Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: This Guy Must Be Crazy

"GAH! COUGH COUGH..."

The ’worker’, or rather ’Phantom Pain’, violently spat out a mouthful of blackish blood, his body swaying unsteadily.

His body was riddled with a dozen bloody holes, like a sieve, but thanks to the characteristics of the [Suffering] system, he hadn’t lost much blood and could still barely stand.

His mind, however, was racing, formulating a countermeasure in an instant.

’I don’t know how I ended up inexplicably stumbling into a military Restricted Area, but it’s not impossible to escape...’

’No! I *have* to escape! I have to tell my comrades in the Association what I saw!’

’I’ll use the [Painful Gaze] now, before the powerhouse from this place arrives. I’ll subdue these ordinary Soldiers in front of me and carve out a sliver of hope for my survival!’

Phantom Pain’s years of experience in a battle of wits with the Sect allowed him to quickly devise a plan. With his one good eye, he locked onto one of the Crusaders opposite him.

He had a youthful face, not very old; a pale complexion, showing a lack of courage; dark circles under his eyes, indicating poor spirits. He didn’t even dare to raise his gun and aim, just cowering timidly to the side.

This was the perfect target for [Painful Gaze]. It would take effect the fastest and spread to those around him most quickly.

So, Phantom Pain immediately mobilized the Spiritual Power in his body. Drawing on the agony from his own wounds, he pushed the effect of his [Painful Gaze] to its absolute limit. His remaining eye stared intently at the timid Crusader as his inspiration poured out, locking onto this soft target.

"Feel the suffering... urgh... AHHHH!!!"

Phantom Pain suddenly let out a strange, bloodcurdling scream. His power spiraled out of control in an instant. No longer able to stand, he collapsed to the ground with a THUD, struggling violently.

The wounds he had forcibly suppressed burst open. Several jets of blood spurted from his body, and bloody tears streamed from his one eye.

"AHHH!!! Urgh... Ah! How? How is he a Tier Five?"

In Phantom Pain’s blood-red vision, the perfect target he had chosen—the timid youth—suddenly transformed into a stout man with a resolute face and a broad, powerful build, wearing the uniform of a Holy Judgment Knight Commander.

This wasn’t a perfect target at all, but the High-ranking Powerhouse stationed here!

Using a skill like [Painful Gaze], which was primarily meant for bullying the weak, on a High-ranking Powerhouse, and even using his inspiration to lock onto him... it was practically asking for humiliation.

Phantom Pain couldn’t understand it at all. How could his eyes have deceived him at such a critical moment?

But he had no more time to think. The backlash from his ability, combined with his gunshot wounds, caused his Rationality to melt away like a snowflake in the sun amidst the extreme suffering. He quickly lost the ability to think, sinking into Severe Madness.

Soon, his limbs began to twist and change, developing in a way that defied description. Fleshy buds and tentacles started sprouting from his gunshot wounds, twitching and writhing.

He could no longer even comprehend the sensation of ’pain’. The screams from his mouth turned into a series of nonsensical whispers:

"I saw it... I saw it... I really saw it..."

"In the name of Veto!"

The Knight Commander, who had inexplicably become the ’soft target’, shouted out. Two types of [Veto] power slammed into Phantom Pain, temporarily nullifying his ability to move and to release Spiritual Contamination.

"Eighteenth District, fourth level. As soon as possible."

The Knight Commander ordered concisely.

He didn’t risk killing Phantom Pain directly. The man had already lost control, so as per protocol, he took the most prudent course of action: tossing him back to the rear.

Then, he turned to the Crusaders beside him and asked:

"Report."

A Crusader shrugged, answering with a puzzled expression:

"Uh... Sorry, Commander. We don’t know the specifics either. We just saw this guy skipping toward us like he was on a picnic. After two warnings went unheeded, the boys opened fire."

Another man next to him, also looking completely baffled, added:

"Yeah, the guy must’ve already been nuts, right? But how did he manage to run all the way out to this remote place?"

The Knight Commander nodded and, with his characteristic brevity, said:

"..."

He then waved his hand, signaling the matter was concluded, not giving the small interruption much thought.

He would never have guessed that this guy, who had inexplicably run here to his death, was the major fugitive being hunted by the Saint’s Grace Court.

...

Lloyd had just finished making dinner when he heard a knock. He opened the door to find a package from the post office. The sender was Andrew, the Military Supply Priest.

He had previously told Lloyd it would arrive within three days, but that turned out to be a conservative estimate; the items had arrived very quickly.

Since Evelor wasn’t back yet, Lloyd took the opportunity to unbox the three materials he had ordered—

Dream Flower Juice, Bottled Thoughts, and the Intelligent Worm.

All were special products that could only be procured from the City of Serenity.

Lloyd used his inspiration to briefly inspect the quality of the goods, then nodded.

’The Spiritual Energy is full and calm. The quality is excellent—high-grade goods.’

Considering the delivery speed, he couldn’t help but be a little impressed by the seemingly unremarkable Military Supply Priest. The man really had his methods and connections.

’As expected, anyone who can make it in a place like the supply department shouldn’t be underestimated.’

Now that he had all the materials, he could verify if the modification plan for the White Knight was effective. However, his own home was obviously not a suitable place for the experiment.

Lloyd planned to rent a place outside, like a basement.

He had already scouted a location in advance. Near the ’subway’ exit he used after work, there was a decently-sized Mysticism club.

A place like Radiant City had never lacked an atmosphere related to Mysticism and the extraordinary. There were numerous enthusiasts among the populace, and no shortage of self-taught mystics and Extraordinary Beings.

The Sect wasn’t the only way to come into contact with Mysticism and the extraordinary; there were many other, alternative paths.

For example, joining legal civilian research schools and Associations, hanging out at hobbyist clubs, or finding other Extraordinary Beings for hands-on instruction.

For some unknown reason, the Radiant Sect had adopted a stance of ’neither support nor prohibit’ toward these activities. As long as one did not touch the Taboo System, people were allowed to find their own legal paths through their own abilities.

This naturally gave rise to some lawless elements, but it also produced a greater number of masters from among the people, some of whom would even be recruited by the Sect for its own use.

As far as Lloyd knew, the Saint’s Favor Court had many such members who had started on an unorthodox path before being officially recruited.

The Holy Judgment Court, on the other hand, had almost none. This was the difference between a military organization and a research institution.

At the same time, he had a baseless feeling that the pieces on that ’chessboard’ were just like these masters from the populace.

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