#107
A Windfall (2)
‘They said it was similar to an ogre, didn’t they?’
Before Harley came up to the surface, those well versed in monsters had analyzed the creature based on various pieces of information and reached that conclusion.
They had said there were many differences as well, so they couldn’t be certain—but only after seeing it in person did he understand why such words had come up.
“Grwoooar—!”
Even here in the northern mountain range, overflowing with monsters, ogres were apex predators.
Tough hide that ordinary spears and blades could not even pierce, bones harder than metal yet possessing elasticity, and decent regenerative ability that allowed them to recover quickly from most injuries as long as they had enough nutrition.
On top of that, their bodies were packed densely with muscles of tremendous density that served as both weapons and armor, and they even possessed keen senses that made hunting easy. They were monsters among monsters.
‘Even Harley, who was fairly strong back then, nearly died fighting an ogre.’
If there was one weakness, it was that maintaining such an overwhelming body required them to spend most of their waking hours hunting and eating…
But in this northern mountain range, rich with monsters, that hardly mattered.
Craaaack—!
And now, Harley was in the middle of a game of tag with an ogre that came charging at him, smashing through trees as it ran.
When he glanced back, his eyes met two pairs of the creature’s red eyes.
“Khwooo—!”
“Khakakakat!”
Yes, not one pair, but two.
A height surpassing six meters and reaching seven, and a body far bulkier than that of an ordinary ogre.
Above all else, there were two heads sitting atop its shoulders.
‘Twin-Head Ogre…’
Four eyes, dyed red with madness, stared fixedly at him without so much as a blink, while saliva already streamed from the two mouths lined with shark-like teeth.
‘I suspected that the higher-ranking species would be more susceptible to the influence of madness.’
Just as with Harley now, the madness dwelling in a monster’s body was absorbed by predators and continued to accumulate.
And if an ogre, famous for being a glutton, had been steadily devouring monsters deep within the mountain range until now…
‘On top of that, it has one body but two heads affected by madness?’
Organs of thought, such as the brain, were no different from channels through which the madness dwelling in the body expressed itself.
If it had two heads, that meant it could achieve twice the efficiency of other monsters.
Of course, its energy consumption would increase just as much, but for a creature that did nothing but eat all day, that likely changed little.
“Kieeek!”
Harley twisted his body slightly to avoid a monster lunging at him and continued running.
It had been about thirty minutes since he had moved deeper into the mountain range to lure the creature in, and the number of monsters surging in from all directions was steadily increasing.
Crunch— Crack!
And the smaller monsters that leapt in to catch the sprinting Harley were seized by the Twin-Head Ogre following behind him and went straight into its mouths.
Like a marathon runner snatching up water bottles along the course, it moved both hands diligently, stuffing prey into its two mouths, chewing and swallowing. The sight almost resembled a solemn scene of labor.
If not for the screams of the monsters that rang out without pause.
“Kkiiiik!”
“Kuhuk!”
‘It really doesn’t stop eating. Well, this distance should be enough.’
Harley, who had been running through the mountain range while maintaining a suitable distance, slowly reduced his speed and came to a stop.
Of course, he had never intended to simply shake it off.
‘There’s more madness condensed in that one body than everything I’ve accumulated so far. I can’t just leave something that precious behind!’
As soon as he stopped, not only the Twin-Head Ogre but also monsters from every direction began closing in on him.
The instinct engraved into them to be hostile toward intelligent beings not wholly dyed in madness whipped them onward, making them reveal blind killing intent.
And Harley…
“Whoooo—.”
In the slowed world where his thoughts had accelerated sharply, he slowly awakened his madness and drew up his strength.
As the cells throughout his body activated all at once, white steam burst from his mouth and heat haze rose from his entire body.
Skills, including 「Frenzied Beast」, activated simultaneously, and both his eyes began to burn red and green.
‘That’s right. Who knows when an opportunity like this will come again?’
Until now, he had diligently absorbed magic stones under the pretext of secret shamanic arts, but there were limits to doing it that way.
But look over there.
Countless monsters charging straight at him and him alone.
And the vast amount of “madness” dwelling within them.
Ah! How delectable!
If he devoured them all, how much stronger could he become?
Creaaak! Crack!
With a raucous sound, the muscles throughout his body twisted and swelled.
His bulk surpassed three meters, and blade-like nails extended long from his enlarged arms.
His legs, too, transformed like those of a beast, sprouting sharp claws.
Strictly speaking, the combat state he had displayed before had not been Harley’s full strength.
“Khat! This feels damn amazing! Kahahahah!”
All his sensory organs, including his eyes, nose, and ears, developed to the extreme and gathered information from his surroundings, while shark teeth had already packed themselves densely inside his long-slit mouth.
As he brought 「Mutation」 and 「Physical Mutation」, which he had been unable to use freely because of others’ gazes, to their maximum, his form became one that could no longer be called human…
“Khakakakat!”
But the resulting increase in combat power was incomparable to before.
Whoosh— Whish—
The two axes hanging on Harley’s back came loose with a whistle through the air and circled in midair.
Soon, the axes, now bearing the green flame burning in his left eye, turned their blades toward those baring their teeth at him.
“What a feast!”
The moment the madness surging from his body took control of him from head to toe and his battle stance was complete…
“Kiek?”
“Kuwoeok—?”
The monsters’ reactions turned strange.
Until just moments ago, they had been trying to catch him with their eyes rolled back, but now they hesitated and looked around…
‘What? Their hostility suddenly vanished? …No, don’t tell me they see me as one of the same monsters?’
Even the Twin-Head Ogre, which had been fiercely pursuing him until now, clearly seemed somewhat flustered.
Of course, it was aggressive enough to devour even fellow monsters without hesitation, but chasing one target this far just for a single mouthful of food was far too inefficient.
Harley organized his thoughts while feeling his vision redden and the madness surge inside his brain.
‘It must have recognized me as having been completely devoured by madness.’
It was an unintended situation, but this was another new discovery.
If he used this method, it meant he could now roam freely among monsters as long as he avoided their food chain.
Of course, for now…
“First strike wins!”
Boom—!
He kicked off the ground and charged at the Twin-Head Ogre that had come right up to him.
“Krwoong—!”
“Khakakat!”
The creature, which had been staring at Harley, immediately responded to the attack.
After all, once a collision occurred, fighting until one side died was also part of their ecology.
And as the humanoid beast and the gigantic monster began to clash violently…
“Hmm. Indeed. What an interesting place.”
A cold voice rang out from the spot where Harley had been standing just moments before.
“Keeek?”
“Kkrrk—?”
At the same time, the gazes of the monsters that had surged toward Harley and then gathered awkwardly in place all turned there at once.
In the middle of a forest thick with rugged trees stood a man dressed in clothing entirely unsuited to the location.
A black tailcoat, neatly pressed without a single wrinkle, the sort only nobles would wear.
Hair swept cleanly back, pale skin, and red eyes.
Even sharp fangs revealed along with a cynical smile.
The new lord of the Brokoslak Clan and the hidden ruler of the Talia Kingdom.
It was Heinz II.
“Grwoooar—!”
The monsters surrounding him on all sides roared at once and charged at Heinz.
Even one of the heads of the Twin-Head Ogre locked in a life-or-death struggle with Harley briefly turned in that direction, showing just how much his appearance had drawn their attention.
“Even if dyed in madness, living beings are still living beings.”
But Heinz calmly murmured even as he looked at the monsters surrounding and rushing at him.
His right hand slowly rose.
“As long as blood flows through those bodies, your struggles are meaningless.”
With his body turning smoothly as if dancing… his right hand traced a circle around him.
And then.
Shiaak— Splurt!
The bodies of the monsters caught along that trajectory were sliced apart and tumbled to the ground.
Because their heights varied so greatly, the severed parts differed as well—necks, waists, legs, and so on…
But even if they survived for the moment, it was meaningless.
Now that this place had already become a sea of blood.
「Blood Mystery」
Red, blue, green…
Control over the vividly colored blood that had left its owners’ bodies was all subordinated to Heinz at once.
And it was tempered by an iron will, becoming weapons armed with killing intent.
“Kkuiiik!”
“Khheeek!”
It ravaged the monsters that still had breath left in them, slowly increasing in size.
Blood called more blood, and that blood expanded in scale once again, causing even more sacrifices.
“Hm…”
It was an overwhelming sight, yet Heinz merely furrowed his brow slightly as he watched.
‘Is it because of the monsters’ vital force? It’s difficult to control. On top of that, the will dwelling in their blood isn’t that strong, but the madness occupying that place instead is rather irritating.’
From the moment the host died, the madness dwelling in the body began to evaporate, but within the blood of freshly killed, still-warm monsters, a considerable amount of madness still remained.
If he had not gained overwhelming control over blood through 「Hybrid Evolution」, he would not have been able to carry out such a ruthless massacre.
The current him was like a calamity to living beings below a certain level.
Of course, that also meant he could not exert much power against opponents above that level…
“Grwooo…”
Slash—
“…Uurk!”
The head of a troll that had forced its way through the storm of blood was severed and fell to the ground.
Then the ultra-high-pressure stream of blood fired once more from Heinz’s fingertips destroyed its brain and heart simultaneously.
“At this level, they’re all more or less the same. Now then, let’s briefly confirm what these creatures taste like… Kugh, ptooey—!”
He lightly brought the blood of the monster he had hunted to his lips, then immediately spat it out.
The blood of monsters tainted by madness was truly the worst.
Vampires gained power by drinking the blood of their victims in a ritual that plundered the life force and mana contained within it.
Monster blood was already filled with vital force, an energy in which mana had been altered, making absorption inefficient to begin with. With the contamination of madness added on top, it was in no state to be consumed.
“Tsk, and here I thought there might be a chance. It can’t be helped.”
While steadily slaughtering the monsters that continued to rush at him, Heinz manipulated the blood to extract the magic stones from their hearts and gathered them in one place.
Whish— Tak!
Then he snatched the pickaxe “Elinne,” which flew toward him wrapped in green light, and placed it into the subspace magic tool he carried.
This, too, was one of the reasons Heinz had personally come all the way here.
‘Heinz happened to have nothing urgent to do anyway.’
He had gathered as much information as he could, and the expansion of his forces was proceeding smoothly.
On top of that, Harley was not suited for mass slaughter, so he had thought Harley might be in trouble if surrounded by the monsters that came swarming in and had stationed Heinz in advance…
‘I didn’t know that if he fully released his madness, monsters wouldn’t attack first. Still, retrieving the pickaxe was necessary, and we gathered plenty of magic stones like this, so it should be fine.’
Heinz nodded to himself, then turned his gaze toward Harley.
“Kahahah! You’re a tough one, aren’t you! There’s some satisfaction in tearing you apart!”
“Kkwoooong—!”
The Twin-Head Ogre… no, the creature that had now become a “Single-Head Ogre” again, was being torn apart from head to toe by Harley, who was less than half its height.
Having taken on the form of a beast, he was overwhelming it barehanded without even using weapons.
‘Well, in truth, Harley was always stronger with his bare hands.’
He had favored weapons for a while to blend into civilized society, but from the start, his main weapon had been his monstrous body itself.
Thud!
At last.
His sharply extended nails dug into the ogre’s chest, and Harley ripped out its entire heart along with its magic stone.
Crunch! Crunccch!
And when he chewed and swallowed it whole, madness surpassing everything he had absorbed so far swirled through his body in an instant.
His heart beat excessively, his blood flow quickened, his muscles swelled, and heat poured from his entire body…
‘Nothing new at this point.’
By now, they were only familiar symptoms.
Ignoring the whispers of madness noisily ringing in his head, Harley returned to human form, caught the axes flying through the air, and hung them on his back again.
“Uhaha! Working up a sweat sure feels refreshing! Now, shall I have a snack?”
He sat down right in front of the pile of magic stones from the smaller monsters, grabbed handfuls, and tossed them into his mouth.
Crunch! Crunccch!
Apart from the madness, his body had been further strengthened through the Twin-Head Ogre, and his energy storage efficiency had also increased, so he intended to fill up thoroughly in advance.
But then.
Just as Harley was peacefully consuming his nutritional supplements…
[Kuooooooo——!]
From deep within the mountain range, a roar filled with tremendous power burst forth.
The atmosphere shook under the enormous waves spreading in every direction, and the mana all around trembled.
At the presence contained within that sound, goosebumps rose all over his body, and he unconsciously entered a state of extreme tension.
‘What is this?’
Harley and Heinz II simultaneously turned their gazes toward the direction from which the sound had begun.
The nature of the energy itself was different, but recently he had experienced a resonance quite similar to this rather often.
More precisely… Hans had, from his subordinate Entracio.
In other words, the owner of this roar was—
‘A dragon?’
The dragon sleeping in the north had awakened.