Chapter 207: Misery And Gratitude
I took a glance at the tree behind me.
[Pigimaru. When I use , I’m counting on you to bring me over that tree.]
[Pii~]
I stick my hand out in front of me.
The target——- is Bardwitcher.
I’ve meticulously crushed both of his legs.
He won’t be able to escape with his feet like that.
If he can somehow properly move, I’ll just have to chase him and deal with him right away.
To start things off——- I deactivated the
casted on them.
And immediately……
[ ]
Almost at the same time I invoke my spell, I sensed my body being pulled backwards.
In the next moment, I felt my body floating in the air.
On the other hand…
[———Guugaaaaaaahhhhhhh!]
Bardwitcher became enraged and attacked Toad.
[O- Oi!? What are you doing, Bard!? Oi! It’s me! Toad!]
[Gagguu! Gagguuaaahh!]
Bardwitcher tried to bite him.
His posture looks as if he’s about to mount Toad’s body.
[Calm down! Oi!]
Toad desperately resisted his assault.
But then, Bardwitcher notices the sword by his side.
Taking the sword in hand, he started attacking Toad again.
……Fuuuunnn…
So they still use weapons even in a state huh.
I learned something new.
[I’m asking you what you are suddenly doing—— Sh*t!]
Kyinn!
Wielding his own sword, Toad dispels Bardwitcher’s incoming strike.
However, Bardwitcher’s offensive doesn’t stop.
As I examine them from the top of a tree branch, Toad glares at me.
[You b*staaaarrrdddd! What the heck did you do to Baaarrrddd!?]
[I heard that he’s an important friend of yours…… But I wonder what you will do? Will you just obediently let him kill you? Or perhaps, would you choose your own survival and kill your friend with your own hands? Come now—— Choose.]
Maybe it was because of my voice.
Bardwitcher looked back at me for a moment.
His eyes were white, and drool was dripping from his mouth to his chin.
However, his awareness quickly returned to Toad.
basically makes the target go towards the nearest one that he’s aware of after all.
Moreover…
“The Afflicted would target those in sight.”
“The Afflicted would take priority over the being that it’s aware of over the one loudest.”
—- also have such characteristics.
Almost as soon as I endowed on him, I used the rope-like Pigimaru to climb the tree behind me.
Most of the sounds generated during that time were cushioned and muffled by Pigimaru.
Toad threw a fit of rage.
[Don’t f*ck wiiiitttthhhh meeeee! Sh*t! I knew you did something! Stop messing around! Stoooppp! Why……]
Boohoo.
Tears welled up in Toad’s eyes.
[How could you have done such a terrible thing!?]
[……We’re the same though?]
[Aaahhh!? What the heck is the same with that!?]
[The both of us——]
I coldly looked down at Toad.
[We’re fellow scums.]
[I am—– scum!? A- Are you crazy!?]
[Maybe.]
By their standards, I would probably be.
At the end of the day, humans are subjective to everything.
[Kuhh…… Heretic! Heretic…… You damn, freaking, heretiiiiicccc!]
[Kuku, even if you say that to me, that sounds more like a compliment in my ears. Putting your compliments aside, come now…… You have to do your best, you will be killed by your oh, so important friend, you know?]
[Guuuhhh…… S- Snap out of it, Bard! I believe your mind is still awake within you! You can hear me, right!? Stop messing around and wake up already! Don’t lose…… Don’t lose to this b*stards ominous magic! You’re…… a member of the Heroic Sword, right!? You’re a strong man, right!?]
Somehow.
I feel like I’m reading some scenes in some battle manga somewhere.
The virtuous protagonist desperately calls out to the brainwashed heroine.
It isn’t impossible to hear such passionate words among those books.
However, this is reality.
……Those words won’t reach him.
But well……
[Good luck with that. You might just miraculously bring your friend to his senses… and that would be quite heartwarming.]
Sitting down on a thick tree branch, I looked at them as if they’re some attraction and called out to them.
Thereupon, Toad glares at me with all his might.
He’s looking at me with “righteous eyes” that hates evil with all his heart.
[Well…… Even if such a development occurs, it would be meaningless anyway.]
[What… do you……!?]
[No matter what happens, the both of you will die here.]
I’m up in the tree, but this position is also within my range……
I can always invoke my skills at the first sign that anything is about to happen.
I’ve properly set up insurances.
As he parried the incoming sword strikes, Toad continuously called out to him in tears.
[Bard, remember! The everyday life we’ve passed together! Now, come back to your senses! And then…… We’ll both work together to bring that piece of sh*t down!]
[Gugaaaahhhhh!]
[Baaarrrrddd~~!]
[Garuaahhh! Guugaaaaahhhhh!]
[How cruel…… This is just too cruel……! For you to do something this awful, do you not have a heart!? You’re evil incarnate!]
[You don’t have to repeat it, it’s not like I’m denying it.]
[Daaammmnnn youuuuuuuu——–!]
Toad wailed out to the sky.
ANd then,,,
[I- I can’t do it! My friend—— I can’t kill my friends!]
[If you don’t want to kill him that much, how about you go get your other friends to help you?]
[……!? R- Ruin…… and the others……]
[I’ve got the best trap set up for them after all. Their arrival would just be great. I could deal with all you at the same time.]
[ ! ]
I really said that.
I would use my combination attack with Pigimaru from a very long distance, and make a surprise attack so that they won’t be able to respond anymore.
At the moment, I’m not thinking of any other offensive moves that I would need.
However, all I need to do for now—— is torment this guy’s mind as long as I can.
[Now, why don’t you call them? Shout out your laments, tell them to save you.]
[Guhh…… Guuuuuuhhhhhhh……! P- Putting Ruin and the others in danger just because of me…… isn’t something I will do! You…… You, evil incarnate, is too dangerous……! At the very least, I need to give them some kind of warning……]
“Hmph.” I snorted.
[That kind of camaraderie is bringing me to tears.]
However.
Nyaki isn’t one of those “friends”.
Couldn’t they feel a little bit of camaraderie even through their journey?
Do they not even have such thoughts?
Just for the sole reason that she isn’t human?
[………………….]
I gaze ahead into the forest.
I still couldn’t feel the presence of the other members of Heroic Sword rushing in at all.
I did feel the presence of a living being, but it isn’t human.
That means……
Ruin and Satsuki are farther away than I thought.
If they were within earshot, Toad would have been more desperate in his call for help.
Toad is in so much despair because they were in a distance that it would be unrealistic for his call for help to reach them.
[That means…… Even though Nyaki is that exhausted, she still had quite a bit of time to escape……]
I gazed down at Toad and Bard who were squawking and screaming.
[Letting go of the Divine Beast that is supposedly the key to the Faraway Country…… Seriously, what the heck is with these people?]
Well…
I still feel like I can’t help but think about it.
Trying to conjecture these people’s movements by measuring with common sense.
Letting go of such an important factor holds no meaning at all—— It can even be described as a waste of time.
Just as how they couldn’t understand me.
I definitely couldn’t understand them either.
That’s when…
[Hiiiihh!?]
I don’t know if it was because he was repeatedly turning his attention towards me, but an opening appeared on Toad’s guard.
And then…
[Gaahhhh……!?]
Bardwitcher’s sword slashed Toad’s shoulder.
[B- Bard…… really slashed me——- You freaking slashed me! Dont f*ck with me!]
Swoosshhh—— Slasshhh!
Toad strikes back.
His blade slashed across Bardwitcher’s throat in a single horizontal slash.
[Ah, Bard……]
[Uhh——woooo?]
……They’re finally done huh.
[U- Uwaaahhh—– Bard, Baaarrrrrdddd! My bad! I reflexively……!]
Soon after, Bardwitcher fell forward.
As he fell to the ground, Toad caught his body.
[No… way…… No waaayyyy!? I’m sorry, I’m sorry Baaaaarrrrrddddd———-!]
[You took quite a while.]
Saying that, I jumped down the tree.
[Y——- Youuu…… I will definitely kill you! I will beat you to death!]
[Have you understood anything, even a little bit?]
[Aaahhh!? What are you……!?]
[The feelings of “those people who get killed for fun”.]
[……Huh?]
[This is what you lot did to the Speed Tribe, right?]
[Are you insane!?]
[…………………]
[Like I said——-]
Raising Bardwitcher’s upper body——
Toad tightly embraced it.
Then, with a ghastly tearful voice, Toad bellowed.
[Don’t lump those fake-humans and humans togetheeeeerrrr! Open your d*mn eyeeeesss——!]
Kuku.
A smile naturally appeared in my mouth.
[……I guess I should thank you for that.]
[Ahh?]
[—-For being the same irredeemable scum until the end.]
Picking up the sword Bardwitcher dropped on the ground……
[Even if you suddenly had a change of heart here…… That would just be something troublesome to talk to you about……]
It’s time to end this.
Toad looks like he guessed what I’m about to do now.
[Ah, stooo——]
I swung my sword.
Force held within my strike, I released one slash.
Not even able to let out his cries of agony——-
Toad died.
Drip drop……
Along with the blood dripping down his arm, Toad falls to the ground.
[Scums like you——- should be crushed by fellow scums like this.]
Like the Speed Tribe.
or Nyaki.
All these virtuous people getting caught up in it were the ones getting the short end of the stick.
And that is—— making me sick.
[…………………..]
I’m really more suitable for situations where I just “crush” people.
This is better for me.
[My bad.]
I look down at the two corpses piled up over the other.
[With people like you…… I don’t think I would ever choose some virtuous way of dealing with you just like Sogou do.]
Seven more to go.
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