Sword of Salvation-Chapter 80: - Deceit and Sweet Lie (3)

This time, Lergen didn’t bother using Devil Curse. He didn’t need that power while in unification mode. Lergen met the young man’s punch with his own.

The doctor was slightly surprised when his punch didn’t send the young man flying—not even an inch. His hand also didn’t seem to touch any wind armor. It felt as if he had struck a smooth yet solid wall. Was this... a barrier?

Lergen attempted to absorb the barrier along with the young man’s wind armor, but he failed. That led him to conclude that it wasn’t just any barrier. It wasn’t created from prana. It was something natural, but Lergen couldn’t analyze it in such a short time.

The doctor had no time to study what kind of barrier covered the young man’s body. Both his hands and mind were occupied dealing with the flurry of punches the young man unleashed. He was highly skilled. Even though Lergen was faster, he had no opening to counterattack.

Spontaneously, the doctor released a wave of fire and wind, trying to widen the distance between them. However, the young man ignored the flames and gales—he charged straight through the blazing wave, which had been reinforced by the wind. He pursued Lergen, who had already retreated, with wind swords forming in each of his hands.

Lergen immediately flapped his wings and soared into the air. He halted about fifty meters above the ground, then turned to look below.

Now, he understood why Levia was interested in the young man and his former test subject—especially the young man. He understood why the demon wanted him to push them to their limits. Levia wanted both of them to master spirit unification mode. His former test subject had succeeded, but Lergen doubted the young man could do the same.

The doctor knew he was stronger than the young man. He was also faster. Those two things were crystal clear. Even if there were two of the young man, Lergen would still be stronger. However, just like when he fought Subject 811, his strength was ineffective against this opponent. He couldn’t harm him.

"How can I kill him if I can’t erase that barrier, which isn’t made of prana?"

Lergen laughed in amusement as he pointed his palms downward, firing hundreds of water bullets at the young man. Simultaneously, fireballs and water orbs appeared on his right and left, then shot forward to follow the water bullets.

"I just need to—huh?"

The doctor, who had been hovering fifty meters in the air, suddenly found himself on the ground. This reminded him of the time frame that Subject 811 projected. Because of that, although shocked, Lergen reacted swiftly and absorbed all the incoming water bullets, fireballs, and wind orbs.

Lergen then noticed the young man hovering fifty meters in the air, right where he had been moments ago. At that moment, he realized they had switched places. However, the instant he blinked, the young man vanished from sight.

The doctor quickly scanned his surroundings, only to suddenly see the young man speeding toward him from the left.

Lergen merely tilted his body to the left, dodging the young man’s wind sword slash. But the young man followed up with another slash. He unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks, forcing the doctor to focus entirely on defense. And when Lergen saw the two wind swords start branching into multiple blades, he immediately activated Devil Curse.

However, something unexpected happened.

Lergen’s eyes widened to their limit—he was utterly shocked. In an instant, he was no longer in his demon form or unification mode. He had no idea how it happened, and he was too stunned and panicked to think clearly. Even if he could think calmly, he had no time for it.

Mariel’s wind sword swiftly sliced through the doctor’s neck. He did the same to both Lergen’s hands and legs. Blood splattered everywhere, yet not a single drop touched the young man. And as the severed body hit the ground, Mariel stabbed both of his wind swords into the doctor’s shoulders.

Mariel didn’t stop there. He conjured two more wind swords and drove them into the doctor’s upper thighs. Then, he created two additional blades—one he held in his hand, and the other was used to stab just above the doctor’s genitals.

He deliberately left the neck untouched. He needed to talk to the doctor, which meant he had to let his head regenerate. The regeneration process would have been quicker if he were still in his demon form, but Mariel was patient. After all, it would only take a few dozen seconds.

"Kukuku. This hurts. You’re one sadistic bastard."

"Don’t try anything, Doctor. If you so much as move or channel your prana, this wind blade will pierce straight through your heart."

Mariel wasn’t lying. He did want Lergen to be a wild card that added some spice to the game board. However, Lergen had nearly taken Celinee’s life. If Mariel had been even a moment late, he wouldn’t have made it in time to save the ninja. Because of that, the doctor needed to experience extreme pain. And if it came down to it, Mariel had no problem killing him.

"Kukuku. So, you don’t intend to kill me?"

"I want you to remember what it feels like to be powerless before me, so I won’t kill you. But if you try to move or channel prana, I’ll pierce your heart without hesitation. You wouldn’t want to die before achieving your goal, would you, Doctor?"

"Kukuku. You talk as if you know my goal."

"You want to become a god, don’t you?"

"Kukuku. Close, quite close. Your guess is almost correct. But my goal is far greater than that. Your mind wouldn’t be able to comprehend it."

"Is that so?" Mariel paused and moved his wind blade, slicing down the middle of the doctor’s chest to his abdomen. "That doesn’t really matter."

"Kukuku. That hurts like hell, you damn bastard."

"You killed my comrade. I won’t be satisfied unless I make you suffer. At the very least, you need to remember this pain well."

"Damn bastard."

Mariel smirked slightly, but his expression quickly turned serious again. "Do you know the true purpose of Great Human Council? Do you think they don’t know you’re just pretending to serve them? Do you think they’ll let you achieve your goal?" he asked rapidly.

"You got your information from Livera."

"Not really. I might know things about them that even you don’t. Not long ago, I also met Romero. He invited Shin and me to join, but we refused. We nearly died. That bastard is strong."

"Kukuku."

"So, you don’t want to answer my question?"

"Kukuku. I don’t trust bastards like you. Who’s to say you won’t kill me the moment I reveal everything I know? Kukuku."

"It doesn’t matter if you don’t trust me. But Shin and I are enemies of Great Human Council and World Order. If you weren’t pretending to serve them, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you. We can even work together to destroy them. At the same time, you’d get a chance to avenge your defeat. What do you think? Doesn’t my offer sound beneficial to you, Doctor Lergen?"

"Kukuku. Do you really think I’m like those fools out there?"

"No, no," Mariel denied. "Not for a second do I think you’re like the average people out there. I consider you on the same level as Shin. Ah, in terms of influence, you might even be above him, Doctor. And I won’t ask you to explain why you accepted Levia’s request either."

"Kukukukukukukuku."

"If you refuse," Mariel continued, ignoring the doctor’s strange laughter, "I’ll just torture you to my heart’s content and then leave you here with more than twenty wind blades piercing your body. So, what’s your decision, Doctor?"

"I won’t trust you, but I will definitely repay you for this. As soon as I find the weakness in your barrier, your death will be certain. But before that, I will dissect you while you’re still conscious. You will receive your retribution on my operating table."

"I can’t wait for that moment, Doctor. So?"

"Kukuku, you damn bastard." Lergen shook his head slightly and let out a long sigh. "I don’t know their ultimate goal, but I do know they want to reduce the number of nations on this continent."

Mariel’s assumption had proven correct. The Western Continent would be engulfed in the greatest war in its history. He couldn’t just stand by. He preferred a world with many nations, just as it was now—he couldn’t let those people reduce their numbers.

"Which nations will rule the continent?" Mariel asked.

"Celtekhna, Moskvallha, and Urakhna. Those three will dominate the continent. It will be the same as the Eastern Continent."

"Romero stole Zesteria’s sacred scythe. I assume he plans to hand it over to Urakhna’s ruler to provoke Neiracia into attacking them?"

"Kukuku. Not just that. Excalibur will be given to Celtekhna. Moskvallha will receive Caliburn. They want to ensure that all three nations have equal power."

Interesting. Very interesting. Mariel liked what the Great Human Council was doing. By taking advantage of their plan, he could seize all three sacred weapons without straining his relationships with Selena and Lasyana.

"You have valuable information, Doctor. I appreciate it. So, what’s your plan for dealing with Great Human Council? You must realize that they know you’re not truly loyal to them."

"You expect me to answer that?"

Mariel shrugged.

"Kukuku. I won’t reveal it—"

"Let me guess," Mariel cut in. "Once you achieve your goal, no one will be able to touch you. You’ll be far too powerful for Great Human Council or even Nessthanovla to oppose. You’ll do whatever you want, and no one will be able to stop you. Am I right?"

Lergen’s forehead creased.

"It’s up to you, Doctor. I don’t really care. But my advice, you should use your subordinates to throw them into chaos. At the same time, you can focus on your goal. As long as they’re busy with the disorder, they’ll need your strength. They won’t get rid of you, even if they know you’re only pretending to obey."

"Kukuku. Interesting. Do you think you can use me?"

Mariel simply shrugged again before suddenly stabbing the doctor’s neck. "It was nice meeting you, Doctor. Until we meet again."

Ignoring the doctor’s furious glare, Mariel turned around and leaped into the portal he had just created.