The Tale of the Teapot Hero’s Revenge

Chapter 5

The use of this useless power

"What the hell...! What the hell is this power?!"

"You know, it's that useless ability to boil water."

That's right, it's truly useless. But it's enough power to kill someone, I realized that now.

"Don't f*ck with me! My hand, it is, boiling with blood and flesh...!? Damn it, goddamn it!!!"

In a fit of rage, he tried to punch me with his unharmed left arm since his right hand wouldn't move anymore. It's bubbling and boiling after all. The pathetic punch he threw, even I could easily stop it.

*Pashin!*

I caught the punch with my right hand and said, "Let me give you another taste."

I exerted my power. Just like that, his left fist went through the same transformation as his right hand. Blood surged, skin burst, and flesh was exposed.

"Ahiiiiii!!"

He screamed in a pitiful voice and fell on his backside again. It's not funny at all.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!! A stupid mission that does nothing but burn down a shabby village and kill one little girl, that's not even worth a medal. ......!

"Hey, I'm going to kill you right now."

I picked up the fallen knight's sword. It's surprisingly not heavy, which meant I had gained some power from killing five people.

"But before that, I want information about the one who assigned you this worthless mission, Carion, and..."

Holding the hilt with both hands, I thrust it into Galare's thigh with all my might. It's not to torture him, but to prevent him from escaping.

"Giaaaah!!"

The tip of the sword pierced through his thigh, and reached the ground beneath the snow. Now, that he couldn't escape, I could interrogate and torture him as much as I wanted.

"Now, tell me the detailed purpose of what you've done. Then, I'll kill you quickly."

"Guh, don't... get carried away! I'm still a soldier...! I won't yield to a little girl like you..."

"Hmm, okay."

That's convenient since I wanted to try a few things anyway to experiment with this power.

"Please... stop... just kill me already..."

Yeah, it's surprisingly easy to break the human heart, isn't it? He's already making such a pitiful plea, even after saying all those things.

After experimenting with his arms and legs, I started to understand some things. First, this power of mine seemed to fall into the category of magic. I had heard that using magic drains energy, and I could indeed feel myself getting tired little by little every time I use my ability.

By flowing magic within a certain range from where I touch, I could induce boiling phenomena. It's not limited to the exact spot I touch. The boiling occurs only within the area where magic was flowing, and it would return to its original temperature once I move away from that area.
Furthermore, I could also adjust the depth. I could boil only the deeper parts while leaving the surface intact, something like that. If used skillfully, I might be able to rupture vital organs.

"Alright, I've got a general idea. That's enough. But before you die, you better tell me everything."

"I'll talk, I'll talk...!!"

His arms and legs were boiling and melting. The torso was fine, though since it would be troublesome if he died.

"You know, why did we have to go through this?"

Thinking about the village, my family, an uncontrollable anger boiled up.

"Hii!" 

Galare let out a small scream, which made me wonder if I had such a scary expression just now.

"Well, it's because if the hero doesn't die, the next hero won't appear..."

"I see, I get it. So, giving up my power was a lie after all... How ridiculous!!!"

"Gyahii!"

I kicked his face with all my might. The reason was just too ridiculous!

"Then why?! Why did you kill my family and everyone in the village?! If you just killed me alone, it would've been enough!!!"

"W-Well..."

"Well?"

"I don't know... As a mere squad leader, I can't know more... But he made sure to tell us not to speak a word about this..."

"He made sure? This Carion guy?"

He nodded desperately, over and over again. Looks like he's not lying and it did seem like he didn't know anything more about this matter. In that case, the next thing that should be asked was...

"Alright, next. Tell me more about this Carion."

"C-Carion Stux, a major general. He used to achieve military merits on various battlefields, a self-made soldier... But his sharpness only lasted when he was young... Now, he's a self-preserving, self-serving pig of a man who puts all his troubles on his subordinates. ......"

"Where does he live?"

"He has a huge mansion in the residential area near the royal castle in the northern part of the capital... He's not a noble, so he can't own a house in the noble district..."

"Got it, that's enough. Good work, you can die now."

I obtained the necessary information, so he was no longer useful. Dragging my best friend, Alka's body, around like an object, and casually tossing her aside… He's probably the one who killed her. I must not let him live, absolutely. At least, I'd kill him instantly by rupturing his brain. I then reached for his head.

"Hey, I'm still a soldier, you know."

"So, what? Just stop talking."

"I've been through all this, and it's not easy to be quietly killed..."

I noticed just now that something blurry extended from his mouth to the dagger rolling around near his face. It's like a thread, so thin that you wouldn't notice without focusing your eyes.

While we were talking, it gradually extended. Because I was focused on his words, I hadn't notice it. Was that also the work of that thing called Renki?

"You're not very understanding, are you?"

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He pretended to have a broken spirit to divert my attention, and talked incessantly to distract me.

As if pulled by an invisible thread, the dagger flew to Galare's mouth and he firmly held the hilt in his mouth. Then, he raised his upper body and came at me with a slash.

But you know, such futile struggles won't work, right? I grabbed his head first and slammed it hard onto the ground.

"Gah...!?"

With that impact, the dagger fell from his mouth.

"...I tried to kill you quickly, you know? It's true."

Cold anger kept rising steadily within me. I had been naive to think that since he answered my questions, I could let him die easily. I had to abandon all my naivety away.

"It was stupid of me to even have a little bit of sympathy for you, the one who killed my best friend."

"Hii, hiii...!"

Was that frightened voice acting or something? Whether it's acting or real doesn't matter as I already sent my power evenly throughout his entire head, excluding the brain.

"Melt away into a gooey mess."

"Ahh...!"

First, both eyeballs burst. Then, a large amount of blood gushed out from his mouth, foaming.

"Giaaaahh... Aaahh, it hurts, aaahhhh!!!"

The skin of his face burst and melted into a gooey mess slowly, like a simmered soup, taking its time. I looked down on the scene without any emotions. At first, he screamed in agony, but gradually he stopped moving. In the end, his face became a reddish-black, messy something, and it now resembled completely of a corpse.

"It's strange, even though I killed him, I don't feel anything. Not sad, not happy. Maybe because he's not the true enemy, just a mere underling."

The one who gave this order was probably King Brütegiu.

I was sure until I kill him, my heart would not be moved by killing anyone. Until I kill him, I couldn't move forward. Until I make him suffer the consequences.

"...First, let's go to the capital. Kill Carion, and then... I'll think about it then."

I stripped the cloth off the corpses lying around, using them as makeshift bandages to tightly wrap and stop the bleeding from my wounds. 　I also obtained a cloak from a large man and turned it into a cape and hood, covering my body and face. It would be troublesome if it's known that I was alive, so I had to hide my face.

A large amount of smoke was rising into the night sky from the direction of my village. I wonder if the nearby village had noticed the abnormality by now. I want to go check, but if I go back now, I'll surely be found out.

"Everyone, I'm going now. I don't know if I'll be able to come back."

I started walking through the snow-covered forest toward the direction of the capital. I was all alone, walking on a roadless path that might never end.