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175. Seized Justice (2)

Kwaang!—

Luthis barely blocked the fangs of the massive snake with his great sword.

As the teeth clashed with the sword, a sound of shattering echoed, shaking the ground momentarily.

The snake was so powerful that despite his exertion, he was pushed back.

Upon closer inspection, it was the spirit snake that had caught the arrow with its tail earlier.

“How can it have this kind of strength…!”

Strangely enough, the snake seemed larger than before.

Moreover, its power was overwhelmingly strong. If things continued this way, he would be crushed under the snake’s biting force.

“Hahh!!”

Jiiing—

The great sword began to emit a sound similar to machinery, lighting up with intensity.

Muto, whose tongue touched the blade, suddenly recoiled. He let out a pain-filled sound as if scalded by hot soup and said,

“Ugh! It’s Divine Power.”

“Then does that mean it’s a Holy Sword?”

“No, it’s not that. I don’t sense the unique aura of a cleric from the blade itself. It’s likely a function of the sword.”

Still, it didn’t seem like a Holy Sword to me.

It appeared to be a weapon with the ability to store other powers, and even if it wasn’t a Holy Sword, it would still be quite valuable as a weapon with a major function.

“I started wielding my sword in admiration of Saint Maria. The spark of hope she kindled must never be extinguished.”

Giiiiiiing—

The sword emitted an even more intense light and started to create a loud noise.

Luthis straightened his posture with a serious expression.

“I shall inherit her will and eradicate all the forces of evil!!”

“Uh? I pressed it wrong again.”

“Kuraaaaaaaak!!”

Once again, Luthis screamed as he clutched his eyes.

Without realizing it, he had made a mistake again, but this time he managed to endure, grinding his teeth.

“Not yet! It’s still far from over! The Demon King that the great Saint vanquished… everything related to him must be eradicated!”

“I’m curious, did you ever receive any grace from that Saint Maria?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? It’s because of her that we are who we are today! Everything exists because she defeated the Demon King!”

Indeed, I had no words against the achievements of Saint Maria. I knew her well.

However, I had quite a bit to say about that guy.

“Then you must know well how that Saint died?”

“Of course I know! She died at the hands of the mobs that lost faith in her! I don’t know who they are, but I intend to find them all out and eradicate them soon!”

Using the term “eradicate” typically reserved for monsters on humans. But thinking about what those humans did, they thoroughly deserve to be eradicated.

They probably wanted to avoid that fate, thus maintaining a façade of normalcy.

“Did you happen to hear about the Saint from your parents?”

“You know well. Both of my parents were believers of the Holy Cross Sect. They have passed away now.”

“Heh heh heh… as expected.”

Hearing my significant chuckle, Luthis narrowed his eyes.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Do you know what those mobs have been doing to hide their tracks?”

“Are you saying you know who they are?”

Luthis suddenly asked with wide eyes.

It seemed he was genuinely concerned about the faith in the Saint as he looked at me earnestly.

“Who the hell are they? It’s outrageous that they casually live on after committing sins! I will surely administer judgment by my own hand. Their entire families will be targets for eradication!”

Once again, his skewed sense of justice flared up.

Does that mean he wants to kill even the children in those families?

A person like that deserves to be beaten several times over.

“By the way, those mobs started worshipping Saint Maria just to save their skins. I heard they made sure to thoroughly educate their children to present themselves as fervent believers.”

After having cursed the unfaithful Saint with all their might, they shifted their attitude when things got serious.

Thanks to that, respect for Saint Maria may have risen, but it was merely a tool to cover their own sins.

“The more I hear, the angrier I become. Indeed, trash like that shouldn’t even be allowed to reproduce.”

“Exactly. Just like your parents.”

“What did you say?”

In that moment, Luthis’s voice trembled. Taking advantage of his surprise, I pressed on.

“After Saint Maria died, believers strangely increased, right? Your family was probably among them. Why was that?”

“That’s… we simply believed with pure hearts! I know!”

“How do you know that when you weren’t even born at that time?”

“…!”

Luthis Sentry. Age 29.

Thirty years ago, he wasn’t even in his mother’s womb yet.

If he were born at that time, there’s no way he could possibly understand what happened, making it the perfect opportunity to brainwash him while growing up.

“The mobs pretended to be faithful to cover their sins, and they passed that on to their children. However, they conveniently left out the fact that the Saint died because of them. Just like your parents.”

“Shut up!!”

His expression twisted into a vicious glare as he pointed his great sword at me. The moment he swung it, an enormous slash was unleashed.

Chwaaaak!—

With a Divine Power attribute, getting hit would be quite dangerous. However, Aisha avoided it effortlessly with her eyes.

It was a powerful attack, sweeping through the forest and leaving behind a trench the height of a building.

As that happened, I made my final remark.

“Just now, you said you would kill all those people’s families, right? But that includes you too, doesn’t it?”

“Shut up!”

He sent another slash my way, but this time, while dodging, Aisha reached his side.

Although Luthis was surprised by her astonishing speed, he had already exhausted himself from the previous slash.

But he wasn’t helpless either. As a spirit, he could activate a sacred magic barrier that would hurt me upon contact.

Luthis smiled as if he was daring me to try anything…

“Huh?”

He gasped in surprise as he noticed something he pulled out.

A fishing rod. An item clearly unfit for battle.

Just as a smirk was about to escape my lips… for some reason, Luthis instinctively moved his body.

In that moment, I could sense that his judgment was accurate.

Shaaak!—

“Ugh!”

It was fast.

I felt the wind from the fishing rod brush past my chin. If I hadn’t pulled my head back, my neck would have been sliced off.

You might think to yourself what kind of fuss could possibly be made over a fishing rod, but with the scars now visible on his neck, Luthis grasped its threat level.

“It’s just a fishing rod.”

“I’m used to hearing that by now.”

“What?”

“Well, it’s not like you could have known. But you’re the first among those who said that to actually live.”

Whether through luck or skill didn’t matter.

There had been more than a few who underestimated the fantasy swordsmanship and ended up sliced to bits.

Thinking about that, it was a compliment of sorts.

“Of course, you can’t just focus on that fishing rod.”

Kwa-zik!—

Before Luthis even had the chance to say, “What?” he noticed something.

His right arm suddenly felt hot, but curiously, he had no sensation at all.

And he realized that a black snake had appeared and bitten off his right arm, screaming,

“Kuraaaaaaaak!!”

“It was good that you dodged the fishing rod… but unfortunately, you couldn’t dodge that one.”

“You bastard…! You demon… Kuraaaaaak!!”

“Mind your language.”

Having uttered the word “demon,” pain flooded back into his right eye.

But losing his right arm meant he had to clutch it with his left hand.

The pain was so intense he had to let go of his great sword, creating a prime opening for me.

“If a squad leader drops his sword, what can he do?”

“Huff!”

Slap!—

“Gahhh!”

This time, I smashed his legs with Leviathan, then shot out fishing line, ensnaring his entire body like a spider’s web.

Seeing the line, Luthis suddenly recalled how I had tied his wrist when he fell off the cliff earlier.

Fishing line. Even though he knew it, why hadn’t he seen the fishing rod as a weapon? He felt utterly pathetic.

“The game’s over.”

“What are you talking about… not yet!”

“You’re pushing it if you use your mana excessively now.”

“Stop talking nonsense! I… justice… gack..!”

Luthis tried to say “justice,” but he hit the brakes in his mouth.

In reality, the curse I placed upon him should be lifted by now, after about fifteen minutes.

For a sufficiently skilled opponent, the duration shouldn’t be that long, but since he was out of mana, it remained for a relatively long time.

“You’ve definitely gotten stronger, vomit. No matter how weakened you are, you’re still the guy appointed as squad leader.”

“How long are you going to keep calling me vomit?”

“Well, I guess? Uwahahahah!”

Muto continued to mock me, and I wanted to douse him with the Drops of Phantom Rain, but I held back for now.

I had to deal with the more unpleasant guy at hand.

“Ugh…”

“If you can do more, go ahead. I don’t know which part of you will be lost this time.”

“I’m still…”

He forced his body to release mana.

Even after I’d kindly warned him not to, he didn’t listen and took a fall.

The side effects of mana manipulation appear when pushed to the limit.

“Uh? Why is my body…!”

“See?”

I kindly pulled out my student ID again and showed him the mirror on the back.

As Luthis looked at his reflection, he fell into shock.

“What? Why is my body…!”

His left arm was covered in beast fur while horns and wings sprouted from him.

He had turned into something that could be called a demon, making it a terrible moment for a guy who called for justice and punished evil.

“This is the side effect of mana manipulation.”

“Mana manipulation?”

“Really, you don’t know?”

It seemed he genuinely had no clue.

Considering that he hadn’t been involved with Doomsday and had somehow received mana manipulation, it was quite peculiar.

It was as if he had applied for some secret test without considering the side effects.

But thinking of Luthis’s personality, it seemed he was the type to easily fall for sweet talk.

Pandering to a guy who mindlessly called for justice would be like getting a free meal.

“This is me…? This is just… aah… aah…”

Luthis was barely holding back the word “demon.”

He couldn’t accept the reality that the Apostle of Justice had become a monster.

If he was a demon, then wouldn’t his family be the same?

His thoughts were terribly simple.

“Does that mean… it’s true that our parents were mobs…?”

Growing up hearing the heroics of Saint Maria from his parents.

However, realizing that such parents were merely shameless in their path to cover their sins shattered his sense of loss.

It was the moment his entire life, which he had called “justice,” came crashing down.

“True or false, what should I do with you now?”

I slowly approached him with Leviathan in hand.

Seeing that, Luthis suddenly shook his head from side to side, speaking in a panicked manner.

“P-please forgive me. I won’t do it again! I apologize for almost killing you just now!”

Finally, his true nature emerged.

That’s exactly why it was so amusing.

“Your parents took part in killing the Saint, and now you want to follow in her footsteps while wielding Rozaria—it’s such a disgrace.”

“Uwahahaha! If Shaikar sees this, it’ll make for an entertaining spectacle!”

That’s just how it is.

I can understand why Shaikar was furious with humans.

Those vermin who killed his daughter lived without punishment, and now they acted like she was great while ignoring the past, won’t that make you explode with anger?

What’s more, those humans are now lecturing the current young generation about being undisciplined, completely forgetting the wrongs they committed.

“Yeah, I’ll let you live.”

“Huh?”

But I untied the fishing line.

Luthis asked for his life, but he clearly hadn’t expected it to happen, as his eyes widened in disbelief.

“What? Are you really letting me go?”

“Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll forgive you this once. And the curse has been lifted, so feel free to speak your mind.”

“Really?”

His eyes started to sparkle like a child with a dream.

And he was thrilled to be able to say words like “justice” and “evil” without a care.

His face was filled with the joy of liberation from shackles.

“I’ve forgiven you, so you can leave now.”

“Thank you! You’re truly a compassionate fellow!”

As I stowed away Leviathan, I turned to leave.

The battle had ended, and I was about to return to where everyone was.

Just then, Luthis, with a triumphant look on his face, summoned a magic called “Blade of Light” aimed at me.

“You fool. I still have the mana to sentence you…”

“By the way.”

As I walked away, I turned my head slightly and said,

And then…

Kwa-zik!—

“I never said I’d forgive that snake.”

In an instant, Muto appeared and bit into his whole body.

Before he could even scream at the occurrence, Luthis fell silent.

“Cough…!”

With the snake’s fangs piercing his chest, an unknown sound escaped Luthis’s lips. If he thought I wouldn’t know, he was gravely mistaken.

Letting a lunatic like that live? That would be like saying ketchup in English is tomato.

“You bastard… how dare you… deceive me…”

[Rate of Erosion Decreased: -120%]

[+12000 Credits]

Crunch crunch!—

Those terrible sounds were the last things I heard.

I thought it was all finally over, but that wasn’t the case.

For some reason, there were still the soldiers following Luthis remaining.

Of course, they were in a fainted state, but the important thing was how to deal with them.

Whiiiiii—

In that moment, a chilly wind began to rise along with a full moon.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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