Volume 4 Chapter 28 Difference In Talent
I thought we were in the middle of a fierce battle, but I never imagined that the Spirit King Vamph would be defeated already.
As I was astonished to see Vamph down, a familiar voice caught my ear from the side.
"Ah, Mr. Roezé!"
"...Rose"
It was the familiar red-haired girl, Valkyrie Rose.
She rushed over to me, looking somewhat flustered.
"I, I'm so glad...! Suddenly, you all disappeared somewhere, and I was worried something happened..."
"It was because of a skeleton monster; we were transported to a weird space. But we're okay now. Everyone is uninjured."
After I relayed this, Rose looked around at everyone and sighed in relief, placing a hand on her chest.
I see, that's why she rushed over as soon as she saw us──she was worried about us.
It seems that we were all thinking the same thing.
...I think it's incredible that she was able to concern herself with us while dealing with the Spirit King Vamph.
"I, I'll ask just to be sure, but did Rose and Cosmos do this? The king of the Spirit King's Army is down, after all."
"Uh? W-well, something like that..."
"...?"
I received a somewhat ambiguous response.
Then, from behind Rose, another girl with black hair walked over with a dissatisfied expression.
"It was such a tough time for us, you know. I wonder how it was on your end──but with you and the princess here, I wish you'd come out sooner."
"Don't be ridiculous. We're not the best for fighting, to be honest."
I'm glad she trusts my strength.
Huh?
Did she just say 'it was tough'?
"You wanted us to come out quickly, but was the Spirit King Vamph so strong that you guys needed our help...? From what I can see, neither of you seem to be injured, so you won without any trouble..."
I infer this from the current situation, but it seems that my interpretation was wrong.
"That's not the kind of 'tough' I mean. Because you guys disappeared, this red-haired girl got really flustered and ended up 'blowing her top' at that little monster."
"Huh...?"
I'm slowly turning my wide-open eyes toward Rose.
When our eyes meet, she relaxes her blushing cheeks with a shy "eheh."
She blew her top?
Rose did?
"Well, I thought something happened to Mr. Roezé, so I got a bit anxious... I felt like I had to defeat the monster in front of me immediately and look for Mr. Roezé, and I ended up putting in unnecessary effort."
"So, that was the kind of 'tough' you meant..."
So she wanted him to show our safe appearance to Rose as soon as possible, huh?
It's clear to see how angry Rose is just by looking at the ruined ruins and the fallen Vamph.
If things had gone poorly, a much wider area could have become a wasteland.
By the way, was the reason she hesitated earlier because of this?
She probably doesn't want to talk about being furious herself.
Still, "Angry Rose," huh?
Even just stating it has an ominous intensity hidden within.
Well, let's just say all's well that ends well.
"Wait, wait a minute...? Really, you two alone defeated that Vamph...? It's one of those Demon Lords that have lived for hundreds of years..."
"Well, yeah, we managed to win."
"I mean, I was mostly just watching, though."
"..."
Dahlia is at a loss for words when she sees Rose and Cosmos again.
That reaction is understandable.
Even though we struggled that much and finally defeated one of the executives.
Outside of that, 2 girls were easily defeating the boss.
And it was almost all Rose's doing.
I almost feel sorry for Vamph, who has received the genuine anger of Valkyrie Rose.
"What a... joke...!"
At that time──
In the middle of the rubble, a pale-faced boy stood up.
While struggling to raise his injured body, he glares at us with angry eyes.
"You messed up, Skull...! All of you useless fools...!"
It seems that, having us safely returned to our original location, he has realized Skull's defeat.
Meanwhile, I secretly felt relieved that he still had some breath left.
I had so many things I wanted to ask him.
Like the organization structure of the Dragon King's Army, their objectives, the weaknesses of the Dragon King, and the situation of the other Demon Lord armies.
Perhaps Rose and Cosmos spared him to extract information.
"Please behave. This battle is already ours. If you continue to resist, we'll make sure to end you this time."
As Rose pointed her sword as a warning, Vamph showed his anger with a grim expression.
"Don't get carried away, you little human girl...! Don't think you've won just because you've caused this much damage...!"
Vamph suddenly ripped off his noble attire flamboyantly, exposing his pale skin to us.
Immediately afterward, an ominous aura rose from his entire body, and his red eyes widened fiercely.
"[Instinct Destruction]!"
Thump!
Vamph's youthful body throbbed.
It was as if an intense shock was being dealt from within his body, making it shake intermittently, and changes began to emerge.
His boyish body was visibly growing before our eyes.
Then his body transformed into that of a "young man," and at the same time, a tremendous sense of pressure dominated the scene.
I've heard of it.
Higher species of monsters possess a physical activation technique called Instinct Liberation.
By sacrificing reason, it is possible to strengthen the body beyond Instinct Liberation.
And it seems there is a super awakening phenomenon that goes beyond that──a secret technique called Instinct Destruction.
So that's Vamph's serious self.
I certainly feel an extraordinary force.
Looking next to me, Dahlia was frozen in place, her body rigid with fear.
I'm surrounded by such suffocating tension...
"Wow, he looks so much better now"
"Maybe it would have been better to finish him off after all? "
"I guess I'll put up a Barrier magic for the two of you as well."
The 3 girls, excluding me and Dahlia, remained eerily calm as ever.
Being able to stay composed in front of a monster means that only other monsters can do the same.
It's impolite to call girls monsters, though.
While I was thinking such useless things, Vamph, driven by instinct, lunged at us.
I tried to brace myself to counter...
But the girls moved first.
Before I knew it, Ms. Nemophila stood at the forefront to protect everyone.
In that instant, Vamph's strike came crashing down on Ms. Nemophila.
Bang!
As the sound of impact was blocked by Barrier magic, Ms. Nemophila quietly narrowed her eyes.
"[Judgment]──[Nemesis]"
In that moment, a curse was placed on Vamph's body.
He was unaware of Ms. Nemophila's ability, which is why he carelessly attacked Barrier magic.
"Wha, what is this...!? What have you done to me...!"
Taking advantage of that opening, Rose struck from the side.
"Take this!"
Vamph, caught off guard by her attack, raised both arms to block the sword.
However, the sheer force sent Vamph's body flying.
Vamph, who crashed into a stone pillar while scattering rubble, glared at us with a grimace.
Right there...
"[Meteor]!"
Cosmos, who had already finished her spell chanting, followed up with a final blow.
A magic circle appears at the tip of the staff she holds, and a huge rock is shot out from there.
Vamph had no time to dodge and was crushed by the boulder, which was moving at high speed, sending a tremendous shockwave and sound all around.
It all happened in an instant.
"......too strong"
The Spirit King Vamph's small resistance was futilely rejected by the 3 talented girls.
There's no doubt that they're monsters that can't be compared to the Skulls that Dahlia and I fought, but their raw talents are way out of the ordinary.
I never needed to worry since that they wouldn't have let Spirit King near us, even for a moment.
"W-What the hell are these guys...! This isn't fair...!"
Dahlia, who was already having an incredibly tough time against just the executives, was stunned to see the girls overwhelming the Spirit King.
Feeling similarly, I relayed to Dahlia as if I were trying to remind myself.
"This is what 'talent' really means, huh?"
"Ta...lent..."
"From my perspective, Dahlia has quite a bit of talent too. Being with you made me think, 'this is what genius looks like.' But now that I've met those girls, I've come to realize what true talent really is."
"..."
Dahlia, perhaps unwilling to accept this truth, silently gritted her teeth.
Dahlia, a prodigy who climbed to Rank 1 adventurer at the youngest age and even earned the title of a proud hero.
True to her title, she has a lot of pride, and she probably doesn't want to believe that she's less talented than those unknown girls.
However, the truth is harsh.
"In front of these girls, both Dahlia and I are equally talentless. So, Dahlia, you should accept your weaknesses and not settle for your job class; you should redo your training from the basics. You've been given more solid talent than I have."
"......Shut up."
I decided to finally express what I couldn't say when I was thrown out of the hero party.
It's not like I said it to provoke her.
I want to shake off the guilt that has weighed on my heart once again, just like I couldn't say back then.
The members of the hero's party, including Dahlia, were able to grow rapidly thanks to my Trainer's power.
But because of that, their actual combat experience was lacking, and a gap between their strength and their experience began to form.
Perhaps the reason they lost to the Demon Lord army was because of the excessive pride that came from that.
So somewhere in my heart I felt guilty, and I wanted to tell her what I just said if I had the chance.
I think it's also my fault that I made her gain too much confidence.
Looking at Dahlia's regretful expression, it's unclear if my feelings were adequately conveyed, but I felt a slight sense of relief from my guilt.
At that moment──
Pushing aside the crumbled debris, the battered Vamph suddenly sprang back up.
"Hah... hah... hah...!"
I thought he'd finally run out of strength after that earlier onslaught, but he's surprisingly resilient.
However, judging by his severely exhausted state, it seems our attacks have taken quite a toll.
This is rather advantageous.
If he's weakened this much, we might be able to completely restrain him.
And this time, I might just be able to extract the information I wanted.
I thought so, but...
"...I never thought I'd have to resort to this."
In front of the girls, who were readying their weapons once more, he suddenly raised his right hand.
And then, without directing it at anyone in particular, he shouted.
"Those of us who wander the earth even in death! Gather before the Spirit King!"
In an instant, a dreadful black wind swept through the surroundings, gathering around Vamph as if being drawn in.
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