The Chimeric Ascension of Lyudmila Springfield

Chapter Five: Chimeric Rebirth – Part Two

High Elf Susize, Cowfolk Beccy, Dark Elf Reina, Desert Foxfolk Yaekira, and I, Ashen Orc Murag... We were the five Soul Warriors who fought and defeated the Dark Lord of Tyranny. No, it’s incorrect to say we accomplished it alone. Truth be told, we had the help of the entire world over, who banded together to eliminate the greatest threat this world had ever known. Special thanks had to be given to all who participated, but two stood out above the rest.  

Amos—The brave Holy Lord who led us to victory as our commander.  

The second refused to give his name, but had he not joined in the fight, it wouldn’t be wrong to claim the world would have met a fiery apocalypse.  

Even with them, and proper planning from the wisest elves, we could not kill the foul tyrant. Defeat? Yes, but not kill. Holy Lord Amos eventually discovered the Dark Lord suffered from a curse that ensured rebirth after death, which meant her reign of terror could never be truly stopped. However, he wasn’t knowledgeable about her until after her name had already begun to spread. It was right around the time in which he had acquired enough Holy Mana to create Soul Crystals, but he didn’t start on his journey with her defeat in mind.  

That would come later.   

Instead of risking his chance against the boundless, cosmic infinity of the universe via the summoning ritual, he journeyed around the world to gather exceptional men and women to be his chosen few. 

We were the only five who were worthy of him.  

As mentioned before, defeating the Dark Lord was what we did, and we did that by sealing her with blessed chains. 

I am writing this from the dungeon that will serve as her sealing location. The dungeon is said to be unconquerable, which makes it the perfect place to leave the Dark Lord. The room I—we are in now is the first safe room of five, which will function as our bases of rest and relaxation. Even though we are strong, we are surrounded by staggeringly difficult monsters, all of which are at the level cap. There is a silver lining. The seal we put on the entrance will prevent any more from spawning during our descent.  

Since I am a historian at heart, I will leave a tablet in each safe room to detail our journey towards the bottom. More than that, I do hope it will serve as a warning if this tablet is ever discovered and read.  

The ultimate evil will be resting at the bottom.  

To prevent anyone from reaching her, we have applied a special magical technique that eliminates the teleportation magic linking these safe rooms together the moment when unknown mana is sensed. The only path forward will be the long way, which is filled with peril and trouble. That is another reason to turn back and leave this place behind.  

Just penning these words down brings great pain to my heart because I value the past, present, and future. I live for history, and I believe everything should be written down so those that come after us will learn from our mistakes. Even still, I must stick to my gut and reason… 

I do not want anyone to read any of this, but I will leave tablets in each safe room because that is the least I can do.  

I am the recorder of history that will be forgotten in the coming generations.  

Murag. 

When my eyes scanned the name of this tablet’s author, it shattered in my hands. The shards rained down and crashed into the clay coffin, which also cracked into a thousand pieces. The corpse inside slowly descended until it laid against the verdant grass.  

Suddenly, an idea came to my mind as a gluttonous feeling welled up in my stomach. The taste of deliciousness danced atop my tongue.  

Error: You are not strong enough to use [Assimilation] on Susize! 

“So, you’re Susize, huh?” I asked, knowing the corpse couldn’t reply. 

It was headless, but that wasn’t the extent of the brutality I saw. It was like a monster had pierced through this body’s chest, then dragged out its claws to the left, ripping out flesh and bone. The blood that had spilled out had long since been dried by time. It was like I was staring at a mangled chew toy, but that didn’t explain the immaculate clothing I saw. I clearly saw the wounds underneath the green, lacy shirt. She also had gloves and pants covering her arms and lower body. The clothes would put even the highest quality of silk in my world to shame. 

A window appeared my vision and informed me the clothes were part of a set called the Favored Daughter’s Fateful Farewell. The way the greens and yellows playfully interacted allowed even someone like me to see the creator’s intended meaning. It was truly reserved for royalty. At least, that was the feeling I had gotten from it. 

I thought about stealing from the dead but abstained from doing so because there were four more coffins left.  Besides, I had gotten quite used to standing in the nude, but I didn’t know why. I didn’t even care if someone saw me naked. It isn’t as if I was going to feel embarrassed about it.  

More than that, the clothes just wouldn’t fit me. The lacy shirt was small, the underwear wasn’t big enough for my new ass, and the gloves, from sight alone, were too narrow in the fingers.  

But she didn’t just have clothes. There was a weapon lying right beside her. It was a recurve bow made of wood, I think, but the string was wrapped or smothered in pure gold, giving it a gaudy look.  

• Hunter of the Stars (1/10) 
  • Mana Link 

That was all the information I got from focusing on it. When I tried to pick it up, it just vanished. That was fine, though. Before it left, I focused on {Mana Link} and learned that it was an enchantment to link an item to yourself. And if it was broken, you could expunge mana to forcibly recreate it. In the case of a ranged weapon, your mana magically created the projectiles it fired, so there was no need for crafting ammo. I had no idea what (1/10) meant. Maybe it could hold 10 enchantments? 

That information did little to help me, but it was nice to know a little bit more about this world.  

“I’m staring at a corpse, yet I don’t feel anything. No fear, no worries… Just…nothing at all. Is that a side effect of the winds of infinite void? Or maybe what I’m feeling is normal, but the lack of any outward burst of emotion is why I’m feeling like this?” I just shrugged my head and adjusted the gloves I had stolen. Clothes had no way of helping the dead. I tossed what I couldn’t wear on top of the corpse as if it was a hamper.  

It was just as simple as that. 

That tablet answered a lot of questions. 

My head definitely used to be a part of Susize’s corpse. The arms had to be of Dark Elf origins, and this sturdy torso belonged to a Cowfolk. These legs once allowed Yaekira to speed across the desert.  

The penis was once owned by the Ashen Orc historian, Murag. Its unusual length and girth only made sense if it once belonged to an orc. That traitor Will once talked about the lewd stories he liked to read during lunch. One of his annoying quips was that he hated the fact that if there was an orc in the story, it would have a large cock. Again, it was one of those things where I just ignored him the best I could.  

Knowing the previous owners of my sewn-together existence helped just a tad bit, but that was all. It didn’t answer the primary question I had, which was how I obtained this body. Surely the Dark Lord wasn’t responsible for it. Why would she make something like this for me? Did she want me to free her? Did she turn me into a chimera to grant me a second chance? 

Is she behind those words I saw? What about a dungeon? This can’t be it, right? If it is, I don’t have to worry about any monsters. The entrance was sealed by Amos, but where is it? He shares the same title as Meruria, so the power must be comparable. 

I felt the very air tremble and quiver as the very space above me became distorted and cracked in half. Slowly, a person descended, but she wasn’t alone. She was crucified to a cross of pure white energy that somehow emitted no light. This woman was old and withered and naked, with thin bones, no hair, and skin so wrinkly and dry it seemed a small breeze would rip it from her body. Her eyes were closed, and she showed no signs of moving. 

Suddenly, her left leg was engulfed in flame darker and darker than the deepest night. It was then I realized that she had white chains embedded into her right leg, right arm, left arm, and heart. I presumed the coffins, tablets, and chains were acting as the Dark Lord’s seal. They only just showed themselves when I inadvertently broke the first one.  

At the same time, Susize’s corpse glowed a soft azure. Seconds later, the ethereal form of a headless woman with a gnarly chest wound separated itself from its earthly shell. With a solemn shrug of her shoulders, she walked and stood under the Dark Lord, the black flames acting as a symbol I was doing something right. 

Susize’s clothes followed her into death’s embrace. 

“Is this the beginning of my revenge?” I spoke to myself. After being in this body for a little while, the feminine, regal tone of my new voice started to sound normal. Even the pair of boobs started to feel like they were always been there. Was that what I truly thought? Or was it a trick being played on me to keep me calmer than I should have been? 

Did it even matter what kind of body I had? It was just a means to an end. Why, this chimerism was starting to feel a tad comfortable. 

For a few seconds, my mind went to the friends that stood up for my continued existence.  

Then I growled and threw their names from my mind because it turned out they wanted me to die so I’d be free of the pain. 

Those bastards... 

When [Wrath: Flames of Inexhaustible Indignation] is at 0, I really can’t feel any anger. I know it’s there, but it’s like it’s invisible... It seems it won’t be an influence on my decisions, which is good. I must keep a cool head.