Chapter 291

○ Demon King Tralzard

I kept watching as they fought.
It was one surprise after another.

Golan had called this mana absorption, ‘Mana Eater.’
And while it looked a little different, it was essentially the same technique that Lesser High King Yamato used.

“So Golan really did evolve into something close to King Yamato.”

Very little was known about King Yamato’s early days.
All the stories about him were of after he became a Lesser High King.

This was because no one from that time was still alive.
“After all, it was a very long time ago.”

As I thought about this, the situation changed.
Nehyor moved back and started unleashing magic.

“How is this, Golan? Having trouble?”
Nehyor said with a triumphant voice. But to me, it seemed like he was getting ahead of himself.

Vampires had high physical ability.
And they also had many skills.

Some of them were incredibly useful, like being able to fly and heal.
However, they also had weaknesses.

In Nehyor’s case, it was endurance.
He was not as tough as someone like Golan.

And while Vampires had so many tricks up their sleeves, none were very strong when the mana had to be distributed to all of them.
With Nehyor, he would not have that much mana left to use for magic attacks.

In other words, the reason that he hadn’t used them earlier, was not because he was saving them. It was because they weren’t that powerful.

And from what I could see, it was clearly the case.
Vampires were high-rankers, but his magic attacks were what you’d expect from a mid-ranker.

“Well, let’s see what it does to Golan.”

Golan was good at dodging magic attacks.
One clean hit would be enough to kill an Ogre. And so he had to be good at it.

And since Golan had evolved from an Ogre, that weakness would have likely stayed with him.
“…But, he is dealing with them with his inherent toughness.”

Golan was dodging them while slowly moving forwards. However, some of them did hit him.
And every time, he took damage somewhere on his body. But he succeeded in getting closer.

“…So, he can absorb magic as well.”

He dodged, blocked, and occasionally absorbed Nehyor’s magic attacks.
And it seemed like he was getting better every time he absorbed it. Like he was learning as he fought.

“…Hmm?”
Perhaps he did not want Golan to get close. Nehyor stopped shooting and jumped back…but that was when Golan targeted him.

He had gotten close so quickly. And he grabbed Nehyor’s arm and held him there.
“He’s fast when he needs to be. I might have missed it had I not been watching closely.”

However, what was he going to do now?
While Golan’s arms would certainly be stronger, Nehyor was a Vampire.
They could be monstrously strong out of nowhere.

—Snap.

Nehyor’s arm broke.
Golan quickly let go and grabbed the other arm, which he also broke.

He moved from one target to the next after that. As he strangled the neck, he snapped Nehyor’s flailing legs.

“He is always full of surprises.”
It was as if he knew which direction Nehyor would try to run, and he was always a step ahead.

Nehyor must be furious.
When he thought he had run away, he learned that he had been led there all along.

And then he was caught and strangled.
And when he tried to free himself, his limbs were snapped.

“While he can heal his bones quickly, how many times can he continue to do it… But if he doesn’t heal them, then he will never be able to catch up, as more bones will be broken.”
It was rather horrifying to watch.

He must have foreseen this battle against Nehyor, and been practicing.
In fact, I could tell that Nehyor’s mana level had decreased greatly by this point.

“That will happen if your neck is snapped that many times.

I had lost count as to how many times his arms and legs were broken.
Now that he was caught, he would not be able to get away.

He would be strangled and broken until Golan let him go.
But if his mana fell any lower, would he even be able to heal himself in an instant?

“…Hmm? What is this?”

The mana surrounding Nehyor had decreased. He had to use it in order to heal. And he had also used it when attacking Golan with magic…

“But even still, it seems to be falling faster than it should?”

I was careless.
I thought that I was watching them closely, but I had missed something.

“So Golan has been absorbing Nehyor’s mana ever since he grabbed him!”

That’s why Nehyor was so desperate to get away.
And Golan prevented it by breaking his bones over and over again.

Broken bones were nothing to Nehyor.
Golan could break as many as he likes. As long as Nehyor could get away.

Like that, he was trying to heal faster than Golan could keep up with, so that he could escape.
“That is what’s happening.”

I finally realized what Golan was doing.
He would occasionally let go of Nehyor entirely.

As if he wanted to make it easier for Nehyor to escape.
And so Nehyor would heal his bones and try to move away.

But strangely, he couldn’t.
If he tried to go up, he was pulled back down. If we went to the right, he was spun around and slammed to the ground.

And if he tried to go in to attack instead, he was pushed into the ground.
“It’s like a puzzle.”

And every time, Golan absorbed mana from him.
By the time the two were separated again, Golan’s mana had swelled up considerably.

“You’ve really done it, Golan.”
Nehyor said as he panted. Golan laughed.

“Ah, I have to thank you. Now I can use this.”
Golan unsheathed the Deepsea Dragon Sword that was on his back.

“Really? While you may have mana again, I doubt your strength will return.”
Nehyor said mockingly. Golan’s only answer was ‘Super Arm Strengthen.’

‘Arm Strengthen’ was a special ability that Ogres had.
And so this must be an enhanced version.

There was suddenly a palpable tension between them.
Nehyor was more cautious than ever.

And it was affecting those around them.
The onlookers gulped as they watched over the two.

Golan was the first to move.
I couldn’t help but mutter, ‘why?’

If you were staring at each other like this, moving first meant giving the other person the opportunity to deal with you.
It wouldn’t matter if you could move at a speed that they couldn’t follow, but what reason did Golan have?

Golan held the sword with his right hand and attacked the air directly behind him.

“Huh!?”
“Huh!?”
“What!?

It wasn’t just Nehyor, but everyone else was stunned.

What was Golan attacking? All their eyes moved to the spot.
But there was nothing there.

—Buuuunnn!

With a stronger momentum this time, Golan attacked the empty area behind him once again, and as he stumbled forward, the sword accelerated even more.

“Whaaat!!”

With Golan in the center, the blade swung, making a full circle around him, and then slashing through the neck of Nehyor, who had moved in to attack. And like that, Nehyor’s head went flying.

—Paaan!

It was a brilliant attack.

Nehyor’s head spun as it flew high into the air.

“Secret technique, ‘Backhand Slash.’”

Golan said the mysterious name. It was likely a special ability of his.
Now that it had lost its head, Nehyor’s body slowly fell to the ground.

“What…Golan won?”

When it had been announced, I had felt that the chances of him winning were slim.
After all, this was the leader of the Wild Hunt.

Nehyor was a veteran who had killed many Lesser Demon Kings in a short amount of time.
Surely Golan would not be capable of winning.

And then I watched them fight, and it was clear that Golan was not at his best.

“Yet he still won…”
It was hard to believe.

Golan leaned on his sword as if it was a staff.
Yes, he was clearly not well.

“Now, it’s over.”
And then he stabbed Nehyor’s heart with his sword.

It was only then that Golan smiled.

…But then, Nehyor’s head fell down from the sky and bit into Golan’s neck.

“Woah!?”

Golan cried out and tore Nehyor’s head off and threw him onto the ground.
But that wasn’t enough for him. And he stomped on it until it was completely crushed.

“….Uh…”

“Golan, what is it?”

He immediately fell to his knees and tried to support himself with one arm, but failed. He collapsed on the ground.

“Golan!?”
I ran towards him.
Not just me. The others did as well.

When we sat him up, I saw that Golan’s neck had become black.
“He’s been poisoned.”

Vampires were able to transform the mana in their bodies and create poison.
However, it would also eat away at their own bodies. So most did not use it.

That’s how terrible a special ability it was. But Nehyor must have been creating it, even as he fought Golan.

So that even if he died, he could take Golan with him.

“Golan. Stay strong!”
I called…but there was no answer.

I continued to talk, but it was no use. He would not reply.

“…He-he’s dea…”

I could not say the rest.

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Makai Hongi