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“Even if I asked, I assume you won’t tell me why you are working with that man, right?” Davey asked and calmly walked toward Count Colio.
Count Colio backed away from Davey to put space between them. He initially thought that Davey was being strengthened by the demon sword, but he was still being bombarded by strong attacks after Davey had abandoned the swords. Only now did he realize that Davey needed no external help for strength. “Who are you…”
Humans weren’t perfect. Davey was able to use advanced holy magic and was at a Master level in swordsmanship. He also had the physical abilities of a Fist Master. It made no sense how Davey was able to reach this level at his age.
‘Well, a genius of the century might be able to achieve one of those things.’
“I saw, on the way here, that you transplanted monster cells on a human body.”
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Yulis widened his eyes in shock.
“Hmm, did you get involved to recover your broken body?” Davey asked.
“Shut up!!” Colio screamed in fury. He would normally attack by now, but he reflexively raised his trembling hand to protect his gut instead. He was being extremely cautious.
“Now I’m beginning to think of something crazy. The ones who gave the barbarians the poison containing the virus to spread disease in this territory…” Davey glanced at Lington. “It was you guys, wasn’t it?”
Shriek!
“I guess I’m right. You guys are pieces of human garbage.”
These people had unleashed bioterror on a completely regular territory to find the disease’s cure. And with the funding they had received, they were conducting secret experiments. Understanding the situation, Davey commented, “If this gets out, I don’t think it will just end with the organization being destroyed.”
The medical organization, which was founded with good intentions, had intentionally infected people with a virus. They had kidnapped people to conduct secret human experiments. This was a world where a commoner’s life was valued similarly to a fly’s, and it was the nobility who enforced such beliefs.
But there was still something called human virtue. Davey found it funny that the nobility would try coming for him, especially when he had caught them doing such atrocious acts.
“Groan… Ugh… C… Count Colio!” Lington desperately called for Count Colio while moaning in pain.
“Be quiet!!” However, Count Colio looked tense; he seemed very nervous and wasn't able to approach Davey easily.
-Enough, Davey.
‘Hm, I guess so.’
Davey chuckled and relaxed his hand. “Let’s stop going for the gut, then.”
“…” Count Colio remained silent at Davey’s mocking.
Boom!! Keeping his guard up, Colio suddenly took a step forward and came at Davey. He didn’t give up, making an [Aura Blade] with his sword by using every last drop of mana left inside him. This was seemingly his final attack.
‘I guess an old eagle is still better than a young crow.’
Even though Colio was a ruined Swordmaster, his power was too strong for Davey, who had an abnormal balance of power, to block. Davey was only overwhelmingly superior to Colio when it came to the experience of, and the observation of, sudden opportunities in battle.
“Hup.” Davey precisely measured the distance between himself and Colio, who was charging at him like a cannonball, in millimeters.
The advantage of martial arts was that one could move more freely and faster in close proximity than using a sword. When Colio’s movement was off… Crack! Cracking the ground beneath him, Davey shot up and directly planted his fist on Colio’s face.
“Hup!!”
The moment Colio let down his guard to instinctively protect his face using his sword, Davey forcibly changed the direction of his fist. ‘Haha! You were tricked again, youngling!’
[Devil Ylgr’s Exploding Fist]
[Unwavering Body]
[Gut Crusher]
Once again… Boom!
“Kuk!?!”
Both fists slammed right into Count Colio’s gut another time. Davey could hear someone murmur that he was cheap and dirty, but he still kept his gaze focused on Count Colio.
Thud!! The shock wave from Davey’s attack sent Count Colio flying. He hit the floor and rolled around in pain. Coughing up blood, he stared at Davey with empty eyes. “You… cheap…”
“Are you one to say something when you couldn’t even block the attack?”
Count Colio widened his eyes at Davey’s murmur. Colio faced the simplest fact that he had forgotten about due to the absurdity of this battle: he was completely outmatched by Davey in terms of basic competency. He was filled with jealousy, envy, and anger about the unknown level Davey had reached. Colio’s eyes looked nothing but empty, especially after a mix of emotions flickered through them, and his old yet strong body slowly lost its power. He fell to the ground.
-He’s still alive… Maybe you weakened your blow too much.
‘No, that guy is just tough.’
The difference between the overall power of an Expert and a Master was almost indescribable, since it was too nuanced and detailed. Furthermore, Count Colio was someone who had an outstanding level of power, which made him the Captain of the Royal Palace Knights; he wouldn’t have let go of his sword if he was completely fine.
-Then, you should at least stop his breathing.
‘He’s bound to die anyway.’
“Bro…ther,” Winley whispered.
Davey approached Yulis and Winley; she didn’t know the exact details, and Yulis didn’t understand the situation that took place right before his eyes.
“Sir,” Yulis called out.
“How are you feeling?” Davey asked calmly.
Yulis smiled bitterly. “I… I really caused a nuisance. Anyway… I’m sorry. Count Colio ambushed the tent while I was away, and the medication…” Yulis trailed off, and he spoke as if he was responsible for what had happened. He seemed to think that all of the medication, which was the only thing keeping the dying patients alive, had been destroyed by the fire.
Everyone couldn’t be cured by the amount of medication that Davey had given to Baron Gorneo in the beginning. The medication would never be enough, because it had to be administered to all patients continually.
“Oh, that? It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s my fault for not setting up a proper defense.”
Yulis widened his eyes, surprised that Davey made it seem like it was no big deal. He asked, “Pardon? What do you mean?”
“If I died, the treatment method would’ve just disappeared. Lington wouldn’t have just abandoned it.”
Yulis nodded in understanding.
Davey smiled. “So, head back. I’m leaving Winley to you.”
“Sir, what about…”
“I will join you once I take care of the remaining men.”
“Oh! C—Count Lington has…!” As if she had just remembered, Winley shouted in surprise.
Count Lington, who had been pinned up against the wall from Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon penetrating his shoulder, was nowhere to be seen. The two swords had been thrown onto the ground, and a trail of what seemed to be his blood left a trail leading outside of the room.
“Oh no! He has run away…!” Yulis exclaimed.
“So, head back first,” Davey urged.
“I—I’m sorry. With the state my mana is in right now…”
“Just stay still.”
“Pardon?” Yulis, who looked confused and surprised, opened his eyes wide.
Mages at the 5th circle could use a type of teleportation magic. However, the range was only about five to eight kilometers. Davey had also contemplated whether he should use it when traveling from the Heins Territory to the Ordem Territory, since the 5th circle was the highest level of mana he could use right now.
“W—What?! Sir, you can even use magic?!”
“Well, then…” Davey then snapped his fingers with a smile.
When Winley and Yulis, who both looked utterly shocked, instantly vanished, Davey picked up Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon from the ground. He only did so after making sure that Winley and Yulis, who had disappeared without a trace, were no longer under the influence of magic.
“He treated someone else’s daughter like crap.” Davey joked around, but his face was strangely tense, and it didn’t seem like his facial expression was going to relax anytime soon. The fact that they had used Winley in this ruse angered him more than this damn situation itself.
* * *
“Groan… Hup… Shriek!”
Lington’s escape was just a desperate struggle. Davey followed the trail of blood to see Lington standing beside a huge control facility. The man’s left arm was cut beneath his elbow, and both his shoulders were ripped apart. Davey could tell his desire to live was quite great from how he was enduring the excruciating pain.
“You monster…” Lington stammered.
“Who is calling who a monster?”
Swish!!! Clang!!! In an instant, Davey’s whip-like [Aura Blade] flew toward Lington like it was going to cut him, leaving a red afterimage. However, his [Aura Blade] went nowhere near Lington and was shattered by a pink energy that suddenly appeared in front of him. The pink energy had seemingly been waiting for an attack.
“He… Hehe. This is why people should have one final trick up their sleeve.”
Davey silently looked down at his trembling hand. He thought about the pink energy barrier that couldn’t be slashed by the [Aura Blade], which could cut through most magic. ‘It’s pretty durable.’ It felt like the air was blocking his attack more so than a physical barrier. ‘A barrier made from forcing a lot of mana together… This must’ve been expensive.”
After putting away Red Ribbon, Davey stared at Lington calmly.
Lington pulled out a remote-control device and began using it; at the same time, his body started fading away.
“You’ve done enough, you monster.” Lington was disappearing slowly, but how he was vanishing seemed similar to what would happen when one used a mana gate, a well-known ancient remain.
-He’s trying to run away!
Perserque shouted at Davey in surprise.
“What are you going to do now? Going to slash me? Ahahaha! Sure! Try slashing me if you want!” Lington threw his disfigured monocle onto the ground in irritation and shouted with his chest puffed up. Then, he put on a crazy smile and glared at Davey. “I never let off someone who bothered my work. Just wait. One day I will throw you into an experiment room alive.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“Kehehe… Kehehe… Kahahaha!!” With a smirk on his face, Lington began laughing at Davey and looking down on him.
‘Perhaps this situation is funny to him.’
“No matter how extraordinary you are, you are still nothing but a human! I have all the medicine you made, and you did not save anyone in the end! You can’t save anyone now, and you won’t be able to after I’m gone!” Lington’s laughter was filled with insanity, echoing throughout the entire control facility.
“Kehehehe! Well, alright. Do you have any last words?”
Seeing Lington speak as if he was granting Davey a favor, Davey pulled out Blue Ribbon without hesitation. “Goodbye.”
“What?”
An activated mana gate excluded the activator from the laws of physics; this meant that Lington’s blurry, faded body was already on the other side of the second dimension.