Evil Avalon
―― Mamiya Chizuru’s Point of View ――
Although slender, the spearman released a tremendous amount of mana, his taut inner muscles creaking under the strain. He thrust his red spear—enchanted with fire—into the nearby ground and declared that he would fight using only his fists. In other words, he was giving a handicap.
Opposite him, Narumi-senpai—now rather plump—closed the distance to within several meters, gripping his sword as they glared at each other. Between high-level adventurers, even this distance falls within striking range, fists included. In less than a fraction of a second, countless attacks could be exchanged, so it was practically point-blank—an extremely dangerous situation.
Yet the group of adventurers watching from behind showed no tension at all. Apparently bored out of their minds, they casually began recruiting participants for bets. Still, it didn’t seem to be going well.
“That flabby fatso can really fight?”
“Give him a bigger handicap—this won’t even be a bet.”
“But he’s not flinching at the captain’s mana, is he?”
From the jeers being thrown around, it seemed that the spearman was the captain and one of the strongest in the group. In contrast, senpai gave off only weak mana, and combined with his protruding belly, no one was willing to bet on him. There weren’t even odds to speak of.
But that was only natural. Even I, who can delicately sense fluctuations in mana, couldn’t predict or foresee senpai’s true strength.
Until now, I had followed my brother and seen many of the nation’s finest top-tier adventurers. Every single one of them wore extraordinary mana and radiated the imposing presence unique to the strong. Of course they did—having survived countless battlefields, they had forged unshakable confidence and conviction.
But senpai was different. Even within a magic field, he carried only faint mana, and his timid, troubled expression was far removed from the dignity of the strong. His plump body alone denied any notion of him being “first-rate.”
(That is why people are deceived.)
The spearman facing him made a provocative gesture, thrusting out his cheek as if to say, “If you can hit me, go ahead.” Since the onlookers’ betting wasn’t taking off, he must have been giving an even greater handicap—before the most terrifying opponent imaginable.
After glaring at each other for a moment, senpai cracked his neck, clenched his fist tightly, and shifted his center of gravity just a little.
The very next instant, he kicked off the grassy plain as if exploding the ground beneath him, instantly closing the distance. The spearman barely managed to react, trying to guard his face—but senpai was already there, not punching but grabbing his face and slamming him violently into the ground.
A moment later, dense mana transformed into violet lightning, and debris burst outward in a wave, reaching even me. As I swatted away the flying stones, I thought:
Against an opponent of that level, I had expected senpai to win within thirty seconds if he exerted himself. Yet the result was an instant kill. What was truly astonishing was how many extraordinary techniques were packed into that single fleeting moment.
From a state of zero mana circulation, senpai instantly drew out his maximum mobility and physical power. Because the enemy wasn’t fully on guard, his reaction inevitably lagged—and even that slight response was guided by senpai’s initial feint.
He carried out that entire sequence as if it were the most natural thing in the world, yet such a feat requires unparalleled mastery over mana and overwhelming experience in combat. In other words, he had reached the “ultimate realm.”
The man inverted, his head driven into the ground at senpai’s feet as dust and rubble scattered everywhere. Faced with such an unimaginable sight, even the adventurers who had been enjoying their gambling could only gape in dumbfounded shock.
But even that was just the beginning. When Narumi Souta becomes serious, he easily surpasses all imagination. Recalling yesterday’s exchange with my brother, excitement surged within me.
(Ah… that is the very hope of us “Oboro.” Please, show us more—so much more—of that brilliance.)
・・・・・・・・・・
―― Tokyo · Mamiya Family’s Separate Residence.
After rushing back to the separate residence in the aftermath of the chaos caused by the Holy Empire and Sanada Yukikage, my brother went straight to his study with his subordinates to analyze the information. There was simply too much critical intelligence and too many major events, so the analysis work continued throughout the night.
Originally, the reason my brother and I participated in the clan party was to gather intelligence on the Kinrankai—essentially, to conduct enemy reconnaissance.
Although Kinrankai had been half-destroyed by my brother ten years ago, they recently made a major discovery in a dungeon, generating enormous wealth. With it, they rapidly began recruiting famous adventurers, attempting to regain power comparable to their former peak.
And what did they intend to do with that accumulated power? Take revenge on us—Oboro.
However, no matter how much strength they gained, they could never be our match. They do not even understand why they were half-destroyed ten years ago in the first place. The organization known as Kinrankai truly is beyond saving. I often think that such foolish people should simply be wiped out quickly—but there are circumstances that prevent us from doing so.
Our objective is the establishment of an advanced constitutional state founded upon human rights, freedom, and equality. As a prerequisite, we must first dismantle aristocratic society. Nobles who oppress commoners, disregard the law, and merely grow fat by clinging to vested interests—if such a class continues to infest the core of the nation, there can be no future.
That conviction led the previous head of the Mamiya family to establish the secret organization Oboro, which has since operated in the shadows in pursuit of a new era.
And my brother believes that “Tasato Kotaro,” the leader of Colors, is a necessary evil and the standard-bearer who can blow open a breach in aristocratic society.
This is because Tasato possesses both powerful charisma that draws people to him and combat ability among the very best in Japan. Furthermore, since he is of common birth, he is the ideal figure to lead a movement advocating the overthrow of the nobility.
The problem is that he is too young to manage a large-scale raid clan.
In order for Colors—the parent organization—to be run soundly and steadily grow as a symbol of anti-aristocratic resistance, my brother concluded that the managerial expertise of Kinrankai’s clan leader, Kuki Kazumoto, was indispensable. That is why Kinrankai has been allowed to exist… yet in their foolishness, they have once again dared to defy us.
In that case, this time we would annihilate them completely—along with Colors backing them. They are also the enemies who murdered my father and mother. There is no longer any need for mercy. Nor will we hold back—
—or so I thought as I nurtured my hatred and joined the clan party, only for events to veer wildly off course. Perhaps it is better to say they took a strange turn. The Holy Empire and Colors’ vice-leader, Sanada Yukikage, who had allied with Kinrankai, suddenly raised the banner of rebellion.
The only elevator for escaping the party venue was sealed. Communications were cut, and fleeing nobles were the first to be slaughtered. Then, footage of white-robed combatants manipulating the dead was broadcast to stoke fear. Finally, even the world-renowned adventurer Mikhail Maxim entered the fray, creating a perfectly staged scene of despair within the building.
Even so, there was no room for anxiety. Why? Because my brother—the strongest in the world—stood beside me. Vowing to make them pay dearly for acting with impunity in our country, I patiently awaited the perfect moment to strike back… but there were others besides my brother and me who were also waiting for their chance.
The Narumi siblings.
The younger sister—Narumi Kano—stood her ground against the overwhelming combat power and slaughter displayed by the white-robed enemies, never retreating even a single step. With unbreakable resolve, she struggled desperately to carve a path forward. I heard she is the same age as me. Her breadth of spirit and the brilliance of her talent left me deeply shaken.
Though I had enrolled in the nation’s premier adventurer training academy, the students there were little more than pride without substance. Rivals were nowhere to be found, and I endured a faded, uninspiring school life. I had resigned myself to that. Yet to discover such dazzling talent of the same age in a place like this—was the world truly vast, or unbearably small?
Meanwhile, her older brother—Narumi Souta—also possessed high combat ability, but compared to his sister, he fell within ordinary bounds. The fleeting display of strength and fighting spirit he showed while holding back the white-robed enemies was impressive, and his unusual skills stood out, but it was nothing abnormal. Above all, he completely lacked the talent and presence that Narumi Kano possessed.
As an adventurer, he might reach first-class status, but never the highest echelon—that was the very limit of my assessment of Narumi Souta.
(And yet, my brother declared Narumi Souta to be his rival.)
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