Ch.27Game Changer

“Invitation to Dance…?”

Zikharun muttered with a puzzled expression. Though he spoke softly as if reciting to himself, his overwhelmingly keen hearing didn’t allow for secrets.

I’d already committed to this course of action, but the shame was unavoidable. Though it was a decision that made me want to weep tears of blood, I don’t regret it.

After all, it was an unavoidable choice for Irefi’s sake. Since it was also for the safety of the Founding Nobles, surely Netionpiece would understand.

[Understand what?!]

Ah, perhaps that was too much to expect.

“Haha, who told you to underestimate me? Didn’t the old man say it? We’re all born to suffer.”

I narrowed my eyes coldly and spoke with malicious intent.

“Pain and shame. They’re all part of life’s suffering. You were prepared for this, weren’t you?”

[As if I prepared for such a thing! I knew your thinking was unrestrained, but there’s a limit to how vulgar you can be!]

“Wow, as expected of a 500-year-old geezer, you’re quite conservative.”

[Having no shame doesn’t make you progressive—it makes you insane.]

Netionpiece paused briefly before continuing.

[I never dreamed you would take my physical body itself hostage. I must commend you, child. I’ve grown fearful of your boundless vulgarity.]

“As long as we can avoid the extinction ending, I’d even do a prism show with your body… urgh.”

[Silence, vulgar child.]

A single phrase that clearly conveyed Netionpiece’s disgust. Simultaneously, my consciousness was thrust into Netionpiece’s mental world.

Unceremoniously dumped into his mental landscape, I contemplated seriously.

‘Though I had something in mind when I did it… haven’t I unleashed something tremendous?’

The Holy Memory that had been covering the outer shell shattered into pieces when it released Malice against Zikharun’s pressure. All that remained was a small protective ability in the form of a ring.

In other words, the current Netionpiece was literally complete, handling both immortality and Malice. Being immortal, he has no period of decline and lives his entire life in his prime.

So despite this situation… honestly, I’m a little excited.

Though Zikharun was clearly still immature as a spirit, apart from that, the scene unfolding before me was exactly like the game I saw in my previous life.

‘A battle between the original protagonist and a hidden boss…!’

The power of the hidden boss who had cornered the first protagonist and the heroine, the saint, in their confrontation was about to be revealed.

Netionpiece spoke.

[Vulgar child. Was your excuse for incompetence really the presence or absence of Malice?]

“…Well. That’s right.”

Netionpiece has now changed my title from puppet child to vulgar child.

I grumbled in response. Netionpiece declared with a scornful laugh.

[Ha! You still don’t understand the essence of immortality. Since this is a special occasion, I’ll show you under the same conditions.]

Netionpiece’s arrogant finger pointed toward Zikharun.

[Subduing a mere youngster like this doesn’t even require my full effort.]

◇

Meanwhile, three days before Nepy’s perspective.

Irefi’s invisible blades were surging in all directions without discrimination.

It wasn’t easy to keep the intruders at bay while also guiding them away from the main palace.

Slash! Slash!

Zzzzt- Zzzzt-

“This is the first time I’ve been cornered like this…”

The black-clad strangers were clever. After exchanging a few moves with Irefi, they changed their strategy and began to confront her differently.

Even if she wasn’t at full condition, they could never win against her head-on. Having made this assessment, the strangers changed their approach.

Rather than focusing on attacking Irefi together, they decided to scatter and infiltrate the imperial palace.

Their strategy proved tremendously effective in creating difficulties for Irefi. With her body weakened by the recoil from Splitting Heaven and Earth, it was a serious disadvantage for her to face multiple skilled fighters spreading out in different directions.

As a result, Irefi was experiencing an unprecedented challenge. She had to prevent ten extraordinarily skilled individuals from scattering throughout the palace. It was difficult for a single person in poor condition to protect the vast imperial palace alone.

The only consolation was that she had preemptively confined all personnel within the main palace.

‘Simply stopping them won’t solve the problem. Their infiltration of the imperial palace is clearly spatial teleportation. Could the saint be involved somehow?’

Unless someone from 400 years ago had come back to life!

Nepy was an exception, but that was the special case of an immortal.

If the principle behind their spatial teleportation couldn’t be uncovered, nowhere in this world could be called safe.

No matter how large the force or how great the distance, they could deploy their strength freely without spatial constraints.

Irefi had calculated that she could protect the imperial palace despite her weakened condition, but that was without considering the existence of spatial teleportation.

Stopping intruders who have already penetrated deep into the heart of a location is fundamentally different in difficulty from blocking intruders approaching from the perimeter.

‘But it’s strange if they actually possess the power of spatial teleportation themselves. Why send only about ten elite fighters?’

If the enemies had the same spatial teleportation power as the saint, the imperial palace would have been occupied long ago. They could have simply overwhelmed the palace with sheer numbers and massacred everyone.

Even then, if it had happened before she used Splitting Heaven and Earth, she might have somehow defended it… but in her current state, she absolutely could not have protected the palace.

‘There must be limitations. Perhaps it requires time, or there’s a limit to the number of people… or maybe a limit to the number of uses…!’

Irefi’s thoughts reached that point and produced a hopeful observation.

‘It’s the number of uses! Even if the limitations were time and quantity, if that were all, Feita would have conquered the empire with ease.’

The power of spatial teleportation has that much capability. Anyone could be easily assassinated, and the meaning of siege warfare would be rendered as futile as a sand castle before the waves!

‘The saint was discriminated against and faced death because of that danger.’

Even if Irefi herself existed, how could she alone protect the entire empire? If this was truly the revival of the saint’s power itself, even Irefi would be helpless.

The fact that this hadn’t happened suggested that Feita had adopted spatial teleportation with limited uses as a game-changer.

“…I feel a bit more energized. If I can deal with all these villains, at least there won’t be another spatial teleportation.”

Once a positive observation was established, she felt a surge of vitality in her body.

Irefi bound the feet of the scattered black-clad figures with slashes that ignored distance. Her ceremonial sword moved with such speed that not even its afterimage could be seen, unlike someone whose powers had been restricted.

But the slashes were merely a means to bind their feet. Irefi gritted her teeth and whispered the incantation for her protective ability.

“Holy Memory.”

Cough!

‘Ugh, did I overestimate my physical condition?’

Irefi looked down at her pure white uniform now stained with blood she had coughed up. For the first time in her life, she saw blood from combat. Though it was from internal rather than external injuries, it was a historic sight.

‘It’s a natural recoil since I’ve already allocated most of my protective ability to containing Nepy’s Malice.’

Not to mention the aftereffects she was suffering from Splitting Heaven and Earth.

Wiping her mouth with her snow-white sleeve, Irefi surveyed the strangers with relaxed pupils. Those trapped inside Holy Memory’s translucent cube now had no escape.

In other words, it was now impossible for them to take the imperial palace hostage.

“Haa, haa.”

Irefi lowered her lake-like eyes to the ground. In this urgent situation, her unfocused gaze seemed somewhat precarious.

Ring, ring.

She heard a ringing in her ears. The sensation of something gradually eroding her mind and body pushed to the limit. A familiar yet unknown evil intent suddenly flickered.

“…”

Thud!

Suddenly she fell to her knees. Her precariously swaying upper body looked like it would collapse if touched. She was barely maintaining a precarious balance, as if she might have lost consciousness.

Therefore, no one could have guessed. That beneath her bowed head, in the shadows, a sinister smile lingered on her lips.

After a slight delay, she staggered to her feet.

Her figure, approaching one step at a time, gradually stabilized and regained her usual posture.

The change in her aura was instantaneous.

With nothing left to hold her back, Irefi’s footsteps were clearly imprinted on the ground. The air split with a sonic boom as she transformed into a lightning bolt.

“Heh… heh… haha…!”

At some point, the tingling pain had become pleasure, and the taste of blood in her mouth had become a fragrant perfume. Despite feeling pain like being struck with a blunt object in every joint with each moment, she laughed.

Instantly closing the distance to one of the strangers, Irefi raised her ceremonial sword high with one hand. It was a rudimentary movement with no trace of refined posture.

The stranger easily blocked the ceremonial sword that was swung down crudely, as if beating a person.

As expected.

“…!”

Clearly, the stranger had definitely blocked Irefi’s ceremonial sword that was swung down vertically.

Yet the defense, which anyone would have seen as perfect, helplessly collapsed and became a clear trajectory for the ceremonial sword.

The sensation of the stranger’s skull bursting like a watermelon was exhilarating.

The stranger’s black sword, which had collided with the ceremonial sword, shattered into small fragments that exploded sharply in all directions.

Blocking the attack wasn’t the issue. Even if properly blocked, she possessed an irrational strength that could break through by force. It was a killing sword that unmistakably displayed a beast-like ferocity.

Now they were nothing more than criminals awaiting execution inside the cube. Their panicked appearance was no different from cornered rats.

Every movement revealed their dismay, which was truly satisfying to see.

What followed was a one-sided massacre. Irefi’s figure, letting out pleasure-filled laughter while slaughtering the trapped strangers one by one, seemed somehow ashen.

Though her physical condition must have been the worst of the worst, it was truly refreshing to see fountains of blood spray each time a person’s waist was split in two.

Arms and legs dancing in the air looked like nothing more than meat in a slaughterhouse, while cleanly severed heads were mistaken for ripe fruit.

“Ahah, ahaha!”

It was clearly madness.

The manifestation of a perverted mind unique to humans who feel ecstasy while cutting down countless human lives.

Very slightly, a darkened aura circled like a mirage before disappearing.

“Ah, only one left already?”

There existed a naive woman no different from a beast suffering from madness. Anyone familiar with the usual Irefi would find this truly remarkable.

She slowly walked toward the last remaining figure after beheading the stranger she had just slammed to the ground.

“Uh, uwaaaaaa!!!”

The final person screamed and charged with all their might. Though their face was hidden behind a mask, it wasn’t difficult to imagine an expression distorted with fear.

If memory served correctly, this was the first stranger to make a sound. Although that first impression differed from the woman’s scream, it was enough to surprise Irefi.

Slash!

Surprise her. That was the extent of it.

A clear red line appeared across the chest of the stranger who had screamed in a woman’s voice. The scene that would follow was obvious.

Splurt!

She sprayed blood from her chest like a bathtub with a small crack.

“Ah… urgh.”

Even while uttering dying groans, the stranger approached Irefi, trembling like an aspen tree.

“White Knight… I never… had the slightest… thought… of beating you…!”

What awaited the woman, who was burning all her remaining life force to charge, was Irefi’s merciless ceremonial sword.

The beautiful ceremonial sword pierced straight through the woman’s chest.

But that wasn’t all.

Thud.

The woman’s figure collapsed. If one turned to look, her two legs were playing separately at an unnatural angle on the other side.

Despite such adverse conditions, she crawled like a caterpillar toward Irefi.

“Huk, huk. You believe everything is resolved, that it’s over. Who in the world could not be arrogant? One with such beauty and unbelievable strength…”

Like the death rattle of blood filling her throat, she strained to pour out curses.

“That’s why… you will fall and he will prosper.”

At that moment.

The ground around Irefi rippled with a pale sky-blue color. It was a phenomenon she had never seen before in her life.

Her pupils, which had been slightly relaxed due to the unexpected anomaly, regained their focus.

Swoosh.

“What is this?!”

Irefi tried to leave belatedly, but it was already too late. The ground she stepped on to jump collapsed like empty space, and Irefi’s figure was sucked down beneath the rippling surface.

A moment later. When both the Holy Memory cube and the rippling ground had disappeared, only blood and flesh remained at the entrance of the main palace as evidence of the fierce battle.