WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 106: Beast, Beast King, Human - 2

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Two claws filled with blue energy tore through the air. Shei deflected the successive slashes with no more than a twist of her wrist.

Skywarbler was weightless, a weapon whose inertia affected only Ebon. Shei had clearly been blocking the claw on the left, yet a turn of her wrist changed the sword's direction and sent it straight for Ebon's head. Even while attacking with one hand, Ebon had to keep the other free to defend at any moment.

"An invisible weapon. At first, I thought it would be troublesome."

It was fortunate that Skywarbler was invisible. If Ebon had not focused on Shei's wrist from the start, his head would have split apart before he noticed the sword's secret.

Ebon spoke, condemning that unfairness.

"It truly is a weapon far better than you deserve."

"What could that pathetic brain of yours possibly know? It's ten times better than you think."

Shei sneered and swung her sword energy.

Heavenly Sword Technique, Fair Wind.

From this moment on, the wind smiled only upon Shei. Skywarbler descended wrapped in air. The sword itself was weightless, but the vibrating wind carried force of its own.

"Kh!"

Ebon crossed both claws and caught Skywarbler. Six blades vibrated violently against the single sword. Ebon shoved hard with both arms and knocked Skywarbler aside.

He had blocked it, but the moment both hands were devoted to defense, he had already lost the exchange.

Shei smirked while Ebon gritted his teeth.

"You fight well for someone injured by the Beast King!"

"Ah, this?"

Still smiling, Shei tilted her head. At that instant, bloodcraft took effect, drawing the blood that had spilled outside back into her body.

Ebon shouted in shock.

"Was it a bluff?!"

"No, it wasn't. I only just recovered. I really was hurt a little."

That did nothing to reassure Ebon. If Shei could restore lost blood and heal her wounds, even slightly, Ebon could no longer rely on scratching her with claws to gain an advantage.

"That King of Cats was badly hurt, but she didn't run away. Did you train her well? Thanks to that, I took a few hits I wasn't expecting."

"You're awfully confident for someone with a collection of cheap tricks."

There was no choice. Ebon had to use his second trump card.

Twisting his left wrist, Ebon muttered, "Call to Arms, Set."

At that moment, the compact military gear stored in his left claw was inserted into Ebon's bio-terminal. The bio-terminal, now fed with mana, began to glow.

Click, click.

A steel framework settled over his skin. Level 3 steel gleaming with alchemical light filled the gaps.

It was not a transformation. Mana and alchemical light flowed along the Aki Avatar, allowing Ebon to finish equipping his military gear even in the middle of battle.

Ebon, now wearing a steel helmet, shook his head. Skywarbler, which had been aiming for his head, bounced off the single horn fixed to the helmet. Faced with unfamiliar equipment, Shei forced Ebon back with the wind and retreated to examine it.

Ebon muttered confidently.

"General's Armament, Unicorn."

Claws on both hands, gauntlets, a breastplate with shoulder guards, a helmet, and a sturdy horn that was more than decoration. It was equipment made especially for Ebon by the military state, protecting his upper body while adding another means of attack.

Ebon explained it to the silent Shei. His voice echoed beneath the horned helmet.

"You should understand. Fighting with claws has the weakness of requiring one to lead with one's head. Until now, when you aimed for my head, I had to take a defensive stance to block or evade. But now that I am wearing this military gear, that weakness is gone. All that remains is offense. What do you think? Can you block it?"

Shei tilted her head. Her face was full of confusion.

Ebon smiled in satisfaction, but contrary to his expectations, Shei was not questioning her own ability.

"It's military gear I've never seen before. You didn't steal that, did you? Or was it about to be discarded because its performance is terrible?"

Sometimes, hearing something so absurd made patience fail. Ebon, offended by the rude and nonsensical suspicion, snapped in a way that did not suit him.

"Of course not! I am a star of the military state, and my military gear is an artifact granted only to general officers! Just as each star is singular, a general's military gear is unique!"

"Why? There weren't any general officers with such stupid gear last time. What is this? You people weren't the main culprits either?"

"...What do you mean?"

That was a question Ebon could not answer. Shei had even forgotten the fight as she muttered to herself.

"The instructor. A man, and a Lord of All Creation running that Great Aspiration of Humanity thing. He knew immortals existed, and I think it might take at least an immortal to stop him. He brought in a Beast King."

Fragments of information poured from her lips.

Lieutenant General Ebon's eyes darkened as he listened.

"...The Great Aspiration of Humanity? What do you know?"

Shei could have answered that question, but she had no intention of doing so. She only continued muttering to herself.

"There were even two women. It's unclear whether Azzy was included, but I don't know whether the lieutenant colonel was there at the time either, so I'll set that aside. More or less, every detail fits."

After piecing things together for a while, Shei grew irritated at the puzzle piece that did not fit.

"Then who the hell wrecked the Abyss?! Why did those Lords of All Creation, who are supposed to be beast experts, turn Azzy into that? And where did all those corpses come from?!"

Their information crossed paths. Ebon could not answer Shei's questions, and Shei had no desire to answer Ebon's.

In this situation, Ebon was the one with a new objective. He struck his claws together, then slowly dragged the blades across one another. Sparks flew with the shriek of metal.

"It seems I will have to cut off your right arm and interrogate you before you speak. Do not worry. I will leave your left arm, the one with the bio-terminal, intact. I will need somewhere to torture you."

Shei grimaced as a bad memory surfaced. Even when recalling something horrific enough to cause PTSD, one of her better qualities was getting annoyed before anything else.

At least, it was an advantage for a regressor.

"You should take better care of that horn of yours."

"Nothing you are worried about will happen. The other parts are Level 3, but this horn alone is made from Level 4 alchemical steel. I hope you do not lose your life by being impaled on it. You still have much to tell me."

"That's not what I meant. That thing on your head."

Shei smiled ominously. Her hair crackled with sudden static.

Only then did Ebon realize Skywarbler was trembling ominously. Its invisible form had darkened like storm clouds.

"Isn't that the perfect thing to get struck by? They say thunderbirds looking for somewhere to land like pointed places."

Before Ebon could react to the danger, Shei's attack was complete. She traced a finger from top to bottom and unleashed her power.

Heavenly Sword Technique.

Thunderbird.

As though it had been decided from the beginning. As though no other possibility existed.

A bolt of lightning fell upon the Unicorn's horn.

"Arghhhhh!"

Electricity surged through Ebon's body. He steadied his trembling body and spread energy art through his entire form.

Military State Standard Energy Art, Heaven Form. Repulsion.

The repelling energy art that deflected bullets and arrows rose across his body. With the force pushing outward from his body, Ebon shook off the lightning for an instant, drove his legs into the ground, and raised his energy art.

Military State Standard Energy Art, Earth Form. Flow.

Rooting his legs to the earth, he spread his energy art and diverted the lightning into the ground. The lightning energy burrowing into his body seeped far below in an instant.

Having achieved the feat of grounding the lightning, Ebon drew heavy breaths.

"Huff. Huff."

Even so, the loss was enormous. He had not even evaded the attack. He had to deploy energy arts in succession just to endure it, draining his strength severely.

Shei jeered at the recovering Ebon.

"Looks like you've somehow gotten Heaven and Earth down. Have you gotten a feel for Water yet? Or do they make anyone a general officer once they learn up through Earth these days?"

"Kh... You happened to get your hands on a good artifact! Do not act as if having the upper hand through that power makes you superior to me!"

Ebon shouted, hoping to buy time to recover. Yet contrary to his expectations, Shei's face twisted.

"Did you just call it gear advantage?"

Ebon had not said those exact words. Still, faced with Shei's sudden reaction, he could not deny it and remained silent. Shei gripped Skywarbler tightly and glared at Ebon as she seethed.

"You called it gear advantage just now?"

Hostility swelled. Sensing it, Lieutenant General Ebon hurriedly raised his claws.

Shei gripped Skywarbler tightly with both hands, drew her arms in, and raised it behind her shoulder. At the same time, she drew up energy art throughout her body.

After gathering all kinds of treasures and consuming elixirs, her overflowing energy poured into Skywarbler.

For a brief instant, Shei wrapped tremendous power around her entire body and shouted at Ebon.

"Quit calling it gear advantage, you bastard! I can beat a mere lieutenant general even without Skywarbler!"

Heaven-Reversing Boundary.

It was the ultimate defensive energy art, engraving movements into the body beforehand so that even unforeseen attacks could be naturally deflected.

Still, the engraved movements did not have to be defensive forms.

There were more kinds of attacks than defenses. They needed to be more varied and adjusted to the opponent. Therefore, for forms prepared in advance like Heaven-Reversing Boundary, defense was overwhelmingly more efficient.

Heaven-Reversing Boundary had been designed for exactly that purpose.

Even so... wouldn't it be fine to have some attack forms as well? Perhaps five, if they were movements that did not rely too heavily on the situation.

Shei had thought so, and acted on it.

One of the five offensive forms Shei had stubbornly created.

Left diagonal slash.

Skywarbler heavily cut through space. When energy filled the weightless sword, it became force.

The sword, filled with brilliant blue energy, was the only sky unfolded within this Abyss. It could neither be resisted nor blocked.

"Repulsion...!"

Ebon deployed his energy art to its limit to defend himself.

Before that overwhelmingly fierce force, though, the only thing thrown away was Ebon's claws.

The Unicorn's horn, made from Level 4 alchemical steel, snapped. Skywarbler carved deeply from Ebon's shoulder guard through his breastplate. Cutting through even the energy art within it, Skywarbler drew a blue diagonal line across Ebon's body.

Blood sprayed. Ebon staggered backward.

Shei paused briefly due to the reverse motion of Heaven-Reversing Boundary's attack form. Since the distance had already opened, she did not pursue and instead examined her opponent.

Repulsion energy art was the only reason Ebon had avoided a fatal wound. The repelling energy spread through his body had shoved him backward at the moment of impact, allowing his ribs to escape Skywarbler's path.

The wound was already severe, but he had survived.

Ebon spat out a lament with blood.

"...Damn it... Absolute Spear... To send down a monster like this... without even neutralizing him...."

Shei muttered indifferently.

"If you knew, you should've come more prepared."

Ebon laughed. After laughing for a long time, he even coughed up blood. He covered his mouth with one hand and muttered.

"Ha ha... I even brought the King of Cats.... What more preparation was necessary?"

Shei agreed. If the Lords of All Creation had brought along a Beast King, they had put thought into it. Any greater force would literally be power intended for a decisive battle, not something a lieutenant general could use privately.

Lieutenant General Ebon had used every means available from his position. The authority that came with his rank, the talented people he had painstakingly raised and recruited, mana herbs, and even his adjutant.

"Yet to think it would all be stopped... by one variable like this...."

Muttering hollowly, Ebon released Unicorn. The broken metal remained lost, while the alchemical steel of the remaining parts turned into a glow and gathered around Ebon's left arm.

With a faint pop, a damaged military gear packet slipped out.

A general's military gear was both a form of identification and a weapon filled with military secrets. When defeated, locking it into packet form to prevent technological leaks was a soldier's virtue.

Ebon reached down with a trembling hand to pick it up.

Then, a crunch came from inside the military gear packet. It was a hollow sound like a gemstone breaking.

Afterward, broken gem fragments fell at Ebon's feet.

Ebon's eyes widened. He had not heard wrongly. It was one of a pair of twin gemstones that resonated with each other.

When one broke, the other broke as well.

"What is that?"

Shei asked, but Ebon had no obligation to answer.

Besides, the answer would soon reveal itself.

Kihahahahahahk!

Nabi's howl rang out from far away. It was different from an ordinary hiss, carrying even a trace of madness.

Startled, Shei turned her gaze toward the inside of the building.

"What? A beast cry? No, I don't think that's it...?"

"Kh, kh, kh."

Used to such events, Ebon understood what had happened.

Training Nabi had been difficult, time-consuming, and dangerous.

Even a human addicted to drugs was dangerous. How much more dangerous would the King of Cats be?

At first, Nabi happily accepted the mana herbs, believing them to be gifts. When the symptoms became severe, though, she would attack the person managing the mana herbs, steal what remained, and run away.

Whenever a mana herb caretaker died, Ebon immediately cut off the drug supply.

Once Nabi ran out of mana herbs, she would creep back. She threatened them, begged them, and occasionally tore apart the entire base, but she could not find mana herbs that were not there. As Nabi writhed from withdrawal, she came to understand that Ebon was the only one who could provide mana herbs.

After keeping her desperate for a long time, Ebon would finally provide mana herbs again, making Nabi understand that if she stole them, she would never receive them again.

Again and again.

Thanks to those efforts, Nabi came to associate a caretaker's death with the loss of drugs.

That was not bad for either Ebon or the colonel.

At the very least, it protected the colonel from Nabi. If the colonel died, Nabi would go mad and reduce everything to ruins. It was dependable insurance for them both.

"...Ha. Did that person make something like this too...? Worse even than I am."

Yet someone supporting the Lords of All Creation had turned even that into a device.

If Ebon was defeated, it would make the King of Cats go berserk. It was clear that something had been implanted in the body of the colonel, Ebon's only remaining adjutant.

It was probably something that reacted when the gemstone broke and tore through the body from within. Something designed to produce the scent of blood if possible.

"Either way, thank you. Thanks to you...."

As Nabi went berserk and Shei's attention turned toward her for a moment, Ebon bit down on the mana herb he had placed in his mouth earlier while pretending to cover it.

The paper surrounding the herb tore, filling his mouth with mana herb made from catnip.

More precisely, it was a specially made mana herb created by drying World Tree leaves together with the King of Catnip.

Ebon muttered bitterly.

"Kh kh. I didn't want to use this...."

Click.

A flame rose from his fingertip. Though Ebon was a martial fighter, he had learned basic Level 1 magic as common knowledge.

"Set, Ri."

Ignition, Ignite.

Fire's Fahrenheit and wind's Pascal combined. The fire in his mouth spread like a wildfire, burning all at once with the mana herb as fuel.

Shei, who had been distracted for a moment by the King of Cats' beast cry, looked puzzled.

"Huh? You set your own mouth on fire? What are you doing...?"

The thing that had been Lieutenant General Ebon gave the answer.

"Kihyaaaaahk...!"

His pupils narrowed vertically. His hair stood on end. His posture naturally lowered, his toenails grew slightly longer, and something like a beast cry escaped from his human body.

Only then did Shei realize what her opponent was.

"You...! A cat beastkin...!"

Black smoke streamed from Ebon's mouth instead of an answer. The smoke created by burning mana herbs was dozens of times more stimulating than their scent alone. When a cat beastkin inhaled it, they forgot pain, regained the blood of beasts, and let out a beast cry.

It was not recommended even by the Lords of All Creation because of its horrific addictiveness and severe aftereffects.

But when it was being used at the brink of death, what was impossible?

Even as the flames burned the inside of his mouth, Ebon shouted.

"Kihyaaaaahk! No! I am not a beast! I am human!"

Ebon charged in. This time on all fours, faster and lighter than before.

Shei had fought this form in her previous life. Retaining intelligence even while letting out a beast cry, beastkin who brought the Beast King along, humanity's greatest enemies, had looked exactly like this.

"I thought your way of attacking was strange...! So that's why the King of Cats followed you! She thought you were one of her people! But what happened to your ears and tail...?!"

Shei hurriedly examined Ebon, and saw it.

Where the helmet had vanished, beneath Ebon's bristling hair.

There were hardened scabs over the marks where something had been cut away.

"Your own ears...! Those crazy... bastards...!"

She could not finish the sentence. Ebon's claws came down on her, far fiercer and more cunning than before, as though Ebon had become a true cat.

Against Ebon, who was burning everything he had as he attacked, Shei began the second round.

Footnotes:

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