"What... the fuck..."

Experience gained: 75,311,502

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

+50 Skill Points

Soma and I slowly let go of the handle of the Sword of Bloodwell and collapsed onto the ground. We were in the center of the crater caused by the Area-of-Effect ability; Breakmoon, that even Ru'Ah had a hard time approaching us due to the shock from the sheer firepower of that attack.

From the description of Status Check, Breakmoon was a middle-tier Sword spell that utilized the innate strength of a sword to create an expulsion force. It was known for a quickgap measure as a Crowd Control ability, and it was a very useful skill in 1v1 duels to escape from an unfavourable position. However, it remained as a middle-tier skill because of its implications of using it in underground dungeons, where the more powerful monsters lie; It would cause the underground floors to collapse and destroy the terrain unnecessarily.

In this plan of ours, it acted like a triggering mine in terms of explosive force. The crater and the instant demise of a large number of monsters were the end results of a coordinated Breakmoon with multiple swords summoned by Sword Fields and buffed by multiple Sword Dances.

Incidently, Rien's body was undamaged as it was within the vicinity of where we were holding the sword. Soma had mentally taken this into calculation before deploying swords with the Sword Fields.

But Har'Lus's sorry figure had already vanished into unseen particles.

Telepathy has expired after 471 seconds.

Pysche Swap has expired after 495 seconds.

Status modifiers adjusted.

Soma and I were close to losing consciousness after that huge attack that sapped nearly all of our mana, mostly mana from Soma. Without the Mana Drugworms, it would have been impossible to do it.

This showed how long the worm had been sapping mana from Soma's mother and herself.

Har'Lus who owned these monsters was all the more powerful after having fed and controlled himself with a nest of them without dying, but he was caught off guard without showing off anything and died to larvicide-coated swords that rebounded and incapacitated him.

Although the remaining skills learnt from the Singular Skill Manipulation window were passive and toggle skills that would not end quickly, Telepathy and Psyche Swap had expired automatically without mana to fuel them.

"I-I'm back...! Mast...er!!!"

?!

"Uueeghh!!! AaaaAaAaAaaargghhh!!! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUUUCCCCKKK!!!"

White fell onto the ground and started scratching his entire body, throwing up a mouthful of blood clogged up inside of his throat in the process.

Soma turned to see White back in his body, complete with broken bones, punctured organs and various external physical wounds. Not being able to adapt to the sudden pains in his body, he immediately felt an urge to swear to relieve the pain but it hardly helped.

White's eyes were wide open and flickering in between red and black. His body knew it was in danger, but he didn't know how to fix it. As a result, his survival instincts were triggering his Eyes of Fear on and off.

The pain continued to assault him mercilessly, as drool continued leaking out of his mouth; His spazzing body was convulsing rapidly on the ground.

Soma did not hesitate a second upon turning around and seeing the state of White. She took out a flask-like object from her pouch around her waist, and popped open the lid.

"Drink it quickly, Master!"

Soma held down White's weakened but violent state and forced the liquid content of the flask into White's throat.

His body began to stop thrashing around as a thin white veil enveloped him and closed up all of his wounds slowly.

He began to be able to think again.

I was fairly prepared for this so I wouldn't get a severe circulatory shock, but this is an entirely new experience?! How in hell did that girl withstand this torture?!

But I can move properly now it seems... all of my internal and external wounds are healed...

White looked at the person who administered the healing.

Soma was smiling with relief as she looked down on me while sitting on top of me in a cowgirl position.

"..."

"I'm so glad Master is okayyy!!! I'm so gladdd!!!"

"What are you doing."

"A-ah, that was the last high-grade elixir I had in my possession. It is an extremely valuable potion that heals all kinds of wounds quickly, but it doesn't fix missing body parts-"

"I said, what are you doing."

"? ...?!!! Ahhh!!! I-I'm so sorry, I-I'll g-g-g-get off now! Right now!!! Right now... right...now..."

Soma had not left her position in the slightest, and was instead looked a little happy? She was beginning to pant heavily.

"We're in the middle of a battle, get off."

"!!!"

White readjusted himself once Soma had stood up hurriedly and left White. She was standing behind him timidly, visibly shaking.

She took out her final other recovery item; A mana potion she had stored for emergencies and gulped it down quickly.

She could now use a maximum of 5 to 6 spells again, but that was her current limit without any mana left over from the stockpile of the Mana Drugworms.

Health 2,422 Mana 6,141 (+6,140)

Having centred himself properly, White refocused his eyes towards the edge on top of the crater, where Ru'Ah was still observing them with impatience.

"Tch. ...That's right, that's right. It's still all according to plan. Your mana, it's nearly depleted, hasn't it? Soma Suzuhara? Not even worth mentioning, White. All of this transpired because of your uselessness."

"..."

"I won't make the same mistake anymore, nor can you escape out of range to think again with that body. All you're thinking of right now ... is nothing. You have nothing left. No contingency plans after an all-or-nothing attack like that? That's not like you, White~ Trying to surprise me? Sure, you did so, but that's all there is to it. I ultimately still have the upper hand, while you've used up all of your healing items, Soma Suzuhara. There's no more mana for you two to accomplish anything significant against my durable body~ ...It's what you two call...

Game over, isn't it?"

Without strength to approach her carelessly, the two could only watch Ru'Ah silently, as she made her way towards them down the crater.

White could not escape from her agility with his weakened body, but Soma could.

But she didn't. She couldn't do it.

Not anymore. She had a conviction now.

So they chose to accept what was coming without leaving the only weapon around that was stabbed onto the ground still. Ru'Ah did not even bother using her Invisiblity Cloak, as she made her way towards the body of Rien.

"!!!"

Just as Soma was prepared to take the sword out and lunge at Ru'Ah, White grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"No, Soma Suzuhara, close your eyes. We need to conserve our energy."

At this point, using sign language or anything inconspicuous no longer held any meaning against Ru'Ah. She could read through every single plan.

"But!"

"Accept it, woman. She is already gone."

"Khh!!! I-... I...!!!"

White's grip wasn't particularly strong, but she did not resist it, as she bit her lips in anguish.

"Don't look over there. It's not good for your mental state right now."

"..."

Sounds of guts and blood were heard. Ru'Ah was assimilating herself into the body of Rien, as blood splattered everywhere. Some of them got onto Soma's cheeks.

"!!!"

...Eyes dilated, her pulse had also rose abnormally alongside her pale white face. Sweat discharged from her body uncontrollably and tears began to flow out of her eyes without warning. A body that had been conditioned by haemophobia, it was not easy to stay composed.

What one would call a mental illness back on Earth. This world, which had reverted back to the Middle Ages, there were no ways to cure it. An untreated illness born from an extremely deep emotional scar, both from Earth and in this world. It would eventually become harder and harder to get rid of it. And thus, she screamed.

But of course, it was quickly stifled by White's hand who had already anticipated it. But Soma did not stop shaking.

It wasn't until a few seconds later before she could catch her breath again.

"Keep your eyes on me, ... eyes on me... that's right. Stay calm. Don't look at anything else but me."

A faint feeling of comfort, that was what Soma had continued to rely on ever since they had engaged in continuous combat. Even as both of their bodies wear down slowly but surely, Soma had faith and a decent understanding that White was starting to become an emotional pillar for her, even if she did not understand why.

She nodded her head and slowly calmed down again. Seeing that Soma had regained her composure, White let go of his hand covering her mouth. It was definitely not easy witnessing such a sight. White thought in his mind. But he could not bear to empathize with her. No, he was unable to.

"A-ahhh~ That's the spot right there. Using the body of a filthy corpse is definitely not my kink, although I don't really mind getting into that kind of thing with time~"

The familiar voice of Rien entered Soma's ears.

"!!!"

Soma was thrown off by Ru'Ah in Rien's body; Her best friend and sister was speaking to her as if she was still alive.

"Ri...en..."

Ru'Ah was still adjusting her body by doing a few stretches with her fingers and waist. She was visibly enjoying herself grinning sinisterly at the look of despair from Soma. Ru'Ah who was in Rien's body was contorting her expression as disgustingly as White remembered it.

"Hee hee hee~ Looks like an added bonus for using this body too~ Soma?"

"?!"

"You won't hurt older sister right?"

"A-ahhh... Ah... ...."

Soma had turned partially insane. Her eyes were twitching, as she watched the unnatural movement of her sister. Limb after limb, they twisted and turned beyond the ability of a normal human being. The girl known as Rien, no longer resided in that demonic body. It merely seemed to laugh at Soma as it continued to shred away the former dignity of the human who had once possessed this carcass. Blood was spilling out of each joints like an overworked oil engine.

Soma was paralyzed. White was shouting something, but she could not hear it. There was a sharp ring in her ears.

"Caustic Spittle!"

Ru'Ah immediately opened with a spurt of acid coming out of the mouth of Rien. It was not a powerful amount as it was in her Parasite form, but enough to kill.

"Soma? What are you thinking so hard about again?"

"Sister Rien? Haha, just something."

"From our previous life?"

"Mm."

"That's right, things have... changed huh..."

"That's right, we're still alive. Living the life with a warm family I never had. It's quite overwhelming to be honest."

"You've changed too, Soma."

"How so?"

...No ...I've never changed at all.

"... ...ma... s..ma... soma... SOMA!!!"

Soma snapped out of it with a command from White, and she immediately noticed the incoming attack.

"!!! Sword Summon! Blade whirlwind!"

Chaining these two abilities together created a rotating fan that dispersed the acid.

Looks like this also works as a shield, I was right.

White inwardly thought, as he observed the situation calmly. Soma had successfully fended off an attack by Ru'Ah's substitute body, but for how long.

Health 2,422 Mana 4,011 (+4,010)

Incidentally, White had already read the description of Sword Summon as well. It was the weaker version of Sword Field that costs significantly lesser as it did not spawn 5 swords at once, but the designated deployment of the sword was more accurate.

White tried to use the sword from Sword Summon as well as an alternative weapon previously, but he could not do it unless he was holding the Sword of Bloodwell originally. Since it was redundant to use two swords when he could barely handle one, he dropped that idea.

Apparently, swords summoned by Sword Summon or Sword Field required the user to hold the original sword that summoned them to wield them. They also consume a constant amount of mana while materialized until the skill is dispersed intentionally by the user or interrupted by external means.

The summoned swords held 75% of the attack value of the initial sword which had been used to summon them. That was why Sword Mages generally preferred to use two-handed swords like claymores and sometimes even blunt swords made with heavy steel and or rare minerals. They were considered the strongest weapon type that boasted immense combat values.

Although there were a few exceptions in the world of adventurers, Soma stuck to the old-fashioned rule to maximize her damage. She did not have any talent after all, and had to share the same common idealogies of normal adventurers.

"Pierce thy enemy with my flesh and blood! Explosive Bone Expulsion!"

The long-winded chant was enough for Soma to know what it did.

A long ranged attack, in that case.

"Sword Field! Harden Sword!"

Another durable wall of swords were formed in front of Soma and White. She had no choice but to use another Sword Field to fend off the incoming attack that spread out in a large cone. She needed to cover the large surface area with more than 1 sword from her Sword Summon.

Harden Sword was a low-tier skill that raised the brittleness of swords for a small amount of mana. It was a staple among sword users, whether they were a Sword Mage or a Swordsman.

The explosion blew away the weak body of Rien, as Ru'Ah was blown off a few hundred meters away. But she did not sustain any injuries because of her durable parasite body; Only Rien who was her host currently suffered the superficial wounds. She coughed out a mouthful of blood in her comatose state.

Soma had intentionally blown her away so she wouldn't see the blood. She had pulled some distance apart from Ru'Ah as well, making the situation slightly less dangerous.

She didn't want White to get caught up in the close-ranged fights.

Health 2,422 Mana 1,131 (+1,130)

Soma didn't stop there. Using her abundance of experience with limited mana, she made the best use of the already expended mana and used the next set of abilities.

"Sword Dance! Sword Rain!"

The hardened swords that were enhanced by Harden Sword rose up mid-air.

Before it was performing its intended buff effect by circling around the user upwards in a spiral, she had already used Sword Rain to cancel that animation to drop them quickly onto the unsuspecting Ru'Ah.

We need to wear down some of her health first. And we cannot let up on speed against her who has that physical element in Spades. But can I do it... do I have the heart... to finish her off...

But Ru'Ah knew everything with Mind Reading. Understanding her plans immediately, she immediately followed up.

"Harden Skin!"

We need to weaken her quickly, and let Master finish her off.

Normal attacks are not enough to pierce through her skin as expected.

That's why-

..?! GYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The hardened swords pierced through the organs on the back of Rien's body.

Ru'Ah shrieked loudly as murky liquids continued spurting out of her back like a waterfall.

Looks like it's time.

"HOW DID YOU!" Ru'Ah screamed in confusion as she broke the swords violently and rushed towards us.

She lost her composure again, this is the prime opportunity.

"You didn't know? I thought you did, that the Sword of Bloodwell is a power-hungry weapon." White revealed.

"What do yo-"

She saw blood and green liquid accumulating at the tip of the Sword of Bloodwell. The blood was coming from the surroundings.

That's right, Har'Lus and the defeated monsters had been disintegrated by Breakmoon, but their blood particles still lingered in the air. They were being absorbed into the demonic blade held by Soma rapidly, as it began to pulsate and turn red.

"You little shit!!!! Don't underestimate meee!!!"

Ru'Ah's back exploded like before, as she transformed partially to unlock a portion of her dangerous techniques. White and Soma could not interrupt this transformation sequence this time, as it happened instantly.

Soma immediately turned to look at White to stop her haemophobia from acting up.

"I'M DONE WITH THISSS!!! BONE CLAW! BONE SLASH! BONE SHIEEELLLDDD!"

Ru'Ah yelled out a number of abilities, as her body became covered in sharp and durable spikes. Her body had become colossally bigger by ten times her original size, as she had outgrown the depth of the crater and soon, the height of the surrounding trees.

"DIEEE!!!"

Screaming out a Battlecry, she charged towards the two with her giant-sized body. She couldn't afford to go on the defensive anymore after realizing that her strength that was originally on par with the Sword of Bloodwell had fallen behind temporarily. Her mana advantage and recovery options were being thwarted by the sheer power of the demonic blade.

That's right, how could she have neglected such an important thing! She had been drowning herself in her superiority that she forgot about such a simple war potential the two had.

Ru'Ah's single-target Mind Reading had turned out to become her Achilles heel at the very end.

She had not picked up about that from White, because he was entrusting everything to Soma, who knew the demonic blade better than anyone else.

She was the soul attached to the accursed blade; The Sword of Bloodwell.

Soma knew the permanent increase of the sword's attack using blood of any lifeform wouldn't shoot up dramatically like that, even with the amount of blood being obtained currently as the source. Instead, she had triggered the active ability of the sword.

Bloodwell Expend.

Active: Bloodwell Expend Draws up the entirety of the most recently consumed victim and converts the power into a multiplier based on the victim's Rank, for 10 seconds.

Just absorbing Har'Lus who was using the body of Len de Eschtalier, a Rank 5 alone multiplied the Sword of Bloodwell's attack by 5 times.

Even if the monsters were low rank, there was an abundant amount of them. It boosted the sword's attack ferociously, raising its attack x the rank of the most recent lifeform it was absorbing from.

A few hundred, no, a few thousand times the strength of herself temporarily wasn't going to end well for Ru'Ah.

Ru'Ah had to make use of her entire arsenal of skills and her quick agility to win!

For the first time in her life, the parasite was feeling an inkling surge of fear.

"Sword Dance! Lightspeed thrust!"

Casting these two spells in succession, Soma had nearly reached her mana limit. She could only cast one last low-tier spell at best.

The swords that were dropped with Sword Rain were picked up with the effect of Sword Dance again slowly because of the insufficient amount of mana supplied, and Lightspeed Thrust made the swords fly towards her back which Ru'Ah had left defenseless.

Ru'Ah had forced all of her hardening abilities towards her front to make herself more streamlined against air friction in order to become faster.

The effect of Bone Shield casted by Ru'Ah had protected that impact, but her momentum had been delayed slightly nonetheless.

This was an important factor for Soma. The downside of Bloodwell Expend was that it would absorb everything that was possible to absorb, and it wouldn't stop until it finished.

It's ultimate greed for power was a disadvantage for Soma right now, who just needed to pick up the sword lunged into the ground and swing it once towards Ru'Ah.

Ru'Ah was approaching the two at breakneck speed.

Bone claw and Bone Slash were enhancing her sharpened bones with an incredible puncturing effect, as well as a sharp raise in attack and speed.

The attack looked like it was going to hit judging by the speed of it.

As if confirming and gloating in her imminent victory, Ru'Ah cackled menacingly.

"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

IT'S OVER YOU IDIOTS, IT'S FINAAAAALLLYYY OVERRR!!! DIEEEEEEEEEE!!! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!

"Diamond Dust!"

? Diamond Dust this late in the game? There's nothing more you can scheme against speed!

Ultimately, there's nothing left for you except becoming my foooddd!!!

Ru'Ah could begin to make out the two figures she had been fighting against. The Diamond Dust was clearing up from the blood flow that was dispersing the purple smoke.

She could finally see something.

White and Soma was still holding onto the handle of the Sword of Bloodwell together. The sword was still glowing red from the effects of Bloodwell Expend. The effect was nearing its completion, but she had already reached right in front of them.

It was too late, she thought triumphantly.

But amidst the glitter of the dust, Ru'Ah could make out a smile coming from the boy called White Shigaraki.

White had peeled off his skin on his wrist, revealing a thin string.

Ru'Ah was shocked at the appearance of the thing White had pulled out from his wrist at this stage.

The Chaos Serum inside of him!

She knew what he was planning.

With the intellect of White, there was no way he had missed that.

"Have a taste, Rululu. Have a good long taste, and stay right there."

"!!!"

Although Ru'Ah had Mind Resistance against White's Eyes of Fear, she was still immobilized.

...No, she was feeding on it.

She was feeding on the deletable quality of the accumulated Chaos Serum inside of White's wrist all this time.

It was a gamble for White, and it had paid off.

Ru'Ah stopped abruptly right in front of Soma and White, and began to absorb the chaos serum in euphoria. It was her bodily instinct that she could not stop.

She was right there! Any single ability could reap their lives, but her body betrayed her expectations.

It wasn't the time to eat!

How did this happen?! HOW DID THE PREDATOR BECOME THE PREY!!! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLEEE!!!

"It's ready, Master."

"...Are you ready to end this?"

"...You can do it on my behalf."

"...Alright, we'll... hold the handle together."

"...Un."

Ru'Ah watched irritatedly as the two managed a casual conversation while she was immobilized by her body instincts.

She wasn't done eating all of it quite yet. White had accumulated alot of them.

The string which was called the Chaos Serum was an apparatus born from the Chaos Alignment. It fed from the ones with Holy, accumulating fear, despair, hatred... every single negative emotion White was feeling the entire time he was holding on to it.

The monsters chasing him gave him fear.

The betrayal of a slave gave him despair.

The feeling of being abandoned gave him anger.

These three emotions swirled into the serum and became too much for Ru'Ah to consume in one go.

"In the end, it really turned out to become the final trump card under my sleeve huh. How ironic, that power needed to truimph evil always comes from evil." White spat out these words.

Truly a greedy existence, wanting to grasp everything with her own little hands, only to become too self-absorbed into it that it neglected everything else.

Hands? Feet? Whatever, you monstrosity.

In the end, you'll have turned up with nothing, because you've underestimated the essence of my being.

I am the culmination of negative emotions.

That's why it's the greatest opening for someone who follows the instinct of an animal. Of a parasite.

I looked at the memento around my neck.

...With this... my revenge will be complete. But...

... The memento from my father remaining in my possession... The pendant.

It's probably a regret I'll have to carry on, but it's still not too late for this girl.

I looked at Soma, who looked back at me.

The Sword of Bloodwell stabbed onto the ground had finished its due preparations, and was at the peak of power right now.

I am the embodiment of every negative feeling right now, thus... at this moment...

...I AM UNPARALLELED!

Making the final conclusion in my heart, I shouted these words emotionlessly.

"Prepare yourself, bug. I will crush you once and for all!"

"FUCK YOU!! FUCK YOU!! FUCKKKK YOUUUU!!!"

Ru'Ah was screaming crazily. She had never enjoyed this kind of quality food in her life, but she was going to die from it. It was making her superiority complex go insane.

Ru'Ah 's body continued to grow but she could only stockpile strength but still could not move. Her original form became unrecognizable, covered with organs and sharp bone splinters, leaving only the face of Tokuzaki Rien intact.

Rien's distorted and face full of insanity was right in front of Soma.

Soma flinched, but realized the reality of everything that had happened.

Rien could no longer be rescued.

Being too conceited of her own power. She could probably use invisibility to escape right after distancing herself from us, but she didn't.

You've had enough right, Rululu? How do you like my taste?" I gave out a final taunt.

"F..UOUUOUFUFUOFOFFUFFFKFUCKFUOCKFUKOFKCK-" In an attempt to break free, Ru'Ah was increasing her size needlessly, causing her voice to become distorted as a result while she continued to curse me.

Clutching the handle together, we braced ourselves with the demonic blade. We picked up the sword from the ground and readied the final blow.

"Soma? What are you thinking so hard about again?"

"Sister Rien? Haha, just something."

"From our previous life?"

"Mm."

"That's right, things have... changed huh..."

"That's right, we're still alive. Living the life with a warm family I never had. It's quite overwhelming to be honest."

"You've changed too, Soma."

"How so?"

... ...I...

"You've changed, definitely. Soma you can do it now, right?"

"...I-I still can't!"

"Soma..."

"It's not fair!!! Why did this happen to you! Why not me?! I'm not an honor student like you, I have no talents, I'm boring to talk to... there's nothing good about me!!! Reincarnating into a different world, just reminded me how weak I am even after all this effort I've put in to save you!!!"

"Soma... it's... okay..."

I was being hugged by Rien.

The scene returned to the library, where the afterglow of the sunset illuminated the place.

"You've done your best. You just need someone to guide you, that's all."

"Someone? I don't have anyone but you!"

"But you do, don't you? You also call him Master at that."

"?!"

"Heehee, you finally looked this way. ...Soma, it's painful for me too, but you have to move on. You can't stay here forever."

"W-why not?! This place is comforting, I like it here! I like it when you are here with me!"

"Soma, I love you. Become strong."

"I'm n-"

Rien kissed my forehead, as the surroundings around me become brighter.

"You're back, finally. It's the final stage of your revenge now, so happy that you're crying? ...Geez...women are so quick to come to tears."

"..."

"Your irrational fear of blood, you must be... the one who takes the first step.

It is time now... Remove those shackles, ...Soma!!!"

Upon hearing this command from White, Soma saw an afterimage of her best friend that covered the convoluted face of Ru'Ah.

Finishing her last prayer towards Rien, Soma yelled out with her face flowing out tears uncontrollably.

"...!!! I'M SORRY, ...GOODBYE!!!"

White let go of the handle of the sword this very instant, and gave full control of the finishing blow to Soma.

The charged up Sword of Bloodwell utilizing Bloodwell Expend swung towards Ru'Ah.

Soma felt a smile coming from Rien at that moment where the surroundings were dyed in red.

BBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM

A large explosion signaled the end of the fight.

Was it finally over? The newly formed dust cloud began to settle.

As it cleared, they could both see remnants of body parts on a puddle of green substances.

Experience gained: 23,441,260

...We won.