Chapter 171: Puppet

The beast jumped through the wide and dark sky of the night. It jumped as if it was something natural. The flames clinging to its skin scattered the sparks in the air and drew a vermilion orbit in the sky.

It felt more like a bird of prey when it tried to catch the target by flying down from the sky. An action that quickly approached the prey in an instant, and took its life away. Reminiscent of such figure, that terrifying beast approached us straight from the sky as if we were its prey. The wide opened mouth was ready to eat us with a single gulp.

I made my eyes flicker for a moment. A little sigh leaked from my lips.

Caria would be fine. She was not someone who would struggle amid a threatening existence. She would be willing to step herself towards that said existence. She would neither hesitate nor forsake her sword. She was someone fierce and resolute.

Then, the only problem was Filaret, who was breathing heavily behind my back.

Such an inevitable scene. Her limbs did not stop the cramps, and it was difficult for her to move agilely from the position she sat on. If the beast hit her directly like this, her slender body would scatter like leaves.

An unavoidable situation if she continued to look quite defeated. I saw that Filaret had a hard time overcoming this difficulty. At best, it would be great if she could invoke a little magic to help us. However, that was not the case. Then, there was only one possible way.

That thing was about to reach us in a few blinks. An abominable, terrifying lump of meat in the shape of a beast. A living thing that had no will, no conscience, and no humanity. I exhaled a large amount of air from the lungs. Nothing remained in the viscera. Then, I stopped breathing.

The treasure sword began shining like the moonlight on my hand.

Now, I could grasp the one orbit that appeared at the edge of my eyes. There must be a trajectory to intercept that beast. Whatever it may be, the trajectory of the sword should happen without me knowing it. The movement of my body would accept it as if they were one another. I did not remember how to move or use my body, much less being taught about it.

However, the whole trajectory appeared strangely before my eyes. Of course, if my body were incapable of achieving such feat, then the treasure sword would push me beyond my boundaries.

I forcibly moved my broken body to respond to that beast’s attack. I did my best to reach the ideal way of movement that could intercept the attack directed at me.

I heard the muscles screaming deep inside of my body and the bones squeaking badly. However, it was not enough. Still not enough. This was still far from the ideal way. I felt my body reaching its limit by the ongoing screams.

Move, move, move! If it were not enough, then I shall sacrifice myself. I just had to accept a little bit of the grim reaper touching my cheeks.

All for the sake of my comrades. I had to do this much even if pain consumed my entire body.

The treasure sword roared. My fingertips made a distorted noise, while emitting the glittering purple flash of the blade. I swung it straight down from the sky to the ground. The momentum where I smashed that beast’s skull upon reaching my range. At the same time, a silver light appeared at the edge of my eyes. I loosened my cheeks.

A strong line that cut through the ankles up to the knees, hips, and shoulders, and from the elbows down to the wrists. There was a pleasant feeling running through my skull when I realized that all gears were engaged to fight back. And then, a sound echoed in my head.

…Knock it down, my Lord. Listen, at best, it is like tearing the wings of a small bird. I will teach you the means by using your own hands. It shall be easy, so stretch them up.

The moment I heard the sound. The lump of meat that approached my eyes tore apart. The flesh scattered on the ground along with the fat. Even the blood droplets dyed the earth red.

It was hard to believe that my sword tore it that easily. The beast that jumped toward us with its head, well a part that probably imitated the head, was completely scattered into pieces. The beast laid itself on the ground as if it had been knocked down. It continued to leak fat, flesh and blood, transforming the ground into a scene of horror. I sensed something warm on my cheeks. My nose squeaked unknowingly.

When I took air into my lungs once again, an unpleasant sweat licked my back.

My whole body was squeaking and screaming. Soon, my body would stop moving altogether. Blood was flowing from my shoulder and from my arms. Yes, from everywhere else. However, there was no problem. Not yet. As long as my body moved.

At the end of my line of sight, I could see the glitter of the silver light overlapping with the brilliance of purple light.

「Hey, Caria. Did you mesh with my strike?」

The glitter of silver light emitted from Caria’s longsword. The tip of her sword slashed the skull of the beast just as I did. I lowered the edge of my eyes while pondering about it.

I did not know how far I was from killing the momentum of that beast’s jumping attack. I did not know how far my body had reached. It was possible that I would have sacrificed Filaret if I performed poorly.

However, I believed that if Caria were by her side, she would surely protect her. That was why I used the treasure sword to my heart’s content.

Caria’s silver hair swayed slightly in the darkness. Caria replied while wiping the blood.

「What are you saying. I was a step ahead of you in striking that thing. So that means it was you who meshed with my strike.」

Her silver eyes twinkled while sharpening her lips. What a tough knight she was, really.

The moment I tried to respond to those conceited words, my eyes cramped. My back teeth were giving me a strange pain. A pain as if it were forcibly stroking my nerve system.

“…Ohhh…Ohhhhhhh…Ahhhhhhh…”

The beast was crying. It felt like mourning, or even grudging.

This creepy sound echoed from the lump of meat. Then its limbs thrust into the ground in order to support its body.

Well, no wonder. After all, this was not a living thing like the many organisms inhabiting this world, but just a chunk of meat. Whether the head got crushed or the intestines got brutally scooped, that thing would continue to rise as long as the body could move. It felt like a puppet connected by a thread. Such an unreal existence. Yeah, surely, an existence that could be unbeatable. The back of my skull hurt as if I had a fever. This battle was beyond the limits of my capacity.

I narrowed my eyes while shaking my lips. My body was unresponsive, and my hands, which were supposed to hold the treasure sword with a strong grip, were almost numb. After witnessing the pillar of magical power that pierced the Lord’s House, I remembered something and threw a few words at Filaret, who stood behind my back.

「Filaret. Was that green light not the work of God, but your mischief?」

Despite describing it as a mischief, Filaret honestly returned an affirmative reply. I see. It seemed that my expectation reached a good possibility. It would be a great deal if done right.

Of course, it was immeasurable what Filaret was trying to do with that magical power, and I did not even understand how she would reveal that pillar of magical power in the first place. But, I was not someone who touched magic much less a wielder of magical powers. So I did not know much about it.

Therefore, I decided to transform into reality that good possibility by doing some crazy work with Filaret’s magic. What? Was this trust? Hmm. It was amazing how I’ve ended up trusting someone, huh? I spoke to Filaret with conviction.

「I want you to distort the world once more but at this precise moment. Just change the destination of the water flow. Even if just a little. It’s simple.」

I moved my lips for a few times while shaking off the slightly hazy view that spread before my eyes.

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That horrendous beast is really difficult to kill. Btw, I wonder if that horrendous appearance symbolizes Mordeaux’s true self. He was a horrible and cruel person, and that horrendous beast is probably the mirror of his real self.

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