Defiled Hero c17

Chapter 017:

Defiled Hero

The Gryphon, the Little Girl, and Sometimes Lilia, Part 3

I still don't know what inherent

magic 【Beast Manipulation Arts】 is. And what

is the inherent title 【Beast King】 supposed to mean.

King of beasts, in other words,

something like the king of monsters? The king of demons is the demon king. The king

of evil spirits is Darkness Spirit Tsukuyomi. And the king of monsters is Tear.

If that's the case, then this is

pretty bad.

Astrea, the details of 【Beast Manipulation

Arts】, please.

『Okay okay, I got it.』 (Astrea)

【Beast Manipulation Arts】

The ability to freely manipulate

contracted monsters.

The ability to speak with monsters

that are not contracted.

The monster must understand that

the tamer is much stronger than it before contracting.

Monsters can be manipulated, and

furthermore can be conversed with. Understanding the difference in strength, if

a contract is made, I might be able to obtain an unbelievable fighting force.

「I just thought of something better.」 (Izayoi)

「It can't possibly be something good...」 (Lilia)

「With their power, I might be able

to rule the world.」 (Izayoi)

「Isn't that scaling it up too much?」 (Lilia)

There's no time like the present.

In order for me to make Tear the strongest little girl in the word, I begun to act.

「Alright, first is to observe physical

strength. Copy my movement.」 (Izayoi)

「...Yes.」 (Tear)

There's a training area inside the

guild. Though there were several adventurers there already, they shrieked and screamed

when we entered, and had gathered a short distance away at the edge.

We both held knives, and I took

a stance, slicing the air horizontally.

「Try it.」 (Izayoi)

「...Ok.」 (Tear)

Tear swung the knife, mimicking

my movement. With her center of gravity unsettled, the weight of the knife made

her unsteady, and Tear fell on her butt.

With relaxed movements, Tear stood

up.

「...Ok.」 (Tear)

「But it's not ok.」 (Izayoi)

Tear was not accustomed to moving

her body. I feel it's going to be hard, but there's nothing to do about it but train.

「Tear is a tamer though, is she not?

What meaning is there in her training?」 (Lilia)

「What are you, stupid? Because she's

a tamer, Rigolo being able to fight is definitely important, but that doesn't mean

that the tamer should be dead weight. Of course I'll be giving Rigolo special training

as well. It's important for Tear to learn how to not be a hindrance on the battlefield.」 (Izayoi)

「Is that so. I understand, but...

training the gryphon? It is an A-rank

monster, you know?」 (Lilia)

「You won't be able to survive in

this world if you're afraid of an A-rank monster. You haven't fought a gryphon,

so you don't know their strength.」 (Izayoi)

「Are you living in a different world

from me? By that reasoning, we're alive only because swordmaster King Zenesys and

four Emperor class individuals became inhuman, however...」 (Izayoi)

Four Emperor class people. Five

years ago there were four people. Has it increased? Well, I don't know how the people

from before are faring.

「Then, is it Rigolo's turn for special

training?」 (Izayoi)

「*Kuke!*」 (Rigolo)

Tear is already completely worn

out, and is sitting on the floor breathing heavily. It's not good to make them overdo

it, but there's not much time, so for now I'll have them build up physical strength.

As if waiting for Tear to become bored of the special training, Rigolo raised a

sound and came in front of me

「To Rigolo... don't... don't... be

strict.」 (Tear)

「Relax. I won't hurt him.」 (Izayoi)

「You didn't say you wouldn't be strict

though...」 (Lilia)

Now for Rigolo's training. What

should we do? Fighting would be easy, if it weren’t for the usual Formless Sword

that hung on my back not being there.

It's not that I forgot it, but this

morning, I went around the town buying food and other things as a reward for Rigolo

and Tear coming with me to town.

Holding the letter of introduction

to Blacksmith Bogan from the guildmaster, I left the Formless Sword with him to

be repaired after it was damaged in the fight against the Phantom Dark Knight.

There are several weapons in warehouse

Astrea, but because there are only a few Emperor-class weapons in the word, they

can't be used in public. The only other weapons were a small knife and a dagger.

The inexpensive knife and dagger

won't stand up to Rigolo's beak and talons.

「Alright, bring it on, Rigolo. If

you can hit me once, you win.」 (Izayoi)

「Uh, are you fighting bare-handed!?」 (Lilia)

「What? Is there a problem? I see.

Then I won't use my hands.」 (Izayoi)

「That's not the issue here!」 (Lilia)

「What kind of response is that. Now

you're being noisy. Let's forget that and start, Rigolo.」 (Izayoi)

「*Kukeke!*」 (Rigolo)

We faced off. The head, wings, and

forelegs of a falcon. A living creature from myth, with the lower half of a lion,

well known in legend.

With a spread of the wings, the

wind began to dance.

The large, unfurled wings were quite

intimidating.

Kicking off of the ground strongly,

Rigolo flapped his wings, rushing at me with his talons.

I'll be sliced in half if I take

that 120 kilogram mass head-on. Bending my body a little, the rending claw passed

by above.

Having avoided the attack, another

one came instantly.

Despite being large, Rigolo moved

quickly thanks to the strength of his wings.

Despite being attacked with tooth

and nail, I'll never be hit.

「That's your limit, Rigolo. It's

about time for me to fight back, so prepare yourself.」 (Izayoi)

I limited myself by prohibiting

the use of my hands. Therefore I'll use my feet instead. I had been avoiding attacks

with the bare minimum movement required, and now it's my turn.

Putting strength into my legs, I

dashed forth like a spring. I got behind Rigolo instantly.

「Quite slow at giving chase. Is that

as far as your natural intuition takes you?」 (Izayoi)

「*Kukeke!?*」 (Rigolo)

Sending a light kick towards his

rear, he quickly withdrew. He somehow read my movements, but none of his attacks

landed.

His combat sense isn't bad. He fights

well for an A-rank monster. I've understood his strength. Is this good enough for

today?

Rigolo didn't give up and continued

to attack me. I slipped through Rigolo's oncoming claw, latching on to his neck

with my legs.

With his neck between my legs, Rigolo

floated in mid-air after my backflip.

He then crashed into the ground

behind me.

「...Ichayoi, Rigolo...」 (Tear)

「He only fainted. There's no problem.」

Worried about the defeated Rigolo

and his rolling eyes, Tear ran over to him. Looking around, a crowd of people had

gathered before I knew it.

The news must have spread, but whatever.

I've proven that I'm stronger than the gryphon. Knowing that, they should be put

at ease, but I don't know if there will be any idiots who want to fight me.

「How long do you plan to be knocked

out. You'd normally have been eaten by now, Rigolo.」 (Izayoi)

「...*Kuke? Kukekeー?*」 (Rigolo)

Though he woke up, he seemed to

have forgotten what just happened.

「If this is all it takes, you won't

be able to carry out your mission to kill Lilia. Concentrate.」 (Izayoi)

「Wait, am I that strong of a character?

I have zero fighting ability you know? I think I can seduce though...」 (Lilia)

「Hey, did you hear what she said

Rigolo? ...At this rate, she'll have the tables turned on you.」 (Izayoi)

「*Kukekei...*」 (Rigolo)

「Turning the tables, do I really

have that much strength?」 (Lilia)

「It's dangerous. Let's back away.」 (Izayoi)

「...Got it.」 (Tear)

「*Kuke!*」 (Rigolo)

「Wait a second! Don't run away from

me as fast as you can!」 (Lilia)

To sum it up, Lilia is scary.

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