Chapter 120: Secret Weapon
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
“It appears you are slowing down, Hevoy.”
“Goodness me, I never thought that you’d apply poison on your blades.”
Hevoy returned Keryoil’s observation with a wry smile.
I had thought that Hevoy’s wounds were becoming more serious due to fatigue, but, poison? Looks like Leader Keryoil is serious about defeating his opponents by any means necessary. To think he would actually resort to dirty tricks like this…
“Do not worry, that poison won’t kill you. It will just cause intense pain across your body. Still, it is nothing compared to what our son has to endure. Now is the time for you to admit defeat… unless you have some other trump card you wish to use? Your illusion and psychic interference magic has a wide area of effect, it is now or never. Although I am confident I can overcome it.”
“I suppose… Still, you seem to be under some kind of misconception. What I wield… is not magic.”
“Oi, oi, what kind of trick are you trying to pull now?”
Despite his lazily spoken words, Leader’s hand stopped moving as he narrowed his eyes. He appeared curious about Hevoy’s statement as they stared at each other.
“If your plan is to buy time, it will only put you at a disadvantage. Your pain will increase as the poison spreads throughout your body.”
“Speaking of which, I have a question. Do I strike you as the kind of person who reveals all of my secrets? Even to my allies?”
“You… lies are not tolerated in this party, have you forgotten?”
“Lies are not tolerated, which is why I answered everything honestly and even revealed my hobbies to you. It is easy to believe a person who reveals their fetishes to the world to be honest, yes? I have already seen through all of your abilities. Now, take a good look, am I suffering from any kind of excruciating pain?”
A moment ago, his face was twisted in pain. However, the tension suddenly left his body as he calmly swept his hair back and smiled. He even did a little skip, as though to show off his pain-free body.
“It did not look like an act… Hevoy, did you remove the poison with magic?”
“No, unfortunately I do not possess such convenient magic. No antidote either. I am just not feeling any pain right now.”
“Oi, oi, enough with these word games. What exactly are you talking about?”
“I have temporarily removed all feelings of pain from my body with my Gift.”
“Your Gift should be superhuman strength. You have a secondary Gift that could eliminate pain?”
“Indeed, it is part of how I can create hallucinations and cause psychic interference…”
A Gift that manipulates the senses. I have never heard of a Gift like this.
“This is the first time I heard of this Gift. Isn’t this kind of ability too crude and pointless to be considered a Gift?”
“Well, one can’t know everything there is to know about the world. Perhaps Miss Hyurumi had heard of it?”
Hyurumi, who had been observing from the sidelines, twitched a little when her name was mentioned. However, she quickly adjusted her posture and expression before saying.
“I’ve heard of it. It is a rare defensive Gift that is comparable to Hakkon’s <Barrier>.”
“What sort of ability is it?”
“Is it really alright for me to say it, Hevoy?”
“Do go ahead.”
For someone who had been keeping this ability a secret, he appears to be quite free with the information. I wonder what his motive is for doing this.
“It is an ability that could manipulate the target’s senses, this includes sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Moreover, according to Hevoy, it could also manipulate the pain sensory as well. I don’t know anything else beyond this.”
“Wait, if it could manipulate pain sensory, could it alleviate my son’s pain!?” asked Leader, lowering the weapon in his hand.
Hevoy, upon receiving this anguished plea from a desperate father, also lowered his weapon.
“If I were to say yes, perhaps we could halt all atrocities now. Unfortunately, this is not possible. There are many limitations and constraints to this Gift. It could create adverse effects… such as creating illusions over a wide area of effect. Unfortunately, positive reinforcements such as enhancing vision and improving one’s eyesight could only be applied to myself. This kind of sensory manipulation cannot be used on others. Eliminating pain is considered sensory manipulation, and therefore cannot be applied to others.”
This may not be the time to think about it, but <Sensory Manipulation> is an interesting ability. Depending on how it is used, it could be quite a powerful tool.
“I see… How unfortunate. I had high hopes for your psychic magic, but I suppose it’s useless here,” said Leader.
“Apologies for disappointing your expectations.”
I had to admire Hevoy’s tough nerves. He responds to every sarcastic comment with politeness. After that little interlude, both sides took up their weapons and settled into their combat stance again. Was that little heartfelt discussion all for nothing in the end? Is everything really back to square one?
Damn it. Why can’t I think of a way to fix this situation? I’m frustrated by my inability to do anything.
“Well, since we have nothing to say to each other, it is time to end this.”
“It would be best if we could have solved the issue just now. However, since my wounds have healed during our little talk, I shall keep persisting.”
That Hevoy is pretty sly. True enough, his wounds have stopped bleeding, even the scars have disappeared. Had he revealed his Gift for the purpose of buying time? Looks like Hevoy now has the advantage in this battle of attrition.
“Impossible, moreover it looks like my sons are in trouble, this needs to end soon.”
The battle between Mishael and the Twins was nearing its end. Mishael still has plenty of energy and his breathing was stable while the Twins were already exhausted and on the verge of collapsing.
It was clear which side was dominant.
“Ugh, I’m seriously tired.”
“You should go easy on us!”
“If I were to do that, you would run away, right?”
From the conversation alone, it sounded like they were having a casual back-and-forth. However, these three were in fact engaged in a serious fight. Even so, the twins still manage to maintain their easygoing tone and cheerful spirits.
“This is not something we could interfere with,” said Hyurumi.
“Because we’re outsiders and have only been with the party for a short time. It’s not our place to comment.”
“Ye-es”
Indeed, we are outsiders.
Our only job was to guard the entrance and make sure no one escapes.
“Listen up Felmina, Akai, Shiro. Let’s do this!” Leader suddenly raised his voice and the others quickly responded by shouting back and raising their weapons.
“Yes.”
“Ou!”
“Got it.”
Just what are they planning to do?! I must keep my eyes on them at all times and not miss a trick.
“Ughhhh!”
Suddenly, a scream rang out – it was Hevoy.
He was on his knees, pressing his forehead against the ground and groaning in pain. What’s going on? He was perfectly calm just a moment ago.
The unexpected reaction from this person attracted everyone’s attention. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Red and White Twins rushed past Mishael and ran along the wall to close in on me.
Vice-Leader Felmina was also running towards us. Mishael, who finally regained his senses tried to block Vice-Leader but was stopped by a dagger thrown by Leader.
The four of them surrounded me just beyond the boundary of my <Barrier>.
The Leader had another throwing dagger in his hand, but so long as I have my <Barrier>, physical attacks like this won’t work. I have no idea what he did to Hevoy, but I would block anything they throw at me with my <Barrier> no matter what!
“Hevoy is not the only one hiding his true strength!” Leader’s smile was victorious as he grinned with eyes that suddenly turned red. The faint blue light of the <Barrier> suddenly disappeared.
What the-? How could it suddenly disappear without me releasing it?!
The impenetrable defence that I had absolute confidence in had collapsed. The knife thrown by Leader whizzed past me and sliced through Shui’s bow string.
A sudden mist obscured my vision. It was Vice-Leader Felmina’s magic. She had used this in the fight against those Crocodile Demons.
“Goodness, I never thought I’d have to use this trump card on anyone aside from the King of the Netherworld. It had been fun till now. Apologies everyone.”
Leader’s hand touched the top of my head and I heard the sound of footsteps running away behind me, fading away with the Leader’s apology.
Did he manage to get away? I suppose it’s too late to chase them down now. We can’t leave Hevoy, who is currently in foetal position and clutching his chest in pain.
“Apologies, Master Hakkon! They are escaping, I shall track them down now.”
“Stop, Mishael. It’s too dangerous to go alone when we don’t know the Leader’s full ability.”
“Kuuh– you’re right.”
“First, let’s take care of Hevoy.”
Right. First, we have to do something about Hevoy, who is still struggling in pain.
“Haahhh… as expected, there’s a reason why I had to address him as Leader,” said Hevoy.
Then, he stood up and scratched his head.
…oi, what-
“What the heck? Why are you so calm?! Did you pretend to be in pain just to let Leader get away?!”
“Not at all, I really could not move due to intense pain earlier. I believe it was Leader’s Gift that cancelled out my Gift of sensory manipulation. After he left, I used it to remove the pain once again,” Hevoy ignored Shui’s further questioning, staring at the stairs where Leader had left.
“A Gift that cancels out my pain sensory control and Hakkon’s <Barrier>. I noticed that Leader’s eyes turned red before our Gifts were cancelled out.”
“Ye-es, ye-es”
I saw it too. I remember thinking that Leader’s eyes were emitting a red light before my <Barrier> suddenly disappeared.
“I see, the possible explanation for this is that Leader has the <Shattering Eye> Gift. It’s a legendary class Gift that could negate other Gifts. According to the legends, there was once a Hero who nearly conquered the world with this Gift.”
To cancel out a Gift with another Gift… isn’t that something a protagonist of a novel or a manga would possess? It’s a classic trope that’s often seen in fiction. To be honest, now that I think about it, I had never seen Leader display any remarkable abilities. Sure, I get the feeling that he’s strong in a quiet way, but to think that he’s actually hiding such an incredible ability.
The Leader’s <Shattering Eye> is quite troublesome since it could stop me using <Barrier> and <Telekinesis>. If that happens, I’d be nothing but an ordinary vending machine. Not that I have any problem being an ordinary vending machine.
Wait, if he has this Gift, why didn’t he use it to cancel out his son’s Cursed Gift? Was it because the effects are only temporary? Well, I could only know these things if I ask the person directly.
“We were completely defeated. The reason we were gathered here to hear their confession was likely because they know and understand our abilities and their own very well. Let us return to the village for now. We must report to the director as well.”
No one disagreed with this, we all nodded numbly at [1] Hyurumi’s logical conclusion.
Sudden fatigue hit us then. Now that [2] the battle was over and the adrenaline rush had passed, Leader’s betrayal finally sunk in and everyone’s steps felt heavier.
Before [2] we started up the stairs, I looked back one more time. There was nothing inside the room but for the boy still sleeping inside the crystal coffin.
[Gumihou: Woah, that escalated quickly]
[1] Add Hyurumi’s name, since it’s unclear who spoke then. [2] Give more details.
Kitchennovel.com has a new Membership System!!
Please click on the table below to check it out~
Naturally, you can also choose to support us through Patreon or tip us via Kofi~!
Don’t forget to leave a comment at novelupdates too!
