I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 214

The cavern erupted into chaos as a massive beam of energy shot down from above, the beginning of the apex eagle’s assault. The Domani leader and the mercenary, still locked in their deadly dance, were forced to combine their powers to block the onslaught. Their weapons clashed with a resounding clang, the force of the impact sending sparks flying and leaving a dent in the stone wall behind them. The mercenary grunted, his arms shaking from the force of the blow, but he held his ground, a fierce determination burning in his eyes.

“Is that all you’ve got, bastard?” the mercenary taunted, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “I’ve faced better than you and lived to tell the tale.”

The Domani leader’s response was a silent scoff as he redoubled his efforts to hold back the energy. If the beam reached the cavern, the whole thing could collapse. This could seem like a suicidal move from the apex eagle, but perhaps this was its goal from the beginning. This area belonged to sage beasts, and in a world of sage beasts, the strongest reigned supreme. As long as the humans could be driven back, the eagle could excavate and claim its reward at its leisure. Only the humans were here on borrowed time.

I didn’t understand the principles they were using. The three of them were manipulating energy using abilities outside of my reach. The apex eagle’s energy beam seemed like science fiction, and I had no clue how the other two were blocking it. This was the power of energy, mana, and techniques, which were all things I was lacking. I’d only end up tanking such an attack. I’d survive it, but it would be a painful attack I was unable to block. I was starting to understand my limits in a high-level battle.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to face the beam, as the two experienced men were doing it for me. Instead, while they were fighting, I could focus on my tasks. I first moved to the wyvern. I wasn’t considering taking the heart still resting in his hand. This was because I never had that limitation in the first place. I placed my hand on its hide and activated my Luminal Space. With a thought, I pulled the entire wyvern into it.

I suspected the wyvern had no clue I could do that, or it might not have used the last ounce of its energy to remove its own heart. The wyvern’s massive form disappeared, leaving behind a space where it had once lain. This gave me a view of the eggs sitting behind it, each one about the size of a pig, glowing orange with life.

I carefully gathered them up and tossed them into my Luminal Space as well. Although the wyvern might have had other treasures, I decided I’d settle for the corpse and eggs. I had no desire to linger and risk discovery. As soon as I gathered the two items, I made my way through a small opening left from where the dreadburrower had entered earlier. It had been mostly covered up by the collapse, but there was just enough space for one person to enter.

As I headed down the tunneled-out path and away from the battle, I could hear the vibrations of fighting above. Every once in a while, the small tunnel would shudder as something violent happened above. Thankfully, whatever the dreadburrower released from its skin seemed to reinforce the tunnel around it, so it didn’t collapse, at least for the moment.

Despite the chaos above, I remained unconcerned. The second the wyvern and eggs entered my Luminal Space, they were effectively in another realm. They gave off no aura or smell, and as far as I was aware, were untraceable. This was what I was thinking as I finally reached an exit at the side of the mountain.

Yet, this world surprised me once again. As I reached the sunlight, a man was waiting for me. He was sitting on a rock outcropping as if he had all the time in the world. As I stepped out of the tunnel, he glanced at me with a smile, a single golden tooth shining between his lips. It was the leader of the Goldtooth Mercenaries. He had a few new scars, but otherwise, looked to be in good shape.

“I’m surprised you arrived so quickly,” I admit honestly.

A wicked grin spread across his face. “After our previous interactions, I had a feeling you might pull something. That’s why I was keeping an eye on you the entire time. As soon as you made your move, I disengaged. The old man probably thought I was giving up finally. He can fight the eagle for the leftover scraps. I want the true reward.”

“True reward?” I asked, playing dumb. “And what might that be?”

He chuckled, a low, menacing sound. “The wyvern, the body of a Prestiged Sage beast, is already enough award. Its body will provide my troop with enough meat and blood to evolve them several levels. The skin will make new armor, and its bones will make new weapons. Once I’ve refitted them, I was thinking of renaming my mercenary group the Wyvern Blooded.”

I nodded slowly. “Why do you think I have the wyvern?”

“I can’t sense it, but I know you have it.” He shrugged. “I’ll tell you what. Bring it out for me. I’d rather not have to spend days figuring out where you hid it. If you give me the body now, I can grant you a quick death.”

“How generous of you.” I shook my head. “How did you manage to follow me here anyway?”

The mercenary leader’s grin widened, a predatory glint in his eyes. “I marked you myself, Spirit. From the moment you fled with the Lou girl. Even if you escaped a thousand miles, I would have tracked you down eventually.

I couldn’t help but grimace. In the end, he had found me because of my carelessness. I hadn’t used L-form switching. If I had, it would have shaken off any tracking attached to me. I had grown sloppy, and this was why I was found out.

The mercenary leader took a step closer, his axes at the ready. “Any last wishes, boy? This is your final chance.”

I shook my head, a sense of finality washing over me. “No, I think it is perhaps you who should be saying your final words.”

The mercenary laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “You’re confident, I’ll give you that. But confidence alone won’t save you.”

With a roar, the mercenary charged, his axe a whirlwind of steel as he charged me. I didn’t move much at all. I just waited for him to come. His eyes gleamed as his weapons came down on me, but then I moved. It was a single strike right into his gut.

“Guh!” He let out a single grunt.

Blood pooled around his lips as he stared at me in shock. My hand was inside his body, and no matter how much he willed it, his axes didn’t fall on me, not that they would do much damage if they did. I stared at him for a moment, a pitying look in my eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I spoke quietly. “You’re probably full of disbelief, thinking that this must not be possible. There is no way I am so strong. Even if I were stronger, I couldn’t be so strong that you never even had a chance. You must be thinking something like that, correct?”

“…”

“Every time I ran and avoided fighting you, I didn’t do it because I was scared. I did it as a mercy. I was giving you the chance to live. Yet, it seems like after all this, you’ve chosen death.”

“Mercy, huh?” the mercenary finally spoke, blood leaking down his chin. “If there was any mercy in this world, people’s strength wouldn’t be decided upon birth. We wouldn’t have to fight so hard to become superior to the families.”

I shrugged, a small, mysterious smile playing on my lips. “I don’t come from any of these families. My genetics aren’t particularly special, so I don’t know much about noble superiority. However, the distance I had to climb was greater, and so maybe I can see further than any of them.”

With a final surge of power, I ripped out his heart. I crushed in my hands as his body fell to the ground, already dead. I crushed his heart and then dropped it on top of him. I considered taking his armor and axes, but I had a feeling that would only expose me in the future. They were far too noticeable. It was better to keep things low profile. With a wave of my hand, I generated heat until his body finally burned. When he was nothing but ash, I looked up. It was daybreak, but a peak away, storm clouds were brewing over a certain hill.

Once I cleaned all of the blood, I headed off to my next target, leaving not an ounce of evidence behind.