The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 94

The Earl’s Scion is a Genius – Chapter 94 (94/200)

Chapter 12: Subsumption: The Devoured Scion

The Aurabullet Revolver, a gift from Tom for defeating Greed in Liang.

This pistol, treated as top secret even within the Pilgrim Order, is a cheat item capable of turning around even the most dire situations with a single shot.

I don’t know the exact mechanism behind creating bullets filled with aura, but upon impact, they unleash destructive power potent enough to take down almost any opponent on the Arnia continent.

Therefore, I aimed at the core location that the Celestial Demon indicated and fired the Aurabullet, sinking it into the Crystal Golem.

[No way!!]

Merlin, utterly shocked by the destruction of the Crystal Golem he had so firmly relied upon, clutched his head and writhed.

We had overcome a major hurdle, but it wasn’t time to lower our guard.

Behind me, the golems I had summoned were on the verge of being destroyed, and the vines summoned with Bind were also nearing their end.

Before the situation deteriorated further, my victory depended on eliminating Merlin, the source of this entire disaster.

To end this prolonged battle, I decided to finish him off with the Aurabullet.

The revolver’s magazine held a total of six bullets.

Having just used one, five remained.

“It’s over, Merlin.”

I believed I had won until the moment the gun fired.

That was until a whirlwind suddenly appeared, engulfing Merlin and lifting him into the air.

Spit!

The precious Aurabullet grazed Merlin’s afterimage.

Aurabullet 4/6

Four bullets remaining.

Merlin’s face, now high in the sky, contorted.

[You use strange weapons.]

I realized something from that shot.

No matter how powerful the Aurabullet is, it’s useless if it doesn’t connect.

And Merlin possessed enough skill to evade my attacks.

[Flash Step]

He rode the power of the wind and ascended further into the sky.

Now it was an aerial battle.

We faced each other in the air, maintaining a safe distance.

[Resistance is meaningless. Surrender now. And that weapon in your hand seems too valuable for you, so I’ll confiscate it.]

“Only crap comes out of your mouth.”

[If you refuse a treat and insist on punishment, so be it.]

Despite his words, Merlin didn’t rush in recklessly.

Perhaps stung by the previous near-miss, he was extremely wary of the Aurabullet.

Instead, he conjured spears made of stone and unleashed an indiscriminate bombardment.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

I deflected, shattered, and cut down all the stones pouring down like rain using the Celestial Demon Swordsmanship.

The opponent gritted his teeth and continued to rain down stones.

The battle in the sky was evenly matched.

On the other hand, the battle on the ground was not.

The golems I summoned were destroyed, and even the tree roots were completely devoured.

Merlin’s stones and trees, having won the battle on the ground, now targeted me in the sky and began their assault.

Golems adopted a shot put stance and hurled large rocks and logs at me floating in the sky, and tree roots grew taller and taller, constantly attempting to ensnare my body.

[Tenacious Vitality Activated]

I was already struggling to deal with the stone spears Merlin was summoning, and now I had to defend against the attacks coming from below, making it a living hell.

It was fortunate that I had consumed acorns and possessed a health recovery skill; otherwise, I would have made a fatal mistake long ago.

But enduring was only a temporary solution.

If this situation persisted, I would eventually be overwhelmed.

This wouldn’t do.

What could I do? That’s when…

The gourd hanging from my waist shook violently.

“!!!”

Come to think of it, I wasn’t the only one who entered the sanctuary.

I had forgotten in my confusion, but the young dragon Coco had accompanied me.

Coco must have been watching today’s battle intently from inside the subspace gourd.

Since Coco was sending signals from inside the gourd, a good idea sprang to mind.

“Coco! When I give the signal, jump out of the gourd and do to that guy what you usually want to do to Campbell. Can you do it?”

The gourd tilted briefly from side to side.

It was a sign of affirmation.

The discussion with Coco was concluded.

Now, all that was left was to play my final card.

Ignoring defense, I aimed for one decisive blow.

[Haste] + [Flash Step]

Combining all the wind techniques at my disposal, I shot towards him at maximum speed.

The clouds parted to the left and right along the path I traversed.

“Kuhahahaha!! You’re finally making a reckless move!”

Every time Merlin’s attack struck my body, blood splattered, and intense pain surged through me.

A stone spear pierced my shoulder, a tree root from below fractured my ankle, and a stone fragment thrown by a golem pierced my side.

It was a strategy that sacrificed defense, so even while sustaining damage, I focused solely on closing the distance with him.

-Hey, kid! One step to the left, two steps to the right, then straight ahead!

Even in this urgent moment, I chose the most efficient path according to the Celestial Demon Navigation, and finally succeeded in arriving in front of Merlin.

The distance between him and me was only 10 meters.

Literally right in front of him.

My condition was utterly battered.

My whole body was covered in dirt, my clothes were soaked in blood and dyed red, and one ankle was twisted at an unnatural angle.

Blood was still gushing from my side.

[Hehehe… I’ll commend you for your fighting spirit. But this is the end. Give up your struggles and become one with me.]

Merlin spread his arms wide to the left and right.

Then, small pebbles floating in the air began to gather around his hands.

The pebbles, sticking together to form a certain shape, soon became the hands of a giant.

I knew what he was trying to do.

He intended to crush me to death by clapping those huge palms together.

[Die.]

Dark shadows loomed.

Even at this moment, he didn’t let his guard down and seemed wary of the Aurabullet.

The reason he attempted such a grand attack was to obscure my vision with the giant’s wide hands, preventing accurate aiming.

It was impossible to finish him off with a gun in such a crouched state.

Since I had created this opportunity with such difficulty, I decided to induce his carelessness and create a guaranteed opening.

First, I gripped the Celestial Demon Sword in reverse and threw it with all my might.

Whoosh!!!

Merlin seemed not to have expected that I would abandon my main weapon.

He paused for a moment, then tilted his head slightly to avoid the projectile.

[A swordsman throwing his sword. You must be desperate.]

“Really? Then how about this?”

Next, I threw the revolver.

The weapon that Merlin had been so wary of, I threw it, aiming at Merlin’s chest.

[Uh… uh?]

Merlin, who had been constantly worried about the weapon that had been bothering him since the beginning of the battle, panicked the most since the battle began as the weapon approached him.

Merlin probably couldn’t understand my actions right now.

It was like handing over the only weapon that could reverse this situation to the enemy.

On the one hand, he would be greedy for the revolver that had destroyed the powerful Crystal Golem with a single shot.

In fact, he had boasted that he would kill me and take that weapon.

What kind of reaction would Merlin show?

The result was obvious, but I watched him with calm eyes.

[Euhahahahaha!!]

As expected, he couldn’t overcome his greed.

He let out a hollow laugh, dropped all the stones gathered in his hands to the ground, and hurriedly caught the flying pistol with both hands.

[You fool. Giving me the strongest weapon you had. Are you crazy?]

“You’re the fool.”

As I said repeatedly, the distance between him and me was now within 10 meters.

Merlin’s eyes were bloodshot with the desire to possess the Aurabullet, and he had released the giant’s hands.

Even with severe injuries, I could knock down an unarmed enemy at this distance.

It had been difficult to approach, but his physical abilities were no different from those of an ordinary old man.

Merlin had momentarily forgotten that the battle that had been going on was a tug-of-war between me constantly trying to close the distance and him trying to stop me.

And I, who had been waiting for this moment, did not miss the brief opening he had given me.

[Haste] + [Flash Step]

I poured the maximum amount of strength into my injured ankle and rushed towards him.

Gripping my fist tightly, intending to blow away all his teeth.

Merlin, seeing me approaching, smirked and grabbed the handle of the pistol he had just picked up, turning the muzzle towards me.

[I was wondering about its power, and here’s a perfect test subject. I’ll finish you off with the weapon you gave me.]

He didn’t doubt it at all.

It was absurd to think that he couldn’t hit the target in front of him with the opponent approaching right in front of him.

He was in a completely unguarded state.

It was exactly what I intended.

“Now!!”

“Kkyu kkyu!”

At the signal, Coco, who was in the subspace gourd, jumped out and pounced on Merlin.

[What?]

Merlin’s pupils dilated as a dark baby dragon appeared between us.

He couldn’t have imagined this development.

He hurriedly tried to pull the trigger, but it was too late.

Coco was already right in front of him.

“Kkyuuuuuuuu!!!!”

Thwack!!

Bang!!!

Coco’s body slam hit Merlin’s lower jaw at the same time as an eardrum-splitting gunshot rang out.

A burning heat flared up on my cheek, creating a faint blood line.

If I’m not lying, if the Aurabullet had penetrated just 1cm inward, the entire cheekbone would have been shattered.

However, as Coco’s headbutt succeeded, Merlin’s body shook, and naturally, the muzzle went up, and the bullet that should have been embedded in his heart grazed the side of his face.

“That was close.”

High risk, high return, they say.

As the gamble succeeded, what I saw right in front of me was Merlin’s torso, exposed defenselessly.

The road to get here was long, but I somehow made it.

It was finally time to punish him.

“Let’s start with a punch.”

[How dare you!]

Merlin hurriedly tried to fire the pistol again, but it was impossible.

My fist was much faster.

Gripping my fist tightly, I cleanly blew away his right jaw.

Powwww!!!!

A satisfying impact sound.

I deliberately excluded mana and struck with a pure fist.

Merlin, who was hit squarely with an uppercut, lost his focus, dropped the pistol from his hand, and fell from the sky.

Bang!

He fell to the ground, creating a thick cloud of dust, and tried to resist somehow while staggering.

[This can’t be… Keheok!]

Thwack! Thwack! Pow! Powww!!

I relentlessly pounded my fists down.

Even if he tried to use Druid skills, he couldn’t concentrate while being beaten in the face.

As even that became impossible, the golems, stone spears, and tree roots that Merlin had summoned soon lost their will and returned to nature.

“On behalf of the people who have been sacrificed to you… No, let’s just beat you up because you’re annoying.”

I was going to give a grand cause, but I was too lazy, so I just beat him up like dust on a rainy day.

I really put my heart into beating him for about ten minutes.

Merlin, who had received damage beyond his limit, was on the verge of death.

Merlin, coughing and spitting out blood, muttered his last words, which were as follows.

[Humans and elves alone are not enough… This world, ruled by a false reason, might be better off destroyed…]

He was frighteningly persistent.

It was because of such a strong will that he was able to devour so many elves and humans, including Elder Richard.

I think it’s amazing, but I, who am trying to save the Arnia continent and escape Zion Like, cannot agree with his intentions.

I picked up the Celestial Demon Sword I had thrown a little while ago and raised it high.

“May you be born as you wish in the next life.”

Stab!!

The Celestial Demon Sword pierced Merlin’s body and was embedded in the floor.

The light in Merlin’s eyes, pierced by the sword, gradually faded, and soon he let out his last breath and stopped breathing.

It was the end of a long fight.

“Haa, that was difficult.”

I didn’t know it would be this fierce.

It wouldn’t have been difficult if I had only dealt with Elder Richard, but things got bigger because I had to deal with Merlin’s avatar hidden inside.

The summit of the mountain, which corresponds to the sanctuary, has been devastated, so they must be pacing around anxiously at the bottom.

Before I tell my party what happened, there was something I had to do.

“It’s damn hard to get one golden branch.”

I took out the golden branch that Merlin was holding tightly in his hand even as he died.

The branch, which was emitting a brilliant golden light, began to be absorbed into my body with tremendous force as soon as it touched my hand, as if it had finally met its proper owner.

It was already the third branch out of the seven golden branches.