I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 12 : Higher-Rank Monster (3)

Higher-Rank Monster (3)

After experiencing another mutation, Louis nearly lost consciousness.

Just like the first time he transformed into a monster, his sense of self almost disappeared, and the personality of a true monster tried to take hold.

The first time he changed, he barely managed to pull himself together and return to being human.

Perhaps because it was his first time using strength, he didn't entirely lose his personality.

In the end, the reason his transformation was undone so quickly was because he was clumsy at handling strength, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

If, by bad luck, that state had continued, Louis would have become a true monster, destroying everything he saw in his path.

What just happened was similar. Louis, who now understood at least some part of strength compared to before, succeeded in pulling out only a portion of it.

Thanks to that, he was able to transform into a form that was half-human, half-monster.

Unlike the first time, when he completely lost reason, he didn't immediately lose himself.

Still, it was just that he could hold onto rationality for longer. He hadn't actually mastered controlling his savagery.

Worse, the longer the combat continued and the more his body was stained with blood, the deeper Louis fell into savagery.

He had succeeded in defeating the Elite Lizard, but after that, he was no longer Louis.

In that state—right at the brink of losing his reason—there were only a few words Louis could manage.

But thanks to those few words, Louis was able to return to being human again.

The spell. If Kelton hadn't understood those words, Louis would have killed him with his own hands.

At the same time, Louis wouldn't have been able to return to normal.

"This time... I really have to thank you. If it wasn't for that spell, I would have become a real monster."

So Louis expressed his gratitude to Kelton, who was sitting on the ground taking a rest.

Even though Louis was just an ordinary soldier, he spoke informally to Kelton, who was an officer.

It was a lowly act that violated military law, but Kelton didn't care at all.

"No, if it hadn't been for you, I would've become Lizard food. I should be the one thanking you."

Instead of getting angry, he started speaking politely to Louis.

If any military official saw this, they'd be at a loss for words, but to Kelton, it couldn't be helped.

Kelton had seen it. The sight of a monster in human skin massacring all the monsters.

What's more, it was a higher-rank monster. Even the commander would have difficulty dealing with that creature.

Having witnessed Louis fighting such a monster, military codes became meaningless.

"By the way, if you don't mind... may I ask a question?"

Kelton spoke hesitantly, like a frightened child.

It was so different from the usual Kelton, who was always yelling at the soldiers.

"... Are you really human?"

After Louis had moved all the eggs onto the cart, he looked back at Kelton.

When their eyes met, Kelton flinched, wondering whether he had made a verbal blunder.

It was a worry that regular soldiers usually had in front of their superiors, but now the roles were reversed.

"I'm not sure. All I've done is survive for twelve years in this damned world."

Aside from that, he had no memory of having done anything special.

The fact that he had the power of a final-boss monster within him was, of course, a mystery.

"Even now, I don't know a single thing and I'm just wandering around. I considered whether it might be because of my parents who gave birth to me, but they weren't special enough to have a monster child."

"I heard you're the son of a lord from some domain in the southern part of the empire..."

Barony of Seifert in the south of the empire. Louis Seifert, born as the son of that lord.

But now Louis had no surname, since his family and their domain had been wiped out.

"How do you know that? You're not even my squad leader."

"When you were assigned to this expedition, I heard some of your personal details from Odun."

Louis was the child of a noble family. That made it easier to access his personal information compared to the other soldiers.

"You really don't have any guesses? Like your whole lineage being dragon-blooded or something..."

"No way. If such a serious secret existed, my whole family wouldn't have been wiped out by mere bandits."

Granted, they were actually elite mercenaries disguised as bandits, but a family with some secret weapon wouldn't have been destroyed by the likes of them.

If his family had been that powerful, they wouldn't have lost so easily in a power struggle either.

It doesn't make sense for a family with such a grand secret to be so weak.

"Besides, it was a game with almost zero story importance, so barely anything is known about the world."

"What? A... game?"

Kelton was puzzled by Louis's words, but Louis instead sank into thought about his family.

He'd once searched the entire mansion and domain, wondering if he was from a hidden-piece family.

But contrary to expectations, there was no hidden piece, nor even a useful item.

It was just a peaceful domain. There was nothing unusual about it.

"Anyway, the family I lived in was never special. The weird one is just me."

After hearing this, Kelton looked dumbfounded.

"And you have all that strength, so up until now..."

He couldn't get the image out of his head of Louis effortlessly ripping apart that higher-rank monster just moments ago.

That kind of monstrous strength wasn't at the level of just being a soldier in the 7th Legion.

"Are you wondering why I've been hiding it till now?"

"Of course! With that much power, you shouldn't even be here!"

You single-handedly defeated a monster that even officers can't handle.

With just that kind of strength, you could have a much higher position than an officer.

There was no reason to live with trash who were called mere soldiers.

"Do you think I don't fit in here?"

"It's not about fitting in! Did you forget what this unit is?"

The 7th Legion is where they conscript people who have lost their rights or have been sentenced to death.

It's known as a suicide squad, the shield against monsters.

Even on the way here, the entire expedition was wiped out. Only Louis and Kelton survived.

"This is the suicide squad! But what's the point of a person who can't die being assigned here?"

It's called a suicide squad because the survivability is so low.

For humans, this monster-infested place is little different from jumping into a furnace.

Once you're thrown in, there's no way out. But if there's someone who jumps into a furnace and survives without a scratch?

It's nonsensical, but such a person was standing right before Kelton's eyes now.

"A suicide commando who can't commit suicide?"

"Exactly! It's a total contradiction!"

Louis's very existence inverted all sense of purpose. Kelton couldn't wrap his head around someone like Louis.

"Well, like you said, I'm not fit to play here. But it's not like I have anywhere else to go."

His family's gone, and he'd lost even his human rights when he was conscripted into the 7th Legion.

From the moment he was put in a unit made up of convicts, Louis no longer had anywhere in society.

Realistically speaking, there was nothing left to lose. But now he had a strength that could replace all he'd lost and more.

"But listen."

Louis approached Kelton, who was still sitting on the ground.

As Louis drew nearer, Kelton's body trembled.

"Do you know why I'm still stationed in the 7th Legion even with power like this?"

As he said this, Louis grabbed Kelton's hand—the one with the engraved spell.

"It's because my strength isn't all advantages."

Louis explained the shortcomings of his strength.

He could use monstrous might, but the longer he used it, the more he truly turned into a monster.

And the only way to stop that rampage was the spell engraved on the officers' arms.

"It's torture for the soldiers, but for me, this spell is like a painkiller."

"What do you..."

"Did you forget? I almost killed you just now. Do you know why I stopped?"

"Ah..."

The moment the spell was activated, Louis snapped back to his senses.

Kelton recalled the sight of Louis turning back from a true monster into a human.

"If you want, activate it again."

"Really?"

When Louis let go of his head and hand, Kelton carefully tried activating the spell.

For an ordinary soldier, just a bit of this would cause them to scream in pain.

"Huh?"

But seeing that Louis was completely unaffected, Kelton could hardly believe it.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"I told you. For me, it's actually a painkiller."

He was a 7th Legion soldier who couldn't be tortured.

Monsters and torture, neither could threaten Louis.

What's hell for others was a playground for him.

Thanks to that, Kelton could resolve one mystery—why Louis kept provoking his officers.

"So let me ask: this spell... is there anyone who can use it even if they're not part of the 7th Legion?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You said you were going to leave. Then couldn't you use it after you leave too?"

If there was someone outside who could use it, there would be no reason for him to stay in the 7th Legion.

Just as he thought that, Kelton answered.

"There probably are people who can use it outside the 7th Legion, but they're all related to or affiliated with the Legion itself."

"So can't I just take one with me?"

Planning to use them as a walking painkiller(?).

"I wonder? It's not impossible, but if they travel with you, I doubt they'll survive long."

Louis's strength was that of the Chaos Dragon.

There's no way the empire would leave alone a being as dangerous as Louis.

No matter how powerful the Chaos Dragon's strength is, surviving against the entire empire is questionable.

Most of all, Louis still didn't understand how to properly use his strength.

Running away without even grasping his power would be like heading out to sea with no boat.

In other words, leaving was something to do after he'd gained more experience here first.

Within that limit, it wouldn't matter if he took a "painkiller"(?) with him.

"In that case, you shouldn't leave."

"What?"

"Don't leave the 7th Legion."

"What are you... Aagh!"

Suddenly, Louis grabbed Kelton by the hair and dragged him.

What Kelton saw in front of him was the brutally slaughtered corpses of the Lizards.

"Originally, I was going to kill you just like these bastards."

"Hiiik...!"

"But I'll let you live, just this once."

Of course, he had no intention of letting him live for free.

"Hand it over."

"What?"

"You have that drug that induces fear, don't you?"

"How did you know?"

Louis didn't reply. He simply held out his hand.

Faced with that attitude—"You don't need to know"—Kelton helplessly handed over the drug.

Snatching it away, Louis opened the lid and immediately shoved it into Kelton's mouth.

"Mmgh!!"

"Listen carefully. From now on, don't even think about leaving the fortress—move only for my sake. Whatever orders I give, you must follow them unconditionally."

When Louis asked if Kelton understood, Kelton shook his head.

"Wh-Why would I?"

"Why? Because you're going to become my regular sponsor from now on."

Plenty of officers cast the spell, but they certainly don't do it on a regular basis.

After all, there was no shortage of soldiers suitable for the spell, not just Louis.

"No! I won't! I'm going to leave this place!"

Kelton pleaded to be released.

He'd originally endured this hell to get out of here, so this was unreasonable.

But Louis pressed on, seeing Kelton's persistent refusal.

"Then do you want to die?"

"...."

Faced with Louis' murderous aura, Kelton fell silent almost instantly.

Then the effects of the drug he'd just taken started to show.

He could feel an overwhelming terror from Louis, who was radiating killing intent.

"You see these bastards?"

Louis showed off the corpse of the Elite Lizard he'd slain.

Its neck and belly had been ripped open, guts spilling everywhere, even making Kelton grimace.

"If you keep resisting, I'll have no choice. First, I'll rip open your belly like this lizard, then split your skull in half. Then I'll take out what's inside and feed myself with it."

"Mmmph...!"

Kelton's face turned pale as he understood what 'contents' Louis meant.

It was a threat to kill him in the same way as that monster.

"You'll be added among these lizard bastards' corpses. Got it?"

Louis pointed at the strewn lizard corpses as he spoke. Seeing those mangled bodies, Kelton shuddered.

"Well?"

Louis pulled the vial from Kelton's mouth and asked. Kelton, trembling like a leaf, answered.

"Y-yes... I'll do it...."

"Speak up."

Unhappy with the volume, Louis scratched deep wounds into Kelton's chest and wrists with his nails.

"AAAAAAHH!!"

With the flesh-tearing pain came scars that would never fade.

They were wounds like those made by a monster rather than a human.

Since they were in a monster-infested area, no one would suspect Louis.

"I'll do it...! I'll follow any order!!"

"Then from now on, look me in the eye and answer properly."

As Kelton knelt and looked into Louis's eyes, something flashed in his mind.

Just as Louis had warned, he saw a vision of his own skull being split apart in a gruesome death.

Seeing himself end up just like the Lizards, Kelton screamed.

"Aaaah... AAAGGGHH!!!"

The drug's effect of amplifying fear was overwhelming.

And when the object of that terror stood right before your eyes, its power multiplied exponentially.

"So from now on, every single day you have to sponsor... no, activate the spell for me. That shouldn't be hard, right?"

Louis asked Kelton, who was convulsing in terror from the rising nightmare.

Kelton reflexively fell to his knees and shouted with his head bowed.

"I'll follow your orders!!"

Kelton's desperate cries for survival echoed through the air.

Louis finally felt satisfied only when he saw Kelton's completely brainwashed eyes.

****

The two of them dragged the cart of eggs back to the fortress. A week passed after that.

Although the unit members had perished, Kelton received recognition for completing the expedition's objective.

Thanks to that, it was planned for him to leave the 7th Legion, but in reality, he did not.

Because of the suggestion planted by Louis, he was unable to leave.

Whenever Louis called, Kelton would rush over to cast the spell.

He also ran other errands.

With a dead look in his eyes, he followed orders like a slave, an unsettling sight—but Louis didn't mind.

And a week later.

Kelton was found hanged by the neck with a rope.

Driven by overwhelming fear, he finally left the 7th Legion as planned.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Damn, the tone is lighthearted, but the last sentence is quite dark...

Sadje, no more sponsor.

(ㆆ.ㆆ )