Hell Mode: Volume 7, page 26
“Hmph, I have no personal interest in this guy, but his life’s important to you, no? In exchange for your precious king, I want you to give me the Sacred Necklace.”
Bask picked up the body of the birdkin king by the neck as he hefted his shield. The king’s feet dangled in the air as he flapped about.
“Th-The Sacred...!” the queen sputtered. Bask grinned when he saw her expression change.
“I knew it. It’s written all over your face. That thing must offer some incredible power. It would be a shame to leave it in such a desolate country, so I’ll take it off your hands. Heh heh.”
Bask’s body, adorned by ornaments, shimmered in the light of the torches hanging on the hallway wall. Two jeweled rings decorated the hand that was holding the king’s neck.
“So, the rumors of someone rampaging throughout the world in search of valuable magic tools was true...” The birdkin king spoke in a hoarse voice, putting his hands on the one that was strangling him in hopes of preventing further strangulation.
For the past year or two, there had been incidents of royal castles and tombs being attacked for their treasured items all over the Garlesian Continent. From eyewitness testimonies, it was immediately known that the culprit was Bask, the King of Shura, but no one could stop the Rank S adventurer. As a result, the two greatswords that Bask carried on his back had changed from being made of adamantite to being made of orichalcum, and although he remained shirtless, he was now covered from head to toe in magical tools.
After hearing about the Sacred Necklace in the birdkin kingdom from his most recent victim, he had sneaked into the royal castle under the cover of night.
“D-Do you really think I’ll give the Sacred Necklace, which is purported to have been granted as a miracle by the God of Creation, to the likes of you?!”
Bask knitted his brows at the birdkin king’s words. “What? You think you can talk to me like that?”
SQUEEZE!
“Gyaaagh?!” The birdkin king let out a shrill scream as Bask’s grip on his neck tightened. The queen and princess gasped, and the soldiers stepped forward, but Bask was using the king’s body as a shield; the soldiers could not thrust their spears at the intruder.
“Be quiet, you weaklings. It sounds like you guys don’t understand the situation you’re in. The reason I’m not killing you all is because it would be a hassle. I could slaughter everyone here and then search for the item, but that’d be a waste of my time.”
The soldiers were horrified by the calmness in Bask’s eyes as he spoke. He was dead serious.
The next moment, Bask took a step forward, and the soldiers instinctively took a few steps back. Bask smiled with satisfaction and put his mouth next to the king’s ear.
“A miracle from the God of Creation sounds fantastic. Such a valuable thing only is meaningful if it is possessed by a strong person. Take me to your treasury. Or should I kill everyone here?”
“I-I understand. I’ll guide you.”
The king gasped and gave directions to the treasury. Upon hearing them, Bask issued an order. “The queen and princess should walk ahead of us. It would be annoying if there were any traps.” With that, he made the queen and princess lead the way.
Eventually, the two ladies walking at the head of the group stopped in front of a huge door. Bask pushed them aside and stepped forward, punching in the door of the treasury with his free hand.
CRAAAAASH!
The hinges came loose from the wall and the door collapsed into the treasury. Bask stepped over it on his way in. While still strangling the king with one hand, he kicked open locked boxes on the floor and overturned them, spilled the contents of small boxes on shelves by knocking them down, and scattered gold coins and ornaments across the room in search of the Sacred Necklace. On the other side of the broken door, the queen, princess, and soldiers watched on in fear.
After about an hour of searching through the treasury, Bask finally realized that what he was looking for was not there.
“Bastard! You tricked me!”
“Waaagh?!” The king, who had gone limp from being dragged around by his neck, let out another high-pitched cry as Bask strangled him.
“Where is it?”
“W-Well...”
“Hmph. All right, tell me which one you want me to kill: the princess or the queen.”
The king’s eyes widened at Bask’s words.
“Wh-What?! Do you not have any sense of humanity flowing through you?!”
“Dunno. Where’s the Sacred Necklace?”
Bask gripped the hilt of one of the two greatswords he carried on his back.
“I-It’s not here,” the king answered in a raspy voice.
Bask gave a small nod, then swung the greatsword from his back and pointed the tip at the treasury door. The birdkin queen and princess were huddled together, trembling, but when the sword was pointed at them, they began to cower in fear.
“So, which one should I kill?” Bask asked.
“It’s in Teomenia!” the king shouted. “We offered it to the Great Pope! After hearing the rumors about you, we thought it would be safer there!”
Bask brought the king close to his face and peered into the royal’s eyes. Bask was uncooperative and did not fit well in group situations, nor was he good at reading people’s words, but his keen intuition allowed him to sense the emotions of others. The birdkin king’s eyes, as he saw them, were calm despite the situation he was in. By revealing the truth that he had been hiding, he seemed to have been freed from the fear of his lies being discovered.
“Tch. It looks like you’re telling the truth,” Bask spat, then threw the king’s body onto a pile of gold coins and left the treasury. No one tried to stop him on his way out of both the castle and country of Lehmciel.
＊ ＊ ＊
After leaving the continent of Garlesia, Bask crossed the eastern sea toward the continent of Galiat, where Elmahl was located. Uron, the birdkin king, had warned of his arrival via a magic tool, and when Bask arrived at the religious capital of Teomenia, it was heavily defended by the Church of Elmea. However, this was of no use. The holy soldiers were all mowed down, and a trail of blood was led deep inside the church, to where the Great Pope was.
“I’ve been searching for you,” said the lone intruder.
Bask found Great Pope Istahl in a grand hall lined with giant columns. A wide smile appeared on the King of Shura’s face, stained red with blood.
“You must be Bask.”
“That’s right. Oh? What’s that you’re wearing around your neck?”
Bask’s eyes lit up when he caught sight of the shining necklace on the Great Pope’s chest. However, at the next moment, he instinctively realized that this was a trap. His opponent had known that he was coming for the Sacred Necklace, and that the Great Pope wearing it over his robe seemed too convenient. And yet, while he realized that he had walked right into this trap, Bask finally saw what he had been searching for, and its brilliance captivated him.
“As rumored, you don’t seem to respect your superiors very much. Yes, this is indeed the Sacred Necklace you’ve been searching for. You’ve spilled a lot of unnecessary blood for it, haven’t you?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“This is a miracle bestowed upon us by the God of Creation in order to strengthen our healing powers. It is useless for someone such as yourself, who possesses the Asura Talent.”
Bask immediately knew that the words the Great Pope spoke so indifferently were no lie. However, it annoyed him to voice his agreement.
“What? Well, I won’t know until I try to equip it. Hmm?” Bask sensed a presence behind him and put a hand on the hilt of one of the greatswords he carried on his back.
Just as he had expected, a man appeared from behind the pillar he had just walked past. He was surprised that he had not noticed the man’s presence until now.
“Makkaron. You are responsible for certifying this man as a Rank S adventurer and letting him run wild,” the Great Pope said to the man who had appeared behind Bask.
“There’s no need for you to tell me that, Istahl. Hence, I came here to fulfill my duties,” Makkaron, the head of the Adventurer’s Guild, responded.
“Two against one? Interesting.” Bask grinned fearlessly and placed his free hand on the hilt of the other greatsword on his back.
“Now, now. Listen to me first. If it’s a magic tool you want, Bask, we’re willing to cooperate depending on what you have to say.”
Hearing those words from Makkaron made Bask even more wary. If he had been in Makkaron’s position, he would have killed the person he had lured in with the Sacred Necklace without even giving them time to turn around, assuming that person had not noticed his presence. There was no way that Makkaron would suddenly give Back the advantage.
“Yeah? So you’re calling for reinforcements, then?”
Bask said the first words that came to his mind. The only thing that he, who had overcome mortal peril many times over without relying on anyone else, could trust was his own strength and intuition. And his intuition was warning him of a danger greater than anything he had ever faced before. He needed to kill the enemy in front of him before reinforcements could arrive.
Bask bent his knees slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and slowly moved his feet forward. With his sights set on the Great Pope, he took up a stance that allowed him to react immediately even if he was attacked from behind—an action that caused the Great Pope to slowly retreat. The next moment, as Bask realized that his opponent possessed an ability to fight far surpassing that of a common old man, Makkaron nimbly approached him from behind.
“Trying to kill the Great Pope? It seems you need to be punished,” Makkaron said.
As the guildmaster general spoke, the Great Pope began chanting a spell. However, Bask’s intuition sensed an even greater danger behind him.
“You die first!”
Bask instantly changed his stance and turned around, using the momentum to unsheathe one of his greatswords and try to cut Makkaron in half.
“Goodness, that was a close one.”
Makkaron narrowly dodged the attack and took advantage of the slight opening Bask left when he swung his greatsword, slamming a punch into his side. There was the dry sound of air rushing out of his lungs, and Bask’s body was sent flying, contorting into a sideways V.
However, Makkaron was also blown back. Immediately after he struck Bask in the side, Bask, not sacrificing any of his momentum from his greatsword swing, did a half-turn and delivered a roundhouse kick.
“Hrngh!”
“Are you okay? High Heel!”
The Great Pope activated a recovery spell from behind Makkaron.
“Ouch. Doesn’t he know to be kind to his elders?”
“It seems like this might be a challenge for us to do alone,” the Great Pope whispered to Makkaron.
“We’ll just have to manage on our own for a while. Besides, he’s an Asura, so his low Endurance is his weak point.”
Makkaron, the head of the Adventurer’s Guild, had investigated the characteristics of Bask’s Talent, Asura. Those with that Talent gained overwhelming attack power and speed, but when equipped with armor, their actions were restricted and they became unable to use their skills well. That was why Bask had been trying to obtain magic tools that were not subject to such restrictions and could provide various additional effects.
“But he must be aware of that. Look at the bag on his waist.”
The Great Pope watched as Bask, holding his greatsword in one hand, reached for the pouch at his waist. He took what looked like a healing item from his bag and quickly put it in his mouth.
“As expected, it looks like it’s going to be a battle of endurance.”
“Neither you nor I is all that young anymore.”
“Don’t put us in the same boat, Istahl.”
Bask, who had been chewing on something while listening to the conversation between the Great Pope and Makkaron, swallowed, and suddenly burst into laughter. His toothy grin and dilated pupils gave off a sinister look that would make anyone who saw him question his sanity.
“Keh heh heh, just as I expected. Pugilist King Makkaron, the God of War who was said to be unparalleled in battle, and Saint King Istahl can still fight together, it seems. Heh heh, this is getting interesting! Don’t let me kill you too quickly, my dear senior!”
Bask was facing down a fellow Rank S adventurer. His opponent had the four-star Talent of Pugilist King and had formed a party with another four-star Talent holder, a Saint King.
“‘Senior,’ you say... You see, Bask, I didn’t become certified as a Rank S adventurer purely through my own strength. Rather, by becoming a Rank S adventurer, I learned that I hadn’t done everything on my own; I was once arrogant but had been humbled by the title. I had hoped you would follow suit.”
As Makkaron said this, he looked with sad eyes at Bask, who drew his second greatsword.
“It’s sad, Makkaron, but it seems like neither you nor I have the luxury of showing mercy to him right now.”
“You don’t have to spell it out for me, Stahl. Phantom Knuckle!”
Makkaron activated his Extra Skill. His body shimmered as if it were wrapped in a heat haze, and then the shimmering gradually grew larger and began to blur the area on either side of him. Before long, five shimmering clones appeared.
“Sacred Necklace, grant me your power. Sanctuary Road!”
The Great Pope also activated his Extra Skill. His body shimmered as if enveloped in a heat haze, and then he emerged, emitting light. Furthermore, when the Sacred Necklace on his chest emitted a strong light, its glow spread throughout the Great Pope’s body. The light emitted from his body also increased in intensity, illuminating the hall as brightly as if they were outside at midday.
Bask continued to grin while watching this situation carefully.
“I see you’re going all out from the get-go,” Bask said. “Sounds good to me.”
“All Protect!”
“Here I come, Bask!”
The moment the Great Pope used a skill to increase Makkaron’s Endurance, the five Makkaron clones attacked Bask all at once.
“Rah!”
Bask swung one of his swords horizontally, slashing at the approaching clones. However, there was no response to the attack, and after the three clones that were cut through disappeared, the remaining two clones approached Bask’s front and side, respectively. Bask instantly changed his grip on the sword in his other hand, spinning it into a reverse grip and thrusting it with murderous intent at the clone that was flanking him. However, before the greatsword could reach it, the one in front of him jumped toward his chest. Bask tried to hit it with his knee.
“You’re still wet behind the ears.”
Makkaron’s voice came from behind Bask. Immediately after, his fist slammed into Back abdomen.
“Hngh! Hyah!”
Bask’s face contorted in pain for a moment, but then, with a roar, he used the greatsword that was behind him following his first swing to slash at Makkaron’s real body. By then, however, the guildmaster general had already split into five new entities, and Bask’s sword only scattered one of them like mist.
“It’s a shame. If you were more open to others, you wouldn’t be fooled by such petty tricks!”
As he solemnly muttered to himself, Makkaron mercilessly pounded his fist into Bask, who was attacking another clone and left himself open. Bask relied on his sharp intuition to attack, but it was that very intuition that made him unable to ignore the murderous alter egos. As a result, he ended up attacking Makkaron’s clones. Even on the rare occasions when Bask’s instincts told him where the true body was, Makkaron would simply dodge the dangerous greatsword slashes and purposefully take the kicks. This was done in anticipation that the damage would not be fatal due to his heightened Endurance and that the Great Pope’s recovery magic would heal him right away.
A few minutes later, Bask, whose entire body was covered in bruises, distanced himself from Makkaron and returned one of his greatswords in his hands to his back. Then, he used his free hand to take a healing potion from the pouch at his waist and put it in his mouth. With a gasp, he bit down to crush it and swallowed, then choked, coughed, and spit out blood.
Seeing this situation, Makkaron relaxed his stance.
“What do you think? If you’re willing to reflect on your actions, your life may be spared.”
“H-Hey, I don’t think we can spare the—” the Great Pope started.
Bask looked up, wiped the blood staining his mouth with his fist, and grinned. “Not bad! This is the first time I’ve been beaten up like this. As a sign of appreciation, I’ll turn you both into mincemeat! Berserker Mode!”
Bask seemed to have used some kind of skill that affected his whole body. The muscles under his skin wriggled like countless insects, and his skin everywhere from his chest to his stomach, his neck to his shoulders, and his waist to his legs turned bloodred.
“So, you’re finally taking this seriously. Hmph!”
Makkaron split into five individuals and approached Bask. The clones scattered to the front, back, left, and right attack all at once, while the remaining one jumped at Bask’s head.
“Now that I’ve gotten serious, you’re done for! Graaah!”
Bask swung the greatsword he was still holding in one hand at frightening speed, obliterating the Makkaron clones that were closing in on him. He then ducked to avoid the clone that was approaching his head, spread his hand in front of his face, and caught Makkaron’s foot as the guildmaster general tried to kick him in the face.
“Hmm?! Wh-What the hell?!”
The guildmaster general immediately solidified his defense, and as he did, Bask lifted his body above his head.
“Die!”
Bask bared his teeth in a grin and swung Makkaron’s body around above him before slamming him down onto the church floor.
