Chapter 41: Theogenes and Ancient Heroes: A Battle of Styles

“Valentina will be coming.”

Honestly, he didn’t have to hit me.

I grumbled, rubbing my forehead where Cephas had struck me.

“…What?”

Cephas didn’t seem to care.

Well, even Cephas, blessed by all the summer stars, would struggle against Valentina.

“I’ll stop her. You evacuate the residents, and if it looks like I’m about to die, start building my coffin.”

I don’t want to fight Valentina with help.

It’s not a matter of pride.

Perhaps I’m the only one who understands her, with my modern sensibilities.

I must be the one to bear her rage, to free her from her long-standing grief and shackles.

Cephas killed Valentina’s disciple, Leasilvia.

There’s no telling what would happen if I let the one who killed Valentina’s only family fight her.

She might ignore me and focus solely on Cephas.

If I let Cephas fight Valentina, even for a short time, he’ll be seriously injured, at least.

I can’t let someone I pity cripple someone I care for.

“…Once the evacuation is complete, I’ll isolate you so you can fight alone. There will be many who sense Valentina’s aura and come looking for a fight.”

“Good. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Round two, then.

It’ll probably end in a draw again.

Fishing isn’t exactly conducive to mastering new powers.

Me, with no progress, and Valentina, who won’t go all out.

But this time, I have nothing to protect.

I can go wild.

“Start the evacuation now.”

“Yeah. Come back alive.”

“…I will.”

I discreetly removed my glove and clenched and unclenched my right hand.

Since it’s an ordinary glove, not a suppression glove,

it’s already starting to rot and crumble.

“I’ll be back.”

 

***

 

“It’s morning.”

The ocean is calm, a lone dragon perched atop a solitary peak.

As the arrogant sun, worshipped for eons, drags its magnificent form across the sky,

the vista of Baiton unfolds before me.

“So beautiful.”

Their lives are truly beautiful.

Catching fish from the Mother Sea, calling them brothers and sisters.

Laying them on ice, assigning value, and selling them.

But compared to this body, their actions are practically saintly.

At least their sacrifices find peace.

“If you abandon your pessimistic view.”

Ordinary lives, striving diligently.

Ordinary, thus valuable, comforting.

Commoners.

Most will die today.

No, all will die.

Cephas will sever their limbs.

The people of Baiton won’t escape the dragon’s wrath.

‘Lady Valentina! Please advise!’

The last heir to the throne, born to the King of Beastmen.

Perhaps she saw herself in that child.

It was a first.

Teaching meaning to the aimless swings of a greatsword,

sharing the stars she consumed without a thought.

Leasilvia was truly…

‘May I call you Master?!’

I recall the girl, grinning, her sharp teeth glinting.

The student, ears perked, eager for knowledge.

The child who longed for my embrace.

She died.

“She was a good child.”

A gentle rain falls over the sea before Baiton.

So soft, it wouldn’t harm a single blade of grass.

Artificial rain.

A romantic gesture by some mage in the city?

Negligible in power, but weather manipulation nonetheless.

Quite a talented mage, it seems.

“Curse them.”

Rumble…

Gargantua coils,

its movements stirring the clouds.

Because of your hero, worshipped until yesterday,

the ancient monster is dead, and true death has arrived.

The wrath of this dragon, who destroyed empires of magic, shamanism, and knights.

A fishing village like this stands no chance.

“Since Arrogance isn’t here, shall I use it?”

A power I’ve refrained from using, out of consideration for my friend’s sensibilities.

Unless I’m in a duel with him.

It’s a secret from him, who hasn’t fully mastered his own power.

Whirr…

Power gathers at the tip of Gargantua.

Not aura, nor mana.

This is authority.

Because it is meant to be.

“Black Star.”

Dead star.

The black star

writhes, ready to self-destruct, taking everything with it.

“By the authority of the Black Star…devour.”

Consume everything.

Humans, mages, buildings, the world itself.

That’s when it happened.

“Disperse.”

A pathetic, crumbling sound.

The black hole vanishes.

A star of immense mass, annihilated in an instant.

The authority of annihilation and death.

The only force capable of casually overriding other authorities.

The one who gave that command…is familiar.

“Arrogance, how did you get here?”

“…Haha, what a coincidence.”

Arrogance flew towards me, wearing different gloves.

So, joining the Demon King’s army was a lie.

To lie to me.

Several bastards come to mind.

I wanted to trust you.

Now there’s only Ileia.

“Why are you stopping the destruction of Baiton? You only ever interfere with my plans, always acting against the Demon King’s interests.”

“My dear Valentina, I am human. I am the protector of these weaklings. Why would a dragon cooperate with the destruction of a single dandelion?”

Arrogance gathers his mana.

Countless refined circuits appear on his hands.

But the magnificent sword from before is gone.

Click…

Instead of a longsword, he wields a dagger.

Not the penetration-focused stiletto from before, but a dagger.

Capable of both slashing and piercing, something he brought specifically to kill me.

Interesting.

“Wasn’t that a secondary weapon last time? A dagger…we’ll have to get closer, then.”

“Close enough to embrace. Just as I intended.”

Rumble…

Gargantua transforms from a greatsword into gauntlets.

I love all forms of combat, but close-quarters combat is my favorite.

“You’re a battlemage, then?”

“Since the Gray Wizard I respect most was one, I…”

Click.

A perfect knife-fighting stance.

Still holding back? He’ll start with feints.

“I’ll be using a variety of techniques. It won’t be a fair fight.”

“There’s no such thing as a fair fight. Just come at me.”

Black, sturdy gauntlets encase my arms.

I raise my arms in a guard position, watching his every move.

“What is that form? It looks like it could level mountains.”

“Theogenes.”

A form named after the eternal victor of the Nemean Games.

My speed and strength are amplified, and I can mimic the stances of countless martial artists and fist-fighting champions I’ve absorbed.

His stance is also stylized, something he learned somewhere.

But it’s a unique form I’ve never seen before.

“And you?”

“I learned everything from Cephas. Including lost dagger techniques used by ancient Heroes.”

“Kufufu…interesting.”

Crack…

I crouch in mid-air, maximizing acceleration.

No one can match my speed, amplified by Theogenes.

“Here I come.”

Bang!!!

With a sound that tears through the air, I spread my wings and fly.

I wind up my fist, bringing it back to my waist.

Whoosh…

And then, I twist my entire body.

Immense, accumulated power

explodes from a single point.

“Nemea.”

Bam!!!

The shockwave sends ripples across the sea.

“Haa…”

Crack…

His arm, bones shattered, spews blood.

Not a perfect victory. A desperate struggle for survival.

He blocked it with both arms, using his left elbow.

But what are those remnants of mana swirling around? Arrogance.

Just how scared were you?

“Last time, I held back because I was afraid of killing you. Neither of us was fighting seriously.”

A life-or-death struggle?

Then the Empire should have been destroyed back then.

“Don’t misunderstand. You are weaker than…”

A thin line.

It approaches my face.

So fast,

all I can do is perceive it.

Drip…

“You’ve drawn a pretty line on my face, Valentina.”

“What…?”

Thwack.

Arrogance’s ungloved hand, bent like a hook, lashes out.

Close-quarters combat on a different level.

“Ugh…!”

Thud, thud. Thud.

His dagger relentlessly pierces my exposed side as I block his blows with both arms.

His speed and precision are honed to perfection.

“Sharp!”

A perfect assassin.

This man intends to kill me.

Not flashy, not dazzling like before.

Thwack.

As he thrusts his dagger, I strike his wrist.

He catches my fist, twists it, and strikes my jaw.

Whenever there’s an opening, he knees me in the stomach, elbows me in the shoulder.

This weight,

this speed,

this strength,

he’s poured all his mana into physical enhancement.

No, not all of it. With his combat intelligence, he’s likely saved some.

A sudden thought makes me look up at him.

Is it an illusion? I see a smile on his mask.

“Correct.”

Flash!

Arrogance’s hand glows on my stomach.

Is he using it directly on my stomach like last time, to prevent me from blocking it?

“You’ve improv…”

“Smash, Smite, Blow, Impact, Spell-Strengthen.”

Huh?

Is he trying to beat me with physical attacks?

Flare or constellation magic would be better.

“Unfortunately, Arrogance, that won’t…”

“Stock, One Point.”

Arrogance

says so and removes his hand from my stomach.

His finger touches my stomach.

“One inch.”

He makes a fist.

Bang!

The sea churns.

More violently than Nemea just now.

Pain.

How long has it been?

A mountain of accumulated impact magic, converging into a single point.

“Gah! Ugh… oof… haa…”

It hurts.

My mind is hazy.

Numb. Numb? My stomach?

Throbbing. Was that the word?

“Khaha… kuh…”

Arrogance. You truly…

No matter how I think about it, you…

“You have to kill me.”

“I agree.”

Screech…

He cast a spell on his glove and ran it along his dagger.

The blade, dulled from cutting my dragon form, is now sharper than ever.

“I will be the one to end you.”