Chapter 254: 240

A gunshot rang out and the bullet grazed my cheek.

Sweeping away the obtrusive muzzle smoke with my cloak, I jumped.

I swung my upraised sword down and split the knight's helmet along with his head. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.

The sensation of killing a lifeless human.

This guy is also not a beast.

Trampling on flesh and rubble, I ran through the trenches. Hearing a loud crash somewhere to my left, I turned to see pieces of flesh and metal flying into the air.

His Majesty is fighting.

When it comes to fighting, there's no need for me to worry about him.

I stayed low to the ground, scrambling like a rat, to avoid the bullets. A few quick strides and I had decapitated three of them, and then I pulled back abruptly at the next corner to the right.

There was a smattering of gunfire and bullets shattered to pieces against the stone wall.

My limbs had been in the line of fire, but the bullets had missed.

As I expected, the long barrel makes it difficult to aim in this narrow space. It's easy to make them miss with just simple feints. As long as their bullets don't hit, there's nothing to worry about.

Hearing the sounds of reloading, I darted around the corner and into the passageway.

The distance between us was 15 meters. There were four of them, each one standing slightly apart from the others.

The enemy troops were quick at reloading, their movements well-practiced.

Ripping open a packet of gunpowder, they poured some into the flash pan. After setting the barrel in a vertical position and pouring the rest of the gunpowder into it, they dropped the bullet included in the packet down the barrel and shoved it into position with a long, thin ramrod.

Tossing aside the ramrods, they took up firing stances.

「Agathion!」

Yelling, I unleashed my magic sword.

My magic sword can exceed the speed of sound. At this distance, it can hit them faster than they can pull the trigger.

The four knights were neatly skewered and pinned to the wall.

Two more emerged around the far corner of the passageway.

Without thinking and out of curiosity, I flicked up one of the firearms on the ground with my foot.

Old or new, the fundamentals of firing a firearm are the same. Aligning the front sight with the rear sight, I aimed at a knight and pulled the trigger.

The blast sounded ridiculously loud to my ears, and the white muzzle smoke clouded my vision. The distinctive smell of gunpowder almost numbed my nose.

But I had shot him through the heart.

This close, it's hard to miss, and so long as I aim for their vitals, it will result in a kill shot.

I threw the spent firearm at the remaining knight, throwing off his aim. His shot hit the ground near my foot.

Too slow.

The knight had drawn his sword, but I severed him, sword and all, from brain to groin.

It's so sharp.

Like the Scarlet Knight Zamonglass', my swordplay today couldn't be sharper, couldn't be more bloodthirsty.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, my sword goes.

I heard the sound of people marching in step in spite of the narrow confines. That was not so much ridiculous as it was an act of pure stupidity.

From both the left and right corners, knights in procession converged and formed a line in the middle of the passageway.

「Come back」

Two of them died, killed by the returning magic sword.

Unperturbed, the remaining knights formed a line and leveled their firearms at me.

「Defend me」

My voice was drowned out by the sound of gunfire. However, the magic sword wasn't controlled by voice but by the mind.

The magic sword spun with ferocious speed, shattering all the bullets.

With it in front of me, I slowly advanced.

I still had a long way to go. I had to pace myself and rest whenever I could, or my body wouldn't last.

The reloading of the old firearms was taking forever.

I'm impressed by the precision and fluidity with which they perform the processes required, but……

「So what?」

More bullets were shattered to pieces as sparks flew. Agathion had intercepted all the virtually point-blank shots.

A single swing.

With that one cleave, I bisected all the knights.

The smell of blood, guts, and gunpowder. The musty smell of the dungeon, the dry dirt, and the greasy fat of humans. They washed over me.

I heard the footfalls of another group approaching.

The sounds of His Majesty fighting rumbled on like distant thunder.

It has only just begun.

I'll do my best to wipe them out in a leisurely fashion.

Just under an hour had passed.

「Your Majesty! How many have you killed?」

「Ooh! I've killed a hundred!」

「Sixty for me!」

I pulled out the sword I had driven deep into the enemy. From the sound of his voice, His Majesty seems to have plenty of stamina left. On the other hand, I had become quite exhausted. Even if I was just killing small fry one-sidedly, it was still very tiring.

I want to save whatever strength I can for "him", who has yet to show himself in the slightest.

As I was getting a quick breather, I heard the footfalls of another group of enemy troops.

I held up the musket I had swiped and waited at a corner.

As soon as I saw the enemy troops carelessly march into view, I pulled the trigger without thinking. After firing, I threw the firearm aside and grabbed another of the firearms I had propped up against the wall then fired again.

Even musket-type firearms like this can shoot through armor when the target is within 10 meters.

Moreover, I have a magic sword that can deflect bullets with ease defending me.

Trying not to rush or miss, I kept calm and aimed precisely at their vitals.

One shot, one kill.

I killed as many enemy troops as I had firearms.

After killing them all, I took their firearms, loaded the ones that needed to be loaded, and then waited for the next batch of enemy troops.

I'm once again reminded of the might of firearms, the ultimate weapon of civilization.

Certainly, a sword in a master's hands is stronger than a firearm in close combat. With the level of performance these firearms possess, they aren't even close to being a match for a good archer.

However.

The "ease" and "casualness" of being able to kill someone with just a pull of the finger. If this becomes widespread, any small fry will be able to kill renowned warriors with just a single finger. Even the most ordinary woman or child can become an excellent assassin if they have a firearm.

The world will drastically change.

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Once again, I'm struck by the "triviality" and "tastelessness" of firearms, weapons that make it easy to take lives.

They’re as much of a folly as having a meticulously cooked, perfectly seasoned dish with carefully selected ingredients, and then dumping ketchup all over it.

They’re like fast food.

Boring and without any trace of romance.

They're no good.

They're definitely no good.

If a human is to take the life of others, they have to become a beast that crawls through blood, sweat, and mud.

For that reason, I'll have these gun-toting bastards from Elysium lament the crushing defeat they suffered at the hands of just one person in this place.

I'll erase the idea of firearms from history.

These firearms will not be remembered.

I'll kill them completely here.

And, once more, enemy troops emerged around a corner.

I pulled the trigger and an enemy fell along with the noise of the gunshot, and then I reached for the next――――――――

「Tch!」

An enemy leaped at me from above. Agathion was blocking bullets so it wouldn't get back in time to intercept him.

I reached my hand down to my hip and cut the enemy in two with an instantaneous iai-draw.

Warm flesh and blood splattered onto my hat. In the tight confines, I got tangled up with the corpse, impeding my movements.

The enemy troops didn't reload. All of them drew their swords and came charging.

「Out of the way!」

Kicking away the mass of flesh that was previously an enemy, I drew my katana with my right hand and Zamonglass' sword with my left. Together with the magic sword, I engaged the enemy troops with all three swords.

I slew two with one swing and cut off the heads of three with the return swing. I created a storm of swords from which there was no escape.

Corpses piled up and rivers of blood flowed.

A pandemonium of blood, feces, and mud.

Yes, yes, yes. This is it. This is the kind of battlefield I wanted to experience.

「Fu, ha」

I choked back the laughter bubbling up and contorted my features into the menacing expression of a predator.

Fight.

Fight and fight, kill and kill.

I know better than anyone that this is a foolish sentiment. But oh, how satisfying this feels. I'm a creature that lives here and dies in this place. There's nothing other than that.

『Team member Souya』

「Ahh?」

Time flies when you're having fun.

I had gotten into it and killed all the enemy troops. Now I'm back to taking a short break and waiting for the enemy. I don't like it, but I have to pick up the firearms that are in good condition and prop them up neatly. It's boring work, but it has become routine to me.

『Your vital signs are very unstable』

「Were you really expecting me to fight with a level head?」

『Even so, the numbers are abnormal. It's as if they're someone else's』

「I'm still me」

Yukikaze is a worrywart, huh?

「More importantly, how's His Majesty doing?」

Yukikaze's mini-pod is with His Majesty. His Majesty's well-being is more important than mine.

『He's having no problems at all. His way of fighting is beyond human standards. He's at the level where it just might take an air force to defeat him』

「That's good to know」

I had been unnecessarily worried, I see.

Ripping open one of the packages I had stolen, I put the bullet into my mouth, then poured the gunpowder into the flash pan and down the muzzle of the firearm. I dropped the bullet in next, then shoved it deep into the chamber with the ramrod.

Reload complete.

I guess that's about it.

「?」

Feeling a presence, I raised the firearm. A small black shadow disappeared around the edge of my vision.

Huh, this has happened before.

Is it because I have a firearm in my hands?

Regardless, still facing forward, I pointed the firearm behind me and pulled the trigger. I heard the sound of armor clattering to the ground. Keeping calm and collected, I fired upon the enemy troops charging at me from behind.

The heat of battle was suppressed by gunfire. Every time I pulled the trigger, I felt a chill in the depths of my soul. Enduring until I could endure it no more, I drew my sword and washed it in blood as hot as flames.

Going back and forth between calmness and madness, I killed and killed.

And then………………I heard the tolling of the city's bell in the distance. It was the bell signaling that nightfall was imminent.

I remember now.

Doesn't this feel just like my first day in this alternate world?

Back then, I was fighting cheap thugs. Now――――――well, not much has changed, I suppose.

For me too, from that day on, not much, not a thing has changed………………Oh, I feel like I've forgotten something.

Huh?

Hmm?

I was awakened from that fleeting dream by gunfire.

The impact to my stomach made me lose my balance slightly and stumble. A neat hole had been opened up in my side. I put my hand to the wound and warm fresh blood trickled past my fingers. I swallowed back the blood that had welled up in my throat.

But I still have the regeneration point. Don't think that just one bullet is enough to kill me.

The wound regenerated as if time was rewound.

I can still go on, I can still fight.

For as long as I live, until my soul has been burned to nothing.

「Don't underestimate adventurers」

I laughed.

Then swung my sword.

Isn’t it ironic how he has changed since that day? He was saying, “Don’t underestimate me, adventurers” back then, and now…

But yeah, he thinks he’s not changed, but we see it, don’t we? The changes that were triggered by the loss of his bonds… Now, this is yet another ironic twist, isn’t it?

Another change is his skill with the sword. The last time he used Zamonglass’ sword in earnest was in vol 5, when he was fighting the dragon. He had complained then that his sword strikes were dull, that he wasn’t able to pull off Zamonglass’ sword techniques well. That’s what the part about his sword being sharp today was all about.

Oh, in case you don’t feel like going back and re-reading, Souya saw a shadow disappear around a corner too back when he first shot the hoodlums with his AK.

But wow, what a chapter, huh? I love how the author interspersed all those thoughts segments throughout so it wasn’t one-note, which kept it interesting. But admittedly, this chapter has not progressed the plot one inch lol. Stay tuned, cuz that’s what we’ll get next time!

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