The champions of humanity who have left their names in history, the Seven Heroes.
But long before the birth of the Seven Heroes, he fought against the Demon King Army as a protector of humanity, and created many legends.
“…… Goroukou, sir~, What a damn pain in the ass you’ve gone and become.”
When I first met this old man, I had the impression that he was a kindly elder.
But what about now, when he’s lost his mind and was nothing more than a fighting puppet?
『The form of demonkind differs… for use on humans… or so the Chieftain said.』
「Ah……」
He was tampered with in so many ways that he’s lost his mind, just like Norja.
But, even though the manipulation was the same, the implications changed drastically.
“…… Must… silence…….”Apparently, for humans, it supposedly makes you stronger…and in fact, Koujiro seemed to feel the same about Uncle Ben.
『Child…… spread your nerves taut…… and hold nothing back.』
「Huh…….」
『His pure ‘martial arts’…… tis of a different quality than any you have faced in actual combat thus far. And perhaps this is fate…… use this opportunity…… experience it firsthand. A realm of humanity distinct from the Six Supremacy.』
Having lost his sanity, he just walked towards me. That alone made my sweat pour out.
『First, be wary of his hand-chop…… Tis his signature physical attack……』
「Hand-chop?」
『He too is an all-arounder who uses magic, but… but the hand-chop comes first.』
Tre’ainar offered me a lot of advice, but nothing would start until I actually tried.
Still, even without Tre’ainar’s warning from the outset, the unfathomable depth of the old man before me was palpable.
That’s why……
“【Breakthrough】!!”
It was truly sound advice. There was no need to hold anything back.
“Big brother!?”
“Honey!?”
We were already surrounded by hundreds of ogres, then Uncle Ben showed up, and now a legend had appeared too.
This wasn’t a situation that could be solved with some complicated tricks.
“If we fall behind here, we’ll get swallowed whole! The only way out is to go on a rampage now!!”
“Brother…… eh, that’s right……”
“LET’S GO!!”
I roared, as if to convince everyone—and myself.
“Right, Big brother!”
“Okay, Honey!”
Then, in response to my cry, Espie and Shinobu nodded and moved at the same time.
“Enemy……”
“Punish”
The enemy also moved. The men flanking Granpa Mikado, Kesu and Ashisotu, both started running forward at the same time.
“Not so! Dark Spell, 【Mega Darkness Cyclone】!!”
“【Tajū Bunshin no Jutsu(Multi Shadow Clone Technique)】!!”
But, as if to intercept them, Larou’iph engulfed Kesu in a black tornado, and Shinobu summoned a large number of clones onto the field to intercept the Ogres, while her main body faced off against Ashisotu.
“We won’t let you checkmate us so easily, you insane heroes!”
“Ashisotu-senpai…… it’s a shame you’ve lost your mind, but let me show you how much I’ve grown!”
With that, Shinobu and Larou’iph each selected their target and took their stances.
But, when the two of them moved like that, the powered-up Ogres will……
“Hey hey, ya bastards, don’t ya think they’re the only ones ya’re dealing with?”
“Yeah! Ya think ya can just leave us alone?”
“Hmph, what’s with the clones?! The clones are only one-tenth the size of the original body… they’re no match for us right now!”
“Surround them and beat them half to death――――”
No, it’s okay.
“…… Kon Kon ♪.”
“””””Ah……”””””
In a sense, the most dangerous one was still left, so I’ll just assume it’s okay.
The Ogres also noticed this and turned pale.
So the problem was me.
I’m focusing on this one.
“Okay, here I go! Granpa Mikado!”
With a Breakthrough, I swung my fist from mid-range.
Shooting a rapid succession of sonic shockwaves.
“【Great Demon Sonic Flicker】!!”
First, keep him in check with my lefts. But, if I land a hit, I can deal some damage and my lefts can throw my opponent off balance.
How would this legendary elder handle these roaring, whip-like shockwaves…?
“I shall silence you”
“Huh!?”
Shouldn’t he dodge? The next moment, Granpa Mikado, who had been slowly walking closer, crouched down and dashed forward.
He’s fast. Unthinkable for an old man.
But he came straight at me.
If this keeps up, he’ll meet my Flicker head-on….
“【 Mutou(No Sword)】 “
“What!?”
He neutralized my supersonic left shockwave… with a single swing of his hand!?
Not just one, but every single shockwave I rapid-fired.
“【 Mutou(No Sword)―― “
And then, he closed into my bosom… Fine, I’ll draw him in and intercept with a smash――――
『No! Leap back to the side, now!』
“Huh!?”
The instant I braced to meet his attack, I instinctively dove to the side, just as Tre’ainar instructed.
“【 Godan-zuki(Five-Stage Thrust)】”
It was a right hand-chop thrust clad in terrifyingly high-density energy.
Five distinct thrusts in an instant.
“Wh……”
It ended in a miss, but I couldn’t help but feel a chill run down my spine.
What if I’d taken that one head-on?
It would have pierced my forehead, throat, both shoulders, and heart all at once……
“This…… damn monster old man! Great Demon Jab!!”
But, the moment immediately after a fatal strike misses was also the biggest opening.
From my leaping retreat, I quickly regained my footing, and aimed my shortest and fastest left punch at Granpa Mikado’s chin.
But……
“【 Mutou Kabe(No Sword Wall)】”
“Huh?!? Ugh, uh…….”
The next moment, excruciating pain shot through my left wrist. My fist was deflected from the side before it could fully extend.
This guy… even right after whiffing his attack, he still reacted immediately.
But this wasn’t over.
“Then, the right! Great Demon Sonic—“
“【 Mutou Kabe(No Sword Wall)】”
“Ugh!?”
As I tried to release a right fist in a follow-up attack, it was once again deflected from the side by a chop.
He completely saw through my punch, and even managed to deflect it from the side with ease……
『Child, regroup immediately!』
“【 Godan(Five-Stage)——”
Wait, hold on! Right after deflecting my attack, he’s using that technique again——
“Iron Make, 【Rashomon】!!”
Not good…… The instant that thought crossed my mind, an iron wall appeared in front of me as a barrier, blocking Granpa Mikado’s hand chop…… or so I thought, but then cracks appeared in the wall!!
“【Fluffy Escape】!”
But thanks to that wall shielding me for even an instant, I was pulled back by Espie’s ability and I somehow managed to avoid being hit by the hand chop.
“Big brother, are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah……”
“Phew…… that’s one terrifyingly strong hand chop…… to think it could easily pierce my Rashomon……”
Thanks to their immediate support, I managed to escape unscathed.
But……
『Do not let your guard down!』
“Huh!?”
Even though we had created some distance, Granpa Mikado came at us again without even a moment to catch his breath.
“Nyah, 【Fluffy――― “
In response, Espie tried to capture Granpa Mikado using her powers.
But the next moment, Granpa Mikado took a sharp step to the side and slipped behind us.
“Damn, he’s fast! Can’t lock on him…… Slayer!”
“Really?! Iron Make, 【Heavenly Demon Lightning Fang Thrust】!!”
As soon as he determined that Espie’s powers wouldn’t reach in time, Slayer turned around with an iron spear in his hand and delivered a high-speed thrust.
But…
“【 Mutou Kabe(No Sword Wall)】”
Just like with my fist, Granpa Mikado hit Slayer’s spear on the side with his hand and “cut” right through the metal.
But Slayer didn’t panic, rather he was smiling……
“Now your hands are full. Pierce from below… Iron Make, 【Hundred Iron Blossomed Frenzy】!!”
The moment Slayer stamped the ground with his foot, weapons such as swords, spears, and axes suddenly shot out from the ground at Granpa Mikado’s feet and attacked him.
『Ho~…… so he refined the iron underground…… how clever.』
Slayer’s surprise assault caught him completely off guard. Would it hit?
“【 Mutou Kai(No Sword Mass)】”
“Huh!?”
Slayer unleashed countless blade attacks from the ground, hitting Granpa Mikado directly.
But, as soon as he realized that it was unavoidable, Granpa Mikado tensed up so much that the veins all over his body bulged.
Then, the launched blades could not penetrate Granpa Mikado, and instead, they bounced off him.
“Turning his whole body into an iron blade…… Huh… Impressive……”
“【 Mutou-ryu(No Sword Style)……
“Huh!?”
His whole body became like iron…… and immediately after, Granpa Mikado held both his hands forward.
The shape formed by his hands resembled a beast’s maw……
“【 Kokoudan(Tiger Bite Bullet)】!”
“Wha!?”
The shockwave he unleashed, shaped like a tiger, pounced on Slayer.
Unable to withstand the impact, Slayer was thrown backwards.
“Slayer!? You old geezer!”
“Stand back, Big brother! I’ll send him flying!”
“Espie!?”
“【Fluffy World】!!”
But Espie wasn’t caught off guard either. Counterattacking, she gathered trees and giant boulders from the forest and hurled them all at Granpa Mikado.
Then me too.
“【Great Demon Sonic Flicker】!!”
This time, not only my flicker, but also Espie’s attack was combined, creating a relentless assault from all.
A hand-chop couldn’t possibly block this.
Then should he harden his body again?
But……
“【 Kyokudai Mutou(Ultimate No-Sword)】”
“Ugh!??”
Granpa Mikado raised his right hand. Then, a huge amount of energy gathered in the hand-chop, just like my Great Magic Spiral.
It emitted a radiant light that was visible to the naked eye, and soon took the shape of an enormous sword……
“【 Tenchi Shūen Zan(Heaven and Earth End Slash)】 “
Just by swinging his enormous sword, he pulverized everything Espie had dropped and my shockwave into pieces, then annihilated them.
“Wow…… Haven’t seen that in over ten years… Impressive, as always.”
“Ow ow, ouch… that hurt… truly worthy of the legendary Mikado……”
It even reached the clouds. But……
“Tch, so what! I’ve faced the Six Supremacy, the Seven Heroes, and the Dragon King of Hades. So why would I be scared of something like this now!”
Acting unfazed, I raised my fists once more and said, “So what?”.
“That’s right, Big brother.”
“Absolutely, Brother.”
Espie and Slayer, who had been blown away once, didn’t seem to have sustained much damage, and they were smiling as if to say they too were far from finished.
Yeah, we’re nowhere near done either!
Author’s Note
Thanks for your support. It’s been raining a lot… can’t go outside. So, while you’re at it, check out the work below too (not that it matters).
“Reborn In Another World – The Long, Long Journey Until I Reunite with You”
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