Chapter 234: Advance. 23:48
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Ambitious was standing still.
Unable to believe what had happened in front of him, he just stood there dumbfounded, hiding himself among the trees of the winter forest overlooking the Saikanan Highway.
The sun had already fully set, and the sky above was filled with stars.
It was late at night.
Ambitious had been standing still, staring and staring, until such a time.
"...Oh."
A cold winter wind blew with a whoosh, shaking Ambitious's body.
Finally, Ambitious came back to his senses and let out a stupid sound.
Then, he looked around restlessly.
Already, he could no longer sense the presence of the darkness spirit around him.
That black ball, the witness, had properly witnessed the failure of "Purple Dual Rings," melted into the shadows of the forest, and had already left this place.
Ambitious looked down at the Saikanan Highway once more.
The figure of the cursed child, the target, was no longer there.
...Neither were the corpses of the members.
The cursed child, who had defeated and buried all the assassins from "Purple Dual Rings," had used the incomprehensible huge black arms growing from her shoulders to dig into the ground and bury the assassins' corpses there.
After finishing burying all the corpses, the cursed child coiled the black arms around her body with a slithering sound and transformed into the Dark Spiky Rock Man form.
Then, she put her hands together towards the burial site, entered the forest in a different direction from where Ambitious was, and disappeared from sight.
Rustling through the withered grass thicket, he stepped on the stone pavement where no one was left.
Kotsu, kotsu, Ambitious's leather shoes made a sound.
These leather shoes were custom-made using the leather of a monster called Salmon Dial that inhabits the Fantasy Continent, and despite being leather shoes, they were high-quality shoes that could fully handle outdoor combat.
They were a piece that Ambitious was proud of, made when the management of "Purple Dual Rings" started to get on track and financial leeway was created.
With those shoes, he stood on the soil where the members were buried.
Only there, the withered grass was gone, and the soil was exposed.
Therefore, even in the middle of the night with only starlight, it was easy to identify that spot.
Squish.
When he lifted one foot and stepped on the soil, it felt soft.
Squish, squish, squish...
Ambitious repeated the motion of lifting and lowering one foot.
Squish, squish, squish, squish, squish, squish!
The speed gradually increased, and he continued to stomp on the burial site of the members at super high speed!
Frowning!
Yet opening his eyes wide!
While gritting his teeth!
With a terrifying expression, he continued stomping with all his might!
"DON'T, FUCK, WITH, MEEEE!!!"
And after shouting that, he lay down on the soil, flailed his arms and legs, and started thrashing around like a child throwing a tantrum!
"Don't fuck with me! Don't fuck with me! Don't fuck with me! What, are you dying, you small fries! How much time and money do you think I spent gathering and raising you guys!? UWAAAAAHH!!!"
Ambitious rolled around on the soil while raging!
Without even minding that the highest-quality jacket made with "Ijiwaar Magic Weave," which had been developing recently in the Deswaar Duchy of the Kingdom of Teenidys, was getting dirty!
"Don't fuck with me! Don't fuck with me! Don't fuck with me! Even though you're a cursed child, even though you're a cursed child! What are you doing interfering with people! You, filthy, monster, monster, monsteeer!!!"
And this time, he got on all fours and started punching the ground!
The silver rings adorning his fingers quickly lost their shine!
Ambitious noticed that with a start!
"SOOOIL! DON'T DIRTY THEEEM!!!"
With a whoosh, the winter wind blew again, rustling the trees in the forest with withered leaves!
"FOREEEEST! DON'T SHAAAKE!!!"
Ambitious rolled onto his back!
At the end of his gaze were the stars in the sky, shining beautifully!
"STAAARS! DON'T TWIIINKLE!!!"
* * *
After continuing to rant in all directions like that, Ambitious seemed to have gotten tired, lying on his side and staying still for a while.
And when he sat up a few minutes later, he had apparently regained his composure on the surface.
But the emotion in his eyes was anger.
He brushed off the soil on his clothes and glanced at the forest where the cursed child had disappeared.
He had made up his mind to clear this humiliation someday.
"It's okay. It's not over yet... My 'Purple Dual Rings' is not over yet...!"
And while mumbling, this time he turned to face west.
At the end of his gaze, far down the Saikanan Highway, the name of that country was Ashgo.
A great country where he had currently dispatched several members of "Purple Dual Rings"... and where there were various fishy movements behind the scenes.
He would rendezvous with the surviving members there and plan for a comeback.
"...It's an advance!"
Of course, it's not like there were no elements of concern.
The biggest problem was that one of the people dispatched to Ashgo was a "relic of the old generation."
The "Strange Monk," a former executive of "Purple Dual Rings," whose purge was postponed due to his high ability and, at least on the surface, his stance of obeying Ambitious.
Whether he could control that old man in the current situation where he had lost many powerful pawns.
"...It's okay. I can do it. I can do it. If it's me, I can do it."
By mumbling that over and over, Ambitious dispelled his own anxiety.
Anyway, the first thing is to rendezvous.
Hurry and reunite with the other members.
Head to Ashgo.
Ambitious staggered back onto the stone pavement of the Saikanan Highway and faced west.
And then, it happened.
The strong winter wind that had been blowing occasionally until just now blew again with a whoosh.
The wind shook Ambitious's body as it passed through, rustling the trees in the forest ahead.
"!!!"
Ambitious reacted sensitively to that rustling sound!
He instantly turned to face the forest and assumed a fighting stance.
Beads of cold sweat popped up on his face.
...It's not like there was something in the forest.
To put it bluntly, there was nothing there.
The trees just swayed in the wind.
But Ambitious couldn't move.
Until just now... until just now, when he was venting his anger in all directions, such a thought hadn't crossed his mind at all.
But now, at this moment, he thought.
(What if the Dark Spiky Rock Man is lurking in that forest...? Ready to take my life with those black arms...!?)
...And!!
At that moment, an emotion that he hadn't felt for a while lately assailed him!
An emotion that he thought he had completely overcome as a first-class assassin!
Namely, fear!!
"Uuh... Uooh... Ooooh!!"
He had to leave this place in a hurry!
Ambitious thought so.
And he started growling!
Then, his slender body gradually began to swell.
Muscles bulged to the point of tearing his jacket, and furthermore... his exposed hands and face... were covered with white fur the same color as his hair!
Even his skeletal structure began to transform, with his mouth protruding forward!
Fangs grew, and his ears also changed shape greatly, shifting their position to the side of the top of his head!
"AOOOOOHNN!!"
A few seconds later, what stood there was not the white-rimmed glasses man with a frivolous impression, but a being with a sharp-looking wolf face, truly deserving to be called a "werewolf"!
This was Ambitious's abnormal ability[Battle Beast Transformation]!
He had the blood of beastmen, who lived in large numbers on the Fantasy Continent, mixed in him.
Therefore, Ambitious could also use that abnormal ability that they inherited as a race!
In this form, his physical abilities increased by tens of times.
It was an abnormal ability that couldn't be used frequently due to the intense physical consumption, but its power went without saying, and it was truly his trump card!
However, he had never displayed this[Battle Beast Transformation]in front of people until now.
He had kept this combat form a secret even from Short Warp and Smooth Stan.
That was solely to guard against betrayal by the members.
Now, Ambitious, who had transformed into a werewolf at this point, firmly stepped on the stone pavement and started running westward.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Crushing the stone pavement and making such sounds, Ambitious ran off at the speed of the wind!
"DARK SPIKY ROCK MAAAN...! REMEMBER THIIIIS!!!"
On the Saikanan Highway, where only fierce battle scars remained, such a clichéd and third-rate villain's resentful cry echoed.
Arc 13, complete!! (Just kidding)
[Teenidys]
The setting of Arc 5 and 6.
The Royal Kiralimake Academy exists there.
[Deswaar Duchy]
The territory governed by Duke Deswaar of the Kingdom of Teenidys.
Magic ore has been mined in the Zakzak Mine within the territory since long ago (mentioned in Arc 10, about 300 years ago).
[Ijiwaar]
Referring to Ijiwaar Deswaar, the duke's daughter of Deswaar.
A villainess reincarnator guided by a small bird called Fate Goddess Alofa, and the protagonist of [It's Fine to Reincarnate as a Villainess Daughter! But the Name 'Yuren Deswaar' Seems a Bit too Cruel, Don't You Think!?]
So far, only her name has been mentioned in Arc 5.
"Ijiwaar Magic Weave" was probably something she came up with.
[Beastmen]
A race appearing for the first time.
They seem to exist in this world too, but their full-fledged appearance will be from Part 2 onward.