveloped her corpse.

With squelching sounds, flesh began to grow very slowly above her waist.

As if shadow-formed insects were regurgitating and reattaching the flesh they had devoured.

The disappeared spine and ribs reformed, and the spilled entrails crawled back inside.

Muscles, fat, and skin were added on top, and like rewinding time, the shattered body regenerated.

Rather than rewinding time, it was closer to creating new tissue.

As evidence, her brain, stuck to the ceiling like clay, was still dangling and dripping brain matter.

【Netherworld’s Return】

The power of immortality, returning from death by sacrificing those she had slept with.

That power was why she always maintained such a confident attitude.

Yes. Of course the whole world would seem easy if you can’t die no matter how many times you’re killed…!

[I’m angry enough to hurt. But… while I can endure pain, I simply cannot bear this question. How exactly did you find this place…? Would you answer me?]

A tongue extending from beyond her throat wriggles out beside her mouth, which still only had a lower jaw.

In that short time, Isabella’s body had already regenerated up to the lower jaw.

She couldn’t recreate her clothes, apparently, as she was completely naked above the navel.

“It’s thanks to that whore smell you give off. Your crotch smells exactly like a sewer!”

Before the witch fully recovers, I rush in and swing Frosting with my nails raised.

If there’s a delay in her resurrection, I could simply keep killing her during that gap—

– Kaaang!

…Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.

A mantis-like arm that suddenly protruded from Isabella’s back blocked the cursed claws.

The exoskeleton was deeply carved as Frosting’s curse seeped inside, but she neutralized the curse by simply detaching the arm.

“Sewer smell? That’s quite harsh… I see you need some correction.”

“Should I call it chicken coop smell instead?”

I draw my sword and swing it at Isabella, who still maintains her confident attitude.

Let’s see how long you can keep that up.

Durandal’s blade began to turn golden.