At last, I'd done it.
The brilliant secret technique I'd modeled after the tiger's jaw that crushes and chews its prey—the dazzling [Tiger King].
Back when I was honing close-quarters self-defense in the Clock Tower, it was a technique I'd secretly practiced on golems all by myself, just like the [Snake], for the sake of my own romance.
Back then, drunk on the rush of romance, I'd only forced myself to imitate the outer shape as best I could remember. Every time, it had failed with that same feeling of some offbeat rhythm not quite lining up.
But now that I'd finally succeeded once, I understood the reason.
This [Tiger King] technique seemed to be seriously lacking in practical combat value.
The target had to brace the weight of the user who leaped onto them by extending their arms, so in all kinds of ways it was almost impossible to make it work in real combat.
In other words, for all that it was a proper anti-personnel technique, it was awkward to use unless the opponent was beyond human.
To put it simply, it was a conditional technique that suited not ordinary reality-based combat, but some absurd fantasy world... no, a martial-arts world far better. Even by an adventurer's standards, it was only really usable against someone Level 3 or higher.
Well, for me, who ran into people above that level often enough, it was fairly useful.
Still, the difficulty of the usual counter-technique drawbacks—timing it properly, guiding the opponent in the direction I wanted, and so on—was much higher, so I couldn't use it often.
Even so, to think that the fruit of all that effort had finally bloomed and borne fruit like this.
What a refreshing, exhilarating, satisfying feeling.
Yes, just like that blond-haired JoJo once said, it felt as refreshing as the morning of New Year's Day when you've just changed into brand-new underwear.
"Ugh, ahh...!"
"Oh, already? So it went in shallower than I thought."
It had been a strike reinforced with mana and thrown with a little seriousness behind it.
Or maybe the physical abilities of a Level 4 were stronger than I'd expected.
While I was feeling a little disappointed about that, Ryuu spat out a mouthful of blood and phlegm and staggered back to her feet.
I wondered if her teeth were all right.
Though the fact that her body swayed a little as she stood suggested she wasn't completely fine after all.
Well, it had been damage to the jaw, so I supposed that aftermath was only natural.
"Kah, khh, ptui... It... got through. Just a little."
"All bloody and still acting tough. Impressive. Truly a former ally of justice."
"Shut... up."
"Don't use strong words when you're beautiful. It just makes the person watching feel sorry for you."
There was no reply to my taunting.
Ryuu simply kept quiet, steadying her ragged breathing and taking up a stance to counterattack again.
In response, I lightly rolled my neck to loosen the tension in my knotted muscles.
Honestly, I hadn't meant to go this far, but I'd gotten a little too carried away before I knew it.
If I wanted to calm this down, I'd have to sweat off as much as I'd bled.
By the way... had the owner who'd gone ahead already reached that place by now?
I hoped he'd get there soon.
That way I could get out of this noisy neighborhood and clock out already, couldn't I?
Tap!
At last, Ryuu seized a gap and rushed at me again, and I greeted her by activating the Magecraft Circuits in my body.
Then we collided.
"[Flame.]"
Flames burst into existence in midair.
But that flimsy level of firepower scattered with a single flick from a Level 4.
Well, I had plenty of ways to make use of a state like that.
"[Firefly Orb.]"
Bang! Crackle! The scattered sparks exploded all at once, filling the corridor with bright yellow flames.
It was power enough to incinerate even mid-tier monsters in an instant.
And yet, it still wasn't enough to stop her.
Whoosh!
"Whoops!"
From within the flames, her elegant leg shot out, aiming for my face.
I dodged safely by turning my head slightly.
"[Baruto 4, Underworld.]"
From my fingertips, I formed a long band of light and wrapped it around her.
But even that she evaded cleanly with a nimble movement.
Then she charged at me again.
"[Water Prison.]"
Heavenly Thousand Water Spears.
Papapapaat!
I intercepted her with a volley of water needles conjured in the air.
And yet Ryuu slipped past even that without trouble.
As expected, the Magecraft I used on my own, without the calculation support of the Moon Spirit Liquid, was a complete mess and basically unusable.
"Let's see, then..."
The surrounding temperature had already risen to some degree thanks to the fire Magecraft.
What if I added just a little moisture to that?
"Smoke generated! [White Blow!]"
"Ngh!"
Suddenly, a puff of cloud-shaped smoke in the form of a fist appeared directly in front of her and flew at her, and Ryuu hurriedly took up a guard.
But what do you know.
The cloud smoke simply passed through her body without a care in the world, noisily and casually.
In other words, no damage.
"Hahaha, sorry for tricking you. I still haven't reproduced the original's physical force!"
But it was enough to obscure her vision.
And it made her body stop for a moment, too.
For now, that was enough to do its job.
"Without the Moon Spirit Liquid's calculation support, I can't fine-tune it properly."
Well, that couldn't be helped.
"[Cyclone.]"
A wind of rightward rotation on my left arm, and a wind of leftward rotation on my right.
The overwhelming destructive space of vacuum created between the two tornadoes I'd raised with Magecraft.
It was truly a microscopic universe of sandstorm, like interlocking gears!
Its name was divine sandstorm... no.
"[Divine Sandstorm!]"
Wheeeeeee... KWA-GAGAGAGAGA-BOOM!
"What?!"
The wind of destruction spread out right before our eyes and swallowed Ryuu in an instant.
The impact shredded her clothes into rags, and her strong yet slender body was just as thoroughly wrecked.
Then she was flung out beyond the edge of the tornado.
Crunch! Crack!
"Ugh! Damn, that hurts!"
But I wasn't in any position to rejoice or relax either.
This destructive Magecraft, used without the calculation support of the Moon Spirit Liquid, hurt even me, the caster, in proportion to its ferocity.
Thanks to that, both my arms were a bloody mess, as if they'd been clawed by dozens of feral cats, twisted and ragged all over.
That was only because I'd lowered the output.
If I'd really let it unleash its full power, Ryuu would have been torn to pieces and killed, and my own arms would have been shredded off along with it, vanishing without a trace.
Hm? Why would I use something that dangerous?
Uh... well... because I felt like it?
"Why would romance need a reasonable explanation? Ow, damn, that stings like crazy."
Anyway, that was enough to make Ryuu retreat for good.
I used one of my personal special potions—something I always carried at least one of, just in case—to heal my arms.
And while I was at it, I used the rest on Ryuu, who was sprawled out over there.
Pop!
Just as I was about to heal her, she counterattacked.
Somewhere she'd stashed it, she secretly pulled out a dagger she hadn't used until now and threw it at me.
Thunk!
"So... it won't work after all."
"Khh, of course not."
But even that had been anticipated, so I blocked it without issue.
Ryuu looked dejected as she saw her own dagger trapped between my clenched teeth.
That must have been her last burst of spirit.
Seeing her honest reaction, I felt inwardly relieved that there really wasn't any other hidden trick left.
No, to be frank, I'd been completely off guard during that last ambush, so I hadn't noticed it at all.
I'd only practiced it casually, thinking maybe there would be situations where I could realize this kind of romance someday.
Never did I imagine I'd actually end up using it today.
I was genuinely surprised, you know.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Let's see. What should I do? Well, the role you have to play is already decided."
After giving her a simple bit of first aid while she was down, I hoisted her onto one shoulder and moved locations.
My destination was, of course, the owner hiding somewhere at the end of this passage, inside his own safe secret vault.
"Why... why would someone like you have this much power...?"
"What a useless, flavorless, and utterly predictable line."
To her complaint, drained of strength from our clash, I answered as if it were only natural that things were this way.
No matter my romance, no matter what kind of story I loved.
This thing called reality had no change, no rebuttal, and no denial to the fact that, with no distinction between good and evil, it was mostly just a nonstop parade of rotten bad taste wherever and whenever it pleased.
After all, that distinction between good and evil is itself just a human-made standard.
And she herself must know that perfectly well.
"You're one of the people involved, and one of the victims too. And in the end, you were the only one left alive."
"...I'd prefer it if you didn't bring that up. At least not to you!"
"And I refuse."
One of this Magus's favorite things in the world was forcing people who absolutely didn't want to do something to do it anyway, and turning their insides upside down in the process.
"The sole survivor of a justice Familia, huh. And then there's your fall into vengeance, too. Every last one of those is a topic I absolutely adore. If possible, I'd love to conduct a firsthand field investigation right in front of me and interview the people involved."
"Fun, is it? Even the horrible nightmares of someone else's past... Honestly, why would a villain like you be by that person's side...?"
"You mean Bell-kun. Hmm, I see. So you, too..."
"What kind of garbage misunderstanding are you making? I'm merely trying to protect the feelings of a precious comrade...!"
"That boy is more of an older-woman killer than I expected. What's even more impressive is that he doesn't seem to realize it himself. Is it because he's a rabbit? He's the very picture of a harem-flag protagonist. Good grief, our Lili and Lady Hestia shouldn't be letting their guard down at the boy's side either."
"Will you listen when someone is talking...!"
"Heh~ No can do~"
Even while she seethed at my taunting, Ryuu couldn't move an inch because of the aftereffects of battle, and all she could do was grind her teeth in frustration.
Ah, this feeling of refreshing satisfaction.
Hah. Could this be what they call yūetsu?
No, I'm not some filthy pervert with that kind of fetish!
I'm not a bad guy!
"Anyway, to continue what I was saying earlier... the fact that I'm especially nasty to you. You already know that yourself as a victim, don't you?"
At my question, Ryuu gave no answer.
But the intense glare she leveled at me, lips pressed tightly together as if she wanted to kill me, was answer enough on its own.
So I continued the conversation on that topic.
"Right, exactly. I hate you. I hate you enough to go out of my way and spend effort paying attention to you. That's why I act so mischievous, so petty, so mean. Because..."
"Watching you is so damn frustrating I feel like I could die."
At those words, Ryuu's face, twisted with anger, changed for the first time.
A genuinely bewildered expression, or perhaps one struck by something unexpected—quite a cute look, really.
"Wh-what do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. Every time you speak, every time you answer, every time you react—justice, justice, justice... From the listener's point of view, you're so sticky with it I'm about ready to get a rash in my ears. That damned concept of justice."
"What do you know about us...!"
"You're a frustrating one. Of course I don't know. Things like your Astrea Familia, as you know it. There's no way I could know that."
But I do know a fair bit about this foolish woman in front of me.
There was the time I'd known her, and the things I'd seen with my own eyes.
At the same time, I know.
The real thing—a true "ally of justice."
About some foolish man who had aimed for that ideal, despaired and regretted it, and yet still walked that same road again.
Though in this case, the example of "her" would be much more fitting than "him."
That was why this elf was so irritating and suffocating to me.
This woman was making the same mistake as that "noble king of ideals."
"Justice. Justice, huh... Hey, elf. What exactly is justice?"
"That is..."
"You don't need to answer. I can pretty much see what kind of justice you mean."
It was the lingering attachment of the past, and at the same time the final thread tying her to a past she could never return to.
And the last fragment of conviction left in her now.
Its name was, quite simply, "justice."
"In the past, you people were truly justice."
Its meaning was certainly noble and right.
Its value was certainly dazzlingly beautiful.
Its foolishness was one of humanity's precious treasures, never to be condemned.
But.
At the very least.
That was not something that applied to her now.
"You dirtied the past with hateful vengeance. You kept breaking down until you stood at the brink of ruin, and yet in the end you were saved by unexpected mercy and kindness."
Good.
Very good.
It was truly a good story, a heartwarming tale.
Even this wicked Magus could hardly hear it without tears.
Listen to it long enough, and you'd start smiling with a fatherly grin of satisfaction on your face.
"But in the end, that's only a stopgap measure."
To put it a little more bluntly.
It was no different from simply covering a disgusting, foul-smelling trash can with a flimsy lid.
In the end, the disgusting, filthy contents were still just left sitting inside the bin as before.
Nothing had changed, and nothing had been properly resolved.
The woman herself still hadn't truly accepted any of it, and was only leaning on the kindness around her to soothe and hide her wounds.
"And today, I was able to confirm that."
Level 4 adventurer. The last survivor of the former Astrea Familia. Ryuu Lion, the Gale.
"You shouted justice with your mouth and acted in ways worthy of it, too... but at the same time, you understood nothing at all."
Yourself, when you looked at the owner, Ted.
Yourself, when you looked at me as I stood in your way.
And in the end.
"When you couldn't overcome the evil that is this body of mine, what exactly were you disappointed in? What was so unfair and so painful?"
"Disappointed? I? No, that's..."
Watching Ryuu struggle to answer, confused by my question, I thought to myself.
The elf before me was still in the past.
She was not in the present, and she would not exist even in the future to come.
Before that, she would surely be seized by her own evil, caught by the ankle, burn herself out, and ultimately end in ruin.
That was the identity of the woman called Ryuu Lion, as I had seen and judged her.
"From what I can see, your 'evil'... the 'black flame' inside you hasn't gone out yet. It may have calmed down somewhat after your acts of vengeance in the past, but the embers are still there. Even if they've been healed to some extent by your current kind relationships, they're still surviving and burning, fueled nonstop by the two kinds of gasoline that are your lingering attachment to the past and your hatred."
"Nonsense. There's no way I would..."
"A person knows themselves least of all."
For her now, justice was a little weaker than before, but in the end its essence was still nothing more than a convenient excuse, just as it had been back then.
An excuse for violence to keep the hatred burning within her looking presentable.
The miserable struggle of self-deception, fighting desperately because she didn't want to lose the peaceful refuge she'd finally gained a second time.
"In short, the you of now is nothing more than a hypocrite."
"A hypo...crite? Me...?"
Maybe that was a little too direct.
She went blank for a moment.
But soon she frowned, unable to accept those words in the slightest, and forcefully denied my accusation.
So that blank look had been disbelief after all.
"That's artistic nonsense of the highest order. I listened quietly because I thought you might have something to say, but... just as expected, it was the ranting of a delusional madman not worth hearing a single word of."
"Oh? You're denying it? To this master of language?"
"Spare me the bullshit. Your low-level wordplay is so crude it's painful to listen to every time. I suppose you were the only one who didn't know that. Or maybe the people around you were just very considerate and kind."
"My, my. Not one to let a single word go, are you. This is why elves..."
"I lost in strength, so I'll win in words at least. And that remark was blatant racial discrimination. It's utterly disgusting."
Good grief, even while captured she still fired off complaints like poison-tipped barbs.
If she was going to do that, she could at least relax that over-tight grip of her fist and talk properly.
"And... so what if it is?"
In the end, Ryuu spoke in a strangely drained voice.
The lament of a doctor telling me not to meddle in her affairs.
"As you said, I was the only one who survived that nightmare. Not only did I survive alone on the sacrifice of my comrades, but I'm also an unforgivable sinner who dirtied their noble ideals for my own convenience, using the excuse that I was trying to ease the pain of that loss."
What other choice would I even have?
At that quiet lament, I frowned deeply.
No, what the hell was she talking about?
Had this woman been listening to me with her ears closed this whole time?
"Ah, so you're going to keep living like that? Leaning on the kindness of that shop, having quit being an adventurer, and yet sticking your nose into useless trouble whenever you feel like it and hanging around in front of me?"
"That is not for you to..."
"How could it not be my concern?"
If she got involved in Bell-kun's affairs, then naturally our Lili would be dragged into it too.
How could that possibly not concern me when the chain of events was so obvious, woman?
"Even so, that's still unnecessary interference. What exactly are you to..."
"Nothing at all."
That was why I could tear into her with this kind of verbal abuse and shake her up.
After that, the two of us fell silent.
It was a truly unbearable silence.
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