n

n

n

nThe pirates were fleeing.

nSome of the pirate knights tried to resist, but they were eventually surrounded by soldiers and were defeated.

nThey had no choice but to give up once they were ganged up on.

nThe adjutant was frantically running around the ship.

n“Goaz, that bastard. He’s trying to escape alone!”

nAfter the enemy’s landing squad had breached the ship, he had suddenly disappeared.

nDesperately running away, the adjutant was trying his best to think of a way out of this situation.

nHe pulled up the ship’s map with his personal terminal.

n“…there’s nowhere else for me to run. Damn it all.”

nThe adjutant turned around and sat down.

nIn front of him was an enemy unit led by a small knight carrying a sword.

nHe tried to flee, but no matter where he went there’d only be enemies waiting for him.

nThe adjutant raised his arms in surrender.

n“Please wait! I have information you’d be interested in!”

nThe small knight carrying a sword over his shoulder stopped, giving the order for the men behind him “stand down.”

nThe knight sounded fairly young judging by his voice.

n(This is my last chance, I need to use every card I’ve got here to survive.)

n“I’m just another victim of Goaz’s tyranny, please have mercy on me!”

nThe knight was wearing a helmet so his expressions couldn’t be read.

n“That’s right! I also know where all the treasure is kept! I don’t have the access key, but I can show you where it is! You can trust me!”

nThe adjutant immediately genuflected before them.

nThe knight was silent.

nHowever, the knight’s subordinate opened his terminal and gave a report.

n“Lord Liam, this man is the deputy officer of Goaz’s pirate fleet. I don’t think he’s a victim who was forced into the life of piracy.”

nAt the mention of the name ‘Liam’, the adjutant raised his face.

n“Liam? You’re the bast- I mean, of course you are! No wonder you had such a majestic aura about you! Say, why don’t you hire me? If we join our forces together then-”

nThe adjutant’s vision suddenly changed.

nHe didn’t move his body at all, but his vision still changed all the same.

nIn the sudden weightlessness of zero-gravity, he could see every individual’s body.

nEven his own.

n“…huh?”

nThe adjutant’s consciousness broke off from there.

n◇ ◇ ◇

nThe guide was stunned as he watched over the battlefield.

nHe was currently standing on a destroyed pirate ship.

n“This is impossible. W-what the hell is with that strength?!”

nThe guide was perplexed over the power that Liam originally should’ve never obtained.

nThe school of the One-Flash didn’t exist in this universe.

nIn the first place, it was just a lie created by Yasushi.

nYet somehow, Liam was able to reproduce it in reality.

n“Even if you were talented, how did you obtain such power? Just what did that man teach you?”

nWhile he wasn’t looking, Liam had become far stronger than he could’ve imagined.

nThere’s no way he’d know Liam would be this powerful.

nThe guide gripped his head with both his hands.

n“It hurts! I’m in pain here, dammit!”

nLiam’s grateful feelings were being transmitted to him even now.

nThere was an absolute feeling of trust mixed in as well– it was nauseating.

n“I can’t allow things to keep going like this. Goaz, I will give you power.”

nThe guide waved his arms, generating black smoke around him.

n“Doing this goes against my style, but it can’t be helped. This is the end for you, Liam.”

n

n

nThe guide felt like throwing up at the thought that he was forced to get his hands dirty.

n◇ ◇ ◇

nGoaz was hiding in a remote corner of the ship while shaking.

nHe had the alchemy box firmly gripped in his hands.

nI don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.

nThe leader of a pirate fleet who’s name spread fear across the cosmos was crying like a baby, terrified.

nIn the first place, his unlimited source of funds was Goaz’s only weapon.

nAs a pirate he was only a little stronger than the norm, if he was found, there was no doubt that he’d be killed.

n“This can’t be real. I’m going to survive this, no, I’m going to live a life of luxury. Yeah, that’s right, as long as I have this-”

nThe Alchemy Box- if he were a bit smarter about how he used it, Goaz could’ve lived an easy life.

nHe didn’t have to be a pirate.

nThis was a situation caused completely by the choices that he’s made.

nHe brought about these circumstances himself.

nWith that said, nobody would’ve expected for him to actually lose against Liam.

nAt that moment, black smoke started enveloping Goaz.

n“W-what the hell?!”

nThe voice of the guide called out to him,

n“Goaz, I’m going to give a bastard like you a chance.”

n“Who’s talking?! Who the hell is talking?!”

nThe black smoke forced its way into Goaz’s mouth as he was frozen in fear.

nAs the guide materialized, Goaz was already collapsed on the ground, gripping his throat with both his hands in pain.

nThe guide spoke,

n“This is your last chance, I will give you the opportunity to defeat Liam. You want to win here, don’t you?”

nAs Goaz forced himself to nod his head, the guide proceeded to laugh with his crescent moon smile.

n“That’ll do.”

nThe black smoke dissipated, and Goaz dropped the alchemy box in surprise as he was suddenly released from the pain.

n“What’s going on? I can feel power surging through me, and I don’t feel scared! I don’t feel any fear at all!”

nHis skin now had a bluish tone to it, but he didn’t feel any discomfort with his body at all.

nIn fact, he felt great.

nGoaz smiled.

nThe guide was also smiling.

n“Your skin is now as tough as adamantium, so you have nothing to fear. You have transcended the limits of humanity, so go on and rampage!”

n“This is all because of that brat! I’m going to kill him!”

nThe guide watched Goaz run off while holding a hand to his forehead.

n“…that was a bit excessive. I guess I had a little too much fun.”

nConsidering how often he had used the dimensional door recently, this was a pretty stupid move.

nThe guide’s figure was severely fatigued.

n“Well at the very least, this guarantees that Goaz’ll kill him. Oh Liam, regret the fact that you’ve bored me and must now fall into despair.”

nAs the guide disappeared, a small light approached the alchemy box.

nThe light observing the guide’s actions was the same one that had entered Avid.

nMorphing into the shape of a black and brown dog, it rushed into the hallway towards Liam’s location.

n◇ ◇ ◇

nAs I was walking through the corridor, I suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me.

n“…huh?”

nIt almost looked like the tail of a brown dog crossed my view for a second there.

nMy men must’ve noticed my abnormality,

n“Lord Liam, is there something wrong?”

n“Just now, did you see a dog?”

n“A dog? No, the scanners don’t detect any biological reactions, and even then there wouldn’t be such a thing here. A dog could never wear a spacesuit.”

nWas I just seeing things?

nEven so, why did I feel so nostalgic just from seeing a tail?

n–that’s it.

nIt reminded me of the dog I kept in my previous life.

nAt the same time, I also remembered the various animals that all died when I tried to take care of them afterwards.

nIf I didn’t know about my previous life, then I would’ve just ignored it as supernatural nonsense.

nBut I knew about the guide, and all that he’s done for me.

n“I thought his work was already done…”

n“My Lord?”

n“No, its nothing. In anycase, let’s go in that direction.”

n

n

nAs we proceeded towards the path that I saw the tail pass by, we arrived at an area in total disarray.

nAll the furniture was scattered about like an old warehouse.

nThere were many places to hide, so my subordinates advanced carefully even though I couldn’t sense anyone.

nEven the dog didn’t seem to be here.

nI felt a little disappointed.

nWhen I sighed and looked down, I spotted something lying on the floor.

n“What’s this?”

nWhat I picked up was a golden box.

nIt was small enough to be held in one hand.

nIt was decorated in various intricate ways- I took quite a liking to it.

n“I picked up something good here, and now it’s mine.”

nThe men looked in my direction with warm gazes,

n“I guess the rumors about Lord Liam’s love for gold are true.”

n“I adore it.”

n“What about mithril and adamantium?”

n“Hmm? I like them, but gold is better.”

nI feel like my subordinates are a confused, but isn’t mithril just a fancy name for silver?

nAnd adamantium has more of an image as something used as weapon materials.

nGold should be more valuable.

nAs I inspected the box, I saw the dog’s tail at the edge of my view.

n“-there it is again.”

n“Lord Liam, please don’t go off on your own!”

nAs I left my men to chase after the dog, I reached a dead end.

nBut something felt off about it.

nAfter using my helmet’s scanner, I found out that there was actually a hidden door there.

n“I smell treasure.”

nAfter having my subordinate’s blow up and destroy the hidden door, I found what could be akin to a treasure mountain.

nHowever, it wasn’t the gold and silver riches I wanted, it was just antiques.

n“…I guess this is a failure.”

nMy men exclaimed in surprise,

n“No, isn’t this still a jackpot?! These items are definitely worth a fortune!”

n“The majority of these are probably just fakes.”

nIn fact, many of the antiques owned by the Banfield house were fakes.

nFor the time being, I scoured the pile to see if there was anything worth value.

n“Hey, I found a sword.”

nIt was an old-fashioned sword that looked like it belonged to a fantasy game.

nThat’s the feeling the design on the sheath and handle gave off.

nSimple, and modest.

nAs I inspected it, I found the blade to be in perfect condition.

n“I want to test this on something.”

n“Wouldn’t it be better to not use it? It looks like it’s worth a lot.”

n“I’ll only use it if necessary. Don’t worry, it was something taken from pirates anyway.”

nI put the gold box in the large pouch at the back of my belt, and gave my rifle to my men as I equipped the two swords.

nIf I make wise choices from here on, I might not even need to fight anymore.

n“Now then, where should we go nex-”

n“Lord Liam, we have an emergency call coming in!”

nMy subordinate shouted.

n◇ ◇ ◇

nOne of the landing squads had run into Goaz.

nEven though they were wearing powered suits, they were easily thrown back by just one of Goaz’s arms.

n“Damn, why aren’t bullets working?!”

n“Energy-based weapons aren’t either!”

n“I’ll do it!”

nOne of the soldiers fired a bazooka at Goaz, but he walked out of the explosion and smoke as if nothing happened.

nThe faces of the soldiers were going pale.

nGoaz put on of his hands on his neck and cracked it.

n“To go wild on a man’s ship, you couldn’t have thought you’d be able to get out of here unscathed.”

nGoaz was intoxicated with the power he gained and felt like he could do anything.

nNot even knights could be his opponent now.

nWhen he clenched his fist, it didn’t sound like a person’s hand- there was a metal squeaking noise to it.

n“You are all my toys.”

nGoaz blows off the soldiers with ease using the guide’s power.

nAmmunition, lasers, and explosives were all useless against him.

nThe soldiers even tried to alter the air pressure in the corridor- but even that had no effect on Goaz.

n“I guess you could say I’ve done some remodeling recently.”

n“He’s a cyborg?”

nWhen the soldiers tried to retreat, Goaz chased them down and sent them flying.

nGrabbing and throwing them like nothing, Goaz rampaged with his newfound strength.

n“Bring me the kid! Let’s end this here and now!”

nOne of the soldiers loudly sent out commands to his surroundings.

n“Send out a message to get Lord Liam off the ship! We absolutely can not let those two meet!”

nKnowing that none of the soldier’s attacks were effective, Goaz continued to run wild.

n“What happened to your bravery just a second ago?! Come at me!”

nWhenever he punched a soldier, he’d completely smash the head in along with the helmet.

nGrabbing another soldier to use as a shield, the shooting stopped.

n“This time it’s my turn to-”

nAs he threw away the soldier he was using a shield and took a step forward, Goaz suddenly felt pain shoot through his body.

n“…what?”

nWhen Goaz looked down at his figure, he was surprised to see a number of wounds there.

nWithout knowing what had just occurred, one human jumped down from above him.

nThe person who jumped down was looking at a chipped sword covered in blood as he stood.

n“How tough.”

nThe man seemed to be laughing.

nHe was wearing a helmet though, so Goaz couldn’t see his face.

nGoaz stretched out his right arm to grab him, when he suddenly heard something fall to the ground with a ‘bump.’

nHis right arm was severed from the tip of his elbow.

n“…huh?”

nTo his surprise, the small man in front of him had thrown away his blade.

nIn its place was a sword that Goaz recalled seeing before.

nIt was something that he stored in the room full of antiques.

nIt was a very valuable sword.

n“Hey, you! That’s mine!”

nThe man was laughing.

n“What, this? It’s mine now. Besides, it looks like you were able to rampage just fine without it.”

nAs the laughing man rested the sword on his shoulder, Goaz stretched out his left arm to grab him.

nBut this time it was his left arm that fell off.

n“-?!”

nGoaz couldn’t understand what was happening.

nOn the contrary, the man in front of him was looking over the sword in interest.

nHe seemed to be quite pleased with it.

n“Amazing, not a single drop of blood stained it. How interesting.”

nGoaz had now lost both of his hands.

nWhile he was still in a state of confusion, black smoke started coming out of the cut surfaces, morphing into tentacle-like organisms.

n“What the hell is this?!”

nGoaz couldn’t control his body, and attacked the man in front of him.

nBut the man was ignoring Goaz completely.

n“I like this sword, I’ll make sure to use this one from now on. I’m lucky I found that treasure trove.”

nThe tentacles were sliced into fine pieces, along with one of Goaz’s feet as well.

nBlack smoke was constantly being emitted from Goaz, who was now kneeling.

n“Ah… ahhhhh…”

nGoaz was trembling now, he couldn’t understand what was going on.

nBlack blood was flowing from all the cut surfaces.

nThe soldiers had gathered into a formation to protect the knight.

n“Lord Liam!”

nWhen he heard that name, Goaz raised his head.

nHis eyebrows wrinkled as he gazed upon the visage of the demon-like man in front of him.

n“So you’re… you’re that bastard Liam!”

nThe man was still fervently inspecting his new sword and didn’t even spare to look at Goaz.

n“Yeah, I’m Liam. Also, that’s ‘Lord’ Liam to you, trash. More importantly, who’s this black person anyways? Is he a remodeled human or something?”

nThe soldiers answered his question, but seemed a bit doubtful.

n“His skin colour is different from the reports, but I think that’s Goaz.”

n“This person is?”

nGoaz’s left arm had taken the shape of a sharp horn.

n“Don’t ignore me!”

nAs he thrust out his left arm to pierce Liam’s heart- his left shoulder was cut off.

nLiam looked down at Goaz, who was on his knees.

nHe rested his sword against his shoulder and sternly inspected Goaz’s face.

n“Are you really Goaz?”

nGoaz started to tremble.

n(What the hell?! How?! This is impossible! How did my body get cut even when bullets bounced off?! Something’s wrong here. Something is definitely wrong here!)

nThe panicking Goaz looked up towards Liam.

n“…p-please, have mercy.”

n“Huh?”

n“Spare me. Please, spare me. I’ll never go against you again. If you let me live, I’ll even give you all my treasure.”

nLiam smiled and started laughing at Goaz’s offer.

nHe laughed and said,

n“–I don’t want to.”

n

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