Chapter 137 : Chapter 137
Chapter 137: Blood (5)
A pure white flame erupted, and a strong wind blew.
Thanks to Miki's 「Divine Shield」, which had formed a wall of shields and blocked the damage from the explosion, those of us standing behind Miki were only hit by a part of that strong wind and suffered no particular damage.
But the rushing soldiers were not so lucky.
Those who were caught in the explosion, no matter how much power the Gloom gave them, were in a state where they could no longer move.
The soldiers who were far from the center of the explosion were only pushed back by the wind, but those who were directly involved were hard to find where they had flown to.
Among the soldiers who were sprawled on the floor where the aftermath of the explosion, the white flames, were burning here and there, those who could still move were seen getting up one by one.
But that was not the end of them.
“Over there!”
“Protect the Baron!”
From the opposite side, new soldiers who had followed them into the arena joined the battle.
The first ‘wave’ was quickly dealt with by the 「Gunpowder Barrel」, but not to be outdone, a second wave began to rush in.
“Rine!”
Rine, who heard my shout, immediately turned her body and turned her staff towards the direction where the soldiers had started to run.
『Attack your allies!』
And while three of those soldiers were controlled by 「Word Command」 and started attacking each other, several streams of 「Magic Arrow」, fired from the magic circle that had appeared in front of Rine's swung staff, pierced the soldiers.
“Haaaap──!!”
At the same time, Miki, who had kicked the ground and rushed out, first threw his shield, and while that shield was bouncing off the soldiers' heads, he delivered a 「Triple Strike」 to the soldier in front of him.
Poof!
The soldier who was sent flying by the shockwave that erupted with the final blow, collided with another soldier who was running from behind and they rolled on the ground together.
However, fundamentally, what we were doing now was just buying time.
The more time passed, the more the soldiers of Krom would flock here, so in the end, we had to get out of here.
No matter how much stronger we had become, the six of us couldn't take on all of Krom.
“You crazy bastard…!”
To do that, Ibi, who was currently facing Kain with her sword, had to quickly settle the score.
Kang! Kaang! Kaang!
The two's daggers, which were constantly clashing, resonated.
“You were talking about honor and all that! And what you do in the end is to kidnap a bunch of people, fuck! and offer them as sacrifices to a monster bastard!?”
Ibi, who knew well that they had little time, pushed Kain hard, but each time, Kain calmly received Ibi's attack.
“And you try to make me do that kind of thing!?”
Kagagak!
The blades of the clashing daggers grinded.
Ibi nimbly swung the dagger in her other hand, but.
“You talk too much.”
Kain, who had easily deflected it, immediately raised his foot and kicked Ibi in the abdomen.
“Ugh!”
Ibi, who had been pushed back, staggered, but instead of taking advantage of the opening and attacking, Kain just sneered.
“You have already killed your own relative who was in your way for your own purpose, Evie.”
His attitude was as if he were just swatting away a bothersome insect.
“But the lives of strangers, whose faces you've never even seen and with whom you share no blood, are more precious than the life of the relative you killed yourself?”
And yet, he himself thought that he was sparring with her to teach her a lesson.
“I can kill as many psycho bastards like you as I want!”
Ibi, who had gotten even more heated by Kain's attitude, rushed in again, but this time too, Kain calmly dodged the dagger that Ibi had thrust at him and at the same time, cut her arm.
“Keok!”
He then lightly swung his dagger to parry the next blow that came flying, and this time, he kicked Ibi in the chest and pushed her away.
Huuuk─ huuuk─
Ibi's increasingly ragged breaths, as she regained her posture, made a metallic sound, blocked by the mask.
“Admit it, Evie.”
On the other hand, Kain, instead of his breath being disheveled in the slightest, swept back his long hair.
“You are like me. I'm not just talking about your appearance.”
And so, his face, which resembled Ibi's, was revealed even more clearly.
“Do you know how proud I was of what you showed on this dueling ground? You have a fire in you. A burning will to achieve your goal, no matter what.”
“Cut the, bullshit!”
Kaang!
White sparks flew between the two clashing daggers.
“I thought you understood that to change Tiaria in the way you want, you have to accept a certain amount of sacrifice?”
“Is this, fuck, a certain amount, you crazy bastard!”
“Then how many would be an appropriate sacrifice for you?”
“…!”
Ibi, who had been momentarily at a loss for words at Kain's point, flinched, and Kain, who did not miss that hesitation, kicked Ibi in the abdomen again.
At this, Ibi, who was staggering back, spitting out her breath, finally knelt on one knee, and Kain looked down at her and clicked his tongue as if in pity.
“Fuck……”
Ibi, who had muttered a curse, painstakingly got back up on her trembling legs.
“We do look, fucking alike….”
She said, with a bitter smile, as if she couldn't deny at least that fact.
“…I know, I made a mistake too.”
“Have you come to your senses again?”
“No, not that, you bastard.”
She tightened her grip on the dagger in her hand.
“I'm talking about almost becoming a bastard like you, because I was crazy for a moment…!”
Fwoosh!
Then, seeing Ibi, who had disappeared with the rising dust, Kain let out a hollow laugh.
She had disappeared from his sight in an instant, but it was as if he knew exactly where she had gone.
“Ugh…!?”
He extended his hand as if to pierce her, and indeed, Ibi, who had briefly hidden in the shadows, was soon caught in his grasp.
“If you're going to resist, at least have the skill to do so.”
“Keoheok…!”
“That is the rule of this place, Krom.”
Ibi, whose neck was caught, was lifted up.
Just as in the duel with Gray.
However, perhaps because it had happened so quickly, unlike then, she couldn't wrap her dangling legs around his arm or anything, and all she could do was weakly tap his arm, telling him to let go.
“First, you need to learn how to breathe here again.”
The difference from then was, above all, the difference in the ‘strength’ that was choking her.
“The leniency is over.”
However, there was another difference from then.
“Take your hands off my sister!”
This time, she was not alone.
As soon as Miki saw Kain choking Ibi, he hurriedly pushed aside the soldier in front of him, kicked the ground, and rushed towards Kain.
Nevertheless, Kain did not release his grip on Ibi's neck, and lightly twisted his body to dodge Miki's shield, then immediately kicked him in the back and knocked him down.
『Let go of that hand!』
But at Yubin's 「Word Command」, he couldn't help but loosen his grip without realizing it.
And Ibi, who had fallen to the floor, coughed, colok colok, catching her breath that had been taken away.
“…You use a strange trick, Bard.”
Instead of grabbing Ibi again, Kain looked at his own hand, which had loosened its grip, with a puzzled look.
While Yubin had turned his back to cast 「Word Command」 on Kain, the soldiers who did not want to miss that opening rushed at him from behind.
Warrr!
If Rine hadn't hastily summoned a 「Rock Shield」, the swords they had swung would have surely cut Yubin, not the rock.
Yubin, who knew this well, turned his gaze back to the soldiers.
Meanwhile, Kain, who had quickly broken free from the control of 「Word Command」, in turn kicked Ibi, who had been on the ground and trying to kick his leg, sending her flying, and swung his dagger at Miki, who had gotten up and rushed at him again.
Kaang!
Miki, who had perfectly 「Parried」 it with his shield, sent the dagger flying far away, but Kain, completely unfazed, extended his other hand and snatched Miki's hair.
“Ugh!”
Then, thwack!, he slammed Miki's head against his raised knee, and then, with the fist that had lost its dagger, he struck him repeatedly.
Poof!
With a shockwave that was almost an explosion, not just a simple punch, Miki's body was sent flying far away.
Then, he snatched the arm of Ibi, who had nimbly rushed in and swung her dagger at his neck, and broke it, taking the dagger.
And without even giving Ibi a chance to be surprised, he plunged the dagger into her stomach.
“…!”
Ibi began to stagger, clutching the handle of the dagger that was embedded in her.
Kain struck Ibi's face, or more accurately, her mask, hard with his fist.
Psshshik──!
The sound of air leaking from the broken mask was heard.
“──Kkh!?”
And at the poison that began to seep in, Ibi hastily let go of the dagger and clutched her mask, beginning to suffer.
“Keok… keoheok……!”
Eventually, she knelt on the spot and then, as if bowing her head, she prostrated herself and cried out in pain.
“Inhale it deeply, Evie.”
Kain, who was watching Ibi's body tremble in pain, said with a nonchalant look.
“Stop acting like a wild colt, and learn the rules you must follow from now on.”
Even though Ibi was in so much pain that it was unclear if she could even hear his voice, Kain did not stop his lecture.
“This is a place where the weak do not survive.”
He said, as if it were the final lesson, and kicked the prostrated Ibi like a ball, sending her flying far away.
And so, Kain, who had cleared her body from the center of the summoning circle where he was standing, then looked around.
At Miki, who was barely getting up, using his shield planted on the ground as a staff.
At Yubin and Rine, who had not been able to move a single step from their positions since a while ago, trying to make up for the gap left by Miki and dealing with the constantly rushing soldiers.
And at Ibi, who was suffering, unable to even breathe properly, let alone control her body, as she looked at the three of them.
Perhaps judging that none of the four could interfere with him any longer, Kain, as soon as he had straightened his disheveled clothes, resumed the summoning ritual.
And so, the moment Kain began to chant in a language that did not seem to be ‘the language of this world’.
──Hwaaak!
As if in response to his call, the summoning circle drawn on the floor began to emit an even brighter white light.
There’s no end to this!
Looking at the number of dark elf soldiers who were constantly rushing at me, ‘The Beginning’ shouted in a somewhat heated voice.
──Enough! That's it! Hand over your body to me now, vessel!
‘…No. Not yet.’
What?!
I could borrow the power of ‘The Beginning’ a total of three times.
Because the third time ‘The Beginning’ possessed my body, we would become completely one.
So in reality, I could only ‘borrow’ the power twice.
From the third time on, I would just become ‘The Demon King of the Beginning’ itself.
And I had already used one of those two chances, fighting against Luce.
Only one chance remained.
I couldn't use it here already.
And, there was no need to.
Of course, ‘The Beginning’, who didn't know (and shouldn't know) that fact, argued that he couldn't understand my decision.
You, you idiot!
Then are you really going to let that bastard summon that monster or whatever!
‘No.’
Then hurry up and hand it over! Even you must know that your own power is not enough to face that bastard!
‘I know very well.’
That's why I had Ibi face Kain, not me.
But that rogue has already fallen!
‘Who says so?’
Who says so… if you have eyes, you too…!
‘The Beginning’ could only see what I saw, after all.
And because I was busy dealing with the soldiers, I hadn't checked on Ibi's side yet.
……!
So when I showed him directly, to ‘The Beginning’ who couldn't have known, as expected, he immediately stopped talking.
‘I believe in Ibi.’
Seeing her, who had been on the ground in pain until just now, get back up as if nothing had happened.