Overpowered Reincarnation Perks! - Chapter 21.2

When the investigator attacked Bill, despite striking so close, there was hardly any muscle or organ damage compared to the amount of blood that splattered. Considering the distance, it wouldn’t have been strange if his internal organs were damaged. Maybe it’s surprisingly weak for direct cutting.

‘No, maybe… it’s not a weapon meant for attacking with the blade itself.’

I’ve seen Dienes use this twice.

Once, when cutting the rope that bound my wrists in the prison, and once when he cut my skirt and underwear as I tried to escape.

He just slashed it in the air, but only the rope or clothes were cut without a single wound on my body.

The mana stone button at the end of the rod is not just there to hide and pop out the blade. I wonder if it’s there to designate a desired target and cut only that.

As I was staring at the tip of the knife and about to put my finger on it, I heard Dienes’ voice.

“That knife has poor killing power. It’s not meant for actual cutting.”

Startled, I turned around to see Dienes looking at me with narrowed eyes, apparently having woken up at some point.

I unconsciously gripped the knife tightly.

Dienes didn’t seem flustered or wary at all, seeing me holding the knife. He didn’t push me away or subdue me, nor did he try to take the weapon.

He just silently looked at me while lying down as if tired.

“Um, this is…”

“If you’re going to stab, here.”

As I was about to make excuses for the situation of holding the knife out of preemptive fear, he instead traced and pointed to the carotid artery area below his jawbone.

“If you stab deeply here, you can kill me instantly.”

“….”

“If you want me to die painfully, you can stab elsewhere, but as I said, it’s an item with poor killing power, so you won’t die from moderate stabbing.”

He was kindly telling me how to instantly kill him.

Even though I was holding a knife, he didn’t feel threatened at all, as if saying ‘stab if you want to’.

No, rather… as if he wanted me to kill him.

‘What kind of man is this?’

My hand suddenly started shaking, so I quickly pressed the button to retract the blade and pushed the rod under the altar, dropping it.

If I kept holding it, it felt like Dienes might kindly guide my hand to stab his neck. I became afraid that this man might commit suicide right in front of my eyes.

“You’re not going to stab?”

“What, what are you saying?”

“If you kill me, you can escape from here.”

Green eyes that seemed to ask if I didn’t want to escape from him. That calm poison might have been directed at Dienes himself rather than to threaten me.

This person is in a state of [Severe Apathy], with no attachment to survival.

I felt chilled as I recalled the phrase I had seen in Dienes’s status window.

“If, if you’re going to commit suicide, do it alone! Don’t drag me into it!”

“Should I?”

Dienes slightly raised his body to pick up the knife that had fallen under the altar.

“Are you crazy? Don’t do it!”

As I frantically grabbed and clung to Dienes’ arm, he made a puzzled expression as if he hadn’t expected me to stop him. His slowly blinking eyelashes cast long shadows over his eyes.

“Didn’t you dislike me?”

“I may dislike you, but how does that connect to this? Who wouldn’t try to stop someone about to die right in front of them!”

“But if I stay alive, you’ll suffer again.”

“Then think about changing your attitude while you’re alive! Don’t think about running away in death after doing everything you’ve done, after hurting me so much!”

My lips trembled and tears suddenly poured from my eyes. I was the one holding the knife, and Dienes was the one who wanted to die, but I don’t know why I feel so threatened.

“Why is Dienes so extreme? Why don’t you try to talk to me?”

“It was you who refused to talk to me, Ju-in.”

“That’s because you’re so scary!”

Waaah. I hugged Dienes’ arm tightly and cried miserably. I don’t know why I’m crying like this when I’m neither sad nor feeling wronged. Maybe it’s because the emotions he felt in the past scenery I glimpsed through insight are flowing into me.

Dienes let me hold onto him obediently. He didn’t push me away, but he didn’t comfort me either. I know. It’s greedy to expect such a kind attitude from a consistently cold man.

“Ju-in.”

“Hic, waaah…”

“This is strange. I thought I liked seeing your tears.”

Dienes slowly stroked the back of my head, then pulled my head into his embrace and held it down.

“I don’t want to see them now.”

So it’s okay when I cry because he torments me, but he doesn’t like it when I’m just crying out of sadness.

“You really have a bad personality. Waaah.”

Even though I was crying my throat hoarse, Dienes didn’t comfort me and just held me tightly. He held me so tight it was hard to breathe, and buried his nose in my hair.

It seemed like that was the maximum emotional expression possible for Dienes, who couldn’t understand his own feelings or those of others, which made me even sadder.

Why is this person so clumsy, so rigid, so distorted and hardened? He could have lived a better life, a life feeling pleasant and comfortable emotions.

Does Dienes know how I feel, crying my heart out when it’s not even time to cry, because of him who can’t cry when he should?

He probably doesn’t. He probably just thinks it’s unpleasant to see a crying face that doesn’t even know to be grateful.

‘You jerk.’

I scratched Dienes’s back hard with my nails. Ugh. He groaned softly and rubbed my lower back.

It was probably a signal to stop, but to me it felt like a clumsy gesture of comfort. Just as his warm hair smelling of sunlight flowed over my shoulder, my crying began to subside a little.

Dong dong dong dong. Along with the sound of a bronze bell ringing, a long trumpet signal followed.

“It’s an attack.”

“What?”

“Eastern city, sector 21. Fourteen monsters.”

Dienes explained the situation to me as if he understood the signal from the sound.

If monsters have invaded the castle, the eastern city must already be in chaos, but he was as calm as someone who didn’t know the urgency of the situation.

If he’s the commander, shouldn’t he quickly command the soldiers to go catch the monsters? What is he doing?

“Dienes. Let’s go up quickly!”

“Let’s go together.”

“What?”

Dienes stood up, holding me.

***

The outer castle of the central palace was originally a space where low-ranking soldiers resided, but now it has become an exclusive area for monster hunters invited to the castle.

“It’s boring. No hunting, no missions.”

“Who cares. Just enjoy it like a vacation.”

“That’s fine for a day or two. It’s hard enough to meet people outside as they slink away, but that so-called commander hasn’t shown his face for a week, rolling around with a woman.”

“Ah, that’s enviable!”

The sound of chuckling laughter grew louder. Senes quietly stood up from his seat.

“Senes. Where are you going?”

“We’re out of alcohol. I’ll go get some from the warehouse.”

“Oh, as expected of an elite. Good sense.”

“While you’re at it, can’t we raid the commander’s alcohol storage? They say he keeps all sorts of rare liquors to himself.”