I Became a Tin Knight
Chapter 110: The Tin Knight and The Dark Red Monster (2)

“Ugh, really! What even is this!?”

Facing the transparent barrier blocking her way, Dorothea was extremely irritated.

Thump! Thump!

The ebony staff—demoted from a secret weapon for the finals to a mere wooden club—let out a pitiful scream, regardless, Dorothea’s relentless beating showed no signs of ceasing.

Of course, she knew full well that this wouldn’t break the barrier.

It would be the height of arrogance to think she could break it with just a wooden staff when even the legendary adventurer over there was slashing away with sword energy to no avail.

But she had no other option.

After seeing Adelaide with her limbs bent in strange directions, she even seriously considered closing her eyes and using necromancy with full force, but even if she summoned an army of tens of thousands made of corpses, it would be meaningless against such a ridiculously solid wall.

Seeing that even that guy Peter or whatever can’t break it, sword energy is out of the question. The only thing left is magic….

The mage who could be most active in this situation wasn’t a necromancer, an alchemist, or an enchantress.

But a Wizard.

Dorothea quickly scanned her surroundings.

Finding a specific person in the crowded mass was incredibly difficult, but because the target’s appearance was so eye-catching and the surrounding spectators had created an empty space by keeping their distance, she was somehow able to find her.

“Hey, you!”

“Addressing someone as ‘you’ doesn’t seem very dignified. Dorothea Aschengard,” the beautiful girl with snow-white hair—Algind Goodwitch—answered with an air of grace.

Dorothea felt the momentary urge to snap at her leisurely appearance amidst the chaos, but staying focused on her adjective, she somehow suppressed it.

“Never mind that. Can you break that barrier?”

“Hmm,” Algind paused for a moment without changing her expression, then nodded. “Yes, I can break it. Moreover, I’m likely the only one here who can break it.”

“In that case—“

“In that case, what?” Algind retorted, interrupting Dorothea’s words.  “I hope you’re not about to ask me to break that. Don’t you know what kind of catastrophe would occur if I did such a thing?”

Algind gestured towards the inside of the arena.

There, the Tin Knight and Kalidahs were engaged in a tremendous battle—one that seemed out of this world.

Every time one of them blocked their foe’s strike, the ground beneath their feet caved in, and the surroundings were pulverized by stray sword energy and sword winds. It was a demonic realm that would quite literally explode any ordinary person from the colliding mana and shockwaves.

“The only reason the audience can watch with dumbfounded expressions is thanks to that barrier. Conversely speaking, the moment it disappears, this place will turn into a hellscape.”

“I’m not asking you to break it all. A simple hole would be enough.”

“It’s equally dangerous.”

“We don’t have time, so just give me a straightforward answer.”

Dorothea was urgent.

While she didn’t think the Tin Knight would lose, leaving Adelaide, who was already in critical condition, right next to that battle of monsters was a completely different matter.

As Algind continued to remain silent without answering, Dorothea furrowed her brow.

After moving her lips for a moment, she finally spoke with a reluctant expression. “If necessary, I can offer compensation—“

“Miss Dorothea.”

A voice from behind interrupted Dorothea’s words.

When Dorothea turned her gaze, a solemn-faced Sophia shook her head.

“Let’s go back.”

“But—“

“It’s okay. So, hurry.”

At Sophia’s words, Dorothea made a hesitant expression, then closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she said to Algind, “Forget it. We’ll be going.”

Algind silently watched the two leave without hesitation.

After the two had completely left, she muttered softly, “—Hmph, what a shame.”

***

Sophia said to trust the Tin Knight.

Although Dorothea felt impatient in a situation where she could only wait quietly, her patience wasn’t in vain.

The Tin Knight’s sword successfully cleaved through Kalidahs’ body.

Furthermore, he did so without involving Adelaide in the battle at all.

“Haaaaaa.”

Dorothea let out a long sigh of relief.

She had broken out in a cold sweat when Kalidahs shot a terrifying sword wave in Adelaide’s direction at the last moment, wondering what would happen, but the Tin Knight’s response had been flawless.

It was worth buying expensive equipment from Franka’s shop.

As Kalidahs fell, the barrier surrounding the area also began to collapse.

Sophia suddenly muttered, “What strange timing.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering Dorothea’s question, Sophia shook her head, “I’ll explain later. For now, Adel comes first.”

Since it was the right thing to do, Dorothea nodded obediently and then jumped over the audience stand into the arena.

She heard the staff and guards trying to stop her in confusion, but she nonchalantly ignored them.

The two approached Adelaide and quickly began treatment.

They aligned the twisted bones in the right direction, applied medicine to the wounds, and after finishing everything they could do surgically, Sophia used holy magic.

Although she had tried to avoid using it in front of others as much as possible, it was unavoidable in the current situation.

To suppress the visible characteristics as much as possible, Dorothea poured necromancy mana into Sophia generously.

They could only hope that given the chaotic situation, people around wouldn’t notice anything unusual.

With Adelaide, who had fainted from the pain of aligning her bones, on her back, the two approached the Tin Knight.

Perhaps because they had taken time to heal Adelaide, quite a few people were already crowding around the Tin Knight and Kalidahs.

“Wait, you shouldn’t come this way…”

Some of the guards tried to stop them, but soon trailed off.

It was a reaction to realizing that the Tin Knight, and the two women were of the same party, and that the Tin Knight was a magic doll contracted to Dorothea.

Perhaps because they had witnessed the Tin Knight’s incredible fight up close, there was even a sense of awe in their appearance.

“So, um, er, can you speak?” the Lord of Thracus, who was trying to communicate with the Tin Knight with a troubled expression, brightened upon seeing Dorothea’s face. “Ah, thank goodness. I have many questions to ask to understand this situation, could you accompany me for a moment?”

Dorothea hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.

She also had various things to ask, and if she responded poorly here, there was a sufficient possibility of being branded as the culprit. She also needed to talk about Kalidahs’ belt.

Saying it had become a troublesome matter, Dorothea glared at the corpse of the root cause of this commotion.

Huh?

It was then that something strange caught Dorothea’s eye.

Around Kalidahs, something like red fissures appeared for a moment and then disappeared.

If she had dismissed it as a simple optical illusion, that would have been the end of it, but she was concerned about having just shared mana with Sophia to help her.

“Sophia.”

Without detailed explanation, Dorothea lightly tapped the side of her eye with her finger, and Sophia immediately understood the hint.

Sophia’s crimson mana flowed into Dorothea’s head.

Dorothea reached out towards the red fissures that began to appear again.

***

Long ago—except not so long ago.

There was a woman who lived by the sword.

The woman was ordinary.

Once hailed as a prodigy, her talent faded with the passage of time.

But it was too late to choose a different path now—what she had built up throughout the years felt too precious to abandon.

One day, while living aimlessly, the woman encountered a mysterious armor.

The armor of a monster bearing the forms of a bear and a tiger gave the woman many things.

Excellent skills, a robust physique, abundant mana.

Strength itself was like a treasure that filled a warehouse.

Generosity and cheerfulness, forgotten due to an impoverished life, returned.

Her irritable personality gained composure, and her words and actions carried the dignity of the strong.

However, it wasn’t without a price.

One day, when she took off the armor and looked at her face reflected in the mirror, the woman was shocked.

What was there wasn’t the self she remembered.

The red hair, the violet eyes, even the detailed features of the face.

The past appearance the woman remembered had long since disappeared.

She was afraid, but she couldn’t give up the armor.

The power she had once obtained was too sweet.

The woman wrapped herself even more tightly in the armor.

So that neither others, nor even the woman herself, could see the changed appearance anymore.

Even if the change accelerated because of it, she made excuses to herself that it was enough if no one knew.

The woman didn’t realize.

Or perhaps she did, but turned a blind eye.

The hatred for brilliant gold.

The grudge against lustrous violet.

The murmuring deep in her chest felt whenever she saw those who inherited the Lion’s name.

Since she turned a blind eye and acted as if it was nothing, pretending to be carefree, the woman could remain herself.

Until she saw a small fragment of something revealed by the girl before her eyes.

Amidst overflowing emotions, the woman forgot herself.

Only then did she realize—the alias she had been using without much thought was that of the armor’s original owner.

The lingering thoughts left in the armor were mere dregs compared to what the original owner held, but even that was enough of a deadly poison to completely overwhelm the woman’s mind.

The woman fell into a sleep from which she would never wake.

As if to replace her, Kalidahs opened its eyes.

And, the dark red monster’s violet eyes stared at Dorothea.

***

“Ugh!”

Dorothea unconsciously clutched her head.

Her heart was pounding.

The gaze felt at the end.

That alone was not a simple illusion or vicarious experience.

The monster’s eyes held clear will and substance.

Somewhere in this world, it was still burning with resentment and hatred.

Seeing Sophia’s deeply thoughtful expression, it seemed she had seen the same thing.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders if they saw a cut scene without him!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ complains that while he’s not the type to care about detailed truths or background settings, that’s one thing and exclusion is another!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if it’s okay to loot this belt!]

“You really… No, never mind. What could I possibly say?”

Dorothea shook her head.

Looking at the carefree Tin Knight, she felt foolish for having seriously felt a sense of crisis or gravity.

“Well, I understand what you all might be thinking, but Kalidahs wasn’t always like this. Rather than defending her, I just want you to be aware of this.”

At the sudden words of the Lord of Thracus, Dorothea wondered what this person was talking about, but then realized her own behavior.

Of course, a mage whose companion had almost been cut down by Kalidahs would naturally look like she harbored resentment if she frowned while staring at Kalidahs in silence for a long time.

Dorothea considered correcting the misunderstanding but decided to leave it be.

It was more convenient that way since she couldn’t explain Sophia’s ability.

“My lord, what should we do with the champion’s body?”

“We can’t leave it here like this, so let’s move it for now. There’s a possibility she might have been affected by some suspicious drug or magic, so we need to investigate.”

At the lord’s order, several strong men rushed to Kalidahs.

Just as they were about to lift Kalidahs—

Crack.

At first, a small crack appeared.

That crack spread and spread, extending across the entire armor.

“Huh, wha—?”

The dark red leather and iron plates, the gloves sharp like beast claws, the bear emblem engraved on the shoulder, the tiger-like helmet, even the flesh left inside, all split, then crumbled, and finally turned to dust and scattered.

Only one thing—the belt—like burning flames, remained alone and alien.

***

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