'I'll start light.'
Before Footman could even stammer out an excuse, Adelio raised [Overlord Black Star] high.
Then he brought the sword down at a speed just barely slow enough for Footman to react.
Baaang!!
"Kgh?!"
By a Hero's standards, it was a laughably weak slash.
But the strike, carrying only the tiniest trace of Adelio's magic power, slammed into Footman's entire body.
Kugugung...!!
After crashing through the manor wall and being flung outside, Footman rolled across the ground three or four times before finally managing to steady himself on one knee.
"Urgh..."
To Adelio, it had been a very weak attack. But that was only by a Hero's standards. Objectively, the blow had enough force to rival a high-level majin's [Arts].
In other words, even a powerhouse on the level of an [Awakened Demon Lord] could not afford to dismiss it lightly.
"......"
'...Hmm. Maybe I need to hit even softer than that.'
A [Deathmen] was a fairly powerful monster by ordinary standards, but to Adelio, it did not look all that different from any other monster.
Even setting aside the irritation from being called that cringeworthy title earlier, he still could not feel much of a difference.
The weakest monsters he had fought recently had been top-tier [Arch Demon]s, so controlling his strength was taking far more adjustment than he had expected.
'I know it in my head, but my body's already gotten too used to fighting on instinct.'
Guy Crimson, Milim Nava, Chronoa, and others.
Over the last three hundred years, he had fought the world's strongest beings so many times he could not even count them, and his level of skill had risen exponentially. As a result, his body itself had adapted to combat instinct.
'...Well, that's one more thing I need to test.'
There just happened to be a perfect test subject right in front of him, someone he could beat to the brink of death... no, someone ideal for experimentation. Thinking that, Adelio lifted [Overlord Black Star] once more.
'Since he's got the soul of that [Heavenly Emperor] who summoned Guy, he probably won't die this easily.'
If Footman had heard that thought, he would have screamed... but what could anyone do?
Even Adelio's lovers would have been unable to stop him once he was in a foul mood over a title.
"...Why is a... Hero... in a place like... this..."
...All Footman could do was pray.
Hwaaaak...!!
That Adelio's mind would somehow return to normal.
**
Tudududuk!
Some time after Adelio and Footman clashed, the [Orc]s began to infiltrate in earnest, little by little. As that strange disturbance spread, the [Ogre]s also noticed and gradually began to move.
"Father!"
A young red-haired [Ogre].
He resembled the chieftain so closely that, if the chieftain were just a little younger, he might have looked exactly like this. He was the next chieftain of the [Ogre]s, the one who would one day receive the name Benimaru.
"Are you unharmed—!"
After sending the guards who had been protecting him to deal with the [Orc] attack, he came alone to the chieftain's manor.
Then he saw the scene before it and fell silent.
Chiiiik... chijijik...
An ash-haired swordsman holding a jet-black longsword, and a giant [clown] in ridiculous clothes.
The owners of two overwhelming magical auras unlike anything ever felt in the great forest were fighting fiercely amid the flames.
"Hmm... still a little off, I think."
"Kuhk?!"
...No. It was not a fight. It looked more like one-sided annihilation.
"So you've come."
The [Ogre] chieftain approached his son, who stood there frozen with a stiff expression.
As if to reassure him that he was safe, he gave a small nod.
"Father..."
His son felt relieved at the sight, but at the same time, he could not help being confused.
"...Who in the world are they?"
At the question, the chieftain slowly shook his head.
"I do not know them either. However..."
Trailing off, the chieftain turned his gaze aside and pointed at the ash-haired swordsman.
At the inhuman swordsman who was overwhelming the majin in the [clown] mask.
"...I think I know who that swordsman is."
The movements were so fast that it was difficult to make them out clearly, but now he could vaguely see it.
'There's no mistake. That swordsman's style... those are techniques from the Oboro Style.'
The Oboro Style.
More precisely, the Oboro Shinmei Style.
The swordsmanship Adelio was using now was the earliest form of the Oboro Shinmei Style, the one he had first grasped long ago in hell when he fought Agera.
'...Then that swordsman must be the Hero the [Sword Demon] spoke of.'
Hundreds of years ago, an ash-haired Hero had suddenly appeared before the [Sword Demon].
Using the Oboro Shinmei Style he knew as proof, he had forged a connection with the [Sword Demon].
And ever since then, every chieftain born among the [Ogre]s had heard that old story from the [Sword Demon] at least once.
Not just the current chieftain, but the one before him, and the one before that, and the one before that as well.
"...It seems the Storm Dragon is watching over us after all."
Realizing Adelio's identity, the chieftain felt a deep sense of relief and quietly waited for the battle to end.
Because if Adelio truly possessed the might the [Sword Demon] had spoken of, then there could be no safer place nearby than right here.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register