Chapter 789

A group of about ten monsters huddled together, trembling in fear.

Looking at their pitiful state, the disgust and discomfort that had filled my mind gradually began to fade. Even the boiling bloodlust in me calmed down to a serene state.

I stopped my sword and exhaled the heat that had filled my chest with a sigh.

“Phew…”

*Hwaruk.*

Red steam flowed out from between my teeth, scattering like small flames. It was as if a fire-breathing dragon was licking its lips.

Breathing out flames like this—doesn’t this mean I’ve transcended humanity and become something entirely different?

Even the original Hersela didn’t seem to breathe fire from her mouth.

“Kuh, kruk…!”

Perhaps taking that sigh as a prelude to a new attack, the surviving monsters flinched and retreated.

Seeing them cower and shield their faces with their hands, it seemed they thought I was about to unleash a fiery breath.

Well, if I wanted to, I could. I’d just have to shoot the flames of Up-hwa from my tongue instead of my fingertips.

It might take some time to get used to, but… with practice, I’ll improve. Maybe later, I’ll even be able to shoot heat rays from my eyes? I’d be a real monster then.

[You’ve been going wild, haven’t you? Wasting your energy like water.]

As I chuckled to myself, imagining shooting flames from my eyes and mouth, Hersela scolded me in a tone that was either grumbling or mocking.

It seemed she wanted to criticize me for recklessly spamming area attacks, depleting my Life Force Technique too quickly…

‘Playing it cool now? You enjoyed it too, didn’t you?’

[Kuh…!]

Hersela, caught off guard by the sharp sarcasm, let out a stifled groan.

Anyone else might not have a say, but Hersela had no right to say that to me. She had been just as wild and excited as I was.

She had been tearing everything apart with the tentacles of Life Force Technique, acting all high and mighty, and now she’s scolding me for wasting energy? The hypocrisy is unreal.

[Well, fine. You did waste a lot of energy, but in the end, we managed to wipe out those disgusting seeds of evil. The remaining bugs won’t last a single hit.]

Perhaps realizing that continuing the argument was pointless, Hersela coughed and redirected my attention to cleaning up the remaining monsters.

‘The remaining ones, sure.’

I wiped the blood off my face with my arm, swung Durandal to the side, and shook off the chunks of flesh and organs clinging to the blade, muttering to myself.

[That means…]

‘We’ve taken care of most of the monsters that came out, but… look. That hole still hasn’t disappeared, has it?’

The black holes that had spewed out hordes of monsters had closed one by one over time, but the largest one still remained, roaring on the ground in the corner of the cavern, greedily sucking in the blood, flesh, and organs of the monsters.

– Goooooo…

Like rainwater and leaves flowing into a pit, the black hole voraciously swallowed the dead monsters.

The fact that it hadn’t disappeared yet was proof that this battle wasn’t over.

[Indeed, that’s true…]

‘Looking at that gaping maw, something’s bound to come out soon. I don’t know what, though.’

Isn’t it the rule of such battles that the strongest one comes out last?

In the original story, it was the same. You never knew which monster would emerge until you faced it, but the ones that did were always incredibly powerful.

Well, not as powerful as me, of course.

Whether it was a wyvern or drake mimicking a dragon, or a revenant with the power of a hero like the “Knight of Ruins,” I was confident I could take it down as I am now.

—

After cleaning up the ten trembling monsters, I took a short break until the final monster emerged.

Though calling it a break was a stretch, since there was no place to sit, I just stood there, shaking off the blood and lighting a cigarette.

But after a few puffs, I immediately tossed it away.

‘…Shouldn’t have lit that.’

I frowned and muttered in annoyance.

The sensation of my body, still heated from the battle, tingling as if electrified.

Lately, I hadn’t paid much attention to it, but thinking about it, the cigarettes here—Magical Cigarettes—had the effect of clearing the mind and sharpening the senses.

That’s why the people here smoked them so much.

“Ugh…”

The problem was, a few minutes ago, I had been drenched in a fluid mixed with a weak aphrodisiac.

It was the fluid of a tentacle-type monster. Normally, it was meant to be absorbed through mucous membranes, so just splashing it on my skin shouldn’t have had much effect…

But “not much effect” still meant there was some effect.

With the sensory amplification from the Magical Cigarette added to my body, which still had traces of the aphrodisiac, certain parts of my body began to tingle and burn.

[Ugh… Huh…! What is this feeling…!]

Hersela, who had been grumbling about when the enemy would appear, was now in a state of confusion, clearly not used to this kind of sensation.

If I hadn’t firmly held control over the Life Force Technique, Hersela, intoxicated by the aphrodisiac, might have tried to use the tentacles to satisfy her own cravings.

[What… what have you done to me…!]

Unlike when she was under a charm spell, Hersela was now fully experiencing the sensations of my body, moaning in a heated voice.

I didn’t answer.

It was a bit embarrassing to bluntly tell her, “We’re horny,” even for me.

[Huh…!]

‘……’

The desperate moans echoing in my head.

The heat and thirst rising from certain hardened and moistened areas.

Pleasure and discomfort.

Gritting my teeth and ignoring all these sensations, I prayed for the enemy to come out as soon as possible.

I’d rather bleed in a fierce battle than endure this tingling in my thighs.

And then.

– Grooooooan!

Perhaps my prayer reached the heavens.

The black hole, which had been greedily swallowing blood and flesh like a bottomless abyss, finally began to change.

The ground around the circular hole cracked like ice, collapsing into the hole, and the surface of the hole filled with Magi, bubbling up like stew over a campfire, spewing out acrid foam.

It was clearly a sign that something was about to emerge.

‘It’s coming, get ready!’

[Huh… What’s coming…? Hah…! I feel like… I’m about to… Huh…!]

…She’s no help now.

I thought someone like Hersela, who enjoys slaughter and pillage, would have a strong resistance to this kind of thing, but it seems her sensitivity has been heightened a hundredfold. No wonder she ended up like that in the ending.

Anyway, expecting the same level of performance from a Hersela who’s lost her mind is pointless. I’d rather fight alone.

If I exhaust the remaining Life Force Technique to the limit and shove Hersela into the depths of my subconscious, the moaning in my head should quiet down.

“Haaa…”

I let out a sigh filled with a strangely sweet scent, then spread the Power of Feats throughout my body and firmly gripped Durandal.

– Whoosh!

As I stared at the black pit, bubbling and boiling, something surged up with a fountain of Magi.

The torrent of Magi burst out like a wave, covering the surroundings.

In the center, through the curtain of Magi, a massive figure slowly began to rise.

“Finally, you’re here!”

A blue arc cutting through the void, followed by a Vacuum Blade.

The technique of Spatial Severance, tearing through the Magi curtain, struck the figure’s body.

“―――!”

With a roar more like a thunderous noise than a scream, the fog scattered, revealing the final monster.

Now, let’s see.

How heavy was your butt that it took you so long to come out?

I spread my legs slightly, lowered my stance, and sharpened my killing intent and fighting spirit, staring at the monster.

It wasn’t that big.

About ten meters in size, its rounded silhouette resembled a whale, with hundreds of tentacles tangled like tree roots near its tail.

“…Ha, seriously.”

As soon as I saw its full form, I let out a deep sigh and muttered in exasperation.

Of all the monsters, why did it have to be this one? I couldn’t help but sigh.

“――.”

Its translucent purple skin shimmered with the starlight inside, like a summer night sky.

With each breath, the stars inside swam and danced, changing their shapes and positions.

A form that seemed like a piece of the universe carved into the shape of a whale.

Not a Corpses Raised by Magic, nor a Hybrid Beast, but the third type of monster.

Void Beings.

The worst type of monster, which could only be subjugated with a Holy Sword, had appeared before us, who had come to retrieve the Holy Sword.