Chapter 255

General Farneze had accomplished what she set out to do, and retreated.
Without even looking back.

A very lively Lesser Demon King Kyuka was right in front of me.
Nehyor was also just a short distance away, though he looked quite bored.

As for me, I was covered in wounds and my mana was almost depleted.
And the situation would not improve if I switched back to the other me.

If anything, it would probably get worse.
His mana was completely empty, and it would be impossible for him to continue to fight.

“I have no choice then. Let’s do this.”

Even if I made a run for it, they would catch up with me.
I had taken more damage and would clearly be the one to run out of breath first.

I overstayed my welcome. And now it was too late.
Well, then. I would just continue to attack. It would now be a battle of endurance.

Now that I thought back on it, the plan had been to fight while running away.
But I had become so absorbed that I forgot.

“AARRRGHHH!”

Once I made my decision, I felt a surge of power rise within me.
I wasn’t scared of anything now.

In this corner of the camp, Kyuka and I continued to trade blows.
But unlike before, I was calm.

Thanks to the dragon scale armor, the damage was reduced by quite a lot.
On the other hand, my arms, legs and face were in an ugly state.

And my energy.
It was pretty much empty, but I felt that I could manage one last push.

(Ah, I haven’t talked to the other me since that time…)

Right before the evolution, we had been able to meet face to face.
Before then, all we did was share memories, so it was the first time we faced each other as completely different people.

According to him, his human soul had become stuck with my Ogre soul.

It was a strange thing indeed, but what he said was probably right.

The only thing that I remembered was our souls being forcefully stuck together during their experiments.
And I didn’t know the meaning or significance of it.

But the other me would think and figure things out, thankfully.

I didn’t know if all Humans were smart, or if the other me was just special. However, he explained things in a way that made it easier for me to understand.

(Now that I think about it…there was one other thing he taught me.)

While I was still in the middle of fighting Kyuka, there was no forgetting it now.
Yes… It was when we were walking together and searching for the exit.

“In my previous life, I attended this place called a dojo, and learned all kinds of martial arts.”

“I know about that, as you’ve always trained every day. And I can sort of understand what you were doing. But I doubt I could do any of that.”

“I too found it difficult at first, due to this Ogre body. But I was able to do it in the end. So I don’t think being an Ogre is a good excuse for you to give up trying to learn.”

“No, I can’t do it. To be honest, I just don’t understand anything that complex.”

“You say that, but… You might need it in the future. You might encounter someone very strong, or find yourself in a situation where you can’t run away. Right?”

“Then I’ll just punch them untill they die.”
“I’m saying that a time will come when you can’t do that… No, wait a minute…”

“What is it? Did you eat something bad?”

“No, I didn’t. Besides, how could we eat like this? Aren’t we inside of the Orb of Control?”

“Well, I don’t really know.”
“…Nevermind that. Listen to me.”

“What?”
“When I was still a human, there was this technique that I could never use, no matter how much I practiced.”

“Oh? What is it?”
“I’m going to tell you, so why don’t you try it?”

“It’s surely impossible. While there are many things you can do that I can’t, the reverse does not apply.”

“No, you can do it…probably. Even now, I’m held back by some of my human habits. But I think someone like you could do it.”

“Oh? Alright, then maybe I should hear it. What do I do?”

“What I learned…was the Assassin Fist.”

After that, we talked for a long time.

Up until then, most of the techniques he had learned involved hurting people.
But no matter how brutal they looked, they would not result in death if you held back.

However, with this technique, your opponent would always die.
Upon hearing this, he had said, ‘as if I’d learn that!’

“But I know how to do it. And I feel like I could probably do it now, but I always hesitate. It’s a special attack. The problem is that you can’t adjust its force.”

“Huh… I still don’t understand how it is different from other techniques.”

“You can only use this when you want to kill your opponent no matter what. After all, you can turn things around with just one move.”

“With just one move. That sounds amusing. Teach me.”

“I worry about teaching someone who just finds it amusing… But it’s good to have a trump card when living in the Demon World. Alright, watch closely.”

And so he showed me.
I tried to copy.

“Like this?”
“No. Your wrist should be like this!”

“Like this?”
“Something like that.”

“Ahh… It’s actually quite easy then.”
“Don’t be stupid. You have to practice every day. And strengthen your wrists.”

“Every day? But I can only come out for a short time. And it’s a burden on the body.”

“Hmm, that’s right. Then just train when you do get a chance to come out. I want you to master this technique. Just in case something happens.”

“Got it. In case something happens.”

And something had happened.

Ah, it felt nostalgic… In spite of it not being that long ago.
After that, I did as he said and trained when I got a chance to come out.

Yes, this Assassin Fist.
Since I remembered it now, I might as well try it before my mana dried out completely.

Kyuka must have been getting tired, as there were longer delays between hits.
And judging by how hoarse her breath was, she had clearly taken damage as well.

“Alright, I guess it’s time to kill!”

And so I thrust out my right arm, which I could still move, towards Kyuka.
My fingers were in position, tense, all of the way to my fingertips.

“Let’s go, Assassin Fists. ….Tensen no Sakahoko.”

My hand was held flat and I ignored my defenses.
And in this posture, I moved towards Kyuka.

The trick was to move half a step closer then the normal distance.

Kyuka went into a defensive stance, clearly puzzled over what I would do. While keeping my hand flat and my palm facing upwards, I jammed it towards Kyuka’s mouth.

And like that, my strengthened hand plunged into her mouth.
Once I felt that my fingertips had reached the throat, I bent them and prepared to bore through.

Kyuka closed her mouth in shock. But I knew that would happen.
According to the other me, it was like the principle of leverage.

He had said something about fulcrums and working points, but I had forgotten such complicated things.

“All that matters, is that if I lower my body, the fingertips will go up, right?”

‘Listen, if their lower jaw is the fulcrum, then you can use the principle of leverage to reach their brain. You know, like how the lighter side of a seesaw goes up.’

As always, it was hard to understand.
But I did know this.

“…I reached it.”

He said that there were no bones in the surface area of the upper mouth.
If you used your weight, and as long as your arm did not break, your fingertips could destroy the brain.

It was a technique where you could not hold back.

I saw fluids spraying from Kyuka’s nose and eyes. Then I collapsed.
Apparently, I had reached my limit.

The moment before I lost consciousness, I heard the sound of something crushing, far away.

Next Chapter

Makai Hongi