Killing the leader of the Mystics, Vergil? Many would shudder at the thought of that idea. After all, The Mystic Clan is part of the [Six Pillars], and even [Heroes] wouldn’t dare go on a suicide mission to deal with their leaders, be it in glorious and honourable combat, or through assassination.
However, I’m different. So as long as I can get my revenge, even dealing with Vergil is worth it. Furthermore, according to Mystic culture, any Mystic has the right to challenge the leader for his seat in a battle to death. If Asellus wins, then perhaps I can use it to my advantage and to assist me in destroying the Undead clan and Del’thrush!
“I assume that you need me to carve a bloody path to Vergil, where you’ll use your right to challenge him to a live-or-death fight?” (Gideon)
“Not just that. I need you to train me for the battle, and protect me after the challenge. After all, I can feel that you’re an extremely strong human for your age and with your help, I’ll definitely be able to defeat Vergil by myself!” (Asellus)
“I don’t mind that. But after you reign as the new leader, you must help me deal with Del’thrush.” (Gideon)
“Deal. Once I’ve taken over, the entire Mystic clan will be your ally and I’ll be eternally grateful to you.” (Asellus)
“Then, we have an alliance. Now allow me to release you from your enchantment.” (Gideon)
Transforming a single finger into a small sharp blade, a single swipe is enough to cut the bracelet and tear it apart. After being released by the enchantment, Asellus breathed a sigh of relief, shaking her wrist in delight.
“Many thanks for the help, Gideon. I’ll definitely honour my promise.” (Asellus)
We shook our hands in agreement. With this, a mutual cooperation between two demons is formed with the sole purpose of vengeance.
Then, a loud booming voice bellowed out from the other side of the cavern.
“Hey! Who let the slaves out without my permission?!”
I looked towards the direction of the entrance, mildly annoyed by the noise. Walking through the entrance is a large bodied hairy male; he’s even taller than Kraden, which is almost unbelievable. Not only is tall, but he has an extremely buff and heavy physique, giving off a solid and unyielding air. On his back is a long halberd with a spear-head and a gigantic crescent axe attached just below the spear-head.
The slaves that the blonde woman freed are shaking with terror written across their face, while their rescuer stopped unlocking cages and immediately scampers over to my direction, with a look of plead.
“Young man, I know that you don’t want trouble, but help us deal with the leader and I will do whatever you ask me of, please! I, Emelia Blacksun, swear this upon my name!” (Emelia)
Blacksun? Since she has a last name, she’s probably a noble within the human continent. Human nobles are prideful beings, and will most probably keep their promises…this promise may come in handy, depending on how great her nobility is within the human continent.
“I’ll hold on to this promise of yours. Remember my name, Gideon Silverwolf.” (Gideon)
I tread towards the entrance of the cavern, with Asellus following behind me closely. Around ten meters away from the large, imposing figure, he started to bark out loud once again, filling the entire cavern with his voice.
“Snot nosed brat! What do you think you’re doing, freeing my entire batch of slaves?! Where are my subordinates, where’s Joey?!” (Leader)
“You’re the only one left. I killed Joey and the rest of your team, you’re next in line.” (Gideon)
“Nonsense, that’s not possible! How can a kid like you wreck my entire elite team? Who else is behind this, tell me and I’ll spare your life after giving you a light beating.” (Leader)
I stomped down my foot heel-first with all my might, boosted by [Burst Stream]. The area of impact exploded into fragments of rocks and dust, leaving a hole wide enough to place my entire feet in., sending fragments of rock and sand straight towards the direction of the leader of the slave trader.
I wasn’t aiming at him, but rather to the left of him, therefore he didn’t get struck by any of the fragmented pieces of rock and earth. However, his clothing did get quite dusty from all the sand and dust.
Many of the slaves fall down onto the ground from shock of the impact and the sudden force of destruction produced, while others managed to hold their ground. Asellus on the other hand, did not even flinch but simply had a look of mild surprise. I suppose from this simple demonstration, I have shown her a glimpse of my strength and convinced her of my prowess.
“Hmm…looks like you got quite some strength; I’ve underestimated your capabilities. If what you say is true…then, you’ll pay for what you did to my subordinates! Prepare yourself!” (Boss)
His pulled out the halberd and got into a fierce, offensive stance. A strong killing intent scatters throughout the area which intimidates the slaves and Emelia, as they unconsciously moved a few steps backwards. Asellus steps forward instead, lifting up her arm to block me from moving forward.
“You’ve proven your strength to me. Now, it’s my turn to do so.” (Asellus)
“Wait, aren’t you that Mystic girl-” (Boss)
Right after saying that, Asellus dashed toward the slave trader’s boss. Within seconds, the green-haired Mystic closed the gap to a close combat range, before he can even react. Although I have guessed that she’s stronger than an average Mystic, I didn’t expect her to be this fast. Her instantaneous movement speed is probably as fast as mine!
“[Tiger Rampage].”
Both of Asellus’s forearms starts to grow larger, turning into that of a beast limb twice that is twice her original arm size, with yellow and black strips of fur. With those arms, she plummet the boss with a flurry of punches at every possible direction continuously.
(That…that’s the arm of Grand Marshal Tiger, an A-class monster! Master…she has undergone an [Absorption]!) (Eva)
“No wonder she’s confident of taking out the slave trader boss by herself. However, he’s stronger than I gave him credit for.” (Gideon)
With the halberd of his, he managed to block every attack that Asellus strikes with. However, as seconds tick by, Asellus’s attack slowly increases in speed and power, contorting the halberd out of shape ever so slightly with every fist landing on it.
“That’s it! I’ve been holding back simply because I’ll be able to get a reward from Lord Vergil for bringing you back; but to hell with that!” (Boss)
With all his might, the boss tightened up his defences and raises the halberd, taking a few punches in the process. With a mighty roar, he jumps back and swings the halberd down from the skies, attempting to slice Asellus into two separate pieces.
Of course, such a move is extremely obvious and is only meant to force Asellus into retreating. Right after she landed the last few strikes, Asellus has already retreated backwards, causing the strike to hit nothing but empty air and the cold, hard ground.
“Too late for regrets now, time to finish you off and erase all the evidence!” (Boss)
The boss is no slouch either; after striking against the floor he made use of the weight of his halberd to cancel the force of his backwards leap. He then rushes forward almost instantly, swinging the halberd while he’s at the advantage of an attack range suitable to his weaponry.
If I am to give a judgement of his strength, he should be around the strength of an A-class adventurer, probably as strong as Ellenda. Strength of that level will definitely be stronger than an average Mystic, but it looks like he’s about neck-to-neck with Asellus.
Even though every swing is precise and fast, but none of the attacks can land on Asellus. Her movements may be still rather novice-like, but she successfully dodges every attack just before it can land of her.
Her kinetic vision is astounding. Despite switching to different attack patterns and using all his might, she avoids every single one of the attacks, though there were quite a few close shaves. This innate talent of hers can prove to be quite useful, combined with her fast movement speed.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve seen everything that you can do. You have no chance of defeating me, I’m sorry.” (Asellus)
With a smooth motion, she pushed away the halberd that’s swinging down towards her. Then, the other tiger fist lands on his abdomen and the chain of attack resumes once again, this time without any defences available to the boss.
Every punch is followed up with another, faster and faster with every blow landed, giving the boss neither chance of retaliating nor a chance to block any hits. He had simply become a living punching bag for Asellus who is mercilessly rushing him with a stream of punches.
Judging by this battle alone, I estimate that her combat capabilities may not be too far away from the top, only surpassed by those who has undergone [Absorption] twice or more. Perhaps being blooded by the leader of Mystics has given her a large portion of Vergil’s potential?
She reminds me of myself though; to only make use of speed and brute force to defeat the enemy, just like what I do. While her attacks are near perfection due to inherited traits from the monster she absorbed, the small time gap in between transformation is an opening that her enemies can potentially make use of.
“Take…this!” (Asellus)
Her final strike launches, with her right arm growing yet another size larger and striking the boss directly on his abdomen. A shock-wave shot out through his back, as he slowly collapse onto the floor, with whites of his eyes visible and white foam forming out of his mouth.
Her arms turn back to normal and she turned back around, with a slight, refreshing smile appearing on her face. She slowly walks back, panting in exhaustion.
“Good job. You’re pretty strong already.” (Gideon)
“Not good enough to defeat Vergil, that’s for sure. I need to further improve on my combat skills, since I cannot get any stronger physically.” (Asellus)
“What about magic? Didn’t you try to learn any magic?” (Gideon)
“No one taught me any. I’ve only been a consort for about a year, so other than close quarter combat I don’t know any other methods to fight.” (Asellus)
Unfortunately, she’ll have a disadvantage in this area. After all, I don’t know any magic and we simply don’t have the means to teach her any magic thereafter. The only thing I can help her with is to spar with her again and again to give her further combat experience.
“What did you do before forced into the position of being Vergil’s consort?” (Gideon)
“Not much; my parents were farmers and I simply helped out in the farms.” (Asellus)
Now that I think about it, Mystics have it good. Not only do they gain the abilities of those they absorb, they also acquire their combat abilities and knowledge. This can explain why even a simple farm girl like Asellus can fight so well against a decent opponent, despite only having a year’s worth of training.
“Excuse me…sorry to bother, but is he…dead?” (Emelia)
We turn our heads and stare at the blonde female that interrupted our discussion, as she took a few steps back in fear. After all, we just trounced the boss easily when all the slaves feared him and didn’t dare to fight back.
“No, I think he’s still alive. However, I think the last attack of mine broke his spine; he won’t be getting up anytime soon, or at all.” (Asellus)
“Right…I remember that you now owe me one wish, right Emelia?” (Gideon)
“…Yes, so as long as I can fulfil it, then I’ll definitely honour my word.” (Emelia)
“Alright then, let’s go Asellus.” (Gideon)
I turn around and make my way to the way out of the cavern with Asellus follows closely behind, leaving behind a perplexed Emelia.
“W-wait, so what’s your request?” (Emelia)
“I haven’t thought of it yet; I’ll make a request someday, just now today. Be sure to remember this promise however, I’ll definitely make good use of it.” (Gideon)
“Hey, hold on just a second; at least, please help me with the matter of the slaves! I can’t possibly help everyone all by myself!” (Emelia)
What a pain; this is why I didn’t want anything to do with the rest of the slaves. Why did I even rescue this woman in the first place? Now I have to deal with this mess as well as my prickling conscience, after witnessing Emelia’s look of plead.
I breathe a loud sigh, and shout loud enough for everyone to hear me.
“Alright, everyone listen up! I know that most of you want to get back to your families and friends soon! After all, no one here volunteered to become slaves. However, if you wish to get back to your lands safely, it’s almost impossible to do so by yourselves! Also, what about food supplies, and weaponry? I can safely say that most of you here will not make it back to your village at your current state!” (Gideon)
Many of them nod their heads in agreement, and slowly they move forward towards me, the speaker.
“Therefore, hear my proposition, which is that you all should work together as a group and help each other, with Emelia as your leader!” (Gideon)
“What?” (Emelia)
“Didn’t you all see how brave and righteous she is, freeing you all from cages despite knowing the consequences of doing so, if she’s caught by the boss? A person like her will most certainly be a worthy leader to bring all of you back home safely!” (Gideon)
“Just hold on a minute, Gideon! When I said to help me, I didn’t mean like this-”
Regardless of her whispering complains, I continued to persuade and rouse up the crowd.
“Emelia, you surely can lead this group of people from their current situation back to the human continent safe and sound! After all, isn’t this a job most befitting of a noble of your stature? To lead the commoners to safety and back to their families, safe and sound, is what a noble like you is supposed to do!” (Gideon)
After a few more words of encouragement, praise and brainwashing, she agreed to the task.
“Great! Now is there anyone who is disagreeable for Emelia Blacksun, the human noble who set you free, to be your leader, step forward now or forever hold your peace!”
After my rousing speech, no one stepped forward. Instead, most of them had agreeable looks on their faces and some of them even had looks of expectation of Emelia.
“Then that’s settled! Emelia, they are in your care now; take good care of them.” (Gideon)
Asellus and I went on our way, as we step out of the cavern with her leading the way towards the demon continent.
“You are extremely strong and good with words as well. Are you perhaps, older than you look? You look no older than fifteen years old, or perhaps I’m mistaken?” (Asellus)
“Speak for yourself, Asellus. You’re the Mystic here, not me. What’s your age, anyway?” (Gideon)
“Hmph, it’s rude to ask a woman for her age…but I’m only eighteen years old. What about you, Gideon?” (Asellus)
“I’m really just fourteen years old.” (Gideon)
Author : Kiribou
<< Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter >>
