Chapter 246 - Episode Forty-Three - The Collector (14)
…… Is it really time for him to give up?
I think the collectors have finally lost their will to fight.
I’m sure the giant whip must have taken a lot of beating.
As I was thinking about stopping after the thirteenth strike, the collector, who was supposed to be trapped in the crack in the floor, made a completely different move.
No, his movement, I couldn’t see it.
Before I knew it, he had escaped from the cracks and was standing directly in front of the giant whip.
He swung his large sword with a speed that far surpassed anything he had ever done before, and caught the giant whip.
The collector lowered his posture to withstand the impact. He completely caught it.
The overwhelming destructive power of the giant whip left a straight line of scars on the floor of the top floor of the witch’s tower, but only where the collector was standing, the recoil from the whip’s impact left deep footprints.
“H-Huh……?”
Did the force suddenly increase?
He was supposed to be completely unresponsive until just now …… When I was thinking about it, I noticed that the collector’s body, which should have been huge, was shrinking slightly.
“Though many legends have fallen into decay, will you remain in my hands, “Right King of Shattering, Chromieshkeid Ray”?”
The voice was something I had never heard before.
It was low, but not shrill.
The collector waved his cloak, which should have been a perfect size, in a slightly uncomfortable manner and tore off the loose bandages that clung to his face in a cumbersome manner.
“There’s no choice …… I had no intention of using it in this way, but my life-prolonging, almost-dead body was no match for yours. It’s hard to imagine, and at the same time it’s hard to admit, but …… it seems to be true.”
A large face with a brutal light peeps out from behind the torn bandage.
A magic circle is carved around his forehead, and a portion of the formula overlaps his eyes, as if makeup were applied vertically over both eyes.
His skin, too, has changed from the gray, undead-looking patchwork of dead skin that had occasionally peeked out, to white, fine-grained skin.
He has transformed into a young man with a different appearance, though still somewhat crazy.
The collector annoyingly tore off his cloak with his bare hands and forcibly rewrapped it around his body.
When the part that covered his head was removed, his long, shiny, purple-blue and white hair, split into two different colors, swept over him.
His height has dropped from nearly 190 centimeters to about 180 centimeters.
“He-, He’s young again ……? No way ……”
“Great! It just feels right! Fuhahahahahaha! It’s like waking up from a long sleep! Now I can fight with the full strength of my prime.”
I wondered if he had been replaced by a completely different person, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
The unique and intimidating eyes definitely belonged to the collector who was staring at us from behind his bandages.
“I succeeded in prolonging my life for 300 years with one cup of amrita but …… I never thought that I would have to consume an entire cup in one day. I had three cups of Amrita in my hand, and now I only have one cup left. Thanks to this, my life span has been shortened by three hundred years. But I feel refreshed. Thank you, Abel.”
W-What a waste!?
What is this person really doing?
The high elves will be furious if they find out that you took their national treasure and then gulped it down in the heat of the moment.
The long hair was probably a side effect of Amrita.
The long, sloppy hair that almost touched the floor was probably the result of the overflowing life force added by Amrita’s power.
But the question is, why did he go to the trouble of using Amrita to force a fight with me.
To put it bluntly, I don’t believe that this fight or this reward is worth more than a cup of Amrita.
Even the “Ravenous Dragon’s Tool Bag”, it’s just that I’ve agreed to accompany him on his alchemy experiments.
“I said I was bored with my world, but that wasn’t just an excuse to get you on board. I’ve collected all the magic tools in the world to comfort myself, but I’ve never had a chance to use what I’ve collected! No matter how many treasures and magical tools I acquire, after the feeling of accomplishment, the feeling that remains to me is emptiness. The more you accumulate, the stronger it becomes. What is the purpose of my collecting tools? For what purpose did I acquire a life beyond the capacity of a human being, and continue to live for a long time! How many times have I asked myself that question! It’s impossible for me to have that kind of power now that I’ve acquired it! I pretended to be oblivious to this, and just kept collecting things, desperately trying to fill up the never-ending “Ravenous Dragon’s Tool Bag”! Eventually, the mundane word “collector” became the only name for me!”
The collector shouted, and thrust his large sword into the floor.
With a loud clang, the large sword pierced the floor and shook the entire room.
The collector let go of the sword and scratched his long hair as if in sorrow.
“But! I finally found a use for the magic tools I’ve been accumulating! Abel! I will kill you with the power of the treasure I’ve been gathering so far! Then I’ll be able to see that my life has not been in vain! How wonderful you are! I will never forget my good fortune to have met you here! Forever!”
The collector’s big mouth widened and he raised his hands to the ceiling.
What is that person …… getting excited by himself for?
The collector’s face changed from a broken face to a swarthy one, and he glared at Altamir.
“Hey, Witch. This place is too small for me and Abel to settle our scores. Provide a larger, sturdier space. For my sake and Abel’s.”
Altamir’s shoulders trembled as if she was scared, but then her hard expression relaxed slightly as if she was relieved.
“Tha-, thank God …… They won’t have to destroy any more ……”
It seems that there was another way to look at it.
…… I’m sorry I went on a rampage in someone’s home.
Altamir must have been unable to stop it.
He thought that if he was in a bad mood, the collector might turn on him.
“Now, let’s begin the final round, Abel.”
“It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about the tower. It seems that Amrita is still intact. ……”
Altamir looked at me with astonishment.
“…… You were concerned about it? Really?”
If possible, the waste of Amrita should be the last bite of the next collector’s resuscitation.
Even though it’s not mine to give away, it’s too much of a waste.