Chapter 91: The End of Those Who Couldn’t Change

I was surrounded by flames spewing from the ground, and a big fireball unleashed by the laughing Vagle was drawing closer.

That fireball… was similar to the one unleashed during the surprise attack earlier. I would definitely die if I got directly hit by it.

However, from his personality and grudge against me, would he really want to end this in one blow?

When I closely looked, I couldn’t break through the surrounding flames, maybe…

“Do you just want to grill me? You still have a bad personality, huh?” (Sirius)

The running flames on the surroundings and a huge fireball over the sky… it was obvious, no matter which way I chose in this inescapable situation.

In other words, he wanted me to suffer by going through the surrounding flames, and get moderately roasted.

“Do you think that I will meet your expectations?” (Sirius)

I broke through the surrounding flames while muttering that, and, at the same time, the falling fireball directly hit the ground and made a big hole.

As I looked at the scene from a distant location after breaking through the flames, Vagle sullenly glared at me.

“…You, how did you do that?” (Vagle)

“What’s the problem?” (Sirius)

“Are you kidding me? How are you… still safe after breaking through that?” (Vagle)

The flames that surrounded me were strong, and it would not be weird to get burned, no matter how fast I went through.

But far from me getting burned, there wasn’t even soot on the mantle I put on.

“I am not so gentle to answer when you asked for it.” (Sirius)

“Cheh, for you to easily get into the temple, who are you, really!?” (Vagle)

“Figure it out yourself, if you want to know.” (Sirius)

“That calmness… is irritating!” (Vagle)

This time, the flames with better firepower spread around. It certainly had the power to burn, if I forcibly broke through.

And when I thought whether the fire was violently going into the sky, the angle changed in the air, and it descended upon me.

From the point of freely manipulating flames that much, it was probably evidence that he was quite familiar with them. But, if it was Reese or Fia, they would add another variation. I guessed that he was still immature.

Anyway, since it contained nothing but power, I broke through the wall of flames again and moved away from the location. Same as before, the mantle and I remained intact.

“What is this!? There is no way to perfectly defend against my Flames!” (Vagle)

“I know that my opponent is using Flames, so do you think that I will not be taking measures against fire?” (Sirius)

“If that’s the case, I’m going to directly hit you!” (Vagle)

When Vagle grandly raised his hand, there were about fifty fireballs created in midair, and they were unleashed at the same time.

It seemed that the power was increased as well. Even if I hid behind the rock this time, since there was no way to defend against that…

“…Have you practiced that a long time ago?” (Sirius)

I decided to get through from the front.

The opponent was on a higher elevation, and the distance was about several meters.

I activated [Boost] and ran towards the countless incoming fireballs.

“Heh! To expressly come here… Wha!?” (Vagle)

This was easy if I compared it to when I ran through a bullet storm in a battlefield.

If it was me who was magically strengthened, I had no problem with fireballs, which were slower than the bullets of a gun, unleashed like rain.

Crossing the trajectory of the fireballs, I gradually moved forward while avoiding them by twisting my body and feet. There were some fireballs that couldn’t be avoided midway, so I unleashed [Impact] to intercept them.

“…Bastard!” (Vagle)

After breaking through the rain of fireballs, large flames spewed from the ground ahead of me. It became a wall of fire and stood in my way.

However, I kept running without slowing down. While turning the mantle forward just before hitting the flames, I poured mana into it.

“Unleash!” (Sirius)

The mana poured into the numerous magic formations of [Impact] drawn on the surface of the mantle were all unleashed at once. They shot a shock wave around me, and blew the wall of flames away.

Even if it got blow away, new flames spewed out, but I got through it earlier, and succeeded in breaking through the wall.

“W-what!?” (Vagle)

“This time seems to be expected, after all.” (Sirius)

I could break through the wall of flames intact because of this mantle I made.

The mantle used by the cake addict who lived in Elysion created Wind around the surroundings when mana was poured into it, and even my [Magnum] had the ability to divert the trajectory.

This was a thing which replaced the Wind with [Impact].

It was a mantle made by imagining a thing that counteracted the opponent’s attack with a shock like an explosive reactive armor. The mana consumption was intense, but because no one could use it other than me, it was being put on hold.

However, since it could blow off a the medium sized flame like now, I thought it would be useful against an opponent like Vagle, and that’s why I had it equipped.

“As you can see, small flames will not have any effect on me. That’s why, you will not win, unless you work harder, you know? Or… is that the extent of your ability?” (Sirius)

At first, it was to get revenge because Reese was kidnapped, but in the future, there would probably be a time when I had to fight another person who used Spirit Magic, or if Reese or Fia recklessly used Spirit Magic.

That was why, in order to get used to opponents who could use Spirit Magic even if it was just a bit, I deliberately wanted to fight against Vagle with his full power.

To put it in a bad way, Vagle was like a practice platform.

Due to my provocation, Vagle glared at me while clenching his teeth. He, then, opened both hands wide.

“Yeah, got it. I bet you will quickly be sorry or want to make me stop the whole thing. Just as you wish, with all of my power… I will kill you!” (Vagle)

This time, he produced nearly two hundred fireballs, but what I did still didn’t change.

Overlooking the trajectory with [Multi-Task], I avoided them with minimal movement, and blew off the fireballs which couldn’t avoided with [Impact].

In addition to creating numerous fireballs at the same time, they came from all directions to block my escape route, but I collectively blew them away by using the ability of the mantle.

It was a big mistake if he thought that he could win just by increasing the number. I judged that he should increase the variation of assaults, but i guessed that he probably defeated enemies without using any other kind of assaults.

“What’s really happening!? Why won’t you get hit!?” (Vagle)

I kept running through until I was beneath the higher ground… and the place where I jumped became a blind spot of Vagle’s view, the fireballs started to aim for irrelevant places.

If it was Reese or Fia, they would aim where the Spirits perceived me, but it seemed that guy was depending too much on his visual information. He probably didn’t want to depend on the Spirits because his pride was high.

Before long, Vagle considered that it was meaningless before long, so he interrupted the assault, and created a fireball which was noticeably full of mana.

“Come on! Hit him!” (Vagle)

Aiming at the moment when I jumped out from beneath the higher ground, I wondered if that was his plan to hit me.

Vagle was wary of the surroundings, while maintaining the fireball, and then, I ascended into the front of Vagle, while kicking the walls of the hill as he wanted.

“I guess you can’t defend against this!” (Vagle)

“It’s certainly true that I will not be able to defend against it, but…” (Sirius)

Jumping out from beneath the cliff, the fireball was unleashed towards me, who had openings in midair, but I avoided it by flying sideways with [Air Step].

While Vagle was surprised when I kicked in midair, I made another scaffolding, and I was approaching Vagle using a triangular jump…

“That will be the story if I get hit. [Impact].” (Sirius)

“Gaahhh!?” (Vagle)

I brought my hand to Vagle’s stomach, and blew him away with [Impact] released from point-blank range.

Since I would break his belly if I did it seriously, I held back to the extent of being stronger than a fist, at best.

He was thrown down from the high ground. Although he fell from the higher place to the ground, he didn’t take any defensive posture while writhing in pain.

“A…This guy can’t be helped, huh?” (Sirius)

He relied too much on Spirit Magic. Let alone being unfamiliar with pain, he didn’t seem to train his body.

I hurled [String] and wrapped it around Vagle, and that lessened the impact to the ground by half.

There was still a considerable shock, but since he was rolling on the ground, it should be alright, since he was still energetic.

And then, I got off the higher ground and walked to the front of Vagle, who was crouching while vomiting.

“How about that? There are many things that can’t be seen simply by looking down from a higher place. That’s a bit of reality—…” (Sirius)

“Hah… guhhh… Shut… up!” (Vagle)

Vagle, who had a distorted face due to the pain, arranged his breathing and unleashed a fireball. However, the fireball that lacked focus was weak. I easily slashed and threw it away with the sword that I pulled out.

And then, he directed his eyes at me, while I put the sword that still had flames stuck on it into its sheath.

“Damn it… What’s going on…? you…” (Vagle)

“This happened because you didn’t learn how big this world is, and also because you, alone, believed you were strong in this world. It is time to receive your punishment.” (Sirius)

“Don’t look down on me!” (Vagle)

“You are unsightly cowering on the ground. So, what’s wrong with looking down on you?” (Sirius)

“I haven’t lost yet!” (Vagle)

When Vagle, who took a deep breath while bearing the pain, pulled his arm, flames spewed from my feet, so I avoided them by leaping backwards.

The time when I realized that it was an attack to make me take some distance, a huge amount of mana had already been unleashed by Vagle, and then, I had an unpleasant hunch running through my whole body.

“Rage all you want! Oh flame, burn everything!” (Vagle)

Widespread attacks of flames that had driven the disciples back were unleashed where every part, except for Vagle, was wrapped in flames.

My mantle could only blow flames away, but the range wouldn’t reach up to there. It wasn’t very useful in a situation which you couldn’t escape outside of the flames range by a step.

If Reese was there, she could have protected me by wrapping my body with water, but since I emphasized more on avoidance against attacks, I didn’t have many protective measures against direct attacks.

However, that would be the story if I only relied on my ability.

“If I have seen a spell once, it is possible to deal with it as much as I want.” (Sirius)

Since I was activating a magic stone drawn with [Create]’s magic formation on the ground before Vagle gave off the mana, the soil covered me while changing into a dome shape, and it became a defensive wall against flames.

“What a wasteful struggle!” (Vagle)

However, when Vagle saw me confine myself behind the earth walls, he shouted, while being irritated, and the fireballs were hurled towards the earth walls.

By spending a rare magic stone, I could only make some earth walls, but they were sturdy ones. However, they weren’t reliable against Vagle’s assault. In reality, there were some parts already crumbling because of the fireballs.

After that, the flames that were burning the area gradually disappeared and things started to calm down, but it was still too early to jump out. I was considering to hold up just a little more, but Vagle didn’t loosen the pursuit.

“If you come out… I will burn you to death!” (Vagle)

Vagle unleashed a huge fireball for the third time today. As it struck the earth walls, it generated a huge fire pillar.

It was impossible for the earth walls, which had already weakened, to endure against that might. They were wrapped in flames and when the flames were exhausted, a big hole opened up on the ground.

“Haa… haa… Serves you right.” (Vagle)

In addition to the previous damage, Vagle, who had been continuously using Spirit Magic at full power, was starting to look tired, as expected.

And then, when the flames in the area were extinguished, Vagle raised his face and had a big laugh after confirming that the earth walls had disappeared without a trace due to the fireball and left a huge vacant hole.

“Ha…hahaha! Yeah! As expected! I am stronger! With my flames, everything—…” (Vagle)

“There is an opening.” (Sirius)

I stretched [String] from the rear, wrapped it around Vagle’s leg, and I tried to pour mana in just like yesterday.

“!? Burn it!” (Vagle)

However, Vagle cleared his feet with his flames and cut my [String].

I judged that reflex was considerable, but…

“Do you think I will fall for this twice!?” (Vagle)

“That’s why you are being too careless.” (Sirius)

“Wha…?” (Vagle)

I severed the [String], and… I cut the left hand of Vagle, who was getting relieved, with a knife.

Vagle was watching the unbelievable appearance of his left hand dancing in the air, but I grab his collar as I continued with my assault, and threw him on the ground from his back.

As blood sprinkled from his left wrist, I looked down on Vagle, who was writhing in pain while rolling on the ground.

“That’s what happens when you think that you can finish everything in one go. You should learn about fighting a little bit more.” (Sirius)

“Aa… aarrghhh!? My… my hand! Wh-why!? Why… you!” (Vagle)

“I knew that this would happen, and there was no reason to forever seclude myself, right?” (Sirius)

In the first place, if I remained inside the earth walls, I would be steam-baked by the surrounding flames.

I made a deep hole at the same time as the earth walls. And then, I made a tunnel from there and moved outside of the flames range. It was the same method I used against the cake addict.

Vaggle was convinced with his victory after the flames in the area had subsided. And then, I started creeping up from behind when he was laughing.

“Well, with this, do you understand how spoiled you are?” (Sirius)

“Damn it… damn it… this can’t be true. My… my Flames… will not lose to anyone!” (Vagle)

His heart was not broken yet, so when I stepped forward to give him another hit… someone came out from behind. When I turned around…

“I won’t let you do that to the Holy Knight!” (??)

Over there was someone who I saw when I met Ashley. It was a man like a guard equipped with full-body armor and he was brandishing a sword.

I warded off the sword swung down with a knife, and while taking his arm, I knocked him down on the ground by going around his back, but since a lump of fireballs and rocks fell from the sky at the same time, I made a huge leap to the back to avoid it.

The man, who was late to escape, fell victim to the fireballs and rocks. Without concerning about that man, I tried to confirm the surroundings by invoking [Search], and I noticed that I was surrounded by men who appeared, one after another, from the shadows.

Since I was focusing on avoiding Vagle’s assault until this time, I became a bit lax at searching for enemies in a wide range.

When I quietly reflected while letting out a sigh, a believer, who wore a robe and a mask, was approaching Vagle.

No matter how I looked at them, I thought that they were the reinforcements, but he was glaring at the believer, who appeared while holding his left hand.

“Yo-you guys… what are you doing here?” (Vagle)

“It’s Dolgar-sama’s order. It was after Vagle-sama went out this morning. Since Holy Knight’s recent conducts were overlooked, this is to keep an eye on you.” (??)

“Are you kidding me!? Go home and guard that bastard!” (Vagle)

“I can’t quietly return in such a situation. We had arrived earlier, but… we never thought that you would be driven down this much.” (??)

“I am not driven down! I only have a hard time fighting because of his mantle!” (Vagle)

Generally, I thought that Vagle should be pleased when the reinforcements came, but his pride seemed not to allow it.

Judging from their conversation, were these guys’ true identities exclusive guards of Dolgar?

In addition, the air that I felt from him was from someone who lived on the ‘other side’ of the world. Apparently, Dolgar seemed to understand the necessity of the ‘other side’.

“It is a fact that you have been driven down. We will help you, no matter what you say.” (??)

“I told you, I, alone—… gyaarhh!” (Vagle)

The masked believer suddenly shot a flame and burned the wound on Vagle’s left hand.

They were… not his companions. That burned the wound and closed it. It was probably to suppress it from bleeding any further.

“Arghh… aa… Wha-what are… doing…” (Vagle)

“Have you forgotten? The treatment from Water Spells doesn’t work well on you, right? Since there is no time to relax, I am forced to take such a measure. Forgive me.” (??)

“Damn it… Why… such…” (Vagle)

“You may be angry, but please direct your anger at him. We will stop his movements.” (??)

There was no mercy if they knew about the ‘other side’.

And as opponents who could rationally think and throw down a challenge, it could be proof that they had a reasonable confidence.

As expected, if these guys appeared in a group, I also had to brace myself.

When I drew my knife while turning on the battle switch, the believer, who had finished the conversation, came in front and bowed.

“Thank you for waiting. We will deal with you from now on.” (??)

“I will ask you once… unlike the child over there, there is no way that you don’t know about my power, right?” (Sirius)

“Yes… we know. While being the same kind as me, I firmly believe that you hold stronger power than me.” (??)

“But still… are you going to come at me?” (Sirius)

“Because it is my job. Well then… I’m going!” (??)

As the masked believer grasped knives in both hands, magic was unleashed by the believers who stood on the higher ground.

According to the reaction of [Search] that I used earlier, there were twelve opponents surrounding me in all. The amount was strangely large for monitoring, but it might be necessary for an unmanageable person like Vagle.

One already died because he got caught in friendly fire, but with the masked believer, who seemed to be the leader, there were six people equipped with armor who appeared from the surroundings. Plus, there were four people who were helping by using magic from higher grounds.

At the same time, it was easy to avoid the spells unleashed without any plan.

As I avoided them while lightly moving my body, three guards were approaching to fill in the gap, and wielded their weapons.

They were attacking from three different directions at the same time, I deliberately ran towards one of them. I rotated my body, while warding off the spear that man thrusted with a sword, and I got around his back by using that momentum…

“Wha—… gah!?” (??)

“…That’s the first.” (Sirius)

I stabbed they knife at his medulla oblongata… and killed him.

I knocked down the man who just died and hit another person in a similar way. Taking advantage of his dull movement, I moved around to his rear, sliced his medulla oblongata and killed him.

“…Second person.” (Sirius)

“Th-this guy… Aahh!?” (??)

“…Third person.” (Sirius)

Furthermore, when I stab the knife at the crown of the shaken man’s head, he fell down while blood was scattering in a grand manner.

Spells were released again from a long distance at the same time, but I leaped over to avoid them, and threw two throwing knives.

Both of them were stuck in the foreheads of those who were trying to cast spells on the higher ground. The spells they tried to unleash disappeared just before the activation.

“…Five people.” (Sirius)

“What ability is this… but!” (??)

Simultaneously with the landing, the masked believer swung his knife from behind me, but I rotated my body after intercepting it with my sword, and I sliced one of his arms off with my knife.

I didn’t kill him in one blow because I wanted to ask him some questions.

But that man’s aim wasn’t my life…

“Guhh However, accept this! Burning flame! [Flame].” (??)

The aim of the masked believer was my mantle.

Touching my mantle at the expense of one arm, he shot a magical Flame at the mantle.

It was a considerable feat. Since the flames spread before I activated the magic formations, it seemed that I had no choice but to throw the mantle away.

I kicked off the masked believer and took some distance. At the moment I took off the burning mantle and threw it away… countless fireballs were brought forth, and I was surrounded.

“If you don’t have that mantle… you can’t avoid this!” (Vagle)

Although he was considerably exhausted, he might have gathered his mana in preparation of this time.

Vagle produced nearly 100 fireballs, they were aimed at me and unleashed all at once.

“You will definitely die this time!” (Vagle)

Avoidance… impossible.

Barrier… no more magic stones, so it was impossible to create walls.

Interception…

“Haa!” (Sirius)

I instantly gathered my mana, and released it outside like an explosion.

The aftermath of that mana emitted was the same degree of shock as [Impact], so it blew away all surrounding fireballs.

“Wh-what?” (Vagle)

“No way… such a thing is!?” (??)

“It seems that you were overly optimistic.” (Sirius)

I was bluffing, but unlike [Impact], which was drawn on the mantle, what I unleashed was purely mana and its range was narrow. If I made a mistake on the adjustment, there was also a possibility of being stunned due to mana depletion.

In other words, there would be a small gap for the restoration of mana after using it. It was a technique that I didn’t want to use too often.

“D-don’t be afraid! If he released that much of mana, his mana is already…” (??)

“You’re too late.” (Sirius)

“What… buhh!?” (??)

Actually, my mana had almost hit the bottom when the guard blurted that out, but I had already recovered.

To make them understand, I pointed a finger and shot [Magnum], and blew off the man’s head.

“With this, it’s six people. Next is…

“““…””” (??)

Everyone seemed unable to say anything when they saw a spell that could kill people just by pointing a finger.

Even Vagle, who had high pride, was completely scared, and he finally understood the difference in ability.

“Ga…aa, AARRGHHH!?” (Vagle)

While screaming, he ran towards the town.

Of course, I tried to give chase, since I had no plan to let him escape, but the masked believer stood in front of me, pointing a knife with his remaining arm.

“…I think that it is wonderful to protect him by using your own body, but is he worth defending?” (Sirius)

“It has nothing to do with the man’s worth. I just chose the best course of action according to the current situation.” (??)

This guy had already understood… that he would be annihilated as he was.

The objectives of their priority were based on this situation, where they let Vagle safely escape and bring back the information about me to Dolgar. If he successfully let Vagle escape to the town, he could achieve both objectives, so it was natural for him to try and stop me.

“I see, you are very thorough. I don’t hate an opponent who sticks to their purpose.” (Sirius)

“It is an honor to be told that by a strong man like you. If that’s the case, will you let us go?” (??)

“That’s impossible. You hold an obvious intention to kill, and it is my style to respond to it. If you want to earn time, how about answering my question?” (Sirius)

“…” (??)

The masked believer kept silent because he was trying to earn a little bit of time, so I aimed my fingers and released my bloodlust.

“How long has group like you existed? If you don’t want to answer that, tell me how long have you work under Dolgar?” (Sirius)

“…I can’t tell. Because we will have nothing but death if we leak information.” (??)

“Is that so? However, I don’t think that a cautious guy would do this without enough manpower to his surroundings, so there must be half of the number left, huh?” (Sirius)

Since Mira’s Doctrine was the only religion that existed in a medium-sized town, there shouldn’t be many people in charge of the ‘dark side’.

The remaining half was completely overlooked, but a slight nervousness was seen through the body of the masked believer when I talked with confidence.

“Hmmm… it’s a bull’s-eye, huh? You can hide your face with a mask, but I can see the agitation all over your body, you know?” (Sirius)

“…You… Who the hell are you?” (??)

“I’m just an ordinary adventurer. This happened because Vagle put his hands on us. If you hold a grudge, direct it at him.” (Sirius)

“Unfortunately, we are unable to hold a grudge, since we’re going to die. But… we will not die alone!” (??)

The remaining survivors probably had decided too, as they grabbed their weapons and attacked me again.

Warding off the swords, repelling the protruding spearheads, grabbing the handle of the weapons, slashing their throats with a knife after throwing them at me.

Spells were unleashed from the higher ground, but after shielding them with a dead guard, I rapidly shot [Magnum]. It hit two people on a higher ground and there were two people remaining.

During that gap, the remaining masked man and the guard came close to me from the front and back, but I also noticed a strange mana reaction at the same time.

I sensed it from their bellies. From the appearance that displayed the resolution to die… I remembered a certain group in the previous life.

“…It’s a suicide attack!?” (Sirius)

Wrapping a bomb on their body, and if they died, they would die together. In front of me, they were exactly the same to those who tried to do suicide bombing.

There was no bomb in this world, but if a magic formation of Flames was directly drawn around their bodies, that would be a feasible solution.

It seemed that the magic formation had already been activated. Therefore, I didn’t think that it would stop if I shot their heads now.

“Together… we die!” (??)

While spurting flames out of their bellies, they jumped towards me.

—

— Vagle —

“Haa… haa…” (Vagle)

The town… was far.

“Damn it… damn it… damn it!” (Vagle)

Why… am I suffering like this?

My mana had been consumed until it was exhausted, my left hand was cut, and I couldn’t do anything but escape in an unshapely manner… This was absolutely impossible!

I was the man who could see Spirits, you know!?

Although everyone should be burned by my flames, why did such a…

[This is six people. Next is…] (Sirius)

“!?” (Vagle)

…I just remembered.

Although I just remembered the eyes of that person, my body was naturally trembling.

Those eyes were similar to the bunch near Dolgar, but that fellow was exceptional.

He wasn’t a human… he was a monster!

I couldn’t think of him as anything but a monster with human skin.

I didn’t like this, but I had no choice other than to rely on Dolgar.

I would tell Dolgar about him, and he would plan something.

Wait a second, if I managed to take the woman he led before as a hostage…

“Such a thing… guaah!?” (Vagle)

While thinking about catching that woman, something like a stone dropped in front of me, and when I was wondering about it, the ground suddenly disappeared and I was falling.

Wait a second, it wasn’t possible to fall down.

This road had some undulations, but there was no height to fall down, right!?

While I still didn’t know the reason, my body struck the ground after a slight suspension feeling, but my body was still moving.

When I got up and checked the surroundings, I noticed several men had fallen into this wide hole and they were all lying down on the ground.

“Wha-what is this hole!? It wasn’t here when I came earlier?” (Vagle)

“Because I made it just now.”(Sirius)

“Hiii!?” (Vagle)

When I looked up, the bastard who had driven me into a corner was looking down on me.

I was shouting that he shouldn’t looked down until a while ago, but I couldn’t meet his eyes any longer.

Even if I tried to run away, the hole was deeper than I expected and it wasn’t possible to immediately climb with one hand. While I was overcome with surprise, that guy jumped into the hole and slowly walked before me.

“It saved me the trouble of pushing you down. For you to fall into this hole, you seem to be impatient for it.” (Sirius)

“Why are you here!? W-what’s wrong with those guys!?” (Vagle)

“They had been taken care of. Well, you will follow them soon, anyway. This hole will become your grave.” (Sirius)

“Grave!? N-no! I don’t want to die yet!” (Vagle)

“There were people who begged their life, but did you spare their life?” (Sirius)

…Let alone the person who begged for their life, I also burned their families.

However, that was because that bastard, Dolgar, asked me to thoroughly do it to be an example, and when I thought about it, there was no rational explanation at all.

“Th-that was because Dolgar asked me to do it. I was forced to do it!” (Vagle)

“Instead of being forced, I heard that you were having fun burning them with your Flames, right?” (Sirius)

When he said that, he directed his fingers to use that strange spell, so I tried to find the words in order to desperately escape.

“I-I regularly get rid of dangerous monsters outside of the town, you know? If you kill me, who is going to do that!? Do you think the people in the town can defend against the monsters’ assault?” (Vagle)

“You were not exterminating them. Instead, you were venting your anger. Besides, you’re not the only one who can fight in the town. If they depend on you forever, they will not grow up.” (Sirius)

“Will that be alright? If you kill me when I can use Spirit Magic, you will be grudged by those who wanted me, you know?” (Vagle)

“I have dealt with all eyewitnesses and there is none left. So, even if you are buried here, nobody will know. Even if you suddenly disappear, since you did numerous selfish conducts, won’t they think that you are on a journey?” (Sirius)

“Ah… Aah…” (Vagle)

No… nooo. He was right. There was a high possibility for Dolgar to think so.

This guy was… serious.

Even if I could see Spirits, or was from Mira’s Doctrine, he was seriously going to kill me without exception.

“N-no! I will never bother people again, and I won’t use my Flames to do bad things! That’s why, please overlook this time!” (Vagle)

“I told you, that is not the problem. You put your hands on my important person… my disciple. You touched something that you shouldn’t touch.” (Sirius)

“There was no way to know that! I-I beg you, please! I will become anything, your slave or your disciple, for this life…” (Vagle)

“…You want to be my disciple?” (Sirius)

When I said the word ‘disciple’, his bloodlust became weaker, even though it was for a little bit.

Maybe… this guy wanted a disciple?

If that’s the case…

“Yes, I want to! I am amazed by your strength! I will do anything, even carry your baggage, so make me as your disciple!” (Vagle)

“You will do anything?” (Sirius)

“Yeah, anything! I don’t care about Mira’s Doctrine anymore, and I will give up the position of the Holy Knight! If you want, I’ll deal with the Archbishop and the Pope, and I will make you become the head of Mira’s Doctrine!” (Vagle)

I was brought up as Dolgar’s tool since I was a child.

I wasn’t treated like a son at all, and since our relationship was all about making use of my power, I didn’t feel a sense of obligation to him. Rather, he became so noisy for small things recently, I thought about dealing with him soon.

Yeah, if it was with this guy, won’t it be quick to deal with Dolgar?

It was a disgrace to be this guy’s disciple, but if I became his disciple, he would surely show a gap. After dealing with Dolgar, someday, I would took an opportunity and kill him.

When I was ready to do anything, he pointed at my robe while narrowing his eyes.

“Take that robe off.” (Sirius)

“What?” (Vagle)

“I said take that robe off. When you take it off, put it over there.” (Sirius)

I thought for a moment that he might be into men, but it didn’t seem so from the point of cherishing that woman.

I didn’t know the reason, but when I left on my shirt and pants after taking the robe off, a knife was thrown at my feet. It was a strangely beautiful knife. Was this made of… mithril?

“Next, use that knife to carve ‘Loser’ on your own body.” (Sirius)

“W-what!?” (Vagle)

“Do you really think that I trust you, especially when you say that much? If you want to be my disciple, show me a fitting resolution.” (Sirius)

“Damn… it…” (Vagle)

Loser… Am I a loser!?

He was certainly right, but… I couldn’t convince him.

But, if I didn’t do it, I will be killed. And I didn’t want to die yet.

Grabbing the knife stuck on the ground, his arm… no, if the knife struck his belly while that guy wasn’t looking, the skin would be cut just by touching it.

In other words, this knife was made of pure mithril. No matter what kind of person, they would get pierced by this knife…

“What’s wrong? Do it quickly.” (Sirius)

Not good. It was impossible to do it that way because I was being watched now.

Damn it… it’s only for now.

All I needed to do now was to endure…

[Awoooo——!] (Hokuto)

At that time… when I was wondering about a wolf howling that crossed over, he turned his back towards me.

“…Apparently, Hokuto is also finished with his business.” (Sirius)

The moment I saw the back of the defenseless man, I started to take a step forward to get closer, and picked up the stuck knife.

His back was still turned.

He didn’t even show any signs of avoiding. Pushing this knife towards the back of that guy…

“Wha…?” (Vagle)

“As expected, you have come, huh?” (Sirius)

While turning his back, he received the knife with his palm.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t feel a prick response because he accepted the knife through the gap of his fingers.

I quickly tried to get away, but my arm was held by him and I was completely stuck. I couldn’t move at all.

Where was this power coming from in such a slender body? Was this guy really a monster?

That guy slowly looked at the trembling me, and loaded his strength to hold my hand.

“Release—… Argghh!?” (Vagle)

“I was judging whether you could do the thing I’ve said, but… is it still impossible to hide your true nature?” (Sirius)

An unpleasant sound started to emit from the hand, but without releasing my hand, he combined two fingers together and pointed at my belly.

Although the form was different compared to earlier… could it be…

“Your Archbishop will soon follow you.” (Sirius)

“Wait—!?” (Vagle)

A shock ran into my belly. When I looked down… there was a big hole in my belly and the other side was visible.

“Ha…haha…” (Vagle)

“Goodbye, one who can see Spirits.” (Sirius)

What I saw in my fading consciousness was the figure of that guy leaping out of the hole while grabbing my robe.

And in the end, I got the feeling of a huge amount of soil falling onto me…

—

Extra

In the scene where Sirius stood in front of Vagle in the hole.

“N-no! I will never bother people again, and I won’t use my Flames to do bad things! That’s why, please overlook this time!” (Vagle)

“I told you, that is not the problem. You put your hands on my important person… my disciple. You touched something that you shouldn’t touch.” (Sirius)

“In that case… take back the fee for the meals she ate! She was eating the food in the temple for few hours!” (Vagle)

“Ei!” (Reese) ← Throwing stones at Vagle’s head.

“…” (Sirius)

Presenting Hokuto?

In the last battle, he was embarrassed, since his fur was burned, so he would take a rest today.