Chapter 57
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Honestly, I'm not sure if my response of "yes" even reached Erika.
It's not because Erika was angry or anything, but because she swung her kicking leg with such force that it stopped Oganight's fist dead in its tracks, and the resulting magical shockwave made my ears ring.
Humans can only fight on equal or greater footing with monsters once they can use physical enhancement magic.
Therefore, in the Faltarl Kingdom, defeating a monster capable of using physical enhancement or similar magic single-handedly is a condition for reaching Rank 8.
However, that doesn't mean you can match such a monster's physical abilities just because you can use physical enhancement.
After all, we're human—let's use tools, shall we?
So, the fact that I was dumbfounded by the reality unfolding before me just proves I'm a sensible person, and it's evidence that I'm a completely ordinary human.
Oganight, who had been desperately swinging its right arm, was kicked straight back, losing its stance significantly.
And——.
Oganight's black outer skin is said to rival the scales of a mighty dragon or something like that.
The head of that monster is covered in a thick outer skin, like the helmet of a human knight.
——Erika's kick exploded right into its face.
No way would a human leg make such a sound just by kicking something like that.
That raw sound lingers vividly in my ears.
Even though the strength of my physical enhancement was far from full power, my eyes managed to keep up with the movement.
Oganight's massive frame lost its balance nicely, and as its head fell to a convenient position, Erika kicked it upward with a beautiful form.
I could tell she used wind magic at the moment of her kick to accelerate it even further.
Is she enhancing the movements of her already physically enhanced body with yet another type of magic?
I know there are things similar to skills out there.
But I don't know any human who can purely replicate that with magic.
I reflected on myself.
I reflected deeply.
To be honest, until just a moment ago, I was thinking that since I could clash head-on with Oganight, maybe I was in the category of a bit of a genius myself.
What an embarrassing guy I am.
Didn't my mentor say it too?
Up to Rank 7, any human can make it if they put in the effort... or wait, was it with all their might?
I studied at the academy, and on top of that, I received teachings from a mentor who, personality-wise—well, let's just say personality aside—is truly exceptional, the "Kindhearted Barbara."
And yet, even after all that, according to my mentor, I've only reached the equivalent of Rank 7 in sword combat—I'm still just an ordinary person.
I felt ashamed of my arrogance in the face of a true genius.
I should apologize to Erika later, saying that even though I thought of her as a genius, I still underestimated her.
But still——.
Why is Erika fighting only with kicks?
Using the momentum from Erika's kick to its head, Oganight regained its stance and let out an angry roar while swinging its fist down like a hammer.
Erika dodged it with minimal movement and aimed a kick at Oganight's abdomen.
In an instant, three kicks pierced into Oganight's stomach.
Oganight, the king of monsters, writhed in agony.
Oganight staggered and stumbled back a step.
At that moment, Erika glanced over at me.
Huh? What's with that look? What does that look mean?
I'm confused, unable to understand the meaning behind Erika's gaze.
While I almost tilted my head in puzzlement, I moved my right leg to confirm that the bone, which had been broken or rather shattered, had healed.
I thought I heard Erika mutter something like, "I see, the leg next, huh?"
While Erika had looked away, Oganight lunged at her, but strangely... no, of course, it's only natural.
I didn't feel the slightest bit of anxiety.
It felt like that was just how it should be.
Oganight's attack tore through the air.
What followed was a sound like a whip cracking.
...Why a low kick?
The plain kicking technique, delivered with beautiful form, stabbed into Oganight's right leg, though it only made it wobble.
No, seriously, why are you so fixated on kicking techniques?
Perhaps feeling mocked or driven by some other emotion, Oganight let out a clear cry of anger.
——But there, Erika launched a furious barrage of follow-up attacks.
Low kick, low kick, low kick.
Just relentless low kicks.
Could it be that I didn't know, and at the academy, low kicks are a mandatory subject for noble young ladies?
Oganight, angered by what it must have seen as petty attacks and having underestimated her, now had a clear look of panic on its face.
No matter how much it swung its fists, it couldn't even graze Erika, so of course it would panic.
And since Erika kept elegantly dodging while relentlessly repeating low kicks, Oganight must have been at its wit's end.
"Uwaa..."
I couldn't help but let out a sound.
Finally, Oganight made a face like "Aaaah" and crouched down on the ground.
Its right leg was swollen and purple.
I could only stare in disbelief at the surreal sight of Oganight, feared as the king of monsters, being unable to stand due to low kicks.
And Erika quietly looked down at Oganight.
She didn't pursue with further attacks on the immobilized Oganight; she just silently looked down at it.
Oganight raised its face to look at Erika——and then it fled.
Oganight, a type of the King Series feared as the king of monsters, turned its back and dragged its leg as it simply ran away.
Erika turned around and smiled.
"Is that alright now?"
I just nodded.
I didn't understand the meaning of the question; I just nodded reflexively because I was asked, overwhelmed by her sheer presence.
In that moment, I had a vision of myself being scolded by Erika about my grades in a classroom at dusk.
I looked kind of happy about it.
Of course, I mean myself.
No, no, what is this delusion?
While I was seriously questioning my own delusions, Erika leaped lightly.
In reality, with her full-on physical enhancement, her speed was so fast it was hard to follow with the eyes, and the power in every single one of her movements transcended human limits.
But to my eyes, Erika looked graceful.
Her figure, closing in on the fleeing Oganight with three steps—ton, ton, ton—was as elegant as a waterfowl landing on the surface of a lake.
A corner of the forest, suddenly turned into a sunlit clearing, shimmered like a water's surface made of light, and her red hair, adorned with the golden magic rising from her body, looked like beautiful feathers.
So, it almost looked gentle.
As if softly placing her leg on the back of the creature that had abandoned all pride and fled, Erika's leg overlapped with it.
The result that emerged was the complete opposite of the image I had.
Oganight's massive frame flew sideways at a speed that made it blur, crashing into the wall of the crater it had made itself and sinking into a cloud of dust.
I was absolutely certain that Oganight would never, ever stand up again.
To be honest, just a moment ago, I had prepared myself for death and felt terrified by it.
But now, I genuinely felt sympathy for the opponent who had forced me to make such a resolve.
In other words, standing as an enemy before an angered Erika means exactly that.