I Like… Penguins – Part 05

“Didn’t expect the headbutt, did you?” This time, I was the one smirking.

Maybe it pissed him off, because he kicked me in the gut with everything he had. I flew back and slammed into a pillar hard enough to crack it, coughing up blood.

My right hand… yeah, it was back to normal. So, teleporting a body part didn’t cut it off. I still didn’t get how that ability worked, but damn, it was a pain to deal with.

“Forget it. I’m done showing this to Eucliwood,” the King of the Night growled. His gaze sharpened.

A chill ran down my spine. This feeling… it was the same one he’d made me taste more than once. He was coming at me for real this time.

The observation deck filled with mist.

Big Teach had told me, “If that mist is thick enough to wrap around him entirely, your chances of winning are zero.”

And this wasn’t just enough to wrap around him. It smothered the entire floor of the deck.

Great. Just great. I could barely make out his shape. Thanks to the lit floor, I could at least tell which side was the window, but that was about it. I forced myself to my feet and raised my chainsaw.

Something flickered in the bluish murk. Fingers. Probably just his fingertips, teleported here. No way I could dodge something that suddenly appeared right in front of me.

It hit with the force of a bullet, my back arching like a bow. My eye was gone.

A second later, my other eye was crushed. Then my knee shattered, forcing me down on the floor.

After that… well, beaten senseless didn’t even begin to cover it.

If I’d been able to feel pain, I might have gone insane. It was like he couldn’t rest until he’d pulverized every bone in my body, the way people pop every bubble of a packing wrap.

I couldn’t even move. I was just getting ground into minced meat. Was this it? Could I really not beat this guy?

“Ayumu!” Someone called my name. A girl’s voice. One I’d heard over and over.

“Secret Art: Swallow Reversal!” another voice shouted. A name of a technique I’d heard more than once.

I couldn’t see clearly ahead. Maybe my eyes were still regenerating, or maybe the mist was just too thick. Probably both. My head wasn’t working right.

“Ayumu! You’re here, right?! Ayumu!”

“We’ve secured Miss Hellscythe! Ayumu, we’re leaving!”

The two voices jump-started my dying brain. Mist stretched out in front of me. Where?

“Ah!”

“Ugh!”

Two small yelps, followed by the thud of bodies hitting the floor.

A fist slammed into my torso, burying deep.

“H-Haruna! Sera! Where are you?!”

I wanted to grab that arm and crush it, but it was already gone. If he only teleported his fists in, I couldn’t stop him.

“I’ll let you see them.”

The King of the Night’s voice came from somewhere in the fog, and something flew toward me. Someone. Two of them.

Haruna and Sera. Sera twisted in midair and managed to land, but Haruna scraped across the floor and slammed into the wall.

He’d smacked them away without mercy. Unforgivable.

Maybe he knew I was glaring at him, because his roaring laughter reverberated across the misty deck, circling the donut-shaped floor before coming back around.

“Ahahahaha! How ridiculously comical!”

I stepped forward, spreading my arms to shield Haruna and Sera. A wall of ruby light appeared in front of me. But then I took a full-body beating all over again.

“What the hell? Barriers are useless?” Haruna said.

He could slip inside with his mist. Walls wouldn’t do any good.

“Ayumu, I’ll buy you some time,” Sera whispered. “Take Miss Hellscythe and run.”

Run? Because he was too strong? Or because I was too weak?

I kept getting pummeled, unable to do a thing. Sera couldn’t stand to watch anymore, so she stepped forward with her green sword in both hands. I stopped her.

“Ayumu.”

“Stay there,” I said. “I won’t let him lay a hand on you.”

“You’re holding out well. All right. Once you lose consciousness, I’ll kill the two behind you. So do your best, okay?”

Fine by me. No way in hell I could fall here!

Even if he crushed my arms, jabbed my throat, or shattered my knees, I still wouldn’t run!

I had to protect Eu. I had to show her I could beat this guy, or she’d never trust me! But… how?

My knees buckled, and I sank down. If this kept up, Haruna and Sera… I clenched my teeth. Then, the mist cleared.

Eu was leaning over me, shielding me.

“Couldn’t stand to watch anymore? Good sign. Maybe I really do need to kill a friend to break you, just like that time.”

The mist-shrouded man stood over us with his hands still in his pockets.

My body began to regenerate. It didn’t matter. I’d just go through the same hell again.

I was wrecked from head to toe. This was probably what it felt like to get run over back and forth by a bullet train.

All that training with Big Teach had gone to waste. Even my full-power attacks did nothing.

I was out of options. What do I do to not just land a hit, but to actually beat him?

“Ayumu… enough,” Haruna said, her cowlick drooping in sadness.

Haruna… Wait. Yeah. That’s right.

I still had something I hadn’t used yet.

I rose back up again, with firm, strong will.

“You never learn. No matter what you try, it’s useless,” said the King of the Night.

Dragging my foot, I stepped forward. My legs shook and I collapsed, but I planted my hands and crawled ahead. Even when I stood and stumbled, I still moved forward.

“What do you think, Eucliwood? You must find this situation sad, don’t you?”

From the side, Sera threw her sword. But as the mist drifted near his face, the sword vanished somewhere.

“Pointless.”

I didn’t miss the moment he glanced away with that smug look.

“Ayumu, don’t do anything reckless!” Haruna cried. “But don’t you dare hold back!”

“Haaaaahhh!” I spread my right hand wide, reaching for his face.

The King of the Night snorted and tried to shield his face with mist.

I chanted the spell I’d practiced over and over, spitting the words at high speed, and then… the last part!

“Shararararaaan!”

A dazzling light blazed from my palms, illuminating the entire observation deck. Green bean soup wasn’t the only thing I could produce.

I could shoot sunlight from my hands!

How’s that? Even his ability to move objects couldn’t teleport light. And mere zombies—not Magiclad Girls—couldn’t block sunlight.

The mist surrounding the King of the Night vanished. Of course. No way he could use his abilities under the light of the sun.

Four hundred percent!

I dragged my left foot forward and threw a left body blow, piercing his abdomen. I pulled it out immediately.

Six hundred percent!

I struck with a clenched fist, punching through his face. His body went horizontal from the impact.

From here on, I’m going all out at eight hundred percent!

Right, left, right, left. I didn’t aim at specific spots. I just unleashed my fists with single-minded fury.

“Haaaaahhh!”

Even as his arms tore off and blood pooled around him, I didn’t stop. Over and over, again and again.

I finally stopped when Eu clung to me. Seeing my bloodied hands sent a shiver down my spine.

What was this dark urge?

“I’m fine, Eu. I’ve calmed down,” I said, partly to myself.

Eu moved toward the battered King of the Night and took the hands I had smashed.

“Eu… cli… wood,” the King of the Night called her name, coughing up blood. When Eu tried to respond, he begged, “Let me… die.”

Even in this state, he still couldn’t die.

Eu closed her eyes, hesitated briefly, then looked at me. Her blue eyes held determination. She returned her gaze to the King of the Night and nodded firmly.

What? What was this feeling? I’d defeated my nemesis, yet I didn’t feel happy at all.

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit me, and I sank to my knees.

“Eucliwood, when I die… can you turn me into a penguin Megalo?” he gasped in a thin voice.

“You did it, Ayumu!” Haruna hugged me around the neck.

“I never imagined you’d actually win,” Sera said, holding out her hand.

I took it and slowly stood up. The blood-soaked Magiclad Girl outfit felt extremely unpleasant.

“I like… penguins,” the King of the Night laughed.

And then, I heard it. Haruna and Sera did too. Eu’s gentle and beautiful voice, resounding directly into my head.

“I know.”

And in that moment, I understood the emotion I was feeling. For some reason, I felt… jealous.

When Eu took the King of the Night’s hand, I felt an indescribable frustration. And now, knowing that she would grant his wish, I felt a pang of jealousy.

I’m such an asshole.

Damn it. Again. My chest felt all fuzzy. Wait… I knew what this was.

This was the heart of a treasure hunter. I couldn’t resist wanting to claim Eu as my prized possession. Just thinking about her, just thinking about being involved with her, and not being able to reach her, made me restless like a kid.