Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

94 – Right Arm 2

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.

People have different suitabilities.

For me, however, it’s not enough to just impersonate who I wanted to be

That approach was a failure.

In the first place, that’s just an imitation. An inferior copy.

I’m not saying that admiration is bad. It’s just that the world isn’t that easy to live in, to the point that you can deal with it with only admiration.

My perception was naive.

Until the first failure, my brother and I were the same.

But Phil is amazing.

Both of us who weren’t popular and our companions, the Thief Leila and the Fairy and Wizard Ruri, are now popular.

The Holy Paladin Mark was also misfortunate at his previous party, so my brother turned around the lives of five Adventurers, including himself.

He perceived Adventurers as merchandise, thought about trends and party balance, and created a personality that is suitable for him and me.

The result was a success.

Leila, Ruri, and Mark seem to be happy with the current situation.

But what about me and Philip?

『Whoa, there is a development in this side as well. The battle was in a stalemate after Mark stopped casting his White Magic, but contestant Berith is attacking him again!』

『Contestant Berith is very proficient in using Earth Magic. People tend to pay attention to those who have Spirits, but magic is a power that is approved by even Humans. Speaking of Adventurers, the famous Wizard of Foresight Merlin can use magic that is on par with contractors of the Four Great Spirits even though she doesn’t have a contract with a Spirit.』

『You’re referring to the Wizard in the 2nd ranked party, right? Well, although she might not be as good as Merlin, she certainly gives off the impression of being able to use both flashy, high-force magic and subtle, versatile magic.』

I feel sorry for the two commentators and everyone in the audience.

I’m not an Insect-Human who doesn’t rely on Spirits, but a Hero in disguise.

Although, Aerial might just be pretending that he doesn’t know, even though he actually realized it.

『Yeah, but will she be satisfied with just being able to properly use both magic? Or will she-』

As expected of a top-notch Hero. To think that he can instantly give an answer for what I’ve been worried about for the past few years.

That’s right.

I admire a hero who ultimately wins in the end, even though that image became muddy and tattered.

A hero who can endure the damage and defeat his opponent with great skill.

I have learned how to fight with the fighting style that I admire.

My Aptitude as a hero who wins with beautiful, flowing magic.

A hero who is protected by her brother and Mark and defeats her opponents with ease.

I have also learned how to fight with the fighting style that my brother demonstrated for me.

Failure and success.

Aspiration and Aptitude.

Dream and reality.

Two fighting styles that are seemingly at odds with each other.

…Thank you, brother.

…Thank you, Lem.

Thank you brother for showing me how to survive in reality.

Thank you Lem for showing me how to never give up on my dreams.

I’m grateful to both of you.

「That’s a pretty adorable armament.」

Contrary to my boastful speech, all I did was clad the surface of my arm with silver.

It seemed a bit anticlimactic.

「Is that so? Even if I do this?」

But of course, this is not the end.

「What…? Ugh!」

He jumped to the side.

A cannonball-sized silver was aimed at his back. The sword held by the『arm』was reshaped and thrown at him.

「I see, this will certainly allow you to have a longer range to some extent. But if that’s all it…is…」

If it’s only to that extent, I won’t be able to defeat him.

So I just tried to not let it end at that extent.

The cannonball he avoided didn’t miss its target, just like how I intended it, the cannonball crashed into my fist.

Just like that, it coiled around my arm.

The silver arm became slightly larger.

『-Ohhh…! Contestant Berith has taken all this into consideration! Since her special move takes a long time to prepare, she had to buy time with the walls and Lem’s Black Magic. The problem was that the various skills she had will not damage contestant Philip, who specializes in defense. But if she doesn’t use those skills, then he will close the distance. She solved that problem in a single swoop. It’s brilliant!』

『While maintaining the diversion of「Minor Skills」, she made the preparation to use her「Greater Skill」. Once the preparations were complete, she used her「Minor Skills」to stop her opponent and deliver the blow. Not only did she use them well, but she also combined the skills that she can use and made it evolve. This will be very troublesome for her opponent.』

If I try to create huge magic all at once, it will result in a huge opening.

If that’s the case, I can use small magic and gradually make it bigger.

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds, and constructing the magic was so tedious that smoke was coming out of my head. 

But this is a new form.

Not just one or the other, but a combination of admiration and Aptitude.

All that remains is to produce results. That is the most difficult part.

「Well done, but it’s still not enough, and there’s one flaw in that strategy.」

He remained calm.

The『arm』that grew before his evasion was holding a sword.

He didn’t avoid the swing of the sword.

He gripped and crushed it with his arm that was covered with『Diamond』.

Just like that, he put both of his hands around my『arm』and put more strength into the grip.

The creaking『arm』developed a crack and eventually…broke.

「It’ll be finished off as long as I don’t avoid it. With your skills, the silver can’t harm me.」

「Then I’ll go towards you.」

「Wh-!」

From the moment he caught the sword, I started running.

By the time he turned around to look at me, our distance had shrunk to the point where we could hit each other.

He didn’t even block the blow aimed at his abdomen.

There are two sounds of impact.

One from my arm striking him in the stomach.

One from his arm striking me in the face.

The both of us retreated as if we were repelled from each other. We didn’t intend to do that. It was the impact of both of our attacks that did it.

At the moment of contact, the silver that was scattered around him stuck to my arm.

The magic was set up so that the silver would merge together at a certain distance. 

My vision wobbled. What a heavy blow.

I shouldn’t take another hit to the head.

I had considered that he would react quickly, but I didn’t expect that that brother of mine would actually prioritize countering rather than defending.

It didn’t seem like- no, that’s just like my brother.

The person I admired was the Hero of the Cursed Sword.

Then who did my brother admire?

That person was called the Iron Wall Hero.

『The Iron Wall Hero is the most amazing. Because if the hero doesn’t receive any damage, then he won’t lose, right? A hero who never falls is a hero who never loses. Just because he’s the Iron Wall Hero doesn’t mean that his attacks are weak. An armor that is impervious to any attack can become a weapon that can shatter any armor. He can take on all of his enemies and then win. Isn’t that so cool?』

That’s what my older brother told me when we were kids.

I was moved by the cool female hero who tries to win even if she was torn and tattered.

Phil was fascinated by the cool hero who remained unharmed against all kinds of attacks.

「I will not be defeated by a fist of that level.」

I knew it.

My brother has changed, but there are still parts of him that still haven’t changed.

You didn’t lose your admiration for that hero, did you? It’s just that you’ve sealed it away and you’re now acting as your sister’s knight.

「Don’t worry. I’ll hit you harder next time.」