Book 17 Chapter 9
Episode 106
She died as a human, beyond faint love and separation (4)
“Wow, it’s super fast! Crazy!”
Lynn cheered.
This was the 16-cylinder broom given as a gift by master tinkerer Nils Blantz!
Since time was of the essence, Lynn sat in front of Fride and could feel the high output of this broom.
“How is it! Isn’t it amazing?”
“Fride~ Can I try riding it too?”
Rista Alter Schirphan running alongside, keeping pace with the high-speed output of the 16-cylinder broom!
“Don’t even dream of it! Do you want the broom to break because of the holy sword’s weight?”
“Hmph.”
Shuan was also riding behind the broom, so it was achieving such speed even with three people on board!
The powerful output of the only 16-cylinder broom in the world!
Of course, a 16-cylinder broom had poor fuel efficiency, so they had to pay a heavy price for its operation, and Rista’s stamina was no different, but as time was urgent, they had to hurry.
“What, just as that guy said, they really came? And in such a defenseless state!”
However, this place was a field overgrown with weeds. It was suitable for predators to hide, and if a spell was prepared beforehand, it was possible to completely conceal magic power or presence.
“<Simila> was a bait to lure Fride in from the start! They wouldn't have known that manipulating the Light Witch’s Association to leak information about this place, and luring them to this field where troops and landmines were hidden, was the plan of Grand Witch Razul!”
Black witches under Razul and key executives of the Cheonggeongjeok faction had gathered, numbering a staggering 500! It would be an exaggeration to dismiss them as mere foot soldiers, strengthened as they were by [King’s Flesh].
“By the way, that broom is incredibly fast, isn’t it?”
“I covet it. Lady Razul, once this is over, could you give that to me?”
“What? Such a top-tier war trophy naturally belongs to me, the boss! How dare these people try to climb over me! Prepare! They’ve entered the minefield!”
Razul and the black witches had turned this area into a minefield.
Landmines were spells or sorceries pre-engraved at a location, which could be activated with a very simple trigger (a command in the case of sorcery).
No matter how skilled Fride was in combat, if hundreds of spells continuously poured down, she would be helpless.
“Alright, blow them away!”
Fride suddenly brightened her eyes.
Being more sensitive than anyone to the flow of spirits in the atmosphere, she now felt an evil aura approaching.
As she floored the accelerator pedal, *VWOOOOOMMMMMMMMM*… the 16-cylinder engine roared, instantly revving up to 3600 RPM! The engine rotated 3,600 times per minute! Master!
‘W-what…?’
‘W-what on earth is that speed…?’
The successive explosions of landmine-type spells, far from striking the broom, burst like celebratory fireworks in the places it had already passed.
“Ha, ha ha, ahahaha, ahahahahat! Truly the strongest! Fride! This is truly the [Strongest Broom]!”
Lynn's innocent laughter, her head even thrown back by the terrifying acceleration, flowed through the gaps in the celebratory fireworks.
‘Had I ever seen this guy laugh so defenselessly?’
Fride, who was gripping the handle of the 16-cylinder broom, also smiled contentedly.
“Of course, it’s the broom of this Priestess of the Fire Dragon, so it’s naturally the [Strongest]!”
Rista, relying solely on intuition, continued to sprint alongside the broom, dodging all the explosions of the landmine-type spells.
“Th-those monster brats! This won’t do! Just blow them all up!”
“But Lady Razul, if we do that, there’ll be nothing left behind!”
“If we let them pass through here like this, *that’s* what will leave nothing behind, you idiot! Blow up the entire minefield! Hurry!”
The witches gulped nervously, and just as they were about to chant the activation word to give the command to detonate all the spells forming the minefield,
“KA-TT!”
At the end of that sound, all the sounds of the world vanished, and only a frantic tinnitus rushed in their ears.
And only a hot sensation.
The witches touched their ears, startled by the thick blood flowing down, and then horrified.
“M-my eardrums burst…?”
“I-I can’t hear. I can’t hear anything…!”
What kind of Lion’s Roar was this!
A high-pitched sound that made echoes reverberate dozens of times throughout this grassland!
“How dare you interrupt Lynn’s happy laughter like that! I, Leonia, Lynn’s cool and chic future spouse, will not forgive those who obstruct my groom’s happiness!”
The power of the Lion’s Roar, which even incapacitated high-ranking monsters, was nothing short of a deadly weapon to the witches and Cheonggeongjeok.
“Roar (I won't forgive you)!”
“Roar (I won't pardon you)!”
Wasn’t this heroine Leonia, who layered two lionesses’ roars! Behind her, a hundred archers simultaneously drew their bowstrings.
“We are volunteer soldiers inspired by Lady Leonia’s cool and chic conviction! Receive our cool and chic arrows!”
What kind of script was this!
Anyone could tell that their distinctive features clearly belonged to the Hosen Kingdom’s Royal Guard, the ‘Hosen Rapid-Fire Unit,’ so what were they talking about now?
Who on earth were they doing such a self-introduction for?!
“I, Leonia, am a woman who knows how to coolly and chicly tell you to leave this to me and go first! Leave this to me and go first, Lynn!”
Leonia shouted, even cupping her hands to amplify her voice. The Rapid-Fire Unit members clenched their fists.
‘Perfect, Princess!’
‘With this, Lord Lynn’s favorability must have risen to the point of breaking through the coordinate system!’
‘It’s a joyous occasion for the kingdom!’
Rista felt her face flush at the ridiculous script, and glanced at Lynn’s profile.
‘What embarrassing thing is that woman doing in a place like this!’
As for Lynn, he heard nothing amidst the wind noise of the sprint, the explosions of the landmines, and his own laughter!
“Fride, go first!”
Rista could not be outdone.
He had to protect Lynn from the demonic hand trying to inflict every bad influence imaginable on a fifteen-year-old boy!
Rista elegantly and beautifully swept his hair back and stopped, his right hand gripping the hilt of the holy sword Schirphan, and his left hand giving a magnificent thumbs-up.
“Judging by Schirphan’s reaction, there seems to be a large amount of [King’s Flesh] over there. It must be one of the fiends. I’ll take care of it and come back. I am a warm and kind hero; even a fox princess, I can’t just leave them be!”
Of course, the 16-cylinder broom’s RPM remained the same, so by the time he said, “Judging by Schirphan’s reaction…”, Lynn and Fride had already zipped far, far away.
“That lion princess was useful after all! Rista, <Simila> is starting to appear! Huh? Rista?”
Fride quickly looked around to her sides and behind her.
The broom instantly rushed towards the stone wall that had suddenly risen from the center of the vast plain.
The surrounding forests and soil were all hideously rotten and emitting a stench, so it was certain that <Simila> Castle was the source of that toxic aura.
“Hey, Lynn! Where did Rista go? Didn’t you see him? He was next to us just a moment ago.”
“W-wait… Miss, stop for a second.”
“Why, you idiot! This speed is just right!”
“You clearly said that fragments of the dead were gathering over there. Hmm… But no matter how I look at it, isn't it an atmosphere where ghosts would appear? There really aren’t any ghosts, right?”
“Kyaha ha ha~ I wonder? If Lynn is a naughty child like now, they’ll appear! Are you going to keep acting like a naughty child or not?!”
Lynn did not think of himself as a naughty child.
If his conviction to chase after the [Strongest Magician] made him a bad man, he thought that wouldn’t be so bad.
But now… it seemed right to get through this situation.
“I won’t, I won’t ever again! So please stop!”
As Fride ignored Lynn’s scream and burst into uproarious laughter, Shuan, who had been silently riding behind them until now, spoke.
“Um… Lady Fride?”
“Why~ Are you scared too? I don’t know why men these days dangle their balls around when they’re going to be such wimps! Just cut them off!”
“I am scared, but not for the same reason as Lord Lynn… It’s because at this rate, we’re going to crash into the castle wall.”
“Eh.”
“Hmm, it’s already too late to slow down or turn.”
“Th-th-you should have said something so important sooner, you idiot! KIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAK!”
While operating a broom, do not neglect to watch the road ahead. Excerpt from the Witch Association public service announcement.
* * *
“Stop these evil deeds and repent, hiyah!”
“Gah!”
The body of the Cheonggeongjeok’s 3rd ranking executive, who blocked Rista’s path, spun 36 times per second from a single flick on the forehead before crashing to the ground! Unconscious! Master!
“I need to quickly join my comrades, so please move aside, hiyah!”
“Gah!”
The body of the Cheonggeongjeok’s 2nd ranking executive, fleeing from Rista, shot 15 meters into the air from a single punch before crashing down! Crazy Master!
“Fride will be sad to see you like this! Don’t wear witch outfits and do bad things anymore! Hiyah!”
“Gah!”
A high-ranking witch, Razul’s secretary, who was beside Razul, the weakest of the fiends, was overwhelmed by the fear of the iron fist bearing down on her, foaming at the mouth and collapsing! Utterly crazy Master!
“Hmph, hm hm hm hm hm!”
The fiend Razul was now surrounded by Rista and Leonia, front and back, but she did not lose the smile on her lips.
“A platinum-grade mercenary and a hero digging a trap and cooperating to catch me, this is truly an honor.”
“Cooperating? Who with this woman!”
“It’s not cooperation, you know?”
“?”
“???”
“In any case, whether the number is one or two, it doesn’t matter! I am Razul! The fact that the Papal State placed a bounty on me as a fiend is proof of how strong I am!”
“Move, hero! That one is my prey!”
“You’re the one who should move! Recovering the [King’s Flesh] is our hero party’s mission!”
“Why did I lay hands on the [King’s Flesh]? What do you know? You, who were born with everything! I want to be strong! I want to be young! I want to be rich! For that, I absolutely cannot give up this [King’s Flesh]!”
While Razul was delivering her long speech, Rista and Leonia were pressing the blade of the holy sword against the massive double-edged axe.
“I told you to move, didn’t I?”
“Princess, you’re in the way, so don’t come close and why don’t you enjoy a tea time over there?”
“You really just keep sneering every time I see you! You’re not a hero, are you?”
Internal strife? Just as I thought!
The fiend Razul immediately began chanting a spell.
‘The position of Grand Witch is a realm that can never be reached without skill!’
Moreover, the power enhanced by the [King’s Flesh] was enough to inflict fatal injuries even on a platinum mercenary or a hero if struck directly.
“Receive this, the dragon’s breath reconstructed with abyssal slime… Azubis Drakutos!”
Rista’s eyes, which had been stubbornly glaring at Leonia, gleamed chillingly.
“We’re having an important conversation right now, could you please be quiet?”
At that moment, the holy sword shone brilliantly, and time was torn into twelve fragments!
What incredible super-acceleration!
Rista moved in a timeframe that neither Leonia nor Razul could observe. And he wove a distinct movement into each of those 12 segments!
A straight punch!
The straight punch, with currents of magic power swirling through every knuckle, plunged deep into Razul’s abdomen.
The magic power, resonating with Schirphan, took on a similar nature to the holy sword, and its power was excruciatingly painful for the [King’s Flesh].
So much so that the [King’s Flesh] mistook its host for being on the verge of death by a being of light and made it crawl out of the intestines on its own!
This was originally a very aggressive method, extremely painful for the host, and rarely used.
*Gurgle…!*
Razul’s eyes rolled back in agony as the [King’s Flesh] began to ascend past her Adam’s apple.
Before it realized it was a trap and tried to re-parasitize her body, Rista grabbed Razul’s jaw with one hand and put his other hand into Razul’s mouth to extract the [King’s Flesh].
‘I need to hurry. The amount of [King’s Flesh] is quite substantial, so if I drag this out, there’s a high possibility of death by suffocation.’
The [King’s Flesh], pulled out like nerve bundles, was stained with blood and bits of organs, indicating immense damage to her intestines and esophagus during this extraction process.
‘Still, it’s better than killing her. That’s really, a last resort.’
Since the [King’s Flesh] had already thought of escaping and changed its form, fortunately, it avoided rupturing her neck, chest, or internal organs midway.
This was only possible because Razul was the weakest of the fiends.
If it had been the other fiends he had met so far, they possessed so much [King’s Flesh] that such forced extraction would be impossible unless their stomachs were cut open and their entire internal organs removed.
“Heal her!”
The next moment, Rista returned to a timeframe perceivable by ordinary people.
The greatest confusion was felt by Leonia, who had just been pressing her axe blade against Rista’s.
Razul’s subordinates were also significantly shocked; in the blink of an eye, Razul lay collapsed, spewing foamy blood, and the [King’s Flesh] was in the hero’s hand?
“Hurry and heal her! Are you going to let your superior die?”
At Rista's forceful command rather than a request, the black witches, glancing at each other, approached Razul and began to chant healing spells.
“Hero, you…”
You were always looking out for me?
That clear realization brought Leonia immense defeat and despair.
Just as she was about to say that, Rista wrapped Schirphan back in bandages, slung it on his back, and winked.
“Then I’ll leave the cleanup to the Princess. I need to go see my comrades, so I’ll be off.”
Leonia, who had been staring blankly at Rista’s back as he quickly moved away towards the distant ancient castle <Simila>, finally snapped out of it when the lionesses bit her thigh.
“Roar (Snap out of it)!”
“Roar-r-roar (You need to go to Lynn)!”
“Huh? What, hey! Wait! That was something I was going to coolly and chicly present to Lynn! I even practiced my lines! Aren’t you going to stop there?”