I'll Smash Everything with Passive Skills-Chapter 56: 0. Experiment (2)

"Are you really going to face us alone?"

The middle-aged man sighed as he saw Veris with his sword hanging limply.

It was clear that he possessed a strength so formidable that it was hard to believe he was a student of the academy.

But who were they?

They were beings who operated in the shadows to achieve true peace on this continent. The twelve knights of the Demon Cult, known as the Twelve Black Seats.

In simpler terms, there was no way that this naive academy student could defeat them.

"P-please help us! Save us from this demon!"

The surviving bandits, perhaps seeing the two middle-aged men as saviors, cried out with tears streaming down their faces.

Who is the demon, and who is the savior? It was a unique situation.

"They say a demon resides in the Vitelbach territory. I swear we won't come near here again!"

The bandits crawled toward the middle-aged man, leaving Veris, who was casting a cold gaze. Soon, they were on their knees, begging him.

"Ha ha."

The leader among the middle-aged men let out a hollow laugh.

It was uncomfortable for a mere bandit to utter the word demon.

─Swoosh!

In an instant, the middle-aged man's sword unleashed mana, and the heads of the falling bandits followed suit.

It was a swift and clean move. Just that scene alone revealed that he possessed extraordinary strength.

"Indeed, demon followers. They are exceedingly cruel."

"Who is the cruel one? Isn't it you, who tortured the bandits?"

"It's not torture; it's an experiment."

"Is there an experiment that involves swinging a sword at an incapacitated enemy?"

The middle-aged men could only sigh again at Veris, who remained silent.

They had encountered each other purely by chance. However, the battle was about to unfold, making it all the more sudden.

"Indeed."

"...?"

"The Demon Cult has a long tongue. I've seen it in the past."

Veris approached slowly. The two middle-aged men began to raise their spirits.

Since they had met in this manner, someone had to die. However, they were slightly tense as they had not fully grasped the enemy's power.

"I will face him first! I am Kelon, one of the Twelve Black Seats, the Steel Knight!"

─Clang!

The middle-aged man, who called himself Kelon, drew forth mana.

Suddenly, the venue was filled with the loud sound of metal clashing.

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To describe it... it felt like something out of a movie from a distant past on Earth, featuring transforming robots.

His armor emitted a dazzling light that could be mistaken for gold. However, one thing was certain: the golden armor covering his entire body seemed to possess considerable hardness.

"Ha ha! Do you think you can pierce my golden armor, made from the essence of the cult's metallurgy?"

"It looks sturdy."

"Cough, you can just consider yourself unlucky. It's not easy to pierce a thick shield with a sword."

Kelon's words were filled with confidence.

After all, cutting through shields or armor was entirely possible with a sword imbued with mana.

But... what if the shield or armor was also coated with mana?

This is the kind of divine power that unfolds. The transforming armor filled with mana was the very strength that had allowed Kelon to rise to the rank of the Twelve Seats!

"...My normal attack is a damage bypass, you know?"

"What? I don't understand what you're saying."

But there was one sad fact that he was unaware of.

Veris had recently acquired two skills. And one of them... granted a damage bypass to his normal attacks.

"Just consider yourself unlucky!"

Kelon, who had no other weapons besides his transforming armor, quickly approached Veris and threw a punch, encased in a solid exterior.

But.

─Slash!

"Eh?"

Kelon let out a foolish sound.

And then he felt the pain. He glared at the enemy before him.

"Gaaah!"

A horrific scream erupted from Kelon's mouth as he finally grasped the situation.

His right fist, which he had lived with all his life, was no longer there from the wrist up.

"How, how could this happen!"

Kelon, writhing in pain, quickly distanced himself.

His twitching fist lay on the ground, still protected by the thick armor. However... the problem was that the fist was now on the ground, writhing without its owner.

It was unbelievable. He had never faced an enemy with such overwhelming power before.

Shivering.

Overwhelmed by fear, Kelon looked at Veris with a trembling gaze.

A face so handsome it was almost unlucky. But the cold expression that did not match it instilled a fear in Kelon that he had never experienced before. "Is this really happening?"

After a moment of contemplation, Veris swung his sword and stood still, a smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

Having scoured the area near the territory like a rat, Veris had barely discovered a small bandit hideout. When he tried to deal with them using the Heavenly Sword technique, he did not achieve any significant results.

So, feeling a bit disappointed, he suddenly swung his sword at one of the two demons from the cult that had appeared, and the expected outcome materialized.

[ Swordsmanship: Understanding of the Heavenly Sword technique is sufficient, increasing the probability of acquiring the Heavenly Sword technique. ]

It seemed that the bandits were so weak that the experience points gained were low.

Perhaps it was because the Twelve Seats of the Demon Cult were strong that a positive system message arrived.

Naturally, Veris couldn't help but feel good about it. After all, he had been in a situation where no breakthrough seemed possible.

"How could you... with just a light swing of your sword...?"

Kelon's voice was filled with despair as he tried to staunch the bleeding.

"Be quiet. I will face him."

The other middle-aged man, who had been watching the situation, lightly pushed Kelon aside and stepped forward.

He was a lean man, facing Veris with an exceptionally calm gaze.

His eyes were like those of a hunting dog, determined not to miss even the slightest opening.

However, unlike the serious-looking middle-aged man, Veris was casually swinging his sword, as if he were about to unleash the Heavenly Sword technique again.

"Who are you?"

"Why does it matter?"

The middle-aged man asked with a serious expression. After all, what good would it do to reveal his identity when they were destined to become cold corpses {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} here?

"I was just curious because you possess skills that are not befitting your age."

"Is that so?"

It wasn't an incorrect statement. Considering Veris's age, his strength was indeed far from normal.

But that didn't create an obligation to answer. Thus, Veris raised his sword in response.

Swish!

Seeing Veris's action, the middle-aged man also drew the sword that was sheathed at his waist.

It was a sword brimming with dark energy, exuding an ominous power at first glance. He looked at Veris while holding the sword and muttered softly.

"The Twelve Knights are beings who fight with endless pride. What is important to us is an unyielding spirit."

At the middle-aged man's words, Veris felt a laugh bubbling up inside him.

The Demon Cult, or those referred to as demon worshippers, were truly beings who acted in ways that were far removed from common sense.

They frequently engaged in kidnapping and murder, and their fanatics conducted horrific human experiments and raised monsters to raid villages.

The reason they did such things was simple. They aimed to summon back the terrible calamity, the Demon King, who had descended upon this land in the past.

...So why do they do such things?

These insane individuals referred to such massacres as liberation or salvation. They firmly believed that by dying and becoming part of the demon, they would live a truly eternal life.

Thus, it was impossible not to feel irritated when looking at such demon worshippers. Moreover, the two middle-aged men standing before Veris seemed to be of a rather high rank among those followers.

"Foolish talk."

"Foolish talk? You, who reject true salvation, seem to be the one with a narrow mind."

"Salvation? Is being absorbed by a demon after death salvation?"

"It all depends on how you interpret it."

"How ridiculous."

The more Veris conversed with the fanatic, the worse he felt. It was almost a bizarre aversion, close to instinct.

"I will take my leave. Even if I am defeated by you, true salvation will eventually appear by our side!"

The middle-aged man charged at Veris, swinging his sword.

It was as if he had conveniently erased the memory of his comrade's severed fist from moments ago, as he was now in a similar predicament.

However, compared to the one who had lost a hand, he moved with remarkable speed.

He lowered his stance while maintaining the posture of swinging his sword and began to relentlessly invade Veris's blind spot.

"Excellent judgment!"

But Veris was not an ordinary academy student who would fall for such a trivial tactic.

He simply rotated his body, bringing the man within his range.

Then came the middle-aged man's admiration. He circled around Veris without pause, looking for an opportunity.

"Ugh."

Veris sighed. It was pathetic. The only tactic he could come up with was to spin around like a squirrel on a wheel.

─Swoosh!

"W-what? Ugh!"

[ Swordsmanship: Understanding of the Heavenly Sword technique is sufficient, increasing the probability of acquiring the Heavenly Sword technique. ]

The middle-aged man, who had been spinning around, was cut in half and fell to the ground without a sound.

"...What on earth are they?"

Veris muttered in disbelief as he surveyed the surroundings.

"P-please spare me! I beg you. I will never speak of this!"

In the horrific scene where only one survivor remained, Kelon, who had lost his right hand, pleaded with a pale face.

Thud.

Veris approached the fallen Kelon, revealing his white teeth in a smile.

"Why should I?"

After all, there was no one who would let experience points escape on their own.

Having confirmed that a single swing of the sword could yield experience points, it was time to truly begin leveling up.