Our Strength! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Our strength! Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Rina. You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you?"
"Huh? It's lighter than I thought, so it's fine."
This is light..? This cart's loaded with armor and weapons from dozens of soldiers, plus all the food supplies?
We were climbing a mountain right now. A rugged, rocky one that rivaled Everest in sheer brutality! I'd originally planned to skirt through the forest to cross the border... but I never imagined they'd chase us that far.
With Colorado Count's pursuit squad on our tail, it was better to tough it out and scale the mountain outright for the shortest path north.
The Colorado barony we'd lived in before belonged to the Brad Kingdom, one of the maritime powerhouses in the central-southern continent that had grown strong off relay trade revenue. Since commerce was far more advanced than in other kingdoms, it was the first to establish absolute royal authority in this world of mine—much like the shift from feudalism to absolutism back on Earth.
As merchants amassed wealth, the Bordeaux royal family had opted to bolster the crown by co-opting the rising middle and elite merchant classes over the traditional medieval nobility. And above all, guns existed here too. Matchlocks, to be precise—but that meant the era of knights unleashing their peerless techniques was over.
Of course, this being a fantasy world unlike Earth, mana let them unleash sword auras and superhuman enhancements for inhuman combat prowess. Knights still held firm status. But even classic matchlocks made everyone one-shot fodder. Mounted charges evoking knightly romance were tough now, but given Earth's history of cavalry up to World War I, knights could shine a while longer.
Unless machine guns suddenly appeared.
"Huff— huff! Phew~ Actor, sir. Could we rest a bit? The kids are getting tired..."
"Hoo~ Got it, Malcolm. See that midpoint on the mountain? Allen said there's a nice wide clearing perfect for a break about ten minutes up. Let's stop there."
"Hoo~ Understood. Everyone, hang in there! We're almost there!"
""""Yes!~""""
"Aren't they all kinda weak stamina-wise?"
"Yeah. Why are those old guys and big bro and sis so frail?"
…
"Jean! Pablo! Don't lump us in with them. And they're carrying luggage—we're not! If you're overflowing with energy, grab some bags!—"
They flinched! We had to remember we'd become monsters from the start, with baseline physical abilities far beyond human. I drilled that into the kids constantly.
Just in case they slipped up on power control and caused an accident.
"GRRROOOAAARRR!"
"Get back!"
Crunch! Grind! Zap-zap!
"Kyaaang!"
Whoosh! Crraaack!
Just as we were resting at the mountain midpoint, a pack of wolf-like beasts ambushed us.
Called Dire Wolves, they weren't your typical Earth wolves. These were tiger-sized monsters! Dozens charged down from above with ferocious momentum, each big enough to swallow a human head whole.
And Rina's superhuman strength ripping one apart by its jaws! Without a hint of strain, she tore the two-meter beast in half barehanded, like shredding paper.
Dire Wolves lunged at her with fangs bared, but they couldn't pierce her thigh-thick forearms. Instead, Rina grabbed their necks, ripping heads from bodies.
Snap-crunch! Kyaaang! Yelp!—Zzzap!
"Shut it, you mutts!—"
Splat-crunch!—
God... she's turning those massive wolves into ground meat?!
I knew Rina's strength was insane from prior tests, but I hadn't realized her body was that tough too. Malcolm said Dire Wolves' bite could shred direboar hide like butter.
Yet her absurdly dense muscles shrugged it off. No average cold steel would pierce that!
Meanwhile, Jean and Pablo blasted flames and frost from their hands, incinerating or flash-freezing the wolves.
Jean's fire was hotter than expected—we'd only used him for casual campfires till now. Full power turned two-meter beasts to ash, bones and all.
Pablo's chill was otherworldly: an icy gale from his palm froze the ground and wolves solid in a blink, turning them to ice statues.
Human cremation hits 1500°C, so torching bigger, tougher beasts en masse meant Jean's flames were scorching. Pablo's frost, freezing life instantly, had to near absolute zero (-273.15°C).
By the time our people formed a phalanx with spears and shields at my command, the trio had it handled.
"Hahaha! Feels great! Tearing wolves barehanded is the best! Power surging!"
"Boss! See that? I torched 'em all with fire!"
"Check these ice statues! Cool, right? I'm awesome too!"
"Yeah... you guys are nuts... uh, amazing..."
I'd need proper firepower tests later to gauge their limits. The kids' power exceeded my wildest imagination. And they were all under ten. How strong would they grow? How twisted might their personalities get?
Time for personality training too.
Compared to Earth, it was like handing kids missile launch codes. Emotions run hot in children. A bad mood could lead to reckless power use—who knew what damage?
This too... if Dantalian calculated it all in advance, watching how the kids veer off-course and how I'd react... grind!
Maybe a stretch, but knowing demons' boredom from the lore Dantalian implanted, I couldn't dismiss it. Worst case, I might have to kill these kids myself? Demon hobbies ran that cruel.
What do we do now?
Best to just follow along.
Run to somewhere else?
But didn't you see that terrifying power in daylight? If they get mad and...
That night, a ways from Actor's group, the warehouse slaves he'd freed gathered quietly to talk future plans.
The topic: what came next. They'd seen the unimaginable power Actor's crew displayed and huddled in fear.
They'd been shocked at first sight of the monstrous kids, but chalked it up to tragic experiments on children. Relief even.
But the brutal slaughter of Colorado knights two days back, and today's wolf massacre, changed that.
Terror. Realizing their fates hung on superhuman beings beyond human ken.
Hundreds-strong group, kids who could kill effortlessly, unpredictable—terrifying if they deemed anyone a nuisance.
Those beaming smiles amid the slaughter? Pure dread fuel.
What should we do?
Sneak off now...
Enough, Romaani folk! What nonsense is this?
Tucker and Malcolm kin approached the plotting Romaani corner, faces pitying as they scolded.
Mr. Tucker! This nonsense?! What happened today...
So you'll run? From the kids who saved us?!
…
I've seen them eat my cooking. So innocent, joyful! And you fear them as monsters just for that insane power? Sneaking off tonight—pathetic, don't you get it?!
I agree with Mr. Tucker. Pointless panic. They'd kill us on whim? They wouldn't have saved us.
Me too! Forgetting their grace for negativity?!
Those bros... saved us!
Sis too!
But who knows the future?! We've wandered the world, seen deceivers, filth... bandits who killed our tribe, sold us slaves. Don't trust easy.
Hey now!
"Ahh~ Think what you want, but if you wanna leave, just say so honestly and head out tomorrow, yeah?"
… …
"""Gasp! Actor, sir! Since when?!"""
"We have a saying where I'm from: 'Daytalk's heard by birds, nighttalk by rats.' Means secrets leak, so watch your words... What you say? We hear it all. I get the fear. So here's a deal: Anyone wanting out tomorrow gets food and coin. Go freely."
!!!
"Honestly, forcing haters along tires us too. Half the reason I saved you was my whim anyway. Leave if you want. Tucker, Malcolm—glad you trust us, but reality's harsh, like the Romaani say. You got families? No need to force it."
"Actor, sir..."
"That's that! Sleep time. Kids: Good kids sleep early. Got it?"
"Yess~♪"
Fearful Romaani vs. faithful Tucker-Malcolm kin after Actor's power display. The midnight stir quietly faded.