Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: About My Disciple Being a Genius (6)
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I hurriedly informed Andrew of this fact.
An Imp had come here. And soon, a very powerful magical beast would appear. Of course, in the original game, it had appeared as a demonized magical beast.
But this wasn't the original timeline. For now, it could still be treated as a magical beast. Fortunately, Captain Andrew accepted my opinion. It was a relief that my credibility was high.
If he hadn't, we would have had to fight it without any preparation. Even with me here, we wouldn't have avoided total annihilation. It was that strong.
The guards quickly repaired the palisade and reinforced it with crude iron plating to boost its defenses. It still felt precarious, but we had to do our best with what we had.
"Teacher, is something going on?"
"It's nothing. Go inside and wait."
"But..."
"Listen to me."
"...Yes."
Helia nodded dejectedly. It stung a little, but there was no choice. No matter what, Helia had to survive this fight.
At least if I kept her in the rear, she wouldn't die. Her power was undeniably strong, but right now, she couldn't handle the Fighting Ghost. It was too powerful.
The Fighting Ghost had started as a low-grade magical beast created for combat. Yet it relentlessly pursued strength, becoming one of the rare monsters among monsters to rise to demon status.
"Tch."
"You look anxious, Captain."
"Quorens."
"What's got you like this?"
"It's a very powerful magical beast called the Fighting Ghost."
"Fighting Ghost? Never heard of it."
Quorens tilted his head, but I couldn't say more right now. I didn't know everything about the Fighting Ghost myself, even if I'd seen the setting documents.
The creators hadn't been keen on revealing lore outright. They wanted players to discover it themselves or some bullshit like that. Bunch of assholes with that holier-than-thou attitude.
Then again, if they were sane, they wouldn't have ended the true route with the Time Stop Breeding Uncle raping and impregnating every heroine. Fucking bastards.
"...It's coming."
On the third day of heightened vigilance, it finally appeared before us. It was stomping openly through the snow toward the palisade. I swallowed hard.
It had the body of a massive human. Easily over three meters tall, like a gigantic human male. But the owner of that muscle-bound frame wasn't human—it had the head of a bull.
The Fighting Ghost's true form was a Minotaur. Minotaurs were magical beasts created as shock troops. Superb physical prowess, but low intelligence made them easy to exploit and discard.
However, one Minotaur in particular craved strength above all. It fought the strong to grow even stronger, be they beasts or demons.
"A Minotaur? That's just a dumb low-grade beast."
"We made all this fuss over one of those?"
"Forget it. Let's just finish it quick."
"Wait...!!!"
A Minotaur's charge was intimidating, sure. But trained soldiers could react in time. Plus, with traps dug, they barreled straight into them anyway.
Veteran soldiers especially tended to underestimate Minotaurs. And those confident in their skills charged right out front.
I considered stopping time for a moment to intervene. But I couldn't. Cooldown was an issue. Against the Fighting Ghost, I needed to use Time Stop perfectly to win.
I couldn't waste it right at the start. So I chose to watch. Soon, three soldiers charged at the Fighting Ghost. That's when it reacted.
"...?!"
It was just a few seconds—mere seconds in perception. But in that instant, the scene before me changed. My eyes had been on the distant Fighting Ghost and the bare trees beside it.
But when I blinked, a severed head was flying toward me like a cannonball—one of the charging soldiers'.
Holy shit, that startled me. Nearly pissed myself. Actually, I did collapse. Good thing time was stopped, so no one noticed. So this thing nearly killed me?
I clicked my tongue. This was probably the Fighting Ghost's greeting and test. If I couldn't handle even this, I wasn't worth fighting. I quickly caught the head with one hand.
"Wh-what?!"
"Captain! That's...?!"
"Don't panic. It's just the Fighting Ghost's hello."
"What about the soldiers who charged?!"
To Quorens's shocked question, I pointed ahead instead of answering. There lay three mutilated chunks of meat, shredded by the Fighting Ghost.
A normal beast would have devoured them greedily. But the Fighting Ghost ignored them entirely. It stopped right there, its gaze fixed on me.
I sensed it instinctively. It had sent the Imp to my hut before for the same reason. It wanted to fight me. I clicked my tongue and set the head down.
"No choice."
"Wait, Captain. Against a monster like that alone...!!!"
"No one else can handle it. You know that."
"..."
"So I'll go."
...Cool words and descending the wall looked heroic. But now what? Even with Time Stop, would it work on that monster?
I was huddled in the gate's corner, tearing at my hair. It was just buying a tiny bit of time. I had to go out. But honestly, I didn't want to. Scary as hell!!
But I was the only one who could deal with the Fighting Ghost right now. Andrew or Quorens might manage, but one slip and they'd die instantly.
Roooooooar!!!
"...Alright. Here goes."
Since I wasn't coming out, the waiting Fighting Ghost finally roared. I squeezed my eyes shut and stepped forward, trudging through the snow.
I stopped at a distance. It stood there imposingly far off. I thought quietly: If I knelt and begged now, would it spare me? That'd be nice.
Luckily, the time I'd stalled meant Time Stop's cooldown was ready. But I couldn't use it first. For now, I needed to probe...
"Disappointing."
"What?"
"No fire in your eyes. You're no warrior."
"..."
"Did you truly slay the Gourmet Eater?"
The Fighting Ghost was the real deal. As battle-mad as it was, its insight was spot-on. True, I wasn't a warrior. If anything, just a regular guy.
But maybe that was good.
If it lost interest, it'd leave on its own.
I thought that for a split second. Until a red flash gleamed. Helia's crimson eyes blazed as she appeared behind the Fighting Ghost like lightning. She shouted.
"How dare... you trash... insult my teacher...!!!"
Why the hell are you here?
"This might be more entertaining."
Why are you suddenly interested again?
I don't know why.
I'd thought I'd follow Teacher's words no matter what. But Helia couldn't. For some reason, it felt like Teacher was about to vanish. So she sneaked onto the wall.
"Disappointing."
"What?"
"No fire in your eyes. You're no warrior."
And there, she overheard it. Unheard-of trash daring to insult Teacher. Unable to contain the rage surging in her chest, she drew her sword and charged.
Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship: First Strike Thunder Dragon Fang
Helia's sword appeared in a blaze of red lightning, like thunder's fangs. It struck the Fighting Ghost. What rang out was the clash of metal on metal. Helia froze in shock.
The overwhelmingly tough monster's body hadn't been pierced by Thunder Dragon Fang. But it was already moving. The battle-fired Fighting Ghost's fist swung at Helia.
The fist closed in instantly, like the Grim Reaper itself. She'd die. No escaping. Faced with cruel reality, Helia couldn't even blink.
"...?"
The Fighting Ghost tilted its head. An unblockable strike. No fragile human flesh and bone could withstand it. Yet its fist felt nothing.
Just as it wondered if she'd dodged—something tore, and blood sprayed from its hand. A sword slash had appeared on its palm.
"...Impressive. My judgment was shortsighted."
At first, it had been disappointed. No warrior there. But soon, the Fighting Ghost had to revise its view. Behind it stood a true warrior.
"No need to rush."
Helia blinked. She'd thought she was dead. Yet somehow, she was in Teacher's arms. The worst situation. She'd been useless.
"We've got plenty of time, right?"
Why? Why did his embrace feel so reassuring?