Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16816927863045760906/episodes/16816927863298654742
“…… Elder. What brings you to this country?”
“I came because I was worried about you, Alta. By the looks of you, I’d say you’ve been beaten to a pulp.”
“No injuries. The holy sword was broken. ……”
“I’m not talking about the body, I’m talking about the mind. Even though you were excited that you had become stronger, you opponent was a monster who was so superior that it was no joke. Of course it’s a dent.”
Old Rumpe’s voice was happy to hear the same thing.
Aruta is also annoyed by his attitude.
“I’m not depressed! I just thought I had other things to do before I got involved with him!”
“Well, what else is there to do?”
“Revenge against the Holy Nation of Grateka, the country that banished me from my homeland! First, I will kill my sister Eliza! Next, I’m going to kill my brother-in-law, Rotacca, the pig husband! I heard that he became king in my place… It’s not too late to take revenge on the Grim Reaper Seti and the women!”
“I see…… that’s not a bad idea.”
Rumpe showed a strange satisfaction with Alta’s answer.
“What do you mean it’s not so bad, Elder?”
“Well, it’s the order in which you want revenge. It is safer to start with the small things than to go after the big ones, isn’t it? The Holy Land of Grateka is famous for being a large country. It would be impossible for you to go alone, wouldn’t it?”
“I’m not alone. Pomple is here. I can plant an explosive device in his body, detonate it, cause a commotion in the capital or in the castle, and then go assassinate them while the guards are thin on the ground.”
“Alta aniki is terrible! You’re a devil, you know that?!”
“Shut up! The only thing you can do is look cute. Shut up, you wet hobbit!”
“But, Alta, if anything happens to that pomple, some one will come to kill you in a fit of rage, no questions asked. …… You’d better take good care of him, even though he’s an incompetent douchebag.”
“This old man’s a real asshole, too!”
“So what do we do, Elder?”
“Well. It depends on what you’re prepared to do.”
“Prepared to do?”
“Yes, the determination to be stronger than you are now.”
“I want to be stronger than I am now. If I’m as strong as Seti, the god of death,……, I might seriously aim for domination of this world,……, and no one will ever underestimate me again,…….”
“So, are you ready to give up half of yourself to become stronger?”
“M-my half? What do you mean?”
“As the word is, ……, what do you say, Alta?”
Rumpe’s tone changes. It is a question as Mors, his other face and identity.
“Of course! I’ll give you half my body if it makes me stronger!”
“Well, it’s done. I will give you this ‘Magic Sword Ansalar’.”
Mors took out the “magic sword” on his back and handed it to Alta.
“A-are you sure, Elder?Is this your precious …..? Elder? What’s wrong, old Rumpe?! Hey!?”
As soon as Alta received the “magic sword,” the old man in front of him stopped moving.
With his mouth open and drooling, he was looking with the whites of his eyes.
“old man!”
Alta shakes his body and Rumpe falls down with a thud.
“What’s that? Hey, you don’t think …… he’s dead?”
“Alta aniki, I’m sure of it! This old man is dead!”
Pomple crouches down and touches the old man’s body to check his pulse.
“That’s …… not true, suddenly …… Rumpe!”
(–Relieve, Alta. I am not dead. There is no one in this world who can kill me in the first place.)
A voice speaks in Alta’s brain. And the voice is Alta’s own voice.
“Who are you, …… Rumpe?”
“Who are you talking to, aniki?”
The voice is not audible to Pompele, but only in Alta’s mind.
(Yes, I am Rumpe. My real name is Mors. I am the head of Hades, an assassination organization that controls the underworld of the Grand Line continent.)
“Mors? The boss of Hades. …… You?”
(Yes, my half.)
“What are you? What kind of being are you? What happened to old Rumpe?”
(Rumpe is dead, has been for a long time. He was only alive and active because I infected him. …… as a false body.)
“False body? Infection? what?”
(I’ll tell you. My true identity is a virus. Think of me as a bacterium, a collective organism that has evolved since time immemorial and has a will of its own.)
“A virus?!”
(Don’t put it into words. Remember it in your heart. …… No one can know my secret. Well, if they know, there is no way to kill me. There is no vaccine, and there is no way to eliminate it even with divine magic. Even if the body perishes, all it has to do is infect the next host.)
(You mean invincible? From the sound of it, it doesn’t sound like it’s a vindictive spirit or something. …… But if it’s a virus, doesn’t that mean that if it infects someone, that person will die or something?)
(No, just the opposite. You’ve seen Rumpe, right? A body infected with me will draw more power than it can handle, and its life span will be extended. If anything, his brain will be infected and his consciousness will be taken over by me.)
(What? ! Then you’re going to take over my consciousness too?)
(No, this time it’s special. Only half of my consciousness will be taken over. We’re having this conversation now, aren’t we?)
(Yes, that’s right, but I’m not comfortable with the …… virus. Are there others infected?)
(You should call them carriers rather than infected. I have a few of them for insurance …… but the only one active as a molus is me at the moment. (‘m bound to have them active at the same time, which would split the power that much more.)
Incidentally, the being who appeared before in the form of an old woman and a bathing beauty and was easily slaughtered by Seti was that “germ carrier”.
Alta silently tilts his head and shows it.
(I don’t understand …… what you’re going to do after taking over my half with that?)
(It’s an aid to my revenge. For me, the Shinigami Seti is someone who must be eliminated. That’s why, Alta, I left your consciousness intact. I am your darkness in your heart.'' I have high hopes forNegative Thoughts.” Therefore, it can be said that we have become a shared destiny.)
(A shared destiny. …… Well, for now, I’m fine as long as I get my revenge. I’m not going to betray you even if I accomplish the thing.)
(You too. Don’t awaken to bad feelings or conscience. That’s why I’m taking Pomple with you. In case of emergency, I will use his bardic abilities to manipulate and fix your mind. Remember what we’re here for.)
(I know, …… but for being infected, I’m strangely not scared. It’s more like I’m filled with power. …… hehehehe)
(I’m sure we are on the same wavelength. It’s a good “vessel” as I thought it would be. …… can this make Seti a thing?
(You’re going to make a fake god of death into a thing?)
(…… No, it’s nothing. It means that I’m going to ask him to return what I lent him. He’s only that good because of that.)
(I see. …… Wait, so you’re saying I’m now the boss of the organization?)
( Yes, that would be true. I’ll allow you to move the low-level assassins under your authority. But the executive class is impossible. Especially those in the “Four Pillars of Hell” will do what I ask, but they basically won’t listen to me. We have an agreement that they will not betray me.)
In effect, Alta has become the boss of an organization that has been the target of many attempts on his life.
How ironic.
However, it does not matter to Alta now.
Even if he sells his soul to the devil, he has a purpose to fulfill.
(I get it. …… hehehe. Now it’s getting easier to get revenge on Grateka. All that’s left is “The Reaper”. …… I’ll think of something later.)
Alta smiles.
Incidentally, this brain exchange lasted less than a second.
“Pomple, change your pants and underpants and we’ll be on our way. Hurry up and get dressed.”
“Okay, okay. Alta aniki …… are you alright? You look strange. (Oh, he’s a strange guy to begin with.)”
“Yeah, no problem, I’m doing great. You should be honored to be working with me.”
After all, half of me is now the boss of the organization.
While Pomple was changing clothes, the organization’s “cleaners” appeared and retrieved Rumple’s corpse.
Alta silently watched his handiwork without shedding a single tear.
Although he owed her a debt of gratitude, it was only a temporary body.
There was no need to be sad because the main body of the body was now inside him.
No, he had lost even such feelings.
Thus, Alta set out again on a journey of revenge, this time with Pomple
The destination is Grateka, the Holy Land, the former homeland of Alta.
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate, Thank you in advance !
So that’s his secret! Now Alta had evolved into a Mid-Boss character. He will have a great fight and die miserably.
Dang it… Alta only wasted a second of his life on that conversation but I wasted like 15-20…