I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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Dimedes, who had traded his intelligence for an overwhelmingly powerful body.

The past Dimedes, who still had his intelligence but was physically inferior to his current form.

If someone asked me to choose between the two to fight, my first response would be, "Can't I make someone else do it?"

But if I had to choose one to handle myself, I'd pick the current Dimedes without hesitation.

The moment a creature gains self-awareness and intellect, predicting its attacks becomes exponentially more difficult.

Fortunately, the chimeras attacking now had no such intelligence.

The actual difficulty of the fight wasn't much different from dealing with the beasts earlier.

However, the fact that they could use magic posed a slight problem. First, there was the matter of their camouflage magic.

I could still see the chimeras despite their magical concealment, but what about the drones?

Unlike earlier, where the drones could target normally, they now had to rely on thermal imaging to aim. If the chimeras' body temperatures were similar to mine, the drones might fail to distinguish friend from foe and end up shooting me in the back.

Having been shot before, I can say it's not a pleasant experience.

First, I needed to deal with that magic.

I reached into the pocket inside my jacket.

***

Orthes pulled out a magic-engraving drive. Neuro couldn't understand the choice.

Simplified magic cast through a magic-engraving drive lacked the power to penetrate the chimeras' skin and inflict damage.

Unless it was a high-end product, the drives Orthes used were all basic-grade ones anyone could easily buy.

The drives installed in his gauntlet activated in quick succession. First, a lubrication spell scattered oil in the direction of the approaching chimeras.

The chimeras charging in a straight line didn't avoid the oil. Their hygiene instincts had been erased, and it wasn't an immediate threat to their survival.

Next, a spark spell ignited the oil, a small flame expanding on the slick surface.

The wall of fire wasn't enough to stop the chimeras. They weren't trapped in a burning room; the flames in the open air couldn't kill them.

But it was enough to disrupt their camouflage magic.

The flickering flames were too complex for the mindless chimeras to mimic with their camouflage spells. One by one, the illusions shattered, revealing the chimeras in broad daylight.

Orthes turned back.

"You should be able to see them with normal cameras now. No issues with aiming?"

Neuro nodded. So that was his plan.

"Provide covering fire as before. We need to capture one of the rear ones alive, so be mindful of that."

Without waiting for a reply, Orthes dashed forward, gripping his high-frequency blade.

Neuro commanded the drones to fire, while he also drew his bow. The sound of metal scraping echoed as he pulled the magic-enhanced string.

The first target was, of course, Dimedes.

Thwang—the arrow flew with a thunderous sound, igniting at its fletching.

It was a rocket-propelled arrow with a scattershot warhead, accelerating explosively past the speed of sound.

Dimedes's elongated arms and hands stretched like rubber. His ten fingers extended unnaturally, ignoring the limits of joints and human anatomy.

The length exceeded 10 meters. The chitin covering his body also extended over his fingers, not as armor but as sharp, saw-like blades.

The stretched arms and blades occupied a vast space, flailing like whips with five segmented fingers each.

Each finger bent erratically, sweeping the area in a hemispherical arc. The fangs at the fingertips sprayed highly acidic venom, dissolving anything they touched.

It was a frenzy of mindless aggression, an attack with no finesse or technique.

But the sheer size and ferocity made it a singular move, both offense and defense.

The wind pressure from the whip-like arms deflected the arrow mid-flight, hitting a chimera behind Dimedes and shattering its left side.

The storm of acid and blades made no distinction between friend and foe. The chimeras around the whipping arms were shredded in an instant.

Orthes stood just out of reach of Dimedes's whips. A tantalizingly close distance, yet just beyond grasp. As Dimedes grew more frenzied, Orthes deftly guided the attacks toward other chimeras.

Watching Orthes, Neuro was reminded of bullfighting. An enraged bull's wild charges might seem like a threat to the matador, but for a skilled bullfighter, such threats were all part of the performance.

Every strike from the bull, every dodge and counter from the matador, were calculated and rehearsed.

Orthes, luring Dimedes's attacks, resembled such a matador. Twisting his body with precision, he directed the whips towards other chimeras.

As Dimedes slaughtered what were once his own minions, their blood splashed into his eyes. Even with multiple eyes sprouting, the blood didn't obscure his vision.

But the smell and color of blood made Dimedes even more frenzied. The beast's nature overrode any lingering intelligence.

Dimedes's attacks grew more violent and desperate. Neuro watched in awe.

'He disrupted their camouflage not just to attack but to create this scenario!'

Indeed, considering the mastermind controlling these chimeras, conserving magic and bullets was wise.

Achieving the best outcome with minimal resources—such a rational strategy couldn't have been an improvised response.

Orthes had led Dimedes to decimate most of the chimeras, leaving only a few survivors at the rear.

This made capturing one much easier. Neuro, readying another arrow, glanced at Orthes.

As always, Orthes wore a serene, confident smile. Instead of intervening and potentially disrupting Orthes's maneuvering of Dimedes, Neuro focused on his own task.

He commanded the drones to target the remaining chimeras at the rear. Given their resilience, tearing off limbs wouldn't kill them.

***

What's that guy doing instead of helping?

Doesn't he see Dimedes trying to kill me with those blade arms?

No, he saw it. He even gave me a thumbs-up.

Is he planning to capture a chimera while I distract Dimedes's fury?

He's been misinterpreting my intentions since earlier.

He thinks I provoked Dimedes deliberately to create this situation, but that's not it.

I wasn't trying to make it easier for him to catch a chimera. He should help me out here.

I thought this would be as easy as fighting beasts.

I could predict the swing of his attacks well enough.

The problem was the venom.

Dimedes wasn't intentionally aiming his venom; it just sprayed wildly with the momentum of his swinging arms.

The venom, potent enough to dissolve flesh on contact, had to be avoided.

If the drones diverted his attention with gunfire, I could find an opening.

The drone aimed at Dimedes started to move. Finally, some fire support?

It moved.

To the rear.

I lamented Neuro's cold-heartedness.

A blue line indicating an attack appeared before my eyes. I stepped back.

Dimedes's fingertip fangs brushed past where my shoulder had been a moment ago.

Sprayed venom. A water bomb from the preloaded magic-engraving drive deflected the venom.

Even diluted, the venom corroded the ground rapidly. What kind of beast's genes had been mixed to produce such potent venom?

The attacks gradually weakened.

Of course. Synthesizing and expelling venom was energy-intensive. Magic could substitute for the energy, but…

Dimedes had overused his venom. Both the venom and the grotesquely extended arms were magical constructs, consuming immense mana.

Another sharp whip-arm lashed out, but its speed had diminished.

Time to close the distance.

I took a step forward. With the reduced speed, I could dodge at closer range.

Another step forward.

***

Neuro saw the moment Orthes shifted from defense to offense.

Orthes, who had been evading Dimedes's attacks, advanced for the first time. The first advance closed the gap; the second swing of his blade.

Orthes was no longer content with just evading. One of Dimedes's snake-like fingers was severed—a diagonal strike from Orthes.

And another step forward. With each step, another snake-head finger was decapitated.

Dimedes's attacks gradually morphed. No longer the rage of a predator but the desperation of prey.

Each advancing step from Orthes was like the countdown to an execution.

Finally, having lost all his finger-blades, Dimedes charged, flailing his chitinous arms wildly.

Orthes quickly severed the joints of the chitinous blades. Thud—two arms dropped to the ground.

Dimedes continued his charge, trying to crush Orthes with his remaining body. Orthes naturally raised his blade.

The raised blade pierced through Dimedes's jaw, impaling his brain.

Neuro didn't see the end of a bullfight but a different scene.

A snake constricting its prey. Despite Dimedes taking the form of a snake, he appeared to be the prey, slowly strangled by the coiled serpent.

"Goodbye, former Director Dimedes."

It was a too-casual farewell for a eulogy. Orthes, extracting the high-frequency blade, turned to Neuro.

Faced with this subtle display of power, Neuro hurriedly spoke.

"The chimera is captured alive. It's right over there."

***

I glared at Neuro, who hadn't helped even after capturing the chimera.

'Just doing the job assigned, huh?'

Seeing Neuro perfectly embody my ideal work ethic made me feel a mix of jealousy and frustration.

If only I had subordinates to whom I could delegate work…

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To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02