Chapter 52: Volume 3 - CH 15

“I see…the Mera Cult indeed is a lot of trouble.”

Minagi took a short break, taking Kyle to the back of the shop, hearing out the circumstances. She showed a complicated expression while eating the staff meal.

“So you know about them after all.”

“Somewhat, yeah. I may be working in the shadows, but I try my best to keep my distance from them. It seemed like they had been silent for a while but…they were interested in you? For what reason?”

“That’s what I’d like to know, really…Anyway, since I’m a target now, I need to prepare countermeasures. I figured it’d be best to leave it to a professional, and hire you.”

Hearing the ‘professional’ part from Kyle, Minagi’s facial expression grew tense.

“Just to let you know, but I’m not a professional assassin…Not to mention that the assassination of fanatics like followers of Mera works fundamentally different.”

“Meaning?”

“I need to know their true identity, and I wouldn’t obviously assassinate them. It’s a basic principle to make it seem like a suicide or accident, and I can’t wrap up other people. What’s most important is that I have to make it back safely. Those are Souga’s teachings.”

That’s why she needed time and money to spend on her preparations, doing it as thoroughly as possible.

“However, in the case of the Mera Cult, their lives are pretty much sacrificial pawns to make the mission a success, and since most of their targets are enemy of the cult, they make it flashy, priding themselves in the assassination. They don’t mind how many other victims result from their actions.”

As far as Minagi knew, they were willing to poison an entire banquet to kill a single person, and they previously killed a hundred people to achieve their goal.

“…That’s the worst.” Kyle imagined the terrifying scenery in his head, and shivered in fear.

“That’s right…However, that only heightens the numbers of their enemies, and they seemingly felt that as well, because those aggressive jobs started to get less and less in number. Though…”

“The assassinations haven’t stopped, huh.”

“Exactly. I’m pretty sure the numbers have gone down…Since I was in your care, I’ll accept this request. I was planning on quitting today anyway, so I’ll be sticking with that elf girl called Urza tonight, which is why you can rest easy.”

“You’re quitting?”

“Yup. At this place as well as the other bars and cafeterias!” Minagi grinned, nodding happily.

All the places she worked at were food-related, ensuring that she would get as many staff meals as possible. She had to work this hard because of this debt. And yet, she’s quitting all of her jobs. Right on the day of Kyle’s 2nd match.

“…Seems like it worked out.”

It appeared as if the bet was a huge payout.

“Ehh? That’s not true~” Minagi said, showing a smile.

Seeing that smile, Kyle was unable to tell her about the unexpected appearance of Leyla, and that he may not be able to make it to the final after all.

“Ahh…should I tell Urza about this?”

“…No, it’s better if you don’t. At least for a while.” Minagi’s smile stiffened up, as she thought for a bit. “If she knew that an assassin might be aiming for her, she might just go out hunting for them herself, right? At least judging from what you told me about her.”

“Right…”

“That’s why, I’d say it’s best not to needlessly stimulate her now. I’ll be sticking to her and she won’t even realize it, and you should tell her once the danger is gone.”

Hearing Minagi’s suggestion, Kyle found himself agreeing. Following that, they discussed the details, and after Minagi’s break ended, she returned back to her work. After splitting up with Minagi, all the excitement and panic Kyle previously felt managed to calm down. Now, the smile Urza showed while sacrificing herself to protect Kyle disappeared. Even so, he kept on running, wanting to see Urza’s face as quickly as possible.

“Urza!”

Arriving at the imperial palace, Kyle didn’t even bother to knock, and simply swung the door open.

“…Eh?”

At that moment, Urza and Lieze were together, eating the snacks they bought during the day, frozen stiff with open mouths at the sudden appearance of Kyle.

“…You two seem to be doing just fine, I’m glad.”

Kyle’s mouth was equally open, trying his hardest not to meet eyes with Lieze. He wanted to leave the room with a brief ‘If you’d excuse me’, but…he was captured, and lectured once again about suddenly barging into a girl’s room.

***

The following day, Kyle waited for his match to begin in the waiting room, a complicated expression on his face. He had already been contacted by Minagi in regards to her protection of Urza. He didn’t manage to spot her, but she must be protecting her from the shadows. In short, he was reassured that Urza’s safety was guaranteed, which is why he now focused on the third match ahead of him.

“Barrel talked about some plan, but…a follower of Mera using a lizardman, it can’t be anything good…”

Kyle had an awfully bad feeling about the upcoming match, but since an employee called for him, he had to instead worry about the match itself.

‘Finally, the third round will start now! In our first match, we have participant Kyle who has managed to beat the favorite Rockert in the first round, and won in the second round without even breaking a sweat! He will be fighting participant Goldar, a lizardman with dragon blood inherited in his veins, so we can expect an exciting fight!’

Together with the announcer’s voice, Kyle appeared from the west gate, whereas Goldar walked in from the east gate. As for Goldar, he changed a lot compared to when Kyle met him the day before. Even from afar, it was evident that he was breathing heavily, the muscles all over his body seemed about to burst out from his skin, and it felt like he had grown taller. More than anything, his eyes were blood red, like they had been pumped full of blood.

The moment Goldar spotted Kyle, he didn’t even wait for the signal to start the fight, but rather raised a warcry and immediately slashed at Kyle. At the same time, his movement was completely different from what he had shown during previous matches and practice, rather like he was giving in to using raw strength. Kyle evaded this attack with a faint graze on his cheek, as the sword Goldar used slammed into the ground, turning into its own starting signal.

After that, Goldar continued his relentless attacks, the audience boiling in excitement. However, Kyle’s heart was as cold as ice.

“Blood Eye…not to mention an undiluted solution,” Kyle muttered while evading the attacks, to which Goldar responded.

“So you knew.”

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[Blood Eye] is a type of medicine using the blood of a special mythical beast—a mythical beast being special from your average monster, holding high knowledge and self-recognition, even being able to speak peculiar magic—which could exponentially raise your fighting abilities. Looking at the effect alone, there was no better drug for a warrior. However, it wasn’t all that convenient, of course. On top of average toxicity, it has several harsh side effects, one of them robbing you of your calm mind. It even whittles down the raw life force of the user. The red eyes of a user were one of the hints of [Blood Eye] and equally its namesake.

“Yeah…I had to drink it a lot myself.”

The moment Kyle realized that his bad premonition was spot-on, Kyle grew even calmer.

“On top of heightening your strength and speed, Blood Eye also sharpens your senses and vision, even making your reflexes much quicker. At the same time, you stop feeling any pain, and you won’t feel exhausted…More than anything, since it’s just a drug, you can still use strengthening magic, which was the perfect match for me.”

While blocking Goldar’s fierce onslaught of attacks, Kyle calmly explained the effects of Blood Eye.

“However, all of these benefits equally turn to negative effects. First, your senses become far too sharp.”

Kyle took his distance, and took off the scabbard he wore on his back, holding the scabbard in one hand and his sword in the other, like a two-handed sword style. After evading an initial attack from Goldar, he used the dull side of the sword to slam it against his scabbard, creating a loud metallic sound.

“Gah!?”

Goldar covered his ears, staggering backward. The lizardmen always had sharp senses, but with the effect of the Blood Eye, this sound now was enough to act as a punch directly to his brain.

“Of course, I was fighting with earplugs just fine. Besides that, you also become weaker against radiant light and smell.”

What Kyle took in his previous life was a weaker version, which dampened the side effects, but it was enough to harm him in many ways. In a moment, Kyle went on the attack, swinging his sword at Goldar’s shoulder. With his smooth reactions, Goldar was already prepared to block this, but this swift movement would cost him greatly. Kyle had already stopped his sword, and instead sent a low kick directly at Goldar’s knee.

“Your reactions become too quick as well, and until you’re used to it, it’s easy to fall for a feint…” Kyle connected another faint, continuing his attacks.

Goldar was a first-class swordsman. From experience and training alone, his body would move faster and instinctively before he could think. As a result of that, he fell for every feint, suffering the main attack, his body ending up in wounds. However, because of his thick scales, and a result of the numbing effect of the Blood Eye, he continued to fight. However, his knee gave in, devoid of strength, as his sword dropped to the ground.

“…And, you may not be able to feel pain, but the wounds still remain.”

Kyle’s attacks were relentless against Goldar’s arms and legs. Even if he couldn’t feel any pain, once his tendons were cut, he would stop moving.

“Basically, Blood Eye is like a double-edged sword, and since you’re not used to its effects, after using it against me, who’s experienced…you only made yourself weaker.” Kyle continued an indifferent explanation.

Like this was the expected result, like this couldn’t be helped, he told himself.

“This is my final battle…Like hell…I’ll let it end here…” Goldar pushed himself up on one knee, somehow managing to grab the sword, and tried his hardest to get up, but his limbs wouldn’t listen.

At the same time, Kyle approached him to finish the battle.

“Eat this!”

Right as Kyle arrived in front of him, Goldar suddenly raised his head, opening his mouth, spewing out a roar together with an explosive flame. This was the reason people said that lizardmen inherited dragon blood, allowing them to use a trump card called ‘Flame Breath’. As the number of users was fairly limited even amongst the lizardmen, the great majority of people didn’t even know of this attack. At the best possible timing, this Flame Breath used up all of Goldar’s energy, but…

“Most unfortunate, I also know about that trump card.”

Goldar heard Kyle’s voice right next to him. Before Goldar could even react against that, the hilt of his sword slammed right into Goldar’s lung. Inside the lizardmen, a large structure needed for the ‘Flame Breath’, called the flame bag, was found, storing flammable gas. He was aiming for exactly that. Kyle’s attack broke that flame bag, which caused a counter-current. As a result, an explosion occurred inside of Goldar.

“…The final trump card of a lizardman warrior…resigning themselves to cause a self-explosion…I knew about that.”

At the same time as the explosion happened, Kyle jumped backward, getting out of it with only faint injuries. The lizardman Kyle knew in his past life used that exact same technique to blow himself up, taking countless demons with him.

“What…you knew about everything.”

After the dust of the explosion had settled, more than half the lizardman had been blown to bits, and it was a miracle that he was still alive. That being said, that was only the case thanks to the Blood Eye and he would surely die in a few more seconds.

“Yeah. Am I a coward?”

“No, it’s the obvious result. I was the one who fought so unsightly…” Goldar showed a self-deprecating smile. “I can’t hope to meet Azaul with his kind of face.”

“…Then why did you use that drug?”

If he hadn’t used Blood Eye, Kyle could have gotten away without having to kill him, though it was hard to actually say that out loud.

“Two days ago, my owner suddenly changed, and they forced me. Work in a mine for the rest of my life, or use the drug to fight. To me, fighting is everything…so I chose to do this. Although I’m a bit frustrated that I couldn’t even land a single proper hit…I can die in peace, no matter the result…So, I’m satisfied.”

Kyle understood this. This was Goldar’s own way of conveying gratitude and lessening the burden on Kyle’s heart. However, Kyle still had to complain. He wouldn’t be able to rest easy without that.

“Don’t be satisfied all on your own. I feel horrible because of you. Rather than being forced to kill you, I would have rather fought with you side by side…”

Remembering the lizardman that was his comrade in arms during his previous life, Kyle’s expression distorted in sadness.

“That…I’m…sorry…” Goldar showed a faint smile, breathing his final breath.

‘P-Participant Goldar has passed away! Participant Kyle is the winner!’

The audience was confused because of the abrupt explosion, but upon hearing the announcer’s declaration, they raised cheers with applause. However, Kyle didn’t answer these cheers in the slightest, doing something to Goldar’s corpse, and then walked towards the west gate. They merely talked a few minutes the day prior, so there was no need to grief—or so he told himself, as he headed to the waiting room.

“Truly, a wonderful act, Kyle-sama!”

On his way there, Barrel greeted him with a bright smile.

“I am delighted to see that lizard being able to assist you in some way! With this, your honor should grow exponentially.”

So Goldar was urged by Barrel. Have your sole reason for living stolen, or die after one last moment of living. Just as Goldar said, fighting was everything to him. In the end, it all worked out exactly how Barrel planned it. Hence, Kyle simply showed a smile and walked past him. Barrel was bewildered for a moment, but continued to smile, lowering his head.

“It’s weird…Smiling out of pure fury like that…”

Kyle cursed his own desire for self-protection, which stopped him from cutting down Barrel right then and there.

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