Chapter 181: 166

The impact hit me like a bomb.

When the blackness receded and I regained consciousness, I saw a sky clouded with blood.

I heard muted sounds of battle.

I couldn't tell how far away the battle was. It sounded far yet close at the same time.

My consciousness flickered between darkness and light. In the darkness, I saw deathly peace and tranquility. In the light, intense pain and suffering.

I coughed up blood and forced myself to breathe through the searing pain in my throat.

My brain started working very slowly.

It took everything I had to not let go of my consciousness and my awareness of the situation.

Memories of what had happened a short time ago came flooding back.

The teleportation trap had sent me and Evetta-san high up into the sky. It was a height that would have killed any normal person instantly.

I had no idea what I was thinking.

I protected Evetta-san. I cushioned the fall of her and her weapon with my body.

The impact of the fall had shattered every bone and ruptured every vital organ in my body.

We had landed at a place that coincidentally resembled the area around my home. In Lemuria, it was an open space near the outer walls.

The containers of my regeneration point just happened to be lying there right in front of my eyes.

As expected, they're empty. What's more, even after expending the entirety of my regeneration point, there's still damage left over. I might still die anyway.

No, I'll be killed before that.

A few steps away from me, I can see Evetta-san fighting.

She's clearly at a disadvantage. She can't act freely because she's protecting the dead weight behind her, me.

The enemies are also very cunning and try to target me at every opportunity.

「Urgh」

Right then, she blocked a crossbow bolt aimed at me with her hand and got hurt. The thick bolt had gone through her wrist, causing her to drop her weapon.

At the place we had landed, a group of humanoid Horns had been waiting for us. Four parties of them.

One party fought Evetta-san directly.

Another party kept taking shots at me, keeping her in check and limiting her options.

The remaining parties watched and waited with smirks on their faces.

This is the cunning way of fighting of adventurers, who only fight in situations where they're sure to win.

I had made a mistake in judgment.

It had been the worst kind of arrogance to think that I, a lower-ranked person, could protect her, a higher-ranked person. I should have trusted her. I should have left it all to her. But regretting about what may have been is pointless right now.

Move.

Move, my body.

I just need to move enough to kill myself at the very least.

If she's by herself, she can get herself out of this situation.

And then, she'll be able to go save the rest of the party―――――――

My hopes were quickly dashed.

Having dropped her weapon, Evetta-san covered me with her own body.

Stop, I wanted to say.

But before I could,

Several swords and spears were thrust into Evetta-san's body.

Piercing through her shoulder and abdomen, the tips of the blades grazed my cheek. I felt her fresh blood rain down on me.

A dark and terrible emotion surged through me.

Move, move, move, I willed my broken body. I gave orders to every part of my body to move. Even so, I couldn't lift a single finger.

「Urgh, gahh」

Evetta-san was stabbed again and again.

The Horns were toying with her.

They were intentionally avoiding her vitals so that she wouldn't die while they toyed with her.

There are beasts that toy with their prey. But it's only humans who smile like that while inflicting pain on others. ………………No, it's only genuine monsters.

If this is a joke, I'll laugh at it, so please just let me wake up.

Please.

Please, not like this.

No………………that's not it.

Lend it to me………………

Lend me your power.

The “curses” that nestle within my body.

I've gone through so much because of you all. The least you could do is throw in one freebie for me.

Beast, werewolf, vampire, it doesn't matter which.

Give me power!

「Souya, listen to me」

The face of a person on the verge of death drew close.

「No matter what happens, you must live. Live, live and survive, and one day, you'll make it. That's my―――――」

A blade was drawn across her throat. It wasn't drawn across in one stroke, but slowly, so that she would drown in her own blood.

I've finally figured out the Horns.

I can feel their malice in every fiber of my being.

These guys are neither intelligent nor cunning. They’re just monsters heavy with human malice, viciousness, wickedness, and arrogance.

I'm relieved.

If it's enemies like this, I can kill them no matter how strong they are.

It was a little late, but……

……I made it in time.

My pent-up emotions erupted.

I moved faster than anyone else there, faster than anyone could see.

They only heard the sound of flesh being mangled and found where their party member had disappeared to after it was over.

I had pinned the man slitting her throat to the wall.

With my newfound speed and strength, I had thrust my katana, scabbard and all, through his throat and into the wall. The man gurgled and coughed up a lot of blood. His spine shattered, he got to taste the agony of drowning in his own blood and yet not being able to die.

Leaving the scabbard embedded in his throat, I slowly drew my katana and held it above my head.

I tried to stand out as much as possible, attract as much attention as possible, and I released a killing intent that said that I would behead them the instant any of them even looked her way for a second.

I caught a glimpse of red light. The containers of my regeneration point were glowing bright red.

I don't know which of the curses had responded, but I couldn't care less. If I can kill them all, I don't mind even if my soul is completely consumed by demons.

The teeming regeneration point had started to mend my body, but it wasn't fully healed yet.

But that's why I'm the strongest right now.

That's right. Beasts show their true colors when they’re wounded.

「Come! Bring it!」

They came.

I cut a Horns swordsman in two along with his shield. With the return slash, I bisected him once more from groin to head. As he fell to the ground in three pieces, three Horns vanguards came slashing at me at the same time.

Don't look down on me.

I let loose a horizontal slash. The damaged steel of the swords arcing towards me shattered like thin ice.

It appeared that the Horns lacked any respect or attachment to their equipment, and the notion of maintaining them properly was foreign to them. Their weapons were all in a state of disrepair, and very few were in decent condition.

I'll target their weapons first.

These guys' ability to regenerate is nothing to scoff at, but their weapons aren't good enough to keep up with their physical capabilities. Even if they have the same abnormal arm strength as Evetta-san, I'll have an overwhelming advantage over them if they're unarmed.

And.

That was as far as I was able to keep my cool.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the spears impaled into Evetta-san.

Once more, my reason flew out the window.

I channeled my murderous emotions into swordplay. A tempest of slashes engulfed and chopped five Horns to pieces. Limbs, heads, and guts rained down along with their blood

In a display of my intense desire to kill them, I stabbed the sixth one and twisted the handle about, shredding the heart to tatters. The female Horns vomited up a torrent of blood.

As I was being splattered with blood, I sensed a rush of air.

I let go of my stuck katana and jumped backward on instinct.

Five more Horns descended on me. The Horns impaled with my katana was stabbed by their crude spears.

I didn't have the time to pick up the magic sword. But I still had a weapon on my back.

I smashed a spear thrust at me with Zamonglass' sword.

The cutting edge of this sturdy and bulky sword is by no means blunt. In fact, it boasts above-average sharpness. However, it feels incredibly blunt when I attempt to wield it with my current skills.

And that worked out well.

The destructive power of a blunt weapon.

It crushed the armor of a heavily armored Horns and flattened his helmet. Shields, spears, swords, limbs, anything the sword touched was violently crushed, bent, and destroyed.

If swords have souls, then this sword is surely responding to my raging soul.

The Horns whose limbs had been pounded as flat as dried cuttlefish let out shrill screams.

Evetta-san didn't even utter a single scream despite all you did to her, you know? You, you, you lowlifes!

I intentionally avoided hitting their vitals.

But insidiously and methodically, I focused on incapacitating them by destroying their weapons, limbs, eyes, and organs.

I may look every bit a beast, but like a human, I learn through battle.

Crushed cells need a long time to regenerate.

That's why I’ll smash, crush, and grind them to a pulp.

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Using Zamonglass' sword like a club, I brought destruction down on the Horns.

I crushed the fifth one's crotch with the belly of the sword and then cracked its skull with the pommel. The Horns on the ground sang a chorus of agonized screams.

「My god, Bratwastel, the lingering shadow. Entangle, seize, grapple, impale, pitch-black darkness――――――」

I heard someone chanting magic a distance away.

The idea of a horned monster praying to god struck me as laughable.

「Agathion!」

Louder than the prayer, I yelled and then hurled the magic sword at him. The sharp tip of its sheath plunged into the horned magician.

It had missed.

Agathion had pierced his abdomen. His throat and lungs were unscathed.

「――――――capture fools with hands of shadow」

Countless black hands closed in on me from beneath my feet.

I let go of Zamonglass' sword as a sword wouldn't cut it. I would need a much more massive weapon to repel them all. And Evetta-san's weapon just happened to be at my feet.

「grrrr」

Stomping on the mace head, I grabbed its handle.

「rrrUUUUOOOOAAAAAAArrr!」

It was a weapon of immense weight. It couldn't be swung like a sword. With everything I had, I swung the mace around, the mace head scraping across the ground, crushing the bodies of the Horns that were screaming in agony.

With a single swing, a great billow of blood filled the air. The black hands and the Horns caught up in it were all obliterated.

「Blade! Gouge!」

Blades extended from Agathion, which then spun around and gouged apart the magician's body, separating his torso from the rest of his body.

A crossbow bolt flew at me.

I had swung the mace with both hands, so I wasn't in any position to dodge or block it.

「Gaah!」

I caught it between my teeth, then bit down, crushing it.

The Horns holding the crossbow gave me a stunned look.

I readjusted my grip on the mace.

Carrying all this weight alone is enough to make my body hurt all over. Without the regeneration point healing me, simply swinging it will do some serious damage to me. That's the only reason why I can use this weapon right now.

My broken body had come back stronger the more it got destroyed and had transcended the limits of humanity.

I pulled the rope, making the mace head spin. I ground the rest of the Horns on the ground into a pulp, killing them.

When I had finished wiping them out……

「What's wrong?」

……the remaining Horns were no longer smiling.

After killing a whole lot of them, I had calmed down enough to scan the area and check for enemies.

Only a party of four Horns remained.

One enemy scout with a crossbow.

One magician.

One warrior-like man.

One warrior-like woman.

「Come on, who's next?!」

The woman stepped forward.

She had silver hair and two long bull-like horns. She wore a leotard with openings at the chest and stomach area, much like many female adventurers, and was equipped like a warrior. Her weapon was a single oversized sword with a saw-like blade.

Her face resembled Lanseal's.

No, that's just my imagination.

Whatever the case may be, I'll destroy anything with horns. You guys have hurt a woman who’s precious to me. That's reason enough for you to die. I'll annihilate you all. I'll pulverize you all.

The containers of my regeneration point glowed even redder and brighter. The dazzling light stuck and clung to me like a living thing. I knew instinctively that it was something dangerous.

But what do I care? If I can kill you all, I don't need anything else.

A crash ripped through the air.

The mace and the oversized sword came together with a deafening clang.

I realized it in that one exchange.

This woman is strong. Her strength is incredible. She's so strong that I would definitely be no match for her in a straight contest of power.

Despite knowing that, I still met her head-on.

My arm strength had risen to the level where I was able to wield the mace with one hand.

Faster.

Stronger.

Without limit.

Infinite power filled my body.

The power overflowed from my brain and pierced through my skull, where―――――

「Oh curtain of lightning」

A calm voice rang out, interrupting everything.

With the reflex speed of a beast, the female Horns leaped away from me.

A cascade of lightning hit where she had been standing. The torrent of discharged electricity formed a wall around me, scorching the air.

「Begone. Or risk being struck by lightning, you horned ones」

It was an old magician.

Antiquated adventuring garb. Long white beard, a pointed hat with a long bent tip, and a long crooked staff. His physique was as long and thin as a shadow. Long gray robes that looked a little shabby.

This was the first time I had ever seen a magician who looked so simple, so plain, and so "magician-like".

「Now, what will you do?」

He thumped the butt of his staff on the ground. To my surprise, the remaining Horns retreated silently.

All that remained were corpses upon corpses. And a curtain of crackling lightning.

Is it really over? This magician is―――――

No, more importantly!

「Evetta-san!」

I rushed over to her. She was unconscious. Her wounds were quite deep. There were still many spears stuck painfully into her body.

「Be at ease, young one. That horned one is not "yet" dead. Just pull those out of her and she'll regenerate automatically」

Though it wasn't the typical way of dealing with wounds like these, I did as the magician said and pulled out the spears stuck in her.

It may be squeamish of me after all this time, but seeing the flesh of someone I know writhing like that gives me goosebumps.

The gaping holes in her flesh closed up and disappeared completely in a few moments, just like the other Horns, though I didn't like thinking of her as the same as them.

I put my ear to her mouth and listened. I heard the quiet breathing of sleep.

Calm down, she's fine.

I guess I can stop worrying for now.

Perhaps it was because I had relaxed, but my body suddenly felt very heavy.

Oh, damn. I forgot about him.

「Thank you for your help. And you are?」

Who is this guy? There shouldn't be any other adventurers on this floor.

Is he someone the Guild had sent to help?

「No, young one. I'm not someone from the Guild. I'm an adventurer like you. Because I wander around a lot in my quest, I'm not part of any organization」

「Hmm………I see」

Huh? Did I say that out loud?

「Though my appearance has been described as meager, this is intended as a tribute to a friend of mine. He was a man with talent, good looks, good lineage, wealth, women, friends, rivals, and comrades, truly a man who had it all, but he met a pitiful end in his later years due to the misdeeds of his disciple.

He taught that "living ascetically" is a good thing, so I decided to follow his example and wear only this robe. After trying it out, I find it quite comfortable. Besides, all one needs in the quest for magic is a head to think, a hat to shield one's thoughts from the outside world, and a staff to keep one from falling. Truth and inquiry are both universal wisdoms that enrich one's universe, you see?」

「Sorry, can you give me a minute?」

There's too much information for my tired mind to process.

Misdeeds of his disciple and living ascetically………is he talking about the founder of the flame religion? No no no, that can't be right. It must be someone else who had suffered a similar fate.

「Indeed, one is influenced by the fate of those one worships. Tragedy is the entertainment of the satisfied. When it comes time to confront it, people always cry out, "Why?!" That has always been the fate of those who follow their god too faithfully」

「I'd like to ask you a few straightforward questions if you don't mind」

I gave up on thinking.

「What is it?」

「What's your name?」

The magician replied in a casual tone.

「My name is Garving. People call me grand-sounding names like great magician, Houma, and god, but I am and always have been just a simple magician」

In the alternate world, there are three magicians of the highest renown.

Rob, the great flame magician and the founder of the flame religion.

Wagreas, the magician of revelry.

And Houma Garving, one of the six members of Vindoobunikuru, the god of adventurers.

The great magician who invented the regeneration point and many other kinds of magic that adventurers still use today.

The magician Garving, the progenitor of adventurers.

「Eh………………」

Eh? The real deal?

I guess it’s time I went into more detail about his nickname of Houma(法魔). Those 2 characters don’t mean anything when put together like that. 法 can mean law, method, treatment, dharma, among many others, while 魔 can mean devil, demon, magic, evil, among many others. As you can see, the possibilities of what it could be are just too varied, making it hard for me to narrow it down. And that’s why I just used “Houma”. However, do note that it’s the reverse of the most commonly used term for magic, “魔法(Mahou)”.

Souya is being badass this chapter, huh? I always love it when Souya thinks his “I don't need anything else” line in his head. I love signature lines like that. As for the power he exhibited, well, it isn’t a random power-up nor is it Deus ex Machina, and you’ll have to read on to find out more, but I’ll mention that the author has kindly left a hint somewhere in this chapter.

Remember what I said about going from zero to a hundred? This time, a big-shot among big-shots has just appeared… Yeah, the fun and enjoyable slice-of-life stuff is well and truly over and we’re knee-deep in the plot now! Stay tuned!

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