Chapter 14
“Tch. I didn’t want to use this if I could help it.”
I carefully laid down the young lady I’d knocked out with a chop to the neck and turned toward the chimera.
The moment the guy who’d been doing nothing stepped up, it grinned even wider than before, ready to take my attack head-on.
Come to think of it, it hadn’t attacked first at all. Seemed like the type with massive pride in its own strength, the kind that got off on watching its helpless enemies despair before it crushed them.
“Got some brains in there, huh? I thought regular chimeras just rampaged without any self-awareness.”
Unexpected, but it didn’t really matter. A rational one was actually easier to deal with.
“Normally, I’d have just run off with you.”
At first, I really had planned to bolt. Win or lose, dealing with this mess sounded like a pain, and the academy would send rescuers anyway. Hiding out until then would sort everything out.
Plus, if word got out that the duke’s daughter had this kind of power, they’d try to recruit me by any means necessary. And that would shatter the peaceful daily life I wanted.
But her sudden move had caught me off guard. After two failed attacks, I figured she’d give up. No way she’d think I could beat something her full-power strikes couldn’t scratch. And given her outwardly tough but inwardly fragile nature, she’d pick survival to reunite with Polo over anything.
‘I’ll buy time. You run.’
Using herself as bait to save me? Her noble pride and sense of duty had shocked me fresh.
I’d half-expected her—the Celine I knew—to order me to protect her, or in the extreme, injure me and use me as bait.
But facing death’s terror, she’d chosen to save me. It shattered my worldview.
Until now, the heroines had been like NPCs to me. I knew this world was a game backdrop, and I had their info from the game system—names, ages, personalities, hobbies. I’d viewed them through that script, even in reality, as NPCs acting on pre-programmed data.
Hook one quickly to Polo for their happy ending, then live leisurely in the background. That was the plan. They were just means to an end.
‘They’re different.’
Arrogant, proud, jealous duke’s daughter. But one who never forgot her noble pride, willing to sacrifice herself.
‘Makes me curious.’
Curious if they weren’t who I thought. That possibility sparked massive intrigue.
“So I can’t just let her die.”
They could bring fresh excitement to my boring life. No way I’d let that go.
Bonus: Help out our love-sick friend’s romance on the side.
“Noctus Style 3rd Form.”
Sching— The sword slid out silently. With it came a thick wave of killing intent filling the arena, shifting the chimera’s mood in an instant.
-Grrr, grrroooaaarrr!!
Overwhelmed by the killing intent piercing its body, did it panic and lose reason? Now seeing me fully as the enemy, the fear crushing it drove a fatal mistake.
Boom—!
-Groooaaahh!!! Groooaaarrr!!
Exploding forward with insane leg power, the chimera bellowed a grotesque, cow-like cry and charged me madly.
“Too late.”
Heaven and Earth Sundering
Shwoooaaaahhh!!!
The compressed aura burst forth with the draw. One swing. But the massive aura in the blade became a colossal slash that engulfed the chimera head-on.
-Grooo….
Splaaaatttt!!!
The skin no magic could pierce crumbled under the pouring aura slash. Before it could react, the overwhelming mass cleaved its body in one go.
Crunchhhh!! Boooommm!!
Not content with bisecting the chimera, the slash carved across the arena to the opposite side, traveling some 500 meters before exhausting its power.
“Haa… I overdid it.”
A massive vertical scar. Like a god from the heavens had drawn a single stroke with its finger. Spectacular.
The chimera, head and torso vaporized by the slash, lay bisected with limbs splayed. The already dilapidated arena crumbled further from the impact.
“If anyone asks, I’ll say the young lady did it.”
The young lady landed the final blow with all her mana and collapsed from exhaustion~ Anyone who knew her magic talent would nod along.
I glanced back, worried she might’ve noticed, but luckily the knockout worked fine. She breathed softly in sleep.
“I’d love to poke around and see what this place is, but leaving her alone’s too risky. Better wait.”
Sitting beside the fainted young lady, killing time blankly, professors popped out of thin air minutes later to rescue us.
They’d analyzed the spatial transfer magic, backtracked the coordinates, and rushed here. We got out unscathed.
They gawked at the chimera corpse, but I fooled them with the “young lady used all her mana for the finishing blow~” line. Knowing her skills, they bought it quick, pinning it on her.
The corpse screamed “sword, not magic,” but I hid my aura use and claimed a massive wind blade spell. They seemed convinced.
Should I be glad or sad no one suspected me…?
Back at the academy, we were hospitalized for potential injuries.
Polo came sobbing after hearing I’d been in peril, but showing I was fine and crediting the young lady calmed him down.
I savored the situation, deciding to skip classes under the hospital excuse for a comfy break.
Whoever made the chimera, they weren’t in the game, and the imperial family would handle it later. No worries.
I’d soak up this rare sweet vacation with my whole body.
“...Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
In a dim lab cluttered with experiment gear—somewhere’s research room—a man deep in study snapped out of it at his guard-like female aide’s words.
Interrupted focus irked him, but she rarely reacted like this, so he probed for details.
“The link with Behemoth just cut off.”
“Hm. Professors already there? Faster than expected.”
“No, not professors. Behemoth died before they arrived.”
“What?”
Behemoth, a lab-born chimera. Untouchable by normal magic or aura—not even a scratch. Only professor-level could fell it.
“Link really severed? Could it be a glitch?”
“Tried multiple times. Same result. Its brain waves vanished completely. Means non-functional.”
“...A failed experiment, sure, but its physical specs rivaled the other Numbers.”
The man stroked his chin, intrigued. The plan: Feed Behemoth, wipe out academy captives, declare war.
Defeat flipped the script, but he chuckled like it amused him.
“Who were the ones sent to the processing plant?”
“Some nameless baron’s son… and the second daughter of House Euse.”
“Ah, I see. House Euse’s young lady. That explains it.”
Founding heroes, magic dynasty House Euse. Their second daughter once hailed as genius; her academy age reminded him bitterly of his own years.
“Meant to stoke noble fury at the academy… but this changes things. Time to pivot.”
“How so?”
“Heard rumors, but her talent’s beyond expectations. Can’t waste such a prime test subject.”
“...Kidnap her?”
“Kidnap? Such harsh words… We’re just…”
“...giving her the chance to join the new world.”