125. Brutality (4)
125. Brutality (4)
- 1 -
The one who stepped forward from Zarkra's camp was one of the individuals I had my eye on in their encampment a moment ago.
One of those with the greatest strength among the group.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Are you to be my opponent?"
"That's right. Lady Libertas. My name is Hwira Jul. I am a warrior favored by Lady Zarkra."
A troll with long, red hair who strode out past the several ogres within the camp.
His green bulk was comparable to an ogre's, his tusks jutted handsomely past his snout, and his entire body overflowed with magic power.
Going by appearance alone, he looked like a post-apocalyptic berserker who lived only for destruction and plunder, yet what rested at the corners of his mouth was courtesy and a smile.
"To be able to clash powers with a Dungeon Lord. It will likely be a lifelong honor!"
"It seems you are one who enjoys fighting the strong. A good attitude."
"Thank you for the compliment!"
On top of that, he seemed to possess a gentle nature that belied his appearance, making him a likable figure just from casual observation.
Also, his body possessed a crimson hue that looked similar to Shue's, but its true nature was not blood...
"It seems you handle fire."
"I handle fire primarily. I may not be able to control myself due to excitement once combat begins, so you will need to be sufficiently careful."
"Thank you for the consideration."
A troll who wielded the power of flame.
And judging by the fact that he said he might not be able to control himself, he was likely a berserker-type who channeled fighting spirit or frenzy into strength, just like Shue.
Now that he had revealed this much about himself, it was only proper etiquette for me to share as well.
'Nobility' also affirmed this.
"I am, as you can see, a necromancer."
"As I can see... rather than that, you truly appear more like a noble young lady who ought to reside in some aristocratic household."
"Are you saying I look powerless?"
"No! I mean you appear noble!"
"I see. Thank you."
Perhaps that gentlemanly attitude was genuine, because the way he became thoroughly flustered at a simple tease was quite impressive.
Toward the troll who had been thoroughly flustered before quickly regaining his composure, I asked my final question.
"Let me ask, just in case."
"Hm?"
"You wouldn't happen to be the one Zarkra cherishes the most, would you?"
There was a reason I asked this.
It was because I had seen the look in Zarkra's eyes as she cheered him on, before this warrior who had identified himself as Hwira Jul stepped forward.
The sight of the Dungeon Lord examining his body here and there with eyes that seemed unusually honey-sweet.
Come to think of it, the Dungeon Lord and this warrior were both 'trolls,' at least in outward form.
"Haha! Our Lord cherishes all monsters equally! If it appears she cherishes me especially, it is merely because I am her first summoned creature!"
"Is that so... that is how you see it."
I smiled.
If his words were anything to go by, it seemed Zarkra had a hobby similar to mine.
Something like cherishing one's first summon more than others.
If that wasn't it, it could also be that they truly had a special relationship and she was being cautious about it becoming a weakness.
And so, a sense of regret washed over me.
The thought occurred that, had we met elsewhere and under different circumstances, we might have become friends.
"Be careful, Hwira Jul."
"Pardon?"
"You're going to need to steel your heart. If you don't want to watch your Dungeon Lord commit suicide without even putting up a fight."
"What's the meaning of...? Ah, are you provoking me?"
"From this moment... begin!"
While Hwira Jul was looking bewildered, unable to grasp the meaning behind my 'true intention,' the Judgment commenced the duel.
"You'll find out once you experience it."
Hoo-ook.
I bloomed the 'darkness.'
- 2 -
The duel began with Libertas.
The small, black orb that had arisen at her fingertips unfurled in an instant, scattering tiny blossoms profusely.
"「Black Baby's Breath」."
Hoo-ook.
Along with the incantation.
The entire vicinity was submerged in darkness.
"This is...?"
Darkness was the most suitable element for stimulating the fear of the unknown felt by living creatures.
Hwira Jul, whose instincts were provoked momentarily by the pitch-blackness that filled his entire field of vision and erased his sense of direction, was no fool who would lose his timing to such surprise.
"「Ouh Fyra'maer」!"
Hwareuk - !
Light and heat boiled up over his body as he chanted a true word in the ancient troll tongue.
The orange hue that covered his dark green body blazed up enormously for an instant, momentarily pushing back the surrounding darkness and even making his own body appear black.
It was a shape as if fire and darkness were fighting with the boundary as their battleground.
'It's not burning matter... but it retreats.'
Hwira Jul coolly assessed the situation.
In his eyes, he saw the darkness pulling back further the moment the flames touched it.
Once the flames passed, it surged back in, but it seemed to refuse contact with the flame itself.
'If that's the case!'
What he had to do was decided.
"「Hyro'tor Nax」!"
Hwareuk!
The flames on his body burned even more fiercely, then scattered dozens of fireballs in all directions.
Small fireballs, but ones that burned exceptionally bright and large.
This was to secure his field of vision—even if the fireballs didn't precisely hit their mark—by accelerating the consumption of spiritual power, the medium of his sorcery.
Sarak.
In his eyes, a shape resembling the hem of a garment flickered.
"There!"
Kwang!
The troll instantly kicked off the ground and hurled his body.
However, what he caught was merely the edge of the darkness, not a part of Libertas.
"Damn it! You protect yourself excessively, my Lady! Show yourself!"
- It pleases me that you realize that. My children are not well aware that I care this much about my own safety.
"That must be regrettable! I will speak well of you, so how about you come out and we converse!"
- How chivalrous. That was an amusing provocation.
He had attempted to at least lure out the opponent's voice, but Libertas's voice only echoed faintly from all directions, failing to provide any clue as to its direction.
And immediately after.
Sasasak!
Dozens of arrows shot in from within the darkness.
They were arrows crafted from pure white bone, one of the basic offensive methods of necromancy.
"「Maer!」"
The flames enveloping his body blazed even more fiercely, blocking or burning away those arrows.
Swik!
Yet one among them pierced through the flames and left a wound on his throat.
Touching the blood that flowed from his neck, he realized one thing.
What was required on this battlefield was not intellect.
It was merely, endless rage.
"Do not resent me, even if my hands grow hot!"
- If you intend to do something, show me.
"「Ra'gash Bord」!"
Hoo-ook - !
The moment he shouted the true word, the heat haze that had been emanating from the troll's body grew even hotter, and his eyes were dyed crimson as his physique expanded.
It was the appearance of a 'Berserk Transformation' that was recognizable at a glance.
'A sight that stirs up memories.'
That appearance reminded her of an RTS/RPG game she had played in her very early childhood on Earth, and a smile briefly rose to Libertas's lips as she was lost in those passing thoughts.
Because even the sight of him wielding a poleaxe in both hands was so very similar.
'Those were good times.'
Happy memories shared with her young uncle, before she had cut ties with him just prior to coming here, and her father, whose true nature she had not yet known at the time...
But they were memories stained by the misfortune that followed.
Though Hwira Jul was different in that he used magic—no, even sorcery.
- Keureureuk...!!
"Burn... kill...!"
The troll had lost all courtesy and was simply roaring with fury.
Simultaneously as his body grew larger, the intensity of the flame increased even more in size and ferocity, and the physical body receiving the power of those flames likewise swelled its bulk further.
『Boiling Magic - 'Mana' rises in response to anger and frenzy.』
『Burning Rage - As mana rises, physical stats increase slightly in proportion, and the degree of berserk transformation strengthens.』
Though she could not see exactly what he possessed through her own eyes, they were traits whose effects were discernible just from the outward appearances.
Libertas had wrapped herself in darkness to block the flames, but his fire had already grown enough in size to force the surrounding darkness back.
There was no way Hwira Jul could fail to detect the area where the flames could not extend.
"There you are - !!!"
Kung!!
"Magnificent anger. It is a spectacle to behold."
The troll executed a reckless charge, flames cloaking his body, without sparing himself.
The smile that surfaced on Libertas's lips as she faced him and revealed herself deepened.
A composure that paid no heed to the fact that her shield was melting from the flames, or that the bone arrows and spears she flung were evaporating.
- Keuaaa - !!
Hwareureuk!
Enraged by that composure, the troll warrior ran up and raised both hands.
Immediately after, the two poleaxes in his hands drew two bright red crescent moons, laden with flame.
Hwareureuk!
"Die - !!!"
It was a bombardment that had ordinarily cleaved the bodies of his foes in two, earning him their trust.
Kwaang!!!
But that bombardment was blocked by a semi-transparent black shield created at the tip of Libertas's lightly raised staff.
Everything outside the barrier became a sea of fire, and the unresolved shock surged into the sky, making the flames blaze up huge as well.
Hoo-ook!
Around her and behind where she stood, not even a spark was visible, let alone fire.
The spectacle was as if the light and heat had deliberately evaded her of their own accord, as if they dared not encroach upon her.
Amidst that, the woman spoke.
"Is this all?"
- Keureureuk...!
Her gaze and smile, still gentle but somehow as if looking upon something pitiful, enraged the troll further.
Far more than direct contempt or loathing would have.
- Keuaaa - !!
Kwang!!
Kwaang!!!
One of his hands shot toward the sky once more, then descended, and immediately after, the other hand followed.
Kwang! Kwangkwangkwang - !!
A bombardment of unceasing rage.
Slashing and fire blazed on violently, as if to incinerate the very earth of this place and turn it all over.
"Yes. It is certainly a magnificent attack."
The black lady simply stood there, still.
At a glance, it looked as if she had dug into the ground slightly, but a closer look revealed her position had not changed from that spot at all.
It was simply that the surrounding ground had been lifted by the impact.
『Traits - ..., Advanced Specialization: Swordsmanship, ...』
The movements, subtly revealing the body language that Evangeline had persistently stuck by her side to teach, were sophisticated yet exceedingly elegant.
"Now..."
Tung -
"Watch this."
With an elegant movement ill-suited to the battlefield, her boot softly pressed down on the ground.
Keudeudeudeuk - !!
From that ground, darkness stretched out once more.
A darkness qualitatively different from the one from earlier, far more viscous.
"This is my darkness."
Chwarararak!!
Thus the darkness grew.
"Not yet... it is...!! Catch, devour...!"
Hwareureuk - !!
And the flames also blazed up even larger...
But it was already too late.
- 3 -
Hoo-ook.
Upon the dueling ground, the darkness that Libertas had summoned had arrived.
A sight-obscuring veil that allowed those on the outside to perceive each other but made it impossible to see within.
"What is this?"
"I can't see inside?"
"What are you trying to..."
While all of Hwira Jul's camp was uneasy, there was one woman whose face looked especially anxious.
Dungeon Lord Zarkra. It was her.
'She must win properly...!'
A battle where she could defeat the enemy Dungeon Lord and, with better luck, even 'devour' her.
The one deployed for that naturally had to be the individual possessing the greatest strength in the Dungeon Lord's camp, and the one bound by the strongest bond to the Dungeon Lord.
That was why Zarkra had sent out Hwira Jul.
The single warrior who had been with her from the very beginning, whom she had poured effort into raising.
The being who was no different from the very foundation of her current self... and for whom she held a 'special' attachment.
'He must win. No matter what...!'
In that moment.
Hwareureuk - !!
Chwarararak!
"Has he succeeded...!"
Flames wielding intense heat blazed up, erasing a portion of the black veil, and seeing that sight, Zarkra smiled.
It was because she thought it was proof that her warrior was pressing that Dungeon Lord.
Her face in that moment was unmistakably shining with hope.
Hoo-ook!
"Aaaagh!!"
"Huh...?"
Until, at last, she saw Hwira Jul's revealed form amidst the lifted darkness, and simultaneously realized that the 'contract' had been severed.