Victor took out the small crystal he had recovered from the corpse of the ant queen.
He observed it for a moment before finally making his decision.
These things were still valuable—though this one held a rather... unorthodox skill.
But that value wasn't even close to equaling the boy's life.
At least, not until he had accomplished what he had to do.
The reason he had undertaken this journey.
To rid the universe of that fucking monster.
Victor gave a mental command. The symbiote returned to its original form, a fly nearly eighty centimeters tall.
He kept only a small dozen of the creatures that made up the Symbiote.
That way, no matter what happened, it would one day be able to regenerate itself in one way or another.
The creature looked at him with obvious curiosity, as if asking what he intended to do next.
Victor simply extended his right hand toward it, the small crystal resting on his open palm.
The dipteran probed the strange object first, then absorbed it into its body.
Victor gave it one last pat on the head before ordering it to head toward the Amalgamate.
« Ugh, it's even uglier up close. Guess hideous calls to hideous. »
Victor clicked his tongue.
« Show a little respect. It's about to save your crippled ass. »
Akane laughed while pressing what was left of her forearm.
« I'd bet you're far more crippled than I am, little monster. »
« Just watch, little demon. »
He turned his attention to Helene, who was still fighting the pink mass with unwavering courage.
The wounds, though minor, were beginning to accumulate, and her speed was gradually slowing in proportion to the quickening of her breath.
Victor shouted loud enough for the redhead to hear him despite the several meters separating them.
« Fall back when I tell you! »
She showed no sign of acknowledgement, but Victor knew she had heard him—her reaction time alone was proof of her excellent perception.
Victor remained still, simply watching his companion fly toward the putrid pile of flesh.
A few seconds later, it made contact.
Though its instinct screamed against it, the Symbiote still obeyed Victor, pressing its body against the Amalgamate.
Blood-soaked hands burst out of the viscous mass, grabbing its wings, its legs, its thorax—leaving no room for escape.
There was no turning back now.
The insect was slowly swallowed, until it finally disappeared entirely from Victor's sight, who waited patiently for the right moment.
« So.. you really just sent it to die or what? »
He didn't listen to Akane, counting the seconds the creature needed to get as close as possible to the abomination's core.
It was a risky gamble.
If the Amalgamate immobilized every small being that made up the symbiote, then everything was lost.
But if the creatures inside remained capable of movement...
« Now! »
The moment Victor spoke, Helene was already gone, sprinting to the opposite side of the arena, as far from the creature as possible.
Victor followed, leaving the Japanese girl alone a few dozen meters from the monster.
« Asshole—wait for me! »
Victor gave only one command to the Symbiote.
Destroy.
The pink mass began to tremble.
The spectators fell silent, leaning forward in their seats.
Even the powers seated on the raised balcony raised a curious eyebrow, waiting.
And after one more second, everything turned orange.
A mushroom of smoke rose into the air as the connection between Victor and the Symbiote snapped.
Chunks of flesh, bones, limbs, heads—everything was hurled to every corner of the coliseum, painting its walls and floor in red.
A violent and burning shockwave rushed toward the trio—however, just as it was about to hit them and roast them to the bone, a thin translucent blue barrier, nearly invisible, manifested, shielding them as if it were nothing more than a morning breeze.
[You have slain Amalgamate (Lv. 35)]
[Level up. You gain 25 free points]
Victor let out a small sigh of relief as the notification appeared before him.
« Congratulations. I did not expect you to succeed—much less in this way. »
The masculine voice resonated from the top of the coliseum, silencing every other sound.
« If you didn't have that crystal, you would have died without question. One might say your victory relied partly on luck. »
Victor had his own thoughts on the matter, but refrained from interrupting the being—who knew what he might do if angered?
« But it does not matter. A victory is a victory, regardless of the means. »
And besides, ending the spectacle with a grand explosion was ideal, according to Lupis.
The more spectacular the finale, the more his quota filled.
« No need for further ceremony. I will now send you back to your little world. »
His time was precious, he would not linger a second longer than necessary.
Snap
A finger snap echoed, freezing everything in Victor's field of vision.
He blinked—and the next second, he found himself once again in a vast dark expanse.
It looked exactly like the place where he had spoken to Beelzebub the first time.
This could not be a coincidence.
[Trial successfully completed]
[Performance evaluation]
[Generating rewards]
[Please select two rewards from the list below]
- [Fire Affinity]
- [Carapace]
- [Blood Manipulation]
- [30 free points]
- [Sword of-]
[Error]
[Error]
[Administrator interference detected]
« Again with this message? »
[Error]
[Updating rewards]
[Please select two rewards from the list below]
- [Decay]
- [Nest]
« That's it? »
The long list vanished, replaced by only two rewards.
He had, effectively, no choice.
Someone was playing with him.
« Beelzebub. I know it's you. »
No answer.
Victor remained silent for a moment, studying the strange rewards he had been offered—or rather, forced to accept.
He examined them one by one.
-----------------------------------
[Decay]
Grants the affinity for decay magic
-----------------------------------
Unusual.
When thinking of magic, Victor thought of fireballs, blades of wind, shards of stone.
But decay ?
After a moment of thought, he formed a hypothesis.
« This must be Beelzebub's way of giving me his abilities, like he promised. »
He had seen the creature use this skill in the memory.
Honestly, Victor had stopped thinking about that promise—not because he forgot, but because he never really believed such a being would give him anything.
It was like offering a full feast to an insect. No sane being would bother.
But against all odds, he had.
If his assumption was correct, anyway.
Victor then examined the next skill.
---------------------------------
[Nest]
Can open a gate to The Nest
---------------------------------
Victor stared at the description for a while.
He understood it opened a passage—but to where?
And more importantly, what would it give him?
He wouldn't learn by standing here thinking.
He accepted both rewards.
Immediately, his vision blurred, and two breaths later, he found himself back in the classroom, standing before the cube.
He exhaled unconsciously—the trial had lasted barely over an hour, yet it had felt like days.
Probably homesickness.
As he moved to leave, he immediately noticed a hastily written note taped to the door.