I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 35 : Stampede (7)

Stampede (7)

While fighting the monsters and right before losing his sanity, Louis thought to himself.

Could he really endure constant torture? How could he maintain his sanity and live stably?

To keep his consciousness, he had no choice but to rely on the officers' spells.

The officers weren't fools; they were starting to catch on to that.

In fact, Silia had already noticed.

But Louis wanted to hide his existence as much as possible.

The majority of this world turned hostile toward the Chaos Dragon.

There was nothing more troublesome than having to face the Empire or the Holy Nation after revealing his power for no reason.

What Louis needed wasn't a simple spell. He needed someone who would cast the spell on him while relying on him as well.

"You made the right decision."

Having regained his human form, Louis sat down leaning against a tree, just like Silia.

Silia still wore an expression like she couldn't understand.

"If you had activated it even a little later, you would have been my meal too, squad leader. You really have good instincts."

"What exactly are you?"

Questions about Louis dominated Silia's mind.

Her reaction was very similar to Kelton's back at the Lizard Cave.

"I explained it last time, didn't I? If I ever transform into a monster, I told you to cast that spell on me."

"That monster was this?"

When it was revealed that torture didn't work on Louis, he had given a brief explanation about why.

Without the spell, he would turn into a monster. Silia hadn't understood that at first.

It sounded absurd to anyone.

At least, until she saw it for herself.

"So... You're saying the power of that legendary dragon is dwelling inside you?"

Louis added to his explanation, which he had skimmed over that day.

Back then, he had tried his best to hide anything about the Chaos Dragon, but now everything had been completely exposed.

There was no reason to hide it from Silia any longer.

"Does that even make sense?"

A twelve-year-old boy having that sort of power—it hardly sounded possible.

Louis knew Silia would have such doubts.

"Are you really bringing up common sense in this place?"

"...."

Hearing his reply, Silia fell silent.

In the two years she had served as deputy-commander, she knew just how lacking in common sense this place was.

Anyone who judged by human standards wouldn't survive here.

But why did Louis have that power? She was naturally curious, but how could she find out when he himself didn't know?

"Yeah. Here, nonsense is the standard."

Of course, it sounded like a contradictory statement, but to Silia, it was all too familiar—

Nowhere was that statement more true than here.

Louis gave a satisfied smile at her response.

"You adapt quickly."

"Because here, that's how you survive."

Thinking about it any further would only give her a headache.

"If the Holy Nation finds out, they'll mobilize all their forces to try and kill you."

"Would you tell them?"

Anyone who reports a demon worshipper to the Holy Nation receives an enormous reward.

If someone was blinded by personal gain, they would have surely reported it by now.

"And if I tell them?"

"I'd either have to kill you or force you to swallow drugs and control you. One of the two."

Even if she chose the latter, it could turn out like what happened with Kelton.

In truth, either choice was about the same.

"Then I'll keep your secret."

"Can I trust you?"

"If I was going to, I would've already reported that there was a soldier who wasn't affected by spells."

If such a soldier appeared, word would spread quickly, true to the 7th Legion's reputation, and soon even those outside the Legion would hear about it.

Naturally, the Holy Nation would find out too.

"So I'll trust you as well."

As Silia spoke, she looked around. Thanks to the Gigant Vulture's death, the thick fog had disappeared as if it was a lie.

She couldn't sense the presence of any monsters nearby.

At this moment, the only survivors in this place were the five squadmates who had passed out, plus Louis and Silia.

"But Louis. Do you see that boy?"

Silia pointed to Dimo's corpse.

There was a fist-sized hole in Dimo's chest as he lay on the ground.

He was nothing but a corpse now, but his expression looked peaceful.

"While I couldn't move, that boy fought the monsters in my place."

When Dimo felt responsible and stepped up, the squadmates followed behind him.

Even though he was at a disadvantage, Dimo didn't back down and swung his sword.

"And right before he died—he performed a miracle."

Right at death's door, golden aura formed at the tip of Dimo's sword. Silia had watched it all happen from start to finish.

"Golden, you say?"

"Just as you said, he was truly a boy with great potential."

At the mention of golden aura, Louis flinched.

He looked regretful at the thought that such a talented person was lost.

"And before he went into battle, he said this."

Young master... Thank you for helping me so far.

As Louis heard those words, he pushed his fingers into the ground.

Lifting them up, he pulled out a rock buried in the earth, making a hole as if dug by an excavator.

Louis gently laid Dimo's body in the freshly dug grave.

He laid the other dead squadmates there as well.

Louis then covered the bodies with earth.

On top of their burial site, Louis placed the unearthed rock and began to carve letters into it with his knife.

Dimo, lenzis, hyruck, benjamin, laki. The names of the five fallen were engraved on the stone.

"How long will a grave even last, out here in the demon realm?"

Silia spoke bitterly about the grave made in the demon realm.

To be fair, it wasn't an unreasonable point—

This was a place swarming with monsters that could smash rocks like cookies.

"We can only hope it lasts for a while."

Of course, Louis knew it as well.

"It's just that... I have some regrets."

The knight class could be called the true protagonist of this game.

Standing before the grave of the main character for the "good" route of that class, Louis placed his hands together in prayer.

If he hadn't been dragged here, that boy would have later reached the pinnacle as the strongest of knights—a "Paladin".

Louis offered a short prayer at the grave of the boy who would have reached that height.

Silia, struggling to rise, also offered a prayer at the grave marker. Then she spoke.

"Seeing you do this, at least you're still sane."

"Did you think I'd start shrieking like a monster just now?"

When Silia quietly nodded, Louis looked a bit hurt. He then spoke as he recalled his earlier transformation.

"Who would've thought this would be a sedative for you."

A torture spell devised to control soldiers.

An essential tool for using the soldiers brought here for their crimes.

But no one expected the spell used for control would become a sedative.

"Does it hurt?"

Silia activated the spell one more time, but Louis was unphased.

He just replied in a blank tone.

"Not at all."

"...."

Silia was so dumbfounded that she clicked her tongue.

Then Louis's next words were even more ridiculous.

"Please keep sponsoring me in the future. Otherwise, who knows, I might rampage like before."

"Sponsorship...?"

While everyone else wanted to stop the torture, Louis was eager to get more.

He even called it "sponsorship".

"So, all that arrogance in front of the officers was for this?"

"You can think of it as a kind of medication."

"... Medication?"

Silia felt her head spin again at Louis's words treating torture as medication.

"There used to be a good medic named Odun... but after he died, my sponsorship was cut off. So, until right before the stampede, I did everything to get spells from the officers."

He did all sorts of things to get the proper prescription.

He even acted spoiled—calling them dad, big bro, little brother, mom, elder sister, any name he could.

"So, that's why you kept calling me elder sister."

"That's right. It was part of that act."

But as such provocations continued, the officers inevitably got tired of it.

Eventually, they became suspicious of Louis.

Was he really feeling any pain at all?

"So, I had hoped you'd be an excellent medic like Odun, deputy-commander."

An excellent medic? Didn't that just mean he wanted me to be crazy?

Having grasped what Louis truly meant, Silia clicked her tongue again.

"But, disappointingly, you always seemed to be lacking compared to Odun. Surprisingly so, for a deputy-commander."

Louis suddenly dropped his expression into one of deep disappointment.

"I was hoping for a witch-like cruelty befitting your position but was quite let down."

In truth, Silia wasn't innately vicious.

She was more of another victim who had ended up here due to unfortunate circumstances.

Of course he couldn't expect cruelty from her.

"In conclusion, deputy-commander, you just don't fit in the 7th Legion. I mean you aren't suited to tormenting others."

"...."

Since he wasn't wrong, Silia quietly bowed her head.

If she hadn't been assigned to the 7th Legion, she might have lived an honest life.

"But even if you're not cruel, you can still be a good sponsor."

Hearing the word "sponsor" again, Silia scowled.

Regardless, Louis stuck his fist out and pleaded.

"So please, deputy-commander. Be an excellent medic for me."

Seeing Louis speaking with a bright smile, Silia gave a sour look.

Staring at the ground, she finally let out a sigh.

"...."

Sponsor? Medic? Was any of this right? She wasn't sure, but in the end, Silia bumped her fist against Louis's.

"I'm counting on you, dear sponsor!"

When Louis said that with a shining smile, Silia reflected once again.

No matter how much she thought about it, she just couldn't adapt.

Louis, on the other hand, was completely satisfied just to have found a regular sponsor.

****

"What is that?"

A higher-rank monster, the Gigant Vulture. The soldiers at Paruzan Fortress were keeping an eye on the area where it lurked.

Just its appearance generated confusing fog, which made it a difficult monster to face.

Because of that, the legion wanted to avoid fighting it if at all possible.

But had that wish come true?

The fog it had scattered had vanished without a trace.

"The Gigant Vulture!"

"I can't see it anywhere!"

The soldiers kept scanning the foggy area with telescopes. The monster responsible for spreading fog all around was nowhere to be seen.

"Did it run away?"

"No way!"

No such terrifying higher-rank monster would flee so easily.

To run from the competition—the stampede—to secure your own territory was the same as being weeded out.

The disappearance of the fog was good, but it raised a new question.

"Let me see that!"

At last, Kadim snatched a telescope from his squadmate and scanned the region.

The fog had indeed cleared, and there was no trace of the beast-bird.

"How did this... Huh?!"

Suddenly, Kadim was shocked by what he saw.

Someone was walking out from the forest where the fog had been thickest.

"How are those brats...!"

Kadim had tried to kill a squad with a warp stone.

The warp stone they held was the same as Kadim's squad's own.

As paired magitech devices, they were bound to connect.

Kadim had secretly predicted where a higher-rank monster would appear and left his warp stone at that location.

Since the other warp stone was paired, he could forcibly teleport the squadmates to that point with the help of officers skilled in magitech devices.

It was the dinner table of a higher-rank monster. Unless you were a swordmaster or a nine-star mage, how could anyone survive?

And yet...

'How are they alive!?'

Kadim gnashed his teeth, watching the squad that had survived unscathed.

Not everyone had made it, though. Of the eleven squadmates, five were missing.

But only five! Normally, not a single one should have survived.

'And why is the fog gone?'

The disappearance of the fog meant the higher-rank monster was gone.

Coupled with seeing them walking out alive, Kadim grew cold inside.

Could it be? Just as Kadim was having this thought—

The cockiest-looking brat among the squadmates, reflected in the telescope, looked this way.

His name was Louis, right? He was the one leading the squad.

'What is this?'

The brat was staring right at him.

It couldn't be possible at that distance, but it felt as if they were facing each other up close.

The brat's lips slowly curved into a smile at the lens.

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

I want Kadim to experience a cruel death.

My boy Dimo got killed...

【(⩌‸⩌ )】