Chapter 49: The Special Task Force’s Close Battle (1)

“That’s pretty tough.”

Murfin frowned and shook his hand.

The man he was facing, Jack, was unbelievably fast for his size.

“I’m sorry, but if you’re involved with the Kingdom of Lumin, there’s no way we can let you leave alive.”

Murfin glared at Jack, gripping his axe and dagger tightly.

The two soon clashed.

Murfin’s axe swung at Jack’s shoulder, but Jack seemed to sense it, twisting his body quickly to aim for Murfin’s abdomen.

Unable to dodge the incoming fist, Murfin twisted his body and Jack’s fist with the hand holding the dagger.

Boom!

The shockwave from Jack’s fist shattered a tree behind Murfin.

Murfin, ever observant, watched Jack’s movements closely.

Though he moved in human form, a strange sense of unease gnawed at Murfin’s awareness whenever Jack acted.

Where did this unsettling feeling come from?

Murfin reached a conclusion.

‘That strength isn’t human.’

To be precise, while the body was human, the source of its power was anything but.

“Did you stuff monster muscles into your body or something?”

Jack looked intrigued.

“Impressive. You noticed?”

“…I’ve seen a few attempts to fuse humans and monsters before.”

He was already familiar with all the data on the subjects and the formidable powers they possessed, discovered at the Chimera Research Facility.

That was thanks to his access to confidential information as part of the Royal Special Task Force.

‘If you want to fight monsters, it’s not a bad idea to learn about Chimeras…’

Murfin quietly sighed, recalling something the Captain of the Special Task Force once mentioned.

Where else would you find a captain who hands out access to top-secret materials just to train his subordinates?

If those secrets ever leaked, it wouldn’t end well for the Captain, either.

‘Of course, I have no intention of leaking anything.’

As Murfin realized he’d let his mind wander, Jack suddenly closed the distance between them.

“Thinking too much while facing me—you must really be underestimating me.”

Murfin quickly tilted his head to dodge Jack’s fist.

Even then, his eyes calmly scanned Jack’s outstretched arm and the rest of his body.

‘Fast, and his skin’s tough. Hard to pierce, and if I take a hit, I’m bound to break a few bones.’

How do you deal with an opponent who is not just tough and fast, but strong as well?

There were various ways to handle such a foe, but Murfin dismissed most of them as soon as he thought of them.

All relied on exploiting the environment.

But in the forest, all he could use for cover were trees and rocks.

Not enough to bring down a man so swift, sturdy, and powerful.

‘That leaves only one option.’

Murfin gripped his axe and dagger and readied his stance.

It was the Knight’s Stance.

Though Murfin had become a fugitive from a fallen Noble Family, he had once been the eldest son of a distinguished house.

And that house was none other than the Noble House of Redburn.

Among the Kingdom of Lumin’s knights, none were truer to the ideals of Chivalry, and perhaps because of that, the Redburn Baron’s family never wielded much influence among the nobles.

‘A knight must be devout, humble, and protect the weak.’

But Murfin had learned the true meaning of Chivalry pursued by the Redburn Baron, who did his utmost to teach Murfin all he knew.

‘To be devout is to be unwavering in your convictions. To be humble is not to look down on your opponent. To protect the weak is to cultivate the strength and wisdom to do so.’

The Redburn Baron, who taught the most practical Chivalry, kept speaking to Murfin until the very moment he was framed by the other nobles.

‘Every enemy has a weakness, and there is no monster that cannot be faced. If you find yourself before the insurmountable, look deeper.’

Deeper.

Murfin’s insight sharpened even further.

As Jack fought Murfin in close quarters, a chill crept down his spine.

‘What’s with those eyes…?’

The way Murfin stared at him felt as if he could see through everything about him.

‘Can’t drag this out.’

It was an instinctive conclusion.

Jack’s fists came at Murfin more ferociously than before.

Murfin’s dagger and axe began to waver and crack.

These weren’t custom-forged for real combat—they were training weapons, after all.

Even so, Murfin met every blow, his eyes shining.

How many exchanges had passed between them?

‘No matter how tough, he still takes damage.’

At last, Murfin found his answer.

And acted without hesitation.

He smashed Jack’s fists with his dagger and axe.

“Hmm, so you still had that much strength left.”

Rather than deflecting, he collided with full force.

Each impact made Murfin’s wrist scream and his weapons tremble violently.

But Jack was confident in his own strength contest, too.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A flurry of blows shook the forest.

Murfin’s hands, gripping dagger and axe, were already bloodied, but his expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Yet the more Jack’s fists and Murfin’s weapons collided, the more sweat beaded on Jack’s brow.

‘This bastard… He’s been aiming for the same spot the whole time!’

No matter how Jack tried to shift the attacks, Murfin stuck to him like a ghost, striking the same spot again and again.

As if determined to break through that thick shell.

And Jack knew well the danger of having one spot pounded over and over.

‘Need to change it up.’

At last, Jack altered his tactics.

Now that he’d realized Murfin’s intent, it was only natural.

But…

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“…!”

Suddenly, the momentum reversed.

Until now, Jack had been on the offensive while Murfin defended, but now Murfin’s attacks pressed fiercely for Jack’s vital points.

Murfin moved his hands deftly, and as Jack desperately blocked, Murfin gave him a chillingly cold smile.

“From the way you’re rushing to block, is your neck soft?”

“…!”

The moment Murfin saw Jack’s expression, he relentlessly targeted the neck.

Jack managed to defend with nimble arms, but every time he did, Murfin unhesitatingly struck the same spot on Jack’s hand he’d been battering before.

Crunch.

“Urgh.”

At last, blood began to trickle from Jack’s hand.

The tough shell that had protected him until now had been broken.

Murfin didn’t miss the pain twisting Jack’s face and the brief hesitation that followed.

His axe and dagger slipped through Jack’s defense and pierced through the entire arm.

Thick flesh and muscle, hacked clean like butchered meat, thudded to the ground.

Jack tried to swing at Murfin’s back, but this time, Murfin’s axe mercilessly slashed Jack’s now poorly-defended neck.

Jack’s head floated up and then fell helplessly to the forest floor.

“Fuuuu…”

Murfin let out a long breath, catching his breath.

His hands, gripping blood-stained axe and dagger, were scraped raw, and the weapons themselves were in bad shape.

One or two more hard swings, and they’d fall apart.

They were barely holding together.

‘How did things turn out on the other side, I wonder?’

Leaving behind the decapitated Cultist, Murfin moved toward his comrades, who were still fighting.

Boom!

“…What the—?”

Or tried to move.

He paused when he saw a man with black wings crash down nearby.

‘That one was… Feedle, wasn’t it?’

One of the Cultists Murfin thought was still fighting Beatrice was now trembling and caked in blood, his face twisted in horror.

“Th-that woman… she’s a monster…”

Murfin glanced in the direction Feedle had flown from.

Beatrice stood there, sword in hand, her expression flushed with excitement.

“Haa~ It’s been a while since I felt like this. Today is the best day ever.”

Her face was feverish, as if her whole body was burning, lips wet as if she’d just been salivating, and her eyes gleamed with a trace of madness.

Murfin frowned at the sight.

“What has you so happy?”

“Who knows… I wonder why I feel so good?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Murfin replied in exasperation, and Beatrice let out a long sigh.

“Hmmm, I really don’t know. I just feel great. Like I’m finally free or something.”

Murfin glanced over at Feedle’s wounds.

The sword marks covering his body looked oddly superficial.

With Beatrice’s skill, there should have been some fatal wounds among them, but they were all barely scratches.

Murfin asked, half-suspecting, “Don’t tell me—you were toying with him?”

“It just happened that way. The training the Captain gave me was really useful against him. I found I could easily block attacks from his blind spots. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so good?”

“…Sheesh.”

Murfin sighed at Beatrice’s words.

Then he tossed his axe, hitting Feedle square on the head.

“Let’s regroup with the others. We should check how things stand.”

“Huff, huff…”

Thrall wiped cold sweat from his brow, catching his breath.

But only for a moment.

“Hya!”

A shout came from above, and Thrall quickly leapt back.

A girl called Ray slammed her fist into the spot Thrall had just been standing.

Her arm had been severed earlier, but now both arms were fully intact.

Thrall gritted his teeth and immediately cast a spell.

Boom!

Mana surged violently toward Ray, hitting her squarely.

“This isn’t good. Not good at all~”

Half her body vanished as if torn apart by a storm.

But only for a moment.

Blood from inside her body writhed like tentacles, forming anew, and her form quickly reconstructed itself.

With her body restored, Ray grinned and said, “You know, using magic like that will shorten your lifespan.”

Thrall snapped his fingers.

Boom!

Once again, Thrall’s unique magic struck Ray, the blast rising high into the sky.

The sheer amount of mana used far exceeded what any ordinary mage could produce.

From within the blast, Ray reformed with a bemused expression and asked, “Hey, are you a Chimera like us? Or did you get some kind of Life Force transfer?”

“I’m not a Chimera, and what’s this about a Life Force transfer?”

“It’s a thing. An ancient technique used in the Sacred Kingdom. You could transfer your Life Force to someone else, or vice versa.”

“Doesn’t apply to me.”

“Really?”

By then, Ray had fully regenerated and rushed at Thrall.

“Then only one thing left to try.”

As Thrall dodged, Ray stomped the ground and shouted,

“You’re a dragon, aren’t you?”