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Chapter 134: Shinku vs Orthros

〜Shinku’s point of view〜

On the day of the Council of Seven Sphin Nations. Drake and I were observing the state of the city from the roof of the clock tower, which was the second tallest building in the Imperial City after the Imperial Castle.

The clock tower was located in the center of the imperial capital. Not only does it offer a panoramic view of the city, but it is also easily accessible to the imperial castle and the imperial conference hall.

According to the plan drawn up by Aun-sama and the others, the conference will be held for two days.

This is based on the assumption that if the demons were to attack, it would be difficult to do so in broad daylight and it would only be after the sun had set. On top of that, by setting the end time of the conference to the evening of the second day, the nighttime hours when the dignitaries were gathering were limited to the first day only.

If everything goes according to plan, it will be easier for Nelfie-san and Princess Luna to assassinate the Emperor, reducing the infiltration time and greatly reducing the risk of the operation failing. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.

And just as predicted, two hours after the light from the magic tools began to shine in the Imperial City, the sound of collapsing buildings reverberated and dust clouds rose.

A giant dog-like monster with two heads that could be clearly seen even from the top of the clock tower appeared. According to Aun-sama, it is an S-rank monster called “Orthros”.

And three of them appeared at the same time.

Moving according to Aun-sama’s instructions, I will take care of the one in the north and Drake will take care of the one in the west. It seems that someone else will handle the one in the south, but we should defeat ours quickly and go help in the south.

After parting with Drake, I ran along the roofs towards the north and arrived before Orthros.

When looking at it up close, its gigantic body was comparable to that of the Arch Chimera. However, it was drooling profusely from the mouth and didn’t seem to possess intelligence.

「Doggie, can you understand the words I’m saying?」

『Gururururu……』

「Doesn’t seem to be the case.」

I tried to get some information, but my words didn’t seem to get across. The [Interracial Language Understanding] skill could only perceive the doggies’ “anger towards something” and “strong destructive impulse”. It was like a hungry beast.

『Wowoooooo!!』

Orthros rushed in with a roar, but I had more than enough time to put up a magic barrier and transform my giant ax into a shield.

「Such a monotone attack will not work on me.」

I deflected Orthros’ attack with Guard Impact. The giant retreated about 5m. With such a gap, I can easily attack even after using an enhancement skill.

「[Bravery]! Here I come!」

This time, I attacked Orthros while transforming my weapon back to a giant ax. Although I wasn’t using my double buffs yet, the attack slashed through the right eye of one of Orthros’ heads.

『Gyawn!』

「It looks like you can’t use a magic barrier…」

Once I understood that, Orthros was at a level where I could deal with it without any problems if I took my time. Since evolving into [Princess Yasha], it seems that I can handle even an S-rank monster with ease.

While I am excited that I have grown so far, I also feel that something was lacking.

But right now, every second counts. Considering that the demons have begun their attack, I should clean up here and head south as soon as possible. Drake shouldn’t have a problem with the one in the west if the enemy is only at the level that I was facing currently.

But I don’t know who’s heading south. And if it’s someone who is supposed to guard the conference hall, then that person needs to return immediately.

After returning from my thoughts and taking a short breath, I invoked [Emotional Excitement]. As my double buff was activated, it was almost as if everything in my surroundings had slowed down.

「Let’s clean up quickly.」

Despite the obvious difference in power, Orthros’ eyes overflowed with a maddening murderous intent. It’s possible that he was being manipulated by the demons…

「I’ll set you free.」

I jumped higher than I expected when I kicked the ground. I turned my body upside down in mid air with that momentum and aimed for the back of Orthros’ head below.

Orthros was looking for me by moving its two heads left and right. He looked exactly like me when I first confronted Aun-sama.

So this was how the world looked like for Aun-sama at that time…

While indulging in this deep feeling, my body firmly performed the next action. Twisting my upper body, I attacked one of Orthros’ necks with my great axe, the blade slashing through flesh and bisected its neck bones as if cutting through butter. And the earth attribute magic [Fall Rock] activated in advance in the air hit Orthros’ back with perfect timing.

On a side note, activating magic in advance was based on Nelfie-san’s strategy during the Ranking Battle.

When I finally landed on the ground, the other head fell towards me. I cracked open the other head with the giant ax, and Orthros died with a death wail! Eight seconds after activating [Emotional Excitement], the fight was over.

Let’s head south. I’d like to get rid of another one during the 3 minutes that this double buff lasts.

Leaving the defeated Orthros as is, I traveled the shortest distance along the roof again. I arrived in the southern part of the city in less than two minutes… I couldn’t believe my eyes when I arrived there…

Lying there was the corpse of Orthros, with its limbs and two heads severed.

What happened here…

No, more importantly, who came here…

I can’t think of anyone other than Aun-sama or Kinu-sama who could have arrived at this place from the Imperial Capital Conference Hall earlier than me, used a double buff, and killed an S-rank monster in an instant. But considering the demon’s attack, the two of them should not be able to move from the Imperial Capital Conference Hall.

If that’s the case, someone with the same or higher level of ability as Aun-sama or Kinu-sama has come here…

The feeling of omnipotence I felt until just now disappeared in an instant, and I felt cold sweat running down my spine. On the contrary, I was smiling.

I can become much stronger. That realization made me so happy…