Chapter 80

"Hey Lloyd, and Silfa and Ren, what a coincidence to meet you here."

Tao nimbly jumped down and landed as lightly as a cat.

"Tao, what are you doing here?"

"Hunting ghouls. They've been appearing all over town. I traced them back to the sewers."

Come to think of it, Tao had received the ghoul-hunting request before we did. So she ended up here in the sewers, just like us.

"This... is a girl from a foreign land! What a charming outfit. Her supple, well-trained body, combined with the softness unique to a young girl, creates a perfect balance! Hmm, Tao-chan... I can totally get behind this!"

Jiriel was breathing heavily and muttering to himself. I didn’t really understand what he was saying, so I ignored him.

"Hmm, Lloyd being here means there’s likely a ghoul lair in here, doesn’t it?"

"I’d be worried if you trusted me too much."

"These sewers are connected to the town. Given the ghoul attacks in the town, it’s certain. Well done, Lord Lloyd."

"But we need to defeat them first!"

There were easily over thirty ghouls. This should be a satisfying fight.

"Huff, puff, me... Hey Silfa, how about a contest to see who can defeat more of them?"

Tao grinned provocatively and continued.

"I’ve trained a lot since then. I’ll show you the results."

Indeed, the aura surrounding Tao was stronger and larger than before, as if she were wearing a solid suit of armor. Her clothes were clean, and the aura was so powerful that it repelled dirt and odors. She must have trained a lot.

"I don’t mind..."

Silfa glanced at me, seemingly concerned about my desire to use the ghouls for experiments. While the experiments were tempting, I also wanted to see Tao’s improved fighting skills. I nodded in agreement.

"Sure, both of you do your best."

"Understood. If that’s the case, I’ll accept the challenge."

"That’s the spirit! If I win, you have to do one thing for me."

"Alright. Given Lord Lloyd’s presence, I shouldn’t lose... but if I do, how about we have another tea party with Lord Alberto?"

Hey, don’t treat Alberto like a prize. He’s my brother, after all.

Maybe Tao’s just into handsome guys, though.

But Tao tapped her lip, thinking.

"That’s good, but... how about this: if I win, I get to borrow Lloyd for a date. A date♪"

Tao winked at me.

"To defeat the general, first defeat the horse. Lord Alberto is tough, so it’s not a bad idea to get along with Lloyd first. Hehehe."

Tao muttered to herself, but Silfa and Ren glared at her with intense hostility.

"...Huh, to bring up Lord Lloyd like that, you’ve got some nerve. Fine, I’ll take you seriously."

"Silfa, can I join in too?"

What’s going on? They’re both radiating a strong killing intent.

"Mmm, to be surrounded by such beautiful girls, and even to be fought over... Ah, how envious! But to witness such a scene, it was worth coming with Lord Lloyd...!"

Jiriel was shedding tears of blood, but I didn’t really care. I was more excited to see everyone’s true strength.

"Then—let’s begin."

At Silfa’s signal, the three of them charged at the ghouls.

A chaotic battle ensued, with rapid strikes, slashes, and poison attacks flying everywhere, sending ghouls flying.

"Here I go—"

Tao moved and struck like a spinning top, then moved again and kicked. She repeated this simple but incredibly fast and powerful pattern. It was hard to imagine where such speed and strength came from in her small frame, but she mowed down the ghouls effortlessly.

"Ha—'Wheel Chain Collapse'"

That movement was different from before. She was likely using the two elements of her aura, yin and yang, more effectively. By switching between the two forces at the right time, she created a repelling force that enhanced her physical abilities. If the timing was off, she would be sent flying in the wrong direction. It sounded interesting, and I’d try it later.

"...You’ve improved, Tao. But I’m not the same as when we fought before."

Silfa muttered and began cutting down ghouls one after another. She wasn’t using her unfair Light Sword, but her dual-wielding skills were as sharp as ever. To be able to handle ghouls without the Light Sword, a holy magic, was impressive.

"...Sorry, but die."

On the other hand, Ren was moving more subtly, repeatedly moving in the shadows and striking the ghouls from behind. While not particularly fast, her attacks were precise and effective, steadily whittling down the ghouls. The three of them were formidable, and the number of ghouls quickly dwindled.

"Great teamwork. There are only a few left."

"But Lord Lloyd, they seem to be struggling with the last one."

"That one seems different from the others. It shows signs of intelligence..."

Indeed, that ghoul moved differently. It was clearly stronger than the others and was holding its own against Tao and Silfa, even dodging Ren’s surprise attacks. It was trying to escape into the tunnels.

"It’s getting away!"

"The current kill count is the same for everyone. The one who defeats the last one wins!"

"Ugh... so fast...!?"

The ghoul dodged the three of them and tried to escape.

—Interesting. I feel bad for them, but I’ll step in. I used magic to cut off my presence and approached the ghoul while building up my aura. This way, I could gather power without being detected. Then, I switched from yin to yang, generating incredible force.

Ugh, what power. But I controlled it... and managed to land behind the ghoul despite being blown back.

"—! You...”

By the time it noticed, it was too late. I switched from yin to yang again and jumped straight at the ghoul, generating a Light Sword with my 'Light Weapon' skill. The ghoul tried to defend, but I slipped under its guard and struck it. The sword was infused with the same holy poison as before.

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