Chapter 28: Knightly Training -1-

After several days of leisurely marching, we arrived at the vast lakeshore on the border between Cornwall and Wales that Merlin had told us about.

"A cat monster, huh..."

Filled with anticipation, I quickened my steps toward the lakeside.

If it was a monster shaped like a cat, then it had to be Fou.

Humming lightly to myself, I pushed through the reeds, and what entered my sight was not a cute little ball of fur.

"Grrrrrr...!!"

One monstrous beast that had been drinking from the lake let out a rough breath and turned its body toward us.

"...That's a cat?"

An incredulous laugh slipped from my mouth.

The monster's head was certainly that of a savage wildcat, with long, sharp fangs, but its body was as large as a heavy wagon.

Its four thick, sturdy legs looked grotesque, as though they had been ripped off a giant boar and stitched onto it, and around its neck grew a dense lion's mane matted crimson with blood.

"What the hell is that horrible chimera-looking mutt?"

Kay gripped the hilt of his sword, his face twisted in disgust.

Merlin approached from behind and shrugged.

"Ah, that thing is a beast called Chaplis. It's been turning the forests and lake around here into a complete mess."

"Chaplis? Not Cath Palug?"

At my question, Merlin shook her head.

"Cath Palug? That child should be somewhere else. It ran away from home a while back, so who knows what it's doing now~"

"...What a complete letdown."

I'd been expecting a cute mascot, so my enthusiasm instantly crashed to rock bottom. Taking my hand off the hilt of Caliburn at my waist, I stepped back with an annoyed yawn.

"Sigh, I'm not feeling motivated. But this thing still counts as experience, so how about you and Artoria try hunting it, Kay?"

At my suggestion, Artoria's eyes lit up, and she immediately drew the sword at her waist.

"Yes, Brother! I'll slay that monster in a way that won't shame the name of Pendragon!"

"No, wait! Why am I getting dragged into this?!"

Kay jumped in protest, but I smacked him hard in the back and shoved him toward the beast.

"How can a future Knight of the Round Table back down in front of a trash mob like this? You need to build up your real combat instincts too, big brother. Right?"

"Damn it...!"

In the end, Kay and Artoria were forced forward, and the giant cat monster Chaplis glared at them with bloodshot eyes and let out a roar.

"Gwooooooar!!"

Booom!

When Chaplis's massive boar-like legs slammed into the ground, the earth caved in and a huge tremor rippled out. In an instant, the beast closed the distance and swung a gigantic forepaw at Artoria.

"Hah!"

With movements as light as a fairy's, Artoria dodged the beast's forepaw and poured Mana into her blade, slashing at its flank.

Clang!

But Artoria's sword failed to pierce the beast's tough hide, only throwing off sparks before bouncing away.

"Its hide is incredibly hard!"

As Artoria recoiled in surprise, Chaplis's enormous tail whipped up a gale and smashed into Kay, who had been circling in from the rear.

"Urk...!"

Kay hurriedly raised the flat of his sword to defend himself from taking the tail head-on, but he was overwhelmed by the beast's monstrous strength and sent flying several meters back, rolling across the dirt.

Watching the scene with her arms folded, Barghest spoke in a voice tinged with admiration.

"What tremendous brute strength. The hardness of its hide is better than most shields. Even in Fairy Britain, beasts like that were rare."

Penthesilea also nodded with a satisfied look in her eyes.

"Mm. Even in the Age of Gods, a Phantasmal Species of that level was uncommon. A beast worth hunting."

While the Servants held their little review session, the battle by the lake grew fiercer.

"Haaah!"

To overcome the disadvantage in size, Artoria released the Mana of the dragon. A fierce burst of Mana wrapped around her sword and her whole body, tracing blue arcs through the air.

The instant Chaplis lunged at her, baring its sharp fangs to crush her head in its jaws, Artoria exploded forward with Mana Burst, slipping beneath its chin and driving her sword deep into it.

Thrust!

"Kyaaaaaagh!!"

Pierced through the soft flesh beneath its jaw, the beast let out a scream of agony and leaped wildly.

Dark red blood gushed from the wound, soaking the lakeshore. But that wound only drove the beast's savage instincts to an even greater extreme.

Ignoring its injury, Chaplis kicked off the dirt with overwhelming mass and speed and pounced on Artoria.

"Kh...!"

Having used Mana Burst repeatedly, Artoria's breathing had faltered, and under the beast's enormous shadow she missed the timing to evade.

At that desperate instant, when the beast's giant jaws split wide to tear Artoria's slender body in two—

KABOOOM!

A deafening blast, greater and more overwhelming than the beast's roar, tore through the air.

My right fist, which had appeared in front of Artoria in an instant, was condensed with a violently swirling storm.

"How dare you open your mouth at my little sister, you disgusting shit-cat bastard."

Along with my cold curse, a fist carrying a full-power Mana Burst smashed straight into Chaplis's massive face.

BANG!!

It sounded like a giant stone mountain collapsing.

The house-sized beast's head crumpled and caved in like paper in midair.

Swept up in the aftermath of the exploding Mana, the beast's huge body skipped across the surface of the lake for dozens of meters before sinking miserably beneath a towering splash.

"..."

A single blow.

Artoria, who had dropped to the ground gasping for breath, and Kay, who was dragging himself up from the dirt, stared blankly at the lake, speechless before that overwhelming destructive power.

"Jesus... seriously. Every time I see him, he's beyond all reason. How the hell do you blow off a demonic beast's head with one punch?"

Kay clicked his tongue and grumbled.

I loosened my shoulders lightly and flashed Kay a grin.

"Well, you and Artoria had already worn it down and wounded it a lot, so I just landed the easy finishing blow. If it had been completely fresh, even I wouldn't have wrapped it up that easily."

I added, looking out over the lake where the broken corpse of the beast had surfaced.

"Besides, that thing was just a beast that trusted only in its size and strength and attacked stupidly. Its pattern was obvious. If it had that kind of physique and a cunning mind to go with it, even I couldn't afford to let my guard down."

"Damn... are monsters like that crawling all over Britain? The future looks bleak."

Kay let out a long sigh and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Don't worry. Whether it's Vortigern or Phantasmal Species, all we have to do is wipe them all out anyway."

I walked over to Artoria, who was sitting on the ground, and held out my hand. Artoria took it and rose to her feet, then smiled brightly with a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Brother. I'm still lacking by quite a lot."

"No. Just showing movement that good in real combat is already more than enough to be proud of. As long as you're not hurt, that's what matters."

Brushing the dust from her blonde hair, I raised my voice and called out to the Servants standing behind us.

"All right! Since our first monster subjugation ended nice and clean, everyone's getting hungry, right? Let's set up camp by the lake and start with a meal of some nice, healthy grilled eel!"

That said, I can strangely feel Barghest staring at me.

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