Chapter 15: Sister Ghislaine Has Arrived (Patreon)

There was no denying it... When a man is looked down on by his own children. And looked down on by his own wives, too. The flame that ignites inside him burns hotter than anything else!!!

Paul... ...decided he needed to prove himself. He was going to show, unmistakably, that he wasn't some worthless deadbeat. As a man who already had a family of his own. He... absolutely had what it took to take responsibility for this household!!!

So... every single day. Aside from looking after his two pregnant... well, mothers-to-be. Paul poured every spare moment into training.

As for Rudy... Paul had, of course, already found him a job as a tutor. He watched Rudy and Sylphiette climb into the carriage and ride farther and farther away. Paul couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.

Honestly... Rudy might only be six years old. But in this household. he was, without question, the one whose word carried the most weight. After everything that had happened. even as the father of the house. Paul felt like he was somehow beneath Rudy every time he stood in front of him. That feeling came both from guilt in his heart and from the sheer gap in strength between them.

But now... Rudy had finally left. And the weight on his chest eased considerably. Still... he wasn't about to let his training slide, not for a second. He was going to prove that he truly had the strength to protect this family's safety!!!

But what Paul didn't know was... Rudy had never once let his guard down about him. The entire household was already blanketed in invisible elemental spirits. The instant anything felt off... Rudy would come rushing back from wherever he was, in no time at all. And with several hundred thousand elemental spirits standing watch... that was more than enough time for Rudy to make it back from the other side.

Unless something monstrously powerful showed up... But even if something like that did appear. First... it would trigger the warning-spirits stationed within a fifty-kilometer radius. At that point. Rudy would receive the notification just the same.

As for Rudy himself... over the course of these past years. he had assembled tens of millions of elemental spirits into ready formations. Since he still couldn't touch atomic-level magical manipulation... then fine!!! Rudy decided to simply make up for the lack in quality with sheer quantity. If one wouldn't do, then a hundred!! If a hundred wouldn't do, then ten thousand!!! If ten thousand wasn't enough, then a million, ten million, a hundred million!!!!

Hitogami — right now, Rudy genuinely couldn't beat him. But Hitogami was trapped in the Void World and couldn't get out at all. The only ones who could actually act were Hitogami's apostles. But just how many apostles could Hitogami possibly have??? Could their numbers possibly match his own magical output???

When hundreds of millions of powerful elemental bombs came raining down from above. You might dodge them for a moment. But could you dodge them for a whole day??? Could you dodge them for a day, then keep dodging for a month?? The instant you failed to dodge, that was death!!!!

And as for his total magical reserves... along with his corresponding rate of magical recovery. after several hundred thousand deaths. it had grown to a level even Rudy himself couldn't quite gauge anymore. So... all things considered, Rudy was almost hoping one of Hitogami's apostles would come looking for him. When that happened... he'd finally get to see just how much weight his own strength could carry.

Watching the figures of Paul, Zenith, and Lilia gradually shrink into the distance. Rudy pulled his head back inside the carriage. He turned to glance at the girl leaning against him... Sylphiette, her face the picture of docile obedience.

Rudy smiled at Ghislaine, sitting across from him. "Ghislaine, I..."

Before Rudy could finish. Ghislaine laughed. "Just call me Ghislaine, that's fine."

Nodding, Rudy smiled. "Ghislaine, do you want to learn magic too??"

Ghislaine grinned. "I've thought about it. When the time comes, you can teach Eris, and I'll just watch from the side."

"Sure," Rudy said with a smile. "But before we reach our destination."

"I was wondering if I could spar with you."

"I want to check for myself just how far my own strength has grown."

"And Ghislaine — I've heard you're a King-rank swordsman, an incredibly powerful existence."

"Hm??"

Ghislaine hadn't expected Rudy to say something like that. But with a head full of nothing but muscle, she answered with obvious anticipation. "Sure, let's step outside the village then."

Rudy smiled. "Right, and let's pick somewhere a bit out of the way."

"After all, I'm a mage — if I'm not careful, I could cause damage over a pretty wide area."

Nodding, Ghislaine answered, her whole face lit up with anticipation. "Sure, no problem at all."

Before long... the carriage rolled to a stop at a remote wasteland. Seeing that the surroundings looked suitable. Ghislaine had a word with the driver. Rudy said a word to Sylphiette. Then the two of them dashed off to the side together.

To avoid affecting the carriage... the two of them walked a full ten kilometers away. Only then did Rudy come to a stop. And Ghislaine planted her feet as well.

Gripping her longsword, she smiled at Rudy. "You go first."

Nodding, Rudy smiled. "Sure. Ghislaine, watch yourself — I'm not going to hold back."

The moment the words left his mouth... the elemental spirits Rudy had already positioned in advance. were triggered instantly!!!! The breathable air around them was violently torn away. Then... a massive explosion erupted from right where Ghislaine stood.

In truth, a moment before that. Ghislaine had already sensed something was wrong. In the instant before the explosion... she had already charged straight at Rudy at full speed. Relying on the one thing she did best — speed... Ghislaine was confident she could end the fight the moment she made contact.

But unfortunately!!!! The instant Ghislaine surged forward... it triggered a whole chain of elemental spirit explosions. Seeing things were going badly, Ghislaine tried to pull back. But behind her... above, below, left, right — every single direction. was completely ringed with layer after layer of explosive elemental spirits.

A single explosive elemental spirit alone was already devastatingly powerful. Let alone an entire chain of them detonating one after another. So... there was no question about it. After dozens more explosions. Ghislaine, drenched in blood, stumbled to a stop just two meters in front of Rudy, utterly spent.

At that point!!! Ghislaine knew that if she took even one more step forward. what awaited her would be death!!!!

Boom!!!!

Unwilling to accept it, she dropped to one knee. Ghislaine tried to breathe, but she couldn't draw a single breath. Every scrap of breathable air around her had been stripped away. The explosion moments ago had already left her consciousness hazy. And now, with no air to sustain her... she had no choice but to retreat.

And this time... she wasn't hit by another burst of elemental spirits. Only after falling back several dozen meters... could Ghislaine finally gasp in great heaving breaths.

Just now, the exchange had lasted only a few seconds. And in that time, she had been completely and utterly crushed in Rudy's grip. Ghislaine understood... if Rudy had truly meant to kill her, she'd have died more times than she could count by now. No matter how fast her speed was. against methods already set in place and waiting, there was nothing she could do.

Earlier... she had already heard from Paul that this six-year-old was frighteningly strong. But only after actually crossing swords with him. did Ghislaine truly come to understand... that everything Paul had said hadn't been an exaggeration in the slightest.