Chapter 175: The Knot (15)

[Crisis Evasion (B) has been activated!]

A translucent system window appeared in midair. As expected, I was in a crisis. The pendant glowed even though I hadn't activated it myself. As long as I followed the pendant's instructions, the problem would resolve itself.

Just do what it says...

For a moment, I felt a warm sense of relief. However, unlike last time, no solution appeared beneath it.

What?

[Searching for a solution...]

[No solution found.]

What?

[Retrying search.]

Crackle... pop-pop!

Sparks flew from the pendant.

[Invalid search.]

[Evasion is impossible. This is either a crisis beyond supported levels, or there is no solution available.]

[Attempting alternative route search...]

[Alternative route...]

[Alternative...]

[System overload.]

With a sharp pop, the pendant shattered.

The pieces trickled between my fingers.

I was stunned. The fragments clung to the floor of the corridor and no longer glowed. They offered no guidance.

A groan escaped my mouth as words. "What... the hell..."

Each shattered piece had a unique cross-section, as if they were showing me what I would look like if I broke apart. It wasn't a situation beyond my understanding, just one I hadn't expected. Even the pendant had its limits. I had placed too much faith in it. Or perhaps the crisis was simply too great.

"..."

I severed my attachment to the broken pendant. There was no time to linger.

I quickly reviewed my two remaining options. The first was to wait within the barrier. Maybe it would hold much longer than I expected, possibly even indefinitely. At a glance, this seemed to be a barrier related to Demon King Malphas. It was wishful thinking, but perhaps it could hold until his descent.

In the meantime, I could try to study the secret of the inner stone gate. Of course, the pendant hadn't broken for no reason—the odds of things improving were slim. Reinforcements could also easily force their way inside.

The second option... is to retaliate.

Even with my bones fully restored, I stood no chance against the mask-wearers' coordinated assault. I would simply have to charge in, hoping to take at least one down with me. I might get captured, dissected, and used as a test subject.

Click.

I gently ran my fingers over Gith-Za-Rai's dagger tucked deep inside my clothing. There was still one character left on it from my battle with the masked figures. If things went wrong, I could drive it into my skull as a last resort.

Should I try to break through the inside? Or risk everything on a charge?

I had to decide quickly.

Whatever I do...

I had to know the enemy's movements.

Whoosh!

I launched myself, aiming to quickly return to the corridor entrance.

BOOM!

The air exploded around me as the ground shook violently with tremendous force. It felt like I was lifted off the ground. Dust and debris burst from the floor, forming a pale cloud.

An earthquake? No...

Woooong!

Reflexively, I focused my sword aura and aimed it toward the entrance. The barrier might have been breached, but something felt wrong.

"

Hohoho...

I'm over here. Why are you looking in the wrong direction?"

Swoosh.

What was wrong was the direction. Holding my sword ready, I slowly turned around.

Crackle... Pop-pop!

A bizarrely cutesy voice rang out behind me. "Is this girl... being ignored~? That makes me sad, you know~?"

I realized it was a deep voice, forced into a nasal falsetto. I hadn't imagined someone would appear from the stone gate, the source of the original blast.

Through the settling dust, a man came into view. A stiff, thick beard covered everything from beside the ears to above the lips and under the chin. His jet-black hair fell down to his shoulders, and his long glued-on lashes curled upward. His eyebrows were perfectly groomed down to the peach fuzz, and his lips were painted blood-red.

The man exhaled."

Hmph~

"

The man's large jade nose rings dangled from both nostrils and clinked in the breeze. Below his massive pectorals, a silver corset was tightly fastened. Underneath, he wore a sheer silk dress and high-heeled golden shoes. He was almost two meters tall.

I was overwhelmed, not because of the man's unusual appearance but purely because the air itself seemed to restrain me. I couldn't even form the judgment to attack or flee.

"

Aww

~ You can't take your eyes off me, can you~? If you keep staring, I'll get embarrassed~!" the man said coyly.

He swayed his hips.

Clink.

Nine masks hung at his waist, clattering with exaggerated motion. The silver, black, white, and purple masks all had one thing in common. They were soaked in sticky white brain matter and bright red blood.

No way...

All the masks were familiar, leading to only one explanation. He had already broken through the barrier and slaughtered the masked figures waiting outside without making a sound.

I had no doubt this man was the one the masked figures had feared and spoken of. If those masked figures had died without resistance, I had no chance of escape or victory. I now knew why the pendant had shattered so suddenly.

How could anyone escape from this?

I slowly started letting go of my attachment to this life.

The man caressed his thick arm and suddenly exclaimed, "

Hngh!

Still, I'm glad... Even a Skeleton finds me attractive...

Hmph!

I really

am

irresistible, aren't I? Come a little closer. C'mon~!"

Fwip...

The half-naked muscular man brought his thick fingers to his red lips and blew a kiss toward me with a wink. A breeze blew softly, and a cloud of white dust vanished completely.

I looked again at his face.

Who is he?

His features looked as if they had been carved; he was undeniably handsome. However, it was buried under what could only be described as theatrical makeup and jewelry.

The man murmured, "You know..."

BOOM!

With his left elbow, he casually struck the stone gate where the liquid gems had flowed.

Crumble!

When I had struck it, it hadn't so much as chipped. Yet, the stone powder crumbled off in chunks.

"How do you open this door?

Aww...

won't you tell me?" he teased.

I was terrified.

This person was overwhelmingly powerful, beyond comprehension. He was not emitting any killing intent, but the fact that he was that powerful despite suppressing his power so much made him even more terrifying.

So this is the end...

Still, I tried to satisfy my curiosity and asked, "Did you... break through the barrier?"

"Me?

Huhuhu

~ Weak barriers get eaten by stronger ones," the man replied.

The man slowly raised both hands and gave them a little shake.

Jingle. Jingle, jingle...

A strange, unfitting metallic sound rang out from the beads of his bracelets. It sounded like brass bells clashing together, or dozens of thin ornaments resonating at once.

The man continued, "I'm surrounded by five layers of barriers."

I was startled. "What?"

Does that mean he can cast a barrier on a moving person?

I had never considered such a possibility before.

Isaac, that bastard...

For someone who specialized in barriers, he'd never taught me something like this.

The man opened his eyes slightly. "First, presence suppression. You didn't even notice I was here, right?"

I couldn't argue, so I nodded. "The other masked people, do they have similar barriers too?"

"

Oh

, no way. Those are cheap knockoffs. I'm the real deal."

Even I was completely unaware of those knockoffs...

As I wallowed in self-loathing, the man grinned and continued, "The second barrier is self-assertion. Even if the world tries to change, it doesn't affect me. I have, like, a really strong sense of self, you know~?"

"It shows," I said.

The man slightly pursed his red-painted lips, smiling as if he were swimming in pleasure. "As for the rest... I'll tell you if we get closer. So, won't you be a dear and tell me how to open this door?"

ZIIIIING!

A translucent silver aura swirled violently around the man's hand.

Is that sword aura?

The energy, drawn directly from his fingers, fully materialized.

SLINK!

The aura condensed, forming a very thin needle, which hovered at the tip of the man's golden fingernail.

Don't tell me... Is this the person who killed Marquis Leandro?

The wounds on the marquis' corpse flashed in my mind. I remembered sensing the exact same energy.

I need to keep him talking.

I had to extract more information somehow. "Fine. I'll tell you."

Is it anticipation?

The man's heavily groomed eyebrows wiggled up and down. "

Oh

my... You really know?"

He fiddled with his thick fingers and slowly clicked his heels as he approached.

He cares...

I quickly elaborated. "Of course. Etch Malphas' circuit into you. Once the circuit is created, you need to pour power into it following a specific pattern. That pattern is..."

Of course, I was making it all up. I didn't know the truth. If I could stall by getting him to etch the circuit, I could extract more from him.

Just as I thought that, the sound of his heels cut like a blade through the air.

Click.

The man frowned and kept walking toward me. "I... really hate lies."

A heavy pressure filled my ribcage, but I answered like it didn't faze me. "What are you talking about? I'm answering your question sincerely."

Clink!

"Third barrier..." The man lightly shook his stacked bracelets again. "Truth discernment."

"..."

"I'm the head of the imperial intelligence agency. Sad to say, detecting lies is child's play for me..."

I knew it...

Thoughts raced through my head. The masked figures outside were part of the imperial agency. Replacing the lord of Grassmere with a doppelganger larva was all part of the imperial scheme. The larva breeding grounds managed by the Necron group were connected as well. Even the marquis turning into meat mush was the Empire's doing through using this man.

Suddenly, I had a useless thought.

Daliac's intel really was accurate...

Sensing my end was near, I fired the question. "Did you kill the marquis?"

Tap.

Unexpectedly, the man halted at the mention of the marquis. His expression turned sorrowful, like he had just watched the world's saddest play.

He nodded. "This poor girl had no choice... I recommended him for the title of marquis."

His odd way of referring to himself in the third person didn't interest me.

Recommended?

My mind went blank.

"This girl used her precious right of recommendation. When I chose him, it was to rule this world together! To crush the Confederation and Ember, put them beneath our heels..." the man declared.

Grrrrrrk.

The man ground his teeth. The space twisted, and a visible murderous aura radiated outward.

"All because some big-headed chick without an ass died, everything fell apart?" the man sneered.

Is he talking about Isabelle?

"

Ahhh...

How could he... Why didn't he just get horny for me instead? I didn't even get to buy him a birthday present..."

He was genuinely grieving, but I was fixated on something else.

Recommendation right!

According to the imperial laws I had absorbed, only a duke could recommend someone to become a marquis. There could be no more than three dukes, and it was a grand title. One of them now stood before me.

The man, lost in grief, looked at me and said, "My position has gotten so awkward. To the point I have to handle such trivial things myself... You don't know how to open this door, do you?

Aww...

you don't."

He glanced wistfully at the stone gate.

Click!

He stomped his high-heels on the floor. "Well then, I'll start with the easy one!"

Damn it! Is he going to kill me or capture me?

I felt pathetic, frozen in place under his pressure.

So what if he's a duke? So what if he heads the imperial secret agency?

Crack.

I clenched my teeth. My armor was half-ruined, but my bones had fully recovered. Even if I had nothing to protect, there was no reason not to fight.

RUMBLE!

Once more, I gathered my sword aura. I only had one chance.

Blaze.

WHOOSH!

Flames burst upward.

Acid.

Shiiik!

The aura of corrosion engulfed the entire blade.

Wind Blast. Thunder Strike.

I channeled wind and thunder into the sword.

"Doot doo doot, doo doo doot doo doo~ ♪"

Sprint!

I rushed toward him. Meanwhile, his nose rings swayed with each step. If I were going to die, I wanted to land at least one clean blow.

Fwoosh!

My slashed sword, blazing with every kind of aura, toward his face.

Cleave.

The man snorted, "

Oh

my, how crude."

BANG!

Although my hands were still gripping the hilt, he hurled me upward.

THUD!

I slammed into the corridor ceiling over five meters up, then crashed pathetically to the floor. Both my wrists cracked badly, and I couldn't muster any strength.

The sword hadn't broken, but the blade had a deep dent the size of a fist.

"No good, no good." The man walked through fire, acid, wind, and lightning like it was a spring breeze. "What were you trying to do with that sword? You should focus on getting a straight cut!"

Not a single hair or flowing piece of clothing was singed.

I had trained for this. I thought I could land at least one blow, but the result was humiliating.

Have I really been that weak?

The man twisted his torso and chuckled. "

Hohoho...

You should really focus on one sword aura, Mr. Skeleton."

Click.

He was getting closer. I didn't know what he planned to do, but I had no time to hesitate. I wasn't going to end up clattering in chains like with the marquis.

CRACK!

I forced my hand to draw the dagger and stabbed it into my skull.

ZZZZT! ZZZZZT!

I felt the last remaining letter-worm burrow into the crack it had made, and felt relief. This was the end.

No, this was the beginning.

Click.

"

Hnnngh...

" I groaned.

The man shrugged. Unlike the marquis, he surprisingly allowed me to die so easily.

Swoosh.

His thick fingers slid between my ribs. As if conjuring sensation from nothing, he toyed with my spine.

He gave a slight squeeze. My bones turned to dust and scattered.

Crumble...

"Trash is trash, after all..." the man mumbled.

Trash.

I recalled that shining full plate-clad servant of the hero had once trampled me, saying,

"You're nothing but trash!"

I was still here. I was a pile of nothing but failures, still far below any Demon King or hero.

I will...

I looked at the unidentified imperial duke.

"Come back," I uttered.

"

Huh

? What nonsense... wait, what?"

His face stiffened, his mouth hanging open. Those heavily lined eyes widened in shock.

That was the last thing I saw, as I lay in the grasp of a bizarre man, in a life that felt impossibly long.

***

Crackle! Crash! Crunch!

The sky trembled.

Swish! Swoosh!

Lightning struck again and again, lighting up the black sky.

Crackle! Crash!

Torn and shredded things flew through the pitch-black void.

"Dead one!" someone shouted.

Whoosh...

"Dead one!

Cough, cough

."

Ignite.

Whoosh!

"Is it warmer now?" I said.