My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 200

“I’m glad to see Beastmen!”

“What are you?”

A few Beastmen, standing watch at the outskirts of a town still under reconstruction, began to move toward the source of the voice.

Even as the Beastmen revealed their hostility and closed in, the girl with purple hair simply smiled brightly and waved her hand. With each wave, her black fur coat carelessly fluttered about.

“Is that a human…?”

“Kuk! That rotten smell…!”

A Beastman pinched his nose and faltered, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

“It’s a Demon!!”

“What did you say?!”

One of the Beastmen shouted at Ecabel while pointing at her.

“Quick, grab your weapons!”

The Beastmen of the village hastily readied their gear. Their response was lightning-fast.

But the opponent was far worse.

“Oh my, you guessed right away? I thought I was hiding it well. Isn’t that right, Raghur?”

“Even if you try to hide Ecabel-sama’s magic, it can’t be concealed.”

“I see~! However, I think this Beastman figured it out by the smell?”

Raghur shrugged. The girl, who had been looking at her Deputy Commander with discontent, clasped her hands together.

“Well, if my identity is exposed, the story becomes quick. We all need to become ‘Demons’ now. Of course, no objections will be entertained.”

Clang!

One of the Beastmen swung his sword skillfully, only for it to be blocked by her slim finger.

“How…?”

“Did I look weak in this form?”

The Beastman, staring into the lifeless black eyes, sensed an ominous aura and attempted to retreat. But faster than that, Ecabel grabbed his throat.

“If you run, it’ll be painful. They say kids need to be hit to come to their senses, but you still seem useful, so I’ll end it gently?”

“Y-you bastard! Die!”

As Ecabel raised a finger, the Beastman desperately swung his sword.

Clang!

The sword aimed at his neck was effortlessly snapped in two. Ecabel frowned as she touched the area where it had struck.

“Don’t resist. You can’t sever my neck with that sword.”

“S-save me!!”

Thud!

Ecabel’s finger plunged directly into the Beastman’s heart.

From the tip of her finger, a seed filled with internal magic emerged and stuck to his heart. Only then did a smile appear on Ecabel’s face.

“Enjoy the flavor. My seed is tastier than you think, you know?”

“Cough! Hck!”

As she withdrew her finger, the Beastman began to convulse. His sclera turned increasingly black.

When Ecabel released his neck, the Beastman writhed on the ground, groaning, while blood erupted from his mouth.

“Don’t worry. It’s just the process of becoming a Demon. Rest assured.”

“Cough! I… I don’t want this…”

Eventually, the convulsing Beastman’s movements ceased. He soon got up as if nothing had happened.

“See? All’s well.”

“Grrr…”

The Demon who lost his ability to speak staggered and attempted to lunge at a nearby Beastman.

“Whoa, not so fast.”

At Ecabel’s command, the Demon abruptly stopped, standing still as if waiting for further instructions.

“Everyone here needs to become a host.”

With those words, Ecabel sprouted dozens of thin tentacles from her back.

“It’s mealtime.”

Swish!

The tentacles violently pierced the bodies of the nearby Beastmen, all targeting their hearts.

As the tips of the tentacles hooked into their hearts, the Beastmen trembled violently. Before long, their eyes turned dark as they transformed into Demons.

Ecabel’s tentacles didn’t stop at just turning the nearby Beastmen into Demons; they also indulged in the bodies of those hiding at home without leaving anyone behind.

Stretching, Ecabel approached one remaining Beastman who hadn’t yet transformed and crouched down. This one had been intentionally left behind.

“Earlier, you called me smelly, didn’t you?”

“Uh… huh?!”

“I don’t smell at all! You little brat!”

Ecabel’s finger pierced through his head. The Beastman’s eyes, which had been wandering in confusion, quickly rolled back.

“You’re not needed. Just die.”

With her words, the gathered tentacles tore at the Beastman’s limbs. Blood splattered into the air and fell helplessly to the ground.

“Now then, shall we head to the next village, Raghur? Lead the way.”

Wiping the blood from her face with the back of her hand, Ecabel turned to look at Raghur.

“…Understood.”

As Raghur followed behind Ecabel, he sighed inwardly.

He had never liked being under anyone’s command. Since leaving the spirit realm for not becoming the Spirit King, he aimed to stand at the top.

However, the moment he faced someone like one of the commanders, he had to abandon that thought completely.

He was certain of one thing.

No one in this world could defeat the Demon King or his commanders.

No matter how much he flapped his wings, he could never overcome a commander, and thus, he could only obediently follow.

“Ecabel… You may look like a delicate girl who smiles sweetly, but your very existence is that of a legion.”

“This place is great since there’s no Grand Anti-Demon Magic here~! I can play to my heart’s content!”

Ecabel’s voice sparkled with excitement as if she were a child arriving at a playground.

Thus, the Beastmen’s Forest began to be engulfed by magic.

*

Three days have passed since I assigned the growth mission.

“Ugh! I don’t get it…!”

“What is a gap? How do you even watch it…?”

Tina and Iris were engrossed in their Aura Swords and parchment, clinging to each other in frustration.

Bang!

“Ahh… seriously…! I’ve only mixed four of them, so why is it exploding!?”

On one side, Maria was trying to implement a small spell and mix them together. However, even just combining four different spells twisted the ritual, causing her great distress.

I, too, wanted to explain things in detail. I wanted to minimize any trial and error.

But the reality was, there weren’t enough details in the game for me to explain.

In the game, there would be a point where one could awaken, conveniently implemented so that one could gain realizations just by repeating actions.

Because of that, I had no more advice to give the heroes. The only thing left to say was to keep trying until it worked.

“By the way, Ariel.”

“Yes?”

She tilted her head as she listened to the heroes’ screams nearby.

“I just want to double-check. Naiad said that if we capture or kill Raghur, we’ll get to meet the World Tree, right?”

“That’s right.”

A month ago, Ariel had hurried to a spirit meeting and shared the contents of the discussion with us.

To summarize, it was to recapture Raghur from the spirit realm, but if that seemed impossible, best to just kill him.

It was suggested that the shame of his existence as a member of the spirit tribe would only tarnish the dignity of the World Tree if he remained alive, leading to a decisive action plan.

“So, it’s certain that it doesn’t matter if we capture or kill him?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“I see.”

“Do you think it’s feasible?”

“Since he’s the Demon King’s Deputy Commander, he must be killed. We can’t defeat the Demon King without taking down his high-ranking lieutenant first.”

It takes the full strength of three heroes to defeat the Demon King. However, entrusting the higher-ranking Demon to an S-Class seems burdensome.

For me, if killing him also meant getting to meet the World Tree, that would be a two-for-one deal. The real problem lay in how to lure Raghur in.

Currently, I had no immediate solutions popping into my mind.

“The heroes need to grow stronger than now. They can’t afford to lose like when we rescued the Orient or faced Stella in the Aioum Kingdom.”

“But can the heroes really grow stronger using that method?”

“They can.”

To be precise, I believed they could grow stronger.

But if I gave a vague answer here, the heroes who relied on my words might lose faith.

That could not happen. If drinking skeleton water could make them stronger, then I’d shove that down their throats if necessary.

“But how do you come up with such training methods? I’ve seen them working out, but I’ve never seen you personally displaying any training techniques you’ve taught them.”

“I can’t do that. If I were capable, I would test it out directly to lessen trial and error. But that’s something only the heroes can do.”

“Really? Then what you teach is mostly methods that don’t exist in this world. Where do you learn all this?”

She just slyly hit the nail on the head.

“…This is memory.”

“Memory?”

“It’s an old memory now.”

Five years had passed since I arrived in this world.

I had been diligently noting down the information that came to mind, including insights since my possession, but I had forgotten most of it.

Especially regarding relations with humans in that world, excluding game content, that was growing increasingly vague—I could hardly recall anything at all.

“Do you have memories from your previous life? Or is this also the player’s ability?”

Previous life, huh…

It was somewhat similar. To be precise, it wasn’t a previous life, but a possession.

“Who knows? Which one could it be?”

“Why’s the important stuff always so vague?”

“If you’re really curious, go ask the World Tree directly. Being the one who manages the causalities, she’s sure to know.”

“I’d love to ask. But the World Tree never speaks. She just says I’ll understand everything when the time comes and to assist her well in the meantime.”

“Things become clear when the time comes…?”

So the World Tree, too, perhaps knows who I am. I suspected she realized when I mentioned the term ‘player.’

Anyway, before the Demon War breaks out, meeting the World Tree must be the goal.

Just when I was having those thoughts…

“Teacher!!”

Maria strode in, her face wrinkled with frustration, indicating that she had come to me after failing repeatedly.

“I can’t handle this! This is impossible—”

“Still, since you’re working hard to reach that level, if you surpass it, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“Suddenly, what are you saying?”

I spoke as if to myself. Ariel looked surprised at me, then turned to Maria and seemed to grasp my meaning.

Maria, who was approaching, suddenly stopped, looking at me with shaking eyes.

“Uh? What did Maria say?”

I pretended to notice her late.

“I came to say I’ll work hard under the Teacher’s guidance! Fighting!”

“….”

Maria returned to her original place. You’re really giving it your all.

“I’ll prepare some snacks for the kids. Inform me right away if something happens.”

“I don’t think anything aside from something like the house flying away would occur with Praus.”

“….That would indeed be a big issue.”

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen. I’ll protect them.”

“Alright. I’ll hold you to that.”

“Speaking of which, can I talk with Pasma tonight? It’s been a while?”

…This guy is also materialistic.

That’s something you should be persuading the heroes about. I can imagine them asking if you’re dating since you have been alone together night after night.

As I walked home, directing toward the kitchen, a basket filled with message scrolls was glowing.

“What’s this?”

“Help me, Praus! Right now, Demons have invaded the Beastmen’s Forest! A girl with purple hair is turning Beastmen into Demons!”

As I read the content of the scroll, I couldn’t quickly grasp its meaning and read it again.

A girl with purple hair is turning Beastmen into Demons?

“Could it be… Ecabel…?”

There was only one character with purple hair in this world.

Turning them into Demons is something any Demon can do, but it can’t compare to Ecabel. Turned into a Demon was one of her signature skills.

“Why is she suddenly attacking the Beastmen’s Forest? Could it be to reduce their numbers ahead of the Demon War?”

If not that, does she know about my relationship with the Resistance and aim to strike first?

Considering Habito’s subordinates still remaining in the Empire, obtaining that information wouldn’t be too difficult. Still, I never expected an attack would come so suddenly.

Regardless of the reasons, if the Demons attack, Other Races will likely band together with humans. If that happens, it might even tip the scales favorably for the Demon War.

This is not a good thing, but it was still an opportunity.

“Teacher!”

Bang!

Maria rushed in, followed closely by Tina and Iris.

“Look at this!”

The surveillance magic displayed Chris still on screen. However, today a royal knight was standing in front of him.

The message scroll’s content merged with the knight who had come to report to the Emperor.

In that moment, I quickly grasped the situation.

“What did you say? Repeat that.”

“There’s a rapid surge of Demons in the southwestern Beastmen’s Forest! As of now, we have no means to stop them. If we don’t call back the S-Class dispatched to the western border, it will be tough!”

“First, close the castle gates to prevent the Demons from entering!”

“Y-yes? B-but…!”

“Other Races have declared independence from the Empire. There’s no longer any reason for us to cover their backs! If we look after those beasts and the Demons intrude into the Empire, the Empire itself could be in danger! Close them immediately!”

“Y-yes!”

The knight answered hurriedly and rushed out.

“Close the gates? What about the Other Races outside?”

It’s all too predictable how they’ll fare, yet issuing such orders…?

“Chris, this bastard—”

“Chris, you bastard…!”

Iris spat out her curse before I could, her beast-like glare turned murderous.