Chapter 271 - 271: Outdoor! (Bonus Chapter)
Tohru: "Mmm, what was supposed to be a 'cage fight' turned into a one-sided beatdown. Boring."
Mikoto Misaka: "? Not at all! The reversal was really interesting, like a movie plot."
Frieren: "A reversal?"
Mikoto Misaka: "You didn't notice? At first, the black-haired boy was completely being dominated by the vampire. Then all of a sudden he went berserk and started overpowering the vampire, like a movie protagonist having a sudden power-up."
Frieren: "Oh, I just don't know what a 'movie' is."
Mikoto Misaka: "..."
Misaka realized that Frieren's world doesn't have advanced technology, so of course she wouldn't know about movies.
Mikoto Misaka: "Anyway, it's a story twist that makes the watching experience super intense."
Miko Yotsuya: "I think it's intense too, but also extremely bloody and violent."
Stella: "Doesn't seem especially bloody to me."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Sorry, we're just ordinary folks."
Miko Yotsuya: "Yeah, same here."
Stella: "Alright, I understand."
Shiba Miyuki: "Another world...so it's possible to cast magic without using a thought-particle CAD? Truly mysterious."
Sui: "I don't know what that 'thought-particle CAD' is, but in our world, magic doesn't require any special equipment."
Frieren: "In our place, wizards generally use a staff; it's easier to channel spells that way."
Kasuga Hijiri: "Mages here can cast magic from the library by connecting to a chain of magic books..."
Shiba Miyuki: "Ugh...sorry. I was being too self-centered, not considering everyone else in the chat."
Megumi Katou: "It's normal for folks from different worlds to find each other's ways strange. Just take it easy."
Shiba Miyuki: "Alright, I'll try to keep that in mind."
Kasuga Hijiri: "So that vampire probably can't hold out much longer, right?"
Tohru: "Rei Ao, are you just going to watch until they kill each other?"
Rei Ao: "Of course not. They're all experience points."
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
...
"Damn it, I'm not dying here!!!"
No longer maintaining any of his former elegance, Ferid was in a pitiful state—dripping with blood, in tattered clothes, a world apart from his previous refined demeanor. In only a few minutes, the King of Salt had forced him to the brink of death.
At this point, every inch of ground under his feet was covered in white salt granules, and even his shoes had disintegrated to nothing. Ferid had no place left to run.
Right in front of him stood the King of Salt, Hyakuya Yūichirō, stepping amid the surge of salt like it was second nature.
"Insect, your time is up. Turn to salt and cleanse your sins completely."
"Heh, my sins aren't something salt can wash away; they need...blood!"
Ferid knew that stepping back meant the fiery cage, stepping forward meant facing the King of Salt. He could only bet everything and charge forward, hoping it might bring him a chance at survival.
Shhh!
In the instant they made contact, a hint of resignation flashed in Ferid's eyes.
"Never imagined I'd die here..."
He glanced downward. A salt spear had pierced his chest. Flesh around the entry point was quickly crystallizing into salt. Meanwhile, his sharp claws had only managed to sink into the salt-armor around the King of Salt's chest—nowhere near reaching actual flesh.
So indeed, his death had been decided. Ironically, it wasn't even by Yūichirō's hand.
Fwoom!!!
As his life slipped away, the fiery cage came alive once more, swallowing Ferid's body.
"!!!"
King of Salt Yūichirō promptly withdrew to avoid being scorched, and looking again, Ferid's entire being had vanished— not even ash remained. Lowering his gaze to the salt spear in his hand, the part that touched the flame was gone as well.
Then he lifted his head and found two more... "insects." The salt spear re-formed.
"Insects keep coming one after another—then you shall also become salt!"
"Heh."
Rei Ao kept completely calm. Shinoa also showed no alarm for her own safety. After all, the man next to her was the same one who had killed an even stronger First Progenitor. Instead, she worried about something else.
"Rei Ao-kun, does that mean there's no way to bring Hyakuya Yūichirō back?"
"At your current level, there's no chance."
Rei Ao shook his head. In the original "Seraph of the End," Yūichirō had special cursed gear, Asuramaru, that could override the full King of Salt state. Restoring him right now would require a lot of effort. Rei Ao certainly wasn't so kind as to do that.
Turning Yūichirō into an experience bag for his allies was far more appealing than saving him.
For the King of Salt Yūichirō, neither Rei Ao nor Shinoa mattered. In his eyes, they were just lowly humans—bugs.
Boom!!!
Salt pillars roared toward the pair.
"Esdeath, this one's yours. Finish him off," Rei Ao said. The moment he finished speaking:
Crack, crack, crack!
A surge of intense cold spread out. In a blink, the salt pillars froze over with ice crystals.
Simultaneously, a massive shadow fell from above. King of Salt Yūichirō glanced up and saw a colossal block of ice crashing down on top of him.
Boom!!!
The ground trembled. He was pinned beneath that gigantic ice mass. Atop it stood Esdeath in her uniform, arching an eyebrow: "Isn't this 'gift' a bit too weak?"
"He's still alive. At least he's more persistent than a cockroach—and enough for you to have some fun with."
At that, Rei Ao dispersed the flames and flew off with Shinoa to the highest building. The instant he left, Esdeath's eyes lit up with excitement. The block of ice under her feet quickly collapsed into a mass of salt. From within that salt, King of Salt Yūichirō burst out. Esdeath gave a wide grin: "Yes, this is the kind of toy that won't break too soon!"
"... ..."
High atop the tallest school building, Shinoa's hair was whipped around by the wind as she watched the raging battle below. She realized that Hyakuya Yūichirō's fate was sealed—he would die.
"Looks like my mission's finishing sooner rather than later."
"Right, your task is done. But mine isn't," Rei Ao said, slipping his arms around Shinoa's petite figure and drawing near her ear. "Mind doing this outdoors?"
"... ..."
Of course Shinoa knew what he meant. "No difference to me," she replied calmly, but from how her ears turned bright red and her heartbeat raced, Rei Ao could tell she was far from calm inside. He didn't mind. Soon enough, he'd make her show a very different kind of intense emotion.
"Relax, Shinoa..."
Under his guidance, Shinoa placed both hands on the rooftop railing. Before long, her cheeks flushed so deeply they almost dripped with color, and a pained look flickered on her face.
Ignoring the raging fight in the distance—and the onlookers who'd gradually gathered—Rei Ao just continued collecting the "payment" he was owed.
~~~
300 Powerstone Bonus Chapter!
Almost 400!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!