Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 236: Despite That

Kyrie being strong and Kiara being killed by Shiron…

There was no connection between the two, but no one pointed it out.

Instead, what captivated their attention was how he could come out so intact. Kiara was strong. She had become even stronger than before. They painfully realized this while facing her.

The sense of loss from losing a comrade right in front of their eyes. Even Lucia, whose eyes were half-crazed, had a warning bell ring in her mind, telling her not to touch that ominous mass. Yet, Shiron, who emerged from the sphere, seemed excessively unscathed.

That incomprehensible sight made Kiara step back. It wasn’t that her decisive move didn’t work. It wasn’t out of fear. It was just that her perception of Shiron had changed.

Kiara’s attention shifted to Shiron, who was charging. Lucia watched Shiron swinging his sword. The light that burst forth illuminated the depths of the sea. Because of this, the form of the torrent imbued with power began to be seen.

It was like a giant cephalopod monster swinging its legs. Black tentacles slammed toward the ground, piercing where Shiron had been. The mud on the floor fluttered. In the midst of it, holy light exploded.

Shiron did not hesitate to reveal his presence. The trajectory of light constantly revealed his position, but that was the same for Kiara’s power.

Once his form was revealed, there was no chance for Shiron to miss. Shiron flickered with light at high speed among the dozens, hundreds of whippings.

The mud rose like dark clouds. Every time the light flashed, the shadow of the monster was etched. Like lightning striking in a stormy sea, the flickering flash split the power showing agitation.

There was no time to pull together her ragged body. Her recovery power couldn’t keep up. Thinking about the reason was meaningless. At some point, Kiara realized it herself.

Kyrie was damn strong.

So she would die to the hero.

The fact that she bothered to mutter those unnecessary words meant she hadn’t given up mentioning Kyrie’s name, that immeasurable imposter.

Shwaa! The approaching flash slashed her arm. It wasn’t so fast that she couldn’t perceive it approaching, but the irregular sword strikes and bursts of light in the darkness had no connectivity.

She couldn’t believe it was a simple trick.

After gaining faith and manifesting her power, Kiara could observe everything underwater. Her senses spread like a spider web, and her consciousness became a transcendent observer that could contemplate the world.

So, she knew the positions of the elf mage and Kyrie. Beyond the underwater mountain range where her power didn’t reach, and the boundary where her power immediately touched.

Yet, Kiara couldn’t even grasp where Shiron was. The fact that his attacks were hitting meant he was definitely within the realm where her power reached.

But she couldn’t even guess where he was. When the light flashed in front, the strike came from behind. She tried to deliberately expose a blind spot to lure the enemy’s attack, but every attempt was in vain.

At this rate, she would be whittled down and die meaninglessly. Not wanting that, Kiara decided to shrink her domain.

The torrent, which was swaying like tentacles, shrunk to eliminate gaps, and Kiara entrusted herself to the thickened current to distance herself from Shiron.

Using power for high-speed movement, her meaningless flesh became one with the torrent and escaped from the pitch-black space.

It was an unwise choice. The pillars of light that erased the sea were ahead of Kiara’s trajectory.

One, two, dozens of pillars of light drove Kiara. White sword energy chased Kiara. Thwack! The punch of the leaping Lucia struck her abdomen. Kiara’s body folded in half and fell to the sea floor, where Shiron stood ready for battle.

As if it were unnecessary, Shiron, who hadn’t moved a single step, swung his sword.

It was too late to dodge; Kiara, who judged so, barely twisted her body to avoid the fatal blow. Shhk—The searing pain radiated from her shoulder. Even after decades of being numb to pain, Kiara couldn’t help but widen her eyes at the shock permeating her mind.

Her severed right arm floated down. Shiron grabbed the still-twitching arm. With a burst of power from his clenched hand, Kiara’s arm disintegrated.

A determination not to leave any repercussions. Eventually, the severed arm was erased from existence and floated away as bubbles.

‘Persistent.’

Kiara, who was buried in the mud, creating a red trail, naturally looked up as she slid down. The net of light, spanning hundreds of meters, had become a prison that prevented Kiara from escaping.

“Ha.”

Kyrie wasn’t in there. Kiara scoffed.

Standing up by supporting herself on her knees, she saw Shiron approaching nonchalantly. Unlike his relaxed appearance, Kiara couldn’t recover her obliterated arm.

Her consciousness focused on the hero brought forth keen insight.

“Are you doing it on purpose?”

Kiara chuckled. Although she didn’t know their circumstances in detail, even Kiara was sure that Lucia’s true identity was Kyrie.

The realization she naturally came to while fighting wasn’t just about Kyrie’s identity.

Facing Shiron directly, he was wearing tattered clothes. Even without a direct fatal wound, he had cuts from the aftermath of the battle.

That meant…

That young man couldn’t use protective energy. On the other hand, the girl outside the domain was clean without a single scratch except for a little mud.

Humans were not strong. No matter how much they trained, the limit of the strength they could accumulate was clear due to their short lifespan. Unless they were chosen by the gods or became a hero, it was only natural for them to be overwhelmed by Kiara’s power.

Therefore, no human could be stronger than a hero.

She must have doubted that obvious truth at least once.

Outside the bars of light, she couldn’t help but doubt the identity of the girl who still had a clear presence. She couldn’t possibly not know…

“You’re pretending not to know.”

“…”

“You knew that girl was Kyrie, and yet you mentioned Kyrie.”

Kiara’s insight revealed the truth. Shiron, who chuckled, tapped his shoulder with the flat of his sword.

“Trying to buy time? You’ve suddenly become quite talkative.”

“You don’t deny it…”

Even though she obtained implicit confirmation, Kiara’s mind became confused with newly arisen questions. She couldn’t even guess why Shiron acted that way despite knowing Kyrie’s identity.

No, there were a few possibilities. The pleasure she realized only after gaining faith by being revered. Since obtaining divinity, Kiara had been intoxicated with an almost pleasurable sense of omnipotence.

“Did you enjoy it that much?”

Kiara giggled as she stared at Shiron.

“I asked if you coveted the title of hero that much.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Shiron tilted his head. At his innocent reaction, Kiara brushed her remaining hand over her head and straightened her face.

“I asked if you enjoyed taking Kyrie’s glory for yourself and masturbating to your delusions of being a great hero.”

At Kiara’s question, a shadow fell over Shiron’s face. A twisted smile appeared on Kiara’s lips.

Emotional debt, guilt for using Kyrie’s name.

Based on Shiron’s reaction, Kiara thought she had struck a blow to his psyche.

“Yeah, it’s so much fun.”

However, the response that followed was far from her expectations.

“What?”

“It’s thrilling. I wish I could just keep being Kyrie.”

Fwaah- The light of the holy sword wiped away the shadow on his face, revealing a mocking smile devoid of seriousness.

“Come to think of it, isn’t it? A scoundrel from an unknown hero’s family turns out to be the founder hero Kyrie? Oh, just thinking about it makes me excited and thrilled.”

“…What nonsense.”

“When people around me treated me like a scoundrel, when other siblings didn’t recognize my essence and mistreated me, I revealed my hidden skills. The moment of revealing my skills is crucial. It must be when I’m facing a life-threatening situation for it to be satisfying.”

Kiara couldn’t understand why Shiron was speaking so joyfully.

“And then, the people who were harsh to me would shed tears of emotion and regret. They’d reflect on who they had been so harsh to all this time, burying their heads in the ground in repentance. If I don’t accept their apologies, they’d be devastated, sobbing in despair…”

“You madman…! A shameless human who knows no shame!”

Kiara’s face twisted with disgust. However, her face did not darken. The hero’s holy sword had erased all the darkness within the domain.

“What can I do? I’m not ashamed at all.”

“You’re not a hero!”

“Think whatever you want.”

His response showed he didn’t care at all. Kiara’s teeth ground together. That shameless human was not only defiling Kyrie’s name but also the symbol of the hero. It was truly an incomprehensible sentiment for her, who had been an enemy of humanity her entire life, to care about the dignity of the hero. But her love and reverence for Kyrie were that genuine. Kiara harbored pure anger at Shiron’s words and actions, which shook the foundations of her thoughts.

“Defiling Kyrie’s name…!” Thwack!

“You have so many presumptuous wishes.”

The holy sword was thrust into Kiara’s chest as she lunged. It was clear she had met her end, though she didn’t know whether it was because her eyes had turned or because it had pierced her with such unperceivable speed.

“Kuhrk…!”

“What does it matter? If it bothers you, you should have stopped me when I said I’d be Kyrie. Or you could have revealed your identity first? This is tacit consent.”

Crack! A chilling sound came from the stabbed chest. Kahak! Blood spurted from Kiara’s mouth, and her forked tongue extended out.

“You are… a monster who should never be a hero.”

Kiara grabbed the holy sword stuck in her chest. Her fingers were severed and fell, but her power manifested correctly. Darkness billowed from her severed fingers, trying to swallow the holy sword once more.

“Dammit.”

The darkness was cut off midway. With her complete demise, the light of the holy sword erased Kiara’s upper body. The left arm that had pinched the sword fell limply.

“Thank you.”

Confirming Kiara’s disappearance, Shiron turned around. Seira was repairing the magic cast on Shiron.

“What are you thankful for?”

“For helping to prevent Kiara from escaping…”

With those words, Shiron collapsed as if falling asleep. Seira, who patted the fallen Shiron’s back, turned her attention to the approaching presence.

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

The words were not directed at the fallen Shiron.

“Kyrie.”

“…”

The excited sprint suddenly stopped.