“To think… we’d return to this place, Slayer…… Lal.”
“Yeah…… not since that day…… Espie.”
“Even I… sigh… much has changed in this past decade or so… but even so, I’d recognize this damned place anywhere.”
As the echoes of the drums rolled through the village, sending murmurs of alarm through the demons, Espie, Slayer, and Larou’iph muttered thoughtfully while doing light warm-up exercises.
“Back then, Big brother was the one who put his body on the line…… as well as Aonii, who secured our escape in the end…… but now it’s different.”
“Yes. We’ve grown bigger… and stronger. This time, we’ll fight together.”
“Earth Lagann, I will fight as well…… but please allow me to carry memories of Aonii, who fell before his time, into battle.”
For me, it was only a few days ago.
But for these three, it’s been over a decade.
Just feeling the weight of that emotion made my chest tighten… even as my blood began to boil.“Right! Let’s rampage with all our might, you guys.”
“””Yeah!!!”””
We nodded to each other as Koujiro played his drums.
“Hey, Honey. I don’t want to be left out.”
“Kon kon!”
“That’s not how this works ♪.”
Shinobu, Norja, and Kojiro stepped forward, determined to fight as well.
And…..
“Oh, who are these guys? Hey, get over here!”
“Tch… Humans!?”
“Huh? They’re just brats…”
They began to gather at the entrance to the village.
Huge, muscular ogres came out one after another.
Every single one of them had eyes completely different from those of my good friend.
“Hey, ya guys, ya got any idea where ya’re…huh? Ah, no, wait…that guy……”
“…… Hey, that’s one of the Seven Heroes!?”
“No, wait a minute! The one in the back… th, that’s General Norja……”
“Huh?! No, why!?”
“No, no, more than that, it’s Koujiro!”
“Oh, Koujiro, the guy who vanished, has suddenly appeared like this!”
Even so, though they obviously outnumbered us by more than a hundred, they all suddenly turned pale, which was unbecoming of their huge bodies.
They reacted this way when they saw Koujiro beating the drums and Norja.
“Hey ya bastards! What the hell is this? What are ya doing here!”
One of the gathered ogres barked at us.
So, let’s answer his question……
“This is what’s going on…….”
“…… Huh? Bubwa!?”
“WE’RE HERE TO BEAT YOU ALL UP!!!HAKUKIIIIIIIIIII!!
I charged in with a goosestep and landed a powerful right straight punch on the slow-reacting ogre’s face.
“What?! What’s with this brat!”
“A raid? H, how dare you guys mess with us! Who do you think we are?”
“Damn…… they’re getting ahead of themselves just because the Seven Heroes are here… Everyone, gather up! Those idiots are attacking!”
“Kill them!!”
The moment the battle began, the bewildered ogres roared, displaying their fighting instincts.
They took up their weapons, clenched their fists, and came at me all at once――
“If you try to kill Big brother…… I’ll send you flying to the end of the world! 【Fluffy Panic】!”
“Iron-make: 【Iron Flash Dance】!!”
But, Espie and Slayer refuse to let that happen and swiftly dispersed dozens of orcs in an instant.
In addition……
“Honestly, what a disgrace. Honey’s dear friend, Aka-san, was such a strong and noble ogre… unlike these wretches.”
“Hooh. Shinobu, was it? Well said. Well then, let’s defeat these failed demons!”
“Don’t overexert yourselves. Save your strength for Hakuki.”
“Grrrrr, grrrrr!!”
Shinobu, Larou’iph, and of course Koujiro and Norja kept the ogres at bay and kicked them away with ease.
“Gah! What the hell are these guys?! They’re so strong!”
“Then why don’t you just stand down and release the humans you took? Now!”
“Koujiro…… l, like hell we will? Boss Hakuki will bugya!?”
“…… well…… if you won’t listen, we’ll just take them by force.”
I wasn’t underestimating them or anything.
It’s true that ogres boast top-class combat strength among the demons.
But, excluding a few exceptional ogres, their foot soldiers are no match for us.
“【Great Demon Flicker】!”
“Guh—?! W-Wha—?! S-So fast?!”
They can’t keep up with my speed……
“Let chaos scramble your mind! 【Fluffy Panic】”
“Dammit! What the hell is this, bugygraaa!?”
“As I thought, Aonii was special. And Hakuki even more so… compared to them… you’re pretty lukewarm.”
“Wha, you cocky little brat!?”
A single attack was enough to take down the ogres.
They were against Espie, one of the Seven Heroes like Koujiro, and of course, Slayer, who is just as strong……
“Wind Art Jutsu, 【Spiral Maelstrom 】! …… fuh…… Certainly. I’m still inexperienced, but…sparring with my master, the Dragon King of Hades, and training in 【Vier】, have definitely helped me grow.”
“【Mega Dark Wind Cutter】! …… Hmph…… don’t assume I’ve just been playing with children? For the past decade, I have been sharpening my fangs in order to reunite with the man I love and bring him happiness.”
Both Shinobu and Larou’iph were much stronger than when I knew them.
The two of them also kept the ogres at bay.
“Gagraaaaaaaaa!!”
“Gyaah, General Norja, w, wai, g, gwwaaaaaahh!?”
Although Norja was unable to demonstrate her true strength, she had no trouble with opponents of this caliber.
His nine tails lashed out like whips, easily thwacking ogres away.
“Damn, what are these guys, bugh!?”
“S, strong…they’re so strong!?”
Before we knew it, dozens of ogres surrounded us and attacked, but none of them could land even a single blow, and they fell to the ground one after another.
“Kuh, y, ya bastards… ya bastards! How dare ya attack my comrades!”
“Huh?”
“Face me! The blazing Ogre, chosen by Lord Hakuki—“
“【Great Demon Smash】!!”
“Pukyaga!?”
At that moment, a slightly stronger-looking yellow demon appeared among the other ogres and tried to say something, but he couldn’t react to my movements at all, so I punched through his jaw.
Right now, I can hit an ogre much larger than me with my bare fist without the Breakthrough.
It’s not like we were underestimating them or anything, but they’re no match for us anymore.
『Child …… Apparently…… There are only about 300 ogres here. You have defeated nearly a hundred already, so I doubt they could pose much of a challenge anymore……』
「Yeah. A good warm-up before fighting Hakuki……」
『No, rather…… I do not sense his presence in the least…… Hakuki, is he not present?』
「…… Huh?」
I was stunned when Tre’ainar said that.
Come to think of it, Hakuki exuded a crushing pressure just by approaching from far away.
And yet, now, there’s nothing.
“Huh… he’s not here? Hakuki… eh? We came all the way here… eh?”
For some reason, Hakuki isn’t here.
And it’s not that he’s a little far away, he’s not in the vicinity, and I don’t feel like he’s approaching us.
“Huh? Big brother, what do you mean?”
“…… Ah, but it’s true…… even though we’ve been causing such a commotion, there’s still no sign of him coming out…….”
“Umm~…… We came here prepared for anything, but this is unexpected, isn’t it?”
Hearing my words, Espie and the others looked confused.
Of course they would.
Just as Koujiro said, we came here to face Hakuki, having gathered our strongest members, carrying various resolutions and past feelings… only to find that Hakuki wasn’t even here?
“Hey hey, you guys… I know it’s a little late to ask, but where’s Hakuki?”
Just to be sure, Espie asked the ogres……
“I, I don’t know, he said something about going fishing or something, so the boss isn’t here right now!”
“…… Seriously?”
It was a complete miss, or rather, a huge letdown.
To think that we would storm the hideout only to find that Hakuki was away……
“Oh dear… what should we do, Onii-chan? Even if we annihilate these guys, we still won’t be able to defeat Hakuki…….”
“Ah~…… Yeah…… For now, let’s beat up these guys and go rescue the kidnapped girls.”
“Well…… that’s all we can do for now.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, I felt my fists burning, and I didn’t know how to vent my anger, so I decided to at least defeat these guys, rescue the captives, and figure out what to do next… Hmm?
“Huh…… that reminds me… that person… and also…….”
At that moment, I remembered something.
The “captives” weren’t just those taken during Japone’s tax raids.
No, to begin with, I–
“Damn, these bastards are mocking us! Us― the Ogres, the strongest race in the Demon Realm!”
“Oh, I see. But actually, the strongest would be me and Big brother, the ultimate sibling duo ♪.”
“Shut up, damn it! I’ll just go all out! Uooooooooh!”
“Hah~, come on. Even if you scream like that, with such slow movements I’ll―――― “
—Support Spell, 【Giga Swiftnail】
“Ugh!? Wha, my body suddenly feels lighter….”
“…… Huh?”
That was when it happened.
A monotonous voice echoed, and the ogre’s entire body suddenly began to glow as it headed towards Espie……
—Support Spell, 【Giga Swiftnail】
“Eeeh!???”
“Espie!?”
The ogre’s movements suddenly changed, and it charged Espie at an unimaginable speed for its massive size, hitting Espie over her guard and sending her flying.
“Huh? Wha….. What just happened, Espie!”
“Espie-san?! No, in the first place, what was that just now….”
“Wh, what’s going on? That sudden movement…”
“It was fast and powerful……”
Something changed.
Suddenly, one of the ogres’ speed and power increased dramatically, and he knocked Espie away barehanded.
“Ghh… M, my arm’s numb… What was that……..”
“I… I didn’t… how …….”
Espie shook out her tingling hands with a grimace. On the other hand, the one who hit her stood dumbfounded by his own sudden strength.
And then……
『Tis support magic…… though not as potent as the Breakthrough, tis a type of magic that temporarily enhances one’s speed, strength, defense, and so on…… Fufufu, and the magic power I just sensed…… I see. Hakuki…… apparently, not only is he absent…… he left behind a troublesome souvenir.』
Tre’ainar crossed his arms and looked like he was reminiscing about the past……
“Hey, Koujiro…… just now….”
“Yeah. I felt it too… Someone’s pulling his strings?”
That’s right.
Espie and Koujiro seemed to realize what had happened, and I did too shortly after.
The confused ogres turned around, and then, while still confused, made way for a man… a man clad in a robe that covered his entire body, slowly walked towards me……
“Intruders… enemies… eliminate…….”
Ah…… I had expected this to happen…… But, seeing it unfold before my eyes, I, along with everyone else, was left speechless.
“Un…… Uncle Ben……”
There stood my childhood friend’s father, glaring at us with vacant, maddened eyes.
And then, beside me, at a loss for words……
『I see…… if such was done not only to that one…… but also ‘this fellow’…… tis no surprise Hakuki left so carelessly……』
He muttered this as if he knew not only what was happening in front of us, but also what would happen next.
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Forbidden Master – Part 6/Chapter 29623rd Aug 2023In "Forbidden Master"
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