The Abomination Awakens
Thud! Thud thud!
The troll charged at me like a rampaging beast, mad with fury.
A crimson magic circle flared to life on its back. Jenella shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Pierce it!"
A spear of flame slammed into the troll's back.
Sizzle.
But the red spear couldn't penetrate its skin. The moment it touched, it fizzled out like fire meeting water.
"What the...?"
"It—it won't pierce! It won't stop! Adria!"
"Rise!"
At Adria's gesture, a puppet woven from tree roots burst up from the ground.
The puppet latched onto the troll's limbs with a click.
Adria clenched her fist tight.
"Explode!"
BOOM!
A massive explosion engulfed the troll's body.
The beast, which had been barreling toward us with terrifying momentum, skidded to a halt as its charge faltered. I muttered without thinking.
"...Did we get it?"
"Hey!!"
"Ah."
Right. Flag.
"GRRROOAAARRGH!"
A hand shot out from the smoke and grabbed my arm.
I tried to shake it off, but instinct whispered to grip back—and my body obeyed, locking hands in a test of strength.
Arm wrestling.
My rational mind screamed don't do it, but my instincts yelled grab on now!, and my body followed suit.
Will this work?
The troll's face emerged from the smoke, twisting in rage.
Daring to challenge me to a strength contest? it seemed to say.
Will this actually work??
I activated the blessing anyway. The War God's Blessing surged, wrapping my body in a red aura.
The troll yanked my arm. I gripped its leathery hide and pulled back.
Grriiind.
It was being dragged.
Not me—the troll!
It’s working?!
Why the hell is this working?!
"GRRRROOOOAAARRGH...!"
The troll slid toward me, helpless.
It looked panicked. Hell, so was I.
"...?!"
"...Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Arm wrestling! Just wait! Hngh!"
I planted my feet, spun my body like I was twirling a friend by the hands back in the day—but with one arm, whirling the troll around.
"GRRRROOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!"
"Hraaah!"
I gave a final heave and hurled it. The troll let out a pitiful screech as it smashed into a nearby massive tree.
CRASH!
"Gr... rooar..."
Impaled on the trunk, the troll reached out with a feeble grrr, like it was begging for mercy.
Then its hand dropped limp.
"Grooo..."
I stared blankly at my hand.
...Why did that work?
Maybe I didn't need to learn any techniques after all?
"Hey! You okay?!"
"Are you hurt?!"
Jenella and Adria rushed over.
They frantically checked my hand and arm, worried I'd been injured in that brute-force contest.
Of course.
"...You're way too fine."
"The troll's arm got ripped off, though?"
"??"
My arm was pristine.
Trolls might be tough, but they were still trolls. Even a high knight would struggle in a raw strength match, but I wasn't your average high knight.
"What the hell are...?"
"...What are you, exactly?"
Jenella, unaware I was a priest of the War God, asked in a voice tight with tension.
Should I tell her?
As I hesitated, two shadows flitted overhead.
Clang! Scraaape!
Swords clashed.
The figures bounced back, then charged again, blades flashing.
A deep, unfamiliar baritone boomed out.
"This chilling sensation... How does a kid your age...?!"
"Imposter, just drop dead."
Ash and the dark elf were locked in combat.
Ash swung her sword. A sharp blue slash hurtled toward the dark elf's throat.
Claaang!
The dark elf barely parried with his dagger and landed on a nearby tree.
He spat rough breaths, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Crazy bitch..."
"Crazy? That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
Ash landed near me.
So that's where she'd been.
"The real crazy one here is you, pulling this shit. Piling up corpses like that? You a black mage or what?"
She snorted and flung something from her pocket.
Clink!
A dagger. She hurled it like a natural-born assassin.
The dark elf knocked it away with his own blade, panting heavily.
I asked him, genuinely curious.
"So what are you? Not a black mage, not a regular mage, too scrawny for a knight. Don't say elf— we already know you're fake."
"...What?"
"You should've been uglier to sell it."
Ash subtly gestured behind her back.
Adria and Jenella quietly began casting.
I kept his eyes on me with a taunt.
"Pointy ears are all you got? Anyone can see you're a freak. Can't even climb trees or fight worth shit. What makes you an elf, huh???"
"...Ha!"
"What? Mad? It's a joke, chill~ So sensitive~"
Clang!
Ash deflected a dagger aimed at my throat.
I grinned.
"Pissed? Kill me then. Oh, and clean up those corpses over there? What’s with the creepy pile if you're no black mage?"
"...You'll regret this."
"Regret cleaning up trash like you? Whatever."
Right on cue, Jenella and Adria finished their spells.
"Bind!"
"Rise! Tie that bastard up!"
Rumble rumble!
Crimson flames erupted, while wooden puppets seized the dark elf's arms.
Spells aimed purely for restraint, no attack.
"Th-this is...!"
Finally caught the rat bastard.
I leaped up. Our eyes met. Confirmed.
He wasn't an elf. Human eyes, no trace of the elven aura like Professor Murdersonal's.
"Who's your backer?"
"Think I'll tell you?"
"Guess that means there is one."
Whatever. We'll find out after we nab him.
"Just gonna lop off your limbs. Don't worry, won't kill you."
The guy's a villain. Obvious from the corpse pile.
Human?
How's a murderer human? No mercy from me.
The dark elf thrashed and bellowed.
"Rise!!"
"Rise my ass—"
Whoosh!
I twisted away. Blocked a flying fist with my sword flat.
But mid-air impact sent me tumbling back.
Thud! Crash!
"Eugene!!"
The power was insane. Stronger than the troll!
...What the?
I looked up.
The fake dark elf burst into mad laughter.
Before him, a massive something's arm erupted from the earth.
"Kuhahaha!"
Rumble rumble!
The thing rose.
I pinched my nose against the foul stench.
Variant troll... no.
Worse.
A grotesque amalgam: troll body stitched with monsters everywhere.
Barely worthy of "lifeform."
What kind of experiment is this?
The earlier corpses were gone.
We'd burned some, but...
Seemed more piled underneath.
Not just corpses—monsters too. Artificial lifeform.
Even black mages wouldn't touch this.
Suspect: House Arishion.
But no certainty.
A ducal house wouldn't need such filth.
Or maybe precisely because they are ducal...
First, grab the bastard.
"This thing was born under a curse so vile, even the War God damned it. You can't handle it!"
That?
Cursed by the War God?
...Strong, sure, but not that level.
The War God ignores all but his priests. Rages only at desecration or insult.
Won't curse over some amalgam.
"For real?"
"Yes! You know what you've disturbed!"
"Nah, no clue."
"You'll learn soon enough!"
The dark elf flipped me off—middle finger, index severed.
"Go!!"
Thud, thud, thud!
The hulking golem-like mass charged me.
Unlike prior foes. Several times the variant troll's power.
My eyes glowed red.
"One thing I get: you're doing some seriously fucked-up shit."
Just here for a side gig, now dragged into this.
Normally, walk away. Bad luck, done.
But after that sight—and his attempt on my neck—the game's changed.
"Was gonna just take your limbs, but changed my mind."
"?"
"Gonna cleave you in half first."
I gripped my sword. The two gems in the black blade lit up.
Red and blue auras intertwined in eerie light.
Stage 2 amp...
"Hold up."
"?"
Jenella blocked my path.
Her purple hair framed eyes sunk in unnatural depth.
"I'll handle it."
"For real?"
I almost asked if she could, but her seriousness stopped me.
Threw another question instead.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
She nodded firmly.
"...I have a duty to fight things like this."
Duty?
I could guess. Didn't pry.
"Got it."
I just held my sword.
"I'll tank up front. Blast it from behind, no worries."
Hit me anew why I entered Sky Academy.
To fix punk-ass hero candidates.
Or help unborn heroes grow right.
Feels more like helping friends, though.
Not bad.
Jenella, Ash, Adria.
Talent alone? Hero material, all three.
"...Okay."
"Say the word if it's too much."
"Then, let's start."
I nodded.
"Restrain it!"
With her chant, red spears from the earth pierced the charging monster's arms.