The Tale of Gerald Vader, the Heretic Knightโs Rampage Through Another World
โHey, Gerald! What do you think of me like this?โ
Twina, transformed into the form of a majestic goddess, came up beside me and struck a pose, looking delighted.
Yeah, she was definitely cuteโฆ or rather, beautiful.
Or rather, time itself seemed to freeze for a moment.
โWh-whatโฆโ
โEeehโฆโ
โWhat was thatโฆโ
Lion and Nora’s eyes widened at Twina’s appearance, radiating maximum divinity.
โWhite Teethโ and the others looked utterly stunned, their jaws practically hitting the floor.
For some reason, even the monstrous beings stopped fighting, captivated by Twina’s beautyโฆ or rather, probably because the man’s orders momentarily stalled. Probably.
โHey Gerald, what do you think? What do you think?โ
โYeah, looks good.โ
โโฆThat’s it?โ
โI’ll praise her all I want later. Just give me some space now.โ
Meanwhile, Twina herself completely ignored the tense atmosphere, striking weird poses right in front of meโlike, sexy?โdoing whatever she wanted.
This goddessโฆ maybe materializing at the most delicious moment got to her head?
Well, I did order the materialization, but now’s not the time for that.
โDamn itโฆ who is that strange woman?!โ
โWhite Teethโ, who regained his sanity (?) first, spat venomously.
All traces of his earlier composure vanished. Rising from his throne with a demonic expression, he bellowed orders at the monstrous creatures.
โWhat are you doing?! Kill that woman now!โ
Like scolded subordinates, the headless adventurers’ bodies jerked violently.
Then, with even greater ferocity than before, they charged at us.
โWhoops. No intention of interfering with your business, you know.โ
Even Twina seemed to have had enough of this nonsense.
Before the enemy’s attacks could reach us, she vanished from before me with a soft whoosh.
She reappeared a short distance away, vanished againโand before we knew it, she was perched on a ledge high up on a pillar in the hall, looking down at us.
โI’ll be watching the fight end from here. While sucking up the magic in this place.โ
โAh, do that.โ
After calling out to Twina, who was in the safe zone (?), I turned back to face the headless adventurers.
โWell then, let’s get this over withโฆ!โ
Seems the game’s up.
If that’s the case, there’s no point in holding back anymore.
ใใใโโโโ๏ผใใใ
โโโProjectile, projectile, projectile.โ
The headless ones, reacting to my killing intent and lunging forward, had their upper halves blown off by the projectile of the โFirst Swordโ.
Even headless ones couldn’t function with just their lower halves, it seemed.
They stumbled a few steps, tripped over their own legs, and collapsedโthen stopped moving altogether.
โHaa, haaโฆ That should be all of them, right!?โ
โโฆI can still go on!โ
Almost simultaneously, it seemed Nora and Lion had also dealt with all the Fresh Armor.
Both were breathing heavily through their shoulders, but had no major injuries.
Afterwards, miasma swirled several times around the pedestal in the hall, hinting that something might emergeโฆ but whenever the miasma grew sufficiently dense, it would suddenly vanish, and no more aberrations appeared.
But this seemed to be unexpected for โWhite Teethโ.
“Damn it, why aren’t they coming out!? Why aren’t they reviving!? Every last one of you useless pieces of trashโฆ!ใWhat the hell did you do?! Who the hell is that woman?!”
โWhite Teethโ raged, screaming with a demonic expression.
Hahahaha, serves you right.
Besides, what did we doโฆ you ask?
Most likely, Twina converted even the miasma necessary for the aberrations’ reappearance into magic power, stealing it while maintaining her own materialization.
Once that happens, she becomes a terrain buff itselfโan enemy that can’t be revived or respawned.
โYouโฆ were you planning to sacrifice these aberrations to summon demons or something? Too bad.โ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆDon’t you dare! Don’t you dare! DON’T YOU DAREโโโโ!! How much effort do you think I put into realizing this plan?!โ
‘White Teeth’ screamed in rage.
โSneaking into this country, traveling all the way to this godforsaken provincial town while hiding from the guards! Recruiting those stupid adventurers! Finally finding this dungeon after all that effort! And now, these bratsโฆโฆโฆโฆ!!โ
Then the man crouched down, clutching his headโ
โโฆJust kidding.โ
He raised his face and said that.
With a mocking expression on his face.
“Kuh, kuh-kuk, kuh-kuk-kuk-ha-ha-ha”
This time, the roaring laughter of “White Teeth” echoed throughout the hall.
โWell now, splendid! Truly masterful! To see through that they were gathering magic power for when these fools perish! What insight! Indeed, I wish to summon a demon hereโฆ my sovereign, Lord Raum! So needing a magic circle is spot on! โฆYouโฆ you’re not on your second playthrough or something, are you?โ
The man stood up, clapping his hands as he roared with laughter.
It was the demeanor of a superior being, exuding the confidence of one certain of victory.
โBut it’s too late now.โ
Then he narrowed his eyes, one side of his mouth curling up in a smirk.
โTruth be told, the magic power has already gathered sufficiently. Did you notice? You defeated many of my minions on your way here. How many? Thirty? No, probably more.โ
โNo wayโฆ!โ
Nora was speechless.
Indeed, we had defeated dozens of monstrosities before reaching this hall.
โIf all that magic power had been stored in the magic circle he mentionedโฆ
โBesides, you still don’t know exactly where the summoning magic circle is, do you? โฆRight here.โ
Saying that, the man grabbed his own clothes and tore them apart with a crackling sound.
His upper body was surprisingly scrawny.
There was hardly any muscle worth mentioning, his ribs protruding.
Yet his belly alone protruded strangely.
It was an ugly, goblin-like physique.
And beside that protruding bellyโฆ was a surgical scar, as if it had been cut open and stitched up.
Apparently, the man’s flashy clothes were meant to hide this physique and the scar.
Hey, waitโฆ Seriously?
With all these clues lined up, even an idiot could figure it out.
โCould it beโฆ he implanted a summoning magic circle inside his bodyโฆ!?โ
โWhat on earthโฆโ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆ!โ
At my words, Lion fell silent.
Nora pressed her hand to her mouth, her face pale.
Summoning magic circles are generally large-scale affairs.
Both laying them out and activating them demand considerable effort, time, and magical power.
But if you bring in something with the patterns already engravedโฆ that’s a different story.
Take human intestines, for example. I hear they can stretch five or six meters long.
Their inner walls have numerous protrusions, and if you flattened all that surface area, it’d cover about the size of a tennis court.
โฆWhat if summoning runes were densely engraved onto those inner and outer walls?
In essence, the creature itself becomes a living summoning magic circle.
Truly, it’s a sickeningly rational approach.
Provided one disregards their own life entirely, that is.
The man surveyed our expressions with a smile of assured victory.
Then, with the most dazzling smile yet, he declared:
โโฆThe time has come.โ
The next instant.
The man’s belly swelled out with a loud pop.
Simultaneously, countless black scars carved themselves into his distended abdomen.
They writhed in swirling circles, forming intricate patterns.
โGahโฆโ
The man convulsed violently, his eyes rolled back, and pitch-black blood gushed from his mouth.
Yet even then, his expression remained ecstatic.
โAghโฆ ahโฆ My Lord, Raum-samaโฆ Devour this flesh to your heart’s content, and manifest your form in this worldโฆ!โ
Simultaneously, the man’s body arched backward further.
His abdomen swelled to the point of burstingโand a fierce miasma enveloped his entire body.