I Obtained the Final Boss' Power-Chapter 7 : Prescription (3)

Prescription (3)
The swordsmanship where one assumes a precise stance and swings their sword while rotating their body.
It looked as if one was drawing a semicircle centered around oneself, so the knights called it the 'Crescent Slash'.
If nothing else, giving it a name might seem superfluous, but it was such a useful technique that knights were eager to master it.
Not only was the swinging motion fast, but its cutting power was so sharp it would slice through anything.
The one cut by this move wouldn't even realize what had happened before their head hits the ground.
The cutting power that flowed from such elegant movements could not be reproduced by an ordinary knight's skill.
To master the Crescent Slash was proof one had become a sword user capable of strengthening their body with mana.
Even just after first mastering the Crescent Slash, a sword user's swinging speed was faster than an arrow.
Once one reached Expert, they could handle swordsmanship several times faster as if it were a basic move.
In fact, with the naked eye, an ordinary person could not hope to keep up with a duel between those who had attained this realm.
You couldn't see how the sword moved; how could you possibly recognize who did what?
In that sense, Odun was a skilled swordsman. Apart from his cruel nature, there was a clear reason for his placement in the 7th Legion.
His peer, Kelton, was no different.
Even in their swordsmanship academy days, already capable of Crescent Slash and having reached the level of a superhuman, none of their peers could rival them.
The rabble dragged into the 7th Legion—all their capabilities were predictable.
How many among them would ever witness an Expert wielding the Crescent Slash?
Unless Odun had made a mistake, the trash's heads had to be separated for sure.
'Did I make a mistake?'
But now, for the first time since coming to the 7th Legion, Odun began doubting his sword.
He was sure he had tried to cut through both the snake monster and Louis at the same time.
In reality, the monster's face was sliced clean, and the people standing behind had their head lopped off.
"Big Bro, please be careful. I almost lost my own head there."
But the one who should have been cut—Louis—was perfectly fine. Instead, it was his own two squad members whose heads had been severed.
"You... just what...."
Clearly, only the snake monster and Louis were in the arc of the Crescent Slash.
The only reason his two squad members had entered that range was because they had pushed Louis.
"How did you do that...?"
"What do you mean?"
Odun, with a vacant expression, asked, but Louis only tilted his head in confusion.
Which made Odun even angrier.
"How did you dodge my sword!!"
He had seen it clearly. Louis ducked his head to avoid the sword.
At the same time, he had grabbed the clothes of the two squad members behind, pulling them into the path of the blade.
Odun's eyes did not lie.
"Answer honestly! How did you do it!"
Odun gritted his teeth and tried to corner Louis.
He looked about ready to cut Louis down on the spot if he didn't get the answer he wanted.
Louis, staring undisturbed at Odun, spoke dryly.
"I just did it well."
He simply dodged—saw and evaded it.
At that concise answer, Odun lost his wits.
Even Kelton wore an expression like he'd misheard.
"Didn't I tell you not to spout nonsense!!!"
Because it was an answer without merit or justification, Odun exploded with anger, triggering his spell.
"Khhhrrrk!"
Normally, it would have inflicted excruciating pain, but it had no effect on Louis.
Whether it was a trait of that Chaos Dragon monster or something else, Louis didn't take any damage from the technique.
Still, to avoid suspicion, he had to at least pretend to be in agony.
Louis rolled across the ground, forcing out a performance of writhing and screaming.
"You just dodged well? Are you kidding me!!"
It made no sense. How could a twelve-year-old dodge swordsmanship faster than the human eye could follow?
Not only that, he'd gone beyond dodging—he'd pulled the two squad members behind him into the blade's arc, leading to their deaths.
Such a stunt could only be pulled off by at least a 'Middle Expert'.
"Be honest! What are you, really!!"
Odun continued with the torment, but his rage didn't subside.
He wanted to kill this guy immediately, but instead, his own men had died, which drove him mad.
Thinking about Louis's bizarre conduct, he seemed to be hiding something. At the very least, he wasn't the kind to die from a simple plot.
And that made Odun even angrier.
"Big Bro!!~ I'm dying!!"
"Then die! Just die already!!"
Louis's screams sounded, but there was something off about his tone.
He was pretending to be in pain, but it was clear he wasn't really suffering.
Which only made Odun's anger grow.
Looking back, this brat had always taunted him.
Other soldiers would shrink away whenever an officer approached, afraid of being tortured.
But this kid?
Calling Odun 'big bro', calling him 'dad'.
Didn't he know that just saying the wrong thing in front of an officer could get him killed under torture?
No way. There was no way he didn't know.
It was something strictly drilled into everyone during a month of rigorous training.
So why did he act like this? Surely, there were more than a few soldiers who'd died from not wising up after torture.
And yet, he openly called an officer 'big bro'?
What is this brat hiding?
What makes him act so bold?
No, more than that... Is he even really in pain right now?
"Hey Odun! That's enough."
Just then, Kelton stopped Odun, whose eyes were clouded with rage.
Of course, it wasn't out of pity for Louis.
"We don't have time for this! We have to go before the monsters catch the scent of blood and swarm us!"
The stench of blood was thick from the snake monster's corpse.
On top of that, there were two dead humans, so monsters with keen noses would soon gather.
After all, among monsters, special meal means nothing less than human flesh.
"...."
Odun hesitated for a moment. No matter how much he tortured Louis, his anger wouldn't subside.
"There's no upper-rank monster in the egg nest right now. If you run into it there, are you going to take responsibility?"
A higher-rank monster was a walking disaster; there was no other way to put it.
Even officers had to flee on sight.
If they didn't hurry, they risked crossing paths with such a monster.
"Damn it...."
In the end, Odun had to suppress his fury with utmost self-control.
He couldn't risk such an important operation just to kill a mere soldier.
With Odun's decision, the soldiers resumed their march. Despite undergoing severe torture, Louis led his cart as if nothing had happened.
Despite the harsh torture, Louis was walking around, pulling heavy things effortlessly.
Odun and Kelton both found this suspicious, but put such thoughts aside for later.
"You okay?"
"...."
At that moment, one soldier walked up behind Louis and pushed his cart.
He looked like a boy a little older than Louis.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Yaran from Kelton's squad. Your name is Louis, right?"
The boy called Yaran suddenly approached Louis with a friendly face.
For a 7th Legion soldier, it was an unusual attitude, but there was no hostility in it.
"You're really something! After that torture, how can you pull this cart like it's nothing? Most people wouldn't even be able to move."
That was a reasonable observation.
A normal soldier would have been left so battered they couldn't even groan.
Other soldiers besides Yaran were also looking at Louis in wonder.
"I'm just a bit unusual physically."
"Unusual? Do you not feel pain?"
"That's not it."
He still felt some stinging sensation under the spell, so it wasn't like he'd lost all pain sensation.
It's just... how to put it.
"I'm just naturally tough, that's all."
He couldn't very well say outright that he'd inherited the body of the final boss, so Louis just gave a vague answer.
When he said it was a natural peculiarity, Yaran only responded, 'Is that so?'
"So, Louis, how did you end up joining the 7th Legion?"
How did he end up being conscripted? The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it was.
"It was due to guilt by association."
"Did your parents commit some major crime? For them to punish you as well, it must have been something huge."
"That's what the official record says."
In fact, the so-called crime could be cleared up with just a little investigation.
Yet, seeing how the higher-ups just dumped him into the demon realm without regard for truth or falsehood showed just how rotten the system was.
"They probably just wanted to curry favor with the higher-ups by selling off a talented kid like me to a place like this. It's all too obvious."
The child paying for the sins of their dead parents?
Fine, let's say, for the sake of argument, that the responsibility could be passed onto the child.
But was it really necessary to throw them into the demon realm for that?
What, did they measure his potential for future crime?
It sounded absurd, but in this world, that seemed to be possible.
The proof was that he'd been dragged into the 7th Legion so openly.
"You have a rough story like me too."
"So why are you here, Yaran?"
"Revenge. I killed the man who was responsible for my father's death, but that counted as murder so I was brought here."
Compared to Louis, it was easier to accept, given that he had, in fact, committed murder.
No matter how much Yaran's act of revenge was self-defense, there were enough grounds for it to be considered a crime.
"Even though I wound up here, I bet my dad is smiling at me from heaven."
"What kind of person was he?"
"He was a righteous man. He supported our family by selling people's organs for money."
... Excuse me? What did you just say?
"Say that again."
"Didn't you hear?"
No, he had heard.
He just couldn't believe his ears.
"He would just kill a passing merchant here and there, harvest some organs, and support me with the money. He was a great man who sacrificed everything for his son!"
He hadn't misheard. Louis felt a chill run down his back at those words.
"Ha ha ha... Puhahaha!!"
Louis, who had been momentarily dumbfounded, burst out laughing.
Of course. There was no way someone from the 7th Legion would be normal.
Spirit of sacrifice? He felt foolish for expecting even a shred of that.
"We're here."
At Odun's command from up front, the expedition stopped walking.
Louis, who had been laughing for a while, shut his mouth.
In front of them loomed a massive cave, obviously the egg nest they sought.
"From here on, it won't be strange for any of you to die. Steel yourselves."
With Odun's warning, the expedition entered the nest.
Yet, for all it was a higher-rank monster's nest, there was nothing particularly strange about it.
It was just a dark, ordinary cave like any other.
One soldier even snorted, saying it didn't look like a place where powerful monsters would show up.
"It's already begun."
At that moment, Kelton drew his sword and muttered.
Louis, whose senses were sharp, understood what he meant before anyone else.
It was that the chest of the sneering soldier walking behind him had just been pierced by something.
― Grrrk.
A monster's cry sounded, and something shot at the soldiers like a bolt.
Simultaneously, two soldiers' heads vanished as if erased by an eraser.
"A lower-rank monster. Were they placed here as egg guards?"
Kelton spoke as he stared at the revealed monsters.
They were lizards almost three meters long and a meter high, flicking poison-filled tongues and eyeing the expedition.
Poison Lizard.
Despite their size, their specialty was quickly piercing their enemies with their venomous tongues.
"Oh? Aaaargh!!"
Yaran, who first saw the corpses, let out a scream. The other soldiers were equally scared, but Yaran alone shrieked.
Naturally, because he made the loudest noise, the lizards turned their attention to Yaran.
Frightened at being targeted, Yaran immediately hid behind Louis.
"What are you doing?"
"Louis, help me! We're friends, right?"
"Just because we talked a few times doesn't mean we're friends, you know?"
By that logic, even those monsters should be my friends, you idiot.
"Anyway, help me!!"
Seeing Yaran suddenly panic, Louis could only sigh.
Anyone might react like that in this situation, but Yaran had killed to avenge his father.
And considering he'd justified his father's crimes and even had the gall to take revenge, it was absurd, even laughable.
― Grrrk!
"Eeek!"
As a lizard's mouth opened, Yaran shoved Louis forward towards the monster.
His hands moved without hesitation, as if by habit.
As Louis was pushed, the lizard shot out its tongue.
The sharp tongue that had pierced the upper body of a soldier moments ago was like a piledriver.
Its speed was faster than an arrow, but Louis simply tilted his head and easily dodged it.
SPLURT-
The tongue missed and instead pierced the back of the fleeing, sobbing Yaran's head.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Fuck you Yaran.
Serves you right.
【(⩌_⩌ )】
Also, it seems after transforming into the Chaos Dragon, Louis' emotions are a bit out of whack...