Bathed in sunlight, the raised dagger gleamed.
I deflected the fluid downward strike with my magic blade.
After a moment's clash, the dagger followed up with another attack.
Its movements seemed to weave through my defenses.
I deflected it just barely while sending vines snaking up from the ground.
The man nimbly dodged them, creating distance before teleporting to my rear.
(I had predicted that movement)
Twisting to avoid the thrust, I used the momentum to return a slash.
As my arm swung through, a faint spray of blood followed.
The leaping man raised his head.
A thin cut marked his jaw.
The blade had grazed him.
Blood welled and dripped.
He wiped it with his thumb to confirm, then glared at me.
"Damn it..."
I offered no response.
I simply recomposed myself, holding the magic blade ready.
The man was quite proficient in combat techniques, but his swordsmanship was far from that person's level.
Even in range, I held the advantage.
There was no reason I should be at a disadvantage.
The man from there lunged at me with vicious ferocity.
Yet his irritation made his blade work monotonous.
His attacks were brute-force repeats, making them easy to predict.
"Hraagh!"
Dodging the thrusting short sword, I sundered the man's arm.
From the elbow down, it spun through the air.
"Guh!"
He groaned, but showed no sign of retreating.
Instead, he pressed even closer.
I reflexively lacerated his face, but the rage-maddened expression remained fixed.
Then his flesh melted like mud, elongating into a thin strip.
In an instant, he transformed into a flat band of metal.
The band-shaped man charged at me with unnatural acceleration.
He pierced through, shattering my ribs.
In that moment, a sliver of miasma was siphoned from me.
It felt as though it was drawn out upon contact.
"Kihahahahahaha! What is this taste...! Isn't it the best?!"
The man swimming through the air cried out in ecstasy.
At the band's tip, a grotesque mockery of a human mouth remained.
He must have kept it there to let me hear his voice, to taunt me.
The ribbon-like man performed a flip and charged again.
He intended to devour all my miasma at this rate.
Considering the destructive power, my body would be pulverized before that happened.
Facing the approaching man, I let my thoughts run.
(Shall I test it a little...)
I released the power I contained.
The instant I did, one of my arms lost its three-dimensionality, becoming a texture like a shadow.
From there, it transformed into an aggregate of countless tentacles.
The tentacles spread out like an overflow and ensnared the ribbon-like man.
No matter how fast he was, he couldn't evade the tentacles that had deployed like a wall.
His straightforward charge was a movement that practically screamed for a counter.
"Wha—?!"
The man, having his miasma drained by the tentacles, reverted from the ribbon to a humanoid form.
It seemed he couldn't maintain that aberrant shape without a sufficient amount of miasma.
In truth, which of these was his original form was unclear.
Regardless, he was undeniably weakened.
I manipulated the tentacled arm and squeezed the man to his limit.
Immediately, the flesh and bones throughout his entire body were crushed.
The sensation of destruction was clearly transmitted to me.
(Hmm, it seems I've reproduced it well.)
These tentacles are Gwen's ability.
I possessed the power confiscated from her, containing it within my spirit sealed away.
With a mere shift of consciousness, I could now wield it—and its usability wasn't bad.
Unlike ordinary magic arts, its activation was fueled by miasma.
It seemed I could reshape it freely depending on my adjustment.
If I so desired, I could even become that mountain of tentacles I witnessed in the spiritual world.
Though, unless driven by extreme necessity, I had no intention of doing so.
Retaining a humanoid form allowed me to better utilize sword techniques and such, making it easier to fight.
"Urrg—hhkk!"
The man wrapped in tentacles was thrashing about.
Though he should be covered in wounds, he was surprisingly energetic.
As expected of a beast from the outer world.
His appearance was human, but he didn't seem to die easily.
Still, I had just dispatched an immortal shark.
In this man's case, I already had an idea how to defeat him.
I imbued my magic sword with the Forbidden Flame's fire, and proceeded to cut through both the tentacles and the man within.
I moved my hands deftly, leaving no opening for a counterattack.
Muffled screams could be heard, but I ignored each one and continued my work.
The Forbidden Curse set the man's entire body ablaze, and before long, he turned to ash.
I waited for a while, but there was no sign of revival.
It seemed the creature was thoroughly dead.
Once I released Grom's power, the severed tentacles crumbled to bone fragments.
The lost arm had been obscured by miasma.
It lacked durability, but since it was brittle to begin with, there was no point in worrying.
I gathered the shark's remains and the man's ashes, then teleported them en masse to the Valley of the Dead.
I also made sure to retrieve the severed arm without forgetting.
Sending it to the laboratory might allow for various applications, but I had a premonition it would become a seed for new troubles.
There was even a possibility it could revive spontaneously.
Most frightening of all was the scenario where the director's enthusiasm ran unchecked.
Since the danger level was incomparable to previous research and development, burying it in the Valley of the Dead was the surest option.
(...Perhaps I should have obtained more information before killing him.)
I reviewed my interaction with the man.
Though I killed him in the heat of the moment, I didn't regret it that much.
Since I'm in a hurry, I can ask Grom about anything that still nags at me.
If they spread information to other beasts, then conversely, they should also be well-informed about their inner workings.
By now, their spirit must be worn thin under the director's surveillance.
It would be easier for them to talk, too.
Once things settle down, I'll head over to confirm.
After sending a report to Logan via thought transmission, I teleported to the next battlefield.