The fight ended in Leon’s defeat, and he was added to the Conquering Twelve Heavenly Stars, who were Lufas’s subordinates. He was relieved that he hadn’t been killed, but at the same time, he was ashamed to be relieved. There was no greater humiliation in his eyes. The fact that he was lined up in the same group as some insignificant bug like Aries was also a great disgrace akin to being executed.

  I can’t stand this. I hate everything about this. No one is allowed to be above me. I won’t allow it. Yeah, I’ll have my revenge for this humiliation. I will never forgive Lufas Maphaahl. I will definitely kill her. I won’t let anyone else have that right. Next time, I’ll be sure to pound her into dust, force her down, and dye her smug, good-looking face in fear as she painfully realizes her own defeat. And once she starts begging for her life, terrified, I’ll bite into that white neck and eat her until there aren’t even any bones left.

  Once I do that, I’ll finally go back to being the true strongest. I’m sure the feeling of eating her, who is unmatched by anyone else, will be so pleasurable it’ll be like I climaxed.

  That was the first strong desire that Leon ever had, and it was twisted beyond measure.

  Among all the Conquering Twelve Heavenly Stars, Leon was unique. He was the only one who didn’t respect or worship Lufas. In fact, he despised and resented her. He swore that he would one day kill her.

  The actions Leon and Benetnasch took were similar, but the feelings behind them were the exact opposite. The reason Benetnasch had attacked Lufas was because her love had been flipped upside down, but the reason Leon did so was because of pure hatred and murderous intent. It was far removed from Benetnasch’s lukewarm feelings of familiarity. That was why he couldn’t be satisfied with how things had turned out. He couldn’t allow himself to forgive Lufas, who had just shoved the loss down his throat and then disappeared on her own.

  I’m going to be the one to kill her. Shouldn’t she be killed by me instead of anyone else?

  But Lufas ignored that and fought on her own whims before disappearing just like that. Now I’ll have lost to you forever. I’ll never be able to regain my pride.

  With his goal lost, Leon threw away his title as one of the Twelve Heavenly Stars and spent some time doing nothing; he’d only started taking action recently. Up until then, he’d just been randomly killing and eating adventurers and devilfolk as they came to him, but apparently the other monsters thought that he was protecting them.

  By the time he’d noticed, he was being worshiped by bug people and snake people—all folk he didn’t care about. They all praised him, saying that he was their king. Basically, it was a return to the past. The people around him fell at his feet on their own due to his overwhelming strength, but he wasn’t unhappy about it. That’s right. I am a king. I’m a paragon of strength people will bow to, even if I don’t do anything. This is the natural state of things. It was everything else up until now that’d been strange.

  Having reached that conclusion, Leon allowed them all to gather under him. Leon honestly didn’t care about demihuman rights or retaliation against humans at all, but since they all wanted to become his servants, he figured he needed to be generous. That was when he got an idea.

  I’ll be able to say that I surpassed Lufas if I conquer the world myself, right? Even Lufas wasn’t able to put the entire world under her thumb, so if I make that happen, then that would mean I’m better than Lufas.

  Lufas herself is no longer around, so I can’t beat her and overcome her that way. Since that’s the case, let’s prove my superiority by accomplishing what she couldn’t. I’ll prove that I’m above Lufas, something that should have been evident from the start.

  But... But what the hell is this? I’m just fighting Lufas’s subordinates, the Twelve Heavenly Stars, not even Lufas herself. Why the hell am I being cornered? Why am I being done in by these small fry? I don’t like this... I really, really hate this...

  ＊　　　　＊

  “Dammit...! How could I be toyed with by lowly trash like you bastards and not even Lufas...”

  Leon forced his blood-soaked body upright, glaring at his former colleagues, who were surrounding him.

  Colleagues...? No, I’ve never thought of them like that even once. Everyone else is lower than me, so there’s no way I’d think of them like that.

  It was true that he was strong. If he were to fight anyone here, he would be able to win one-on-one against any of them, regardless of the elemental type matchup. He’d even be able to brute-force his way past Karkinos’s staying power. But with Dina’s healing in the mix, there was nothing he could do. Even if he were to attack Dina, Karkinos would just get in the way, and Leon wouldn’t be able to escape this situation. On top of that, Libra, Aigokeros, and Scorpius had to be added to the mix.

  Leon was strong—absurdly so—but no matter how strong he was, his opponent was also a group of monsters that surpassed common sense, the Conquering Twelve Heavenly Stars. Against them, even Sagittarius and Leon together wouldn’t be able to win.

  “Shut up. You’re grating on my nerves.”

  That was when a black flash interrupted Leon. The Moon element spell that Aigokeros let loose, Luna Shooter, hit Leon directly, pushing him back. Following up on that, the giganticized Scorpius grabbed Leon with her pincers and used brute force to slam him into the ground.

  Even if Sagittarius wanted to support Leon, there was nothing he could do. He still had a barrel pressed against his head, though who knew if he would actually support Leon even if he could move freely. At the very least, it didn’t seem like he was trying to find a way to turn this situation around on Libra.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re losing to me, a piece of lowborn trash, so you must be an even bigger piece of lowborn trash, and I can’t seem to hear what you’re saying! You betrayed Lady Lufas, you towering, ripe mountain of shit! Stop your whining!” Scorpius shouted, hysterical, as she brought her pincers down over and over.

  Every time she did, the ground shook, gradually forming a depression. Scorpius didn’t have a scrap of mercy or tolerance for her former comrade. Her world revolved around Lufas, so Lufas was naturally the basis for all her decisions. That was why Leon, who’d betrayed Lufas, was no longer a comrade to Scorpius. He was nothing but an annoying pest of a monster.

  “I mean, aren’t I right?! Hey, say something! Come on! Everyone else thinks so too, don’t they?! I mean, Lady Lufas is always right, which means these people who’re opposing her are all bad! I seriously wonder why these idiots can’t even understand something so simple! Ah, right. I see. They aren’t thinking of anything, are they? That’s why they don’t realize it! Come on! Come on come on come on! Take those filthy heads of yours and scrape them on the ground as you apologize to Lady Lufas! Beg for your life! Say it was all your fault, and that you know you’re idiots and pieces of shit!”

  Scorpius’s words sped up as her incomprehensible rant continued. “Hey what the hell’re you doing I told you to do it already didn’t you hear me are your ears rotten or something I hated that you always got treated so nice just because you’re a little strong it made me so mad ah yeah that’s right it’d all be good if you weren’t around yeah that’s a good idea ah why didn’t I figure out such an easy solution sooner but that’s all right it’s not too late I can just slice you to ribbons and turn you into meat chunks then Lufas’ll praise me and she’ll say that I did great and I’m amazing and she’ll pet me on the head and—”

  “O H...”

  Scorpius continued acting hysterically, and it was no longer possible to understand what she was saying as she persisted in attacking Leon. Karkinos couldn’t help but rub his forehead. Normally, Scorpius could be reasoned with, but once she started going off the rails like this, there was no longer any way to stop her.

  The rest of the Twelve Stars just looked on with blank stares and fed up expressions, thinking, There she goes again... Seeing her like that, it was evident she was so far gone that it brought up a thought: Maybe the Goddess’s brainwashing didn’t have much to do with it.

  At any rate, it seemed the fight was over. Actually, Leon would die at this rate, so the others had to figure out a way to calm Scorpius down. It was true that Leon was a traitor, but even so, he was still one of Lufas’s limbs and a member of the Conquering Twelve Heavenly Stars, so the decision to kill him had to be made by Lufas herself. It wasn’t all right for her subordinates to decide to cut off one of her limbs on their own, so even if they put him on the verge of death, they mustn’t actually kill him.

  I won’t accept it...

  That was why none of them noticed Leon’s hatred and anger boiling over as he was hit. They didn’t notice the fact that, because he was cornered, he’d lost all sense of reason. They should have known that there was at least one existence that would see this as a perfect opportunity.

  <>

  Leon’s heart leapt. A kind female voice filled with love tickled his eardrums, and he could feel a premonition of power greater than he’d ever felt before throughout his entire body.

  This is what I’ve been waiting for. What I’ve been wanting is right here. Enough power to fight Lufas is right here.

  <>

  Leon saw an unfamiliar but beautiful blue-haired girl in his mind’s eye. She smiled and extended her hand towards Leon. Obviously, this was a ploy by the Goddess and an invitation to Leon’s doom, but the corners of his mouth tilted upwards as he grinned.

  Power... It’s power! I won’t lose to anyone as long as I have power. I can even fight Lufas. I don’t need my pride. Power is everything. Power is absolute. Weak people can’t even protect their pride anyway.

  Leon didn’t hesitate to grab the hand offered to him.

  I don’t need the whole pitch... Stop stalling; hurry and give it! Power. I want it! Shut up and give me absolute power that won’t lose to anyone!

  <>

  The Goddess smiled and held her hand to Leon. The next moment, Leon’s body explosively filled with divine power.

  11

  It happened suddenly. The fight should have been over with everything decided, but the result was overturned by an unscrupulous third party from beyond the board. Leon’s entire body glowed as it overflowed with uncharacteristic holy power, and everyone other than Scorpius, who was in the middle of her hysterics, sensed the danger at the same time.

  “Crap! Get away, Scorpius!” Libra warned.

  But the rampaging scorpion wouldn’t stop. Without noticing, she continued to slam her pincer down time after time, but it was no longer working on Leon. Even while being wailed on by Scorpius, Leon’s body swelled as he threw away his human form. His bright red hair changed into a mane, and fur sprouted from his entire body as he eventually grew even bigger than Scorpius, showing his true form as a ferocious monster. He was the strongest monster, one that had been lined up with the Dragon King, the Devil King, and the Vampire Princess—the Lion King Leon.

  He swiped Scorpius away with his front paw like she was nothing but an annoyance right in front of the other Twelve Stars, who were frozen in the face of his new, overwhelming aura. That action alone caused the giant scorpion to fly away, crushing buildings under her as she slid across the ground.

  “Ggghhh... ROOOAAAARRRRRR!!!”

  Leon let out a beastly howl with no hint of reason behind it before looking straight at the members of the Twelve Stars with murderous intent in his eyes.

  At the same time, Libra pointed all her guns at Leon and fired a full volley. He was engulfed by explosive fire but leapt out of it before the smoke cleared. Leon charged into Karkinos, who reacted fast enough to put himself in the way, along with Libra, both of whom were knocked away.

  Aigokeros’s phantom attacked Leon from behind. The Lion King kicked him with his back leg, dispersing the phantom, before stomping on Aigokeros’s real body, which was on the ground.

  “You! Mesar—”

  Aries jumped and attempted to shoot Mesarthim in midair, but Leon looked at him as if he were a bug and swatted him away with his tail.

  Dina shot a golden beam, but even though it hit Leon directly, he didn’t even flinch. Leon glared at her, and she wasted no time in opening a gate and escaping.

  We can’t match him, the Twelve Stars thought as they faced off against Leon.

  They all understood what had happened, since they’d encountered this before. The Goddess most likely had something to do with this, just like with Scorpius. The problem was that Leon was the one strengthened this time, and Lufas wasn’t here. Leon was already strong, and now with the Goddess’s strength on top of that, he’d far surpassed what the Twelve Stars were capable of dealing with. Libra’s cannon fire hadn’t made him falter, and he’d easily broken through Karkinos’s defenses. Even the poison he’d received from Scorpius had disappeared.

  Leon breathed in deeply and set his sights on the members of the Twelve Stars below him—Libra, Karkinos, Scorpius, and Aigokeros. Aries was the only one who’d been sent off in a different direction, so he wasn’t in range... Well, whatever. Leaving a weakling monster like that alive wouldn’t cause any trouble for him. Rather, allowing a monster like Aries to cause trouble for him would hurt Leon’s pride.

  He unleashed a breath attack that boasted the heat of a star, and it assaulted the members of the Twelve Stars. Not even they could survive that attack and be fine if they took it full-on, so what happened was probably lifesaving.

  Right before the breath hit them, Leon thought he heard Sagittarius’s voice.

  “Everyone, grab on!”

  Then, the heat passed. The aftermath was gruesome; even rocks had been melted. But the corpses of the Twelve Stars weren’t there, which meant that they’d all escaped through some means. All that was left was Leon and Aries.

  “Tch! That bastard Sagittarius... He betrayed me!”

  Leon clicked his tongue hatefully before looking over at Aries. He was bathed in Leon’s intense gaze, and there was still no sign of him standing up. Aries had realized the gap in their power, and his instincts had him cowed; he couldn’t rise.

  Seeing this, Leon snorted. “That look suits you, Aries. You’re just a trash monster, after all. Being scared like that is how you should be.”

  “What...?!”

  “It’s true, isn’t it? You were picked up by Lufas, trained by Lufas, and given everything by Lufas. None of that power is yours. Seeing garbage like you treated the same as us makes me sick.”

  Aries stared at Leon in shocked silence.

  It seemed as if Leon had lost all interest in Aries, who wasn’t standing up. As soon as Leon had finished what he wanted to say, he jumped away, leaving the sheep who was too cowardly to even stand alone.

  Aries looked down, frustrated, and tightened his fist. I’m so...so pathetic. I knew that already too. I didn’t need Leon to point it out to me. More than anything, I can’t forgive myself for not standing up.

  Even so, Aries couldn’t stop shaking, which made him feel even more miserable.

  ＊　　　　＊

  Turning back time, it was now just before Aries and the others made contact with Leon. Lufas and the others were off on their own mission, so Sei and his party were traveling in the camping car golem Suzuki, heading towards the centaurs’ village.

  Of course, the insides of Suzuki weren’t as flush as Tanaka’s were, but even so, Sei and the others were afforded far more comfort than would normally be expected from travel, teaching them just how far removed from the norm Lufas’s skills with alchemy were. They were more than grateful just for the fact that the golem moved on its own, carrying them at a speed of sixty kilometers per hour towards their destination. On top of that, Suzuki was equipped with beds and a sofa, as well as a simple bath, toilet, and even a kitchen.

  Not even nobles had a means of transportation this extravagant. In Laevateinn, the royal family had a special wyvern carriage for their exclusive use. The cabin wasn’t towed along by horses but by captured wyverns. The interior was befitting of royalty in that it was gorgeous, but because of the way it was built, they couldn’t escape the fact that there wasn’t much room. It wasn’t like the wyverns lacked power; it was just that if the cabin was too big, turning would be too hard, and it would be dangerous.

  Suzuki was different. It wasn’t being towed around by horses or wyverns. It could move and turn on its own, so its maneuverability was on a whole other level. Of course, it still wouldn’t be able to turn if it had no room to do so, but it was at least capable of far tighter turns than carriages were. Well, if there were any places that Suzuki couldn’t drive, it’d just fly past, though. It was unbelievable, but they’d come across a huge boulder that they couldn’t circumvent earlier, and Suzuki had just deployed its wings on its own and flew over it.

  On the way, it defeated nearby monsters on its own as well. One time, the party went outside to try and deal with monsters when they appeared, but Suzuki used some sort of cannon-like thing and exploded all of them before the hero’s party could do anything. Basically, they didn’t need to deal with anything weaker than Suzuki themselves.

  By the way, Suzuki’s level was 350, which was even higher than Virgo. As for what that meant, well, Sei and the others couldn’t do anything against a monster that Suzuki couldn’t win against either, which left everything up to Castor. In other words, there was nothing for Sei and the others to do, no matter what happened.

  “Th-This is amazing. This vehicle named Suzuki, that is... It’s way faster than the royalty-only wyvern carriage and far more comfortable too. I heard there are independent golems in Blutgang, but I’m sure even those aren’t this well-done.”

  “Yeah. On top of that, there’s a bath, a toilet, a kitchen, and bedrooms. This thing’s got everything. I’ve traveled everywhere as a mercenary, so I’ve experienced both horse-drawn and wyvern-drawn carriages, and I’ve never had a journey this easy.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22