A New Boss Battle Begins

Rachel liked her newly made friend. Everyone had always looked at her strangely because she spoke oddly and acted strangely. No one had ever become her friend. He was the first friend she’d ever had, aside from her mother. Her new friend, Asbel, had a weak body. So she carried his bags for him and made sure he had food. Asbel didn’t seem to dislike her. She liked that. If she could have her way, she would have hugged him tightly while they slept at night, but Asbel told her not to do that. Friends were complicated. She was learning so many new things and experiencing so much she had never known before.

That morning, Rachel went to wake Asbel as usual. But her extremely sharp senses told her even before she knocked that there was no presence inside the room. “Asbel?” Where could that weak-bodied human have gone? A sudden wave of worry washed over Rachel. She headed for the training grounds. He was either in class, in his room, out shopping with her, or here at the training grounds. Asbel lived a simple life.

When she arrived, sure enough, Asbel was there. He was practicing hard with the two swords he always kept floating in the air. “Asbel.” “Ah… Rachel.” His voice sounded exhausted. His face looked utterly drained, as if he had stayed up all night.

“Are you okay? You look tired.” At Rachel’s words, Asbel nodded. “I’m fine. It’s the weekend anyway, so there are no classes… I was just practicing a little more.” His arms and legs swayed limply from exhaustion as he forced them to move. Yet his eyes burned with a clarity and determination that could not be clearer.

“Just a few more times and I’ll be done.” Elm 183 shot toward the training dummy at a terrifying speed. Rachel had watched Asbel train many times, but this thrust was on an entirely different level from what she had seen before. Its speed was comparable to what the professors could produce. Then Asbel swung his greatsword. The mana coiled tightly inside it exploded outward in the direction of the swing, amplifying the sword’s brutal weight and kinetic energy before detonating like a bomb. The entire training ground shook with heavy booms.

Rachel’s eyes widened as she stared at Asbel. “You’ve gotten stronger.” He was growing at a frightening pace. Her keen senses told her that the Asbel from two weeks ago and the Asbel standing before her now were completely different people. His eyes were ringed with dark circles, yet they burned with ever-brighter passion. His mind displayed terrifying focus. And then—

The thrust of Elm 183 moved at a speed the eye could not follow, while the greatsword came crashing down with enough force to collapse the training ground. Both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠techniques were completed before Rachel’s eyes.

Asbel stopped training. “I barely made it in time.” He staggered slightly, clearly exhausted. Rachel immediately moved to support him. “You need to go to bed. You have to sleep.” “No, Rachel. Let’s go to your house.” Her eyes widened at those words. “My house?” “Yeah. We promised two weeks ago that we’d go to your house on the weekend. I’ve already prepared the gift for your mother. All we have to do is go.”

Rachel was happy to hear it, but she also grew worried. “But Asbel… you’re tired.” “It’s fine. The teleport station is too expensive for students like us to use casually. We’ll take a carriage. I already reserved one. I can sleep on the way. It takes three hours to reach your house, so that’s plenty of time.” Asbel smiled gently at her. “Let’s go, Rachel. Let’s go meet your mother. I will definitely heal her for you.”

A faded black greatsword. Her mother had become obsessed with that divine artifact and ended up locked away on her father’s orders. It was the first time Rachel had ever seen her father look so tormented. So she had thought simply: if her mother saw Asbel’s sword, she would surely feel better and their family could go back to the way it used to be. “Okay! Let’s go to my house!” Rachel beamed. Asbel smiled back.

He gathered the bag from his room along with the Iron Lion’s Greatsword and Elm 183, then climbed into the carriage. The moment he sat down, he leaned against Rachel and fell asleep. He needed to rest now if he was going to be ready for the new boss battle in three hours.

The Catel Marquisate was a grand, beautiful high castle. When Asbel opened his eyes after three hours of sweet sleep, the sight of the magnificent fortress left him momentarily awestruck. “We’re here.” “You kept it a secret like we promised, right?” “Yes. I kept it secret.” “Good job.”

We stepped down from the carriage and entered the Catel Marquisate estate. The sudden visit from Rachel and me seemed to shock the people of the mansion. “My lady? What brings you here at this hour?” “I came to see Mother.” “Y-You should have at least sent word! We would have prepared to welcome you properly!!” “It’s fine. I wanted to come secretly. This is my friend, Asbel!” “A friend, you say? Ah, how wonderful.”

The servants looked at us with uneasy eyes before guiding us to the head of the family, Marquis Catel. Although he was the head of a knightly house like the Lichtenauer ducal family, Marquis Catel gave off a completely different aura. He was a handsome middle-aged man with a mustache that would have suited an artist better than a swordsman. He sat in his study with a deeply worried expression. When he saw Rachel and me enter, he quickly forced a smile onto his face and stood up.

“Rachel!! You startled me. What brings you here without any notice?” “I came secretly. I thought Mother would be happier that way. I made a new friend. His name is Asbel.” At Rachel’s innocent words, Marquis Catel wore an expression that said he had no idea how to explain this. His complicated face was a mixture of guilt, worry, sorrow, and a tiny hint of despair. “I see. Rachel, it’s wonderful that you’ve made a new friend.”

“I want to introduce my new friend to Mother too. He has a faded divine artifact that smells of blood. Mother wanted to see something like that, right? If she sees it, she’ll be happy. She might even smile again.” At Rachel’s words, the marquis’s face crumpled in anguish. “I’m sorry, but that will be difficult.” “Why?” “Your mother is still very ill, Rachel. She’s in a great deal of pain. She isn’t in any condition to meet visitors.”

Rachel’s smile vanished. “She’s very sick?” “Yes, very sick. So she isn’t in a state to meet anyone right now. I understand you want to introduce your friend, but… it will be hard.” Rachel clenched her fists tightly. “When will she get better?” The marquis hesitated. He seemed to be struggling to find the right words. “She will definitely get better,” he said at last.

There was only one way to turn a quasi-demon back into a human: completely extracting the Fragment of Corruption that had been injected into her body. But if someone other than me tried to do it, they would first have to completely subdue the quasi-demon and then perform an extremely complex and delicate combination of magical and surgical procedures at the same time. They would need to summon an archmage and several renowned healers, which meant the Catel family’s secret—that a quasi-demon had appeared among them—would inevitably become known. Naturally, that would be an enormous disgrace for the family.

Would he endure that shame and call for help? Or would he keep it hidden until his wife fully turned into a demon? Judging by Marquis Catel’s hardened expression, it seemed that after long deliberation he had chosen to endure the shame and call for outside help. Even though it would clearly damage the family’s prestige, he was willing to summon people. He must truly love his wife. What a devoted husband.

“It’s impossible right now. Please understand, Rachel. Once she gets better someday, we’ll introduce your friend to your mother then.” At Marquis Catel’s words, Rachel nodded quietly. He turned his gaze toward me. “So you’re Rachel’s new friend?” “Yes, that’s correct.” “Stay comfortably during the weekend, Asbel. However, it would be best if you remained only in Rachel’s room. Do not go near the basement. Understood?”

It was clear the marquis simply wanted me to stay quiet and leave without causing trouble. Since this was the first friend his daughter—who had never had one before—had brought home, he couldn’t bring himself to be cruel and send me away. At the same time, he desperately wanted to keep his wife hidden. I nodded obediently. “I understand. Thank you for the invitation.” “Rest well.”

After we left the study, Rachel hung her head with a gloomy expression. “I don’t think I can see Mother. She’s very sick.” “I see. Then there’s nothing we can do.” “I wanted to make Mother happy.” Rachel muttered sadly. She really was a kind child. She was just a bit of an airhead. I hesitated for a moment, then placed my hand on her head and gently stroked her hair. Since she resembled a cat, I tried something a cat would like.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be better by tomorrow.” “Tomorrow? Why?” Because I’m going to heal her. “You’ll understand tomorrow. Come on, let’s go have some fun.” By now, the quasi-demon would have sensed the presence of the Iron Lion’s Greatsword the moment I entered the mansion. She would probably start moving around evening when security grew lax. Before then, I needed to find a place where Rachel and the mansion’s people would be affected as little as possible and settle things there. The fewer casualties, the better. That way the rewards would increase.

I went to Rachel’s room and spent time there normally. She introduced me to all sorts of things with obvious delight, since I was her first friend. “These are the books Mother used to read to me!” “They’re wonderful.” “This is my bed.” “It’s cute.” “These are my favorite dolls. Mother got them for me.” Had her only friend in her entire life really been her mother? Just what kind of setting did this heroine have?

Watching Rachel chatter away like a happy child as she showed me one thing after another filled me with pity. I was glad I had chosen the salvation route. I had no intention of pursuing this heroine romantically, but I found myself wanting to see her pure smile alongside her rescued mother. I didn’t want to see Rachel fall into despair after losing her mother.

After touring Rachel’s room and eating some of her favorite foods together, we sat near the fireplace and stared into the flames. Rachel seemed content just to stick close to her friend. “Will Mother get better?” “She will. By tomorrow she’ll be back to normal, Rachel.” “Really?” “Yes, really. Don’t you trust your friend?” “I do.” “Then relax and go to sleep. Tomorrow you’ll be able to see your mother smiling.” “Okay!”

Rachel lay down with her head on my thigh and made a soft purring sound. When I stroked her hair, she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. I stayed a little longer until she was completely asleep. Around ten o’clock in the evening, when the mansion’s lights had gone out and the servants had returned to their quarters, leaving the building nearly empty, I gently moved Rachel’s head onto a nearby soft cushion and stood up.

I gathered the Iron Lion’s Greatsword, Elm 183, and my bag, then slowly crossed the mansion and began descending into the basement. It was my first time here, so I didn’t know the layout, but finding the quasi-demon wasn’t particularly difficult.

Along with the chilling red warning window, the Iron Lion’s Greatsword trembled slightly. The deeper I went underground, the stronger the trembling became. I followed the direction where the vibration grew more intense. Before long, the thick smell of blood reached even my nose.

In the secret underground detention facility, servants and knights of the Catel Marquisate—who should have been rotating shifts to prevent outsiders from approaching—lay unconscious, having been struck down by someone with overwhelming power. Thanks to that, I was able to walk straight into the core facility without anyone stopping me. A red alarm began ringing belatedly, perhaps detecting the escape of a detainee, but I ignored the sound and continued forward.

And finally, a wide space that could be called an underground plaza appeared. “My lady!! Please… please come back to your senses… ugh!!!!” A heavily armed knight was lifted into the air by his neck with one hand. When the woman tightened her grip, a sickening crack sounded and the knight went limp. From the foam at his mouth, it seemed she had only knocked him unconscious rather than killed him. Her last remaining shred of sanity must have prevented her from killing a member of her own family.

The knight’s shortsword slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground. The woman called “my lady” casually tossed the knight out of the plaza. She picked up the fallen shortsword. A woman with the same silver hair and red eyes as Rachel. However, the whites of her eyes were stained pitch black. “I was planning to go hunting myself. I didn’t expect you to come find me.”

She spoke to me in a horribly twisted voice. She licked her lips with her tongue like a beast. Her gaze was fixed precisely on the Iron Lion’s Greatsword floating behind my back. “That thing. That faded divine artifact. Give it to me. I want to eat it. I want it so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠badly.” “Sorry, but this isn’t something you eat.”

The Iron Lion’s Greatsword and Elm 183 moved through the air at my command. Their tips pointed straight at her—at the quasi-demon. “They’re tools to beat you down.” “How foolish!! Do you really think a weakling with a body like yours can defeat me!!!”

Without a word, I opened my bag, took out paralysis poison, and applied it to the blade of Elm 183 while smiling. “We’ll only know after we try.” The shortsword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in Lady Catel’s hand swung. The blade flew at a speed too fast to see and effortlessly severed the thick iron chains holding up the massive iron gate that sealed the underground plaza. The gate fell with a thunderous crash, completely sealing the plaza where only the two of us stood. Even if the marquis came running after hearing the alarm, he wouldn’t be able to enter right away.

“You’ve made a foolish choice. Now it’s just you and me!!” She let out a maddened roar, but I only smirked. You’re mistaken about something. “You’re misunderstanding.” I smiled with genuine delight. “You’re not the one hunting me. I’m the one hunting you.”

With those words— “Stingray!!!!”

Elm 183 shot toward her at terrifying speed. And with that, the battle began.