I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 148 : Rampage (2)

Rampage (2)

All the elves residing in the village were being exploited for hard labor.

They were forced to carry huge boulders from the mines with nothing but a single rope, or made to handle poisonous herbs with their bare hands.

Or they would have to offer their own vitality as a sacrifice to produce sacred stones.

Or be forced into battle whenever dangerous monsters appeared.

No elf was exempt.

All the elves were being ruthlessly overworked in this hellish labor.

Yet, the supervisors had not a shred of sympathy.

This was simply returning the atrocities that the elves themselves had once inflicted.

"Serves those damned bastards right!"

"Exactly! Because of those guys, my father had all his vitality sucked out and now looks like some kind of mummy!"

All the supervising humans were victims of the elves.

They hurled verbal abuse and cursed at the suffering elves.

No one stopped them.

On the contrary, others would even join in.

"Do you know how excited I was when I first arrived at this village, relying on those guys? It feels like just yesterday I was hope-filled, thinking I could live here in peace."

"I only came here after barely escaping the bandits with my life, too. But maybe I should have let the bandits catch me. You know why?"

It might have actually been less hellish to be caught by bandits than to live here.

That's how terrible this place felt to them.

That's how much hatred for the elves had grown.

"Your father turned out like that? I lost my son. He died because he couldn't survive the side effects of the fruit those guys fed him!"

The look in the eyes of the person saying this was bloodshot.

That fierce hatred was so intense it startled even the other supervisors who heard it.

"I ran until my feet bled to find a safe place for my son in this village. And this is what happened. We might be freed now, but... it's not enough."

Now the positions of elves and humans had been reversed.

But even that didn't feel like enough.

They wanted to give the elves the same hell in return.

"If those guys have kids, I want to kill them just the same!"

"Th-that's...."

"Weren't you hurt too? Our families were harmed by them—shouldn't the same happen to their families to be fair?"

Considering all the atrocities of the elves until now, it wasn't wrong.

For them to taste hell was their own doing, their just deserts.

Even if the same thing happened to them, there was nothing to argue.

But what is considered just can all too easily become distorted.

"You don't actually intend to throw even their children in there, right?"

When someone next to him asked that, he replied,

"There's no reason not to."

"..."

Such a ridiculous answer left the person speechless.

Had the grief of losing a child made him this extreme?

"No matter what, there was even a time when monsters were thrown at people—even the 7th Legion did that, you know? Isn't it the same thing? Are you saying you'd do that to the kids?"

"..."

Faced with the accusation of being unhinged, the man who lost his child couldn't answer.

An eye for an eye? It made sense.

But to throw the children into the same hell?

That, too, made sense.

"You can't do that to the kids even if you wanted to now."

"That's true."

Fortunately, no one crossed the line like that.

There were only adults among the elves left in this village.

"I'm sure someone like you was expected to appear. It was a wise decision."

It was the Imperial Court's special task force that saved them from the elves.

If they hadn't come, they would have ended up like their lost families.

"Whatever else, we should thank the special task force."

"Of course we should."

"By the way...."

As they walked through the underground labor camp, they came across someone.

"Who's this child?"

"Judging by the clothes, she's from the Holy Nation."

They looked at the sleeping Pram and wondered.

"Since she's a Holy Nation girl, should we mess with her a bit?"

"Let's wake her up first."

Just as they were about to touch Pram—

"Don't lay a finger on that child."

Just then, Andrew Weissman stopped them.

At Andrew's voice, they froze like ice.

"S-Swordmaster...!"

"What brings you here...?"

"I just finished taking down all those from the Holy Nation, though I didn't play such a big role. But with this, everything is resolved."

The Hero Bellain and the Holy Nation Crown Prince Tyrone were both kneeling in front of the special task force.

Even his own children, who had joined the Holy Nation, had been cut down by his own hand.

Consumed by his grief, Andrew had wandered, remembering something forgotten and coming here.

This girl, Pram—she was from the Holy Nation as well.

So he came to watch over her.

"So, let's get going, then—"

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!

That was when it happened.

As the World Tree collapsed, both humans and elves were shocked into silence.

"... What the...?"

Andrew, too, wore a dazed expression.

...

At the same time, Pram began to awaken.

She now had golden eyes she'd never possessed before in her life.

****

Silia, Kelian, and Rio had overcome death so many times.

There were times they'd been stabbed dozens of times, or suffered life-threatening wounds with holes through their limbs.

For those with the 7th Legion, these were common trials.

Of course, surviving meant they'd overcome it all and attained their natural strength.

That was why they held their places on the special task force.

"Guys, are you okay?"

"Well...."

But even these monsters of the special task force faced the worst possible situation.

"Is that... really the young master?"

Rio muttered blankly, watching as Louis's gaze turned wild, his body transforming into something monstrous.

"Big Sis, what about your spell?"

Rio asked Silia for reassurance.

Right now, their only hope lay in the torture spell held by the officers.

But—

"It's not working...."

"No, it's gone."

Silia and Kelian's spells had vanished.

What could have happened?

Could it be related to the destroyed World Tree?

[Th-That's...!]

[It's a bit different in form, but it's been such a long time...!]

A voice came from the sword Silia held.

The ancient Heroes sealed within the sword recalled horrifying memories.

[Chaos Dragon...!]

The reason they had come to be called Heroes.

The worst disaster in history, which had nearly destroyed the continent, had now taken the shape of a human.

[I won't say anything else.]

Feeling the power, Frederick said briefly,

[Run, right now!]

[I agree. If you want to live, flee! Before that guy notices you!]

Mirianne agreed completely.

They knew full well just what kind of being the Chaos Dragon was.

But despite their warnings, Silia replied,

"Have you two forgotten who that is? Do you really see him as the Chaos Dragon?"

[Yes, child. I understand what you're saying.]

[You can't abandon your comrade, right? It's a good mindset. Truly worthy of our descendant.]

The two were deeply proud of Silia, their descendant.

They felt that they had built the right relationships in the past.

[But even the Chaos Dragon is an exception.]

[You know very well what we're trying to say.]

[Take your ancestors' advice, please just stay put.]

[We don't want to lose our descendant.]

And then Kelian grabbed Silia's arm and said,

"They're right. At this rate, we're all dead!"

When unleashing his true power, Louis was a monster who could tear apart even the Great Devil.

Now, that power could turn on them at any moment.

"But if we leave things as they are, everyone in this village..."

Someone would have to die.

And simultaneously, Louis would become infamous as a murderer.

Whichever option they chose, only the worst outcome awaited.

"Krung...."

That was when Louis looked their way.

The Louis who had lost reason had the look in one's eyes of a predator gazing at prey.

Their bodies froze.

Louis came closer, staring intently at Silia.

"..."

"..."

Silia's body wouldn't obey her.

She couldn't even draw her sword to resist, nor could she turn and run.

But standing still was just as precarious.

In that moment, caught in the paralyzing dread of only the worst possibilities, cold sweat dripped down her face.

"Uh...?"

Louis ignored Silia.

He simply walked past the special task force group.

"What was that?"

Of course they were bewildered.

"That guy could always find anything with his demonic sense of smell and hearing, so why's he acting like this now?"

"Is it because he's lost his reason?"

[From what we can see, it seems he just isn't interested in you.]

[The creature's focus right now doesn't seem to be on any of you... or even 'humans'.]

If the two Heroes were correct, then there was no risk of being killed by Louis for now.

"Does that mean we're safe even if we attack?"

Kelian tried fishing for a response.

That was when—

"Then we should attack right now!"

Bellain suddenly leapt up with an eager look in his eye.

Just as Rio and Silia remembered, 'Ah, this guy was here too.'

"Die!!"

Bellain unleashed a swing imbued with aura at its utmost—a power he'd never drawn out before.

CRACK—

At the same time, his blade shattered.

"Huh?"

Bellain's arm went flying.

And behind where his arm had been, there was nothing left.

No buildings, no river, no mountains—they all vanished, turned into a canyon.

Even the sky had split in two.

All just from a casual swing.

"Arghhhhh!!"

As Bellain screamed, his arm lost, the next attack was set to strike him again.

"Heek!!"

For the first time in his life, Bellain sensed the terror of death and screamed.

His life flashed before his eyes.

"Phew... thank goodness I wasn't late."

Louis's second punch missed.

Andrew had suddenly reappeared, saving him just in time.

"You fool. I completely sealed your strength by striking your vital point. Trying to fight with just a thread of aura got you into this mess."

"Ugh...."

Bellain gave a painful groan in lieu of gratitude.

"Grandfather! Watch out!"

At that moment, Louis glared at Bellain.

As Silia shouted, it looked like Andrew was in mortal danger.

"Huh?"

But Louis simply ignored Andrew, just as he'd ignored them earlier.

"Why the heck is that guy doing this?"

"Is he only killing those who attack him?"

For now, if they didn't attack, they seemed safe.

Charging recklessly would end up with them like Bellain.

"But Grandpa, why did you come back?"

"Because... of that child."

Andrew pointed to someone running toward them.

It was the supervisors from the labor camp, one of whom was carrying Pram on his back.

"Why is Pram here...?"

"Look closely at this child. Doesn't something seem strange?"

Just as Andrew said, there was an unusual aura swirling around Pram.

A golden magic power enveloped her body.

"Not only the sudden collapse of the World Tree... this all seemed odd, so I brought her. But what's with that boy?"

Andrew couldn't understand why Louis was acting this way.

But it wasn't the time to explain.

It was impossible to know what Louis might do next.

...!!

Just then, Louis stared at Pram, carried on a back.

As he caught sight of her, Louis's strength began to rampage.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!

The ground split and the sky darkened with overwhelming magic power.

Ordinary people, powerless, collapsed in panic at the supernatural phenomenon that seemed as if a god was furious.

"Hiiik!!"

Eventually, Pram, still unconscious, fell to the ground from the supervisor's back.

And in an instant, Louis charged toward her, pouring the same strength that moments ago had blown away Bellain's arm into his movement.