Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 94: The Dark Reaper II

Chapter 94: The Dark Reaper II

There are two types of High-End Demonic Transformation, a pinnacle that sorcerers can reach.

One is the transformation of the body itself, turning into a monster to gain powers beyond human limits—“Seisei.”

This form is heavily influenced by innate talent and is quite a limited power that cannot be wielded by those without the right aptitude.

The other is the technique of enveloping oneself in highly condensed magical power like armor—“Tengai.”

This technique allows anyone who possesses magical power to wield greater strength while retaining their human form.

However, this achievement comes through extraordinary effort.

On one side is the pinnacle of talent that abandons the human form.

On the other side is the pinnacle of effort that refines the human form.

Both techniques, bearing the name of demonization, step into the realm of the superhuman.

*

The hastily conjured Dark Cliff was blown away like paper without even a moment of resistance.

The innate magical barrier was easily breached without lasting long.

The existence of the highest-grade protective magic—“The Gate of Purification that Rejects the Living”—flashed through Rofus’s mind, but it was too late to cast it in this situation.

Rofus recalled the distinct image of death for the first time in a long while.

And soon, the torrent of darkness mercilessly engulfed Rofus.

Feeling the definite impact, Rinus exhaled slightly, disappointed.

“…If you can’t withstand it, you could dodge it with a teleportation. You should be able to do that with your spell deployment speed.”

It was not a rebuke to Rofus but more of a muttered complaint.

The torrent of darkness cleared.

Rofus was standing—while enveloped in darkness.

A high-density fog of darkness, condensed to the brink of the abyss, clung to Rofus’s body as if to protect him.

Rinus narrowed his eyes at the sight.

The way Rofus was enveloped in that abyssal darkness resembled the High-End Demonic Transformation of Rudens, who wore magical power like armor.

Rinus applauded.

“Demonic Transformation… ‘Tengai,’ huh. So you managed to do it. Although it’s less refined than Rudens, the fact that you can manifest it is impressive.”

Rinus spoke words of praise in a calm manner.

However, before he could finish speaking, a sharp anger pierced through.

“—Did you think I’d actually say that? What’s with that low-level ‘Tengai’? Don’t disappoint me too much.”

No sooner had he spoken than Rinus’s figure blurred and disappeared.

In the next instant, Rofus was grabbed by the collar and hurled upward with great force.

Breaking through the protective barriers of the training ground, Rofus crashed violently into the ceiling, embedding himself.

“Ugh…”

A groan of agony escaped from Rofus’s mouth.

The dark fog enveloping his body dispersed the impact, preventing severe bodily damage.

However, it couldn’t completely nullify the shock, and Rofus suffered a mild concussion, delaying his next move slightly.

Rinus watched Rofus with boredom and readied his scythe.

“—I’m bored. Let’s change locations.”

Right after those words, Rofus’s consciousness flickered with a view dyed in darkness.

When he came to, Rofus was soaring through the sky.

At the edge of his vision, countless debris pushed up and shattered by the black slash of the Dark Scythe.

He was just about to fall—at that moment, a dark arm grabbed Rofus’s leg.

“——!?”

“Sharpen your ‘Tengai.’ If you can’t do it—then just die.”

Rinus, who had approached unnoticed, grabbed Rofus’s leg and swung him around with force, hurling him toward the ground.

As Rofus fell, dust rose, and a crater formed on the mountain’s rocky surface.

The dark fog that had enveloped Rofus’s body reached its endurance limit and dissipated due to repeated direct hits from Rinus’s dark magic and the recent fall.

Rofus staggered but managed to stand, glaring with resentment at Rinus, who was looking down from the sky.

Blood flowed from Rofus’s head, staining his emerald left eye red.

The dark armor, mimicking Ludens’s demonic transformation and created with Rofus’s immense magical power, boasted extremely high durability, but it still had its limits.

Rofus once again concentrated his magical power, enveloping his body in a dark fog—“Tengai.”

He then conjured the Dark Scythe in his hand and took a stance.

Seeing Rofus’s unwavering fighting spirit, Rinus was slightly impressed but sighed in disappointment.

“…Ro-boy. Again with that? Even after I’ve shown you such a clear difference in power, why don’t you understand? You can’t keep fighting on the opponent’s terms.”

“Or maybe…” Rinus raised the Dark Scythe.

“Do you still have the luxury to choose your way of fighting? You’re underestimating me too much.”

Rinus muttered irritably at Rofus’s refusal to change his fighting style.

In response, the blade of the Dark Scythe, raised high, grew larger.

It became so immense that it could no longer be recognized as a blade.

This was the realm reached by surpassing the limits of the Dark Scythe technique through demonic transformation.

If swung down, it would be an unparalleled strike that could level the rocky mountain.

No matter how superior Rofus’s magical power was, it was an output of magic beyond human reach.

Rofus, looking up at the monstrously enlarged blade, narrowed his eyes and lowered his scythe.

It was not resignation—but a shift in strategy.

Rofus immediately heightened his magical power and activated advanced magic through incantation cancellation.

“—’Lightless World'”

Dark fog overflowed from Rofus, rapidly covering the ground in darkness, and Rofus’s figure disappeared.

Without hesitation, Rinus swung down the enormous blade.

A torrent of darkness, unparalleled in scale, poured down from above like a tsunami.

No matter how much one hides, there is no escaping an attack of such vast range.

The torrent of darkness unleashed by Rinus effortlessly obliterated the rocky mountain where Rofus had been.

If Rofus died from this, he was just that kind of man, unworthy of inheriting the Lightless family.

Without aptitude, being born into the Lightless family meant nothing.

This harsh perspective came from Rinus, who was born during wartime and raised with war.

Half a century after the war with the empire, Rinus’s fundamental nature remained unchanged.

And Rofus was a prodigy born with more magical power and aptitude than Rinus.

Rinus, though unleashing a lethal attack, did not for a moment think Rofus would die from this.

“A mere distraction shouldn’t have been enough to handle it… how did you escape?”

The lingering dark fog interfered with magical detection, preventing Rinus from tracking Rofus’s location.

The dark fog from “Lightless World” was blown away by the Dark Scythe but still persisted around the area.

The fact that the dark fog hadn’t disappeared meant that the caster, Rofus, was still alive.

As Rinus cautiously looked around, a spell chant echoed from somewhere.

It was the chant for “Lightless World.”

Post-chanting—chanting an additional spell for the already activated “Lightless World” to enhance its magical output and strength.

As a result, the dispersed dark fog exploded in volume, enveloping Rinus floating in the sky.

“Hey, hey, still trying to use distraction—”

As Rinus spoke in exasperation, a giant bone arm emerged from the dark fog, gripping his demonic-transformed body.

Immediately after, extremely high-temperature black flames engulfed Rinus.

“—Huh? Shadow familiar…?”

Before Rinus could react, shadow familiars began emerging one after another from the dark fog.

Despia flapped both wings, unleashing countless black wind slashes.

Numerous Crystal Ghosts surrounded Rinus and simultaneously activated “Mana Drain.”

Following this, Bardel charged in with a giant battle axe and swung the blade, imbued with the power of the black wind.

Rinus, taking on all these attacks at once, swung his scythe just once.

That alone was enough to blow away all the shadow familiars surrounding him.

“…Hmm, not bad. The best so far—and?”

Rinus glared at the ground filled with dense dark fog, searching for Rofus.

From within the dark fog, a massive darkness emerged, with its mouth wide open, swallowing Rinus without resistance.

The scene was like a giant catfish leaping out of an abyssal swamp.

This was Rofus’s unique original magic—”Tartarus, the Belly Darker than Darkness.”

Swallowed by it, Rinus was showered with countless Dark Lances inside the belly.

Unlike the previous time with Redcap, which aimed to imprison, this time, each Dark Lance triggered a magical explosion.

For the first time, Rinus used protective magic.

It was a cocoon of Dark Cliff, significantly enhanced in hardness and durability by his demonic transformation.

Even though a single Dark Lance’s explosion wasn’t significant, enduring thousands of simultaneous blasts from all directions would overwhelm even the most powerful protective magic.

Inside the belly, the numerous successive magical explosions caused Tartarus to swell greatly.

But soon, Tartarus’s bloated body burst from within, releasing a torrent of darkness.

Rinus emerged, his dark robe severely damaged, revealing the skull of the abyss—Rinus’s demonic-transformed face.

He had sustained significant damage.

However, Rinus smiled cheerfully.

“What was that just now… an unknown magic? An original spell? You’ve got good sense as always. This could even strip off Rudens’s ‘Tengai.’ At this scale, it’s hard to evade—”

As Rinus spoke in admiration, Rofus leaped out from the dark fog behind him.

In Rofus’s hand was the “Reaper’s Scythe,” and its abyssal blade swung down toward Rinus.

Rinus instinctively blocked the blade with his Dark Scythe.

“…Ro-boy… why did you come out?”

Rofus didn’t answer Rinus’s dazed muttering and pressed on with the “Reaper’s Scythe.”

The Dark Scythe cracked and, in the next moment, split in two.

Rinus’s dark left arm was mercilessly severed, flying through the air.

“…Is this what they call checkmate? You old bastard.”

Rofus glared at Rinus, aiming the abyssal blade at him.

Rinus glanced at his severed left arm and then at Rofus.

He sighed in disappointment.

“…Hey, Ro-boy. Why didn’t you aim for my neck just now? Don’t tell me it’s because of some familial affection?”

“Huh?”

“Your series of spells just now—a series of magic that ordinary people can’t replicate… Yet, you still have most of your mana left, don’t you? That’s incredible. Truly. That tactical advantage is something only you in this world could have.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“So, why did you abandon that advantage and come out in front of me? Are you stupid? If you won’t learn unless you die, shall I kill you for real?”

“…You. Do you understand your position?”

Rinus, who had lost an arm and was covered in severe wounds.

His right hand held a Dark Scythe that had lost its blade, rendering it useless in battle.

Moreover, he was being targeted by the “Reaper’s Scythe.”

The outcome was clear to anyone’s eyes.

Yet Rinus maintained his confident demeanor.

“Checkmate, you say? That’s a word you use when you kill your defeated opponent.”

The blood flowing from Rinus’s severed left arm gathered around the broken Dark Scythe, forming a new blade.

The scythe’s shape then transformed into the “Reaper’s Scythe.”

“—What!?”

Rofus’s eyes widened in surprise at the unprecedented magical transformation.

Seizing the opportunity, Rinus swung the “Reaper’s Scythe.”

“Overconfidence, arrogance, and a lack of finishing moves. That’s your downfall—foolish grandson.”

“Damn… you…!”

Rofus countered the swung “Reaper’s Scythe.”

The two “Reaper’s Scythes,” ancient magics, clashed against each other.

A tremendous shockwave rippled through the surroundings, slicing all clouds within sight into pieces.

The “Reaper’s Scythe” was one of the highest-grade offensive magics Rofus knew.

If the strongest shield was “The Gate of Purification that Rejects the Living,” then the “Reaper’s Scythe” was indeed the strongest spear.

It was the first time Rofus had experienced a clash between two strongest spears.

Rofus poured his vast magical power into his “Reaper’s Scythe.”

However, demonic transformation elevated magic to a higher dimension.

The “Reaper’s Scythe” wielded by demonic-transformed Rinus was the true scythe wielded by the god of death.

The balance lasted only a moment.

A crack appeared in Rofus’s “Reaper’s Scythe.”

A wind of death grazed Rofus’s cheek.

In the next instant, blood spurted from Rofus’s torso.

Rofus fell helplessly.

Rinus looked down at him, bored.

The deep wound on Rofus’s chest reached his heart.