episode_0151

Stain’s Secret

I was certain. No… I believed it would happen that way. I thought Aria and Dio V Runner, even using Seonghwan’s radiance, would be able to easily defeat Omega, just as they had faced dragons. But contrary to my expectations, Aria and Dio V Runner were easily knocked away by a single swing from Omega, and only then did I feel a sense of crisis. Seeing my expression change, Stain chuckled and spoke.

“Ah… so Omega’s attack finally made you aware, Explorer? Those two must have realized what kind of situation this is as well…”

“Even though you had such a final weapon… why didn’t you use it for the Saintess and priests…”

“A pointless question, Explorer. Isn’t it obvious? At that time, we didn’t have the ability to handle Omega, so we didn’t use it. But… as long as I’m in this Revalud facility, isn’t it natural to seek ways to handle Omega? You underestimated me and this facility too much.”

I couldn’t deny Stain’s words that we had underestimated him and the Revalud facility too much. Because it was true that until now, I had relied on the strength of Aria, Dio V Runner, and Yuria to try and conquer the Revalud facility. Omega… he was hiding such a test subject…!! Oh no! Omega isn’t the problem right now!!

“Aria!! Mr. Launcher!! Are you alright!!!”

Remembering Aria and Dio V Runner, who had been struck by Omega’s hand, sent flying, and then crashed into the wall, I frantically turned around, worried about them embedded in the cratered wall. Fortunately, they seemed fine, slowly emerging from the wall and rising back into the air by their own means. Then, Aria, seeing Omega, indignantly shouted.

“Ughhh!! I really don’t like this facility!!! To endure such insults countless times in front of Zeke-nim!!!”

“Ugh… this is a bit insulting even to me… To think that I, who participated in wars, wasn’t fully aware… I should reflect on this.”

“They endured Omega’s attack head-on? They have incredible durability. But… don’t forget that Omega’s attack isn’t over yet!”

As Stain, who had been admiring the two who were still alive and well after taking Omega’s attack, shouted that Omega’s attack wasn’t over, Omega began to throw punches at them. At that moment, Aria’s eyes flashed, and she spun her staff in her hand. As Omega’s fist approached, she thrust her staff out, deflecting Omega’s punch. Seeing Aria deflect Omega’s punch, Stain flinched, and Aria loudly shouted at him.

“Didn’t you underestimate us too!!! To bring such shame upon us in front of Zeke-nim… There will be no more such incidents, so be prepared!!”

“That Black Saintess… she’s indeed a formidable opponent… Omega!! Knock that woman down…”

“Your opponent is me, you damned researcher!!!”

“….!!”

The moment Stain, distracted by Aria, was giving orders to Omega, I didn’t miss the opportunity. I quickly ran towards Stain with Trahan raised and swung it at him. Stain noticed me approaching and frantically swung his arm, deflecting Trahan with his bracelet that emitted a yellow light, and quickly retreated. Seeing me confront Stain, Aria was startled and shouted at me.

“Ze… Zeke-nim!! You can’t do it alone!! I’ll…”

“Aria!! You help Mr. Dio V Runner and take on Omega!! You need to be there to defeat Omega!!”

“Bu… but…”

“And… personally, I want to crush Stain myself. So, until I’m truly in a dangerous situation, you take on Omega!! Please!!”

When I glared at Stain with a very angry expression and asked Aria to let me handle him personally, Aria seemed to reluctantly follow my decision, nodding with an uncomfortable expression and turning her head towards Omega. Then, as if provoked by overhearing the conversation, Stain glared at me and shouted.

“This Explorer fellow seems to keep underestimating me. Do you think you can face me alone?”

“I might lose. But even so, I’ll do my best to defeat you. I can’t just leave you be, knowing the atrocities you’ve committed…!!”

“You want to destroy me out of personal anger…? Even if you throw your best at me, trusting in that, you’ll just be a fool who can’t do anything, Explorer!!!”

When I declared I would crush him with all my might and pointed Trahan at him, Stain was greatly flustered and then began to rush at me. I swung Trahan to threaten Stain, and Stain evaded the approaching Trahan with his eyes, beginning to search for an opening. In the midst of this, I felt something strange.

‘Didn’t he just unleash a beam… no, a flash of light at us? He could have blinded me and attacked like before, so why close combat…?’

“Do you have time to think in front of me, Explor… Th-this bastard, no way!!”

“….!!”

As I was deep in thought while fighting, Stain spoke in disbelief. Then, as if he had read my thoughts, Stain, sensing something, frantically retreated and began to emit a sword-shaped light from his bracelet. He then used that sword to counter Trahan, and when an opening appeared, I quickly kicked Stain in the abdomen, sending him flying. Stain supported himself with his legs, but began to be pushed back slowly, and finally, when the retreat stopped, Stain touched his abdomen and spoke to me.

“Th-this crazy bastard… you were analyzing me during that fight, weren’t you?!”

“…You figured it out, remarkably… That bracelet of yours… it seems to require certain conditions to do something, doesn’t it?”

“Ha… you really are a crazy one… To deduce that in such a short time… I underestimated you too…”

When Stain called me crazy, affirming my words, I recalled the moment I had just kicked him in the abdomen. When I kicked Stain’s abdomen just now… I felt something off… Wait… no way…

“You… what is that body of yours… Are you perhaps only your face…?”

“….Truly incredible…!! To think a human with this level of analytical ability exists in this dimension… It’s surprisingly astounding and amusing, enough to be deeply impressed…!! Yes… as you said, I’m only human from the face up. And my body is…”

“….!!!”

“Wh-what is that…”

As I grasped the identity of his body, Stain affirmed my words and began to tear off the white gown he was wearing. Then, Stain’s body, hidden beneath the white gown, was revealed. It was a grotesque body, covered in what looked like lizardman skin, sturdy and resembling the pieced-together muscles of a strong animal. I was greatly shocked, and the test subject girl also seemed unaware of this, displaying great bewilderment. Damn it… I’d speculated about grotesque experiments involving piecing life together… but I never thought it would actually be true…

“To even modify himself…”

“I, too, am a human who has devised various things to become the ultimate life form. So… don’t you think it’s right to prepare experiments to transform all living beings into the ultimate life form? Even myself!!”

“What kind of twisted logic is that!!! You’ve essentially abandoned humanity, haven’t you!!! Dark Tentacle!!”

At his words that he had prepared experiments to modify all living beings, including himself, to become the ultimate life form, I was utterly dumbfounded and slammed my palms onto the floor. The floor around me began to turn black, and several black tentacles burst out from the ground, rushing directly towards Stain. Stain quickly dodged the tentacles, approached me, and shouted.

“You, too, are using such abilities, aren’t you!! As I recall, these abilities are demonic… Haven’t you also abandoned humanity, just like me, Explorer!!”

“This ability is my friend’s ability!! Using a demon’s power doesn’t change your body like yours!!!”

“Is that so…!! Then let’s see who wins: the one who abandoned humanity, or the human who borrows the abilities of another race!!”

As Stain approached me, rapidly swinging the sword-shaped light emanating from his bracelet, I lifted my hands from the floor, pulled out Trahan which was stuck beside me, and immediately confronted Stain. The moment Trahan and the sword-shaped light clashed, Stain grinned and spoke to me.

“And in that brief battle just now, I realized. The one who poses a threat to me here isn’t the Saintess, nor the Black Saintess, and certainly not the Otherworlder… It’s you…!! The one who needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible right here and now is you, Explorer…!!”

“Thanks for the high praise…!! But there’s no one here who’s going to be dealt with by you…? So you’d better not think you can continue your experiments…!!!”

As he highly praised me as the most dangerous person here, I began to push Stain back more forcefully, declaring that no one here would fall to him. Meanwhile, Aria, seeing me confront Stain, began to worry about me with a greatly flustered expression.

“Oh… what should I do…? If Zeke-nim gets hurt…”

“Hey!! Aria!! To your side!!”

“….!!”

The moment Aria was worrying about me, Dio V Runner saw something and urgently shouted at Aria. Aria then noticed Omega’s fist approaching from her side and quickly swung her staff to parry it. Aria clutched her staff tightly and spoke, looking at the gigantic Omega before her.

“Ughhh… I want to help Zeke-nim…”

“Aria!! For now, it seems best to take on Omega as Zeke said! If even one of us drops out, we could be defeated individually by Omega! So leaving Stain to Zeke is…”

“Ughhh… Since Zeke-nim said so… Fine…!! I get it!! I just need to get rid of this big obstacle in front of me first, right!!”

“Whooooaahhhhh!!!”

As Aria, who had finally decided to defeat Omega after Dio V Runner’s persuasion, began to emit light from her staff, Omega reacted to the light by throwing another punch at Aria. Aria then threw her own punch towards Omega’s outstretched fist, and the two fists collided head-on. Then, fighting Stain, I grinned when I saw Aria and Omega in a fierce standoff. As expected…!! I knew Aria would be able to fight Omega! But be careful, you could get seriously hurt if you let your guard down like just now…

“Do you have time to worry about the Black Saintess right now?”

“Of course not. Rather, I trust Aria, you see? Hyaaaah!!”

When Stain thought I was worrying about Aria and had turned my head towards her, I retorted, unleashing Iruvan’s flames from my hand to threaten Stain. While I, trusting Aria, continued to confront Stain, Dio V Runner attached an orb to his flamethrower and shouted at Omega.

“Let’s see… if flames work on you like they did on him. Black Orb.”

“….!!! Kraaaagh!!”

The moment Dio V Runner released black flames from his flamethrower, Omega seemed to notice Dio V Runner’s attack and quickly retreated. As a result, Dio V Runner’s flames passed harmlessly through the air, and seeing his attack fail, Dio V Runner flew to Aria’s side, who was floating in the air, and spoke.

“That speed I just saw definitely wasn’t a mistake. That creature… is incredibly agile for its size.”

“Exactly… I need to deal with it quickly and help Zeke-nim, but I’m just wasting time… This won’t do, Dio V Runner. Let’s end this at once.”

“That’s a good idea. But… it seems that one has no intention of waiting for your technique…!!”

“….!!”

“Whooooaahhhhh!!”

When Aria proposed to end it at once, Dio V Runner replied that it was a good idea. However, seeing Omega rapidly charging towards them, Dio V Runner replied that there was no time to spare, and blocked Omega’s outstretched fist with both hands.

“Ughhhhh… Wa… wait… Th-this power…!!”

“Kraaaagh!!”

“Ughhhhh…!!!”

But perhaps because Dio V Runner wasn’t Aria, Omega’s fist gradually began to push Dio V Runner back. As Dio V Runner desperately tried to block Omega’s fist with all his might, Aria swung her staff, striking Omega’s arm. Feeling pain in its arm from Aria’s blow, Omega frantically pulled its hand away from Dio V Runner and cried out in pain from its left arm. Dio V Runner, barely managing to survive, let out a huge sigh of relief and spoke.

“Thanks, Aria… It seems I’m not strong enough to block Omega’s punch.”

“Of course! Who could be stronger than Aria, filled with Zeke-nim’s love?”

“….Then this would be best. You handle that giant’s punches. I’ll roast it with fire in the meantime.”

“Well… if that’s the only way in this situation… Ugh… I didn’t want to listen to another man besides Zeke-nim… but I guess I have no choice…!!”

When Dio V Runner asked her to handle Omega’s punches, Aria, who didn’t want to grant a request from anyone other than me, complained but then said she had no choice in the current situation and flew towards Omega’s head. At that moment, Omega noticed Aria approaching it and, in turn, rushed towards Aria, trying to quickly strike her down as it had before. But…

“I was caught off guard because I didn’t expect it just now… but now I can react because I expect it!! O Omnipotent One in the Heavens!! Grant me the power to judge heretics!! Hyaaaaaah!!”

As Omega tried to strike her down with a swift punch, Aria quickly finished her prayer and swung her staff towards Omega’s fist. Omega’s fist and Aria’s staff simultaneously recoiled, and Dio V Runner, not missing the opening, attached a black orb to his flamethrower and aimed at Omega. Meanwhile, I continued to swing Trahan, deflecting Stain’s attacks. Damn it… that bracelet… what on earth is its true identity?!

“What’s wrong? Still haven’t figured out the identity of this bracelet?”

“Damn it… why is this bracelet so sturdy…?! And the light coming from it…!!”

“Ah… this light has a bit of special technology built into it… Meaning, it can launch physical attacks!!”

Stain deflected my Trahan with his light sword, then thrust a light sword, emitted from another bracelet on his right arm, directly at my abdomen. I quickly unleashed whip-shaped magic from my abdomen, grabbing Stain’s hand. When I seized his arm, Stain gasped in surprise and said.

“….!! This power comes from any part of his body…!!”

“Got you…!! Hyaaaah!!!”

“….!! Th-this damn it!!”

Not missing the moment Stain was flustered by me grabbing his arm, I let go of Trahan from my hand, immediately grabbed Stain’s left arm with my left hand, and extended my right hand towards Stain. Then, I unleashed Iruvan’s flames from my palm, and Stain, hit by the flames, was sent flying backward when I released both hands. I then picked up Trahan again and immediately charged at Stain, beginning to infuse Trahan with magic as I ran.

“If you wear versatile bracelets… then I use versatile magic!! Hyaaaah!!”

“….!!”

As I shouted a battle cry and swung Trahan, the magic contained within Trahan burst out in the form of a blade and flew towards Stain. Stain, who had been extinguishing the flames with his hand, noticed the incoming magic, quickly dodged to the side, and let out a hollow laugh as he spoke.

“Ha… haha… As expected, you were the most dangerous person, Explorer… You’re completely unpredictable…”

“Phew… I also have no idea what you’re capable of… But it feels good that things went according to plan…”

“According to plan? ….!!!!”

When I said I was glad things went according to plan, Stain, sensing something, frantically looked to his side. He saw that the test subject girl, who had been trapped in her cage, had immediately burst out when the cage was destroyed by my blade-shaped magic. Realizing that the test subject girl had escaped, Stain was greatly flustered.

“Th-this…!!”