The True Identity of the Monster
The monster's throat swells as it gets up, and something is filling up its mouth.
A glowing red spark spills from its mouth and melts into the darkness of the night.
Tigaro, who didn't miss it, opened his eyes and was surprised.
"No way――"
Guessing the monster's next move, Tigaro quickly jumped to the side.
At the same time, a dazzling breath of flame was exhaled from the monster's mouth.
The place where Tigaro had been standing just a moment ago was consumed by red-yellow flames, and the dazzling flames spread throughout Tigaro's field of vision.
Tigaro couldn't help but narrow his eyes and waited for the force of the flames spewed out by the monster to subside.
After the flames that had covered his vision disappeared, all he could see was a black charred ground and several buildings that were bursting into flames.
A thick layer of sweat drips down Tigaro's cheeks.
The fiery breath breathed out by the monster was extremely hot, and the heat transmitted from the air still remained on Tigaro's skin.
Apparently, even though there is some distance between them, he cannot let his guard down.
In fact, it can be said that Tigaro, who does not have the means to attack from long distances, is at a considerable disadvantage when dealing with this monster.
Even if he managed to run away, Tigaro would not be able to move casually because the flame breath with a wide range would cause more damage to the surrounding houses.
If it doesn't involve human life, that's one option, but first, he needs to wait until Kenna lets the nearby residents escape.
The only option left for Tigaro now was close combat.
He doesn't think a monster with a ferocious look has the intelligence to think, but it seemed to realize that it had an advantage from the atmosphere of the battle, and its throat swelled again.
Tigaro quickly assessed the situation, taking into account the damage to the surrounding area, and dared to run towards the monster.
Tigaro saw the moment before the monster opened its mouth and threw his body between the monster's legs.
The monster opened its mouth and breathed out a forceful breath of flame as Tigaro approached.
As Tigaro slides his body into the monster's bosom, he feels the heat of the flame breath approaching from behind.
He slipped out from between the monster's hind legs and turned around while losing momentum.
As Tigaro had planned, the monster turned its face downward and released a breath of flame, minimizing the damage to the surrounding area.
Then, the monster's vision was blocked by its own flame breath, and Tigaro was behind it.
Tigaro created a big gap and stood in front of the base of the lizard-like tail behind the monster and lowered his hips.
"Ha!!"
He hit the base of its tail with a combination of punch and Spirit Tail five times in an instant.
Tigaro sensed a definite response from the sensation of the flesh being gouged and crushed.
Tigaro's fists were trained by the Noros family, which is one of the most famous martial arts families in the kingdom, and his fists are heavy, and there is no waste in his sophisticated movements.
"――――!!"
The monster let out a scream and turned around in a panic.
Using the momentum of turning around, it swung its thick leg sideways.
Sharp claws attack Tigaro, trying to tear the flesh.
However, perhaps because it had rushed to counterattack, the monster's movements were extremely lacking in precision.
Tigaro uses his natural agility to jump and avoid its claws.
The gazes of Tigaro and the monster, floating in the air, intersect.
No intelligence could be seen in the monster's brightly shining eyes, and it was openly hostile towards Tigaro.
Seeing Tigaro stuck in the air, the monster opened its mouth wide.
The monster bared its sharp fangs and jumped at Tigaro's body, trying to bite him.
However, Tigaro's thoughts were calm as the monsters attacked violently.
Although unable to move, Tigaro curls his body in a smooth motion and spins once in the air.
Then, he used the tip of the magic tentacle that was sticking out from his waist to the tip of the monster's nose.
Using the monster's face as a foothold for his tentacle, Tigaro pushed his body forward.
There was already no sign of Tigaro at the tip of the monster's fangs that were locked at him.
Tigaro spins in the air and lands behind the monster.
Immediately, he kicked the monster's knee.
With a gasp, one of the monster's knees bent.
Although he created a big gap again, Tigaro's face contorted a little as he felt the huge rebound and pain.
Even though he was aiming for the joints, there is still a huge physical difference between Tigaro and the monster.
Perhaps because of the difference in weight, which can be seen from the size, the monster's foot was heavy when he kicked its knee.
However, Tigaro's attack was precisely on target.
The monster's knees buckled, and the monster's waist suddenly collapsed as it lost the support of its leg.
Tigaro tried to thrust his fist into the now empty back.
At that moment, the monster's wings flapped loudly.
"Kuh!?"
Tigaro, who lost his posture due to the strong wind pressure, lowered his fists and turned his attention to the monster that instantly appeared in the sky.
The snake-like pupils staring at Tigaro shine brightly in the moonlight.
Tigaro thought about what to do.
If he uses his Spirit Tail to jump up, he can barely reach it.
However, the eyes of the wary monster are always on Tigaro, and even if he jumps up, it is obvious that its thick legs will knock him down.
If it were to keep a distance like this, even Tigaro would have no effective means of attack.
While he was thinking about this, the monster took its next action.
"――――!!"
The monster's roar echoed through the aristocratic district of the royal capital.
Then, the monster's mouth swelled as it roared.
Since he had already seen it twice, even Tigaro could guess what the monster would do next.
It was clear that the monster was trying to breathe that flame once again.
Just as Tigaro was about to take evasive action, the monster floating above him caught a glimpse of a figure jumping out from the ground.
It was Kenna, Tigaro's exclusive maid and slave.
Kenna jumped up, and when she reached the top of the monster, she twisted her body and slammed her leg into the monster's head as she fell.
"――――!!"
The mouth of the monster that received the impact from above closed, and a small amount of sparks leaked from the corner of its mouth.
Perhaps because it was attacked unexpectedly, the monster's wings stopped moving and the monster's body fell.
The huge body slammed into the ground.
A crack appears in the brick-paved ground of the royal capital.
The monster groaned.
However, that groan becomes a big gap.
Kenna came down from above and thrust the sole of her foot into the monster's head again.
"――――!?"
The monster raised its gaze as it let out a surprised growl.
Its eyes reflected the figure of the beastman maid with an indifferent expression, standing over its head.
The fact that she is here means that the nearby residents have been evacuated as per Tigaro's instructions.
Kenna, who was standing on top of the monster's head, gracefully descended from the monster.
Turning to the side and spreading the skirt of the maid's uniform, she delivered a roundhouse kick to the monster's thick leg as it tried to stand up.
With a sharp sound, the tips of Kenna's leg dug into the monster.
Kenna's legs may look slender and supple, but she has the body of a beastman, and her pure physical ability is superior to Tigaro.
"!!"
Kenna pushed her leg harder.
The beastman's superhuman strength caused the monster's legs to slide, causing it to lose its posture.
Seeing an opening, Tigaro ducks into the exposed bosom while dodging the tail that the monster swings in its attempt to resist.
While adjusting his position under the monster, Tigaro thought about his current movements.
Although Tigaro is able to attack during the battle with this monster, he is unable to inflict deep wounds on the monster because he does not have a decisive and powerful technique.
――I also think the attack is light.
That's what Kenna told him before.
――That half-baked manifestation magic is still not enough for the serious me.
When he competed with his older brother Skrios, Tigaro's lack of strength was similarly pointed out.
Since then, Tigaro has thought about it a little.
What should he do to make a strong attack?
He thought about finding strength in himself to protect Aifie and his mother Tesia.
And this one conclusion he had come to.
"[Spirit Tail]"
He retracted the magic tentacle that was sticking out from his waist, and this time he let out the magic tentacle from his elbow.
Tigaro's manifestation magic is very flexible and can change its shape to a certain extent.
Using this ability, Tigaro made the tentacle swallow his own arm.
The tentacle that has Odo obtained through his s*xual intercourse with Kenna fits perfectly into Tigaro's arm.
If his manifestation magic is weaker than his brother Skrios and his physical ability is inferior to Kenna, then he should combine the two.
That is one of the techniques that Tigaro has created.
By having the Spirit Tail swallow his arm, he protects it from breaking, and also increases the power by combining the power of the Spirit Tail and his own muscles.
"Haa!!!"
Tigaro threw his fist back up a little and slammed his fist into the monster's stomach.
The fist wrapped with Spirit Tail punched through the monster's skin and fat, and pierced its abdomen.
The monster's red blood splatters.
"――――!!!"
The monster that received Tigaro's full force winced its face in pain and howled.
Tigaro pulled out his fist from the monster's stomach and distanced himself from the monster, wary of a counterattack.
Kenna, who had created an opening, had already retreated.
The two of them stood side by side, paying close attention to the monster's movements.
There is a hole in the monster's belly caused by Tigaro's punch.
It was a small hole compared to the huge monster, but judging from the blood that dripped out, it was definitely a pretty deep wound.
However, even after seeing this, Tigaro and Kenna's expressions remained alert, and they both understood that the battle was still continuing.
"Grrrr…!!"
There is no sign of the monster attacking them yet.
Tigaro's fist, which was wrapped in the Spirit Tail, was very effective.
The monster was glaring at the two with its lizard-like pupils while groaning.
The monster took a deep breath.
When Tigaro and Kenna saw this, they assumed that the flame breath was coming, and took precautions at the same time to avoid it.
"――――!!"
However, what the monster breathed out was not a breath of flame, but a loud roar.
Tigaro and Kenna winced at the sudden roar.
By the time Tigaro had recovered from the ear-splitting roar, the monster turned its back on the two of them and ran with its thick limbs toward the back alley of the building, which had not yet been damaged by the battle.
It was an obvious act of escape.
"Kenna!"
Before Tigaro could say it, Kenna was running out.
With Kenna's physical ability as a beastman, it should be difficult for an exhausted monster to shake off the pursuit.
Thinking so, Tigaro followed Kenna and ran into the back alley where the monster had fled.
---
When he entered the back alley, Kenna was standing right in the corner, stopping in her tracks.
Tigaro also stopped in his tracks when he saw it.
There was the monster from earlier in front of Kenna's wary gaze, but something seemed off.
The monster was bleeding from its belly and was groaning as its body stretched and contracted in a distorted manner.
Lizard-like scales grow from the lion's body, and lion-like fur grows from the tail.
The irregularly changing body is changing rapidly, and even its size is becoming unstable.
"――――"
The monster's snake-like pupils opened while groaning in pain.
The reason Kenna had stopped was because she was wary of the mysterious movements of the monster in front of her.
"What is this…!?"
Surprised by the monster changing its shape in front of his eyes, Tigaro muttered, and the monster's body began to change even more.
Its large body is rapidly shrinking.
The fur that covered its body fell out, its scales melted into its skin, and its tail disappeared into the air as if it were just an illusion.
Eventually, only a naked humanoid body remained where the monster had been.
Its humanoid body appears to be female due to its fleshiness.
Then Tigaro noticed the red hair and opened his eyes.
That was the person Tigaro was following earlier.
"Eul-dono…!?"
Although she and Tigaro only exchanged words once and only saw each other a few times after that, there was no mistaking her impressive red hair.
Kenna, who was usually expressionless, was surprised by this, and her eyes widened a little.
Involuntarily, Tigaro looked at the red haired woman again and confirmed that he was not hallucinating.
――Why did she turn into a monster...!?
However, Tigaro was surprised and stopped thinking for a moment.
Instantly switching his thoughts and focusing his brain on what he needs to do now.
While staring at the unconscious Eul, he points his finger at the rubble of the half-destroyed house and gives precise instructions to his maid.
"... Kenna. Please bring some rope that can be used to tie her up from nearby and a bag or cloth large enough to wrap a person."
"Yes"
While checking Kenna running towards the pile of rubble, he carefully approached Eul.
Tigaro places his hand on Eul's neck to make sure that her pulse is beating, and then puts his hand on her large, soft chest to confirm that her heart is beating deep inside.
Her breathing was shallow, but she seemed to be alive.
Her soft skin feels so good to the touch that it's hard to imagine that it was covered in thick body hair.
He tries to open her mouth and check inside, but the sharp fangs that were aimed at Tigaro earlier are now gone.
"..."
When Tigaro was thinking with his hand on his chin, Kenna appeared next to him.
In her hands was a rope with signs that the end had been torn, and a cloth that looked like a bed sheet.
When Tigaro points to Eul with his gaze, Kenna nods modestly.
Kenna crouched down and began restraining the unconscious Eul with the rope while opening her mouth to Tigaro.
"Tigaro-sama. I have just confirmed that members of the Holy Wind Knights are flying overhead."
Perhaps the Holy Wind Knights that Aifie had called for had just arrived.
"...I wonder if it's okay to tell them about this?"
Tigaro has not been able to decide what to do with the girl named Eul for some time now.
The easiest thing to do would be to hand Eul over to the Holy Wind Knights, who would be arriving now, tell them everything Tigaro had seen, and leave the rest to them.
However, this is just an easy option, not necessarily the best solution.
This is because there are too many things that are mysterious and uncertain in the current situation.
A monster that suddenly appeared in the royal capital at night.
Her true identity is Eul, an exchange student from the Empire.
Possibilities include a plot by the Empire or a third party that Tigaro doesn't know about.
The more he thinks about how and why she transformed into a monster, the more questions he has.
Shortly after Tigaro lost sight of Eul, who he was chasing, he heard the monster's roar.
Considering that, there is no doubt that the first discoverer of the monster was Tigaro's childhood friend Aifie, the female student who was there, and her attendant.
Also, considering the situation in which Aifie and the others were when Tigaro found them, they must be victims who happened to run into Eul, who had become a monster.
If the situation had been any different, there is a possibility that Aifie would have been seriously injured.
Tigaro frowned at that very possible possibility.
Tigaro wanted to make sure that Aifie was not in any danger.
For that reason, he needs to handle this matter carefully.
First, he thought about the idea of throwing everything at the Holy Wind Knights.
Even if he were to talk to the Holy Wind Knights about the situation and hand over the captured Eul, Tigaro didn't think things would go so easily.
The Holy Wind Knights had never had an enemy in their 400 years, so naturally, their pride was hurt. The same goes for the Holy Water Knights, who also protect the royal capital.
There is also a possibility that they, who were made aware of their pride as knights, may be driven by passion and endanger the cause of this, Eul, to death.
If that happens, Tigaro will not be able to obtain information, and as a result, he may overlook the threat that befalls Aifie.
Also, considering the possibility that the kingdom's aristocrats, who disliked interference from the empire, somehow transformed Eul into a monster, it was a dangerous choice.
Even if it's just a coincidence, if Aifie is going to be in danger, Tigaro, who is concerned about her safety, needs to stop it.
――If that's the case, there's no point in handing over Eul, who is currently in the midst of this crisis, to the people on the kingdom's side.
The second option is to leave it to the exchange students from the same empire as Eul, but it cannot be denied that this is a strategy by the empire to intentionally turn Eul into a monster and rampage through the royal capital.
In other words, it is quite possible that people on the empire side, like Machen and Brelin, are enemies of the kingdom, or in other words, people who pose a danger to Aifie.
Handing it over to them is also out of the question.
The safest option left is for Tigaro to secretly capture this girl named Eul, use slave magic to make her a slave, and then have her spit out the information.
After she spills out all the information about this case, Tigaro doesn't care if she is handed over to the Knights and sentenced to death.
The most important thing right now is Aifie's safety.
In the current situation where there is not enough information, he thinks the most reliable method is for Tigaro to secretly enslave Eul and force her to reveal information.
"Kenna. This girl will be my slave. You know what preparations will be made after I bring her home, right?"
"Yes, Tigaro-sama."
As they exchanged things like that, Kenna was about to finish stuffing Eul's naked body tied up with rope into a bag.
"Ah!! Tigaro!!"
A relieved voice echoes above Tigaro's head.
Hearing that pleasant voice, Tigaro stiffened involuntarily.
"Where the hell have you been!?"
When Tigaro and Kenna turned around, Aifie, who had called for the Holy Wind Knights, descended from the dark night sky about ten steps behind them.
Tigaro can't stop feeling nervous and tries to shift his body to the side to block her line of sight.
However, the action was already too late.
Aifie, who was about to approach him, stopped and looked surprised.
"That's――!"
Ahead of her line of sight, Eul's distinctive red hair was peeking out from the bag's opening.
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