Chapter 435: Ryo Pierced Through the Heart
Editor: Tseirp
No one from the Kingdom’s side could move.
No one could speak.
No one…
“Ryo…”
Whose voice was that soft whisper?
Was it Sera’s…or Abel’s…?
It was a really quiet.
But it was heard by those present.
At that moment…
Swoosh.
Another sound mixed in.
No one present could perceive it.
Ryo swung his sword, severing the head of the Djinn Garwin.
Everything came to an end, and only then did Ryo’s movements stop…and for the first time, they could see.
Ryo’s body.
Not even the flash of his sword was seen, let alone his body movements.
Of course, merely severing the head wouldn’t kill a Djinn.
“Hey…magician. I’m pretty sure I pierced your heart. So how are you still alive?”
Garwin asked after regrowing a new head.
“A water-attribute magician wouldn’t die just from having their heart pierced.”
Ryo asserted confidently.
“Seriously… water-attribute magicians are incredible.”
Garwin responded, taking Ryo’s words at face value.
However, the reactions of those who had some degree of familiarity with Ryo were different.
“That’s ridiculous… there’s no way, that can’t be true.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so…”
Abel and Roman reacted with common sense.
“If it’s Ryo, it’s possible!”
“Indeed, Ryo might do something like that! ”
Sera and Ilarion responded, acknowledging Ryo’s unconventional nature.
“He’s showing us the possibility that magic and magicians know no limits!”
“Yeah he’s cute, isn’t he?”
Nadia and Scarlett’s reactions indicated that they themselves were not ordinary.
Scarlett, the leader of the Valkyrie Knights’ rescue team, had always been a big fan of Ryo, finding him cute…
The blood flowing from Ryo had completely stopped.
Of course, Garwin’s arm was still piercing his chest.
His arm was completely frozen, though.
Ryo’s movements were as sharp as ever.
Showing no signs of injury.
Injury…even though his heart was pierced…injury…
That sounds wrong, but…it’s the truth…
Why is he able to move even though his heart was pierced?
Does Ryo actually have two hearts? No, he doesn’t.
Can Ryo actually live without a heart? No, that’s impossible, of course.
Normally.
What is the role of the heart?
To pump blood to the lungs, then send the blood that returns from the lungs throughout the body, and return the blood from the body back to the lungs…
It repeats this process.
It literally acts as a pump.
In simple terms, after having his heart pierced, Ryo began circulating his blood using magic.
He sent the blood to his lungs, then throughout his body, and back to the lungs again… all through the power of magic.
Of course, this was made possible by his proficiency as a water-attribute magician.
Furthermore, due to having his own and Abel’s bodies numerous times, he was able to achieve this….
However, merely circulating the blood throughout the body wasn’t sufficient.
There was a need for the right rhythm and speed.
Which Ryo remembered from his past .
Just like how anyone remembers the rhythm of their favorite song.
Same concept.
Notably, Ryo can continue this forced circulation unconsciously.
Although he was quite conscious when he initially started the circulation after his heart was pierced, by the time he decapitated Gawain, he had already transitioned to an unconscious circulation.
This unconscious circulation continues even now.
When Gawain’s hand pierced Ryo’s heart, it also damaged arteries, veins, and even part of the esophagus.
Ryo has encased all of these in ice to maintain his performance from before the injury.
Truly, water-attribute magic is formidable…
“Quite fast, aren’t you, magician…you’re a magician, right? At least you look like one. Wait, you said you’re a water-attribute magician. But, your sword is surprisingly fast…and it’s the Fairy King’s sword? A Water Fairy King’s sword…it’s my first time seeing it…”
“Ignorant, aren’t you, Djinn Garwin? Nowadays, water-attribute magicians can handle close combat as well. If you’re surprised by this, your minions will weep.”
“Nah…those guys won’t weep even if I’m sealed again.”
“Is that so? That’s rather pitiful…”
“Yeah…”
By the way, among his minions, Oranj and Isolde were pierced all over their bodies by Ryo’s and have stopped functioning.
They’ve been left as they are.
Normally, Garwin would regenerate them, but… perhaps he’s forgotten.
One of the Four Generals, Juke, who took over Erwin and survived, isn’t doing anything.
Except just watching Garwin’s fight.
Apparently, there are various kinds of minions.
Ryo and Garwin were conversing while swiftly exchanging sword and fist blows.
Still, neither of them was giving it their all.
Which was understandable.
Both of them understood that the other is strong.
Ryo knows the opponent is a Djinn.
He’s heard from Djinn Merlin about Garwin’s strength and ferocity.
He’s not an opponent to be taken lightly.
Garwin also understands that Ryo is strong.
After all, he was once obliterated by him.
Even King Richard never managed that.
Moreover, he couldn’t even perceive Ryo’s movements, let alone his sword flashes, and had his head cut off.
He’s a stronger opponent than the hero and the demon lord combined.
Knowing your opponent is strong.
And going all out without knowing the opponent’s hand is too reckless.
As Sun Tzu said:
Know your enemy, know thyself, and you shall not fear a hundred battles.
Know your enemy but not yourself, and you will suffer one defeat for every victory.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle!
Well, Ryo did go all out and cut off his head!
“Hey, magician. You know it too, right? Even if you make me disappear, I won’t die. In other words, you can’t win. Just give up.”
“Do you know, Garwin? There’s hardly anything absolute in this world. And the fact that you won’t die is not absolute.”
“But, I didn’t die…”
“Just because it didn’t work out once doesn’t mean I’ll give up. If it doesn’t work after a hundred million tries, then I’ll consider it.”
“…Do you think you can make me disappear a hundred million times?”
Garwin was amazed by Ryo’s response.
Of course, Ryo knows it too.
It’s obviously impossible.
Moreover, even just surpassing and winning against this Djinn is difficult enough, except perhaps by surprise attack.
Ryo was waiting for something.
At the very least, without it, he couldn’t engage in a full-scale battle.
For that to happen…
Since the start of the battle, Ryo had been glancing at the priests.
More precisely, at a certain alchemist lying under the care of the priests and the ‘Long-Range Diffusion Mercy of the Goddess’.
Viscount Kenneth Hayward woke up.
Everyone around him stood still, captivated by a single battle.
“Huh? Ryo-san?”
The muttered words were heard, and it was Rihya who turned around.
“Kenneth, you’ve come to.”
“Oh, yes, Your Majesty. That’s…”
“Yeah. Ryo has returned and is fighting against the Djinn. However, it seems to be a difficult battle.”
Rihya was a former adventurer.
Moreover, she belonged to an A-rank party and always watched the battles of A-rank swordsman Abel with great interest.
Therefore, her eyes were keen when it came to battles.
She could perceive the ‘difficulty in battle’ that others didn’t notice.
“And the Djinn’s arm is still piercing Ryo’s chest.”
“Huh? Piercing his chest?”
Unable to fully comprehend Rihya’s words, Kenneth watches the battle between Ryo and Garwin.
Indeed, something resembling an arm had pierced Ryo’s chest.
“How is Ryo alive after being pierced through the chest…?”
“No idea. I guess it’s because it’s Ryo.”
Such a convenient phrase. ‘Because it’s Ryo’.
“He’s been glancing over here from time to time. He probably wants to pull the arm out…”
“Ah! He wants to be healed the moment it’s pulled out, I see.”
Kenneth also understood what Ryo wanted.
However, at the same time, he noticed the priests’ pale faces.
“Could it be that everyone’s magic power is…”
“Yes, because we were maintaining the , our magic power is depleted. But don’t worry.”
Rihya said so, then smiled and introduced the girl who was standing next to her.
“This is Nadia, a citizen of the Kingdom. She’s the wife of the hero, Roman.”
“N-Nice to meet you.”
Riyha introduced, and Nadia greeted.
“Nice to meet you. Huh? The Hero’s? wife?”
Kenneth exclaimed in surprise.
Upon closer inspection, behind Rihya, stood a modest-looking young man.
“And Nadia is the Demon Lord. As a Demon Lord, she can use magic of all attributes, so she can also heal.”
“To some extent, healing is possible even from a distance… but, of course, it’s impossible to reach Ryo from here.”
“Oh, I can handle that distance…wait, Demon Lord? Huh? In the Kingdom, there’s both the Hero and the Demon Lord?”
Rihya explained, Nadia added, and Kenneth was astonished.
The Kingdom of Knightley had abundant talent.
“Kenneth, this is top-secret, so keep it to yourself, alright?”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Rihya hushed him up, and Kenneth nodded.
Then, while alternately looking at Nadia and the alchemy device, she continued speaking.
“Oh, right, Nadia-san was worried about this earlier, even if the distance is far, ‘Long-Range Diffusion Mercy of the Goddess’ can deliver healing. But Ryo-san…”
“Yeah. He doesn’t have the friend or foe identification tag.”
The ‘Long-Range Diffusion Mercy of the Goddess’ only heals those wearing the ‘friend or foe identification tag’.
Everyone who joined the Kingdom army from the beginning of the battle has one, but Ryo, who joined later, doesn’t.
Therefore, he can’t be healed.
“I understand. I’ll switch to manual mode and aim only at Ryo.”
Kenneth said, then immediately began adjusting.
The adjustment itself wasn’t difficult.
It was just a matter of switching two levers.
The problem was hitting a high-speed moving target precisely at the moment the arm was pulled out…
That’s the difficulty of being both the shooter and the adjuster.
Of course, it was a usage that wasn’t originally intended.
After all, this device is ‘diffusion-type’.
Targeting only one person isn’t part of the design specifications.
It’s not, but…
“I can do it.”
That was his pride as an alchemist.
And his determination.
He opened ‘Long-Range Diffusion Mercy of the Goddess’ and swiftly rewrote the magic formula.
Target fixation by magic power detection.
Automatic target tracking.
Propagation convergence.
Speed enhancement.
Maximum compression rate.
It had to reach and achieve all effects in an instant.
The moment it hits, the target would be moving.
Sustained ‘continuous hitting’ wasn’t realistic.
“Alright. Here we go!”
Kenneth said, and the Demon Lord Nadia nodded.
In her hand, she held the magic transmission cable to the ‘Long-Range Diffusion Mercy of the Goddess’.
After taking a moment to steady herself, Nadia waited.
Then, Ryo glanced over.
He saw Nadia nodding slightly towards the group of priests.
The next moment, he pulled out the ice-encased Djinn’s arm from his chest.
Without delay, Nadia chanted.
“”
The magic was immediately unleashed.
It struck Ryo without missing its mark…
The gaping hole in his chest closed up.
The sight that unfolded before him astonished the Djinn Garwin.
“Hey…”
“Djinn, this is the wisdom of humanity.”
Ryo said, somehow sounding smug.
Well, it was the result of Kenneth’s adjustments and Rihya’s intermediation… so it was a human effort.
Although the magic itself belonged to the Demon Lord…
“Ah…that tool for healing the entire battlefield. I knew my judgment to crush it was right.”
Garwin nodded, seemingly satisfied.
“Ho-hoo~. So, you had your eyes on the ‘Panacea Breath: Long-Range Diffusion Mercy of the Goddess’. Impressive! ”
“Y-Yeah…. I don’t get why you’re talking down to me, though…”
Ryo said arrogantly again, and Garwin shook his head slightly.
“Well, that over there, is the first major collaboration Kenneth and I created. It’s no exaggeration to call it the pinnacle of modern alchemy.”
Ryo said confidently.
Garwin glanced at him with slight surprise.
Then said solemnly.
“Kenneth was the alchemist who turned me into a pincushion. Richard was an incredible alchemist, but you guys are impressive too…”
It seems Garwin had the maturity to appreciate good work when he saw it.
“Richard, the founder of the Kingdom, right? He could use magic of all attributes.”
“That’s right. Richard could use magic of all attributes.”
“How envious.”
Ryo’s final murmur went unheard by anyone…
Or so he thought, but it was actually heard by Garwin, who was fighting in front of him.
“He didn’t quite master water magic like you, magician. I must admit, the coordination that made me disappear was a first-time experience…”
“Is that so? Well, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Garwin praised, and Ryo blushed. Even in the midst of battle.
Suddenly, Ryo had a question.
The legend of ‘King Richard battling the Djinn’ was said to be a legend.
He remembered that.
The one who could resolve that question was right in front of him now.
And it seemed he could resolve it perfectly.
“At present, it is said that the story of King Richard fighting against the Djinn is just a legend.”
“What?”
“I don’t know the details either, but apparently it doesn’t match up chronologically.”
“I don’t care about the chronology, but the fact that we fought is true.”
The legend was correct.
That was now proven.
With this, all of Ryo’s concerns were dispelled.
It was about time to move on to the next stage.
Some information had also been gathered!
But it seemed that the timing was the same for Djinn Garwin.
“It’s about time I get serious.”
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”
The next battle between Garwin and Ryo began.
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