Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Demon Race Unleashed Poison in the Dwarf Principality! (5)
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I want to be helpful to my teacher.
A desire for recognition that anyone would have. It started out as something that simple. Especially after losing her parents, her twisted affection bred an excessive obsession.
The object of that obsession was the girl's teacher. The person who had taught her so much. She wanted to help her teacher using what her teacher had taught her. That was all she thought about.
If the girl had been ordinary, that desire would have been fulfilled in her own way. Even if she had potential. After all, the strength of a mere child wasn't all that great.
However, the girl was different.
She possessed talent so overwhelming that one could call it heavenly favoritism. The talent to comprehend the incomprehensible and somehow make it real was the problem.
Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship: First Strike - Thunder Dragon Fang
Like lightning. Helia's sword shot forward with tremendous speed, slicing through the doppelganger's leg in an instant. Though it wasn't a perfect cut.
At the very least, it succeeded in restricting the doppelganger's movements to some degree. And the women watching weren't about to just stand there. They were the Royal Knights.
Even if they were now tigers without fangs. They were once the strongest knights belonging to the continent's mightiest order. The first to charge was Bayard.
Her body tore into the doppelganger's flesh with ferocious momentum, claiming its bone. Even though it was called a Blood Tide, the doppelganger's combat prowess wasn't that great.
It couldn't withstand Bayard's overwhelming violence. But it couldn't escape either. Arrows from behind pinned its tentacles to the wall and floor like stakes.
"Now! Minerals!"
"It's just a damn runt!"
Ruby leaped forward with power and brought her hammer down. Like driving in a nail. The deeply embedded arrows greatly hampered the doppelganger's movements. Perfect teamwork.
The girl took in the sight without missing a single detail. At first, she couldn't accept it. She didn't want to admit it. The fact that there were people better than her.
Above me, only the teacher.
Everyone else is beneath me.
That's what she used to think.
However, that arrogance shattered to pieces as time passed. The girl certainly had talent. If she grew smoothly like this, she could become a full member.
But that meant, in other words, that she wasn't even at the level of a full member yet. Even the lowest ranks, Clara and Ruby, had personal skills that held up anywhere.
In fact, Helia had more losses in spars against Clara and Ruby. A gap that couldn't be closed with talent alone. It definitely existed between her and them.
Well, if it weren't like that, they couldn't have even crossed the threshold of the Royal Knights. On top of that, Bayard and Cluna's power, not to mention former Captain Yuren's, was beyond imagination.
"We subdued it without much trouble."
"Great job, everyone~ Clara, Ruby, Helia, Bayard. You all did amazingly well!"
"……Thank you."
She had no choice but to acknowledge what needed acknowledging. I'm weak right now. Even with the power my teacher taught me, this is all I can do. So what should she do?
Simple.
She just needed to get stronger.
Much stronger than now.
So that her teacher would acknowledge her later.
The ten thousand hours or ten thousand repetitions rule.
The rule that consistent investment in anything can make you an expert. She thought ten thousand times was doable for anyone, if not ten thousand hours.
But that wasn't the case.
I couldn't even properly reach a thousand.
I forcibly dragged my stamina-deficient body upright, on the verge of collapse. Severe dizziness shook my vision badly. How many times did I stab? I couldn't even remember.
But it definitely wasn't ten thousand. I lost count around three hundred. Anyway, thanks to relentlessly stabbing and gouging, I barely managed to take down that demon.
The monster's body, pierced through the heart, began to collapse slowly. Eventually, it melted into liquid and spilled completely onto the floor. It's dead, right? It won't come back to life?
If it revives now, it's really over. Not to mention my stamina being in tatters. The Time Stop cooldown is turning, so I can't use it again.
"It seems completely annihilated."
"Thank you. I survived thanks to you."
"Don't let your guard down. It's not over yet."
"As expected of the captain. Never dropping your guard until the end."
Because there's no room for complacency with my experience. I'm not as strong as Captain Yuren or Bayard. Even if I were strong, I couldn't afford to get complacent in this situation.
Besides, I'm worried about the members who went after the doppelganger chieftain. If by any chance it disguises as me and exploits an opening, they could take fatal damage.
Of course, even rotten fish is still bluefin tuna. As Royal Knights, they won't go down easily. But there's always an 'if' in the world. A cornered rat will bite a cat.
That's what I thought at first.
Until I saw the doppelganger being dragged back, subdued by the members. Wait, can you subdue it that easily? Sure, the real one was the one I fought, but still.
I silently watched the scene before me. The doppelganger that had fled while babbling nonsense had reverted to Rain Emerald's form.
Even its two arms were properly restrained, preventing escape. With Captain Yuren and Cluna there. I expected it, but seeing it firsthand felt a bit off.
No, well. It's not like I suffered alone. Still, it was the final boss that nearly devoured the Dwarf Principality. Definitely not just me suffering alone.
"Good work, everyone."
"This is nothing."
"A bit of a hassle, but good training."
"Ugh……."
"I feel like I'm gonna die……."
"E-everyone okay?"
All sorts of reactions. Relaxed expressions from Captain Yuren and Cluna, Bayard worrying about others instead. Meanwhile, exhausted looks from Clara and Ruby.
"Teacher, you really worked hard."
"You worked hard too. Good job."
"Thank you, teacher."
I reached out and stroked Helia's head. She looked startled by my touch for a moment. But Helia leaned into it deeply, her cheeks slightly flushed.
I pulled my hand back before it could lead to weird misunderstandings again. Helia looked disappointed but didn't complain.
Viral the Duke stood silently in the plaza. Before him, the Divine Sword stood firmly planted. After gazing at it for a moment, Viral rose and spoke.
"What happened to her?"
"I ate her. To disguise properly."
"I see."
Thwack! Without batting an eye, Duke Viral swung his fist. Rain Emerald—no, the doppelganger—had her head snap to the side, but she casually turned it back.
"I'd love to torture you slowly. But that's exactly why your ability is far too dangerous."
"……If you guarantee my life, I could cooperate."
"Pass. Killing you here for sure has far more merit than whatever info you have."
Duke Viral was thinking the same as me. Better to kill it outright and avoid future troubles than keep it alive for info.
I nodded. Then Yuren drew her sword and severed the doppelganger's neck like a bolt of lightning. The headless doppelganger spilled onto the floor just like the one before.
Only after confirming it was definitely dead did I let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Duke Viral, who had been staring intently, turned and walked toward the Divine Sword.
"Perhaps we were mistaken."
"Mistaken?"
"Dazzled by past glory. Unable to see the future, or the present."
"……."
Hm, yeah. No clue what he's saying. But I get that he realized something. Wait, does that mean he's giving me the Divine Sword, a relic of the past?
I got a bit excited. And it peaked when Duke Viral drew the Divine Sword. But what followed utterly surpassed my imagination.
I stared blankly. The Divine Sword drawn from Duke Viral's hand was turning to dust from the tip, scattering away with the wind. Huh? What the?
"No matter how much it's called a Divine Sword. It can't defy the flow of time."
"That's true. But no matter what we tried, we couldn't forge one like it."
"So you preserved at least the appearance?"
"Yes. And that flashy reputation blinded us. This is the result."
Eventually, even the hilt completely disintegrated. So, in simple terms, this is it. They couldn't recreate the Divine Sword their ancestors made.
So they just kept it as a taxidermied relic and praised it. Naturally, over time, no one surpassed the Divine Sword. Instead, only the pride of having made it remained.
And the doppelganger exploited that gap. If they'd truly had the craftsman's spirit, they wouldn't have been played like this. Duke Viral smiled bitterly and spoke.
"What's important isn't the remnants of the past, but moving forward."
"……."
"You all have no need for a fake Divine Sword like this."
What the fuck.
Hurry up and give me the Divine Sword!!!!