Chapter 241
Chapter 241
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Crusader Army
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The heretic swordsman shot off like a rocket, yearning to touch the sky, but in the end, he crashed pathetically to the ground. It felt just like the Soviet Union's defeat in the Cold War space race, symbolizing the downfall of communism.
"...Stalin. You were wrong."
Thud.
He slammed into the earth after taking Claudy's uppercut.
For the guy who had turned four holy knights into mincemeat in an instant, it was an awfully anticlimactic end... I couldn't help but overlay him with the image of Stalin meeting a brutal execution. Did Claudy's victory mean capitalism's triumph?
"W-We won! The dark elf won!"
"Ooooh...!"
"Holy knights! Use this chance to rescue the holy knights!"
The crowd watching the fight erupted in cheers.
Seeing them whistling and shouting crap like "She's so hot!" made me want to kill every last one of them, comrades be damned. Shut the hell up, you bastards? I could overlook the praise, but sexualizing my woman was a step too far.
Soldiers rushed out on orders, dragging the fallen holy knights back, while Claudy picked up the pitch-black sword the heretic swordsman had dropped and examined it briefly.
Wham!
Then she casually kicked his head with all her might.
It was as natural as punting an old soccer ball lying on the roadside.
I figured his skull would explode like a watermelon or get torn clean off from the kick, but aside from his body jolting hard, nothing much happened.
Tanking a kick from Claudy showed it had some insane durability. Well, he still ended up defeated and limp.
Seeing the kick do nothing, she drove the black sword straight into his back. Squelch. It was a clean finish, like sticking a flag into a homemade burger.
Whoosh.
Then the stabbed body dissolved into black smoke along with the sword, scattering away.
I wondered if it had shed its evil blessing or something, but no corpse remained. Just like with that earlier blink, his whole body turned to smoke and vanished.
The smoke drifted up into the sky.
I couldn't tell if we'd killed him or if he'd just escaped.
But Claudy's victory was crystal clear.
Rooooaaarrr!!!!
The tide of battle shifted at the same time.
The black smoke pouring from the monster giants' bodies vanished without a trace.
To be precise, it merged seamlessly with the black smoke from the heretic swordsman that had just floated up, then ascended to the heavens. With that, the holy knights went berserk, toppling the monsters left and right.
The cursed black figures that had kept swarming in endless attacks stopped appearing too. I couldn't pinpoint the exact cause and effect, but it seemed the heretic swordsman's fall had something to do with it.
"Sis is fucking strong."
Winia, standing beside me, remarked.
"For real. I'm straight-up in awe."
You could tell at a glance she was insanely powerful. Until now, I'd known vaguely that she was strong, but not the extent of her combat prowess.
Butchering a swordsman who had overwhelmed four holy knights in a single breath? That was some serious skill. Incredible.
Could I ever get that strong?
"Well, looks like she won."
"Yeah. Justice prevails, after all... Anyway, let's scout around once it's over."
From what I'd seen, I doubted there'd be a single survivor in the village.
Monsters like those couldn't be created normally. They were probably summoned or conjured by sacrificing the entire populace as offerings.
And the whole place reeked of malevolent energy.
I had no idea what the apostle of Ezath was up to, but it was the kind of bastard that turned even fellow heretics into mindless black fiends for cannon fodder.
No way it'd leave any villagers alive.
Sad, but most of the adventurers gathered here had joined the crusader army precisely to loot abandoned spoils like that.
"Formation! Advance!"
"Advance!"
"Advance!"
"Advance!"
The soldiers advanced in perfect unison. With the monsters collapsing, it was a good time to push forward. They slowly closed in, encircling the beasts and stabbing with spears and swords.
Groooan...!
Weakened as they were, even the soldiers could handle them now.
It looked like a swarm of ants butchering a mantis.
With the holy knights joining the assault, they quickly regained the upper hand.
I advanced alongside Winia, sticking to the rear with the soldiers.
Then someone poked my side from behind.
"Katt."
It was Claudy.
"Whoa! Claudy! You finally made it! I've been waiting!"
I was so thrilled I pulled her into a tight hug, gushing about how awesome she'd been, how much she'd suffered, all that stuff.
"You were so cool I was speechless! Claudy is the best! That was insanely badass! Total overwhelming power!"
"Hehe, thanks."
Clady hugged my waist back and smiled.
There was nothing to say but how awesome she was. The twin blades handled with total freedom, the perfectly timed kick, and that finishing uppercut laced with dark elf savagery!
Every bit was flawless!
I'd already fallen for her, but now I was even deeper!
Strong women...!
Twisted... no!
Perfectly healthy desire!
"How is my Claudy this strong?!"
Seriously overwhelming force.
I kept praising her in awe, and she grabbed my face, saying,
"You can become like me too, Katt."
"..."
But at the same time, I lost a bit of my confidence.
Her words silenced me.
Her power was on a transcendent level, worlds apart from a hyper noob like me. I couldn't imagine ever reaching her.
I'd put in effort, lived diligently, and gained some solid strength, but even that black fiend from earlier—I couldn't guarantee a 1v1 win.
I'd always tried to grow stronger to show her my best side. The praise for my steadily increasing power felt good.
But... with a gap this huge, could I really catch up?
No clue.
"I'm... not sure if I can."
My confidence plummeted.
Being this weak compared to my woman killed my pride. My mana pool was still pathetic. Feeling the sheer power gap made me doubt if I could ever close it.
I shrank a little.
"Katt, you can do it."
Clady pressed her forehead to mine.
"I can... do it?"
"Yeah. I'm saying this because it's you, Katt. You can become an even stronger warrior. That guy I just fought was strong, but lacked finesse. You might even be better at that part."
As if reading my mind, she whispered gently into my ear in a soothing tone, boosting my spirits.
"If you'd had that weird power, you could've handled it way better. That's what I thought mid-fight."
"...Really? For real?"
"Katt. I know you inside and out. That's why I'm saying it."
I didn't know.
No matter how hard I tried, there'd be limits. Of course, for the Heavenly Demon Kim Katt, limits didn't exist. The idea of boundaries for a transcendent being was laughable.
But Claudy was stronger than the Heavenly Demon.
"You're not losing confidence just because of my display, right?"
She said it with worry in her voice.
Was that what she'd feared...? Regrettably, yes.
"...Yeah, a little."
"Don't. I actually went a bit serious to show you."
Serious... to show me?
"...You did that for me?"
"Yeah. It's hard to find worthy opponents lately. This was a perfect chance to motivate you."
Clady talked about motivation.
Showing her strength would spur me on. She was right—it had triggered my desire to grow stronger.
But the gap was too vast.
Even if I caught up somewhat, could I even touch her heels...?
"You wanted to catch up to me, didn't you?"
She said as I mulled it over.
"You read my mind?!"
"I can tell your thoughts just by looking at your face."
"..."
Heat rushed to my head in an instant.
Just as she said, I'd always chased after Claudy.
I'd thought getting stronger would make me like her, but watching her dismantle a guy who'd casually wrecked four charging holy knights in one go was overwhelmingly dominant.
The vague gap had become starkly real.
"Because I love you."
"Uh, th-that..."
A fastball out of nowhere.
My body trembled hard.
"Katt, I've fallen for so many things about you. One is your potential. Warrior talent. I know because I love you. That's why I showed you. That I'm this strong woman. And that this woman loves you."
Ah, uh... th-that...
My head spun.
"I believe in you. Katt, you can become a strong warrior."
Because it's good.
"You've been growing lately, right? That's why I showed you—to keep that drive alive. Aim high. Build experience and power step by step. Plenty of time."
...Clady wanted to raise me into a strong warrior. Probably since we first met. She spoke with total conviction.
"You can definitely catch up to me."
Then I'd live up to her expectations.
"You're the Heavenly Demon, right Katt?"
Clady, a step away, took my hand.
Even her light grip packed serious power.
Yeah, that's right.
"—Ahh."
I...
"Yeah."
The Heavenly Demon.
"I am the Heavenly Demon Kim Katt."
I said, gazing into Claudy's eyes.
"A damn strong man."
Her golden irises with cat-like vertical slits were captivating. Just looking made me want to drown in them.
"Thanks, Claudy. And I love you, Claudy. You fired up my strength sensor. Just like you said, I'll push for even greater power."
"Yeah. That's it."
Clady smiled.
Right—she'd motivated me, so I'd grow stronger as intended.
No need to lose confidence; it never existed. She believed in me, so of course I'd believe in her too.
The Heavenly Demon grows endlessly.
That's what transcendence means.
"...Clady. I hate how this isn't Isvant so damn much."
Her passionate love confession had my lower half throbbing unbearably. I wanted to overlap with her right then. Blood rushed south, making my tough battle leathers feel torturously tight.
"Hehe, good thing?"
Clady chuckled lightly and playfully tapped my bulging crotch. "Whoa!" My restraint snapped completely!
"Yeah. I wanna head back soon too. Hold out till then?"
"Ah, damn it."
Tease me hard then edging control!
"Alright, Katt, let's move. Everyone's advancing. Hmm... any enemies left?"
"If there are, I'll smash 'em all, seriously."
Mana exploded wildly through my body. The energy surged vividly between bones and muscles. My mana really reacted strongly to emotions.
The three of us headed deeper into the village.
The monsters were already down, and orders for mopping up remnants disguised as scouting meant looting valuables ASAP.
"...That black bitch is such a total softie only for sis. Like a total pushover."
Winia, who'd silently watched my heated talk with Claudy, muttered snarkily. She said it then turned away without checking my gaze.
"Ah. Winia."
"What."
"I love you. For real."
"Bullshit. You only got eyes for sis anyway."
"No, you too."
I slipped behind her and scooped her up in a surprise princess carry.
"Kyaa! Eek! Ah, fuck you blackie! Put me down!"
"Ahh, this is the princess carry."
And the follow-up princess carry.
She seemed jealous, so time to show my sincerity. I loved Claudy, but Winia too.
...Clady had already reshaped my mindset.
"It's what you do for the one you love."
"...Shut up, you black dumbass bitch."
"Ah, what now."
"Nothing. Just keep holding me."
"Got it."