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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Clara]
[Proofreader – Lucky
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Chapter 416: End Game (8)
In the Level Ten zone, the all-stars of Nouvellebag gathered.
The warden, Orca.
And among the five pillars, except for BDISSEM and Black Tongue who were eliminated by Vikir, there were D’Ordume, Souare, and Flubber.
Orca stood out as the most imposing figure among them.
Orca was silently watching Vikir.
Vikir, in turn, was watching Orca.
“…….”
“…….”
Just as the two battle-hardened veterans were about to start their mental showdown,
“Who does this old man think he’s ignoring?!”
A piercing shout echoed through the air.
It was Professor Sadi. She was glaring at Orca with bloodshot eyes.
…Boom!
A whip that had been pinned under Orca’s boot shattered the ground and sprang free.
It bared its fangs once more, wrapping around Orca’s body.
But Orca remained completely unfazed.
He merely clicked his tongue.
“That Winston. Maybe it;s because he was too young, but he was too soft. I told him not to hold back and just crush you to death. What good comes from sparing the seed of disaster, even if it’s just a baby? In the end, trouble always follows.”
The old soldier reminisced about the past. The distant past.
And even just his murmuring had the power to greatly provoke someone.
For Sadi, that was exactly the case.
“Die! I’ll kill you! Aaaaaaah!”
Her grudge, growing stronger and hotter over time, poured all her demonic aura into the whip and unleashed it in a powerful explosion.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The air shattered and the ground ripped apart like paper.
Orca furrowed his brows deeply and tugged at the chain on his waist.
Clank—
As the chain moved, so did the handle of the club at its end.
Orca grabbed the handle of the club and swung it casually.
Whoosh—
The mere wave of pressure in the air disrupted Sadi’s whip.
Aiyen, witnessing this, gaped in astonishment.
“Is it even possible to exert that kind of power at his age? Normally, he’d be bedridden, needing constant care.”
“Wasn’t Chief Aquilla the same, isn’t she?”
“My mother wasn’t that old.”
Aiyen grinned at Vikir’s comment.
Simultaneously, she picked up her bow and prepared to shoot.
Thanks to the stats she gained in the Abyss, her increased strength allowed her to draw the bowstring even tighter.
Boom—
The sound of the arrow firing was unbelievably loud as it flew towards Orca.
Specifically, aiming near his temple.
…Clang!
Orca blocked Aiyen’s arrow with his club.
“An archer? How troublesome.”
When Orca responded indifferently, Aiyen felt disappointed.
“If only I had a better bow…”
But before Aiyen could finish her grumbling, Orca moved.
“Clear the surroundings. I need to investigate that suspicious sphere.”
D’Ordume and Souare nodded solemnly at Orca’s command.
(Even Flubber, who stood beside them, adopted a slightly solemn expression.)
Soon, Orca approached the direction where Poseidon was located, gripping his club tightly.
Blocking his path was Vikir.
“You can’t do that.”
A dark red aura surged from the demonic sword, Beelzebub.
Orca’s brow furrowed.
“You’re from the Baskerville family. But how did you gain such power at your age?”
“Let’s not talk about age.”
Both of them possessed power unfitting for their ages, whether young or old.
The two battle-hardened veterans clashed fiercely in the heart of the battlefield.
…Crash!
The air shattered into pieces.
The heavy, dark black aura emanating from Orca’s club clashed violently with the dark red aura from Vikir’s Beelzebub.
The shockwaves traveled through the ground, nourishing Poseidon.
The blue light grew even more intense.
Orca’s eyes became even more sinister as he observed this.
“So, there is some kind of plan. That’s why you caused this chaos and snuck in here, like a rat.”
“…I won’t deny it.”
Orca’s club descended, meeting Vikir’s sword in a clash.
With each exchange, the air shattered and the ground twisted.
Vikir spoke to Aiyen, who was behind him.
“I’ll hold him off. You focus on activating Poseidon.”
“Got it!”
Realizing that Orca was not her opponent, Aiyen immediately focused on what she could do.
“Annoying old man…”
Sadi tried to rise again, aiming for Orca’s back, but was thwarted by the presence of D’Ordume, Souare, and Flubber.
Thanks to this, Vikir could focus entirely on the opponent before him.
…However, the situation was still far from easy.
Crash!
The weight of the club falling on his sword was difficult even for the mighty Vikir to bear.
Each strike was heavy, and even a slight mistake in balance could turn him into a pulp.
‘…Orca. As expected, he’s no ordinary person.’
Indeed, his combat prowess was befitting the symbolic figure of Nouvellebag.
Vikir retreated, feeling a few drops of cold sweat trickle down as the club swiped past him.
Even after reached Mid-tier Swordmaster with absolute control of the 8th fang, the battle remained deadlocked.
Vikir had to admit that Orca was much stronger than anticipated.
‘He’s a bit stronger than Nabokov I, but slightly weaker than Cane Corso.’
The combat prowess of Pope Nabokov I, whom he had briefly faced during the Amdusias battle, was astonishing.
However, she had long passed her prime, and being a priestess, she was not primarily specialized in combat.
Considering that Canecorso had also abandoned humanity and become a Death Knight, it could be said that Orca, the warden before them, was the strongest among all the humans Vikir had encountered so far.
Meanwhile, Orca was also astonished that someone who looked barely twenty had such a keen sense of strength.
…Crash!
Once again, Orca’s club clashed with Vikir’s sword.
Their auras clashed fiercely as they pressed against each other, intertwining roughly.
The aftermath of this fierce struggle caused nearby rocky peaks to collapse, and any mist, flames, or dust were completely swept away.
…Boom!
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Clara]
[Proofreader – Lucky]
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Vikir stood his ground, blocking Orca’s aerial kick with his knee.
Thud—
Orca, in turn, tilted his head to avoid Vikir’s left fist.
As Vikir and Orca engaged in a fierce close-quarters battle using not only their swords and clubs but also their fists and feet, the blue flames surrounding Poseidon continued to gain momentum.
“Hubby! There’s not much time left now!”
Hearing Aiyen’s shout, Vikir nodded and tried to step back.
However.
Swish—
The iron chain, swung like a whip from the end of Orca’s club, caught Vikir’s ankle and pulled him back.
“Where do you think you’re going? You should see this through to the end. Young ones these days lack perseverance.”
Orca spat out sparks from his eyes.
Vikir glanced briefly behind him.
The vibrations from Poseidon seemed unusual.
Judging from the continuous explosions near its roots, it seemed that the accumulated shock would soon exceed its threshold.
‘…Now, or a little longer? No, should I leave now?’
Even Vikir couldn’t make a precise judgment due to the ambiguous timing.
A little more, just a bit more shock accumulation would make it certain. But engaging in further combat with Orca here would deplete his strength for escape.
Moreover, Orca had been a great hero who had greatly aided the Human Alliance on the battlefield before his regression. Thus, Vikir couldn’t risk a life-or-death battle with him here.
‘Besides, he’s also the one who personally detonated Nouvellebag with his own hands….’
Vikir already knew the reason behind that.
The Cataclysm. Escalating warfare. The looming threat of destruction. The demons turning their gaze towards Nouvellebag. …And the event that happened completely unrelated to all of that.
‘…’Second’ 47 people Incident.’
As Vikir silently recalled a specific event in his mind.
Boom!
Orca’s club flew towards Vikir.
Vikir, too, pushed his aura to its limits and faced Orca.
Crackle!
Baskerville 8th style, Black Sun.
Despite being a technique that even sent Black Tounge flying with one blow, Orca held his ground.
His brow furrowed slightly, but Orca didn’t budge an inch, blocking Vikir’s Black Sun with sheer determination.
“…Is this your maximum output?”
“…”
“Then it’s my turn now.”
Orca wiped his face, smeared with sweat and blood, with his hand.
And then.
…Creak!
The sound of muscles and bones twisting began to emanate from his entire body.
For a moment, a piece of common knowledge from Vikir’s past brushed through his mind.
‘…Orca wasn’t just an ordinary human either.’
That’s right. Just like the five wardens guarding Nouvellebag weren’t human, neither was Orca.
As Vikir adjusted his stance, preparing to enter the imminent second round of battle.
Slash—
Somewhere, the sound of tough leather tearing was heard.
A whip tore through the thick fur coat draped over Orca’s shoulders, grazing past him.
Sadi. Despite being battered and bruised from the aftermath of her majin state and the battle, she was holding onto Orca from behind.
Further back, D’Ordume and Souare were sprawled, drenched in blood.
Flubber seemed to have been completely shattered.
“…Thank you.”
Sadi wasn’t looking at Orca, but at Vikir.
Her sudden gratitude made Vikir chuckle.
What was she grateful for?
Sadi continued speaking.
“For keeping your promise.”
In that moment, Vikir remembered the promise he made to her at the Colosseo Academy.
When Vikir asked Sadi to hand over “Orwell,” the key to Nouvellebag’s main gate.
“Hand it over.”
“Yes~ I’ll gladly do that~ I do need the ‘main gate key,’ but… well, there are other ways.”
“…”
“In return, could you promise me one more thing?”
That was when Sadi made this request.
“If you ever get the chance to escape, please make sure to bring my grandfather with you.”
Sadi’s grandfather. The person who had the greatest influence on her beliefs.
“…!”
Vikir widened his eyes and looked around.
The clash between Vikir and Orca had already devastated the terrain.
Mountains and hills had collapsed, leaving countless crevices gaping wide on the plains.
Even in the isolated areas where beings were kept separate due to Level Nine’s inability to contain the aftermath, the impact was felt.
Given the circumstances, it was inevitable.
Crack—crackle!
In the distance, isolation cells began to crumble.
“Oh no…”
The color drained from Souare’s face, who managed the isolation cells.
D’Ordume couldn’t find words to express his despair either.
Even Orca, the mightiest of them all furrowed his brows.
His face contorted far more than when he faced Vikir’s 8th style.
And then.
Amidst the rubble of the collapsed isolation cells, a voice began to emerge.
“Pffssss…”
A lifeless laughter reminiscent of air escaping from a balloon.
It was a sound Vikir had heard when he was once trapped in an isolation cell.
Eventually, amidst the fallen rubble, a tall elderly figure rose.
So thin and twisted he seemed undead.
Yet, there was an undeniable sense of vitality in his movements.
He didn’t look like someone who just emerged from an isolation cell.
“…Angagoumang?”
Vikir inquired, to which the old man nodded, responding with a chuckle.
“Just when I was getting tired of ‘retirement,’ you come along little man.”
The old man turned to look at the fallen Sadi, offering a warm smile.
It was only then that Vikir could confirm his identity once again.
“Angagoumang Cedric Sad de Sade,” known as “Marquis Sade.”
It was the moment when the legendary warmonger, who had turned the Empire upside down during the “47 people incident,” was unleashed.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Clara]
[Proofreader – Lucky]
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