Chapter 73: Chapter 72: To Kill a King (2)

“I did it! Hah! I killed the king!”

Chenbo’s eyes lit up an excitement and he triumphantly punched the air. From a distance, Sans stared at him with a horrified expression. His gleeful dance, along with his expression of pure happiness, all of it was a product of his momentary state of blissful ignorance.

No…

“Sans! Did you see that? I sliced…”

Chenbo’s word became stuck in his throat as he took a second glance at his victim.

“Bahahaha!”

Borgash clutched his stomach while cackling like a maniac. It was a full-bodied laugh, the kind that would leave him shaking and crying tears.

“Sans…”

Chenbo mumbled as knelt onto his knees, landing directly beside the body at his feet.

“W-Where… the king… but I killed him? Right here, Sans. I swear. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Can’t be happening.”

With unsteady, shaky hands, Chenbo carefully reached out toward Lyra’s motionless face.

“My precious love, my beautiful flower. No, no…”

Sans watched as Chenbo’s fingers extended out before retracting back again and again. He didn’t dare touch her.

How could I have let this happen?!

Sans bit his tongue and raced over to Chenbo’s side. Chenbo grasped at his own head before finally tracing a trembling finger over Lyra’s face.

“Chenbo, listen to me. Hey? Are you listening?”

It was strange. Although Lyra had been struck down, she still died with a smile. It was as if the girl had already forgiven Chenbo for his actions before he even committed the deed.

“Oh, hey Sans… I’ve been thinking about that question you had. Do you remember?”

“Question? Chenbo, this isn’t the time for that. You need to get out of here.”

Sans glanced toward his friend with a crumpled expression. He couldn’t bear to look down at Lyra’s corpse split in half.

“Yea… you asked me what came after love. I think I know now.”

“Chenbo, we really don’t have the time for this.”

Sans warily eyed the king, who continued to cackle like a maniac in the distance.

“Ahah! Fools! What an unfortunate fate! How unlucky you must feel, huh boy?! To have run into the Illusion King himself! Bahaha!”

Sans grit his teeth as he listened to Borgash’s jeering.

If I had practiced illusions more… I could have shattered it before he struck…

“Sans, I think what comes after love is something more eternal.”

Chenbo smiled gently as he finally found it within himself to stroke his beloved’s resting face.

“You need to snap out of it. Look, we’re in a really dangerous spot. That guy isn’t really a king! He is-“

“What I wouldn’t give to follow her into the next life, and the one after that.”

Sans grimaced upon being smoothly interrupted. He stared daggers at Borgash in the distance—for once wishing he could tear him to shreds.

“A relationship where we could never be split apart, where even the sands of time can’t reach us. I want a love that would follow in both life and death.”

A subtle squelch sounded off from Sans’ side, followed by the grating of metal on bone.

No…

Sans froze in shock as his brain registered all the possibilities that could have created that specific combination of noise. He turned to Chenbo with rigid movements.

Chenbo’s blade was pierced through his chest, but he didn’t look pained in the slightest. Sensing his life fading, Chenbo hunched over Lyra’s body with a pleased smile. His teeth were bathed in blood, but he didn’t mind.

He grasped Lyra’s hand within his own, and his eyes slowly drew closed. With his final breath, he lay alongside his lover and just like that—Chenbo had claimed his own life.

Sans stared at the two estranged lovers lying on the ground, side by side with expressions of bliss and closed eyes, never to wake up again.

“Urgh.. bleh…”

Forgetting to breathe, one final round of toxic vomit surfaced, and his body was finally cured of Heaven’s Tears.

The image before him was too surreal, and all too familiar. He was immediately taken back to a time long ago. Within a dark shed made of scrap, two figures smiling in death as their bodies had long gone cold.

He wasn’t able to save his parents in time. Now he wasn’t able to save Chenbo or Lyra. Everything seemed unrealistic, perhaps too unrealistic.

“Ah… I see now.”

Sans’ expression went emotionless as he wiped his mouth clean and stood up from his spot. He turned to Borgash as small streaks of fire spawned in and out of existence around him.

“Very crafty. Very impressive.”

Borgash wiped a tear from his eye as he reigned in his uncontrollable laughter.

“Huh? What are you on about, boy?”

“Your illusion. I must say that it is very impressive. I’ll be honest, I can’t even tell the difference.”

Sans gestured to the two bodies at his feet.

“Illusion? Oh, that. It was light work if I do say so myself. I never did have a talent for illusions myself, but Soren changed all of that for me once I inherited his body.”

Borgash stroked his chin with a crafty smile.

“So you admit then?”

“Admit what?”

“All of this. This is all just an illusion. An esoteric one at that. It is of fine detail, I must say.”

Borgash’s eyes finally shone in understanding as a sinister smirk crept across his face.

“Ahh… I will let you believe what you want.”

Sans stared at the man with smoldering eyes. His expression was impassive, but behind the neutral mask burned a network of emotions greater than he had ever experienced.

“Understood. Please break the illusion then.”

“Break the illusion? Bhaha! Boy! Who do you think you are talking to?”

The king madly cackled into the sky above.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“I’m talking to you. Break the illusion.”

“And what if I don’t want to?”

Borgash smiled with squinted eyes.

“Then I’ll force you to.”

A clear finger snapped through the air, and a terrifying pulse of energy radiated outward from Sans. The red skies above somehow began to darken, and a flurry of shadows began to coalesce.

Sans’ figure was hidden within the mass of wispy black, but Borgash was still able to make out a pair of haunting red eyes that stared at him like a dead man walking.

“Maybe… you are more of a threat than I thought.”

Borgash spoke lightly as his own aura began to pulse outward.

“Enough words.”

A chaotic voice sounded from within the shadow, as if two entities were overlapped with one another yet shared the same mind. Borgash took a hesitant step backward and his brow narrowed.

“What the…?”

The next second, Sans burst forward with a step so powerful that he left a crater in the ground. However more shocking than that, was that there were two Sans’!

One body was of normalcy, while the other was a clone masked in pure shadow. Either way, the two mirrored each other’s actions as they sprinted toward Borgash with a ferocious smile. Wholly unprepared for the double-sided assault, Borgash barely managed to bring his arms up to block before two thundering fists slammed toward his face.

“Hurgh!”

He body flipped backwards over and over again and he tumbled head over foot, drawing a long line against the scorched earth below. By the time he came to an abrupt stop, he looked up only to find his two opponents already upon him!

“Wait- Illusion Castle!”

Borgash cried out and a zone of mysterious energy encompassed the area. Sitting within his illusionary castle, he could see both figures of Sans standing about, inspecting their surroundings without making a single motion.

Borgash let out a sigh of relief.

“Now that’s an illu-“

The castle shattered to pieces before he could finish his sentence. Both figures of Sans carved a savage grin as they approached the desperate king.

“I’m not done yet!”

Borgash extended his hands and another pulse of mystic energy came outward. The black and crumbling dirt along with the red smeared skies were soon painted with a dazzling display of vibrant colors. Flowers sprouted from underfoot, and the sun shone overhead. Even the peaceful smell of nature was woven into the fabric of the illusion.

However, Sans felt anything but peace in this moment. His very soul seethed and burned with visceral hatred. In short time, both versions of Sans were ignited within blistering flames, one of black and the other of gold. The flower fields soon began to melt under their incinerating radiance.

“Illusions don’t work? How about this then!”

Borgash’s eyes flushed red, and the air around him began to mist with a scarlet hue. Seeing his attempt at blood magic, Sans scoffed as he mentally compared it to Elsie.

Rivers of blood surged out from Borgash’s body before beginning to envelop him within. Every inch of his body with drenched in blood, leaving no surface area vulnerable.

“Blood Armor, combined with Sanguine Enhancement.”

Borgash smiled, revealing a set of pearly white teeth that contrasted the thick red around his face.

“Good luck trying to beat me now, fool!”

Sans snorted upon hearing his taunt. The next moment, both versions of himself clenched their fists, launching themselves toward the blood infused man. Black and gold fire streaked through the air, trailing after their bodies. The two of them traded spots back and forth as they raced onward, creating a spiral of fire that seemed to be enclosing in on the king.

“Blood Lance!”

Borgash cried out. With each flick of his finger, a piercing stream of blood shot toward either body of Sans.

“Hah, a hit!”

The king fist pumped the air upon seeing himself sink blood lance after blood lance into Sans’ body. Strangely enough though, Sans never slowed down for even a second!

“What is happening?!”

Borgash looked a little closer upon throwing the next blood lance. He sucked in a quick breath of air as he watched the pointed blood become fully incinerated before ever reaching Sans’ body. It was as if Sans’ golden flames were the bane of his entire existence.

At this point, if Borgash’s face could have paled then it would have done so. Sans was never an opponent he could have taken on. Perhaps before, when he was afflicted with Heaven’s Tears, he could have dispatched him easily. However, Sans’ current body was like an unrivaled machine with unmatched tenacity and terrifying ferocity.

Before Borgash could think of his next step, Sans was already upon him. A flurry of blows rained down on his body, shattering every single one of his bones.

Despite his broken body, Borgash still grit his teeth and bared the full brunt of Sans’ fury. Regenerative power had always been the strongest aspect of blood magic, and now it was being put into full display.

With one last solid punch toward his chest, Sans knock him away, sending him flying into a distant boulder.

“Ugh… Keke… You can never win! All of your efforts just now were for naught! No matter how much you strive to kill me, I’ll always regenerate back to peak condition!”

“Is that so?”

Sans finally spoke as he stood in front of Borgash.

“That gives me a new idea. I’m glad I have you here to try it… you said you will never die—correct?”

“Uh…”

Borgash gave a reply that was not a yes, nor was it a no. Instead, it was a reply of pure confusion. However, the next moment his questions were answered in full.

Electric energy began to pulse throughout Sans’ body. Wave after wave seemed to transfer through his skin and bones, entering his eyes, and coating his every limb.

“You said you will regenerate back to peak condition, but what if I try to kill you so fast that your regeneration simply can’t keep up?”

The Sans duo revealed a pair of savage smiles as they approached Borgash.

“L-Let’s just talk about this.”

Borgash held out a halting hand, but out of everyone present, he should have known better. Quicker than a viper, Sans snatched Borgash’s hand and flung him to the ground forming a resounding crater.

Powered by the agile and voracious lightning energies, Sans’ fire filled punches would now come a multitude times faster. The next moment, both versions of Sans delivered an unrivaled flurry onto Borgash’s every limb.

If a bone wasn’t dust, then it was broken. If a bone wasn’t broken, then it had only just regenerated. No part of Borgash’s body was allowed to maintain even a second of livelihood.

Minutes passed by as Sans refused to relent from his onslaught. Borgash’s face had long become unrecognizable, and his body was merely a sack of dangling bones.

It’s time to end this.

Sans grabbed Borgash from out of his crater and allowed him to begin the regenerative process one last time.

“You… You bastard!”

The moment Borgash could speak, he immediately cursed at Sans. The shadowy clone stood behind Borgash, channeling a stream of purifying golden flames around his body. The ancient man was effectively trapped in place.

“How do you call this a fair fight? Are you even a man?!”

Sans ignored his every word and instead gave him a chilling smile. With a light step, Sans appeared beside Chenbo’s body with a solemn expression. He then reached down and pulled the sword from out of his friend’s body.

It has to be an illusion, but I would want to kill this fiend whether it was an illusion or not.

With a mysterious skip, Sans appeared directly in front of Borgash once more. He then delivered a savaged uppercut with a ferocious, fire filled punch and sent Borgash sailing into the air. He could practically feel the dizziness knocked into the man with how fully the blow connected.

Before Borgash could react at all, Sans’ clone appeared behind the king in midair with a flash of lightning. A shadowy foot axed down onto Borgash’s chest, plummeting him into the dirt below.

Froth and foam threatened to leak out of the man’s mouth and his eyes were scattered into his skull like candy.

“Surge, was it?”

Time to hold him still. I’ll do this in Chenbo’s honor…

Sans’ shadow clone flashed forward, picking the king up from the floor and holding him from behind. Borgash hacked up blood and his chest heaved from overexertion.

“Boy! Think about what you’re doing. Even if you strike me down here, you can’t actually kill me!”

Borgash snarled in Sans’ direction, but Sans only inspected Chenbo’s blade further.

“I will escape! I will survive this, and I will recover! Are you not afraid?! No matter where you decide to hide in this godforsaken tower, I will hunt you down! When I catch you, I will tear you apart piece by piece.”

Sans prepared to slash toward the king. Fire and lightning began to collect around the sword, which acted as a sort of focal point. The clouds above seemed to dip lower, and the air itself solidified, becoming heavier than every before. Arcs of lightning ran throughout Sans’ body and along the blade. Finally, he had charged enough.

“Surge!”

His voice echoed like the word of god. Shadowy flames intertwined with the thick purple bolts of lightning. The air filled with unbridled energy as the slash warped the space around it, delivering unbiased death toward the king.

“Sacrifical Blood Beacon!”

Borgash cried out just as the devastating slash met his body. A bloody mist exploded outward, and the man’s body evaporated faster than the speed of light.

The slash continued off into the distance, obliterating the mountain range behind it and sailing forever onward. The ashy sky above was cleared, briefly revealing the blue horizons that hid above. However, the beautiful sight was short lived as the grey smoke once again reigned supreme.

A red dot flew off into the distance. It’s speed was impossibly fast, maybe even too fast for Sans to track it down. Sans could immediately tell that the dot was Borgash escaping, but he didn’t have a mind to chase.

He unhurriedly made his way toward Chenbo and Lyra. He glanced at the sword in his hands, it was full of cracks. By the time he reached Chenbo, the blade had crumbled away completely and turned to dust.

He dropped to his knees, taking the two bodies into his arms. Their lips were now caked in dried blood, just another detail to try and sell the perfect illusion. With a small and hoarse voice, he spoke two words.

"Illusion… break."

Nothing happened, but he expected as much considering that he hadn't practiced illusions much at all since his practice with Kaima.

"Illusion break…"

He repeated the command, but only silence responded as musty volcanic ash filled his lungs. His neutral expression was swiftly crumbling, but he couldn’t help it.

"Illusion… break… Illusion break! Illusion break! Illusion break!”

Blood gushed out of Chenbo’s torso as Sans tightened his grip. He could feel the blood’s lingering warmth as it created trails down the length of his forearm before mixing with the charred earth below.

“For me! Please! Break! Please!"

Perhaps all of this wasn’t an illusion, but that was only one of the two possibilities. If it truly was a perfect reality class of illusion, then Sans would find a way to break it. Even if he couldn’t find a way, eventually Elsie would come for him.

“Illusion! Break!”

No matter how much he cried out, the reality that he wished wasn’t true refused to go away, but he simply couldn’t give up. It would be a dark and lonely night, but he could never give up.