NOVEL WEB Chapter 136
Dominus takes a step closer.
The sight of him approaching me, bleeding and staggering, was nothing compared to our first encounter with swords crossed, but his determination, as fierce as an evil spirit’s, couldn’t be hidden by such clumsiness.
Is it truly worth possessing something so badly that you would invoke some unknown deity to this land just to get it?
Though I cannot speak well of someone who distorts the natural order of things for their own desires, causing pain and suffering to others without any remorse, there is a similarity between his relentless pursuit and my own unyielding resolve to save Asulin, even if it meant facing stronger opponents.
“No matter who you are, I won’t allow anyone to hinder what I seek to achieve!”
This man, who cares not for the chaos he causes nor the suffering he inflicts on others in his mad pursuit, is not someone whose path I share. To have come this far only to save someone precious from being used by him would be a greater insult than I could bear.
“I don’t care what you’re trying to accomplish!”
Anger surged within me at the thought, and I exploded it towards Dominus as he approached me, barely managing his steps. My words cut through his intended provocation, which had been aimed at breaking my composure.
Even though he forced his body to move, his aura, once a mere will, now flared up like a heat haze around him. This aura… how could such intense malice emanate from one who saw others merely as obstacles to be eliminated without a trace of emotion?
In Blood Haven, the layers of malice I had accumulated over time paled in comparison to the sharp, piercing energy that surged through his body, almost as if it were a child’s play in comparison.
Among those who can easily refine their mana into formidable power, there are those who can inflict physical harm or death with sheer willpower alone.
“Your filthy mouth taints even my ears!”
Dominus’ appearance, spewing raw anger and malice directly at me, truly made it seem so.
Even if a normal person, or perhaps a well-trained one, might struggle to face the malice he radiates, his method of directly unleashing it, considering my less-than-stellar condition, didn’t work from the start.
Though I had been tormented by his blade more than once, I had never allowed my body and mind to become so feeble that they would succumb to the will of another.
“Hmph!!”
With a single derisive laugh, I effortlessly brushed aside his intangible malice. His distorted face showed confusion, visible even from afar.
“Ugh!!”
Watching Dominus, panic-stricken and barely suppressing his breath, it seemed he believed his mere malice could overwhelm me. Perhaps he still harbored the remnants of my past weakness, when he dragged me to the Duke’s estate, treating me harshly until I became the tool he desired.
Though I felt repulsed, I also knew that wasting unnecessary strength on this misunderstanding was a fact, and I tucked away the frustration.
“You haven’t even properly spoken to me yet, and already you call it dirty? If I continue, you might have to cut off your ears. Is that okay?”
I mocked him, sneering at the man whose face contorted as he struggled to squeeze out malice.
There was a reaction.
“Y-You!!”
He lunged at me, eyes blazing with fury, his voice a mixture of a scream and a groan, barely distinguishable.
Just seeing this, his calm had shattered completely.
Even without forcing him to expend his strength, he was already at the point of self-destruction.
I could charge at him, severing the tendons in both his legs, then restrain him and drag him to the central islands for lawful punishment under Imperial law.
But the emotions I expended while provoking him were not satisfied by the satisfaction of seeing him lose his composure to my provocations.
“Let me tell you. A man who finds pleasure in taking lives and dignity without a second thought isn’t someone I’d let run rampant, no matter how thick-skinned you think you are…”
“What do you know?!”
“Don’t cut me off so cleanly with ‘know’ or ‘don’t know.’ I don’t want to hear you boasting about what you know when you treat people like objects according to your whims.”
With a tongue sharper than any blade, I continued to provoke him.
I thought each word would relieve the anger building inside me, but…
“K…Kuhahahaha…”
Even as he lost his composure and erupted in rage, he staggered towards me, his twisted smile adding to my own loss of composure.
“…”
I stopped my taunts and provocations. Though I had prepared my breathing, it grew shallow, my gaze narrowing as I awaited his approach.
If he came any closer, everything would be over.
My body, burning with impatience, risked failure if I moved rashly, given his cautious nature. And standing idle would mean I couldn’t predict what he might do in the brief moment, leaving no room for relaxation.
But just two steps closer…
Facing him head-on, I felt as if I had spent a lifetime’s patience in this moment, willing myself to remain calm despite the urgency.
Yet, as if reading my unconventional strategy, he spoke.
“Do you know why I indulged in your jesting and clowning?”
Stopping just short of a step, his voice, no longer strained or weary, carried the arrogance I often heard from him.
His change in tone startled me, focusing all my attention on him.
Was all my effort, pushing through every variable to reach this point, now futile?
“I wanted to show the feeling of being hunted again after cornering prey.”
As he twisted his face into a strange grimace before it distorted, mocking me, his body bore no trace of the wounds I had inflicted.
The hole in his right shoulder where I had struck.
The cuts across his arms, drenched in blood.
All the scars from countless clashes, etched deeply.
Though his clothes still bore marks, the injuries beneath them were gone, leaving no trace.
Even accounting for his regained composure, it seemed too easy to inflict those wounds.
“Curious? Why am I so intact?”
Watching him mock me with such confidence, I wondered if he had planned this from the beginning.
“Soon, he’ll arrive. The one you seek. And because he favors me, he bestowed a miracle.”
Regardless of whether he knew my inner turmoil, Dominus continued, his mocking expression unchanged.
“Having achieved my goal, I live for this moment. Would a body destined for a god need such scars? He saw my worth, my desire, and granted my wish. It’s natural to want the best!”
His madness, bursting forth as he charged at me, mirrored my own.
Despite my reluctance to admit it, his relentless pursuit of his goal, regardless of consequence, resembled mine.
Though we shared the same traits, let’s set aside the trivialities for now.
What appeared to be a mere shell, a monstrous form barely human, now revealed itself.
“It’s almost here! My wish! The divine manifestation that will fulfill it!”
Snap!
Supported by an inexplicable force, he recovered his body, driven by the expectation of his desire, his laughter echoing as he attacked.
“…You were once human.”
“What nonsense is this?”
“I’ve always seen you as a monster, devoid of any emotion, living solely for a purpose that meant nothing but climbing higher.”
“…”
“But seeing you, driven by madness to achieve what you desire, made me realize you’re a human swayed by emotions.”
“To speak such blasphemy to a body destined to become a vessel for a noble god?”
“Even if gods manifest, and even if they reside in a human body, the idea of achieving something so absurd doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Y-!!”
“The ignorance of hoping for the impossible, or simply turning a blind eye, shouldn’t define someone who merely cowers in fear as being swayed by emotions.”
“…”
For the first time, I saw Dominus not as a monster, but as a human, like myself, with flesh and blood.
Through my eyes, having reclaimed a semblance of humanity after being denied life and name, I realized even this cold-blooded individual, who cared not for others’ dignity, possessed a burning desire to achieve something at the cost of their own self.
While such a transformation might be seen positively in a pulp novel, the realization of how much my life had been controlled by such a man made me feel only more bitter.
“Time to part ways, Dominus.”
As I uttered these words, I prepared for our final confrontation.
I wished he wouldn’t exist as an obstacle in my life anymore, and also hoped he wouldn’t be an obstacle in this world.
Each battle against him, rather than weakening me, fueled my resolve, giving me strength.
This strength, bound to my will, transformed into a blade, becoming a light.
It was like dawn breaking through a twisted temple, dark and ominous.
“Parting ways is something you must do!”
And this light, ignoring my words, flew like a moth towards Dominus.
Swoosh!
It pierced his body like lightning.
“!!”
So intensely it did, he fell without even a cry.
This last appearance of the man who invoked gods and caused strange phenomena seemed almost amateurish and hollow.
“…”
Until his body stood up, devoid of any expression, I truly believed this was the case.