Chapter 110

#110 Chapter Tin Knight and the Crimson Monster (2)

“Ugh, seriously! What is this?!”

Faced with a transparent barrier blocking her view, Dorothea was super irritated.

Thwack! Thwack!

The ebony staff, which had fallen from the status of a secret weapon in the finals to a mere wooden club, let out a pathetic whimper, but that didn’t matter to Dorothea as she swung it mercilessly.

Of course, she knew that her efforts wouldn’t break the barrier.

Even though the legendary adventurer was out there slicing and dicing with his sword mastery, it was arrogant to think she could just break it with a wooden stick.

But there was no other option.

After seeing Adel twisted in a strange position, she seriously considered using necromancy with all her might, but the pointless idea of calling forth an army of corpses against such a stubborn wall wouldn’t be of much use.

‘If Peter can’t break it, then swordsmanship isn’t gonna cut it. That leaves magic…’

The one who could thrive in this situation wasn’t the necromancer, the alchemist, or the enchantress.

It was the wizard.

Dorothea quickly scanned her surroundings.

In the bustling crowd, finding a specific person was quite a challenge, but the target’s striking appearance and the audience keeping their distance created a clear space where she managed to spot her.

“Hey, you!”

“It doesn’t seem dignified to address someone as ‘hey.’ Dorothea Aschengard.”

A girl with snow-white hair responded with an unexpectedly graceful demeanor. Alingd Goodwitch.

In that moment of chaos, seeing her calmly composed made Dorothea want to snap back, but then she remembered why she was here and stifled her impulse.

“Anyway, can you break that barrier?”

“Hmm.”

Alingd paused without changing her expression, then nodded.

“Yes, I can break it. In fact, I’m probably the only one here who can.”

“Then—”

“Then what?”

Cutting Dorothea off, Alingd countered.

“Surely you’re not asking me to break it right now? Do you have any idea what kind of disaster might happen if I did?”

Alingd gestured toward the inside of the arena.

There, the Tin Knight and Kalidahs were locked in an incredible battle that seemed to defy reality.

With each strike parried, feet dug into the ground, everything within reach was shattered by the passing swords and shockwaves, and just the magical forces colliding could bring a regular person to their doom.

“Right now, the reason the audience can watch in a daze is thanks to that barrier. In other words, the moment it goes down, this place turns into a scene of carnage.”

“I’m not saying to break it all. Just make a hole.”

“It’s just as dangerous.”

“I don’t have time for this. Just give me the bottom line.”

Dorothea was growing frantic.

She didn’t think the Tin Knight would lose, but leaving Adel, already seriously injured right beside that monster battle, was a totally different matter.

Seeing Alingd still silent, Dorothea narrowed her eyes.

After a moment of her lips twitching, she finally spoke with a reluctant expression.

“If necessary, I can pay the price—”

“Dorothea.”

A voice came from behind her, cutting off her words.

Turning her gaze, she saw Sophia shaking her head with a serious expression.

“Let’s go back.”

“But—”

“It’s okay. So, hurry.”

At Sophia’s words, Dorothea hesitated before closing her eyes.

And after opening them again, she said to Alingd.

“Forget it. I’m leaving.”

Alingd watched the two of them leave without hesitation, and once they were completely gone, she muttered softly.

“—How unfortunate.”

***

Trust the Tin Knight, Sophia told her.

Even in this uncomfortable wait, Dorothea felt that the waiting wasn’t pointless.

Because the Tin Knight had successfully severed Kalidahs’ body without involving Adel in the fight at all.

“Whew.”

Dorothea sighed a long breath.

When Kalidahs released an enormous sword wave toward Adel at the last moment, she thought they might be done for, but the Tin Knight’s response was flawless.

It was totally worth buying that expensive gear from Franka’s shop.

After Kalidahs fell, the barrier surrounding the area also began to crumble.

Sophia muttered suddenly.

“What a peculiar timing.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering Dorothea’s question, Sophia shook her head.

“I’ll tell you later. For now, we need to get to Adel.”

It was the right thing to say, so Dorothea nodded and jumped over the audience barrier into the arena.

She heard the bewildered voices of the staff and guards trying to stop her, but she gracefully ignored them.

The two of them quickly approached Adel and started treatment.

Aligning her twisted bones, applying medicine to her wounds, and finishing everything surgery-wise, Sophia then employed holy magic.

Though she’d tried to avoid using it in front of others, it was unavoidable in this situation.

To keep the visible characteristics at bay as much as possible, Dorothea poured her necromantic magic into Sophia.

Given the chaotic circumstances, she could only hope that others wouldn’t notice too much.

With Adel, who fainted from the pain of realigning her bones on her back, the two approached the Tin Knight.

Holding off on healing Adel must have drawn quite a crowd around the Tin Knight and Kalidahs.

“Hold on, you can’t come this way….”

Some guards tried to stop them, but the words trailed off.

They realized that the Tin Knight and the two were on the same team, and that the Tin Knight was Dorothea’s magical automaton.

Perhaps having witnessed the Tin Knight’s tremendous battle up close, they now felt a kind of awe.

“So, uh, can we talk for a second?”

Trakus, the lord, attempted to engage in conversation with an awkward expression while looking at Dorothea, and his face lit up when he spotted her.

“Ah, it’s a relief. I have a lot of questions to ask to understand this situation, would you be able to accompany me for a moment?”

Dorothea hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

She also had a lot of questions, and if she mishandled her response here, it could easily lead to being blamed as the culprit. Plus, there was the matter of Kalidahs’ belt to discuss.

It became a bit of a nuisance, and Dorothea glared at the body of the culprit behind this mess.

‘Huh?’

That was when something strange caught Dorothea’s eye.

Around Kalidahs, a red crack appeared for a moment and then disappeared.

It would have ended there if she brushed it off as just an optical illusion, but the fact that she had been sharing magic with Sophia just seconds ago bugged her.

“Sophia.”

Without going into detail, Dorothea lightly tapped her finger next to her eye, and Sophia immediately understood the hint.

Sophia’s red magical power flowed into Dorothea’s mind.

Reaching out toward the red crack that began to reappear, Dorothea extended her hand.

***

A long time ago, not so far back,

there was a woman who lived her life wielding a sword.

The woman was ordinary.

Once touted as a prodigy, her talent gradually faded with the passage of time.

But now, it felt too late to choose a different path; she couldn’t just abandon all that had been built.

One day, while living a lackluster existence, the woman encountered a mysterious armor.

The armor, resembling the forms of bears and tigers, granted her many gifts.

Superior skills, robust strength, and abundant magical power.

Strength itself was like treasure filling a warehouse.

After a life of hardship, she rediscovered generosity and cheer.

Her previously anxious nature became calmer, and her actions radiated the dignity of a strong individual.

However, there was a price to pay.

One day, when she took off the armor and looked in the mirror, she was horrified.

The face reflected there was not the one she remembered.

The red hair, the purple eyes, even the delicate features she once recognized had all vanished.

The image of her past was long gone.

Though fearful, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon the armor.

The power she had gained was too addictive.

Wrapping herself tightly in the armor, she made sure that neither others nor she could see her altered form.

Even if that meant accelerating her changes further, as long as nobody knew, that was enough to justify it in her own mind.

The woman failed to realize.

Or perhaps she turned away from the truth.

Her hatred toward the brilliant gold,

her grudge against the radiant purple.

The deep-seated murmurs stirring in her heart whenever she saw those who bore the name of lions.

By turning away and acting as if nothing was wrong, she managed to remain a woman.

Until the moment she caught a glimpse of the certain fragment that lay before her.

In the swell of emotions, she forgot herself.

And she realized that the name she had been using so carelessly was, in fact, that of the original owner of the armor.

The thoughts imprinted within the armor were a mere remnant compared to what its true master had held, yet it was a venom strong enough to consume her mind whole.

The woman fell into an irreversible sleep.

In her place, Kalidahs awakened.

And the purple eyes of the crimson monster stared at Dorothea.

***

“Ugh!”

Dorothea surreptitiously clutched her head.

Her heart raced.

The final gaze felt.

That wasn’t a simple illusion or an echo of someone else’s experience.

The monster’s eyes bore clear will and substance.

Somewhere in this world, it was still burning with resentment and hatred.

Seeing Sophia’s thoughtful expression, it seemed she had witnessed the same thing.

[‘Tin Knight’ seems puzzled if he alone missed the event scene!]

[‘Tin Knight’ complains that while he isn’t one to fuss over details or background lore, there’s still no excuse for being left out!]

[‘Tin Knight’ asks if it’s alright to loot this belt!]

“You are just… no, never mind. What can I even say?”

Dorothea shook her head.

Watching the carefree Tin Knight made her feel foolish for having sensed danger or seriousness earlier.

“Well, I see what you’re all thinking, but Kalidahs wasn’t like this from the start. I’m not defending her; I just thought it was worth mentioning.”

Dorothea processed Trakus’s sudden words, not quite grasping what he was saying until she recognized her own actions.

After all, the wizard who almost got cut down by Kalidahs had been silently brooding while looking at her, and it was no wonder it seemed he was harboring resentment.

Dorothea considered correcting the misunderstanding, but then decided to let it go.

It was easier not being able to explain Sophia’s powers anyway.

“My lord, what should we do about the champion’s body?”

“We can’t just leave it here, so let’s move it. It’s possible it was affected by some suspicious potion or magic, so we need to investigate.”

Following the lord’s command, several men rushed forward to lift Kalidahs.

Just then, when they were about to hoist her up, a crack formed.

At first, it was small.

That crack spread and spread, enveloping the entire armor.

“Uh, uh-oh?”

The crimson leather and iron plates, claws sharper than a beast’s, the bear emblem on the shoulder, the tiger-like helmet, and even the flesh preserved within began to split apart and crumble into dust.

Except for one thing.

Only the belt, burning like a flaming force, remained like an alien existence.

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