Volume 3 Chapter 7 Beating the Foolish Knight with an Iron Fist
Twenty knights surrounded Horace.
The leader, Huber, raised his sword and swung at Horace.
Whether his move was slow or fast, there was no hesitation or doubt.
What kind of swordsmanship is this, waving around a false justice and blowing accusations at the innocent?
"You're used to picking on the weak, huh? I'll give you credit for that."
Dodging the swung sword, Horace punched Huber right in the face with an iron fist.
"Guh!"
Huber was sent flying, rolling on the ground.
"Aaagh! Wh-what kind of power is this...?"
Yet, Huber's face was completely unscathed.
"It must hurt. You get punched hard, deal damage to the face, but the 'pain' stays while the 'wound' heals."
"Aaagh! D-damn it!"
"The pain sticks around, but there's no wound to 'heal'... In other words, 'the pain keeps going forever'. It's like a torturous high-level technique. Pretty nasty, right?"
"...Th-this is going to..."
"Yeah, the pain from getting punched straight in the face lasts forever. And no matter what kind of inspection magic you use, your face will 'look normal', and 'healing magic won't work'. The 'disconnect' between your brain and body is too big for painkillers to help. Pretty rough."
"D-don't joke around! A villain like you, after all your crimes, you think you can die a good death?!"
"Ah, well, no evidence of you getting hit will show up, no matter where you complain."
"Hah! You've got it all wrong. If I say I got hit, then it's considered that you hit me, even if you didn't!"
"I see..."
"You guys! What are you standing around for! Kill this villain now!"
Huber gave the order, but the knights moved sluggishly.
"Wh-what are you doing! Hurry up and──"
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll take care of you one by one. Just relax."
Saying that, Horace punched the chest of a nearby knight with an iron fist.
The knight was wearing armor, but Horace's punch went right through.
"Gah!"
The knight was sent flying and rolled on the ground.
The chest of the armor was shattered, revealing the clothes beneath.
Clutching their chest, the knight doubles over in agony, the pain lingering.
"Ngh..."
"That cheap armor won't protect you."
The knights scramble to raise their shields in a panic.
But Horace drives his iron fist right through the shield.
In an instant, the shield shatters...
"Aaaaaaagh! My arm! Aaaaaaagh!"
There's no physical injury.
Just... a deep gash in the armor on their arm, clutching it as they bear the pain.
"Felt like your bones were breaking, didn't it?"
"Guh, duh..."
"It's gonna stay like that from now on."
"Hiss!"
Overwhelmed by a chill worse than the pain, the knight looks up at Horace.
Horace's eyes are so cold, they make even the deepest freeze feel warm...
"I make sure to leave a mark so it's easy to remember. Otherwise, it gets noisy later. It's a technique I've mastered."
Having lost interest in the arm, Horace looks for 'the next target'.
"S-Stop! I'm sorry! I won't ever do this again..."
The knight pleads, but...
"Don't get the wrong idea."
"Huh?"
"I don't care about your gang's sense of right and wrong. You think I know the rules you make when you lend money? Being wanted is no big deal to me."
"T-Then why..."
"It's my creepiness, my scariness. If someone can't understand that, and they go around pretending to be justice, it's just in the way. I need them to report back clearly. In other words... you're going to be my 'example'."
"Don't joke around!"
"Strong guys can laugh off safety as a shield. You're the ones who think that's right."
The whole argument,
The Church of Shinathica is a religion with 'doctrine'.
Divided finely, it's diverse, but at its core, there are 4.
First, thou shalt not steal.
Second, thou shalt not trespass.
Third, settle disputes with words, not violence.
Fourth, thou shalt not forsake the safety of the people.
Ethically, it's very right.
But the biggest issue is how easily the 4th can be misused.
Under the guise of 'protecting safety', they often exercise various search and seizure rights.
In this world, monsters are everywhere. So even if folks preach "talk it out," nobody's giving up their weapons. And honestly? That's just common sense.
But those guys──when it's about "security," they'll do whatever it takes. No shame. No lines.
"Beast-eat-beast" and the "survival of the fittest for humans"──they're not the same. What you lot worship is just how animals fight. All this time, beating wild beasts into shape has always taken force. Nothing new."
He cracked his knuckles. Hard.
"So let's play by your rules. I'm gonna show everyone──no more innocents living scared for no reason. That's why I'm using you as the example. Simple as that."
Horace's face stayed cold──colder than winter.
Not an inch of warmth in those eyes.
...And for a long, long while, out in that open field, the only thing anyone could hear were the screams.
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