Ravi and Lenis looked disgusted as they saw the half-transformed forms of Sophia and O’Brien.
“That appearance…”
“They look exactly like Baron Vector?! No, I guess they still look a bit more human, but still…”
Sophia and O’Brien emanated a dark aura from their bodies, which extended outward like tentacles, snatching up Imperial soldiers and dragging them toward their torsos, which were covered in multiple mouths.
As the Imperial soldiers were devoured alive with sickening sounds, Ravi, who had sharp hearing, covered her rabbit-like ears with her hands and trembled violently.
Sophia and O’Brien didn’t look too pleased either.
“Surviving is great and all, but isn’t this a bit too much? I never had a taste for cannibalism.
And what’s with this—it’s not even controllable?”
“I’m not interested in eating people either. It would’ve been nice if we could at least leave their heads intact, but I guess that’s not an option.”
The more Imperial soldiers they consumed, the more their strength seemed to recover.
I struggled to my feet, panting from the pain of the recoil damage, and stared at the two, now half-transformed into monsters.
“Gasp… Huff… I knew it, but I didn’t expect you to go this far. So, all this time, you’ve been carrying out all those atrocities under the orders of those underground worms?”
“Underground worms? Who’s that?”
Sophia responded in a tone that suggested she had just heard the dumbest thing imaginable.
It seemed they called those “underground worms” by a different name.
After all, “underground worms” was the term Linian had used—different people probably had different names for them.
“Not sure what you’re talking about, but judging from the context, I guess you mean our clients.”
“Aha~ Calling someone else’s clients ‘underground worms’? You sure talk big for someone with a loose tongue.”
“Huff… I know everything you did in Aldebaran. I know you sent your subordinates to deliberately cause conflicts in other fortresses along this border. I know you tried to incite a civil war in the kingdom by killing Lenis, who had come to Liberta!”
“So what?”
“You’ve run wild long enough, but this is where it ends. You’re not getting past us.”
“Hah! What’s this cripple, who can’t even stand properly, rambling about?”
Sophia sneered openly as she watched me struggle to stand.
Ravi and Lenis looked at me with worried expressions, trying to stop me.
“Alvis, is your illness acting up again? It’s dangerous here. You should step back.”
“I can handle that psycho serial killer on my own, but I don’t have the luxury of protecting you while fighting! Don’t put yourself in danger—just retreat!”
“Huff… Guh…”
Damn it… My body won’t move the way I want it to.
With our trump card exhausted, their firepower had weakened significantly.
On top of that, the black tentacles had left a piercing wound in my abdomen, and Lenis had used up almost all of her mana, leaving her barely able to resist.
If Sophia and O’Brien recovered their strength and attacked again in this state… the two of them would die.
I refuse to let a character death event happen, no matter what.
Steeling myself, I increased the output of my lightsaber and called out to them.
“Ravi, Lenis. Run from here.”
“What?!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“You two barely have the strength left to fight back, and you’re both suffering from severe blood loss. You won’t last long in battle like that. I’ll hold them off—just retreat and get your wounds treated.”
“Alvis, but your illness…!”
I had always used my illness as an excuse for my periodic bouts of pain, so they believed it without question.
“I’m fine. You two are in worse shape than I am. Hurry up and run!”
“A substitution? Who said we’d agree to that?!”
Sophia swung her black sword at Ravi again, this time not only using the blade’s chain but also the black tendrils extending from her body.
“Ahhgh!”
Ravi tried to dodge, but her abdominal wound caused her to stagger.
She managed to evade the sword, but the black tendrils grazed her skin, leaving fresh wounds all over her body.
Lenis was in an even worse situation.
She had poured nearly all of her mana into her ring’s ability, Falling Moon, leaving her struggling to even protect herself, let alone fight back.
Clang!
O’Brien’s black tendrils shattered Lenis’s barrier, and just like Ravi, she was slashed by the tendrils, causing blood to trickle from her shoulder.
“Damn it…”
“To be honest, if it weren’t for the methods our clients provided, I’d already be dead. As a sign of respect for your impressive skills, even if you surrender and run, I’ll still accept you into my collection.”
“Oh, how… touching! But I don’t need that kind of generosity!”
Lenis, gasping for breath, tried to cast a spell…
Fwoosh—
But she had too little mana left.
The magic circle hovering above her staff was incomplete, and the spell she forcibly cast fizzled out like a dud, dissipating in a puff of smoke.
“Die, you half-breed bitch!”
“Goodbye, young lady.”
Sophia and O’Brien moved in to finish off Ravi and Lenis.
But—
“I told you… you won’t touch them…!!!”
I forced every ounce of strength into my body and swung my lightsaber.
The blade of light slashed through the incoming tendrils, cutting them all down, saving Ravi and Lenis from certain death.
But…
▶ As a result of continuously intervening in your allies’ battles, you are now suffering Stage 3 Recoil. ◀
A pain unlike anything before tore through my entire body, as if I were being slashed apart by countless blades.
Compared to Stage 2, where it felt like my organs were being wrung dry like an old rag, this was beyond anything I could endure.
I couldn’t stop myself from screaming.
“Khgh… AAAAAHHHH!!! AAAAAARRRGHH!!!”
“ALVIS!!!”
“Haaack… UGH!!”
Unable to hold back, I vomited a mouthful of thick blood.
“Alvis! This is bad! We need to get you somewhere safe—”
“I… khh… I’m fine…!”
“Look at yourself! How the hell is this fine?!”
Ravi and Lenis, realizing just how severe my condition was, were at a complete loss for what to do.
“No substitutions, no evacuations. The three of you are all dying here by our hands.”
“I don’t know how much you know about our clients, but they prefer to keep things confidential. Since you seem to know something, we can’t let you live.”
Sophia and O’Brien hesitated only for a moment before resuming their attack.
But then—
The black tendrils I had severed with my lightsaber began radiating light, which surged backward along their mutated bodies.
Sensing something wrong, both of them abruptly stopped and frantically inspected themselves.
“W-what the hell?!”
“Light? Why is this suddenly— Urghhh!”
Their bodies trembled violently, and they collapsed to their knees.
The damage wasn’t fully healed!
Ravi and Lenis’s previous attacks had been far beyond what Sophia and O’Brien could endure.
They had barely survived thanks to some kind of failsafe from the underground parasites, but now… The lightsaber had severed the black energy keeping them intact.
The damage they should have taken before was now hitting them all at once.
“Ravi! Lenis! Now’s your chance! Kill them!”
The two wasted no time.
Ravi was the first to charge, launching a fierce kick at Sophia’s corrupted arm.
Her blackened limb shattered like brittle soot, turning to dust. One of her black swords tumbled from her grip.
“Gaaaahh! You f*ing bch…!”
Sophia, enraged, tried to swing her remaining black sword with her unaffected arm.
At the same time, O’Brien, stunned by the unexpected turn of events, was assaulted by Lenis.
The blackened arm he had used to conjure magic also crumbled to dust.
“Guhhh—! What… is this?!”
They were at a critical disadvantage.
But—
Ravi and Lenis had almost no mana left.
They couldn’t land a finishing blow in their current state.
Meanwhile, Sophia and O’Brien, dragging their nearly ruined bodies, were still trying to kill them.
I clenched my teeth against the excruciating pain.
If only I could transfer some mana—some power—to them…
I didn’t care about the recoil. I didn’t care about the consequences.
Just like in Arboness when I helped the elves—if I could just do something for them…
Then, words appeared before my eyes.
â–¶ If you continue interfering in combat, the recoil will intensify, and you may lose your life. Do you still wish to proceed? â—€
“Are you f**ing serious?! If I do nothing, they’ll die! You think I haven’t seen this happen before?! Do whatever the hell you want—I’m not giving up on them!”*
The recoil struck again.
I coughed up more blood, but I still didn’t stop channeling my lightsaber’s power.
Then, suddenly—
The pain vanished.
â–¶ Your unyielding will has defied the path of fate. By fulfilling your role as “One Who Resists Fate,” you have gained the ability to utilize your power in a new way. â—€
â–¶ A portion of “One Who Resists Fate”’s power can now be shared with those recognized as allies, allowing them to wield it at lower efficiency. â—€
“!!!”
I didn’t have time to think.
I swung my lightsaber, scattering its golden energy toward Ravi and Lenis.
The power purged the remnants of the black corruption, healing some of their wounds.
A faint golden aura coated Ravi’s knuckles and Lenis’s winged staff.
Both of them flinched in surprise.
Sophia and O’Brien, however, were already preparing to strike.
“We’re faster than you!”
The two mercenary leaders lunged in for the kill.
Even though I had empowered Ravi and Lenis, the enemy’s attack was about to land first—
KRRRSHH!
But just before their weapons could strike—
Thick vines and roots erupted from the ground, coiling around Sophia and O’Brien’s limbs and stopping them in their tracks.
I turned to see Elfin, barely standing atop the fortress wall, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.
“Haa… Haa… Don’t… you… dare… touch… my comrades…”
Even after exhausting himself transporting us for over an hour, Elfin had pushed past his limits, using the last of his strength to save them.
BOOOOM!
And then—
Ravi and Lenis, now wielding the light-infused power of my lightsaber, struck directly at Sophia and O’Brien’s hearts.