Chapter 2 Part 12
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
Somia's
POV
I,
Somiliana, could only be frustrated as people that were important to me were
hurt.
Tima-san
and Mars-san, who were full of wounds, tried to help me, who couldn't do
anything.
Ane-sama
was still fighting, but there were a number of scars running down her beautiful
body.
An
incarnation of death descended in front of me, ignoring my older sister and
trying to reap my soul.
My
body trembled and my voice became hoarse due to my impending death.
"Fear"
Fear
clung onto me as the Grim Reaper’s chains bound me, and a feeling as cold as
ice and snow deprived my body of freedom.
The
scythe was swung to tear my body apart.
"Tsu!"
I
closed my eyes tightly to escape from the pain of death. I could only close my
eyes and escape from reality.
…………
But no matter how long it took, the pain didn’t come. When I wondered and
opened my eyes, there was a man's back, not a grim reaper.
The
back wasn’t big at all.
But
above anything else, for me, it looked big and reliable.
================================================
Nozomu
laid Ena down in a vacant room, brought out the weapons, and returned to where
Somia and the others were.
He
saw Rugato's familiar, who was about to swing his scythe down.
Nozomu
immediately sent Qi to the katana, he cut both arms off of the Phantom, then
killed it with a returning slash
"Nozomu...san?"
Somia
called out to Nozomu to make sure, but he couldn't afford to answer that
question. He was not allowed to be negligent towards the opponent in front of
him now
Rugato
looked at Nozomu, who had cut down the familiar, with a surprised expression.
"...
How come, the familiar could be defeated with a single slash..."
Both
Irisdina and Tima had their eyes wide open. Only one person, Mars, was looking
at him with a stunned expression.
Nozomu
lowered Mars's greatsword on his back and kicked it towards Mars.
The
greatsword slid on the floor and reaches Mars's side.
"Good
grief.........You're late..."
Mars
picked up the greatsword while complaining; however, his hands were bloody and
his legs quivered, making it impossible to continue the battle.
"……Sorry"
"…………Hmm"
"But
I defeated the contract familiar. Now the contract is..."
When
Nozomu muttered, the fragments of the arm decoration, which was the core of the
familiar he crushed, floated and began to gather in the air.
"Na!"
The
fragments that gathered in the air were dyed jet black and became a mass of
black light and began to pulsate.
From
that state, Nozomu and the others could see that the grim reaper was about to
revive.
"Wh-Why
........."
"The
familiar will be revived as many times as I have the contract."
"...Are
you going to take Somia-chan no matter what?"
"Yes,
that is the decree of my Lord."
Rugato
answered immediately without hesitation. He had no doubts about what he was
trying to do. Nozomu's voice naturally became rough due to that attitude.
"Why!
The people in question didn't know anything about the contract 300 years ago!
Do you think that such a contract will be accepted !? The content of the
contract is only to return the Furnace of Spiritual Flame! There is no mention
of bringing Somia-chan's soul! "
Nozomu
didn’t understand the obligations of the noble family or the circumstances of
the Francilt Family 300 years ago.
But
Nozomu found it unacceptable to sacrifice Somia, who didn’t know anything,
unilaterally and left everything to the child.
"To
be honest, I wasn't informed until I confirmed it right now that the Furnace of
Spiritual Flame was fused with Somia-sama's soul. My lord also didn’t attach
much importance to this contract. Rather, I should say, He's not interested ...
"
"If
that’s the case!"
"But
the contract has already been signed. Once it has been signed, it is
absolute."
Rugato
made a clear statement without waiting for Nozomu's words.
"It's
true that the Furnace of Spiritual Flame has merged with Somia-sama's soul and
probably can’t be peeled off anymore, but that doesn’t mean we didn't have a
contract. Once a contract is broken, it can be blamed on the credibility,
dignity, and in some cases, hostility of both parties. Even if He's not
interested, my Lord wouldn't be silent if the contract is unilaterally
violated. The Francilt Family also wants to avoid making this secret agreement
public ... "
"I
don't care about that! Let go of Somia!"
Rugato
put a threat in polite words, but Irisdina dismissed it.
For
her, her little sister in front of her was the most irreplaceable treasure,
more than the people in the household who were drowning in money and power.
“………………………”
Rugato's
atmosphere, who was watching the situation, changed.
“…………..In
our country, strength is the most important thing.”
It
was for that reason that the Dizart Empire was founded, the stronger it is, the
more revered and respected it is. Even if you suffer damage, it is forgiven if
the other party is strong. It's their national custom.
"If
you can't accept this contract then..."
Magical
power overflowed from Rugato's body. That attitude was clearly stated,
"this is the final warning".
He
would definitely go for the kill, if Nozomu and the others resisted any
further.
"Prove
yourself stronger than me!"
"Just
break this contract with your strength", Rugato declared.
In
front of Rugato who became serious, Nozomu also held his katana. Irisdina also
came to Nozomu and talked to him.
"...Nozomu-kun.
How many more times can you use the previous technique?"
"...Not
many. The limit is a few more shots."
Nozomu's
Qi was low under the Ability Suppression. No matter how much he wanted to use
it, he couldn’t really use the technique that worked for that opponent.
"...
I'm sorry, but I can't beat Rugato. I'm counting on you. Rugato's black ball is
probably manipulating the contract familiar...Please. Destroy his
blackball."
"...I
understand. I will go."
Nozomu
responded to Irisdina's sincere wish, but his voice was trembling somehow.
His
opponent was a fierce man of the same S rank as his master. He hesitated to
fight such an outrageous opponent
(I
will fight now. I have no choice but to fight!!)
Forcibly
suppressing his own hesitation using the current situation as an excuse, Nozomu
sprinted toward Rugato, while applying physical strengthening to himself.
Rugato's
ten fingers move as if playing an instrument in the air and draw a formation
again. Ten magic bullets were fired at Nozomu from the formation drawn in the
air.
The
ten magic bullets approached, trying to wear Nozomu out, but they were
prevented by the five magic bullets that flew from behind Nozomu.
Irisdina,
who was behind Nozomu, immediately deployed five magic bullets to offset
Rugato's magic bullets.
However,
she was able to offset only 5 magic bullets, and the remaining 5 were
approaching Nozomu.
Nozomu
thrusted into Rugato, focusing his attention on his legs, and exploded.
Qi
technique "Instant Move -Curve Dance-"
Nozomu
dodged the five magic bullets and approached Rugato. He slashed as it was, but
Rugato quickly drew a magic formation and formed a blood sword. He held the
sword in his right hand to prevent Nozomu from slashing. Nozomu immediately
took that chance to fire a series of attacks.
Diagonal
slash, left round up, right slash, left slash.
He
used his each and every body muscles without waste and connected his movements
without stopping.
On
the other hand, Rugato used a blood sword in one hand to quickly prevent it.
The movement was certainly fast, but unlike Nozomu's movement, it was straight
and uneven. Perhaps Rugato wasn’t very good at close combat. Nozomu was better
than him in terms of pure swordsmanship.
However,
Rugato, who had extraordinary physical ability, wouldn’t leave such a
difference in skill. By correcting his useless movements, calculating and
moving, even the time spent on the useless movements, Nozomu's continuous
attacks could be prevented.
That
could be done because of his overwhelming experience.
"Ku!"
Despite
lacking skill in close quarters combat, Nozomu's face was distorted because he
couldn't attack.
Rugato
drew a formation with his left hand, which didn’t have a sword. Nozomu saw the
magic formation drawn at his feet and broke away in an instant.
At
the same time as Nozomu left, a dark flame erupted from the magic formation. If
he had stayed there even a second late, his bones would have been burned.
Due
to the wide distance, Rugato shot magic bullets at Nozomu in rapid succession.
Nozomu couldn’t repel the magic bullet from the front like Mars, so he hit the
side of the magic bullet and deflected its trajectory.
However,
due to the large number of magic bullets that couldn’t be handled, and before
he was pushed out, he repeated the full speed movement with an instant move.
Rugato
tried to chase further, but this time Irisdina slashed from the other side, so
Rugato handled that with the blood sword in his right hand.
"Waaaaaaa!"
Irisdina
attacked with her rapier continuously. It was elegant and there was no waste to
her movement. Her rapier was shining faintly, perhaps with enhanced magic, and
every time Rugato handled it with his blood sword, magical elements and sparks
scattered.
When
Nozomu saw Rugato, who had stopped moving, he sheathed the katana he had pulled
out. Immediately after the katana was sheathed, he sent his Qi to the sword and
compressed it in just half a second.
Rugato,
who was slashing with Irisdina, also noticed this and deployed a magic
formation with his left hand. Double the magic barrier in half a second.
Nozomu
pulled out the sword. The extremely compressed air blade flew at high speeds
and landed on the magic formation created by Rugato. The blade cut through the
first barrier and exploded in the middle of the second barrier. The barrier was
fatally destroyed and dispersed.
Nozomu's
returned katana slashed at Rugato, but Rugato's left hand moved faster, and the
constructed magic formation created a blood sword.
The
"Phantom -Recurrence-" released by Nozomu in pursuit was parried by
sending a huge amount of magical power to the blood sword.
The
two teamed up to sandwich Rugato from both sides, but despite Rugato only using
one hand, Nozomu and Irisdina couldn't push him.
"Hha!"
"Uwa!
Kuh"
When
Rugato put his strength in for a moment and turned his body, Nozomu and
Irisdina were blown away like toys.
As
soon as Rugato let go of his blood sword, he built a formation with both hands.
He shot countless magic bullets at them.
The
two managed to handle it, but by all means, they almost had nothing left.
Nozomu's energy was exhausted because he was fully strengthening his body, and
the number of times he could release phantoms gradually decreases. Irisdina was
also very tired because she had been fighting with all her might.
When
he noticed, they were separated by a considerable distance. He didn’t have
enough power anymore. He had to settle it with one more blow.
Nozomu
kept the idea in his chest and spoke to Irisdina.
"Ha~aha~a.........Irisdina-san,
how much more can you attack with all your might?"
"Fu~ū
.... Well, I think it's limited to one more time."
Nozomu
told Irisdina so that his thoughts couldn’t be heard by others. She was
surprised at first,
".........
I will open the path. After that...I leave it to you."
"…………Alright"
After
confirmation, Nozomu thrusted into Rugato with a quick move. Immediately, a
magic bullet approached, but Nozomu tried to dodge it with Instant Move -Curve
Dance- but the number of magic bullets were too great to dodge, and he got hit.
"Kuh!"
Severe
pain ran in the area where it was hit and blood came out, but Nozomu continued
to dodge it, enduring the pain.
On
the other side, Irisdina continued to dodge the same magical bullets. It was
the same one-sided development as before, but this was also assumed by Nozomu
and others.
The
question was how to escape the rain of magic bullets and bring it into
close-quarter combat. The method had already been set up in Nozomu's mind, but
the problem was Qi. The technique he was going to use was a bold move beyond
his Ability Suppression. With one use, most of his Qi would be exhausted. If he
used it in the current state of being exhausted in battle, he might die
himself.
He
returned the scabbard to the waist belt, raised his left hand, and sent a large
amount of Qi into the left hand. Because he concentrated on one point, which
was several times more than the previous phantom, it emitted a fierce light
with the Qi of the left hand.
"Mu!"
Rugato's
expression changed in response, but Nozomu slammed his left hand on the ground
regardless.
Qi
technique "Light of Extinction"
At
the next moment, Rugato's feet burst, and a torrent of light wrapped Rugato.
===============================================
Nozomu's
POV
"Gu~u~u~uu~u~u!"
I
was in a state of danger due to the release of Qi beyond the limit, as the Qi
suddenly disappeared and the line of sight became dark.
Light
of Extinction had the greatest area of effect among the techniques I have. If
Rugato-san was within its range, he wouldn’t be able to attack us and would
have no choice but to defend himself.
Irisdina-san
was already preparing for the next attack.
A
number of magic formations emerged on her rapier, and black magic light
undulated violently on the blade.
It
was a simple decision for her to make. It was a stack of enhanced magic. By
applying the strengthening magic many times, the explosive power was finally
launched. It was the same kind of technique that I had, "Rinne
Kaiten".
However,
the activation time was incredibly fast and accurate. It took a considerable
amount of time to maximize the power of the "Rinne Kaiten", but she
had the ability Immediate Deployment, and she activated the strengthening magic
at a speed that was incomparable to mine.
Magic
sword "Lunar Eclipse"
Eventually,
her magic was completed. A magic sword was created there. The jet-black magical
power wrapped around the blade. Although it emitted waves of darkness, the
blade of the sword itself shined white, like a comet shining in the dark night.
Irisdina
stepped in. I canceled the Light of Extiction at the timing when she wielded
her sword. A comet wrapped in darkness cut through the remnants of the torrent
of light.
"Na~!"
Irisdina
leaked her voice and stopped moving completely in an unexpected situation.
There was no Rugato in the space she had torn. Her whole magic sword only cut
through the void in vain.
"Wh-Where
... kyaa!"
A
magic bullet rushing from her blind spot in a hurry, overlooking the
surroundings, landed and blew her away. Four magic formations were deployed
around her, and the magic formation summoned chains. It had detained her.
"Wh,
what is this...guh!"
I
was confused by the unexpected situation, but in the meantime, like Irisdina, I
was restrained by magic.
When
I looked around, black shadows were flying around.
If
I looked closely, it was a bat that was flying around. The flying bats
eventually gathered in one place, from which Rugato appeared. He turned his
body into bats and escaped the Light of Extinction. He restrained Irisdina in
the gap of a big move.
I
concluded that Rugato had transformed into bats. Perhaps he is ...
"Vampire…………"
"Yes,
that's right, I'm a vampire."
Vampire.
There
were a wide variety of races on the Arcmeal Continent, but among them, the
vampire was a race that had top-class potential.
Extraordinary
physical ability, enormous magical power, extremely long life, and a wide
variety of different abilities. The ability to turn one's body into bats was
also a vampire's unique ability.
Although
the number of vampires was small, their abilities were all top notch.
However,
because of their high ability, they had a history of being persecuted for fear
of having to drink the blood of others in order to live.
In
fact, the Dizart Empire itself was a country founded by a group of such
persecuted races.
I
looked at Rugato again. His crimson eyes were certainly one of the
characteristics of a vampire.
However,
we learned too little too late. Everyone had already been detained or forced
into being incapacitated and there was no way to do it anymore.
Looking
at Nozomu and the others who couldn't do anything, Rugato went to Somia.
============================================
Iris's
POV
The
old man walked towards Somia, and I couldn't do anything in front of it.
"Ku!
Get off! Get off!"
I
desperately tried to remove the magic that restrained me. Maybe this magic had
the effect of suppressing the opponent's magical power, and I couldn’t refine
my own magical power.
When
the old man activated his magic, the contract familiar was revived.
"Ah...stop,
stop it..."
Remembering
what the familiar in front of me would bring, I became very emotional.
"Stop!
Stop it! If you want a soul, take my soul! So stop taking Somia's!!"
I
desperately begged, but the old man and his familiar didn’t seem to stop. When
the familiar turned its hand to Somia, Somia's soul slowly popped out. Perhaps
she hadn't been completely disconnected from her body yet, part of her soul was
connected to her body, but Somia's complexion is lifeless.
"Ah...st-stop........."
My
most important treasure. It was Somia that kept me from losing sight of myself
in a house swirling with desires.
Somia
who was following me from behind while saying Ane-sama, Ane-sama. My
irreplaceable little sister who always smiled and said she loved me.
Somia's
death.
Her
body collapsed in front of me. I had no strength in my whole body and could
only keep watching the sight of my little sister being killed.
Please.
Anyone is fine, you can do anything to me. My body, my soul, everything I have,
I can give it all!
So...so,
please.........
"Someone...please.
Help me........."
========================================
Nozomu's
POV
I
bit my lips.
There
was an element that could be used to infer that Rugato was a vampire; however,
I overlooked it, causing the current situation.
No,
if I had released the Ability Suppression from the beginning, neither Mars nor
Tima might have suffered any extra injuries...
Only
regret tightened my chest.
That
was always the case. I couldn’t do anything important.
I
couldn’t move on from my relationship with Lisa. Knowing the power of
dragonslayer, I was afraid of being rejected, and I couldn’t tell the people
who were worried about me. After all, it was self-protection.
By
"keeping an eye on the fact that I'm running away" that Shishō taught
me, I became aware that I had run away, but even in such a case, I couldn’t
move forward.
Suddenly,
when I looked up, I saw Rugato standing beside Somia-chan and Irisdina-san who
kept screaming.
When
Rugato drew a formation, the familiar that had become a mass of black light in
the air revived. When it went to Somia-chan, it pointed its hand with only
white bones toward Somia-chan.
Then,
a lump of white light slowly popped out from Somia-chan's chest, which was
silent in fear.
The
light was connected to Somia-chan's chest with a string that also glowed white.
Maybe that was her soul.
Somia-chan's
face turned pale and she was unconscious.
It
is a dead face…………Yes, the same as Shishō at that time…….
I
still felt sad when I remembered that time. I couldn't help Shishō. Even if I
had the power, I still couldn't help Shishō.
But
I didn't regret it.
Shishō
was laughing at the end.
She
was "satisfied," she said. She said she had no regrets.
It
was still sad that Shishō died, but I was able to accept Shishō's feelings.
Then
how about now? Was it okay to just watch Somia-chan's death as it was?
Somia-chan
lost her vitality after having her soul pulled out. Irisdina-san who hung her
head down.
It
wasn’t good. At least I couldn’t accept this ending!!!
At
that time, there was a sudden voice.
"Someone...please.
Help me........."
What
I heard was Irisdina's worn-out plea. A weak voice that couldn’t be imagined
from the usual her.
The
moment I heard it. When I noticed, I released all the anguish I had so far and
released my Ability Suppression.
================================
Rugato's
POV
Explosive
power overran the surroundings. A torrent of Qi that easily swept away my
magical power and rampaged as if to say, "Don't do as you please"
"Na!!!"
When
I turned towards the source of the raging power in a hurry, there was the boy
who cut off the familiar.
The
boy tore off my restraint magic like scraps of paper, and he destroyed it.
The
next moment, the boy was above the familiar.
The
katana held in his waist was pulled out, and the familiar was torn again
without my knowledge and dispersed.
I
hurriedly created a distance and saw the boy. His appearance hadn't changed, but
his power had risen by magnitudes.
Certainly,
I was impressed with his skill. Excellent swordsmanship and outstanding control
of Qi. The contract familiar was a powerful familiar that had only been created
by the former Lord and could’ve been classified as A rank.
I
knew he had more techniques up his sleeve, given that he had defeated it with
one slash, but, I didn't think he could beat me.
His
movement was accurate, but it was too slow. His skill and his physical ability
were not balanced, and he was excessively mismatched.
However,
I couldn't see his movement even though I wasn't careful about the previous
movement.
Looking
at his companions, their faces were also astonished and petrified.
They
also seemed to know nothing about the boy's current state.
I
recognized him as an enemy that should be defeated immediately. I used ten
fingers to cast multiple spells at the same time.
A
storm of magic bullets attacked the boy, but the boy left with a quick move.
The speed was orders of magnitude faster, and I could see almost no afterimage.
The
released magic bullets landed on the wall or floor without grazing him, and it
only vacantly rolled up the rubble.
I
activated magic in quick succession regardless. I not only shot magic bullets,
but also shot flames from the floor and manipulated blood swords to slash him,
but he drew a fast and complex curved trajectory and dodged all the magic that
I had released, or handled it with a sword.
I
couldn't believe the sight. I'd never seen anyone move at such a high speed and
make such a complicated curve movement.
I
knew that his technique was an instant move, but with such an explosive
acceleration, he should only be able to move linearly!
I
was agitated that my magic was slightly less accurate.
The
next moment he rushed in without hesitation.
Despite
this magical interception, he erased the distance between us and started
slashing.
I
took my blood sword and tried to push him back………….
(Ku
!! I can't push him at all!)
My
specs as a race should be far superior, but I couldn’t push him.
No,
rather, I was starting to be pushed, and his sword was gradually approaching.
If
it remained as it was, I thought I would be pushed out. I poured excessive
magical power into the blade of the blood sword and exploded it.
I
was blown away by the impact of the explosion, and my body was innumerably
injured, but as a vampire, such injuries would heal immediately. In that gap, I
tried to get further away, but the boy cut through the smoke of the explosion
and slashed.
Given
the boy's skill and current ability, I had no chance of winning in
close-quarter combat. While concentrating my magical power on my feet and
leaving, I cast magic, but he still dodged and dealt with it.
I
wasn’t very good at close-quarter combats, I gave top priority to getting away
from him, and devoted all my magical power to speeding up.
We
were slashing at each other while moving at high speed, but the exchange was
completely won by the boy. For me, who was moving in a straight line and the
shortest distance, the boy took a curved movement, so the distance traveled
should be longer than mine, but he caught up and attacked unilaterally.
"Gu!
Ttsu! ~Tsua!!"
The
boy's slashing while entwining like a snake was extremely fierce, and wounds
were carved into my body that couldn’t handled.
"!Oh
no!"
And
finally, my destination was predicted and he was ahead of me.
My
foot was stopped and I was slashed as it was, completely, I was no match at
all.
While
further wounds were carved into my body, I suddenly transformed my body into
innumerable bats. The boy's slash slashed the sky without reaching the
countless bats.
I
just sent the bats to the boy. Countless fangs and claws attacked the boy, who
skillfully used his sword and scabbard to shoot down the bats.
However,
he begins to be pushed by the overwhelming number of bats, and the boy's body
was gradually damaged.
The
bats rushed to swallow the boy as it was. However, the moment the boy slammed
his fist on the ground, the lights burned down the bats.
"Guaaaaah!"
I
literally got burned. I returned from my bat state to a humanoid form. Smoke
rose from my whole body, and the smell of burning meat filled my body.
The
boy was ready to pursue when he noticed that the pain was so severe.
An
enormous amount of Qi was sent to the sheathed sword.
I
felt chills like never before and I did my best to create barriers.
I
had developed four magic barriers that could withstand advanced magic.
Generally speaking, only the largest ceremonial magic attacks could break
through this barrier.
However,
that was only my wishful thinking.
The
sword that was pulled out and the extremely compressed blade that was released
at the same time cut the quadruple layered magic barrier effortlessly and cut
the black ball and the contract that were on my body together.
========================================
Nozomu's
POV
The
Qi technique "Phantom" cut off Rugato's body. It seemed that the
black ball was cut off together, and the familiar who was trying to revive
disappeared, and at the same time, the chain that bound Somia-chan disappeared.
It
seemed that Irisdina-san had also been released, and she rushed to Somia-chan.
Her
facial expression, which was tense at first, looked relieved when she checked
Somia-chan's appearance. She seems to be okay.
When
I turned my eyes back to Rugato-san, I walked towards him. He wa surprisingly
still alive, even though he was cut off from his right shoulder to his left
hip.
"Fu...fufu.
A vampire like me...heart...innards...brain.........unless it's destroyed...I
won't die."
I
was surprised and relieved at the same time. No matter how one-sided it was, it
wasn't pleasant to be a murderer. The question was whether he was still aiming
for Somia-chan ………….
"Fufu,
don't worry. You...beat me. That's why...I won't take Somia-sama. Anyway...to
manipulate the familiar, the magical tools that were needed were all destroyed
along with the contract. This effectively made the contract
fulfillment...impossible. The rest...will be settled in discussions between the
Waziarts and the Francilts. "
Nozomu
exhaled at Rugato's words and sat down as if it was finally over. Suddenly, the
Francilt sisters holding hands came to me with the others. Regardless of how
difficult it was to explain my strength, I was happy that the two smiles were
protected now.
