"AHHHHHH!!!"
Pain!
Agony surged through every nerve, flooding Kayneth's brain. The unimaginable torment felt as though it would shatter his cortex, as if it were boring through his skull.
"My brain... is trembling..."
Kayneth's body contorted into an unnatural posture. His throat—no, his entire being—emitted a bestial roar.
Volumen Hydrargyrum seeped through his skin, replacing his blood and bone marrow with mercury. It was as if his bones were being carved out one by one, his blood squeezed dry, and mercury filled the void.
Kayneth had fully become a monster—a creature driven by his Magic Circuits, sustained by nerves and fueled by mercury.
"Sola-Ui... Executor!!!"
His skin burst open, blood splattering onto the ground. Tentacles of mercury erupted from the flesh of his back, instantly locking onto their target and lashing toward Kotomine Kirei.
"Boom~"
Kotomine Kirei dodged with a swift movement, evading the mercury whip-blade. The temple's floor tiles shattered, fragments scattering in all directions.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
Kayneth's roars grew even more frenzied. His back's skin ruptured repeatedly, whip-blades extending one after another.
The Kayneth before them was barely human, his form now akin to a demon—a monster wrought of mercury.
"Ugh... Executor..."
A hoarse voice rasped from Kayneth's body. His head, now nearly useless, turned toward Kotomine Kirei.
"Hmph~"
A pleased expression spread across Kotomine Kirei's face as he gripped another Black Key.
A monster?
As an Executor, Kotomine Kirei had seen plenty. Every magus was a latent monster, each one capable of assuming a grotesque, wretched form.
Heart? Spine? Throat?
None of that mattered. The brain and Magic Circuits were what counted—more precisely, the Magic Circuits were the most vital organ for a magus.
As a Lord-class magus, Kayneth naturally had his own trump card.
By fusing Volumen Hydrargyrum with his body, he maintained control through his Magic Circuits, clinging to a shred of consciousness and forcing his will to endure.
Kayneth was, without question, one of the finest magi in the traditional sense.
This was precisely why the Holy Church had long been at odds with magi.
These magi weren't just a band of deranged lunatics—they were ticking bombs, capable of transforming into monsters at any moment.
Kotomine Kirei had hunted countless magi.
And so-called Executors... they were the Holy Church's weapons for slaying monsters. Only a monster could kill a monster.
Executors endured unimaginable training from childhood. Their wills were ironclad, their bodies resilient, their skills honed to perfection. They were the darkness beneath the Church's light, blades forged to clear all enemies in the name of that light.
They were... true "Magus Killers"!
"Hahahahaha!"
Kotomine Kirei laughed wildly, his expression exaggerated, as if tears might spill from his eyes.
What was he laughing at?
He was laughing at Kayneth—or rather, he found pleasure in the sight of Kayneth's excruciating struggle to press forward.
Humans! They so easily derive pleasure from the suffering of their kin.
When witnessing another's pain, one's own suffering seems to fade into insignificance.
"Executor!!!"
A distorted, cacophonous roar shook the tiles of Ryuudou Temple, leaves trembling lightly on the ground.
With the roar, mercury whip-blades lashed out indiscriminately in all directions.
The powerful strikes could pierce solid rock and effortlessly demolish walls.
Kotomine Kirei moved swiftly, his eyes fixed on the swelling monster at the center. Black Keys flew from his hands.
The Black Keys sliced through the air, embedding into Kayneth's mercury-flesh body, triggering violent explosions that blasted the mercury apart.
The magecraft imbued in the Black Keys had activated.
Kotomine Kirei darted through the chaos, his black priestly robes blending into the darkness, his sharp eyes like those of a hawk.
Black Keys shot out one after another, his agile form dodging the rampaging whip-blades.
As the whip-blades wreaked havoc, the main hall of Ryuudou Temple collapsed. Debris flew through the air, and the historic structure crumbled to the ground.
Yet amidst the widespread destruction, one spot remained untouched.
A wall of mercury enveloped Sola-Ui's body, forming an... eerie sanctuary.
"Ha!"
After biding his time, Kotomine Kirei seized an opportunity. The Command Spells on his arm flared, channeling surges of magical energy through his body.
With a textbook-perfect Iron Mountain Lean, he slammed into Kayneth's twisted form.
Terrifying force poured into the body, then radiated outward, shattering the mercury structure. The immense magical energy disrupted the mana structure controlling Volumen Hydrargyrum.
Kotomine Kirei closed in on Kayneth's broken shell, his fist swiftly smashing the magus's head.
As long as the brain was destroyed, the body—lacking a command center—would halt.
No brain matter... no blood...
Suddenly, Volumen Hydrargyrum enveloped him, mercury pouring into his eyes, mouth, pores—tearing his body apart from within, inch by inch.
"Executor..."
Kotomine Kirei saw it—a brain glowing with magical energy, its Magic Circuits unfurling like a distorted circuit board, anchoring the mercury mass.
Magic Circuits were tethered to the soul within the body. Once the body was lost, they typically failed.
But for high-ranking magi, they could transfer their Magic Circuits to another vessel or prepare them in advance for operation.
"Hahaha..."
Kotomine Kirei remained elated. He was doomed—massive amounts of mercury seeped through his body, he was doomed. But... it wasn't just the pain of others. His own pain brought him equal pleasure!
"Buzz~"
The stars twinkled, their light illuminating the earth. A cascade of endless radiance descended from the heavens like pillars toward the horizon.
"That... angle... it's... Matou?..."
Kayneth's fragmented consciousness struggled to process.
Then...
A pillar of light struck Ryuudou Temple. In an instant, the brilliance, like a blazing inferno, vaporized both Kayneth and Kotomine Kirei.
"Sorry... Karna... I broke my promise! But... I think it's better for him to die like this!"
***
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