91 – Muscle-Brained Massacre of Enemies 2

The moment Anmeltz scattered the eerie purple powder over the burned man, thick smoke billowed around him, obscuring his figure completely.

“Hahaha! It’s over for all of you now! I’m not as soft as you idiots, not a single one of you can stand against Tsutsumi once he’s turned into a lich! Even if you beg for your lives, I’ll never forgive you! Especially you, Okada! I’ll make sure you suffer, and suffer, and suffer until I’m satisfied, then I’ll kill you!”

…Wow.

Even though I was the one who accidentally took out her lackey with a fart counter, this was on another level.
Instead of helping her classmate recover, she just zombified him like it was nothing.

Just a moment ago, she was trembling like she’d wet herself, now she was acting smug enough to make me want to slap her. If she’s that confident, that lich must be pretty damn strong.

“Hah… enough of your pointless boasting. Hurry up and get this over with. The sweat from my warm-up’s already cooled, and I’m starting to freeze here.”

“Hahaha! Now I see why they called you the idiot prince! You’re so full of yourself that you’re just standing there waiting for Tsutsumi to fully power up! But that arrogance will be your undoing!”

“You should worry about your own face before you worry about mine. You think you’re pretty, but living in this pigsty of a palace has only made your already hideous mug even worse. If your heart were at least as pure as Freesia’s, maybe there’d be hope, but you’re filthier than a sewer.”

“You little! Tsutsumi, finish him already!”

When the smoke cleared, the figure that emerged wore a hooded black robe. Beneath it, his skeletal frame was barely held together by scraps of burned flesh. His empty eye sockets glowed a sinister red, like lanterns flickering in the dark.

At Anmeltz’s command, the lich raised his hand toward me,

And unleashed a Fireball.

But this wasn’t your average beginner spell.
It was massive, like someone had conjured a miniature sun. The heat was so intense it could ignite clothes without even hitting them.

“Waaahhh!”

“Fire fire!?”

“It’s burning, aaagh!!!”

The soldiers standing near the lich caught fire instantly. Their armor melted into sludge as the blast consumed them. He didn’t care about friendly fire, he was just blasting indiscriminately.

The fireball surged toward me, blazing red.

Well… to someone who can survive re-entry from orbit, it just felt like a warm breeze.

“Tei!”

I casually swung my hand and slapped the fireball.

“Hahaha! Are you insane!? Your hand’s gonna melt right off! There’s no way you can stop a lich’s—”

“Look out!!!”

Anmeltz was still cackling, but Ares reacted immediately, grabbing her and leaping away.

“Don’t just dodge! Attack back, damn it! Useless as always!”

Ares apologized quietly, “My apologies…”
Nemo, watching them, clutched her chest — the pain of betrayal still visible in her trembling expression. Poor girl.

But while I was pitying Nemo, the former sage–turned–lich had completely lost it.

Fireball. Fireball. Fireball. Fireball. Fireball. Fireball. Fireball. Fireball.

He fired off spells like a machine gun.

Not a bad tactic… except my sister and the others were standing right behind me.

“Sei! Ha! Ya! Tou!”

Each time the lich fired, I swatted the fireballs away before they could veer backward — like a game of hot, fiery ping-pong.

“Fireball’s coming this way!”

“Gyaaaahhhh!!!”

“Stay back—waaahhh!!!”

The blasts I deflected ricocheted into the nobles and soldiers of Burnak, leaving behind nothing but ashes.

Ahh… I get it, I get it.

That feeling of despair when your incompetent boss causes collateral damage,I’ve been there. I had my share of stray bullets too. Bad management always brings bad luck for everyone.

“Hey now, aren’t you supposed to be a sage? You’re hitting your own men more than me! Some strategy that is.”

My mouth moved on its own — Brad’s personality leaking through as usual — but the lich didn’t react at all.

“…?”

Guess zombification comes with severe communication issues.

“If you really want to take me down, that pathetic magic won’t cut it. Use everything you’ve got!”

At my taunt, the lich’s eyes flared brighter. Then—

[Miniaturization Game Changer Lv.100]

“Oooh!?”

“Brad!?”

“Lord Brad!”

“Your Highness!!!”

My vision sank lower and lower, until I was looking up at everything.

Ah, I see now.

I’d been hit with a debuff that shrank my body. Guess I was “Palm-sized Brad” now.

“Hahaha! Even a demon king is helpless when he’s tiny! Well done, Tsutsumi! As a reward for slaying him, I might’ve let you touch me, oh wait, too bad, you’re dead!”

So that’s how she manipulated her classmates, through her body. I’d wondered how she’d taken control of them, and she just went and confessed it herself.

Figures.

And of course, she looked absolutely thrilled, wearing that smug, ugly grin of hers.

No wonder she never stood a chance against Megumi.

“Alright then, let’s squash the little demon king, shall we?”

She lifted her foot, smirking.

“Hahaha! I’m stepping on you, just die already, you stupid—”

I let her talk. I even waited patiently, mid-transformation, just to humor her. What a waste of time. I’ll be billing her for that, with interest.

“C’mon already, stomp me!”

I held her shoe up with one hand. She turned beet red, pushing down with all her might, but I didn’t feel a thing.

“Nice view, though. Gotta hand it to you, you’re one impressively horny b—”

“Gross!!”

She shrieked, clutching her skirt and stumbling backward. Even shrunken, my strength was untouched, what a useless debuff.