Chapter 83

The Laws of Betrayal (1)

Isolde steadied her breathing as the figure before her glared at her with murder in his eyes.

'So he's...'

The one who ruled Violess from the shadows. Iratum, a leader of the Dark Merchant Company.

His hideous mask concealed his face and expression. Yet Isolde could see the irritation twisting his features behind it.

"As if I didn't already have enough to do!!"

Irritation born of nothing less than rage.

WHOOOOSH!

Dark-red smoke suddenly surged from Iratum's entire body. It billowed around him in an instant, swelling his frame to an enormous size.

Then a hulking figure well over four meters tall strode out of the smoke. His body bulged with muscles that looked ready to burst, and his thick hands were large enough to wrap around Isolde's head and crush it in a single grip.

Tension tightened within her instinctively. Just as she clenched her gauntleted fists—

BOOOM!

Iratum shot toward her, leaving a crater where he had launched himself off the ground. He hadn't charged. He had literally shot toward her.

KA-BOOM!

His fist collided with Isolde's gauntlet. The immense weight of his blow traveled through it, and her face stiffened behind her mask.

'He's strong.'

So strong that she couldn't even imagine winning. Isolde bit down hard on her lip.

Iratum's enormous fist pressed against her gauntlet, bearing down on her whole body along with it.

This wasn't an opponent she could afford to size up at her leisure. Still less could she afford to hold anything back. Isolde squeezed divine power into her gauntlet.

The divine power condensed and seethed. Golden radiance exploded from her gauntlet.

Divine Martial Fist. Valencia Style.

Radiant Strike.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!

Radiant Strike detonated cleanly, driving Iratum's fist back. At that very moment, he tilted his head to the left.

"I thought I'd been sensing a peculiar energy..."

His mouth suddenly swelled, twisting grotesquely.

"So you're one of the worshippers of a hollow shell?"

Iratum raised one foot high and stamped down.

BOOOOOM!

That single stomp split the earth and sent soil flying. Isolde's balance gave way in an instant. She pulled back her extended fist, pushed off with the opposite foot, and opened up some distance.

"Your judgment isn't bad."

Laughing savagely, Iratum reached both hands toward her. The pressure was like an immense mountain crashing down on her.

... She couldn't dodge it. In that case...

Isolde poured divine power into her gauntlets without reservation and unleashed a barrage of punches—

Divine Martial Fist. Bianca Style.

Holy Purge Assault.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!

Divine explosions erupted before her like a bombardment. But Iratum didn't dodge.

"Cheap tricks!"

With a shout, he clenched his outstretched hands into fists and met every one of her attacks head-on.

BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!

Dozens of blows were exchanged in an instant. The impacts and thunderous crashes shook heaven and earth. Their speed and destructive power were tremendous.

... But she was the one losing ground. Each collision brought the sound of bones shattering inside Isolde's body. Her muscles, strained to their limits, tore apart and healed over and over.

CRACK! CRUNCH!

The pain battered her mind. Her consciousness flickered in and out.

... He was strong. Absurdly strong. And this was happening even with Divine Ascension active.

Of course, having already used it once, it wasn't quite as powerful as the first time. ... But would that have made a difference? Could she have matched Iratum's current speed and strength even with Divine Ascension at its full power?

"Ghh...!"

A groan slipped through her tightly pressed lips—

"So you're a bitch?"

Iratum's sneering voice rang in her ears.

"A worshipper of a hollow shell, and a bitch at that..."

His gaze swept over her entire body. Then the corners of his mouth twisted upward—

"You're the 'hollow shell's plaything,' aren't you, bitch?"

Iratum's presence abruptly changed. His massive fist came hurtling toward her, filling her vision in an instant.

There was no finesse in it whatsoever. Only overwhelming strength that had no need of finesse.

Isolde bent her upper body far backward to evade the blow. Her vision snapped back with her, and Iratum's fist swept past overhead—

Violence.

Isolde saw the very essence of the lawless city of Violess, and the one who ruled it.

KRAAACK!!

Only then did the sound of tearing air erupt. A tremendous blast of wind spun Isolde's body like a top. Her vision whirled with it, her senses twisting and tangling together.

Gritting her teeth, Isolde planted both hands on the ground. She kept her body spinning, lashing out with her foot like a whip and releasing a burst of divine power—

Divine Martial Fist. Malenia Style.

Holy Blossom Whirlwind Kick (Blossom Pulsus).

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

Driven by her spinning body, divine petals swept forth in a tempest. Yet not one of them pierced Iratum.

His skin was as rough as stone, and just as hard and tough. Not only his destructive power but his body's durability far surpassed any human's.

Iratum watched Isolde from within the divine tempest, utterly unfazed.

"Such paltry power, feeding off an empty shell of faith."

His mocking words rang out through the divine tempest.

At that moment—

CRAAASH!!

An enormous crash shook Isolde's mind. Before she knew it, Iratum's fist was against her abdomen. Her body folded violently as she flew through the air.

The impact forced her mouth wide open, and scarlet blood poured out of it.

... She hadn't even reacted. Could she have reacted with Divine Ascension at its full power? ... She didn't know. She couldn't be sure.

CRASH-THUD!

Isolde slammed ignominiously into the ground.

* * *

Night lay unusually dark over Violess. Even the moonlight in its sky had turned black, casting not the faintest glow—

"Stop them!! Whatever it takes, stop them!!"

Yet the city roared with chaos and fierce fighting.

"Kill anyone who interferes! Crush every enemy in our way!"

"The black market is ours!!"

Visters ran wild throughout Violess. They rampaged everywhere in their bid for control of the black market, while those wearing ashen masks desperately tried to hold them back.

The balance of power teetered on a knife's edge. Amid blood spraying in every direction and screams mingling with battle cries, a rugged-looking man with a solidly muscled build plunged into the heart of the fighting.

"I, the great Sarpedon, am the true master of Violess!!"

Sarpedon, leader of the Black Grasp. He swung his blunt weapon, shattering an alley wall in a single burst of explosive strength.

"Damn it! They've breached the barricade!!"

"Reinforcements!! Call for reinforcements!!"

As a breach opened in the barricade, the Ashen Mask Visters moved to fill it—

"All right, let's get in there!!"

"Wipe them all out!!"

The black-gloved Visters of the Black Grasp surged forward. As though imbued with powerful magic, their black gloves delivered brutal, steel-like force that overwhelmed the Ashen Mask Visters.

Vicious curses flew amid screams and shouts.

KEEEEEEN!!

That was when an air-rending roar cut through their ranks. Coming from far in the distance, it sounded like the bellow of an enormous beast.

"What...?"

"What was that sound...?"

The Visters froze for a moment. As if by common agreement, the sword points aimed at one another began to tremble.

They didn't know why. Yet for some reason, they couldn't move.

FWOOSH! FWHOOOOSH!!

Then enormous flames surged upward as though burning the very air. They cut through Violess's sinister darkness, finally revealing their true form.

"A dragon...?"

* * *

Isolde lay sprawled ingloriously on the ground. The impact battered her entire body, sending blood spilling through her tightly pressed lips.

"Cough...!"

She had to... get up. But her body simply wouldn't obey.

"You're hardly strong enough to have caused all this trouble... Tsk."

Iratum clicked his tongue and approached. Every step of his massive body sent a heavy tremor through the ground. His overwhelming presence bore down on Isolde.

"Don't tell me you had someone helping you?"

Isolde's hands trembled involuntarily against the ground. Her legs kept giving out as she tried to stand. Her mind grew hazy, her vision narrowing.

The terror of facing that enormous being gradually broke down her reason.

'I can't...'

At last, her legs buckled and she sank to the ground.

At that very moment, Iratum's approaching footsteps also stopped dead. He, too, stood unable to move, as though something were pressing down on him.

But what could exert enough pressure to pin down a towering terror like Iratum? Questions suddenly filled Isolde's muddled mind.

As if in answer—

KEEEEEEN!!

A strange, air-rending roar jolted her fading consciousness awake. Then a voice came from behind Iratum.

"I'm not the helper—"

... It was Adrian. Isolde barely managed to raise her eyes, looking toward the source of that voice and the oppressive presence pinning Iratum down—

'What in the world...?'

She realized something was wrong. The being before her eyes wasn't Adrian. Nor was the presence she felt against her skin.

'That's...'

A dragon, the mightiest of beings, reigning over all creation. For some reason, what Isolde saw and sensed was not Adrian, but a dragon.

A dragon seemingly forged of searing flames. Its immense fiery body lay coiled upon Adrian's arms.

Then its savage eyes flashed, and its enormous, ferocious maw gaped open—

"I'm the mastermind, you bastard."

ROOOOOOOOAR!!

The dragon burst free in a terrible release, swallowing Iratum in an instant.

* * *

I had prepared Dragon Rage Explosion[E] while Isolde drew his attention and bought me time. By slipping perfectly through the opening his carelessness left, I had landed a solid hit.

The power of Dragon Rage Explosion[E] was no laughing matter. It could even hurt a Sovereign.

The direct hit had completely blown away Iratum's upper body. His four-meter frame had been reduced to less than two meters—

'To think he managed to twist aside at that instant.'

But I'd struck at the perfect moment, so he hadn't evaded it completely. And having taken a direct hit, there was no way Iratum could be unharmed.

Sure enough, Iratum's remaining lower body lost its strength and toppled—

◆You have defeated Iratum!

◆You have gained 557,506 combat experience!

◆You have leveled up!

◆You have leveled up!

Notifications appeared before my eyes, confirming Iratum's death beyond doubt.

Roughly 550,000 experience. Considering the lycanthrope had given me around 100,000, that was an enormous amount.

"The first law of betrayal: the more you trust, the harder the blow to the back of your head."

The final disruption operation had been a resounding success.