Extraordinary Voyage

"I have found three children meeting the gang's requirements. Now I am a small leader in charge of collecting protection fees from all the shops on this street."

Clang—

"Next..."

Those who committed serious crimes were directly eradicated, while those with lighter offenses had fingers, arms, or legs cut off depending on the severity. Whether they could reform was uncertain, but they were undoubtedly deprived of the means to continue their evil deeds.

"Where is the treasury?"

Finally, Aiven woke up the leader of this outpost and forcibly fed him a magic potion with mind-inducing components while he was still dazed.

"Ugh...ugh...the treasury is...ugh..."

"What did you say?"

Unable to hear clearly, Aiven stepped closer.

Strangely muttering to himself: "Do two magic potions used together produce other symptoms? Are they expressed dominantly in a few individuals? Why does this guy look like he's about to die?"

Just as Aiven approached, a sudden change burst forth.

"Roar—!"

The well-dressed, immaculate man on the high-backed chair suddenly opened his eyes wide, revealing only the whites of his eyes, and roared beast-like while leaping towards the nearby Aiven.

Still in mid-air, his clothing around the abdomen shredded instantly, and bloody tentacles, chunks of flesh, even writhing organs with a dense sulfur odor shot out first, surrounding Aiven like fleshy "flower stamens."

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

"How is it possible? He's clearly just an ordinary person!" Although startled, Aiven did not panic. As he lightly tapped his foot and swiftly retreated, the Swift Sword in his hand had already formed into a bright curtain of swords.

Clang! Clang! Clang!...

Even though the bloody tentacles carried tremendous force far beyond human limits, they were still unable to penetrate this thin sword curtain and instead were sliced into pieces, scattering blood and bits of flesh everywhere.

Roar—

Finally, before the wriggling chunks of flesh completed the encirclement, Aiven withdrew from this room, which had already turned into a monster's nest, unharmed.

The man, who had undergone a bizarre malformation, did not immediately chase after him. Instead, like a spider covered in tentacles, he climbed the ceiling upside down.

His limbs twisted oddly, directing an ever-swelling, wriggling belly towards Aiven, now completely transformed into a grotesque monster.

"Is this... a parasite?"

Aiven was somewhat unsure, having only seen brief depictions in the library.

A parasite is a creature unique to the lower interface, classified as a type of higher demon among many monsters, often used as a spellcasting medium by human practitioners such as "demon sacrifice" or "demon mages."

Inherently fragile, parasites are nonetheless very effective and affordable when controlling ordinary people, creating cannon fodder and causing official forces to be cautious.

If the speculation was correct, this aesthetically unpleasant parasite, under the caster's control, would overdraw the outpost leader's life force, rapidly unleashing it to make him a true man for one minute... cough cough... an Extraordinary.

Though not very strong compared to an Official Knight, it was extremely troublesome and disgusting.

'Is this a means used by the higher-ups of the Blood Hand Gang to control their subordinates? Why do other outpost leaders not have it?'

The "monster" did not intend to give Aiven more time to think.

Drip, drip, disgusting blood dripped down. The continuously wriggling flesh in the monster's abdomen seemed to blossom, birthing a solitary, tooth-filled mouth, like half of a flayed animal's head, fierce and terrifying!

"Whoa! Second transformation?!"

Wearing the mask, Aiven, instead, felt liberated, as though removing the mask of a Navy Officer...

"Hoo—"

After a long sigh, the fearsome mouth roared under the direction of another consciousness: "How dare you cause trouble on the Blood Hand Gang's turf. Leave your life here."

Ra—!!!

As he uttered an obscure syllable, a peculiar energy quickly gathered in the air.

Then, an invisible shockwave spread like ripples, faster than sound, rapidly catching up with Aiven as he was about to continue his retreat.

"Not good!"

Bang—

With irresistible force, he was directly blasted away and heavily slammed into the opposite wall of the room.

"Cough...cough..."

Aiven coughed continuously as he struggled to get up, feeling as though he had been hit by a sledgehammer, suffering significant blunt trauma.

Luckily, no one saw, he retracted his earlier words, admitting that this guy was more than just a bit troublesome.

It was indeed the limitation of a physical profession. When facing physical attacks, be it swords or arrows, bullets could all be resisted with enough reaction speed and strength, but against such unreasonable magical assaults, even a Knight couldn't defend against it.

"However, I'm not just a simple Knight."

Returning his sword to its sheath, he swiped his hands over his waist, instantly wielding the firearms in his hands. The fine double-barreled firearm once seized from "Crimson Shooter" Sean had become Major Aiven's formidable weapon.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

The tentacle and flesh wave protected the terrifying mouth in the center tightly but ignored the outpost leader's main body.

Sizzle—

"Roar...."

Hearing a sound like a branding iron on skin, Aiven smiled smugly:

"Too naive. Knowing you deal with lower-level demons, how could I not be prepared? Lead bullets soaked in No. 3 Holy Water, already the highest grade available on the market."

"Taste this too!"

A glass bottle filled with pale golden liquid was thrown out by Aiven. Under his Extraordinary Power, the small glass bottle resembled a cannon shell, bursting open on its body before the tentacles could even react.

"Roar—!!!"

In an instant, the piercing scream nearly shattered Aiven's eardrums. Enduring the discomfort, Aiven unsheathed his sword again, his body twisting as he transformed into a shadow rushing towards the melting monster under the Holy Water.

Whoosh—

The Swift Sword turned into a silver bolt, piercing the air with a sharp whistle, penetrating the "monster's" abdomen with a puff, pinning it directly to the ceiling.

No matter how powerful the parasite might be, its host was merely an ordinary person, not even an Extraordinary. Critically injured, it could no longer employ the magical abilities it had demonstrated moments ago.

"Huh... You won't escape the consequences of offending our Blood Hand Gang..."

"Sigh, can't you come up with something fresh?" Aiven dug in his ear, feeling exasperated by the villains' pale vocabulary.

Taking a bottle of high-proof distilled alcohol from the room's cabinet, he splashed it on the "monster" and lit it directly.

Whoosh!

The flames roared...

Aiven knew the caster behind the parasite was unharmed, realizing he had only defeated a puppet cannon fodder, but he was not worried that the opponent would find him.

At most, it was a casting practitioner at the Official Wizard Level. Unless they came to kill him directly, his Mystical Knowledge and Extraordinary Status as an Official Knight were enough to deal with any investigation from the Mysterious Side.

Just outside this room, on the smooth marble floor, a technique orbit formed with candles and spices had already burned out.

Before the action, Aiven had used an Anti-Divination ritual to sever the spiritual connection of this place to the outside world, combined with his Extraordinary Status, creating a dual defense. Unless they found an Upper-Rank Wizard specializing in the Prophetic School, they shouldn't imagine locating him.

Find an Upper-Rank Wizard? Is that possible? Principal Princeton, the Kingdom's most powerful Great Wizard, was just a Tier 3 Upper-Rank Wizard!

If they tried to get through official channels, Aiven would welcome it with open arms even more.

Having received official authorization from Second Princess Her Highness Liweina, coupled with the three heavy medals he had just obtained, as long as his mind did not falter, no unofficial force could openly move against him in the Phaletis Kingdom.

However, such thoughts were just fleeting. Aiven, unless absolutely necessary, did not intend to use the Crown Prince's connections.

The backstage can serve as insurance, but it shouldn't arrogantly be considered as one's skill.

If he could not advance further on the Extraordinary Path or even exceed some expectations, Aiven seriously doubted that their attitude towards him would remain unchanged; after all, personal strength is paramount.

"Bingo, and now it's the moment everyone loves—unboxing time!"