I Reincarnated Into A Single-Celled Organism! - I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 68

My body rose from the pond. I had already collected all of my cells and so it felt as good a time as any to make my presence known, especially since I could block the view of the knight’s eyes from ogling Mara. I had been present at her birth and even watched her grow up, so I was uncomfortable with other men looking at her profanely. Since her father was no longer around to protect her purity, then I would just have to step up and do it.

“Where did you come from?” The knight didn’t look alarmed, just mildly confused. “You weren’t in the pond earlier, were you?”

“I was,” I responded honestly.

“Spirit…” I heard Mara’s shy voice behind me.

He looked startled for a moment, but then he threw back his head and laughed. “Seriously? Who would have guessed that you’re just a pervert who wanted to make salacious looks at the young lady.”

“That’s not true!” Mara spoke up, her voice somewhat weak due to her fear.

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at her, causing her to hide more behind me. “Did you help him get a small peak of the young miss? Commoners are scum.”

“That’s rich coming from a guy who betrayed the ones who hired him and then murdered indiscriminately.”

“Who?” He blinked, and then looked at the corpse next to him and laughed. “Him? I was never going to let him live. I’m a knight loyal to my family. Betray? I came and joined them with the intent of planning this assassination.”

“Speaking of which, why did you leave the brother and the other knight alive?” I asked curiously. “Nothing was stopping you from cutting their throats once you had them incapacitated.”

“It’s not because of any mercy.” He chuckled. “I’m very close to my next evolution. If killing her brother put me over, then I’d be facing a tribulation. She might have escaped in the impending chaos. It was better to finish her first, and even if I tribulated then and they woke up, I’d be close enough to Tyler’s level that I could escape unharmed. As for the pair of you, you would have been better off if you never appeared.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t offered me the chance to give you my sister in exchange for my life.”

“Ah!” Mara cried out, grabbing the back of my shirt, but I ignored her.

“Why would I bother? Your mana level sits at three. You are a pitiful commoner, and I am a paragon on the verge of being flawless. The levels between us are unsurmountable. You might as well give up and take your own life.”

“I don’t plan to do that. You won’t have her.”

“I don’t want her. She is a commoner. Does a swan lie with a chicken? She might be prettier than most, but among the capital, there are paragons. As one evolves, their attractiveness increases. Even if she might be above average if she became a paragon, she will regretfully die with you. Gah… why am I even arguing with filth? You almost had me showing you the respect I might another knight.”

“Another knight… except Tyler… If you were so confident, you might have battled him directly.”

He showed his teeth. “I’m not a fool. However, I’m starting to suspect you might be. I am bored with this conversation. It’s time for you to die. I’ve already extended you all courtesy.”

“I guess that’s about all I’ll get out of you as well before you die.”

“Me? Die?” He broke into laughter. “You’re an ant who thinks he can defeat a lion! You… what is…”

As he was mocking me, I started to lift my hands, and as I lifted my hands, the water in the pond began to disappear at an alarming rate. I was using Osmosis to absorb it quickly. With my Luminal Space, I could immediately store it, so there was always a higher gradient driving water into my body. Instead of inflating like a balloon, my inventory merely expanded and held all of it.

“Ah!” Mara was slowly being exposed to the dropping water levels, and so she grabbed me from behind, pressing tightly with her body.

The water soon fell to below my feet, and unlike the girls, I was completely dressed. I raised my hand, preparing a water jet now that I had a ton more water.

“What is this?” he asked, incredulously.

“Me,” I responded.

He grabbed his sword, but I shot the Water Jet before he could react. This time, I used considerably less water, and it came out in a fine stream, almost like a laser beam. The talisman he wore lit up and then shattered. Yet, the stream broke right through it and then through his heart. My aim was surgically precise. He jerked, his sword half pulled, a confused look on his face.

He looked down to see the talisman had broken. That meant a life-threatening attack. It wouldn’t activate if it was an attack below a certain threshold. His life had to be close to ending. Yet, just as his brain realized his defense had been broken, he started to bleed out of his chest. The defensive talisman had failed its only task.

“I-i-impossible.” He groaned. “The Talisman should be able to block three attacks up to Flawless. Only if the strength of an attack exceeded that…”

That was all he could get out before he collapsed to the ground, dead. The unfairness of it all was painted on his face before he died. A few moments later, I felt a pinch on my back.

“What?” I asked.

“You offered to exchange me…” she whined.

“Eh? I was asking why he didn’t, not suggesting he should.”

“You exposed me naked!” She pinched harder.

“Here.” I had a few of her outfits in my Luminal Space in case there was an accident. It seemed a good time to bring one out.

I made sure not to look back as she silently snatched the dress away. I heard rustling for a few moments, and then her voice.

“It’s okay now.”

Before I looked back, she walked forward, her eyes locked on the cube still clutched in the dead knight’s hand.

“We should get going before the knights wake up.”

She looked back at me in surprise. “We’re leaving? Like this?”

“We never needed their presence to travel anyway.” I shrugged. “Tyler is hot-headed, but not stupid. Once he wakes up, he’ll figure out some of what happened. If we leave him with the Schrödinger’s box, he might be able to find some way to get his sister out.”

“The knight said that if she left, she’d die.” She looked at the cube, her eyes watering.

“The nobles likely have resources we don’t, and the academy also sounds knowledgeable. I’m sure this provost could extract her.”

“Even so… leaving them like this seems cold.” She looked unhappy.

“We don’t want to be found out. I was already uncomfortable traveling with these two, even if they didn’t seem connected to the Great Arcford Families. I was planning on faking our death and making it look like the servant and knight killed each other in an act of betrayal. It would be our best time to escape.”

“And what if he sees us in Stormberg or Arcford and points us out?” she demanded.

I frowned. “Of course, this could all be solved much easier if they never make it.”

She let out a cry, “Spirit, no! We can’t! These are good people.”

“That is… arguable.” I frowned.

“No, I know they are. They’re nobles, so they’re just not used to dealing with commoners. The world is nobles and servants in their minds. However, Erika is a good person.”

“I’m not going to argue with you about it.” I let out a sigh.

She walked up to me and grabbed my arm. “Please, please… Spirit. If you can save her, I’m begging you.”

I was about to say no, but as I looked into her eyes, for just a second, I saw that coldness. It was my sister’s eyes. Mara had been unable to save her parents. I had been unable to save her parents. Erika was the first girl she had started to open up to since the tragedy. If that new friend of hers met an untimely death now, then the last flickering light of hope in her eyes that had only just started to grow might be snuffed out.

I made a face but then nodded. “Fine… but I make no promises.”

“You can do it?” She seemed almost surprised.

I thought she had been asking because she was confident I could. If I knew that telling her I couldn’t was an option, I would have gone with that one! It was already too late though, and her hopes too high that if I failed to do it, it would surely break her heart. This was Mara’s request, so I would do my best. I reached out and picked up the box.

It was time to do the impossible.