Holy Knight Yohan (5)

A creature that had crawled up from the abyss. Not even an ancient Scotsman, yet it wore a skirt — and not just any skirt, but one with a hemline riding above the knee.

The shame of all men. Their sworn nemesis. A monster that launched a real-name attack with those goddamn twin tails, pressing a finger to its cheek like a little girl.

"Why is the cheerleader a guy? Cheerleaders being guys is just common sense, right?"

"KRAAAAH!"

Blood surged up from deep inside me. The battle hadn't even started and this thing was already launching mental attacks.

"Honorable Judge! Isn't this a foul?"

"This is bad. Yohan's taken a serious hit."

"Is this not the usual Mad Demon?"

"As a goddess, I can tell! Yohan is not normal!"

"The Mad Demon was never normal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to begin with..."

I steadied my mental state while listening to Sophia and Cheonsol's banter. Right. This was fate.

The goddess's will was for me to pulp this bastard who had ground men's pride into the dirt — and kill him.

"Right, Lady Sophia?"

"This is serious. The Mad Demon has begun conversing with an imaginary master. A heart demon has clearly taken hold."

"A heart demon? An illness of the mind?"

"Correct. Mad Demon! Overcome the heart demon!"

"Mad Demon! Win!"

I spread divine power through my body the way I would use Self-Healing. The queasiness in my gut settled, and I could finally look the abomination in the eye.

"Kids! Let's wrap this up in fifty seconds! Begin!"

"YES MASTER!"

Yes Master, my ass. I crossed my arms, curious to see what kind of garbage they were about to pull.

And immediately regretted it.

"Clap your hands and stomp your feet — let's make the joy of victory!"

What the hell kind of lyrics were those? An elementary schooler could write better. The problem was that dozens of grown men were belting it out at full volume, veins bulging in their necks.

"All together, fighting!"

"But I'm sleepy~"

The left group punched the air in perfect unison. The right group closed their eyes and pretended to sleep.

"Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Ooooooh!!"

The cheerleader stomped his feet wildly, hyping up the atmosphere. His ponytail swung grotesquely.

"Truly a bizarre sonic assault. More bizarre even than the heretics this lady clashed with in war."

"Yohan! I figured out the trait of Meschu's planet!"

Sophia rescued my mind just as it was being sucked into that goddamn cheerleading. I gave her a thumbs-up without thinking.

"Nice assist!"

"On Meschu's planet, the roles of men and women are reversed from ours. In Earth terms, it's gender-reversed!"

"Gender-reversed means..."

"Exactly! Those guys are all playing the women's roles."

Sophia's assist was truly nice. Nice in a way that favored the enemy team.

Imagining grown men acting like women made bile rise in my throat.

"Urgh..."

"V.I.C.T.O.R.Y. BOYS!"

"Urgh, shit..."

With the system's calm message, the girly-boys' dance routine ended. The cheerleader walked up to me, wiping away beads of sweat.

"How was our cheerleading? I'd love to hear your thoughts."

"The only thing I can give you is..."

"My fists!"

Using the drive from my kneeling stance, I drove a straight punch forward. The fist, buffed by Lan-lan-i's cheer, tore through the air with a ripping sound.

"Hwaaah. So scaaary."

The cheerleader launched a mental attack ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while leaping into the air. His skirt fluttered, exposing his undershorts.

Thank god they were undershorts. If they'd been women's panties, I would have coughed up blood.

"Oh my. Pervert! Where do you think you're looking!"

The cheerleader flashed a lewd smile and stretched out a long leg. A leg covered in thick hair filled my vision — my ass it did.

"DIE!!!!"

Rage-powered straight punch! Behold the taste of Taekwondo, the traditional martial art of Korea that even appears in Goguryeo's Subakdo!

My fist struck the cheerleader's heel.

Crack.

Crunch.

Bone-breaking sounds rang out from both sides. Using the rebound force to spin once and flee, the cheerleader made a pouting face.

"Hiiing... I sprained my ankle..."

"Don't be hurt, Cheerleader!"

"Receive our love!"

"Thanks, everyone~"

The cheerleader sprang right back up and waved toward the stands. His back was full of openings, but instead of charging in immediately, I drew my sword.

I hadn't just been training holy magic during the break. Sparring with Cheonsol had honed my senses.

Since I'd only used swordsmanship without skills, I'd grown familiar with every kind of feint. The cheerleader was exposing openings to draw out my attacks.

Whatever counter he planned, the moment I struck his back, I'd take heavy damage.

"Hmm~"

"Hmm, my ass."

"You're not falling for it~"

The cheerleader provoked me with a nasal tone. For a moment I nearly snapped and took the bait, but I held on by recalling when Lan-lan-i and Evni had acted cute.

"Mental attacks don't work. I have a beautiful goddess, wives, and adorable daughters."

"A father with people to protect is stronger than a mother. That's a nice line."

The cheerleader smiled wickedly like a succubus — no, like an incubus.

"But can you resist this temptation too?"

The cheerleader turned around and lifted his skirt. Black undershorts clung tightly to his skin, flaunting a duck-like ass.

"Ahh."

"Gotcha~ Gotcha~ Come touch my luscious butt~"

I lowered my sword and walked slowly. Very slowly.

"This is bad! It's Meschu's minion's main skill — Dizzy-Dizzy!"

"Mad Demon! Snap out of it! Dost thou not prefer women?! Just because one dons a skirt does not make one a woman!"

Pretending not to hear, I walked right up to the cheerleader.

"Come into my arms and get comfortable?"

The cheerleader spread both arms with a smug smile, certain of victory. I swung my sword at his completely exposed chest.

Slash.

"Ah?"

A sword wound carved across half the cheerleader's upper body. Blooming blood flowers soaked my body.

Licking the blood from the corner of my mouth, I pointed my sword at the kneeling cheerleader.

"When rage reaches its peak, you become cold instead. Your disgustingness works the same way."

If he'd exposed himself naturally without using a skill, my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind would have crumbled.

But because he over-injected the disgust to win the battle, I was able to overcome it.

"Hardships that fail to bring a human down only make that human grow stronger."

In this moment, I grew one level further.

Reinforcing my sword with divine power, I thought of a game character. One with poor performance that got used for entertainment, but so many people made it their main because of its satisfying execution animations — the Executioner.

The soul of an executioner who executes criminals settled into me. In the days before I awakened divine power, I could only borrow the form — but now I could understand the will contained within.

The executioner's soul whispered to me.

The crime of being a cheerleader while being a man. Sentenced to beheading.

"Vanish as the dew of the execution grounds."

Thunk.

The head that had read its master rolled across the floor. Drenched in blood spraying up like a fountain, I muttered.

"I... will become an executioner..."

"Demon! Die nailed to the cross!"

I planted the incubus into the ground, then shaped its arms into a cross.

I drove my sword into its heart and yanked it out with gusto. Another blood fountain erupted, and Meschu's minions recoiled in horror.

"Oh no. That's too barbaric."

"Man crush is so cool..."

"Snap out of it!"

The minion who'd said something spine-chilling got smashed by Meschu's iron mace. Unlike when he'd been excitedly cheering, Meschu now looked thoroughly anxious as he chewed his lip.

"How did a man resist the temptation of a cheerleader and a model?"

"Because he's a man."

If they'd been women, two consecutive impregnation hits would have drained his stamina dry and retired him. He survived because they were men.

"In that case, I'll crush you with pure skill! Racing Boy! You're up!"

"Roger!"

The racing boy gave a playful salute. Rage boiled up.

"A salute... is done by placing your hand above the eyebrow so the palm isn't visible!"

"Why are you getting so angry? So rude. You're lacking in male sensitivity."

"KRAAAAH!"

I gave the racing boy a death befitting his name. After breaking all four limbs, I dragged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him across the floor, turning the Colosseum into a sea of blood.

"Hoo... Next..."

I'd killed three girly-boys, but my bloodlust still wasn't satisfied. My sword still craved blood...

"Isn't Yohan being a bit too cruel?"

"A martial artist is supposed to be like that. The Mad Demon has finally started looking like a proper martial artist."

"Uh. Yeah. I see."

"Why are you putting distance between us?"

"No reason. Go Yohan!"

Cheonsol and Sophia were cheering me on too. Emboldened, I slaughtered the remaining two minions as well.

At that, Meschu screamed.

"Argh! Fine then! I didn't want to do this, but! Gaki, get out there!"

"Useless Master♥ You couldn't even beat one man and called for me♥ No rest guaranteed♥ Apologize♥"

"Oh."

The mesgaki looked like a cute little girl. The clothes were too baggy to check the chest, but the body type was female.

Right. Since it was gender-reversed, the strong minions would have to be women.

"OOOOOH!!!"

"What♥ You crazy man♥ Gross♥"

"I quit being an executioner."

My fighting spirit settled and lust rose. Time to return to Holy Knight Yohan.