Surviving a Shounen Manga

The Final Round (2)

‘The rumours definitely said that he has a lightning-based ability…’

Mong’s eyes focused on the translucent giant squat-jawed ghost in front of him.

It was strange indeed.

It was quite a sight to see two ghosts, each of whom only came up to his chest, merge into a single one who matched him in size.

Of course –

“You bastard! The head is mine!”

“I am the owner of this body! Screw off, right now!”

“Who’s this idiot pretending to be all high and mighty!”

It didn’t seem very coherent.

He had dealt with many abilities in the past, but this was his first time witnessing an ability like this. Creating a legion of ghosts that looked just like the master.

‘No, wait.’

Come to think of it, Mong remembered seeing something similar recently.

On the day he’d played a game of tug-of-war with the princess, the vague image that had risen up behind her.

Of course, the colour and opacity of the figure had been different, and it’d taken the form of Bayar Khan instead of Squatjaw, but the fact remained that both were ghosts.

His thoughts seemed to click into place.

Mong spoke, looking at the ‘real Squatjaw’.

“It was… probably you, who gave the princess strength during the tug-of-war.”

Then,

“What? Uh… wh-, what are you talking about?”

As expected, the bastard looked visibly upset.

“I did think it was kind of weird. The princess showed tremendous power from the start, sure, but it wasn’t at a level that we wouldn’t be able to beat her. And on top of that, once I entered the fray, her eyes looked almost resigned. Then something whitish suddenly jumped into her body, and her strength skyrocketed… It’s only natural to guess that some external power had been implanted into her.”

Squatjaw didn’t speak up to affirm or deny, but Mong was already certain of his reasoning. Not to mention the fact that the bastard was whistling while avoiding his eyes, like a cheating examinee who’d gotten caught by the invigilator, didn’t help his case.

“You bastard, why did you have to bring Bayar Khan into it? If there’s no connection to him, it’s a great crime to steal his likeness. It’s the same as insulting the empire itself.”

“… Eh? Bayar Khan?”

“Yeah, when you gave the princess power, didn’t you form his image?”

Then,

“What do you… no, I… ah! That… that wasn’t me.”

Suddenly, the bastard’s attitude took a complete U-turn.

“What?”

“That wasn’t a ghost, that… well, it was a ghost, but, um… well, it looked different from these guys, didn’t it? Haah, how do I explain this?”

Squatjaw shook his head and protested as if he was being unfairly targeted.

“Okay, so, here goes! The ghost that appeared during the tug-of-war had nothing to do with me. That was just how the princess’ power took shape. And Bayardin or whatever, I don’t even know who that is. Don’t you know, I’m from Westland? That old-timer might be famous here, but not in the other continents.”

“… You aren’t any good at lying, are you.”

Mong had never said that Bayar Khan’s ghost had been in the form of an old man, or that he was famous.

It was as if Squatjaw was confessing to him. That he had indeed created that ghost back then.

But Mong had no intention of continuing this line of questioning any further. After all, it wasn’t that important.

Mong was just content, and his heart had relaxed a bit.

In fact, he’d been struggling a bit with impatience till now. If the princess exerted the same level of super strength as she’d done in the tug of war, even with a sevenfold numerical advantage compared to back then, he couldn’t feel relieved.

So, he had deliberately brought only the Royal Guard with him, to hunt down Squatjaw in the shortest time. He had to finish the guy quickly, and then join the main force to take care of the princess.

But now that he realized that even the princess’ power had been provided by Squatjaw, things were much simpler.

The princess was nothing to worry about. He just needed to beat this guy up.

Then,

‘And in order to reach the real Squatjaw, I’ll have to deal with this guy first.’

Mong turned his gaze back to the gigantic squat-jawed ghost in front of him.

As if he’d finished sorting himself (?) out, the ghost had stopped talking to himself. However, compared to the two separate entities, the intelligence seemed to have dropped a bit.

“Ugly… giant. I won’t… let you go. “

“You talking about yourself? Squat-jawed ghost.”

“I’m… not ugly… giant, kill you!”

The small ghosts had also stuck to the Royal Guard members. One ghost per head. It seemed that Squatjaw had created a matching number of ghosts on purpose.

‘How cute… going one-on-one against the Royal Guard, naive.’

Although the emperor hadn’t announced it in his speech, many of the warriors under his direct command had taken part in this Warrior’s Path disguised as natives of the mountain. And in particular, the Royal Guard was the crème of the crop among them.

Mong ordered briefly.

“Don’t think too much about strategy or tactics. Just stay comfortable and deal with things as they come.”

“Yeah!”

“Got it!”

Then, the battle between the ghosts and the Royal Guard began.

“Now then, let’s finish up quickly, shall we?”

Mong focused on the giant ghost in front of him.

People may fear ghosts, but that’s only fear of the unknown.

In broad daylight, face-to-face like this, there was no risk.

It looked like it had some physical power, as rocks and branches were crushed as it moved, but that didn’t mean it was an obstacle.

These balloons made of mists, the only thing they had going for them was the intimidation factor.

So,

“Don’t fall apart at the first blow, yeah?”

Mong, feeling relaxed, approached the ghost without any particular precaution.

And then,

Puff–.

Darkness quickly swallowed him.

…

Mong opened his eyes.

‘What? What happened?’

When he jerked his head up in surprise, he saw the squat-jawed ghost still standing in a funny pose, his arms raised to the sides, looking at him with a smirk.

“You… stupid… giant… weakling!”

Distressingly, he seemed to have fainted for a very short moment. With one punch of this bastard.

It was hard to stop his face from flushing at the momentary rush of shame. He’d underestimated his enemy.

Mong immediately raised his focus to the limit.

This ghost wasn’t weak. No, rather, it might be stronger than him in terms of pure physical abilities.

Mong had become a giant, and his strength as well as his stamina had increased tremendously. His bones and muscles had become so dense that he could effortlessly crush steel.

And even with all that, to knock him out in one shot? Forget about a balloon, even a pure steel golem wouldn’t be able to do it.

‘Who exactly are you…?’

Mong quickly adjusted his posture.

“Giant… you waiting…? Attack…”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

As soon as the words had gotten out, Mong broke into a sprint.

As he continued to observe, Mong was finally able to see his opponent’s movements properly.

Unlike that slow speech, the ghost moved terribly fast. Not only did it dodge Mong’s own attack, but it even had enough room to counterattack.

Whoosh–.

Mong felt a chill run down his spine as the ghost’s fist brushed against the tip of his head.

It was incredibly fast. Quick as a hawk swooping down to snatch its prey. That kind of speed should’ve been impossible for something that size.

Mong had just barely escaped. Only by dint of pure reflex.

If he’d taken it straight on the chin, it wouldn’t have ended with a quick stun like last time. His face might’ve gotten completely crushed.

Mong traded a few more blows just in case.

And the conclusion he reached was –

‘He’s stronger than me. Much stronger.’

This ghost was an absolute monster.

The reason Mong was still alive, was because the ghost was holding back for some godforsaken reason.

This… was absurd.

‘What the hell did you create…’

Mong hurriedly looked around. If the little ones were at this big guy’s level, the Royal Guards were in for a bad time.

And, as expected.

“Eek!”

“Hey, why won’t my attacks work?”

“D-, dodge!”

“Let’s team up!”

None of the guys were fighting properly.

There wasn’t even a single guy who could hit the ghosts properly. The swords of the Royal Guards could only pass through the bodies of the ghosts without doing any damage.

‘No way…’

Mong could come up with only one hypothesis. Unique ability.

Those who had one could damage these ghosts, but those who didn’t, couldn’t even touch them.

“Heh, huh, haha…”

It was a situation that made him laugh out loud.

It almost felt like the ghosts were playing around.

He’d been wrong. That Squatjaw wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill monster.

He wasn’t just strong enough to conquer this Warrior’s Path, he was an absolute oddity that even Mong and the princess together, along with their respective camps, might not be able to beat.

“…”

Mong raised his hand to the gigantic squat-jawed ghost who was walking towards him.

“Stop.”

“… Eh?”

“I mean, wait. Can you do that?”

“Uh… yes. Sure…”

I knew it. The ghost never had any intention of knocking him down. He was just here to stall.

And that was probably by the order of the ‘real’ Squatjaw.

Mong turned towards the man who was playing with one of the bodyguards in the distance. He looked as relaxed as a child playing with a toy.

Mong was feeling worried.

He understood clearly. The depths of his own negligence and mistakes.

He could never win if things went on like this.

“… There’s no helping it.”

If he hadn’t been standing here, on this ‘Warriors’ Land’, he probably wouldn’t have made this choice so resolutely. Even if he was staring defeat in the face.

But he could never fall down here. Here, he had no choice but to stand on his own two legs. Whatever the cost.

Because that was the promise he had made in front of his comrades’ corpses, back in the day. That was the oath he had sworn before gorging on their blood and flesh.

“Huff… how big a mess is this going to make?”

Mong exhaled slowly, then looked around and ordered.

“All Royal Guard members, immediately withdraw from the battlefield. The Bloody Giant will soon arrive.”

Then,

“Eh?”

“Oh no!”

“General, that’s not…!”

His mean left behind the ghosts they’d been tussling with and came running.

But Mong had no intention of backing down.

“It can’t go on like this. You don’t have the ability to deal with these ghosts, and the same goes for me. So we have to change our tactic.”

Then, he spoke to the real Squatjaw, who was watching him with a blank gaze.

“I might not be able to keep my promise to spare your life.”

“… What?”

And then,

“Hey, it’s good that you’re confident… but you might be taking it too far, you know?”

Squatjaw was frowning slightly as he responded.

Mong wasn’t offended. Rather, such a reaction made him feel that the man might even be pretty humble.

“Well, you might not have taken my promise seriously. But being a giant isn’t all I’ve got, you know? There’s one more transformation. That’s my ultimate strength.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“However, there are side effects. Like losing my mind. Becoming a crazy monster that only thirsts for blood. Just like… just like how I’d been back then.”

It was a bitter memory.

Mong was silent for a moment, then he buried the memories of the past that had risen to the surface and continued.

Finally –

“Probably, even against you, it won’t fall short.”

Mong started to focus.

While in the state of ‘frenzy’, he’d consider all living things around him as his enemies. If he couldn’t recognize Squatjaw as the primary enemy, he might end up inflicting serious damage on his allies instead.

“Everyone, back off.”

Then, after confirming that the Royal Guard had stepped far enough back, it was time to reveal his true ‘power’.

“Uh… wait, wait!”

Squatjaw suddenly shouted.

“Then, can’t we do that a little later?”

“… What are you talking about?”

“Save it for now, and use it for the main event.”

“… What?”

But before he could properly clarify,

“Oh no! Look over there! The princess is in danger!?”

The guy shouted out of nowhere. Then he pointed to the side where the princess’ camp was and started running.

“…”

Of course, it was true that the main unit of his army had started clashing with the princess’ side by this time.

It was also true that the princess was being pushed back, because of the numerical disadvantage as well as the strength of the warriors who’d sneaked into the test disguised as native mountain people.

But that didn’t mean her life was at stake. The battle had only just started!

But,

“Seven hundred people against a hundred? I must go!”

And he even had the audacity to run backwards while shouting?

Mong was frozen in place, stunned.

Then, while he could only stare blankly, the bastard got on his horse and started moving. Destination, the princess’ camp.

“If you’re feeling upset, come chase me!”

…?

The timing was just right.

By the time the ‘war of giants’ was shown in moderation, there was a battle on the princess’ side as well.

Of course, this ‘war of giants’ wasn’t very satisfactory by my standards. There should’ve been a more explosive fight, something to really make the blood boil, but the ‘king’ was more expensive than I’d thought.

‘King’ was currently the highest level of ghost that I could being out, and for Yan to summon a guy like that, he’d need at least ten more chapters. This ability, that would one day be used by a key supporting actor, was far too much for the current Mong, who’d never even appeared in the original work, to handle.

So, should I have faced Mong after his transformation? I had some ideas about that. I thought I might be able to create a slightly better scene.

However,

‘Yeah, that’s not going to happen. The princess has to get the lion’s share of the credit.’

So I just decided to fold. Because the situation could take a strange turn if I got too greedy.

What if Mong, after going crazy, only chased after a specific someone without looking at anybody else? And what if that someone was me?

Hmm. Just imagining it was terrifying.

Then,

“Hit it!”

“Take care of the horse!”

“Get rid of it!”

A battlefield in full swing came into view.

The princess’ camp looked to be in quite a precarious position.

In the first place, there was a huge difference in numbers, and if one looked closely, there was a great disparity in individual strength between the two sides as well.

As a result, even though no special tactics were used, the princess’ warriors were being pushed back one after another.

By the way,

“Hey… is it that guy?”

The bald guy who’d been the first to become her subordinate was doing a good job. If not for him, the princess’ front line might have collapsed right away.

At that time,

‘By the way, where is she?’

I was a little perplexed.

I thought she would be at the forefront, bravely fighting off the enemies and overshadowing everybody else, but the princess was nowhere to be seen, even after I looked around carefully.

“Wait, where the hell is she?”

At that moment, the figure of the princess appeared in my eyes.

She sat at the back, watching her camp crumble.

Puzzling.

It didn’t fit her temper at all.

‘Is she afraid…?’

Nah, that couldn’t be.

Although the overall level of the enemy was high, it wasn’t to the extent that the princess would feel intimidated. With the help of Bayar Khan by her side, she had the capital to fight.

Of course, if someone had little combat experience and had never seen blood, they might indeed freeze a little…

“Hmm.”

It seemed like we had to meet face to face once.

In fact, even if she was scared, it didn’t matter. No, it might be better that way.

I don’t know how powerful Mong would become once he turned crazy, but it’d probably be difficult for the princess to handle as she was now.

In order for the princess to overcome him alone, she had to awaken her unique ability somehow. Or maybe I’d have to work hard behind the scenes again.

‘Fear’ and ‘crisis’, could be two great ingredients for her awakening process.

‘She isn’t shaking even a little…’

Then,

“Uh… what are you doing here?”

As I crossed the battlefield and arrived in front of the princess, I was a little perplexed.

“… Squatjaw? What is it?”

“No, nothing, just. It looked like there’s an emergency, so I came running.”

“… Ah?”

Surprisingly, the princess didn’t look terrified at all.

Rather, both her eyes were shining calmly but firmly.

She was just watching the battlefield. Like she was waiting for a specific ‘time’.

“Do I look weird?”

“… What?”

“It just feels that way. I feel like I’m somehow different from before. There’s no fear.”

“I don’t think you were that scared in the first place, right?”

“Well, anyway, it feels like I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. It’s an emergency, and it’s definitely something to be scared of, but I’m not feeling that at all. It feels like something is wriggling deep within my heart.”

“… Is that so?”

I scratched my head.

‘What did that old man say… again?’

It was then that I remembered what I’d talked about with Bayar Khan and felt a little embarrassed.

Crisis or fear… those inner emotions weren’t what the princess needed to awaken. No. She just needed time.

Why had the princess never awakened? Simple. Because the time hadn’t come yet.

From the beginning, from the point of character creation, the princess had been designed to awaken here, and now.

Yeah, as a character that had even appeared in the original story, this kind of a setting made sense.

In other words, all our running around until now had been for nothing. Even if she’d stayed still, she still would’ve awakened.

Finally,

“It’s coming.”

A pure white light began to slowly radiate from the princess’s body.

And along with that,

Clang, clang!

Kill her!

The peak owner is over there!

Attack!

The closer the enemy came, the more brightly her body shone.

‘Should I just wait and watch?’

I decided to take it easy and watch the scene. With only a slightly surprised expression on my face.

Then, at the moment one of the enemy finally came within striking distance and brandished a sword at her –

“… Come.”

Her body radiated light like an explosion.

And as the light spread out, first engulfing the nearby enemies, then her allies still fighting in the distance, and finally covering the heavens and the earth –

“Look, look up!”

“The sky! Look at the sky!”

“A, a horse?!”

A giant jet-black horse pierced through the sky and rushed towards her side.