Chapter 59: The Truth About That Day

Shion extended the and first retrieved the sword that was stuck in the ground. Since Meme did not try to attack him immediately, he tried to talk to her first.

“You seem to want the witch’s concoctions so badly. What are you going to ask her?”

“…A Magic Enhancement Potion”

“Seeking more strength, huh? You look strong enough to me, though?”

“I can’t hear anything but sarcasm… By the way, do you remember me?”

From her attitude, Shion guessed that the other person knew him at least, and he tried to remember. But there were so many people he had been involved with that it was hard to remember.

“You won’t remember even if I say it’s the girl who fought a Centaurus at Kiliunu Forest?”

“…Nah, I remember you. You were very skilled with a spear for your age”

When Shion went into the forest to get some herbs, he found Meme fighting with a centaur. She seemed to be struggling, so Shion cut down the enemy.

Meme wrinkles her brow and reveals her anger.

“I was trying to avenge my father! And you stole it from me!”

“So it was …… I’m sorry about that. I apologize”

“No need to apologize. I’m going to surpass you here. RAAAAAAAAHHH”

Meme shouted from the depths of her stomach. Shion immediately judged that it was not a threat, but a body strengthening magic.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her skin was covered with an unusual amount of veins, and her body had grown, though only slightly.

“Aga… Agau…… Agaaaaaa”

In addition to the physical changes, there seems to be an effect on the mind, and Meme is holding and opening her hand over and over again.

Shion had a bad feeling about the physical enhancement that strongly affected her mind.

“Don’t tell me… Excessive Magic Condition?”

“I’ll surpass my limit——! I’ll surpass you——!! I’ll——”

“If you continue, you’ll die”

“And, satisfied——!!”

Shion jumped to the side, slightly impatient. The ground beneath his feet cracked as Meme stepped on it, and the next moment she was thrusting with an inhuman rush.

The tip of the spear pierced through a part of his jet-black clothes. The physical ability of the great sword user Ghiad was also on the high side, but Meme surpassed even that.

“Now’s my turn”

Shion steps in deeper and unleashes a single slash. Mame takes a step back and barely managed to duck to avoid it. Barely, but she was able to see through it completely, which meant she was able to make fewer unnecessary moves.

“Your vision improved?”

“Not just my vision! My strength also improved!”

A front kick from Meme hit Shion with a boom. He raised one arm to guard himself, but the force of the blow was extraordinary and he was sent flying to the wall.

He landed well, kicking the wall with a thud, but now she was coming at him with extraordinary speed. The spear was aimed at his heart. If he took it, even Shion would die instantly.

Sinking into the shadows beneath his feet, he retreats once to another position.

Boom, boom, boom!

It was a brilliant attack that made a hole in the solid wall with just one blow. He was tempted to applaud, but Shion used the on his sword with a grim expression.

It is a type of dark magic that causes the sword to be clothed with the power of black darkness.

“We don’t have much time. Let’s do this”

Shion challenges Meme to a head-on sword fight.

There were other ways to defeat her if he wanted to be sure, but this time he had to stop the rampage as soon as possible.

He can’t exactly call it a rampage, because her mind is still intact, but in a few more minutes, Meme will surely die.

Excessive Magic Condition——

This refers to the overuse of magic and the rapid creation of magic power.

If you use a body enhancement spell that is too strong, it will consume a lot of magic power and deplete it quickly. If you do this, you will run out of magic power in a few seconds or less, causing fainting and other physical symptoms.

They were in no condition to fight.

So, they rapidly replenish their magic power to withstand the magic depletion.

Humans basically take the magical elements in the atmosphere into their bodies and convert them into magical power over time.

Just as it takes time for the body to be nourished after taking a meal.

There is a magic that speeds up the transformation of magical elements into magical power, but it is so dangerous that it is classified as a forbidden spell. This is because the damage to the body is too great.

In other words, the Meme now was using two magics at the same time, super body enhancement and magical transformation, to exceed the limits of human beings.

Shion uses his body maneuvers to counter the spear techniques that are performed with a combination of superior muscle strength and outstanding technique.

His clothes were slashed by the tip of the spear several times, but he prevented all of them from reaching his body. He also made sure to slash Meme in a counterattack taking advantage of the gap.

First, the shoulders.

Next, thighs.

And when the back of her hand was injured by the sword, Meme finally collapsed, unable to support herself.

“How…it’s not… time yet… That sword… huh?”

“Yeah, I got the Dark Coating to suck the magic out of you. Just go back to sleep”

“No…way…”

It became difficult to form words, and Meme fainted.

In a hazy state of consciousness, Meme recalled the events of that day.

It was about a killing match with a centaur, who was also her father’s enemy. In the middle of the fight, Shion suddenly appeared and joined the battle, eventually bouncing the centaur’s head off.

Is it snatching or rescuing?

Although she could not admit it for a long time, Meme now thinks that the fact is the latter.

In the beginning, they were competing with each other, but in the second half, she was unable to fight back against the centaurs’ strong attack. If she had not received help, she would have ended up like her father.

“——What are you doing?”

When Meme woke up, she knew that she had been made to drink a potion. So she asked that to Shion, who did it.

“You’re my enemy and a pain in the ass, so I thought about leaving you alone. But I felt bad about snatching your revenge for your father”

“………… That’s enough of that”

“So you’re saying you’ll forgive me? If so, I’d appreciate it”

When Meme didn’t answer, Shion interpreted that to be the case and decided to head back down the road.

A shaky voice hit him in the back as he headed for the exit.

“…Let me be your disciple… Please…”

When his reaction was delayed because it was too unexpected, Meme spoke while staring at the ground.

“I’ve actually been following Axe’s figure that day. If I can’t surpass him, I want to learn”

“Sorry, I don’t take apprentices. Well, there is one exception: …… If you really want to surpass me, you’ll have to find another way”

Saying that Shion started walking again. He took a few steps forward, and his head swiveled slightly.

“That magic should never be used again. You live your life, so I can’t force you, but if you must use it, it shouldn’t be here, right?”

“Where did you say that was?”

“Yeah, ……, you can save that for when you’re protecting something really important”

“Something… important”

“Don’t have such a thing?　Then, in your case, you should start by finding out what’s important to you. Then you’ll be much stronger than you are now, for sure”

Shion took one look at Meme and then turned back the way he had come.

After a while of progress and being alone, he held his head in subtle regret.

I’m indeed older than her, but… didn’t I act just like her parent earlier?