CH 286

After the hole had opened up in Nehyor’s stomach, he jumped over me and spun while falling to the ground.

Rarely had I felt that I had landed such a clean hit.

But just as I turned around in order to launch a follow up attack, he had already sat up.

“Hey…that’s too fast.”

The gaping hole was already closing up.

Nehyor remained cautious of me, while healing his wound.

And by the time he was back on his feet, the hole was already closed.

It was an incredible healing ability. However, I now understood.

Nehyor’s mana level had dropped so dramatically that even I could tell.

(It’s not infinite, so his healing will be limited.)

According to the Vampire legends that spread throughout the human world, they could revive even from ashes unless you drove a stake through their heart. But surely they weren’t that tough.

There were also other tales. That they burned in sunlight, couldn’t cross rivers, hated garlic, and were weakened by crucifixes, etcetera.

I had heard that most of them were a convenient means of getting people who were scared of monsters to convert to Christianity. Besides, what creature wouldn’t die if you drove a stake through their heart?

Especially residents of the Demon World, as it was close to where the Orb of Control was located. It was generally right behind the heart.

But it was difficult to target with races that were good at healing, as they were more protective of their Orb of Control.

(Well, maybe I can do it by just repeating this?)

Now that he was completely healed, Nehyor pointed at my hexagonal club.

Apparently, he was very curious about it.

“You really did it, Golan. …Where did you get that weapon?”

“Who knows? I’ve forgotten.”

I had no reason to give him a straight answer.

Nehyor scowled at my indifference.

He must have sensed that there was something strange about its power.

I had given away my weapons when fighting Kyuka, so I was empty handed.

And so Nehyor had no idea about the effect of the hexagonal club.

“Let me guess, you charged it with mana?”

It only took him a little thinking to find the answer.

Two things were necessary in order to get the effect that the attack had.

The first, was to have a weapon that could be charged with mana.

The second was to be a race that could do it.

No matter how good a weapon was, it would be wasted on an Ogre, who could only use mana to strengthen his own body.

And so he had thought it strange, and reached that conclusion.

“I was able to do it after evolving.”

There was no point in hiding it now.

“It seems to be the case… Well, I won’t be caught by surprise again.”

And so the fight continued.

Nehyor attacked, and I blocked.

And whenever there was an opening, I countered.

While Nehyor dodged most of them, he couldn’t dodge them all.

This repeated over and over.

I had rarely fought a so evenly matched battle, but Nehyor had put too much trust in his healing ability up until now that his defenses were weak.

And though it looked like I was the one being pushed back, it was not the case.

We were both attacking and defending at a high level.

“I’m surprised that you can keep up with my speed.”

His voice was a mixture of surprise and resignation.

No, it wasn’t that I was keeping up with him.

In Nehyor’s case, I was able to predict his movements even when I couldn’t see him.

It was the result of experience.

If he wasn’t a humanoid…if he was a beast, then I would be in big trouble.

“What is it? Do you surrender?”

Still, I was happy to know that I was more than a match for him.

I almost felt as if I kept going, I could beat him like this. But this was Nehyor. He would change tactics soon.

“I can’t waste so much time here.”

He had gone very far back. Was he going to use a ranged attack?

Well, he was most likely right about not being able to spend too much time on this.

With this much fighting happening nearby, Tralzard was sure to notice.

It would not be long before she acted.

“…So, what are you trying to do at that distance?”

Was it just a trump card, or an ultimate trump card?

From what I knew, Nehyor was good at ambushing with an incredibly powerful special attack.

But what would he do, now that he was the one to be ambushed?

“I didn’t want to use this here, but it looks like I have no choice.”

Nehyor called over the men in black armor.

They had been sticking together all of this time.

“What? Are you going to make them fight for you now?”

I said with a laugh. Nehyor shook his head.

“I was looking forward to using it on Tralzard. But you can have the honor now.”

While Nehyor was smiling, he was actually furious.

So, something that he had prepared so carefully was going to be used on me now.

“Huh… I can’t wait.”

Apparently, he wasn’t going to send the guys in black armor on me after all.

The only thing that was odd about them, was that they were carrying black boxes on their backs. What was inside?

And then they turned around so that the boxes faced me.

“?”

Just as I noted that Nehyor had moved even farther back…

Suddenly, white mist started to shoot out and rain down on me.

“How is it, Golan? Being covered in salt of holy power?”

The black boxes were like a vaporizer. Only what came out was actually powder.

And it was now covering my head.

(I feel…weak?)

It was like the strength was seeping out of my body.

Similar to when I get a fever, and can’t seem to do anything.

“Gyaaa!”

“Ahhh!”

“Eeeee!”

Members of the Wild Hunt that happened to be close by were now running around and screaming.

Why are you all… I wondered. And then they started twitching.

“Ah, they died.”

That was fast. One after another, those who were touched by the powder fell to their deaths.

Powder. He had said it was salt.

How could so little of it just kill someone?

Was this really that dangerous?

I frantically brushed the stuff off of my body.

It blew in the wind, catching more of the Wild Hunt.

“AHHHHH…”

They started shaking.

“Uh…what is this?”

It was like I was at some kind of party, and they were dancing.

There was almost something exaggerated about the way that they moved.

Even the way they thrashed around before death reminded me of a play I had seen.

I think it was called, ‘Pain of Hell.’

It seemed that it was the weak ones who fell dead.

“Go-Golan…what is the meaning of this?”

“That’s what I want to know.”

What was this vision of hell that surrounded me?

“Salt of holy power is a deadly poison for residents of the Demon World. So why are you the only one who is fine?”

“Ah… So this is what everyone is talking about.”

I put some on my tongue and licked it.

“It doesn’t taste like salt. Maybe you should give it a different name.”

“That’s not the point!” Nehyor shouted angrily.

He was just mystified that the salt didn’t have any effect on me.

As if I knew why.

But it wasn’t as if it did nothing at all.

I did feel weaker.

Allow me to organize the information.

The salt was real. It was doing incredible damage to the others.

I didn’t know why it wasn’t the case for me, but I could make a guess.

Perhaps it affected the soul.

Let’s say that it was able to afflict the soul directly.

That would explain their exaggerated reactions.

No matter how tough you were, you could not bear to have your soul attacked directly.

So, why was I fine?

(…Was it because I have a human soul?)

Perhaps I was only weakening because my body was reacting to the salt. So it had an affect where my soul wasn’t concerned

I was starting to feel like this was the answer.

Even if it wasn’t, it must be close.

In that case, it was best to bluff.

I tilted my head to the side, stuck out my chin, and looked down at him through half-closed eyes.

“…So?”

Was there any meaning to that attack? I asked wordlessly.