The man in the void, who calls himself the envoy of rebellion, watches the fight between Jona and Akuma with glee.
"Metamorphosis is a process that requires confidence. If a caterpillar refuses to get out of his cocoon and face his fear, he will never turn into a beautiful butterfly. The sword style was constructed based on that principle." He says.
"In addition to the secret form, Metamorphosis swordsmanship is only powerful if the user has the confidence and the courage will to fight. It's that simple.
It doesn't matter what enemies the user face, the user must have a never yielding confidence and determination.
However, it's in human nature to cower and back off in the sign of danger. There's nothing wrong with that, it's to live. That's why only geniuses are allowed to learn the Metamorphosis technique of a renowned sword family regardless of lineage or not."
Sitting on a chair, he sips a cup of coffee and materializes a table and a saucer beside him.
==================================
Jona charges in with his sword beside him. He slashes at my front body but the attack suddenly came from behind. I predicted that and jump aside.
Afterwards, I take that chance to throw another punch at his body, sending Jona back again.
"KAGH!" Jona spits out a little blood when he hits the ground.
He no longer has the upper hand and I am getting used to his momentum.
In the last struggle, Jona pulls up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo. The tattoo lights up in orange and veins erect all over his body.
He is using his blessing.
"Die!!" Jona shouts.
*BOOOM!*
He jumps high into the air with great power and dives towards me.
*BOOOOOOOOM!!*
...
A cloud of dust and dirt erupts into the air and quickly disperses, leaving behind holes of destruction.
Blood drips on the ground.
*pssst*
Streams of blood flow from my neck. Jona used Fatal Strike.
"Heh...hahaha...you..." Says Jona behind me.
I turn around and smirk as the blood stop in place on my neck, frozen in time.
!
Rapidly, all the blood around me seeps back into my body and the fatal wound on my throat fades into nothing.
Jona trembles as his jaw drops.
"W-What...kind of monster are you..." He asks.
"Should I tell a dying man?" I reply.
"Huh?..."
I point at his arm. Jona glances to his right to find his right arm on the floor, holding the sword.
!!!!
"A-A...a...ARGHHH!!!! Zhuri! Zhuri! Help!!!" Jona cries out. Blood sprays out from his amputated wound.
However, Zhuri just stood there and stare at Jona. I throw up my hand and many blue mana swords start to materialize.
"Zhuri! Heal! Use healing magic! Or something!"
Zhuri stays unfazed. "I can't use magic in the first place because there's no mana in the atmosphere." Zhuri mumbles.
The butterflies of metamorphosis can no longer be seen.
"T-Then use Mana overcharge or something and heal me!"
Jona turns around and sees the hundreds of blue blades in the sky.
"W-Wait..."
Jona's body turns back to normal and the tattoo on his arm disappears.
With Jona's body weakened and his blessing used, he is now as weak as the warrior bandit from before.
But, I won't send him off with a painless death.
"Ah...AH! NO NO NO! Zhuri! Please! Zhuri!!! I will do anything please help me!!!" Says Jona.
Frozen in fear, his legs gave in; Jona attempts to crawl away with his right arm when his legs don't move as told.
"Damn it! Move!!!"
Tears start flowing down Jona's cheeks. In addition, he is starting to lose consciousness from the blood loss.
"Wait! I apologise! I will sincerely apologise! I will do anything! Do you want to plot against Lupis? I can be useful! I am her most trusted servant!!" Says Jona.
I sigh. "You don't even realise you are being thrown away," I say.
"W-What...do you mean?"
When I put my hand down, about a thousand thin swords float around Jona.
"I-"
All swords dive in without warning, piercing a barrage of countless holes into Jona. Among the mess, his left arm flies out and 20 swords fly into his mid-air arm, cutting his fingers, palm, wrist, bone, and everything into many pieces.
...
Only mincemeat of blood and organs remains.
---------------------------
Skill activated: Devour
---------------------------
!
As if a tsunami crashed into me, the vigorous rush of energy dives into my body, forcing me to instantly break through to the fourth star.
"ARGH!!"
Instantaneous breakthroughs ejected a large shockwave that sends Zhuri and nearby trees flying.
The atmosphere mana fluctuates intermittently until I fully absorb the energy.
"Huff huff huff..." I collapse to the floor and stare at the stars.
Zhuri gets up and walks toward me. A mana blade appears at his neck.
"Wait! I...want to ask you something." Says Zhuri, his eyes wide open and full of awe. Yet, his body is trembling.
...?
The mana blade dissipates and Zhuri walks closer. Only then did I notice the exhilarating smile on his face.
He gets down and grovels at my feet. "Please take me in as a disciple!" He says.
...
"What," I say.
"I want to be your disciple!" He repeats.
"You...what do you want?" I ask.
"Nothing much, I just want to learn mana manipulation. In return, you can use me however you want, I don't even mind forming a soul-slavery connection! I have many connections and wealth, what do you need? I can give everything to you!" He says, the smile widening.
Wait...this demeanour of his...reminds me of a maniac.
"What's your...full name?" I ask.
"Zhuri Kaillost, sir." He replies.
!
My instinct was right, I remember now.
Zhuri Kaillost will be known as a crazy maniac that does anything to acquire magic knowledge. He once even sacrificed a city to consult an eldritch god.
I cover my face as I sigh.
YOU ARE READING
An Antagonist's Revenge(Remake)
FantasyAntagonists are fated to lose in the hands of the protagonist no matter what was done. Or at least that was the case until an antagonist regressed 10 years before his death after The Hero slayed him. Now, with the second chance given to the antagon...
