The Blasphemous Tomb – Act V: The Finale
As I watched Kaeru using a kick to absorb the impact of his fall and repair the various damages he had sustained, I felt a light tap on my back. Turning my head, I saw Fana, her eyes filled with exasperation and a faint smile of disbelief on her lips.
“Honestly, what a ridiculous—no, utterly absurd thing you’ve done, huh?”
“…It’s true that I did something unnecessary this time, so I can’t argue against that.”
“Right? Well, we’ll tease you about that later. Have you finished over there?”
“Not yet. How about you?”
“I’m still here, but it seems like it’s over. ‘Hmm, it’s done.’ ‘It’s finished!’ I was going to say it wasn’t, but it looks like it is.”
“Ugh.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at Fana’s inability to make a decisive statement. Realizing that I was the only one who hadn’t finished my job here, I decided to swiftly deliver the final blow to the frog in front of me.
“Then, I suppose I’ll finish this up.”
“Do you need a sword?”
“No, I don’t.”
Kaeru glared at me as he rose, having completed his regeneration. Normally, after being beaten to such a degree, even a strong creature would show fear and flee rather than harbor anger. Yet, it felt as if he was fixated on killing me, driven by a murderous intent. Ever since awakening, he had been trying to kill me, and Fana had intervened only to distract him enough to come after me.
Well, it didn’t really matter.
I would finish him off before he could attack. Gathering strength in my legs, I ran carefully to avoid kicking up dust, leaping directly above Kaeru’s head. To prevent him from noticing and moving his head, I immediately focused my power and delivered a kick aimed at the part of his skull where the brain resided.
Regular strikes wouldn’t work due to his properties, and trying to tear through him would take too long in this moment. However, even normal strikes could be effective if I directed the flow of impact correctly.
“Now, die for me.”
I adjusted the direction of my kick and struck. Once I understood the mechanism and adapted my attack accordingly, it became easy to obliterate his head like this.
…Why does he look like he’s seen something impossible?
“Over here too. This is the end, but… what’s wrong?”
“…Wasn’t physical damage supposed to be ineffective? It seems to be working just fine.”
“Ah, it’s not that it’s completely absorbed or nullified. If I strike using the same principle as piercing armor, I can achieve this.”
“I see… What was the mechanism behind that?”
“Ah, it’s hard to explain in words. Besides, we don’t have time to linger here. Let’s quickly dismantle the corpses and bury the ashes of the Beast-folk. I’ll explain while we do it on the way back.”
“Got it. Then let’s get started and finish this.”
“Yeah. Someone call Lulu over.”
“Stella is going to get her now.”
“Quick responses are helpful. What about Fon?”
“He’s digging a hole for the ashes. He picked the spot himself; is that okay?”
“That’s perfectly fine… Then let’s start with the dismemberment. It wouldn’t be fair to leave such a large task to Lulu alone.”
At a minimum, we were dealing with a giant body over two thousand meters long. It would take too long and be exhausting for Lulu to handle it all by herself. Even without knowledge or skills, I could at least help break it down to make material collection easier. I didn’t know what we would use each part for, but I figured I could cut off the legs without causing too much damage and slice the insides carefully.
“Rio, lend me a knife.”
“A knife? Here you go.”
“Thanks. Let’s start by cutting off a leg.”
“Understood. I’ll take care of the back legs.”
“Alright, then I’ll…”
“Come with me. It’s my first time using a short blade, so I need you to teach me a few things.”
“…Fine. I’ll teach you.”
She looked at me as if I were joking, but unfortunately for her, I was serious. I had never used one before. In fact, I had tried, but my fighting style didn’t suit it, and the moment I gripped it tightly, the handle shattered, making it unusable. So, I had no idea how much force to apply or how to stab and cut properly. Don’t ask me why I never learned; I thought it wasn’t necessary back then.
“First, don’t apply too much force.”
“Got it.”
“When you stab, it’s not suited for piercing bones or hard parts, so lightly insert it and then move it smoothly.”
“It’s not cutting!”
“…It’s not piercing?”
“Can I give it a try?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“…It went in?”
“…How?”
“…I don’t know? So, what do I do from here?”
“…From there, don’t force it. Draw a curve and pull down.”
“A curve down? Like this?”
“Exactly. Once you reach the bottom, pull it back up, stab again, and pull down.”
“Repeat this?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I see, then wait a moment.”
“Is something wrong?”
“It seems to still be alive.”
“…Huh?”
While I was teaching Rio how to use the knife, I sensed a living presence from where Kaeru’s heart should be, so I left the knife stabbed in place and moved towards it. Whether there was a dormant body inside or if it had evolved to cocoon itself just before dying, it was common for monsters that had gained such powers to grow larger. A similar case would be the worm-like form of a degraded Wyvern, which, when killed and dismantled, revealed a dragon inside. I was genuinely surprised the first time I encountered that.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
Optimization of the Body
Two hands, two legs, one head, approximately 180 in size.
Optimization of Abilities
Undead Manipulation discarded, focusing on mobility and attack power.
Strengthening of Resistance
Complete absorption of impacts, complete nullification of slashing attacks.
Enhancement of Thought
Utilizing the entire brain of the Beast-folk, employing the adaptability of monsters, strengthening survival instincts.
Selection of Emotions
Fear discarded, despair discarded, joy amplified.
Inside the massive heart, the center of the body that had consumed countless lives without expending any souls, Gugi, who had just been obliterated by Ferno’s strike that crushed his head along with his brain, was awakening and reconstructing his body. This ability to self-resurrect and evolve, triggered by death, was possessed by higher-tier individuals and aging entities that had never found a mate among traditional monsters.
Having consumed numerous lives without any expenditure, Gugi was now utilizing this ability to optimize, enhance, and discard damage feedback, rebirthing himself as a new existence with supernatural powers.
And within the heart, having completed his rebirth, Gugi tore through the remnants of his former body from the inside and crawled out. His lifelong target, the one who had killed him once, Ferno, was now in his sights. He emerged into the air, inhaling deeply, searching for his target with renewed eyes.
“I found you.”
With a shout, Gugi sprinted towards Ferno, his two legs propelling him at a speed that created shockwaves around him, surpassing the speed of sound—an abnormal velocity that no ordinary creature could achieve without their body breaking apart.
If it were a surprise attack, even Ferno would be caught off guard, and with that ultimate speed, he reached out to sever Ferno’s head.
But—
“There’s no second chance in a fight to the death.”
In an extraordinary turn of events, Gugi found himself confused as he heard Ferno’s voice from above, where he should have been standing right in front of him. Instantly, he scanned his surroundings, and what he saw was his own body, split in half and collapsing to the ground without a head.
Above him, the very foot that had taken his life just moments ago was raised high, ready to strike again.
Having discarded feelings of fear and despair, Gugi’s final moments were filled only with the unavoidable reality of death approaching. He could neither lose consciousness from fear nor escape in despair; he remained fully aware until the very moment of his demise.
Gugi’s Final Form
A yellowish-brown frog transformed into a human shape.
In terms of combat ability, after awakening for about three hours, the protagonist had already reached a level comparable to that of a mid-tier executive within the Demon Lord’s Army.
Regarding the Protagonist and Fana’s Abilities
In the context of this world, they are among the elite of the elite. When considering the human race, only a handful can stand alongside them in terms of sheer combat prowess, and aside from one exceptional case under specific conditions, none surpass them. On a global scale, they rank high, but their abilities barely place them within the top ten. They have yet to reach the level of the top five, who are truly the strongest of the strong.
Questions
1. Would you like to see a backstory of the protagonist during their time as a Hero? It would primarily revolve around battles against the executives of the Demon Lord’s Army and the development of trust between them and Fana.
2. Are you interested in the settings for the Demon Lord’s Army executives or the legendary monster Gugi? As of now, I have created the settings, but I do not plan to include them in the main story.
Please let me know your thoughts. If there is a strong desire to see this content, I will write it. However, if you prefer to see the main story progress instead, I will focus on that.