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Since I had my back turned on my enemy, it would be hard to avoid that attack. Having allowed the attack due to a momentary opening, it took my all just letting go of the thread and leap forward.

I barely avoided a direct attack, but it still impacted my back with force, blowing me far away. I bounced twice on the floor and slammed into a wall where I finally came to a stop.

“Gah-ha!?”

The impact put pressure on my lungs, driving the air out and turning my vision dark. My head hung down, and I barely managed to regain my fading consciousness forcefully.

I had to keep myself conscious no matter what. It was dangerous to faint in the middle of a battle of course, but this time, it was more because he, who used to be Cain, had turned his attention towards the fainted and bound Michelle, once he blew me away.

The three guards pulled their swords and stood ready, but the sudden transformation of their “Boss” petrified them in place. With the way they were, their heads would fly instantly once Cain attacked them.

“Don’t f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g go there—!”

To get his attention back to me, I stood up with tottering steps and pointed my katana toward him. If he headed toward Michelle and others who couldn’t resist, he would kill them with one attack.

I had to keep him concentrated on me no matter what. Having said that, I had no way of dealing the decisive blow to him. Threads had a bad affinity with him who had combined with a plant-type monster and stopped breathing. My katana also couldn’t deal the decisive blow since his Troll’s skin got in the way. Above all, most of his wounds even regenerated automatically.

Moreover, he seemed to be evolving further after coming face to face with danger… or perhaps it was better to say he was eroded further? His hanging neck was stretched, while limbs grew longer and thicker, and ankles got reversed.

That was no longer a human silhouette. Seeing that, the three watchmen’s legs gave out and they sank to the floor. Not just that, there was even a puddle forming on the floor. Their wills were completely broken. They could no longer fulfill their guarding duty.

To keep his attention on me and away from Michelle’s group, I did what would be called a reckless charge. I used thread enhancement and also manipulated the interior of my body, aiming to cut off his leg with all my strength.

But even when my katana landed, it stopped after reaching a halfway point. That also meant that my movements were sealed too.

The dim illumination flickered for a moment. It was a sign that his arm was raised over my head. Then, the shadow of his twisted nails fell on my face. Those nails seemed to have also transformed so they would easily shred humans to pieces.

“Kh—”

If it hit me, my head would be split open without a doubt. And like a pomegranate at that. Realizing that, I let go of my katana and jumped back. But I was a moment too late, and the tip of his nail scratched my chest. Blood spurted out and I fell to my knee.

“S̲h̲i̲t̲… I could’ve gotten away if they hadn’t grown so f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g long.”

It didn’t reach the bone. It also missed important blood vessels. That said, I was bleeding a lot so it would be dangerous at this rate. I had to quickly deal with him, so I could lose my consciousness.

“I lost my weapon, and I’m bleeding a lot. Looks like it’s turned really dangerous now.”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooaahhhh…”

He who used to be Cain, couldn’t even speak human words any longer. Perhaps his vocal cords also changed as the neck extended. He transformed abnormally to match the partial monsterification. That was no longer a human, a Fungus, or even a Troll.

There were things like horns coming from his elbow and knee joints, no longer looking human in any way. He was turning into something more aggressive, more atrocious. The wound on his elbow was already healed. My katana was also pushed out by the swelling flesh.

“Okay, what should I do…”

I didn’t know how he compounded that drug. It wasn’t a decent drug, considering he just sought more power. He was treating commoners like trash from the start. He probably just mixed the illegal drug into the soldiers’ food just to cast them aside once they served their use.

And the result of that drug was before me now.

My earlier attack where I used all my power should’ve had enough power to even overcome Lyell. But that attack only managed to cut halfway through his leg.

It wasn’t just his skin. Even the insides have transformed into something that wasn’t flesh. There was no blood in the cut, in fact.

The next thing I thought of was to transform into Reid and then use Enchant and other things. Given my other body, it should be able to output far more power compared to Nicole’s. The level of strengthening would definitely be even higher. Fortunately, the Polymorph scroll was usable now since I haven’t met Cortina in a while.

I had the scroll spare in the waist pouch too.

“But still… I don’t think I can win with that either.”

If I returned to Reid, I would certainly grow stronger. However, his body also kept evolving after getting wounded. His joints even started growing horns for both offensive and defensive use.

“He evolved further after changing his form. Then I too will turn into someone strong who can break through that.”

I didn’t even need to think about that form. After all, there was a man who personified the hero that I was aiming to become. But doing that would mean—

“Like hell if I care. In order for me to overcome myself… I’ll abandon who I am!”

I pulled out the scroll and activated the Polymorph spell. I was already used to the creaking pain that followed it.

“A-Ahhh…AGGHHHHHHHHH!!”

My height became taller than I normally was. My body became thicker than I normally was. Under my skin, muscles were packed to the brim, yet they didn’t get in the way of my movements. Moreover, they were muscles of the finest quality.

The bones supporting those muscles also grew firm and strong. It was a body that wouldn’t be perturbed by minor impacts. Even if my Gifts didn’t change, I still have clearly become a superior being as a fighter.

It was the form of the hero that I aimed for—the form of Lyell.

The Polymorph spell allowed you to transform into the target form that you knew very well. For better or worse, I had seen Lyell’s body very often. We entered public baths together during my previous life, and albeit reluctantly, I’ve also entered baths together with him even in this life. When I was a baby.

For that reason, and not in a weird way, I was very knowledgeable about his body structure. That fact proved to be useful for me this time.

“Sorry to make you wait, monster. Don’t think you’re the only one who can transform!”

With an atrocious smile on Lyell’s reserved face, I beckoned him to come at me.