Chapter 89 "Change"

Rick Pov

The first one to attack was Refia.

She is still moving as she did before she was dead, and she is using a thin sword to deliver a barrage of thrusts.

　She is a bit slow because she is holding her neck with one hand....　

I evade it as I move backward.

　The other two were not just standing there doing nothing, they were coming at me from both sides.

The instructor used her whole body to slash at me with the sword she held in her mouth, and Sania thrust at me with her amateurish movements.　

I grabbed Refia's sword to stop her and then repelled the instructor's attack with my sword.

As for the remaining Sania, I put all my strength into the sword she gripped and threw her with the sword at Refia's body, blocking her movement.

The two of them fell down as if they were piled on top of each other.

　I inwardly clicked my tongue as I watched them fall.

　It's hard to do....

Emotions scream at me that I should leave these changed women alone.

Reason whispers to me to cut away the obstacles to these changed women.

As a result, thanks to being caught between these emotions, I'm stuck without being able to attack them.

　"Ha-ha-ha. Go for it, go for it. See, if you don't avoid it, you'll get cut, you know?"

　Iger claps his hands and encourages me, but I ignore him.

　I am dodging the attack... but I'm not sure what to do. I wonder what is the right thing to do.

　A moment's hesitation...and then the answer.

　Once the decision is made, the rest is quick.

I got into her pocket in time to get past Refia's thrust, and slammed my fist into her torso.

Blood flies from the severed surface of her neck.

When she is cowed, I flash my sword at her. Severed her arm.

Refia's arms and neck flutter in the air.

　I'm sorry. Refia.

　I kicked her head in the air while apologizing inwardly.

The head of Refia flew away, bouncing on the ground.

　The rest of her torso wobbled as if it had lost sight of me, swinging its sword in the wrong direction.

　"Hey, hey, hey, you're a terrible guy to kick your friend in the head. See how sad your friend is?"

　Iger snaps his fingers.

　"Rick-ick-ick-ick-ick-ick-ick-ick-ick-ick-ick."

　"Hiff-hiff."

　Sania starts to say ouch ouch ouch. The instructor is holding her sword in her mouth, so I can't understand what she's saying.

Are they calling my name or something?

　"........."

I could hear Refia's voice faintly in the distance, but she was too far away to hear from here.

　Sania gets up and slashes at me with a dagger.

　I calmly flick the dagger away. The dagger leaves Sania's hand and slides on the ground.

　"Rick-pl-ea-se-stop." 

　Sania may be trying to sound sympathetic, but what is it...this feeling of being made to say something...?

　"Rick-rick-he-lp-m-e."

　"Hiff-hiff-haff-haff-heh-heh."

　"..............."

　Even the instructor is saying something...but I couldn't bear to see it.

Like Refia, I kicked Sania's head in the random direction, and since the instructor has good movement despite the lack of both arms, it was difficult to neutralize her.

I lured her to attack appropriately and cut her in two, vertically from the head.　

　A mass of light that came out of the magic circle suddenly appeared from the instructor who was cut in two.

　...this...?

　I touched my hand as quickly as I could and it disappeared as if sucked in.

　What was that...!?

　I jump back.

A moment later, Iger's sword cleaves the spot where I was.

　"You took your time."

　"I'm not going to ruin this emotional reunion, am I?"

I look at Sania and Refia's bodies with a sideways glance as I slash back.

　 They were not in a position to attack.

　Perhaps, but they were directly controlled by Iger.

　The reason he didn't launch a move was probably because he was concentrating on manipulating the three of them.

It is a great ability to be able to manipulate corpses, but if he himself is unable to move, it is a complete waste of time and effort.

Refia, Sania, and the instructor, all three of whom are related to me.

Then the rest of the bodies didn't show up, maybe Gervas whose body didn't remain.

　That Gervas(?) has been floating in the same place since a while ago.

　When I touched it with my shoulder pretending to avoid its attack, it too disappeared as if sucked into my body.

　I don't know what the logic is, but I'm sure it won't take advantage of me now.

　"Ha-ha-ha. You can't defeat me just by dodging, can you? You have committed the great sin of receiving the blessing of the Lord of the Apostles without offering it to me. How can I forgive you? Get the hell out of here, you little shit!!!!"

　Iger, who seemed to be speaking calmly, suddenly became enraged and slashed at me.

　What is this guy? What he is saying is getting crazier and crazier, but doesn't he realize it?

He uses a mixture of "I" and "me" to refer of himself.

　And as the number of strikes increases, the power of the attacks themselves increases, but they are losing their sharpness.

　"Damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you! You're doing well to survive my attacks so far!"

And so on. The way he switches between calm and agitated emotions is extreme.

　Is he losing his rationality as he gains power?

His attacks are getting messy, and little by little, my attacks are starting to come through.

　One. One by one, the wounds on Iger's body are closing up just as fast as they were before.　　

　Half-assed attacks aren't going to work.

　I try to catch my breath. I didn't want to use this one too much. Why?

Because... if I use it, even if I go easy on him, it will kill him, right?

　It's no fun.

　A light that glistens on my sword. It was originally intended to be placed on my gaze, but I have applied it as an enchantment.

　I don't know the details, but it is said that I can manipulate weight.

I don't know why I understand it, but perhaps it is a result of Roe's treatment or my own instincts...well, that's just a minor thing.

　Swinging down from the top.

　"Ha-ha-ha. You're good! You dare to cut me down with just this!? This is...!?"

　Iger takes it as a matter of course, but his knee breaks, unable to support my slash.

　At the same time, the ground caved in and Iger, who had been resisting, was crushed and slammed to the ground.

　I silently stomped on Iger's chest.

　Consuming a large amount of magical power, I increase the weight.

　"A...ga...ba-ha."

My foot sinks into Aiger's torso with a nasty sound, but it sinks slowly, as if it's regenerating.

The pressure is so great that a human being could be ground up into meat or even a stain on the ground, but instead of retaining its original shape, it is regenerating and fighting against the damage.

　...but it's only a matter of time, right?

　Ah, yes. I have a question for you before I kill you.

"Before you die, will you tell me where Void is?"

　"Comrade Void? Huh. What are you talking about? He's right behind you, isn't he?"

"Huh? What!?"

　A hot feeling around my waist. Stabbed? And aimed at a gap in the armor?

I turn around and swing my sword. The sword falls out of my hand.

　The guy who stabbed me jumps backwards to get out of the way of the sword.

　I turn my gaze to the attacker. The face that appeared in front of me was...

　"Void..."

　But his eyes were vacant and lifeless, and there was a large hole in his chest.

　He looked just like Sania and the others.

　What in the world? ......

A presence behind me. I quickly turn around and receive it with my sword.

After receiving Iger's slash from behind with my sword, I crush him with "Gravity"....

　He endures the attack without being crushed.

　"Because of youuuu ii becameee like thissss."

Void comes toward me with a suspicious gleam in his empty eyes.

　Is this guy not being manipulated?

From the looks of it, his movements are not so different from before he was killed,......, but to be frank, he's not my enemy now.

　I'd like to spend the most time on him, but Iger comes first.

　Stay quiet for a while.

　After a couple of strikes, I lured him into a fight and kicked him in the torso.

I put "gravity" on him, so Void's body bent at a dangerous angle in the middle and blew away.

As he flew away, Void spun around and plunged into a nearby building.

Turning to Iger with that behind me, the guy was standing on a stick, looking at the huge shadow that had appeared in the city.

　He was completely vulnerable. I thought he might be trying to lure me in, but he was just mumbling something and not responding to me.

　I felt something eerie about Iger's inconsistent behavior, but it was too dangerous to leave him unattended.

There are a lot of unknowns, but I'll take care of him here.

　I quickly closed the gap between us and slashed at his neck.

　I thought it would go in, but Iger stopped me by grabbing my sword without moving his gaze.

I was surprised that he grabbed it, but I poured magic power into the sword to push it away with gravity.

　The arm holding the sword trembled as if resisting, but his body and gaze remained the same.

　I continued to pour magic power into the sword in order to twist it away. The stalemate is quickly broken, and the arm is shredded from the shoulder as it succumbs to the weight of the slash.

　Still, Iger does not move.

I don't know what happened, but as it is....

　That was the moment I thought.

　--Rick. Block it!

　A huge sound hit my ears like a punch... my body was flying in the air as if I had been hit by some huge mallet.

　"...ha...ha."

After rolling several times on the ground, I stopped as I was slammed into a nearby building.

　"...g..."

　What was that? An attack? From where?

My mind is disturbed by the turmoil, but I quickly regain it and analyze it calmly.

　It was not Iger. Considering the direction, it must have been fired by the giant demon that still flickers in the corner of my vision.

　It was this powerful despite the fact that it was a considerable distance away.

　Next, let's look at my injuries. Thanks to my body and armor, it's nothing serious, but it will take me a while to recover.

　Lastly, the voice that echoed in my head just before I was hit. It was quite intense, but thanks to that, I was able to defend myself in time.　

　...what happened to Iger.

　I turn my attention back to Iger.

　He was just standing there, but when he turned his head toward me, his body started shaking.

　His mouth opens and closes as if he wants to say something, but he doesn't speak.

　As his arms began to regenerate, his body began to change as if in response.

　He falls to all fours, his body begins to deform, and an indescribable sound echoes through the air.

His body begins to change into a four-legged monster, and his face becomes long and protruding forward to match.

　When the transformation was complete, there was Iger, completely transformed into a beast.

　Iger took short, animal-like breaths and stared at me, then lifted his face up and howled in a high pitched roar.

　It sounded more like something hard being scratched than a growl.

　In response to the sound, something like a black cloud covering the sky descends and begins to cling to the light.

　The cloud gradually changed its shape and transformed into a shadow-like object in the shape of a human being.

　...What are these guys?

　As long as they have the light at their core, they must be the moving dead, just like Sania and the others....

　While I watched, the shadows increased in number one after another.

　I found myself completely surrounded by shadows.

　Iger's eyes lit up and he roared once more.

　The shadows came swarming toward me.