The Berserker’s Second Playthrough Novel - Chapter 71

Chapter 71
Chapter: 71

Chapter Title: Kill Each Other Starting Now (4)

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The aroma of kin’s gore struck his acute nostrils. Glints of fury ignited within the warped pupils of the wolf-headed high demon. He lunged forward, splintering the stone beneath his feet, and brought his massive greatsword down in a heavy arc.

――――――Whoosh – boom, crash!!!

The strike possessed terrifying speed and weight, yet Kadim had foreseen the trajectory and leaped aside. He drifted back like a gust of wind while lifting Mosquito. The wolf-headed demon yanked back the handle of his weapon, dragging the steel across the floor as he snarled a question.

* When did you consume it? Whose essence did you take? What deception have you…?

“…….”

Clang-clang-clang-clang, shing – clang!

Kadim offered no verbal reply, instead sending Mosquito spinning through the air repeatedly. The axe’s edge was caught by the wide blade and the thick plate armor, but the distraction gave him the seconds he needed to evaluate the battlefield. He narrowed his gaze with sharp focus.

‘The female ghost demon will surely succumb. The skull-head, the mute, the eyeball… the others, I cannot say.’

The ‘Charm’ enhancement only functioned against those possessing sentience. Though demons often held an indistinct physical gender, their psychological identities usually gravitated toward one pole. Kadim hoped these monstrosities were internally aligned with the feminine as he watched for their movements.

* Ah, aah? Wh-what is this? Why am I… why do I feel this way…?

She breathed in shallow gasps, her voice thick with bewilderment. The ethereal female ghost demon was reacting precisely as he had planned. Once the obsession took hold, she would abandon her comrades to follow his lead.

* Target! Defiant, struggling scrap of a target!
* Grreeeeek!

The mute and eyeball demons were evidently unaffected. The mute used its fleshy organ-tendrils to pull itself along, while the eyeball demon beat its wings and peeled back its lids. A twisted rune manifested within its pupils, and the colors of the chamber began to warp and blur.

However, the demon’s incantation was violently interrupted.

――――――Crackle-crackle, boom!!

* Grreeeeeeeeek!!!

A bolt of obsidian lightning tore through the eyeball demon. The rune vanished instantly, and the creature was thrown into a far corner, its ruptured eye leaking vitreous fluids. That concentrated surge of dark power had been fired from the skull demon’s staff.

* Y-you shall not lay a finger on this being… This one is so magnificent, too holy to even speak of… From this moment, I renounce Pevilarus to serve only him…

Mad worship radiated from the dark hollows of its sockets. Witnessing this betrayal, the wolf-head froze mid-fight and let out a frustrated roar.

* What idiocy is this, skull-head! If Pevilarus perishes, you will be nothing but brittle shards of bone! Wake up and strike that vermin with your lightning…!
* Silence! How dare a creature like you defile the majestic one with your wretched tongue! You cur who only knows how to wave a piece of iron!
* No, this madness is…

Stab – !

Exploiting the distraction, Kadim drove his blade into a vulnerable seam in the wolf-head’s plate.

The skin was thick and the muscles dense. Yet, backed by savage momentum, the metal slid in deep. As soon as the tip grated against bone, Kadim twisted the weapon and ripped it out before leaping back. A geyser of blood sprayed from the armor gap, leaving the wolf-head reeling.

* Curse you, you treacherous rat!

――――――Whoosh – boom, crash!!!

An incandescent swing sliced through the air where Kadim had been a moment before, pulverizing the masonry like a wrecking ball. The blade and the strength behind it were too monstrous to encounter directly. Kadim used Mosquito to harry him while he increased the distance between them.

But as he moved back, something slick and cold wrapped around his ankle.

* Caught you, my target!

It was a tendril from the mute demon.

The creature attempted to slam Kadim into the floor, but the warrior’s instincts were faster. He hacked down at the growth, slicing through the sinewy mass and sending a spray of black fluid flying. The demon snarled and lashed out with dozens of additional feelers at once.

* Graaaah! Learn your place, target!!

Kadim tightened his hold on the axe. He surged forward, carving a path through the air with upward slashes, lateral sweeps, and brutal thrusts. The blade soaked up the corrupt blood greedily. Under his unrelenting assault, the tendrils were reduced to ribbons, turning the immediate area into a morass of severed flesh and slime.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, cruuunch!

“Haaaargh!!”

* Futile! The struggles of the dying! Target… eek? Eeeek… eeeee…

The confrontation ended abruptly. The mute demon went rigid, its mouth hanging open. A thin wisp of steam rose from its head, as if its consciousness had been scorched away.

The translucent female ghost had materialized behind it, her palm pressed firmly against the back of the mute demon’s skull.

* Haa, move this heap of rotting meat. It obstructs my view of his magnificent form…
* Grk, graaah, graaaaah…

Kadim steadied his breathing. As a ghost demon, she was a master of psychological subversion. The mute would be a non-factor for the time being.

* Die, blasphemer! End your pathetic games in the presence of the exalted one!
* Grreek, grreeeek – !

―――――Rumble-rumble, crack – boom!

In the background, the skull demon and the eyeball demon were locked in a lethal magical duel. Overlapping sigils flared to life, lightning and distorted energy clashing to create sparks of pure void. Dealing with demons of the mystic arts was usually a headache, but having them thin their own ranks was a welcome development.

The lesser threats were occupied. Only one true obstacle remained for Kadim.

The wolf-headed demon was shaking, his breastplate and leg guards rattling with every tremor. The wound had closed, so the vibration was born of pure, unadulterated fury.

* You cunning rat… A real combatant meets his enemy with nothing but his own strength and steel. To rely on such low deceptions… Have you no dignity?

The claim was absurd. In the brutal logic of the wilds, there was no greater shame than losing and being forced to submit. Kadim let out a dry, mocking laugh.

“Perhaps. But from where I stand, five high demons swarming a single man seems like the greater cowardice.”

* Be silent!!!

―――――――Whoosh, whoosh – boom, whoosh – boom!

The greatsword swung in a frenzied rhythm, generating gales that whipped through the room. Between his labored breaths, the demon growled.

* Fine, it matters not. Killing you will break these enchantments… This is better. I wished to be the one to end you from the start…

“…….”

* Heh heh heh… Tell me, how do you intend to survive when you lack the strength to even block my steel? I will hold nothing back. Struggle until your heart stops. The second you falter, you are dead.

――――――――Whoosh – boom!

The massive sword came rushing in. Kadim stared directly at the approaching slab of metal. It was true that he couldn’t parry it before. He didn’t have the physical mass to stop hundreds of pounds of steel swung by a demon’s arm.

At least, that was true until a few seconds ago.

―――――――Clang – boom!

A resonant, metallic chime filled the air. For a fleeting moment, the sparks from the collision illuminated the demon’s shocked expression. Stunned by the recoil, the wolf-head had to jam his sword into the ground to keep from toppling over.

* Wh-what…? How could you possibly halt my blade…?

Kadim looked down at Mosquito, his eyes glowing with a predatory red light. A small chip now marred the axe’s edge—the same edge that had survived scraping against stone walls. He clicked his tongue; parrying such a massive tool with a small axe was still taxing on the weapon.

But he had matched the force. He had absorbed the blood from his initial strike, the carnage of the severed tendrils, and the fluids of the mute demon.

A violent surge of life-force was screaming through his arteries, charging every nerve ending. His muscles expanded with the pressure, and a primal, monstrous power settled into his frame. A few drops had granted him this. If he were to consume every drop of that demon’s life, how far would this strength go?

Kadim flashed a lethal grin and sprinted toward his foe.

The wolf’s pupils shrank as if he were staring into the eyes of a superior predator.

―――――――Clang – boom!

Kadim didn’t meet the descending greatsword head-on this time; he struck the side of the blade to knock it off course. As the demon lost his balance, Kadim closed the gap and hammered his blade into the gaps of the armor. The heavy greatsword became a liability, dragging the demon down. Precise, savage cuts opened deep wounds in the flesh beneath the steel plates.

――――――Slice, stab, staaab – !

* Graaaaaah, you miserable cur!!!

In desperation, the demon cast aside his greatsword. He threw a punch with a heavy, armored gauntlet. The blow carried weight, but it was useless now. With the accumulated blood, Kadim was strong enough to catch the strike with his bare hand.

Block – !

* …What?

The fist was stopped dead in its tracks. Then came the retaliation.

――――――Crunch – crack!

* Kyaaang!!

Kadim launched himself upward, shattering the demon’s jaw with a brutal strike. As the creature fell, he pinned it down, his eyes burning crimson as he rained blows upon its face. Neither thick hide nor bone could withstand the berserker’s fury. Teeth were shattered, the snout was broken, and the skull began to give way under the weight of his axe and fists.

Thud, splat, crunch – crack, splat!

* Kegeng, keng, keng… grrr rumble rumble!

Slaaaash – crunch!

In a final act of defiance, the demon lashed out with its claws. Kadim flipped backward to avoid the reach. Blood leaked from the demon’s mangled mouth as it glared at him. Then, its body contorted as it dropped to all fours, taking the shape of a true beast.

* Grrrr rumble… Curse you, I did not want to resort to this form again…

Clank, clank, clank –

Hidden segments of plate within the armor shifted forward, reinforcing the joints and sealing every vulnerability. A reinforced helmet snapped into place over its head, turning the demon into a living statue of a steel wolf.

Kadim exhaled a breath that felt like steam from boiling blood.

“…So that suit is a relic? I’ve never seen such a strange design. Armor that requires you to walk like a dog.”

* Grrrr rumble, be quiet! Your arrogance ends now… This plate was crafted by the dwarves of the north—there are no openings. Your toy will not find another drop of blood to drink…

Kadim tilted his head, assessing the situation. It was true; the armor was seamless. If it was indeed the work of dwarves, breaking it through conventional means would be a chore.

But that was irrelevant.

In fact, it was the perfect scenario. Such a durable defense would be the ultimate test for his ‘special effect.’

“Good. This is the perfect chance to see what it can do.”

* …?

The demon squinted through the slits of its helmet. A flicker of animal doubt crossed its eyes, followed by a wave of realization.

Rumble rumble rumble…

In the hands of the berserker, the blade began to weep a crimson, supernatural energy—not a slow seep, but a heavy drip like fresh slaughter. The slender steel was etched with ancient runes that resembled veins, now pulsing with an ominous, blinding red light.

Kadim gripped the handle. Responding to its master’s murderous intent, the weapon began to vibrate and hum. The edge was desperate to release the stored vitality of the blood—more violently and destructively than ever before.

The night before he reached Soltana had been pitch black.

At the stroke of midnight, Kadim, acting as ‘The One Who Sharpens Names,’ had decided to bestow a new identity upon ‘Mosquito.’

Kadim’s unique ability, ‘The One Who Sharpens Names,’ allowed him to give ‘titles’ to nameless steel, granting them specific powers. In a game setting, such things felt like simple enchantments.

But even the simplest power, when refined with obsession, could manifest incredible results.

A hidden facet of ‘The One Who Sharpens Names’ was the ability to overwrite the name of a weapon that already had one. These layered names kept the old traits while adding vastly superior ones, pushing the weapon’s power far beyond a standard upgrade.

[O Atalas, lord of the unending slaughter. Lend your steel to my grip, bless this thirsty warrior of the path of blood, and sate my hunger with the life of my enemies…]

The naming ritual was a success. The runes on the blade accepted the new designation. The blood had been gathered; now it was time for the execution.

The wolf-headed demon felt a chill of impending death. He backed away, his voice cracking with fear.

* Th-that weapon… what is it? Not even the finest dwarven steel radiates such a presence… What kind of blade carries such a murderous aura…?

Kadim spoke the new name with cold indifference.

“‘Blood Ghost’.”

He vanished from his spot, leaping forward to deliver a final, merciless blow.

Crunch – crack.

An afterimage of a blood-red moon appeared, followed by the sound of something fundamental being torn apart.

Behind the path of the blade, the stored life-force exploded.

――――――――――――Quagggggggg – !!

A tidal wave of blood pulverized the plate armor, shredded the skin, liquefied the muscle, and carved a trench into the floor. It continued on, scarring the distant stone wall before dissolving into a crimson mist. The entire cavern trembled from the shockwave and the thunderous impact.

The wolf-headed demon, who took the full force of the strike, wasn’t just cut in half—his armored body was reduced to mincemeat in an explosion of red.

* Grk, grreeek…

Red droplets fell like rain. The collateral force of the swing had also claimed the eyeball demon standing behind. With the primary threats neutralized, the magical tension in the room dissipated, revealing the remaining demons.

None of them—not the ghost, the skull, nor the mute—could hide the mixture of terror and reverence on their faces.

* Haa, magnificent… What a vast, beautiful, terrifying display of blood…
* Aaah, my lord…! Too great to even look upon, the mighty and absolute lord…!
* Gra, graaaah, th-that… thing is not prey…

Kadim, covered from head to toe in red as if he had been submerged in a vat of paint, looked at his blade as it hummed softly after discharging its energy. It was exactly as he expected—chaotic, but devastating.

‘Blood Accumulation’.

The ability to store the essence of the fallen and release it in one cataclysmic strike.

The berserker allowed a blood-stained smile to cross his face.

This strength would be more than enough to crush the central demon.