kscans

Chapter 79 - Battle in the Castle

Let us rewind time a little.

The night was ruled by pitch-black darkness.

A shadow emerged from the equally black sea. It was Madelo, a half-tuna fishman, his face concealed by a mask.

Madelo thought to himself.

"...Right, then. Time to pay the king a visit and throw the country into further chaos. ...If I do that, their entry ban will be extended."

With that mutter, he sprang into action.

First, he would slip in through a nearby terrace. He cut a circle in the windowpane with his claws, removing it without a sound, and successfully infiltrated the castle. If he went to the king's room and caused a ruckus, the soldiers would come running. Then, he would escape while pretending the assassination had failed, taking out plenty of soldiers along the way.

...In this getup, no one will know I'm a half-fishman. The country's security will become even tighter, and those two will never be able to leave.

It was a perfect plan.

The thought brought a slight smirk to his face. This kind of thrill could become addictive.

Lord Daios was not one for conflict.

As long as he was in charge, Madelo couldn't do anything reckless.

He himself wasn't actively looking for a fight. He had been transformed from a fish into a half-fishman by Lord Daios's power. ...At that time, he'd been blessed with a sense of peace, and he had to admit it wasn't a bad feeling. But that was that, and this was this.

Peace wasn't bad, but a part of him still craved a life of excitement.

As he was lost in these thoughts, he ran into a soldier who appeared from around the right corner. While the soldier stood there, stunned, Madelo reacted to the sudden surprise by grabbing the soldier's head and, with all his momentum, throwing him toward the window.

The glass shattered with a loud crash, and the soldier was thrown out into the sea below.

"...Damn," Madelo muttered. "...I've done it now..."

He heard the approaching sound of multiple footsteps, likely alerted by the noise. ...There was no helping it now. His plan had gone awry, but he decided to raise hell all the same.

Shinsuke's side.

Having heard the sound of breaking glass, I was wandering through the castle.

And for good reason—I had no idea where the sound came from.

It wasn't as if I knew my way around a castle I'd just entered for the first time, so I had no clue where I was. ...I was completely lost. Even using my `Detection` skill only showed me people; it didn't display a map of the castle.

What's more, red dots were popping up here and there, and since they indicated hostile intent, they could just be soldiers I'd never met before. I had no choice but to find a random red light, tell them I was acting under the prince's orders, and have them guide me. ...With that in mind, I decided to approach a nearby red dot. There was a fork in the path ahead of me, and the red dot was approaching from the right. I decided to wait, completely unguarded.

And what emerged was a man in a mask.

...He was suspicious as hell.

The man suddenly threw a right straight punch at me.

It was so fast I judged I couldn't dodge it. Instead, I poured magic into my body, hardening it to the strength of steel, and took the blow. ...It was a method I'd been testing since my training days.

Body enhancement—a technique that appeared in all sorts of manga. It didn't increase my speed or attack power, but it did raise my defense. Still, taking an enemy's attack head-on was risky.

After all, monsters usually attacked with horns or claws.

No matter how high my defense was, I couldn't block a sharp attack. ...I was still human, after all.

For that reason, I hadn't tried it until now. ...But since my opponent was using bare-handed fighting, I took the opportunity to put it into practice. ...The test was a success. His attack hurt quite a bit, but it wasn't a fatal blow.

After catching my breath, I said, "...That getup. ...Are you the intruder?"

In response, my opponent said, "...Hoh. To not go down from that last blow... it seems you're no mere fodder."

He then took a fighting stance.

...I never thought I'd hear a line like that in person. This other world was full of surprises.

But this was no time to be impressed.

I instinctively went to draw my sword, but there was nothing at my waist. ...Right, I'd left my weapon with the soldiers when I entered the castle. I was only just remembering that now.

I took a karate stance.

Seeing this, my opponent asked, "...You didn't bring a weapon?"

To this question, I replied, "...Hmph. For the likes of you, these fists are more than enough."

I'd always wanted to say that line.

My opponent replied, "...Quite confident, aren't you? ...I thought you'd simply forgotten it. ...It seems I was mistaken."

His voice sounded like he was laughing a little.

I was nearly flustered at him hitting the nail on the head. "...Enough with the pleasantries. ...Get over here."

I beckoned him with my hand, using the gesture to hide the slight tremor running through my body.

It was at that moment that several soldiers came running from behind my opponent.

"You two, freeze!" a soldier yelled.

At the cry, I shouted, "Stay back! He's not an opponent you can handle!"

But my warning came too late.

The masked man immediately turned and took down the soldiers who'd come from behind with single blows.

He was a considerable master, well-versed in combat.

No matter how much talent one has, it's useless without practical experience. ...The things one can gain from actual battle are immeasurable.

"...I'll be your opponent," I said. "...Come at me."

I provoked him, thinking that would keep him from going anywhere else.

"...Fine by me," the masked man replied. "It's convenient for me, too."

He took his stance once more.

...Convenient? I had no idea what he was talking about, but I decided to set it aside.

It was just the two of us now. Our killing intent filled the space between us.

We stared each other down for a while, but it didn't last long.

The masked man moved first. His footwork was the fastest and most direct possible. It was a step without a single wasted motion.

As his right fist flew toward me, I didn't dodge, instead batting it away with my left hand.

Hastily evading makes it easy to lose your balance and creates openings. ...I successfully parried his attack and immediately counterattacked. My right straight punch headed for his stomach and landed true.

His stomach was as hard as iron; it felt like I'd hit nothing. However, the masked man immediately separated from me and created some distance. He was rubbing his stomach slightly, but he seemed to have taken no damage.

...His body is even tougher than I thought, I mused. ...Realizing a half-hearted attack wouldn't hurt him, I chanted.

"Thunderclap Incarnation."

I enhanced my body with lightning magic.

This state wouldn't last long. I moved instantly, closing in on him. The masked man was so surprised by my sudden action that he couldn't even move, let alone take a stance.

"An opening!" I yelled.

My right straight punch connected with his stomach.

He was sent flying and collapsed in the hallway. However, he immediately got back up and came at me.

An attack from his left fist. The moment I calmly tried to parry it... his left fist vanished, and in its place, his right fist struck my left side. As I lost my balance, my opponent prepared to unleash a follow-up left backfist. I met it with a left backfist of my own.

We were locked in a stalemate.

Feeling that we wouldn't get anywhere like this, I spun my body in a large half-turn.

I moved to show my back to the masked man. It was a dangerous maneuver, a gamble.

I used the momentum to unleash a right backfist. ...As if matching my movement, the masked man stopped my backfist with his right straight punch. The stalemate lasted for a moment before breaking. I let the momentum carry me, putting all my strength into it, and pushed his left fist back.

I completed a full spin and threw a left straight punch at my defenseless opponent's face.

The masked man lost his balance and fell to one knee. ...After that, I didn't press the attack and instead backed away.

The reason was that my posture was also poor. ...If I'd attacked then, I wouldn't have been able to deal any real damage. I judged it was better to retreat for now and catch my breath.

I took my stance, remaining wary of my opponent.

Madelo hadn't underestimated his opponent.

After all, the man had defeated the Kraken, even if he had been with his companions.

Lord Daios himself had strictly ordered him to be cautious.

That was precisely why he had attacked with his fastest, most direct strike.

However, his opponent hadn't dodged or blocked it, but had parried it and countered.

He was worthy of praise.

Madelo steeled his resolve.

I was watching my opponent's next move.

However, he didn't move at all. Just when I thought it was over, he stood up. ...Heedless of me reflexively taking a stance, he reached for his mask and ripped it off.

His face was a mixture of fish and human—a so-called half-fishman.

"...A sea monster?" I asked.

To my question, the half-fishman replied, "That's right. ...Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Madelo. A half-tuna fishman. This matter is top secret, so there is nothing I can say. ...And I have no intention of letting you live."

Madelo took his stance.

His fighting spirit felt even greater than before.

"...I have no intention of letting you live, either," I declared. "...Your life ends here."

I renewed my focus and took my stance.

Even though I'd been caught up in the atmosphere, I was inwardly pleased that I'd gotten to say a line I'd always wanted to try. ...But that feeling vanished in an instant, and I looked at Madelo.

Silence fell between us.

Only our fists would do the talking.

I was the first to make a move, throwing a right straight punch. Madelo met it with a right straight punch of his own. Our fists met and collided.

For a moment, we were evenly matched, but soon our fists separated, and the melee began.

Every punch we threw was parried or blocked. ...Occasionally, a fist would land on one of our bodies, but I was wearing armor, and Madelo had a body like steel. Neither of us had taken any decisive damage. However, this fight was disadvantageous for me. ...My karate was self-taught, and this was my first time using it in a real fight. On the other hand, Madelo was also self-taught but was accustomed to actual combat.

This was a huge difference.

There's a flow to battle that only those with experience can understand.

Madelo's movements were without waste; he always attacked with the best possible move.

His movements were like the flow of a river.

Even though I had enhanced my body to increase my speed, my movements were clumsy. ...When I blocked his attacks, I was so focused on defense that my transition to the next attack was slow. The attacks I thought I'd landed were, honestly, mostly coincidences. Madelo's attacks were calculated and landed precisely. ...Feeling that I couldn't win like this, I decided to retreat for a moment.

Madelo didn't pursue. He seemed to be wary.

I thought. What should I do?

...Just then, I suddenly remembered something.

But can I do it? I wondered, but this was no time for hesitation.

I attacked again. I threw a right straight punch aimed at Madelo's stomach. ...As expected, he parried it and countered. Madelo's right straight punch came at me, but my left hand reacted instantly and blocked it. Madelo was slightly surprised, but before he could follow up... my right fist connected with his stomach.

Madelo clutched his stomach and retreated.

"I just copied what I saw, but it looks like it worked," I said. "...Meoto-de."

With that, I took a stance with my hands held close together.