Bayard transforms into a wild beast once battle begins.
I hear it’s a trait unique to Bayard, not a characteristic of the bear tribe. By losing her rationality, her physical abilities are enhanced beyond imagination.
However, even when she loses her mind, Bayard has never attacked her allies. But right now, Bayard starts attacking her comrades!
At Bayard’s rampaging roar, Ruby froze in place. She knew Bayard’s strength all too well, and fear consumed her, making her unable to move.
And why wouldn’t she?
Imagine a bear suddenly appearing before you. Not just any bear, but a bear from the bear tribe capable of devouring even seasoned knights. Anyone would hesitate.
But not one person. The Commander moved swiftly to block Bayard. Bayard, completely lost in rage, swung her hand.
The Commander’s sword wasn’t something that could be called sharp—even the clumsy guards could deliver better strikes. Yet, with that clumsiness, he fought evenly with Bayard. How many could truly stand toe-to-toe with her?
Even someone as confident as him would only last about five minutes if facing Bayard head-on. But he had never felt humiliation over that fact.
In fact, it was a point of pride. It meant he could hold his own against Bayard for a full five minutes. Yet here he was, just a mere human, matching her blows evenly.
What if he stepped in?
Rather than helping the Commander, he’d only become a hindrance. Ruby never overestimated herself. Instead, she watched from a distance, taking in every moment of the battle.
If she said she wasn’t frustrated, it would be a lie.
A clumsy sword energy void of refined technique was able to fight evenly with Bayard. That alone made her envious of the Commander’s strength, which surpassed that of mere humans.
I want to be that strong too.
Stronger than anyone, to defeat that trash.
With that thought in mind, the dwarf girl soaked in everything before her.
As if sharpening a sword on a whetstone.
*
Save me.
Damn it, please save me.
Hey! Can’t you hear me?
I’m not lying; I really feel like I’m going insane. My sight keeps flashing between gray and normal, and it hurts my eyes. It feels like staring at television static.
However, the bigger problem is that my stamina is starting to fall to its limits. Forget about time stop; just dodging or blocking Bayard’s ferocious attacks is draining my energy.
At least the time stop is being used in short bursts, so the energy drain isn’t that severe. But just fighting Bayard has already left me on the brink of collapse.
I glanced sideways. Our dwarf girl was watching the fight from a distance. If she’s just going to stand there, she could at least help from the back.
To make matters worse, none of my attacks had affected Bayard at all. To put it like rock-paper-scissors, I see what my opponent plays, counter it, and win.
But my opponent reads my moves first and switches. Then I stop time again, only for my opponent to change; it turned into a frustrating cycle.
“Urgh?!”
Bayard’s kick slammed into my side. Luckily, I twisted before impact. Otherwise, my insides would’ve ruptured. I quickly retreated.
Honestly, it felt like I was facing an actual bear. Her movements were that fast and agile. Who said bears are dumb? If you say that in front of me, I’ll smash your limbs!
With the aura of an overwhelming predator, Bayard charged like a beast. My stamina was drained, so reacting wasn’t easy. Just swinging my sword was already pushing my limits.
In contrast, Bayard showed no signs of tiring. Of course not. Would a beast tire faster than a human? What should I do? I desperately pondered.
[How curious. Even losing her rationality, she doesn’t attack her comrades.]
[According to Commander Yuren, losing complete rationality doesn’t happen; her intelligence drops to that of a beast.]
[Indeed… Even beasts don’t harm their own kind.]
Facing her head-on would be futile. If she were an enemy, it would be different, but I needed to pacify my ally. But to subdue her…Bayard’s physical abilities are insane.
I can’t just break her arms or legs; that would leave lasting repercussions. Apply a joint lock? On a bear? I’d probably lose in strength. I sighed heavily.
There’s no choice; it’s a gamble… I exhaled deeply and looked up. I spotted Bayard charging directly at me. I lowered my sword.
“Commander?!”
Ruby’s horrified scream came from behind. As expected, Bayard dashed toward me with all her might. Her charge felt like a truck racing straight at me.
If we collided like this, my bones and flesh would surely separate. So, I executed a little trick. A clash of my index and middle fingers sent a ringing sound that painted the world gray.
Time and stamina were running out. I rushed toward Bayard. I grabbed her charging body and shook her, disrupting her stance.
“Alright, next…”
At this point, it was impossible for me to bring down Bayard without causing harm. So, I had to approach from a different angle—just like now.
Gradually, the gray world returned to normal. Since I had relaxed my strength in advance, Bayard’s charge was more easily blocked than I anticipated.
The problem was what came next. Even if I stopped her charge, Bayard’s tremendous strength didn’t vanish. So, I hugged the Bayard that had approached me.
“It’s okay. You’re alright now.”
“Graaah!”
“There are no more enemies to torment you.”
I once read somewhere that dogs tend to bark when they’re scared. Plus, I understood Bayard’s background. I knew she turned into a beast when she went berserk.
Combining all this information led to one conclusion. If Bayard doesn’t attack her comrades, would she attack Ruby or me? Probably out of fear.
That hellish scene was still fresh in her memory. Bayard had deserted due to fear. Usually, deserters would hide back in their hometowns.
But not Bayard. Instead, she’d been hiding near the Cathedral by the Lionheart Fortress. Why? If caught, she could face execution under military law.
Taking all this into account, I concluded: Bayard still had lingering attachments. Be it for revenge against her comrades or something else. Therefore, I decided to go all-in on this.
“Grr…!”
Wait a minute. Did I misread this situation? I could hear beastly noises from my embrace! She even bit my shoulder?! I felt a sting and blood started to flow.
Should I retreat now? But soon I changed my mind. If Bayard saw me as an enemy, I would’ve been ripped to shreds in an instant.
But I was still intact—able to even converse. That meant my approach was working to some extent on Bayard.
“I can’t know what you saw there.”
“…”
“But I can accept all those feelings. Let it all out, and cry.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Bayard’s clawed hand pricked my back like a thorn. Ah, wait! Don’t throw up now! I might actually die from pain!!
“Commander, you can finally let go now.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve already fallen asleep.”
“…I see.”
Before I knew it, Bayard had stopped rampaging. She fell asleep in my arms with a relaxed expression. But her claws were still embedded in my back. I clicked my tongue.
Anyway, this barely resolved the problem. I hadn’t depleted Bayard’s power, and since she lost consciousness, I had the justification to take her to the Lionheart Fortress.
Before, it felt like I was dragging her along by force. I carefully moved her arm. Naturally, her claws were pulled free, scraping my back in long lines.
“By the way, I’ve re-evaluated the Commander.”
“…”
“I thought you only talked a big game, but I never expected you’d fight so hard you’d get injured.”
You didn’t fight hard to protect me.
It’s not like there was any other option.
But I wouldn’t reveal that truth.
I saw you, just watching from the back.
Get ready; I will repay this debt someday.
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