Because of its burning hide, his other armored glove started burning up, and the knife also began melting, the plasma edge deactivating while the battery that fueled the knife started to heat up rapidly.
He quickly jumped away, and the battery on the knife exploded right after with a blue light, enlarging the injury atop the monster’s head and making it roar in pain.
Another [Infernal Roar] was released by the monster in a desperate manner to take its enemy with it, but Darius simply blocked with a wave of his hand and rushed right back in while forming his hand into a sharp spearhead as miasma concentrated around his arm like a blade. However, to his surprise, the dog wasn’t moving anymore, but a large grin was visible on its face as a rough voice seemed to chuckle amusedly, making him freeze in place right before he could stab the monster in the head.
"I see… you’re no elder… You’re but a mere human who stole the powers of a wolf. Haha~ not sure who’s more pitiful: the wolf who lost to you before you acquired this power or you for trying to chew more than you can bite. How amusing!"
"You sure talk a lot for a monster."
"How can I not? When you’re but a joke?!"
The monster laughed amused, already accepting death with a large grin on its bloody face. On the other hand, Darius also smirked while a vein started popping on his forehead, already right in front of the huge face of the monster.
"Roagh!"
Roaring loudly, Darius impaled the Infernal Dog in the head with a large quantity of miasma concentrated on his hand in the form of a spear, penetrating its head and killing it instantly.
-CRACK!-
A loud sound resounded, and the armor around Darius’ left hand, where the glove was on, started cracking and turning into pieces, falling all over the ground while black and thick veins covered his whole arm almost completely.
"Haah, haah, haah!"
He breathed out tired and gritted his teeth in pain, feeling his arm as if it were ready to fall off.
He used way too much power over the limit he was able to handle, and without the counterpart on, his arm from the shoulder down risked being completely corroded. He knew that if he didn’t start purifying himself soon, then his arm would end up completely corrupted, and even by using a large quantity of mana, he would still be unable to completely heal his arm.
I need to get back... And quick.
Gritting his teeth, he left behind the carcass of the Infernal Dog after taking out the crystal by once again using the miasma blade to cut its chest, and quickly went to his car. He pulled down a lever right under the wheel, and the armor on top of the front windshield got down and opened the front of the car to give Darius free sight forward.
The Infernal Roar burned all of the car's electronic components, which included all of the cameras and radars, busting them. Thankfully, the battery and the main electronic components of the car were especially protected, being the only things surviving and having the car still function as a proper car.
Don’t tell me…
However, just as he wanted to drive away, he heard the sound of an engine in the distance, and a vein started popping on his forehead from annoyance. Looking down the main road, he was able to distinguish an armored car with the Infernal Dog bandits’ symbol on it.
-CRACK!-
Just as the armored car appeared, a bullet went and cracked the windshield from Darius’ side. The turret on top of the car started shooting at the hostile car, and Darius quickly floored the acceleration, trying to get away as quickly as possible.
"I swear I’ll massacre those fuckers."
Darius was already incensed due to the pain in his arm, and the bandits' constant fire did nothing to help.
"You want to play? Fine then. Let’s play."
Through clenched teeth, he grabbed his riffle while driving with one hand, making another hard turn and going down the only path available to him.
He opened one of the doors and dropped more C4 bricks connected to a wireless button. Watching through the mirror, he waited for the bandits’ car to appear, but suddenly his senses screamed at him, a sense of danger making him aware that things were different from what he expected.
-RUMBLE!-
The building in front of him suddenly collapsed, and through the boulders, a tank appeared with the barrel facing Darius.
"Shit!"
He made a quick turn and went through the glass wall of an abandoned clothes shop. Just as he did that, the back of his car blew up, along with a large part of the concrete.
"Guh!"
He crashed the car inside the shop, and the force of the impact made another hole through the other side. The car was now completely wrecked since a shell blew up the rear while concrete boulders fell on top of the car's front, making it impossible to go any further.
His sniper, which was also in the back, together with more ammo packs, got completely wrecked and destroyed, while the only thing remaining was his backpack, which he placed on the copilot seat with all the explosives he prepared, a gun with about five magazines inside the backpack, and his plasma knife. He also had his miasma-radar, a compass, together with other energy pills and dopamine, which are normally placed in his many pockets of armor.
"…"
Yeah… Better just eliminate them.
Sitting on his seat in the crashed car, Darius’ eyes shone purple with killing intent while he sighed out to calm his already bursting nerves. On the inside, he was like a volcano, while on the outside, he was calm and quiet, like before a storm.
He kicked open the door and swallowed all five energy pills he had on him to block the advancement of miasma from within his body, injected another dopamine, and loaded the gun.
Time to hunt.
.
"Bahahahaha~! Did you see that fucker blow up? That’s what he gets for thinking he can best us!"
"And he also left us a great gift. Look at the corpse of this Field-Boss!"
"It’s going to fetch some good money. A few tens of thousands."
"And together with the crystal, we could easily reach around 150k rozoni."
"That’s what I’m calling a good raid."
The bandits laughed between themselves while the ones in the tank kept a lookout around. At times, glancing at the monster’s corpse with some sweat on their foreheads.
"Yo, think it was a good idea to help those fools seek revenge? I doubt that just a simple soldier, as they said, would be able to kill such a monster on his own."
"He must’ve used some tricks. They said he was armed to the teeth. So maybe with some planning and a great deal of luck, he pulled it off."
"T-then isn’t it worse?"
"… Well, we already shot him down. Once they confirm the body, you can calm down."
While the tankers were on a lookout, the ones from inside the armored car came closer towards the crashed vehicle, mocking smiles on their faces, drunk on their pride and desire for revenge.
"Da~mn this is The Knight, isn’t it?"
"Yeah. That fucker got it after selling our boys’ badges. Serves him right."
"Keke, let’s see what his face looks like."
Three guys went in closer with their rifles up to check the car, but soon they observed how the door was already busted open and nobody was inside.
"He left!"
"He’s still around!"
The second closest to the car saw the busted door and the frown on his companion after looking inside and shouted out to the others, while the third one already turned his back to the car and looked around.
"O-oy, isn’t this…"
The one who looked inside the car had his face turn pale and called out to his comrades; another one came closer and made wide eyes.
"T-this is… The Demonic Cult’s symbol, right?"
Inside the car, the driver’s seat had been painted with blood, the symbol of a radiant eye being drawn, and making the two bandits that saw the paint of blood turn white in the face.
The third one who heard this came closer, and after seeing the symbol as well, he grabbed the radio station on his waist and quickly announced it to his comrades.
[Everyone evacuate! We messed with the cult! I repeat, this fucker is part of the cult!]
[W-what?! What are you even saying? Why would the cult hunt us down in the first place without a word?!]
[A-are you sure this is not just a trap? Maybe some motherfucker took the cult’s symbol and-]
[Who the fuck knows about this symbol other than the cultists?! Fuck! Just retreat before-]
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
-BOOM!-
Just as they spoke between themselves, the armored car suddenly exploded, and the three that went outside quickly went to cover, their faces white. The ones inside the tank also looked around while using the turret on top and activating the FLIR vision (heat detector vision).
"W-when did he put explosives on that car?! I saw nobody move around us!"
"Shit! I knew it! We fucked with the wrong guy! Oy, let’s fucking go!"
"Shut up! I need to talk through the station!"
The tankers quickly went back inside their vehicle, and while the gunner looked around desperately, the others also made 360s with the turret, looking all around for the invisible enemy.
[Where is he?! We don’t see anyone even with the FLIR on!]
[Team T! Come and pick us up! We’re getting out of here-!]
[You bastards won’t leave this place alive. I promise you that.]
[[!!!]]
Suddenly hearing a third voice through the radio made all of them feel their backs turn cold.
The only reason why groups of bandits were able to remain alive inside the corrupted parts of the city without dying from monsters or without getting found out by the army’s recognition squads it’s all thanks to the cult’s support. Basically, that meant they weren’t only the cult’s subordinates; they were their pets or tools. And although the cult permitted them to do as they wished as long as they didn’t burden a royalty’s or priesthood's business, they were also forced to respect the cult’s symbol and show subordination on sight, since only the high-ranked cultists were allowed to use the symbol.
The only ones with authority over the symbol were those from the priesthood and royalty branches, so this fact alone made the bandits aware that they most probably messed with the wrong person.
[W-wait! Sir! We have nothing to do with this! We’ve been dragged into this by those fuckers, I swear!]
[W-w-what?! G-great Lord, this is not the truth! Our leader has also forced us into this! We have nothing to do with this!]
The commander of the tank quickly answered back while sweating bullets, and while his comrades started excusing themselves as well with how they weren’t aware and so on, Darius had none of that, chuckling amused while looking from the 3rd store of a building behind the tank. His left eye was already shining purple, while his mind started swirling with dark thoughts. A nasty smile was visible on his face.
I already placed all the explosives I still had in the perfect spots as I covered myself in miasma, making myself undetectable by the FLIR. With the press of a button, I can burry those morons from inside the building and blow up the tank as well, but… why should I end it just like that? I could torture these morons and fill them with fear so easily. Look at them; they’re already pissing their pants, and I only drew a dumb eye with a bit of blood. How pathetic.
He smiled widely, but as he looked at the button in his hand, he saw the black veins on his arms, his thoughts freezing for a moment and another idea popping up in his mind.
… Let’s do it another way. I actually also need a vehicle to get back anyway.
.
[S-sir? Are you still there? Sir?]
"M-maybe he left?"
"We just blew up his car and tried to kill him. Would you just leave if you had the possibility to retaliate?"
"… Now if you put it like that, you make me look stupid."
"You are in the first place. Otherwise, you would’ve thought twice before striking someone who killed a field boss."
"Are you talking back to me?"
The commander of the tank turned to the gunner, and they both seemed about to fight, only for the driver to shout at them, irritated.
"Can you two shut the hell up already?! We’re already in a tight spot as it is! No need to make it worse-"
-BOOM!-
As they fought inside the tank, a sudden flash from outside illuminated the screens that showed the outside of the tank, and vibrations together with strong shockwaves shook the vehicle for a moment. They looked outside and saw how the whole building their comrades were in just a while ago suddenly got demolished and collapsed heavily, raising smoke and sending flying pebbles, knocking on the tank’s armor.
"T-the building collapsed!"
"Is it another monster?! B-but there’s nothing on the radar! And the AM-sonar it’s activated!"
They looked around even more confused, and after thinking to just retreat, the radio station activated again.
[CHRR-CHRR- do you hear me?]
It was once again the stranger's voice that told them they couldn’t leave, making the three inside the tank feel cold sweat cover their backs.
[I asked… if you heard me.]
The voice resounded once again, this time clearer and obviously more impatient.
None wanted to answer this call, but the commander had no choice but to do so. Leaving it unanswered meant they showed their hostility to the other side.
[Y-yes sir.]
[Good. Now, get out of the tank.]
[W-what?]
[Did I stutter? Of course, you can remain there. I wish that tank was heavily armored against explosives. From the outside, it doesn’t seem so. But shall we see first and talk again after? Sounds good to me.]
[W-we will come out now! Please wait!]
[Move on then.]
The voice was calm, and the confidence it showed made the tankers understand they had no other option but to follow his words.
They got out of the tank, fidgeting while looking around nervously, gulping, and their eyes wandering, unsure of what to do.
"Good job coming out. Although it took you longer than I first desired."
A voice resounded from behind them, and as they turned, they saw the man in broken black armor and a bloody face, looking at them with a sharp and confident gaze at the three who just came out of the tank.
The commander glanced at his companions, then turned back to Darius. With a light bow, he stood tall while also keeping his head lowered, trying to speak as politely as possible.
"S-sir- no. Great Lord. W-we apologize for our actions. We really weren’t aware of the details. We started to become aware of your identity after we saw the carcass of the field-boss…"
While the commander tried to excuse himself, Darius examined the tank and even went on top of it, getting in and only needing to close the trap to completely take control of it.
As the commander spoke, Darius glanced at the three, who had their heads lowered with a plain gaze, then just closed the lid.
At this point, I can just leave them here for monsters to eat. Since this is the Infernal Dog’s territory, for sure their deaths would be worse than any other type of torture I could come up with right now. Saying that…
"I accept your apologies."
With a wide smile, Darius reassured the three, who looked up with hopeful eyes, but after seeing Darius already inside the tank, their faces turned into confusion. However, his next words clarified their situation and quickly made them understand that the forgiveness they expected was a complete reverse of reality.
"W-wait. Sir, what about us?"
Taking up the radio to send his words outside the tank, Darius already started the engines to drive away.
[Ah, yes. Here’s something for you.]
He opened the trap for a moment, then threw them a gun that was lying around inside the tank.
[It has enough bullets for each one of you. We all know how brutal the Infernal Dogs are, so here I’m offering you a chance to just go painlessly rather than die by having your butts and balls ripped off, your stomachs clawed open, and your intestines chewed and ripped out, all of this while still alive. Aren’t I merciful? Well then, bye.]
Not waiting for their answer, Darius left the two as the commander fell to his knees, hopelessness and despair visible in his eyes.
Since they were the Infernal Dog Bandits, they knew firsthand how brutal those monsters were. The ones they took as hostages and proved to be too troublesome or not worth being sold as slaves, or even the cocky subordinates that talked back to their superiors, were thrown outside the base with nothing but their birth costumes on, while being filmed as monsters surround them from all corners, only to kill them slowly, chewing at them in the most brutal and cruel way, swirling their organs, and sending them flying while keeping the heart and head untouched until the very end. They did so because they wanted to keep the meat fresh for as long as possible.
.
As Darius went further away, three gunshots resounded in the distance, making a small smile appear on his face. As he drove away, the pain in his arm subsided while a feeling of amusement combined with rage and restlessness swirled inside of him. His breath became deeper and rushed, and a sense of power and superiority made him chuckle, amused as if to himself.
Madness. It started to take control over him, and he was well aware of it, but he simply couldn’t control it.
He glanced at his left arm, and while chuckling, he reached a conclusion.
"Guess I might have to make a few sacrifices."
He grabbed with his left hand the mana crystal he extracted from the Infernal Dog, then started focusing on it, trying to absorb the mana from inside of it.
-PFFSSS~!-
Because of the two conflicting energies, the veins started swelling up fast, then suddenly burst in different areas as black blood spewed out terifyingly. The pressure was strong enough to even penetrate the skin, most of it going out through the fingertips as his fingers bled profoundly. The blood was black and obviously infected with miasma, but Darius didn’t stop because of the pain, and while gritting his teeth, he made sure to halt the infection while at the same time expelling any miasma that would appear from within his arm.
Dr. Graham discovered a method whereby you could easily burden and even stop the infestation of the miasma inside a body by using a mana crystal from a monster.
"Grah!"
However, there was a reason why a purifier of crystals existed in the first place:
Because the crystal was still filled with animalistic intent from one of the wildest and most savage creatures on the field, Darius was able to feel a burning desire to feast on something, preferably meat, to fight and rule, and to copulate.
If anything, he couldn’t help having the most trouble with the last one.
I initially wanted to call Lily to send me some backup, but… Shit, only by thinking of her I’m going mad. I’d rather just deal with it… Like always.
Sighing out, irritated and using the pain from his arm to take his mind away from anything perverted, he decided to just call the number of the rescue team from the Eastern City. He didn’t initially want to call for them, since he isn’t affiliated with any one of the three guilds. The services of the rescue teams were astronomically expensive, being as much as half a million if you wanted them to take you out of there together with your vehicle as well. It was straight-out robbery, but at this point he had no other choice.
While at it, let them at least bring with me something useful as well.
Thinking such, he made a quick turn and headed towards the field boss' leash, defending it with the sonar from inside the tank to make sure that no monster would try to take a bite from his work.
One hour later, the rescue team finally found him with the MV-22 Osprey hybrid plane, landing near him and taking him out of there, together with the carcass of the huge infernal dog.
On the way back, one of the members of the rescue team looked confused at Darius, then at the corpse of the field boss, asking, unsure,
"Although impressive, it’s still worth only around 40k, you’re aware, right?"
"Yes."
Darius answered back unshaken while just concentrating on keeping his thoughts, feelings, and energy in check. Since Darius knew the aggressive nature of the others against someone who got infected by miasma, he preferred to keep it secret, using a jacket from the bandits to cover his arm and hide the corruption.
However, the member still continued while seeking answers that could satisfy his logic.
"And you also know that because you wanted to take this thing, the price for being rescued as an unaffiliated mercenary just doubled to about 500k, yes?"
"Yes."
"… Then why did you get the corpse as well if it only costs you more-"
"Because the 3 guilds are either too greedy to sell field-boss-ranked materials on the market or simply don’t have the ability to do it, hence why I did it myself. Does that satisfy your nosy curiosity?"
"… Yeah, pretty much."
"Good."
"Well, if you have the money, who am I to judge?"
About time he stopped yapping.
The guy shrugged his shoulders, and Darius sighed to calm his nerves, a vein now visible on his forehead.
.