◆ Inside Avangarde Castle, West Corridor ◆
“Are you going to draw your sword? Well, even if you do, I’ll kill you. If you charge at me and try to strike again, I’ll kill you. If you attack from the left, I’ll kill you. From the right, above, below—I’ll kill you from every direction. Even if you land a hit, I’ll kill you. No matter how fast you are, I’ll kill you. Even if the world ends right here, I’ll kill you. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely kill you.”
With hair that only grows from one side of his head flailing wildly, Habaku muttered to himself in a crouched position. At the same time, a red aura began to rise from his entire body. What is this? Could it be that he transforms his killing intent directly into strength? If that’s the case, then all this talk about killing makes sense.
“Whether you’re one of the Five Elites, a Hero, a Demon Lord, a Divine Being, or even the Flash Strike Girl, I will absolutely, absolutely, absolutely kill you.”
“Kurinka, how are everyone’s injuries?”
“If I had been just a little later, it could have been dangerous. But I managed to stabilize them. It looks like things are getting scary over there…”
“Yeah, when it comes to ferocity, he’s not losing to any monster.”
Suddenly, a massive arm lunged toward me. I effortlessly dodged the two powerful arms trying to grab me, thinking for a moment that this was the extent of his speed. But as the tempo increased sharply, I felt a brush against me. Rather, with each strike he threw, his speed escalated.
Just as I suspected, he was indeed converting his killing intent into strength. If I think about it this way, he becomes a rather frightening opponent. The fact that my previous attacks didn’t seem to affect him much can be explained by this. Attacks lacking in murderous intent won’t work on him. This might be more of a trait than a skill. I can’t quite articulate it, but it feels like that.
“Well, whatever. Hey, why did you go so far as to hurt Ai and the others?”
“Because it pissed me off! Ever since I was a kid, just seeing humans makes my skin crawl! It infuriates me that a mere human dares to voice their opinion! You think so too, right? Fellow kind?”
Does he know about my origins? Why, how?
“I don’t really understand, but I can’t forgive you for trying to kill the people I care about.”
“What do you mean by ‘forgive’?!”
“I mean I’ll kill you.”
“You think a soft-hearted brat like you can kill anyone?!”
This might be his last line. Right now, I slammed my fist against his. Skin, bone, muscle—each layer crumbled and exploded in succession. In other words, his arm vanished. Of course, I wouldn’t give him the chance to suffer from the pain. Without hesitation, I destroyed both arms in the same manner, then pinned his massive neck down and slammed him to the floor.
Chunks of the castle’s beautiful floor scattered as Habaku collapsed, buried beneath the debris. If I keep him pinned like this, he won’t be able to breathe and will die. Let him suffer; after all, he hurt the people I cherish.
“Guggh… Ah…!”
“Well, now that you’ve lost both arms and are bleeding profusely, this is quite the predicament. Which would you prefer: dying from not being able to breathe or bleeding out?”
“…! …!”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
His complexion began to change, and if this continued, he would truly die. Of course, I intended to kill him.
“Lua-chan, that’s enough…”
“Yeah, I know.”
Kurinka, who had been focused on healing the others, had somehow come close. The moment I released my grip from his neck, Habaku launched a headbutt at me. His face was twisted with rage and humiliation, yet there was still no sign of surrender. Letting out a bizarre cry that resembled a beast, he attempted to rise using only his legs.
Normally, after being treated like this, one would be paralyzed with fear and lose their will to fight, but his determination was astounding. It seemed he could sense my killing intent, and perhaps he had seen through my reluctance to truly kill him.
“You bastard! You dare to take my arms?!”
“You hurt others without a second thought, yet you get angry when it happens to you?”
“I had my suspicions, but—”
Shin, peeking out from his bag of tools, observed the towering man. Despite being so close, he showed no fear, perhaps because I was here. While I was glad he trusted me, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being used.
“That guy might be of Giant Race descent. His physique and gaze are subtly different from that of a human.”
“Giant Race? What’s that? Is it different from the Demon Race?”
“They possess high physical abilities alongside the Beastkin, and like the Demon Race, they were exterminated by humans. It seems he might carry the blood of a survivor.”
“Y-Yes… that’s right. My bloodline is of the Giant Race.”
Even as he gasped for breath, his ferocious gaze was directed at me in defiance. And the blood that had been flowing from where his arms used to be had somehow stopped. I had thought that if things got bad, Kurinka could heal him, but that was a foolish assumption. There was no way they would grow back. I was beginning to regret going too far, as my anger had clouded my judgment.
“I only learned of my lineage recently. If humans destroyed my ancestors, then I see no problem in doing the same. It’s karma, just as they said…”
“Them?”
“Do you think you can still live in human society after discovering your origins? You must already feel it—the situation where those with abilities like yours are being ostracized… And yet, you still want to cling to those humans? I can’t understand it at all, having lived my life in fear.”
——There’s no value in protecting this world.
I recalled Eeks’ words. The world he saw and the one Habaku saw might be closer than I thought. Living in such a way could lead one to hate humans. If I hadn’t reunited with Kurinka, I might have walked the same path, and that thought terrified me.
But that’s precisely why I want to spend time with Kurinka. I want to cherish the people I’ve met so far. I love Ai and the others. As for Ord, well, I’ve come to respect him a bit lately.
“Humans treat even the slightest difference as heresy and seek to eliminate it. They would throw stones at me just for looking different from them. That’s why I decided to join them. Soon… this world will be slaughtered.”
Habaku’s voice dropped even lower, emphasizing the end of his statement.
“By the Phantoms.”
“Phan…tom.”
Hearing that word again brought back memories of events related to it. There was a time when I was inexplicably targeted. The adventurers and common folk who attacked me had claimed that name as well. But those people knew nothing. The Phantoms were not just one or two. If something so elusive were to attack, how could we possibly fight back?
No matter how strong I was, I couldn’t fight an opponent that wasn’t there. It wasn’t just that they were invisible; they didn’t exist at all. That was how elusive they were. And now, that name had come from his mouth. Was he also a Phantom? What kind of beings were they?
“Hey, what are Phantoms?”
“I told you, soon you’ll find out whether you like it or not.”
“What are Phantoms? Are they like the Demon Lord Army?”
“Heh, that’s proof you’re scared. Good, good… Kukekeke.”
Habaku began to laugh, sounding like some kind of beast. In the end, he wouldn’t tell me anything.
“Habaku, Mi was mostly unharmed and safe, but if anything were to happen to such a small child, I would get seriously angry, you know?”
From Kurinka’s back, dragon wings sprouted. It was probably unconscious.
“Ngh…! How dare you, little girl…!”
Kurinka had never shown such intimidation before, a clear sign that she was losing control of her emotions and power. The massive man who hadn’t flinched at my attack now showed a hint of retreat.
Even so, Habaku was filled with fighting spirit despite having lost both arms. I thought he would lose his will to fight, but I had underestimated him. If King Kashiram were here, he might even commend that fighting spirit. I hoped he wouldn’t.
“Since all four of them seem to be safe, I’ll let you go this time, Habaku. If you continue this, I’ll draw my sword, Disballade. If you kneel and apologize, I might consider forgiving you.”
“Ugh… how could I… be brought low by a mere child—”
“Why not just leave?”
The blade passed cleanly through Habaku’s neck.
“Ah…”
I let out a foolish sound, shocked.
Without a drop of blood, Habaku’s head flew up to the ceiling.
“Ufufu.”
His large body maintained the posture it had while alive. It almost seemed like it didn’t yet realize its head was gone.
“Why… did you kill him?”
“Why can’t you kill even such a villain? Oh, could it be my fault?”
Yes, I didn’t want to see someone die right in front of me. This trauma-inducing emotion was instilled by this person. The beginning of our journey, the thing we had been pursuing, was now so close. From the depths of the corridor, something elegant and composed was walking toward us.
“Did you know? As an S-rank, I can kill on my own discretion. After all, I’m a being granted special privileges. The fact that I killed this person was my own decision, and to some extent, I’m allowed to do whatever I want.”
She wore an emerald-glimmering breastplate, with shoulder guards that resembled sharp, elongated beaks. The surface of her armor clung tightly to a black suit, reminiscent of a diamond pattern. While her gear could certainly be considered light, its true capabilities were unfathomable. Until now, I had only seen her fight in casual attire. Her silhouette was like a triangle formed by slender emerald rods, stretching out like wings from her back. It was as if—
“Hey, what about those wing-like things…?”
“Oh, these? I broke one ten years ago. It was humiliating, truly humiliating. So, I haven’t repaired it since then. I won’t do anything to erase that humiliation, and by keeping it this way, I might be able to fight that person again. You know who I mean, right?”
Her lips moved sensually, but her words belonged to someone who lived entirely for battle. With her cute ponytail swaying, she laughed joyfully.
“Where is that person, Eeks? I want to fight again, hehehe!”
Neither Kurinka nor I wanted to accept this reality. After all, she had never worn that armor in front of us, which meant she didn’t want us to remember what happened that day. She had pretended to be forgetful, slipping through battles during the Combat Tournament and the defense of the Garden of Beasts. This not only underscored her true strength but also highlighted how extraordinary it was to keep such a secret at the cost of her life.
“Ah, you… you destroyed our village…”
“Yes, Roel… or was it Kurinka? I had no choice; I was ordered to do it ten years ago. Yes, I had no choice.”
So, this person had annihilated Ikana Village when she was probably not much older than I am now. Just because she was ordered to, she committed such a brutal act. I struggled to steady my trembling legs. I didn’t dislike her; in fact, I had always wanted to face her in a serious duel. Perhaps we could even become friends. But that was a sweet fantasy.
And the one I had always thought of as a demon was not a demon at all. I wanted to blame myself for having assumed she was one, despite only seeing her small silhouette from afar.
“The One-Winged Demon…”
But I couldn’t help but whisper it. Just now, she had killed someone and yet was quietly laughing as if she found it amusing.
“Did you enjoy your revenge hunt? This is the end… hehehe, hehehehe!”
“Tiferia! How could someone like you…!”
Tiferia, or rather, Tiferia was laughing uncontrollably, as if to say my question was foolish.
“Did you kill everyone in the village?”
“Do you think I’d be let off the hook if I said I didn’t? Hehe, hehehe!”
Do I really have to defeat this demon? No, that was a foolish question.
“Tiferia… you’re ready, aren’t you?”
Strangely, my mind felt clear. After all, the one before me was a demon, a demon who wouldn’t care about killing. Worse than any monster, this was the kind of demon Ganoas spoke of—a grotesque creature merely wearing a human guise.
【The One-Winged Demon Tiferia has appeared! HP: ?????】
“Do you think you can kill me? Come on, give it a try?”
She tilted her head provocatively, her neck stretching like that of a demon. Eeks, perhaps there is no hope here. This demon might have devoured everything.
◆ Shin Report ◆
Chop!
Hmm, that half-bald one—could it be that the giant race, like the dragon race, might be hiding somewhere in this world, living quietly? Just like the demons. But, chop! Oh, I shouldn’t repeat the same joke more than once.
Is that woman the demon Rua and the others have been chasing? I see, from a child’s perspective, she must have looked like a demon. As the months passed, Rua truly began to believe she was a demon. No wonder she couldn’t be found.
But still, this was all part of that woman’s game. If I were to remain calm, I would fall right into her trap. By the way, if the battle is about to begin, could you release Shin? Oh, um, the string of my item pouch got caught around my neck, and I just realized…