Level Eater

As Ai gained a level and gracefully returned to Tatsuro's side with a giant axe in hand, the battle between Jeanne and the mammoth-type monster Paralaceus had just concluded.

Tatsuro, catching a glimpse of her heroic figure, waved his hand to the now towering Jeanne. She noticed it, wagged her tail, and turned back to wave at him.

"Neigh!!!" (Jeanne)

"Ah, even in that form, it still sounds like a horse neighing." (Tatsuro)

Although Jeanne had undergone considerable changes, that aspect remained the same, and Tatsuro found it somewhat heartwarming. However, he suddenly noticed a significant change in the number of wasp-type monsters, Depris, buzzing around.

Realizing that Cardina must have done this, he felt proud of her as if it were his accomplishment. She had lifted the large wind magic barrier.

Just as if they had timed it perfectly, Cardina, Marikka of the fairy race, and her giant green serpent companion, Yorn, returned from the distant sky.

"Pew!" (Cardina)

"Hey! We're done over here!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

Marikka, riding on Cardina and Yorn's backs, landed in front of Tatsuro's group, announcing their success. Furthermore,

"We're finished here too."

Saying this, Joaquin, the beast-man vice-captain with his armor stained in blood, joined them. Ennio, despite seeming idle and scratching his head, maintained vigilance, keeping a distance from Gregory.

With Jeanne completing her transformation and standing beside Tatsuro, their group was now fully assembled.

Meanwhile, Gregory, with a mask-like expression, stared at the half-split corpse of Paralaceus. Notably, Lord's son Bertram, who seemed to be wondering if pushing further was futile, kept glancing at Gregory.

"Now then, Gregory, your troublesome monster is gone, and only you and those around you remain. Is there anything else?" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"…To be utterly defeated like this. Paralaceus was a monster that boasted glory in ancient times and was said to be superior to dragons in the demon race. Unbelievable…" (Gregory)

"In reality, it's happening, so maybe it's time to face the truth?" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Hahaha, to be told to face reality by a little girl who seems to have flowers blooming in her head like you…" (Gregory)

"What did you say!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

Gregory, with a suddenly aged face, scanned his surroundings as if looking for something and then fixed his gaze on Ennio.

"Ennio! You're my comrade, right? Please, help me! I only said those mean things earlier because I was just messing around with those guys! Right? We're friends, aren't we?" (Gregory)

"Gregory, you know? Right now, you look really uncool. I don't want someone pathetic like you as my friend." (Ennio)

"Darn it, repay the favor for all the trouble I've gone through for you! You piece of trash! Who do you think kept you alive with just your useless power?!" (Gregory)

"It's strange. Until a moment ago, I was really scared of you, but now, I don't feel the slightest bit threatened by you." (Ennio)

Ennio didn't realize the pity in his eyes, but Gregory keenly sensed his intent. Finally giving up, Gregory kneeled on the ground.

"Hey, Gregory! W-why are you sitting there! Hurry up and make me the lord!" (Bertram)

"It's already over, Lord Bertram." (Gregory)

"W-well! After boasting so much, what's with that ha…!" (Bertram)

"I have good ears for someone like you, who talks like a filthy beast man. So, please, kindly stop that annoying voice of yours."

Joaquin, approaching with a look of disbelief, punched Bertram to silence him. However, when Bertram saw who had hit him, he redirected his frustration towards Joaquin.

"Knights like you raising your hands against me, the lord's son! How dare you──Gah!?" (Bertram)

"You are no longer the lord's son; you are a great sinner. Even the Lord has permitted to kill you if necessary. It's in your best interest not to say reckless things."

"What did you say!? My, my, my father… would kill me? That father of mine…" (Bertram)

"Despite being fully intent on killing yourself, aren't those words unnecessary now?"

Seemingly thinking that no matter what he did, he would survive, Bertram, now in shock, collapsed to the ground and was restrained by Joaquin. With the disappearance of the wind barrier, other knights returned and surrounded Joaquin. Handcuffs were placed on Gregory.

"Is this case closed?"

"There's still the current town mayor, but with that emblem, it's pretty much over."

Saying this, unable to walk on his own, Bertram was dragged along, pointed to by Tatsuro's chin. Following behind, Gregory tried to walk on his own but suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and walk! Or do you want to be dragged?"

"I'm sorry. But, can I properly apologize to Ennio at the end?" (Gregory)

"Cannot allow it. I'll let you write a letter later, so be patient with that."

"What are you saying! This kind of thing should be said directly with your mouth──Gah!" (Gregory)

"You don't have the right to choose."

Gregory, being punched by one of those with Joaquin, still insisted on apologizing and did not move. Tatsuro felt a strange sense of discomfort watching his pitiful state, and as he thought about it, he realized what was wrong.

Yes, it seemed like Gregory was trying to buy time.

Tatsuro quickly circulated his detection magic, carefully checking if there was anything overlooked. He started with the most suspicious area around Ennio, but there was nothing unusual underground or in the sky. Still, the uneasiness didn't disappear, so he cast detection magic directly on Ennio. There seemed to be nothing abnormal.

(No, that's not it. Could it be… fleas?)

As he was about to conclude that there was nothing, he noticed that about ten small insects, each about a centimeter long, were burrowing deep into Ennio's fur, sucking blood. Unlike regular people, Ennio had his fur, so he thought there might be around ten fleas or so. To be sure, he investigated more closely, and to his surprise, these insects were not ordinary fleas but magical creatures with magical powers. They weren't sucking blood; instead, they seemed to inject something.

"!? Ennio!" (Tatsuro)

Realizing this, Tatsuro used a gust of wind with his wind magic on Ennio, blowing away the small insect creatures clinging to his body, and gathered them before burning them to ashes with fire. Amid everyone's attention, Gregory alone glared at Tatsuro with a resentful expression.

"What was that all of a sudden! Scared me!" (Ennio)

"Sorry about that. There were some weird bugs on you, weren't there?" (Tatsuro)

"Oh? Strange bugs? Hmm, come to think of it, the itching I had until a moment ago seems to be gone." (Ennio)

"Good to hear." (Tatsuro)

Relieved that Ennio seemed fine, Tatsuro while communicating the recent events to Ai through telepathy, suddenly noticed something.

"Huh?" (Ennio)

"What's wrong, Ennio?" (Tatsuro)

"My chest is pounding, kind of…" (Ennio)

Hearing those words, both of them looked at Gregory simultaneously. Gregory was smiling.

"Gregory! What did you do to Ennio!!" (Tatsuro)

"Hahaha. What did I do? Well, I have no idea. Spare me baseless accusations. More importantly, isn't your precious Ennio in pain?" (Gregory)

Although resentful at those words, Tatsuro immediately looked at Ennio, who was now lying on the ground clutching his chest. Tatsuro rushed to Ennio, analyzing his current condition with dispel magic.

The result showed an abnormally high pulse rate, but there was no physical abnormality.

"It can't be like this!" (Tatsuro)

Yelling without addressing anyone in particular, Tatsuro used life magic to imagine and cast a spell to stabilize Ennio's condition. It seemed to work, as the pulse returned to normal. However, when he checked Ennio's body, he noticed that Ennio had grown larger.

"En…nio?" (Tatsuro)

"──!? Stay away, Tatsuro!" (Ai)

Grabbed by Ai around the neck, Tatsuro was pulled backward. A massive arm of a giant cat-like creature passed through in front of him. Bewildered, he looked ahead, only to find nothing there.

When he realized what had happened, a man's scream came from the vicinity of Gregory behind him. Turning to look, a dead body, previously restraining Gregory, was now lying on the ground. Gregory himself stood there with a satisfied expression, commanding a creature beside him to break the handcuffs.

"Is that… Ennio?" (Ai)

"………… It seems so." (Tatsuro)

Reluctant to admit it, Tatsuro answered Ai's question honestly.

"All personnel, keep your distance!"

"Ennio, bring Lord Bertram here." (Gregory)

"Grrr."

"Gyaaah!"

The creature next to Gregory, with a massive body resembling a tiger, had a pair of long sabre-like fangs and unnaturally sharp claws on its four legs. It tore apart a knight trying to escape, seized the intended target, Lord Bertram, in its jaws, and returned to its original position.

It was a gigantic, red tiger-like creature with a six-meter body, far from resembling a human. Furthermore, Ennio's already weak rationality, now diluted due to ancestral regression, had completely vanished.

"Gruooooooowwwww!"

In the face of that wild beast-like roar, the two could only stand there in stunned silence.

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