Chapter 33

"He's looking at us."

The Santiago Knights primarily armed themselves with axes, hammers, and bows.

They had left their usual swords at the temple.

Swords were fine against humans but weak against monsters.

How could one expect to fight 3-meter, 4-meter tall monsters with swords that snap like toothpicks?

Against a lich, longbows and spears were far better.

"I'll cast a spell now. Everyone, apply poison."

The knights coated their weapons with plant oil given by Mani.

As Mani chanted something in Maronius, the oil soon transformed into a potent poison.

The knights watched the darkness, tense.

Despite it being broad daylight, the forest was gloomy.

The manticore, hidden among the trees and shadows, was difficult to spot.

But there were two wizards on this side.

"East! Next to the big rock! By the twisted black oak, there it is!"

"...What's a black oak?"

"Study some trees, you ignoramuses!"

They might not know what a black oak was, but they understood what a twisted tree meant.

A knight fired an arrow into the darkness.

Ian, who could see through the darkness, watched precisely where the arrow flew.

"It hit but was deflected!"

"!"

Animal hides are thick.

The physical composition of an animal is hide – fat – flesh – bone.

And the part that gets hurt is mostly the hide.

The hide thickens especially in wild animals, and for large ones like elephants, the hide alone can exceed 30cm in thickness (which is why ordinary guns can't kill elephants).

If real-world 'monsters' like elephants have such thick hides, deflecting an arrow was hardly a feat for a fantasy world monster like a manticore.

Grrrr...

The manticore growled.

The chilling sound of its growl was like a mad old man chuckling with a sinister laugh.

Ian loudly chanted in Maronius.

"[O Lord Manticore!]"

A tense atmosphere filled the air as if walking on thin ice.

Eventually, the manticore responded to Ian's call.

[Oh ho. A human speaks to me. Interesting.]

As Ian attempted to converse with the manticore, the knights took the opportunity to catch their breath and form up.

If Ian could persuade the manticore, they might be able to drive off the monster without any harm.

Honestly, Elder harbored a bit of hope for this outcome.

"It would be good if things go well."

But Mani knew it was absolutely impossible.

"Ian will fail."

"Why?"

Mani chuckled.

She, too, planned to prepare a new spell while Ian was buying time.

"He's too kind and polite."

"...? And that's a reason for failure?"

"You're not a wizard, so you wouldn't know."

Just because one speaks the same language doesn't mean they'll understand each other.

This is common sense and truth.

After all, even in Korea, where everyone speaks Korean, there are plenty of Koreans who don't understand each other.

"[I'm glad you understand me. I am the wizard Ian.]"

Ian began with a friendly greeting, recalling the time he had persuaded Drake Longtail.

It was a perfectly reasonable approach.

It would have been a sufficiently effective opening if the other party had been anyone but a manticore.

"F*ck off. Eat sh*t. F*cking human scum."

"...?"

[Oh! How fascinating. You understood what I said, didn't you?]

Ian was dumbfounded.

What? What's with this crazy f*cker?

Insulting out of nowhere?

"[I understood all of the Lord's insults.]"

[Oh. Really? How was it? My cursing?]

"[It was savory.]"

Despite being Korean, Ian couldn't understand why he used the term 'savory' to describe swearing.

What, did it smell like soybean paste?

That would imply it was somewhat shitty, though.

However, Ian's response was positively received by the manticore.

[You liked listening to my cursing? Are you a f*cking idiot? You like being cursed at? Got no pride? What a loser.]

"[That's not what I meant, Lord Manticore...]"

[Still going on with 'Lord' this and 'Lord' that. You an orphan with no parents?]

"..."

Grrrrrr.

The manticore made a growling sound.

The sound of the manticore's growl was similar to human laughter.

Ian thought the manticore was mocking him. And he was right.

Ian looked at the manticore with calm, settled eyes.

"[What are you?]"

[Hahahaha! Now we're talking! F*ck the formalities. Wizard Ian. What do you want from me?]

Your scalp. If he said that, a fight would...

"[Your scalp.]"

...obviously break out, but at some point, Wizard Ian had forgotten how to hold back.

It was the result of being soaked in a sense of privilege that came with being a wizard.

The manticore laughed happily upon hearing Ian's answer.

[There's nothing I can't give!]

"[Really?]"

[But what are you going to do with my hide? I have a better idea. Wizard.]

"[A better idea?]"

[You and I join forces, and tear those human bastards to shreds! I get to taste slaughter, and you get to rake in money and women! How about that!]

The power of Level 3 summoning was tremendous.

It even made a monster like the manticore grow fond of Ian.

However, the manticore's fondness was utterly useless to Ian.

"[What's the condition?]"

Ian asked, intrigued.

However, he didn't expect a proper answer at all. Again, the process of becoming acquainted with a mystery is similar to making a new friend (not a friend of Oberon).

The first condition for making a new friend...

Having something in common is essential for forming a bond.

This could be gender, age, life experiences, areas of interest, hobbies, etc.

There must be some overlapping aspects to create an opportunity for friendship.

However, the condition proposed by the manticore to Ian was one of sheer shock and horror.

"[I want to see you play hard! First, devour that old hag next to you.]"

"..."

"[And then, rape every woman you come across. I'll kill all the men. Go to your hometown, whether it's your sister, your younger sibling, or your grandmother. R*pe them all...]"

"F*ck, this is too disgusting to listen to. Are you Krauser II? Are you f*cking insane? Going on about r*ping 32 times a second?"

[A/N: Krauser II is main protagonist of the Detroit Metal City manga and anime]

"Grrr... You're refusing my power? Well, I expected as much. I've eaten more than a few hypocrites who pretend to be good."

In a nutshell, the manticore was a lover.

The fact that grandmothers and children were included in its range was driving Ian's sanity to the brink.

Despising unusually polite people and liking grandmothers...

The manticore seemed to share tendencies with certain website users.

Perhaps if an expert from that side had reincarnated as a wizard, they might have summoned a manticore as their familiar.

"??? You know how to speak the imperial language?"

"I know how to speak it, but the meaning doesn't quite resonate."

The manticore smirked.

A manticore was a monster with a human face on a lion's body.

It made expressions with a human face.

When it smirked with a face twice the size of a normal human's, the horror was indescribable.

"I was curious if humans would properly fear my words... but looking at you, it seems like they would."

"...!"

Ian finally realized he had been used by the manticore.

The manticore had no interest in making a deal with Ian.

It was merely testing how well its imperial language would be understood by humans.

If Ian had been a real villain, intending to use the manticore to slaughter people, perhaps it would have agreed to the contract...

Mani was right.

The manticore was a monster full of murderous intent and evil, uncontrollable unless it met another being of similar malice.

"F*cking human-faced dog."

As Ian spat out a curse,

"Khhh... Now it's getting interesting!"

The manticore leaped towards Ian with a large leap.

An attack that Ian's pathetic physical condition, having neglected fitness, could never dodge.

However, Ian was not alone; an experienced former mercenary and a wizard were by his side.

"[Grow!]"

While Ian was buying time, Mani, who had previously sown seeds, cast a spell of rapid growth.

What grew at an astonishing rate was, in fact, the stem of a bean... specifically, bean sprouts.

Beans have been a long-time friend of wizards, as documented in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

One might wonder how mere bean sprouts could stop a manticore...

But Mani wasn't foolish enough to overlook such a simple fact.

Mani had planted enough beans to impede the manticore's movement.

A sh*t ton of beans, to be exact.

"Hey, Elder! Wizard!"

"What on earth... how could beans...!"

The bean sprouts sown by Mani grew rapidly in all directions.

The bean sprouts' insane growth did not stop, filling the clearing and the forest.

"Grrrrr!"

Blocked by the wall of bean sprouts, the manticore couldn't lay a finger on Ian.

So far, so good.

The problem was that the Santiago Knights was separated from the rest of them.

While the manticore was blocked, Elder couldn't hide his dismay at being obstructed by the bean sprout wall.

"Mani! What have you done!"

"Don't you have eyes? I blocked the damn manticore!"

"What about the knights? How can we help them!"

"Are they five-year-olds? They'll figure it out!"

Mani exhibited the eccentricity typical of a stereotypical cranky wizard.

I created the bean sprout wall, but what happens next is not my problem!

And this was the average for wizards of this era.

Mani wasn't particularly out of the ordinary.

"We must go and help."

As Elder moved, Ian joined him.

"I'll come along too."

Elder was somewhat pleased that Ian volunteered to follow.

He had been worried Ian might have lost his motivation after failing to persuade the manticore.

But contrary to Elder's concerns, Ian's fighting spirit was burning fiercely.

'That motherf*cker.'

The manticore that had spat all sorts of f*cked-up curses at Ian.

Now knowing the damn thing was a piece of evil sh*t, Ian felt he wouldn't be able to sleep without ripping its tongue out.

Unlike the two able-bodied men, Mani strolled leisurely as if on a walk.

So, she was a bit surprised upon arriving beyond the bean sprout wall.

"Ugh...!"

"Take deep breaths. Relax your body."

In that place, marked by intense battle, several knights were rolling on the ground, severely injured.

Some had arms and legs broken and twisted, others were poisoned by toxic spikes.

"This is bad."

Elder closed his eyes, feeling guilty.

The manticore was a formidable enemy.

After all, its body was that of a lion.

Just like in certain peninsular countries in the East, where the appearance of a single tiger would cause a state of emergency, the monsters of this era were beings too overwhelming for human bodies to contend with.

Let alone facing a manticore with over 3 meters of bulk, tremendous strength, and a venomous tail, it was impossible for an ordinary human's physique to match.

Elder felt he should have fought alongside the knights...

"Quick, take the antidote!"

Mani busily distributed medicine, prioritizing the antidote for those in immediate danger.

"..."

Mani stopped in front of one of the injured.

It was Dehitri.

With his belly ripped open, his intestines exposed, he was slowly dying.

The uninjured knights all gathered around Dehitri.

"Brother..."

To Mani, and to the knights, Dehitri was beyond hope.

The manticore had torn through Dehitri's chainmail armor, and the torn pieces of metal had penetrated deep into his body.

Dehitri weakly opened his eyes.

"Pray..."

The knights joined hands, forming a circle.

It was a ceremony of Heaven's Faith.

As followers of Heaven's Faith, they sought to send the soul to heaven according to its precepts.

Then, Ian abruptly grabbed Dehitri's hand.

"Ian...?"

"Dehitri. When you taught me the scriptures, you said, didn't you? That if one truly believes and prays, the heavens will open."

Dehitri smiled faintly.

"Yes..."

Ian said with a determined expression.

"Let's pray together."

Ian felt f*cking terrible.

He never imagined he'd witness someone's death this closely, especially someone he had grown quite close to.

It was the weakness of a modern person.

This was neither a world where peace was the norm nor one with advanced medical technology.

It was a medieval fantasy world where monsters and wars overflowed, becoming almost routine.

Death, once a subject matter for movies and dramas, was now close enough to be clearly witnessed with his own eyes.

Ian hated this changed proximity.

"Almighty Lord of Heaven."

Yes. The Middle Ages suck.

[Yes, Ian. Your Lord of Heaven is here.]

"...?"

"Ian. You need to keep praying, right?"

But fantasy...

Isn't as sh*tty as one might think.

"[Lord of Heaven. Your die-hard fan is dying here, can't you do something?]"

[Hmm. If Ian wishes so. Shall we give it a try?]

At that moment, the knights were astounded.

Elder and Mani too.

They couldn't close their gaping mouths.

"Ian?"

"What in the world..."

This was because a brilliant celestial light was pouring from Ian's hand.

It was the radiance of a God.