The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 459: Now, Time to Shine (3)
Belinda had finally established her own complete world.
The foundation of this world was her unconditional, infinite love and devotion to Ghislain and Elena. The essence of this world was manifesting here and now.
It was the birth of a new transcendent.
Papapapapapapap!
Countless trails of light sliced through Melkir.
“Aaaaagh!”
Trapped within this luminous cage, Melkir could do nothing but scream as he was ruthlessly slashed.
Even Ghislain felt a chill run down his spine. Once inside that space, no one would be able to easily evade or block the attacks.
Whoosh!
The daggers, enveloped in radiance, scattered in all directions. Melkir’s bandages were soaked in blood, shredded to reveal the gruesome sight beneath.
“Grrrk...”
With the bandages fully removed, Melkir’s appearance was grotesque. His face and body were riddled with scars, leaving no unblemished surface.
Already covered in festering wounds and pus, his body was now drenched in blood from the fresh cuts inflicted by the daggers.
Melkir looked down at his own body, his vacant eyes murmuring.
“Anette... Anette... are you... here again...?”
Most of his wounds were inflicted by Anette long ago. Those injuries had never properly healed, festered, and constantly oozed pus.
With his mana core shattered and his life force drained, his body could never fully recover. It was a marvel he could still move and fight in such a state.
Whoosh!
Thick shadows surged toward the staggering Melkir. Even as the darkness twisted and churned before him, he remained motionless, unable to react.
Slash!
The darkness split apart as Belinda emerged from within.
With all her strength, she drove two daggers into Melkir’s body—one piercing his heart and the other his neck.
Thunk! Thunk!
“Grrk...”
Already gravely injured and staggering, Melkir couldn’t defend himself. His tendons had long been severed, and he was holding himself together with sheer force of will.
Belinda shed a single tear, her gaze filled with hatred.
“I truly thought you were dead.”
Summoning the last of his strength, Melkir forced out a rasping laugh.
“Heh... Dead? Look at me... This is as good as being dead.”
“I didn’t know you were alive. I thought raising the young master and lady well was enough. If I’d known, I would have done things differently.”
Melkir had been the root of all destruction for her organization and the one responsible for her master’s death. Had she known he was still alive, her life would have been consumed by a quest for vengeance. Perhaps her ignorance had been a blessing in disguise.
Melkir chuckled, his body trembling with amusement.
“Heh... To think... that boy was her son... And I didn’t know for over twenty years... Heh heh... Everything’s been unraveling since that day... The Duke’s faction fell into ruin... How could there be such coincidences...”
“It’s no coincidence. It’s fate.”
Indeed, this was fate. Who would have thought such an old grudge would resurface like this?
It was clear Melkir had survived thanks to the Duke’s faction and the Salvation Order. Meanwhile, Anette’s child had grown into a powerful man, becoming the Duke’s greatest threat.
The ties of enmity between Ghislain and the Duke were far older and deeper than anyone had anticipated.
Belinda bit her lip before speaking again.
“This time, you won’t come back. I’ll make sure to sever your head properly. This time, you have no one left to save you.”
“Heh... To fall to you after her... If only I’d mastered that technique...”
“A vile creature like you could never master it.”
Whoosh!
With those words, Belinda swung her twin daggers.
The two blades, glowing with aura, crossed to decapitate Melkir.
Clang!
Her attack was halted by a surge of black energy emanating from Melkir’s wounds.
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“Huh?”
Sensing something was amiss, Belinda quickly retreated.
Whoooosh!
Black energy poured from Melkir’s injuries, wild and uncontrollable. The dark aura rapidly engulfed his body.
Crack.
Melkir’s muscles began to swell, his form growing larger. Grinning through bared teeth, he spoke.
“This is how my story ends... At least the Count of Fenris is here to witness it.”
Belinda’s expression hardened. She recognized what was happening.
It was the Salvation Order’s infamous transformation: the Holy Warrior.
Melkir’s eyes filled with a manic gleam, as if seeing a vision. His voice was almost reverent as he continued.
“This power... It’s the only thing that kept me alive. But it wasn’t truly living... Now, I can finally find peace.”
He turned his gaze to Belinda, his voice dripping with malice.
“The heir of Anette... and the Count of Fenris... Killing you both will be enough. If I can achieve that, it’s my victory in the end.”
Boom!
A massive surge of energy erupted from Melkir’s body. His eyes rolled back, leaving only the whites visible.
His body convulsed violently, frothing at the mouth as he mumbled incoherently.
“Grrr... Anette... I’ll kill you...”
“Target... Fenris... Marquis Ferdium... Elena...”
“Anette... Belinda...”
Even as he reached a transcendent level, his mind had unraveled. The cost of the Holy Warrior’s power was steep, leaving Melkir a shadow of his former self.
“Tsk.”
Belinda retreated, her daggers once again levitating around her. Though her wounds were severe and her mana nearly depleted, she had no choice but to face the now even more powerful Melkir.
At that moment, Ghislain, who had been silently observing, stepped forward.
“Enough, Belinda.”
“Young master.”
“I’ll handle this.”
“But that monster—”
“That’s no longer the man you once knew. He’s finished. What’s standing before us is something else entirely.”
“...”
“Why don’t you head to the castle and assist Gillian? According to Dark, things seem stable, but you can never be too sure.”
“...Will you be okay?”
Ghislain smirked.
“Stop worrying so much.”
Belinda allowed herself a small smile.
No matter how strong or powerful Ghislain became, he would always be a child in her eyes. That wouldn’t change, not even if he grew old and gray.
With a nod, she stepped back.
“I’ll go ahead. Finish it quickly and catch up. We have much to discuss.”
“Don’t worry. This won’t take long.”
With a roar, the fully transformed Melkir charged at Belinda.
But Ghislain intercepted him.
Boom!
Ghislain grinned savagely.
“Now, let’s see what you’ve got.”
His eyes glowed crimson, and a dense, dark aura enveloped his body—an aura far stronger than Melkir’s.
Crunch!
Melkir’s massive hand reached for Ghislain’s sword, attempting to snap it in two. But Ghislain was faster.
He released the weapon and instead drove his fist into Melkir’s face.
Boom!
Melkir’s head snapped to the side. Ghislain flexed his hand, chuckling.
“I’m versatile with weapons, sure, but my first love wasn’t swordsmanship.”
Melkir roared, twisting his neck back into place. Ghislain, unfazed, pulled his fist back again.
“My first discipline was hand-to-hand combat. I’ve always been fond of throwing punches.”
His fist shot forward like a bullet.
Boom!
“Grrk?”
Melkir’s head snapped back once more. The monstrous being couldn’t comprehend what was happening—why he was the one being overpowered.
Watching from a distance, Belinda couldn’t help but chuckle.
There was no need to worry this time, after all.
‘Some things never change. Still...’
Ghislain had always been the reckless child who threw punches whenever things didn’t go his way. Though he had frustrated and worried those around him, Belinda had always embraced him with love, believing he would grow into something greater.
And now, here he was.
Ghislain had truly changed. His fists, once tools of tyranny that caused harm, had now become a beacon of hope, protecting countless lives.
‘Anette, are you watching this?’
As Belinda made her way toward the lord’s castle, a soft smile graced her lips. Was it because she’d stirred up old memories she’d tried to forget? Or was it because she had finally shared the truth about Anette with Ghislain?
Today, it felt like she might burst into tears at any moment.
‘Goodness, I must be getting old. How embarrassing.’
Still, once this ordeal was over, she thought, she might finally allow herself the luxury of crying freely, indulging in the bittersweet nostalgia.
Even in his deranged state, Melkir instinctively tried to chase after Belinda as she retreated. With only his unconscious desires driving him, he sought to kill the target of his hatred.
But there was no way Ghislain would let that happen.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Boom!
Ghislain’s fist drove into Melkir’s now twice-enlarged abdomen.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Melkir’s massive body tumbled and rolled across the ground, landing a significant distance away.
“Raaaaargh!”
The monstrous Melkir quickly sprang to his feet, letting out a blood-curdling roar. Realizing he had to eliminate the obstacle before him, he focused his rage entirely on Ghislain.
Ghislain cracked his knuckles, shaking his head with a smirk.
“Man, you’re tough.”
He could tell that Melkir wasn’t capable of fully wielding his transcendent power. With his mana core shattered, the energy implanted by the Salvation Order was the only thing keeping him alive.
Even during his fight with Belinda, Melkir hadn’t been at full strength. Yet he had exuded confidence, clearly relying on some trump card.
“So this is what you were betting on?”
The transformation into a Holy Warrior amplified one’s power several times over. Even a broken man like Melkir could unleash devastating strength in critical moments.
Ghislain finally understood why the Duke’s faction had carried out this audacious plan.
“A disposable piece. A transcendent who can only use his power once is perfect to throw away.”
And Melkir, knowing this was his final stand, must have seen this battlefield as the best place to burn out his life.
Of course, things wouldn’t go as they’d planned.
“Raaaargh!”
Melkir refocused his rage. He decided to eliminate the irritating opponent in front of him first.
Boom!
Kicking off the ground, Melkir vanished from sight, appearing before Ghislain in an instant—his speed was so great it seemed like teleportation.
Crash!
Melkir’s massive fist smashed into Ghislain, who barely managed to cross his arms in defense, though the impact still sent him sliding backward.
“Aaaaargh!”
Melkir beat his chest and let out a guttural roar, like a beast declaring its dominance.
But Ghislain, despite the numbing pain that made it feel like his arms might fall off, just grinned.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had to use my full strength.”
A hand-to-hand fight with someone wielding no weapons was rare enough. And to find such a battle with a transcendent? Even rarer.
Though Melkir’s techniques had dulled due to his unhinged mind, his raw strength and durability were far beyond that of an ordinary transcendent.
Ghislain felt a thrill he hadn’t experienced in a long time. This was going to be a fight where he could truly let loose.
“Raaaargh!”
Seeing that Ghislain remained unscathed after taking his punch, Melkir growled in frustration and charged again.
This time, Ghislain was faster.
Moving at incredible speed, he closed the distance and drove his fist into Melkir’s face.
Boom!
“Aaaagh!”
With a thunderous explosion, Melkir staggered back, letting out a pained roar.
Ghislain clenched and unclenched his fist. Even with all his power concentrated into the blow, Melkir hadn’t shattered.
As expected. Ghislain could feel his blood boiling with excitement.
“Raaaaargh!”
Melkir rushed at him again, and Ghislain didn’t dodge. He met the charge head-on.
Crash!
The two titanic figures exchanged punches, their black auras swirling and clashing violently, as if trying to devour one another.
Both landed hits, and each staggered back slightly.
“Raaaaargh!”
Melkir roared again, but Ghislain simply smirked.
“Come at me again.”
Boom!
Crash!
Smash!
The sound of fists colliding echoed incessantly. With every clash of their monstrous strength, the surrounding area was rocked by shockwaves.
Melkir’s fist came crashing down once more. Ghislain didn’t dodge but blocked it head-on. Pain shot through his arm like his bones were shattering—it was a terrifying force.
But he didn’t step back. Instead, he retaliated with his own punch.
Boom!
Melkir was hit hard but immediately counterattacked. However, with each exchange, his body was pushed further back.
“Put in a bit more effort, will you?”
Boom!
With a devilish grin, Ghislain landed another punch squarely on Melkir’s face, sending him sprawling.
As time passed, it became clear Melkir was losing ground. He could no longer mount proper counterattacks and was left taking blow after blow.
“Raaaaargh!”
The beastly Melkir refused to stay down, rising again to swing his massive fist. His strength and speed were still immense.
Boom!
Crunch!
Ghislain planted his feet firmly into the ground, creating deep grooves as he absorbed the impact. This time, his body barely budged.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Boom!
This time, Ghislain’s punch sent Melkir staggering back. His battered body began to swell where it was struck, with injuries now visibly worsening.
“Just because you’re throwing your energy around wildly doesn’t mean you’re strong.”
With a mocking smile, Ghislain swung his fist again.
Boom!
Melkir went flying once more, his body crashing to the ground. The sheer force of the blow was enough to snap the mindless rage out of him, leaving his eyes momentarily filled with shock and confusion.
Ghislain towered over him with an air of smug confidence.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
Thud.
Surrounded by a dense black aura and glowing red eyes, Ghislain began to approach the fallen Melkir.
