Chapter 054: Blood Devil, Blood Mage
―I think I finally get it, Bihen.
―Get what, all of a sudden?
―The reason you’re stuck at a wall.
―Let’s hear what nonsense you’re spouting.
―It’s because you’re not putting your life on the line.
―You think I’m some fool who came to this war for a stroll?
―Truly, the only real threat to our Imperial Army is the mages. But you, you’re a natural predator to them, a veritable calamity. Since you came to this Kingdom, have you ever, even once, felt your life was in danger? Oh, except for that time with the mandrake.
―…Well.
―Look at this, look. This is why you’re wallowing in the quagmire of sloth’s hell.
―Thanks for the vermin’s advice. I’ll live every moment ready to die from now on.
―Tch, tch. The heavens, you see, don’t give a damn about the life of a murderous fiend like you. Whether you die to a blind blade, starve, or perish somewhere far from home, they couldn’t care less.
―So what do you want me to do?
―If you’re going to die anyway, live with the resolve to die for something worthwhile.
―You drunk or something?
―How lamentable. You mediocre bastard.
It was a night unusually full of stars.
The day before Hermann from my past life died.
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Hoo― Woong!
The sound of the slash was heavy.
I cut through the air.
This hollow sensation—I hadn’t felt it in a while.
Chiiik!
My feet scraped the ground.
I planted my soles firmly, giving them strength.
As I stopped, I scanned left and right.
‘Nothing?’
Then, as if waiting for me, a crimson light flickered.
From both ends of my vision.
‘Behind!’
My body reacted first.
I rolled forward, then immediately shifted my stance.
The enemy was right in front of me.
“Your scent, it’s nostalgic. It brings back memories from a long, long time ago.”
With an emotionless smile, it stood there.
Until now, it had been holding a bundle of red blood tendrils in its hand—likely the source of the light I’d just seen.
“My distant descendant. Why are you here?”
“Descendant, my ass. I’m the one who’s curious. For an Imperial specter to come all the way here, and all you’re doing is causing demonic corruption? I’m embarrassed for you.”
“Ignorance is not something to boast about.”
It murmured, pursing its lips slightly and letting out a soft whistle.
Its red pupils, matching its hair, slid sideways, as if urging me to look.
Without lowering my guard, I shifted my gaze.
My eyes and mouth widened involuntarily.
At the ends of the blood tendrils branching out from the Blood Devil’s hand, the necks of the Gunbel Trading Company members who had been standing watch were all caught.
Their feet lifted off the ground simultaneously, slowly being pulled upward like fish on a line.
“No!”
I immediately kicked off the ground and swung my sword.
Mocking my cry, the Blood Devil’s lips curled into a wide grin as a silver arc sliced diagonally across its face.
At least, that’s what I thought I saw.
Thud.
What fell wasn’t a head but a forearm.
Like a lizard that cuts its tail and flees, the main body was nowhere to be seen.
Snap, snap.
The sound of fingers clicking.
It came from the Blood Devil’s severed forearm lying near my feet.
As if confirming it had caught my attention, the clenched fingers unfurled, revealing a grinning mouth in the palm.
“I need to know your name.”
Crunch!
I thrust my reversed sword straight into that maw.
The five fingers spasmed as if in a seizure, spreading wide, and only then did I see it.
Blood tendrils were tied to the five fingers, stemming from a crimson ring that looked forged from congealed blood.
The fingers gripped my blade.
Pwoosh― Boom!
A shiver ran down my spine.
Explosions erupted simultaneously from all directions.
By the time I traced their origin, headless torsos were collapsing into nothingness, spraying blood into the pitch-black void.
My head slowly turned back.
As expected, it was there.
“You must have many questions for me. Your temper is no ordinary one.”
A new arm was growing from the stump.
It was beyond grotesque—perhaps awe-inspiring.
It was no wonder it left a profound mark on ancient Imperial history.
The Blood Cult.
They had beguiled the ignorant with the sorcery of regeneration.
They claimed to achieve eternal life through the pinnacle of human transmutation.
Seeing it now, it was indeed tempting.
But.
I let my sword hang loosely at my lower right.
Bihen Benkou, don’t falter.
“Your ancestors were indeed great. Even in death, they fought fiercely for their descendants. To ensure that wandering specters like you could never set foot on Imperial soil again, they drove you out to this distant land.”
“Your tongue is awfully bold. Very well, confess. Which family’s spawn are you?”
“Bihen Benkou. The eldest son of the Benkou family.”
“Benkou. Never heard of it. For the eldest son, the heir of a family, to be here, it seems you’re from a traitor’s lineage.”
“Blabber as you like. Your head will be more than enough for me to return home in glory.”
The moment I slowly lowered my chin and torso,the surroundings suddenly brightened.
Fwoosh!
Taking advantage of the commotion, my allies had formed a perimeter around me and the Blood Devil.
It wasn’t just the firelight that dispelled the darkness.
Adeline shouted.
“Blood Mage! So the vile Blood Mage was the source of the demonic corruption!”
Despite the bold provocation, the Blood Devil didn’t flinch.
It didn’t even glance at Adeline.
It merely raised its chin slightly, looking down at me.
“A courageous decision. If it means even a slight chance of victory, what’s a little shame as a warrior? Since I’m giving you a hint, it’d be better to aim for a quick, decisive strike together. No matter how many of you there are, you’ll only end up as fuel for my regeneration.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll fight you alone.”
As I spoke, my eyes met Eugene’s.
‘I’ll go first.’
I signaled with a glance.
For a coordinated attack to work, we needed to be in sync and have some understanding of the enemy.
If we both rushed in blindly now, we’d likely achieve nothing.
‘Plan for a war of attrition. Force it to use as many blood arts as possible.’
It’s an inhuman entity.
Measuring its strength with mere calculations is foolish.
Only by clashing with it directly can I gauge its capabilities.
Pop!
With a single leap, I closed the distance.
This time, it didn’t dodge.
Above the Blood Devil’s crown.
I brought my sword down vertically.
Kwa― Crunch!
The sound of flesh tearing was clear.
Surprisingly, I was the one shocked.
The Blood Devil didn’t even try to evade, taking my strike head-on.
“It worked!”
“It went right in!”
Cheers erupted from all around. I stepped back.
My sword had cleaved from the Blood Devil’s crown, through its face, and stopped at the center of its chest.
I tried to retrieve it, but it wouldn’t budge.
As a result, I was forced to face its visage up close, close enough to feel its breath.
“No matter how I ponder, I can’t understand. Why are you hastening your death? You, I mean. Are you from a clan with a deep grudge against me?”
As it spoke, its body slowly split along the bloodline, left and right.
The sound of wet clay tearing scratched at my ears.
I furrowed my brow and said,
“I’m the one who should ask. Why the hell are you doing this? As you said, what’s the reason for spreading harm in this land, even at the cost of your descendants’ lives?”
“A great cause blooms by using small sacrifices as fertilizer.”
The crack, having passed its philtrum, reached its lips.
The corners of its mouth stretched wide, as if to hang from its ears.
“Isn’t that an ancient tradition?”
My hair stood on end.
From behind its back, blood tendrils sprouted like tentacles in multiple strands.
Was its banter just a ploy to hold my attention?
Shwaaaack!
The tendrils, which had been slithering upward like venomous snakes, surged toward me all at once.
Don’t panic. My hands are quick too.
I gripped the hilt with one hand and placed the other on the blade protruding slightly from the Blood Devil’s body.
‘Frost Sword.’
If I could suppress its regeneration with frost…
Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!
The sound of tendrils piercing my limbs drowned out the sound of frost forming on the blade.
I confirmed the cold spreading like cracks from where the sword was lodged, then stamped my foot.
Boom―!
I launched myself backward, creating distance.
The pain? No time to care. I gritted my teeth. I had to press the attack now.
I pushed off hard with my landing foot.
When I closed in again, the Blood Devil’s torn torso had already sealed shut, leaving only the frost-covered wound in its chest unhealed.
‘It worked.’
As I extended my sword arm sideways, the Blood Devil responded by spreading the tendrils sprouting from its back like spider legs.
“Come!”
I know it’s pointless to think this now, but I can’t help feeling the regret.
If only it wasn’t Frost Sword but Sword Aura.
If only it was Frost Sword manifested at the peak of the middle stage!
“Blood Devil!”
I unleashed a flurry of strikes.
Fueled by frustration, their power was fiercer than usual.
Its regeneration nullifies my attacks?
Then I’ll make it so it has no time to regenerate.
‘I’ll reduce you to scraps!’
Pababababak!
White frost and red blood intertwined chaotically along the blade’s path.
The gusts, carrying dust and shockwaves, clouded my vision.
‘Even so…!’
I could feel it clearly.
The sensation transmitted through the hilt to my grip.
My strikes were undeniably pulverizing the Blood Devil’s body.
“Bihen’s overwhelming it!”
“He’s too fast! I can barely follow with my eyes!”
“N-Now, if we all jump in, we can finish it for sure, right? While Bihen’s got it pinned like this…”
“Don’t be stupid! We’d only get in the way, not help! Even if it revives again, Bihen’s already done enough by observing its movements thoroughly!”
Was it because my senses were heightened?
Even amidst this, I could hear every murmur clearly.
I squeezed out the fastest swordplay I could muster.
Pouring out a frenzied array of techniques as if it were my last stand, my eyes widened.
‘An opening!’
Amid the viscous blood defending and attacking, I saw its pale neck, exposed.
‘I’ve got you!’
It was defenseless.
A fleeting moment.
Purgk!
With a heavy, sticky sound of flesh being rent, the flurry ended.
My ragged breaths dispersed in the dissipating frost haze.
The Blood Devil’s head lay at my feet.
“Haa, haa…”
This isn’t the end.
Even the Crimson Flame Leader, a mere Blood Fiend, didn’t die from a severed head.
‘But a critical wound…’
As if to taunt me, the Blood Devil’s unfocused pupils moved, and its lips curled.
“Not bad.”
“…”
“Perhaps today, I might achieve a great awakening.”
Roll, roll―
Its head rolled away on its own, as if caught by the wind, and attached itself to the headless body of a Gunbel Trading Company member.
My gaze, following it, drifted downward, then slowly rose.
The corpse, now with the Blood Devil’s head, stood up.
“Show me more. Before the thrill fades.”
It spoke indifferently, rolling its neck with a hand on its trapezius, the sound of cracking bones chillingly resonant.
“Madman.”
My eyelids trembled involuntarily.
Then, a low voice from beside me caught my attention.
“Well done, Bihen Benkou.”
“…Eugene.”
“I think it’s time to switch. Now’s the right moment. Truth be told, I should’ve stepped in earlier…”
Unlike his usual self, his words carried a strange nuance.
As my head tilted, Eugene stepped in front of me.
“My heart was racing for the first time in a while. I couldn’t help but watch. It seems I’m still a swordsman at heart, after all.”
“What…”
“Call it an old man’s greed. I wanted to see it. The moment Bihen Benkou, the swordsman, took a step forward.”
Kiing!
The Blood Lion’s blade was revealed.
A deeper crimson than the Blood Devil’s blood gleamed.
“Don’t waver. The answer is already within you.”
At that moment, a blinding radiance enveloped the Blood Lion.
I muttered to myself, entranced.
‘Aura…’
The milestone that had guided me to this life shone with unparalleled brilliance.