Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 294

Thud!

James’s one arm, unable to withstand its own power, was partially crushed.

And his remaining arm was now useless. He was completely incapacitated.

Keinzel, with his blade pointed at James’s neck, said,

“I won’t take your life. Our role ends with liberating the Haeorum Tribe anyway.”

However, James’s fighting spirit hadn’t diminished. To him, Orcs were mere livestock.

Yet, not only had he been utterly defeated, but he was now reduced to begging for his life.

“Damn it! You’re spouting nonsense just because you have a mouth! I haven’t lost yet! I’ll tear your flesh to shreds and devour you!”

From James’s enraged body, an aura like steam erupted.

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

Before he knew it, his eyes were bloodshot red, with almost no white visible.

The extreme rage had caused all the blood vessels to burst.

Keinzel felt a chill.

‘That’s a complete monster!’

The Undead harbor absolute hostility towards living beings. Even a berserk monster will open its mouth to bite its opponent, even when severely injured.

James Van Jackson’s current appearance was disturbingly similar to such a monster.

The transformation didn’t end there.

Crack-

James’s body twitched, and scales began to sprout from his skin.

Then, his already bulging muscles swelled as if they were about to explode.

“GRRRRRRRR!”

The sound coming from his mouth had turned into a monstrous roar.

‘Damn it, what the hell is that?’

A human turning into a monster. He had never heard of such a thing before.

As if answering his unspoken question, Bishop spoke up.

— That reaction…….

‘What is it, Bishop? Do you have any idea?’

— ……It looks like atavism [reversion to ancestral traits]. Information imprinted in the genes is being expressed for some reason.

Keinzel swallowed dryly.

Many Sword Masters utilize the abilities of their ancestors sleeping in their bloodline.

Loengreen’s Light Wings and Julius Conrad’s Flame Emperor were also obtained in the same way.

Usually, it is called ‘Unique Skill.’

However, what is passed down through atavism is only the ability itself.

The appearance does not change.

‘But that’s actually happening?’

Moreover, that wasn’t the only strange thing. The skin of the monster that used to be James looked like a troll’s. And a minotaur’s horn was sprouting from his forehead.

These were very familiar features to Keinzel, who had worked as a cowboy in Argon for a while.

However, when several were combined, it was like looking at a chimera [a creature made of mixed animal parts] created by the alchemist of life, Merlin.

— Sorry, partner. That’s not a chimera. Especially those alchemists of life, they think of chimeras as artistic sculptures. They don’t create such a grotesque body that looks like leftover food boiled together.

Keinzel recalled the appearances of Tartarus and Erebus and replied,

‘That’s a work of art? What’s the difference between that and this?’

— It’s different! To put it in a way that’s easy for the partner to understand, it’s like the difference between Emmental cheese and Ricotta cheese.

‘I think I know what you mean. But it’s still disgusting.’

Before he knew it, James’s body had become so monstrous that it was impossible to find any trace of his human self.

As if it were natural, all the injuries he had sustained had disappeared.

‘Is that the troll’s regeneration at work? That means he also has the minotaur’s brute strength.’

A Sword Master’s body imbued with the abilities of a monster.

It was a horrifying hybrid that sent shivers down his spine.

Fortunately, the lost aura was rampaging wildly.

He couldn’t use the Aura Blade. It was not something a monster moving only by instinct could handle.

Suddenly, a tentacle shot out from Keinzel’s shoulder.

There was a round eyeball at the end of it, and it seemed to be intrigued by James’s transformed body.

— If possible, could you leave the corpse intact? If we investigate it, we might be able to find out the cause of the transformation.

‘Alright. I didn’t intend to kill him, but I can’t let him run rampant as such a monster.’

James began to glare at Keinzel with eyes that had turned as red as blood.

Then, he lunged like a crossbow bolt fired from a ballista [a large, ancient crossbow].

A charge so powerful that his entire body would be torn to shreds if he even grazed him!

The moment he kicked off the ground, the floor burst open, and a shockwave spread out. It was an unbelievable speed.

It seemed that the rampaging aura and the monster’s transformed body were creating some kind of synergy.

The speed was so great that even with Fallen Star, which detected where the attack was coming from, he couldn’t avoid it.

Crackle-!

James’s fist, transformed into a minotaur’s hoof, slammed into Keinzel’s abdomen.

It was such a powerful attack that he instinctively felt death.

If he hadn’t had the experience he gained in the Tower of Trials, he wouldn’t have been able to react properly.

Alio Olio.

Two of the steel walls surrounding Keinzel’s body were shattered by the previous blow.

It wasn’t just the speed that had increased as he transformed into a monster.

The brute force spewing out based on the overflowing aura was destroying his own body.

It was hard to believe that it was residing in a human body.

Even though he had defended properly, he felt a pain as if his internal organs were twisted.

If he hadn’t blocked it, he would have turned into a bloody mess.

‘Damn it, Double Booster!’

In an instant, the aura crammed into both legs and waist pushed Keinzel’s reaction speed to the limit.

With the addition of Fallen Star, he was barely able to respond to James’s movements.

The shockwave that bounced off Alio Olio shattered the canyon that Keinzel was facing.

The soldiers there were eventually buried in the dirt along with the ballista.

“Uwaaaagh!”

“S, save me! M, my leg is broken!”

“Damn it, what the hell is going on! Where did Grand Duke James go, and what is that monster!?”

Keinzel bit his lip. To think he would end up killing his own men like this.

What was in front of him was not James. It was just a monster that used to be James Van Jackson.

Whoo-oong!

As the monster swung its hooves, a tremendous wind pressure swept through the canyon, blowing away the dust.

Instead of blocking the monster’s attack, Keinzel pulled the pasta strings he had previously embedded in the cliff.

Using that elasticity, he was able to distance himself from the opponent at an incredible speed.

“GRRYYYYYY-!”

With an unintelligible roar, the monster charged at Keinzel.

Keinzel imbued Fragarach, which he had retrieved, with the desire to defeat his opponent. Then, with a brilliant glow, the Sword of Victory was activated.

With a thud, seven Fragarachs pierced the monster’s body.

The monster’s face contorted in terrible pain, and it began to emit light.

Its body twisted, and its wildly swinging hooves slammed into the ground. Each time, a cloud of dust rose as if an earthquake had occurred.

‘Troll’s regeneration, minotaur’s brute strength, and that is…….’

Electricity was rising from the monster’s body with a crackling sound. It seemed that it also possessed the characteristics of a kraken [a legendary sea monster].

However, the monster’s attack method was simply to charge mindlessly at its opponent.

No matter how strong it was, he could cope with it once he got used to it.

— If that guy was still maintaining his human reason, it would be terrifying just to imagine.

Keinzel nodded in agreement, dodging the monster’s charging hooves by a hair’s breadth.

‘This is completely like bullfighting.’

In the Tuscan Confederation, they enjoy the confrontation between a starved, enraged bull and a human. What they use then are red cloths and harpoons. The bullfighter provokes the bull by waving the cloth, then stabs it in the heart to kill it.

What Keinzel was doing now was almost the same thing.

He dodged the opponent’s charge and stabbed Fragarach into its body. Judging by the fact that it wasn’t suffering fatal wounds, it wasn’t possessed by a demon.

‘The exact details will come out if we investigate. For now, focus on this battle!’

The most difficult thing about dealing with the monster was its tremendous regenerative power.

The synergy was enormous as the aura that activated the body was added to the monster’s abilities.

‘Wait a minute.’

A strange light flashed in Keinzel’s eyes. After using up all of Dracula’s blood, he remembered a certain skill he had forgotten.

Using Blood Drain, he could absorb aura by injuring the opponent.

Moreover, the opponent was a Sword Master. He must have a lot of aura.

‘Alright. Now, I’ll bet everything on the next strike!’

Keinzel took a stance and waited for the monster to charge again.

“GRRRR-!”

With a short roar, the monster, transformed into a 3m giant, lunged. Keinzel did not miss that short gap.

“Eat this! Fish and Chips!”

The moment Fragarach pierced the opponent, he activated Onion Swordsmanship.

A total of fourteen swords began to slash the monster’s body at an incredible speed.

[Blood Drain(★★★) has been activated.]

[Absorbed the opponent’s blood, permanently increasing aura by 3,112.]

…….

….

[Acquired a tremendous amount of aura.]

[Blood Drain(★★★★) proficiency has increased.]

‘Ooh?!’

Keinzel’s eyes widened. The aura that could be obtained with 3-star Blood Drain was limited to 30 at a time. But thanks to Fish and Chips, which allowed for a tremendous barrage, he quickly acquired a large amount of aura.

No matter how much of a monster it was, the amount of blood it had in its body was limited.

It is said that one usually dies if they lose about 30% of their blood.

‘Roughly calculating based on the efficiency of 3-star Blood Drain, the total amount of aura that guy has is over 100,000? Is he completely a monster?’

Keinzel clicked his tongue in disappointment.

If it was 10-star Blood Drain, which could completely absorb blood, he would have gained 10 times more without waste.

However, that was a realm that could not be reached without turning into a vampire.

‘Anyway, this brings the total amount of aura to over 30,000. Not yet. Still not enough.’

The more aura, the better.

Not only does it increase the time you can maintain your skills, but it also allows you to do more.

The monster, having lost 30% of its blood and aura, eventually lost its regenerative ability. And it lost consciousness due to excessive bleeding and fell backward.

Seeing that, Keinzel unknowingly muttered.

“I had a good meal for the first time in a while.”

* * *

Although a few wyvern riders were injured, most of them were able to reach the Haeorum Tribe safely.

They must be feeding their handmade cheese to their fellow tribesmen by now. He wanted to see them rejoicing at being free from the brand, but there was something he had to do before that.

At that moment, Gawain, who had smashed all the ballistae in the infiltration route, approached Keinzel.

“Oh, junior. You safely defeated the enemy’s boss……. Ugh, what the hell is that monster!?”

Gawain’s face turned white.

What was there was a grotesque monster that was neither a monster nor a human.

Keinzel shrugged his shoulders and replied,

“It certainly looks a bit disgusting.”

“You don’t seem to mind at all?”

“Thanks to the alchemist of life, Merlin, I’ve fought against a wide variety of chimeras. You’ll get used to it soon, too.”

“No thanks.”

Keinzel briefly explained the monster’s identity to Gawain.

“……Hmm. So this is James Van Jackson, the lord of Hampshire and one of the grand dukes of the Argon Union?”

“Yes. He suddenly turned into a monster while fighting.”

“Hmm……. A human becoming a monster. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Isn’t it a type of chimera?”

“That’s not what they said. They’re investigating it now, so the results will be out soon.”

The monster’s body was covered in a lot of slimy stuff.

It was part of Bishop, the slime homunculus [an artificially created being] parasitizing Keinzel.

If something alchemical was involved, he said he could find out quickly.

To Gawain, who asked what that was, he made up that it was a type of magic tool.

The investigation of the monster’s corpse continued for over an hour. Just as Gawain was getting bored and yawning, Bishop’s voice was heard.

— Partner……. Listen carefully from now on. It seems that something more terrible than expected is happening in the Argon Union.

Keinzel’s eyes widened. It seemed that Bishop had figured out the monster’s identity.