Thus Gradim and the other main leaders of the Magical Beast Division were all dead. But there was still danger on the battlefield—and the source of that danger was currently delighted to see Gradim’s head rolling in front of him.
“What a lovely piece of prey to dine on!”
The one who took this head in hand and devoured it without hesitation was Vega the Power, one of the leaders of Cerberus. He had been undercover in the Magical Beast Division under orders from Yuuki, and as he chewed on the remains of Gradim, he found his body beginning to teem with power. His limber physique, looking like it belonged to a carnivorous beast, grew one size larger, until he was as tall as the six-foot-eight Gradim. The upgrade to his musculature made his uniform look swollen on him.
“Hmm… Not bad…but not good enough yet.”
But as Vega muttered to himself, he kept finding more and more tasty prey: the charred Nazim the Vermilion Bird; the dismembered Baraga the Azure Dragon; and Gozaline the Black Tortoise, now just a pile of melted metal. Silently, he snuck up to their resting places, quietly partaking in each one without anyone noticing—a feat made possible by his own innate power, the unique skill Scavenger.
………
……
…
Vega was born in Englesia’s royal capital. He wasn’t aware of it, but one of his parents was a former magical inquisitor for the government who was turned into a magic-born. Taking in too many magical elements, his father could no longer return to human form; in a craze, he attacked his mother, and Vega was the result.
He was thus a castoff from birth, a freak. The gestation was only about three days, and he had full sentience and awareness from the day he was born. But as an infant with no reason or language skills, he was feared as a monster by those around him, including his mother. Instead of being given love, he was nearly killed and forced into hiding.
But over the next decade or so, Vega found ways to survive. He ate rats, scavenged for scraps, and did whatever it took to stay alive. Finally, after a fight, he consumed a human being who was near death. And that’s when he realized it. All around him—there was so much prey everywhere.
Now that he had come to prey on humans as well, Vega had turned into a monster in name and deed. The order naturally came to dispatch this abomination, and it was Yuuki who took charge. With the help of Shizue Izawa, who was already acting as his instructor at the time, he successfully captured Vega.
But although he should have been rightfully executed, Yuuki felt that Vega’s strength was too much to let go to waste. He was gifted with a stout body and exceptional fighting senses, and Yuuki also thought he had the potential for further growth. With the right training, he could even become a useful pawn for him.
So Yuuki tricked Shizu into believing he had taken care of Vega. He then reached out to Damrada to have this “monster” raised in the Empire—and now he had grown up to become a fearsome warrior.
………
……
…
And fortunately for Vega, the battle between the Diable Chevalier reinforcements and the Chimera Knights was growing more and more intense. Thanks to that, he could fulfill his personal mission without attracting attention. The limbs of a tenacious beast, a body of hard magisteel, the power of a magic-repelling dragon, even wings that could soar through the sky—Vega found them all in short order.
Even better, he had picked up the Azure Dragon Spear, a God-class weapon. It had not yet recognized him as its master, but Vega didn’t mind. He poured his own power into it, forcing it to become one with him, literally bending its very will. It was the power of Control Metal, a skill he had picked up from the consumption of Gozaline.
Taking in a God-class weapon like this transformed Vega’s entire body into an even more ominous form. The eerie, alien-like armor covering him made him truly unidentifiable as a magic-born—and by this point, Gabil and the others were finally taking notice.
“Wha?! Look! Another giant mystery magic-born!”
Gabil’s forces let out exhausted whines at his excited shouting:
“But Sir Gabil, we’ve got our hands full!”
“Indeed.”
“It’s battle after battle here. Our supplies are running low. What should we do, Sir Gabil?”
Their consternation was understandable. Team Hiryu was heavily fatigued and reaching its limit. If the Diable Chevaliers had arrived any later, the front lines would have fallen long ago.
After all, they had been heavily relying upon the Beast Master’s Warrior Alliance, along with the Heaven Fliers, and now they were both away from the front. “Oh, crap,” Sufia first said. When Gabil asked what was wrong, she replied that she was “like, insanely sleepy.” Then it dawned on him. It had begun—the evolutionary slumber that was a key part of the Harvest Festival, at the worst possible moment.
Carillon and Frey were both very close to awakening, so this much was a foregone conclusion. It was an irresistible, unbearable physiological phenomenon, and there was no point complaining about it.
So Gabil and his crew were struggling to keep this patch of space protected all by themselves. Other units were also engaging the enemy at their own discretion, but Gabil’s force was anchored to this spot, further adding to their intense fatigue. Seeing Vega show up in the midst of this made the blood drain from his face.
“Do not worry, Sir Gabil. Allow me to reason with this one first. His name is Vega, and he’s a friend of that young boy Yuuki.”
The sudden presence of Gadora did much to calm Gabil.
“I hope that you will, then!”
“You are in good hands.”
The two men, who had become friends somewhere along the line, smiled and nodded at each other. Then Gadora stepped toward Vega.
“It’s been a long time, Vega.”
“Hmmm? Ohhh, old man Gadora, eh? I heard you switched sides to the demon lord Rimuru, but I guess that story was true?”
“Mm-hmm. And that means I’m fighting alongside Yuuki here. But I’m glad to see you! If I weren’t around, they would’ve treated you as their enemy.”
“Really?”
Vega glanced at Gadora, who approached him in a friendly, aloof manner. Then he immediately averted his eyes. To him, there was far more interesting business to attend to.
Now he was staring at Carillon and Frey—and around them, even more delicious-looking things to prey on. His mouth was salivating profusely, his mind ecstatic as it pondered how the meat would taste.
“I can serve as your middleman with them, so if you could kindly lend a hand to us—bwaah?!”
Gadora had tried to pat Vega on the shoulder in a friendly manner, but Vega’s fist quickly knocked him away. He’d taken it straight to the face, caught completely off guard. Vega, by now, had powered himself up to the point where he surpassed an awakened demon lord, one with over twice as many magicules as Gadora. Even as a metal demon with excellent physical defense, he was still no match for Vega, whose entire body was God-class magisteel. With a single blow, he was knocked into unconscious silence.
“L-Lord Gadora!!”
I knew I couldn’t count on that man, Gabil thought as he shouted. Given the amount of confidence Gadora brimmed with, he couldn’t be blamed for thinking that. Now his hopes were banished, his mind filled with disappointment—and even worse, Vega’s powers were beyond imagination.
Now this monster was eyeing Carillon and Frey, not bothering to hide his intentions as he licked his lips. His purpose was clear—if he wasn’t defeated, he’d gain access to even more almighty power. They didn’t even know if they could win, and if Vega succeeded, he’d become truly unstoppable then. Gabil, at least, would have no chance of winning, so everyone would just have to do their best against him.
I always enjoy standing out like this, but this is perhaps too much of a good thing…
He was beginning to regret this a little.
Gabil was ready to step forward, but stopped when he realized someone was in front of him.
“Ehhh, Gabil, lemme take care of this one for ya.”
“Oho! Sir Laplace, is it not? Why are you here?”
“Wellll…”
Because everybody left me alone, he almost said before falling silent. It would make him look far too awkward.
“…Why do ya think? To help ya out, of course!”
“Ahhh! How wonderfully reassuring, Sir Laplace!”
“Yeah. Y’all can rest easy with me around!”
Forcefully concluding his chat with Gabil, Laplace turned toward Vega, his (presumed) friend.
“So, Vega, why’d ya punch out old man Gadora like that?”
He spun around lightly as he asked. It annoyed Vega.
“Huh? Ain’t it obvious? Because the old man was tryin’ to block me.”
“Block you?”
“Uh-huh. Can’t let someone blockin’ me from a good meal keep on living. And that’s why you better stay out of this, too, Laplace. You’re an old friend, so I’ll let you off the hook this time.”
Laplace stopped spinning.
“You got a funny sense of humor, y’know that? Don’t ya think you’re forgettin’ your place a little?”
The timbre of his voice was the same as before, but the atmosphere around it was so tense that it felt like something entirely different. But Vega didn’t care.
“Huh. My place? You think you’re in a place to give me orders?! I heard that bastard Yuuki got defeated by Ludora, and I only take orders from people stronger than me!”
He guffawed at that, his laughter echoing across the battlefield.
“Well, that sure ain’t funny. You got no gift for comedy at all, man.”
“It wasn’t meant to be funny—rrk?!”
The guttural laughter abruptly stopped. In an instant, Laplace came right up to Vega, clutching him by the neck.
“Yo. Some respect, huh? Or else it’s your ass.”
He lifted him into the air, despite being half his size.
Vega struggled, arms and legs flailing about. Breathing was no longer necessary for him, but he still wasn’t used to that, so this treatment was still deeply disconcerting. Laplace, meanwhile, landed an explosive knee on his body—and hanging by the neck as he was, he had no way of escaping it. He cowered on the ground once Laplace loosened his grip, trying to catch his breath.
“W-wait. I’m sorry I got carried away. I’m calmer now! Please forgive me!”
Laplace was thinking of giving Vega a kick to the head, but this pleading made him reconsider. “I ain’t as nice as my boss,” he coldly muttered. “Don’t expect any second chances.”
“I… I know.”
“Right! So be nice and stick with me, won’t you? And don’t try anything funny, or I’ll make sure you pay for it.”
Vega nodded. “All right. So what are we doing now?”
“I’m gonna be headin’ over to our president. I’m figurin’ she can probably do something to help Teare and Footman get back to normal. We gotta find a way, right? Or else we’ll never save the boss. So whatever ya do, don’t stray from me, okay?”
“Right, right.”
Vega nodded deeply in agreement. His eagerness to please Laplace suggested just how scared he was of him. Laplace just sighed at the sight.
“Everything all right, then?” Gadora asked worriedly, now back on his feet.
“Old man!”
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