What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally? - Chapter 31 - Strategy, and Reunion

“First, what I focused on was the ecology of the monsters used as base material.”

The gray-robed old man began speaking with complete confidence.

He was quite relaxed despite having an enemy in front of him.

Whether the monster was following the old man’s instructions, it showed no signs of trying to attack me.

While they glared at each other, only the old man’s voice could be heard.

“As you can see, this crocodile monster possesses quite a robust body. While it looks like a crocodile, ecologically it’s also like tigers or lions.”

“How does it end up like that?”

“Simple. It’s due to the curses—no, blessings—obtained when synthesizing monsters.”

“Blessings?”

Some unfamiliar term suddenly came up.

Come to think of it, there was some crazy guy in the original story who said something like that… No good, I can’t remember.

Humans quickly forget things that don’t matter.

“I return to the earlier talk of curses. This monster has harbored within its body all the curses that other monsters possessed. Initially there was a tolerance limit that each base body could endure, but as I continued the experiments for a while, I became able to grasp those limit values. What was born from that is this monster.”

The old man laughed triumphantly.

What he was saying was pretty insane. I didn’t think it was amazing at all.

“You certainly possess wonderful abilities too, but you’re no match for this monster. It harbors the curses of at least five monsters. That alone makes its physical abilities several times what they were before! Its size has also grown several times!”

“So its body grew too. No wonder I thought it was pointlessly huge.”

“Amazing, isn’t it? When monster cells are transplanted, major changes occur in the body’s structure too! It’s not some cheap reaction like skin getting harder or eyes getting better. It grew! Its skeletal structure itself mutated! This is wonderful. If this could be applied to humans, we could create a new humanity!”

“No, no, you said it yourself earlier. Monsters are under curses, right? You’re going to transfer curses to humans?”

“That’s right. What of it? Whether it’s curses or whatever, humans are adaptable creatures who will surely respond. Just as I desire.”

“You’re insane…”

This guy was truly done for.

What would happen if you transplanted curses powerful enough to change even bone structure into humans?

The answer was decided. Rejection reactions would occur, and the experimental subjects would die.

Even if they didn’t die, they wouldn’t be human anymore. They’d be monsters with monster abilities.

Did he really think they could maintain their ego and grow?

—No, this type of mad scientist’s thinking was definitely just wanting to see the results of interesting experiments.

Whether it failed or succeeded didn’t matter to that old man.

He just wanted to try it—that was all.

Like a child with sparkling eyes in front of a new toy.

To that old man, other people were just insignificant toys.

“For now, I’m killing you. You’re a type that shouldn’t be allowed to live.”

“Hmm? I thought we might get along a little… What a shame.”

The old man smoothly raised his hand. Whether that was a signal to attack, the crocodile monster that had stopped moving began to move.

“Guruaaaaaaa!”

It kicked off the ground while letting out a loud roar.

“Really unfortunate… that I have to kill it.”

The monster charged toward me.

If I hit it with a counter using my magical power-enhanced sword, it would be over, but that would be wasteful.

Since Iris was probably safely defeating monsters on her side too, should I transport this monster over there?

Thinking that, I flowed even more magical power through my entire body and avoided the monster’s attack.

I gradually backed away, never getting too far from it.

If I disappeared all at once, the opponent might flee. I counterattacked while holding back appropriately, so as not to let it catch on.

The monster gradually accumulated injuries, but since its intelligence was low, it kept charging without particularly caring.

My mood was rather like… a matador, I suppose.

▼△▼

While Yuguram gradually approached Iris, she had cut down most of the approaching monsters.

Finally, new monsters were no longer being replenished the moment she defeated one.

It seemed to have reached its limit.

“Phew…! I defeated quite a lot. I’ll have to get Yuu-san to help me carry the corpses later.”

Yuguram had a mysterious storage artifact he’d stolen when escaping the imperial capital. If he used that, no matter how many corpses there were, collection would be finished quickly.

It would eliminate the trouble of calling villagers and desperately gathering monster corpses.

“So—just a little more!”

Two monsters remained.

The monsters simultaneously kicked off the ground and flanked Iris from left and right.

Seeing their movements, Iris decided on priorities and maneuvered.

First she slashed the vital point of the left monster. Then she turned toward the monster on the opposite side and delivered a sharp thrusting technique.

The monsters fell easily.

While she still had physical stamina, she was mentally tired.

Since she rarely experienced one-against-many battles, she’d gained a good amount of experience points.

“Hah… where is Yuu-san, I wonder.”

She muttered the name of Yuguram, who was probably fighting somewhere.

Then—

“—Ah! Found Iris!”

“Eh?”

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Shaking trees and thickets, Yuguram appeared before Iris.

Iris was delighted, but her smile quickly disappeared.

Because—

“Guruaaaaaaa!”

Following Yuguram, an incredibly huge monster also appeared. Iris looked like she’d been hit by a pea shooter.