Chapter 155 - New Power (3)

“What is that?”

Hector wasn’t necessarily surprised because he finally found out what Benedict, a man he had never met before, looked like. Rather, it was because he once again witnessed Klever transforming into something entirely new.

“I look forward to it,” said Klever, having completely assumed Benedict’s appearance.

“Okay, let’s get started.”

Not that the preparations were complete, it was actually about to start.

Henry gave Hector only one steel club, whereas Klever received an additional one, since Benedict had used two scimitars during his lifetime.

“I’ll let you go first,” said Hector.

Klever nodded in silence before powerfully kicking the ground as he charged forward.

Clank!

‘Oh?’

It was an explosive kick off the ground.

Henry’s mouth was left wide open as he watched Klever perfectly replicate the movements of the real Benedict.

Klever soon closed the distance between himself and Hector, only leaving about five steps in between them.

Boom!

Klever took a step with his left leg and used it as a pivot as he twisted his hips and leaped into the air. While doing so, he swung his right arm, increasing his momentum and rotational force. Spinning three times in the air, he swung the club with his left hand.

Klever already possessed strength that surpassed human limits, and when he combined it with Benedict's unique technique, even greater power surged forth from his left hand.

‘He’s not too shabby.’

Hector didn't evade Klever's attack; instead, he raised his steel club with enough force to counteract it. The main purpose was to observe Klever’s strength rather than suppress it.

Clank!historical

A loud clashing sound echoed through the training ground.

Klever wasn’t the only one who had superhuman strength. Using the Korun’s body, Hector was just as strong.

“Oh wow!”

Hector found it interesting as his steel club clashed with Klever’s.

As soon as his attack was blocked, Klever pushed down the steel club and put his weight on top of it.

‘He’s using it as a springboard?’

He exerted his weight on the club, propelling himself into the air once again. Klever had taken advantage of Hector's club to gain momentum to jump in the air.

‘That’s a pretty good move, but there’s a limit to how much you can do in the air!’

It was true that one’s movements were more flexible in the air, but jumping in the air like that was not much better than just staying on the ground.

Skilled fighters like Hector always capitalized on opportunities like this in order to win. Therefore, he decided to have a little fun with the Klever while he was still in the air.

Clank!

“...!”

Hector attempted to swing his iron club at Klever since he thought that he would descend slowly. However, Klever flew like a crossbow bolt as he used something in the air as a springboard.

‘Oh?’

Henry clearly saw Klever spraying solid slime under his feet and using it as a foothold.

Seeing Klever’s moves, Hector quickly changed his strategy and tried to stop him from rushing toward him with his weapon. However, he was mistaken, as Klever was not holding two steel clubs in his hand, but his own slime, having molded it into a net-like shape.

Splash! Splosh!

The slime ran down Hector’s body, and after covering him entirely, it solidified, turning him into a stone-like figure.

“...!”

Drip.

It looked as if mud was pouring out of him.

Some of the slime melted off his face, revealing Hector’s expression.

Bewildered, Hector laughed with a look of disbelief on his face.

“Oh wow, I can’t believe it..!”

He was dumbfounded at this ridiculous situation.

Hector had assumed their sparring would involve only steel clubs, given Klever's mimicry of another person. However, he now realized he had made a naive error in his judgment.

‘I can’t believe that the shape-shifting itself was a trick.’

Hector had made that mistake because he had relied on common sense. Therefore, he had no choice but to laugh despondently rather than get mad.

“Sir Hector, do you surrender?”

Klever removed the slime off of Hector’s face so that he could breathe and stopped the slime from flowing, which looked like mud that had just hardened. After immobilizing Hector, Klever cautiously proposed that he surrender.

Hector smirked and said, “Klever.”

“Yes, Sir Hector.”

“At least you used to be cute, but now you’re truly disgusting.”

“...Thank you.”

Klever had no idea what Hector was trying to say, but regardless of whether he understood or not, Hector spoke with a look of utmost seriousness.

“Then why don’t you try to last another round? If you surprise me again, I’ll admit my defeat.”

Hector had given him a subtle warning, and he made up his mind to try his best when going against Klever from now on.

Tzz, tzz, tzzzz!

“...!”

It seemed as if there was an electric current.

Not caring that Klever had turned his body into stone, Hector released Aura and let out blue sparks.

Just as he had done before, Klever absorbed Hector’s Aura.

“Your ability.. Consumption, wasn’t it? Go ahead and try absorbing as much as you can, and we can see which one is greater. Your stomach, or my power?”

Klever used the exact strategy as before, but Hector thought that no matter how great one’s ability was, it all became useless in the face of overwhelming power.

Therefore, Hector decided to show Klever that regardless of how great his appetite was, his own power surpassed it in magnitude and strength.

Ptzzz!

The sound grew louder. It was like thousands of birds were flapping their wings all at once, making Hector’s Aura similar not to fireworks, but to thunder and lightning.

Boom!

..Thud thud!

The slime flew in all directions.

In the end, Klever had exploded because he couldn’t withstand Hector’s huge amount of Aura.

The splash of gray slime looked like the aftermath of a bomb.

However, Hector quickly realized that something was wrong.

“Huh..?”

He looked puzzled, just like the time when Klever had suddenly transformed from a cat to an egg.

“H-Henry?”

“Just wait for a bit.”

Hector looked at Henry as if he was a puppy that had done something wrong. However, Henry was already assessing the situation by collecting Klever’s slime from all over the place.

‘It’s less elastic.’

Klever's body consisted of a stretchy and elastic slime that didn't stick to one’s hands. However, when Henry touched the fragments of Klever’s body that had resulted from Hector’s attack, the elasticity didn’t feel the same as before.

“Klever?”

Despite that, Henry didn’t feel that the contract between them had been broken either.

Henry quietly called Klever’s name. He could hear his voice

- Yes, Master.

Klever’s voice couldn’t actually be heard, as it only resonated in Henry’s head. Klever had often communicated with Henry like this before he fully evolved.

Feeling relieved, Henry asked Klever.

‘What happened?’

- I lost. This happened because I couldn't absorb all of Sir Hector’s power.

‘Then does this mean you’re injured?’

- As of right now, I need time to recover. I apologize, Master.

‘Okay. I’ll allow you to use my mana for recovery, so use as much as you need.’

- Thank you, Master.

This was the end of their conversation.

Klever’s awfully sleepy voice soon went silent, and his flesh that was scattered all over the place was summoned back into Henry’s ring.

Hector asked Henry with an even more anxious look, “Henry, w-where’s Klever?”

He looked exactly the same as last time, confused but also very sorry.

Henry let out a deep sigh and said, “He’s dead.”

“W-what?”

Thud.

Hector fell to the ground when he heard the unexpected result. He believed this was already his second mistake.

However, Henry decided that he was not going to tell Hector the truth for a while, as he could use this chance to order him around.

* * *

“Ha..”

Syred blew out pink smoke to his heart’s content.

He was happy. He had also gone a few days without eating or sleeping.

After suffering an unbearable withdrawal from Pink Swamp 2, he was finally able to function again after receiving more cigarettes from his father.

“Haaa..”

However, Syred also knew that he could only maintain his sanity when smoking cigarettes. Although he was very happy right now, he was afraid of the withdrawal that would come later. Nonetheless, he couldn’t stop smoking Pink Swamp, so he just decided to give up on thinking about it anymore.

“Haa.. I guess I’m just destined to die after living like this..”

After smoking an entire pack of cigarettes, Syred put another cigarette from a new pack in his mouth and lit a match.

* * *

“Syred said that?”

“That’s right, Marquis.”

“...Alright, you may leave.”

In the end, Alfred had eventually caved in to Henry’s offer, and just like Henry’s had said, his second son’s condition improved remarkably after smoking Pink Swamp again.

However, Alfred knew very well that it was only the second best thing he could do, and not the best option to help him.

He was worried and frequently got reports about his son’s every move from his servants.

“Ha..”

Alfred didn’t expect that his smart Syred would say something like that.

‘How could he say he’s destined to just continue living like this until he dies?’

Alfred put his head on his desk, greatly disappointed by his son.

“This is insane..!”

The more he received the reports, the more he couldn't help but admit that he had made the wrong choice. He had chosen to endure a more intense kind of suffering just to relieve the immediate pain.

This was for sure a crazy thing to do.

Alfred poured himself a full glass of whisky.

Gurgle.

He would usually have his glass half full, but now it was filled to the brim. He was under so much stress that he couldn’t keep himself together without the help of alcohol.

It was painful.

The emperor was going to proceed with an examination, but he was now a Pink Swamp maniac, and his two precious sons had become morons.

Alfred felt like he was going to collapse from stress and anger, and because of that, there had been many days he had to drink to fall asleep.

Still, when he tried to sleep and shut his eyes, images of Eisen and Henry kept coming back, tormenting him with unbearable pain.

Gulp gulp.

Slam!

Feeling stressed, Alfred quickly emptied a glass of whiskey.

His throat was burning from the bitter taste, but this sensation was better than a headache.

“Ha..”

He felt as if he was pushed to the edge of a cliff. He felt that behind him was a long fall and in front of him were many blades that were trying to push him.

Alfred believed that there was no way out, but he also didn’t want to throw himself off the cliff like his enemies desired.

‘...I can’t let that happen!’

Alcohol provided courage, and many of the solutions he had thought of started with the assistance of alcohol.

‘Do you think I’ll just lay down like this?’

The emperor and his two sons had been ruined by Pink Swamp, but he was fine. Moreover, he was full of wealth and honor, meaning that there was nothing he couldn’t do. All he had to do was cut out the rotten parts in his life.

When his thoughts reached this point, he felt his head suddenly cooling down.

He had suffered a lot of humiliation, and now it was his turn to return it back.

“Prepare a carriage.”

Having made up his mind, Alfred immediately got on a carriage and headed toward the Shonan region.