Book Eater

Chapter 367: Final Evolution (4)

A single ray of light crossed the sky. The sky had been getting darker and darker because the sun had started to set, so the fireball that shot through the sky was only getting clearer with every moment. The fireball was Veronica, who fled from Hyungkang Castle.

Kwaaaaaaah-!

Her output was three times higher than usual in her draconic state. Furthermore, she was pouring all of energy into the flames on her back as she accelerated to supersonic speeds without caring about her limits. The clouds near her were torn apart, and the sudden heat burning in empty space produced a tail of light. People thought it was a shooting star and sought the trail, but Veronica was already kilometers away.

B-breathe! The pressure is too high! I won’t last for another three minutes!

If she were a complete dragon, she might have been able to go without oxygen and breathe. However, she was only a quarter dragon. She couldn’t exceed a human’s biological limits, even in her draconic state. Veronica’s eyes were bloodshot, and she was breathing heavily. She couldn’t breathe, but she had to exhale in order to release the heat in her body.

“Haack! Hak! Haaaah...”

Her heart beat like it was going to explode, and her boiling blood made her dizzy. How comfortable would she feel if she could close her eyes right now? If she hadn’t cooled down occasionally in some dark clouds, her body would have completely overheated. She had escaped without resisting the heat of friction. She didn’t bother thinking about direction, moving purely by instinct.

How far away was she from that hideous, beautiful monster? A hundred kilometers? Two hundred kilometers?

My mind is fine. I won’t go back.

Veronica’s limit came before she could complete her calculations.

Peeng!?

Her wings exploded and scattered. Her scaly skin shrunk back to pink skin, and her dragon pupils returned to those of a normal human. The draconic state had been forcefully terminated! She had consumed all of her power just trying to escape and survive, not in a battle.

Kwang! Kuwang! Kukukung!

Her body plummeted downward, breaking through a few trees and rocks, and then bounced off the ground. Veronica would’ve died instantly if she were an ordinary human being. Fortunately, her body was still as strong as steel even before the transformation.

“... Uh, urghh!”

If she was still in good condition…

Oh, I have to move. Someone is obviously in pursuit.

She should have been more reassured now that she had put some distance between her and Lust, but her instincts were sharper than ever. As she had fled, Veronica had seen it.

That monster wants to kill me.

Lust’s red eyes were filled with killing intent. Those dull eyes didn’t find any value in Veronica. A madness in which all living things were just seen as a means to be used… Strong or weak, that transcendental darkness was fearful to face.

“—Ku, ock!” Veronica clambered painfully to her feet. She didn’t have the strength to escape, but she didn’t want to lie and wait for death.

Veronica took a deep breath before starting to walk. The priority was to recover her magic power rather than widen the distance by running. One breath caused a handful of magic power to fill her Circles. It was quite strange to feel her Circles so hollow and empty. Still, if she could get five or maybe ten minutes, that would be enough.

However, the moment Veronica was trying to catch her breath…

Roaaaaar!

A storm struck her body from the sky.

“Aaaaack!”

The wind sliced through her skin, spraying blood everywhere as she was thrown into a tree. She tried to fly up, but there wasn’t enough strength in her knees. Veronica used her arms to push herself up and barely managed to get up. The tiger prince laughed heartily.

[Kuhahaha! You ran away well, girlie! Are you going to beg for your life from this king?]

“... Hah.” Veronica twisted her lips. “You... Are you a dog instead of a cat?”

[What does that mean?]

“You just keep barking, bark bark! And my hips are already taken. I don’t want a son of a bitch like you.”

King Hodae’s face twisted dramatically.

[... You bitch, I will pull out your tongue and eat it.]

The black striped white tiger prince clenched a massive fist. Veronica also raised her fists, but it was hard to maintain her posture. It would be fortunate if she died instantly, rather than endure suffering. However, King Hodae didn’t know it was bravado and carefully aimed for a weakness. The previous fight had made him cautious, and he didn’t have the battle experience. He didn’t realize that he missed his last chance from those four or five seconds of hesitation.

Kwarurung!

Thunder rumbled above their heads.

[Hrmm? Thunder? When I don’t see any rain clouds?]

King Hodae felt uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Veronica relaxed at the sound. Her vision blurred as she felt a wave of happiness.

She let out an involuntary giggle, “Ahaha, I don’t think you should be looking at me.”

[What?]

“Get your guard up, you asshole!” Veronica cried out happily as strength returned. “My fiance is here!”

Before he could understand, six lightning bolts fell from the distant sky from different directions. It was the ultimate electric spell, Keraunos. The six branches of the ultimate magic surrounded King Hodae. This was the Art of Onmyōdō taboo spirit method, Hexagram curse.

A hell that could burn even sacred creatures formed around him.

―――――――――――――――!!!

Lightning, lightning, lightning, and lightning. This was the counter that Theo had developed for immortal creatures. King Hodae was surrounded by countless lightning strikes, and the air smelled like ozone. The boundary between matter and non-matter became meaningless as hell turned into a pillar of pale light. Theo didn’t even allow the tiger prince to scream as the bloodline of the sacred creature burned meaninglessly.

“Becky, I’m back.”

“Yes,” Veronica collapsed to the ground. She looked at Theo’s back, which seemed bigger and more dependable than ever.

At that moment, the lightning god curse finished.

■■■■■■■■――!!

King Hodae emerged, charred beyond recognition. Despite his brain having been fried, the instincts of a sacred creature sent him shooting at the enemy. The fist that had the strength of a dragon aimed for Theo…

Fairy Dance’s Direct Transmission. Four Major Hidden Techniques. Moon Breaking through the Clouds.

However, it didn’t even ruffle his hair.

Puk.?

A blade protruded from Theo’s right hand and pierced King Hodae’s heart.

「Burn him.」

Theo added hellfire to make up for what was lacking. King Hodae was torn apart by Soul Caliber, and the flames quickly spread over his body. The tiger prince’s death was already decided.

Kung.

Even a mithril golem couldn’t have withstood everything Theo had cast, and yet the sacred white tiger variant was still recognizable. Theo remained vigilant to the end, cutting off the charcoal head. He didn’t bother trying to capture the sacred creature, since he was pretty sure the tiger prince could have escaped. That’s why he had aimed to kill.

“Becky.” Theo turned away from the tiger king’s body and saw her.

“Theo!” Unlike her usual self, Veronica’s hair smelled of blood. Theo didn’t hesitate and simply used healing spells as he held her. His grip tightened around her as he felt how injured he was.

Veronica buried her face in his chest and said in a drained voice, “Ahaha, it is strange. Why do I keep crying?”

“It’s okay.”

“Theo, do you know? I ran away. I couldn’t win by myself. I left Sylvia there alone...”

“Veronica,” Theo said, feeling his chest gradually become wet, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

She didn’t need to hear reassuring words right now.

“No.”

“I was too late. And...” He embraced her tightly and closed his eyes. “Thank you for surviving.”

“... Yes.”

The two leaned on each other as they took a brief respite from the exhaustion of the last few days. There was still a long way to go, but they could rest for a while.

***

Flash!

The light of teleportation shone for a moment and two shadows appeared beneath the moonlight. The night was quiet right outside the walls of Hyungkang Castle. Theo and Veronica had recovered their strength after a few hours of rest. They knew it was dangerous to teleport too many times in the East Continent right now, but they couldn’t move sedately in this situation. Lust might’ve left, but they needed to reach Hyungkang Castle even one second faster.

However, I don’t know why Lust did it.

Theo, unlike Veronica, had enough magic power left to spend some time thinking about the situation during the half day of rest. He couldn’t understand why Lust had come personally to Hyungkang Castle and taken Sylvia. It seemed rather foolhardy. If there had been even one more person beside Veronica who could shake off her bewitchment, Lust would’ve lost her life in vain.

Another master isn’t a big advantage in this situation... Of course, a magician is quite useful, but it shouldn’t have been enough for Lust to move directly. She also wouldn’t be seeking hostages. A grimoire based on rationality wouldn’t make a gamble...

Hypothesis after hypothesis popped up, only to collapse. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t find the answer. Theo’s reasoning and judgment had been honed over the years, but he couldn’t see through Lust’s intentions.

“... There’s an unknown factor.”

There was only one hypothesis left; Lust had information about Sylvia that he didn’t know. Theodore Miller had underestimated Sylvia Adruncus’ value. It was still only a hypothesis, but it was the only thing that explained Lust personally making a move. If it helped to carry out her purpose of existence, Lust would take the risk.

“―Theo.” Veronica’s wary voice shook him out of his thoughts. “The castle, look at it.”

Theo focused. “Huh? ... This?”

Their expressions stiffened as they flew over the castle walls without any resistance. They had no choice. They had thought that all the soldiers and variants would be in Lust’s hands. If even a master could be controlled, then they were all puppets the moment they saw Lust. Nevertheless, they hadn’t expected this.

“Suicide. Both humans and variants.”

The soldiers had stabbed themselves with a spear or a sword, while the mutants choked each other or pulled out their own hearts. It was different from a battle. The living creatures had taken their own lives without any emotions. The scene of death in front of them caused even the two people, who were accustomed to the horrors of war, to feel nauseous.

Veronica’s fists were clenched as she growled, “Why? Why did she kill all her subordinates?”

“Because they have no value.” Theo was the first to realize, since he had grown accustomed to the way that grimoires acted. “The soldiers of this castle, as well as the variants she made; they are equally worthless to Lust.”

Veronica spat, “Crazy woman.”

Theo’s eyes narrowed. “I agree.”

Theo was about to say more, but he noticed that there was one survivor in the castle. The two descended, and the lone survivor walked toward them. He had a stately gait despite his blurred eyes.

“... Head of Hyungkang Castle, Wichung,” Veronica stated.

Wichung stared vacantly at them. “You are Theodore Miller?”

Theo examined him coolly. “That’s right.”

“Theodore Miller, I have a message to pass onto you. Please listen carefully.” For some reason, Wichung seemed unfriendly as he didn’t wait for Theo’s reply. “Sylvia Adruncus. Go to the village fifty kilometers to the north to talk about her treatment. The people who escaped from Hyungkang Castle have gathered there too. I will send an incarnation there so wait for them.”

Veronica growled. “You son of a bitch.”

“You! Don’t disgrace the great lady!” Wichung, who was known for his noble personality, drew his sword at the insult. It was completely different from his personality before becoming enamored.

Despite his regret, Theo roused his magic power with a deep sigh. As Gluttony had explained, the infatuation caused by a 6th stage Lust could never be treated once they had fallen for it. Even the owner of a Seven Sins grimoire could only resist the indirect infatuation. If they had sex with Lust, they would become a subordinate without fail.

He murmured, “... You won’t want to live like this.”

This was a swordmaster who had lost the people he had fought to defend and lost his soul to the grimoire that caused this tragedy… Theo raised his hands to meet the sword rushing toward him. The man’s swordplay was just as skilled as ever. Despite being manipulated by Lust’s power, Wichung was still a swordmaster.

“Rising Sword.”

The aura blade slashed through the air. Theo was still calm despite the blue aura nearing his neck. It would never reach him.

Gravity Bound. Force Grab. Fusion Complete: Coffin of Gravity.

A ball of black magic wrapped around Wichung’s body. It was strong enough to deform steel, but a swordmaster was truly amazing. Wichung had instinctively used his magic resistance to reduce the pressure of the gravity, and he raised one hand to try and destroy the magic.

However, Wichung was already defeated the moment he had been pinned down by the gravity spell. Theo’s next blow came with devastating effect.

Kiiing.

The flying sword shot out from his left hand and beheaded the swordmaster. Theo looked down at Wichung’s head and said quietly, “I will pay back your grudge, Lord Wichung of Hyungkang Castle.”

It was an unpleasant end.