The Place Where He Was Reincarnated Was Hell - The 300-Year-Old Frontier Defense Line of the Margrave Family - Episode 39

The space in front of them becomes unnaturally distorted.

It was as if something transparent had suddenly appeared – and then a strange sound, like a harsh metallic screech, or like the space itself creaking, could be faintly heard from within the distortion – and six Eclipses in total emerged.

As for the type, it’s probably an Eclipse, a mix of a spider-like type that blends into the landscape. Abnormal mutation mutant Monster Vestagos Humanoid Demonoid

However, the way it appears is strange compared to previous ones. Abnormal mutation mutant

It felt strange that they had appeared without a sound and surrounded Julius and Raven, as if they were on a perfectly orchestrated hunt.

“… but they appeared all at once?… Also, were they hiding their magical powers? If I didn’t notice them, then they must have a troublesome ability…But the problem is Julius-dono…”Abnormal mutation mutant

Raven clicked his tongue in disgust, then pushed Julius behind him, to the relative safety of his rear, and at the exact moment that he took his natural movement, he began to move with such speed that an ordinary person would not even be able to capture an afterimage of him.

Sensing this, the others let out high-pitched, nerve-racking cries and attempted to slam into Raven with countless sticky tentacles from their long, slender bodies, or sharp fists made of twisted, fused bone and flesh. Abnormal mutation mutant

–It was a veritable barrage of death.

Each of the tentacles, and each blow of the fist, moved at a speed that an average knight would not be able to see with the naked eye, and had such incredible power that it could easily pierce steel armour and tear out the flesh inside.

However, Raven remained calm.

The giant sword in his right hand pulses as if it were alive.

Abnormal mutation mutant. Dozens of tentacles from one of the monsters, bending like whips, approached to grab hold of Raven’s whole body, but Raven avoided them with minimal movement, parrying them with the flat of his great sword or accurately flicking them away with the tip of his sword. A series of hard metallic sounds reverberated all around, and sparks split the dark night.

“…The response speed is faster than I expected…”

The next moment, Raven muttered quietly, and he completely disappeared.

No, that’s just how it looked to ordinary people.

In reality, he had stepped forward at invisible speed, weaving his way through the tiny gap in the attack and diving deep into the first mutant’s embrace. Abnormal mutation mutant

“First off, what?”

As he spoke, something exploded from the mutant’s torso along with fresh bl00d. The wind’s magical power was compressed to its limit, and an invisible shock wave was sent through the blade, ripping the mutant’s body into pieces from the inside.

However, not even that bl00d splatter reaches Raven.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the two approached from both sides. Abnormal mutation mutant

One of them lashed out with countless fists, and the other sent a storm of sweeping tentacles, each aimed at Raven’s blind spot at the same time.

——A pincer attack that would be unavoidable for an ordinary person.

However, Raven stomped hard onto the ground and used the recoil to spin his body at high speed like a top.

And his beloved greatsword dances in a beautiful yet terrifying circus, as if it were a part of his body.

“-Tempest Edge”

The storm of slashes released along with tremendous wind pressure perfectly countered and deflected the attacks of the two mutants, then the blades returned to slice their bodies into pieces.

Abnormal mutation, mutant. Unable to even react to his incredible swordsmanship and speed, we were reduced to lumps of flesh before we could even scream.

— Three remain.

As if they had finally realised Raven’s superhuman strength, they stopped moving for a moment and exchanged glances with each other, showing signs of intelligence.

And the next moment, all three launched a wave of attacks from different angles, yet in perfect coordination.

One slid along the ground, aiming for his feet, one launched a surprise attack from the sky, and the last one fired a countless number of bone shards like bullets from the front.

But Raven sees through all of that.

First, he slammed the side of his greatsword into the ground at a single charge aimed at his feet, then crushed it with the same momentum.

At the same time, he instantly deployed a barrier made of condensed wind magical power in his left hand against a single creature that launched a surprise attack from above, blocking its movements for just a moment.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he repelled the countless bone fragments flying towards him from the front by spinning his greatsword at high speed, causing the rebounded bone fragments to pierce the mutant himself.

Then, with lightning speed, Raven again stepped into the chest of the last remaining monster and pierced what he thought was its heart with his greatsword with impeccable precision.

“That makes six.”

He poured more wind magic into the piercing sword, causing it to explode from the inside.

For Raven, who is in perfect condition

Even if six of them appeared at once, they would not pose the slightest threat. Abnormal mutation mutant

His strength in hand-to-hand combat had been honed during those two years of hell and had already surpassed the realm of humans, clearly reaching a level comparable to that of a mythical hero.

Julius, watching this, opened his eyes wide and desperately tried to stop himself from collapsing on the spot.

“–Too strong…!! Even though I was so close to Lord Raven, I couldn’t even follow his movements with my eyes… Aren’t they one of the most dangerous populations in Eclipse…?Abnormal mutation mutant

–Yes, that must be the case… I have confirmed it in the numerous reports from the past… And from the mental contamination I had just received, there was no doubt that every one of them was a threat far beyond imagination… And yet…!

“His movements were extraordinary, and he appeared to be using magical and special abilities, but Lord Raven seemed to discard all of that with ease, as if it were child’s play. Vanguard… No, this individual, Raven von Vangard, can only be described as a crazy and extraordinary fighting force…”Abnormal mutation mutant

“Sixteen years old… Three years younger than me, yet with such overwhelming fighting power… Even Lord Raven, who possesses such fighting power, was pushed to the brink of annihilation in that frontline battle… Just how hellish must that have been… The common sense of ‘battle’ I learned in the royal capital is of no use here. First of all, I need to rethink things from a zero-base perspective. I’ll need to raise my understanding here by several levels…”

Julius was trying desperately to maintain his researcher’s composure as he processed the surreal events that had just happened before his eyes. All the while, Raven was keeping his guard up and surveying his surroundings without letting his guard down.

—That was when it happened.

The remains of the six mutants that Raven had smashed into pieces and exploded earlier began to writhe as if they were alive, making horrible squelching noises and beginning to come together as if drawn by a magnet.

The dark red flesh, broken bones, and sticky bodily fluids all fused together, as if with a clear will of their own, and before your eyes, they were transformed into a new, even larger, and even more sinister Eclipse.

On its forehead was a single huge, shining, bl00d-red eye.

–It seems like a new threat has emerged.

“Huh…?! They fused?!”

Even Raven was astonished at the sight.

As soon as the red-eyed Eclipse’s body was completed, a countless number of tentacles extended from its massive body like snakes and attacked Raven.

Each one was far thicker, heavier, and faster than that of the previous mutant.

“Huh…!”

Raven swung his great sword, deflecting and slicing the approaching tentacles in succession, but the red-eyed Eclipse didn’t flinch and sent out more than twice as many tentacles, while at the same time firing condensed magical bullets from its single red eye.

The magic bullets created explosions and shock waves that dug large holes in the surrounding ground, but Raven dodged them with lightning speed and unleashed a wind blade in return.

However, as if he had predicted it, Red-Eyed Eclipse blocked it with a newly created bony shield.

“-Are you reading my movements?”

In an instant, Raven’s lightning-fast combat was unleashed like a storm. Even though each of his sword strokes had the power to kill, the red-eyed Eclipse responded with astonishing reaction speed, making his abnormality stand out.

Whenever Raven unleashed a slash wrapped in wind magic, the red-eyed Eclipse would counter it with waves of magical power similar to the wind, and when Raven unleashed an acrobatic sword move from a position that seemed unavoidable, Eclipse parried it with flexible movements that were unbecoming of his large body, and launched an accurate counterattack.

“–!! Lord Raven! That individual has learned your movements and is imitating them! What’s more, the accuracy and speed are abnormally high! It’s as if it is analyzing and optimizing your combat data on the spot!”

Julius, who was watching the battle from behind a rock, shouted. Just as he had analyzed, the Red-Eyed Eclipse’s movements were gradually becoming more and more like Raven’s, and his swordsmanship, magic trajectory, and even the rhythm of his breathing were starting to synchronize eerily with Raven’s.

『This is bad — if the battle continues any longer, things will get extremely troublesome… If this guy escapes and shares information within Eclipse… that would be unbearable…!! I must finish him off here and there…!!』

Raven made a quick decision. To destroy this monster, small tricks were no longer enough. He had to use a big blow.

However, since your opponent has also learned your movements, if you just randomly unleash a big move, it will likely be avoided, or you will be hit with a precise counterattack.

“Then–!”

Raven’s thoughts instantly concluded. He narrowly avoided Eclipse’s onslaught, consciously subtly changing the tempo of his attacks.

He feinted, pretending to be a broad slash, and in the next moment, he lowered his body and delivered a sharp sweep at the ground. The attack’s trajectory was different from what he had predicted, and Eclipse’s single red eye showed a look of slight confusion.

Not missing that momentary gap, Raven stepped in even further. This time, instead of defending, he focused the wind magic power of his great sword with the aim of pure destruction, and with blinding speed, he struck Red-Eyed Eclipse in succession with pinpoint accuracy into what appeared to be both of its shoulder and knee joints.

——Scatter!

There was a dull sound of hard objects shattering one after another, and Eclipse’s huge body shook violently. Though it wasn’t completely severed, its movements had slowed down, and the smooth coordination from before had been lost.

“-We can do it!!”

Sensing the definite response of reducing Red-Eyed Eclipse’s mobility, Raven did not let up on his pursuit, but closed the distance in an instant and, from a position where he could look up at its giant form, raised his great sword high into the air.

His magical power converged with incredible force on the silvery blade, and the great sword began to emit a blinding light, like the sun shining at the center of a storm. The air around them trembled, and the wind howled and swirled.

“—— !”Storm Blade TenchoTempest Strike

Raven’s slash, which had once taken down a powerful enemy with a single blow, was unleashed towards Red-Eyed Eclipse. Abnormal mutation mutant

The condensed torrent of the storm was no longer a slash, but a mass of pure destructive energy, and it was fired from close range, hitting the huge body of the Red-Eyed Eclipse without the slightest deviation.

A tremendous shock wave shook the surrounding air, gouged into the earth, and formed a huge crater at the epicenter; Eclipse’s torso and lower body were shattered into pieces without a trace, as if the regenerative ability it had had until then had never existed.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

The moment the torso had completely disappeared and the blast and dust began to clear, the head with the one red eye that should have been blown off rose into the air, as if it had calculated everything, and it turned a mocking grin towards Raven.distortedDistorted

His eyes still had an eerie glow that showed no sign of damage even after receiving Raven’s slash.

And in the next moment, his face began to melt as if it were hot, and once again it instantly split into six original bodies, WaxAbnormal mutation mutant

Moreover, the mutants that split off immediately and without a word began fleeing at breakneck speed in the direction of Frontline Fort, deploying mysterious optical camouflage that allowed them to blend into the surrounding scenery.hesitationHesitation

This movement was a well-calculated evacuation maneuver that prioritized getting away from the situation.

“I won’t let you get away…!”

A voice dripping with uncontrollable anger and impatience escaped Raven’s mouth. He was frustrated that he hadn’t been able to kill it completely after using such a powerful technique, and the fact that the eerie Eclipse was still alive made every fiber of his being ring with alarm. That creature absolutely must not be left loose here.

To pursue him immediately, Raven uses a wide-area annihilation spell, which he is not very good at.

The air around him trembled violently again, swirling with scorching magical energy.

“-Volcanic Storm!”

Scorching flames and raging winds assail the fleeing party. The overwhelming annihilation power is different from the eerie regenerative ability of Red-Eyed Eclipse from earlier, as it burns the mutants’ bodies to the core, erasing them from existence. Abnormal mutation mutant

The five bodies no longer had any way to evade, and before they could even let out a death cry, they were engulfed in flames and wind, and seemed to disappear without a trace.

However, one of them, as if it had perfectly predicted the trajectory and timing of Raven’s attack, dodged it with an extraordinarily skillful movement and disappeared, blending completely into the surrounding wilderness scenery.

It was no longer possible to tell whether it was the same Red-Eyed Eclipse head that had split off earlier, or a different individual. However, what was certain was that they had let one of their most dangerous enemies slip away.

“Damn… how persistent! He got away…”

Raven clicked his tongue in disgust and prepared to chase after the Eclipse in the direction it had disappeared, but after only a few steps, he stopped dead.

His eyes caught sight of Julius, who was still recovering from the shock and exhaustion. He couldn’t leave Julius alone in danger any longer. And there was no telling whether the one that had escaped wouldn’t target Julius again. Raven gritted his teeth in frustration, but he gave up on pursuing him further and chose to stay put.

“–Excuse me… Julius-sama, are you hurt? Are you okay?”

His voice was calm, not carrying the slightest trace of the heat of the deadly battle from moments ago, nor of the impatience he felt for having let his enemy slip away.

Julius wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hands still trembling slightly, and was once again left speechless by Raven’s incredibly calm attitude.

“Yes… Thanks to Lord Raven, I managed to do something about it… But that red-eyed Eclipse just now… it was clearly an intellect different from the previous ones, and I sensed an unfathomable power… But even so, Lord Raven… your battle just now made you seem like a hero sung in an ancient epic poem…”

This was not just polite talk or flattery, but Julius’s heartfelt admiration and reverence.

However, Raven looked a little embarrassed and brushed off Julius’ words with a cheerful laugh, as if he had been praised by a neighborhood kid.

“Haha, I’m just a little good at hand-to-hand combat. But my younger brother, Vi, is far more amazing than him! He wraps himself in lightning as if it were a part of his body, running freely across the battlefield, but the aftereffects of his movements alone would easily burn an average Eclipse to death–“

With a smile so carefree, it was as if the deadly battle that had just taken place had never happened. Raven began talking about his younger brother instead of himself and couldn’t stop.

“No, it’s not at the level where I’m just a little good at it or anything like that… But how is it that, despite having such great power, he doesn’t brag about it or become arrogant, but just does it calmly… I wonder if this is the ‘strength’ nurtured by the land of Vanguard…”

Julius was no longer astonished; he could not help but feel a complex admiration and even a sort of divinity in this thought.

–But even so…

Even during this conversation, Julius’s mind continued to race without pause.

Right now, in his mind, he could still vividly remember the “gaze” he had experienced earlier – the chill that had gripped his soul as if from the moment their eyes met through the distance, and the intense feeling of mental contamination that followed. Abnormal mutation mutant

However, ever since Raven began fighting the mutants, the sense of mental contamination that had been so intense had subsided almost like a lie.

“…No, that’s not it. I certainly had the “sense” of making eye contact with mutants several times during the battle. But unlike the first contact, I didn’t experience any intense contamination that took my consciousness away… perhaps because, unconsciously, or perhaps instinctively out of fear, I used farsightedness magic at such close range and then subtly shifted my focus, finely adjusting the phase of my magical power. In other words, I was trying to deflect their direct gaze… That’s right, I may have unintentionally been doing the same thing when I observed the Gorewalkers.”

A shrewd light dwells in Julius’ eyes.

“—In other words, we can hypothesize that the depth and directionality of mental contamination may differ depending on the type and “rank” of the Eclipse. And even in the case of a powerful individual such as a mutant, by intentionally “shifting” one’s gaze with proper magical control, or by observing indirectly through a magical filter, it may be possible to greatly reduce or completely block that contamination.”

If this hypothesis were correct, then the way would be opened. In the mind of the genius Julius, specific research themes and experimental plans for the magical research lab in the royal capital had already begun to form at an astonishing speed.

The development of magical tools using special lenses that neutralize or reflect the effects of mental pollution. The deployment of defensive magic formulas that attenuate specific wavelengths of magical power around the caster. Or, as a more advanced concept, the construction of an “anti-line of sight barrier” that would camouflage Eclipse’s very “line of sight”…

Amid the hopeless battle situation, seeds of hope were indeed beginning to sprout and slowly take shape.

◆

“…It is a terrifying enemy. The Eclipse… You guys… well, are you really okay with continuing to fight it…?”

Julius’ voice, contrary to the calm analysis he had had up until now, was now exuding pure horror at the reality he had just witnessed, and human emotion as he worried about the boy in front of him.

Hearing those words, Raven suddenly looked away from the wilderness that he was always staring at, and weakly lowered his gaze to the ground. Julius did not miss the slight trembling of his shoulders.

“…Are you okay? …Well…I’m sure you’re not okay.”

A dry, self-deprecating smile plays on Raven’s lips.

“-To be honest, it’s not something you can get used to. No matter how many times I see that scene, no matter how many times I breathe that air, the feeling that my soul is being worn away never goes away. I sometimes wonder if my heart will break one day…”

“But even so, we have no choice but to fight. If we cannot win, we will have nothing left. Not even something to protect, not even a place to return to. Those who have lived in Vanguard have longed for this, ever since they were old enough to understand. They simply want the ordinary “life ” that should be found anywhere, like having a warm meal with their family, and laughing together over trivial things. But for us, that “ordinary” day seems so far away, so heavy. Even such a humble, earnest prayer… If we lose, everything will be devoured by the abyss, and it will be over forever…”Enjoycormoranttomorrowtomorrow

“—That is something I, as a member of Vanguard, will never forgive.”ratezoom out

Raven’s words were painfully filled with the despair that had been building up for Vanguard for three hundred years, and the feelings that still refused to be crushed, yet were all too fleeting.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell between them. Only the sound of the battlefield wind was audible.

Julius could only accept Raven’s words head-on. He understood all too well that superficial sympathy and encouragement were meaningless in the face of this harsh reality.

“…I’m sorry….That was such a stupid question…”

Julius was forced to realize once again just how powerless he was, and how the peace the royal capital had enjoyed up until now had been built upon so many sacrifices, and he could barely squeeze out a voice.

“Lord Raven… I will bring back to the royal capital everything I have seen and felt here. I will find the key to breaking through this situation and give it form to show you! Firstly, so that the land of Vanguard, and eventually many more people, can be freed from this hopeless curse and be able to live with their heads held high…!! So… so please…!”

Having said that, Julius became choked up. The words “the future” got stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out.

It may be that, in this place where so much bl00d has been shed and so many lives lost, he realized for the first time the weight of speaking about the future.

As if sensing Julius’s conflict, Raven slowly raised his head. His eyes now held a calm, yet somehow ephemeral light, different from the resignation he had shown earlier.

“…If my younger brother Victor heard that, I’m sure… yes, I’m sure he’d be happy. He… says a lot of things and seems to be cynical, but… more than anyone, he believes in that kind of future from the bottom of his heart. I hope that one day we’ll be able to truly laugh together.”

The two of them stood up once again and stepped out into the wilderness that led to the Middle Line.

The sky was high and distant and still, leaden and dark throughout.

But then, a gust of wind blew. It was a wind carrying a faint, yet unbroken, hope heading towards Middle Line Fort.