Chapter 59
Translator: True Detective
### **Chapter 59. Flipping the Penguin**
My entire body screamed.
I was merely hit by a penguin's wing.
To say 'merely', it is a 5-meter giant penguin though.
And an Adelie penguin at that.
"Kuh……"
As expected of a Myth-class monster? How high is its strength stat?
But now is not the time to check for injuries.
Because.
*Kueeeeeeek──!*
That 5-meter Adelie penguin over there is glaring at us with that round and harmless-looking appearance.
Krampus's black pupils rolled slowly, scanning us.
A leisurely gaze pondering which one to eat first.
"Going again."
I re-gripped the Abyss Sword.
The heavy sensation wrapping snugly around my hand was the only consolation.
Combat start.
Good. Must say a word here.
Right at this moment is when a leader must unite the team as one.
*'If the four of us combine our strength, we can definitely do it. Please believe in me. I will believe in you too. Let's go together!'*
[Persuasion Roll Failed]
"We go simultaneously. The one who is late will be thrown as penguin food."
……
Did I just threaten my allies?
No, no. The method might have been a bit rough, but that too is a command philosophy.
Famous generals in history all did that. Fear and respect are two sides of a coin. The carrot shines only when there is a stick.
Tyrants in history all built empires like that.
From the point of saying tyrant, it doesn't seem like a good example already, but let's move on.
Right, this is intended charisma.
Intended leadership.
Anyway, we spread out to our respective positions.
East, West, South, North.
The Black Knight party surrounded the penguin.
"Now!"
The four of us kicked off the floor simultaneously.
I with the Abyss Sword from the front.
Leona with the Holy Sword from the left.
Freya with her twin swords from the rear.
Grand Duke Valter with the frost sword from the right.
*Swoosh─!*
Four swords touched Krampus's balloon-like belly at the same time.
Normally, if you poke a balloon with a needle, it's normal for it to burst.
But this balloon bounced the needle off instead of bursting.
Krampus's belly fat jiggled.
The greatsword loaded with the Aura of the Abyss was pushed out like it bounced off a rubber ball.
And me holding the greatsword along with it.
"What──?"
*Boing. Boing. Boing.*
The same thing happened simultaneously in the other three directions.
Krampus's fluffy belly jiggled, pushing away the four blades at the same time.
A kind of omnidirectional repulsion.
A fat-based defense system where the belly fat absorbs the attack and returns it.
*Kuuung!*
Four collision sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
"Kuh……!"
I barely raised my body, dusting off the stone dust stuck to my back.
"Does this make sense!?"
Leona staggered up from under a pillar and shouted.
I agree. This doesn't make sense.
"Daughter, are you okay……."
Grand Duke Valter detached his body from the wall and looked for Freya.
"Alive for now……."
*Waddle waddle.*
Krampus shook its body as if nothing happened. There wasn't a single scratch on the guy's body.
The situation was definitely one-sided to the point of despair.
*Kieeeek-!*
Krampus opened its beak wide.
An act a penguin must never do.
That is precisely spewing a freezing breath.
The stone pillars touched by the cryogenic chill instantly turned into transparent ice pillars.
"Light!"
Leona raised the Holy Sword and deployed a barrier.
The white light of the Holy Sword erected a circular shield, but frost began to bloom on the surface in an instant.
*Crack. Crackle.*
It cracked. The barrier was freezing from the inside.
If left alone, even Leona was going to freeze.
"Step aside!"
I drew up the Aura of the Abyss.
*Kuuung!*
The black energy flowed along the trajectory of the breath, bisecting the chill. My aura pushed away Krampus's coldness.
*'Where is there a penguin shooting a breath!'*
Why is a penguin doing what a dragon does!
The significance of a penguin's existence is providing cuteness while waddling!
*Kwaaaaaa-!*
Continuous breath. 2-hit combo. 3-hit combo.
It seems the concept of cooldown doesn't exist in this penguin's dictionary.
The entire altar floor was being covered in bluish ice.
At this rate, even the place to stand was going to disappear.
"Be careful! He's coming!"
This time it was a kick.
A.k.a., Giant Penguin Kick.
Krampus struck the floor with its short, blunt legs.
An assault of short legs. But the result was not cute at all.
*Kwargwagwang──!*
The struck ice sheet surged up, and the terrain of the floor itself fluctuated.
"Kuh! For a Northerner to slip on ice, it's a disgrace!"
Freya lost her footing and slipped, flailing.
Grand Duke Valter quickly stuck his frost sword into the floor, barely holding on.
*'Just because a penguin stomped its foot once, a localized earthquake occurs. The genre itself is different from that cute creature seen in documentaries.'*
Is this penguin physics contaminated by the Abyss. Beyond disturbing the ecosystem, it's a blasphemy against nature.
Of course, I slipped too.
I slipped and slid right in front of the penguin's feet.
Krampus's black eyes looked down.
I looked up too.
"……."
Our gazes met.
*Kiek?*
Awkward silence.
*Kwang!*
The guy's leg struck the floor, creating a crater where I was.
Dodged the penguin kick by rolling *roll roll*.
As expected, rolling is the best evasion method.
That was dangerous, really.
Almost earned the title 'Black Knight Flattened on the Floor' following 'Black Knight Stuck in the Wall'.
*Kieeeek─!*
Krampus roared continuously at short intervals.
Every time, the temperature inside the altar dropped sharply.
Every time inhaling, it felt like lungs were freezing, and body movements became noticeably sluggish.
"The guy's cry is freezing our magic circuits directly. The longer we hold out, not flesh but soul will freeze first."
Grand Duke Valter's analysis was accurate.
As the chill Krampus spewed continuously accumulated, this entire altar turned like a freezer.
"The longer the battle, our mana freezes and he gets stronger."
Leona gripped the Holy Sword tight, organizing the situation.
"Meaning time is on his side."
Although it was a guy showing sluggish movement when it first crawled up from the crack.
Now its movements are getting faster and faster.
"In that case."
Leona re-gripped the Holy Sword and looked back at me.
Covered in blood and dust. But her eyes alone did not go out. Rather, they became brighter.
Is it a characteristic of the race called Hero. Constitution shining brighter when cornered.
"We just have to finish it before it gets stronger."
Simple and clear.
I respect humans who make complex strategies, but I respect humans who summarize complex situations in one simple sentence even more.
"Hey, Black Knight. That. That thing."
"What is that?"
"What we did during the Black Mammoth. The thing where we go *Swoosh─* and then *Bang!*."
That joint slash that bisected the Black Mammoth.
Aura of Abyss and Aura of Radiance.
Cross collision of two conflicting powers.
A foul play-like technique where 1+1 becomes 10 instead of 2.
"Good."
I put strength into the hand holding the Abyss Sword.
*'Leona, let's match our breathing. If your light and my darkness combine, we can definitely pierce that guy's belly fat.'*
[Intimidation Roll Success]
"Go all out. I might blow you away by mistake."
"Shut up, let's go!"
We kicked the floor simultaneously from both sides.
Me from the left.
The Aura of the Abyss wrapped the entire greatsword. Pitch-black energy overflowed along the blade, trailing a tail behind.
Leona from the right. The white light of the Holy Sword exploded. Pure white light wrapped Leona's whole body, leaving afterimages.
Black and white.
Two streams of light crossed over Krampus's body.
X-shaped slash.
*Kwaaaaaaaang──!*
The conflicting collision of two auras caused an explosion.
A flash of mixed black and white swallowed the entire altar. The shockwave shredded the ice sheet on the floor.
*Kueeeeeeek─!?*
The scream of the penguin Krampus.
A cry mixed with pain, different from the roars until now.
First time hearing this penguin making a sound of pain.
The dust cleared.
A giant laceration engraved in an X shape on the penguin's chest.
Black blood spewed out like a fountain from between the split feathers.
The first effective hit.
And a proper critical hit at that.
Black blood splashed all over my armor.
*Slurp.*
I checked the taste reflexively.
*'……Fishy. Incredibly fishy.'*
I reflect on my past self who said I was curious about the taste of penguin meat. This is not a food ingredient.
"Did we get it!?"
Leona shouted as she landed.
Wait.
That line!
*Shwoooooosh──!*
Chill rose from Krampus's wound.
Frost spread between the gaps split in an X shape. The black blood froze, filling the wound. The split feathers stuck together as if recombining.
It was regenerating in real-time by sucking in the cold of the North.
"……Even regeneration!?"
Leona's face turned pale.
I'm asking why you threw that line.
Taking advantage of the gap while Krampus focused on regeneration, we hid ourselves behind a pillar.
Black Knight. Leona. Freya. Grand Duke Valter.
Everyone battered. But everyone surviving.
"Strategy meeting."
Grand Duke Valter approached my side.
"To him, the entire North is an infinite magic power supply source. At this rate, there's no end. Killing him is impossible."
"Dad. Do you have any good ideas?"
"We have to seal him again."
"Seal? How? Is there a method?"
"The Frost Witch must not have had any friends. She would stand me there frozen and recite her plans every day. Thanks to that, my ears were entertained even though I couldn't move."
Grand Duke Valter's gaze headed to the floor.
The magic circle.
The ancient patterns pulsating with blue light were still alive.
"That magic circle has a structure that operates in both directions: sealing and awakening. If we reverse the direction, we can shove that fat Krampus back under the frozen earth."
"The condition?"
"To manipulate the magic circle, an existence adapted to Abyss magic power must directly touch the core."
"Eris returned injured, and Snow White is in that penguin's belly so……"
Leona muttered with a troubled expression.
"I still have the residual magic power of the Knight of Cold."
Grand Duke Valter touched his chest.
"Because the time I was encroached by the Abyss was long. Rather, that becomes useful here. The Frost Witch's magic circle won't reject me."
Honestly, I was relieved.
A proper adult has finally joined this party.
Grand Duke Valter has a lot of experience, cool-headed judgment, and accurate situation analysis.
Above all, there is that sense of stability of an adult who seems like he will accept my words without twisting their intention.
Just having such a person by my side puts my heart at ease.
Let's convey our gratitude. With formality. Not as a father-in-law…… but with courtesy befitting the Northern Grand Duke.
*'Grand Duke, I am reassured fighting together. I will trust and leave the magic circle to you. Please be careful.'*
[Intimidation Roll Success]
"Good. Take charge of the magic circle. But if you fail, the penguin might not be the only thing I deal with."
Grand Duke Valter's eyes narrowed.
"……What?"
"Dad, that human is originally like that. Don't mind him."
Freya intervened expressionlessly.
"Understood. Well, if he's a guy my daughter acknowledged, at least he won't stab me in the back."
"I never acknowledged him!?"
Grand Duke Valter looked at me and said.
"Executing the seal requires time. While I approach the core of the magic circle and reverse it, I will be completely defenseless."
The Grand Duke's gaze headed to Krampus beyond the pillar. The regenerating X-shaped wound. It was already 70% filled.
"We have to tie that guy down during that time. Do you have a method, Black Knight?"
"I do."
Everyone's gaze turned to me.
"Oh, what is it? Are you finally unleashing a hidden ultimate move?"
Freya looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
"We flip the guy over."
I presented the strategy shortly.
"Huh?"
"……What?"
Leona asked back with a stupid expression.
"If a penguin is flipped over, it cannot get up on its own."
"What are you talking about! Did your head go weird after getting hit and flying away earlier? No, your head was originally weird, Black Knight??"
"I am perfectly normal."
"A normal person doesn't propose 'flipping over' as a method to catch a demon!"
Leona looked at me as if dumbfounded.
"It is a structural limitation of penguins. Look at its body shape. If flipped, it cannot create momentum with those short wings and short legs."
"Where on earth did you get such knowledge……?"
I did not answer.
The source is an Antarctica documentary I saw in my past life.
It was a Shorts video where a researcher helped a penguin up because it couldn't get up alone when it fell over.
It's unknown whether that will work on a 5-meter giant penguin, but for now, that is the only breakthrough.
Freya opened her mouth first.
"Flipping this rotten world…… Good, I like that."
"I don't think that's the meaning──"
"I agree. I want to see that fat bird flipped over and struggling."
Freya's motive doesn't seem pure, but agreement is agreement.
Grand Duke Valter stroked his chin.
"Hah, it's reckless, but…… it's not like there are other options. Flipping it over…… an idea befitting the North."
"Dad, was that a compliment just now?"
"I wonder."
Only Leona was left.
"Flipping a demon. Isn't it a martial feat worthy of being left in the Hero's epic."
The Hero let out a very long sigh.
"Don't leave it. Absolutely don't leave it."
*Kueeeeeeek──!*
Krampus's roar cut off the conversation.
The temperature inside the altar dropped another level. Exhaled breath instantly froze and fell like snow.
*Smash!*
Krampus's wing strike pulverized the stone pillar. Our cover disappeared.
We have no time.
"The strategy is simple. I will draw the guy's attention from the front. Freya, kick its knees from behind. Hero, you finish it. Smash that bird head into the ice sheet."
"……Rather than a strategy, it just sounds like a street fighting manual."
"Complex tactics don't work on penguins."
Anyway, since there were no sharp alternatives, everyone agreed to my absurd strategy.
Penguin Flipping.
For a Myth-class monster subjugation operation, it's an extremely unheroic operation name, but.
It was the best we could do right at this moment.
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