Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 10 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Last Line of Defense

I kept a close eye on the two men before me without letting my guard down. Edgar Guivarch and Zoltan Michalek—I remembered who they were. During my reconnaissance, I’d had to be especially careful of these two.

“To think we’d be the ones to bump into Majima Takahiro. What a riot,” Edgar said, astonished, but he put on a warlike smile as soon as he came to grips with the situation. “So that asshole Travis missed the mark, huh? Serves him right. I can just imagine his pissed-off face.”

“No. About now, he should be leading an attack against me,” I replied.

“Huh?”

Edgar didn’t understand, but I had no reason to explain things to him. Why was I here when Travis had witnessed me inside the house he was assaulting? That was because of the Misty Lodge’s magic.

I normally used this magic as a smoke screen and as a way to perceive what was going on over a wide area, but it had another effect too—glamor. Using that power, I had made it look like I was in that house. The illusion wasn’t all that strong, so I was lucky that someone with a weaker resistance to the magic caught it. They probably still would’ve broken into the conspicuous building, but this at least had given them more confidence.

That on its own would be meaningless, of course, but the house was booby-trapped. We’d made it look like a fortress, and though it was somewhat sturdy, it was more or less a paper hut. Any impact that could break its main support pillar would bring the whole building down. That was how Rose had set it up.

In addition, we’d used another trick, one we’d learned during our time in the Woodlands. Back then, the firewood Rose had prepared for us had burned very well. With her magic knife, she could render normally difficult-to-burn lumber into that state. Remembering that effect, we’d stacked some of Rose’s modified wood inside the house.

With that set, our plan was to have Lobivia wait for the knights to go inside, ram the house, and set it ablaze. I could sense the trap being activated with my perception magic. Unfortunately, we failed to defeat Travis, but we managed to eliminate a significant portion of his forces.

I could see that Travis was frantic now. I could faintly hear a dragon roaring in the distance with my own ears. Concluding that I didn’t need to worry about Lobivia for now, I shifted my focus away from the scene. More precisely, I didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to her. I had to concentrate on my own battle.

The two knights glared at me. We’d utilized everyone’s strengths to their fullest, and pretty much all of our enemies had been held back. Among the two hundred knights of the Fourth Company, only these two had reached the building where we were sheltering Shiran and the villagers. Zero would’ve been a much nicer number, but I couldn’t complain about this result.

I lifted the thin mist I’d cast over a wide area. Reading my intention, Asarina wound herself around my left arm. I clenched my shield-wielding hand tight and drew my sword.

I had no qualms about pointing it at the enemies before me. They’d struck down unarmed villagers. I had a righteous cause behind me—to protect my companions. Also...for some reason, the way Travis and his knights acted disturbed me to my core. I felt like they couldn’t be allowed to remain in this world.

“Oh come on. What’re you playing at?”

Seeing me ready myself for battle, Edgar chuckled scornfully. He stood at the ready, just as one would expect of an experienced knight, but he wasn’t really giving me the time of day. My ability wasn’t suited for direct combat. Edgar knew this.

“You’re a monster tamer, yeah? You really gonna fight on your own?”

“Yeah. I can’t let you through here, so I have to.”

“Hey... Don’t fuck with me,” Edgar said, his smile vanishing. “Come on. Where’s that white spider? How ’bout that slime that looks like a girl?” His voice trembled in anger and disappointment. “Don’t tell me... I get it. That’s why the main and detached forces got held up. Those two are out taking care of ’em, huh? You little shit. I had my hopes up here.”

It seemed Edgar had been looking forward to fighting Gerbera or Lily. It must’ve been a downer that I’d shown up instead.

“I’m gonna cry. Seriously.”

“Then how about you leave?” I suggested.

“I’d like to, trust me, but that’s not gonna fly. I’ve got a job to do.”

Edgar let out a deep sigh and casually swung his sword around. His apathetic yet bloodthirsty eyes reflected my figure.

“I’ll just off you quickly. After that, I’ll link up with the others. The fun will start after—”

He went from casually standing there to accelerating toward me in an instant. In contrast to his crude behavior, his movements were fluid and refined. He stepped in sharply, stabbing his sword out, and the sound of steel clashing rang in the air.

“Huh...?”

“No matter how you look at it, aren’t you looking down on me a little too much?” I said with composure.

Edgar was surprised that I’d repelled his attack, but there hadn’t been any motivation behind his charge to begin with. It had been plenty fast and sharp, but my regular training partner was Gerbera. She was stronger and faster. I could handle this much with ease.

“Haah!”

I pulled my sword back and aimed for his throat. Edgar’s reactions were precise. He quickly stepped back and dodged in perfect rhythm. At least, it would’ve been perfect had I been on my own.

“Ssster!”

Asarina lunged at Edgar’s face, baring her fangs to gouge his eye out.

“I won’t let you!”

“Sster?!”

However, Zoltan slashed from the side, cutting off Asarina’s Venus-flytrap-like head. He provided excellent support and even twirled his blade back around to strike at my neck. He was just as skilled as Edgar, somewhere around Shiran’s level. In that case...

“Oooh!”

I brought my left arm between us. An instant later, his sword crashed against my shield.

“Hggh! What the?!” Zoltan groaned bitterly.

His sword bounced back as if he’d slammed it into a metal wall. This would’ve been impossible without an overwhelming difference in strength. Zoltan furrowed his brow deeply, probably numb in the hand.

I had no reason to ignore the opening this created, but just as I boldly chose to go on the attack, I felt a chill at the back of my neck. I obeyed my instincts and stooped low. A sharp slash passed right over my head. I dodged it, but it wasn’t over yet.

“Ugh!”

A kick came right for my face. I thrust my shield out to block it. Had I failed to do so, my head would’ve been smashed to pulp. I caught the kick successfully but flew backward a few meters. I couldn’t show any openings, so I corrected my posture midair and landed on my feet.

I raised my eyes and met Edgar’s stare. The playful atmosphere about him was utterly gone. He shook the leg he’d kicked me with, then threw Zoltan a short glance.

“You caught Zoltan’s attack head-on, plus that block just now...” he muttered, then returned his eyes to me. “You’ve got some crazy fucking trick set up in that left arm, don’t you?”

He saw through me, but it was fine. Just as Edgar implied, my left arm housed the power of the Great White Spider’s tyranny. It was so strong that the backlash of swinging it with all my might rendered my own arm unusable.

It was a pretty useless technique like that, so I’d tried many things to make it more practical. Recently, I’d succeeded in momentarily manifesting this power while limiting the burden on my body. It was still difficult to gauge the timing, but it was at a level where I could use it in real battles. I’d wanted to keep this in reserve to clinch a victory given the chance, but it seemed I wouldn’t be allowed that luxury.

“Even without that strength in your left arm, I guess your combat level is around the same as the average guy in our company,” Edgar said, an almost strangely calm look in his eyes. “Your swordsmanship is still a little shoddy, but you’re not half bad at defending and evading. I didn’t think you’d block my kick. You’ve got such a goddamn serious face, but you sure know how to get down and dirty in a fight, huh?”

Edgar’s sword dangled loosely at his side, carving marks into the ground.

“They told me Majima Takahiro couldn’t fight... You’re actually pretty good,” he added.

“You got a problem with that?” I retorted.

“Nope. Not at all. Never in a hundred years,” Edgar answered with a smile so wide it looked like it could split his cheeks. “I’ll get to have some fun now.”

I could almost smell the thick stench of blood on his smile. I would’ve preferred he got bored and stepped aside, but I’d ignited a fire in his heart. Edgar stooped low, a fierce expression still on his face, and Zoltan stood at the ready next to him.

“It’s a bit of a letdown that it’s two-on-one, but don’t go bitching about it being unfair. Do your best to hang in there.”

“I’m not going to bitch. This is a fight to the death, after all,” I said, then shook my head. “Besides, I’m not alone.”

“Huh?”

“Asarina, Salvia.”

“Masss—ter! Ter!”

“You called, my dear?”

The two of them replied to my call immediately. Asarina stretched out, drifting about in the air and menacing the enemy with her fangs. Salvia appeared behind me, still half-mist, and wrapped her arms around me without weighing me down at all.

“We’re going all out. Please lend me your strength.”

“Ssster!”

“Of course.”

Together with my reliable companions, I glared at my foes.