Chapter 130

Pursuit (2)

I had stacked Berserk[?], just as the Memorier had. Unlike the Memorier, though, I hadn't grown wings. Even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use them properly, and forming the Bone Blade alone had consumed an enormous number of calories. If I created wings as well, I wouldn't have enough left to maintain Draconification[E] and heal my wounds.

Ash-gray mist had already filled my surroundings. Then—

BOOOM!

The mist engulfing the space crushed down on my entire body, placing tremendous strain on my joints. The pressure was so intense that it could easily have shattered me to pieces.

But I was fine.

◆Activating evolved skill, Slime Fluid[U]!

◆Slime Fluid[U]

: Upon activating this skill, the player consumes [10Kcal] per second to form [Slime Fluid], which maximizes the effects of Slime Cell[B-]. Spreading it throughout the body transforms the player into a [Fluid State].

In [Fluid State], the player's [Joint Range of Motion and Pressure Resistance] are [Maximized]. The fluid's [Low Friction] increases [Evasion Rate +25%], while the fluid distributed throughout the body promotes [Internal Energy Circulation], improving [Recovery Speed During Combat +20%].

I let the pressure and impact flow past me. I swung my Bone Blade, cutting through the mist. Monomolecular Blade[S] took effect next, severing the bonds holding the mist together.

CRAAACK!

The mist lost its power. Blake finally came into view, his brow briefly contorting. I closed the distance.

"Why?" I asked. "Wasn't she still your mother?"

"You mean Marceline?"

WHOOOOSH!

Mist swirled around Blake once again.

"Isn't it only natural to replace defective parts?"

The swirling mist erupted all at once, blasting forward in a torrent. Dodge? I was too close.

In that case...

◆Rigid Body Transformation[U]

: Upon acquiring this skill, the player's skin and bodily tissues transform into a [Rigid Body]. This [Maximizes] the player's [Body Temperature Regulation] and, in addition to the effects of Toughened Skin[B], reduces [All Damage] concentrated on a [Single Area] by [Up to 70%].

The player also uses the [Reaction Force] of impacts inflicted [Directly] upon them to [Reflect] a certain proportion of damage.

Wasn't it said that when you exerted force on an object, that object exerted force in the opposite direction?

["Hitting a rock is the same as the rock hitting you back."]

I endured the impact.

THOOOM!

At the same time, I returned the force I'd received.

BOOOM!

Then came Draconification[E]'s effect.

◆344Kcal has been stored.

It converted 1% of the mitigated impact into calories. In other words, 34,400 damage. My current Stamina, boosted by Draconification[E], was 11,990. Without the damage reduction from Rigid Body Transformation[U] and Draconification[E], I would have died instantly.

Beyond the scattering mist, Blake reached out. I launched myself forward, regenerating my mangled arms.

"Defective parts?"

"There are far too many unnecessary people in our kingdom."

The mist extending from Blake's fingertips became blades.

"People who wield sympathy and compassion as weapons, who consider consideration and relief their rightful due, yet refuse to do anything for themselves—"

Blake swept his hand, unleashing a storm of blades.

"The 'weak,' in other words."

I opened my eyes wide and swung my Bone Blade.

CRAAACK!

The mist blades scattered upon contact with Monomolecular Blade[S].

"Why did I kill Marceline? I didn't kill her."

I watched Blake through the dispersing mist. His black eyes radiated a deep darkness.

"She died because she was weak. Because she was incompetent. Just as nature weeds out the weak, I merely weeded Marceline out."

"..."

"Surely she didn't expect to stay alive after failing to carry out a perfect plan?"

A useless thing. That was how Blake described his own mother.

"This world exists for the strong. There's no place in it for the weak."

Ash-gray mist coalesced above Blake's hands.

"And I have been chosen!"

Then I could see it. One of Blake's abilities, previously concealed in darkness.

◆Scorn for the Weak[L]

: Against [Beings the User Perceives as Weaker Than Themself], all of the user's stats increase by [+300%]. In addition, [Targets the User Perceives as Weak] suffer a [-75%] reduction to all stats, and their [Abilities/Skills] of a lower [Rank] than the user's are sealed.

However, the user requires [Grounds] for regarding the opponent as [Weak].

"There's no reason I should stand on equal footing with the likes of you."

A pronounced sneer spread across Blake's face—

"For a mother-killing bastard, you really put some effort into your bullshit."

I immediately kicked off the ground and leaped.

* * *

Ash-gray mist gathered in Blake's hands. Adrian lunged at him, trailing a long, pale afterimage as his body vanished as though cleaving through space.

The eye couldn't track him. His speed had exceeded what the five senses could perceive.

In that case—

WHIIIINE!

Blake's black eyes shone. The ash-gray mist gathered in his hands split into dozens of streams, then hundreds, then thousands, pouring forth.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Successive volleys of mist swept in every direction. Thousands of attacks packed the space.

But...

'He's reacting to them?'

Adrian was reacting to every single attack. Blake had sensed it for a while now: his senses and reflexes were astounding. His control over his body far surpassed the limits of a human being.

BOOOM!

The ash-gray mist exploded once again.

Blake took half a step back, gathering the mist's magical power into his right hand. Adrian gave him no opening. Slashes of his Bone Blade swept in every direction. Blake hurriedly thrust out his right hand, but...

... Too late.

Adrian tore through the mist faster than it could burst from its point of convergence.

There was no room left for composure. ... Any more of this would be dangerous.

Above all...

'My Authority...!'

It wasn't working.

Forget, forget, forget. He used his Authority over and over, but Adrian remained unshaken. It didn't stop him.

No, on the contrary—

'He's absorbing my Authority?'

And growing stronger and stronger because of it.

That strange bone. The properties of the bone blade protruding from below Adrian's elbow changed in an instant. It was no longer a Bone Blade made of bone. It was something harder than steel, yet not steel.

Now his Authority was utterly powerless. The moment it touched that thing, it was completely 'nullified' and scattered.

But how? Could a weapon with such absurd capabilities really exist—a weapon that neutralized Authority?

Blake narrowed his black eyes. It wasn't easy to think of Adrian as weaker than himself.

In that case... he had no choice.

He spoke curtly.

"All you're doing is flailing."

It was still difficult to control, but...

"Don't pretend you're strong."

He had to wring out a victory against a powerful opponent named Adrian.

* * *

... His presence changed. An even deeper darkness filled Blake's black eyes. As if swallowing the light, the whites turned pitch-black, inverting their color.

A sword-shaped tattoo appeared from forehead to chin, running through his left eye. Pitch-black currents rose around his entire body, intertwining.

Darkness deeper than darkness.

It enveloped his hand and slowly took shape.

A jet-black sword.

Blake's presence changed once again. Darkness had completely blackened the whites of his eyes. Thick killing intent seemed to prick my skin.

'Here he comes.'

By the time I noticed, the jet-black sword was already sweeping toward my neck in a crescent arc.

He was different. But that was all.

Monomolecular Blade[S] severed bonds at the molecular level, completely ignoring 100% of durability and defense, regardless of the material.

◆Activating fusion skill, Monomolecular Blade[S]!

My Bone Blade met the jet-black sword. In an instant, the sword was severed and vanished.

"...!!"

Blake's blackened eyes wavered.

I saw an opening. I wouldn't miss it. I altered the Bone Blade's trajectory.

SHIIING!

With the sound of tearing paper, the scenery split in two.

And Blake?

... Gone.

Some distance away, a mass of mist spat him out.

WHOOSH!

Ash-gray mist rippled around the re-formed jet-black sword.

'... He's moving faster than before.'

It was Scorn for the Weak[L]. When facing someone he perceived as weak, all his stats increased by +300%. In other words, Blake perceived me as weak. That was possible because Scorn for the Weak[L]'s activation condition was entirely based on 'subjective perception.'

As a result, he had become far faster and stronger.

The mist gathered at the tip of the jet-black sword slowly spread, staining the space around him. As it spread, the ash-gray mist rippled with thornlike points.

Blake swung his sword hard—

SWIIISH!

Every part of the space the mist swept through was pierced. It was as though its power was eroding space itself.

... But.

CRACKLE!

The torrent of mist thorns vanished helplessly the instant they touched my Bone Blade. Of course they did. Monomolecular Blade[S] severed bonds at the molecular level, completely ignoring everything.

Blake's eyes trembled faintly. I forced my way into that opening once again.

BOOM!

My body shot forward, leaving a long afterimage behind.

My stats were amplified by Accelerated Heartbeat[E] and Draconification[E]. I could tell.

'My stats haven't decreased.'

In other words, Scorn for the Weak[L] hadn't fully activated. My abilities and skills hadn't been sealed, either. Because its activation condition was 'subjective perception,' he needed 'grounds' for perceiving his target as weak.

What if he couldn't be certain someone was weak? Then Blake had to establish those grounds himself. The surest way was to fight them and win.

Yet merely being superior in combat wasn't enough to activate it. Mental strength, the caliber of one's existence, presence, an unbreakable spirit... If he couldn't consider his opponent weak in even one of those respects, Scorn for the Weak[L] wouldn't fully activate.

In other words, Blake currently lacked sufficient grounds to regard me as 'weaker' than himself.

That was why he'd drawn out everything he had. He'd intended to gain the upper hand, even briefly, and establish a basis for perceiving me as weak. But even stats boosted by +300% couldn't overwhelm Accelerated Heartbeat[E] and Draconification[E].

Mental superiority through the Authority of Oblivion? Successor's Will[EX] had countered that perfectly as well. Above all, Monomolecular Blade[S] was rendering every one of his attacks and defenses futile.

Between Blake and me, every advantage was clearly mine—

"This is impossible...!!"

Blake's Scorn for the Weak[L] weakened.

His mental fortitude and presence faltered, and the two hands holding his jet-black sword trembled faintly. His self-assurance was crumbling, cracks spreading through it.

Now was the time to press him. I had to erase his grounds completely.

I drew out everything I had.

◆Using Ultra Instinct skill, Predator[M]!

* * *

... His presence changed. A deeper blood-red filled Adrian's red eyes. As though swallowing his reason, the whites turned entirely crimson, inverting their color.

Uncontrolled savagery pierced Blake.

"It's useless!"

Blake charged forward. Adrian had already reacted, closing the distance in an instant. His speed defied imagination. It couldn't even be compared to what it had been moments ago.

"What—!"

Adrian's Bone Blade swung soundlessly. Blake was too late to respond. A long gash opened along his right arm. It wasn't a fatal wound, but that didn't mean it had no effect.

The arm holding the jet-black sword wavered. Its trajectory shifted for an instant, and Adrian forced his way into the opening.

THOOM!

A massive impact struck Blake. The flesh of his gripping hand burst.

"Aaaaaah!!"

He screamed, drawing up his power. Mist exploded outward and swallowed Adrian.

But this wouldn't do. At best, it was a distraction.

The power of his Authority, reduced to a mere distraction?

'Damn it!'

Blake cursed inwardly. What kind of absurdity was this?

The mist enveloping Adrian was torn to shreds and vanished. Adrian moved immediately.

GRIND!

Blake clenched his teeth involuntarily.

By his reckoning, he should have subdued Adrian long ago. Yet what was happening now? Subdue him? He was the one being pushed back.

... This was genuinely dangerous.

Blake opened the distance. He had to get away. Continuing this fight would be truly dangerous. But Adrian didn't seem inclined to let him go. Even as Blake retreated, Adrian never stopped.

The eyes trained on Blake held neither reason nor fear. A beast fashioned from blind murderous intent.

... Dangerous. Truly dangerous.

Above all, that Bone Blade. It nullified every Authority Blake possessed. He couldn't counter it.

Dodge it? Difficult. The flow of his Authority was forcibly severed, and even the mist's magical power vanished. No attack or defense meant anything before Adrian's Bone Blade—

'He's stronger? Than me?'

His thoughts finally reached that point.

... No. No, that was impossible. It couldn't happen. It mustn't happen.

Blake's blackened eyes grew bloodshot.

"Don't pretend you're strong!!!"

His mercilessly trampled pride stirred again.

He drew up the mist to form a barrier wall. It was mercilessly sliced apart, scattering and vanishing.

Then, as the Bone Blade met his jet-black sword—

'Now!'

Blake concentrated his power in the jet-black sword. It exploded, unleashing darkness.

BOOOOM!

Two silhouettes crossed within the explosion. Then—

SLICE!

Blake's left shoulder was severed entirely.

* * *

Blake's severed left shoulder fell, tracing a red arc through the air.

"Aaaaaaaaaargh!!!"

He let out a horrific scream.

Then a message appeared before my eyes.

◆Ultra Instinct skill, Predator[M] has been deactivated.

My reason returned, freed from the instincts that had utterly consumed it—

"Cough...!!"

Blood gushed from my mouth.

The Ultra Instinct skill, Predator[M]. It had placed my body under such enormous strain that I couldn't move. And that wasn't all. Looking down, I found my chest mangled. Blood poured ceaselessly from the gaping wound.

Regeneration... was impossible. Predator[M] had overloaded my skills as well. Besides, my calories were completely depleted.

I couldn't... move.

Blake had taken considerable damage too. His sword-shaped tattoo had vanished. His left shoulder was gone, and his eyes had returned to normal. He pressed his right arm against the wound. Mist enveloped it, trying to staunch the bleeding, but the blood kept flowing. Sharp pain etched itself across his face.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the distance.

"You! Are you all right?!"

A familiar voice reached me. Leon and Lucas were running toward us.

Behind them, knights of the Royal Guard arrived one after another and surrounded the scene. Then Leon turned his gaze toward Blake—

"You...!"

Present Vision[L] perceived Blake's existence.

Blake's bloodshot eyes flashed viciously. He glared at me, his face twisted with venom.

"Don't think this is over...!!"

At that moment, the mist stanching his wound swirled up and enveloped him. Blake slowly vanished into it.

Leon's Present Vision[L] flashed.

"Commander Lucas!"

The instant Leon shouted—