Ariete
“How in the world! How how how how how!! How did you pierce my inner spatial barrier! Even a dragon couldn't breach it easily──.”
The magic he'd used was the top-tier barrier spell among barrier magics: Inner Spatial Barrier.
It separated spaces and overlaid illusions—truly, a barrier so tough that not only breaking it, but even detecting it was nearly impossible.
And yet.
That barrier was now shattering to pieces right before his eyes.
At the hands of a man who held nothing in his grasp—bare-handed, no less.
And the reason was ridiculously simple.
“Who the hell told you to stick a lizard punk on my father?”
Because my father was overwhelmingly stronger than any dragon.
“Yuri!!”
The moment the barrier broke, the man standing behind my father unfurled massive wings from his back and shot toward me and Yuri at impossible speeds.
His velocity was beyond what the eye could track. All we could sense was the ferocious gale of his aftershock, hinting at just how blindingly fast he'd come.
“……Father?”
“No injuries? Mana holding up? You're bleeding—feeling dizzy or anything?”
He'd been utterly cold when we first met, but now he gently caressed Yuri's cheek, scanning her with a lost, uncertain expression.
And Yuri, equally stunned—it was her first time seeing her father like this, her face twisting into the most shocked look I'd ever seen on her.
Meanwhile, my father, now positioned in front of me, eyed the enemy ahead and asked in a low voice,
“You hurt anywhere?”
He didn't turn around, but his voice brimmed with concern.
“No. Nothing serious.”
To put the finishing touch on this unfinished battle, I clenched my fist from behind him, glaring at the monster before us.
Yeah, the fight wasn't over yet—that's why he hadn't turned back.
Even in the little things, his nature shone through.
In that case, me too──
“Rest up.”
“……Pardon?”
“I'll handle it alone.”
And just like that, he tossed something my way, which I caught on reflex.
A silver watch resting in my palm.
“Hold this for a bit.”
Crack—crack—he rolled his neck side to side, rolled up his sleeves, and slowly advanced on the bastard.
“Don Vito Calione! Yeah! This is the perfect chance to strip away all your false glory!”
Spotting my father approach, the guy spread his arms wide like it was all a game.
“Yeah!! With my current power, a mere human like you──.”
“──Shut it.”
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Just a casual punch from his natural stance—short and unremarkable.
A vivid red line traced its path, and that was it……
“Grk?! G-g-grahhh……?!”
The bastard couldn't utter a word, his massive body pierced through, reduced to guttural choking sounds.
Any CS player would recognize the move.
How could you forget? It always popped up at least once in major scenarios.
Ariete.
A name that sounded pathetically weak at first glance, but it carried another meaning.
Battering ram.
The siege weapon from ancient wars, the ultimate symbol for smashing through gates.
Far too grandiose for any human tool.
But that man had achieved it with nothing but his own strength.
Monster fortresses deep in dungeons. Countless walls crumbling from a single punch, gates exploding, castles falling.
How many could stand unscathed after taking a direct hit from a siege weapon like that?
Anyone who could would surely be called a monster, not a man.
“Kyaaaaack!”
And the thing in front of us now, weak and foolish as it was, had a body that undeniably touched the realm of 'monster.'
“K-keeeek! Kuuuugh!”
Or maybe its mind too?
The man bearing the Calione name trudged forward indifferently, ignoring the flesh frantically regenerating around the hole at mad speed.
And just as his fist drew back for another strike.
“Hold on a moment……”
A man stepped in front of him.
“I'll handle this. Don Calione.”
“You sure?”
“If I don't do something, I'll lose my mind.”
The man flashed a bitter smile at my father's concerned words.
Then Dwight Rodmang, eyes blazing red, extended a hand toward the lump of flesh.
“Yesss……! Offspring of mosquitoes!! D-Dwight Rodma──?!”
The bastard tried to speak, but it never finished.
Because.
Squeeze—
With the gesture of gripping something, the blood scattered around the bastard surged upward all at once.
Blood Maiden.
The blood transformed into hundreds, thousands of thorns, encasing him from both sides as the pod began to writhe.
Dwight Rodmang.
Compared to the others gathered here, his territory was in the boonies, and he hadn't stirred up any massive global incidents……
But there was a reason everyone treated him with such deference and respect.
Red Moon.
On nights when the crimson moon rose, as a progenitor—as the Lord of Blood—he could wield power near the pinnacle.
“Crush.”
Grrrrrind─
Like tightening a screw, the blood pod in midair contracted in an instant.
Clunk—clunk—clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk—
-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk
Inside, the thing thrashed desperately to escape, but the more it did, the more blood it spilled, only making the pod denser and tougher.
For a blood-based organism, getting trapped in there meant escape was no easy feat.
And finally.
Splurt─
The pod halted with a jolt, and a torrent of blood gushed from its base.
“You kill it?”
My father asked impassively, despite the horror-movie scene straight out of nightmares.
“As if it'd die that easily. Not when it scarred my little girl.”
Screeeeech──
The pod slowly creaked open, dropping something blood-soaked and unrecognizable to the ground.
“Still breathing. Draining the blood seems to have reset it nicely.”
I hadn't known that……
Who'd have thought extracting the corrupted blood from that seed could revert it.
I knew dropping HP to critical like catching Pokémon had a chance to revert foes, but……
Forcing it by literally sucking out the blood itself? First time seeing that.
Talk about terrifying fathers!
For real.
And then.
“Peak.”
At my father's call, black flames whooshed! around us, and Peak appeared.
“Yessir! You called for Peak~!”
“This a joke to you?”
“……My apologies.”
Even she, who was always playful no matter the situation, hadn't expected us to get dragged in—my father's sharp rebuke made her bow deeply, kneeling in midair.
“You're in charge of security for this event, so I trust you've prepared compensation for this mess?”
“Y-yes…… Of course, sir.”
Wait, was she planning to pass off our reward as covering this?
“Father. Peak did nothing wrong. We accepted the request, after all.”
“……Request? What nonsense is that?”
A quick glance at Peak showed her face frozen in shock, staring our way.
Yeah.
This is why you can't trust fairies.
They stick to contracts, sure, but always scheme for extra gain……
Utterly shameless.
“It's really fine. No one got seriously hurt, so that's a relief.”
I said it with my best good-boy face, and Father and Dwight both turned their gazes on Peak.
“Well, that changes things. Compensation for the kids' reward—and separate apology compensation. Both ready, right?”
“Uh, um…… Guardians…… please calm down……”
“Calm? My daughter's face is scratched, and you want calm? I've always wondered what fairy blood tastes like. Perfect chance.”
“Eeeek!!”
Caught between titans, Peak floundered and backed away slowly.
“Junior, junior.”
A whisper from beside me.
I turned to see Yuri, wounds fully healed, smiling my way.
“Leaving it to the parents…… It's better than I thought.”
“Right?”
The most reliable folks in the world, hands down.
* * *
After Yuri and I were rescued.
Peak ended up giving us two boxes: one for the request reward, one for atonement.
She wailed buckets, insisting she was done for……
Yeah, no refunds.
Beat it.
Was her fortune worth more than her life?
With Father and Dwight glaring daggers.
And Faust, as event overseer, gave us thorough checkups to ensure no hidden injuries, promised it'd never happen again, and pledged compensation.
The result?
“Fairy gifts, eh? Quite the haul, Young Master.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
Two head-sized boxes stacked on the table.
Parnello stood guard beside me.
I'd wondered where he'd been, but apparently Father ordered him to just watch.
Something about 'I'll handle it myself.'
Thanks to that, I got to witness Father's power firsthand—couldn't have been better.
But one nagging question.
“Parnello. Got a question.”
“Yes. Anything I know, I'll answer with all sincerity.”
“How'd Father know I was trapped in that barrier?”
It'd bugged me the whole time.
Gerry Franche's barrier was illusion-veiled—no anomalies visible from outside.
A spell designed so outsiders couldn't detect it, yet Father knew.
“Ah, that. Truth be told, even I didn't notice…… But suddenly, the Don said, 'Eugene's acting off.'”
“……That's it?”
“Yes. You were over there, chatting with Lady Rodmang and others—or so it looked. The Don called it eerie and bolted straight over.”
Of course, seeing Father's weird moves from inside, I'd switched to holding mode……
Still, no logical explanation.
But for some reason, my heart got it.
“Parent thing?”
“Yes. Must be a parent thing.”
For parents, distinguishing son from illusion might be child's play.
“What about Dwight Rodmang? Father call him?”
Parnello shook his head.
“Almost simultaneously, he turned toward the barrier. 'My girl wouldn't smile at some stranger like that. Wouldn't link arms.' That sort of thing. Honestly, even I found it a bit scary.”
……That's straight-up madness, isn't it?
And why? Yuri strikes me as the type to do that playfully often.
Especially.
“Surprising. Senior said her dad sees kids as family tools.”
Parnello laughed heartily at my words.
“Fair point—fathers of sons and daughters might differ. How about this? If Jiyoon got a boyfriend──.”
“──I'd kill him.”
“No, a talented, handsome boyfriend──.”
“I'd kill him.”
“……Something like that. Can't let just anyone stand by his precious daughter.”
Of course, if some playboy approaches the Young Lady, I'll handle it first.
Parnello chuckled darkly, killing intent wafting after ages.
Poor future boyfriend of Jiyoon's.
“Anyway, shall we check the gifts?”
The event was nearing its end.
Boxes weren't heavy, so nothing huge—might as well open one here.
First up: Peak's request reward box.
Heart pounding with anticipation, I slowly unwrapped it and lifted the lid.
……Huh?
It popped up!!