I Became the Strongest With The Failure Frame 【Abnormal State Skill】As I Devastated Everything - Chapter 210: The Distortion in the Darkness
Library

Chapter 210: The Distortion in the Darkness

[Something dangerous is coming.]

[Ruin, what the heck are you]

[Everyone, get into battle positiooooonnnnsss!]

Ruin exclaimed.

The other three realized in an instant.

That theres something going on.

Everyone immediately switched their awareness.

Ruins intuition told him something.

They have been together for a long time.

At times like this, nine out of ten, a real crisis was imminent.

How many times has Ruins intuition saved them?

So, they shielded each others back and formed a circle.

Looking over his shoulder, Yuugungu asked.

[Is something dangerous coming!?]

[I dont know what that is- but theres something absurdly dangerous thats coming!]

They dont have any specific information.

However, they didnt doubt his words.

[Myana, put up the Fortress of White Noise!]

[Ehh!? I- Is the fortress really needed!?]

[Quickly!]

[I- I understand!]

Myana fits her right hand into a gauntlet.

Its a gauntlet with a dark purple color that doesnt reach her elbow.

Its a chanting magic tool with distinctive horn-like protrusions.

The only one who can use these kinds of chanting magic tools are the people chosen by the tool.

And this magic tool had chosen Myana.

When magic power is imbued within the gauntlet, the crystalline parts carved into the magic tool emitted a bluish-white light.

Thereupon, letters of light appeared around her.

These letters are floating around Myana, making it seem like she was in the middle of a ring of light.

These floating letters are the text she needs to chant.

However, she doesnt need to read these texts anymore.

Myana begins to chant.

[-Ye who cant see, take heed Ye who fiddles with the dramatic fate, the sinner who plays with intangibility By the sixth name decapitated by the blade of the God of Destruction, the noisy magician who yearns for the silver maiden- White Noise!]

After chanting, the light of chanting text is absorbed into the back of her hand.

And then

A square-ish transparent plate appeared in mid-air.

The plate is a square of about 2 raeteres (2 meters) in length and width.

Theres a pattern showing the appearance of a sandstorm- No, that sandstorm was moving.

It was as if a sandstorm had occurred somewhere and was being projected onto the plate.

Hence, this plate obstructs the field of vision of those who looked at it.

However, thats exactly what Ruin was aiming for.

Myana produces a number of these plates.

And while adjusting the amount of magic power she uses, she fixes the boards in place in midair.

As expected of Myana.

In the blink of an eye, she finished placing these plates around them in a near semi-circular sphere.

Fortress-mode.

This board also functions as a defensive wall.

In the past, it was often used in the event of a disadvantageous defensive battle.

However, after a certain period of time, it wasnt used anymore.

[I wonder when was the last time you used the fortress-mode.]

Yuugungu said, warily looking out through the gaps.

They were completely covered by an ill-formed hemisphere, but they arent completely sealed.

There is an opening that allows them to pass through if they lower their bodies.

However its impossible to see their whole body from the outside.

If the people outside want to see their whole body-

They would need to get close to the opening and look inside from there.

[]

Hes still wondering though.

Even though Myana had set up this fortress, Ruin still wondered.

Its dangerous if my whole body is in view.

He doesnt have any reason.

Its his intuition thats telling him.

However- What exactly is this danger?

Is it alright if they see half of our bodies?

Why did he think that it would be dangerous if their whole body is in full view?

He doesnt know.

Moreover, it is now dusk

When the darkness arrives, everyones vision naturally narrows.

That will also blur everyones sense of depth.

(If its dangerous if the enemy sees our whole body, should we wait until the night completely envelops everything in darkness?)

[.]

(No)

He should reconsider that.

His intuition tells him.

That the time of complete darkness is even more unfavorable for them.

And when he thought so

(Does the enemy have night vision? In that case, as expected, it must be a monster huh?)

The more he thinks about it, the more uncanny he felt their situation is.

(That means that the enemy is good at long-range combat huh?)

Hes confident in close combat.

Hes confident that he can beat anyone in a head-to-head battle.

Even if its that Humanitys Strongest.

Shortly before this mission, the Goddess said to Ruin.

You and Satsuki-san are my precious trump cards. Its dangerous to rely on Humanitys Strongest or the Heroes from Another World for anything. I need a decent ally who understands reason. Yes, thats right. If Humanitys Strongest or the Heroes from Another World become deranged and revolt against me, I need virtuous people to protect me. However, I dont want it to be known that I have allies who can oppose them at this point in time so For now, please keep your true strength hidden from the world as much as possible. It still isnt time for you to show your strength.

(At that time)

Before I left the Goddess room.

She called out to me.

If Humanitys Strongest Civit Gartland is the strongest among humans The Heroic Sword, Ruin Seal, is the strongest I know among those who carry the lineage of Heroes. And when it comes to future growth, youll far surpass the Humanitys Strongest. I can assure you of that.

He even has the Goddess approval.

The strongest.

Warrior.

He once caught a glimpse of Civit Gartland before.

At that moment, he instantly knew.

That Civit Gartland had the kind of pressure that only the absolutely strong can muster.

(However, this thing that wasnt approaching them had something different from that.)

Something is different.

The enemy isnt a warrior.

It just held- pure ominousness.

Yes, something that holds such ominousness is approaching

[Fuuu.]

(Theres no point in thinking about pointless stuff. Anyway)

Ruin exhales, and pulls his thoughts back once.

(Ill just have to trust my intuition here.)

Follow his prophetic intuition.

That is supposed to lead them to the right decision.

It has always been the same.

In a way, one could say that Ruins intuition might be similar to fortune telling.

He doesnt know the correlation between them though.

However, if he follows his intuitions advice, good luck will come his way or he will be able to avoid misfortune.

After regaining his composure, Ruin took a deep breath before calling out.

[Who are you!? Show yourself! We are the people who received the decree of Goddess Vysis, Heroic Sword! I dont think theres anything in it for you to gain by antagonizing us! Or perhaps, you hold some kind of misunderstanding! What do you think!? How about we talk about it first!?]

He tried calling out to the enemy, but he received no response.

Just as the darkness was deep, it also brought upon a peaceful silence.

Arene, with a tense expression on her face, peered out through the gap.

[Hey, Ruin. Satsuki and the others Would they be alright?]

[Perhaps, Satsuki and the others actually havent encountered this anomaly. We may have been the only ones left here who have encountered this thing.]

Peering out with his great axe in hand, Yuugungu asked.

[What do you think? Do you think its a Human-Faced?]

[No, we arent within the depths Rather, were closer to the outer rim. I dont think theres any monster around here that poses a greater threat than that Human-Faced we took down last time.]

In response, the pale Myana gulps.

[Then, what the heck is this]

[However, I know one thing that is certain. That we are close to the Faraway Country.]

[ ! You mean, the other party sensed us and laid down an ambush first!?]

[Perhaps.]

[D*mn it! I guess that means those fake-humans dont stay inside their hellhole all the time!]

[Nevertheless.]

The inhabitants of the Faraway Country.

Are they beings that are this frightening?

He feels that something is different

This feeling.

It doesnt feel like theyre the same people at all.

They refused to fight.

Theyre beings who just kept on running away.

In the end, they are cowards who have fled to their paradise.

(No, are we facing these kinds of cowards? In that case)

[It is as Vysis-sama said.]

[Ruin?]

[As expected We need to annihilate them, these b*stards from the Faraway Country.]

This ominousness.

This sinister feeling.

He wouldnt be surprised if the true identity of this being in front of them was the Great Demon Emperor.

(Well, if its the Great Demon Emperor, we should have felt the influence of the Tyrants Miasma In that case, what in the world is the true identity of this being who possess such pressure)

At that moment

[ ! ]

Even the people beside Ruin noticed it.

[Someones coming.]

It was faint but they could hear footsteps.

They tried listening carefully.

The drifting wind

And the swaying of trees, inhibiting the sounds that their ears could hear.

So, they focused more on their hearing

[-Ahh Ugaaahhh, .!]

A voice.

Its a voice.

They put their backs against the wall.

[Is that a monsters yell?]

They narrowed their eyes, trying to determine the identity of this voice.

-click, clack, rustle, rustle-

The sound of a branch breaking.

Then, the sound of leaves rustling.

They have a feeling that it wasnt Satsuki and the others.

They wouldnt be moving wildly like this.

However

[Satsuki!]

The one who appeared was Satsuki.

The first person to notice that somethings strange though was Ruin.

[Satsuki?]

[Guruuuaaaaaahhhhh! Gaaaaahhhhhhhh!]

[Satsuki!?]

It was unmistakably Satsuki who came out of the darkness.

However, he clearly isnt looking right.

His eyes were white and saliva was drooling out of his mouth.

The way hes walking is also awkward.

Its hard to imagine that this is the usual Satsuki.

On the hand of Satsuki, was his drawn out katana.

[ ! ]

And blood was dripping on the blade.

He had cut something.

More importantly

[Satsuki, whats going on!?]

Ruin called out to him, but Satsuki didnt stop.

It doesnt seem like hes frightened of anything at all.

Its as if- he had lost his mind.

[Hey, Ruin, theres something strange with Satsuki!]

[Y- Yeah]

Though he said that, what should they do?

What is the best thing to do here?

If a monster is attacking them, they could eliminate it.

However, no matter how they look at it, the one who was attacking him is his friend who had lost his sanity.

Hes an important friend of his.

[Guugaaaaaahhhhh!]

Bammm!

Satsuki crashed into the noise wall.

[Owaaahhh!?]

After being repelled and falling over to the ground, Satsuki quickly got up.

And then

[Gugiigiiaaaahhhhh!]

He stabbed his katana through the crevice.

[Kyaaahhhh!]

[Oi Cut that out, Satsuki! Dont you know who we are!?]

Biting his lip, Ruin parried away the thrust of Satsukis sword.

Everyone moved away from the area where Satsuki was.

Thereupon, Satsuki quickly came around to where his blade could reach.

Once again though, Ruin parried Satsukis unrefined thrust.

[Satsuki, what the heck are you doing!? What happened during your search!?]

[Gaaaahhhhhhh! Gaahhh! Gaahhh! Gaaahhhhh!]

His thrusts dont seem to stop at all.

It doesnt feel as if he can understand their words.

The opening in the noise wall can be entered if they just lowered their bodies.

Anyone can understand that if they just look at it.

And yet, Satsuki can only see it that he cant enter their wall.

(I mean Whats with this killing intent? Why would Satsuki want to kill us like this)

[N- Noooooooo! I dont like thiiiissss! No, no, nooooooo!]

Holding her head down, Arene screams and crouches on the spot.

Blood drained on Myanas face, wishing for someone to help them, she looked towards Ruin.

[W- W- W- What should we do, Ruin!? Dont you have any way that you could think of!? Hey!]

[Caro and Nana Tout]

[Eh?]

[What happened to Caro and Nana Tout?]

Turning stiff, he asked.

Myana began trembling so hard that her teeth were chattering.

[Hey, Ruin Could it be that the blood on that katana]

Biting his lip, Ruin sadly spoke.

[Were still not sure of that yet!]

Despair seeped into the four peoples faces, spreading out towards the others.

That Satsuki has fallen into this situation.

Then, the possibility that the other two, who are inferior to Satsukim are safe is

[Even though the Faraway Country is right before our eyes, what the heck is going on!? D*mn it D*mn it all!]

Thereupon, Ruin suddenly noticed.

That something

From Satsukis body, something that looks like bubbles

[ ? ]

It wasnt an illusion.

They were popping out of Satsuki-sans body.

Theres definitely something that looks like small bubble-like substances were floating out of the air.

These bubbles float out of the skin and into the air, and it would pop and disappear.

(What are those bubbles?)

[Guugiii, guugigigigigigigigiiiiiiii]

Suddenly, Satsuki began scratching at his neck.

The nails of both of his hands scraped and tore at the surface of his own skin.

[Wait!? What are you doing, Satsuki!?]

It looks as if

As if hes trying to escape from torment that he couldnt do anything about.

(Hes suffering? However, if this stops his movement..!)

However, Ruins hopes werent granted

[Gaaaaahhhhhhhh!]

Even as he was suffering, Satsuki resumed his attacks.

Ruins mouth is half open as he tries to assess the anomaly.

(Hes getting weaker?)

It appears like Satsuki is getting weaker and weaker.

(Was it because of those bubbles?)

He doesnt know what happened.

He doesnt even know whats going on.

However, this situation- still continued.

[Kyaaahhhh!? R- Ruin! Satsuki Satsukis coming inside!]

Satsuki began twisting his body into the opening.

[Oi, oi, what are we going to do!? Do something, Ruin!]

Yuugungu holds the axe horizontally and attempts to block Satsukis path.

[D*mn it! Satsuki! Dont tell me that youve forgotten our faces!?]

[Gaaahhhh!]

Swoosshhh!

[Guoohh!?]

The thrust that Satsuki released slashed off one of Yuugungus ears.

The slashed ear is ripped in half and it is split into an upper and lower part.

[It hurts! It f*cking hurts!]

As if he snapped, Ruin raised his voice, with a blaming tone.

[You cut your own friend, Satsuki!?]

[Gaaahhh! Gaaahhhh!]

[D*mn it Please! For mercys sake! Snap out of it! Satsukiiiiii! Theres no way we would settle our rivalry like this! I dont like this!]

Even when Ruin shed tears

[Gaahhhh!]

A thrust passed right by Ruin.

Hanging down his head, Ruin held unto the sword in his hand and put strength into it.

He doesnt have any options anymore.

[Satsuki-]

[Gugaaaahhhh!]

[..-Forgive me.]

Fwooshhhh!

From below, rising up to the head.

A powerful slash was delivered with tremendous accuracy.

It was an accurate strike that follows death.

It was too perfect of a swordsmanship.

[Gaaahhhh!? Agaaa]

Satsuki leans back and drops his katana.

Thats when it happened.

The light that Ruin knew so well returned to Satsukis eyes.

[Ru in.]

[Eh?]

The look in Satsukis eyes asked Ruin.

Why?

Perhaps, in his last moments, the only thing that he recognized was that

I dont know why, but Ruin cut me down. And then, I died.

was what in his thoughts would be.

Satsukis corpse that ran out of strength, slumped in the middle of the opening

Everyone looked at him for a while, dumbfounded.

Eventually, as Yuugungu held his slashed ear, he spoke.

[Satsuki, in the end Didnt he come back to his senses? No way If you had waited a bit longer, he would have returned back to normal]

[Stop it already, Yuugungu!]

Myana hugs Ruin, who was absentmindedly looking at Satsukis corpse, and glared at Yuugungu.

[Whats with the way you spoke!? Its as if Ruin made the wrong choice]

[D*mn it! You think Ruin is right about everything!? Youre always like this]

[Haahhh!? So what!? You have a problem with that!?]

[Yer freaking annoying Im the one injured here!]

[What is with the way youre speaking]

[Stop it, the two of you!]

Ruin shouted, admonishing them.

[I know that the both of you are confused However, calm down. The crisis isnt over yet.]

[Yeah, thats right Moreover, its Nyaki who was at fault here. Im sorry, Myana In the first place, the cause of all these is that d*mned fake-human.]

[Ah, Im sorry too Youre right. Ill take all this anger out on Nyaki.]

[Lets do this, Myana.]

[Unnn, Yuugungu.]

Bump

The two of them bumped their fist against each other.

[Ill definitely catch Nyaki-]

[-And I will avenge everyone.]

The stormy atmosphere they had earlier, has returned to normal.

Ruin is relieved for now.

Thereupon, he took a glance at Arene, who was crouching down while covering her ears, and then

[Scatter light balls around the perimeter, Myana.]

Ruin instructed.

However

[Ill do it.]

It was Arene who came forward.

[Light balls, right? Should I use everything?]

[Y- Yeah]

[Understood.]

Arene ran over to her luggage and began fishing out the contents.

Seeing her, Ruins lips loosened up a bit, as if hes slightly pleased.

(My bad, Arene It seems that youre a much stronger girl than I thought you are)

Searching for the light balls, as sweat began dripping on her face, Arene spoke.

[Ill make sure that Nyaki completely understands.]

[.]

[The reason why all of this happened is because of Nyaki No matter what, Ill make sure she will be held responsible for this!]

Ruin was almost caught up with his emotions, but he somehow managed to control it.

Then, he only said a few words.

[Of course.]

Ruin turns to the darkness outside.

[We are the light that illuminates this world.]

Moving his gaze into the deepest darkness, he stared straight ahead without looking away.

[We will not let this wicked darkness defeat us.]

We will definitely wi-

[-?]

[Whats the matter, Ruin?]

[No.]

Was it just my imagination?

It was very far away, but it was small.

Then, suddenly, I think I heard it.

A strangely, twisted voice

Are you having fun now?