Watching Malfas getting ready by thrusting his claws in front and being about to repeat the same attacks as until now, Hifumi was somewhat disappointed.
“Every last one of the beastmen…in that meaning, Reni having been there was a godsend, huh?” (Hifumi)
For the beastmen and for Hifumi.
☺☻☺
Imeraria decided to confirm the result of what she was trying to do with her own eyes.
Different from Vepar, who was watching the situation with big drops of sweat running down her gray skin, Imeraria had been coolly looking down at the plaza with a look that seemed to conceal all her emotions.
She had silently watched how Midas was defeated by a demon’s attack and how he had been sent back.
“Midas-san…” Having watched the same scene as Imeraria, Sabnak whispered under his breath.
Once she looked over her shoulder in response, she saw that he was watching the battlefield while sweating in the same way as Vepar. Finding his look comical, Imeraria covered her mouth with a hand and quietly laughed for the first time since the beginning of the battle.
Sabnak’s expression warped as soon as he noticed the queen’s smile. She didn’t know how to express it best, but to Imeraria it looked as if there was no mistake that his expression contained some bewilderment.
“Your Majesty…?” (Sabnak)
“Ah, sorry for laughing. Sabnak-san, you’re my guard, so you mustn’t only pay attention to what’s happening below.” (Imeraria)
“This…excuse me!” (Sabnak)
Sabnak wiped his sweat away and straightened himself. And yet he couldn’t separate his eyes from the plaza.
“It looks like Midas-san has been wounded.” (Imeraria)
“Indeed.” (Sabnak)
“How worrisome…well, even if I say so, it probably only sounds weird.” (Imeraria)
“Something like that is…I’m sure Midas-san will be happy to hear of your consideration, Your Majesty.” (Sabnak)
“Although I am the cause?” (Imeraria)
“That’s…” (Sabnak)
Sabnak faltered.
He couldn’t decide whether he should approve or not.
“I asked you something nasty.” (Imeraria)
When she returned her eyes to the plaza again, Hifumi was talking about something with Alyssa, who had come close to the center of the plaza without her noticing, while dealing with a boy who appeared to be a beastman.
“A beastman? Why…?” (Imeraria)
“That boy, well, he joined the demons as he wanted to fight against Hifumi.” (Vepar)
Vepar explained while looking at the beastboy.
“So, why on this battlefield?” (Imeraria)
“I haven’t called him. As expected, he was still in the middle of training as he’s too young.” (Vepar)
He probably showed up here after sneaking into one of the unplanned transfer units after being instigated by Bashim or another demon.
Vepar talked about the circumstance she could think of, “It seems not only his family, but even his village had been annihilated by that man. …I didn’t collect any evidence, but I believe him. …I wanted to at least save that boy…”
Even as she voiced out that wish, Vepar knew that it was impossible. He was already standing in front of Hifumi, attacking with clear hostility.
“I think that’s impossible…looks like I have no choice but to wish that he can at least retaliate once.”
“No, it’s a good opportunity.” (Imeraria)
Imeraria also watched the beastman’s and Hifumi’s movements for a while, but seemingly trying to teach something to Alyssa, Hifumi called her over and had her stand next to him. Hifumi apparently planned to face the beastman again in front of Alyssa.
“Hifumi-sama stopped moving. …It’s a good opportunity.” (Imeraria)
“Wait a moment! Won’t that boy get dragged into it then!?”
“He reaps what he sowed.” (Imeraria)
“Even without doing it right now…”
“If we let this pass, there won’t be any guarantee that we will get another chance.” (Imeraria)
Not only did Imeraria face Puuse, she also stepped up close to her.
“What would happen if you were to deploy the barrier now?”
“…I-It depends on the timing, but it will be only Hifumi-san, or Malfas-kun will be dragged into as well…” (Puuse)
“Malfas?”
“It’s the name of that beastboy. You know him as well?” (Vepar)
Vepar also got in front of Puuse. The slightly taller Vepar looked down on her, but just like at the time when they met in the wastelands, Puuse stared back.
“Yes, I do. I don’t know about his fate with Hifumi-san, though…” (Puuse)
Puuse looked back at Imeraria as if seeking her opinion.
Imeraria had been pondering with her eyes shut, but apparently having resolved herself, she opened her eyes widely, seizing Puuse with her blue eyes.
“”Be it things that were allowed to happen or things that happened, in the end the one who did it has no choice but to accept the consequences”…is it?”
Imeraria recited the words Hifumi said when leaving the royal palace. As she did, she felt a prickling pain in her heart once again. After all she was well aware that it had been her own choice that created this situation.
“The current situation is simply a recoil of all his actions. Even this situation is a result of his choices. …Don’t mind me. Puuse-san, please start.” (Imeraria)
“What are you saying!”
As Vepar tried to draw close to Imeraria, who gave her coldhearted opinion, she was kept in check by Sabnak who thrust himself between them.
“You plan to stop us here? The situation has advanced up to this point already.” (Imeraria)
Imeraria lifted her right arm, pointing at the plaza.
“Even if you were to stop Puuse-san and me, what will follow afterwards? Are you going to start an all-out war against the humans? Are you resolved to fight against Hifumi-sama, who would await you down the road?” (Imeraria)
“Kuh…” (Vepar)
“Let’s keep it at a trivial sacrifice. Puuse-san, you’re okay with this, too?” (Imeraria)
“Y-Yes…” (Puuse)
Puuse accepted it reluctantly. In her mind she had resolved herself to let Malfas get away if possible at all, but honestly spoken, if she were to deploy the barrier now, she didn’t know whether he would be in time before Hifumi got isolated.
Anyway, I have no choice but to start, Puuse grasped her wand tightly, and started the chant to materialize the barrier. Stopping at a size of allowing two or three people to be inside with Hifumi in the center, she assigned her mana towards the sturdiness of the barrier rather than its size.
Her mana streamed through the wand, and in the instant the invisible power arrived at Hifumi’s location, Puuse’s eyes met with Origa’s.
☺☻☺
“…Oh. They have already started, eh?”
Hifumi, who had been giving an explanation to Alyssa while actually showing her the movements by dealing with a beastman using his claws and fangs, sensed the flow of a turbulent power at his feet.
Malfas, who had been continuously abused as sparring partner without receiving any significant injuries, was heavily gasping as he had already reached the limit of his stamina.
While he was breathing roughly, only his eyes were brightly glaring, but he was so tired that it was painful for him to lift his arms any longer.
“I think it’s about time. …Alyssa.” (Hifumi)
“Okay.” (Alyssa)
“I will teach you something nice at the end.” (Hifumi)
While casting a sidelong glance at Malfas, who had mustered his strength and was approaching while bearing his fangs, Hifumi clenched his fist.
“Living beings can die even without shedding blood.” (Hifumi)
Hifumi crouched down and slipped beneath Malfas, who had leaped at him while a
iming for his throat.
Using Malfas’ momentum of falling for his own objective, Hifumi violently struck his fist against Malfas’ heart.
A vibration ran through Malfas’ body who had his chest hit strongly. His breastbone and ribs had suffered serious damage. And his heart fell in panic due to the unexpected shock.
“…Uh…” (Malfas)
Was he conscious? Or was it something else? Malfas widened his eyes and feebly collapsed after groaning once.
And he never moved again.
“A human body is sturdy and fragile. If this guy’s body had grown bigger or if his muscles had developed more, he might not have died from something like this.” (Hifumi)
Hifumi looked down at Malfas while thoroughly savoring the feeling of having stolen a life with his hand.
The corpse, which lacked any traces of being beaten, any cut wounds, and didn’t shed any blood, looked completely as if Malfas was merely sleeping.
“Alyssa, go.” (Hifumi)
An overly simple farewell.
There was no anger or smile to be found on Hifumi’s face. He looked directly at Alyssa.
“Hifumi-san…after all, together…” (Alyssa)
“No. I have entrusted a job to you.” (Hifumi)
“But…okay. I was selfish. Sorry. Umm, thanks. For saving me, for teaching me many things…it was fun! If I hadn’t met you…”
“No need for ifs.” Hifumi smiled at Alyssa who was frantically looking for words. “It’s the outcome of your choices. I told you when I applied the medicine, right? You should live as you like. Keep doing so even in the future. It’s your life. It doesn’t concern me.” (Hifumi)
“Ah…got it!” (Alyssa)
Alyssa, who thanked him once more at the end, left while cutting through the demons with her wakizashi as she kept looking back, looking reluctant to part.
“Good grief… Now then, I guess all that’s left is that one.” (Hifumi)
Once he looked up, Imeraria was intently looking his way, and next to her, Puuse was clinging to her wand with a desperate expression for some reason.
Hifumi, who was already aware of their goal, didn’t take any countermeasures even while feeling the mana spreading beneath his feet. No, he shook his left hand which was dyeing jet black.
The demons were still crowding the vicinity as before.
Hifumi, who erased a fireball hurled at him with his left hand, immediately found Origa.
“She kept up well, huh? Originally it would have been convenient to have her left that behind as well.” (Hifumi)
With her breathing starting to get shorter, Origa had been keeping the enemies in check with magic while focusing on range rather than power, and slaying the nearby enemies with her iron-ribbed fan.
The magic, which she had developed as her own after receiving a hint from Hifumi, has been only recorded in documents that are stored in Fokalore without anyone having been instructed in it. If she vigorously continued to spread her magic techniques in this world, it might change the way of wars once more as she was still young.
Moreover, it might head in a direction impossible for Hifumi’s original world. By chance, magic techniques, which would have been developed extensively, might become able to easily defeat even Hifumi.
“I guess I got to rely for the rest on the guys staying behind. However, even I feel irritated about being locked in so easily. Let’s see, how are you going to deal with this?” (Hifumi)
The barrier had become faintly visible. Hifumi recalled having seen it in the elven village, too. Seeing Vepar pull a complicated expression next to Imeraria, he involuntarily ended up laughing.
“It has a fairly bulky and cramped shape.” (Hifumi)
Once he touched it gently with his left hand, his fingertips sank deeply into the barrier.
“All…ey oop” (Hifumi)
Once he swung his left hand like that, the barrier was roughly scraped off.
Moreover, Hifumi drew his katana and attacked in a single stroke, unleashing a series of two downward slashes after cutting upwards against the barrier in front of him.
Matching it with the hole created by his left hand before, he tore open a big hole in the barrier.
Probably grasping the situation, Puuse looked panicked atop the balcony.
“Come on, you’re not believing that I will be simply locked in with just that, are you? What are you going to do against this katana in my hand?” (Hifumi)
Hifumi’s words and eyes were directly turned at Imeraria.
Chapter 181 – Paint It Black
Each time Hifumi swung his katana, the barrier locking him in was torn down a bit.
“Eeh!?” Puuse screamed, surprised by what was taking place below her eyes and lacked any common sense.
“Something even the demons wanted to tear down…what a thoroughly messed up man.” Vepar shook her head while casting a sidelong glance at Puuse who was hurriedly fixing the spell’s structure.
When Vepar looked at Imeraria, wondering whether this wasn’t a complete failure, the queen had been fixedly staring at the situation without a change in her expression.
“I had expected for something at this level to happen. I believed that Hifumi-sama’s left hand and his weapon, which is sturdy beyond abnormal levels, might be capable of realizing something like this.” Imeraria said indifferently, faced Puuse, and ordered, “Puuse-san, leave the countermeasure against that to Origa-san. It looks like she wasn’t in time now, but please deploy the barrier once more.”
“Y-Yes!” (Puuse)
“How do you plan to stop him?” (Vepar)
“That’s…” (Imeraria)
“Please wait!” Imeraria’s reply to Vepar was suddenly interrupted.
“Viine?”
Everyone turned their eyes towards the door leading to the balcony. The one standing there was the rabbitwoman who had lost an ear, Viine.
Was it because she was angry? Or because she put strength into it? Either way, she furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips while having shifted her focus on Puuse.
“Puuse-san, what was that about….master’s sealing!?” Sabnak blocked the path in front of Viine who had started to walk while shouting.
“I’m sorry, but protecting this place is my job.” (Sabnak)
“Please don’t stop me!” (Viine)
Sabnak was greatly troubled as he restrained Viine’s shoulders who tried to proceed onward. If this had been a hoodlum or an assassin, he wouldn’t hesitate to draw his sword for Imeraria. But, it was someone he knew and an unarmed beastman. Moreover, someone who could be called Hifumi’s loyal retainer.
Imeraria’s voice was audible from behind Sabnak who was hesitating, “Sabnak-san, please keep restraining Viine-san just like that.”
“Ye-, eh? Ah, yes!” (Sabnak)
If it had been the past Imeraria, she would have likely told him to release her right away. Sabnak was bewildered by the unexpected order for an instant, but he didn’t let go of Viine.
“Viine-san, you said sealing just now, didn’t you?” (Imeraria)
Imeraria and Viine glared at each other as if to probe each other’s thoughts.
“…From who did you hear about this?” (Imeraria)
“Of course from master!” Viine immediately replied.
Vepar cast her eyes downwards and shook her head. Puuse widened her eyes.
“In other words, you’re saying, Hifumi-sama is aware of our aim, the sealing?” Imeraria clenched her teeth with her shoulders trembling.
She raised her eyes. She couldn’t see his face and look because of the distance, but she felt like Hifumi was laughing while looking at her.
At that point a question suddenly popped up in her mind.
“Viine-san, why is Hifumi-sama here despite knowing that he might be sealed? The possibility that he will be sealed should at least vanish if he didn’t come close to the royal castle.” (Imeraria)
“That is…nothing he told me about…” Viine answered as if sp
itting out her twisted mixture of sadness and bitterness.
Imeraria even felt pity for her. And the feeling she harbored towards Hifumi was rage.
“That man is thoroughly looking down on women!” (Imeraria)
As far as she knew, there were more than five women yearning for Hifumi. It’s not that I welcome it turning into an outburst of lewdness, but that treatment towards Viine is just too much, whatever the circumstances may be, Imeraria thought in anger.
“Viine-san, you devote yourself to Hifumi-sama even while being treated like that?” (Imeraria)
“There was just not enough time for me! The time to for Hifumi-sama to get to know me while being close to him like the madam and Alyssa!” (Viine)
That was apparently the reason why she wanted to stop the sealing.
Imeraria, who pondered about it for a short moment, put aside Viine’s situation for the present, and ordered, “Sabnak-san, please hold back Viine-san like that. Puuse-san, please continue.”
“But…” (Puuse)
“We will watch Origa-san’s movements. Once she makes her move, there will be another opportunity.” (Imeraria)
Puuse acknowledged and started to cast the spell again. Viine called out to her from behind, but being from a race that wasn’t suited towards combat, she apparently couldn’t free herself from Sabnak’s fairly trained arms with the strength of a woman.
“So, what do you actually plan to have Origa do?” (Vepar)
“Have do is a faulty way to express it. This is something Origa-san herself had requested. At that time I heard the details about the left hand’s special trait allowing it to absorb magic.” (Imeraria)
The moment when she looked down at Hifumi while quietly placing her right hand on the handrail of the balcony, was the exact moment of Hifumi swinging his left hand and shaving off the faint remains of the barrier.
“I will have Origa-san cut off that left hand.” (Imeraria)
At the moment Hifumi had extended his left arm, they could see Origa running towards Hifumi.
☺☻☺
Origa properly observed how Hifumi swung his left hand and katana against the faintly visible barrier, easily tearing it apart like some candy art, while taking on the demons.
Summoned Slaughterer - Book 9 Page 8
