Can't Throw It Away
Machen presses the spherical magic tool onto Eul's body, where hair grows from all over her body and her tail grows.
The magic tool was sucked into Eul's body as if being swallowed, and it began to emit light as if it were pulsating within her body.
Resonating with that light, Eul's body transformed into a gigantic body that was familiar to Tigaro.
Its torso and limbs had become a lion's, its scaly tail had the suppleness of a lizard's, and its fangs had become as sharp as a tiger's.
Then, the vertically dilated pupils began to move.
"――――!!"
With a roar, wings grow from Eul's back.
Its wings made of overlapping feathers of blazing flame illuminated a wide area within the dim underground waterway.
The scorching hot wind was strong enough to send the heat to the cheeks of Tigaro, who was crushing the ant monster's head with his fist.
Tigaro frowned as the situation worsened, but he didn't feel like he could easily approach Eul, who had become a monster.
Machen and Brelin are waiting around her, and Eul herself, who has turned into a monster, is grinding her teeth together, showing signs that she is about to go wild.
Even if Tigaro rushes into the middle of it alone, he will only be pointlessly exposing himself to danger.
All Tigaro could do now was wait for an opportunity while dealing with the ant monsters.
Machen, who had Eul take in the magic tool, was chanting some kind of magic while holding his hand over Eul, who was about to go berserk.
"[Insect Ring]"
A faint, hazy light emitted from Machen wrapped around Eul's neck.
It was like a collar, and it strangled Eul's neck, which had become so thick that it looked like it could swallow a person.
"――"
However, when Eul shook her head, the light that Machen had created was easily repelled.
Machen saw this and turned to Brelin with trembling eyes.
"P-Priest Brelin... Eul-sama won't listen to what I say, unlike the insects I lent to Kuma-san..."
"...I see. After all, if it is a body with mana as good as Eul-sama's, the light of life after taking in the egg of the Five Dragon Gods into her body and [turning into a dragon] is also first-class. The difficulty of controlling it will also increase."
Despite not being able to control Eul, who was running wild in the narrow passageway, Brelin let out a small, happy smile.
However, there was a shadow in the expression of Machen, who was next to him, and a dissatisfied feeling appeared.
"But, we can't be together like this... I want to be with Eul-sama and the Flame General..."
Apparently, it was unexpected for Machen and Brelin that the magic they tried to cast on Eul was repelled.
Brelin calmed down his smile and stroked his beard as he looked at Eul, who was growling threateningly.
"Fumu?"
"Guah...!!"
Eul's raised paw landed on Brelin's head.
Contrary to his muscular appearance, Brelin was able to dodge smoothly and gracefully, dodging all of Eul's fierce attacks.
There is no reason in Eul's eyes, and her strong arms indiscriminately destroy the floors and walls of the waterless underground waterways.
However, even in the midst of all this, Brelin didn't stop stroking his beard and calmly observing Eul.
"Hmm... Certainly, I can't show it to the Cardinal as it is... Machen, will you suppress Eul-sama? I'm going to cast a monster-control spell that evolved with Fonir-sama's help, on Eul-sama."
Saying that, Brelin stopped, put his hand over Eul, and tried to chant.
Tigaro, who was listening to the exchange, saw an opening in Machen and Brelin, who were keeping their eyes on Eul.
"Fuu...!!"
He kicks the ant monster he was facing and jumps out of the pile of ant monster corpses.
The Five Dragon Gods that Machen and Brelin spoke of―― the Five Dragon Gods Sect, which worships them as gods, is a criminal organization that is officially recognized as an enemy by the Kingdom of Shirsodi.
It was clear to Tigaro that the members of that organization were also planning evil acts within the kingdom using Eul.
They are Tigaro's enemies as they try to harm Aifie's beloved Shirsodi Kingdom.
Even though they didn't show any signs of directly harming Tigaro, they didn't intend to leave such an enemy alone in front of them.
"Hmm? ...[Flame Barrier]"
Brelin changed the direction of his hand, turned towards Tigaro, and chanted a spell.
A wall of raging flame rises between Brelin and Tigaro.
The blow from Tigaro's protruding [Spirit Tail] was blocked by the wall of flame created by Brelin.
The enemies are two people and one monster, and he is at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.
Brelin seems to be skilled enough to prevent Tigaro's surprise attack, and Tigaro immediately senses the danger of fighting head-on.
Without overconfidence in his own strength, Tigaro followed his calm thoughts and kept his distance.
What Tigaro should do now is wait for the Kingdom Knights to arrive while preventing them from controlling Eul.
Even though it's underground, if Eul, who has become a gigantic monster, is rampaging, the knights of the kingdom will soon notice.
As long as he can buy time for that, he can thwart the plans of Machen, Brelin, and the others, and that is a sufficient victory for Tigaro.
As Tigaro was thinking about this, Machen, who was standing close to Brelin, weakly opened his mouth to Tigaro.
"Please don't disturb us, Tigarokent-san."
"...Haha. Unfortunately, that's not possible, Machen-dono."
He had a good relationship with Machen and Brelin, to the extent that he was able to have a few conversations with them.
Tigaro didn't have any particular bad feelings towards Machen or Brelin, in fact, it couldn't be said that he had some good feelings towards them.
However, that was before, and it would be a different story if they were the ones who turned Eul into a monster and also belonged to the Five Dragon Gods Sect.
Although his tone was calm, Tigaro's eyes were already filled with hostility toward Machen and Brelin.
Brelin let out an exasperated sigh and opened his mouth to Machen, who was standing nearby with a frightened expression on his face.
"It's unavoidable. Machen, let's put off controlling Eul-sama until later, and take care of Tigarokent-dono first."
"――Guah!!"
Behind Brelin, Tigaro could see Eul, who had become a monster, waving its arms wide.
Sharp claws glitter in the dim darkness.
As if sensing the murderous intent, Brelin turned around and jumped away from the scene.
Eul's strong arm with sharp claws slams into the wall.
Brelin, who saw this, lost his relaxed expression.
Brelin was the first to show his impatience when he saw water enter the place where Eul had struck.
"Not good!! It's a place that is blocking the flow of water――"
Before Brelin can say anything, the wall that Eul attacked collapses.
And from the depths, a large amount of water overflowed.
In no time at all, the water overflowing with force turned into a huge wave and attacked the narrow battlefield.
The ant monsters, Machen, Brelin, Eul, who turned into a monster and went on a rampage―― and even Tigaro, who was surprised by the raging flow of water in front of him, was swallowed up by the large stream.
---
He was so disoriented that he couldn't determine where up or down was.
Tigaro stretched out his [Spirit Tail] to the side, even as he was being massaged by the waves of the water and almost spitting out air in the process.
Even though he was being swept away by the overwhelming mass of water, Tigaro managed to support himself on the wall with his [Spirit Tail] and pulled his body towards it.
"Puha!?"
He pokes his head out of the rippling water and takes a deep breath.
Tigaro feels a little relieved that he can breathe.
Fortunately, the water that came down didn't seem to be sewage, and there was no smell on it.
Tigaro shook off the cold water and climbed ashore.
It was a place similar to the one before, but it had a dusty, old smell that he could see even in the dim light.
It turned out that the place where Tigaro had been washed away was an old underground waterway that is no longer in use.
Being wary of his surroundings and looking around at the dimly lit surroundings.
There was no one around the place where Tigaro was, and neither Machen nor Brelin were visible.
Considering that Tigaro was able to reach land early, they must have been swept further into the depths than here.
Tigaro let out a sigh as his shoulders relaxed as the immediate threat suddenly disappeared, and was about to think about what to do next.
In the dim darkness, his eyes met those with snake-like pupils.
"Grrrr..."
The air in the underground passage shook with that roar.
The raised claws pierced the basement floor, and the tail that slammed behind it punched a hole in the underground passageway wall.
Its eyes were filled with hostility and she twisted her mouth, showing off her fangs to Tigaro.
"...Haha, isn't it quite bold to leave the two of us alone?"
Tigaro said this in a joking manner, but inside he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
Eul, who was threatening with her fangs bared, was also dripping water from her bristles, as if she had just recently climbed on land like Tigaro.
He couldn't sense reason in her currently, whose eyes looked like a monster.
Tigaro wets his lips with his tongue and disguises his nervousness as he asks Eul, who had become a monster.
"I'll check, but you're not conscious, are you?"
Eul's response came with a swing of her paw.
Keeping his distance and dodging it, Tigaro exhaled in an attempt to calm himself down.
"…I guess this is how it has to be, huh?"
From the exchanges between Machen, Eul, and Brelin, Tigaro had somehow guessed that Eul was on the victim's side.
Eul didn't become a monster and run amok in the royal capital because she wanted to, but she was just a pitiful girl who was used by Machen and Brelin, and was tormented by Tigaro when she was captured.
However, Eul has now become a monster that spreads destruction and violence around her.
If she cannot understand words, it is impossible to persuade her to come to his side.
While understanding this, Tigaro remembered his previous interaction with her.
――Before, you asked me if I remembered becoming a monster, right?
――What do you mean?
The night before Tigaro joins the operation.
Eul was asking Tigaro this.
If Tigaro had confirmed the truth of her question back then, maybe Eul wouldn't have turned into such a pathetic figure.
Perhaps because such thoughts had passed, Tigaro's heart ached a little as he saw Eul's end.
But that thought must be shaken off now.
What Tigaro is confronting is the embodiment of violence that cannot understand words.
It is a monster, not a human, whose body can no longer be saved.
Tigaro said that to himself, pushing a feeling similar to sympathy and guilt towards her deep into his chest, and tightened his mouth.
Tigaro's thoughts switched to battle.
"Gaah!!"
Eul swung her front paws to the side.
While avoiding this, Tigaro was thinking about how to fight Eul.
This is the second time he has fought against Eul, who has turned into a monster.
Last time, in the plaza at the edge of the aristocratic district of the royal capital, Tigaro had many places to escape, but on the other hand, he had a hard time dodging attacks from Eul.
At that time, with the help of Aifie and Kenna, Tigaro took advantage of the gap and used a critical attack to defeat her, but this time he will have to deal with her alone.
And this is an underground waterway that spreads just below the royal capital.
The waterway is wide enough for Eul to rampage through, but compared to the previous battle, it's not that wide.
Although he will no longer be attacked one-sidedly by being blown away by Eul, Tigaro is also likely to have nowhere to escape.
In fact, since he can't run around like last time, Tigaro is at a considerable disadvantage considering the wide-ranging flame breath that Eul uses.
Since he can no longer divert her attention to Brelin and Machen, it is almost impossible for Tigaro to escape from Eul.
In this case, it would be difficult to buy time for the Kingdom Knights to notice the commotion underground and arrive.
If that's the case, he'd like to settle the matter quickly before Eul breathes out flames, but Eul's body is a little larger than last time, probably because she's taken in the magic tool.
It's not hard to imagine that her sturdiness has increased.
Will he be able to see an opening and attack effectively?
Just as he was thinking about it, Eul caught up with Tigaro, who continued to retreat.
"――"
Before her front legs could catch Tigaro, Tigaro applied the brakes with both feet and tried to make a sudden change of direction.
The underground waterway is not wide, and if you move sideways, you will be within the range of Eul's claws.
The remaining places to escape are either in her bosom, where Eul has difficulty moving, or above her head, where she can't reach with her four-legged body.
What Tigaro chose was Eul's bosom.
He sneaks under Eul's strong arms and jumps out in front of her huge body.
"[Spirit Tail]!!"
He embeds his arm with a tentacle and tries to thrust his fist into the fat belly of the lion.
The movement of the tentacle linked with his own body was a powerful blow from Tigaro, who had previously gouged Eul's stomach.
"Ha!!"
Taking a slight breath, Tigaro shook his fist.
Since he hasn't created as much power as before, the power has decreased, but it's still powerful enough to cause damage to her body, which has become a monster.
However, contrary to Tigaro's expectations, the fist clad in the [Spirit Tail] was easily blocked by Eul's other arm that slipped in.
Tigaro's fist bit into her strong arm as it was tilted to the side, but at that level, it probably wouldn't be much of a blow to Eul's gigantic body.
Although Tigaro was surprised that the attack was blocked so easily, he quickly jumped back from the spot before his arm was crushed.
However, perhaps anticipating Tigaro's move, Eul's mouth, which had become a monster, followed suit.
The sharp fangs that tried to pierce Tigaro's body glowed in the darkness due to wet saliva.
Tigaro, who was repeatedly moving forward and backward suddenly, was not in the best position, and in a panic, Tigaro immediately jumped upwards.
Immediately below, he heard the sound of Eul's fangs gnashing together.
However, even though he was chilled by the loud noise, Tigaro was unable to relax by just avoiding the bite.
Eul turned half a circle with the momentum and swung her lizard tail sideways.
He doesn't know where she was aiming for, but that was where Tigaro landed after jumping up.
"Damn it...!!"
Right before Eul's thick tail, which was swinging vigorously, touched Tigaro's body.
Reflexively, Tigaro used his [Spirit Tail] as a shield and let it be grazed by Eul's tail as it approached.
Then, using the momentum that seems to take away the [Spirit Tail], he rotates his own body.
Even though his face was distorted by the pain from the impact, he spun three times in the air and managed to avoid the tail that was passing directly below him.
Tigaro parried the impact with the rotation and managed to land on the ground in a crouched position.
Then, Tigaro raised his head and looked forward, his eyes widening in surprise.
"――"
Eul's throat swells, and something is rising.
It was a sign that even Tigaro was familiar with the breath of flame being exhaled.
Eul's wide-ranging attack will hit Tigaro, who is in an imperfect position in the narrow passage.
――It can't be avoided!!
Intuitively sensing this, Tigaro held his breath and jumped towards Eul without hesitation.
He kicked the floor of the underground waterway and instantly closed the distance between him and Eul.
"――Guah!!"
Eul's mouth opens and flames spread across his field of vision.
Tigaro placed the two [Spirit Tails] that were sticking out from his waist in front of him.
The breath of flame approaches Tigaro's body.
At that moment, Tigaro swung his [Spirit Tail] while sliding his body underneath.
The movement of the [Spirit Tail] causes the air to become turbulent and the trajectory of the flame's breath to change slightly.
Although his robe and cheeks were slightly scorched, Tigaro was able to survive the flames almost unscathed.
Then, what stood out was the underside of Eul's mouth.
It is a place where Eul's fiery breath and vision cannot reach.
This was the moment when the unfavorable situation turned into an opportunity.
"Haa!!"
The two [Spirit Tail] that he had just raised and turned backwards touched the floor.
Tigaro twisted his body in an instant, building up a lot of strength, and while using his [Spirit Tail] to forcefully lift his body, he threw a sharp kick upwards.
The top of Tigaro's foot slammed into Eul's lower jaw, which was breathing flames.
The powerful kick forced Eul's jaw, which was spitting out flames, to close, and the flames leaked out from the gap between her fangs like an explosion.
Even Eul, who had a strong body, was unable to withstand this, and showed a big gap.
Tigaro jumped into the air with the momentum and stared at Eul, who seemed to be about to fall over.
Eul's body got weak as her jaw was shaken.
It seemed like she didn't understand what was happening at the moment, and her gaze was blurry, exposing her vulnerable body.
Tigaro's attack should land now.
Tigaro, who wrapped his fist with Spirit Tail, twisted his body in the air.
"Haa!!"
――This is the end.
Feeling a bit of emptiness, Tigaro, convinced that the battle was over, tried to swing his fist between Eul's eyebrows.
It was then.
The snake-like vertically dilated pupils glowed with color for a moment, and the light distorted sadly.
Eul's mouth, with her fangs peeking out, moved slightly.
"Sis, ter..."
"――!?"
――……Mother.
Hearing Eul's lonely words, Tigaro's mind flashed to the image of a boy murmuring forlornly, having lost the warmth of his mother.
Tigaro becomes upset as he sees his past and her current figure overlap, and involuntarily shifts his body's center of gravity.
With a slightly slumped posture, he uses his momentum to jump over Eul's huge body.
Then, Tigaro's fist swung down towards Eul's back, and pierced the base of her flaming wings.
"Kuh...!!"
The heat that violently disturbed the air burned the [Spirit Tail] that protected his hand.
Tigaro's face distorted from the heat.
However, thanks to the protection of his Spirit Tail, his body itself was not burned, and Tigaro decided to force his way through, crushing the base of Eul's wings.
The hand that carried Tigaro's entire weight from above greatly distorted the base of the wing, even if it didn't gouge out the flesh.
"――――"
Eul let out a scream that was different from a threatening roar.
Tigaro forcibly changed his position in the air and fell to the ground.
Stopping his body from jumping into the water that was flowing right there, Tigaro turned around and once again readied his fist and [Spirit Tail].
Then, he was surprised to see Eul's body beginning to distort.
Eul's body was changing its shape irregularly as she groaned.
The giant body was repeatedly expanding and contracting, and even her size had become unstable.
Eventually, the wings of flame that had grown on Eul's back returned as her body expanded and contracted, and the lizard's tail also became shorter.
Much of the hair that covered her body had fallen off, and her scales had melted into her skin.
And then, a red-haired girl remained behind.
Tigaro, who had been watching with bated breath, looked at the lying red-haired girl for several seconds before finally starting to move.
"You're back, to normal...?"
Even as he muttered that, Tigaro cautiously approached and checked Eul's body.
Other than her nails being slightly sharper and longer, and the thick hair on her arms and legs remaining here and there, her body had returned to being human-like.
However, the distorted pattern that appeared under her belly still glowed with light, like a heartbeat.
This indicated that Eul's body had not yet completely returned to normal and there was a possibility that she might become a monster again.
Tigaro took a deep breath.
Now is the perfect time to get rid of her.
Although she is groaning as she lies down, she doesn't seem to react to Tigaro as he approaches her, and now she is just exposing her naked body.
Before she becomes a monster again and is used by Machen and the others, he should cut her life down now.
Tigaro thought he understood that in his head.
However, at the same time, Tigaro's feelings were wavering as he identified himself with Eul's lonely eyes.
What just came to mind was another option that Tigaro could take.
His goal was to paint over the pattern engraved on Eul's magic core with Tigaro's slave magic and save her life.
Thanks to the fact that he had directly investigated Eul's magic core for some time now, the distorted pattern engraved on her magic core―― the pattern needed to transform into a monster must be counteracted with slave magic that also carved a pattern on the magic core.
Unlike before, it is unknown if Eul's body still holds the magic tool given to her by Machen.
Tigaro has already seen Kuma who took in the magic tool turn into dust.
However, if he misses this opportunity, there will be no chance of her being saved anymore.
Tigaro couldn't help but feel like that.
On the other hand, Tigaro also understood that that option was irrational.
If we want to eliminate the danger that befalls Aifie, the surest way is to take Eul's life.
As long as he takes away her life, she will never stand in front of Tigaro and Aifie again, and he will be able to prevent the plots of Machen, Brelin, and the others.
Also, what is the point if he saves Eul even at the risk of her turning into a monster again and baring her fangs at Tigaro?
He asks himself that question.
However, somewhere in Tigaro's heart, the feeling that he could not abandon the red-haired girl in front of him was bubbling up.
When Tigaro saw the girl trembling but trying to get up, his emotions were.
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