Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

124 – Because I Dislike You

It didn’t take all that long

to bring Allen down.

From the start, the gap between our skills

was rather considerable.

‘..Still, I ended it quicker than I thought.’

Of course, I never imagined

it would end this swiftly.

Not that I considered my own skill

lacking in comparison,

but after facing even the servants,

I expected much more time

to have passed.

‘Good thing Allen fell so quickly.’

It was fortunate for me, no doubt,

but for some reason, it felt unsettling.

Just a moment ago, his eyes

held more resolve than anyone I’d seen.

Even the sword he wielded

hinted at his will.

But now, none of it

was visible anymore.

Not in his eyes, and

his sword lay discarded on the ground.

Whether his hand had lost strength,

or he’d simply dropped it by mistake,

I couldn’t say,

but he hadn’t bothered to pick it up.

As if he no longer had the will to fight.

“….”

“..Ugh, seriously… couldn’t you refrain from adding more people to treat?”

“..Unbecoming.”

“Pardon?”

I could feel the Saintess approaching me slowly,

sighing deeply beside me,

but I didn’t even bother to

turn my head to her, just continued

staring at the fallen Allen.

It didn’t suit him.

That look of defeat.

Knowing his nature as I did,

it made even less sense.

Why?

Why did he give up here,

refusing to press on?

Even if he just kept stalling, I was the one at a disadvantage,

and there’s no way he

couldn’t have known that.

“No, please, do heal him.”

But I decided not to worry about it for now.

If he was just going to collapse like that, it was a good thing for me, anyway,

and I could always ask

later, if not now.

“I was going to anyway, even if you didn’t say so…but…”

“Saintess? Why are you suddenl—”

“..Wow, is my luck ever rotten today?”

In that instant, violet light erupted.

From Allen, still lying on his back on the dirt floor.

A wondrous, mystical sight,

captivating enough to lose yourself staring at,

if it weren’t for the chillingly

ominous feeling emanating

from that beautiful violet.

“…!”

My senses began to whisper softly in my ear.

Get away from that light,

far, far away, right now.

“Ex…cuse me…!”

“Wa… Wait, what is… aaah!”

Instinctively, I wrapped one arm around

the Saintess’s waist,

and stumbled backward.

In this moment, at least,

her slight frame was

genuinely appreciated.

A moment later, and

I’d have certainly been caught in that light.

“Y-you!! What do you think you’re…!”

“Calm yourself and put up a shield…!!”

“Huh? What do you mean, oh…?”

Admittedly, placing my hands

on her body without permission was

one hundred times my fault,

but now was not the time to argue over blame.

Just look at that.

An ominous, unsettling

violet light gathering

in one place.

“W-wait, what exactly is…?”

“I don’t know either, but shield us first…!”

“Ah, right…!”

Having finally grasped the situation,

golden divine power began to slowly bloom

over her pure white robes,

and her veil

fluttered gently as

her small lips parted.

“[Let There Be Light (Ar niel)]”

The golden light of divinity erupted

from her body, rippling outwards,

coating herself, me, and those behind us,

and at that very moment,

a violet explosion erupted.

KWA-aaaNG─

Thankfully, the hastily

erected divine power shield prevented

any sensation of impact, but

The blast’s gale and

even the smoke, it couldn’t be stopped.

“Cough..cough! Urgh…the smoke…”

“Doesn’t seem too late…cough…”

“Oppa, what about Allen, brother…?”

Well, with an explosion like that,

I don’t know what could have happened.

The Saintess’ divine power surely reached Allen, but

it seems the explosion’s epicenter was

also closest to Allen.

“…First, we need to clear this smoke.”

“Ah, I can do that for you!”

“…?”

“What, why that look?

I’m just offering some help.”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Of course I’d have that expression.

She isn’t the type to readily

bestow kindness so easily, after all.

“Why, you don’t want it?”

“…No, it’s nothing. Please, do.”

He felt just as awkward

as before,

but he wouldn’t refuse her kindness without good reason.

As she said, it might really

be kindness offered from good intentions, and besides,

he didn’t want to hear rumors of refusing the Duke’s daughter’s favor.

“…You don’t seem very keen, though.

Well, maybe it doesn’t really matter?”

As she finished speaking,

she started clapping her palms together with a sharp *smack* ,

and behind her,

shadows began to writhe and rise.

“Seeing Lady Sino’s magic

is a first for me, it’s quite…”

“Eerie?”

“Ah, no…that’s not it…”

“It doesn’t really matter, I’ve heard it all before!”

Smack, smack, smack.

I could tell for sure.

The clapping echoed on and on,

and in response, the shadow

blooming behind her

began to coalesce into one place.

Finally, when her

clapping ceased its echoing,

the shadow’s size had already

swelled to about the size of a human head.

“Devour it, Gaki.”

As her words ended,

a mouth formed in the sphere of shadow.

A mouth like some beast’s

snout, withered and dry.

And before long,

that snout snapped open with a *crack*,

*Shwooosh*—

it began to inhale the smoke

with tremendous speed.

Almost like a 21st century vacuum cleaner.

“…Impressive.”

“What do you think? Isn’t it adorable?”

“No… I wasn’t admiring *it*.”

“…Maybe it’s because you’re still a kid; you don’t know what’s cute.”

After only a short

moment had passed,

all of that terribly thick

and ominous, violet smoke

was sucked into that snout,

and the surrounding scenery began to come back into view.

“Keu… hehehehe…”

Accompanied by an utterly ominous sound.

*

I can win.

That thought instinctively

flashed through Allen’s mind.

He didn’t know how he’d managed to stand again.

He didn’t know how he was

keeping his mind intact.

But one thing

he knew for certain.

I knew it, with a stark certainty.

The me of now,

I could defeat the wretch before me.

Slowly, I reclaimed the sword

I’d dropped to the dirt.

‘…Do you crave power?’

It was what I had steeled myself for,

from the moment that voice echoed within.

I knew it was the temptation of a devil,

knew that heeding its call meant

my life would never end well.

And yet, with every fiber of my being,

I pleaded with that voice.

I needed strength, a crushing might.

Strength to never yield to another.

‘…Ha, and here I thought I would never fall this low.’

I had recited the oaths of chivalry

countless times,

certain of my path,

overestimating myself, truly.

I would never tread the path of demons.

I would not listen,

not even lend an ear to their whispers.

That much, I was sure of.

But as always, the devil’s allure came

with a sweetness that matched its price,

and I was not strong enough, it seems,

to resist its pull.

“…Brother?”

“Ah…Allen…Oh…”

His eyes, clouded with bewilderment.

He must be in shock,

witnessing my transformation.

Indeed, even with the most generous eye,

I no longer resembled a man.

My fingers were entirely consumed

by violet stones,

and crimson bone pierced

the armor at my shoulders,

jutting out grotesquely.

My once flowing hair had hardened,

stiff and unyielding.

A decision was solidifying.

A form more befitting a monster than a knight, no matter where one looked.

But he didn’t mind.

No, he couldn’t be bothered to mind.

Wasn’t it a curious thing?

His mind, once overflowing with every fleeting thought and resentment for that fiend,

now, having become a monster,

was so clear, so refreshed.

A feeling not at all unpleasant.

So what if his current form was unspeakably

hideous?

He could, once again, defeat him.

*

I didn’t want to believe it.

Nor did I want to know it.

I didn’t want to know that he had become a demon,

nor did I want to know the process of becoming one,

nor even the fact that he had

hated me so.

“….”

“What are you standing there gaping for, Jenison…”

“….”

“Draw your sword.”

Whoosh─

The sword held in his hand

danced towards me.

Unlike moments before,

his swordsmanship was a degree rougher,

even more simplistic.

Unlike moments before,

his swordsmanship had changed completely.

Where had the sword gone that burned with passion and obsession,

daring me to come hither ?

Now his sword, filled with a fierce will to utterly crush only me,

was pointed at me.

“Draw. Your sword.”

“Why…why?”

“You wish to ask, why go this far…is that it?”

“….”

“Because I didn’t like you.”

“….”

“Because I refused to believe you were better than me.”

“….”

“Because your swordsmanship from then still remains,

seared into my mind.”

“What..”

“Difficult to understand? Don’t bother. They’re all excuses, the truth is I just don’t like you.”

“….”

“Is that answer enough?

I sincerely hope it is.”

“….”

“I suppose I don’t need to tell you to pick up your sword?”

“….”

“You’ll be doing it soon enough anyway.”

He adjusted his grip on his sword.

Not with one hand, but with two.

The blade angled above his shoulder,

His feet were planted firmly on the ground,

And his face, his entire torso,

Was focused solely on me.

Before I knew it, his stance had morphed into something akin to a sprinter’s crouch,

“Reinhardt Ryu Heavy Sword Technique, First Form, Mount Tai Cleave.”

Finally, blood erupted violently from the ground.