I Obtained the Final Boss' Power-Chapter 4 : Reason for the Provocation (2)

Reason for the Provocation (2)
Ever since that day Louis turned into a monster, his mind was no longer intact.
He had every reason to be so, having gone through the tragedy of his parents' death.
However, since Louis had been an adult even before reincarnating into this world, he never cried out like a child.
Nevertheless, the baron and his wife were people who had spent twelve years with Louis.
It was only natural to feel anger and grief at their deaths.
The reason why Louis, who had turned into a monster, killed the bandits so brutally was also out of a desire for revenge for them.
'I did accept it quickly. But...'
Separate from how quickly he accepted the tragedy, Louis's mind had become unstable.
The cause was the monstrous transformation at that time.
After being transferred here to the 7th Legion, Louis found himself committing impulsive acts without realizing it.
It happened even when he was dragged here in the carriage.
There had been a thoughtless young man, who went around stealing food from the other prisoners, some of whom were quite burly.
He even snatched the meals handed out by the merchants, but since he was so strong, no one dared to resist.
Thanks to that strength, he received a lot of favoritism from the merchants.
Aware of this, the young man acted like the big boss the whole way they were being transported.
He boasted, saying he was chosen by a noble so he was on a different level than the rest, who would die soon anyway.
'As if that's something to be proud of when you're just a slave?'
Of course, he had tangled with Louis as well.
When the young man suddenly raised his fist, Louis had tried to counter with the self-defense skills he'd learned at the mansion since childhood.
'That should have been the end of it...'
It only lasted a split second. When Louis came to his senses, his hands were stained with blood.
On the floor was the slave's head, smashed as if it had been bludgeoned by a hammer, and Louis was straddling the corpse in a mount position.
Just from that posture, Louis could tell what he had done.
It was an unintentional murder. He'd been driven by a violent impulse outside his own will.
And it didn't even end there—he'd tried to kill others too.
If he was going to kill, he should have killed the merchants; yet Louis specifically targeted other slaves.
It had nothing to do with vengeance. He was simply possessed by some inexplicable urge.
It was just like when he had turned into a monster.
If the merchants hadn't activated their torture spell at the time, Louis would have committed a massacre right there.
Even since then, he would show similar symptoms whenever he had the chance.
Every time he succumbed to the urge, his body wouldn't obey him, but fortunately, there was something that would calm Louis down.
That was—
"Senior Odun? You little—!"
Blazing with anger, Odun activated the spell engraved on his arm.
A torture spell used by the 7th Legion to inflict great pain and control the soldiers.
It was an extreme training method allowed only here, where most were criminals and slaves.
"Keep acting up and you think the officers look easy?"
"Ugh...!"
As Louis groaned in pain, Odun grinned with satisfaction.
He had always relieved his stress this way, so the expression had become second nature to him.
"Say it. Say 'Squad Leader Odun.'"
"O... O..."
Writhing in agony, Louis tried to call Odun's name.
Yes, this was it.
Being tormented by pain and forced to obey an officer.
That was exactly the basic attitude soldiers here were supposed to have.
"Odun... big sis Odun!"
"... What?"
"No, O... elder sister Odun!"
At that moment, Odun lost his rationality all over again.
At the same time, the spell was amplified even further.
"You little bastard, can't you understand what you're being told!!"
"Ugh!!"
"I said 'squad leader'! Say 'squad leader'."
Big sis? Elder sister? Was this bastard completely insane?
Or was the pain so overwhelming he'd lost the ability to distinguish gender?
The latter sort of made sense, but no matter how many times he thought about it, it was still an infuriating thing to say.
It would have been preferable if Louis had just called him big bro earlier.
"If you don't want to die, say it properly!!"
"Odun... Odun..."
"That's right! Squad Leader Odun!"
It really was a simple thing.
Just say 'squad leader' and this crisis could be over.
But, true to Odun's personality, he had no desire to make things easier for Louis.
Whenever something frustrated him, Odun had to vent it somehow.
Since Louis had just provoked him so openly, he was thoroughly blacklisted in Odun's eyes now.
He thought surely, after this much pain, Louis would finally call him squad leader.
At that very moment—
"Odun... Dad!"
A chilling silence descended.
"Father...."
"...."
Even as Odun's face slowly twisted in rage, Louis continued to call him.
Calling him father.
"You son of a *****!!"
At last, Odun's eyes rolled back in fury as he ramped up the spell one more notch.
"Ugh...!"
"How the hell am I your father, you piece of trash!!"
For Odun, being assigned to the 7th Legion was a stroke of luck.
This was the only place where he was allowed to vent his anger on the soldiers.
Since all the soldiers here were criminals, ordinary officers couldn't control them.
You shouldn't show them any favor and not a shred of sympathy.
Only officers capable of such coldness were assigned here.
As such, the officers here were as pitiless and tearless as the soldiers.
The very moment someone is assigned to the 7th Legion, it's as though their human rights are gone.
If you can't stay unshaken while treating people like livestock, this is a place where dying at any moment wouldn't be out of the ordinary.
Odun, possessing such a nature, was able to serve here.
In fact, he'd found unparalleled joy when he arrived at the 7th Legion.
Because here, he could freely fulfill his wish of treating people like livestock.
"Say it again!!"
But now, after arriving at the 7th Legion, it was the first time he'd felt so infuriated.
"A lowly bastard branded a slave or criminal, and you dare call me father?"
"...."
"Say it, you mother******!!"
He was feeling the sum of all the anger a person could experience, all at once.
And he was experiencing this rage in the place he'd thought would bring him the most happiness—the 7th Legion.
From Odun's perspective, Louis was even more unforgivable for ruining that happiness.
"Stop whining and get up!"
"...."
"Hurry!"
Having completely lost his mind, Odun continued to torture Louis.
Usually, he would just make sure they wouldn't die, so he could watch their pained expressions for longer.
But raging like he was now, he would hardly mind if Louis ended up dead.
"Louis... you bastard!!"
Just then, Beck, who had been collapsed nearby, regained consciousness.
He had passed out after being beaten by Louis, and as soon as he came to, he glared at Louis and lunged.
"So you thought you'd get away with beating us up!"
"Huh?"
Odun, lost in the haze of torture, realized too late that Beck had woken up.
"Hey, wait!"
Odun tried to stop Beck, who was suddenly charging at Louis.
He thought maybe it would be even more effective if Beck beat Louis up while Odun tortured him with the spell.
But that was impossible. You're not supposed to touch someone being tortured.
"You ba...stard aaaaaaaargh!!!"
No sooner had Beck landed a punch on Louis's face than he suddenly let out a scream.
Just like someone being shocked with high voltage, he shuddered the entire time he was screaming.
It happened the moment his fist touched Louis's body.
"Idiot! I told you to wait!"
"Gah... guh...."
In the end, Beck groaned in pain and passed out again.
The torture spell worked by generating an electric current through the body.
That's why you had to stay away from a soldier being tortured.
Even if you used a tool, as long as it wasn't insulated, you could be electrocuted as well.
Otherwise, you'd end up like Beck.
"Ugh...."
Having endured as much as he could, Louis collapsed to the ground.
Had it not been for the earlier provocation, Odun might have woken him up with water to torment him more, but he couldn't.
"Training's over! Return to the barracks!"
A shout came from afar, from an officer even higher-ranked than Odun.
.
.
.
As Odun disappeared, having been called by the higher officer, Louis opened his eyes, completely fine.
"That one was pretty rough."
Getting up, Louis stretched his throbbing body, flexing his neck and waist.
After rotating his neck several times and bending his waist sideways like a bow, Beck, who had been lying nearby, spoke up just as Louis was about to start morning exercises.
"You... how...?"
Beck, who'd just punched Louis only to be caught up in the spell himself, seemed to find talking or moving difficult from the aftereffects.
"Why... how are you fine...!"
Even though he had only been caught up in it for a moment, his body was a mess.
Yet Louis, who received the full effect, was nonchalantly getting up and stretching.
Not only was the torture more intense than usual, but Louis was also only twelve years old.
Even those over thirty had a hard time enduring it, so how could a kid take it?
"Who knows?"
Louis replied briefly, then picked up a knife that had fallen to the ground.
"If anything, I'm just as curious myself."
"Hiiik!"
When Louis pointed the knife at him, Beck let out a short scream.
With the sun at his back, Louis's face was cast in shadow.
From his shadowed features, two eyes—not human, but monstrous—gleamed.
"Let's finish what we started earlier."
"What?"
"I mean training. Training."
The sharp tip of the knife in Louis's hand aimed for Beck's eyeball.
It was only about two centimeters away, meaning he could be blinded at any second, and tears welled up in Beck's eyes.
"Training's over, right? Let me go now...!!"
Beck whimpered, but Louis replied with a cold smirk.
"So what? Are you planning on running away now?"
Louis grabbed Beck by the hair.
This allowed Beck to see Louis's eyes clearly.
They looked just like a monster's, not a human's, and Beck recoiled in terror.
"Just once... please, just forgive me this once!"
"Forgive you? If the roles were reversed, would you forgive me?"
"No... please, just once... aaaaagh!!"
Without listening to any excuses, Louis stabbed the knife toward Beck's eye.
Ignoring Beck's screams, Louis looked him straight in the face and spoke.
"Listen up. If you lay a hand on any of my squadmates again, a broken arm like today's will be the least of your worries. Also, soon, all of you are going to get together and apologize to the squadmate you tried to assault."
"Apologize?"
Beck, not understanding those words, twisted his face.
Having lived a life of killing even before he came here, the concept of apology was long forgotten.
"Hey. What's with that face? Didn't you hear me?"
"No! I'll do it! I'll gather the others and we'll all apologize!"
But as soon as he felt Louis's killing intent, Beck changed his attitude.
All his infamy as a bandit was worthless in this place.
"I'm asking you for a favor."
Throwing the knife aside, Louis grabbed Beck by the collar with both hands.
In Beck's now half-blind gaze, Louis no longer looked human.
"Just don't make me lose my mind. Don't do anything to make me lose control and cause trouble again. Got it?"
"Ugh...."
A whimper, like a frightened puppy, came from Beck's throat.
"If not for Odun, you would have died already."
With those last words, Louis let go of Beck. As he walked toward the barracks, his eyes returned to normal.
If it hadn't been for Odun, they would have died. That wasn't a joke.
More precisely, it was thanks to the spell Odun had activated.
After turning into a monster that day, Louis became someone who could lose control and go on a rampage at any moment.
Once he lost his mind, he would lose himself completely.
The only thing that could suppress Louis's rampage was that one thing.
'Isn't there another officer who could torture me more?'
The torture spell used to control the soldiers of the 7th Legion.
For some reason, the moment he experienced that spell, the rampaging instincts inside Louis were temporarily reset.
The only way to regain his senses was through that spell.
And it didn't even hurt, really.
For the other soldiers, it was torture, but for Louis, it was like medication.
This demon realm called the 7th Legion was the only dispensary capable of restraining Louis's condition.