Category: Umareta Chokugo ni Suterareta kedo, Zensei ga Taikensha datta node Yoyuu de Ikitemasu

As we crossed the Atlas Mountain Range aboard the Seno Grande Kai, a colossal peak loomed ahead of us. Compared to the surrounding mountains, it stood nearly twice as tall—an overwhelming mass of rock that pierced the clouds.

“Hn… it’s really high.”

Fana murmured.

“That is the main peak of the Atlas Range.”

I answered as I nod towards it. Even with Seno Grande Kai, we were only barely able to reach this altitude.

“The oxygen is thin… even just breathing feels tough. It’s also freezing up here.”

Anje said, rubbing her arms. No ordinary human could survive long in such an environment—too little oxygen, too much cold.

“At this altitude, only dragons could live here normally. And not just ordinary ones either… eh?”

I squinted toward the summit.

“Wait a second—doesn’t the top of the mountain look… discolored?”

As we drew closer to the main peak, it became clear that the summit was covered in a dark, viscous substance.

Then—

Wooong—wooong—wooong—wooong—wooong—!

A piercing alarm blared throughout the bridge.

On the monitor before us, the internal map of the airship flashed red, a series of X marks had appeared where the entrance and exit were.

“It’s detecting hazardous elements in the outside atmosphere. It’s warning us not to go out.”

Anje spoke, her eyes narrowing.

The source was obvious—the strange black liquid smothering the mountaintop.

“Something just moved. There—something shaped like a lizard.”

Fana said, pointing at the display.

“Let’s check it out.”

I aimed the scanning radar toward the spot Fana had pointed out.

—And immediately, a powerful reaction flared across the display.

Judging from the outline, it could only be a dragon. Roughly thirty meters long, its massive body moved with unsettling grace as it waded through that strange, tar-like liquid without a hint of discomfort.

『That substance is likely poisonous.』

(You can tell, Linlin?)

『Without a doubt. That’s definitely the abominable evil dragon…the poisonous dragon Fafnir. I can’t believe it’s making a place like this its lair.』

Lindwurm’s tone dripped with distaste, as though even speaking the creature’s name left a foul taste in her mouth.

Among dragons, those with low intelligence and deeply malicious natures are known as Evil Dragons.

…Well, Bahamut could technically be called evil too, but at least she’s smart enough to hold a conversation. That alone puts her in a different league.

“Since we’ve stumbled across it anyway, we might as well take care of it while we’re here.”

Leaving an Evil Dragon alone was never a good idea. Just like the demons, they only brought disaster if ignored. Sure, in a place this remote there was little risk to people—but there was no telling when it might decide to descend upon the lands below.

“You—you actually plan to fight that thing!?”

Karen’s voice trembled.

“Look strong.” Fana said, eyes sparkling.

“Wait, isn’t it hard enough just to breathe outside?!”

“Not to mention, the area is saturated with that poison. Entering its domain means certain death.”

“It’s fine. We don’t even need to go outside for this one.”

It was the perfect chance to test the Seno Grande Kai’s combat capabilities. Honestly, I’ve been thinking that the small fry dragons we’d run into so far were far too weak for a proper trial run.

“—Tch! SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

“It noticed us!”

As we drew closer, Fafnir turned its massive head toward us.

A heartbeat later, a high-output mana cannon roared to life.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!

The blast struck Fafnir head-on.

—Or so it seemed. At the very last moment, the beast twisted its body and narrowly avoided the hit. Though its body was massive, Fafnir’s stance was low to the ground, its movements more akin to a lizard slithering across the earth—swift and unnervingly agile for a creature of its size.

“Poison breath incoming!”

As if in retaliation, the dragon spewed a torrent of venomous liquid toward us.

But the Seno Grande Kai deployed its barrier in an instant, easily deflecting the attack. Without pause, the airship retaliated with another blast from its mana cannon.

Once again, the evil dragon evaded with blinding speed. Yet before it could regain its footing, the next barrage was already upon it.

“How long do you think you can keep dodging?”

Fafnir scrambled desperately along the cliff face, twisting and turning to escape the relentless bombardment. But at last, one of the mana blasts struck into its back with a resounding impact.

“Gruaaaaaah!?”

The Seno Grande Kai immediately followed up with a rapid volley of mana blasts, showing not the slightest hint of mercy as it drove the evil dragon into a corner.

“…This feels a bit one-sided, doesn’t it?”

“Mm. It’s just getting pummeled.”

“Can’t that thing fly or something?”

Hmm. What a disappointment.

『Fafnir’s wings have long since degenerated, rendering it incapable of flight. As such, when attacked from the air like this, its only means of retaliation is that poisonous breath. But with even that neutralized by your barrier, it truly has no options left.』

“So once its breath was blocked by the barrier, that was pretty much game over for it, huh.”

Before long, the mana cannons fell silent.

The Seno Grande Kai must have determined that the enemy had been completely annihilated.

Fafnir’s colossal, mangled body tumbled helplessly down the sheer cliffside, disappearing into the ravine below.

『Once the evil dragon is dead, its venom will eventually dissipate as well.』

“Good enough. No one’s coming to this place anyway—let’s just leave it be.”

Leaving the poison-soaked peak behind, we pressed onward.

“Ah! Master, the end of the Great Mountain Range is in sight! At last, we’re about to set foot in the western lands…!”

The airship soared past the final ridge of the mountain range.

No longer needing to maintain such an altitude, I began to lower our height.

—that was when it happened.

Wooong—wooong—wooong—wooong—!

Once again, the piercing sound of the alarm echoed through the control room.

I frowned and checked the monitor, wondering what it could be this time—only to see a massive object rapidly approaching from ahead.

“W–what the heck is that!?”

“…An island?”

“Y-you’re right. It is an island! But why in the world is it floating in the sky!?”

Beyond the window stretched an impossible sight— a vast expanse of land, suspended high above the clouds.

“Don’t tell me… that’s a floating island?”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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After we’d had our fill of the eastern lands, we decided it was time to head back west.

“I definitely want to come here again. I would love to be breastfed by the shogun again. Luckily, I should be able to use teleportation magic soon—next time, the trip will be a breeze.”

Teleportation magic required an immense amount of mana and it puts a heavy strain on the body. That was why I refrained from using it up until now.

Of course, I already prepared the magic circle. By marking a specific location as a destination, I could greatly reduce the burden of teleportation.

『By the way, where exactly did you inscribe the circle?』

“Eh? Oh, in the shogun’s bath, of course. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly hidden.”

『…I see. Of course you did.』

While Lindwurm let out an exasperated sigh, the rest of us headed toward the Seno Grande.

“Hmm… is it just me, or did it get bigger?”

“Yeah, it definitely looks larger than before.”

Fana and Anje tilted their heads, studying the ship’s newly altered form.

“You noticed! Excellent eyes, both of you! That’s right—I did a major renovation!”

I spread my arms proudly. I had given Seno Grande a major makeover, enhancing both its structure and performance. And, naturally, I had taken the opportunity to “upgrade” its most distinctive feature—the massive twin bulges on either side of the hull.

“It’s like I boosted it from an H-cup to a J-cup! Honestly, I wanted to go for an L-cup, but I figured focusing more on flight performance than sheer size was the smarter call… so I held back.”

“…What on earth are you even talking about?”

Honestly, with only a handful of us aboard, there wasn’t any practical reason to make the ship larger. Even as it was, the interior space was more than enough.

“But thanks to the makeover, the flight performance is magnificent! With this, even the massive mountain range dividing East and West should be a breeze to cross!”

For the record, I had considered renaming the vessel from Seno Grande (“Big Boobs”) to Seno Tropo Grande (“Massive Boobs”), but it felt a bit too long—and truth be told, the ship’s current size didn’t quite qualify as massive. So, in the end, I kept the old name.

『I believe a J-cup already counts as massive, though…』

Huh? No way. True massive starts at least from an L-cup upward.

That said, to commemorate its rebirth, I decided it would henceforth be known as the Seno Grande Kai—the kai(快) of  pleasure.

『I’ve been meaning to ask… but didn’t you mean to call it kai—as in “改,” meaning “Improved”?』

(Nope. It’s the kai, meaning ‘Pleasure’)

『……』

To achieve this “Pleasurable Refit,” of course, a powerful new energy source had been essential. Luckily, the female-type demon we’d captured earlier made the perfect solution. Even now, she is probably down in the engine room, dutifully channeling her magic in place of me.

『You really have no mercy, do you? Even though she’s female—complete with the kind of chest you’re so fond of.』

(Demon breasts don’t count. They’re hard—no softness, no warmth, nothing! Honestly, the disappointment alone makes them a sin against mankind.)

『Every time I think you can’t disgust me more, you somehow manage to outdo yourself, Master.』

And with that, the Seno Grande Kai soared into the sky, rising higher and higher as the city of Edo shrank to a scatter of rooftops far below.

“My homeland… Edo….This is farewell for now. I’ll grow stronger, and one day I’ll return, I swear on it.”

Her voice carried a quiet conviction. For Karen, who had joined our party in the East, this was her first time truly leaving home behind.

The airship continued its smooth ascent, rising until we were soaring high above the clouds. Below us, the sprawling city had dwindled to a scattering of tiny shapes. Up here, even the largest birds and most persistent flying beasts couldn’t hope to reach us.

“Alright, let’s kick it up a notch.”

The Seno Grande Kai tilted forward, its engines humming with renewed vigor as we surged toward the distant mountain range. Thanks to the makeover, our flight speed had nearly doubled.

“The mountain range’s getting close way too fast… just how fast are we going?”

“At this pace, we could get from Volante to Vegaltia in about five minutes.”

“F-five minutes!? That’s so fast! I can’t even comprehend it….”

“You are a genius, Master”

“This speed… Even at my full sprint, I would not come close.”

Lill, also said in surprise. After all, she is a Fenrir, a divine wolf capable of outrunning storms when she was in her true form.

Soon, the mountain range that divided East and West loomed before us, filling the view ahead. We were flying at an altitude that would make most airships stall out, and yet, the jagged peaks of the Atlas Great Range were still alarmingly close—some rising almost to our level.

“The Atlas Mountain Range is a chain of mountains thousands of meters high.”

Incidentally, Atlas was also the name of a giant-type monster. No one really knew whether the Atlas Mountains were named after that creature, or if the monster had been named after the mountains. Either way, the connection was clear—and fitting.

And within this colossal range lives countless dragons.

“At this altitude, we could just fly past them. But since we’re here, why not take a closer look?”

Lowering the ship’s altitude, I guided us toward the jagged peaks.

As we drew nearer, the scene came into focus—hundreds of dragons swarming around the summit like flies, their wings glinting in the sunlight.

For the record, I’d turned off the stealth mode. It wouldn’t be much of a sightseeing trip if the locals couldn’t even see us, after all.

“W–wait! Why are we flying straight into them!?”

“Are we fighting?”

“It’s fine. We’re just going to take it easy and watch for a bit. I just want to test how the new flight systems perform under live conditions.”

At that exact moment, one of the dragons noticed us.

It let out a bone-rattling roar and came hurtling toward the airship. Its jaws wide enough to swallow a wagon whole.

At the same time, a low hum built within the hull—then the magic cannon fired.

Doooon!!

A beam of condensed mana tore through the sky.

“~~~~!?”

The dragon didn’t even have time to scream. Its massive body was pierced clean through, wings folding uselessly as it plummeted into the mountain below like a falling meteor.

“Okay, let’s keep going!”

With the first one down, the rest of the dragons went wild. Dozens, then hundreds, took to the air, their roars merging into a thunder that shook the peaks. They surged toward us like a living storm of wings and flame.

But the airship’s magic cannons roared louder.

Beams of pure mana lanced through the sky, punching holes through scale and tendon alike. The dragons didn’t even have time to retaliate. Each blast sent another beast spiraling down in a pillar of fire and smoke.

“They’re going down like goblins….. I never imagined I’d see dragons slaughtered so easily…”

“Yup, and we’ve still got plenty of mana to spare. As expected of a demon—she makes one hell of a power source.”

“…Was that really what demons were meant for? I can’t help but feel sorry for that female demon, being turned into a power source just because she encountered such a monstrous baby…”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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“I-I won’t give up… I’ll survive this… and wait for that person’s resurrection… I’m sure that person will resurrect… Fortunately, this body, which I’ve turned into a karakuri, is capable of lasting forever…”

“She’s still alive!? How tenacious!”

“Huh?!”

A short distance from the destroyed ninja base, we discovered the dying female demon lying hidden in the lush grass. It seemed she had survived being hit by the airship’s magic cannon.

The karakuri transformation may have increased her durability, but she was still quite sturdy.

“Since there wasn’t a corpse near the Karakuri Giant, I had a hard time finding you. Your magic signature was so faint I almost missed it.”

Well, it made sense —after having her magic drained to power the Karakuri Giant and then taking a direct hit from a magic cannon, her total mana reserves must have been drastically reduced. But more likely, she had been deliberately suppressing her magical presence to avoid being found.

“Powerful demons usually can’t hide their magic at all. But the weaker ones have to, or they wouldn’t survive. They get really good at it.”

“Y–you bastaaard! How much longer do you intend to mock meee!?”

So she had learned to conceal her magic because she knew she was weak—but judging from how easily she lost her temper, her pride was still very much intact.

“Oh, right. When I saw you being used as the Karakuri Giant’s power source earlier, I thought it was a pretty interesting idea.”

“Huh?”

“My magic airship’s an older model you see. Its fuel efficiency is quite terrible. Recharging its mana takes a lot of work.”

I did make use of magic stones, but the fastest way was simply to channel my own mana directly. Even so—though my mana reserves had grown considerably, I am still just a baby now. I couldn’t hold a candle to what I’d wielded in my previous life.

“So I figured, there’s always the option of using demons. Maybe even a Demon Lord’s heart—it’s packed with absurd amounts of mana—but that’s way too risky. Unlike the Karakuri Giant, I don’t need to convert the energy into electricity first, so in terms of efficiency, you should be more than enough.”

“—!?”

The female-type demon froze, speechless, as the meaning of my words sank in.

I gave her my sweetest baby smile and presented her with a choice.

“So, what will it be? Would you rather die here and now… or live on and serve as my power source? I can’t promise I’ll honor your wishes—but I’ll at least pretend to listen.”

★★★

We returned to Edo Castle.

“We have successfully annihilated their base of operations. It is all thanks to your efforts.”

In the audience chamber, the shogun once again expressed her gratitude. Since she already knew my true face, there was no need for the puppet or the screen this time—she sat before us in person. Of course, still dressed as a man.

“For your deeds this time, I am deeply indebted to you. Though it began as a simple commissioned task, such service deserves a proper reward. Is there anything you desire?”

“I want more boobies again~~!”

“Oh-ho? If that is all you wish for, then drink your fill.”

“Yaaay!!”

Lindwurm and Anje both gave me flat, exasperated stares.

But who cares? Being able to enjoy those magnificent breasts was worth every glare. Ehehehe.

“Of course, the others shall each receive their own separate rewards as well.”

The general added.

“I did it! At long last, I’ve saved up ten million!”

Karen’s joyous cry rang out.

She had already earned five million from her escort mission to Nikou, and now, after helping destroy the ninja organization, she received another five million in reward money. Including what she’d made from monster hunts, her total savings had easily surpassed ten million.

“With this, I can finally make the payment.”

“Mm. Good work.”

“Uuugh… I know it can’t be helped, but it still breaks my heart…”

Tears welling in her eyes, Karen reluctantly handed over ten million yen to Fana.

Considering how Fana had already hit the jackpot back in Embara with her gambling spree, she might actually be ridiculously wealthy by now.

“Well, you can always work hard and earn it back.”

“You’re right! I’ll just have to train even harder from now on!”

Wiping her tears, Karen renewed her resolve with fiery determination.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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“W-what is that giant karakuri..?”

General Tokuyama Ietaka, who remained aboard the magical airship, was astonished by the giant humanoid karakuri that suddenly appeared below him.

“I had heard that a man who was exiled from the Hiraga Research Institute was lending his powers… but I never imagined he’d built something like that on such a remote island…”

Ietaka was stunned. Even the Hiraga Research Institute couldn’t possibly have created such a gigantic humanoid weapon.

When the Karakuri Giant swung its sword, a violent air current exploded outward. The bullets of condensed magic it fired from its gun struck the sea, sending up towering pillars of water and drenching the area in a torrential downpour.

“W–what a monster is this…? How could mere flesh and blood possibly stand against such a thing? No matter how mighty western warriors may be, surely they can do nothing against it…! After all, even the strongest ant cannot defeat an elephant…”

As Ietaka despaired before the overwhelming might of the Karakuri Giant—

『Mana charge: Complete. Target Locking: Complete. ―Preparing to fire.』

Suddenly, an artificial voice echoed from somewhere.

“What was that voice just now…?”

『Mana cannon, fire.』

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!

“~~~~~!?”

A cannonball made of magic was fired, its power enhanced by compressing it to the limit.

★★★  

The airship fired a magic cannon at the Karakuri Giant.

“I thought something like this might happen, so I made it remotely controllable.”

The magic cannon’s target is the cockpit… just below it, at the female demon being held captive as the power source. Of course, she’s protected by tough armor, but a cannonball made of magic condensed to its limits should be able to penetrate it.

“W-wai- waiiiiit aaaaa…”

The female demon screamed and pleaded, but there was no way to stop the magic cannon once it was fired. The magic easily pierced her armor and burned her.

“Is she dead?”

“She was an unfortunate girl until the very end…”

While Fana and Anje felt a little sympathy for the female demon, Ittosai was the one who was shocked.

“I-impossible! H-how could it beeee!? The power source was destroyed!? What on earth have you done!? For a moment, it looked like something was falling from the sky…”

The magical airship was floating in stealth mode, so to him, it must have looked like a magical laser was suddenly raining down from the sky.

With its power gone and rendered inoperable, the Karakuri Giant was nothing more than a giant piece of junk.

Even so, Ittosai frantically moved the control stick and pressed various buttons, but—

“Hey, uncle, hey uncle~, how do you expect it to move without a power source?”

“~~~~!? Y–you! Where did you come from!?”

Ittosai’s eyes bulged as he screamed—because right there, inside the cockpit, a cute little child had appeared out of nowhere.

“Hmm? Through that hole over there.”

“There’s a hole in the armor!? Wh–when did that happen!?”

“While you were panicking, I just shaved a bit off with magic. It was thinner than I expected though. You should probably make it thicker next time—so people can’t sneak in so easily.”

“This cockpit is reinforced with mithril! There’s no way you could have broken through so easily!”

“Mithril? Oh, come on, at least use adamantite. The cockpit’s your biggest weak point, after all. Actually, if you really wanted to be smart, you should’ve hidden its location from the outside. Same goes for the power source, too.”

He even made it so the cockpit was plainly visible from the outside, so lining up a shot was simple. Then again, even if it hadn’t been visible, I could’ve located it in an instant by sensing the magic.

“How dare a brat nitpick me—! Agh—!?”

Enraged, Ittosai lunged forward, but the I made a solid blow to his gut with Lindwurm and sent him sprawling.

“D—damn it… W-what are you, exactly…?”

“Just a perfectly ordinary baby.”

“There’s no way that you are a baby—!!”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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As the building shook violently, we hurried to escape from the underground passage. Once we burst out onto the surface, the soldiers who had been fighting the karakuri ninjas noticed the same disturbance and fled outside as well.

“The ground is steady out here… so the shaking was only inside the building.”

“W-what in the world is happening there!?”

Everyone stood frozen, watching in dread as the building began to collapse.

But it wasn’t falling apart merely because of the tremors. Something massive was trying to force its way up from beneath the earth. Its emergence caused the tearing of the structure to pieces.

Gogogogogogogo!!

The ground roared like a living beast, and the air itself seemed to shudder.

Soon, it appeared, pushing aside the buildings on the ground.

“H-huge!”

It was an incredibly gigantic Karakuri soldier.

It must have easily exceeded fifteen meters in length. Though humanoid, its body was proportioned to about five heads, and it held a wide sword in its right hand and a long-barreled firearm in its left.

“Kukuku… Hahahahahaha! Surprised, aren’t you!? Behold—my ultimate karakuri weapon! The Karakuri Giant!”

The booming laughter belonged to Ittosai.

Come to think of it, he’d vanished partway through the battle.

Now I saw him—seated proudly inside a control chamber built into the giant’s midsection. The area around him was sealed by a transparent wall, letting everyone witness the mastermind at the helm.

And then, from just below that compartment, another voice rang out.

“W-what is the meaning of this!? What have you done to me!?”

It was the female demon.

There, directly beneath the control chamber, another transparent barrier revealed her bound inside. Her entire body is restrained by the mechanical arms that had captured her moments ago.

“Kukuku… You are the power source for my ultimate weapon!”

“W–what!?”

“To move this colossal karakuri requires an enormous amount of energy. But as things stand, there’s no way to generate that much power at once! So I devised a solution. What if the vast magical energy possessed by demons could be converted into electricity!? Then the problem would be solved!”

The female demon stared in shock as Ittosai continued to boast proudly.

“When I modified your body, I secretly embedded a mechanism for that very purpose! You never even suspected, did you? How pitifully foolish you are, demon! Hahahaha!”

“T–that’s impossible…”

So in the end, the demon who believed she was using Ittosai had, in fact, been the one used all along.

『I can’t help but feel a little sorry for her…』

(Indeed. She might just be the most unfortunate demon we’ve ever encountered.)

Even Lindwurm and I found ourselves sympathizing with her a bit.

“Silence, you insolent humans! Don’t you dare look at me with those pitying eyes!”

The female demon shrieked, her voice was filled with rage.

But for now, our concern wasn’t the humiliated demon—it is the Karakuri Giant that Ittosai controlled.

“Ahahahaha! From up here, the proud warriors of Edo look like nothing but trash beneath my feet!” When my Karakuri engineering reaches perfection, all warfare will be waged by machines! The era of men straining their flesh in battle is finished!”

Ittosai’s laughter echoed from within the giant karakuri.

Well, back in my previous life, we had things called Magical Giant Soldier—machines quite similar to that one. The difference was that they were powered by magic, whereas this one… Ittosai managed to build one without using magic at all. That alone was astonishing.

“Hmph! Allow me to give you a little demonstration! Witness the overwhelming might of my Karakuri Giant!”

The enormous construct raised its massive sword high, then brought it down in a single, sweeping slash through empty air.

Goooooohhhhhh!!

A violent gust roared forth.

The sheer force of the wind lifted the elite Edo soldiers off their feet, hurling several of them backward through the air.

“Hahaha a! You think that was impressive? I’m not done yet!”

This time, the Karakuri Giant raised the firearm attached to its left arm. In the next instant, a glowing sphere of condensed energy burst forth. It struck the surface of the sea, detonating with a deafening roar.

BOOOOOOM!!

A towering column of water exploded skyward, and a rain of seawater came pouring down over us.

“H-how are we supposed to fight something like that…?”

“At this rate, perhaps he’s right… maybe there’s no place left for flesh-and-blood warriors anymore…”

The soldiers, armed only with blades and spears, could do nothing but stand frozen. They stared up in shock at the monstrous karakuri before them.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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“You blocked my oscillating sword with your ordinary sword?! Can’t believe that you really blocked it…. And you even got within range of the vibration shield!”

The female demon was surprised, but she lunged forward, thrusting her shield at Karen, who was at close range.

The air itself buzzed from the speed of its oscillation—if it struck her, it wouldn’t just bruise or crush. That shield could pulverize bone after all.

“Yagyu Shinnen-ryu—Receding Tide!”

In a flash of movement, Karen jumped backwards, dodging the shield’s attack.

“I won’t let you escape! I’ll—hmm?”

The demon stopped mid-sentence, her expression twisting in confusion.

A thin red line appeared across her forehead. Then—shhk!—blood splattered down her face.

“W-what!? Impossible…. When did she—!?”

She stared at Karen, eyes wide with shock, as realization and pain struck at the same time. Her forehead had been slashed cleanly.

The female demon didn’t seem to notice, but Karen wasn’t simply backing away. As she pulled away, she slashed at the female demon with the tip of her sword.

This was likely the result of the sword technique known as “Receding Tide”.

“Kuu… But a wound like this is just a light brush!”

“I didn’t just cut your forehead.”

“What?”

Immediately after, the shield split in half and rolled to the ground.

“Huh?!”

“I also cut that shield in half.”

To be precise, when Karen sliced through the shield, her blade had merely continued through—and in the same motion, split the female demon’s forehead open.

Still, the truth was plain to see: that demon woman is a weakling.

Since my reincarnation, I’ve run into quite a few demons, but this one was without a doubt the weakest of them all. Perhaps that weakness was exactly why she’d longed to be stronger—why she’d gone so far as to rely on karakuri augmentations.

Most demons would rather die than accept a human invention. After all, their pride simply wouldn’t allow it.

“Y-you bastard…! Very well then—let me show you my true power!”

With a shriek, the female demon spread her legs wide—then both limbs twisted and reshaped, transforming into long, gleaming blades.

I was just wondering how she intended to move like that when the blades began to spin at tremendous speed. Her body lifted off the ground, hovering in midair, carried by the whirling metal.

“It’s a bamboo-copter, isn’t it?”

“When combined with the wings on my back, it allows me to move much faster than with two legs!”

The female demon said with a smug look on her face,

“Hm, that’s lame.”

“Yeah… Honestly, it’s pretty uncool.”

“You think so too, oneechans? I agree.”

We couldn’t help but laugh at the demon’s ridiculous appearance. I mean, I understand the concept, but I think she could have paid a little more attention to the visuals.

“Is that so? I don’t think it’s that bad, but…”

There was one samurai who didn’t seem to get it.

“Argh! You bastaaards… I’ll kill you!”

The female demon’s face was red with rage. It seemed she was a little concerned about her appearance, as she was extremely angry.

“Yagyu Shinnen-ryu: Thunderbolt”

“…Eh?”

Karen seized the opportunity to attack. Severing one of the wings from the female demon’s back, she dashed past her side.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh!?”

Having lost one of her wing, the female demon seemed to have lost her balance, flying around the room in a spiral. She crashed into the floor and ceiling multiple times before finally coming to a stop.

“Hahaha, how lame.”

“You braaaat!”

The female demon cried out loudly, but was now unable to even move properly.

No, she could have at least taken some precautions, such as growing new wings to deal with situations like this.

“You are a weakling after all.”

“Mm. I wanted to fight someone with a bit more substance.”

“I won’t forgive you… You mere mortals have insulted me… I’ll never forgive you!”

And then…

Suddenly, a Karakuri arm reached out, breaking through the sliding door at the back of the room.

And it wasn’t just one or two. More than ten arms rushed towards the female demon.

“W-what is this!?”

The female demon’s entire body was restrained by the Karakuri arms. Given her state, it was clear she hadn’t anticipated this, but she was dragged along and taken to the other side of the sliding door.

“What on earth is going on?”

Gogogogogogo!!

“Is it an earthquake!?”

Suddenly, there was a violent tremor, causing the ceiling and walls to creak and creak.

“This… this doesn’t seem very good. We’d better get out of here immediately.”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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I thought she was a kunoichi, but she turned out to be a female demon.

Tsk. Give me back my expectations!

『…..You got your hopes up on your own and then now you are disappointed?』

Ignoring Lindwurm, I asked,

“By the way, what happened to that Hattori Hanna, the kunoichi?”

“You mean that foolish little girl? I killed her long time ago.”

So, the real kunoichi had already been killed. The ninja organization had been taken over by this demon huh.

“Why did you take over? And why go so far as to have your own body converted into a karakuri?”

The female demon answered my question with a look of ecstasy on her face.

“It’s all to prepare for his resurrection.”

“His resurrection?”

“I’m talking about the supreme being who was once hailed as the king of demons! I heard he was killed by loathsome humans, but in fact he’s secretly surviving, waiting for the right time to be resurrected!”

What a rare type of demon. 

Demons generally don’t form groups after all. In fact, demons often don’t get along with each other —infighting and killing their own kind was practically a pastime to them.

Well, humans had wars too, but even so, humans still had more sense of cooperation than the demons did.

And then the female demon spoke the name of the one she worshiped.

“Alzazeil-sama, the Demon King! The knowledge of these karakuri that I have obtained shall surely aid you in reclaiming your rightful dominion over this world!”

I can’t help but pause.

“Uh-, yeah? About that, Demon King Alzazeil already came back recently—and I defeated him.”

“…Huh?”

For a moment, the female demon simply stood there, dumbstruck. Then—

“Ha… ha-hahahaha! You defeated the glorious one? Don’t make me laugh!”

“It’s true. I’m the one who did it.”

“Do you mean to mock him, you bastaard?!”

With a roar, the demon unleashed her mana. The surge of power was so overwhelming that a normal human would’ve fainted on the spot.

Of course, I remained perfectly calm as I reached into subspace and pulled something out.

“If you want proof, I’ve got it right here.”

It was the Demon King’s heart.

Thump, thump. Even though it is sealed under layer upon layer of powerful restraints, it pulsed steadily, as if still alive.

“~~~~~!!?”

The female demon’s eyes widened in shock.

“This magical power… No way…. for real?!”

“I’m telling you it’s true.”

“Give it to meeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”

The female demon screamed and leaped at me. At the same time, the back of her costume ripped, revealing her wings. They looked very similar to the wings of an insect, and were probably some kind of mechanism.

The female demon flapped her wings at high speed, accelerating forward.

—However, a samurai girl stood in her way.

“Yagyu Shinnen-ryu — Thunderbolt!”

Karen unleashed a slash, striking the female demon’s torso from the side.

“Uh?! Guaaaahhh?!”

Perhaps she was so enraged that she couldn’t see anyone else but me. The female demon took the hit head-on and was sent flying, crashing into the wall.

“Well, to be honest, you seem like a pretty weak demon, so I don’t think I’ll even need to do it myself. I think it’ll be good training for Karen-oneechan.”

“You bastaaaaaard! Are you mocking meeeeeee!?”

Further enraged, the female demon transformed her arms. Her right arm transformed into a sword, and her left arm into a shield.

A “Uiiiiiiiiiin” sound echoed around. Looking more closely, the sword and shield were vibrating minutely but at an incredible speed.

“This is a special sword that achieves incredible cutting power by vibrating at high speed!”

The female demon lightly swung her sword, and a nearby wall was cut through as if it had cut through air.

“And this shield, by vibrating at high speed, it can repel any attack! One carelessness and your own weapon will shatter before it even touches me!”

“What an intriguing weapon. However… I do not lose.”

“You insolent human girl! If you dare stand in my way, I’ll carve you into a thousand bloody pieces!”

With a furious roar, the female-type demon flapped her karakuri wings, closing the distance in an instant. Her vibrating blade echoed through the air, splitting the wind itself as it came down toward Karen.

But Karen didn’t flinch. She couldn’t afford to block it head-on as the oscillating sword would cut through steel like butter. A reckless counterattack would only be deflected by that vibrating shield, destroying her own blade in the process.

Instead, she took a deep breath, centered her focus, and whispered,

“Yagyu Shinnen-ryu Secret Art—Battle sense.”

A deep, blue aura flared around her sword.

Come to think of it, her old master once gathered all his fighting spirit into his blade for a single strike. Apparently, this Yagyu Shinnen-ryu school had similar techniques that channeled battle aura.

A weapon imbued with aura doesn’t just hit harder, it becomes far tougher as well.

Gakiiiiiiiiiin!

Sparks exploded as the blades met.

Karen’s sword didn’t yield an inch. It had caught the demon’s vibrating blade perfectly, holding it in place as if the deadly oscillation meant nothing at all.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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“M-my masterpieces are gone!? W-what in blazes are you people!?”

Ittosai clutched his head while howling in despair.

“Just a cute baby and my friends.”

I said brightly.

“There’s no way a baby like you exists! C-could it be…. are you the ultimate Karakuri doll, handed down through the Hiraga clan…?! The one said to have intelligence and combat abilities that surpass those of humans. But…..was it really completed?! No, that was supposed to be mere rumor!”

Once again, someone had mistaken me for a karakuri doll.

“Ku—!”

“He’s escaping.”

I exclaimed.

“After him, at once!”

Ittosai spun on his heel and fled toward the inner chambers.

I thought he was surprisingly fast, but it appeared that he had some kind of mechanism installed in his shoes. We gave chase down a long corridor, the inventor’s figure gliding almost weightlessly ahead of us, until he burst through the door at the far end and vanished into another room.

“P-please, help me!”

The one that he cried out to for help was a ninja dressed head to toe in crimson outfit.

“A female ninja?”

“That would be a kunoichi.”

This must be the very woman the shogun had spoken of—the leader of the ninja organization itself. Even through her crimson outfit, the contours of her body were strikingly, almost wickedly, elegant.

(Kunoichi boobies appeaaaaaaaaared!)

…Wait a second. That presence I was sensing—it couldn’t be…

“So, you’ve lost?”

“They—they’re monsters! The karakuri ninjas I created were helpless before them!”

“Fufufu. They were just genin after all. Their limits were only to be expected.”

“But you— you are different! You were already the strongest before I remade you. I poured every ounce of my genius into your transformation, into making you a perfect karakuri! With you alone, we need no other ninja. Together, you and I—we could rule this world!”

Ittosai turned toward us, a triumphant grin twisting across his face.

“Kukuku… hahahahaha! This time it’s over! She—she carries the blood of the legendary ninja, Hattori Hanzo! The strongest kunoichi, leader of all the shinobi! Or so it is said—but in truth, her real identity is—mgh!?”

Ittosai’s words were cut off as the kunoichi suddenly seized him by the throat. With a single hand, she lifted him clear off the floor. His legs kicked helplessly, eyes bulging in shock.

“Huh? Are they… fighting each other now?”

I tilted my head in confusion.

Before I could make sense of it, the kunoichi tore away the cloth that had concealed her face. Her eyes gleamed crimson. Her skin had taken on a bluish hue—and from her forehead, a single sharp horn jutted forth.

“Just as I thought. A female-type demon huh.”

“Female-type?”

My companion echoed.

“Yeah. Demons don’t really have genders to begin with—but sometimes they take on forms that look like women. Those ones are called the female-type.”

The demon woman released her grip. Ittosai crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath, his earlier confidence completely shattered.

“Cough. Cough. cough…! W-what are you doing…?”

Ittosai wheezed, clutching his throat.

The woman sneered down at him, her crimson eyes glinting.

“Foolish human. Did you truly believe I would act for the sake of some petty mortal’s ambitions?”

“What—what did you say!?”

“I humored your little scheme only because I saw use in you. But now I’ve fully mastered your so-called karakuri arts. You are no longer of any value.”

So that was it—this female-type demon had only been using Ittosai to steal his karakuri techniques.

“The intellect of humans pales before mine. With me alone, the work will continue.”

 She added coldly.

“Y-you… you treachero—gah!?”

Her heel flashed—and Ittosai went tumbling across the room, slamming against the wall.

“You remain as pitifully fragile as ever. Worry not—I shall personally convert your body into a fine karakuri. Then you may labor without rest, day or night, eternally serving as my obedient hands and feet. Of course, I’ll have to make a few adjustments to that brain of yours first.”

Then she turned to face me.

I sighed deeply.

“Sigh… demons are always such a letdown.”

“…What are you babbling about?”

The female demon frowned.

“It’s just—come on, you looked like a kunoichi, and you had great boobs and everything… but demon boobs are rock hard! That means they’re not real boobs at all! I actually got my hopes up for a second! Give me back my anticipation, damn it!”

The demon stared at me in blank disbelief, her expression saying, “What on earth is wrong with this human?”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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The karakuri ninjas that emerged were unlike any we had faced before.

One had arms sprouting in grotesque multiples, another had been remade into something closer to a carriage than a man. One bore the leaping legs of a grasshopper, another was bulked out like a hulking troll, while yet another had been reshaped into a four-legged beast.

They no longer even resembled human beings.

“This goes beyond monstrous….”

I can’t help but mutter.

“Kukuku! Why bother building karakuri from scratch when humans provide such a perfect foundation? Artificial intelligence will never surpass true intelligence. Yet that fool, Hiraga Genko, rejected this supreme idea outright! Bah—she is no genius. The true genius is me!”

In the next instant, the grasshopper-legged ninja slammed a foot against the floor, launching itself with incredible speed. It flipped midair, kicked the ceiling, accelerating even further.

“Behold—the speed-specialized Locust Ninja! In a confined space like this, it ricochets off floor and wall, each leap accelerating it further! By the time you notice, he has become a lethal weapon that is impossible to spot, let alone avoid!”

So not a grasshopper, but a locust huh. Not that it mattered much. What did matter was that, with each bounding strike, its speed truly did multiply.

“Kukuku… now then, who shall be the first to feed my creation?”

The locust-ninja lunged—not at me, but at Fana. From her blind spot, a gleaming strike scythed toward her at blinding speed.

“Hm, pointless.”

“—!?”

Fana slipped aside, dodging it with ease.

“Impossible! She avoided an attack at that speed!?”

“Just watch the wind currents. They tell me exactly where it’ll come from.”

“…Ku..kukuku! You are better than expected huh. Still, evasion alone won’t be enough. None can defeat my Locust Ninja that way!”

Perhaps realizing that a direct slash would be futile, the Locust Ninja shifted tactics. This time, it bounced through the air while hurling shuriken. From every direction, razor-sharp stars came streaking in at blistering speed.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Fana knocked aside each and every one of them with her sword.

“What—!?”

“Mm. Now it’s my turn.”

Fana’s figure blurred and vanished. With the wind at her back, she accelerated, catching up to the Locust Ninja as it ricocheted from wall to wall.

“You’re not that fast.”

Her blade flashed, cleaving clean through its elongated legs. Deprived of its leap, the Locust Ninja crashed helplessly into the wall.

“D-defeated…!? My Locust Ninja was defeated!? B-but—I still have four more, each one specially modified for battle!”

Ittosai shouted, his face distorted. But at that moment, the beast-type karakuri ninja had already been defeated by Lill.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“That’s impossible! E-even the lion ninja?!”

Meanwhile, Anje was taking on the giant troll-like ninja. The ninja boasted incredible power, but—

“Compared to Goritia, it is weak. Even I could beat it in a strength contest!”

In fact, it was overwhelmed by Anje’s power.

Karen faced off against the karakuri ninja, who seemed to be called a Thousand-Armed Ninja. She blocks attacks from its countless arms with her sword, slicing off each one.

“This will be some good training!”

They’ll likely be able to defeat both of them soon.

The final vehicle-type ninja seemed to have both strong armor and charging power, but my lightning attack easily disabled it.

“Im-impossible… My masterpieces are helpless against you guys!? Damn, I didn’t want to use this method, but… I have no choice!”

Ittosai shouted with a determined look on his face. He suddenly lifted up the tatami mat at his feet and attempted to hide beneath it.

『Master』

“I know.”

I realized what he was trying to do from that action.

“Infinite Freeze!”

“~~!!?”

I froze all the ninjas before that could happen.

“You tried to hide under the tatami by yourself and self-destruct them, didn’t you? I won’t fall for that.”

After all, it had already been proven that freezing it would prevent it from self-destructing.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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The airship drifted down until it hovered directly above the building.

“Ready?”

“““Yeah!”””

The soldiers’ voices rang with eagerness.

Up until now, they had done nothing but endure ambush after ambush from that elusive group of ninjas. Each time they had suffered painful losses, they were forced to grind their teeth in frustration. But now the tables had turned. This time, they are storming the enemy’s stronghold, wiping out the organization at its very roots. It’s no wonder that their morale was sky-high.

Using the ship’s lift mechanism, one after another, a hundred soldiers were lowered to the ground. They spread out across the compound’s perimeter, others landing directly on the rooftop, carefully scattering to various attack locations.

Inside the stronghold, the ninjas were caught off guard. Of course, they couldn’t remain in their black garb all day long. Most of them were in casual clothes, relaxing—until intruders came crashing down on them from above. Panic broke out as they scrambled in confusion.

“We’re going in too.”

We descended to the ground using the lift mechanism, then we slipped in through a nearby window to infiltrate the building.

“A quick sweep with detection magic tells me this place has a much larger chamber beneath it. Most likely, that’s the real stronghold.”

I informed the others.

Thanks to Edo’s soldiers wreaking havoc outside, we reached the stairway leading down without much trouble. But, of course, they weren’t going to let us pass so easily from there.

“Hm. Something big’s up ahead.”

“Those are… by the looks of them, they are guardian statues.”

The two two-meter-tall statues standing on both side of the corridor slowly stirred to life.

“Karakuri soldiers? They certainly look impressive!”

The two huge karakuri soldiers leaped towards us, each holding a special weapon that was a pole with spear-like blades on both sides.

But in truth, they were no match for us.

Fana’s slash easily cut one of them in half through the torso, and Anje’s kick sent the other one flying, embedding it into the wall.

Both of the karakuri self-destructed immediately afterwards, but I deployed a barrier that completely blocked the heat and blast.

“Let’s keep moving.”

When we went down the stairs, we found ourselves surrounded by a parade of contraptions and mechanisms.

What appeared to be a dead end turned out to be a rotating wall, there are floors that shifted and returned us to the same place and traps that thwart intruders were installed everywhere. 

There is also a mechanism where the room itself would rotate in a circle when you entered, blocking the entrance and exit.

Rrrrmmm…

“The ceiling is dropping!”

“So they mean to crush us flat, huh?”

“Leave this to me.”

With our escape cut off and the ceiling grinding steadily lower, Karen raised her sword.

“Yagyu Shinnen-ryu —Full Moon!”

The strike traced a flawless circle through the wall. The wall was cut into a clean circle.

“With this, we can pass through.”

Karen beamed.

She gave the cut-out section a sharp kick, sending it tumbling to the other side. Beyond the opening lay another chamber.

From there we pressed on, encountering all manner of contraptions—pressure plates that loosed volleys of arrows, hidden pits ready to drop us onto a bed of spikes. They were the sort of traps one might expect in a dungeon, and yet we pushed forward all the same.

At last, we arrived at a vast chamber.

Tatami mats—hundreds of them, perhaps even two hundred—covered the entire floor area. And at the far end of the room, a lone figure awaited us.

“Kukuku… I never thought that someone would make it this far. And we didn’t even notice it until we were attacked. I’m really curious how you guys managed to cross the sea and get over those sheer cliffs… Never mind. I’ll have you guys captured alive so you can tell me in about that in exquisite detail.”

He looked to be in his late twenties. Tall and sickly thin, his eyes bulged with a praying mantis–like intensity.

“Who are you?”

I asked.

“I am Kunitomo Ittosai. A genius on karakuri making, the man who will bring about a karakuri revolution to the world.”

The name rang a bell.

“Wait…weren’t you the one Hiraga Genko warned us about? The researcher driven out for dangerous ideas?”

Ittosai laughed, brittle and scornful.

“Kukuku—that brat? She may be hailed as the pinnacle of the Hiraga clan’s karakuri work, but she is utterly beneath my feet. Bound by that foolish chain called ‘ethics,’ she strangles her own potential.”

Immediately afterwards, the doors called fusuma that surrounded the room on all four sides all slid open at once. Arrayed behind them were rows and rows of ninjas—all transformed into karakuri soldiers.

 Ittosai declared,

“Now, taste for yourselves the very essence of my karakuri!”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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