Chapter 204: Furious Pursuit
[The point of resurgence for immortality has been renewed.]
[Date ― Continental Year 1108, July 13, 11:15 PM]
[Location ― Unterland. District 10, Downstream of the Valley of the Dead]
It had been quite a while since the warning sign of mortal danger appeared.
“…Wow. Isn’t this unsettling.”
While reading the panel absentmindedly, I was half-convinced.
Somewhere among the three paths lies the problem of the fugitive warriors. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the resurgence point to update now.
‘I need to choose carefully…’
I scratched my chin, pondering, when I suddenly jumped with shock.
Right before me was my decapitated corpse, rolling around.
“Ah! What the hell is this!”
Caught off guard after such a long time, I collapsed onto the floor, my heart pounding.
However, as befits a seasoned veteran, I quickly regained my composure. I reflexively activated the lantern and directed it at the corpse.
Woooom. Along with an ominous purple light, a rush of memories flooded my mind.
“…”
After staggering briefly from the pain, I clenched my teeth and raised my gaze.
“…”
As though possessed by something, I began to move briskly toward the amusement park and soon started sprinting towards it.
Somewhere nearby, a crow cawed lowly and flew away.
I arrived at the central square of the amusement park.
“Crow. Please go back. If you disturb the rare reprieve I’ve gained, I will do everything in my power to stop you…”
Altear, raising her Gunir, repeated the same monologue she had said countless times, only to cut herself off abruptly as her eyes landed on me. She gasped, swallowing nervously and unable to continue her lines.
KAAANG! Altear’s hastily raised Gunir clashed with the Sword of Oblivion.
“Scum. Prepare to die, you piece of X trash.”
I growled menacingly with a smirk.
Altear frowned as she vigorously swung her Gunir.
“… What a rude intruder!”
KWANG!
The disparity in strength was clear, and struggling with the power of the Sword of Oblivion was futile. Gunir, having pushed aside the Sword, advanced with the intent to crush me.
‘Enlightenment.’
I activated it immediately.
SWOOSH. Altear’s wide-eyed glare disappeared, leaving only the sight of her crimson hair swirling violently in my vision.
Woooom. Above Altear’s crown, a dark skull-like mark hovered ominously.
“Die.”
Without a flicker of hesitation, I swung my sword with the intent to sever her head.
Just before the blade touched her neck, Altear screamed.
“Insert Cartridge! Apocalypse of Hell!!”
KWA-KWA-KWA-BANG! Gunir fired off a torrent of white flame rounds in an unexpected direction.
Altear was pushed off a parade float by the recoil. My sword cut harmlessly through the air.
KWOO-GWOO-GWOO! The area where the white flames were shot erupted with a blazing explosion.
“Damn, you’re not too shabby, X trash.”
To use recoil in that split-second situation for evasion was surprising.
I immediately used Enlightenment again, moving behind Altear. Recognizing me belatedly, she swallowed hard.
“I won’t give you a moment to think.”
There was no real strategy. If I had one, it would be a straight-up charge.
If I give this woman any space, time, or anything, even for a moment, she’ll take control. I intend to keep pressing until she’s dead.
Woooom. Once again, the skull-like mark tattooed her neck, seeming to yearn for her life.
“Not this time!!”
But Altear had seen this attack coming too.
She leaped forward and twisted. The lightning-infused Gunir pointed toward my front.
‘Of course.’
But I know she’s a 500-year-old veteran. It was roughly expected that the same tactic wouldn’t work.
I was already in the middle of dodging her counterattack.
“Insert Cartridge! Lightning Thief!”
ZAZZ! The lightning cartridge grazed my shoulder. I grimaced sharply at the sharp pain.
Even though I’d predicted its trajectory and tried to dodge, the speed of that bullet was astonishing. I spat lightly.
‘Still not good enough!’
I slipped silently again, using Enlightenment to position myself behind Altear.
This was the third time. The instant I disappeared from her sight, Altear instinctively stepped forward defensively. Her gaze, filled with profound disgust, bore into me.
“You’re obstinate!!”
Frustrated by my persistent buzzing around her like a mosquito, Altear swung her Gunir around like a fly swatter. Despite the hurried movement, it accurately targeted my head.
KAAANG! The piercing metallic sound reverberated once again. Altear froze slightly.
“Wha, the sword… is flying?”
The sword that had collided with Gunir wasn’t the Sword of Oblivion or Espada.
It was the Sword of Oblivion I had pulled out using dark blade techniques, infused with immense mana. Since this sword also carried significant weight, it wasn’t easily pushed back like it was before in the strength battle.
I smirked openly at Altear.
“Flames of Oblivion.”
It was my last chance. I needed to press this assault.
Most of my primary techniques had been exposed. If I missed this chance, from here on, the battle would become increasingly disadvantageous, to the point where it’d be better off restarting after dying.
“Going!!”
Gathering the ominous energy from my chest, I directed it into the three swords simultaneously. A flame of bloody hues licked the air around the three swords.
Altear bit her lips with a worried look on her face and gathered mana desperately at the tip of Gunir.
“Insert Cartridge!! White Heat…!”
“Shut up, X trash.”
Holding the twin swords like a gun from afar, I aimed them directly at Altear’s face.
Her face showed hesitation. She must have noticed the victorious grin on my corner.
“Stinger.”
KWA-KWA-BANG!
Simultaneous bursts of energy shot from the three swords towards Altear. It was an incredibly opportune timing.
Originally invisible bullets whose paths could not be seen, now wrapped in the Flames of Oblivion, they had become Fiery Hell Bullets.
“Wha, what…!”
Altear let out a defeated moan.
She stared blankly at the incoming fiery bullets, lifting Gunir vertically in an attempt to shelter as much of her body as possible.
KWA-KWA-BANG! The flames’ energy bolts coming from different directions violently struck Gunir. Overpowering heat and gale-like flames engulfed the surroundings.
“AAAAHHHH!”
Altear struggled desperately to extinguish the flames clinging to her body.
I smirked slightly at the sight.
‘It’s useless.’
They won’t go out easily with ordinary means, Altear. If it bothers you, you could become an immortal like me and self-rebirth.
As I clenched my teeth and approached to finish it, Altear, still engulfed in flames, desperately raised Gunir.
“Insert Cartridge!! Water Mirror!!!”
KWAAA! A water jet already loaded into Gunir shot upward vertically.
A fierce whale made of wild waves and white foam came into being and then crashed down with tremendous force.
I stared blankly at the approaching whale filling the sky, losing my composure.
“Such madness…!”
PERU-BURU-K!
I, along with Altear herself, was swallowed up by the overwhelming flood. After being swept away for some time, I narrowly escaped using the Black Wing technique.
“PUU-HAACK!”
Breathing heavily, I absorbed the ethereal essence of water.
The lost stamina and cut health from being swept away by the water were all restored. With my clear mind, I sought out Altear.
“Did that crazy bitch really set up a suicide trait or something…”
The body of Altear, limp like a broken doll, was swept away by the torrential water and then forcibly pinned under a carousel before collapsing.
Of course, due to the mana of the water torrent, the Flames of Oblivion had washed away cleanly.
“Huh… kuh… huk…”
Altear, entirely scorched, now resembled a mouse. After a violent coughing fit, she spat out a mouthful of swallowed water.
Her eyes couldn’t focus properly, yet instinctively trying to stand up, she stretched out her hand towards Gunir.
“You’d feel good getting hit in this state, wouldn’t you?”
Never!
I was already in a position behind Altear, using Enlightenment.
Altear barely managed to turn her eyes to the sound of my voice. ZAAZJ-Z. I was casually loosening the fingers on my left hand that emitted a bright blue flash of electricity.
“Instead of Hong Kong, let’s go to heaven this time, you piece of X trash.”
CHUNK. I violently clinched her stunned face.
Altear let out a quiet whimper. Then, the stun shackles began to emit bright electric currents in all directions.
“Shining Fingeruuuu!!”
With a shout, my vision turned completely white.
Perhaps because the surroundings were saturated with water, the current was raging far more savagely in every direction.
The dance of lightning continued, as though the end of the world had arrived.
“Hnn… gah, kuh…”
Altear’s eyes had already rolled back. Her convulsing body soon collapsed.
ZAAAAJ. I dissipated the sparks lingering around my gloves and expelled the breath I’d been holding.
“One down first.”
A while later, Moskden arrived at the amusement park around the same time as the previous life. I had already prepared everything to meet him.
Sitting in front of the non-operational Viking ride to pass the time, I saw Moskden approaching from the distance and grinned warmly.
“This place and time are completely different, yet you found me. Half of it must be your bug instincts, right? Can you smell the top of my head?”
“…Ah. Ahhh.”
However, Moskden did not respond to my mockery.
Exactly because he was distracted by something else and couldn’t react, he was letting out intermittent sighs, lost in thoughts. He probably didn’t even see me.
I quickly turned my gaze to where Moskden’s laser sight was locked onto.
“That thing? It’s quite impressive.”
Had the new decoration I arranged for the amusement park struck a good chord with him?
Moskden immediately collapsed, kneeling to his knees.
“God… Goddess… Goddess-sama…”
The Goddess Moskden was searching for—Altear—was tied to the lead Viking ride like a goddess statue.
“How… How is this possible…”
Altear, reduced to a half-dead state, was completely scorched black. Her already ragged clothes were nearly all torn off.
Her body was covered with numerous small cuts. Her whole body was a mess of solidified blood and muddy filth, cuts that I had personally inflicted to release blood.
She hardly looked like a goddess anymore—one might say even the title of ‘pauper’ would be too much of a compliment for her current appearance.
“I prepared this strenuously for you.”
Muttering to myself, I drew Oblivion’s Sword. Immediately, I wrapped the red flame around it.
“Are you satisfied? Big cockroach.”
The aggressive and massive shadow that enveloped nearby as the fierce flame approached cast a deep silhouette. The demonic shadow slowly approached Moskden’s head.
I am the one who reduced your goddess to such a state, and now it’s your turn. The shadow implied all that with its menacing presence.
“No, don’t come… don’t come… Goddess-sama, Dewey… please save me!”
Moskden’s reaction was the same as in the previous life.
Seeing the utterly ravaged Altear had completely broken his will to fight. He desperately clawed at the ground trying to crawl away from me.
All the effort wasn’t wasted for such a satisfying reaction. I grinned as I raised my massive sword.
“Stay away, you vermin!”
Just then, Moskden screamed and extended his gauntlet toward me.
PII-K! Something flew towards and hit my arm. I immediately frowned and pulled it out. It was a syringe filled with brown liquid.
[Abnormal Status ― Petrification]
‘Unbelievable. Anything goes, huh?’
The petrification venom was something I experienced for the first time in my current memory. In the moment I marveled at its diverse variations,
CRUNCH. The sensation in the tips of my fingers began fading and started hardening rapidly.
“Damn it.”
Muttering curses, I immediately consumed the essence of water. Brilliant blue energy wrapped around my body. The weird feeling of petrification washing over me quickly disappeared.
I shot a glare at Moskden.
“You’re annoying. Worthless piece of crap.”
PERO-K!
Subsequently, a fleshy tearing sound erupted from Moskden.
I simply threw the sword I was holding and cleanly severed Moskden’s right hand, the one wearing the gauntlet.
“Ah… ah… AHHHHHH!”
Clutching the severed arm, Moskden tumbled around on the ground, sobbing.
Watching his hideous struggle, I smirked and drew my twin swords. Slowly approaching, I reached his side.
“I’ll send you off quickly. Go first and prepare the grave spot for your goddess, piece of X trash.”
I had already reached Moskden’s nose. The cowering Moskden, prostrate beneath my feet, was rigid and shedding tears into a tin can.
ZEEEEENG. The laser sight aimed straight at the middle of my forehead. A voice filled with terror resonated from inside the tin can.
“Mon…s…ter.”
With a crunch, the sound of Moskden being shredded into pieces was heard.
“Huff… Huff… Huff.”
Just as I said, Moskden was truly like a large cockroach.
No matter how much I cut, he wouldn’t die easily. I kept decapitating his body until there was no reaction from it, gasping for breath, reaching my limit.
I forcefully pulled out the sword embedded in Moskden’s ribs. Wiping the sweat and blood off my face roughly, I muttered to myself.
“One left.”
I wiped my face with my sleeve and realized it was all deep red due to blood possibly entering my eyes. I wasn’t sure whose blood it was, as both Altear’s and Moskden’s blood were black.
“Hmph, hahaha… hahaha ha hahaha…”
In any case, it was a color that naturally heightened my mood.
Sitting astride the ragged corpse of Moskden, I laughed joyfully.
