"What?!"
Hartman's smug, triumphant expression froze the instant he saw Geno and his companion break the assault. Then, with utter disbelief written across his face, he stared at the longsword and shield in Geno's hands.
"That is—the power of Ether. You—so you really have turned into an Ethereal? Hahaha, I knew my elixir would work!"
Seeing Geno still lucid yet able to command Ether, Hartman was beside himself with joy, for he believed his own Sacrifice Elixir had succeeded in transforming Geno into the perfect, rational Sacrifice.
And one that could keep a human appearance, no less. Every last part of it thrilled him beyond measure.
Because if he could study Geno, this living specimen, he would be able to create the true elixir that would grant him immortality!"I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! I absolutely must have you!"
Watching Hartman's expression twist into something more and more depraved, Geno felt a cold shudder crawl over his skin, as if he were reliving the moment that GAI creep had groped his backside back at the factory.
"Ugh, so gross. All at once I really can't stand this guy."
But disgust aside, the job still had to be done. Bringing Hartman to justice was the best reckoning he could offer all those innocent, wronged souls.
This was also the solution Lycaon and his people held in high regard. New Eridu had to maintain stable order, and the law came first above all else.
Of course, whatever unlawful procedures might follow once the lawful procedures were done—well, that was nobody's business.
But all of that was for after Hartman was caught. Right now the pressing matter was to subdue him.
Yet how could Hartman throw in the towel so easily?
"I'd love to study you a little sooner, but before that, why don't we wait a while longer."
Even his overwhelming craving for Geno hadn't made Hartman lose his reason.
As long as the green hills remain, one need never worry about firewood. Right now he had no men, no money—better to save himself first and worry about the rest later.
And so Hartman snapped his fingers once more, and over a dozen silhouettes came crawling out of the shadows, every one of them barely humanoid, each grotesque in its own bizarre way.
But they were all Half-Sacrifice monstrosities, remade from the wretched souls Hartman had abducted.
Geno could almost hear the mournful wailing rising from their very souls. "Bastard!"
It wasn't the first time, but every time he recalled the true forms of these monsters, Geno couldn't hold back the fury burning inside him. Beside him, Lycaon felt the same.
"Calm yourself, Lord Geno. We can't lose our footing now. Seizing Hartman is what matters most." As he spoke, Lycaon set himself into a combat stance of his own accord, bracing for the hard fight ahead.
But before he and Geno could make their move, Hartman took a further step.
"Look at these little darlings. To think I'll have to part from them in a moment—it really does make me a bit reluctant."
With that, Hartman drew a vial of elixir from his coat—the Elixir P07 that Sarah had handed him earlier—and viciously jabbed it into the body of a Half-Sacrifice at his side.
After all, with a far more perfect specimen like Geno on hand, this elixir's usefulness no longer mattered so much.
"Let these little darlings play with you two for a while."
As he spoke, Hartman casually tossed the emptied syringe aside and began to fall back.
Seeing that Hartman meant to flee, Geno and Lycaon scrambled to give chase, only to be blocked in front by the Half-Sacrifice that had just been injected.
"Rooaahh gagaga!"
The Half-Sacrifice, already close to a wild beast, grew even more frenzied after being injected with Elixir P07. Then its whole body began to swell like a balloon, white tumors sprouting from its shoulders, from which several tentacles extended to bar Geno and Lycaon's path.
And after forcing the pair back, the Sacrifice did not stop. It kept lashing more tentacles out toward its own 'kin,' binding them fast and dragging them toward itself.
Then, beneath Geno and Lycaon's astonished eyes, the mutated Sacrifice absorbed and fused every one of the remaining Half-Sacrifices into its own body.
Seeing this, Geno hurriedly swung his longsword to stop it, but was blocked by the Sacrifice's tentacles. Aside from severing a few negligible tentacles, he dealt it no real wound at all.
Then, atop the deformed Sacrifice that had devoured the Half-Sacrifices, ram's horns slowly grew, while from its back sprouted wings like a bird's—a thing that resembled nothing at all, like the fused monster of myth and legend, the Chimera.
"Annoying thing."
It wasn't the first time Geno had seen a strange creature like this, but every time he witnessed the Sacrifices' uncanny nature, it filled him with revulsion.
Absorbing other matter to reshape itself, just like a fusion monster, so that no two of them could be dealt with the same way—and its recovery was absurdly strong on top of that.
In a game, it would be the trashiest of trash mobs, without a doubt. "Lycaon, you go after Hartman first. I'll handle this one."
Longsword held level before him, Geno entered the Etherealization state once more, signaling that he would hold off the enemy while Lycaon gave chase to Hartman.
"Understood. Please take care, my lord."
Lycaon had faith in Geno's fighting strength, and so, without a backward glance, he charged straight toward the Sacrifice.
There was no way the Sacrifice would let him pass. It thrust out its tentacles to block him, only for a streak of white light to flash before its eyes—and the next second, all of its tentacles were sheared apart.
"Your opponent is me. Where do you think you're looking, tentacle freak!" Geno's blade-force swept out, cutting through several tentacles and carving open a path for Lycaon.
Watching Lycaon's figure race away, Geno turned his focus back to the Chimera Sacrifice before him. "Kyaa!!!"
The Sacrifice let out a bizarre shriek, showing not the slightest fear before this powerful foe—or rather, it had no such emotion as fear at all. Then its tentacles came whipping at Geno once more, while it beat the bird-feathers on its back and rose into the sky, seizing the high ground.
Seeing this, the veins on Geno's forehead bulged. These bastards were bullying the honest, weren't they!?
As everyone knows, though Geno's combat strength had always been second to none, he still hadn't escaped the limits of a human—or rather, of a ground-bound creature.
He! Can! Not! Fly!
"Tch, so annoying! Bullying me for not being able to fly, are you? Watch me knock you back down!" Though Geno, like a certain giant red beast, couldn't fly, he had a solution all the same. If I can't fly, then I'll just knock you down—problem solved.
And so, next Geno condensed another longsword, wielding one in each hand and swinging them in alternating arcs. Flash after flash of blade-light, streak after streak of sword-energy went flying toward the Chimera Sacrifice. "Kyaa!!!"
Still utterly fearless, the Sacrifice met Geno's assault with the same old trick, trying to trade the sacrifice of its tentacles for its own survival.
But all one could see was a mocking smile curling at the corner of Geno's mouth.
"The law of victory—has already been decided!"
____
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