Kyuste’s scream echoed through the chamber as he continued his forced assault on Rei. He was begging Rei to take his life and finish Vel once and for all.
Hearing that plea, Vel burst into a fit of mocking laughter.
"Heh... Heh heh... Ah-hah-hah-hah! That’s rich! Kyuste—the man with enough noble pride for ten people—begging the commoner he loathes to kill him? Ah-ha-ha! Stop, you’re killing me. My—my side... I see. Is that your plan? To make me die of laughter? If so, you might just pull it off!"
Vel clutched his side, doubled over in hysterics.
Kyuste ignored him entirely, his eyes fixed on Rei as the latter parried, dodged, and blocked every strike.
"...Kill me. Then strike him down. If you were hired as Elena-sama's guard, then fulfill your duty!"
Rei confirmed his surroundings as he tilted his head a mere few centimeters, letting a thrust aimed at his face whistle past his ear.
A short distance away, the fierce battle between Set and the golem continued. It was a stalemate at a glance, but the golem’s shield was already in tatters and its body was marred by deep gouges. Set, by contrast, was instantly recovering from every wound thanks to the magic power of the Dropstone of Benevolence hanging from its neck. The outcome was a foregone conclusion. Still, the golem lacked a soul; it fought with mechanical indifference, never flinching from injury or possessing the intelligence to consider a tactical retreat.
(Set’s victory is certain, but it’ll still take a little while... I suppose.)
Rei turned his gaze toward Elena and Ara. They lay slumped within the magic circle near the Altar of Inheritance, rendered unconscious by the ritual’s violent interruption. Even the din of battle failed to stir them.
(No hope there either. In that case...)
Rei leaped backward as Kyuste’s Water Magic Spear swept through the space he had occupied a second before.
"...You're sure about this?"
Closing in on Vel while avoiding Kyuste was difficult, but not impossible. However, considering the automatic defense of the tentacles extending from Vel's chest, the controlled Kyuste would likely move to support him before Rei could land a lethal strike. To prevent that, he had to neutralize Kyuste first. In his current state, minor wounds wouldn't stop him. Rei had to land a blow on the razor's edge between life and death.
"Of course. ...I will say this one last time: I hate you. I loathe you. You lack respect for the nobility, your speech is crude, and you know nothing of etiquette. And yet, you behave with such familiarity toward Elena-sama."
Even as he spoke, Kyuste thrust at Rei's face, swept at his feet, and followed up with a horizontal slash aimed at his torso.
Rei blocked the attacks with his Death Scythe, dodging and parrying while listening intently. It was true that he didn't like the man, but these could very well be Kyuste's last words. Rei decided it was only polite to listen to the end, keeping his focus sharp as he evaded the spear.
"Despite everything wrong with you, I must acknowledge your strength. You defeated me even without your primary weapon. And now, even while I am being controlled by Vel, you continue to block every strike I make with my enhanced physical ability."
"Ugh, are we still doing the boring monologue?" Vel interjected. "If I get any more bored, I’ll have to start messing with Elena or Ara."
"!? ...Therefore, I swallow my pride and beg you! Kill that man—that shameless traitor who betrayed Elena-sama's trust and his own motherland!"
"...Understood. For now, sleep."
Rei used the shaft of the Death Scythe to strike the tip of the lunging spear from below.
Backed by Rei's inhuman physical strength, the hundred-kilogram great scythe sent the magic spear soaring. Not even Kyuste—one of the finest spearmen in Duke Kerebel's Knight Order—could maintain his grip. The weapon flew upward and pierced the ceiling. In the same motion, Rei spun the scythe and slammed the base of the shaft into Kyuste’s armored midsection.
A sickening crunch rang out—a sound far too violent for a human to produce.
Kyuste was blown backward. The torso of his full plate mail, already weakened by a previous blow to the solar plexus, shattered completely, scattering fragments of steel across the floor.
"Gah!"
The impact was devastating. Kyuste groaned once and slumped into unconsciousness. Rei wondered for a moment if the knight would continue to attack even while blacked out, as he had before, but he didn't have time to wait and see. He had to seize the chance Kyuste had created by throwing away his life. Rei kicked off the ground and charged at Vel, who was still watching with a flippant smile.
"Hah!"
He unleashed a strike with a roar. The blow carried enough speed and power to slice through the air itself, descending toward Vel's neck...
"Too bad!"
Rei felt a resistance against his blade that wasn't the sensation of slicing through flesh or bone. It was the hard, unyielding jolt of shattering metal and stone.
"A golem?"
Rei blurted out the name of the obstacle. Indeed, the thing that had intercepted the Death Scythe's lethal strike was a golem that had appeared as if from nowhere. No—it hadn't been nowhere. Rei had seen it clearly. The creature had emerged from a pouch hanging at Vel's waist.
"Oh, did that surprise you? I bet it did! You didn't think I'd have a space-expansion pouch, did you? I guess that makes sense. A mere Viscount's family could never afford a luxury like this."
Rei's gaze flickered to Elena. The space-expansion type pouch he had seen the previous night was still attached to her waist.
"Hmm? Too bad. This isn't something I stole from her."
"...The Bestia Empire, then."
"Oh, you caught on?"
"Hmph. You betrayed the Kingdom of Mireana for them. And considering their track record, the Bestia Empire clearly has advanced alchemy. That chimera—the giant mantis—was proof enough."
"Gold star! The Bestia Empire's alchemy is easily on par with the Magic City Ozos. ...Well, it still costs a fortune to make a space-expansion type pouch. Mine is a lot smaller than Elena’s, anyway."
"It seems so."
Rei muttered, looking down at the golem he had just cleaved.
It was a small golem, shorter even than a goblin. It had taken the full force of the Death Scythe, its body now split in two.
(Elena told me that the limit of most space-expansion pouches is about one or two tatami mats. He can't store a large golem in there. The fact that he used one smaller than a goblin to block me means he’s running out of cards. Most of his tricks rely on the element of surprise. I need to keep the pressure on.)
The moment he saw movement at the edge of his vision, Rei swung his scythe reflexively. He sliced through the tentacles extending from Vel's chest.
"Don't think those will save you!"
He swung the Death Scythe in a wide arc, hacking through several tentacles at once. Even alchemical constructs couldn't withstand the weapon when it was clad in magic power.
"Wow, as expected. In terms of combat power alone, you're definitely A-Rank level."
Despite his defenses being shredded, the smirk remained on Vel's face. Then, that look of amusement shifted into the predatory grin of a child who had successfully set a trap.
"But hey... is it okay to focus only on me?"
"!?"
Rei realized what Vel was looking at. He used the shaft of his scythe to knock away the tentacles trying to ensnare him and leaped backward. The tentacles lashed out again, but Rei's physical ability won out by a hair's breadth.
From mid-air, he saw the small golem. It was the same one he had just cleaved. Despite its missing head, the creature was wobbling toward the unconscious Elena.
It was struggling not just because of its injuries, but because of the weapon it carried. To the small golem, the blade looked like a massive sword, but in reality, it was just an ordinary longsword. A sword that could still kill a defenseless person.
"Since when!?"
Rei kicked off the floor. But the golem had already raised the blade, poised to drive it into Elena's neck...
(Dammit, I won't make it!)
He reached into his Misty Ring to pull a dagger, but the sword was already falling.
"Guh!"
A grunt of agony echoed, followed by the sound of a blade piercing flesh. But the voice was far deeper than Elena’s. Rei hurled his dagger, and the blade whistled through the air, impaling the golem and pinning it to the wall like a broken toy.
When the dust settled, Rei saw Kyuste. The knight had regained consciousness just long enough to throw himself over Elena. The golem’s longsword was buried halfway into his back. Thanks to his sacrifice, the blade had struck the stone floor instead of Elena's throat.
"Kyuste!" Rei shouted.
If Kyuste’s plate mail hadn't been smashed by Rei's own strike, the armor might have stopped the sword.
"Guh... what are... you doing? Strike... Vel!" Kyuste spat blood as he roared.
Rei bit his lip and turned his gaze back to the traitor.
"Tch. The hero act? How boring," Vel sneered.
"Magic Shield!"
Rei activated the Death Scythe's skill, and a shimmering barrier of light formed around him.
"It seems you're out of tricks!"
"Maybe, but I'm not going down that easily."
Rei charged, channeling magic power into his scythe. Vel threw several daggers, but Rei evaded them with minimal movement, his eyes locked on his target.
"Sob stories aren't in fashion these days!"
As the distance closed, Vel’s tentacles lashed out again, over a dozen sharp tips seeking to skewer Rei.
"Get out of my way!"
With a sharp sweep, Rei’s scythe obliterated the tentacles.
"Kh!"
Vel leaped backward, realizing he was in danger. He snatched a glass vial from his pouch and hurled it.
"Too naive!"
Rei swapped the Death Scythe to his left hand and caught the vial with his right. In one fluid motion, he hurled it back at Vel.
"Eh?"
Vel froze, stunned by the sheer speed of the counter. He tried to move, but it was too late.
Smash!
His own automatic defense tentacles, programmed to destroy any incoming projectile, lashed out and crushed the vial. They didn't care if the target was a blade or a fragile bottle; they fulfilled their function, shattering the glass and drenching Vel in the liquid inside.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"
The corrosive liquid took effect instantly. Vel clutched his face, screaming as his skin began to melt and rot. Rei moved to finish him, but the sight of Vel's face hideously dissolving caused his aim to falter for a fraction of a second. The Death Scythe’s blade veered, missing Vel's vitals and instead severing his left arm cleanly from the shoulder.