The moment that voice reached them, Rei and his companions leveled their weapons toward its source. It had come from the back of the room near the magic circle—the exact direction Oricule had been blown moments ago.
Except for Bosk, who had never faced the man directly, no one could mistake that distinctive voice.
Rei’s previous attack had severed Oricule’s left second arm and his right arm while piercing through his flank. Elena’s whip-sword had shredded his flesh, and Vihera’s gauntlets had left deep, sunken craters in the armor covering his torso. Even his neck was twisted at an impossible angle from Seto’s strike.
It was a level of damage that would have guaranteed death for any normal human, yet Oricule stood back up as if it were of no consequence. Using his remaining left hand, he forced his neck back into place with a sickening crack.
Despite the absurdity of the sight, Rei and the others maintained their composure. They held their weapons ready, prepared to react to whatever might follow.
Bosk, however, was stunned. Knowing nothing of Oricule, he had assumed the fallen figure was merely a monster. Hearing it speak so fluently, he judged it to be a high-rank creature.
Monsters capable of speech were not entirely rare, but low-rank ones usually spoke in broken fragments. This being’s words were perfectly clear. Had Bosk heard the full explanation from Ecethesus before entering, he might not have been so confused, but they hadn't had a moment to spare.
"Hey, hey... what the hell is that monster? Is it some kind of anomaly species?"
That Bosk could semi-instinctively grasp the creature's nature was a testament to his sharp intuition. Rei kept his Death Scythe leveled, his eyes fixed on Oricule as the demon walked toward his severed limbs.
"He’s less of a monster and more of a former human," Rei answered. "Specifically, he was the Holy Light official responsible for the anomaly species incident. He used something called a Chaos Seed on himself to become that. So, technically, you could call him a human anomaly species."
"Are you serious? They’re turning humans into those things now? Is that even possible?"
"The fact that he’s standing there is all the proof we need. Stay sharp—he’s incredibly strong. Pri, the one leading the dolls, ended up like that in an instant."
Rei glanced toward the corner of the room, where Pri Masterche lay discarded like a heap of rags. Bosk followed his gaze, his eyes widening as he realized who it was.
"Wait, is that... really Pri? And you said dolls? Those troublesome things... he took her down even with those?"
When Bosk and his men had stormed the Masterche residence, they had been harried by autonomous dolls. Many of his men had been injured by the dolls' silent, emotionless attacks, suffering blinded eyes or severed fingers. Not a single person had died only because the adventurers Bosk had hired were highly skilled, and most of the mansion's dolls had been concentrated in this room for the main battle.
"Ugh... kill me... please kill me..."
Weak pleas leaked from Pri’s mouth, but only Rei and Seto were close enough to hear them. One man and one beast simply feigned ignorance, parrying the desperate requests. In truth, they simply didn't have the luxury to worry about her.
Oricule, the focus of their collective attention, reached down and picked up his severed right arm and the tip of his left second arm.
"No way..." Bosk muttered, stunned once again.
As Oricule pressed the severed surfaces of his limbs back together, blue bubbles matching the color of his skin surged from the wounds, fusing the flesh instantly. It was the same for his second arm; the parts reattached effortlessly.
While Bosk stared in disbelief at the impossible sight, Rei and the others didn't lower their guard. They hadn't expected him to recover so easily, but given Oricule’s other abilities, this level of horror seemed almost natural.
Now then... how do we kill him? Rei thought. The fact that he can neutralize direct magic is a problem. If not for that, I could end this with magic...
Rei watched Oricule check the reattached limbs and an idea occurred to him.
If magic from the outside is useless, then I have to hit him from the inside. Speaking of which...
He looked toward Pri, who was trapped in infinite agony. He remembered the various gems she had used during her struggle—specifically, the one that had triggered an explosion as powerful as a high-yield bomb. He predicted that an internal attack like his Dancing Flame Serpent would deal significant damage, but using more powerful explosives in tandem would be the best course of action.
In that case, someone needs to get those gems from Pri. But who?
Rei, Elena, and Bosk were his primary frontline fighters. Vihera was nearly out of magic power, but she still had her physical strength. Seto was essential for pinning the enemy down. Iero was an option, but Rei was hesitant to entrust their fate to the small dragon. If Ecethesus were still here, things might be different, but there was no use dwelling on that now.
That left only one person. Rei turned his gaze toward her.
"Nn?"
Byune noticed his look and tilted her head. She didn't seem to mind Bosk’s presence nearby. She knew Pri had murdered her parents, and thanks to Vihera, her hatred was no longer a blind rage. But even so—or perhaps because of that—Rei hesitated to send her toward Pri to retrieve the gems.
No, I don't have time for hesitation.
It was a cold reality that Byune was the only one capable of the task; she had only a dagger left and possessed the lowest combat power of the group. Feeling a slight pang of guilt, Rei finally spoke.
"Byune, I need you to do something." He whispered the words without taking his eyes off Oricule.
"..."
Byune waited for him to continue.
"To beat Oricule, we have to bypass that magic-repelling skin. We need an explosion from the inside, not the outside. I have a spell that can do that, but I want to be certain. I want to use Pri’s gems."
"Rei, wait! Those gems are—"
"I know!" Rei cut Vihera off. "I’m not asking her to use the gems made from her parents. You saw Pri using others earlier. She has a huge collection. Those explosive ones were her last resort, so there’s a high chance they’re all rigged to blow."
"I see... she certainly worked them over enough for that to be true," Vihera said, though she still looked reluctant. Even if they weren't the parents' gems, every stone was undoubtedly made from the sacrifice of a human soul. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
However, Byune reached out and touched Vihera’s waist, signaling that she was okay. Trust me, her gesture said.
"Nn."
"...Alright. If Byune says so, I won't object."
"Thanks," Rei said.
Bosk, listening nearby, didn't understand all the details, but he knew enough to stay out of the way.
"Our job is to pin Oricule down until Byune gets those gems," Rei declared. "Ideally, we’ll blow off his limbs again to keep his strength down."
Everyone nodded. Oricule, having finished his recovery, looked at them and smiled.
"Are the discussions oveR? I have waited lonG enough. Do not bore mE; struggle as much as you caN."
He grinned. The Chaos Seed had stripped away his reason, leaving only a hunger for slaughter and the joy of crushing those who dared to resist.
Testing must have been incomplete if this was his trump card, Rei thought, leveling his Death Scythe. Then again, they were still experimenting on monsters too, so I suppose it’s only natural.
Elena stood beside him with her whip-sword, and Seto crouched on his other side, growling. Bosk stood with his massive claymore, and Vihera took her place next to Elena after a quick nod to Rei. Byune moved quietly away from the group.
The final curtain of the battle was drawn.
"Haaaah!"
Rei charged first. With a burst of leg strength, he sprinted across the floor and leaped—not at Oricule, but several meters to his right.
"Hmh?"
The move caught Oricule off guard. The pre-demon Oricule might have seen through the feint, but his current form traded analytical skill for raw power. He couldn't predict Rei’s unconventional tactics.
Rei kicked the air, activating the power of his Sleipnir's Shoes to perform a pseudo-triangle jump. Mid-flight, he triggered a skill.
"Wind Hand!"
A wind tentacle extended from the scythe’s butt end, flicking the razor-sharp tip of Oricule’s second arm upward to create an opening.
"Nu?"
Oricule grunted in surprise, but Rei was already on him.
"Pain Burst!"
At the sound of the skill that doubled pain, Oricule reflexively recoiled, remembering the agony from earlier. Because of that, the Death Scythe’s blade only managed a shallow slash across his chest. The blade cut through his leather armor and left a wound forty centimeters long and five centimeters deep in his blue skin.
To a man-demon, it should have been a negligible scratch.
"Gaaaaaaaaah!"
Yet the damage was doubled. The discrepancy between the minor wound and the intense pain brought Oricule to the verge of panic.
"Haaaah!"
"As if I will let yoU!"
Vihera didn't miss the chance, throwing a punch with her gauntlet-clad fist. Oricule tried to intercept with his second arm, but—
"Guruuu!"
Seto’s Magic Eye of Shock hit his right shoulder, stopping his movement for a split second.
It was a fatal opening. Vihera’s punch slammed into his solar plexus, doubling him over. Simultaneously, Bosk’s claymore swung down with bone-crushing force, severing Oricule’s left second arm from the root. Elena’s whip-sword followed a split second later, tearing through the air to slice off his right second arm.
Rei looked at the limb that had tumbled near him. He knew Oricule would just reattach it if given the chance. He acted on a sudden intuition, reaching out to touch the severed second arm.
"Wha!?" Oricule cried out in shock.
The arm vanished, stored safely inside Rei’s Misty Ring. Rei kicked off the floor again, rushing toward the other severed limb and storing it as well before the demon could react.