SECOND-CLASS SAINT

Rematch (II)

"Bleegh!"

A horrific splat sounded seconds after the impact.

Somewhere within the sea of dust, the young Phoenix hurled up a mouthful of blood. Hitting the ground at that speed had given him the cover he needed to escape, but his odds were slim.

He had no way to check, but the pain surging through his body made it clear that several of his organs were damaged. Currently, he could neither see nor walk straight, staggering was all he could do.

Inch by inch, the defeated noble disgracefully limped toward the exit.

This makes no sense. How did someone like him get that strong? A brief moment of introspection was all it took for Marcel to clench his fist hard enough to tear his own skin. From his perspective, the past few seconds had been nothing short of a nightmare.

I need to escape, even if it kills me. I must make it back alive!!

As he thought that, Marcel heard it—the sound of footsteps echoing behind him. That was when he finally realized it, the nameless emotion he'd been grappling with had finally come to light. Truthfully, he'd always been familiar with it, but as time elapsed, he found himself growing somewhat numb to it along the way.

Marcel's threshold for fear had been set to an outrageously high standard. Byron—his older half-brother— was about the only one who could truly instill such visceral fear into him anymore.

Or at least, that should have been the case.

"You really are an idiot. If you were smart, you would've run the moment I landed the first punch, but whatever. This is what you wanted." Cyril muttered calmly, as though speaking to himself. He appeared behind Marcel, the cold expression on his face showing no sign of fading

After hearing that, Marcel let out what sounded like a squeal and broke for the exit, only to trip over himself not even ten steps later.

He scrambled to his feet, desperately trying to regain his balance—only for Cyril to appear before him and drive a vicious kick into his chin, sending his body crashing to the far end of the room.

Cyril narrowed his eyes at the sound of the crash before probing his assistant for a quick update.

[Time remaining: 2:57]

Heaving a sigh, Cyril strode toward a cluster of the Barbarian's bony protrusions. Each spike stretched over twenty inches, and he snapped off two to serve as makeshift javelins. Even broken partway, each spike still measured more than seven inches long.

Taking aim, Cyril infused the spikes with power before hurling them in flawless succession. The projectiles whistled through the air, locking onto Marcel's arms where they were pinned against the wall from the earlier impact.

A scream split the room as the spikes struck their mark.

By the time Marcel smothered his agony, Cyril was already before him, fists poised to strike.

Wham

Cyril's fist collided with Marcel's jaw, sending blood spraying across the dungeon walls. That was only the beginning, the assault intensified from there onwards—neck, sternum, diaphragm, ribcage—one after the other, the blows rained down on Marcel like a gatling gun, each strike carrying enough force to make the dungeon's walls quake.

The situation left Marcel baffled. Despite the immense pain, he still found himself asking "How?"

He had ingested the most potent variant of a drug designed to amplify a deviant's power. His strength was pushed to its absolute limit, and with the vast reserves of mana at his disposal, he could rival even a top-tier striker's physical enhancement.

Even a cruise missile would struggle to leave a scratch on him—yet a single fist, five gnarled fingers and something far more primal, carried enough force to rattle his skull, loosen his molars, and make his head spin.

Nothing he tried worked, Cyril's flames negated his own, and he stood no chance of overpowering him with brute force. Never in his life had Marcel Phoenix felt so utterly powerless, it was as if he were facing off against his polar opposite, someone armed with exactly the right tools to counter his every move.

In a matter of seconds, Marcel was dealt dozens of pinpoint hits, but neither he nor Cyril knew the exact number. By the end, they were both left huffing, but as soon as Cyril registered Marcel's fleeting moment of defiance, he moved to act again.

Marcel had tried to gather mana for one last attack, but Cyril stopped him in his tracks, grabbing him by the throat and driving him deeper into the wall.

"Y-you… can't kill me — I'm a noble," Marcel gasped through the pain. "I'll make you regret this once I recover. You and that woman."

Cyril's grip tightened at the words, his fingers crushing Marcel's throat.

"I'm fully aware of the repercussions, and I will face them. But you crossed a line — going after Carissa was a mistake on your part. Nothing — neither you, nor any noble, nor a saint — will stop me from keeping her safe."

[Alert. The unique skill [Juggernaut] has been activated.]

For the first time since awakening this power, he was deliberately using it to take a life. With Marcel in his current condition, his aura could be easily overpowered—even bypassed entirely.

Cyril honed his focus, zoning in on his target. This time, Juggernaut's application would be imposed on something far more precise than a simple shockwave.

Marcel's pulse was his gateway. From there, Cyril proceeded ruthlessly, applying the values he needed to complete his augmentation. The blood of an average person flowed steadily at a few dozen centimeters per second—but when amplified to its absolute limit by external forces, disaster was inevitable.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Marcel's eyes glazed over and swelled. His body convulsed as blood began spewing from every orifice. Slowly, he ballooned, his screams muffled as his own body tore itself apart.

Finally, his body reached its breaking point. Everything came loose—organs, muscles, tissue—all ripped apart from the inside out. A dull pop echoed through the room, leaving the faint metallic scent of blood lingering on the crimson splatter plastered across the wall.

[Notice: Target entity 'Marcel Phoenix' has been successfully terminated.]

[Countdown Active — 1:59 Remaining]

The eruption of gore had not only stained Cyril's clothes, but his vision as well. He stared at the read smear lining the spot Marcel had been pinned to, sighing dismissively before making his way toward Carissa.

There was no point in thinking about it any further, the deed had already been done. Reaching Carissa, Cyril quickly took a knee beside her and probed the assistant lurking in his mind.

Aria, what do I need to do? He asked inwardly, barely managing to suppress his frantic thoughts.

[Answer. Cyril, in order to heal Carissa, you will need to sacrifice your [Niflheim] skill.]

Sacrifice my skill, huh? Fine I'll do it.

[Inquiry. Do you require additional time to consider this option?]

No, there's nothing to consider. If it can save her life, then I'll gladly do it.

[Acknowledged. Allow me to explain the procedure. Your Index is currently at maximum capacity due to the extra skill you possess. I can remove the skill data embedded in your Index, which would increase your throughput and grant you greater control over your unique skills. However, this will permanently erase [Niflheim] and impose a fixed limit on your Index. From that point forward, you will no longer be able to assimilate any additional extra skills.]

I think I understand. It's something similar to storage optimization, right?

[Affirmative. Once I remove [Niflheim] from your Index, you will be able to heal Carissa by utilizing your [Life Surge] and [Mobius] skills. First, you must scan her body using [Mobius] to record her biological information. Then, by applying that data through [Life Surge], the manites will reconstruct her body according to the recorded blueprint. However, doing so will temporarily disconnect [Life Surge] from your own body's informational blueprint, imposing a 24-hour cooldown before you can use it on yourself again.]

Alright, I'll give it a shot.

[Alert. Beginning skill extraction. The designated skill [Niflheim] will now be dismantled.]

As soon as that announcement rang in his mind, Cyril felt the instinctual grasp he once held over his skill gradually begin to slip away, as though it were being erased. After a few seconds, it was all but gone from memory, a power he would never be able to access again.

[Alert. Extraction complete. Processing elevated throughput.]

[Alert. The unique skill [Life Surge] has been enhanced by increased throughput. [Life Surge] has been upgraded to [Genesis].]

[Alert. Commencing deep body scan.]

Cyril laid Carissa's body onto the floor and placed a hand on her stomach, directly over her wound. Her breathing had grown considerably weaker, and she was starting to look pale. The feeling of her blood soaking his hand sent a chill through him, but Cyril persisted.

Closing his eyes, he activated the [Mobius] skill, drawing on the power of nearby manites. The quantum particles zoned in on Carissa's form, analyzing everything from her musculature down to her very DNA. The information flooded Cyril's mind in an instant, nearly overwhelming him.

He gritted his teeth and began sifting through the torrent of information, focusing only on what he needed—the specifics of her wound.

Structural defects identified: stomach perforation, thermal necrosis, internal bleeding....

Grasping the details of her condition, he activated another skill simultaneously, funneling the required parameters into it.

All structural defects accounted for. Transferring data to the unique skill [Genesis]… transfer complete. Beginning molecular restoration.

Carissa's body donned a radiant glow once the procedure began. Cyril watched in astonishment as her panting ceased, and her breathing stabilized. Once the color began returning to her face, he finally allowed himself a moment of respite, wiping away the blood on his face.

"It's over." he said, slumping to the floor.

[Alert. The designated subspace 'Ba'als labyrinth' is showing signs of destabilization. Without its core, the space is unstable and is due to collapse. Please evacuate immediately.]

"Ah, the Chairman did say they wanted to close this place off for good. I guess they've already erased its coordinates from the grid." muttering that to himself, Cyril straightened his body and lifted Carissa into his arms.

There were a few unconscious people scattered about the room, but they would have to wait for the recovery units—Cyril quite literally had his hands full.

It took him a bit longer than usual to reach the gate, given his condition, but he finally made it. He stopped just short of the exit portal and cast one last glance behind him, staring down the path that had irrevocably changed him.

Suppressing the somber feeling, Cyril tore his eyes away and stepped into the portal.

"Let's get out of here."

[Incident Report— August 2nd— Central Year 119]

[Host Unit: Cyril Severin has completed successful termination of threat vector Marcel Phoenix.]

[Cognitive Affinity Index has increased from 5.314 to 5.457]

[Analysis: Host displayed full efficiency despite signs of exhaustion and physical limitations. The unique skill [Juggernaut] was applied to lethal effect, augmenting the momentum of the target's blood flow to induce organ collapse.]

[Progression: The host's previously inert recovery skill [Life Surge] has been evolved into the superior unique skill [Genesis]. This ability enables the host to repair molecular-level damage to a chosen individual once every 24 hours, at the cost of suspending personal regeneration during the process.

Earlier data revealed that the host lacked an effective counter to flame-based magic. To address this, the first scenario was designed to correct that weakness. The defeated infernal's core served as the catalyst for the creation of the extra skill [Niflheim], derived from the infernal's [Flame Weaver] skill and specifically engineered to combat Marcel Phoenix in the event of a second confrontation.

With Marcel's termination, [Niflheim] was deemed unnecessary and was dismantled to provide fuel for the evolution of [Life Surge] into the unique skill [Genesis].]

[Behaviour Analysis: Current data indicates the host's pacifistic tendencies are not an operational limitation. When presented with sufficient risk or threat, the host engages with lethal efficiency. Observed combat effectiveness improves under these conditions. During the battle against Marcel Phoenix, fabricated constraints—such as the necessity to terminate the target within a strict timeframe—completely overrode the host's pacifism, facilitating lethal action.]

[Compatibility: Host compatibility has increased from 47% to 98.6% following recent events. Cyril Severin is now classified as an ideal vessel to house the specified realm factor. The host is considered suitable for the next stage of progression; development of the second scenario is now underway.]

[Conclusion: This report concludes A.R.I.A.'s transmission to the Operator. Progress updates will be provided upon acquisition of further actionable intelligence.]