Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

“What’s happening?”

“Hahaha! How can they be so stupid?”

On top of a building in Rondan, two men were laughing uncontrollably as they watched Rondan’s Knights outside the castle wall, along with various teams of Candles coming in together.

“Candles are so naive. They were fooled by a single word about the Knight Commander being actually missing, and look at them forming an alliance to attack!”

“They must think they came up with an awesome plan, huh?”

Cultists.

They were the ones who successfully fled when Tanton’s group was suppressing them.

“Great. This makes our plan perfect.”

“Finally, we can wipe out these idiots and attain our true salvation.”

(TN: so it seems that the Cultists are pitting the Rondan Knights and the Candles against each other to fight.)

Behind them, the candlestick and a red aura that Tanton had seen before were filled to the brim.

“Wait.”

At that moment, someone pushed the door open and entered the room.

A pretty girl in a brown-haired maid costume came in.

“What, who are you?!”

“Who are you?!”

The cultists were shocked to see her, and suddenly, the girl began to lift her skirt.

Not understanding the action, the cultists tilted their heads in confusion until they caught sight of her legs and then smirked.

“…Are you a ‘child’ of the interrogator?”

“That’s right. I’ve especially inherited my mother’s power strongly.”

As the girl said that, she pulled out a sword and swung it in mid-air, causing a deep red mist to pour out.

This girl was the first existence among the ‘cultists’ they had seen so strongly inherit her mother’s power.

“So.”

But the cultists simply wore cold expressions.

“What do you mean to reveal yourself now?”

“I came to tell you that this is not the place where my mother should manifest. You need to head to another city.”

As the girl spoke clearly, the cultists exchanged doubtful looks.

“Kuahaha!”

They erupted into laughter.

Seeing the girl show signs of confusion, one of the cultists approached her.

Thwack!

“Oof!”

He struck the back of her head with a wooden board.

But the girl didn’t faint.

If she could fall from just this, she wouldn’t be able to call herself her ‘mother’s’ child.

“What are you doing…?”

“It seems you really are her child. Tough.”

One of the cultists said this, grabbing both of the girl’s pigtails and lifting them slightly.

Feeling pain as her hair was pulled, the girl grimaced, and the man looked at her disdainfully.

“Did you think we’d be played by such nonsense? Did you think we wouldn’t know? You were just playing the role of a knight slave, right?”

“Ugh…!”

“Could it be that you, a ‘child’ of your mother, actually fell for that knight?”

At that remark, the cultists burst into collective laughter.

“Yeah, yeah, that could be. If you’re a child of your mother, then age doesn’t really matter, huh? Poor knight might end up pitiful. Almost became a pedophile, didn’t he?”

“Shut up. My master is….”

“Wow, you’re not even trying to hide it now. Hey, did you hear that? She calls him master.”

The cultists laughed at the girl’s shame-filled face for a while.

Soon, the cultist holding her head threw her into a corner and headed toward the candlestick.

“It’s already too late. Your ‘master’ will soon be crushed horribly. Just watch. Kuahaha!”

The girl, caught by the two men and unable to move, gritted her teeth and glared at the cultist.

But she couldn’t do anything.

The candlestick had already turned as red as it could be, showing that her mother was on the verge of being summoned.

#

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of steady footsteps echoed from afar.

Though faint, it could be seen that an alliance of Candles was converging all at once.

With the Deputy Director’s morale boost, the knights’ faces were filled with determination, and Muyun, the White Mask, and the Deputy Director stood in front of them.

The Deputy Director’s speech was stirring and profound.

Truly impressive content.

But I didn’t like that dreadful reality.

The kind of stories in games or novels where tens of thousands were wiped out yet still took a single step forward.

Readers and gamers would cheer for that single step, but who mourns for the deaths of those tens of thousands?

So I looked at the White Mask.

Right now, there were many eyes watching, so it wasn’t easy to use recklessly.

Understanding my gaze, the White Mask nodded and turned to the knights.

“Knights. What you are about to see must never be leaked. If this rumor begins to circulate within Rondan, I will hold you responsible and punish you. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Seeing their response without knowing what was about to happen made me wonder if it was really alright.

But it had to be done.

Otherwise, it seemed like it would truly not be easy.

The White Mask and the Deputy Director nodded in agreement, and I also nodded to signal my understanding.

Slowly, as I stepped forward, whispers arose among the knights.

There was one suitable person for the current situation.

Thinking of that guy, I took the Party Flute and placed it in my mouth, blowing into it.

Piiriri.

“Ugh!”

“My head hurts!”

It sounded endlessly childish to me, but after all, it was a forbidden weapon to call outsiders.

Unless someone was as experienced as the three beside me, it would probably be unbearable.

Soon, I felt a slight pressure on my shoulder, and as soon as I realized it…

“My husband.”

A voice that sounded like a whisper came right next to my ear.

The Dragon Slayer.

If anyone could wipe out the enemies broadly, it could only be her.

“Finally, you’ve called me.”

…Thanks for coming.

“Hmph, if you knew, you should’ve done better. You’re neglecting me too much, my husband.”

Though the term ‘my husband’ was somewhat irksome, I decided to let it slide, thinking it was my karma.

“So calling me like this means you need my power, huh?”

That’s right.

“But my power is that of a dragon. To use it, I need to implant a bit of my dragon essence in you.”

I felt like I was hearing something not so easy.

Is it really alright to implant that?

“I’ve never done it before, but for you, it should be alright.”

I’ll be turning into a dragon, right? Can my body handle it?

“I once implanted it in someone who attacked me without them knowing, and they didn’t face a physical death. Though their mind seemed to collapse.”

I see.

I really appreciate the meaningful experiment results.

Though it sounds horrifying.

“This way, you’ll be able to continuously use my power as a dragon. You’ve been wanting to get stronger, so isn’t this good?”

Oh, that’s good. Do it right away.

With those words, I felt the Dragon Slayer’s face getting closer to my shoulder.

Ouch.

…She bit my shoulder.

Ouch, that hurts!

“Just bear with it! It can’t be helped!”

Her strangely heightened voice sounded too suspicious?!

But the Dragon Slayer’s words weren’t wrong.

Suddenly, a weird pain began to flare up from my wing joints.

“Don’t resist. It’s about acceptance.”

Hearing the gentle voice of the Dragon Slayer, I relaxed my body slightly, and it felt like something sprouted from my wings.

“What, what’s that?!”

“Is that an outsider?!”

“How could an outsider’s body come from a human?!”

Hearing the knights’ astonished cries made it seem like something really sprouted.

The White Mask looked stunned.

“…Did you borrow the power of the Dragon Slayer?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a wise choice for wiping out the enemies.”

I expected the White Mask to be a bit uncomfortable, yet she accepted it calmly.

But wait, does that mean I could even breathe fire or something?

“You mean breathing fire from your mouth? I could do that if you want.”

…Don’t I have to be bitten for longer?

“Phew, what a pity.”

What exactly is so regrettable?!

Have you seen such a perverted dragon?

Anyway.

This idle time ends here.

It would be great if I could breathe fire, but it would feel strange for a human to spit flames.

Before long, the Candles were close enough to be seen clearly.

The knights renewed their determination and stared quietly at the Candles.

A suffocating standoff.

The moment anyone moves a single step, it feels like it could explode.

I broke that silence.

In an instant, I soared into the sky, and all the Candles’ gazes turned toward me.

Toward them, I flapped my wings forcefully, just like the Dragon Slayer did.

Starting from my wings, an air current was forcefully thrown forward, crashing into the front row of Candles almost in the form of a sonic boom.

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

“My arm, my arm!”

The Candles screamed something, but I couldn’t understand why they were screaming.

Even if they clutched their shoulders and screamed.

Even if they slammed into the ground hard enough to sink in.

To me, they just looked fine due to my cowardice mode.

Not stopping there, I swung my wings in all directions.

The piercing sharp sound of the air friction shot toward the Candles, and in an instant, gaps formed in the densely packed line of Candles.

“…I can’t be pushed back by my disciples!”

Following the gap I created, the White Mask charged recklessly, leaping in the direction I hadn’t attacked yet.

Crash!

“Ugh!”

In a flash, she began slicing through the surrounding Candles with her sword.

Though I’m using the power of the dragon, the White Mask showed such power with her human body.

I need to quickly learn from her after this is over.

At that moment, an arrow flew in from somewhere, and I barely managed to evade it with my reflexes.

Was there someone among the Candles who could handle arrows?

Maybe that’s why Muyun suddenly started running towards the Candles just like the White Mask.

“What are you doing to Tanton?!”

…It’s impressive how someone with a fearful expression can still rush forward.

But just because she looks scary doesn’t mean her combat power is weak.

Bang!

Thud thud thud!

“Stop the axe girl right now!”

“If this continues, we’ll all lose our heads!”

“Damn! Instead of ranting, try to stop the kid too!”

At that moment, the axe spinner technique I had seen before caught the Candles completely off guard.

The once-patient Deputy Director let out a calm sigh and took out a plastic sword.

He then pointed it toward the Candles.

“Look, knights! We will never lose! As long as we are here.”

At the same moment, the Deputy Director leaped high into the air.

For such a heavy sword and quite a large frame, to move so nimbly like this.

“Our victory is already assured!!!”

The Deputy Director spun in the air and landed forcefully on the ground, slamming down the sword.

Woom!

A lively and bright sound resonated the moment it struck.

A gigantic crater appeared around the Deputy Director.

The Candles didn’t even make a sound.

At least to my eyes.

It seemed like the Candles had evaporated from that spot.

In an instant, both the Candles and the Knights fell silent around the Deputy Director.

Ignoring the atmosphere, the Deputy Director raised his sword high, shouting.

“Knights! Charge!”

At those words, the knights all rushed toward the Candles at once, and the Candles finally snapped back to their senses and began to move.

The sound of swords clashing rang out.

None of them seemed willing to concede victory.

The speed of that sound showed no signs of slowing down.

The knights looked reliable.

With the White Mask, Muyun, and the Deputy Director-level combat power, how could they lose?

The Deputy Director’s power was extraordinary.

The White Mask and Muyun had already witnessed it once, so they had adapted, but the power the Deputy Director unleashed from each swing packed the force of a bomb, making them panicked.

If the Deputy Director is like this, how strong was the Knight Commander in her prime?

Yet, it still wasn’t easy.

Numbers are bullies; no matter how much you break through their formation, Candles kept pouring endlessly.

“Knights, fall back one step!”

The Deputy Director didn’t want to kill his fellow knights.

So whenever it seemed risky, he retreated the knights.

That’s how we ended up being pushed back to the castle wall.

If we stayed like this, we’d end up allowing entrance inside.

Though we had successfully defeated more than half of them, at this distance, we’d surely take damage.

Considering the knights might faint, was it really right to summon an outsider directly?

Thinking thus, I cautiously tried to blow the Party Flute.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Heavy gunfire echoed from somewhere.

“Ugh!”

“Wait, that guy is….”

The Candles trembled, pointing at the direction of the gunfire.

“That’s… the Hunter!!”

“Tsk.”

The Hunter casually twirled his revolver a few times and glared at the Candles.

“I can’t believe this city has endless problems.”

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