Episode 1169 Grand Gathering (4)
A crack can lead to rupture even from a minor impact. This is because the very existence of a crack signifies that a sense of integrity has been broken.
Has my skin reached its limit?
The skin, covered in a dark carapace, seemed to no longer provide a cushioning effect. It was regenerating, but it had clearly become softer than the original.
Barcazel had the illusion that he could feel his heart beating in his head.
Nevertheless, he sharpened his killing intent.
I moved my lower jaw as if chewing food. As I immediately adapted to the pain and sensation, I felt nothing anymore. Yes, I felt fine now.
The King of Sui of that era was no different in having reached his limit.
Barcazel overwhelmed the number of blows. As long as he is a living being, he can never remain unharmed. He is in a state where the wildness of life has been maximized the most throughout the past and present.This meant his body was severely damaged, but precisely because of this, Antias’s instincts must have been sounding the alarm long ago.
Large amounts of blood flowing from the wound.Repeated bleeding.Suppressed yet ragged breathing.
As you can see, isn’t he trying hard to hide it by pretending to be nonchalant and not showing any signs? Heis truly cunning beyond measure.
‘The weakness is… … the heart.’
Barcazel’s weapon was his exceptional observational skills. He knew how to keep a constant watch on his prey to exploit weak points and moments of carelessness that even the victim was unaware of.He detected Antias instinctively putting his head forward to strike him, ensuring the exact center of his chest—supported by the horns of the Great Anvil—would not be exposed.
I failed once, but the second time, I would be able to pierce the muscle and thread through the heart.If I aimed for the exact same spot.Mistake? Probability?I don’t care. Because I believed without a doubt that it would be accomplished as intended.
Fate is on my side.
There is no third time.
Then Antias struck the ground with his huge, dragon-like tail and spoke again.
“Hit it. It’s your turn.”“……Alright.”
Barcazel soared low, kicking his foot just enough to graze the tip of Antias’s nose, then instantly swooped down using his wings.Boom!!!Power gathered in his toes. At the same time, he confused Antias’s vision once more with his pitch-black wings, then flapped them back and charged at close range.
Great slash.
Crunch crunch───!!!
The horn dug precisely into the stab wound near Antias’s heart.He had caught him.It was the very moment he was certain he had killed him as Antias’s legs recoil. Suddenly, he came to a halt. His legs wouldn’t budge once again.
“What…??”“As you said, mutants like us possess blessed physical abilities. However, looking at the historical records, it seems I am an anomaly even among them.”
The human body generally has both long and short sides.
If one has strong muscles, they tend to be sluggish, and if one is agile due to well-developed nerves, their resistance is relatively weak. Those born with wings experience innate discomfort when active on the ground.
If one has keen senses, they become hypersensitive, and in severe cases, overwhelmed by what they perceive. Just asthe King of the Underworld is specialized in crisis detection and is immune to most surprise attacks, yet becomes frightened and busy fleeing when he senses an unbearable danger.
The beastkin maintain their own balance in this way.
Simply put, a mutant here is a beastman with one or more balance points broken. They can be agile and strong, and can be tough and fast.
In the case of Barcazel, he possessed strength, mobility, wings, and resistance.Although his senses were somewhat lacking in comparison, even those surpassed the level of a beastman chieftain. It was indeed a unique quality befitting a Beast King who had ruled the ancient continent.
However, as if nature had played a trick, Antias defied common sense.
Super regeneration encompassing both external and internal injuries.
Wounds all over Antias’s body began to heal one by one. It was on a completely different level from the level of Barcagel, which only heals the outer layer of the skin.Moreover, this could be controlled at will. It was possible to simply leave the visible wounds alone and only heal the internal injuries.
So it was only natural that his heart wasn’t pierced even after being butted twice by Barcazel. After all, the gap had already been filled to some extent.Had he waited a short while and aimed for the heart again, he might have hit it.
Strength, resistance, mobility, super-regeneration, super-senses… Except for the wings, Antias was virtually the culmination of all the strengths of the Beastkin.A superior version of Barcazel, surpassing all of his physical abilities except for the wings.
“It is impossible. No matter how much of a mutant it is, there is no way such a ridiculous imbalance, such an unreasonable logic, could possibly hold true……!!”
Antias demonstrated this level of super-regenerative power only to the former king in Delharun. Barcazel was unaware of this, as it was due to a lack of information.
“Because of this, before I knew it, people around me were praising me as the greatest creature. Anyway, let me ask you something.”
Antias grasped the horn with his pectoral muscles and bent his fingers with a cracking sound.
“You said that survival is strength… so why didn’t you run away?”“…!”
Come to think of it, Barcazel had several opportunities to escape this place.Even when his skull was fractured.He might not have been able to shake off the pursuit, but he could have at least prolonged the battle to his advantage by actively using the sky.
But it didn’t.
Barcazel himself thought he had seized the upper hand in the series of events, but looking back now, it turned out to have flowed comfortably in Antias’s favor.
The provocation mentioning elimination.The concealment of regeneration.The resulting delusion… … .
It was all a trap set by Antias.
“Wait, just a moment.”
A powerful blow struck Barcazel’s lower jaw. The horns could not withstand the force and shattered. Not only the face but also the cervical spine bent as if it were about to break.Since the horns could not be removed, the impact was lodged directly into the head.
Great beheading.
My vision wavered and blurred for a moment, but even in that moment, I counterattacked.My physical abilities were further amplified by the wildness of life.
However, if I get hit any more, I will die.I might die.
fault.
Barcazel stepped back to create distance, but Antias, having anticipated this, chased after him and struck his skull.
“Ugh……?!”
After bouncing off the hill several times, he staggered to his feet and ran in the opposite direction.
“No, no more. My body can’t take it anymore.”
My head was ringing violently.I felt a shiver down my spine.
He used retreat as a means, just as he had done with the saint, but this time it was not to lull them into a false sense of security, but a genuine escape.
Barcazel barely managed to take flight into the sky after several push-ups.No matter how unreasonable a monster Antias was, without natural wings, there was absolutely no way for him to follow to the ends of the sky.
“I will step back and recover while the former king runs rampant. I will plan for the next step. No problem. I merely fell into a trivial trap and lost; as long as I survive, opportunities will come again and again. If I go all the way, I will never be defeated.”
As I approached the sun, I reached out my hand with a sense of relief at having survived.But before I could even touch the clouds, my wings froze.
“ah……?”
The impact was strong enough to split even his hardest skull. Given that,his brain could not possibly have remained intact. The cerebellum, which governs the balance, speed, and fine movements of the wings, was partially ruptured, causing him to lose control immediately.
Barcazel fell back to the ground.
The sun has moved away.
He met his first death in an explosion alongside the worst dwarf on earth, and experienced his second after being defeated in battle against the Saint. Henarrowly escaped death and continued to survive through resurrection via the [Animus] and the intervention of the Glory of the Dead. Will he be able to overcome his third death as well?
“W-wait, Antias! I have information. Information about what happens after death! Aren’t you curious how I learned the Continental Common Language while dead! If you can somehow manage the taboo, I can tell you! I am worth keeping alive!!”
Barcazel listed the reasons why he had to live, but he could not escape his given fate. No matter what happens, there is no third chance for the Beast King of Massacre.
Gyoah 咬牙
Antias bit fiercely as he grazed past the falling Barcazel.
Whoosh──────Crash!!
Barcasel’s body tumbled headfirst, scattering blood as it lay sprawled. He did not move a muscle anymore. His shoulders felt empty.
Drip… … drip… … drip… … .
Barcazel’s head was torn off by the neck and caught in Antias’s teeth.
“Either struggle hideously to survive until the very end, or meet a glorious end befitting a king. Since you turn a blind eye to your true nature because you refuse to admit your ugliness, you end up neither. That is why there is no aesthetic to your wildness.”“…….”“Well, anyway. It was fun.”
The sense of satisfaction gained from defeating the Beast of Massacre was quite pleasant. Lost in the afterglow for a moment, he spat out Barcazel’s head.Then, he stomped on and crushed the noseless face, his expression completely dead.
“It’s over, so come out, Grave King.”“Nya, nyaat.”
The King of the Underworld peeked his head out from the hill.
* * *
After a relentless pursuit, they barely managed to locate the traces of the collision between Antias and Barcazel. However, the scene was so brutal that they could not intervene.The terrifying atmosphere, which had not yet dissipated even though the hunt was over, made the Grave King tremble.
“You… defeated that ancient Beast King. Th-Congratulations, Your Majesty.”“He was formidable, powerful enough that none of the successive Beast Kings, with the exception of myself, could have defeated him. He is undoubtedly the greatest among the prey I have personally killed. At least, for now.”
It would have been very troublesome if Barcazel had actively utilized his flight abilities.It was purely a matter of time.Since he would be blown away with just one hit, how long would it take to accumulate damage? Thanks to the sophisticated psychological warfare and deception that worked, we were able to capture him quickly.
“The last thing you said was significant, but… I suppose it would be best to find out through Verden. He seemed quite accustomed to such the unknown. It’ll be interesting.”
Antias nodded to himself and muttered, then asked the King of the Grave.
“So, what’s going on?”“I mean…….”
The King of the Underworld explained the whole situation to him, whose communication device had been destroyed during the battle. Understanding the current state of the war, he laughed heartily.
“Hahahahaha! Is that so, in the capital of Eon? Things are taking quite an interesting turn. Understood. I will join you at the assembly point.”“Um, are you sure you’re alright?”“I expended quite a bit of energy, but I actually like it. I’m glad.”
Antias bared his bloodstained teeth.
“Because the more desperate it is, the more fun it is. Whether it’s me, you, or anyone else.”
* * *
In the silent forest where not even the sound of insects could be heard, a small distortion occurred.It was a dark and eerie rift.Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be composed of some kind of chain-like structure.
Shhhhhh…
The sound of chains dragging echoed, and soon a hand emerged from it. The tight chains did not open a path, but the hand eventually pushed its way through the crack.Following the hand, the forearm, shoulder, torso, and head were exposed to the continental air.
“Gasp… gasp….”
Reindel Nexreon knelt and struggled to catch his breath. The distortion formed by the chains watched him and slowly disappeared.
Darkwarton Magic Tower Master.
The Alliance’s top forces, who fell into the ‘Swamp of Forbidden’ by the First Commander of the Xerion Empire—the Apocalypse of Famine—Zermael, have returned alive.
Reindel’s rough breathing, which was practically a wreck, subsided.
“Kuh-huh…….”
Eventually, he shivered.
“Khahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
Reindel burst into maniacal laughter. His knowledge had been filled a little. Having lifted slightly beyond the taboo, he came to understand the concept of death a bit better.
The afterlife.
Reindel looked at that place. That forbidden zone surrounded by a massive taboo. A small destination had been set for the journey to achieve the ideal.
After a moment, Reindel composed himself and turned on the communication device. It was to check how many days had passed and to assess the current situation of the battle.
“…….”
He understood the situation and moved.
To the Central Continent.To the ownerless land.
* * *
It was some time after the Citadel appeared above the Alliance headquarters.To put it simply… … we failed to stop the Citadel.
The Principality of Nodeng could not stop it.The speed was too fast.
An overwhelming shadow crossed the border.
The Citadel entered the territory of the ownerless land. One of the many scouting parties from the Allied Forces, which had already assembled around Aeon’s capital, gazed at the Citadel.
Lock of the Ark.
Joining the Allied Forces as a mercenary, he somehow fought and survived, along with Theon, a former Gluttony.
“Can we… stop that?”“I don’t know.”
Theon licked his lips.
“I’m definitely screwed, but…”“Brother Verden, where are you……!”
