“I’ve already waited a long, long time for this day… Those bunch of beer-bellied human carcasses makes me sick!”
“If… if it’s Teacher, you’ll definitely be able to understand me, right??” Lan Yu shifted his slightly-hopeful gaze to Manda.
“…Then why did you spur the demons and coerce them to besiege this town? You’ve even gone as far as to turn off Border Town’s barrier on purpose??” The expression on Manda’s face was constantly changing.
“Hahaha… That matter? I actually wonder if that had frightened that bunch of fools at the top.” Said Lan Yu with a somewhat derisive smile.
“So, what do you aim to achieve by doing these things??”
“Teacher, rejuvenation isn’t just an empty word that can’t be accomplished by mere lip service. Lan Yu is also not someone who only relies on his gift of the gab. I’ve already been planning and preparing for this matter for a very long time…”
Manda looked at the wiggling meat walls around him.
As they were talking, the duo had entered what seemed to be the deepest area of the meat cave.
Unlike before, formations of all sizes were attached to the surface of the surrounding meat walls like cogs with their own respective functions.
An eye-dazzling radiance accompanied by dense magic made Manda feel somewhat uncomfortable.
A thick slab of profound metal stood upright in the center of what seemed to be the end of the cave.
“However, purely relying on human strength is not enough, not enough at all… Teacher, have you ever wondered why the starting point of some species can naturally surpass the upper limits of others by a wide margin? It has all to do with one’s body constitution. As existences that leak magical energy by nature, it is virtually impossible for humans to retain [Magic]. This, in and of itself, is a form of innate shackle.”
“Why? How can the superior-annihilation magic that humans can’t grasp in an entire lifetime be obtained by demons with just a casual flick of their fingers?? How is this fair??”
“What are you saying…?”
“But, not anymore…” Muttered Lan Yu as he walked towards the thick profound metal slab.
“Whoosh…” The magic formations speedily accelerated its operation. Manda could faintly feel something was converging on Lan Yu’s body.
[Destructive Class — Spirit Channeling Arm]
“Hiss!!” The thick profound metal caved in and deformed like a stack of paper.
Lan Yu gradually withdrew his hand that had pierced the slab.
“Teacher, did you see that? As a human, I’ve exceeded my upper limits!”
“This… Lil’ Lan, have you been practicing martial arts?” Manda took a look at the thoroughly-pierced profound metal and was shocked speechless.
“No, no. This wasn’t martial arts, but [Magic].”
“[Magic]?? Isn’t that something only demons…”
“No, teacher. Based on my research and investigations, [magic] also exists within human bodies. The sword skills that a knight uses are merely an application of that negligible magic, that’s all. However, the amount within their bodies is too sparse, so the power they’re capable of releasing can only reach [Crushing Class] at most.”
“But what does this have to do with you luring the demons here?”
“There’s no free meal in the world, Teacher. If you want to get something, you need to offer something in return…”
“…What the heck did you do?” Manda had a bad feeling about this.
“Teacher. [Magic] isn’t electricity and can’t be extracted with love.” Saying this, Lan Yu caressed the projection of the formation that was incessantly rotating on the meat wall.
“As such, I’ve had no choice but to get some external help… I’ve reached an agreement with a certain organization to provide me with the relevant knowledge and assistance. This has been my painstaking effort for these many years! An [external body], one that I can freely control at will!” Lan Yu spoke frenetically as if he was a small child revealing the sandcastle he had built up to his parent.
“And so, if I want to acquire [Magic], I have no choice but to extract it from the bodies of intelligent creatures. I couldn’t get my hands on demons… So I had no choice but to sponsor those orphanages and use money to conduct exchanges with those orphanage heads.”
“You! You…” Manda looked at Lan Yu in disbelief, the edge of his mouth twitching for a long time without letting a word out.
“Lan Yu, y-you! D-Don’t tell me, the children from the orphanage… How could you lay your hands on them!? Have you already forgotten that you’re a knight??” Roared Manda in anguish and disgust.
“If one wishes to exterminate demons, they have to become one themself… For this reason, this bit of sacrifice was necessary and worth it. As for why I’ve incited the demons to attack the city… Children just don’t have too much [magic] within them. I require even more [magic]!” Lan Yu stretched out his hands.
“In other words, I need many more people to die. A steep population decline would definitely arouse suspicion, so… Why don’t I toss the blame over to the demons? Not only would I be able to achieve my goal that way, I would also be able to rouse those commoners who are happy with the status quo. Only then, will they clearly know that mankind can only achieve days of peace when all demons are thoroughly exterminated!”
“So, teacher… Surely you understand me, right?? I need to quickly rise up inside the Chivalric Order and overthrow the current system in power for mankind to see the dawn of a new era!”
“Understand? You??” Manda bitterly shook his head.
“I’m the one to blame for not teaching you properly… What difference is there between you and the demons who slaughtered your village back then if your hands are drenched in this much blood?”
“Is there really no other way?” The expression in Lan Yu’s eyes darkened.
“Before being your teacher, I’m first and foremost a knight.”
“I understand…” Lan Yu shrugged helplessly.
“Since even Teacher has said so, I guess it’d be best to give up.”
“Really??” Manda was slightly stunned.
“Of course. Teacher has always treated me like his own child. How could I dare not listen to Teacher’s words?” Said Lan Yu in extreme disappointment.
“My original plan was to have Teacher see my achievements… I never thought that it’d make you this unhappy. It’d be better if I forget about it. I’ll turn myself in with you.”
“That’s great! Lil’ Lan, you must carry a repentant heart and face any mistakes you make…” Manda felt slightly reassured upon seeing that Lan Yu could listen to his words despite his frighteningly extreme obsession with power.
“Scrape!” Manda’s expression froze, his eyes slowly losing their focus.
“Lil’ Lan, you…” Manda let out a gasp as he pulled an icy-cold blade out his abdomen with some difficulty and took a few steps back.
“You’ve grown old, Teacher.” Spoke Lan Yu and revealed a smile of ridicule.
“Since continuing to live like this would only be a humiliation to the title of “Sacred Flame Knight”, how about you contribute a little to your disciple’s plan instead!” Lan Yu’s smile was one of treachery.
“You… Lil’ Lan, you…”
A somewhat familiar magical incantation brushed past Lan Yu’s ears.
Manda’s pupils incessantly shrunk. He remembered this type of language would be used before demons unleashed their superior annihilation magic…
“EL eleltomastea……”
“Boom!”
Thick and solid violet thistles and thorns bore out from the magic formation on the meat wall. Following which, they incessantly flung outwards like massive snakes preparing to strike1.
[Destructive Class — Summon: Vines of the Phantom’s Beard]
Manda endured the sharp, incessant pain in his abdomen and drew out his longsword.
[Sacred Martial Ability — Demon-Exterminating Divine Flames]
Golden, intense flames continuously spurted out from his blade, seemingly raising the temperature of the entire room by several degrees. This caused blisters to continuously emerge on the meat walls.
“So what if you materialize that pitiful speck of [Magic] inside a human body? Hehe.” Lan Yu revealed a smile of disdain upon seeing the lump of magical vines surrounding Manda, who had resorted to using his Sacred Martial Ability.