Chapter 78

The Allied Army’s Saintess (2)

Isolde shot toward me at a terrifying speed. Her torn armpit had healed completely, but her clothes hadn’t. The smooth skin beneath was fully exposed.

And yet, Isolde... Honestly.

KEEEEN!

She couldn’t have cared less about that.

Then again, Isolde wasn’t the sort to shrink back in embarrassment. Not that she was incapable of feeling it. She simply knew exactly what mattered more.

She wasn’t the allied army’s greatest fighting force and the commander of Divine Command for nothing.

The seething divine power subsided, condensing. It enveloped her gauntlets, and an immense force burst forth.

Divine Martial Fist. Valencia Style.

Radiant Strike.

I knew this technique. Created long ago by Saint Valencia, it concentrated divine power in the fist to deliver a powerful blow.

The key lay in detonating that concentrated divine power.

What if I tried to dodge?

I could end up caught in an even wider blast radius. Which meant I couldn’t dodge this.

... I would block it before it exploded.

I had to.

◆Activating combination skill ‘Dragon’s Skin[U]’!

KABOOM!

Blood gushed between my tightly clenched teeth.

Fortunately, I had blocked it before the divine power exploded. As a result, the muscles in the arm Isolde had used to execute Divine Martial Fist had ruptured completely, too.

Her arm hung limp, laying bare her inexperience with the art.

... Now was my chance!

I swung Dragon's Claw[A], and Isolde immediately flipped backward out of reach. Much as I regretted it, I didn’t pursue her. Instead, I used the opening to pull a can of oil from my Inventory.

Her ruptured arm healed the instant she landed. Then she saw me gulping down the oil I’d taken from my Inventory—and charged me again without hesitation.

‘Damn it.’

I hurled aside the can before I’d even drunk half of it.

‘I’m at a disadvantage in a battle of attrition.’

My calories were limited. Of course, my infinite Inventory held more oil than I could possibly need, but I had no time to consume it. As she’d just demonstrated, Isolde wasn’t about to stand by and let me.

I could create openings somehow and drink a little at a time, but not much.

BOOM! KABOOM!

What I could replenish was nowhere near what I was burning through.

After all, simply blocking her attacks—

◆Activating skill ‘Regeneration[B+]’.

◆Consuming a large quantity of nutrients to regenerate the damaged body.

—was draining my calories in huge chunks.

Once they were gone, I couldn’t use Regeneration[B+] anymore.

Of course, the same applied to Isolde. She couldn’t heal once her divine power ran out, either. The problem was that her divine power was practically “infinite.”

Its source was the faith and wishes of the Holy Kingdom’s people.

The people of the Holy Kingdom believed that Isolde, their Saintess, was “God’s representative.” Her ability, Omni Vessel[M], could contain all their faith and wishes.

Its grade alone was Myth[M]. Considering how broken Infinity[M] was, that told me just how absurdly powerful her ability was, too.

CRACK!

For a moment, a loud noise came from the muscles throughout my body.

They hadn’t finished healing with Regeneration[B+]. The skill simply couldn’t keep pace with the injuries Isolde was inflicting.

Every one of her attacks was a lethal blow, and she unleashed them on me without the slightest hesitation.

Was she all brute strength, then?

Not at all.

Her movements were too fast for my eyes to follow. Still, my vastly enhanced Agility and senses, which approached ESP, somehow allowed me to evade her attacks—but...

‘I can’t just keep dodging.’

I had to subdue Isolde.

... Could I?

‘There’s no need to be scared.’

I banished my doubts. I was plenty strong myself. I’d never been a match for her in my previous life, but that was my previous life.

Hadn’t I grown tremendously through Ian’s ability, I Alone Level Up[EX]?

Strong as Isolde was, she couldn’t compare to Ian. Even when she’d been in the allied army, incomparably stronger than she was now, she hadn’t surpassed him.

Surpass him? She’d barely reached his toes.

I hadn’t even managed that—but...

‘That’s not true anymore.’

And not just because I possessed Ian’s ability.

My own ability, Predation[S+]. The ability I’d failed to use properly in my previous life.

Now, I could control and wield it perfectly—

Once, Ian had told me:

["I’m the one who can’t become like you."]

He’d said he couldn’t become like me. That even dragons couldn’t become like me.

["Adrian, you stand at the very pinnacle of all living creatures."]

The ultimate predator, Predator.

["Only your Predation can reach that pinnacle."]

The Ultimate Lifeform.

["How could mere humans or dragons compare to the Ultimate Lifeform?"]

Despite Ian’s expectations, I’d never managed to stand at that pinnacle. I’d failed to transcend my limitations as a mere hunter—but...

◆Activating combination skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive[U]’!

◆Calories Consumed - 50,000Kcal

◆All of the player’s stats increase by [+50%] for [500 seconds]!

Now, the Predator’s true instincts were fully awakening.

* * *

As Isolde fought Adrian—or rather, the Dark Merchant Company officer wearing Adrian’s face—

‘Something’s strange.’

She was able to shake off the sense of strangeness.

First of all, the speed at which his injuries healed was extraordinary. He didn’t seem to be using any elixirs or potions.

Far from elixirs or potions, was that... oil?

Her eyes briefly flicked downward. The liquid spilled across the ground was unmistakably oil.

Pitch-black waste oil, at that.

Adrian was gulping it down and healing his injuries instantly. It was an ability closer to regeneration than healing. She could confidently say it rivaled the healing afforded by divine power.

Yet he wasn’t using divine power.

That mysterious, unidentifiable power only made her more certain that he belonged to the Dark Merchant Company.

But second...

‘He knows Divine Martial Fist.’

For some reason, Adrian knew the art. Not merely its name, but its techniques and the principles behind them.

That made no sense.

Divine Martial Fist was a martial art developed by the Holy Kingdom’s successive Saintesses and Saints to combat darkness. Designed to make effective use of divine power in close combat, each form bore its creator’s name.

Generation after generation had remedied its shortcomings. Over thousands of years and 213 successive holders of the office, it had developed into a more complete martial art.

In other words, no one but a Saintess or Saint could know or use Divine Martial Fist.

Did that mean—

Could Adrian possibly be a Saint?

That made even less sense. He wasn’t using divine power in the first place.

Which brought her to the third and final point.

Adrian’s red eyes were fixed on her. When she met those eyes, filled with a staggering madness—

‘Ah.’

She felt every hair on her body stand on end.

There was something different about him now. Something distinctly unlike what she’d felt moments earlier.

Like a natural predator of humanity. No, it was what one felt when facing something that reigned over all living creatures.

The primal fear of a living being.

She felt it for only an instant, but she realized she had been overwhelmed.

Her entire body stiffened, refusing to move as she willed.

WHOOSH!

A whisper of wind. Before she knew it, Adrian was right in front of her. His movements were completely different from moments before—beyond anything she could have imagined.

She hurriedly swung her right fist, but his foot struck her abdomen first.

BAM!

Isolde regained her balance as she flew backward, spinning her body through a full turn. She was briefly flustered, but not so much that she couldn’t respond.

Still airborne, she concentrated divine power at the tip of her foot. Then she twisted at the waist and spun.

She detonated the gathered divine power. Holy light burst from her foot, scattering like petals and sweeping the space before her.

Divine Martial Fist. Malenia Style.

Holy Blossom Whirlwind Kick (Blossom Pulsus).

She didn’t stop there. She poured divine power into her gauntlets and unleashed a series of punches, detonating it with each blow.

Divine Martial Fist. Bianca Style.

Holy Purge Assault.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Pain tore through her hands as though they were being ripped apart.

No, they actually were ripping apart.

And yet—Adrian charged bodily through the explosions without the slightest hesitation.

Then came his strange movements. He almost seemed to have no joints.

At last, he thrust his hand forward—

KABOOOOM!

His hand collided with Isolde’s gauntlet. Power clashed against power. He wasn’t being pushed back.

He lunged, moving without a sound. Boldly sacrificing one shoulder, he tore into her abdomen.

BAM! CRUNCH!

The sounds of a bursting impact and tearing flesh rang out together. Dizzying pain slammed into her mind.

She had forgotten for a moment... Adrian could fight the same way she did.

“Guh...!”

A groan escaped her tightly pressed lips. Divine power could heal any injury, but it could do nothing about the pain.

Adrian, on the other hand, moved without reservation.

In terms of severity, his injury was worse. His entire shoulder had been blown away—a wound bordering on fatal. It would have been no surprise if he’d collapsed from the pain right then.

Yet he didn’t so much as grimace.

WHOOOSH!

Instead, he tore through the air toward her. His forearm came flying at Isolde.

But on closer inspection, it wasn’t his forearm. It was the remains of the shoulder that had just been blown apart.

Though severed, those remains retained all of his physical capabilities. In other words, he was using his own body parts as weapons.

Even Isolde... couldn’t do that.

She had never encountered a fighting style like this before. How was such a thing even possible?

There was madness, and then there was this.

Startled, she flinched backward. Adrian forced his way into that fleeting opening.

RIP!

Her light armor was torn away completely. Only the cloth binding her breasts barely kept her covered, but she paid it no mind.

Adrian didn’t spare it a glance, either. His red eyes remained fixed on her movements the entire time.

... She couldn’t seize the momentum.

Suppressing pain that felt as though her organs were being torn apart, Isolde lunged forward.

She was still all right. For now.

KABOOOOM!

Divine power exploded at close range. Resistance pressed back against her.

Adrian hadn’t dodged. His gleaming red eyes were still tracking her. He had chosen to meet her head-on rather than evade.

Did he intend to settle this here?

Dragging this out wouldn’t do her any good, either. She met him in kind.

But...

Could she win?

The question suddenly occurred to her. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t imagine winning.

Had any opponent she’d faced until now ever made her feel this kind of unease?

She could say with certainty that none had.

Sacred divine power wrapped around her gauntlets. Shaking off the thought, she drove her fist forward—

RIP! BAM!

Her healed lower abdomen tore open again, and Adrian’s regenerated shoulder exploded once more.

But this time, a question struck her mind before the pain did.

‘Why didn’t he aim for my heart?’

Reluctance? Hesitation? Or inexperience?

She couldn’t tell for certain. But he hadn’t targeted her heart just now.

Whether or not it would have succeeded, wouldn’t that have been the most effective place to strike?

Just as she swallowed that question—

“Executor!”

A loud voice rang out from somewhere. An Ashen Mask Vister appeared—a member of the Dark Merchant Company.

... They’d made too much noise.

Lawless city or not, deserted alley or not, a disturbance of this magnitude was bound to draw attention.

That was why she’d wanted to finish quickly, but Adrian was far stronger than she’d expected.

Adrian alone was more than she could handle. Naturally, she couldn’t take on Ashen Mask as well.

If she was captured here, everything would be over. This was a lawless city where people died practically every day and no one cared.

Capture meant the end. She had to escape immediately.

But would Adrian simply let her?

“Executor! Are you all right?!”

The Ashen Mask Vister had already drawn near.

Just as Isolde began wringing out her divine power—

“Three in the morning. Shadow Alley.”

Adrian’s voice suddenly reached her. At some point, he had put on a mask that covered his entire head.

Then he turned and reached toward the approaching Ashen Mask Vister—

CRUNCH!

And tore out the Vister’s heart?

The man died without even understanding what was happening. His face bore a single question: “Why...?”

Only then did Isolde realize.

“Go!”

... Somehow, she had made a terrible mistake.

* * *

That had been far, far too close.

◆Surplus Calories - 520Kcal

My calories were nearly depleted. Another couple of exchanges and I would have been finished.

I’d nearly gotten myself killed trying to subdue Isolde. In fact, I’d been thinking of running away when the Ashen Mask Acata arrived with perfect timing.

It seemed I’d somehow cleared up the misunderstanding, but—

“This way!”

“The signal came from here!”

It wasn’t over yet.

The Ashen Mask Acatas would soon come swarming in. After making sure Isolde was getting away, I rendered the Acata whose heart I’d torn out unidentifiable.

Then I took oil from my Inventory and gulped it down before tearing chunks out of my own body, scattering flesh and blood everywhere.

In an instant, the place looked like the scene of a massacre.

The Acatas came flooding in shortly afterward.

“The Black Grasp bastards came looking for revenge.”

I spun a plausible story based on what had actually happened earlier.