[Stage 5-4] I’m Here
“Gauss!”
[“Understood!”]
Gauss accelerates without needing my command—
but a person hovers in our path, arms crossed, wind magic keeping him aloft.
That face… I’ve seen it before.
…Right! He was on Lamdarb Kingdom’s missing persons list!
But compared to the photo I remember, his eyes are lifeless. No doubt: he’s brainwashed.
“My name is Gamma. By Lady Flóne’s order, I’ll be delaying you.”
“—Get lost. I don’t have time for you.”
The only way to undo brainwashing is [Magic Burial].
But I refuse to waste it on him—I won’t give Flóne any hints.
If I must choose, I pick Mashiro.
So I’ll knock him out and drag him to the estate.
He can endure the pain.
“…Tch. Don’t look at me with pity. I’ve always hated that… Mocking me for lacking talent…”
Gamma spits and snarls.
His lifeless eyes confirm the brainwashing—yet, like Alice, his original personality bleeds through.
Alice’s loyalty twisted into fanaticism under [Brainwash: Blackout], but this guy? His resentment toward those who belittled him fuels him now.
“I owe Lady Flóne everything! She took a weakling like me and made me strong! By my own will, I chose to become a cornerstone of her plan!”
As he speaks, Gamma pulls out [Body Enhancement Doping Serum].
But what shocks me is the amount in his hand.
“Stop! You’re relying on counterfeit strength!”
“Counterfeit or not—I’ll take it! If it makes me strong… UOOOOH!”
The dose he injects would shred a normal human.
Muscles bulge grotesquely, his body swelling multiple times over.
But that’s not all.
[This bastard’s body… is unnatural.]
Machinery embedded in his abdomen—just like Reina’s.
Of course. The only reason he’s still conscious (and intact) is because he’s already been modified.
…There’s no saving him now.
A single heretic decided this innocent man’s fate.
His will never stood a chance.
Flóne Milfonti’s evil turns my stomach.
“Hah… Hah…! HAHAH! This—this is enough! I’ll prove my worth to Lady Flóne! I’ll stop you here!”
…Was he beyond salvation even before the brainwashing?
Even enhanced, he can’t gauge true power.
Had he never met Flóne, his obsession with “strength” would’ve led him here regardless.
[Already mad. But beware, Ouga. His power has undeniably risen—he’s nearing your level.]
“Don’t worry, Gauss. Keep charging. My fist belongs to the one beyond him. Right?”
[…! That’s why it’s worthy o join hands with you!]*
Gauss surges forward at full speed, zero hesitation.
“I’ll buy time! So Lady Flóne can claim freedom from that woman’s body!”
“…[Limit Break Gear: Change—Steel].”
Mana reinforces my right arm.
The prosthetic’s added mass, combined with Gauss’s speed, makes its power immeasurable.
Yet Gamma doesn’t flee. He believes he’ll win—
He believes that there is no way that he, who has been modified by Flone, can be defeated.
“[Sickle-Weasel Storm: Cutting Wind]!”
The magic released with enhanced magical power howls across our path, attempting to inflict sharp wounds just like blades.
[[Dragon’s Flame: Nova]!]
But now I have the fire to burn them all away without question.
The dragon’s breath cannot be quenched by a rainstorm.
False strength always fails when it matters.
“If magic won’t work—I’ll stop you with this body!”
Realizing evasion is futile, Gamma braces with Flóne’s steel-enhanced frame.
“Why resist?! Why reject becoming Lady Flóne’s sustenance?!”
I know he’s brainwashed.
So I know it’s unreasonable for me to take out my anger on him.
But I can’t extinguish the fire in my chest.
“Everything in this world belongs to Lady Flóne! That woman should serve as her tool—it’s only natural!”
“—Shut your damn mouth.”
“BRING IT—GYAHK!!”
For once, I’m glad this arm is prosthetic.
I don’t feel bones shatter or the warmth of tainted blood.
My punch caves in Gamma’s face. Blood pours as his body goes limp—
yet the brainwashing forces him to stay conscious.
Half-dead, he still floats.
“Kh… Haha… Lady… Fló… ne…”
His words die
as Gauss, disgusted, bites his head clean off.
“Gauss…”
[Don’t waste time listening. Onward—to our true enemy.]
“…Right!”
His fangs gleam white. My fist clenches for judgment.
Gauss pushes harder to make up for lost time. When we finally reach the estate… the sight is unbearable.
“How… How could this happen?”
Vélet House is a crater of rubble,
smoke rising from scorched debris—and among it, glimpses of what were once people.
At the crater’s center, flashes of clashing magic.
“…Found you.”
Gauss responds to my voice and adjusts his position to make it easier for me to land on the battlefield.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
I activated [Limit Break Gear-Change] without hesitation—and instantly realized the people engaged in battle were the very girls I’d been searching for.
Among them, one figure I assumed was an enemy closed in on Karen with alarming speed—
“Don’t you dare lay your filthy hands on Karen.”**
—I landed between them in an instant, then lunged at the man targeting Karen.
Grabbing his hair to prevent escape, I drove three punches into his face before slamming a front kick into his stomach, sending him flying.
I didn’t want to create distance, but I needed to confirm the safety of everyone here.
“Gh—Ouga!”
“Are you alright, Karen?! What about the others—?!”
Scanning the area, I saw Reina and Alice locked in combat with another pair—a man and woman who were clearly foes.
Yueri, careful not to interfere with those two, was rushing toward me instead.
…Wait. No way. She was nowhere in sight.
“…Where’s Mashiro?”
“I’m sorry, Ouga! During the chaos after that first lightning strike—Mashiro was the only one captured—”
“—Is this the girl you’ve been searching for, Ouga Vellet?”
A string of words I never wanted to hear seared into my brain.
Yet my body turned reflexively.
Looking up, I saw Flone Milfonti grinning down at me, her grotesque smile twisting as she dangled Mashiro by the ankle.
“Flone… MILFONTIIII!!”
“My, my. You’ve grown quite the expressive face since last time, brat.”
Flone stared down at me with infuriating leisure.
Like me, she rode atop a demonic dragon—likely another of Gauss’s kin.
Just like Gamma earlier, it had been stripped of free will by [Mind-Control Brainwash: Blackout].
[GRAAAAAAH!]
“Oh? You’re still here too. Don’t interrupt us now.”
Effortlessly evading Gauss’s attack, Flone shot him an annoyed glance.
[NEBULA! It’s me! Wake up!]
“Futile. My dark-attribute magic dwarfs Juke’s. There’s zero chance of breaking it.”
Noticing my attempt to undo the brainwashing from below, Flone shut me down with cold precision.
I’d considered it as an option—but even Juke Androus’s spell had demanded a heavy sacrifice to break.
Flone’s control, being superior to his, might require more lives than I have to undo.
“How pathetic, Ouga Vellet. The girl you cherished so much—Mashiro Leiche—is already in my grasp.”
She shook Mashiro’s unconscious body tauntingly, as if flaunting a trophy.
“Hey…! Cut it out, or I’ll kill you—!”
“Ah, but I can’t hear whispers from down there. If you’ve something to say, come up here and say it.”
Her dragon beat its wings, ascending higher into the sky.
“Well? Aren’t you going to come save her, like always?”
An obvious provocation.
To her, I’m the only obstacle—the sole threat capable of negating her magic.
Flone wouldn’t dare use [Possession Reincarnation] unless success was 100% guaranteed.
A failed possession would erase her soul entirely.
That’s why she wants me dead here—why she didn’t flee immediately after capturing Mashiro.
“Ouga-kun! Leave this place to us—go!”
“No problem! Ouga sama, rescue Lady Leiche first!”
“Let’s all smile together at the wedding!”
“If it’s Ouga sama… I believe he’ll absolutely succeed!”
Even now, the two still fighting Flone’s subordinates cheer me on.
Chasing Flone means entrusting this battle to them and leaving… but I have no choice but to trust them.
“…Understood. Gauss!”
[GAAAAAAAA!]
Gauss answers my call, diving straight toward me. Just as I leap to mount him—three shadows streak into the edge of my vision at terrifying speed.
The two who’d been fighting Alice and Reina, plus a man feigning defeat—they’d waited for the moment I’d be airborne and defenseless.
A flawless combo. To move this swiftly without ever tipping their hand—admirable, even as enemies.
…Not that it matters when Alice and Reina are here.
“Did you really think—”
“—we’d let you lay a finger on my master?”
The two intercept all three attacks midair, hurling them back.
If they say “leave it to us,”
then I won’t waste a single worry on Flone’s lackeys.
Now safely mounted on Gauss, I reach out to Karen and Yueri.
“Both of you—get on! We’re chasing Mashiro!”
Yueri touches my palm first…
but instead of boarding, she starts tinkering with it, her tools clicking.
“Yueri?”
“Sorry. This’ll be quick… There! I’ve embedded a tiny magic stone in your palm—minimal movement interference. Just a patch job, but it’ll let you use that gimmick you’ve wanted since the beginning.”
“Seriously?! You’re a lifesaver, Yueri!”
“You’ll need it for this fight, right? As your personal engineer, it’s my duty. Now go save Mashiro-chan.”
Instead of taking my hand, she steps back beside Karen.
“Hey, what’re you doing? Both of you—hurry up and—”
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
