Volume 7, Chapter 9: Assault on the Heart
The moment I raised my hand, Carlos I jumped away from where I had gestured.
Only Phauros seemed to be affected by my attack.
"Well, well, it's quite troublesome that Jurojin-sama is already awake," Carlos I replied in an elegant pose while evading.
It seemed like Carlos I knew Jurojin.
Anyway, his evasive style is too fancy and doesn't suit him.
Leaving that aside, I attacked Phauros with an attack that assaulted his bewildering mind.
To be honest, it's like hitting him with a mass of conscious thoughts.
As I did, a large screen appeared before me, similar to the one Reina-san had conjured before, showing Phauros at the age of about seventeen.
It seemed like he had started causing trouble in Pilates.
He was attacked by enemy pirates, managed to avoid them, but out of fear, he defecated himself and was ridiculed for it before being kicked into the sea.
As Phauros, covered in his own excrement, swam in the sea and removed his soiled pants, small fish gathered around him, poking his rear end.
"Oww, my butt! They're poking my butt hole!" Phauros yelled, and that's where it ended.
An intense silence spread around.
"What on earth is this?" Jurojin-sama was dumbfounded.
"W-We're attacking his mind?" I responded.
"It seems to have taken a different direction," Colonel Kunito mumbled sarcastically.
"Did you... poop yourself and get your butt poked by fish?" Carlos I asked Phauros with an astonished expression.
"No, that's not true! This is all a lie!" Phauros was incredibly agitated.
"Did he really poop himself?" Hector's top?
The valiant, squawking marine soldiers of Kokodurilo were rustling, whispering to each other.
"Brother, that guy... did fish really poke his butt hole... and, um, was he... aroused?" Apolito asked me in a hushed voice.
"I wasn't aroused! Don't mess with me!" Phauros seemed to hear this and went half-crazed.
"Something's definitely off about you," Jurojin-sama gave me an ice-cold stare.
"Seems like you've taken it too far," Colonel Kunito sighed.
"Wait a moment. Let me try it again," I said as I raised my hand toward Phauros.
"Stop! Stooop!" Phauros went half-crazed trying to stop me, but the screen appeared again.
This time, Phauros looked a little older, standing before a large bucket full of fish. He pulled down his pants and was about to dip his butt in the water.
"Maybe you should stop?" Colonel Kunito intervened.
"Brother, sorry. That guy might be the worst, but this is just too much. Please stop," Apolito also chimed in.
Since I stopped assaulting his mind, the screen disappeared.
Miyabi Princess, Mitsuki, and the others averted their gazes. Aoi remained composed, while Murasaki covered her face but peeked through her fingers.
The atmosphere was incredibly heavy.
This is what they mean by "freezing," isn't it?
Even Carlos I and the fierce squawking marine soldiers of Kokodurilo were petrified with shock.
Phauros remained collapsed on the spot, twitching and unmoving.
"There's definitely something fundamentally wrong with you," Jurojin-sama stared at me with an icy look.
"You really went overboard," Colonel Kunito sighed.
"Oh, oh, wait a minute. Take Phauros with you," Carlos I instructed Kokodurilo to carry away the motionless Phauros.
When Carlos I saw Phauros being transferred to another ship, he coughed.
"So, are you the savior or something?" Carlos I said once again.
"Huh? Are we starting over from there?" Carlos I, this guy has a strong heart.
"Well, let's settle it between you and me, one-on-one," Carlos I proposed.
"One-on-one?" I tightened my grip on my Roaring Heaven sword.
"No, no, not something so unsophisticated. This," suddenly, vines and ivy emerged from Carlos I's right hand emblem, winding around his body. They burst into flames, forming a powered suit-like armor with a deep green crocodile head design.
"This is the Sacred Tree Armored Soldier!" Mitsuki exclaimed beside me.
"Hey, hey, wait a minute. Wasn't the Sacred Tree Armored Soldier something only I could use?" I asked Jurojin-sama.
"Yours is a custom version. That's the mass-produced model," Jurojin-sama explained.
"Mass-produced?" I blinked.
"It's like calling it a Zaku in Gundam," Colonel Kunito remarked.
"Well, you're well-informed," I was surprised.
"Count Mitalai taught me a lot," Colonel Kunito looked a bit bitter.
"I see," I nodded.
"How many times have you used the Sacred Tree Armored Soldier?" Jurojin-sama asked.
"About twice, I guess," I replied.
"That's harsh. Your Sacred Tree Armored Soldier is a special model that evolves, but the mass-produced model doesn't. However, it can exhibit a certain level of performance from the start. With your current abilities, it'll be quite tough," Jurojin-sama warned with a stern look.
"Well, can't be helped. I'll use the insurance," I said, looking at Mitsuki.
"Mitsuki, I'll deal with the Beast King Gem, so call for help when I do," I whispered to Mitsuki in a barely audible voice.
"I'll cover for you when you call for help, Miyabi Princess," I said to Miyabi Princess in the same hushed tone.
"My, my, you're planning some kind of trick again," Carlos I seemed to be laughing in the form of the Sacred Tree Armored Soldier.
"I'm sorry. I'm just a coward," I replied with a laugh.
The emblem on my right hand lit up, and I, too, donned the Sacred Tree Armored Soldier in the shape of a dragon.