I Got Reincarnated Into a Game I Was a Top-Ranker in and I Became the Leader of a Villain Group That Will Destroy This Shitty Country - 98

Chapter 98: Killing Their Former Leader

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“I want you to give us a signal if Kaltz appears so we can see him too.”

Kai had said that during the strategy meeting. He looked really serious when he said that. 

“Although I’ve killed him when we were looking for information in the imperial castle, but the Crown Prince has the Material Cube with him. He can inject the life force contained in that cube and Kaltz will go back to normal again.”

“…And then, Kaltz can join the battle like nothing happened.”

“That’s right. So, Brien, when you spot Kaltz or any other strong enemies, make sure to give us a signal. Make it as flashy as possible, preferably something with a loud explosion.”

“Understood. But, I have one question. How can we stop Kaltz? Is there anything we can do to stop him?”

“Stop him, huh…”

“Yes. After all, Kaltz is much stronger as a ghoul than he was as a human.”

Having encountered Kaltz by chance before, Brien could say that confidently. The fear she had felt when facing Kaltz returned to her mind again. She became a bit tense. However, Kai only laughed. He then pointed to a certain spot on the map spread across the table. 

“It’s fine. We’ve got Nia, who’s much stronger than Kaltz.”

And now, Brien looked up to the sky. Numerous black masses covering the sky. She couldn’t help but to be amazed at the sheer amount of magic power it required to summon this many black masses of black magic. Even after casting that huge scale magic, Nia still had plenty of magic power to spare. After all, Nia had been told by Kai to spare some magic power for their fight with the Guide.

“Brien-san! Kiriel-san! Are you alright?!”

“Can you both stand? Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“Alwyn-sama… Chloe-sama…!! Yes, I’m fine! It’s all thanks to Brien-sama!!”

“Phew… That was a close one. I never want to become the decoy again.”

Yes. Brien and her team had two objectives. One was to reduce the enemy’s numbers in a guerrilla attack and to lure the enemy toward where Nia was. Luckily, the Crown Prince, who was the mastermind behind the mind control was mentally unstable. This made the enemy’s movements extremely easy to predict. And predictable movements on the battlefield naturally led to… Death. 

“Diamond Stream.”

Nia, who was still floating in the air, muttered softly and at the same time, the masses of black magic began crashing down on the ground one by one.

“Retreat!! Fall back!!”

Goering shouted as soon as he felt something was wrong, but he was too late. Far too late. Big explosions occurred everywhere, each one engulfing dozens of soldiers at least. Even the Resistance’s army were running for their life so they wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. The imperial soldiers, who had lost their free will from being mind manipulated by the Crown Prince, died instantly from the blasts. Despite the sudden death and significant loss of manpower, no screams could be heard from the imperial army’s side. There were no cries of terror either. Nothing. After all, the soldiers didn’t have any self-awareness left. They were just mindless puppets, driven by the Crown Prince.

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

However, there was one person who still had the sanity left in his mind to scream. It was Kaltz. He was running toward Brien and the others. It was unclear whether Kaltz wasn’t affected by the Crown Prince’s mind manipulation or if Kaltz was acting independently so he could disregard Goering’s orders… But Kaltz just kept running in a frenzy toward his old comrades. To be precise, the spot where his holy sword was embedded on the ground. 

“Kiriel, you need to leave this place now. Drink the elixir from Rielle to restore your health and get ready for the next battle.”

“But Brien-sama..!”

“You don’t need to worry about us, Kiriel. After all, we used to be in the hero’s party.”

“Well… The so-called hero is like that though…”

Kiriel tried to protest, but Alwyn and Chloe insisted they would be fine without her. Seeing the expressions on their faces, Kiriel finally relented. Of course, a part of her was afraid she would only become a hindrance. After all, she was much weaker in terms of combat ability than them all.

“The two of you. Let’s go. Are you both ready?”

“…Yes.”

“I knew it. I knew it’s going to end up this way.”

The three of them had a bittersweet and melancholy expression on their faces. The time they had spent with Kaltz was anything but fleeting. Of course, they sometimes… No. They tended to clash opinions with the hero, but they didn’t hate him to the point they wanted him dead. That being said, now Kaltz was their enemy. A monster that threatened the peace of the world. He was no longer the leader of their party anymore. If anything, Kai was their leader now, not Kaltz.

“It’s time to settle the scores.”

“GRRRRRROOOOOAHHH!!!”

In response to Chloe’s calm voice, Kaltz let out another beastly cry. Brien readied her bow and Alwyn stepped back, about five steps back. She placed her hands on the ground and soon enough, Kaltz came into their view. 

“GRRR?! GRRRRRRRAHHHH!!”

Perhaps Kaltz remembered that Chloe was the one who had killed him, but Kaltz completely ignored the holy sword embedded in the ground. He just charged straight at Chloe and at the same time, Chloe’s body began to glow. 

“Aria of Revelation.”

Upon receiving Alwyn’s buff, Chloe began even faster than before. She vanished within the blink of an eye and disappeared from Kaltz’s vision. Momentarily stunned by the sudden loss of his prey, Kaltz blinked but he soon screamed in agony as a screeching pain pierced his back. 

“GRRRAH?!”

“Dark Sight.”

Chloe had trained with Kai countless times. The injury she had suffered in battle was like a trauma to her. The last time she was injured was during the battle against Kaltz and the imperial army during their reconnaissance mission. She had become a burden to Kai and Nia. Especially Kai, who had to pull away to ensure her safety. She was grateful to have someone cared for her that much, but Chloe’s pride couldn’t say the same. Chloe was aware she could never surpass Kai and Nia, but at the very least, she didn’t want to become a burden. Chloe had been training tirelessly just so she could stand on the same level as Kai and Nia. 

“GRRAH?! GRRRAHHH!!”

And the result of her hard work didn’t betray her. Even though Kaltz was much more powerful now that he had become a ghoul, but Kaltz still couldn’t keep up with Chloe’s speed. Chloe sliced his fist, letting his fist fly in the air. Having lost the balance in his body, Kaltz immediately became an easy target for Chloe’s knives. As graceful as a dancer, Chloe pursued Kaltz relentlessly. Both Brien and Alwyn could only watch in awe. Chloe had become many times stronger than them, but they soon regained their focus again. They worked together like a well-fitting gear to push their former leader to the corner. Just when they thought they had the upper hand… 

“-?! He regenerates?!”

Chloe gasped in astonishment upon seeing the knife wounds on Kaltz’s skin healing. His battered body gradually returned to its original state.

“Wind Blast!”

Brien fired an arrow made from wind magic that punched a hole through Kaltz’s stomach. Even so, the skin and the blood vessels on Kaltz’s body quickly merged together again. The wound closed up soon. Witnessing Kaltz’s inhuman regenerative ability, Chloe took a step back and returned to Brien’s side. 

“Are you kidding me?! I know he has become a ghoul from the result of black magic, but that regeneration speed is simply abnormal!”

“Yes… It seems he’s still hiding something… Alwyn, can you sense the magic energy emanating from Kaltz?”

“Judging from my magic vision, only black magic is circulating throughout Kaltz’s body… This is definitely weird!”

“What’s so weird about it, Alwyn?”

Chloe asked and Alwyn, breaking out in a cold sweat, immediately replied. 

“When Brien-san created a hole in his body earlier, I didn’t sense any magic from his body, but then, suddenly there’s an unidentified magic power flowing from his heart and the said magic energy is now gathering in his abdomen…!!”

“Magic power from his heart…? Just what is happening?!”

“I can’t tell either. I’m still too far from him. I think we should back down for now—”

But before Alwyn could finish her sentence, Kaltz had jumped in the air. The holy sword was already at his hand somehow and his eyes were glowing in red. He aimed the holy sword at his former comrades, intent to slice them down. 

This is dangerous. I need to protect the two of them. 

Chloe instinctively grabbed Alwyn and Brien’s waists and just as she was about to kick the ground to dodge… 

“Dark Pierce.”

A beam of black magic shot through the air, piercing Kaltz’s body. 

“GRRHH?!”

The hero, who had been jumping in the air, immediately fell to the ground with a loud thud. Chloe only watched the scene unfolding before her. She immediately look up and there, in the sky, there was a beautiful girl with doll-like charm. The girl’s silver hair fluttered in the air and her red eyes had the same glow as the enemy, but… Her eyes were filled with warmth, not madness. 

“These three are my comrades and yet… You dare to try to kill my comrades.”

The final boss of the game, who had learned how to love and be loved, stared at Kaltz coldly. 

“Therefore, I will kill you here.”

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