Chapter 214
[Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 214: King of the North (8)
“Yes… He’s Aradan Turkon, the son of Zaifa.”
Ronan was left speechless. It was the moment when the unpleasant sense of deja vu he had been feeling before was revealed.
Aradan’s swordsmanship, based on primal instincts, was remarkably similar to Zaifa’s. Adeshan, panting heavily, spoke with a trembling voice.
“You revived your nephew… with necromancy?”
“Yes. If Aradan were to fulfill my vengeance, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the greatest achievement of my lifetime. Unlike me, who lacks talent in martial arts, he inherited my older brother’s qualities.”
“H-How… how could you…”
“I’m sure Aradan will be happy too. Being able to personally exact revenge on the enemy who killed him and his father who has become soft.”
There was no trace of remorse in Barka’s calm voice. Aradan’s eyes, already lifeless, radiated a cold gleam.
It was the eerie intensity typical of a revived corpse. Adeshan, staring into those eyes, covered her mouth shut. She felt like she might vomit if she looked at them any longer.
With everyone silent, the only sound echoing in the disturbingly quiet atmosphere was the clashing of swords. Ronan, who had been silently observing, muttered under his breath.
“To even do such a thing…”
“Kraaaaagh!”
Suddenly, a mindless roar burst from Aradan’s mouth. His intensified sword strikes were directed towards Ronan. In a moment, two jagged blades, resembling fangs, were moments away from piercing his neck. Ronan shouted, clutching the hilt of his sword as if it were going to break.
“Are you even human, you bastard!!”
“Kugh?!”
Aradan’s eyes widened. Lamancha accelerated rapidly and struck down the two swords that were flying at him at the same time. Clang! The shattered blade fragments scattered like snowflakes.
“Get out of my way!”
Ronan immediately extended his leg, kicking Aradan in the abdomen. The sensation of his intestines exploding and his spine shattering transmitted through his foot. Bang! The body flew, smashing into the laboratory wall, breaking various experimental tools in its path.
“…But still, you’re an ignorant fool.”
Barka, watching, shook his head. Ronan’s reinforced legs, enhanced by Varen’s aura, were enveloped in a golden shimmer. Ronan snarled at him.
“I’ll make sure you see hell.”
Even though he had lived two lives, he had never felt such intense disgust. The maggot infested battlefield laboratory somehow seemed cleaner in comparison.
He had to kill. And make it as painful as possible. Ronan was about to unleash his Aura.
“Do as you wish. Still, shouldn’t we finish the game we were playing?”
“What?”
Ronan furrowed his brow at the incomprehensible words. In an instant, smoke erupted from where Aradan had been struck. At that moment, Ronan’s arms moved before his head, reflexively adopting a defensive stance. Bang!! The shadow that came rushing like lightning collided with Ronan.
“Kruuk! Kwaahk!”
“What the hell is this…!”
Ronan spat out curses as he looked up. The sight of Aradan, with five claws reminiscent of sickles, holding onto Lamancha was astonishing. Aradan roared, baring his fangs, appearing remarkably vigorous.
‘How is he moving like that?’
Despite clearly breaking his spine, Ronan couldn’t fathom how Aradan was still able to move. Even if he were an undead, his body shouldn’t be able to move freely if it was damaged.
He wanted to figure out the cause, but Aradan did not give him time to think. Adjusting his stance, he rotated sideways and swung his arms.
“Kerheuung!”
There was no gap to be found in his perfect rotation. It was hard to believe that such movements were executed solely by instinct and killing intent. His grasping hand, tearing through the wind, would’ve cleaved through not only Ronan’s head but his entire upper body.
“You’ve got some spirit.”
Ronan twisted his lips. Had he taken the blow head-on, his shoulders would have surely shattered. As he stepped back to a stable distance, preparing to counterattack, Swish! Suddenly, an elongated claw came dangerously close to Ronan’s face.
“Hrk?!”
His cheek tore open, blood spurting out. The range seemed to have extended more than Ronan had anticipated. Fortunately, he managed to turn his face just in time to let the claw graze him. Ronan, caught in Aradan’s gaze, furrowed his eyebrows.
“That’s…!”
“Kruuk! Kurruk!”
Indeed, Aradan’s left arm had extended so much that his fingertips almost touched the ground. Inside the gash that opened at his elbow, slimy tentacles squirmed.
It didn’t seem like he was merely revived with a breath. Barca chuckled with a mixture of amusement and malice.
“Give it up. He’s not an opponent you can defeat.”
“You bastard, what kind of twisted experiment did you perform on a kid to turn him into this monster?”
“I granted him a favor. My nephew wanted to become a stronger warrior than anyone else.”
Barka proudly spoke of how he transformed Aradan into a true warrior through dark magic and various experiments. Ronan chewed on his lower lip. He wanted to rush forward and strangle him right then and there, but Aradan didn’t give him the chance to do so easily.
“Deal with them and come back.”
[Translator – Peptobismol]
With a dismissive tone, Barka turned his back on Ronan and walked away hastily. Several corpses rose from various corners of the laboratory, surrounding him as if to escort him.
“Greeeak…!”
“Gruuk, gruk.”
The entities that appeared to have almost no combat power were purely meat shields to block Ronan’s Aura. He limped, leading his injured leg, towards the side door of the laboratory.
“Damn it, move!”
Ronan impatiently gripped the hilt of his sword. His hand momentarily blurred, and a black line appeared over Aradan’s chest. Swish! Rotten blood splattered Ronan’s face.
“Fuck, it’s tough.”
“Grrrhh!”
But Aradan paid no heed. With the reaction akin to being pricked with a needle, the Weretiger immediately adjusted his stance and rushed towards Ronan. It felt like he had pierced his ribs, but even for a corpse, it displayed incredible vitality.
“Let’s not overdo it. Hmm?”
“Kraaggh!”
It was expected, yet Ronan’s desired response didn’t come. Aradan had been dead for quite some time already. He was merely a puppet controlled by various malice.
“Then I really have to kill you.”
Ronan muttered as if squeezing out words. Aradan was indeed formidable, but Ronan didn’t think he would lose. It’s just that being Zaifa’s child made his sword heavy.
To end this, he would have to completely pulverize the flesh until there was nothing left. But he couldn’t muster the courage to do so. Damn it, if he knew it would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have read Zaifa’s letter. Suddenly, Barka, who was about to enter the side door, stopped in his tracks.
“Wouldn’t it be better to stop this meaningless chase?”
“Ugh…”
Adeshan, who was slowly walking, gritted her teeth. She thought he wouldn’t notice her presence amidst the commotion.
She was secretly approaching Barka while Ronan distracted Aradan. Barka tapped his own head with his index finger, speaking.
“You’ve been trying to invade my mind since earlier. You possess dangerous power.”
“Barka!”
Having abandoned her intention, she drew out a crossbow. One of the bolts, already placed in position, shot out. Clang! The arrow, precisely reaching right in front of Barka’s forehead, bounced off as if hitting a wall.
“Ah!”
“Still… no matter how ridiculous I become, do you think I would be defeated by someone like you?”
Barka chuckled. The Protection of the Stars shimmered around his body. Adeshan’s face stiffened with despair. Barka wagged his finger.
“Get rid of her.”
“Damn it…!”
Adeshan immediately fired the next crossbow bolt. If she couldn’t harm his body, she had to collapse the ceiling to block his path. At that moment, Aradan, who had been fighting Ronan, leaped forward. Thud! Aradan intercepted the crossbow bolt, blocking Adeshan’s path.
“Krrrrack!”
“N-no!”
Adeshan’s eyes widened. It was an unreal reaction speed. Aradan, having eliminated the threat, extended his claws.
“Krung!”
“This…!”
It was too late to evade. She reflexively swung her whip. Squick! The dagger-like claws narrowly missed her heart, hitting instead the whip. But she couldn’t claim complete success in her defense. The recoil pushed the whip into her upper body. Simultaneously, her body, pushed back by the impact, rolled on the ground.
“Ugh!”
Blood spurted from Adeshan’s mouth. Five sharp steel pieces had pierced her from her chest to her side. She could feel her organs inside the flesh being injured.
Barka had disappeared inside the side door by now. The sound of footsteps was gradually fading away.
Squeezing out the last of her bit of strength, Adeshan fired another crossbow bolt towards Barka’s direction. This time Aradan couldn’t react either. Thud! The sound of the arrowhead penetrating was heard from beyond the darkness.
“…Keuk!”
It hit. Barka’s groan followed. Fortunately, it seemed to have pierced right after the Protection the Stars disappeared. With this, Ronan’s pursuit would be much easier.
“Haa…”
Perhaps due to losing a lot of blood at once, her vision was rapidly becoming blurry. Having fulfilled her duty, she lost balance and collapsed. Aradan, with his arms raised, was about to deliver the final blow.
“Adeshan!”
Ronan’s shout echoed. At the same time, the glow of a setting sun poured down from behind Aradan. The Aura dragging the opponent, pulled Aradan towards Ronan in an instant.
“Krraaagh!”
Aradan was unfazed and rotated his body. The blow intended for Adeshan naturally fell over Ronan’s head. Without even looking at him, Ronan shouted,
“Bastard, get out of my way!”
The crimson glow of the sword, previously shining brightly, turned redder. Lamancha vanished from sight in a moment. Simultaneously, the hand brushing past Ronan’s ear fell to the floor. Baaang! The stone floor shattered, revealing a floor composed of ice.
“Kraaaaaggh!”
It was a stalemate. Aradan tried to attack again, but Ronan, who should have been in front of him, was nowhere to be seen. As he turned his head, he noticed Ronan rushing towards Adeshan, ignoring him.
“…Krurk?”
At that moment, dozens of red lines were drawn over Aradan’s body. Just as he was about to howl as he felt his senses being cut off, Fwoosh! His body, split into twenty pieces, collapsed like an explosion.
Black blood, organs, and the shattered tentacles poured onto the floor. Having cleared away the meat shield corpses in one fell swoop, Ronan rushed towards Adeshan. Leaning against the wall, she was still groaning, with the whip still pierced into her body.
“Ro-Ronan…”
“Don’t speak. I’ll treat you right away.”
The wound was deep. Ronan immediately pulled out the whip and poured a healing potion onto Adeshan’s wound. With the sound as if the water in a pot was evaporating, the bleeding stopped and the flesh began to heal. Unable to overcome the pain, Adeshan bit her own hand.
“Ugh, keuk…”
“Damn it, why would you do something so reckless? It’s not like you.”
Ronan chewed his lips. If he had been just a step later, Adeshan would no longer be of this world. It was an action that didn’t suit her usual rationality.
“His leg is injured, so he won’t get far… Haa, let’s… go after him.”
“Adeshan.”
“Ronan, I…”
Adeshan, trembling like a newborn fawn, got up. She turned her gaze stealthily and suddenly pointed behind Ronan.
“Look at… that.”
“Yes?”
The pieces of flesh that composed Aradan were wriggling and gathering in one place. Black tentacles, like the legs of a centipede, were extending and reattaching the severed body parts.
“Damn it.”
Ronan cursed. It seemed that it wasn’t completely over yet. Despite being mangled beyond recognition, Aradan was trying to revive himself.
A boy who was murdered during a time when he was supposed to be loved was still suffering even in death. Adeshan, witnessing this horrific sight, spoke up.
“I… cannot forgive Barka.”
Despite the boiling anger, her voice was chillingly calm. Her ashen eyes shimmered with a different color than usual. The inner voice, which she had been hearing for some time, was urging her on.
【Yes, just a little more.】
[Translator – Peptobismol]
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