'That man… Garos Renar.
He is the real deal. I'm sure even assassinations will fail on him.'
Eren thought to himself as he remembered the way Garos had made him feel so helpless.
He had to say that this was the first time he had felt the presence of a Sage up-close. For the current him, they were still as much as monsters as he had thought them to be.
'That man is even more dangerous than I thought. A Sage like him would be a pain in the ass to deal with. He must have... no... he HAS too many trump cards. At least certainly more than what I have amassed.
Project Lazarus can't continue while he is alive. He is like a landmine that might explode in my face if I don't do anything about it. So… I should kill him. The element of surprise is my best bet. I… I get all this.
But… things are easier said than done. Fuck!'
Eren mumbled to himself as he remembered the scenes of his clone's death. Even though it was a clone, Eren had felt everything that the clone had felt through Soul Imprint. He felt like he had died for the second time.
For some reason, the butcher felt that he was being granted worse kinds of deaths every time he experienced the feeling of dying up close. For this reason, he wondered if the so-called "angel of death" was a woman as well. Only that could explain why he had yet to experience a peaceful death.
***
Eren paced around while lost in his own thoughts. And Shallot the artifact spirit look followed him around with her curious gaze. She had to say that her new owner was certainly more efficient in using her powers than the rest.
She was quite impressed with the way Eren had employed her powers to his own advantage. None of her previous owners were as creative and decisive in using her powers as the man in front of her was.
The butcher had amalgamated various branches of magic to accomplish what he had. The power of Shallot's Mirror, which defied logic, lay at the heart of his strategy.
Eren harnessed the copious untapped Spiritual Force within Shallot's Mirror to craft highly potent Soul Imprints. Currently, aside from the one that had been just destroyed, he had several active Soul Imprints. His plan was to activate them one by one to wear down his enemies.
The Elder Seed Artifact had enabled Eren to manifest a Soul Imprint. Combining these immortal magic abilities with his bloodline powers, the concept of the Shadow Clone spell, and Alephee's Corpse Dance, he created a lifelike replica of himself.
Eren's clone was so convincing that even Argo failed to discern, at first, that it was Eren's clone that had perished at the hands of Garos. So the fact that the clone could deceive Garos and everyone else came as no surprise.
***
"Um… maybe you should wait a few more minutes, Eren, before sending your consciousness out."
Shallot suggested, her keen and innocent eyes fixed on Eren. She could tell that Eren's Spiritual Force had yet to completely stabilize. She didn't want him to overexert himself, whether through his real body or his clone.
However, the butcher shook his head in refusal before responding.
"No, Shallot. Everything on the chessboard is already arranged. I need to go before a few pawns do something I don't want them to do. I've waited long enough. I've plotted plenty. This… this is it."
Eren declared as he readied himself for his next plans.
"Hm? Argo… he… he is in danger. He… he is dying."
Eren realized through his connection with Argo that the latter was in critical condition. This revelation stirred his heart, but he steeled his mindset just as quickly, thinking to himself.
'No. processing emotions as they appear will be the death of me and everything I have come to amass. I… I need to steady my mind first.
If I doubt myself at this point, I won't only fail but also face a pathetic death.
I've chosen this path. I've done my due diligence. Whatever happens from now on, happens.'
Eren calmed his heart, and his eyes mirrored the determination he felt within.
'There's no point in conserving my strength anymore. I'll fucking go all out.'
Eren decided to speed up. Initially, he had considered conserving his Soul Imprints. However, upon learning of Argo's dire situation, he opted to use them all at once.
Closing his eyes, Eren started submerging into the lake water once again. When he was waist-deep in the mercury-like water of the lake, he spoke to himself.
"For years, I worked hard as if I never won. Now... I'll fight as if I never lost."
Eren said this just before his soul was entirely submerged in the lake water. Shallot followed her owner, diving right after him and swimming inside the lake water like a small fish in a pond.
***
"1…"
Swoosh. Zoom. Chop.
Suddenly, as Garos turned around, an unexpected figure materialized behind him. In an instant, this figure swung a transcendent-grade labrys towards Garos's neck. As if this figure had teleported itself while it was already in the action of swinging its weapon.
The sequence of events unfolded so swiftly that it even caught the seasoned Sage-ranked King's Hand off guard. Plus, his previous encounter with Argo had already left him grievously wounded, affecting his reaction time and defenses.
The transcendent-grade labrys, infused with surging S-Rank mana, nearly severed Garos's neck and torso. The Weapon Intent harnessed in the attack rivaled Garos's own Sword Intent, if not exceeded it, allowing the labrys to penetrate the Sage Ranker's natural defenses.
"Aaaaargh!"
Garos just barely managed to prevent his neck from being completely severed. He swiftly dodged, teleporting a few steps away from his prior position.
"W… who...?"
Garos struggled to speak as his larynx had been damaged by the abrupt labrys assault. His Sage-ranked physique diligently worked to heal his wounds in an expedited manner and counter the Foreign Mana Invasion.
AN: Thank you very much, Donswan, for sending VEH's first Spacecraft Supergift. I'm really grateful for your support. Right now, I'm a bit busy with other work and projects, so I can't do a mass release for VEH anytime soon. However, as a way to show my appreciation, I'll try to add an extra chapter every day for the next few days. ;)
