75 Man-eaters 2




 The flames were jet black.
 My body is hot. My skin, my flesh is on fire. I knew what had happened. I'd been taken by surprise.

 Constant, inexplicable pain and heat consuming body and soul.

 This is a duel. It's a one-on-one duel. The other members are watching. I didn't expect to be struck by surprise, not even face-to-face. I didn't plan on it either.
 I was naive. I underestimated the cannibals. No, not ....... I'm not talking about underestimating them.

 Cannibals are ............ even worse than you think.
 If you're dealing with an enemy, it's a terrible thing to be taken by surprise when I'm not even against them yet. I can understand the feelings of the lizardman ...... Selzard who attacked me out of the blue.
 He had the will to kill. But this time, the cannibal recognized me as a dueling party for the spoils, and took me by surprise for his own benefit.

 I heard a voice. I couldn't recognize it. But I understood that it was taunting me.

 There was darkness in front of me. I couldn't see up, down, left, right. My senses were stretched. Sadness, fear, anger, all sorts of emotions tossed about.
 But as I fell down, all I could remember was what Senri had told me.

 It's hard to kill a vampire that's already dead. Fire, ice, and lightning don't work on them. Because they are dead, the second death does not come so easily.
 Magic doesn't work on vampires with strong magical powers. Fire magic, restorative magic, mental pollution, and even necromancy can have little effect on me.

 And lastly, curses don't work on vampires created by strong curses.
 A curse is not the same thing as sorcery. It is something that can have a great effect in exchange for a great risk. And a curse is not inherently multiple at once. It's overridden by a stronger one.
 The curse of the undead, which fundamentally violates the laws of this world, is the most powerful of all curses. That's why the curse doesn't work on vampires.

 That's right. Only a blessing and a ray of sunshine can bring me to an end.

 I will not be killed by a cannibal like this. We've already done everything we can to stay alive. Lord and Albatross got what they deserved, but at least Luu died because of me, and Senri's life was ruined.
 My soul is not so light that it can be extinguished by something like this. I haven't paid Senri back yet.

 I've decided that if I'm going to be killed, I'm going to be killed by Senri.

 My dark vision is slowly returning to normal. The pain that had been eating away at my skin and flesh slowly receded.
 I took a deep breath and strengthened my arm that had fallen off. A hoarse voice came down from above. This time, I could hear what it said.

 It was a human voice. But the person speaking was not human.
 I don't know why, but I can tell for sure just from the voice.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that there are some ...... who can move under my spell. ...... Will you entertain me, "living dead"?

 It's a good idea to take a look at the website to see if you can find any useful information. So I know the identity of the cannibal. I hadn't heard that they were going to make a surprise attack before the game started. .......

 It's a beast with a face like a man.
 It has a body resembling a lion and a long tail with countless poisonous needles. Its crimson fur is impervious to most swords and arrows, and its strength can crush the earth.

 I staggered to my feet and stared at the Cannibal for the first time.

 The Man-Eater (Manticore).
 That's what they're called.

It smells strongly of death. I don't even want to ...... eat it.

 The wrinkled, ugly face smiled a deep smile. Something cold runs up my spine.
 The human head on top of the beast's body was eerie to no end.
 It's even more monstrous than me, who looks human. The Knights of the End should be hunting manticores rather than me.

 The cannibal's body was smaller than that of Arbatos, but larger than mine.
 Its face was human, its voice intelligent, but not negotiable.

 My vampiric instincts are screaming at me that the animal before me is an enemy. My vampire instincts are screaming at me that the animal in front of me is my enemy, telling me to kill it, to give death to the cannibal that attacked me.
 I ignored them and slowly checked my condition.

 My coat, which I had just bought, was tattered from the spellfire. It had barely burned off, but not a shred of its good looks remained.
 The magic belt and dagger were in even worse shape. The dagger was completely gone, as if it had melted, and the belt was burned away. A mere flame would not have done this.


 Should I be happy that my flesh is safe? ...... I was going to show it to Senri and show off, but it was immediately ruined.

 I let go of it without a second thought, and lifted the greatsword, which was barely safe. The crowd goes wild.
 The flames of anger are smoldering in his head. He knew well that it was folly to lose his cool.
 I'll admit I was getting carried away. It was my fault that I was attacked unprovoked, no matter how unexpected.

 But I'll make you regret it. I'll make this cowardly beast regret destroying my favorite item and trying to kill me.
 The cannibal's eyes narrowed, glowing as red as fire. Even when he saw the huge sword that looked like a block of iron, he didn't show any agitation.

 There was the dignity of a strong man.

"I'm surprised ...... that a cursed flame that won't go out until it burns out has no effect. What an ...... abomination .......

 I thought killing was a no-no. But clearly the cannibal was trying to kill me.
 I'm gonna kill it. I'm going to kill everyone who tries to kill me.
 I'll eliminate all obstacles. Cannibals are unlikable, it wouldn't hurt to kill them by accident.

 The abomination is you.

 I didn't answer. I didn't have to wait for the signal to start. The fight had already begun.
 I kicked the ground hard with my greatsword. Aimed for the head. I'm going to smash this lump of iron into your head.

 One step closer. He's a quadruped and a beast. I don't know how strong he is, but I'm sure he can outrun you.
 The cannibal's eyes widen. From its thin, open mouth, you see a full set of sharp fangs.

 And then something came at me unexpectedly, and I caught it with my greatsword.

 A series of short sounds echoed out. I feel a dull thud.
 A needle. A poisonous needle from its tail. The cannibal roars. In its voice, you can hear a strong irritation that you couldn't see before.

"Is this another ....... Hmph. ......

 The cannibal's ability was not based on kinetic sight.

 I had heard of the cannibal's abilities beforehand.
 Cursed flames, sharp claws and fangs. It has a long tail that attacks like a whip and a powerful poisonous needle that can kill you with a single blow. In addition, the fact that it can speak human languages means that it can cast spells - even systematic magic created by humans and demons.

 It's a legitimately powerful phantasm. There's no way they'd be so cowardly.

 The poisonous stinger flying from the tip of its tail is fast, but I can avoid it. But the whip-like tail prevents me from reading its trajectory.
 I use my sword as a shield to meet the body blow with a force that shatters the ground. You feel a heavy impact. You hold on, but your body is pushed backward.
 The weights are too different. If you lose your stance even a little bit, you'll be blown off immediately.
 Before I could make my next move, an additional tail quickly attacked me. The trajectory was complicated, and it seemed that the cannibal could control its tail like a third hand.

 It's not only strong. Strong. Seamless. The clawed blow gouged deep into the earth and the sword creaked under the whip.
 I'm still a vampire, so I'm still able to take it, but the speed and power contained in each blow is far beyond what a human can take. I'm still a vampire, so I can take it.

 A hoarse voice reminiscent of a master's laughs loudly.

"What's the matter, vampire? I'm not sure what to say.

"......

 It's no good. We're losing ground at this rate. We have to go on the offensive or we won't stand a chance.

 It's not as powerful or fast as Albatos. His durability won't be as great.
 The cannibals are phantoms, but their fighting style shows intelligence. You could say that Arbatos is too violent.

 I want to finish him off before he finds out the bottom of my abilities.
 I know how to fight a beast. It's hard to catch a paw. Aim for the-- the tail.

 The cannibal's poisonous stinger is flying less frequently. I guess there's no limit to how many you can shoot.
 Poison won't work on me when my body's dead. If the poison doesn't work, the flying needles won't do much damage.


 A flowing barrage. I managed to get past the cannibals, who were attacking me as if they had momentum, and looked for an opportunity.

 The opportunity came quickly.
 The cannibal's scorpion-like tail swished sinuously. My kinetic vision caught the movement clearly.

 --Here.

 No matter how freely I could control it, I couldn't bring it back after swinging it down with all my might.
 I'm going to pull out that annoying bushy tail.

"No! ......!

 I'm going to take out half my body from the sword that was hiding my body. You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them. You feel a jolt in your palm, but it's nothing serious because it was before you gained momentum.


 Then, just as I was about to pull it off with all my might, there was an explosion in front of me.


 It was almost a reflex. I covered my head with my left arm. A burning pain spreads through my arm, and then in an instant the pain is gone.
 Your vision spins around and you hit the ground hard. You try to catch yourself and stand up, but your body swings around.

 The body is light. The left arm he had used to protect his head was gone.
 A stench of rotting flesh pervades the area.

 There's a worm-eaten hole in his right arm. A needle. Where the needle went in-- it's melting.
 Now I understand. The tip of the needle's tail exploded, sending countless needles flying.

 A sickening heat covered my jaw. I lifted my right hand, which was almost torn off, and checked it.
 The lower half of his face was gone. My left hand couldn't cover it. When I quickly checked his body, I found that he had been pierced by a needle that had flown in a disorderly manner, and that many parts of his body had melted into mush, leaving a large hole.

 A large sword lying on the ground. The sword, which should have been bigger than me, was strangely distorted. It's not even half its original size.

 A corrosive poison that melts even metal. Obviously not from the first blow.

 Numerous needles had sprouted again on the tail where they had flown. The cannibal itself must have been hit by needles, but its body was unharmed.

 I shuddered as I realized that I had misjudged the threat level. The cannibal ...... is a monster. It's a beast that defies common sense. It's more than just a hexenbiest.
 There's a hole in my leg, and the ground is rapidly approaching. d*mn. ...... This is bad. We'll lose. I'm going to be killed.

 I desperately scolded my body, but no matter how immortal the undead are, they can't do anything if their body is gone.
 I'm not sure what to do.

I'm not sure if I'm still conscious or not,......, but I've heard it called the living dead.