Chapter 7

EP.7 Reinhardt-2

Ariasphil punched back and said,

"Can you get up?"

"...What?"

"When can you get up?!"

Startled by the shout, Leo involuntarily flinched and replied,

"Just 8 more seconds!"

The aura was almost fully gathered. If he could just hold on for 8 more seconds, he could stand up.

"Got it."

"Uuuuuh!!"

But would it be possible?

With her skills, could she defeat Balrog?

[Believe in yourself now.]

"Me...?"

[The woman you aim to be isn't that weak.]

In that fleeting 8 seconds, the sage said,

<...You're right.>

Ariasphil, the peak she aimed for.

The peak wouldn't be broken here.

'...I can't just stand by.'

To reach that peak.

She couldn't afford to falter.

"...Huff... Huff...!"

But it was a fact that it was hard to hold on. The heat from Balrog alone made breathing difficult.

"Krooooh!!"

In the midst of the intense battle, another punch flew.

'Compared to Leonardo...!'

She deflected the punch by moving her sword to the side. But that was only a temporary defense.

Whoosh!

She couldn't block the tail attack that followed.

'...I can't avoid this...!'

It hadn't been 8 seconds yet.

It would hit. It would graze. It would strike.

It would kill.

Squish!!

"...The debt is paid."

With that, the boy cut off the tail with his sword. Stunned by the blow, Balrog jumped back a little.

"...Leonardo...?"

"So, just one favor."

Leonardo was already up. In just 4 seconds.

"Let's take down that monster's head together. I can't do it alone."

"...Balrog...?"

Defeating Balrog was no easy task.

She had only been able to defeat the wyvern because it was a newly hatched hatchling, not a full-grown one.

'...Why?'

But her heart was pounding again.

"Too difficult? Then..."

It pounded so hard that the fear of death seemed trivial.

"...No."

Ariasphil smiled and raised her sword.

"I can do it."

"...Thanks."

Leonardo was also smiling for some reason.

"I'll only say this once, so listen carefully."

Balrog charged. Ariasphil quickly nodded in response.

"That bastard's right wrist is broken, and his tail too. I'll draw his attention..."

"You want me to cut off his left hand?"

She understood quickly, as befitting a genius.

"Then I'll take care of the rest."

"...Got it."

Balrog was already within 100 meters.

"Let's win."

"Okay."

With those two words, the battle resumed. The two knights split in two directions, each taking on their assigned roles.

"Krooooh!!"

Balrog roared, aiming to crush the two knights. He struck with his remaining left fist, venting his anger.

"This way. Burnt-out orc."

Her unusually aggressive charge and shift in tactics drew Balrog's attention to Leonardo.

"Come on! Bastard! I'll crush that squished face of yours completely!"

[But can Balrog even understand provocation? He usually doesn't have that level of intelligence.]

He can't even grasp the situation.

In such times, any nonsense can boost one's courage...

"Uuuuuh!!"

Did he actually understand the provocation? It felt like a trick of the mind.

[Ah, he understood.]

He understood. It's over.

Boom!! Bang!!

Attacks came in succession, gouging out holes in the ground. One hit would probably crush him into that shape.

But

'Keep going. Guide the trajectory of the attack.'

Leonardo was an expert in such intense battles. He had won against an enemy even with a broken arm and ribs.

"Now!!"

The moment the left arm's movement grew larger, Leonardo shouted.

Swish

His sword and Baldo's tail were cut together. The left arm was severed at the start of the cut.

"Uuuuuh!!"

A roar of pain, with flames rising at the corners of his mouth.

'Too late...! The breath...!'

"Uuuuuh!!"

A roar like Balrog's, but this sound came from Leonardo.

A charge began, with his throat wrapped in a roar. Sword extended, Leonardo stabbed Balrog's chest.

[Stop!! That won't kill him!!]

As he said, such a stab wouldn't kill Balrog.

If the breath came out now, Leonardo would turn to ashes.

<So, before that...!>

Mana burst from Leonardo's sword.

It wasn't aura.

A softer, more complex form of energy was drawn in the shape of mana.

[That's not good!! Not with cold magic now!!]

Leonardo hadn't yet developed his magical talent.

In a week, he had barely managed to use 1st circle magic, which was like pouring a cup of water on a fire.

[Red...?]

But Leonardo had no intention of using cold magic. Instead, he was casting a fire-based spell, the opposite of that.

'Balrog has one weakness when it's a hatchling.'

Heat spewed from the gap in the sword.

The weakness of a hatchling Balrog was...

'Young Balrog still lacks full fire resistance. The only places where flames come out when it's a hatchling are the respiratory tract and throat.'

An adult Balrog could spew fire from all over its body, but the Balrog in front of her couldn't.

As evidence, Balrog had only spewed fire from its mouth so far.

'So if I ignite the fire sac in its chest...!'

The answer was immediate. When the fire sac in the lung area ignited, flames burst out all over Balrog's body.

'It becomes a custom bomb...!!'

Black smoke mixed with blood spewed from the corners of Balrog's mouth.

"Uuug!?!"

"Pretty hot, right? It'll be scorching hot."

The spell was fully cast.

[Fireball]

The fireball engulfed the fire sac inside. It was like throwing a torch into a powder keg.

"Who...?!"

Boom!!

It was a magnificent explosion. Balrog's flesh flew in all directions.

"Kyaah!!"

The shock of the explosion also knocked Leonardo down.

Though Balrog's body shielded him from the flames, Leonardo's body wasn't in a condition to withstand the shock.

"Leonardo...!!"

Ariasphil, who had watched the explosion, ran to the fallen Leonardo.

"Are you okay?! You're not dead, right?!"

A dead person can't answer.

That was an unchangeable fact.

"..."

The pounding in her chest subsided.

Seeing the boy lying there without a word, her heart trembled. There was no sense of boredom or excitement.

Just anxiety.

"Please...! Please don't die!! Wake up!!"

The girl slapped the boy to wake him up.

Crack!!

"Uaaah!!"

But Leonardo wasn't dead. So he screamed.

"Are you okay?!"

"You... hit a person's face and ask if they're okay?!"

"I'm glad... you're okay..."

"No, I'm not okay! I haven't been dead since the beginning! I didn't even faint!"

He was just slow to respond due to fatigue.

[You shouldn't have done something that could be misunderstood. Tsk tsk!]

"You shut up!! You can't do anything for someone who's dying! "

"...S...Sorry. I'll shut up."

Perhaps feeling guilty, Ariasphil bowed her head and looked down.

"A...But... that's not what I meant..."

[You can't say anything to a woman who's worried about you. In my time, to a woman...!]

<Shut up. You learned women from books.>

[What the hell?!]

Now he couldn't even speak with aura. The mana was already depleted from the fire spell and the aura used to defend against the explosion.

"...I'm sorry and thank you."

Still, he had to say this before collapsing.

"...Huh?"

"...Thanks to you, we could win. So you don't have to feel sorry."

"I... thank you too."

It was heartwarming, but her chest felt like it was burning.

"...If you're grateful, call a doctor. I'm barely holding on, and I think I've broken three ribs."

"Ah, got it!"

She looked around to find a doctor.

Then,

'...What is this? This mana... '

Deep and dense mana flowed through the air into his lungs. He had felt this aura before.

"Can't be..."

Is that woman here? In this place?

'But if she's here, she should help logically.'

No, thinking about it, she might not help. She's the kind of person who doesn't follow logic.

"...Aunt?"

Ah, why the ominous guess...

"...I told you not to call me aunt, didn't I? Looks like I need to clarify the terms of address."

Wouldn't it miss...

A woman dressed in black so dark it could be mistaken for a shadow walked towards them.

[Who is she? That reaper?]

Unable to use aura, he answered as quietly as possible.

"Ariasphil's aunt. And... never mind. It's better if you hear it directly."

My fingers are about to fracture, and if I say that, they'll curl and break completely.

"Excellent battle, boy. I salute you as a fellow warrior."

She could have just called him 'kid,' but only one person I know insists on calling me 'boy.'

"..."

"I should introduce myself. I am the knight who supports the Reinhardt family from the shadows, Chris Reinhardt. My nickname is 'Darkness.'"

I was already feeling dizzy from blood loss, and now my mind was spinning.

The sage's expression was as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a club.

"What's your name? If you have a nickname, I'd like to hear it as a fellow warrior."

I have to answer, but I really don't want to. Physically and mentally.

[Are you hallucinating? Or is he just crazy?]

...I don't know. Just hit me and let me pass out.

Leonardo fell to the ground.

I hope it was a delusion caused by confusion.

***

[Hey...]

[Leonardo...]

[Get up... please...]

The voice of an old, childless widower echoes in my ears. It's so heartfelt today that I feel bad ignoring it.

"...What is it..."

[That woman has been here for 3 hours. 3 hours.]

The sage pointed at Chris with his finger.

<What's been going on for 3 hours?>

I had a rough idea, but I asked hopefully.

[She's been asking your rival questions about you, and the questions are out of this world.]

It was strange for a person from the other world to say that, but I somehow felt Chris would do that.

<What did she ask?>

[At first, it was about your name and age, but then she felt a sense of destiny and started asking about your nickname and other nonsense.]

"Ha..."

I woke up to hear something like a dream. A heavy, deep sigh escaped my lips.

"Are you awake? Boy?"

Swinging his cumbersome black cloak unnecessarily, Chris looked at Leonardo.

"...Yes, I'm awake."

I didn't really want to wake up.

"Strong body. To get up the same day after taking a critical hit from a hellish monster."

Just call it Balrog. Please.

"...I trained hard."

"Hmm, you stuck to the basics. A great monument is built on a solid foundation."

It's true, but why don't I want to agree?

"...You treated me, right? Thank you."

I should thank her since she helped.

"I helped a member of our family. It's the proper treatment. But I also showed respect to an excellent warrior."

I... don't have a home, but suddenly I want to go home.

Looking around the room, I saw Ariasphil next to Chris. She was sleeping soundly on the bed, holding a wet cloth in her hand.

"Arias has been nursing you. Even when the doctor and priest offered to do it, she insisted on doing it herself."

That was touching. Was she that sorry about collapsing while fighting Balrog?

"...Umm...? Leonardo...?"

Her closed eyes slowly opened.

"Did you sleep well? How's your body?"

"Leonardo!"

She looked at Leonardo with sparkling eyes.

"I'm glad..."

"It was just luck. We were lucky it was a hatchling."

While sharing a moment of relief with her, the door suddenly burst open.

"Miss!! I'm really sorry for being late!!"

It was Jehad. I didn't want to think about where he had been, but I had a feeling. Leonardo didn't say anything.

"Jehad."

"...H...H-Highness! H-Highness!"

He managed to say that title.

If I tried, I'd get a seizure in my tongue.

"You're very late. Isn't that right, 'knight'?"

"S-Sorry! It was because of the civilian evacuation!"

Thwack!!

A fist flew into Jehad's face. The punch sent Jehad flying.

The one who threw the punch was the dark knight guarding Reinhardt.

"Shut up. You're no longer a knight of Reinhardt. Your status has already fallen to the bottom, so you don't deserve to mention our family."

"That... that...! What...!"

Too hard to understand? Let me simplify it.

"You're fired."

[Still, the benefits are good. He even got a high-class dismissal notice.]

That's why Leonardo worked as a seed for over 5 years.

Forget it.

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