Reincarnated in an Otome game as the ugly character in the background

Chapter 42: Pleasure Palace (2)

Sometime after I reincarnated in this world, I discovered that I was in terrible physical shape.

So, I ran.

I ran as much as I could.

I ran so much, but so much... that one day I couldn't run anymore.

Something was missing.

My magic attribute was electricity, so I could do things that only in anime I could do.

But the problem was my body.

I couldn't do anything with these limiters.

One day, I watched a cat run across a rooftop to a higher building.

Seeing that gave me an idea.

If I adapt my running form to another?

That took a lot of strange things to think about.

In the end, it was a success.

The problem is that to do it, I have to change my consciousness to that of a cat, then I have to act like one until the end.

That's why this phase 2 is really troublesome.

Razel was on all fours like an animal.

Helmut looked at him quizzically.

"You've certainly thrown away your humanity to now mimic an animal."

Helmut's expression was dejected, while Razel's was that of an angry cat.

"Shaa!"

Razel said in his cat mental state. He stretched his body like a cat and propelled himself forward.

A beam of light streaked through the streets. It was passing through the ghouls at high speed.

He propelled himself against a building and climbed like a rocket straight up.

Once he had reached the top, he gave the air a sharp zigzag.

He was coming straight for Helmut.

But he didn't hesitate.

"Kiri no jutsu: Kyoka Suigetsu."

Residual multi-images of him appeared.

They all headed straight to attack him.

An aerial battle began.

Razel attacked with his claws and Helmut intercepted them with his sword.

Razel attacked all of Helmut's residual images, but they were all mirages.

"Kiri no jutsu: Meikyo Shisui."

Helmut got behind Razel using a thick fog.

He cut him down.

But there was no damage.

Razel's coat withstood the damage inflicted and that surprised Helmut.

Razel turned around and threw an electric cat-shaped palm.

Helmut dodged it by leaping into the flying body.

Razel fell to the ground and then Helmut came over.

An electric paw came up and blew off one of his shoulder pads.

Helmut backed up and took a few steps backwards.

Razel came out of that hole and as he was getting into position to attack.

"Puah!"

He spat out the equivalent of a liter of blood.

Helmut watched as the blood came out like an open hose.

"It seems that using that ability worsens your organs. You can see how your insides show symptoms of rejection for what you do."

The bleeding stopped and Razel staggered a little, but then his bloodshot eyes saw him.

Helmut was getting ready to resume combat.

Razel marched straight at him.

Helmut activated his Meikyo Shisui.

But this time, the effect was different.

Razel's mouth opened and then Helmut, who was standing to the side, watched as Razel changed direction and now aimed at his face.

A few of his hairs were pulled out.

(How did he do that?)

(My presence should be erased in its entirety.)

(My mist attribute should erase my existence in its entirety.)

(But he found me easily. It should have been-)

Helmut's thought was cut short when trying to escape, Razel followed in his wake.

Now they both jumped into a building and went inside.

It was filled with ghouls.

Helmut erased his existence from them.

But Razel followed him and tore the ghouls apart as he ran.

He pretended to jump by breaking a window.

Razel jumped, his head searching for his enemy.

Helmut used that opportunity and attacked him from behind.

But...

"How!?"

Razel disappeared.

Helmut inadvertently commented.

"That was Kyoka Suigetsu without a doubt!"

"How did he-?"

Helmut's cheek was kicked by two glowing legs.

The force of the impact was enough to send him several meters into the street.

Blood dripped from his forehead.

A cloud of smoke enveloped Helmut, he shook it off and did not find Razel.

"Where..."

Once again, Helmut couldn't process what happened.

A heavy blow came from the right.

He was thrown against the wall, but couldn't make it as a kick from the other end came.

As he reached the center of where he crashed, a kick came from below.

Helmut was thrown into the sky.

As he went up, his head was scrambled.

(How can he make fun of me like that?)

(It's impossible for something like this to happen.)

(I would never-)

An object came out of a cloud of dust heading rapidly towards him.

Seeing it, Helmut understood everything.

"... I understand at last. This boy... has copied my movements."

Helmut watched several residual images of Razel approaching at high speed.

"This brat has learned the Sendo just by seeing me..."

Razel's eyes were bloodshot, sparks flashed across his corneas.

When he activates his Hawkeye, the result is that everything slows down.

And, if a person made a quick movement, he could watch in detail what they were doing.

As he always had his ability activated, he watched carefully what Helmut was doing.

To activate the Kyoka Suigetsu, he needs to release his magic power and mix it with his element. The same for the Meikyo Shisui.

Razel was using a quick, improvised version of those techniques.

But as he did so, electricity coursed through his body at great intensity.

It was there-

"...!"

Where Razel's heart stopped.

He was about to touch Helmut. Razel had a heart attack.

His heart was beating twice as fast as the average person.

For that reason, the blood traveled faster, causing by the electricity coursing through his bloodstream, small signals of red blood cell deaths were generated.

Razel rarely expelled blood, but it didn't bother him. Today was the worst negative effect on his body.

It all happened the day he saved Lily from a student.

That day, he lost his sense of pain.

If he had, in his battle against Lambert, he would have noticed that his body had small bruises from the blows of trees and stopped.

But he didn't.

Razel was pushing his body to its limits. Today was when his body could take no more.

He fell to the ground and a loud sound echoed.

His eyes rolled back in his head.

Helmut fell as well. He was more injured than he expected.

He looked at Razel lying on the ground.

"It was a good fight kid. But you lost it the moment you pushed your body to its limits. Power is something you get, not something you are born with."

"If from the moment you were born you didn't get power, it's because your destiny was none other than-"

*badump*

"...!"

Helmut looked at Razel quizzically.

As he took a step, he heard a sound that should be impossible to hear normally.

*badump*

It was a heartbeat.

*badump*

*badump*

Helmut watched in amazement, as Razel's chest inflated and lowered as if he was blowing up a balloon.

*badump*

*badump*

*badump*

The sound was getting louder and louder.

It was getting louder and louder.

A faint blue glow emanated from his body.

Helmut drew his sword and hurried towards Razel.

The inside of Razel's body was not emanating magical power, but pure electricity.

Razel, moments after his heart stops. He intensified his nerves so that they would send a signal to the heart to beat strongly.

Gradually, a great amount of energy surged through his bloodstream.

After a moment, Razel stood up.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

He shouted with all his might towards the sky.

Helmut was reaching for his throat to cut it, but Razel quickly grabbed his hand and sent him flying in the direction of the building.

Helmut looked like a test dummy in the air.

Razel manifested a magic circle on the ground and then jumped straight at him.

As he stood in front of Helmut, a shower of pain from every possible direction fell upon him.

He was beaten mercilessly.

The last blow went straight into his face. He was sent to the opposite side from where he should fall, but Razel kicked the air and rushed towards him grabbing him by the legs.

As if he were a spinning top, Razel spun Helmut around until he dropped him straight into the Pleasure Palace.

Helmut destroyed the wall.

The interior was being invaded by ghouls.

Some of them were crushed by the debris.

Helmut was embedded in the wall.

His internal organs were severely damaged.

Someone entered through the opening of the building.

The ghouls were closing in on him. They were instantly torn to pieces.

Helmut watched that figure approaching.

His body was unresponsive.

His right arm was twisted and the only one that could barely move was his left.

As he pulled it out, the strength of his grip lessened and he released his sword.

Razel was approaching with his eyes shining.

Helmut spoke to him with his voice cracking.

"Even if you kill me... that would not make you a killer... you are simply trying to force yourself to become one..."

Razel was getting closer and closer, his hand was glowing.

"As someone who lives in darkness... I can recognize someone who was born to be an assassin..."

"I don't know what motivates you to force yourself to be one, but there's something I can tell you kid... *cough*"

Helmut's mask was filled with blood.

His gaze was tired.

"There are two types of people who live in darkness. Those who were born to it... and those who had no choice to escape."

Helmut remembered his past.

He was a warrior from a royal family of a Japanese-style country.

That country was only a prototype that never saw the light of day in the game.

That is why only a brief introduction to it was included.

Helmut, who at that time had another name, lived in peace protecting a princess.

In that country it was normal for semi-humans and some humans to live together.

It was a small but pleasant country to live in.

The princess of that land approached him who was meditating in the garden.

"Hey, why do you spend all day meditating? My grandfather said that it is rare for warriors to meditate all day when they are not monks."

The warrior laughed.

"That's because I'm not just any warrior. I am a follower of the Sendo, so I need to use the natural energy of the environment."

The little princess did not understand what he said, so she summarized what he said.

"The magic element enters my body and thanks to that I can use the Sendo. It is not as easy as it seems, it requires a lot of meditation to enter the zone."

"The zone?"

"It's something like a phantom state where your body reacts before your brain."

The little princess opened her mouth in amazement.

Helmut laughed. It had been quiet days until that.

An attack from an enemy country.

The royal family and the palace similar to the Edo period was burned.

The princess was crying over the corpse of her parents.

Helmut had a scar on his face.

It was caused by a man in red armor.

As she saw him take off his helmet, his eyes widened in surprise.

"It can't be... you are him. Solomon van Belew, the dark knight of the Ideal Empire."

The man had white hair and red eyes.

"The empire was supposed to have a zero-aggression pact because of our taxes!"

The white-bearded man said.

"His Majesty recognized that they are no longer needed."

"Therefore, they will be eliminated."

A huge black sword rose into the sky.

Helmut instead of attacking, prostrated himself as a sign of begging for forgiveness.

"Please wait! I beg you to have mercy on this child! She is innocent and does not deserve to perish like us!"

The red-eyed man saw him and said with a smile.

"How about a deal?"

"I came accompanied by some guys called the Black Crows. They are friends of His Majesty, as you are the only one of these guys to give me a fight and not die, why don't you prove your loyalty to them?"

Helmut looked with horror at the man, then his gaze in that sea of flames turned to the 6-year-old girl crying over some corpses.

"How long would it be?"

"I should ask, but maybe ten or twenty years at the most. They need a lot of help since there's a kid who discovered a wonder for those guys."

"All right, I accept."

Helmut lowered his head to him.

Years passed, and he became the second strongest in that organization.

Today was the twentieth anniversary of that moment.

Razel's hand became steady as a saber and aimed for Helmut's heart.

He quickly parried it.

But with the force Razel used, every second it was to penetrate his muscles all the way to the bone.

Helmut's face showed an expression of pain.

"I'm sure you must have a reason to lie to yourself... but kid, you know?"

"Lies are bad... Guh!"

"One day... when you look in the mirror... you'll find nothing but a monster-"

"...!"

Razel's hand managed to pierce his muscle and now entered the bone.

Helmut's heart was in his grasp.

The expression on his face was one of utmost pain.

But not for his own... but for Razel.

"What's with those eyes?"

"From the look in your eyes, I can tell you're starting to waver..."

Razel paused for a moment, his eyes staring at Helmut.

Then, footsteps were heard coming down some stairs.

Razel's hand opened.

Turning a corner, a girl saw them.

It was Yukihime who was a little beaten.

Seeing her knight, the first thing she did was to call out to him.

"Munakata!"

Helmut didn't even turn to look at her. He just smiled.

"Live happily for all of us, Yukihime-sama."

Razel threw a lightning palm and Helmut's heart was pierced along with a part of his back.

Razel withdrew his hand.

Little by little, Helmut's corpse fell until it touched the ground.

Yukihime covered her mouth as she saw her knight on the ground.

Razel saw her, approached her and Yukihime stepped back.

For some reason, Razel was silent.

He turned around and said to her.

"If you want to escape, let's go."

He walked to a staircase, ghouls were approaching and he cut them off.

Yukihime was sad.

She walked up to Helmut and took out a toy hairpin she had.

"Goodbye Munakata, even to the end, you always tried to protect me."

Standing up, she ran to hug Razel's back.

"I'm sorry about before. But I was scared. He always took care of me here, but today when I found out I was going to be sold. He was planning to ambush me and get me out of here."

"Those guys called the black crows were watching us until today. But thanks to the riots, he won't have to make a plan to get rid of them."

Yukihime hugged Razel tightly.

"I am a guardian in the shadows. My only goal is to end the future suffering that will come in the future. Therefore, my hands stained with the blood of those in my path, are a path to the happiness of all."

From her position, Yukihime didn't understand what he was saying.

But, a mirror reflecting Razel's face, showed a strange shadow in his eyes.

Razel and Yukihime reached the subway.

There was no other way out. The exits were crowded with ghouls and people fighting.

Razel didn't care about them, so they were on their own.

Razel lit a torch and they walked in that dark alley.

After a while, they found something strange.

In many cells were slaves.

They were men, women and children in chains.

Yukihime said to Razel.

"Knight-sama, can you release them?"

Razel was silent briefly and then...

He cut the cells with a beam of light.

They entered each cell to cut the chains of the slaves.

After a while, they were all freed.

Razel said to Yukihime.

"There's a draft in that direction, so there must be a way out, I'll look for another one that will take me to the tower."

"Knight-sama, I..."

Razel handed him the torch and then went straight to the dark tunnel.

Yukihime didn't look at the ground, if she had, she would have noticed red spots coming from Razel.

Razel was marching to his fate.