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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 182

CHAPTER 182: BATTLE AGAINST IRIS *END*

Iris released her magic.

Iris threw her fists at me.

I was barely able to survive the stormy onslaught of attacks coming my way and……

And then I was able to fight back.

Just as before, I aimed my blows at Iris’s vital points and unleashed my attacks at full power without holding anything back.

Of course, they could only do meager damage, the way I was at the current moment.

However, even the single spec of dust can create a mountain if you allow it to accumulate for long enough.

Over and over again, I would steadily slam my attacks into the Iris……

Allowing for the damage to slowly accumulate all over her body.

「…… Ngh……」

As a result of that, Iris would slowly wobble and drop to her knees on the ground.

She was only able to look at the sight before her in sheer astonishment.

「…… I…… have come so far……」

Iris clenched her fists in frustration.

She even gritted her teeth in rage that was hard to contain.

「I will never accept that…… Such a thing…… such a small and insignificant thing…… I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THAT!!!!!!」

She barked those words as she lunged at me.

But her movements seemed so slow right now.

It could have been because of all of that damage that was slowly accumulating inside of her this entire time, but……

It was most probably because of her injuries from our previous fight, and the fact that they were unable to heal as well as Iris claimed them to be.

Thinking about it, it made more than enough sense that when compared to the last time that we have fought, her movements were just so slow and sluggish.

Either she was pretending to be at her full potential because she did not want to look pathetic in front of me, or she couldn’t afford to show anyone her weakness in general.

Either way, Iris was not in a perfect state right now.

That’s probably why she couldn’t fight to the full extent of her abilities, and hence the result of our battle.

「Uwah!?」

I avoided the charging Iris and her attack and……

With her being wide open, I unleashed a counter attack of my own.

It was a barrage of fist strikes and powerful kicks.

Iris’s strength, Iris’s resistance……

All of that, as well as her will to fight……

With each successful counterattack, she was losing those things more and more.

「Kuuh, ahhh…… Damn it…… Something like this…… How could this even be possible…….!?」

「I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to end this thing right here and right now.」

…… To be perfectly honest.

I was close to approaching my limit myself.

My body was aching and hurting all over the place.

Every time I moved around, I felt intense pain, like my bones were about to crack and shatter.

Or rather, I would say that I would be lucky if my bones were only cracked.

Although I somehow managed to avoid Iris’s magic and physical attacks……..

It’s just that I was not hit directly by them. But I was still grazed by them on more than one occasion.

And just by grazing me over and over again, Iris’s immensely powerful attacks would take a reasonable amount of damage on me.

So it was a small wonder that my body was in tatters right about now.

It was hidden from Iris’s eyes because of my clothes and light armor, but I was on the verge of falling apart here.

If I was not careful here and maintaining my willpower, I was certain that I would simply pass out on the spot.

But.

I just couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by like that.

I cannot let Iris fade away like this any longer.

And that is why I’m going to end it all, right here, right now!

「In a place like this…… I’m going to do it…… I’m going to kill…… all those humans and……!!!」

「…… It’s all over now.」

「Rein-sama, are you also denying me my right for revenge!?」

「No, I am not denying you that. In fact, I feel that you have every right out there to want to get your revenge, Iris.」

「Then why……!?」

「But tell me this…… Isn’t it just lonely for you to live solely to kill just like that?」

「………」

「There are so many other fun things to do in life…… Yes, this world is just filled with joy and light. So isn’t it just lonely for you to stay in the deepest depths of darkness all alone, and not be able to bathe in the warmth of the light?」

「I……」

「Which is why we have to end this madness right here. No…… we ARE ending this madness right here and right now.」

「Ngh!」

Iris’s gaze wavered slightly, as if she were lost about what she was supposed to do.

It was only for a short moment, but……

Indeed, maybe my words actually managed to get through to her.

「UWAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!」

It was then that she launched a suicide attack at me, without a single care in the world.

A blow of this power and scale…… There was no way that it wouldn’t be able to reach me.

「Guh………!」

Iris’s fist struck the right side of my chest.

I heard the sound of bone breaking at that exact moment.

The powerful impact ran through my body, as if it was trying to eat away at me from the inside out.

For a moment, I felt as if I lost my consciousness.

But I can’t allow myself to fall down here……

I quickly returned to reality and grit my teeth.

Try to endure the pain.

Close your mind on it and carry on.

「It’s over.」

Seeing that Iris was wide open and her guard was down, I delivered a powerful blow right into her neck.

「Ngh……!?」

I got a solid response out of her to that.

Iris’s body trembled……

Eventually, she even collapsed onto her knees.

「Ugh…… Ahh……」

But she was still conscious.

However, she didn’t seem to have the strength left inside of her to stand up, and her body could only twitch and tremble.

「…… Fuuh.」

At that moment I could feel that I was about to lose my nerve here, and I almost fell onto the floor as well.

But I somehow managed to hold back just in time and just let my breath spill out as a result.

「And with that, it’s over.」

「Kuh……」

Iris looked up at me with her arms and legs on the floor, unable to muster enough strength to stand up any longer.

Soon after, she let out a self-mocking laugh.

「I did not expect to lose like that…… not inside of those ruins…… and while fighting you one on one…… Fufu…… But now…… being defeated feels almost…… refreshing in some way…… It’s strange, but…… I don’t even feel bad about losing like that…… Just what kind of magic trick did you use here, Rein-sama?」

「Nothing. I was just ready when I came here.」

「Come to think of it, you did mention something like that……」

Iris then closed her eyes, as if she was thinking about something.

What on earth could she be thinking about now?

Only Iris herself could answer that question.

「…… Well, as expected of Rein-sama, I should say.」

Opening her eyes slightly, Iris gave me a small smile.

「The determination and resolve of a human heart…… Who knew that something so trivial like this could be so powerful?」

「Well, to tell you the truth…… I am kind of at my last leg here.」

「Fufufu…… Well, since you were fighting against someone like me, I guess it’s something that just cannot be helped. Or I should say, if you really managed to remain unharmed throughout this fight, then my pride as a Celestial Tribe would have been torn to shreds.」

After the battle was over……

Iris looked as if she was finally able to calm herself down a little bit.

「I wish that…… all humans could be like you, Rein-sama……」

「…… Iris……」

「In that case, I guess that I will just forget about getting my revenge…… Yes, I will stop thinking about it and just discard it altogether. Honestly, just trying to think about it has become boring as of late.」

Staggering unsteadily, Iris stood back up.

She looked as if she was about to collapse at any moment now.

「Are you okay?」

「Fufufu…… What a strange thing to say. It was you who did this to me, Rein-sama.」

「Well, I mean…… That’s true but…… I have never intended to kill you during that fight, Iris.」

「……………」

「I’m just trying to seal you away, I’m not trying to kill you.」

「…… You really are sweet, Rein-sama. And oh so very naive.」

「I suppose so. But, well, this is me. This is the way that I, Rein Shroud, am. I was born this way, raised that way and there’s not much I can do about it now.」

At my words, Iris gave me a soft smile.

It was a face that I have never seen her make before.

She had the face of a martyr right there.

Think about that……

Suddenly, I had a really bad feeling about this.

「…… Now then.」

「Iris?」

「Yes, while it is true that I am defeated here…… That doesn’t mean that I am going to just let you seal me away, Rein-sama. And of course, I have no intention of being defeated by the humans outside of the ruins.」

「Do you really think you can get away with it? The way you are now?」

「Yes, I admit, getting away from here in my current state would be incredibly difficult to pull off. After all, I’m barely able to stand right now. You seem to be pretty beat-up, Rein-sama, but at the very least you can still stand and walk away from here, correct?」

「In that case……」

「…… Why don’t you just give up and let me seal you away?」

「……………」

「I won’t do anything like that. And rather than be sealed away or defeated by the humans I despise so much…… If I had to choose between those two options, I would much rather want to just kill myself.」

Iris snapped her fingers.

In response, the entire ruins rumbled with a gurgling sound.

「T-This is……!?」

「Fufufu…… A trump card to be used in case of emergencies…….. Yes, a mechanism that is commonly known as the “Self-Destruct Protocol”. It’s a handy little tool that is going to annihilate everything inside of the ruins…… either be it friend or foe.」

「Kuh……!」

I didn’t know she had something like that at the ready here…… I was caught off guard!

「Iris!」

「I guess you could say that I have lost the battle, but ultimately won the war, isn’t that right, Rein-sama?」

Iris laughed and snapped her fingers once more.

The door behind her opened in response to that sound.

「Rein-sama, you can make your escape through that passage, with more than enough time to spare. I have no intention of involving you in this.」

「Iris……?」

「I will not allow myself to be sealed away, or defeated by the filthy humans. I will meet my end here, by my choice and I will not let anyone take that freedom away from me. I will not let them do what they want to us any longer!」

「Iris!」

「This is a goodbye, Rein-sama.」

Iris chuckled slightly……

Shortly thereafter, Iris collapsed on the ground, her consciousness having failed her.