Chapter 65

Rifregon (9)

My head was in a mess.

I stared intently at the boy, under the intense gaze of everyone around.

What was it, exactly?

The boy's appearance was undoubtedly the same as the one I had seen in a fleeting memory.

Intervening in the match was an almost instinctive action.

A gut feeling that I couldn't explain, telling me I couldn't let these siblings die here.

"......"

Then I remembered, I had felt this sensation before, but when was it?

Furrowing my brow, I tried to recall and eventually did.

It was the moment I first fused the Chaos Box and was possessed by the game.

At that time, a vague, incomprehensible voice echoed amidst the dizziness of the world turning upside down.

[I won't give up.]

......That's it.

It was exactly the same feeling I had back then.

It was as if I had glimpsed a future that hadn't yet happened but might one day.

My head became even more confused about what was happening, but that wasn't the most important thing right now, so I pushed it aside.

Once the shock subsided and my rationality returned, I realized what I had done.

I released her hand and turned my gaze to the Blood King.

He was glaring at me with a face twisted in the most heinous way.

He seemed to be furious that I had ruined the show he had carefully prepared.

I had stepped in, but now I was facing off against him, and in front of all these spectators.

......What should I do now?

Regret welled up, but it was too late to undo what had been done.

Amidst the inertia, the lingering eerie déjà vu, and the complex mix of unknown emotions, I opened my mouth.

"End the match, 6th King."

Silence fell over the entire arena.

The audience held their breath, watching me and the Blood King.

The one who was glaring at me with eyes overflowing with uncontainable rage also spoke.

"What are you trying to do, 7th King?"

......I don't know, damn it.

Rationally, I was doing something utterly foolish that would gain me nothing.

I had ruined another king's event just to save a pair of siblings I had only seen a few times.

But I soon made my decision.

This time, I would just follow my heart.

'I will save them and take them away.'

If this inexplicable phenomenon I just experienced had any connection to their fate, letting them die would not be a good choice.

I maintained eye contact with the Blood King and said,

"I will take these two with me."

"......What?"

He looked not just furious but utterly bewildered.

"If there is a way to cure Hemorrhagic Fever, tell me."

"......"

"If you tell me the cure and hand over the safety of these two to me, I will leave this as a debt to be repaid later."

The only cure for Hemorrhagic Fever that I knew of was the death of the Blood King, but there was a chance he might know another method.

Of course, I knew this was not a real offer but a challenge to fight. I said it knowing that.

Still, I had no other choice.

If there was even the slightest chance to resolve this situation peacefully, I had to take it.

"Hah, hah......"

But it seemed impossible.

The Blood King let out a derisive laugh, then raised his head and laughed loudly, the sound gradually fading.

Lowering his head again, he spoke with eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"You've lost your mind. You dare to ruin my event and say that's all you have to say?!"

Kwaang!

A massive burst of energy exploded, sending a thick cloud of dust into the air.

I narrowly reacted with my Immovable Barrier and then looked around.

Three massive claw marks, as if made by a beast, split the arena in half.

Screams and chaos erupted from all sides. I saw spectators who had been caught in the attack dying in droves. People were fleeing in panic and fear.

The Blood King, who had risen from his seat, was emitting a murderous aura so intense it made the air around him seem to turn red.

"Lord Ron."

Ashell, who had come down and stood beside me, looked at me with a serious face.

I looked at the still dazed Rif and the fallen boy and said,

"Take them and retreat to a safe distance."

"......Yes, understood."

Ashell nodded and immediately carried the two siblings in his arms and left the arena.

I turned my gaze back to the Blood King.

"This is unacceptable. Really, 7th King, you've crossed a line, don't you think?"

The Blood King, radiating a terrifying aura, growled.

"If this is the 6th King's territory, you should respect my way. Conversely, if I visited the 7th King's territory, I would respect yours. Yet you ruin a match I've carefully prepared right in front of me? Even if you were the Grand King, you can't treat me like this!"

His words were not entirely wrong.

Of course, this was only from the perspective of a king to another king, putting aside the fact that what he was doing was a horrific atrocity.

"Formally apologize to me, 7th King, and bring the siblings back. Then kill them with your own hands in front of me. If you do that, I'll let this slide."

I ignored his words and assessed the situation in my mind.

A Level 94 Blood King.

His unique blood art amplifies physical abilities, making him a superhuman close to a pure physical fighter. He has no defensive abilities like barriers.

......I can handle this.

After finishing my thoughts, I said,

"Tell me the cure for Hemorrhagic Fever."

The Blood King finally realized I had no intention of changing my stance.

His lips curled, and his entire body began to turn red.

"......You said you killed the Power King in one strike? Let's see if you can do it again."

Pew!

With an explosion, the Blood King's figure reached my eyes in an instant.

I once again deployed the Immovable Barrier to block his punch. The ground around me was completely overturned, and rocks flew into the air.

The destructive power was on a different level from when I blocked the Orc King's strike.

I teleported to the opposite side of the arena and used blood arts to levitate blood droplets in the air.

The Blood King, turning to look at me, frowned and muttered,

"......Blood arts?"

His face showed confusion, not understanding how I could use blood arts when I wasn't a vampire.

There was no need to answer his question. The Blood King, seemingly unconcerned, charged at me again.

He approached without any regard for the blood droplets floating around me and swung his fist.

The attack was blocked by the barrier again, and his body was fully exposed to my blood droplets.

I teleported into the air again. A blood vortex rose from below like a dragon, but it was also blocked by the barrier.

"You have a troublesome ability!"

I used spatial leaps and the Immovable Barrier in combination to evade and defend, while the Blood King continued to chase and attack me.

The Blood King, a superhuman like the Wild King, used not only his physical strength but also blood arts.

Each time his punches or blood energy struck, a part of the arena crumbled. Spectators who hadn't managed to escape were killed in droves.

As his attacks became faster and stronger, a thick mist of blood began to spread from his body, eventually covering the area.

"......!"

I felt a chill and barely blocked the Blood King's blood art as I teleported.

I was reaching the limit of my ability to react to his attacks.

Even with my heightened senses at their maximum, they seemed insufficient to respond to the speed of a Level 94 superhuman.

If the Immovable Barrier or spatial leap had any delay, my body would have been torn apart long ago.

"How long are you going to run like a rat?"

The Blood King, floating in the air with the Immovable Barrier deployed, roared at me.

Against this monster, all I could do was defend and flee. Unless I intended to kill him.

That's why I had been using blood arts to coat him with my blood as a safety measure during the fight.

If I reached the limit of my defensive capabilities, I would have to kill him instantly.

I wouldn't have started this fight with this monster if I didn't have a plan.

And I had one more thing I trusted besides the instant kill.

The blood art of Gascalid, which I had activated on the Blood King from the start of the battle.

Gascalid's level in life was 95, and the Blood King's level was 94.

So far, it seemed to have no effect, probably due to the minimal level difference, but......

'......It's coming.'

At some point, I began to feel a gradual flow of power into my body.

I just maintained the Immovable Barrier and held my ground.

The Blood King, who had been relentlessly attacking from below, gradually lost momentum.

The Blood King, sensing something was wrong, stopped his attacks and looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"What the......?"

The power flowing into my body was growing exponentially by the second.

I descended to the ground and faced the Blood King.

The bewildered Blood King asked me,

"You damn...... What trick did you pull?"

"Who knows."

The Blood King, his face contorted, roared and charged at me.

But his attacks were no longer as powerful or fast as before.

I easily evaded and blocked his attacks, waiting for his frenzy to end.

【Lv. 90】

【Lv. 89】

【Lv. 88】

.

.

.

Interestingly, the Blood King's level information was changing in real-time as his power was drained.

This revealed that a level reflected the current strength of its subject.

As the Blood King's level continued to drop, eventually falling well below Ashell's level,

【Lv. 70】

"This human! What have you done to my body?!"

The Blood King, panting heavily, shouted.

I felt an unprecedented power filling my body and slowly approached him. He turned pale and retreated.

"Th......!"

The Blood King, looking ridiculous, turned and tried to flee.

I watched his retreating back, clenched and unclenched my hand, and then moved.

Kwaang!

In one step, the distance closed instantly.

The Blood King, trying to raise his arm to defend, was futile.

Even if I were a complete novice in physical combat, the gap in physical abilities between us had become insurmountable.

Ziiing!

The Blood King, hit by my punch, flew and crashed into the debris of the collapsed arena.

I shook my slightly numb hand and looked around, then picked up a sword that had fallen to the ground. It was Rif's sword.

"Gr......"

Approaching the Blood King, who was still dazed and twitching on the ground, I placed the blade at his throat.

"What is the cure for Hemorrhagic Fever?"

The Blood King, who had never imagined losing like this, looked despondent and then burst into a deranged laugh.

"There is no cure."

"If you don't tell me, I'll kill you."

"There is no cure, you damn brat! There is no cure! No matter what you do, that kid was already a dead man!"

"......"

"Throw away your ridiculous threats. We'll see at the next King's meeting. This was clearly started by you! I'll report this to the Grand King myself......"

I sighed and looked up at the sky.

......So there was no other way?

Subduing the Blood King was in vain, and it meant I had only one choice from the beginning.

Seeing that I was silent, the Blood King gradually stopped his rant and looked up at me.

"There is a way, actually."

"......What?"

"A very simple way. You just need to die. If you die, Hemorrhagic Fever will be completely eradicated from this continent."

The Blood King, staring at me dumbfounded, spoke.

"......What nonsense are you spouting? How would Hemorrhagic Fever be cured if I die? How do you know that?"

"Who knows."

Because that's how it was in the game.

Explaining it would be pointless; the Blood King wouldn't understand.

I looked down at him coldly.

The Blood King, swallowing hard, said,

"Are you really going to kill me? A king killing a king?"

"......"

"Wait, just wait. Are you going to turn Calethric into an enemy? The Grand King will take your life himself! You're going to kill me over a couple of brats......!"

Swish!

The blade struck, and the Blood King's head rolled on the ground.

"A dead man has nothing to worry about."