The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 74

The Earl’s Scion is a Genius – Chapter 74 (74/200)

Chapter 10: Incubation: The Aimed Scion

The Seven Apostles of Twilight.

Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, Greed, Envy.

Following Envy, I ended Greed with my own hands. The light slowly faded from Greed’s eyes as the sword remained embedded in his heart.

“Heh heh heh… Cough!”

Even on the verge of death, Greed did not lose the smile on his face.

“What’s so funny?”

“To be honest, your capabilities were beyond my expectations. It’s surprising that you’re the Druid the main branch was looking for, and even more so that you overcame the Illusion Eye.”

After coughing for a moment, Greed took a breath and continued.

“But it’s too late. The ancient curse is already complete. Look over there.”

Greed pointed to an unidentifiable egg. It pulsed powerfully, as if it would crack at any moment.

“We just need to deal with that egg after you die.”

“No, that thing has already awakened. It was watching everything from inside the egg. Kua-ha-ha-ha!!!”

As he burst into laughter, a horizontal line appeared on the surface of the monster egg, splitting it vertically and revealing crimson eyes.

The eerie pupils etched on the eggshell stared at me and Greed.

Spot!!

Tentacles extending from the center of the egg reached out to everyone in the City Hall’s underground.

Sion and Campbell stepped forward to protect Sasha and the slaves, and I also cut off the tentacles with the Demonic Heavenly Sword.

Meanwhile, the tentacles tightly wrapped around Greed’s pierced body like a mummy, dragging him towards the main body, the egg.

Greed, bleeding from his mouth, chuckled at me until the very end.

“I was born cursed. So, I will impartially bestow curses upon all humans in the world. That is my destiny and mission.”

Crack!

The monster egg developed a mouth in addition to its eyes.

Toothed jaws clashed as they welcomed the approaching Greed.

“The sacrificial rite has begun. Try to stop it if you can.”

With those last words, Greed was devoured whole by the monster egg, from head to toe.

Crunch! Munch!

Greed himself became nourishment to complete the ancient curse.

It was the end of a man consumed by the desire to make everyone as miserable as he was.

Starting with Greed, the slaves bound by the magic circle began to be dragged towards the egg one by one.

I can’t let them be eaten.

I put strength into my thighs and kicked off the ground.

[Wind Control]

[Swift Steps Activated]

The emerald mana sword soaring on the Demonic Heavenly Sword mercilessly severed the tentacles.

The monster egg, annoyed by me interfering with the absorption of sacrifices, concentrated its attacks, but it couldn’t keep up with my swordsmanship, which had evolved by crossing the lines of death.

Every time a fluid strike poured down like a storm and a sharp light flashed, severed tentacles fell to the floor in heaps, writhing.

“Sion! Campbell!”

We understood each other without needing to speak.

Sion and Campbell jumped into the magic circle, picked up the slaves whose connections to the tentacles had been severed, and moved them outside.

Most of them were unconscious.

And at that moment,

Thud!

Tom finally broke through the tentacle sphere, appearing with a curse.

“Damn it!!! To be caught by such a trivial trick!”

Tom had been trapped, unable to do much since the start of the battle due to Greed’s scheme.

He was carrying a massive sniper cannon, much larger than his own body, under his arm, probably using that enormous ancient artifact to break free from the seal.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course. And we took care of Greed.”

“You caught him?”

Tom was so surprised to hear that we had captured a high-ranking member of Twilight that he stood there dumbfounded, unable to react.

“Watch out!”

I cut off a tentacle aiming for the gap with the Demonic Heavenly Sword. Only then did Tom come to his senses and look around.

“So, only that unidentified egg remains?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll handle that one.”

I felt a sense of anticipation as Tom stepped forward.

As a Seven Star and a participant in the final battle 20 years ago, what level would his true power be?

Karina, whom I met in the North, was also incredible, so Tom must be the same.

More than anything, I was curious about what that long cannon Tom was holding was for, and if it was the modern weapon I suspected, how powerful it would be.

“Damn it. I had a hard time preheating the magic engineering cannon inside the tentacle prison. Now, I’ll sweep it all away.”

As soon as he finished speaking, supports popped out from the left and right of the sniper cannon, piercing deeply into the ground.

Tom, holding the cannon, leaned back as far as he could.

The reason for taking such a unique posture was probably to withstand the recoil.

Tom, who had firmly planted his spiked shoes into the stone floor, pulled the trigger.

Weeeeee!!!

Then, the barrel began to spin rapidly, and dazzling mana began to fill it from the inside. Sensing the ominousness, the monster egg directed all its tentacles towards Tom.

“Not a chance!”

The Demonic Heavenly Sword drew a splendid trajectory, blocking the tentacles heading towards Tom.

Finally, the rotation of the barrel stopped.

A moment of silence.

Tom said quietly.

“Fire.”

Tu-qua-qua-qua-quack!!!!

Since Tom called it a magic engineering cannon, I thought the weapon he was holding was a single-shot cannon.

But that was a misconception.

The number of magic bullets it spewed out per second with its relentless rate of fire was enough to put any machine gun to shame.

The explosive power of the magic bullets fired with an absurd rate of fire was also tremendous.

Each time one exploded, the tentacles turned to dust with a deafening roar.

As soon as I saw the terrifying power of the magic engineering cannon, I immediately understood what style of fighter Tom was.

He was a ranged dealer who needed time but could project powerful destructive force over a wide area if the conditions and environment were right.

“Amazing.”

A storm had passed.

The smoke rising from the barrel implied how intense the firing had been.

The City Hall’s underground was utterly devastated.

It was filled with stone and sand debris, and the severed tentacles writhed for a while before stopping.

The monster egg, which had been wriggling with hundreds of tentacles, had lost all its limbs.

Only the egg remained alone.

However, I was rather puzzled that the monster egg had withstood the relentless shelling from before.

Tom seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.

“It withstood that?”

“The shell is made of a special material.”

It had looked quite sturdy from the first time I saw it.

With a shell like that, it would probably take at least a mana sword or even an aura blade to cut through it.

But there was no need to take out the aura blade.

The egg had begun to crack on its own.

Crack! Crack-crack-crack!

The egg, having failed to absorb sacrifices, had finally decided to see the world sooner than planned and began to break its shell.

A hole appeared on the surface of the monster egg, and a slimy foot emerged from the gap, touching the ground, and soon it completely broke free from the egg, revealing its true form.

“Ugly.”

It was a bizarre creature.

Compared to the size of the egg, the creature that was born was small.

It was about 2 meters tall, walked on two legs, and had limbs that resembled humans at first glance.

However, the tips of its fingers were as sharp as blades, its slippery, black-gray skin seemed difficult to strike, and resilient muscles were densely packed all over its body.

Above all, its head was surrounded by layers of hard shell, shaped like corn ready for harvest.

All the survivors in the room, including me, watched the creature. It looked around before fixing its gaze on Tom and me.

[Ob…struc…tor…]

Its stuttering appearance suggested that it was not very intelligent. It had awakened early and had not sacrificed enough offerings. It was worth it to raid the City Hall and cause a ruckus.

But now the raid begins. Greed had put all his efforts into awakening that monster, so there must be a reason. It was time to find out through battle.

“Tom, can you prepare the shelling from before again?”

“I can refire as soon as the barrel cools down.”

“Please do.”

“Alright.”

In the meantime, I decided to gather the creature’s combat data.

Sion and Campbell, no longer needing to protect the survivors since the tentacles had disappeared, stood to my left and right, assisting me.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“Understood, Vice-Commander.”

“Yes, sir.”

Maintaining a triangle formation, we slowly narrowed the encirclement. The monster must have felt our killing intent, but it showed no particular reaction. It simply stood there blankly, looking around before spreading its arms.

I waited, wondering what it was doing, and then the shell surrounding its head split into several strands all at once. Surprisingly, an eagle’s head was hidden inside the shell, and a deafening roar erupted from its beak, which was wide open.

“Kuaaaaaa!!!”

A powerful sonic wave swept through the surroundings.

The moment I was hit directly, all the strength drained from my body.

[Physical Ability Reduced by 80%]

[Magical Ability Reduced by 80%]

[Fear, Confusion, Blindness, Bleeding Applied]

[Special Skill ‘Weakening the Strong’ Applied]

[Weakening the Strong – When fighting multiple enemies, ignores the attacks of the strongest member of the enemy group until the end.]

Tasting the wave of bizarre debuffs [negative status effects], I felt defeated before even fighting. It was truly a curse in itself. Is this why Greed tried so hard to hatch it?

[Self-Purification Activated]

[Immune to Status Ailments.]

Fortunately, it didn’t work on me, a Druid. The heaviness in my body was temporary, and soon I was back to normal.

However, the other comrades were not so lucky.

Sion and Campbell, whose power had been sealed by 80%, gritted their teeth and sat down, and Tom’s face turned pale in an instant.

Tom, unlike the others, widened his eyes when he saw me standing there unharmed.

“How are you alright?”

“It’s thanks to the Druid’s abilities.”

“Amazing. To be free from such an absurd curse.”

After a moment of admiration, Tom’s face hardened.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve been cursed and can’t fight properly anymore.”

It couldn’t be helped.

It was a problem that Tom’s stats had been reduced by 80%, but even if he overcame that, Tom, the strongest among us, would be unable to attack due to the special skill the monster possessed.

In the end, I was the one who had to solve the situation in normal condition.

“Can you do it?”

“I’ll try.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Tom, Sion, and Campbell stepped aside.

I faced the monster.

The monster, seeing that the curse didn’t work on me, tilted its head and roared loudly again.

Kyaooooooo!!!!

At the same time, the system window popped up, but as expected, I was immune and there was nothing wrong with my body.

“Well, I’m completely its natural enemy.”

In a way, I had the best compatibility with the monster.

As I held up the Demonic Heavenly Sword and aimed it at the creature, a voice echoed in my mind.

-Hey kid, don’t let your guard down. My skin is tingling from how much energy it’s consuming.

“You’re inside the sword, do you have skin?”

-That’s just an expression! Just listen!

I laughed it off, but if the Demonic Heavenly Sword mentioned it separately, it seemed certain that the eagle-headed monster was a strong being.

[I…will…kill…]

Eventually, the opponent, judging that the curse was not working, closed the distance with me. I also wanted close combat, so I didn’t back down and collided head-on.

Clang!!

Blood spurted from my tightly closed lips with a loud noise. I had struck with mana fully loaded into the sword, but I almost bounced back due to the rebound force. I groaned involuntarily.

“Kuh!”

The monster was also pushed back, drawing an 11-shaped line on the floor.

As if it couldn’t accept being pushed back, it expressed its anger violently and charged again.

The monster’s sharp claws and my sword crossed madly, sparks flying in the air, and each time, a sound that seemed to burst my eardrums spread out.

After about 50 exchanges.

We faced each other again in the ruined City Hall underground.

Based on the data from the sword fight just now, I roughly estimated.

‘Its energy is far superior to mine, but its technique is terrible.’

Is this what it feels like for a swordsman who picked up a sword for the first time today to wield an aura blade [a weapon imbued with a powerful energy field]?

An average swordsman would fall apart just by colliding with it, but swordsmen above a certain level could sufficiently pressure it with technique.

But it wasn’t time to let my guard down.

The monster was different when it fought me for 10 exchanges, different when it fought for 20 exchanges, and by the time it fought for 50 exchanges, it had already graduated from being a beginner.

It was learning at an alarming rate while exchanging swords.

‘If this drags on, I’ll lose.’

I had to end it with a short-term battle.

I decided to pour out all the Druid skills.

Holding the Demonic Heavenly Sword, I raised my connection.

Kuaaaaaa!!!

As the curse monster emitted killing intent and charged, this time I stepped back and countered with Druid skills.

[Wood Control]

[Bind Activated]

When the tree roots bound the monster, it easily broke them with its overflowing power.

But my aim was to start from now.

I immediately moved the golems.

[Wood Golem Summon]

[Stone Golem Summon]

Two wood golems and one stone golem.

Three giant golems grabbed and stretched the monster’s limbs from all directions.

Golems were inanimate objects, so I secretly expected them to be unharmed by the curse, but the problem was that the monster’s power far surpassed the golems.

[Annoy…ing…]

Shred!

Sharp claws tore the wood golem to pieces, and a tightly clenched fist shattered the stone golem.

[Golem Summoning Released]

It was enough just to hold it for a moment.

Because I was already close by.

Having perfectly taken its back, I raised my sword and swung it towards its neck.

The emerald light struck its neck directly.

Deing—!

The sound of the blade touching the skin was strange. As soon as I felt a chill, I trusted my instincts and arched my back as far as I could. As soon as my gaze turned to the ceiling, sharp claws swept through where I had been.

Whoosh!

If I had hesitated for even 0.1 seconds, my face would have been torn off. I quickly widened the distance. The monster smacked its lips as if it was disappointed.

“Damn it.”

A curse word came out involuntarily.

Even though I had perfectly drawn its attention with Druid skills and landed an unavoidable blow, it had failed.

The fact that even the blade with the power of the Demonic Heavenly Sword couldn’t cut it meant that the monster’s power surpassed it.

The Demonic Heavenly Sword also grasped the situation and gave me a conclusion.

-Hey kid, that’s not something you can handle right now. You need at least an aura blade to cut it.

If I can’t kill it because I’m not a Sword Master, should I retreat from here?

It doesn’t seem easy to escape either.

Even if I succeed in escaping, what will happen if the monster comes out into the city?

A learning monster that binds opponents with wide-area debuffs, can’t be struck without aura, and has excellent agility and strength.

Even I, who am immune to curses, am struggling, so what about the others who are fighting with curses?

‘It’s annihilation without a second thought.’

If that monster went outside the City Hall, the nearby territories, including Liang, would be doomed, if not the continent.

“I have to fight to the end.”

-What? You idiot!

“There’s no other choice anyway. I won’t give that thing a chance to take my comrades and leave.”

-I’m telling you to get out of here. You can do it alone!

Of course, I can escape easily alone.

But abandon Sion and Campbell, who have been fighting with their lives on the line, here?

I can’t do that.

There’s no need to drag out the fight.

I’ll burn my last flame.

Dazzling emerald light filled the surroundings.

Just as I was about to make my final charge,

“Henon! Take this!”

I heard Tom’s voice from the side, and a brown object slid across the floor and arrived at my feet.

It turned out to be a blunderbuss [a short-barreled firearm with a flared muzzle] with a wide barrel.

Tom shouted at me as I reflexively picked up the gun and hung it on my waist.

“I was trying to hide this, but I have no choice. It’s a gun that can fire an aura bullet. There’s only one bullet. Finish it off with this.”

An aura bullet, huh.

There are really all sorts of strange objects.

Since it’s a do-or-die situation anyway.

I decided to give it a try.

Kuaaaaack!!

The monster charged again.

The black-gray light wrapped around its hand and the emerald light contained in the sword clashed again.

A roaring sound and shockwaves bursting in all directions.

A power struggle without any compromise.

“Ugh!”

The monster gained the upper hand in the power struggle.

I was pushed back, and it advanced forward.

The monster, sensing victory, grinned hideously.

Now is the time.

Judging that the time had come, I used Druid skills.

[Wood Control]

[Bind Activated]

[Stone Control]

[Stone Lance Activated]

[Stone Shield Activated]

The tree roots that grabbed its ankles firmly bound its body, and the solid rocks that rose from the ground blocked any possible movements of the enemy.

[No…use…]

Certainly, as it said, tree roots and stones can only buy time.

But that short time is enough.

Because I, who had already taken out a pistol from my waist, was aiming at its head.

“Goodbye. It was dirty meeting you, and let’s never see each other again.”

Bang!!

The gunshot rang out.

The bursting fluids obscured my vision.

As I wiped the filth from my face with the back of my hand, I saw the scene I had created.

The monster, its entire head blown away, was left with only its torso, flailing around before finally collapsing.

It was the end of a monster born from a curse.