With Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor deployed, Rei glanced at the spot where the mass of ice had vanished, his body still wreathed in red magical power.
That enormous block of ice had been born from the berserk rampage of one of the Magic Items carefully selected by Zboz, an Alchemist of considerable skill. It had been effortlessly evaporated by Rei's Deep Flame—a technique that used the red magical power emitted by Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor to generate flames exactly as Rei imagined them.
Once he confirmed the ice had completely disappeared, Rei's gaze shifted to his companions.
Vihera appeared satisfied by her fight with Dias and showed no intention of intervening in Rei's battle.
Elena likewise seemed to have no plans to get involved—partly because she was occupied securing Adria, and partly because this was the first time she had seen Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor with her own eyes.
Both of them trusted that Rei could win even against the rapidly transforming Zboz. That trust was precisely why they stayed back.
Asimov watched Rei with unmistakable interest, but he still had enough self-control to hold himself in check given the circumstances.
Byune showed no reaction to Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor whatsoever. She simply watched.
"...Well then."
The next person Rei turned his gaze toward was Paul. His right arm had been pierced by the Thorn Spear and nailed to the ground, with the majority of his body entangled in thorns.
Despite being completely immobilized, the eyes he directed at Rei held not a single trace of fear.
"Quite the gutsy man. Well, I'd say you match the impression I had of you. Anyway..."
Just as he had done with the mass of ice, Rei gave a light wave of his hand.
In response to that motion, Deep Flame was released. The moment it touched the Magic Item shield lying near Paul, it erupted into a ferocious blaze and began melting the shield away.
In truth, Rei had wanted that shield if possible. Its ability to generate ice and form it into a shield suggested a wide range of potential uses.
But that same shield was what had produced the ice mass Rei had just evaporated with Deep Flame. Leaving it intact carried the risk of it generating ice again and targeting him once more.
If it only came after him, dealing with it would still be relatively easy. Elena and Vihera could handle ice spears without much trouble.
But if it targeted people like Byune or Asimov, the outcome was far less certain.
Byune might be able to evade, but her own combat ability was by no means high. There was no guarantee an unforeseen situation wouldn't arise.
Given that, Rei's conclusion was that destroying the shield here and now was the best course of action. The result was the shield currently melting before his eyes, losing all semblance of its original form.
If it hadn't been damaged, I could have just stored it in the Misty Ring.
The shield had a hole in it from the Thorn Spear strike, which had been infused with Rei's magical power. In its current state, it likely couldn't perform its original functions properly. Even if it could, the only real option would be to melt it down for materials.
"Aren't you going to kill me?"
Paul asked this with a note of suspicion—not toward the attack that had been directed at him, but toward Rei, who had instead destroyed his shield.
In response, Rei simply shrugged, Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor still active.
"I don't particularly enjoy killing. Besides, in this matter, it's better to have someone who knows the full story. I'll need you to explain quite a few things to Lord Daskar."
"...Hmph."
Paul likely had objections to Rei's words, but he did nothing more. Or rather, with his right arm skewered to the ground by the Thorn Spear and more than half his body covered in thorns, it was more accurate to say he couldn't do anything.
The fact that he neither screamed in pain nor let it show on his face was a testament to Paul's toughness.
Still, the reason Paul made no further attempts to act was undoubtedly thanks to the Thorn Spear.
I'll pull it out after this battle is over.
After glancing at the Thorn Spear for just a moment, Rei finally turned his gaze toward Zboz.
What stood there was a figure so transformed that it seemed more accurate to call him "former Zboz."
Roots covered his entire body—and naturally his face as well—emitting a dull glow. Additionally, whether an effect of the drug or not, Zboz's body appeared slightly larger from Rei's perspective.
The metamorphosis was already complete. He was fully ready to attack Rei at any moment, yet for some reason Zboz simply stood there with his arms crossed, staring at him.
"What's wrong? I figured once your preparations were done, you'd come at me immediately."
"Hmph. I could have. But since I finally have the chance to avenge His Highness Cabajid with my own hands, it's better to defeat you properly from the front rather than resorting to a surprise attack that ends things before you even understand what hit you, don't you think?"
Whether due to the influence of the roots spreading through his body or the effect of his body enlarging in such a short time, Zboz's voice had become noticeably higher-pitched compared to when Rei had first heard it.
He seemed confident in his appearance, which had undergone a transformation incomparable to how he had looked when they first met here.
Yet looking at Zboz's current form, Rei felt a sense of dissonance.
I can understand wanting to kill me to avenge Cabajid. But from the little we've spoken, he didn't strike me as the type to openly display such a belligerent attitude.
Sensing something was off about Zboz's demeanor, Rei spoke up to resolve that dissonance.
"Still, you've changed quite a lot. I already knew from everything that's happened that you were a skilled Alchemist, but I never expected you to alter your own appearance to this extent."
"Hehe. It's precisely because I have confidence in what I create that I'm able to do this."
"I suppose so... But with Paul—who was supposed to protect you—in that state, how exactly do you plan to defeat me? No, kill me, I should say. At the end of the day, you're still an Alchemist. You shouldn't possess that much combat ability, right? Did you really think simply getting bigger would let you beat me?"
The words Rei had thrown out were partly meant as provocation, but Zboz responded with a smile that suggested he found it incredibly amusing.
"Kukuku. Indeed. If it were me from just a short while ago, defeating you would have been impossible. But now it's different. What I created succeeded in granting a certain level of combat ability even to subjects like Goblins and Cobolts."
"Goblins... Cobolts... Does that mean...?"
Goblins and Cobolts. Both were monsters that could be found just about anywhere.
And yet, hearing those names alongside Zboz's current appearance inevitably brought one particular thing to mind.
The Cobolt had been the one chasing the adventurers who fled while they were skinning a Cyclops. It was the creature that had been made to spread vein-like growths throughout its body after receiving a Magic Item.
As for the Goblin, while Rei hadn't been directly involved, it was the weapon that had caused the commotion with the rampaging adventurer in front of Gilm's main gate.
Seeing Rei's reaction, Zboz—his face covered in the grotesque patterns created by the roots beneath his skin—spoke.
"Ah, now that you mention it, I heard it was Rei who killed that Cobolt. I would have preferred to observe a little longer, but... regardless, the liquid I drank earlier was the result obtained from those experiments. The adjustments weren't perfect, so my appearance has become somewhat unsightly."
Even while calling his appearance unsightly, Zboz didn't seem to loathe his current form as much as his words suggested. As he looked at the roots spreading across his body and the complex patterns on the backs of his hands, a satisfied smile played on his lips.
There was some excitement in his eyes, but the light of intelligence was unmistakably present.
What's going on? From what I saw, both the Cyclops and the Cobolt lost their sense of self once those roots spread through them. It was almost as if their consciousness had been taken over by the weapons. The one at the main gate didn't show any such signs, but that was because it wasn't holding a weapon at the time.
Noticing Rei's dubious gaze, Zboz seemed to realize what he was questioning. He began to speak with unmistakable delight.
It was common for Alchemists to take great pride in the Magic Items they created and want to boast about them. Zboz was no exception.
"What are you wondering about? Ah, is it that my consciousness remains? It's all thanks to the precious sacrifices of the monsters Rei defeated. After drinking that liquid, something I suppose should be called a Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve has formed within my body. As long as this nerve exists, I am no longer merely an Alchemist."
He swung his arm in a wide arc, and his fist moved with a speed that seemed capable of shattering the air itself. At the same time, the clothes that had been forcibly containing his enlarged body tore apart, revealing that roots—Combat Automatic Reaction Nerves—had spread across the backs of his hands and across his face, just like the rest of his body.
The sound of the fist cutting through the air reached Rei's ears. Its power and speed were far beyond anything an ordinary Alchemist could produce.
"So it seems. From what you've said, having that Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve allows for a certain degree of combat capability? Though the monsters I saw appeared to have their consciousness completely taken over by those Combat Automatic Reaction Nerves."
"That's only natural, since it was an experiment. ...Now then, enough pointless chatter. I have no intention of letting you—the one who killed His Highness Cabajid—live any longer. It's about time I ended your life."
With a sharp kick off the ground, Zboz instantly closed the distance to Rei, reaching out as if intending to tear his arm off.
The speed at which he closed the gap was not something an ordinary Alchemist could achieve. However...
"What!?"
Zboz's cry of shock rang out across the battlefield. He couldn't believe his outstretched arm had been so easily deflected by the butt cap of Death Scythe.
Rei, looking at the stunned Zboz, swung Death Scythe in a horizontal arc so that the shaft would strike him.
"Kuh!"
Judging that even a blow from the shaft would be dangerous if it connected, Zboz instantly leaped backward. Or rather, considering the burns that had appeared on several parts of his body from getting too close to Rei while Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was active, it was possible he had distanced himself to avoid the flames.
"What's wrong? Did that one exchange already make you understand the difference in our abilities? You backed off pretty quickly."
"...That's impossible. My power should have been raised to the absolute limit by the Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve. It should even allow movements that surpass those of first-class warriors."
Zboz muttered as if trying to convince himself. Rei simply nodded, indicating he had no particular objection.
"I suppose that's true. Your current movements are nothing an ordinary Alchemist could manage. But... your imagination isn't keeping up with those movements."
"Imagination?"
Zboz muttered with suspicion, apparently not expecting such a word to come up here.
But Rei continued speaking to him with a serious expression.
"That's right. The Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve you've grown throughout your body undoubtedly grants the user tremendous combat ability. Your current movements prove that. But just as the name suggests, that Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve is simply moving your body automatically."
"Of course. That's exactly what it was designed for. Using this, even a completely powerless civilian can obtain combat ability on par with a first-class warrior."
"I suppose so. However, someone relying on that Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve can only fight opponents with abilities below a certain level. When every action produces the exact same automatic reaction, reading those movements isn't particularly difficult. And besides..."
Rei paused for a moment, then readied Death Scythe and spoke with a smile.
"Imagination. No, perhaps 'originality' would be the better term here? Since you lack that, from my perspective you're an easy opponent to fight. I'll show you proof."
With a smile still on his face, Rei deactivated Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
"...Are you underestimating me? Such... such a thing, I won't accept it!"
Whether because he refused to accept Rei's words or because he saw the deactivation of Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor as clear contempt, Zboz—driven by intense emotion—used the enhanced physical abilities granted by his Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve to instantly close the distance to Rei once more.
His fist swung toward Rei's head, aimed to crush it...
"Coming at me so straightforwardly is practically begging me to land a counter, you know?"
Rei avoided the fist by a paper-thin margin and swung Death Scythe.
It was another strike using the shaft, just like before.
Since his objective was to capture Zboz rather than kill him, he couldn't use the blade. Instead, he chose to leverage Death Scythe's weight of over a hundred kilograms as a blunt weapon.
"Gu-gah!"
Thanks to the effects of the Combat Automatic Reaction Nerve, even after being sent flying by the blow, Zboz twisted his body in midair and landed on the ground...
"Gah... gah!? W-what is... this...? Ga-gaaaaaaaaah!"
He suddenly stopped moving, and from his mouth erupted a scream loud enough to echo across the entire area.