It was from the moment I realized that 1700 years had passed that I noticed Kaums’s abilities.
Despite his appearance being far too old for a Long-lived Species, I didn’t really think he was lying.
He truly was just a young child back then, and it was also true that he had no involvement in the major events.
“As for Karuns…”
Seeing Akron’s memories and his soul moving, he can freely change his body.
In other words, Kaums had been living after swapping into Karuns’s body long ago.
Of course, his appearance changed to an elderly look after taking over the body, and since Karuns wasn’t lying either, I could be easily deceived.
“If it had been before, I would have recognized it right away.”
It’s also because I was less tense and my condition wasn’t normal.
Honestly, I took it a bit lightly.
“…Kaums can change his body?”
“Yes. You didn’t know?”
“I didn’t know that. Wait a second. Could it be that…”
Akron made a puzzled expression and suddenly went deep in thought.
He recalled that he had heard something strange right before he killed Wenetus in the past.
The words that Wenetus spat out in desperation before dying.
“Kaums…”
“‘The Chief can change his body! Isn’t this enough!’ That’s what he said.”
“…I thought it was nonsense.”
Turns out it was true.
[Resurrection is a bit intense]
[Whoa whoa whoa]
[But it won’t work on Lily anyway]
[Isn’t switching bodies cheating?]
[How do you kill him?]
[But how does Lily view memories?]
[This is tricky]
[Now I just accept it, lol]
[So, you’re not doing a collective attack?]
“I see. I will catch that guy no matter what. Who knows what kind of mischief he’ll get up to next.”
“Just in case, I’ve made some preparations on the tribe’s side. He’s the kind of person who would even kill his own descendants to use them.”
“Understood.”
Akron released the ancient body.
Then, he stirred the little mana he had left to scatter flames across the entire island.
No matter how low his mana was, he could still use magic.
The flames swept over the island, searching for anything unusual.
After a while of searching, he soon ran out of mana and transformed back into the ancient body.
“Phew… having no mana is quite a drawback.”
“Definitely inconvenient without it.”
In the early days of Deoen, there was neither mana nor Holy Energy, so it was pretty tough.
At that time, I foolishly relied on Sacred Transformation.
‘Even if it was the early days, it hasn’t been even a year yet.’
“I found it. That way!”
Boom! Akron kicked off the air and dashed forward.
I slowly flew towards the direction he went.
Kaums is strong enough that I can’t easily handle him now, but we have our own tricks up our sleeves.
As long as I have Akron in my hands, he will never win.
He will never win as long as he has that in hand.
“…..Hmm.”
But why?
‘Something feels off.’
It’s not the anxiety of battle.
It’s something… different, a feeling of unease as if the very meaning of my existence is under attack…
‘What the heck is this?’
■
Swoosh!
[?]
[?]
[?]
[Excuse me?]
As soon as I arrived, I saw Akron being torn apart by a blue sword.
It’s hard to believe he was so startled that he couldn’t even defend himself before being slammed into the ground.
And the one holding the sword was… a stunning woman.
She had fiery red hair and burning red eyes.
She was wearing a flowing blue outfit, with a soft blue glow visible through her hair.
“Uh…”
“Indeed, my body has turned out to be quite remarkable. To be able to accept ancient mana so well.”
Liz?
[???]
[TS?]
[No, what the hell, it’s grandpa]
[What’s up with becoming a smiling girl?]
[tszzzzzzzzzzz]
[This is ridiculous, LOL]
[So freaking pretty, though?]
[Wow, prettier than Lily]
[Whoa]
[That’s not right]
[You can’t compare her to Lily]
[Lily is in a different league]
[I saw it coming when he said he was changing bodies, LOL]
[HAHAHAHAHA]
Before me stood Kaums, who had become Liz.
On the surface, she looked like just a beautiful woman.
A master swordsman, the former leader of Rutilus, and a powerhouse on par with Akron.
But inside, there resides a man who has lived for thousands of years.
[Wow]
[That’s something, LOL]
[TS is acknowledged]
[Actually, wasn’t Kaums wanting to be a smiling girl?]
[fdzz]
[Look at Lily’s reaction, LOL]
[Isn’t it enough as long as it tastes good?]
[Lily, too, is rejecting the TS]
[HAHAHAHAH]
[Oh, LOL, Lily is a smiling girl in reality too]
“……”
That’s true. It’s true, but…
“…So, it was you who pulled the corpse out of the grave. I thought it had been damaged and disappeared.”
“Isn’t it ridiculous to throw away a body like this? What do you think?”
Isn’t that quite ideal?
“…….”
It’s true that whether he became a woman or whatever, he has indeed become much stronger than before.
Kaums now uses the ancient body while mana continues to surge within him.
Originally, the ancient body could only be used after all the mana was consumed, but Kaums found his own method.
The method involves storing a part of the soul in the sword to save mana.
If that works, he could use two powers simultaneously.
He’s got some brains after all.
Thud…
“…Liz? Is that really you?”
“Akron. This is Kaums.”
“Liz…”
Already looking like he’s lost his mind, Akron stumbles forward without bothering to heal his wounds, heading straight for Kaums, who is in Liz’s body.
I stepped in to block him.
He put up a fight, but it was clear Akron had lost the will to attack.
In the end, he stepped back and collapsed on the ground.
The White Guardian is drawn.
[That’s the old man, you crazy fool.]
[Hahahahahahaha!]
[The slave can’t pull it together.]
[But honestly, I’d lose my mind too if my dead girlfriend looked like that.]
[Let’s kill the old man.]
[Kaums is such a punk.]
[Time for some tough love.]
Kaums in Liz’s body chuckles as he swings his sword down.
Clang!
The sound of sword and spear clashing echoed, and blood particles erupted from my forearm.
“Seriously… even when you show up like this, it always ends up the same. It’s getting so boring.”
“Can you handle it?”
“I’d rather ask you the same, given how Akron turned out.”
Can you handle this body?
Kugugugu…!
His mana linked to the sword amplifies.
Mana that shouldn’t exist in the primal body surges, and Kaums’s sword brims with power beyond its limits.
It’s definitely beyond what I can handle right now.
Since I’ve become stronger than the Magic Lord, I’ll need to at least use ‘Casket’ to win this fight.
But I won’t.
Instead, I’ll use something else.
“Let’s see if you can handle it. Of course.”
“Of course?”
“Not me.”
In an instant, the sky darkens.
It felt as if day and night were swapped, but truly, it was just an illusion.
What obscured our sky was something gigantic.
Flap.
It was a dragon.
“Don’t bite!!”
Kwaaaang!!!
The frigid breath swept over Kaums.
■
Rutilus’s main ability is fire.
Therefore, the Wenetuses displayed overwhelming prowess compared to Rutilus, but once the primal body was opened, the difference in elemental affinity became meaningless.
Ssssh…
However, the elemental difference still exists.
A prime example is the intense heat and the powerful cold that can extinguish fire.
As the cold spread, snow began to fall on the island that had enjoyed warm weather its entire life.
Now, an enormous Sre, too large for my eyes to fully take in, approaches and flattens itself before me.
“Wow!”
“It got huge.”
What on earth has it been eating and growing inside?
[Oh.]
[Sre! It’s Sre!]
[The dragon is cute!]
The dragon is cute!
Wow, it got really big, huh?
Oh my god, it’s so cute!
Isn’t that Sugarado? The monster from the monthly report?
Did it just wake up?
Nah, it was about the size of a bear, but now it’s mammoth-sized, haha.
Did the smiling girl grandpa die?
“Have you been well?”
“Yes!”
“Okay, okay.”
I lightly flew up and patted its head.
Sre smiled with squinty eyes, looking happy.
It feels like just yesterday when I carried it around.
“C-c-cold!!”
Poof!
“Ugh…”
Redberry was shivering, hastily wrapping herself in heat and fire.
No matter how much of a fire mage she is, Sugarado is the lord of the Ice Dragon.
No ordinary flames could warm her, plus she’s been implanted with a fragment of the Cold Demon King from long ago.
Currently, there’s no one colder than Sre in this world.
That’s also why I brought up Sre.
I wrapped Redberry in holy energy.
“How can you stand this…?”
“I’m not saying I don’t feel the cold.”
I can feel it’s a bit cool.
When I said that, Redberry’s expression became bizarre.
Hahaha!
Oh, it’s so cool!
If I can’t withstand the cold, I won’t be able to raise a hatchling.
“First, stay away a bit. It might be dangerous.”
“Okay… ugh.”
Redberry rushed out to the island’s edge.
A woman walked out as the snow-covered forest area cracked open.
As expected, she didn’t take much damage.
“…You prepared for everything, huh? Are you doing talking lizard now?”
“I have a lot of people I’m taking care of.”
“Right. Bring them all out. I’ll use them all.”
“Woo!”
Water-infused swordsmanship strikes.
Since fire won’t work, I thought I’d use my original abilities.
But that’s actually a worse move.
“Whoa!”
Smash!
Before the water even spread, it all froze.
Sre shook her head up and down with a smug expression.
“Loser, loser!”
“…Where did you learn such words?”
What have you been teaching this child?
“Loser?”
Hahaha!
This is hilarious!
I want to raise one too!
If that smiling girl is the case, it might be possible…
Hahaha!
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