Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 107: Second Round

Chapter 107: Second Round

Blood danced in the moonlit night.

Rinus, watching Carlos fall in stunned silence, raised his voice.

“—Gresssss!!”

His voice echoed throughout the mountain range.

Soon, a massive smoky arm extended from the white smoke on the ground, catching the falling Carlos.

Immediately after, white mist drifted before Rinus, forming a mouth that spoke.

“—What is the situation here?”

The voice from the mist mouth was Gress’s.

Rinus, without surprise, instead moved closer, demanding.

“How’s Carlos!? He’s not dead, is he!?”

“…He’s breathing. For now, I’ve stopped the bleeding with the mist, but the wound is too deep. He needs immediate treatment.”

“You got any healing magic?”

“If I did, I’d be using it.”

“What about potions?”

“I have two of the highest grade. But Carlos is unconscious, so…”

“Then pour them directly on his wounds. Get Ivan to arrange a healer later. Keep him alive until then.”

“Reckless as always…well, I’ll do my best.”

Azami, having heard their conversation, chuckled.

“Later? Do you seriously believe you have a ‘later’ after this? Pathetic, ‘Reaper.’ Those who rely on hopeful assumptions on the battlefield die quickly.”

Azami sneered, but Rinus quietly intensified his magical power, glaring at Ivan.

“Ivan, crank up your gear too. First, we crush this fool.”

“…Of course. After all this, I had no intention of letting any of them leave alive.”

Light converged on Ivan’s mighty stone arm, forming a divine, enormous war hammer.

The dark scythe and the radiant war hammer were aimed at Azami.

Rinus looked at the mist mouth—Gress.

“What about the Imperial soldiers below?”

“Right now, the Knights of Steria are engaged with them. Those in the mist are captured alive, but…”

Gress intended to use them as hostages for negotiations with the Empire after this commotion.

However, Rinus coldly commanded.

“Kill them.”

“…I understand your anger, but…”

“No matter how many soldiers we have, they won’t serve as hostages or negotiation material against the Empire. Keeping them alive will just let them gather information on us.”

“…Understood.”

The mist mouth of Gress dissipated.

Rinus raised his scythe towards Azami.

“Now—Round Two.”

The invisible slash he swung down ignited the next deadly battle.

＊

The Ice Snow Mountain Range towering along the border.

In the village at the foot of the mountain, alarm bells rang loudly as the guards led the residents in evacuation.

Beast machines descending from the mountains were being handled by the Royal Knights led by the White Phoenix Knights, minimizing damage.

However, there were many villages facing the mountains, and at night, it was impossible to cover them all.

In the midst of this, mysterious white mist spread, covering the boundary between the mountains and the villages.

Strangely, any beast machine that entered the mist never reappeared.

According to a Knight of Steria who survived after being engulfed with the beast machines, as soon as he entered the mist, the beast machines in front of him crumbled to pieces, and an overwhelming drowsiness overcame him, causing him to awaken outside the mist later.

Due to the mysterious white mist, the beast machines caused no harm to the civilians.

But soon, Imperial soldiers descended from the sky.

Over 500 in total.

Half of the air brigade had been shot down by the spells of their predecessors.

Normally, they would have fallen to their deaths, but the Imperial soldiers immediately healed their wounds and began securing a base on the ground.

The Imperial soldiers had several directives.

One was the prohibition of unnecessary killing of unarmed civilians.

On a battlefield where killing was the norm, such a rule was nearly meaningless.

However, the enhanced cyborg soldiers, with suppressed emotions and stable minds like calm water, adhered strictly to these regulations as every action was recorded.

Thus, most Imperial soldiers acted like machines, following orders precisely and executing their missions calmly.

Therefore, even when seeing an elderly man trying to escape with the help of a determined, curly-haired blonde girl—Sera—they did not harm them unnecessarily.

The prohibition against civilian massacre was in place.

…However, the magic detection meter on the arm of one of the Imperial soldiers reacted.

The determined blonde girl trying to save the elderly man—Sera.

Sera Rio Draconis—Vallum’s sister and a magic bearer. The meter’s needle moved in response to her magic.

It indicated green—an extremely low threat level.

Nevertheless, the Imperial soldiers had a separate order to kill magic bearers, regardless of their civilian status or age.

Still, seeing a good-hearted civilian girl helping an elderly man caused a moment of hesitation.

Was it truly necessary to kill, even if it was an order?

A man familiarly placed his hand on the shoulder of the hesitating soldier.

“Hey. What do you think she is?”

The man, with a scar running vertically over his left eye—Senior Soldier Rindo—smiled aggressively, pointing at Sera.

Senior soldiers were those acknowledged for their high combat capabilities, second only to officers.

Among them, Rindo was exceptionally skilled and known as a combat maniac called the “Mad Dog.”

The soldier, asked by Rindo about the girl, answered hesitantly.

“A magic bearer…”

“Right? So why aren’t you killing her? Why just watching?”

The soldier, pressured by Rindo, looked away, closing his mouth.

Rindo, feigning concern, patted the soldier’s shoulder and smiled.

“You don’t have any war experience, do you? Ah, no, most don’t. Only the old geezers who got rejuvenated through cyborg enhancements. But that’s not what I mean—”

Rindo’s finger dripped dark liquid, which transformed into a blade, slashing the soldier’s neck in an instant.

“—!?”

Black blood splattered from the cut, but the soldier’s neck wound healed immediately.

The sudden act of violence shocked the soldier, causing him to retreat in alarm.

The surrounding soldiers also tensed.

Rindo laughed as if nothing had happened.

“Why so scared? For us immortals, this is just light skinship, right? I mean, you were about to show mercy to the enemy. You must be feeling pretty confident, huh?”

“So-sorry…”

“Well, it’s fine. I’ll do it this time. Consider it a service. But next time, make sure you get your hands dirty, alright?”

Without waiting for a response, Rindo turned back to Sera.

“…We’re Imperial soldiers. We’re not heroes of justice. Those only exist in cartoons.”

From the palm of Rindo’s outstretched hand, black liquid transformed into a blade, breaking through the skin, with black blood flowing.

The hardened black blood turned into a sword.

The blood sword’s blade rotated with countless tiny blades on its surface, making a terrifying sound.

It was like a chainsaw, a tool not yet existing in the Kingdom.

With the rotating blade pointed at her, Sera bravely stepped forward, shielding the elderly man.

She released lightning magic from her body.

“Don’t come any closer!”

“Ah, I don’t have any business with the old lady there. Don’t worry, the only one who will die is you—just you.”

“What do you mean? Why me… What did I do…!”

Despite being fueled by fear, Sera stood her ground against Rindo.

Rindo covered his eyes nostalgically.

“Oh, I heard similar words from an old friend long ago. She was strong-willed, had magical power… She might be a bit like you.”

Rindo adjusted his grip on the chainsaw sword, aiming its blade at Sera’s neck.

“What did you do? Nothing. At least, it has nothing to do with us young ones. It’s a stupid war started by the old geezers. If you’re going to blame someone, blame the older generation—like the old lady trembling behind you!”

The chainsaw sword was raised high.

Sera closed her eyes tightly in fear.

However, the blade never came down.

The tip of the raised blade was gone.

Before she realized it, the blade was spinning in the air, then stuck into the ground, its hardness dissolving back into blood.

“—Huh?”

Rindo stared dumbfounded at the sword with the missing blade.

At the same time, the needle on the armband’s magic meter wavered, pointing to the yellow zone.

Yellow—sufficiently dangerous.

Immediately, the heads of the surrounding Imperial soldiers flew off.

A cut also appeared on Rindo’s neck.

“—Gah”

As his head was about to be separated from his body, Rindo grabbed his head to keep it from flying off.

The cut on his neck healed due to the repair function, preventing him from becoming combat ineffective.

The decapitated Imperial soldiers fell limply to the ground.

This was a temporary state of paralysis due to the physical severance of the nerves with the head containing the brain.

Although they wouldn’t die, it would take some time to repair, making them as good as defeated despite their immortality.

“Who the hell are you…”

Rindo turned around, glaring.

There stood a man with flowing crimson hair—Sword Saint Eric, quietly watching.

Sera’s face changed to one of relief.

“Sir Eric!”

“Sera… I’m glad you’re safe. If anything had happened to you, I couldn’t face Valm.”

Eric smiled gently and tossed a potion to Sera.

“…! This…”

“Drink it. You’ve sprained your right foot.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry.”

Seeing Sera’s concern, Eric shrugged it off nonchalantly.

The potion, crucial in an ongoing battle, was a lifeline.

However, Eric declared it was not an issue.

Before Sera could respond, Rindo’s body sprouted numerous black blades, and he shouted aggressively.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing chatting so friendly in front of me, huh?! Just because you got a lucky shot doesn’t mean you can get cocky!”

The countless blades protruding from Rindo’s body spun along his skin.

They had enough killing power to mince anything they touched instantly.

Covered in spinning blades, Rindo charged at Eric with a grin.

Rindo, making a deafening noise as he approached, suddenly stumbled and fell forward.

“Wha-what…!?”

Not understanding why he had fallen, Rindo looked at his feet.

His legs were missing below the knees—gushing black blood and leaving sharp cut marks.

Rindo realized he had been cut.

However, he couldn’t see any trace of the attack—he hadn’t even seen Eric draw his sword.

“Don’t underestimate meeee!”

Rindo shouted, extending numerous spikes from his body, using them to push himself off the ground and leap at Eric.

With countless spinning blades and a massive chainsaw sword made of blood, Rindo swung at Eric.

Immediately, the chainsaw sword, the spikes, and even Rindo’s arms were sliced apart, leaving Rindo a limbless torso rolling at Eric’s feet.

Eric looked down at Rindo quietly.

“The moment I arrived, Steria’s defeat became impossible.”

“…Gah…”

Cold sweat dripped down Rindo’s cheek.

The overwhelming difference in strength, the gap in class.

Eric smiled at Sera, who had turned pale, and the old woman who had collapsed.

“Hurry and escape. I told you, there’s no problem.”

“Y-yes!”

Sera nodded vigorously and hurried off with the old woman on her back.

Now then, Eric looked down at Rindo.

“You are of high rank in the Imperial Army, aren’t you? At least, you’re not a low-ranking soldier. I’ll ask just in case, do you have any intention of giving information before you die?”

“Before I die? Ha, you’re a fool. We’re immortal, how do you plan to kill me?”

“What…?”

Rindo, though limbless and lying on the ground, laughed mockingly.

Eric glanced at the decapitated Imperial soldiers.

From the severed necks of the Imperial soldiers, black, thin vine-like structures—’Branch’—extended, slowly reaching towards their rolling heads.

Eric’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Even decapitated, you’re not dead…?”

“Too bad for you! Your sword skills are impressive, but that’s all. While you’re dealing with me, our soldiers will revive!”

As Rindo laughed loudly, Eric, without any sign of being flustered, calmly looked at the reviving Imperial soldiers.

“Indeed…” he murmured as if understanding something.

“You get it now, Kingdom swordsman? No matter what you do, you have no chance of—”

Ignoring Rindo’s mocking, Eric gripped his sword hilt and unleashed slashes at lightning speed.

All the fallen Imperial soldiers had slashes marked on their torsos.

“Huh? Hey, hey, what pointless thing are you doing? Your sword skills are amazing, but those wounds will heal immediately…”

Rindo’s words were cut off.

“…What?”

Sweat trickled down Rindo’s cheek unpleasantly.

The wounds on the Imperial soldiers did not heal.

Moreover, the ‘Branches’ extending from the severed necks towards the heads also ceased functioning.

“…What did you do?”

Rindo looked up at Eric, not understanding what had happened.

Eric spoke as if bored.

“There’s a core within the body that regenerates the flesh, isn’t there? A type that moves around within the body, constantly changing its location.”

“What…? How did you… No, even if you knew, it wouldn’t matter. It’s nano-sized… as hard as superalloy, how did you even…?”

Rindo, in disbelief, shook his head.

Eric stepped on Rindo’s back.

“I cut it, that’s all. Because I can do that, I’m called the ‘Sword Saint.’ More importantly, will you give information? At least your Empire’s objectives and the number of soldiers. I don’t like torture, but if you refuse to talk, I’ll just kill you.”

Looking down with cold eyes, Eric saw Rindo click his tongue.

“You… called the ‘Sword Saint’…? I’ve never seen your face… Why aren’t you classified as ‘Special Force’…?”

“Special… That’s an odd term. I’m curious, but if you can’t answer my questions, I have no more use for you. I don’t have time for idle chatter or needless killing.”

With those words, a merciless blade descended towards Rindo.