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Chapter 32 Part 3 – The Duke’s manor is surrounded by flames. Armed with courage and mutual trust, we challenge a nightmare.

 

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Ranzan

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Maybe your time limit is because you’ll bleed out? For the first time, Mary’s right?

I guess the “Lawless Crew” really are a group of dolts!

「I’m losing consciousness…my feet are getting light…」

Why are you sounding like some pubescent girl?

Did you eat enough seaweed and greens?

We don’t have time for this!

You were the one that told me to believe in you…I believed in that vow and didn’t doubt you’d win.

Fulfill your promise.

「Understood. I’ll do what you say.」

And then Bradd nodded, weakly.

Bradd was the one that understood that without the “Blood Redemption” there would be no way to defeat Gallam.

「Ms. Cornelia, Mary, I will take care of Scarlet’s life. No matter what, don’t bother me until I signal.」

Strangely, they both believed him and nodded silently.

I was determined to help as well. Ready to go.

Ahhh ahhh, mike check.

Stretch a little, right, left.

Tighten up the diapers…okay.

Bradd stood over the baby basket, the edge of his dress obscuring me. His skirt dress was like a stage curtain. And I was ready, clenching my fists.

Time for the opening of Scarlet’s first recital.

I pushed up Bradd’s skirt.

This baby swaddling stretched down past my toes, no way I could look sexy in the future dressed like this. But for Gallam, I would seem more attractive than any woman.

Lose control of your appetite and come at me!

Time to pay for all those children that you indifferently killed!

And so I breathed in deep and pulled back,

「WAAAAHHHHAHHHHH OUHWAAAAAAA MOWAAAAAAAA!!」

I never cried that much as a baby, it seemed, but as the “Jewel of Hydrangea,” I have the acting ability to do whatever is necessary! So hand over my Academy Award!

「That sucked. Maybe next time.」

The skirt fell back down over me.

Bradd! Roll your skirt back up! You can’t treat me like some disqualified act!

Then I heard the floor bang as if there were an earthquake. Gallam was stomping around in search of my voice. My body was vibrating!

It’s almost like those rumors about soldiers riding elephants into battle. The difference is…

This demon dog Gallam has huge fangs, saliva dripping everywhere, eyes like demon fire, and a shadowy look that turned me cold.

I said a silent prayer for all the babies that had to encounter this dog’s fearsome visage.

All their fear, then pain, their sadness at being separated from their mothers…I will avenge all of you…so live in heaven happily, without any worry.

Then I glared back at Gallam.

Okay, come at me then, dog.

I won’t look away from you in fear.

I might be a baby, but I won’t lose heart to a beast like you. I was an evil queen killed 108 times!

And hearing this, Bradd breathed out long and quickly sat down.

The blood swirled around him and his skirt flailed in the wind.

The dog suddenly plunged towards me and my mind went blank…his eyes shown like a fire in a graveyard…but Bradd’s eyes now shone red as well.

The air shook as Bradd suddenly stood and collided with the dog.

WHAT?!

Little Bradd plowed into the Gallam’s fearsome rush towards me.

The collision sent a shockwave through the room.

Then they struggled and wrestled with one another, with Gallam twisting down and trying to bite me.

Their feet stomped around my baby basket as if they were tap dancing. Even in this situation Bradd worked hard to keep the dog off of me. He kept me protected by keeping me under his skirt.

「OUaaahhhh!」

Every time I peeked at Gallam’s feet, I raised my baby fist with its deadly newborn punch.

Get him! Get him! That bastard dog!

「Aouuuouh!」

Hey! I’m like your sidekick! Do your best!

「Aggg!」

But Bradd was doing badly.

He was being pushed down so hard his knees looked like they’d buckle.

Just then!

I popped my head out from under Bradd’s skirt.

Gallam’s had grabbed Bradd’s hair and pulled several hairs out, but Bradd still looked like he was in control, snorting and laughing at the beast.

I guess there’s no need in being scared during crises.

And even if I got scared and peed myself, I have a diaper.

I guess that’s why I’m playing with this huge god with my life as stake.

「Aouu!」

I stuck out my tongue and scowled at the dog.

I also took my little finger and drew it across my throat – off with your head!

Gallam’s ears perked up and his eyes widened.

His chin started darting towards me.

It’s body tried to lift into the air at me.

Even a patient dog will go crazy when it sees its favorite dish put out in front of it.

Hey, just take a little peek.

You badly trained dog.

You’ve been messing around with kids so much that there’s no way you won’t look.

But I’m not your partner.

You can’t change partners while you’re dancing.

And carelessness like that is deadly when your partner ALREADY is Bradd.

「You got distracted, and now are going to pay!」

Bradd screamed.

The reversal of offense and defense was instant.

Bradd adapted to that slight wobble in the dog’s center of gravity.

Make sure to look, ghost infants. I know you aren’t really dead. Be proud, you’re about to see someone avenge you. Yes, this dependable young man will slay your devil.

「Those babies that you killed…now will kill you!」
The demon dog Gallam was lifted into the air and then crashed through the wall, almost as if he had jumped through it himself.

Bradd’s specialty, “acceleration.”

It was a kill my guards cursed from the ground the 108 times I died.

It uses the opponent’s momentum and weight completely and accelerates it further into a wall or the ground, making it impossible to fight further. That huge demon dog was flung through the wall into the long gallery beyond.

The outer wall must have been a partition, as it was in the architectural style of the courtyard, but looked thin.

There was a huge hole in the stonework that surrounded it.

And there was mortar and small stoned in the middle.

He was able to defeat the dog Gallam because of the “acceleration” he used to put him through the wall.

And there was a trap, somewhere behind that wall as well.

「You lost to the courage of a baby! This one, Scarlet! Time to go to hell!」

I could see Gallum through the wall trying to scramble to get back up, suddenly sink.

He had fallen through the former floorboards, that had now been replaced by sheets…yes a trap we made for this dog.

There was no way the massive weight of the dog could be supported.

He tried to escape, but it simply knocked down all the scaffolding and other materials on the floor around him.

The beast was about to be blasted.

Like a dinosaur caught in a tar pit, the dog scrambled vainly to escape, but his limbs were only scrambled to keep himself out of the pit. There was no fulcrum to force him back on his feet…just like an ant caught on his back in an antlion’s nest.

And from the scaffolding, the “Romalia’s Flame,” or an imitation baby basket with me in it, Baby Basket #2, fell diagonally down, hit Gallam’s body with a thump, and stopped.

Bradd grabbed my basket and jumped back.

「Ms. Cornelia! Now! The fire arrow!」

「Okay! And now with this arrow, you will know a mother’s pain, Mary’s pain…get ready to feel it!」

Mother knew exactly what to do next, igniting an arrow wrapped in oil cloth with a candlestick.

The arrow seemed to breathe in the flame with a fwiff. It flew.

It struck Baby Basket #2 with a puff of white smoke, the sound of flame.

“Romalia’s Flame Flower” had ignited.

It’s…going to explode!

Goodbye Baby Basket #2! I’ll never forget your wonderous role in all this.

「Watch this, Mary. Your son’s death will be avenged.」

「Madam…Mistress…Bradd…」

Mother reached out to the sobbing Marry, nodded to her, and raised her face.

「Wait! I forgot! We have to run! Oh no!」

Mom…suddenly freaking out after saying something cool…I guess it’s a family thing.

But we do have to GET AWAY!

「Ouaahhh Ouuuh!」

After seeing the Romalia Flame Flower many times during those 108 lives, I could feel my spine wiggling to get out of there.

Mary and mother had turned and were running full speed.

「It’s going to blow! Everyone out!」

Bradd knew Romalia’s Flame Flower better than anyone, but was tired from fighting Gallam. Still, we knew what would happen to that dog in the hole, and we reached the door when Basket #2 reached the basement below.

The inside of the mansion flashed into the brightest white.

Almost as if the august sun itself had ignited….in complete conflagration.

The shockwave raged through the air and even shook our skin.

Romalia’s Flame Flower rose into a pillar in the air of pure fire with a heat that could cut steel.

Over Bradd’s shoulder, I saw the demon dog Gallam wrapped in flame.

The flame spread, burning all the walls, the floor, the ceiling, engulfing one end of the manor.

This demonic heat swallowed the rest of the manor greedily.

Gallam himself was hit directly by the fire, and the dog burned up like flash paper, in an instant.

「All demon dogs go to hell…」

Bradd muttered.

I clung tightly to him.

We could see the remains of the dog sinking into the sea of fire…sizzling and cracking.

The roar of the flames warped the plaster all around.

It seems that hell had reclaimed its first earthly pet.

The dog only suffered a bit, though, before it went to the other world…and the pain only lasted a moment. Nothing like the life-long pain those mothers would have to endure after losing their children. Even now, they grieve.

I was sorry that I couldn’t protect them.

And finally, the floor gave to and the shadow of the dog’s carcass was sucked down into the flame…there was a roaring sound as he fell.

「Whoaaaa!」

Bradd had scrambled quickly away from the flame, almost beating my mother and Mary out the door by using the remaining power of “Blood Redemption.”

「Fworry ywou fwooo (Sorry, you two)」

I was hanging onto his mouth as he jumped outside hugging onto my mother and Mary’s hips as we tumbled outside. No one could understand him because his mouth was shut.

I felt like a kitten…

And so Bradd the two women flew out into the garden outside…really his awesomeness is endless.

「FwI…Wwiaacanbweeve! (I, I can’t breathe!)」

Yeah, because your mouth is shut, stupid.

Endless stupidity too.

「How could you do that to my Gallam! You shall die!」

The demon dog trainer suddenly stood straight after the shock of the explosion and threw a knife at us.

What?! A direct attack?

Bradd’s hands are both “busy”…I can’t stop it. Is my life over? My fate run out?!

Then I heard a metallic sound.

「No way!」

The trainer’s eyes were open so wide they looked like they’d pop from his face.

Bradd had caught the knife in his teeth!

「Fwat’s dwangerous!」

Wait, I thought I had my hand in his mouth…

「Aouu?!」

The wind passed my ears…I guess not?! He had thrown me in the air. And so I flapped my hands.

Winged Scarlet…welcome to the friendly skies…but soon I’ll hit the ground! Dammit, Bradd!

「If your dog is so important, why don’t you join him!」

Bradd jumped again, using the trainer’s shoulder as a stepping stone.

The trainer screamed as the explosive kick knocked him to the ground.

「Gyaaooh!」

We could hear the unpleasant sound of a breaking shoulder blade or collarbone…and with the kick he receive, he tumbled a few feet over the ground.

Bradd turned, and facing him was a slender, old, humpbacked man that slumped over the ground, unable to move one arm. And so Bradd stomped his other one.

Now he looked like an old snake.

「I…I can’t move my arms!」

Or maybe like a caterpillar.

「Okay, princess, I got you!」

And then Bradd caught me gently in the air…

「Aouuuh…!」

Thank you sir, I wasn’t scared. I knew you’d catch me in the first place. But that demon dog trainer was out of luck…he was done…because the final judgement was ahead.

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