Chapter 353

Lethe, leader of the North Winds, remembers.
The Night of the Fangs, led by Jaifa.
Varsa, the Changeling, is engulfed in flames.
The sight of men tearing humans to pieces as they overran the city walls.
“It’s about time.
It’s been decades now, but the horrors of that day still flicker in the back of my mind.
If it was obvious, it was obvious.
Lethe’s dreams of becoming the best engineer in the North came to an end with the arrival of the Night of the Fangs.
It took quite a while to retake the captured Varsa.
By the time the peace agreement was signed, the bodies of the dead had been plucked from the ruined city.
Lethe swore an oath over her family’s ashes.
I will rid the north of those beasts.
Furthermore, he will take the head of Jaifa, the mastermind of the incident.
In preparing for his revenge, the natives of the north have been a great help to Lethe.
Descendants of those who were pushed to the fringes in a power struggle with the Suin.
The hatred they already harbored was fueled by the oil of Lethe.
“The emperor and the general have forgiven you, but not me.”
Lethe, piloting Ballista, said to herself.
Like me, Zyfa is very different from what it used to be.
He spent a long time as a swordsman, helping the people.
He had revolutionized the war against Nebula Clazier, and now he was voluntarily restoring order in the north.
It was a heroic act.
But that was none of Lethe’s business.
What’s the point.
Atonement does not bring the dead back to life.
“Come on—come out.”
Lethe brought her eyes to the scope.
Ballista moved with a smoothness that belied his boyhood.
Set up in one of the most visible spots in the North Winds’ home base, it was built for the sole purpose of capturing Zaifa.
The fortress was becoming increasingly noisy.
A dark figure rose from the thick smoke.
“Finally—!
Lethe’s eyes widened.
It was unmistakably Zyfa.
Leaping vertically, he clutched the blood-soaked Unwaldo in his hand.
Now that we were in the air, this was our chance.
Finally, after adjusting the orbit, Lethe pulled the firing lever.
Bam!
The spells engraved on the parts glowed in unison, and the ballista fired.
“Go!”
The die is cast.
Lethe clenched her fists.
The giant spear moved toward Jaifa in a straight line, as if measured with a ruler.
There were no blasting noises.
Among the dozen or so fire support spells was one that suppressed noise.
If there was one variable, it was that his opponent was Jaifa Turgun.
“Hmm?”
A transcendent intuition warned me.
Zaifa, who was falling through the air, turned her head.
He saw a giant spear flying toward him.
“What the hell is that?”
Jaifa’s brow narrowed.
It was unlike any weapon I’d ever seen before.
A projectile is supposed to slow down with distance, but this one was accelerating.
“You used your head.”
It seemed to be aimed at a gap in the air.
Of course, I saw it coming, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Zaifa swung her Unwaldo lightly.
A black line was drawn in the air and the window split vertically.
No matter how sturdy you made it, it would be meaningless against the Aurors of Zaifa, who bear space itself.
Just as he lowered his gaze to the fortress once more.
Paaaaaaaat-!!!
The window snapped in half, causing an explosion.
A swirl of cold light surrounded them.
Zaifa, who was in the foxhole, frowned.
“Ugh—!”
It was a blinding flash that made it hard to open my eyes.
Zaifa’s form was then swallowed by a swarm of light.
Lethe’s mouth twitched at the sight.
“I thought it would intercept. If it was you.”
“Stand, Success! Really?”
Watching from below, Blanta clenched her fists.
So far, so good.
He watched the orb of light with fascination.
The light in the sky faded, and Zaifa reappeared.
“What do you want me to do.”
Landing in the middle of the fortress, Zaifa smirked.
I couldn’t figure out what the weapon was for.
It was too polished to be a flashbang, and too underpowered to be a bomb.
You’ve wasted a lot of time.
He was about to go on a destructive rampage again.
“Hmm?”
I felt an unexplained sense of discomfort.
Unwaldo, which was light as a bird’s feather, felt strangely heavy.
The fleeing North Winds stopped in their tracks and chattered in confusion.
“What was that light just now, and where is Zyfa going?”
“What’s that. I don’t recognize the old man.”
“Wait, the Unwaldo in your hand can’t be—.”
Suddenly, Zaifa realized that her vision had lowered.
A moment ago, I was looking at the top of their heads, and now I’m at eye level with them.
“What—.”
Zaifa blushed with embarrassment.
It wasn’t just the view that changed.
The wind blowing through the collapsed ceiling was cold as it cut through my flesh.
I could no longer feel the auror that was pulsating a moment ago.
The hand clutching Unwaldo was covered in wrinkles and calluses instead of saccharine hair.
“—Human?”
It didn’t take me long to realize what was going on.
Jaifa realized that he had turned human.
And as a wrinkly old man.
Of course, the fact that the original was the original didn’t diminish its power.
Eyes blazing crimson, hair and beard unbecoming of his age.
His clothes had fallen off, revealing a naked body covered in muscle.
“——That’s ridiculous.”
Zaifa is usually calm, but this time she couldn’t help but panic.
I don’t know what kind of magic she used, but she became human.
The same race you were just slicing up and killing.
The North Wind Corps was equally puzzled.
They were sneaking up on the old man, unaware of his identity as Jaifa.
When everyone was in turmoil.
– All hands, hear this: Zaifa Turgun, the brutalized beast, is now human.
Lethe’s voice echoed from speakers installed throughout the fortress.
– It will take the form of an old man with black hair and red eyes. He’s lost most of his Shui power in his sudden transformation to human form, so find and destroy him quickly. If you capture him alive, I will reward you handsomely.
The group was stunned.
Their attention was naturally drawn to the old man in front of them.
The old man with the perfectly matched facial features was moving his hands and feet as if experimenting.
“Black hair, red eyes–that’s me, that’s inspiration!”
“This is your chance! Kill him!”
With a shout, the attack began.
The northerly winds, coming from all directions, resembled a swarm of angry bees.
Zaifa’s tongue is out for Unwaldo.
“I wonder if this is too much—.”
It wasn’t impossible to lift, but I couldn’t swing it freely.
Zaifa picked up the longsword lying on the ground.
The hilt felt strange in my hand.
It’s what we used to use as toothpicks back in the day.
“I’ve been living too long.”
It was like I was under a curse or something.
Despite this being her first time, and the situation being very bad, Jaifa calmly raised her sword.
It doesn’t change what you need to do anyway.
The old man leapt forward and swung his sword, and the heads of two North Winds soared into the ceiling.
****
“Kahaha, you really made it. Lethe!”
Blanta burst out laughing.
He had just heard Lethe’s announcement.
“You look like shit, old man, if it weren’t for you, I’d be going to get you.”
Blantha thumped the floor with her tail in disappointment.
By now, Jaifa was struggling in a human body he hadn’t adapted to.
“Zaifa-sama has become a human—! How is that possible!”
“I didn’t see this coming either.”
Varen and Sekrit gasped in unison.
I had no idea they had such a secret weapon up their sleeve.
Sekrit, resting on his stomach, murmured with interest.
“I must have been lucky enough to salvage the Humanization Curse from some ruins or something, and it’s not that fancy, but I wonder if they had a complete copy left.”
“Hey, you can’t take on that many as a human, you have to help Zaifa!”
“I feel like a chimney, but what else is there to do?”
Sekrit looked at Blantha.
The chains binding them were still under his control.
I was trying to figure out how to get away from that wearpanda.
From the direction of the fortress, an earth-shattering shout rang out.
“There she is! Blantada!”
“What?”
Three people turned their heads at the same time.
Dozens of Sioux were on their way like a herd of angry bison.
The men, all dressed in gauzy robes, were mostly armed.
Varen raised an eyebrow at the familiarity.
“The arena’s—!”
Apparently, the men had been locked up in the arena.
They seemed to have escaped during the Zaifa’s rampage, and each one of them was furious.
The target of his wrath is none other than champion Blantha.
He sighed as he slowly scanned the group.
“Ha—really, bother.”
The reason was self-explanatory.
I had a lot of stuff piling up.
Blantha’s favorable reputation was built on the spectacular killing or maiming of her countrymen in front of everyone.
I never really saw them as a person.
The Anti-Gunners have taken advantage of your liberty to retaliate.
“I must have looked pretty ridiculous, too.”
Blanta was stunned.
It’s worth pointing out.
Striding quickly, he tied Varen and Sekrit to a nearby tree.
The chains tightened, and the two men’s faces turned blue.
“Hmph—breathe!”
“You stay here, Dandy, and if you run away, I’ll catch up to you.”
Blantha growled.
The glint in his eye was enough to make a man shrink.
Varen and Sekrit nodded quickly.
“Oh, I get it, I’m not going to run away.”
“Of course. Be a good boy.”
Blanta lands a glancing blow to the side of Varen’s head.
To be honest, I didn’t mind running away.
Short-legged werefoxes and fat humans were a piece of cake.
Before I knew it, I had closed the distance between us.
Turning her head, Blantha smiled eerily.
“Then—.”
One to one was a slim majority.
Blantha’s sobbing body disappeared from view for a moment.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of them and greeted them warmly.
“Hi.”
“Fast, fast!”
Suin gulped.
It was faster than I could have imagined.
But they were also warriors who had survived in hellish arenas.
Quickly regaining their composure, the Sioux went on the offensive.
Spears, claws, and fangs flew toward one Blantha.
But its liquid-like body wouldn’t even let me pick it up.
“What kind of body—!”
“Profit, hit me!”
I was the only one who didn’t seem to be resisting gravity.
There were other wear panthers in the herd, but the gap to Blanta was hopeless.
Blantha’s claws dug into the center of the pack in a flash.
“You assholes don’t even need weapons.”
“Damn it, before I knew it–bam!”
After that, it was a one-sided slaughter.
Blantha became a fierce gust of wind that swept through the horde.
With each flick of his claws, the men collapsed, spewing blood from their wounds.
The wearpanda in the lead screamed, clutching its gaping eyeball.
“Hmph!”
“I didn’t like the way you opened your eyes earlier, but now I feel better.”
Blantha snorted.
The blinded werewolf swung his sword wildly.
Blantha ignored him and stepped forward.
It would be more fun to live like that for the rest of his life than to kill him here.
This time, two big bearbears attacked from both sides.
“Champion!”
“Die!”
I could have sworn they were twins because their faces looked exactly alike.
I felt like two giant walls were closing in on me.
Blanta didn’t panic and leapt in place.
Thump!
Unable to slow down enough, the two wearbears bumped foreheads.
“Boom!”
“Billion.”
It was a momentary lapse.
The champion didn’t miss the opportunity.
After circling the swallow three times, Blantha slammed her heel into the crown of one of them.
Kwazik!!!
With a crunching sound, the wearbear on the left fell backwards.
Unable to resist the pressure, the squashed eyeball bounced out.
Wearbear is horrified at his brother’s death.
“Tongue, brother!”
“There’s nothing easier to catch than a bunch of regret bears.”
That was also an opportunity.
Blantha threw her arms out toward the frozen wearbear.
Razor-sharp claws dug into the hide and tore out the heart.
The hand that came back out was stained red.
Wearbear collapsed on top of his brother’s body.
“Hic—!”
“That’s it?! Stop cowering and start fighting!”
Blantha roared.
The men lunged at him, barely able to shake off their fear.
As he watched the reckless spectacle, Sechrit offered a short commentary.
“What an energetic fellow. He deserves to be in Jaifa’s SS.”
“Again, innocent people like that—.”
Varen, tied to the tree, shook his head.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
With every rip, slash, and tear of the mad leopard, a life was lost.
Blanta was telling everyone how he’d been playing champion for so long.
I needed to get out of here before I could do anything.
Varen, sizing up the remaining Aurors, spoke up.
“Professor. I think I can solve this, just give me a minute.”
“Okay. I know it’s hard, but I want you to try one last time. I was originally going to put you back after you lost a little more weight, but things aren’t looking good.”
“What? What does that mean—.”
“What are you talking about.”
Sekrit’s tail flicked at his pocket.
It was a gesture that there was something inside.
He looked back at Varen, and said with a hint of regret.
“I’ll get you back to your old self in no time.”