Leorick’s body is devoid of consciousness. Only the original body possessed emotions and awareness.
I could attest to this, having faced countless Leorick bodies up to now. Furthermore, Leorick had made a similar remark regarding Betty’s body, which had lost its consciousness.
Was it said that an extended state of mental absence adversely affects the physical body?
In truth, it was not particularly helpful information.
What good does it do to say that the body lacks emotions? The body was perfectly under Leorick’s control. The existence of emotions was irrelevant in battle.
Yes, if we did not have the Imperial Princess on our side.
If that were the case, I would not have even thought to exploit this useless insight.
[You are trying to find the original body.]
I nodded at the answer presented by the Imperial Princess.
Even though it wouldn’t be visible from a distance, my reaction was a reflex I could not suppress.
“To be precise, I’m trying to find the body that Leorick has entrusted himself to. After all, Leorick’s original body is this mass of flesh itself.”
It was a short and straightforward operation.
Moreover, it was an efficient plan I could devise.
The Imperial Princess seemed to understand immediately and fell silent. She was likely carefully watching Leorick from behind.
However, there was still one puzzle piece missing in this operation.
“So what should I do?”
It was Ceria’s question.
Expecting this content, I recited the plan as quickly as possible.
“You learned skills from ‘me,’ right?”
By now, Leorick’s bodies were subtly adjusting their positions. It meant that the onslaught of tentacles and bodies would resume soon.
There was no time to waste.
“Use it when I give the signal.”
“Okay?”
I did not even wait for her response and stepped into the ground.
Tentacles and bodies immediately came to greet me.
Although it was only a few minutes since we last met, it was hardly a welcome reunion.
With each slash and axe chop, flesh was ripped apart, and blood burst forth like fireworks.
One step, then another.
My once subdued breath grew ragged again. As the sound of my gasping intensified, my blade and axe gradually quickened.
It was a sensation I had felt once before.
The day I finished off the infinitely regenerating corpse giant.
On that day, my mind had also hazily drifted, wielding my sword alone in the invisible world.
However, Leorick was not an easy opponent.
Bam! A fist shot out, piercing through the chest of one body.
It was a blow I had not anticipated. I hurriedly twisted my body, but there was no escaping the tearing at my side.
As blood splattered from my body, Ceria screamed.
“Ian-senpai!”
“Not yet!”
I barely suppressed a groan and struck the arm that brushed past my side with my hand axe.
Clang! As the axe’s blade lodged halfway in, a tentacle came flying toward me.
At that time, my foot was already kicking the body that had been pierced in the chest.
Unlike a decisive blow, the impact felt effective even against Leorick’s solid form.
As the body fell back, creating a gap, I twisted the axe blade to free it from the body’s arm. I then bent my upper body and stomped over the body that lay sprawled.
The sound of the descending strike slicing through the air could be heard.
Thump, thump.
It seemed that the tentacles, unable to withstand their own momentum, had pierced their own flesh.
I shouted again to Ceria.
“Don’t swing it yet! Just a little… urgh, wait!”
Of course, that wait would not be long.
One step, then another.
With each advance, the resistance grew fiercer, but in turn, my decisive strikes accelerated.
And there, I saw them.
Five bodies were watching me from a distance, utterly motionless.
One of them must be the original body.
I let out a scream amid the storm of tentacles and bodies.
“Shi-en!”
[It’s the body on the far right!]
With my call, I felt the presence of someone rushing from behind.
I decided to reveal the card I had kept hidden all this time.
As I opened my eyes wide, a pressure built up as if my veins would burst. My vision cleaved through space, and I pulled at the faint lines with my hands.
All the tentacles that were aimed at me curved at peculiar angles.
Thud! The bodies that had fallen prey to the caught tentacles hesitated. However, there was still one reason I had to keep my eyes wide open.
The void began to bleed.
Dull streams of blood flowed down, forming jagged letters. Mysterious characters used by the ancient race revered as the progenitors of magic.
It was a blood curse script.
Bang!
Explosions resonated as dense heat spread forth. Crimson flames flicked eagerly, swallowing the surrounding scenery in an instant. I hurried through that blaze alone.
A very brief gap.
As my sword was about to reach Leorick’s original body, the remaining four bodies leaped at me as if they had been waiting for this moment.
The clock was already ticking. I could not manage those bodies on my own.
That was why I had asked.
“Ceria!”
In the stopped time, a single girl propelled herself off the ground.
It was a brilliant blue horizon.
The neatly drawn blade raced forth, bringing a storm with it. The earth, shredded by a split-second slash, cried out in chaos.
What could remain unscathed before that storm?
“Ahhh!”
The four bodies were torn in half, swept away by the aftermath, leaving no trace. Even Ceria, who had unleashed that strike, staggered back due to the overwhelming force.
Now, I was the only one left.
The mouth of the original body aimed at me. It seemed ready to unleash a scream at any moment.
And so, the decision.
As light and light collided, an unbeatable contest commenced. With every pained step I took, the ray emitted a stronger brilliance.
But even that had its limits.
The ray shattered like fragments, and my blade danced between the particles of light.
Leorick crossed his arms in a final struggle.
Thus, the release.
Crack! The chilling sound of the blade sinking into bone echoed out. For a moment too brief to linger, I gritted my teeth and applied more strength to my arms, beginning to feel Leorick’s arms tremble.
The middle-aged man bared his teeth with the last of his remaining mouth.
“Ian… Percus! Do you think this curse will end just because you defeat me?! This is the plight of the weak! It is the hope forged from the miserable reality that you have ignored… and sometimes turned a blind eye to!”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
As I strained to take another step, I bit down even harder.
My sight was tinged with red, as if the blood vessels in my eyes had burst. I was nearing my limit.
“Can’t you see the blood on your hands? If living is hell, then you are the one who contributes to that hell!”
“You are the ones who made that hell!”
“Perhaps!”
Clang! The blade advanced just a little further. The endgame was in front of me.
It was then that my gripping hand brushed my waist.
Leorick’s eyes widened. My hand axe flew directly into the void.
He likely remembered.
How he had fallen to that strike.
Thud! And suddenly, the apex of the hand axe came to an abrupt stop.
“Not anymore!”
Then, the descending axe blade struck against the sword.
The strained balance of power could not withstand that small crack.
A scream, blood, and fading vision.
Followed by the explosion that shook the world, and my body floated away, darkness enveloping my sight.
In that dulled consciousness, I thought.
Am I finally able to rest?
I didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.
When I opened my eyes, I was met with the memories of a stranger.
My cheek stung. White flames flickered into my vision, and the pain soon surged my consciousness to the forefront.
What was happening to me?
The blue eyes of the woman looking at me held a sharp light.
“I told you not to touch me!”
As she chewed on her lips, the warning she issued was extreme in its rejection. Thick malice seeped from her voice, yet for some reason, I was not afraid of the woman.
In fact, I almost felt pity for her.
That was why I chuckled, even after being struck.
The glare from the woman caught my attention. It softened with an air of displeasure.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s the first time I’ve been slapped by a junior.”
Ha! The woman burst into disbelief. Her gray hair shimmered as she trembled with the intensity of her laughter.
Even I found myself speaking without understanding the reason. The situation seemed quite unjust for the person involved.
In truth, the reason I laughed was different.
When my hand touched the woman’s arm, the emotion she displayed was fear.
Not directed at me. Rather, it was her reaction as she trembled, checking her own body right after.
The woman did not particularly dislike me.
In fact, she despised herself so much that she negatively perceived any contact on her body.
Fearing that she might hurt someone again.
To prove this, the woman’s bitterness continued.
“Ah, what a terrible first experience. Of all things, getting slapped by a monster?”
“Why do you think you’re a monster?”
“Isn’t that so?”
She took a step toward me, overcome with emotion.
I did not purposely take a step back but faced her calmly.
“The blood that flows through this body craves blood… it’s becoming increasingly hard to control. I am a monster! The blood of a monster who has killed my beloved sister and my followers flows through my veins!”
“What if you could overcome the curse?”
It was a quiet question. A flat inquiry with no rise or fall in tone.
However, the impact of that single word was definite.
The woman’s body froze stiff.
