Red
The world is red. Everything has turned red. Every swing of my sword results in multiple dead monsters.
Bite me, claw me, rip my flesh out, try whatever you want, it’s not gonna help. You can’t touch me anymore. Your fate is already sealed.
[Violence – Violence Impulse]
[Whenever an enemy is killed, grants the user a short, small boost to agility and strength.]
[Stacks infinitely and exponentially.]
You’re all fuel to me! As long as there are monsters to kill, I’m gonna keep getting faster and stronger! I’m not gonna stop… Not until you’re all dead—until I get everything I want!
I run through the horde of monsters at lightning speed while wildly swinging my sword. Everything caught in its path is instantly torn to shreds.
[Level up! All your stats have been increased, and you have received additional skill points.]
The huge bear monster is still entangled, but it’s in my way. I slice its left arm off and cut through the vines with a single movement. Then I lose myself in the horde beyond the bear monster. That one slash didn’t finish it off… Alright… I turn around and clean up the monsters I missed during my first pass while making my way towards the big monster.
[Level up! All your stats have been increased, and you have received additional skill points.]
The monster lets out an incredible roar that causes clouds to gather above and block out the sun. It reaches out for the clouds with its missing limb, and the clouds hit it with a giant thunderbolt. The monster controls the thunder and changes its shape into a temporary lightning arm. After the process is done, the bear slams the new arm onto the ground. This results in a loud impact that shoots out sparks and static, even electrocuting some nearby monsters.
“Ehhh…? You want some more, huh? You should have just stayed down!” I mow down everything in my path and jump high into the air when I get close enough to the monster. I bring my sword down, and it raises its lightning arm to meet my sword. The clash causes more sparks and lights to shoot out in every direction. “Ahahahahaha! Are you putting on a light show for me? Impressive, but it’s not good enough to stop me!” I cut through the thunder arm, and the lightning disperses. The wild electricity hits other nearby monsters and causes parts of the walls to explode. It’s defenseless now, so I cut through the monster’s body and land on the other side. Rain falls on me, not because of the clouds the monster called, but because of its blood.
I don’t have time to enjoy my victory since my stacks are wearing off one by one. I run back to the monsters and resume the slaughter. All these low-level monsters are completely powerless before my ridiculously boosted stats. The closer they get to try to attack, the easier they are to kill, and the higher my stats get. None of them stood a chance. It’s a complete stomp. Soon, all the monsters are gonna be gone. Ririna’s sins will be wiped, and life will go back to normal.
[Level up! All your stats have been increased, and you have received additional skill points.]
[Level up! All your stats have been increased, and you have received additional skill points.]
[Level up! All your stats have been increased, and you have received additional skill points.]
[Level up! All your stats have been increased, and you have received additional skill points.]
[Level up! All your stats have been increased, and you have received additional skill points.]
As the summoned clouds dissipate, the sun’s radiance returns, giving the red dripping from the girl’s golden hair an aggressive, pulsating glow. She stood triumphantly before the valley of death she had created, with the massacred monsters laying the foundation for her and Ririna’s freedom.
“Where are the walls? Am I out of the valley? Where are the other monsters? No way… Was that all of them? It can’t be… I was just getting started! That was way too fast… I could still keep going… Huh? Wait… My vision… What’s going on…? Everything’s going dark… What…?”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
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“Hm? Iroha? Are you awake? Good morning.”
Morning? The first thing I see when I open my eyes is the soothing, bright blue sky through the branches of a tree and a familiar face watching over me with a warm smile.
“You did it, Iroha. I knew I wasn’t wrong about you.”
“Ririna…” That’s right… I fought the hordes of monsters, but… What happened next? Did I pass out from exhaustion? Where am I now? It feels soft… This is… “!?!” Ririna’s lap?!
I tried to sit up in a hurry, but my body wouldn’t move properly. “Wait! Don’t move! You were covered in wounds when I caught up to you, so just rest up for now. I treated your wounds and cleaned up most of the mess. Just relax until you regain some energy, okay?” Laying down on Ririna’s lap was like a dream come true, but it’s also too much for my heart! Especially right now! Ughhh… Why is my body not moving? My face is on fire… I have no choice but to accept this.
“You’re incredible, Iroha…” Ririna gently strokes my hair. I would ask you to refrain from doing unnecessary things that drive me crazy, Ririna. “I knew you’d be able to do it, I knew you’d find a way to pull through.”
I ended up doing more than just pulling through. I’m better off now than I was when I began. Violence Impulse… What a ridiculous skill… I can’t believe I got my hands on it. That fight was amazing… Even if I did almost die… It doesn’t feel real. “I’m also surprised everything worked out.”
“I’m not. I knew you’d be able to find a way. I told you. That’s the kind of person you are.”
Is it? “I just got lucky…” What kind of person even is that? Someone who finds a way out of any situation? That’s ridiculous. That’s not like me at all… I’m the type who always hesitates and can never do anything, right?
“Thank you, Iroha… You’ve done something for me that I may never be able to repay… I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.” Ririna had the kindest smile on her face.
“Don’t worry about it… I’m glad you can continue working as an alchemist.” This whole situation is very embarrassing, but I’m glad to see Ririna like that.
“That’s not all! I’m very grateful that I can continue being an alchemist, but I’m even happier that you trusted me. You trusted me when I told you about the Torn Violence Potion, and you actually drank it. I thought I’d never see the fruits of my labor… Everything I’ve done… Finally paying off… And it was all thanks to you. I’m so glad to have met you. I’m sorry the potion didn’t last the whole fight… I should have made more than one potion, but… I think I was scared you would reject it at the last minute… It was all my fault. You almost died because of that. I’m so sorry! It was all my fault!”
“No, no… Don’t worry about it… I didn’t do anything, and it wasn’t really your fault. If anything, I should be thanking you for the potion. Without it, none of this would have been possible.” My strength has returned, and I finally managed to sit up. “So yeah, it was all thanks to you. Thank you for making the Torn Violence Potion.” The potion was the real MVP since I don’t think I would have gotten Violence Impulse skill without it. They must be connected somehow. That’s why I said I got lucky. It just so happened that the potion gave me access to a pretty powerful skill when I needed it the most. The potion is taboo for driving people crazy, I know that. But since I had never heard about it, that doesn’t apply to me, right? I mean, I was still scared of losing my mind. That’s about the last thing I want…
“Iroha…” Ririna stared at me without saying a single word. She looked surprised, and her cheeks were bright red. What? Why isn’t she saying anything? Is there something on my face? “Thank you, Iroha!” Ririna hugged me all of a sudden. I can’t… Why is she so adorable? “Thank you so much! I’ll do anything for you! I swear, I’ll pay you back!” Ririna squeezed me even tighter. I don’t know if I can take much more…
“Wawawa-” I wasn’t expecting her to do this out of nowhere, but her hug made reality finally sink in. The monsters… They’re all dead now. Ririna’s crimes, Ririna’s death sentence… They’re all gone now… She’s gonna survive! I put my arms around Ririna and returned her embrace. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs since this whole mess started, but for now, I’m happy…
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“Princess, I have a report for you.”
“Yes, save me! Please be something good… I’ve had it up to here with all these idiots surrounding me.”
“Rather than focusing on the bad, you’ll be much happier by treasuring the ones who do good work for you.”
“I’m well aware of that, but… Is this your way of asking for a raise, you greedy knight? I appreciate the work you do, but you’re not getting another raise from me any time soon.”
“I assure you that it’s not like that. I enjoy my current standard of living. I wouldn’t dream of asking more of you, my princess.”
“Right… You’re a naughty girl. I know your game.”
“Also, take care that you mind your language in public.”
“You don’t have to remind me. I can count on one hand the number of people who know what I’m really like. I do a good enough job of that already. Moving on, you’re here to give me a report, let’s hear it.”
“We’re still confirming this information, but it’s likely that the monsters lured to the town of Rocky Ridges are dead.”
“Those are excellent news if they turn out to be true. Any new clues as to what the demons’ goal is yet?”
“No… We couldn’t find anything. They disappeared without a trace.”
“Whatever it may be, if the monsters truly are dead, it’s going to make life harder for them. Heh, serves them right. Let’s hope they panic and make some sort of mistake now. We may be able to bust them once and for all.”
“I hope so, princess.”
“How did the monsters die? What have you learned already? Who’s the one responsible?”
“That’s hard to say… The information we’ve gathered doesn’t make much sense. It’s likely that it was the work of a girl named Iroha. She was accompanied by the alchemist, but the alchemist is not skilled enough for combat. We looked into Iroha, but we didn’t find much. She claims to be a traveler, and she carried a high-quality sword with her. But other than that, we couldn’t find anything else.”
“That’s odd… An unnamed swordswoman shouldn’t be capable of killing more than a thousand monsters single-handedly. Don’t tell me the demons were right… Isn’t it too early for her to be back? The war hasn’t even started. Did they get the date of the revival wrong?”
“Princess, there’s no need to worry about that. Iroha is not the Violence Witch from the legend. She is not a mindless killer after all.”
“You talk as if you’ve spoken to her before.”
“You’re right, princess. It may have been brief, but I got to know her a little. I can tell you for certain she is not the Violence Witch.”
“I see… Well, of course she’s not the Violence Witch, the Violence Witch is dead. I don’t know what the demons are thinking, but nothing’s gonna change that fact. With an alchemist and some clever thinking, nothing is impossible. I’m sure there’s a better explanation as to why the monsters are dead. Go back to your post and continue looking into the situation. The demons cannot possibly overlook that girl, so keep an eye on her as well. We may be able to use her against the demons. And don’t forget to make sure everything is ready for the trip…”
“Understood.”