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Louis quickly scanned the Bandit Boss's Incarnation.
"His Incarnation! What is it?!"
It resembled a towering giant forged from steel, with four enormous arms and a triangular head. As soon as it fully manifested, it attacked the mutated zombie, punching clean holes through its body.
"Pugilist… So he's a user of the Spiral of Self-Flagellation."
Self-Flagellation was a Spiral that strengthened the body by forcing it to endure endless torment. Its first Incarnation, the Pugilist, focused purely on turning the user into a living fortress of muscle and iron while granting immense resistance to pain and damage. The Pugilist excelled at one thing: punching. Nothing else.
It was a straightforward Spiral, yet potentially a terrible matchup for Louis. The prince's expression darkened slightly, but he was far from helpless. He knew exactly how to counter Self-Flagellation users: defense-piercing techniques or magic that ignored physical toughness. He had both.
"Void Bullet."
Leaving his subordinates to handle the remaining bandits, Louis supported his zombie from a distance. He fired a barrage of Void Bullets at the old man. The criminal leader noticed the incoming projectiles and instinctively hardened his body with his Spiral Ability, [Iron Body].
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Ngh?!"
The bullets—far more than a simple darkness spell—punched small, bleeding holes through his muscular arms. Shock flashed across his face. He had underestimated the magic. Void Element specialized in piercing defenses and even physical matter itself. Though Louis's Ashen Wyrm Spiral wasn't ideal against Self-Flagellation, he had prepared spells to cover that weakness.
The mutated zombie unleashed a storm of blazing axe strikes. Flames and cutting force hammered the Knife Leader, pushing him back while searing deep wounds across his body. Yet the old man only smiled, his stern face twisting into one of twisted pleasure. He laughed loudly, gathering Fantasium and blood into his fists until they morphed into sharp, crimson claws.
His second Spiralwalker Ability, [Pain Weaponization], allowed him to convert the pain inflicted on his body into a resource for weapons and spell-like attacks. The more he suffered, the stronger he became. It mirrored how Louis's Ashen Frost grew through absorbed Despair.
Louis responded instantly, injecting a Fantasium syringe into his zombie to replenish its energy. At the same time, he summoned the Gravewalker and decided to end the fight quickly. Ashes rained from the sky as he began overwriting a small portion of reality with his Fantasy Heart.
He charged forward, slashing the man's left arm with an Ashen Frost Blade. Though he failed to sever it completely, the freezing energy spread rapidly.
SLASH!
"There you are."
The man smiled. His giant hand reached for Louis, but the prince instantly manifested a massive wave of Ashen Frost that engulfed the giant's entire body. The wound began to freeze from the inside out, slowly draining his vitality. Louis wasted no time. He grasped his Magic Spear infused with Ashen Frost and unleashed a rapid series of attacks using Dragon Fang Spearmanship.
"Dragon Fang Spearmanship!"
"First Form!"
"Dragon Rising!"
"Blade Storm!"
He overlapped spear and blade, combining the Swordsmanship Technique Blade Storm with Dragon Rising into a single devastating assault. A roaring dragon of ice and ash tore through the man's arms, shredding the left one completely. While the bandit tried to protect his head, his remaining arm quickly pulverized. Ashen Frost spread rapidly across his legs, freezing him in place.
"Y-You're strong! So strong, little prince! And yet… so fragile!"
Even amidst the agony, the man laughed. His Pugilist rushed toward Louis, seizing the prince's right leg and crushing it. Bones shattered. Louis clenched his teeth, murderous intent flaring as he leaped back into the fight. The Gravewalker attacked the Pugilist as if defending its master. The two Incarnations clashed, sending shockwaves of raw power through the air. The Pugilist held the clear advantage with its tough body and devastating strikes. The Gravewalker began crumbling into dust, yet its claws were sharp enough to tear through the Pugilist's armor and transfer the damage to its master.
"You think breaking my leg will stop me?"
The mutated zombie charged again. The Knife leader gasped as the giant brought its blazing axe down on his face, cleaving off half of it. Flames consumed what remained. Yet his Spiralwalker powers surged with even greater intensity. Immense quantities of corrupted Fantasium erupted from his body, reinforcing his skin until it turned metallic and monstrous.
"GAAAHHH!"
With a furious roar, he struck the mutated zombie with unimaginable force, hurling it into the ceiling where it exploded into countless pieces. Louis quickly retreated, freezing his broken leg to keep moving and downing a healing tonic to regenerate some of the damage. He followed with a barrage of Void Bullets into the man's metallic body. Small holes accumulated across his chest until a large, bleeding crater formed amid countless tiny explosions.
"Come…! Come here!"
The giant charged. Louis dodged the two arms, now regenerated into long swords forged from Pain and Iron Skin combined. Using his Shadow Movement Spell, Louis leaped onto the giant's back. The bandit realized too late that his own massive muscles prevented him from reaching behind himself. Louis smiled, gathering energy and driving his hand, reinforced with every ounce of Ashen Frost he could muster, straight through the man's neck. His hand shattered, fingers flying in pieces, but he pierced through and grasped the spine.
"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
The man screamed in horror. Never in his entire life as a bandit had he faced someone who fought with such ruthless, insane methods. His spine began to freeze, fueling the ice to spread even faster. At the same time, Louis laughed. He seized the soul of the dead red-haired axe user and forced it down the bandit's throat, clamping the jaws shut.
"Now swallow!"
"Nnnggh?!"
"Soul Sacrifice."
BOOOMMM!!!
The giant's head exploded like a watermelon into countless pieces. The Pugilist instantly scattered into particles of energy and vanished. Its master was gone. The Gravewalker, barely holding together, crumbled into ashes and disappeared as well, too weakened to remain. Louis sat atop the giant's corpse, grasping the soul with a blood-soaked smile.
"Soul Enslavement."
The soul flew back into the headless body. The giant whose skin had turned to steel rose once more. The Pugilist suddenly reappeared at his side, revealing the incredible potential of Soul Enslavement to Louis.
"He can even keep using his Spiral Powers!"
Without wasting a second, Louis ordered the giant zombie to charge the last remaining elite member, who had been overwhelming Belladine, Elises, Fernand, and even Catrise. The bandit moved with incredible precision and speed, melting into shadows to ambush them from behind, wielding their own blood as weapons. His mana pool seemed to regenerate every time he drank blood.
"Y-You bastard…! You're a Vampire! Why…!" Elises gasped. "I thought the Vampires from Yggdrasil were a noble race!"
"I am not a Vampire," the man snarled. "I am a Dhampir. The true Vampires, descendants of the Crimson Queen of Yggdrasil, might be called nobles, but I am a persecuted hybrid, hated by everyone. You know nothing about me!"
The furious Dhampir slashed through Elises, on the verge of decapitating him, when a giant metallic fist smashed his head downward. His skull cracked as blood sprayed everywhere.
CRASH!
The Dhampir tried to rise and see his attacker, but when he did, he saw only a four-armed metallic ghost with a triangular head. Four fists pummeled his body relentlessly, tearing off his right arm and crushing his legs.
"Aaaaaaggh!"
He collapsed in a pool of blood; face twisted in agony. He watched in horror as the headless corpse of his former boss now served as the prince's puppet. Louis himself sat calmly on the giant's left shoulder, smiling down with great interest.
"Oh, you're a Dhampir? Interesting, your blood-sucking kind is quite rare. You're mine now."
"…?!"
"Choose. Die and become my zombie or live and become my subordinate."
"W-What…! What nonsense…!"
"I'll count to ten, so choose quickly. I'm not in the mood to wait."
"…!"
"One, two, ten!"
The giant's fists descended. The Dhampir's eyes widened as he screamed in desperation, covering his face with his remaining arm.
"I-I yield! D-Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"
The Dhampir wept, shielding his face. The prince's cold, calculating gaze was unlike anything he had ever encountered. It held no trace of humanity, only the stare of a monster who saw others as objects. Not even these bandits had treated him with such chilling indifference.
"Good. Beg for your life. Show me your sincerity," Louis said with a calm nod. "Now extend your arm. No tricks, or I will kill you."
Terrified of death, the Dhampir obeyed. Louis completed an Ash Soul Contract with him, learning his name was Rashid Luna Roja, descendant of the noble Luna Roja Family from Yggdrasil. His father was the current family head, while his mother had been a Middle Eastern woman from Earth who died giving birth to him. He had learned what little he knew of his heritage from what she left behind. Ever since the Vampires discovered his existence, they had hunted him by order of his own father.
"Quite the family drama," Louis remarked with a kind smile. "Don't worry. Your powers and abilities will be welcomed in my house. I apologize for my earlier behavior. You were a criminal. I couldn't risk showing kindness until I was sure you wouldn't harm me."
"I… I understand…" Rashid muttered. "Ah? These are for me?" He stared in surprise at three Healing Tonics placed in front of him.
"Vampires can regenerate lost limbs, correct? But you look close to death. Restore yourself with those potions. I'm fairly certain they contain nothing harmful to your kind," Louis said.
"T-Thank you!" Rashid drank all three and immediately felt better. His arms and legs began regenerating slowly.
"Okay, we're done here," Louis nodded. "How is everyone else?"
"I've managed to heal the others, thankfully," Catrise sighed in relief. "I'm exhausted, though… My Mana is completely drained."
"Take this." Louis handed her a Fantasium Syringe. She injected it quickly, feeling her Mana surge back. "I wonder—can't you use Fantasium directly instead of Mana?"
"No, that's one of the biggest differences between us, Prince Louis," Catrine explained. "At my current level, raw Fantasium would place too much strain on my body. Mana, a refined and lesser form of Fantasium, is sufficient for now… Of course, if I ever awakened a Spiral, things might change."
"And why not awaken one, then?" Louis asked.
"I-I don't think I have the talent! Many factors are required, materials, a proper ritual…" Catrise muttered. "Besides… don't Spirals drive people insane? I want to stay as sane as possible so I can always pull the prince back from his own madness."
"Hahah…" For the first time, Louis laughed with genuine warmth, finding her words truly amusing. "We're finished here. Let's loot the place and leave the rest to the soldiers. Night has already fallen. We should return to the orphanage and see if the 'creature' comes back tonight to scavenge the trash."
"If we want to lure her, should we leave some fresh food in the trash?" Elises suggested.
"Good idea," Louis agreed. "Now, bring me everything of value—except the drugs."
He commanded the giant headless zombie, who lumbered off and returned five minutes later with a pile of money, items, potions, and precious materials. Among them were several special weapons, including the latest model of mechanical spears from the Vultarn High Dominion and their Anti-Fantasium Telekinesis Guns, designed to fire invisible bullets formed from psychic energy manifested by Esper Crystals harvested from Espers' brains.
"A Telekinetic Gun? Aren't these illegal?" Fernand asked. "They're made using the brains of Espers…"
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