Chapter 31

"Ha!"

Badras' fist was slammed into Gurai's abdomen.

"..."

Bending his knees, Gurai placed his hands on the ground.

In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, Gurai and Badras were exchanging blows.

"Hmph... What's wrong? You've been on the defensive this whole time."

Badras looked down at Gurai with a relaxed demeanor.

Though his helmet hid his face, he was surely smiling.

"Is this all you've got? With this level of skill, did you really defeat the evil dragon bare-handed?"

"..."

"Are you in a bad mood, or have you deteriorated... or was it just a far-fetched story after all?"

"You... you're not human, are you?"

Kneeling, Gurai asked this question.

"...Heh, so you can tell, huh?"

Badras responded with a wry smile.

"To be precise, I'm 'half human.' I'm sure you understand what that means."

"..."

At that moment, Badras' body began to swell.

His arms, legs, and torso expanded, growing to three or four times their original size.

"My body contains the blood of a non-human race, a race that possesses magic power... the blood of the demon race."

Looking at the scene of roots tearing up the earth in the distance, Badras muttered.

"The blood that flows through my veins is that of the giant race. I am a half-breed with giant blood. By infusing magic power, I can enlarge my body and exert several times my usual strength."

Badras raised and then lowered his fist.

The punch struck the ground with tremendous force, creating a crack.

"Of course, you sensed it because we're of the same race, didn't you? You must be the same, right?"

He said this to Gurai, who had leaped into the air to avoid the attack a split second earlier.

"Hey, Gurai the 'Ogre Man'!"

"..."

* * * * *

I opened the carriage door and jumped inside.

The interior, which had been repeatedly rammed by wild boars, was in a mess.

I couldn't see Antimishka anywhere—

"!"

Suddenly, I felt something tighten around my neck, and I tried to cry out.

However, my throat, wrapped by something, made it impossible to breathe or speak.

"Hehe, too bad. You were so close."

Antimishka's voice came from behind.

"Of course, things wouldn't go as you planned. Don't get too cocky."

Looking at the scene reflected in a hand mirror on the floor, I understood my current situation.

It seemed I had been ambushed by Antimishka, who had been hiding inside the door.

Her whip, held in her hand, was wrapped around my neck.

"Using wild boars to attack, how typical of a country girl. But that's enough. I'll slowly strangle you to death now."

"Guu!"

I resisted.

I tried to grab the whip around my neck and pull it off.

However, the pressure was strong, and my brain began to feel dizzy due to the lack of oxygen.

"Hehehe... You're really a fool. If you hadn't done this ridiculous thing, you wouldn't have died a painful death. Now you know, don't you? What happens when you defy the royal family, when you challenge a great power."

"..."

"That's right, I am of the royal family, I am on the side of the strong, I am on the side of the victors. I am a chosen one, different from you. Do you understand?"

She seemed to be in a drug-induced state.

Antimishka continued to speak excitedly in my ear.

"I was the daughter of a prostitute. My father, who was considering all possibilities to create his successor, secretly had a child with a prostitute."

I managed to grab the whip around my neck.

A tingling sensation, accompanied by pain, ran through my fingertips.

...Come to think of it, since she is of the royal family, she might have magic power in her body. Is this whip a magical tool?

"My mother truly loved my father. After giving birth to me, when my father's whereabouts became unknown, she fell ill and died easily. I was left to work as a servant in the brothel where my mother worked."

"Guu!"

If this is a magical tool, I should be able to counter it with my own magic power.

I concentrated magic power in my fingertips, just as I do when using Alchemy or Liquid Fertilizer.

"The owners of the brothel, the other prostitutes, and the slaves treated me like a slave. Every day, I was forced into harsh labor, with no time to sleep or eat. If they didn't like something, they would use violence, treating me unjustly... Can you imagine that?"

Perhaps because my head was getting fuzzy—memories of working at the home center flashed through my mind.

Her words added to the flood of memories, like a slideshow.

"I even thought it would be better to die... But one day, when I had grown up, a messenger from the king came to me. He told me that I was the king's blood-related daughter, and that my father had officially recognized me as one of his successors! My life changed! No, it returned to normal! I knew my father had created me half in jest and recognized me as a successor out of curiosity! But to me, it was like a divine revelation! The owners of the brothel and the other prostitutes, who had always looked down on me, changed their attitudes and bowed down in fear when they found out who I really was! This is the real 'me'!"

I see, at that moment, something must have broken inside her...

Or perhaps, something was born.

"I burned down the brothel, left the owners to wander the streets, and cast the other prostitutes down to the slums as comfort women! Do you understand!? Those who have power have the right to exercise it, the right to trample on those who don't! The right to dominate!"

"Shut up!"

My magic-infused fingertips touched the whip.

A shock ran through it, and the whip's grip loosened.

"Ugh!"

I managed to free myself from the restraint, but my wobbly body was pushed down by Antimishka from behind.

She straddled me and began to choke me with her hands.

"Out of my way! Disappear! You have no right to stand in my way! I am the king! I will be the king! I will succeed my father! I am always on the side of the rulers!"

Antimishka grabbed a knife from the floor.

Whether it was part of her equipment or something in the carriage, I couldn't tell.

She brought the tip of the knife to my chest, right above my heart.

"What about the beastmen!? Whether they cry or scream, it doesn't matter! What's wrong with me seeking my own happiness!? What's wrong with using the power I've gained for myself!"

The knife was brought down.

Its blade pierced my heart.

—A high-pitched metallic sound rang out, and the knife was deflected.

"What!?"

The knife, released from Antimishka's hand, stabbed into the floor of the carriage.

She looked bewildered, not understanding what had happened.

"Take this!"

I pulled her off and, grabbing her arm, threw her against the wall with a back throw.

"Ugh..."

"Ha... ha... Thank you, Mauer."

I gripped the "thing" hidden under my clothes.

It was the amulet Mauer had given me before I came here—the "metal angle."

The first piece of metal I had alchemized to protect Mauer and Meala's house from a storm when we first met.

Mauer had made it into a necklace and worn it around his neck.

I had borrowed it from Mauer for good luck before this battle.

"Those who have power have the right to trample on others, huh... Maybe you're right."

"You!?"

With unsteady steps, Antimishka lunged at me.

I instantly alchemized something and threw it at her.

She tried to grab it with her hand—then stopped, feeling the pain in her palm.

What I had created and thrown at her was a "nail."

"But... I used this power to protect Mauer and Meala's house. I made everyone's homes stronger."

Next, I activated Alchemy.

In my hand, I alchemized a "pipe"—about two meters long, considering we were inside the carriage.

"When Mauer and Meala were attacked by robbers, I used this power to save everyone."

"Wait—"

With all my strength, I infused magic power into the "pipe" and swung it.

It didn't hit Antimishka directly, but it destroyed the carriage wall.

The carriage tilted, and Antimishka was thrown out.

"I saved the lives of the Orkidea people by using Liquid Fertilizer to grow vegetables."

"Ah, guu..."

Antimishka, dazed from the impact of hitting the ground, was unsteady.

I got out of the half-destroyed carriage and approached her.

"I built a house with Gurai. Gurai said it was fun and that he wanted to stay in the village."

Then, I created the next piece of metal.

It was a "wildlife fence."

I grabbed one end and raised it high.

"I've used my power not just for myself, but to make everyone smile."

"Wait! Wait—"

Antimishka, trembling with fear, raised her palms toward me and shouted—but it was too late.

I brought down the "wildlife fence" on her.

Like a fly swatter, I slammed the wire mesh onto her.

"Ah—"

The blow from the magic-infused "wildlife fence" struck her entire body without any restraint.

Antimishka lost consciousness instantly.

"Working in a bad environment... suddenly being given great power... but I'm different from you. I can't agree with your ideology."

Thinking about everyone in the village, I said this to the unconscious Antimishka.

"..."

The direct confrontation was over.

I immediately alchemized "wire" and bound her body.

The boss has been defeated.

* * * * *

"Gurai!"

Rounding the front of the carriage, I saw Gurai fighting Badras, who had somehow grown larger.

Gurai, seeing me and the bound Antimishka in my arms, sighed in relief.

"Hmph."

On the other hand, Badras, glancing at his defeated master, snorted disdainfully.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter who I serve."

He probably gave up on Antimishka... or perhaps he had never pledged loyalty to her in the first place.

Facing Gurai, he took a stance.

"Right now, I will only prove my strength by slaying you!"

"..."

Badras' giant fist was launched.

In an instant, Gurai dodged the punch with quick movements, slipped into his guard, and delivered an uppercut to Badras' abdomen.

"Ugh..."

Just one punch.

Struck by that one punch, Badras' body stopped moving.

Gurai's single punch had silenced the giant's movement.

"...I held back because I thought I should save some strength in case something happened to Mako."

Gurai pulled back his fist and took a few steps away from the kneeling Badras.

"But it seems there's no need to worry anymore."

"You... you..."

"I'll teach you how to kill an evil dragon."

In an instant, Gurai pulled his right arm back.

I, Badras, and probably anyone with magic power, noticed the change.

His appearance didn't change, and he didn't swell like Badras.

However, a faint light appeared in Gurai's right arm, and power was being infused into it.

"As you said... I have the blood of the Ogre Man race and magic power flowing through me. And there is one way to attack using that magic power."

Gripping his fist tightly—

"The condition is that my magic power must be fully recovered. And I must pour all of it into a single punch... The power of that punch can create a hole in the tough scales and muscles of a dragon's belly with one strike."

"Wait! Wait—"

Badras, like Antimishka, was shaken.

Gurai punched his giant body.

"Ugh—"

Badras' body floated in the air from the impact.

His armor and helmet were shattered, his body bent in a C-shape, and the shockwave destroyed the surrounding air and ground.

My body also floated slightly.

When the shockwave subsided, Badras lay on the ground, unconscious, with Gurai standing over him.

"...Of course, I didn't use my full strength on you."

It seems he held back a lot.

To have this much power... wow, I'm impressed.

"Good work, Gurai."

"Mako... are you okay?"

Gurai, who had come to me, reached out with a worried look.

He touched my cheek with his fingers, then reconsidered and pulled back.

What a gentleman, really.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

The other knights, who had been fighting around us, began to notice that Antimishka and Badras had been defeated.

Their reinforcements hadn't arrived yet.

We had managed to defeat the enemy's commander before they could.

I exhaled deeply.

"Well, it's over now."