Killian strode down the corridor without hesitation.
He liked this place because there was no fear of getting lost.
All he had to do was keep walking down the corridor.
'I think this was the southern route.'
East, west, south, north.
The group had to attack the temple's four entrances simultaneously.
According to Oscar, the temple's interior was structured like a labyrinth.
Naturally, the group had split into four teams.
East — Oscar
North — Edna
South — Killian, Mad Fiend
West — Fran, Veronica.
The large lizard, Seiro, remained outside the temple.
He had been assigned the important role of preventing anyone from secretly escaping or stopping reinforcements from arriving from outside.
"Grrrr..."
Killian glanced at Mad Fiend, who was walking ahead of him.
Although he possessed an exceptional warrior's body, he was still a companion with whom proper communication was impossible.
'Cooperation during battle... I'd better not expect much.'
It would probably end up being every man for himself.
Just then, the sound of numerous people running echoed from ahead.
"There they are!"
"Khehehe! Do you have any idea where you are to come barging in here?!"
The enemies charged while drawing their weapons.
'Thirty-five of them. A suitable warm-up.'
Killian lightly rolled his neck and was just about to rush forward.
"KRAAAAH!"
In an instant, Mad Fiend ran along the corridor wall and swung the edge of his hand like a sickle.
Seven heads separated from their bodies and flew into the air in the blink of an eye.
Before the enemies, their pupils dilating in shock, could even react properly—
"Grrr!"
A lion wearing a human's skin leaped into the flock.
And then the indiscriminate slaughter began.
Every time his mana-infused arms and legs swung, someone's entire life vanished into nothingness.
Watching this, Killian felt a chilling shiver crawl down his spine.
That man called Mad Fiend looked as though he had been born for the sole purpose of destruction.
Drip. Plop.
Blood and chunks of flesh soaked the corridor as though a rainstorm had fallen.
"Grr..."
It took only seventeen seconds to wipe out all thirty-five members of the Black Finger.
Killian's Adam's apple bobbed visibly.
'Fast.'
He had never seen a warrior with such incredible speed, not even back in his tribe.
If it had been him...
'...Even at my fastest, it would have taken at least three minutes.'
Level 6 and Level 7.
The difference he had dismissed as merely a single number was now carved into his skin.
And Mad Fiend wasn't even in his right mind.
'If someone with a sound mind were controlling that body...'
Its destructive power was something he would never want to face, not even in his dreams.
Killian silently followed behind Mad Fiend, who simply resumed walking down the corridor as though nothing had happened.
"...You don't have to fight alone. I'm a warrior too. I can more than pull my own weight."
"Grrrrng."
Mad Fiend let out a low growl after hearing Killian's words.
It felt just like talking to wolves or other wild beasts back when he had lived in the forest.
Recalling those memories, Killian stared at Mad Fiend's back with a strange expression.
'Could it be... he's looking out for me?'
There were occasionally wild beasts like that.
The kind that saw humans smaller than themselves as cubs belonging to their pack and instinctively protected them.
Mad Fiend's actions and growls felt exactly like that.
"Ahem."
Frowning, Killian lengthened his stride until they walked shoulder to shoulder.
"I'm strong. If you're holding back out of consideration for me, you don't need to."
"Krng."
The sound almost resembled a mocking snort.
Annoyed, Killian was about to argue back when he abruptly glared ahead.
'An enemy?'
Through the vibrations beneath his feet, he sensed something approaching.
The tremors were completely different from those of the enemies they had encountered earlier.
Boom! Boom!
What appeared next was a gigantic monster that nearly filled the entire width of the already broad corridor.
"That's... a Twin-Headed Ogre...?"
A rare mutant monster that had last been reported in the Empire seven years ago.
Having two heads made it more intelligent than an ordinary ogre.
In other words, it overcame the greatest weakness of normal ogres—their inability to properly utilize their overwhelmingly powerful bodies due to their low intelligence.
'No, that's not all.'
Killian narrowed his eyes.
As far as he knew, Twin-Headed Ogres only had two heads.
But the creature before him had no fewer than four arms.
Moreover, between those four arms protruded the enormous forelegs of a praying mantis.
'A chimera.'
He had a good idea whose handiwork this was.
There was only one person in the Black Finger who conducted monster experiments.
"An alchemist's test subject."
If so, there was a ninety-nine percent chance it had absorbed a Demon Core as well.
Which meant it had easily surpassed the natural limits of an ordinary monster.
"Be careful. That thing is—"
Before Killian could finish his warning—
KROAAAH!
Mad Fiend charged straight at the newly appeared enemy.
"Watch out!"
At the same moment Killian shouted in alarm, the ogre thrust out all four of its arms.
Mad Fiend effortlessly dodged them with his trademark agility and drove his fist into the monster's solar plexus.
KWAAAAAANG!
The devastating impact sent a shockwave roaring through the corridor.
"...Good heavens."
That single punch blasted a massive hole through the ogre's abdomen.
Even worse, its insides had been completely torn apart, as though shredded by razor-sharp winds.
"Krng."
Slowly withdrawing his hand, Mad Fiend turned around and snorted.
It was almost as though he were asking why anyone should be cautious of something so weak.
"Behind you! Watch your back!"
Hearing Killian's urgent cry, Mad Fiend looked forward.
KWAAANG!
The ogre smashed him with the back of one enormous hand, sending his body crashing into the wall.
"Galgalgal."
The two heads perched upon the ogre's shoulders let out grotesque laughter.
The gaping cross-section of its abdomen began to writhe.
In an instant, fresh flesh swelled forth and filled the hole.
"...Regeneration?"
Killian's eyes sharpened.
Very few monsters possessed regeneration of that caliber.
"Don't tell me... it was even given a troll's regenerative ability."
A power befitting a chimera.
At the same time, his thoughts grew complicated.
'To give regeneration to a creature that already possesses such overwhelming physical strength...'
It was cheating in every sense of the word.
Clenching his lips tightly, Killian kicked off the ground.
'First, I save Mad Fiend.'
The impact had apparently been greater than expected.
Mad Fiend had barely managed to stand, staggering unsteadily.
Then the ogre's boulder-like fist descended upon him.
KWAAAAANG!
"Whew..."
Having barely rescued Mad Fiend in time, Killian let out a sigh of relief.
"A Twin-Headed Ogre is already considered Level 6 based solely on its natural physique. One that's been stuffed with extra arms and additional abilities will be even worse."
At minimum, it was Level 7.
Setting Mad Fiend down from over his shoulder, he continued,
"It'll be difficult to fight it alone. Let's fight together."
"...Grrr."
Mad Fiend wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and gave a short reply.
Instinctively understanding that it meant I understand, Killian fixed his gaze upon the monster.
"Judging from all those forced modifications, it must be carrying an enormous amount of weight."
In other words, its ability to abruptly change directions would be greatly reduced.
Killian spoke.
"I can't completely shake it at my speed. If you keep its attention from the front, I'll attack it from behind."
"Grr."
Nodding as though he understood, Mad Fiend shot forward.
As if it had been waiting for him, the ogre's fists came hurtling toward him.
Bang! Bam! KWAAANG!
Inside the narrow corridor, Mad Fiend avoided every single blow with dazzling footwork.
'Now.'
At the very moment the ogre's attention was fixed on Mad Fiend—
Keeping low, Killian slipped past the ogre like a bolt of lightning and took position behind it.
'Good. It hasn't noticed—'
At that instant—
One of the ogre's heads whipped around and locked eyes with Killian.
Ignoring Mad Fiend, it turned its entire body toward him.
"Damn!"
He had to get away.
Panicked, Killian instinctively activated his Acceleration tattoo.
But the modified ogre was just a little faster.
Crunch!
"Guhaaak!"
Simply being squeezed that hard made it feel as though his internal organs were being crushed.
Blood surged into his throat.
Killian vomited it out while desperately enduring the pain.
The tattoos that enhanced his physical durability blazed brilliantly, but only for a moment.
Crackle. Crack.
Like light bulbs reaching the end of their lifespan, they flickered before losing their light.
"Ghk!"
Shrrng. Shrrng.
The ogre slowly moved one arm toward its own abdomen.
There, the blade-like forelegs of the praying mantis waited with a sinister rasp.
'If I go there, I'll die.'
He didn't possess any miraculous ability to restore a body cut into three pieces.
Biting his lip hard, Killian glared at the monster.
'But.'
Even at this very moment, Killian did not give up.
If every bit of the monster's attention was focused on him, that meant Mad Fiend was free.
Slash!
Mad Fiend burst forward in an instant, severed the ogre's arm, and caught Killian.
Putting some distance between themselves and the monster, he examined Killian's condition.
"Cough! Cough!"
Killian nodded while gasping for breath.
"It's... not enough to kill me."
"Grrr."
The ogre calmly picked up its severed arm and pressed it against the cut surface.
The flesh wriggled before seamlessly reconnecting.
The creature repeatedly clenched and unclenched its fist before grinning grotesquely.
Watching this, Killian lowered his voice.
"There's no point attacking its arms, legs, or torso. If it has a troll's regeneration, it'll simply recover them all."
His gaze settled upon the two heads.
"But the heads are different. Unlike ordinary organs, even trolls have difficulty regenerating the brain."
Besides, that creature had two heads.
Which meant it also had two weak points.
As Killian rose to his feet, Mad Fiend lightly tapped him with the back of his hand.
Then he pointed at himself before pointing at the ogre's left head.
Next, he pointed at Killian before indicating the ogre's right head.
The gestures were incredibly simple, but Killian understood exactly what he meant.
"You want me to take the right head. Understood."
The instant they exchanged glances, Mad Fiend charged first.
PAAAAANG!
A dense blast of destructive wind erupted from his palm, slamming the giant body into the wall.
"Kkeuaaah!"
As the shrieking giant collapsed, Mad Fiend raised both of his hand-blades.
Wiiiiing!
The wind coating them vibrated ceaselessly.
"KROAAAAAH!"
Mad Fiend rushed the ogre and swung both arms in a frenzy.
The assault was practically a butchering.
One of the ogre's heads was left dangling by a thread.
"Kke... kkeeeeh!"
For the first time, the previously confident ogre's eyes shook.
No matter how much the experiments had strengthened it, it was still only a monster.
Faced with the threat of death, it fell into a panic.
It clutched the dangling neck with two of its arms while using the remaining two to crawl away.
But someone was already waiting in the direction it fled.
"...Wolf's Song."
Claws formed entirely from mana sprang out from the backs of both of Killian's hands.
Their duration was short, but their hardness rivaled the finest steel.
Tattoo after tattoo across Killian's body beneath his dark clothing began to glow.
"I'm going."
Kicking off the ground, Killian shot toward the monster.
The panicked ogre lifted the enormous hand that had been supporting its body, trying to stop him.
Slash!
Cutting through its fingers and passing beyond them, Killian used the ogre's arm as a foothold and leaped upward.
Two pairs of terrified eyes turned toward him.
Spinning through the air, Killian kicked off the ceiling and streaked downward like a slanting line of rain.
KUUUUUNG!
Almost simultaneously, Mad Fiend charged in and completely tore off the ogre's left head.
"Huff... Huff."
"...Grrr."
The two of them stared at the ogre's corpse for quite some time.
But the creature never rose again.

Comments

Loading...