Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 106: Singularity

Chapter 106: Singularity

It wasn’t the first time fighting the Empire’s enhanced cyborgs.

Bodies hardened beyond human limits, endurance, stamina, strength.

Unfazed by the loss of vital organs or limbs, driven by a relentless will until their last breath.

Such beings, with high intelligence, were far more troublesome than beast machines with only animal-level intelligence.

Truly formidable foes.

But during the war half a century ago, they were few, not even a tenth of the Imperial army.

Only commanders and a few elite soldiers were enhanced cyborgs.

An entire brigade of enhanced cyborgs—a true nightmare.

Yet amidst this, Rinus, laughing heartily, swung his scythe as if cutting weeds, readying himself against the Imperial Air Force.

Rinus’ scythe easily sliced through the enhanced cyborgs’ skin, tougher than steel, and severed them in two.

But the moment an Imperial soldier’s skin was wounded, dark blood poured out, healing instantly.

No trace of magic, a healing method entirely unlike any healing magic—more like a mechanical repair.

A characteristic unseen fifty years ago.

Rinus couldn’t even begin to imagine the principles behind it.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter,’

Rinus crushed the pinnacle of scientific technology head-on.

Slashing at vital points like the heart and head, searching for weaknesses or regeneration limits.

Imperial soldiers surrounded Rinus, showering him with beams from optical guns, but every attack was blocked by his magical barrier.

Their attacks were ineffective, while they couldn’t block his attacks.

With pain suppression, fear inhibition, and mental stability in place, the Imperial soldiers managed to face Rinus, now a grim reaper.

But there were limits to this.

Rinus repeatedly destroyed the crucial brain organs of the enhanced cyborgs.

Most of their bodies were biologically mechanical, but the intricate brain remained unmodified.

Repairs occurred, but unlike hands or feet, the complexity and precision were vastly different.

The repair burden was significant.

Continuous damage would eventually lead to malfunction.

For example, the shutdown of pain suppression, fear inhibition, or even the repair function itself.

Suddenly, an Imperial soldier, his head cleaved by Rinus, screamed.

The repeated brain repairs had overloaded, shutting down the pain suppression.

This breach in fear inhibition showed, and the soldier finally displayed terror towards Rinus.

Rinus clattered his teeth and laughed.

‘Carlos, it’s the head! Repeated strikes will break it eventually!’

Rinus shouted.

Carlos, who was leaping around in a grand fight, stopped and decapitated an Imperial soldier, shredding him into pieces with lightning-fast sword strikes.

The soldier, unable to repair his severely damaged brain, met a complete death.

“I see… I’ll take note.”

Carlos spoke calmly.

His gaze surveyed the surroundings for the next prey, causing slight unease among the Imperial soldiers.

Their first casualty.

And another soldier, with pain suppression lost, screamed in agony.

Next might be themselves—such thoughts slightly hindered the previously unhesitant Imperial soldiers’ movements.

During this, Ivan, standing in the air with magical light, grabbed an Imperial soldier with his mighty arm, squeezing just enough.

The soldier’s body leaked black blood, repeatedly destroying and repairing.

When the repair function ceased, the soldier quietly died.

‘Hmm, it seems there is a limit to regeneration. But a brigade at this level? Quite a challenge.’

Ivan shrugged.

The crystal of Imperial science—cell reconstruction via blood nanomachines.

The supposedly immortal Imperial soldiers, now seeing their second casualty.

And the death toll would only rise from here.

This was just the beginning.

‘Now then, Imperial army, I don’t know your reasons for invading the Kingdom—my territory, but you won’t return alive.’

Ivan’s teal eyes glowed through the rocky shell, piercing the Imperial soldiers.

The absolute victory envisioned by the Imperial soldiers began to waver.

What is this, weren’t we fighting humans, this is like—

“Demons…”

Someone muttered.

Among the Kingdom’s magic users, some fought in monstrous forms—the history of past wars showed that.

But still, they believed even if they became monsters, they were essentially human.

That was wrong.

These were not humans.

Against foes who instantly repaired even fatal wounds, they continued to kill without surprise, as if it was natural.

Why do they handle human lives like mere objects?

Such acts were far from human.

The Imperial soldiers, their movements dulled by anxiety, were further slaughtered by Rinus, Carlos, and Ivan.

Targeting the head, killing until the repair function ceased.

The Imperial soldiers, who had not taken evasive actions before, began to defend.

But to the three, these new defensive moves were just extra steps, creating openings.

A one-sided massacre ensued against numerous Imperial soldiers.

Suddenly—a man intercepted, stopping Rinus’ scythe.

A single-eyed man with a military sword, stopping the high-powered Dark Scythe head-on, achieved by his demonized enhancement.

The Imperial Air Force commander, Azami.

Azami’s right arm, dyed like black iron, pushed back the Dark Scythe with inhuman strength.

Rinus, knocked away, landed in mid-air, looking at Azami in surprise.

‘—You, somewhere…’

“…”

Azami ignored Rinus’ surprise, disappearing with an afterimage.

Kicking through the air at lightning speed, Azami appeared before Ivan in the next moment.

Lightly landing on Ivan’s arm, gripping an Imperial soldier, Azami’s sword slashed, severing Ivan’s right arm in one strike.

‘—Guh’

Despite the arm being cut, Ivan immediately raised his left arm, firing a beam at Azami.

The dazzling light tore through the night sky.

But Azami was no longer there.

Azami landed on a large disc hovering in the air, glaring down at the three of them.

In his hand, he held the Imperial soldier he had just saved from Ivan’s grasp.

“I’m sorry,” the soldier apologized, trembling. Azami put him down.

“All units, retreat. I will take on these three—provide support.”

Following Azami’s instructions, the Imperial soldiers quickly moved away, aiming their guns at Rinus, Carlos, and Ivan from a distance.

The three watched the retreating soldiers without pursuing them.

They couldn’t pursue.

Rinus, flying in the air, Carlos, using a disc stolen from the Imperial soldiers as a platform, and Ivan, standing on magical light—all three were pinned in place by Azami’s imposing presence.

After a brief standoff, Rinus broke the silence.

“I recognize you… but you’re younger than I remember. Are you the son of an Imperial soldier I failed to kill? Or are you actually… the same person?”

At Rinus’ words, Azami narrowed his eyes and quietly removed the eyepatch from his right eye.

His right eye was completely ruined by a deep cut, an old scar.

“…It’s me. I never expected to be remembered. Back then, I was just a nameless soldier, not even enhanced. To you, who took so many lives, I must have seemed like just a weed by the roadside—‘Reaper.’”

“That scar… you really are from back then—but your age doesn’t match up.”

During the last war, Rinus had killed many Imperial soldiers when he invaded the Empire’s mainland.

The commander before him, Azami, bore a resemblance to the soldier Rinus had wounded but failed to kill.

The scar on Azami’s right eye was indeed inflicted by Rinus.

However, the age didn’t match.

Azami looked youthful, in his thirties, far too young to have lived through half a century.

“The Empire’s anti-aging measures have advanced considerably.”

“And you’ve aged quite a bit, ‘Reaper.’ So has the ‘Demon.’ I don’t feel the same ‘power’ from you as before.”

Azami then looked at Carlos with apparent disappointment.

“As for the ‘Oni,’ he hasn’t even demonized. Can he not do it anymore? Even the greatest warriors can’t overcome old age.”

With his military sword resting on his shoulder, Azami’s emotionless, mechanical eyes turned to the three of them.

Ivan concentrated magic into his severed right arm, reconstructing it into a rocky arm, and pointed his palm at Azami.

“Indeed. You seem to be a formidable opponent, unlike other Imperial soldiers. But can you handle the three of us at once?”

At Ivan’s words, Rinus snapped.

“Hah? Hey, Ivan! This guy is mine to deal with. Don’t just take over!”

“You should stop acting on your own! I don’t care about your grudge. We have no obligation to indulge you!”

As Rinus and Ivan began to argue in front of the enemy, Carlos covered his face with his hand, looking exasperated.

It was a farce, but one born of confidence.

Azami was indeed strong—strong enough to face a demonized Rinus head-on.

Even considering his enhancements, being able to fight Rinus without demonizing was astonishing.

But that was all.

Rinus hadn’t used most of his magic yet, and Ivan was also demonized.

With Carlos’ support, they were confident.

Azami alone, even with the Imperial soldiers’ support, stood little chance against Rinus, Ivan, and Carlos.

Azami, observing the relaxed trio, opened his mouth.

“The Kingdom’s Demonization High-End. A combat technique that transforms the body into a monster or wraps it in a magical armor, drastically enhancing abilities—”

The three naturally focused on Azami, who had suddenly started explaining demonization.

“According to our scientists, it’s one of the ‘singularities’ in human evolution. The Kingdom’s ‘Demonization High-End,’ the Holy Dragon Nation’s ‘Dragonization Berserk.’ They all share one thing—they surpass human limits.”

Azami quietly took out a syringe from his pocket, injecting it into the vein on his neck.

Immediately, Azami’s skin began to turn black iron.

“Did you think the Empire had none of that? This is our ‘singularity,’ a power beyond human limits—Machine Human Destruction.”

Azami’s body transformed significantly.

Countless slender cords extended from his head, wrapping around his black iron-colored body like vines.

The cords entwined around his limbs like muscle fibers, making his physique expand.

The transformed Azami, emitting crackling purple electricity, readied his military sword.

“Now, let’s continue from fifty years ago.”

A mechanical voice mixed with noise came from Azami’s mouth.

Without a word, Rinus immediately unleashed a massive dark slash.

Simultaneously, Ivan thrust out both palms, releasing a beam of radiant light.

White and black streams tore through the night sky, engulfing Azami.

Rinus and Ivan both felt they had hit their mark.

The dark slash and the beam of light had both struck Azami.

As the streams cleared, Azami remained.

The large disc he stood on was obliterated, but some force kept him aloft.

He wasn’t unscathed.

His chest bore a deep, fatal gash, his entire body was scorched, and parts of the cord vines had melted from the heat.

“As expected of a ‘singularity.’ To damage the ‘Branch,’ which boasts superalloy-like hardness, to this extent… impressive power—but that’s all.”

Azami’s body quickly healed as if it was nothing.

The enhanced cyborg’s repair function could easily fix fatal wounds.

The repair function also applied to the vine-like cords—‘Branch.’

Seeing Azami return to an unscathed state, Rinus immediately moved to attack.

In an instant, he was in front of Azami, swinging the Dark Scythe.

His target was the neck—a strike to sever the head from the body.

Ivan also quickly fired a beam at Azami.

His target was the abdomen—a thin, precise beam aimed to slice through the upper and lower halves.

The judgments of these seasoned fighters were not wrong.

For those who regenerate rapidly, unless they have the trait of splitting, cutting them apart generally takes time to regenerate.

However, Azami, also a seasoned fighter—had spent fifty years honing his skills to defeat the Kingdom.

Azami’s base physical abilities, enhanced by mechanization, were on par with demonized Rinus and Ivan.

Thus, Azami predicted Rinus and Ivan’s movements and timing, easily dodging their attacks.

By matching the wavelength of their consciousness and striking their blind spots, Azami moved without them even realizing.

To Rinus and Ivan, it seemed as if Azami had vanished.

Blood sprayed across the night sky.

“First, one down.”

Azami’s mechanical voice echoed.

There stood Carlos, impaled by Azami’s military sword.

Azami’s black iron-colored cheek had a rapier piercing through, a counterattack from Carlos in a split second.

But even that wasn’t fatal to the cyborg-enhanced, mechanized Azami.

“Even aged, you’re still ‘Oni.’ You can’t be underestimated.”

Azami muttered, pulling his sword from Carlos and flicking off the blood.

Carlos, vomiting blood, fell powerlessly to the ground.