Reluctantly stepping onto the stage for the mock battle with Garius, I was greeted by his delighted shout, as if he had been waiting all along.
「You’re late!! I was getting bored of waiting!」
「Ahaha… Garius, you’re more than ready, huh…」
「Damn right! I was so excited I only slept six hours last night!!」
「Hmm… that’s still plenty of sleep.」
「Bah, whatever. So what’ll you use? Sword, spear, katana? Don’t tell me you’re going barehanded!」
「I’ll match you, Garius.」
「Oh, is that so!! Then let’s go barehanded!」
「Wow, you really picked what favors you the most…」
「You can handle it too, right, Yuuki?」
「Well, yeah, I can…」
『Now then, for this special event, the morning bout!! 【Hero】 Kaminagi Yuuki-sama versus 【Beast King】 Garius Astra Gerziu-sama—let the mock battle begin!!!』
We took our stances at a distance. His resembled Chinese martial arts, while mine was a standard fighting pose.
『No time limit, magic allowed. Begin!!』
「「「「「Uoooooohhh!!」」」」」
With the roar of the crowd, Garius lunged forward.
「As fast as I thought!!」
I braced myself with body enhancement to block him.
「Oh-ho, you can stop me, huh…」
「Thanks to training, I’ve gotten stronger than before… like this!」
While holding him, I kicked upward toward the side of his head.
「Uooohhh!!」
Surprised, Garius threw me away. My toes only grazed his cheek, but it seemed enough to catch him off guard.
「Not bad!!」
「Your praise honors me… then it’s my turn!!」
「Come at me!!」
Closing the distance, I leapt when only a few meters away, rising high enough to land a flying knee to his face.
「Hmph!! I can see that coming!!」
With that, Garius lifted his right leg straight up, readying a heel drop.
「Got youuuuu!!」
Just as he brought it down, I struck his right leg aside with my left hand, spinning with the motion.
(Just as planned!! Takanashi-style Guarding Form—Flowing Water)
Riding the momentum of the Flowing Water deflection, I slammed my right foot down on Garius’s shoulder.
―――Crack! Crack!!
His collarbone snapped under the impact.
Landing, I let out a long breath.
The ground split from the force of the blow. Garius must have taken heavy damage. Only then did the announcer’s voice reach my ears.
『Ahhh, Garius-sama! Unable to stand after Yuuki-sama’s crushing strike!! Is this the deciding moment!?』
But inside the cloud of dust, Garius’s silhouette shifted. He seemed to have entered 【Beastification】.
「Fufufu… Hahahahaha!!! As expected of you, Yuuki!! No wonder you’re worthy of marrying my daughter!!」
As the dust scattered, Garius stepped out, saying something outrageous.
「What did you just say?」
「What did you just say!? (It was important, so I said it twice)」
「What, Yuki didn’t tell you? Yuki’s my adopted child now! That’s it!!」
「You’ve got to be kidding meeeee!!」
「More importantly!! Now that I’ve taken this form, Yuuki, you’re allowed to use weapons!!!」
「Well, I’ll ask about that later after I beat you down… guess I’ll bring out the real deal then!」
From my Item Box, I took out the holy relic Yuki had entrusted to me last night, transforming it into a gauntlet.
「So that’s all you’ll use, huh… fine!!」
Garius roared proudly. But this wasn’t the end.
「Hah? Who said this was all?」
「Hah?」
「Magic Armament—Marbas」
I chanted the spell I had been itching to try since yesterday. Claws of magic formed over my hands and feet, and a tail shaped from magical power sprouted behind me like a lion’s.
「Wait, wait! What the hell is that!!」
Garius shouted in sudden panic.
「It’s something I came up with yesterday to counter your 【Beastification】. Since you’re a lion, I figured it’d fit.」
「Damn it, using ridiculous amounts of magic power like that!!」
「Well, it only lasts three minutes anyway!!」
Leaping at him in Magic Armament form, I pushed past my limits with body enhancement and recovery magic layered onto myself.
「Haaaaaaaahhh!!」
「Gwoooooooohhh!!」
With my magic-forged claws, I tore at Garius. He extended his own claws, but my kicks were faster and sent him flying.
(Next!!)
Dropping to all fours, I burst forward to his back, striking him with a string of kicks.
「Guh… gffhh… damn it!!」
Even so, the Beast King countered fiercely, slamming me into the ground. I broke the fall and faced him again as he descended.
「Tch… not a scratch, huh… Fine, I give up!!」
All of a sudden, Garius dispelled his 【Beastification】 and declared defeat, falling flat on his back.
『Eh? Ah, yes!! With Beast King-sama’s surrender, the winner is Yuuki-sama!!』
I released the Magic Armament and walked over to him, casting recovery magic as I asked,
「You’re fine with ending it here?」
「There’s no way I can keep up with someone who heals almost infinitely the whole time! Any further and it’d turn into an actual fight to the death… besides, what the hell was that cheat of a technique!?」
Revived, Garius sprang up and threw an arm around my shoulders.
「Originally, I was just trying to see if I could use magic power blades with bare hands the same way I do with a sword, but it was too difficult. Then I thought, maybe if I channeled it through the relic Yuki lent me, it might work. I’d never actually used it before, but luckily it did.」
「And the legs and tail?」
「The legs are basically just an extension of body enhancement, so not actual claws. The tail’s the same—it’s just my belt.」
When I explained, he gave me an exasperated look.
－－－－－－－－
Author desu.
Lately I’ve been wondering if I made the protagonist too strong.
Next time, he’ll be fighting Rieen.
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