Chapter 33 – Scattering Flower
Sheto raised his twin blades once more and fixed Berganda with a fierce, determined glare.
While careful so that Sheto did not notice, Berganda rested his axe on his shoulder and used the motion to check the condition of his wounds and the damage to his armor.
There was a gash carved into it by a slash that had combined the full rotational force of Sheto’s body and the power of his blessing.
Berganda’s armor had been forged by hammering together layers of iron in the same way swords were made. It would not have suffered even a scratch from ordinary attacks or weaker weapons.
“Here is the proof of how much your strength has grown.”
It was merely two months of training. But the kobold had trained whenever there was time.
And Berganda had helped him.
But it had also exposed Sheto’s weaknesses.
“It seems you are slow to catch fire.”
“…What?”
Berganda’s lip curled as he taunted him.
“You do not fight at your true strength unless you are driven into a corner. Even when facing an enemy, your spirit did not ignite at once. You are like young wood, merely smoldering and putting off the fight instead of embracing it.”
“I…I hate, fighting! And so…!”
Sheto was telling the truth. By nature, he had been a hunter who pursued game through the mountains and forests, living a life that avoided needless conflict.
But beneath his gentle disposition, the kobold concealed a temperament that burned with the fury of a raging blaze.
“In this state, fighting the Demon King will be an impossible dream.”
It was his unyielding spirit of defiance against tyranny. The refusal to let those who relied on strength grind the lives of others into dust.
That was the true source of this small kobold’s power.
“Show me more. Your power.”
He let out a single quiet breath, almost like a sigh.
The instant Berganda exhaled, he tightened his core, and with the lightness of someone leaping over a narrow stream, he sprang forward.
His feet skimmed just above the ground. His posture never broke as he closed the distance between himself and Sheto in a single bound.
The move had been deceptive, and the kobold’s reaction came a fraction too late.
“Hmph!”
With the axe resting on his right shoulder, Berganda drove the haft downwards to bring it crashing onto Sheto.
The kobold desperately slipped to the side to dodge it, changing his stance to slash as he passed by.
It was a repeated action that had already become instinctive.
But then…
“Shii!”
Berganda’s body whirled clockwise like a gust of wind, and the horizontally leveled shaft of his axe smashed cleanly into Sheto’s body with tremendous force.
“Gah!”
The kobold’s body went flying through the air. However, he had managed to absorb the blow with his swords, and the distance between them opened once more.
“You will not get away!”
Berganda planted both of his feet firmly into the earth. The weight of the axe head twisted his body even further, while every muscle stored power to its absolute limit.
And then…
“Take…thiiis!”
With a battle cry, he unleashed the leftward spiral that was powerful enough to blast aside the air.
Berganda released his right hand from the axe, leaving only his left hand gripping the haft near the end. Like that, he guided the weapon towards its target.
Shock and despair flashed across the kobold’s face. Suspended helplessly in midair, unable to move, he could do nothing but let out a piercing scream.
“Skoll! Hati!”
A flash of light erupted, and the combined force of the spell and the axe sent Sheto’s body soaring through the air once again.
However, Berganda’s body absorbed the power of the spin, compressing it even further within his tightly coiled frame.
“To make me use this twice…”
With a savage grin spread across his face, Berganda hurled himself forward with all his might.
“You are…the third one to do it!”