Chapter 219 Yamato Hina and the Demon King Medinilla ㉔
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Reese, swap with me.”
I stepped forward, signaling Reese to fall back. Thanks to her Unique Skill, ‘Cosplayer’¹, she was currently manifested as a Demonic Wolf Knight². With her ability to weave curse magic, she functioned as a versatile all-rounder like Mihiro-capable of both debilitating debuffs and frontline pressure, though she lacked Mihiro’s sheer adaptability.
”Now then, let’s pick up where we left off-“
”Nay, hold a moment!”
Just as the formation shifted, Bolgano raised a massive hand, stalling the engagement.
”Have the lasses withdraw. I crave a proper duel, Master to Master,” he said, his lips curling into a jagged sneer. “Surely the man who felled Blizzard doesn’t need a choir of maidens to hold his hand. It would be a sorry sight to see a warrior skulking in the shadows of women. Truly pathetic.”
”…Everyone, fall back,” I said quietly.
I had no intention of dancing to his tune, and logically, our odds were better as a team. But I couldn’t simply swallow an insult like that. I’d hoped to keep my best cards hidden, but he’d forced my hand.
”Men… I will never understand them,” Ise sighed. “It would be a guaranteed victory if we stayed.”
”A man has his pride, Ise,” I replied after a short pause. “If I refused a duel after being mocked like that, I’d never be able to call myself a warrior again.”
”If you say so. As for me, so long as the Young Lady is safe, you can play your games. Come, Lady Hina.”
”W-wait, Maya! I-“
Ise ignored Hina’s protest, forcibly ushering her away. Hina would only be an obstacle now, and Ise clearly wanted her out of the splash zone. It was a rare convergence of interests.
”Sieben, you look like you’re having the time of your life,” Mihiro noted.
”Do I? I didn’t think I was enjoying this.”
”Well, you’re smiling.”
I hadn’t even realized it until Mihiro spoke. I was grinning. Smiling at the prospect of a deathmatch… This was the influence of the ‘Battle Junkie’³ skill I’d traced. It was a potent Unique Skill, but the side effect was a constant, boiling anticipation. It kicked in whenever the stakes were high-especially when the opponent was this formidable.
As a warrior… no, as a man, maybe this was exactly how it was supposed to feel.
”Aye, that’s the spirit! A true warrior!” Bolgano laughed. “If we are to duel, we trade names. I am Bolgano! First seat of the Six Infernal Generals⁴ serving Medinilla-sama! The Flame General Bolgano!”
”I am Sieben. Leader of Clan Renegade and a member of the Greedia Octagram Council⁵.”
”Sieben! A name I shall carve into my memory! Now, come!”
Bolgano hoisted his massive barbarian blade into a high overhead guard. It was a stance that abandoned all defense-a hyper-offensive posture born of absolute confidence. With his freakish regeneration, he likely felt he could afford to take any hit.
”Bolgano, let me tell you one thing,” I said, my voice cold. “You’re going to lose without landing a single blow.”
”Ho! A bold claim! But I am a legend in the Demon King’s army for a reason, lad! I won’t go down easily!”
Under normal circumstances, he’d be right. His regeneration made him a nightmare in a war of attrition. He was strong-genuinely strong. Strong enough for me to stop playing around.
I triggered ‘Time Compression’⁶. The world snapped into focus, time grinding down to a sixty-fold crawl.
I closed the distance in a heartbeat. I swung my blade down in a vertical arc, then instantly snapped it back up in a rising slash-the legendary Swallow Reversal⁷. I poured Wrath Impact⁸ into both strokes, the energy screaming through the steel.
I stepped past him, turning my back as I flicked the blood from my blade and slid it back into its scabbard with a sharp clink. In the real world, not even a tenth of a second had passed. Time resumed its normal flow.
”…Gah… ha… I’ll be damned,” Bolgano muttered. “You really… didn’t let me do… a damn thing. You’re just like the Demon King… a man with no bottom to his depth…”
Bolgano remained frozen in his overhead guard. Then, a massive X-shaped wound erupted across his torso, splitting him from shoulder to hip. His body slid apart-head, arms, and chest tumbling into the dirt.
* * *
I couldn’t even process what I’d seen. No, looking at the remains, the result was clear. He’d cut Bolgano down in a cross-slash. But the speed… it was invisible.
”When you fought me… were you holding back?” I asked as Sieben walked back toward us.
”I was serious.”
”Then why didn’t you use that? That god-like speed! Were you mocking me?”
”…I didn’t choose not to use it. I couldn’t use it then. That fight was the best I could do at the time,” Sieben answered flatly.
The cold sweat finally started to break. I’d heard the stories from the Monster Hunters in Envyos, but I’d still felt we were somehow above him. I was arrogant. Somewhere deep down, I’d been looking down on him.
How was I any different from my classmates? The ones who looked down on the people of this world, who looked down on Sasaki-kun, and who eventually betrayed him.
Ah… I see now. That’s why Narumi follows him. Not because she’s a captive, but because she wants to be by his side. She looked at him with unmistakable affection. I didn’t know their history, but maybe she’d tell me one day.
”Forget that. Look outside,” Sieben urged. “If we don’t back them up, our forces are going to get slaughtered.”
”Right. You’re right. Let’s move!”
* * *
The training grounds fell silent as the group rushed out. Suddenly, Bolgano’s remains were swallowed by a pillar of fire.
”Phew… dead. I was definitely dead. Completely and utterly.”
As the flames died down, a man sat cross-legged in the center of the scorched earth. It was Bolgano-bare-chested and perfectly whole, as if the last minute had never happened.
”Well, my eyes didn’t lie to me. But damn, that’s going to keep the Phoenix⁹ locked away for a while.”
The Fire Spirit, Phoenix. Its contractor gained a vitality that bordered on true immortality. While possessed, the contractor had invincible regeneration, and even if they were slain, the Phoenix could bring them back once. But the catch was the cost: once used for resurrection, the spirit could not be summoned for fifty years. For an Ogre-kin, it was a nap, but for a human, it was a one-time miracle.
”Still… that ability of Sieben’s. It felt just like the Demon King’s power. I wonder…”
The muscle-brained general scratched his head, thinking for all of five seconds before giving up.
”Bah, too complicated for me. I’ll leave the thinking to Tsunami.”
He stood up, looking at the distant horizon.
”So, taking ‘vengeance’ on this country is a mistake, eh? Still, the boys out there are death-bound; they won’t stop until they’re cold. I might have sent them to a pointless death. At least I got a good scrap out of this trip. That’s a win in my book.”
He replayed that split-second encounter with Sieben in his mind. It was over in a flash, but fighting someone that powerful was the only thing that made him feel alive.
”Now, what to do… That lad is interesting. I can’t turn my back on the Demon King, obviously… but following that kid sounds like a hell of a time. Aye! Let’s go with that! They say yesterday’s foe is today’s friend, after all!”
With a boisterous laugh, Bolgano stood up and walked away from the fortress.
—
Summary:
Sieben accepts a one-on-one duel against the Flame General Bolgano to satisfy warrior pride. Using ‘Time Compression’ and a ‘Swallow Reversal’ slash, Sieben bisects Bolgano in less than a tenth of a second. However, Bolgano survives via a one-time resurrection from the Fire Spirit Phoenix and decides to follow Sieben out of interest.
—
Trivia:
- Bolgano is now unable to use the Phoenix for 50 years.
- Sieben’s smile is an involuntary side-effect of a traced skill.
- Yamato Hina is beginning to compare her group’s morality to that of the classmates who betrayed Sasaki.
- The ‘Time Compression’ was used at a sixty-fold rate.
- Bolgano notices Sieben’s power resembles the Demon King’s
—
Character Insight:
Sieben shows a susceptibility to the mental traits of traced skills (Battle Junkie), revealing a loss of absolute emotional control during combat. Hina undergoes a crisis of confidence, realizing the gap in both power and character between herself and Sieben.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The ‘Swallow Reversal’ (Tsubame Gaeshi) is a direct homage to the legendary swordsman Sasaki Kojirō, fitting the series’ theme of skills and swordsmanship.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Reese – Jessica’s sister. Described by Alice as a beautiful blonde lady. She was previously under the control of Sugita’s skill and left in a state of despair and exposure after the effect ended.
• Mihiro – Post-gender swap of Yuki Chihiro: Height 160 cm, B-W-H: 82-55-80. Futanari. Short haired black hair, handsome.
• Bolgano – Flame Demon General of the Ogre-kin. A head taller than other ogres with short-cropped red hair and red skin. Wields a massive jagged cleaver. One of the Six Demon Generals. Large-bodied Ogre-kin male. Wields a barbarian sword (hanka-tou) and commands a legion of Ogres. Can summon a Phoenix.
• Hina – Yamato Hina. Student council vice-president. Serious, beautiful, with long straight hair and sharp eyes.
• Maya – Ise Maya. Yamato’s attendant/maid. Short hair, cold gaze, wears a maid outfit.
• Sieben – Young man with black hair and a mask covering his eyes. He purchased Honoka and Ria.
• Medinilla – The Demon King from two generations ago. She has pale blue skin, long silver hair, goat-like horns, and golden eyes with black sclera. She has a petite, loli-like appearance and wears a twilight-colored dress with red roses.
• Ren – Height 169 cm, weight 50 kg. A cool-headed guy with glasses who aimed to be a lawyer. He viewed bullying as a minor issue and stood by while Natsumi was tormented.
• Sasaki – The protagonist, 168–171 cm and 57–59 kg, with a baby face hidden by black bangs. Once bullied and thought dead by the Sugita gang, he now fights as the gladiator Seven. Wielder of Snatch and Time Compression, he’s the hidden source of many curses and a shapeshifter. Dressed in green scale armor with a blood‑red muffler, he wields dual longswords.
• Narumi – Narumi Honoka. A member of the relief team with healing magic. Despite her cute, short, ‘transistor glamour’ appearance, she is cold-hearted and mocks Sasaki. Black hair, black eyes.
• Yamato – Yamato Hina. Student council vice-president. Serious, beautiful, with long straight hair and sharp eyes.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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