Chapter 81

The tragic hero, Claire.

To be honest, I kinda looked down on him.

I’ve never even seen him. Claire quietly grew up on the continent and met a miserable end in the Demon Forest while my past self was locked away in the family estate during that time.

Thus, the Claire I knew was merely a few words in history. A humble knight without any glorious achievements or fancy titles like the other heroes. Naturally, there was no choice but to underestimate him.

But it seems I may have underestimated him too much.

“Ah!”

A finely sharpened blade whizzes by dangerously close. I nearly lost an arm for nothing.

“Is that Imperial Swordsmanship? And the main style at that?”

“You little-”

“The energy is nothing special, but the sword skill level is quite impressive. Looks like you’ve practiced a lot, huh?”

It seems impossible to make Claire kneel using just cards. If I used the <Joker> card, it would be easy to capture him, but I can’t use that card here. It’d be such a waste to use it on this guy.

But my weapons aren’t limited to just cards.

Pffft!

“Guh!”

“Does it hurt? Does it hurt?”

“Strange weapon…! Where did you hide such a truncheon…!”

I pulled out a magic staff from Arachne’s broomstick and struck Claire’s head. The skin on his forehead split open, splattering a bit of blood. Claire gritted his lower lip and swallowed the pain.

Though the magic staff has become weaker recently thanks to Aru, it’s still more than enough to smash in a mere human’s skull.

“That stick! I’ll cut it in one stroke!”

Whoosh!

Claire swung his sword horizontally to slice my magic staff in two.

An impeccably refined strike, but my magic staff isn’t so fragile as to be cut by some iron sword.

Clang!

The clear sound of the clash between sword and staff echoes. Clang, clang clang. The sounds continued as I swung the magic staff in sync with the hero’s tempo.

“Why can’t you cut it? You said you’d cut it in one stroke!”

“Tch…! This weapon is surprisingly sturdy!”

“The essence of Imperial Swordsmanship is cutting through all ‘matter’! You haven’t reached that level yet!”

“Hold your tongue! Why are you talking so much during a fight!”

Uuurgh…

This won’t do. The Sun Technique gathers in the hero’s iron sword, which he previously emitted from his mouth. The golden flames swirling around the sword fly fiercely.

The sword raises its head. The sun that was crouching reveals its true power. Even though I’m covered in clothes, my thin skin tingles unpleasantly.

I also need to step up my game. There will be some overload later, but it’s not something that can’t be handled.

I channel magical energy into the magic staff. The magical energy flows up through my veins, filling the thin stick via my wrist.

Purple droplets drip from the tip of the magic staff. The ground where the droplets land hisses, and white smoke rises. They’ll soon scorch the hero’s bare skin hot.

“Spread out!”

There’s no rule that says I must attack by striking. Don’t be stuck in one-dimensional thinking. There’s no field that requires more flexible thinking than a battle.

I grabbed the magic staff like a whip and slashed it through the air. The hero watched the slashing magic staff with eyes full of questions, but soon realized its purpose and hastily created distance.

“Kruh…”

The magical energy droplets splashed onto the blonde boy’s hair. The sight of golden hair mixed with purple isn’t a pleasant one.

When the droplets spread to his skin, dangerous things would happen. Realizing this, Claire cut off his own hair with his sword. His shining golden long hair became short hair.

“Not bad judgment, hero.”

“What a ridiculous move!”

“Call it a creative move if you want.”

The severed hair quickly corroded, turning into purple ash. Seeing this, Claire swallowed his dry saliva. A life-threatening real battle where a moment’s mistake could cost his life. For someone who grew up pampered in the empire, this is probably his first time experiencing something like this.

I don’t plan to give him time to figure out a solution. Confirming the power of the scattered magical energy droplets, I immediately rushed toward Claire, starting our second round.

The magical energy was strong, but the Sun Technique was no less powerful. In fact, if we only compare the raw energy, the Sun Technique might be even stronger. After all, wasn’t the root of magical energy, the Demon God, originally ranked below the Supreme God?

Clang! Kaboom!

However, what Claire needs to focus on isn’t just my magic staff. Every time the magic staff clashes with the sword, magical energy droplets explode in all directions. Claire had to block or dodge all of them, so the battle remained evenly matched.

But maintaining an even match means I have the advantage. With each attack, Claire uses a lot of Sun Technique, while I only use minimal magical energy to toy with him. Magical energy is the accumulation of the most vile and nasty things.

Even a small amount of magical energy has unmatched destructive power, so Claire must exert extreme concentration every moment. If even a single droplet touches his body, he’ll have to cut off that part immediately.

On the other hand, I’m simply playing around with the magical energy. While I’m slightly disadvantaged when grappling with Claire, battles aren’t decided by strength alone. When I make the magical energy explode like bombs, Claire has no choice but to jump back.

Naturally, as time passes, I gain the upper hand. While Claire gets more tired, I’m just enjoying myself.

Of course, I don’t plan to play around forever. Heroes are masters of growth. Who knows when he might suddenly awaken and unleash the advanced form of the Sun Technique, the Heavenly King Technique.

Kakakak!

“Haaak, haaak…!”

Hmm, looks like he’s already exhausted. The hero’s breathing is rough, like someone who just sprinted all-out. That’s understandable. The Sun Technique consumes a lot of stamina despite its great power.

“This is almost over.”

“…, KRAAAHHH…!”

Kakakak!

What a weak battle cry. Together with the weakened battle cry, the hero’s sword presses against my magic staff. Trying to pull my magic staff out of his territory, I lightly pulled, but the staff didn’t budge easily.

“Is this the Settling the Blade technique from Imperial Swordsmanship? That’s a difficult skill, but the completion level is truly remarkable. If only the spirit had awakened, you could have reached the peerless rank.”

Holding the sword with both hands, Claire lowers my magic staff. Using both hands means being at a disadvantage in terms of strength, but it’s not a significant issue. Probably trying to nullify my defense strategy, but how does he plan to attack?

Instead, now I have one free hand. Just as I was about to throw a punch to crush Claire’s face…

“HAAAAAAP-!”

I saw it. The wide-open mouth dominating my view.

He’s going to fire another beam from his mouth, huh? The battle cry was to gather energy, and lowering the magic staff was to take a direct hit from the beam, right?

Probably after much thought, he concluded that if this continues, he’ll definitely lose.

“Pretty reckless.”

Claire’s mouth filled with Sun Technique. Like it’s about to explode and incinerate everything in front, the energy glows fiercely in his throat.

Without stopping the thrust of my hand, I accelerated it even more.

Bang!

“…!”

“Then, isn’t this too naive? Using the same technique twice? Your rookie tendencies are showing.”

My fist struck Claire’s chin. The wide-open mouth of Claire went “GONG!” and closed. I didn’t stop there; I grabbed and fixed his mouth shut so he couldn’t reopen it.

Claire’s eyes widened. He flailed desperately, but it was meaningless. I’m not the kind of hunter who lets go of prey once caught.

KABOOM!

“…!!”

“Hehe, what a satisfying explosion.”

An explosion sound comes from inside the hero’s mouth. Claire’s golden eyes rolled back as if having a seizure. I held his mouth shut with one hand and chuckled.

KABOOOM!

The explosion continued. The insides of the hero’s body are probably currently being torn apart.

How much time has passed?

The convulsing arms and legs slowly went limp. Claire’s eyes turned white. He probably never imagined that the attack he prepared would explode inside his own mouth.

I never imagined he’d prepare such a foolish attack. Because he lacks experience in life-or-death battles.

We experienced it this time, but it’s unfortunate. This experience will be Claire’s last.

To ensure his final breath is cut off, I brought the magic staff to Claire’s neck. Barely retaining some consciousness, Claire managed to kick me with his leg.

Pfft!

“Oof, quite solid.”

“…, Gruh…!”

Creating distance, Claire immediately gripped his sword and took a fighting stance, but his legs were shaking uncontrollably. My victory was clearly foreseen.

Still, I need to be careful about the Sun Technique. I don’t want to give the slightest chance for a reversal to an enemy I’ve already cornered.

Just as I reaffirmed this in my heart and was about to adjust the magic staff…

Puuk.

A short but heavy sound seeped into my ears.

Both Claire’s and my heads turned simultaneously.

“Grk, ugh…!”

“Master, it’s over.”

Right where our gazes met, Beatrix had plunged her sword into the Great Warrior’s chest.

Blood spurted from the Great Warrior’s nose and mouth. Without hesitation, Beatrix pulled out the sword and drew it back like an archer.

Sliiiish.

With no emotion, she swung the sword, cleanly severing the Great Warrior’s head in a monotonous manner. A brutal fountain of blood gushed out. The Great Warrior’s head rolled on the ground.

Beatrix wasn’t alone.

Bang!

“Finally caught you! You absurd ones!”

“Gruh…!”

“Cough…!”

“Now it’s my turn to counterattack! Whether you weaklings can withstand even for a moment, I’m not sure!”

The elf archer and mage from the Hero Party fell into Yohan’s grasp. They tried to hold out using magic and ranged attacks, but it was all just buying time.

Yohan’s thick hands tightly gripped the delicate necks of the elf and mage. Soon, veins seemed to appear red in his hands.

Crack!

Mercy doesn’t exist in death. The same goes for the Great Warrior who was beheaded by Beatrix earlier, and the two lives that are about to be taken by Yohan’s hands now.

“You bastard, finally kneeling, huh?”

“Aaah!”

Uriel’s battle also ended. Perhaps out of consideration for being fellow clerics, the Hero Party’s priest didn’t suffer the tragic fate of a broken or severed neck. Instead, Uriel restrained the priest’s arms with holy power and subdued him by bending them backward.

At least he’s earning his keep. How commendable.

Whereas some pet dogs don’t even show their faces in their master’s fights, Uriel, whom I thought was just a bug-eater, managed to handle his share. Maybe it’s time to demote Aru to a pet insect and promote Uriel to a proper pet.

“Bayan! Arael! Rike!! Carolin!!”

The dazed Claire shouts their names at the top of his lungs. Those were their names, huh? I don’t really want to remember them.

It seems he’s lost his mind from the deaths of his comrades. Claire shuffles his feet toward where the corpses of the Great Warrior, elf, and mage lie.

Puuk!

“What are you doing!? Lost your mind!?”

“Guh…!”

What a stupid move. I didn’t miss the moment of carelessness and immediately rushed forward, piercing Claire’s abdomen with the magic staff. As internal organs were crushed, Claire tumbled pathetically onto the ground.

Rolling around, Claire ended up right in front of the corpse he desired so much—the corpse of the Great Warrior whose head was cut off by Beatrix earlier.

“…Uh.”

Claire planted his sword in reverse grip into the ground. It’s to somehow prop up his increasingly burdensome body—not standing, but rather sitting on his knees.

Claire caresses the rapidly cooling corpse. The chill of the dead spreads here. Finding it quite unpleasant, I quietly approached the hero’s back. To stab him in the neck while he’s distracted.

“…Ah.”

Has he completely lost his mind? Claire remains motionless in front of the corpse called Bayan, moving only his trembling hand to touch the clean-cut neck of the Great Warrior.

Unfortunately, from my position, I can’t see Claire’s face, but by now, Claire’s eyes are probably filled with the void of panic. Not even considering my approach from behind.

Things are going smoothly. I’ve already reached right behind the blonde boy and secured a position to pierce his neck with the magic staff.

All that’s left is murder.

There’s no hesitation. It’s as natural to me as breathing. Feeling a small thrill, I loaded magical energy into the magic staff and swung it without hesitation.

Or rather, I tried to swing it. If the hero hadn’t spoken at that exact moment, if his heavy voice hadn’t pierced my eardrums, I wouldn’t have stopped and taken his life.

“Did you say he lost his mind?”

“…Hmm?”

The air currents are hot. For some reason, the air reaching my lungs feels sticky. The environment should be cold due to the chill from the corpses, yet it’s strangely fiery.

“Yeah, he lost it.”

“Just a sec, just a sec. Is this what I think it is? Someone please tell me it’s not.”

“With witnessing the deaths of comrades… how could one not lose their mind?”

“No, it’s not that. One shouldn’t lose their mind over just this. How can you live in this world if you’re swayed by such trivial matters?”

Simultaneously speaking, I quickly swung the magic staff. An instinctive sense of danger made all the hairs on my body stand on end. I attacked as if chased.

However…

Bang!

“Didn’t you just say… what?”

“Damn, messed up.”

The hero catching my attack far too easily. The hand gripping the magic staff should be burning up right now, yet the blue flames surrounding the hero’s hand burn away the magical energy.

“‘Trivial,’ you say? About the deaths of Bayan, Arael, Rike—?”

Flare!

Not just his hands. The hero’s entire body is blazing with blue flames. His once blond hair, now dyed blue, shoots upward into the sky.

The awakened form of the Solar Technique, the Heavenly King Technique.

When warriors known as heroes reach the ‘absolute strongest’ level, this energy manifests. It engulfs the forest, emanating from the hero Claire.

The feared event has occurred.

The awakening of the hero. The deaths of his comrades triggered it.

“Master! Dangerous! Retreat immediately!”

“Hey, Leader! This energy is not normal!”

“Demons! Get away! The energy is immense!”

“Clare? Clare! What’s happening!”

Everyone stay back! It’s dangerous!”

“Right here, destroy all evil demons.”

Together with the surreal sight of the field filled with fluctuating blue light,

The azure flames engulfed me.

***

Shhh.

A gentle breeze brushed past the wolf girl’s cheek. Her steps momentarily paused.

A faint sense of unease was felt. The girl stopped walking and looked back.

“Your Majesty, where is your heart?”

When the wolf who should have been walking together stopped at the halt of the king, the old and weary wolf also turned around to inquire about the king’s well-being.

“Perhaps, is something worrying you…?”

The king briefly tilted his head, then resumed walking shortly after.

“Nope. Woof, let’s go.”

For some reason, unease crept in, but the king shook his head to dispel it. An important ritual of his lifetime was approaching, so he couldn’t be swayed by distractions.

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