Chapter 108 – Retribution (1)

Chapter 108 – Retribution (1)

The once-dry earth turned into a sodden, blood-soaked mire.

My perception painted a vivid picture: dismembered bodies strewn across the ground, viscera spilled haphazardly—intact lungs, livers, and hearts, with intestines draped like macabre decorations where leaves should have been.

Every grisly detail etched itself into my mind.

I drew a slow, deliberate breath.

The air assaulted my nostrils—a noxious blend of metallic, bitter, acrid, and putrid scents.

I ran my tongue over parched lips. Despite the pervasive stench, no nauseating taste lingered there.

Straining my dulled hearing, I caught the agonized cries of those clinging to life in death’s shadow.

I clenched my aching hand, feeling the increased weight of Frey pressing against me.

I had taken a life. Not for the first time, of course. I had simply failed to recognize my previous victims as people. In truth, I had ended countless lives before this moment.

Yet I hadn’t fully grasped it. Hadn’t acknowledged it.

No, I had willfully turned a blind eye.

That I could now accept it with such equanimity— This must be the Bracelet of Verdure’s doing.

They said it was imbued with magic to forcibly stabilize one’s mind.

Its efficacy is undeniable. Chillingly so. I feel utterly devoid of emotion.

I traced the contours of the Bracelet of Verdure—once prophesied to become my shackles.

Is this the right path? No. We’ve come too far to debate right and wrong. I’ve no desire to contemplate justice. No wish to impose beliefs on others.

Rubia despised Erden. As did Sirin. So too did Luchi, Heinzel, Charlotte, and Yuria.

As for me… I remain uncertain. I simply believe in Rubia. My sole desire is to protect her and ensure her happiness.

Therefore. My decision to protect Rubia is my truth, my justice, my conviction.

But… what if this very thought— What if it’s entirely shaped by the Bracelet of Verdure—

“[Hey.]”

“…Yes?”

Cartia’s call snapped me from my reverie. I awkwardly lowered my hand, tilting my head in response.

After a moment’s silence, Cartia let out a small sigh and spoke:

“[I told you twice, didn’t I? You never listen to your elders. You set out as an adventurer, but did you even send a letter home? Can you imagine how worried your parents must be, you ungrateful brat?]”

Sensing my emotional turmoil, she seemed to deliberately steer the conversation towards frivolity.

Her absurd yet kind gesture moved me, and despite myself, I found myself playing along:

“I… I don’t have parents…”

Well, it was half in jest, half in earnest.

“[…Really?]”

“Yes…”

After a brief pause, Cartia stammered:

“[I… I’m sorry. Truly… truly sorry.]”

“It’s… it’s alright.”

Silence descended once more.

Then, after a time, Cartia cleared her throat and raised her voice with forced nonchalance:

“[So, how does it feel to actually wield that thing in the real world?]”

The image of the partially collapsed mountain flashed through my mind.

“It’s incredible, but… I still can’t swing it much.”

Blood trickled from my nose, and my head throbbed as if it might burst.

“[If you’d use it like a normal sword, there wouldn’t be a problem. But no, you insist on swinging it around like some brute.]”

“…There you go nagging again.”

Pouting, I trudged towards my greatsword, half-buried in a mound of dirt.

At that moment—

From the thick, rising dust, spells burst forth from a shattered magic circle.

“[Wasn’t that broken?]”

Quickly wiping my bloody nose, I severed the source of the oncoming spells.

Crackle—Bang!

Wind rent asunder, flames extinguished.

A knight charged from the right; I slammed the hilt of my sword into his solar plexus, then swung my greatsword at the mages.

Formless energy erupted along its path.

Slice—

Upper bodies were neatly severed, scattering in a spray of blood. Without pause, I adjusted the greatsword’s trajectory and brought it down hard.

An assassin, concealed underground, had his skull crushed, staining the earth with cerebral matter.

“Haaah!”

Evading a spear’s serpentine path, I kicked up a clod of dirt with my toe.

“Ugh?!”

As my opponent raised an arm to shield his face, I drove my fist into his solar plexus.

Crunch— Ribs shattered, puncturing his heart. I spun, driving my foot into the belly of another assailant charging from behind.

“Gah—!”

Deftly avoiding the blood spewing from his filthy mouth, I stomped on the chest of one rolling on the ground.

“Arghhh!”

“[Something’s off, don’t you think? The magic circle’s broken, yet spells keep forming. And these guys are moving with broken spines. Suspicious…]”

“…Indeed.”

I brought my greatsword down, pulverizing his skull.

“[Ponder it later. For now, let’s eliminate the mages.]”

“Agreed…”

Expanding my senses, I pinpointed the mages’ locations. Twelve in total.

Flare—!

As a fireball hurtled towards me from the left, I sprang forward.

Without swinging my greatsword, I drove my knee into the first mage’s solar plexus. One down.

Using my descending leg as a pivot, I rotated, extending my arm to slash with the greatsword. Two.

Dozens of spells followed in rapid succession. Planting Frey into the ground, I kicked up a nearby corpse to shield against the incoming barrage.

As the sickening sound of magic impacting flesh subsided, I hurled the now-headless corpse at the remaining mages and charged. Frey followed closely, slicing through their ranks amidst a chorus of screams. Four.

A knight rushed me from the right; I slammed my sword hilt into his face and drove him into the ground. I tore the armor from the knight’s body with my bare hands and flung it at a mage mid-casting of a high-tier spell. Five.

“[Their skulls are crushed, half their torsos torn apart, yet they live. Is this normal for the youth these days?]”

Shaking my head, I stomped, obliterating the knight’s cranium.

Simultaneously—

I channeled mana into Frey once more. Kicking off the ground, I unleashed Frey’s energy in an arc towards the wavering enemies before me.

Crash—!

A sound like the very fabric of space tearing reverberated as a violent shockwave engulfed knights and mages alike.

“Haa…”

Clutching my pounding head, I caught my breath, leaving behind the screams of those caught in the wake of destruction.

Two Masters were ascending the half-collapsed mountain. Judging by their speed… three minutes, perhaps?

“[They should have perished long ago. Damn it… this is unmistakably…]”

Divine power.

A faint divine energy lingered within their bodies.

“[Especially that so-called Master. He’s a nobody, but there’s something unsettling about his aura.]”

Concurring with Cartia, I touched the Bracelet of Verdure, which now constricted my wrist with alarming intensity. It trembled violently, deep fissures spreading across its surface. If I continued to wield Frey, the Bracelet of Verdure would surely shatter.

“Sigh…”

Reluctantly, I scattered Frey into the ether and retrieved my mud-caked greatsword.

“…Wh-What is this?”

The man sitting on the ground—Mern, was it?—pointed at me, his voice shrill.

“What manner of power is this?!”

“Ugh…”

His shrieking exacerbated my already splitting headache…

Massaging my temples, I brushed the mud from my greatsword.

“Heretic! You wield the power of an evil god!”

“[My, he’s quite the loudmouth.]”

“I, Mern, priest of Erden, shall immolate myself to execute this heretic!!”

Mern, who had been sprawled on the ground, suddenly leapt to his feet, screaming—perhaps an attempt to quell his own fear.

And yet. Despite enduring my previous onslaught head-on…

“…He seems remarkably frail.”

“[Indeed. Those climbing from below appear somewhat formidable, but this one… well…]”

“Hraaah!”

Mern charged, brandishing dual swords in an extravagant display.

What followed was a ridiculously flamboyant attempt at swordsmanship…

“[Ah, just a fool after all.]”

I twisted the greatsword in my right hand, deflecting one of his blades.

“What?!”

With my left, I struck his ribs—a technique Sirin had taught me, focusing all force into a single point without dispersion.

Smack—

“Guhh—!”

Mern’s body neither flew into the air nor was knocked back. All the force concentrated entirely on that single point of impact.

“[Your control over your strength has improved.]”

“Earlier, I hadn’t fully acclimated.”

Though he was ostensibly a Master and had shielded his vital points with protective mana…

It proved woefully inadequate.

Once more. I clenched my fist and struck his quivering solar plexus with full force.

Smack—Crack—Crunch—

My fist penetrated his mana barrier, shattering ribs as it drove inward. Spreading my fingers, I grasped the splintered bone fragments.

Rip—

And tore them out.

“Urgh… ugh… gah…”

Bone shards rained down, accompanied by spilled viscera. Yet he clung to life, frantically trying to stuff his intestines back into his abdominal cavity.

And then, gradually— A faint divine energy emanating from near his heart began to mend his body, little by little.

The very power that only Rubia should wield. The power that rightfully belonged to Rubia alone. The gentle force that had always tended to my wounds.

It was healing this… this filth.

Rage consumed me. Revulsion. Disgust. Nausea. A primal urge to destroy.

To kill.

To rend him limb from limb with my bare hands. To extract every tooth, to tear out his tongue. To eviscerate him. To stuff his entrails back down his throat. To make him feel death’s slow, inexorable approach.

And I would do it.

The bracelet quivered, constricting my wrist further. The mana within me roiled, uncontrollable. The fragments of Carpeng and Tyrant resonated in cacophonous harmony. Voices echoed in my mind, urging restraint.

I ignored them all and reached out.

I tore off his left arm, still clutching at spilled intestines. Then his right, which had been vainly attempting to staunch the abdominal wound. I swept his legs, slamming him to the earth. Shattered his jawbone. Extracted his teeth, one by one.

And just as I grasped his tongue, ready to rip it out—

Whoosh!

Two arrows whistled past, interrupting my grisly work.

“[Noah.]”

“…Yes.”

“[I’m telling Rubia everything.]”

…That’s… problematic.

“[I’ve warned you repeatedly—don’t lose yourself to this power. Remain human to the very end.]”

Nodding, I rose to my feet. I wiped the gore from my hands, removing fragments of viscera lodged beneath my fingernails.

“I-I apologize…”

“[The mere mention of Rubia drives you to madness. If harm befalls her, will you lay waste to the world?]”

Without answering, I straightened my posture.

“[…You truly would, wouldn’t you?]”

“S-Surely not…”

“[Gods above, you’re beyond hope. Someone needs to keep you on a tight leash.]”

“W-What? Me?”

A leash? A leash… a leash.

“…That might not be entirely—ow!”

Lost in thought, I failed to notice another incoming arrow.

Boom—

It detonated upon impact, the shockwave sending me sprawling.

“This is truly absurd. A demon incarnate, isn’t she?” muttered a man wielding a greatsword as he surveyed the carnage.

“Tch, damn… Mern, you dead yet?” The archer clicked his tongue, glancing at the prone form of Mern.

“Guh… gah…”

“If death’s inevitable, at least expend your life force in battle.”

“Don’t be overly harsh on my disciple. What can one do with such limited experience?” Another man interjected, stepping closer through the muck.

“Come now, if he attained strength through shortcuts, shouldn’t he at least prove his worth?”

The approaching Masters turned their attention towards me.

“Indeed. I told you—disarm her of that greatsword, and she’s rendered impotent. Your failure proves your pupil’s worthlessness.”

“…I cannot refute that.”

“[These two are clearly a cut above Mern.]”

No doubt about it…

They exuded undeniable strength.

Both surpassing Kalt in power.

“[Can you emerge victorious?]”

I can win, but… they’re already en route. Perhaps 10 minutes…?

“[I anticipated teleportation, but it seems even Sirin finds this challenging.]”

Naturally. Hahaha…

With a soft chuckle, I raised my greatsword.

In that instant—

From Mern’s prone form erupted divine power of such magnitude it distorted the very fabric of reality.

It bore the hallmarks of an imminent transformation, reminiscent of Kalt’s second phase.

“Hah…”

Gripping the greatsword in reverse, I extended my arm to its fullest reach.

Whoosh—

My left foot advanced.

Crunch— The mud parted, the ground itself rupturing beneath my step.

The faces of the two Masters contorted in shock.

Mern continued to mouth silent words skyward.

Cartia’s laughter rang out, tinged with hysteria.

Etching every detail into my mind, I brought my outstretched arm forward in a powerful arc.

Riiip—

A sound like the very fabric of space tearing rent the air as the greatsword flew.

Simultaneously—

Boom!

Mern’s body, struck by the hurled greatsword, simply ceased to exist—obliterated without a trace.

Extending my hand, I summoned Frey back to my grasp and recalled Sirin’s teachings.

Sirin’s First Tenet of Combat Theory:

Strike down the enemy at the moment of transformation.

Truly, an axiom of unparalleled wisdom.