Lord System: Reborn As The Genius Heir To A Noble Family-Chapter 62: Monster Within

The man known as "Ban" grinned, casually stuffing his hands into the pockets of his ebony trousers, "I had my suspicions, but it seems I was right. Guess you know, too–we’re both Reincarnators."

"Reincarnator? What’s he talking about, Master?" Ruby asked, keeping her axe ready in a defensive stance.

"It means we’re special!" Ban shouted across the field, answering for him. "It means this whole damn world is our sandbox, our given right!"

"What’re you on about?" Leon asked, watching the figure carefully.

Ban slipped his hands out of his pockets, holding them up as he wore a smile devoid of any repercussions, "What are you on about? Isn’t it obvious? We were brought here, we faced death, yet we were given a second chance, blessed with these unimaginable abilities...What other reason could there be? It might as well be a sign that reads "This world is yours to do with as you please!"

"Did you come here to help, or what? If so, the battle is behind you," Leon questioned, attempting to dismiss the conversation.

As if it were a joke, Ban laughed, "I came here to take this land and use it as my starting point in rising to be king of this world. But, now that I see you’re like me–I’m changing my approach. Let’s do this together, Leon–let’s take this world for all it’s got."

"Master, can I cut this guy down? He’s annoying," Ruby scathingly asked, quietly squeezing the handle of her axe.

He held the maid back as he stepped in front of her, looking towards the fellow Reincarnator. Compared to the one he last met, they couldn’t be any different, yet similar in some ways. An overwhelming sense of desire, backed by their supernatural gifts.

The man before him though stood as a pillar of greed; an impossible high sense of entitlement that stretched to each end of the world.

"You’ve got it good here, but you can have so much more. As many wives as women exist in a country," Ban dreamed, extending his invitation. "Boundless riches. Good food, better wine–doesn’t that sound wonderful?"

"--" Leon listened.

"It was the same for you too, wasn’t it?" Ban asked, meeting him eye-to-eye. "The life you led, the one you were forcefed–it was shit, wasn’t it? It was unfair. Them, what this is, is our comeuppdance–our time to take what we want."

As the man went on about his desires, Leon listened to it enough, finding himself focused on one important factor he needed to distinguish as his beast growled towards the Reincarnator, and his maid practically did the same.

"Why’re you coming here during the Eclipse? How did you get here? With the hordes outside, it should be impossible," Leon asked. "Unless you didn’t have to fight your way through."

Ban’s smile slowly faded, yet his lips remained curved, "I see. You’ve grown complacent with the life you have. If you won’t take my generous offer, then I’ll do what I set out to do anyway–I’ll tear your lordship away and take this place for myself, with my army."

The uninvited stranger held his arms out, as if claiming the endless hordes that fought behind him as his very own.

"You’re commanding these monsters?" Leon demanded an answer.

The accusation already felt confirmed as the maid sent straight for the Reincarnator without any hesitance. Leon reached out to try and stop her, but he was a moment too late as she leapt up, swinging her axe with the full intent of removing the man’s head from his shoulders.

Before the weapon was swung, Ruby was caught in the air as Ban’s hand gripped her neck, though his eyes never left the young lord, "That’s sweet. You’ve got some pretty loyal servants, don’t you? Maybe if I break one, you’ll listen to reason."

"Ghhuah...Mas...ter..." The maid struggled to gasp any words out as the grip around her throat restricted any hopes of communication.

"Ruby!" Leon shouted. "Let her go!"

Beside him, the chimera released a deafening roar, warning the unwelcome human with the very same wrath. With every intent of going in to free his companion, Leon was stopped before he could take a single step as Ban held his other hand out, signaling him to stay put.

"Ah, ah...Don’t be so hasty now, Leon," Ban demanded calmly. "First off, what do you even plan on doing here? You saw the difference in our system’s levels, right? You could try and fight me, but it would only end one way–I can promise you that."

"You’re confident in that?" Leon questioned.

"If I owned the land from this country all the way across the sea, I’d bet it all on me," Ban confidently doubled down.

"Is that so? Just sounds like you’re a degenerate gambler to me," Leon fired back.

["Body of The Self-Realized Storm"]

In a single step, he crossed the distance between them with a thunderclap resounding from the spot he left. As he brought his sword back, reaching his fellow Reincarnator’s position, Ban’s silver eyes were already locked onto him.

The maid was thrown to the side before the monster-assimilator brought his arm in front of its body. As the sword was swung, colliding with the forearm, it felt like it struck solid steel—

"What?" Leon quietly questioned.

The arm his blade was pressing against didn’t resemble that of a human, instead morphed into a larger limb of blocky, stone flesh.

Ban grinned, holding the shape edge back, "—Basilisk. Good luck trying to cut that."

The strength within the transformed limb pushed him back, leaving him slipping away, though quickly pursued by the man in front of him without a moment to gather himself. Seamlessly, the left hand shifted to a light-blue form with each finger instead turning to claws.

Leon brought his sword up, attempting to block, only for the glowing talons to phase right through the steel as if it weren’t there. Across his chest, he felt the sensation of his skin being torn into, gasping as the claws passed by. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He looked down, not even finding the gray coat he wore torn, yet the sensation of warmth running down his chest was as clear as day, along with the burning pain that came with it. Looking down his shirt, the four marks were etched across his torso, leaving a bloodied mess beneath his coat.

’I blocked it, I did, but...It went right through?’ He questioned with a wince.

"Banshee," Ban said, looking at his morphed hand before allowing it to return to its natural form, watching the young man with a pleased smile. "I have the strength of monsters you’ve never even heard of at my disposal. Are you starting to get the picture? I’ll let you rethink the offer I gave you."

The pain he felt dismissed any idea he had of keeping up appearances, instead spitting on the dirt as he brought himself up, looking at the twisted Reincarnator, "Here’s my counteroffer. I’ll consider letting you be the custodian for the mansion, after I take the arm you used to hurt my precious maid."

On the grass some distance away, Ruby coughed, picking herself up as she rubbed her sore neck, "Master–"

"Hah!" Ban spat out a laugh, though veins pulsed against his skin that counteracted the joyful expression on his face, soon twisting into a blend of laughter and being enraged. "Fine by me. If I’m being honest–I was hoping you wouldn’t take that offer. Right now, I just want to put your face in the dirt."

Leon watched as the man approached, his entire body beginning to shift as his legs first grew, then his arms, soon his body following as he seemed to double in size.

"Rin’Ghal. Banshee. Fire Elemental," Ban invoked with a voice deepened by his monstrous transformation, presenting a body of inhuman proportion, standing over three meters in height.

The flesh of the human became crimson, solidifying with an exoskeleton that couldn’t be mistaken; it was the very same form of the ogre deity. Each hand shifted into a bright-blue form with ethereal claws, with a cloud of fire hovering around the shoulders of the monster assimilator.

"I’ll now begin tearing you limb from limb. Grovel and beg, and I may make it quick–ah, who am I kidding, I won’t!" Ban laughed, flexing his body stolen from the ogre deity.

["Body of The Surging Thunder"]

Even as the blessing of lightning fueled his body with plentiful strength, the sinking feeling within him couldn’t be dismissed when looking upon the grotesque form taken by the invader.

’Without being able to use my magic, I’m at a severe disadvantage...That’s not counting the fact he’s already way above me in terms of his system’s level. Right now, I’m going to need a miracle to come–and fast,’ he thought.

The moment the ogre-morphed reincarnator took a step towards him, he responded by dashing with the essence of lightning guiding his feet. He ran circles around the unnatural figure, going in for a strike towards the man’s red, armored back, though found those silver irises looking back at him, paired with a vicious smile as if daring him to strike.