I Obtained the Final Boss' Power-Chapter 3 : The Reason for the Provocation (1)

The Reason for the Provocation (1)
The demon realm, located on the far eastern edge of the Kilvus Empire, was infamous for teeming with monsters.
The monsters that appeared on the outskirts of villages could threaten lives, but compared to the monsters of the demon realm, those were just the tip of the iceberg.
There was only one meaning to being assigned to the 7th Legion, whose job was to face such monsters.
'They're basically telling us to die.'
Even knights with a strong sense of duty didn't come here by choice.
Even at this moment while he was resting, it wouldn't be surprising if a few soldiers died.
'Time really flies.'
It had already been a month since Louis was dragged to this place.
True to the 7th Legion' infamous reputation for frequent casualties, the induction process was anything but ordinary.
Even when he was first dragged here.
On the day the bandits burned his village, after Louis regained consciousness, he was brought here trapped in an iron cage connected to a wagon.
Inside the cage, there were several others in the same situation—children or men who seemed to be in similar straits.
At first, he thought they must be slaves, but seeing the brand burned into their backs, he realized they were being taken by a military unit.
'I have one deeply burned into my back, too.'
One man tried to escape while they were being transported.
It seemed too easy at first, but the merchant's magical technique on the wagon made the man scream in agony and collapse.
'The torture technique'—the brand on their backs was enforced for that purpose.
It was a spell to prevent slaves from escaping or to inflict torture if they disobeyed orders.
Such things were only done to people who were slaves in all but name.
So did that mean that new recruits here had no human rights?
To answer right away... none.
Who would ever enlist in such a suicide unit?
Obviously, only those who deserved to die—hardened criminals—would end up here.
'Just like these bastards.'
Around Louis, who was leisurely resting with a boulder as his bed, lay other soldiers sprawled on the ground.
In fact, this wasn't actually rest time.
All newly enlisted soldiers started their service with basic training.
They had a one-month training period, so they weren't thrown into battle immediately.
On the other hand, the ones knocked down around him had already been here for six months.
They came at Louis with drawn swords, pretending to be helping with training.
On the surface, it was training, but their intention was obvious. The one approaching from behind holding a real sword was no different.
"Die!"
A soldier launched a surprise attack and slashed his sword at Louis's head, but Louis shot up and dodged.
The soldier, startled at missing, had no time to recover before Louis grabbed him by the hair and smashed his face into the boulder.
"Argh!"
"Is it normal to attack this savagely during training?"
"Kahek! Guh-guk!"
Louis pressed the soldier's face into the rock twice like it was a table.
When he let go, the soldier rolled on the floor, clutching his face.
"So this is what those five-months-my-senior veterans are like? I was hoping to learn from you, but what a letdown."
"You cocky brat..."
"Well, what could I possibly learn from murderers who were caught and thrown in here?"
He'd heard that before joining the 7th Legion, these guys were all bandits.
They'd constantly robbed, killed, and extorted from passing merchants.
They'd been assigned here, apparently, because they had some skill with a sword.
"And for the record, you all started this."
"Don't give me that crap! Before this, you sent one of our squadmates to the infirmary! And you didn't even apologize!"
Beck, the leader of these soldiers, shouted angrily.
Indeed, such an incident had occurred.
Louis had personally beaten up a soldier and placed him on a cot because he didn't like the guy's attitude.
They were plotting a fake training session as a pretense for payback.
In truth, it was simple revenge with no justification.
"And what about when that guy messed with one of our squad, huh?"
A few days ago, Louis woke up in the middle of the night to witness something unbelievable.
One of their squadmates, that guy, had tried to assault Louis's squadmate.
"His name was Allain, right? I heard he used to abduct only little kids outside and did twisted things."
If that wasn't a clear-cut case, what was? Yet Beck shamelessly retorted.
"No way! Allain said you just attacked him out of nowhere! Besides, that girl kept her mouth shut!"
At the time, the only eyewitness was Louis.
The girl couldn't properly explain what happened due to the mental shock.
So it was easy for them to claim it was just Louis committing unprovoked violence.
"Fine, fuck it. Thanks to you bastards, I'm about to get punished. But if that's so, why bother coming to get revenge like this?"
It was easy enough to recognize this as payback disguised as training.
Louis knew but still played along with this absurd charade. But if he was already scheduled to be punished, why did they bother tormenting him?
"Should I take a guess?"
Louis easily figured out the reason as well.
"A grown adult tried to rape a girl, only to get his ass handed to him by a twelve-year-old. That rumor's spread throughout the barracks, hasn't it?"
In this aberrant 7th Legion, even small incidents could get you killed.
Adults fighting was everyday stuff.
But a kid beating up an adult? That was something else.
"Because of that, not only the guy who got his ass kicked but also you squadmates lost face. Right?"
Rumors that adults had been beaten up by a kid had circulated inside the fortress.
Louis, the assailant, would be punished—but the real laughingstocks were them.
"You son of a bitch! Do you even know the humiliation we've had to endure because of you? Thanks to you beating up that guy, we all get mocked!"
Beck shouted as if they were the real victims.
After that rumor spread, they became the butt of disgraceful talk about their incompetence—if one member lost to a kid, so must the rest.
"Because of me? Haven't you considered this all started because your squadmate made the first move?"
But the most absurd one in this whole situation was Louis.
The girl who had nearly been assaulted was his own squadmate.
Louis had simply saved a fellow comrade. There was no reason for him to be blamed.
"No, seriously, even now—how does a guy over thirty get beaten up by a twelve-year-old and wind up in the infirmary? You all have supposedly killed people, but you couldn't even handle one kid?"
These were men who had loudly boasted they'd killed before.
But then they turned around and acted like aggrieved victims after suffering humiliation like this—Louis couldn't take them seriously.
"Those who took pride in killing people act like victims only when it's inconvenient for them. It's a real sight."
"You bastard!!"
Furious at being mocked, Beck jumped up and swung a fist at Louis.
The punch whistled through the air, but Louis caught it lightly.
"What are you doing?"
"Why you...!"
Beck tried to jerk his arm free, but it didn't budge.
An unbelievable strength for a twelve-year-old.
"I said, what are you doing, bastard."
"Hic!"
At that moment, Beck met Louis's gaze and involuntarily whimpered.
For a split second, Louis looked as intimidating as a huge monster.
At the same time, his eyes began to take on a monstrous glint.
Crunch—
"Arghhh!!"
Louis twisted Beck's hand, making his entire arm rotate with a grotesque sound.
"Like I said, you all started it."
Thud!—
With a chilling expression, Louis mercilessly beat Beck.
A single punch to his face broke two teeth.
He kicked Beck's leg, causing a clean fracture.
For a kid, his strength was monstrous, but moreover Louis had given in to a savage instinct.
Just like the first time he became a monster, a month ago.
"Stop immediately!!"
Just as Louis was about to throw another punch, a shout stopped him.
Louis let go of Beck and turned in the direction of the voice.
"You're here awfully fast, squad leader Odun."
"Louis."
Odun appeared as if to mediate and glared at Louis with burning eyes.
He was the squad leader in charge of Beck and the others.
"Will you explain what's going on here?"
"Doesn't it look obvious? It's just the usual training. To be precise, a group training session that's really just a beatdown."
"From where I'm standing, all I see is my squad getting pummeled one-sidedly by you."
Odun's piercing glare grew even sharper.
For an ordinary soldier, that gaze would be terrifying, but Louis responded with a smirk as if he enjoyed it.
Odun always found Louis's attitude off-putting.
"Are you worried about these guys?"
"They're my men, of course I am!"
"Then why do you laugh when you're torturing other soldiers?"
....
The same man who claimed to care about his men delighted in torturing them.
Louis had seen this in Odun since enlistment.
Even one slip of the tongue could activate the brand on a soldier's back and inflict torture.
Louis had seen it enough times that it made him laugh.
"Well... calling this training is a stretch. I'll admit that much."
"So you admit to being the aggressor?"
So he was calling himself the victim? Louis, of course, knew how ridiculous that was.
It was laughable, but Louis nodded.
"Yes, I have to admit it."
"Then you're ready to accept the punishment?"
Thinking he had cornered Louis, Odun smiled unpleasantly.
"Considering you assaulted my men before, you'll be punished severely soon. You might even be sent into actual combat."
For a knight, that might be a great honor, but for soldiers here it was a death sentence.
Combat meant being fed to the monsters.
"We recently found a monster hatchery. The mission is to either recover or destroy their eggs. It's so easy that even a kid like you can be sent."
No matter how easy the mission, plenty of casualties were guaranteed. Odun spoke as if to reassure him, but the reality was the opposite.
The weakest soldier always dies first. That's why Odun clearly meant to intimidate Louis.
"So I'll get to see monster eggs with my own eyes soon?"
"It won't end with just looking. If you cause an incident here after being dragged in for being unteachable, you'll learn what happens the hard way."
If Louis had actually committed crimes, the words would have hit a sore spot.
But that wasn't the case, so Louis was unmoved.
"Causing an incident—isn't that a description of these bastards, not me?"
Louis gestured to the groaning soldiers scattered on the ground.
"These men came here after a career in banditry. Am I wrong?"
At that, Odun's face twisted.
Challenging a superior like Odun was suicide, but Louis didn't care.
That was also why Odun disliked Louis.
"And earlier, you called me the aggressor, but there's something you missed, Captain."
"What's that?"
"If you're saying it was a one-sided beating... that just means I'm stronger than these pieces of trash, doesn't it?"
Louis stomped on the wrist of a squadmate on the ground.
Snap!—
"Arghhhh!!"
With the sound of breaking bones, the enemy cried out.
Odun's eyes widened in shock.
"Congratulations! You've just proved that your own men are weaker than a twelve-year-old brat."
"You...!!"
Soldiers here could never talk back to the officers.
Not because the soldiers were all that disciplined.
Just that if they stepped out of line, they'd instantly get tortured via the brand on their backs.
Squad leaders could modulate the brand's power as needed. At full power, it could execute a soldier instantly.
Odun usually enjoyed that, but now he hesitated.
There wasn't a hint of fear in Louis—the response any normal soldier would have shown.
"It's pretty funny when murderers suddenly act like victims."
With a flick of his finger, Louis knew he could easily be killed, too.
He knew well.
"Don't you agree, big bro Odun~?"
So why did he keep provoking him without fear?
"You son of a bitch!!"
Finally, Odun exploded with fury.
Losing all reason, he pushed aside his doubts and reached out.
Magical energy flared from his arm as his spell activated Louis's brand.