["— Applies additional effects to all allies within 500 meters."]
The Great Triangle effect had activated.
It meant reinforcements had arrived.
[Healing Power Enhancement (+20%)]
Other stats received additional effects too, but the healing buff was what mattered most to Eidel right now. He smirked as he looked at his updated status window.
["— The God of Healing and Humility heals your wounds."]
His head cleared immediately. The fatigue accumulated from research and combat was dissolving like salt in water.
That wasn't the only good news.
Boom!
Darwin's Legion, which had been surrounding the laboratory, suddenly began to falter from the rear, and soon their entire formation started to collapse.
The swordsmen who had come to support were launching an offensive.
However, the speed at which the rear was collapsing was extraordinarily fast.
"T-that woman...!"
Bruce exclaimed in shock.
Rustila von Rheinland.
She was cutting through the wave of monsters with terrifying momentum, charging straight toward Bruce.
Decapitation tactics.
Cut down the leader, and the rest of the monsters would fall apart. In small-scale battles, Omega-class swordsmen often executed such operations by maneuvering independently.
But Rustila wasn't moving solely on such rational judgment.
Bruce.
The bastard who had tried to kill Eidel, her husband, not once but twice.
She absolutely could not let him live.
Cold fury infused her sword energy.
"Damn it."
Though he had received abilities from the outer god, Bruce instinctively knew they would be useless against Rustila.
Yet he couldn't retreat either.
Bruce had lost everything.
All because of Eidel von Rheinland. That insufferable bastard.
Kill or be killed. That was the only question.
Whoosh!
Rustila's sword sliced through the air.
Bruce had already teleported in front of Eidel with several powerful monsters.
The recoil from the instantaneous movement hit him immediately. He spat out a mouthful of black blood and shouted.
"Rheinland, how dare you interfere with my paradise plan with your useless research! And Fina, you dare betray me after I fed you and sheltered you, in less than a week? I will never forgive either of you!"
Bruce commanded the Darwin-type monsters under his control.
"Get them, you bastards!"
However, the monsters' charge lasted only a moment before they all fell to several rapidly fired golden bullets.
"Impossible!"
An unbelievable sight.
Click.
A black-haired girl with a bob cut stepped in front of Eidel and aimed her gun.
"Who the hell are you...!"
Bang!
The girl didn't even bother to answer before putting a hole in Bruce's forehead.
But Bruce didn't die.
"...This is unexpected. I didn't think someone would have such abilities."
His head, which had been thrown back by the impact of the holy bullet, returned to its original position. The hole in his forehead writhed as the surrounding tissue regenerated, returning to its state before being shot. Bruce cackled.
"What, surprised? That I didn't die even after taking an Aether-filled bullet to the head?"
The girl, Ireh Hazlen, frowned.
Darwin-type incarnation.
In exchange for becoming a servant of the Perfect Being, Bruce had acquired regenerative abilities that defied common sense.
Bruce pulled out a massive driver.
The murder weapon he had used to kill his academic advisor long ago.
It transformed into something grotesque and oversized through the outer god's power, becoming Bruce's identity weapon.
"Rheinland, today will be your death anniversary. How dare a mere mortal try to stop the utopia ruled by the Queen! It's laughable! Today I'll break that arrogance of yours and present an elegant finale to Her Majesty!"
Eidel shouted back without backing down.
"You lunatic! Using a tool as a weapon! You don't even know basic lab safety protocols and you call yourself a master's graduate? Return your degree! Return it now!"
"Shut up! I'm not a master's graduate, I'm a doctor—!!"
Clang!
The caliper and driver clashed in mid-air. They rang out as if delighted to have found worthy opponents.
"Die, Eidel von Rheinland!"
"I'll get my doctorate before I die! Fake doctor!!"
"You son of a—!!"
Eidel had already recovered his original condition. He fought Bruce on equal terms.
Ireh provided covering fire, marking monsters that charged from all directions. The swordsmen who had joined the battle wielded their swords while holding their positions.
The longer this dragged on...
The more disadvantageous it became for Bruce.
He had lost everything. All that remained was his desire for revenge.
Nothing mattered anymore. If only he could kill Eidel von Rheinland, that insufferable young man before him, with his own hands.
"Outer God!"
It was his final desperate act. Bruce silently called out. He would sell everything to the outer god. He would abandon his humanity.
In exchange for power.
Since everything would disappear and merge into one body when the Queen reigned, he decided to make valuable use of his body first.
Perhaps the outer god responded to his desperation.
Bruce's body began to transcend human limits.
["— 'Bruce Izof' has been chosen as the avatar of 'Pulsating White Feather'."]
["— You are now experiencing the effects of the Perfect Being!"]
At that moment, Rustila, who had broken through the monster encirclement, launched a surprise attack on Bruce from behind.
She severed both his arms with her multi-layered sword energy, then thrust her sword into his chest and twisted it almost halfway around.
However.
He didn't die.
Instead, his severed arms regenerated, and the wound in his chest healed.
Organic blades sprouted from his shoulder blades. His teeth grew as long as an adult's finger. His eyeballs bulged out, and barnacles erupted across his skin.
Ireh muttered.
"...So he finally gave up being human."
"Master Bruce!"
"Fina, that person is no longer your former master. He's been completely consumed by the outer god. Once someone goes that far, they can't return to normal."
Fina couldn't hide her shock.
While she didn't have many good memories of him, she could definitely say she had never cursed him to transform into such a hideous form.
"Master..."
"Young master, it's truly dangerous from here on. Please step back."
Eidel nodded and retreated. He knew his limits. From this point on, he would only be a hindrance to Rustila and Ireh, even if he fought with all his might.
Entrusting the battle entirely to his wife and junior.
As a husband and senior, it was a disqualifying act.
But Eidel decided not to worry too much about it.
People had their assigned roles in every situation.
"Ireh, back me up!"
"I was planning to do that without you asking."
Slash!
Dozens of blade-like tentacles erupted from Bruce's spine. They surged toward Rustila, targeting her first.
Ireh blocked them with her bullets.
"Insolent wenches!"
["— 'Rustila von Rheinland' uses <Hardened Body Technique>."]
["— 'Ireh Hazlen' uses <Annihilation Bullet>."]
["— Due to the 'Great Triangle' effect, the Aether effects of <Hardened Body Technique> and <Annihilation Bullet> are stacked!"]
Before the organic matter Bruce spewed could contaminate the laboratory floor, sword strikes and bullets rained down from both sides.
The body technique not only sliced through but also melted the Pron with the temperature of stars and Aether.
The annihilation bullet, by its nature, reached the "core" of the avatar body faster than any other method, targeting its weakness.
Therefore.
["— Joint Conversion: <Annihilation Holy Bullet>"]
It could painfully incinerate areas likely to be weaknesses.
In this moment.
Bruce felt extreme, searing pain.
"Gaaah! T-this is impossible! This power was given by the outer god! How could mere primitive humans...!"
His cells regenerated, then were destroyed, repeating the process.
The crucial point was that destruction was happening faster than creation.
"AAAAARGH!"
One blinded by twisted desire and jealousy.
His end was approaching.
***
After the situation was resolved, Eidel finally had a chance to talk with Zernya.
"I knew you'd be alive and well."
Zernya spoke primly, yet stuck close to Eidel's side.
"I'm pregnant. You should be grateful I came to the battlefield at all in this condition."
"Yes, yes."
Despite her words, she was busy examining and treating Eidel. Checking if he had any other injuries or areas that might leave aftereffects.
"I thought men healed on their own if you left them alone?"
"Zernya, your words and actions don't match."
"Shut up."
She was sulking.
Still, grateful that he was alive, Zernya's face flushed.
"Seventeen injured, no casualties. All monsters have been eliminated. I just received the report from the unit."
Rustila set down her plasma sword and took a seat. Her forehead was drenched in sweat.
"My, why did you come here instead of returning directly to your unit?"
"Zernya, I don't want to fight with you right now."
Rustila was extremely fatigued. This was true even with the "Great Triangle" effect. She was mentally exhausted. Obviously, it was because she had been worried about Eidel.
Zernya, seeming to understand this, stopped needling her.
"So anyway, I was really preparing for the end of my life back there. But then Ireh appeared and took out two Scholarnants with a single bullet!"
"Stop proudly recounting stories about your near-death experiences!"
"This is why men have shorter lifespans than women."
Under the scolding from his two wives, Eidel shrank like a balloon in ice water. Ireh laughed silently.
"Thank you, Ireh. Without you, who knows what would have happened to this idiot..."
"Exactly. Why does a research-obsessed guy rush to the frontlines? Do you think being a soldier is just for show?"
Eidel exchanged glances with Ireh without his wives noticing.
A smile.
Ireh grinned.
They both knew. Although Eidel had been somewhat reckless, if he hadn't continuously provoked Bruce and stood at the forefront, they wouldn't have been able to defeat him.
It was because Bruce's anger toward Eidel outweighed his fear of death that they were able to take down the second of the Five Kings.
"Well, we'll be going now."
"Ireh, I'm so glad you're here. Please stop this idiot if he tries to do something stupid again."
Ireh nodded.
After the two women left.
Ireh looked down at her right hand.
The spot where Eidel's cheek had touched.
The spot she had deliberately allowed to make contact.
"...Ah."
She finally realized one thing.
She didn't feel any aversion to touching Eidel.