EX-Rank Demonic Beast Hunter.
It was both the title of the original novel and the world itself.
Naturally, it was also a title referring to the protagonist.
“Haaah.”
As an avid reader, Kranol knew everything about the protagonist.
That was why he understood all too well.
The wisest course of action was to avoid forming any connection with that man.
“Rrah!”
“M-Mister! It is coming again!”
“Ah.”
A sudden rush of violent air sent Kranol's bangs fluttering.
The majestic skeletal hand was approaching even faster than before.
However, Kranol moved his hand first.
This time, instead of merely waving it, he clenched it tightly.
“GRAAAAGH!”
The Dragon-Tooth Soldier's hand stopped abruptly before being pulverized as though it had been fed into a grinder.
Kranol still overwhelmed it completely in terms of raw power.
However, that did not mean the situation was under control.
“Guh!”
Kranol wiped away the overflowing blood from his nose once again.
His sleeve had already become soaked and stained dark red.
At this rate, he would collapse from blood loss first.
‘The outcome is obvious if this becomes a war of attrition.’
Perhaps the Dragon-Tooth Soldier had finally learned how to use it properly.
Its hand bones, which had been ground away far more severely than before, were already regenerating.
That was the power of the Regeneration Orb.
It contained the power to restore and reinforce a damaged body.
‘There is, of course, a limit to its regeneration. Still, the fact that the Black-Gold Dragon entrusted it to a servant is extraordinary.’
The final boss of Act One possessed numerous orbs of varying sizes.
They were Orbs containing the various powers it had cultivated over its long life.
Every Orb contained the Black-Gold Dragon's power, so it never gave them away carelessly.
‘It is far more meticulous than it was in the original story. Does it intend to destroy the continent even more mercilessly?’
Unexpectedly, however, that meticulousness had presented Kranol with an opportunity.
It had become the variable that would allow him to defeat the mighty enemy before him.
“Haaah.”
Kranol inhaled and repeatedly clenched and opened his fist.
Several times, his arm trembled as though it were about to break, but he ultimately succeeded.
Each time, another part of the Dragon-Tooth Soldier's skeleton was destroyed.
Four or five ribs, a cheekbone, a femur, a cervical vertebra, and a kneecap.
“GRAAAAAAGH!”
The creature howled in agony and sank to the ground.
However, the advantage still belonged to the enemy.
Before long, it would recover and rise even stronger than before.
“Urgh!”
Kranol, on the other hand, had reached his limit.
Maintaining his sanity had become agonizing.
The pain was so intense that tears poured from his eyes.
“M-Mister, are you crying……? Do not cry! You are going to make me sad too!”
Plumpy looked profoundly shocked.
She resembled a daughter who had witnessed her usually impassive father crying.
Kranol calmly wiped away his tears, his body drenched in blood.
“Chubby. Plumpy. Put me down on the ground.”
“Rooooar!”
“B-but what are you going to do now? That bone monster is going to recover again!”
“It is all right.”
Kranol reassured her with exhausted eyes.
“Because I am going to bring something even more terrible.”
How could he meet the protagonist of the original novel?
It was remarkably simple.
He merely needed to walk a short distance.
“Rooar!”
“Ugh……! My arms are completely numb after holding you for so long!”
Kranol staggered through the battlefield, passing between his fallen allies.
A considerable number of people had died from a single attack by the Bone Giant.
Eventually, he found a particular corpse.
It was the body of a young man whose waist had been gruesomely crushed.
Bineureban had been the first person to die in the Alchemical War.
The enormous Salamander stood beside its deceased master, weeping.
“Hrrrnn……!”
The creature could not accept its master's death and did not know what to do.
As the raindrops grew heavier, its once-beautiful flames gradually began to fade.
Kranol looked coldly down at the pitiful Chimera.
“Your master does not lose.”
“Hrrrnn……?”
“Because he is the protagonist now.”
Kranol extended his hand.
A strange phenomenon soon occurred.
“Hrrrnn……?!”
The Salamander stared in shock as tears poured from its eyes.
The other allies reacted in the same way.
They could not believe what was happening before them.
***
Why did the Dragon-Tooth Soldier feel pain?
Even those primitive Skeletons lived without experiencing pain.
The Black-Gold Dragon's First Dragon-Tooth Soldier believed that its ability to feel pain was a superior privilege.
‘Pain is proof that I am alive. It is evidence that I am different from lowly Undead.’
That was why it could endure the excruciating agony of having its bones pulverized.
Furthermore, it possessed the Regeneration Orb bestowed upon it by its master.
It endured patiently, and before long, every bone recovered with ease. Their very structure became greater than before.
New bone segments sprouted as though it had donned white armor, and its damaged Defense increased considerably.
The red light embedded within its eye sockets looked down arrogantly upon the human.
“The time has come for this to end, incomplete spark.”
The handsome man with ash-gray hair was covered in tears and blood.
That tiny monster was undeniably powerful.
However, it possessed clear limitations.
Every use of its power appeared to consume its life force.
Thanks to the blessing its master had bestowed upon it, the First Dragon-Tooth Soldier would ultimately emerge victorious.
“Hmm?”
The mighty skeletal arm was about to sweep through the entire army.
Then, without warning, the Dragon-Tooth Soldier was engulfed in enormous flames.
“What……? G-GRAAAAGH!”
The startled Dragon-Tooth Soldier screamed.
At first, it had been nothing more than a tiny flame.
However, the fire swiftly spread across every one of its bones.
“Y-you! What in the world have you done―?!”
Kranol stared up at the burning creature.
“I did not do it.”
“GRAAAAAAGH!”
Its bones burned and broke, inflicting hellish agony.
The blazing Bone Giant attempted to thrash violently.
However, the source of the flames would not permit it.
Whenever the creature tried to move, even fiercer flames constricted it.
“HRRRNN!”
Directly behind the Dragon-Tooth Soldier stood a Salamander.
It was spewing flames of an intensity wholly disproportionate to its size.
It was Bineureban's pet Chimera.
However, its appearance was entirely different from before.
It was producing several hundred times its usual flame output.
The blaze was so intense that it hurt their eyes even from a considerable distance.
“Th-this is madness. What are those flames?”
“Just how extraordinary is his alchemy for him to produce that much firepower……?!”
“That is impossible! How can a mere Salamander unleash such overwhelming flames?”
Even the allied alchemists were astonished.
However, something else was even more shocking.
Its master stood beside the Salamander, constructing a Transmutation Circle.
“L-Lord Bineureban! Lord Bineureban is transmuting new flames for the Salamander!”
“But did he not clearly die earlier?”
“H-how did he get back up? Even his injuries are completely gone!”
The light gradually returned to the eyes of the dispirited allies.
That was not all.
The vast quantity of flames unleashed by the Salamander did not attack only the enemy.
They spread throughout the battlefield like fireworks and began enveloping the entire allied force.
“W-wait! Look at this!”
“Our fallen Chimeras and weapons…… The flames are coating them! But they are not hot at all!”
“It is a flame transmutation that damages only the enemy. That is High-Level Alchemy! And he has enveloped this many targets at once!”
“Good heavens! Even my iron forceps are coated in flames! These will be perfect for prying off gold teeth!”
It was meticulous alchemy that protected the allies rather than merely increasing destructive power.
The flames had deliberately avoided the Cold-Attribute Chimeras.
In any case, the strength of the allied forces had clearly increased.
The order Kranol needed to give was simple.
“All forces, launch an all-out attack! This is our final opportunity!”
“WAAAAAAAAH!”
At his shout, the entire army charged toward the Dragon-Tooth Soldier.
Although they were engulfed in flames, the allies could not feel the intense heat.
Flame-wreathed weapons and arrows struck the enemy, while the Chimeras charged and fractured its bones.
Chubby unleashed White Flame, while Plumpy used her glowing hands to assist their fallen allies.
The burning Dragon-Tooth Soldier glared alternately at Kranol and Bineureban.
“GRAAAAGH! If not for you two…… If not for the two of you!”
The Bone Giant gathered its remaining strength and charged toward Kranol.
It was a rational decision.
Compared to the master of the Chimera unleashing those raging flames, Kranol would be easier to drag into death with it.
Unfortunately, Kranol was no longer standing there.
“Haaah.”
In an instant, Kranol flew higher than the Bone Giant.
It was the Teleportation ability of the incomplete Unique item, the Sky Boots.
Looking down at the Bone Giant, he lightly clenched his hand.
‘I went so far as to summon the protagonist I never wanted to see. I should receive a fitting reward as well.’
To get ahead of the protagonist who had unleashed those brutal flames, Kranol had to act recklessly.
The person who landed the finishing blow would receive the greatest Reward from this battle.
Kranol clenched his fist tightly and struck the empty air with all his strength.
KRA-KOOOOM!!!
“Ghaaaagh……!”
The sheer force of his overwhelming power shattered the Dragon-Tooth Soldier's skull.
The army's coordinated assault left it no time to regenerate.
The vicious Bone Giant crumbled into ash.
Kranol had successfully delivered the finishing blow.
[You have defeated the Black-Gold Dragon's First Dragon-Tooth Soldier.]
[Defeating a powerful enemy has increased the rank of 『Catastrophe Affinity』.]
[The 「Regeneration Orb」 permeates your flesh.]
The battle ended.
Cheers erupted from the allied forces, but Kranol could not hear them.
The Sky Boots could lift his body into the air, but they had no means of preventing a fall.
“Ah.”
His body slowly began falling toward the ground.
With a trembling hand, Kranol stuffed herbs into his mouth and swallowed them.
However, blood poured from his nose, and he ultimately lost consciousness.
***
How long had he been unconscious?
When Kranol awakened, he felt something heavy against him.
Chubby was asleep with her head resting on his thigh.
He raised his head and looked around.
He was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room.
“Sniff……. Hmm?”
At that moment, he heard a familiar voice nearby.
Plumpy had been sitting in a chair, nodding off.
When she noticed that Kranol had opened his eyes, she jolted upright in astonishment.
“Chubby! Wake up! Mister is awake!”
“Rrah……? ROOOOAR?!”
The two little ones joyfully embraced Kranol.
He asked in confusion.
“Where are we?”
“This is a private hospital room! You slept for two whole days! Do you know how worried we were?”
According to Plumpy, the Alchemical War had fortunately ended in victory.
The two children had stayed awake through the nights to nurse him while he was unconscious.
Kranol touched his severely chafed nose.
‘Good. But this time was truly dangerous.’
He had abused his body in order to survive.
He was already regularly overdosing on herbs.
On top of that, he had fought while enduring an attack of Madness.
‘I could have won the battle only to die immediately afterward.’
As he considered it, however, something seemed strange.
Kranol moved his parched lips.
“Who saved me while I was falling? And who is paying my hospital expenses?”
“Ah, that was…….”
CREEEAK.
At that moment, an uninvited visitor entered the hospital room.
The person who opened the door was someone Kranol already knew.
The elite alchemist Bineureban.
Although his waist had been shattered and he had died, he was now alive and completely unharmed.
“…….”
However, something about his eyes felt different from before.
He stared intently at the awakened Kranol before speaking seriously.
“Do you have a cigar (Cigar)?”
“……I do not.”
“That is troublesome. Then saving you was hardly worth it.”
Kranol understood immediately.
The man's outward appearance belonged to Bineureban, but the person within was someone else.
The protagonist of the original novel was now occupying his body.
‘That is the one ability only he possesses.’
There was a reason the original novel was titled EX-Rank Demonic Beast Hunter.
The original protagonist was a Possessor like Kranol.
However, the two were fundamentally different.
‘An Infinite Possessor.’
That bastard could not be killed, no matter how hard anyone tried.
That made him the most reliable person imaginable.
At the same time, he was an utter scoundrel who even stole other people's bodies.