I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 201

Chapter 201

Traitor of Humanity

***

The white mask leaped forward nimbly and struck down at Noah’s sword. Noah deflected the attack and slid to counter with her blade.

The sound of clashing metal echoed across the battlefield. The white mask immediately changed direction and aimed for her side. Noah twisted her body to narrowly avoid the attack.

The white mask’s attack made a screeching sound as it grazed Noah’s armor. Noah’s sword flashed sharply as she swung it toward the white mask’s flank.

The white mask retreated with surprising agility. They took up an attacking stance again and pressured Noah with quick successive strikes.

Noah gritted her teeth against the attacks so fast they left afterimages. Each strike was heavy and sharp.

The two targeted each other without giving an inch. Noah skillfully deflected or blocked the opponent’s attacks while looking for openings to counter.

Their fight was both elegant and fierce, like a dance. The white mask tried to parry her sword at an opening, but Noah spun instantly to dodge their blade and seized a chance to counter.

Noah put all her strength into exploiting the gap. The white mask bent backward to dodge the attack aimed at their neck in an instant.

Thud.

The tip of Noah’s sword tapped the edge of the white mask as it passed by.

Crack, thump.

Under the powerful magic-enhanced attack, the mask split in half and fell to either side.

“Huh…?”

Noah stared at the opponent’s face with a dazed expression like a soldier first stepping onto the battlefield.

Snow-white hair swayed softly like silk. Golden eyes that were brilliant yet simultaneously murky like the sun of a dying world stared straight through her.

Lifeless lips set in a straight line showed no emotion on that flawless, fair face. The vague suspicion became certainty as it flowed from Noah’s lips.

“Lian…?”

The moment Noah muttered his name in a daze, the opponent didn’t miss the opening and rushed at her quickly. Even with the sword approaching right before her nose, she couldn’t move.

Her awkwardly held sword was pushed aside by the strong force. Not letting go of the sword until the end was the only desperate resistance she could manage.

Just as the attack aimed at her neck again pierced through—

Clang!

Red hair blocked her vision.

“What are you doing!”

At the rough shout that sounded like a growl, Noah snapped back to her senses as if doused with cold water.

“Noah!”

“…!”

Before she could take up a fighting stance again, she felt a sensation like her soul was resonating. Time stretched out like a thread and her breath came out slowly. Her gaze slid to where an unfamiliar man stood.

“Li…an?”

Even though she met murky black eyes instead of brilliant golden ones, Noah found herself saying his name without realizing. The experience of deeply accepting(?) Lian remained, allowing her to instinctively recognize Lian’s soul.

The fight between Jess and fake Lian(?) was more intense than any other, enough to split the ground around them. Lian deflected incoming attacks with his sword and grabbed Jess’s hand firmly.

“Ah..”

“Noah! Get ahold of yourself!”

Noah, who had been utterly confused between fake Lian and Lian, finally gathered her wits and began retreating with Lian.

“Kahahaha!”

“Hunt! It’s a hunt!”

As the beastkin who followed Jess onto the battlefield began attacking the enemy forces mercilessly, the commander’s order came down.

“Retreat!”

“Fall back!”

While the Imperial forces and beastkin could be considered allies in having the same enemy, the Imperial army who had no way of knowing this quickly pulled their soldiers back. The beastkin took over the positions they withdrew from.

They bared their sharp fangs and began ruthlessly tearing apart the enemy forces with nimble movements.

***

‘Damn it, damn it! To be pushed back by these inferior beings!’

Though the Outsider who possessed Lian’s body kept cursing inwardly, Lian’s mouth remained firmly shut and unmoving.

Due to the gag power, he could do nothing but watch the events unfolding before him like a mere spectator.

If he had been able to properly exert his power, he wouldn’t have been pushed back so easily.

‘Why won’t this body move!’

He tried several times to move Lian’s body, but it was like an infant trying to lift a massive boulder – not even a twitch.

Sure, he had obtained a body, but examining the situation, it was no different from being sealed.

Sharp claws swept past his face, and a chilling attack aimed for his neck. The moment he showed even a slight opening, his neck would be snapped instantly.

‘No, I can’t die like this!’

While the Outsider might have control over Lian’s body, in his current bound state, his soul could burn away and vanish the moment Lian’s body died.

The Outsider, instinctively realizing this, began frantically racking his brains.

‘I need to find the best way… a way to survive right now..’

He desperately tried to find a solution by rolling his eyeballs, the only part he could move.

“….!”

Perhaps ‘that person’ smiled upon his efforts?

‘Found it!’

His greedy gaze turned toward the black-haired Lian. Fake Lian’s lips, which had been set in a stern line, twitched. It was due to the intense joy he felt, enough to affect his control over expressions.

In that fleeting moment, a plan flashed through his mind, and the Outsider who couldn’t even twitch a finger at will quickly made his decision.

He pulled together all his will and what little causality he had to steal control of Lian’s body for about 10 seconds. Once he gained control, immediately.

Swoosh.

He thrust his neck toward Jess’s incoming claws. At this action no different from suicide, Jess was startled and unconsciously pulled back her strength.

Though she knew intellectually that another being possessed Lian’s body, it was an unavoidable instinct as a woman who loved him to hesitate.

Slash! Crack!

“Kuhak!”

“…!”

Even with the power pulled back at the end, not all the destructive force disappeared. A long wound was carved from shoulder to side. Blood dripped down, releasing a familiar metallic scent.

“Huff, hah…keuuk!”

Fake Lian staggered while gasping for breath, then pressed his wounded arm firmly with his other hand.

Just before losing control, the Outsider completely stopped Lian’s body. When everything from breathing to heartbeat stopped at once, Lian’s body naturally collapsed forward powerlessly.

“…!”

Jess reflexively caught Lian’s falling body while bristling her fur. Her sensitive senses clearly felt Lian’s heartbeat and breathing dying.

‘This… this isn’t my master, isn’t Lian.’

Though she knew this, she couldn’t help her heart sinking. Jess quickly picked up Lian’s increasingly cold body and whirled around toward the camp.

She felt like she would collapse right there if she didn’t immediately check on the black-haired, black-eyed Lian.

Not long after Jess left the battlefield, the atmosphere began growing chaotic. The Demon King’s army started withdrawing after belatedly confirming the defeat of their hidden card, fake Lian.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going!”

“Stop right there!”

The excited beastkin tried to pursue them but were blocked by powerful magic and couldn’t advance further.

In the end, the battle concluded in an ambiguous atmosphere.

***

A powerful new ally appearing, the death of the fearsome enemy known as the white mask.

While the Imperial army should be clapping and rejoicing at this situation, the mood was heavier and colder than usual.

The commander with brown hair and blue eyes stared down at the map on the conference room table with tightly sealed lips, while others endlessly discussed the ‘white mask’.

The white mask, that is fake Lian, had achieved countless merits on various battlefields. In other words, he had been sweeping away Imperial forces.

His notoriety was so great that there were commanders who fell from their horses just hearing news of his appearance.

And their army had caught such a terrifying figure!

While it was the beastkin leader Jess who directly defeated the white mask, making it difficult to claim credit, they treated the beastkin similar to beasts jumping out of the forest, so they planned to swallow up the credit for defeating the white mask.

What they were raising their voices about wasn’t how to properly divide the credit gained this time.

“He must have been a traitor from the start!”

“That commoner who spouted nonsense about being kidnapped by the Demon King’s castle might also be in league with the Demon King’s army!”

Completely unexpected accusations about Noah and even Lian burst forth.

End of Chapter