Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. – Chapter 112 – Guild War – Glory (1)

Author: Cireng

Chapter 112 — Guild War – Glory (1)

I brushed my bangs back with a hand drenched in blood.

As soon as I moved, the dagger embedded in my neck sent an even more intense wave of pain through my body.

Which only made my smile grow wider.

“…A normal person would have died instantly from that attack. Yet instead of dying, you’re laughing.”

The Conspirator, Kyras, muttered in a voice filled with disbelief.

“Even so, the fact that your life hangs by a thread hasn’t changed. But it’s not too late yet. One declaration of faith that you’ll serve the Maintainer, and you can still live.”

“Thank you for your warm concern.”

To treat an enemy with such kindness.

I was genuinely touched, so I decided to return his goodwill with equal warmth.

Fwoooosh!

Keeping only my left hand behind me, I unleashed a torrent of flames.

Even if he had been freed from the restraints known as the Rootsprouts, fire was still a vampire’s weakness.

Kyras immediately leapt backward, widening the distance.

Before he could close in again and stab this tiny, precious body of mine, I erected a wall of crimson flames.

“You think a fire of this level can restrain me?”

“Not at all.”

Preparing against fire was basic etiquette for a guild war.

Naturally, it wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

Even so, it would buy me plenty of time.

Fwoosh—!

While continuously maintaining [Death · Flame · Transformation] with my left hand, I created a tiny sphere of black lightning in my right, then swallowed it whole.

A prickling pain burned down my esophagus and into my stomach.

[Your body has taken on the properties of Su’eje’s Black Lightning!]

The moment [Sin: Gluttony] was activated, five needle-shaped shuriken flew straight toward nothing but my vital points.

Naturally, I couldn’t dodge them.

The shuriken, imbued with the ninja resource known as ‘Nin Force’, pierced straight through my body.

Crackle—!

Black lightning crackled through the holes they left behind, filling them.

With my Vitality exceeding twenty, already entering the transcendent realm, combined with lightning’s fluid nature, ordinary attacks could no longer kill me.

“……”

Wrapping his fireproof scarf around himself, the Conspirator burst through the wall of flames and rapidly formed hand seals.

Rumble—!!

The ground surged upward like a massive wave, engulfing me.

[Ninjutsu: Earth Surge].

At this point, there was hardly any need to mention that a cultist with such pitiful speed had no means of avoiding it.

Ratatatatat!

A tidal wave of rock and earth swallowed my body whole.

It was a little suffocating. But fascinating.

‘So this is what it feels like to be buried alive?’

I’d wanted to experience it at least once.

Crackle!

Transforming into a streak of black lightning, I shot upward.

“I knew that alone wouldn’t be enough.”

The Conspirator had been waiting above.

Holding Lord’s Companion, now engulfed in azure flames.

“Enough already. Go rest outside the labyrinth.”

An invisible slash shredded my entire body in an instant.

Cuts spread evenly from head to toe.

Blue flames ignited from every wound.

This was [Ninjutsu: Azure Flame Blade]… a technique that allowed him to burn away enemies possessing exceptional regeneration, like me.

Crackle!

Blood imbued with the properties of black lightning burst from countless wounds, scattering everywhere.

To avoid being electrocuted, Kyras briefly widened the distance.

Taking that opportunity, I spread black lightning through my body, extinguishing the blue flames clinging to me.

Meanwhile, every charred, burned, and melted section regenerated completely.

Even my head, which had nearly turned entirely black and begun crumbling.

“…An absurd healing ability.”

“Your speed is even more absurd, Lord Kyras.”

Vitality versus Agility.

A clash between two half-elves, each possessing a different attribute that had reached the transcendent realm.

“So that’s why you dared come alone.”

Having already regained his composure, Kyras reignited azure flames around his body.

“Still, it doesn’t matter. I acknowledge your regeneration. But eliminating an explorer of your level isn’t difficult.”

Shrrrrrr—!

The countless shuriken scattered across the cavern floor began flying throughout the chamber.

Their movements were perfectly organized, forming a structured pattern.

[Ninjutsu: Sequential Shuriken Formation].

After circling wildly, one of the shuriken shot straight toward me.

Caw!

The Blind Crow immediately darted forward, deflecting it with its wing.

Then the shuriken came one after another.

Ting! Ting!

Truthy, whose combat abilities as a crow had greatly improved after reaching the Fifth tier, knocked away every single one before they could reach me.

“How long do you think you can keep that up?”

Wearing a much more relaxed expression, Kyras launched azure flames toward me.

While I countered them with [Death · Flame · Transformation], one wheel-shaped shuriken slipped past Truthy and embedded itself in my calf.

The moment my concentration faltered, the crimson flames pouring from my left hand were completely overwhelmed by the blue fire.

Fwoooosh!

Thanks to the color, I’d become a rather stylish living beacon.

As I scattered lightning once more to extinguish the flames, Kyras had already closed the distance, stabbed my neck, and retreated again.

A deep stab wound. Blue flames burn the injury from within.

My body regenerated quickly enough to appear completely fine, but internally, it was another story.

‘…I’m getting dizzy.’

My life force recovered almost instantly, but my mental strength was being consumed at a frightening pace. The world was already beginning to spin.

Kyras closed the distance again, swinging his dagger with astonishing speed.

Clang-clang-clang!

Lord’s Companion grazed my body dozens of times.

Predicting each point of impact, I used only the bare minimum amount of Earth Aura to block the attacks.

Whenever blue flames ignited from a wound, I extinguished them with black lightning.

Fwoosh!

Whenever tiny openings appeared, I never missed the chance, launching surprise attacks with [Death · Flame · Transformation].

Kyras twisted his body elegantly, avoiding every one, before resuming his relentless assault.

“I see. So that’s how it works.”

Maintaining his nonstop offense, the Conspirator smiled faintly.

“That Mystery that transforms your body by devouring things… It isn’t all advantages. At first glance, it looks like limitless regeneration. But in reality… it must place an enormous burden on your body. Isn’t that right?”

“Who knows?”

I answered as though it meant nothing.

But he was exactly right. Starting from the Fifth Tier, [Sin: Gluttony] became dramatically more powerful.

In exchange, each transformed bodily property came with its own unique penalty.

When borrowing the Exalted One’s Black Lightning, every instance of bodily regeneration consumed mental strength.

There was a reason the word “Sin” appeared in its name.

“So in the end… Time is on my side.”

Whoosh!

Even as he spoke, more shuriken continued flying toward me.

Caw!

The Blind Crow diligently intercepted them, but shuriken continued lodging themselves in my body.

“Regardless, no explorer or ghoul will ever defeat that strengthened Wyvern. This year’s guild war has already been decided by a dishonorable victory. So all I have to do is survive until the end. You, however… must be eliminated before then.”

“But Lord Kyras… You’re no longer an official participant. Didn’t you lose Lady Raenis’s skin?”

Truthfully, I already knew roughly how he’d respond.

Still, I continued the conversation to disrupt his concentration, if only slightly.

“No matter how long you survive here… it won’t matter.”

“I’ll simply claim that I concealed my true appearance with Mysteries all this time. There are countless half-elves across the continents disguising themselves as full elves. No one would find it suspicious. Besides… Our names are similar enough.”

He had almost certainly destroyed every broadcasting crystal inside this cavern long ago.

Furthermore, the genuine Raenis’s pure mana Mysteries could be imitated reasonably well with ninjutsu.

She truly had been an ideal disguise.

“You’re incredibly thorough.”

“Of course.”

Kyras nodded confidently, his hands never ceasing their movements.

Likewise, I continued countering endlessly with every Mystery I possessed, focusing entirely on defense.

The exact same exchange repeated itself, again and again.

Though my body now living lightning recovered almost instantly from any injury…

‘…I’m tapped out.’

At some point, my thoughts began drifting farther and farther away.

My mental strength had reached zero.

“Looks like you’ve finally reached your limit. I must say… your eyes look wonderful now.”

Without stopping his barrage of dagger strikes, Kyras suddenly spoke.

He had been waiting all this time for my mental strength to run dry.

“Now it’s over–”

His voice grew distant. Reality itself became hazy.

An overwhelming sensation of floating overtook me, and my vision gradually blurred.

I could already guess which mental disorder status effect I was about to suffer.

‘At least it’s not the absolute worst one.’

The surrounding scenery abruptly changed.

“Another one died.”

A priest dressed in strange ceremonial robes spoke irritably.

His subordinates casually tossed the limp body of a young boy onto a nearby altar, as though discarding garbage.

Upon that luxurious metallic altar, countless children lay scattered haphazardly, their bodies incomplete.

“Next. Bring Number 3849.”

The priest pointed at me.

And I… The younger me… smiled.

Even while being dragged away. Even while my arms and legs were bound. Even after enduring indescribable agony throughout my entire body for three consecutive days.

I simply kept smiling.

Stab!

After what felt like about a week, an overwhelming sensation, as though the entire world had been overturned, washed over me.

Blue flames ignited around my neck.

My vision shifted once more.

The next instant, I saw the half-elf ninja, his Lord’s Companion dagger thrust into my neck.

“…The more I learn about you… the more horrifying you become.”

Kyras frowned deeply.

“Even with your senses distorted because your mental strength has collapsed… You still stubbornly keep blocking my attacks? What exactly are you?”

Reality Distortion.

A status effect that forcibly traps the victim in horrific memories, preventing them from moving for several dozen seconds.

Experiencing it firsthand, it was genuinely shocking.

It truly felt as though I had spent several days in an entirely different world.

The side effect of [Fragment of the Colossus], which doubled the influence of mental status ailments, had probably made it feel even longer.

“The body naturally follows the mind’s commands.”

However, if you already knew in advance what phenomenon would occur, it was entirely possible to prepare for it.

Even in the game, any command input before being afflicted with Reality Distortion would continue executing automatically.

I had wondered whether reality worked the same way. Apparently, it did.

“But now it’s truly over!”

Kyras knocked me to the ground, gripped his dagger in reverse, and drove it downward.

My entire body had already become a mess of cuts and burns.

I could no longer endure another attack with my flesh alone.

Whoooom!

Just before the blade pierced my body, brown Earth Aura halted Lord’s Companion in its tracks.

I had converted the enormous quantity of Earth Essence flowing up from the ground entirely into Aura, wrapping my whole body in it.

[Avatar of Earth].

The Earth Elf’s innate Mystery was absolute when it came to defense.

Especially while remaining completely still, its Aura consumption dropped to an extreme degree.

Under the right conditions, one could maintain it for an entire day.

“I have absolutely no idea why you’re capable of using an Earth Elf’s ‘Natural Gift’…”

The Conspirator stepped back, straightening his posture.

“But this is nothing more than futile resistance. Earth Essence isn’t infinite. You know that better than anyone. That’s why you conserved it for so long before finally resorting to absolute defense.”

The half-elf ninja formed hand seals with one hand.

Enormous tree roots burst from beneath the earth, wriggling violently.

[Ninjutsu: Living Great Tree Roots].

An Eighth Tier Mystery. Simply touching the roots drained one’s life force.

“This solves everything.”

That the earth was weak against wood was basic common knowledge.

Aura generated by the Fifth Tier [Avatar of Earth] wouldn’t last even a moment.

Rumble…

Massive roots surged toward me, thrashing like living monsters.

They completely enveloped my body, beginning to shatter my Earth Aura.

Just before the Aura was destroyed…

Crunch!