SSS-Knight in a Hero World

Stab!

. . .

A sharp, almost painless sting bloomed at his spine—so faint it barely registered before fading into nothingness.

Ferris froze. Was that stab meant to kill him, or something else entirely?

Three thoughts echoed in his mind like a drumbeat.

Was this really happening.

Is this how it ends.

Will betrayal be the cause of my death.

My... essence is being drained?.. No... restricted?

Ferris slowly turned around, gripping the doorknob to steady his weakening body. "Ju…

His voice trailed off as his eyes widened.

Judas reached behind his own head and peeled it open, his skull splitting apart like a blooming flower.

Zzzzzzzzz... "Not quite."

"Hah…" Ferris let out a shaky chuckle, equal parts fear and disbelief.

There were no words to properly describe what he felt just now, however, Ferris was extremely grateful when he saw that it was just Zipperman.

But... Zipperman was wearing Judas as a skin suit.

I see the resemblance now... he looks exactly like what Kerio looked like before, just older... and nastier.

Ferris's face twisted into a conflicted expression, a mix of disgust and uneasy recognition, like he was staring at a rotten reflection of a once-familiar face.

That was very wrong to see.

There's something dark inside the corpse.

"You got me now.

What're you gonna do?" Ferris laughed.

Zipperman... or more appropriately this time, Kerio's corpse began to speak. "This."

Zzzzzzzzz.

The ground parted beneath Ferris, but because his body was still shocked by the sudden draining. He had no choice but to accept what would happen, and prepare for it.

Thud!

After the warm ocean feeling disappeared, he somewhat stuck the landing.

Inadvertently, the sudden impact was enough to make Ferris wake up from the drain.

He stood up and scanned his surroundings.

Ferris found himself inside a cramped prison cell. The air was damp and heavy, and the place looked more like a sewer basement than a holding room. Rusty pipes lined the walls, and dusty crates were scattered around in no real order.

A single dim light flickered weakly above him, casting long shadows across the cell. The only exit was a steel door just beyond his reach.

Beyond the iron bars, Ferris saw a zipper emerging from one of the dark walls.

There, Kerio's corpse came out, looking directly at Ferris while walking towards him.

Stopping just in front of the bars, Kerio's corpse rested his forearms on the cross section.

He asked a question in a mocking tone. "Why did you believe that seer? If I were you, I would've done the opposite."

. . .

Ferris took a while to come up with an answer, but he smiled regardless of the wait. "...I'm not a headless hen that reacts to everything around."

"...Fair, but look where that brought you." Kerio's corpse walked away from the bars to grab a chair from one of the corner, and used it to sit right in front of Ferris.

He's keeping me alive for a reason...

"I have but one simple question for you. How did you get into that boy's soul? And what did you see?"

His soul? So he knows about the nature of resonance. "What?"

Kerio's corpse sighed in disappointment before locking eyes with Ferris once more.

"You've yet to understand where you're standing at the moment. I'll ask this again.

Tell me exactly how to get inside the soul of Judas.

And you'll live."

This bastard is wearing my friend's skin, but he keeps asking me how to get inside his soul?

"Aren't you already inside of him, you degenerate?" Ferris mocked with a mix of anger.

. . .

Kerio's corpse stayed silent for a while, then he started hysterically laughing at himself. "The hero has a dark humor, very good!

I can feel that you're angry, but don't be."

Standing up from his chair, Kerio's corpse unzipped more of Judas, stepping out of him as if it was some costume.

But unlike before, during the start of the written examination, there was a distinct lack of blood or any foul bodily odor.

After doing so, Kerio's corpse created an opening under the floor and tossed Judas inside before closing it. "He's still alive, just in a vegetative state."

Ferris hid his lit expression when he heard that Judas was still alive.

The corpse continued. "Alright, instead of repeating my question three times, how about this?

Between all types of blessings.

Which one is the greatest? Is it-

A. Eidolon, the mastery of self

B. Mythotype, the mastery of meaning

Or

C. Emanation, the mastery of force"

. . .

"..." Ferris refused to play along.

Despite seeing such a boring reaction, Kerio's corpse didn't mind and continued.

"The correct answer is D! None of the above!

The strongest blessing, IS the strongest blessing!

Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

The corpse stood up and kicked the chair away with angry force before slamming on the iron bars. "The strongest is the one that controls the strongest blessing, it's that simple."

. . .

He seriously has too many loose screws... Ferris thought.

Control the strongest blessing? He thought about that statement for a while in complete silence.

No, it doesn't mean that you have to have the strongest blessing, but rather have control of it.

And that man really wants to gain access to both Judas's and Kerio's soul.

The ability to control minds with Judas.

And the ability to unfurl things with Kerio.

That's right, Kerio removed Judas's soul from their original body and implanted it into a new one, and the Judas today could still use his original blessing.

While Ferris stayed silent in his corner, the corpse kept rambling.

"Did you know there's been a slow but steady rise in blessing users?"

His voice echoed faintly against the damp walls.

"Scientists predict that in a hundred years, more than eighty percent of the human population will have blessings."

The corpse tilted his head, grinning faintly as if proud of the thought.

"We are the new men. The next step in evolution. If anything, we should be on the same side."

He took a step closer, eyes hollow but burning with messed up conviction.

"I just don't get why heroes exist. They waste their time protecting filthy monkeys who can't even use blessings."

Meanwhile, Ferris continued ignoring him.

This degenerate wants me to somehow give both Kerio's and Judas's soul to him.

Ferris remembered the details of the soul transfer. In order to perform the finishing touches, Kerio left a piece of himself in his original body to complete the procedure.

So in theory, if this degenerate using Kerio's corpse is drawing on what's left of Kerio's soul, then that means he's using a weaker version of Kerio's original blessing.

Then as of now, the degenerate has 1/4 of what he needs, and Judas has 3/4. And this degenerate needs me to add them together.

But like hell I'll ever do that.

Only now did the corpse's words flow through Ferris's ears.

Not only is this guy a degenerate, but he's also an egotistical maniac, a megalomaniac, a hypocrite, and a total racist.

I should buy time. "Me and you, on the same side?"

The corpse smiled. "Yes, exactly! I-...

Wait... I rambled on too much. You're just buying time," he said, calming his facial expression down into a relaxed one.

"But don't worry, I'll give you ample time to come up with an answer."

Soon after saying that, the degenerate left the room through the heavy steel door.

The moment the corpse left, Ferris grabbed the iron bars, poking his nose out and looking further around, but there was nothing important.

Then he touched the base of his back spine and felt a rough texture.

There's still this thing draining my essence... but draining might be the wrong word.

Stealing, perhaps?

Ferris caressed the mysterious object embedded into him. First, he felt a rough base that extended outwards like a tail. Then he felt a single, soft leaf that emitted great energy.

This nature blessing again... it has to be the same thing I encountered before.

He tried tugging on the single leaflet, but the moment he tried doing that, his heart felt a sharp pain.

"!!!" Ferris grabbed his chest, suddenly having a good idea of what the object was.

This plant's a parasite that hijacked my essence layer.

Instead of sucking my essence or stealing it, it's acting as another lifeform that's using my essence layer so that I can't use it.

If I kill it by tearing it apart, then I'll end up killing myself...

Ferris chuckled inwardly. If he ever found out who the person with this nature blessing was, he would punch them square in the face.

I can only use my raw strength.

While thinking about what to do next, Ferris heard a rattling sound.

Shake. Shake.

?

Shake. Shake.

Beyond him, Ferris saw one of the empty boxes hopping and swaying around on its edges.

Pop!

The wooden cover exploded into the air and fell down.

Like a joker box... no, an actual joker box!

But instead of a clown, it was something else. "Good evening!"