CH 95.3

Chapter 95 – Mask the Shock Strikes [Part-3]

‘Gerald! Don’t cheat!’

My father’s words were still vivid in my mind.

“Huh…?”

Gerald was soaking in his memories when he was hit on the back of his head by an unusually strong blow.

At the blow which made him feel pain that was (…) different from usual, Gerald raised his eyebrows.

“Nwoh?!“

“What the hell? Isn’t this the big guy from the.. church?“

Gerald said while turning around, his neck making cracking sounds, even after receiving a blow that would crush a normal person’s skull.

There was a huge man in a mask behind Gerald, who tilted his head in incomprehension.

He reiterated his name after he confirmed it was not a problem on his side by smashing the brick wall next to him easily with a book.

“…I’m not Shock, the priest. I am Mask the Shock. I was going to float one of the suspect’s corpses in the river to buy some time, but… I made a mistake, didn’t I?”

“I don’t know but… you’re probably right.”

Gerald, uncaring of the blood dripping down his forehead, struck his fist into the masked man.

“Ggh! Ugh… nun!“

“Ggh…!!!!”

A large scripture struck Gerard hard on the neck, but Gerald hit him back, defying the blow that ripped through his skin that was like armor.

The iron book and fist exchanged blows.

The attack that both men dealt could be considered to be blows that would immediately kill.

Fresh blood splattered in the exchange of blows.

People in the area screamed and ran away from the clash of these powerful men.

But they did not care, they continued to attack with force, trying to crush their opponents’ bodies, while not moving from the spot that they had started the battle in.

For a few moves, it seemed as if they were evenly matched.

But then–

“–Nwoh?! Is this really happening?“

The compound effect of the curse he had placed on himself was that he did not feel pain, which was both an advantage and a disadvantage.

He would not die from pain, nor would he ever feel fear.

However, the hands and feet of the masked man, who did not feel pain and was unable to properly recognize his condition, gradually became heavier, indicating the severity of the damage he was sustaining.

In just one minute of continuous battle, the difference in their strengths became evident.

“Gnuah! Kuh–”

“–”

The masked priest, who jumped back from the frontal exchange of blows, was hit in the face by Gerald’s follow-up kick, and fresh blood splattered from his nose and mouth.

“Ngaaaa…”

“…Hmph!!!!”

Due to another attack by Gerald’s thick arm, the masked man was sent flying through the adjacent building.

Gerald followed slowly.

“…sorry. If it wasn’t enough, you can charge me. I will compensate you.”

“”……””

A man and a woman were naked, while hugging each other, in the building, and stunned, they put some money on a table and walked straight through.

“……”

Gerald looked at Shock, who had fallen into the wall in an odd manner, and let out a sigh.

He was the most laborious opponent Gerald had to deal with in years, but it was no surprise to Gerald after last night’s insane experience.

“……?”

His hand, that was brushing the dirt off his clothes, stopped as he became suspicious of the masked priest’s left hand that was reaching for his own chest.

The masked man’s left hand, which had fingernails which were marked with strange markings, was gently placed on his chest.

“Oh, it’s all about giving back… –[The Shock].”

“Gohu…?“

The markings on his nails glowed bewitchingly, and Gerald’s body was returned all the impacts (・・・・) the masked man had received so far.

The combined impact made Gerald feel like his flesh, blood and bones were all bursting into pieces.

“Oh… this didn’t kill you, did it? Usually they pop with a nice sound…“

“……”

Gerald fell to his knees, his entire body bleeding.

The undefeated man was driven to a corner by his own immense strength.

He was hit by 37 rounds of his own attacks at once, causing various wounds inside and outside of his body.

It was as if his entire body had been torn to pieces from the inside and outside simultaneously, in a single moment.

It was, without a doubt, the biggest wounds he had ever suffered since he was born.

“……”

“Oh… are you really human?”

Mask the Shock spat out a line that was familiar to Gerald while finally getting up to deliver the coup de grace.

He raised his iron book aloft, in astonishment at Gerald, who still retained semblances of human body structure.

“Anyway, I’d like you to play a role in disrupting the investigation.“

“……”

The steel scripture was lowered with all his might.

“….?”

Gerald, who had stood up as if to intercept it, was hit squarely on the forehead.

A dull, painful sound echoed between the two.

The rock-crushing blow that the masked man dealt was caught head-on with a head butt by Gerald.

“You’ve got a good skull there…” he said.

“Do I…?”

He wiped the blood from his head and gave the masked priest a sharp look.

In terms of damage, Gerald was by far the more seriously injured one amongst them two.

It would be no wonder if Gerard died…. at any moment.

However, Gerard’s fighting spirit rose in proportion to the number of wounds he sustained.

“–!“

“Gah—–!”

The masked man was blown away to the back of the alley by a dropkick that contained all of Gerard’s massive bodyweight.

He may have collided with something, and made a loud noise in the shadowy darkness at the end of the alleyway.

Gerald quickly rose to his feet, and showing his fighting spirit, chased after the masked man with firm footsteps.

But…

“…Huh?”

The mysterious masked man was nowhere to be found, and he seemed to have fallen into the creek below.

“Oh, there you are! Hey, Gerald…. you’re hurt real bad.”

“…boss?”

Normally, he should have reported the incident, but it was impossible for him to rely on the guards now that he was a subordinate of the Demon King, not to mention a part of the underworld.

Seeing Chrono who seemed to have come looking for him, he gave up on continuing the fight.

“You should go to the hospital, you know… Do you want me to carry you?”

“Don’t worry, it’s an everyday occurrence.“

“A routine? What do you do, wear a meat dress and parade around the safari park? Why is it an everyday occurrence?“

In the end, he was carried by Chrono, who jumped over the buildings in the entertainment district, and rushed him to the nearest hospital.

♢♢♢

Only a few hours had passed since the commotion in the entertainment district.

It was early in the morning.

The morning sun shined brightly and birds chirped brightly, while knights lead several carriages through the royal city with clattering sounds.

It was a strenuous procession.

The advance party has already reached its destination, and had completed encircling it.

“……”

Alto, Hakuto, and the others descended from the wagons.

Behind them was a reluctant-looking Oswald.

On the roof of a nearby building was a blue-dog beastman who had been called in as a reinforcement for Alto.

“…I wonder if you’ve visited the wrong address? This is not a church where those who love going to war like to gather, is it?”

Father Shock Nandial stood alone in front of the church, facing the Royal Army.

For some reason, he was wounded in various places.

“Helping escapes from prison, killing knights, taking the orcs from the institute, and slaughtering the institute’s people… Do you think you can do whatever you want?“

Alto voice had an unusual tone of anger present in it.

His grip on the great sword was also getting firmer.

“That’s not all. You– are you using the people in the entertainment district (・・・・・) as your experimental subjects (・・・・・・)?”

Alto’s question was emotionless.

Hakuto, who was standing next to him, grit his teeth to hold back his overflowing and unconcealed rage.

The first person who bothered Hakuto was the man who had consulted Shock about being cursed during Alto’s visit.

Secondly, was the last woman Hakuto had met.

What if Shock had known that Alto and his men were coming and had lifted the curses on them beforehand?

And after that, again…

In the process of questioning the entertainment district’s people, I consulted with Juan, wondering if it was possible.

“Many of the people near the entertainment district are in need of money. In case of illnesses, they either wait it out or go to cheaper clinics for medical examination. Since he is offering services free of charge, people would definitely… go to him.“

Curse rituals often involved the use of blood or hair.

It would be extremely easy to obtain those from the people who came to the hospital with injuries and the children left in his care.

If a person of the red light district became ill due to the curse, they would surely come to you, and you could monitor the curse’s progress without worrying about the victim going to other clinics and getting their curse identified.

A cycle of experiments on curses were established using this area.

“Why don’t you say anything…!!“

Hakuto exclaimed, unable to bear the inhumanity contained within Shock’s actions.

“……”

Shock replied,