Is That My Alter Ego - Chapter 101



Chapter 101 – Gel

“Do not interfere! Your strike is causing mine to miss!”

“…What? Why is that my fault? You simply cannot hit. And as I said before, that bug is mine to kill.”

“Who gave you the right to decide?”

There were no words left to say.

From a distance, where they appeared almost as mere dots, Gel, the elder dark sorcerer, looked down at the two women, their murderous intent palpable as they exchanged fierce words… or whatever it was they were doing.

Surely, being of the same kind, they should have tempered their hostility and fervor to a minimum. Yet, it reached even Gel, floating high above.

“Hah… Hah…”

“Breath…!”

In stark contrast to those two women, the weak humans below were paralyzed by fear, some collapsing in terror or foaming at the mouth, unable to even begin a fight.

It was certainly… a disservice to compare them to those women. Yet, one thing was clear: even those pitiful souls seemed to possess a thread of strength.

The moment when the violence masquerading as conversation turned toward them, the reason they did not target Gel, who might have seemed the most vulnerable, was singular.

He was destined to become the foremost contributor to awakening the Demon Lord. As they hurled accusations at one another, seemingly indifferent to him, the sudden attacks that flew toward them were anything but ordinary.

It was certain that the distance was beyond the reach of most swordsmen, and even for an exceptional sorcerer, it was not easy to launch an attack from such an elevated position.

Swoosh—!

“To regenerate time and again… truly like a bug.”

“Ugh…!”

Those women were strange. They attacked with a speed and accuracy that belied the staggering height, and their power was not to be underestimated.

It is already the fourth time. The strike of the blue-haired inspector has come, severing the wings wrought from dark magic.

What kind of trick allows a mere sword strike to reach such heights? It was a strength that defied the understanding of Gel, who had lived for at least two hundred years.

He was well aware of the tales of the Swordmaster, who had subdued the continent long before the old Gel was even born.

With a single stroke, they say he split mountains and the sky. From childhood to the present, Gel had never believed such absurdity.

…Until now, that is. For the first time in his life, Gel had no choice but to acknowledge the existence of the Swordmaster.

Swae-aeek—!

“Cough…!”

“…What a pity. I had intended to kill you with this one.”

This attack was truly perilous. When the white-haired woman gestured, a strike so swift and powerful flew forth that even Gel, a formidable dark sorcerer, struggled to react, severing his arm.

It was a stroke aimed at his neck, leaving no trace of magical energy behind. It was sheer luck that he managed to twist his body just in time to absorb the blow on his arm.

…How could a sorceress wield such power? So effortlessly, without even a chant or a magic circle, leaving no trace of mana behind.

In truth, Gel had once hunted dragons, deemed to be above even the five-star monsters, alongside other cardinal-level dark sorcerers for research purposes.

At that time, they had lost several strong allies just to capture a single dragon alive.

The dragon’s overwhelming physique, its vast reservoir of magical energy, and its techniques were beyond imagination.

When a dragon gestured, dozens of magic circles would appear, and the mana of nature would be drawn in, as if compelled to serve the dragon.

From the sky, massive boulders would rain down, and flames reminiscent of hellfire would spew forth. Capturing a dragon had led to the overwhelming growth of the few remaining dark sorcerers.

“What… what in the world are you—!”

Gel barely managed to regenerate the wound on his abdomen, sweat pouring down as he shouted.

What was that woman, no, that being?

Even the dragon, which had first introduced Gel to the terror of death, had never wielded magic so simply and swiftly, without a chant.

And the blue-haired woman standing beside her. That being was equally alien.

The legends of the past Swordmaster did not encompass the bizarre feats of that woman.

Surely… she must have grown even stronger, having accumulated dark magic and life vessels over the two hundred years.

Yet, rather than engaging in battle with those two beings, he could not even dare to approach them.

‘What in the world is happening…! Those two, and that beastman I met not long ago—!’

As he gazed at those alien beings, the beastman who had forced Gel to use a life vessel for the second time suddenly came to mind.

“Damn it… what trick did that traitor pull…!”

The black-haired traitor who had shattered his perfect plan. It was because of that betrayal that he had met his first death, but he had not wasted the two hundred years that followed.

The life vessel. That which is also called another body, allowed him to barely survive by transferring his soul just before death.

Even for Gel, who was considered strong among the cardinals, the traitor had forced him to use the essence of dark magic, of which he could only create two, and he trembled at the thought.

“That b*stard…! Huh, no.”

For a moment, Gel unleashed his fury, but he struggled to maintain his composure. Upon reflection, it might not have been such a terrible outcome after all.

Though he had used the Life Vessel, and his grand scheme lay in ruins.

The more one utilized the Life Vessel, the stronger the purity of dark magic became, so perhaps there was a silver lining.

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“By the way… how could that traitor use ‘Reverse Calculation’…?”

Reverse Calculation. A technique that even Gel, a dark sorcerer of cardinal rank, could not achieve—an essence of dark magic itself.

The traitor, that wretched child, had wielded it with brazen ease, a feat Gel had failed to accomplish despite a lifetime of studying and honing dark sorcery.

“Lord Gel, we have completely taken control of the village you commanded.”

“Very well. Proceed.”

“Yes!”

Gel dismissed the proud dark sorcerer with a wave, then began to ponder deeply in the hideout of the dark mages.

“Reverse Calculation…”

Surely, that technique could only be performed by one of papal rank, not merely a cardinal…

…That traitor. Now that he thought about it, there was something odd about his left eye. It shouldn’t be possible, yet Gel had sensed a dark power emanating from that eye, one he could scarcely comprehend.

Yes… it was decided. He would find that traitor, gouge out that left eye, and study it.

And… the unfathomable dark power, along with the black wave that had engulfed him.

Creeeak…

Leaving behind the creaking chair, Gel rose from his seat.

“………?”

But something felt off. The hideout of the dark mages, which always echoed with a certain level of noise, was eerily silent.

Step… step…

From the darkness beyond the open door, footsteps echoed. They were slow, but far from light.

“….Who goes there?”

It was surely one of the dark mages, yet for some reason, a chill ran down his spine. It felt as if he had stepped into the maw of a great beast.

Gel lowered his stance, gathering dark power, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

As the footsteps drew closer, a familiar face emerged from the shadows. It was the dark sorcerer who had just exited the room, seemingly elated.

“…You. What are you doing there?”

He had certainly been instructed to wear a mask at all times. Yet here he stood, mask removed, with a vacant expression.

As if he were a corpse, his pupils devoid of light…

Thud, clatter…

Dark sorcerer. No, the severed head of the dark sorcerer rolls across the wooden floor.

Before Gel could even assess the situation, footsteps echoed in succession. And what emerged was a beastman, bearing something on its back, its eyes hollow and vacant.

“You… who are you—”

“Can you. Save a person?”

Before Gel’s words could finish, a low voice, akin to a beast’s growl, reverberated through the room. Had it been the usual Gel, he would have scolded the audacity or, if displeased, launched an immediate attack…

“………..!”

Gel found himself frozen, unable to even breathe. The moment he gazed into those empty eyes, the black wave that had brought him to death flooded his mind.

…No. It was not even comparable. Was this beastman… truly human?

Surely, she must be a woman smaller in stature than himself, yet why did she appear so colossal, like a mountain?

What was that crimson aura seeping from her, and why did such terror bloom within him?

Unable to respond to her words, all that filled the air was the sound of his teeth clattering together.

“…You too. It seems you cannot.”

“What do you—”

Gel’s attempt to reply to the low, resonant voice faltered.

The beastman had shown no signs of movement, yet his vision began to lower, and words failed to escape his lips.

Thud—thud—thud…

…No, it wasn’t that she hadn’t moved. He simply hadn’t perceived her attack.

Beyond his fading sight, he saw the beastman turn away, leaving without a trace of hesitation. What she bore on her back resembled a human form.

“…Is this also beyond my reach…? Then how will I reunite with my master…”

With a voice that revealed emotions darker than any negativity he had felt amidst the waves of emptiness, he sensed his soul tethering to the last remaining life vessel.

Afterward, he would be reborn, stronger than before, and from this newly established castle, he would set forth to realize his plans once more.

The thought of exacting revenge on the beastman who had killed him didn’t even cross his mind. That would be akin to tossing the last gift of life into the trash.

It should have been… that way.

“…I caught him. I avenged him.”

“Ha. Is that what you think? It was an attack that wouldn’t have reached him without my intervention.”

“….I don’t like you.”

“That makes two of us. I dislike you as well.”

As he felt his vision sinking lower from the heights of the sky, Gel finally realized.

That his long life and grand aspirations had crumbled here, in this very moment.

Thud—!

As soon as Gel’s neck, so simply severed, touched the ground, it shattered into pieces from the force of the blow.

“Is… it over?”

“I couldn’t do anything…”

“….Ha. Insane.”

The hunters, trembling and paralyzed, gazed at the two women as the abruptly concluded mission left them in disbelief.

“You are… Ariel Frost, I presume. I am Seris. I hope we never meet again.”

“…Seris. Do not appear before me.”

The conversation between the two women, far more terrifying and dreadful than that of the formidable dark sorceress, came to an end, and the hunt for the dark sorcerer, which was supposed to last three days, concluded in a mere five minutes.

And all present recalled one thing.

They must not incur the wrath of those two women… no, those entities.

For they were monsters who had lived for over two hundred years, demons who had taken countless lives and inflicted torment, the very embodiment of darkness.

Had they not been there, they would have devoured and absorbed everyone present, heading straight for the Empire, leaving millions of victims in their wake.

Nokoe, Gel, vanished so utterly and simply.

By attacks that were nothing more than petty grievances born from a quarrel, devoid of true intent.

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