novelraw Chapter 88 : Chapter 88
Chapter 88 : Chapter 88
Chapter 88. Lion Heart (4)
The ogre before me had already died three times since the start of my bet with Iris.
Of course, we weren't the ones who killed it, but the important thing was that it kept dying and reviving in a short amount of time.
Was it because of that?
The creature emitted a strong killing intent towards us, as intense as its roar.
"Damn humans. I'll kill you all. I won't let a single one leave alive!"
Well, well. It can even talk?
I looked at Noemi and whispered quietly.
"Cast the weakest poison magic on it."
"Okay, Dad!"
Noemi recited the incantation at high speed.
"O smoke of death that gnaws at life, corrupt the enemy before me, Fumus Mortis!"
Soon, Noemi's hand turned black, and a murky fog was sprayed.
The black fog enveloped the ogre's entire body and then melted it into a pile of ash.
"Kuaaaah!!!"
Inconceivable. The giant Double Head Ogre disappeared, leaving only its gaunt bones.
It all happened in just 30 seconds.
At the same time, a worthless item fell from the air.
Thud.
The reward for killing the boss.
But it wasn't what I needed right now.
Noemi, showing no interest in the item, smiled brightly and said.
"I did well, right?"
"Noemi, was the magic you just used the weakest poison magic?"
Noemi smiled and shook her head.
"No. It was the strongest poison magic."
"I told you to use the weakest one!"
"But I wanted to look good for you, Dad."
I shook my head from side to side and continued.
"To get the Lion Heart, we can't kill it like this. It has to survive for at least ten minutes."
It might sound absurd, but there was no way to get the Lion Heart through normal methods, even if you died and came back to life.
DoT magic.
That is, among the magic with continuous damage, you have to torment it with poison magic forat least 10 minutes, and then the final blow must be a physical attack for the sub-space to open.
No one knows why.
What can you do when the developers made it that way?
A short while later.
The Double Head Ogre was resurrected.
This time too, it rushed towards us with an intense roar.
"Kill, kill, kill!!"
For some reason, it felt even more filled with rage than before.
Fortunately, its steps were slow.
I fled with Adel, avoiding the creature, while Noemi once again deployed poison magic.
I shouted loudly at Noemi.
"Noemi, you have to control your power well this time."
"Yes, Dad."
"It must survive for ten minutes. Don't forget you have to use the lowest tier poison magic!"
The ogre, chasing us, didn't even glance at Noemi.
Naturally, Noemi could comfortably cast poison magic at its back.
"May the curse of poison unfold upon the opponent. Doxicum!"
At a glance, I could see the difference from the previous poison magic.
The color of the smoke was a pale green, and its range was also limited.
Noemi said that this magic had a long duration but a minimal effect.
However, the sudden blow made the creature suffer.
"It stings! It stings!"
As if stung by a bee, the creature screamed, scratching its back wildly.
But that was its downfall.
It threw its club indiscriminately, and it just so happened to be aimed at me.
Swoooosh!!
That would hurt if it hit, right?
No, it would be an instant death, so wouldn't it be okay?
As all sorts of thoughts raced through my head and I thought I was dead, Adel split the club in half with a single strike and ran towards the creature.
"No, Adel!!"
But before my words could even finish, the ogre was already split in half and dead, just like the club a moment ago.
It all happened within 3 minutes.
"......"
The third time was almost perfect.
Adel and Noemi moved at the right timing, and it went to the point where only the final blow was left.
But Adel made a mistake.
Before she could land the final blow, the ogre collapsed due to the poison.
It was probably around the 11-minute mark.
I sighed and reprimanded Adel.
"Adel, you must be the one to land the final blow."
"Final blow? What's that?"
"The last strike. It's meaningless if you don't do it yourself."
In the game, the enemy's HP was visible, so it was possible to control.
But in reality, I had to rely purely on instinct.
‘This is harder than I thought.’
When Noemi got the hang of it, Adel missed it, and when Adel got the hang of it, Noemi missed it, a continuous cycle.
We held a strategy meeting while the creature was reviving.
"I'll go hide in that corner, so Adel, you draw its attention, and Noemi, you cast the poison magic.
Got it?"
"Yes, Dad!"
"I'll keep that in mind, Father!"
They're good at answering, good at answering.
I clicked my tongue and waited for the creature to revive.
But did the creature now recognize this situation?
Instead of roaring upon revival, it knelt on the floor.
And then, its whole body trembled as it shed thick tears.
Since it had two heads, it shed four streams of tears.
"Stop. Stop it now...... Sob."
Adel awkwardly sheathed her sword.
"Oh dear. This makes it look like we're the villains and you're the good guy."
Could it be that it retains its memories from before it died?
But what can you do.
If we don't finish this, the secret room won't open.
Adel and Noemi seemed to feel sorry too, as they remained silent until the last moment before finishing the attack for sure.
At the exact 10-minute mark, Adel accurately pierced its heart.
The creature's giant body began to sink into the ground as if seeping into the floor.
At that moment, I met its eyes.
Tears were streaming from its eyes, and its face said it didn't want to be reborn again.
The creature seemed to be saying this to me.
‘Stop it. I've had enough.’
The boss' room was engulfed in silence.
At the same time, the sub-space appeared.
***
Meanwhile, outside the ruins, a heated commentary was in full swing.
"Ooooh! What in the world is that? A place we've never seen before has appeared!"
"Huh? What does that mean, Sage."
"I don't know either. But it's clear that some kind of異質的な (ijiljeogin) space has appeared."
"What. Do your commentary properly."
"You're not just making things up because you can't see, are you?"
Rude waved his hands, insisting that was absolutely not the case.
"How could that be! I swear on my name as a Sage, I am only speaking the truth. By the way, the Hero's party is returning the way they came. It seems they have brought something from the secret room."
"What is it?"
"Th-That is......"
Rude couldn't explain any further.
Detection magic wasn't like seeing a clear picture; it only showed a rough shape as dots.
Since only the caster, Rude, could see it, it wasn't easy to convey it with words.
Anyway, the promised time of 3 hours had long passed.
Frank, Adel, and Noemi appeared outside the ruins.
As soon as Frank came out, he held up the object in his hands high into the sky.
It had the shape of a heart and emitted a faint light, as if it were not of this world.
"Waaah!!"
What it was didn't matter.
What was more important to the crowd was the fact that their lord, Frank, had won the bet.
"Long live the lord!"
"As expected of our lord!"
"We believed in you!"
Frank approached Rude and handed him the object.
"Appraisal, please."
"Is this it?"
"Probably."
Rude swallowed hard and cast the appraisal magic.
Then, he uttered these words.
"Everyone! This is undoubtedly the key to this match, the Lion Heart! I, the Sage, guarantee it!"
"Lord! Lord! Lord!"
It was truly a crucible of enthusiasm.
Adel laughed in vain and whispered in Noemi's ear.
"How does Father know all this?"
But Noemi just smirked and shook her head.
"Is that important right now? That's Dad, isn't it? The hero of this era who can do anything. There's no need to have doubts, sister."
"I guess. I think you're right."
"Never mind that, just enjoy the atmosphere. What are you doing. Hurry up and wave your hand."
Adel smiled awkwardly and waved at the crowd.
Feeling like a clown.
About 20 minutes later.
A half-dazed Iris and a tattered Number 1 and Number 3 came out.
Number 1 conceded defeat on behalf of Iris.
And then he added this one sentence.
"It was a good match. Indeed, the title of Hero was not a lie."
I don't know where Number 1 saw the hero's aspect in Frank, but anyway, as Number 1 conceded defeat, the atmosphere here soared to its peak.
"Long live the lord!"
"We are the best!"
"May the name of the Margrave be eternal!"
It was a comedy in itself.
***
That evening at the Sage's Castle.
Iris, who had regained her senses, brought the Lion Heart to her heart.
Swoooosh.
The Lion Heart was absorbed into Iris' heart as if it had always been one with it.
An intense light burst out, and the audience had to close their eyes.
A short while later.
The halo of light disappeared, revealing Iris standing with a dazed expression.
The faint darkness that had been swirling around her had also disappeared.
Number 1 immediately asked Iris.
"How's your body?"
Iris spoke with an indifferent face.
"I feel refreshed somehow."
"That's a relief. The murderous impulse?"
"It's gone."
"You don't feel like killing people for fun either?"
"Yeah."
Number 1 grinned, a satisfied expression on his face.
‘It's like a conversation between a real father and daughter.’
Now it was my turn.
I approached Iris with a stern face and asked.
"It's time for the settlement."
"What?"
"Surely you're not thinking of breaking your promise, are you?"
"......"
Iris bit her lower lip hard and didn't say a word.
A moment of silence passed.
Iris clenched her fists and whispered softly.
"Father......"
"What was that? I can't hear you. Speak louder."
"Father."
"Still can't hear you."
"Fa. Ther."
As soon as I heard those words, I hugged Iris tightly.
Was it the effect of absorbing the Lion Heart?
Instead of struggling, Iris glared at me with a deep look in her eyes.
Then she slowly parted her lips.
"What are you doing?"
"Your words are short."
"......What are you doing."
"I'm hugging you. Because you're my one and only second daughter."
I felt Iris' gaze waver slightly, but that wasn't important right now.
I tightened my grip on Iris and hugged her tightly.
How much she must have suffered in this delicate body.
I will never let go again.
Even if any natural disaster were to tear the two of us apart.
***
Late at night
Iris was lost in thought alone in her room.
Was this also due to the influence of the Lion Heart?
Even sitting on the cockroach-shaped bed, she didn't feel any particular disgust.
Also, when she called Frank 'father'.
And when he hugged her tightly, her heart was calm.
"It's strange. I feel like I've become someone who is not me."
Her anger towards him was still there, but it didn't feel like it was exploding violently as before.
Just a vague feeling of 'that's how it was back then'.
The thought of hating him felt like a thing of the distant past, and for the first time, Frank looked like a single person.
"What on earth did I think of him as?"
Looking back, she wondered if she hadn't demonized him in her own delusions.
Iris pondered for a long time before calling for Number 1.
Number 1, who appeared from somewhere, tilted his head and asked.
"What is it at this hour?"
"I'm thinking of leaving right now."
"Right now, you say?"
"Yeah. There's no reason to stay here any longer. Let's do what we have to do."
Normally, Number 1 would have chided Iris.
But the current Iris didn't give off a feeling of being stubborn.
It was as if she had transcended something, or broken free from the shackles of the past.
Negative energies like hatred and stubbornness were not felt.
But this one thing had to be said.
"Shouldn't we at least give Frank a heads-up?"
"It's fine. I feel like I'll meet him again one way or another."
"Understood. If you say so."
However, to return to the empire quickly, they needed Noemi's power.
The two of them quietly approached Noemi's room and knocked.
But the door didn't open.
"Why isn't she opening the door?"
"If you want me to go inside and check......"
"No. That's not polite. Let's wait a little longer."
Number 1 smirked and nodded.
He was secretly pleased with this change in Iris.
But suddenly.
"Uaaah!"
Noemi's painful groan was heard from inside the room.
The two of them opened the door and entered the room without a second thought.
Then, they saw Noemi with her hands on her head, writhing in pain.
"Noemi! Are you okay?"
"Th-That's a monster......"
What on earth was she looking at and calling a monster?
Her whole body was as cold as ice, and her fingertips trembled as she pointed at the empty air.
Her trembling lips tried to form the next words, but they never came out.
Iris calmed Noemi down and looked at Number 1, shouting.
"Go get Father right now! Hurry!"
In her panic, Iris didn't even realize what she had just said.
But in the tense atmosphere that filled the room, the word that came out of her mouth naturally was just one.
Father.