I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 729

The day of the finals of the Heavenly God Martial Festival dawned.

There was originally supposed to be a semifinal match, but one of the competitors had fainted due to his non-duel duel with me.

Consequently, Ludwig, who was originally supposed to face him, naturally advanced by default, leaving Kaylin on the other side.

Well, as expected, Kaylin defeated her opponent with overwhelming skill and advanced to the finals.

Perhaps because she had completely dominated all her opponents so far, I heard she had already been given a moniker, just like Ludwig.

’Did they call her the Azure Witch? Seriously, every time I see them, the people of the Central Plains are so good at naming things.’

Azure Witch, meaning a blue witch.

A demon characterized by her blue skin. And Kaylin, who primarily used magic.

The moniker that perfectly combined these two traits was the Azure Witch. It was simple, but that was why it was so fitting.

’As for me... I don’t really have a moniker to speak of.’

Since I already had a grandiose title, it didn’t matter.

In any case, as the day of the finals dawned, a far larger crowd than before gathered in the spectator stands.

As I always did, I sat in a suitable seat and waited for the finals to begin.

"Excuse me."

"We meet again."

And a middle-aged man naturally took a seat next to me.

It was Kadir, carrying a staff topped with what looked like a real human skull, though I couldn’t be sure.

I was still confused as to whether he was the Kadir referred to as the Mage King, but his aura solidified my conviction.

"Nyaoong!"

A meow broke the subtle atmosphere. The source of that meow was none other than Cheese the cat.

The cat, who had been sitting on Kadir’s shoulder, melted down like cheese the moment he saw me and came to sit on my lap.

Though momentarily taken aback by the cat’s appearance, I soon realized his appearance was familiar.

The fellow who had naturally approached me while I was resting in my bedroom last time. He was highly similar to that one.

Ginger cats all tend to look alike, but this fellow was exceptionally cute among them.

He didn’t have the long nose typical of stray cats, but possessed a beautiful appearance like a pedigree cat.

He was what one would call a ’beauty cat,’ radiating loveliness. He even rolled over to show his belly and acted cute.

"Haha. It seems he takes quite a liking to you."

"Are you his owner, by any chance? He climbed onto my bed last time."

"I suppose you could call me his owner. It is just that he is terribly disobedient."

Ttakttak! Ttak!

As if agreeing with those words, the skull mounted on the staff clattered.

It was enough to make me suspect if that thing was actually alive. Of course, I knew that was nonsense.

"Gororong~ Gorong~"

I gently scratched Cheese’s belly and listened to his purring. It made me feel at ease.

Then, feeling playful, I even played with his paws. You know, like those videos on YouTube where people play with cats.

Peok! Peo-eok!

"Nyang! Nyaang!"

I was currently playing with Cheese like that.

I didn’t know what he had been eating, but every time he threw a cat punch, I felt a tremendous amount of pressure.

If there really were a cat raised in the Forest of the Four Seasons, it would probably be exactly like this. Not that there was much chance of that, of course.

Waaa!

After playing with Cheese for a while, the finals finally began before I knew it.

As the finals commenced, our play naturally stopped, and Cheese, perhaps cleverly sensing the atmosphere, immediately turned around.

He then tucked his paws under his chest in a classic cat loaf position on my lap and began to watch the match.

’He’s really as smart as the kids, isn’t he?’

I had heard that animals capable of reading the room or sensing the atmosphere generally possessed high intelligence.

Therefore, it meant this cheese cat was also exceptionally intelligent. At this, I asked Kadir before the finals began.

"He seems very smart. Seeing how he reads the atmosphere instantly."

"He is too smart, and that is the problem. He knows exactly what to do to play tricks on me."

"For example?"

"Like deliberately knocking a vial of carefully formulated medicine off the desk."

"So he’s just a normal cat."

"I truly cannot understand cats. Aside from being cute, it wouldn’t be strange if they had gone extinct long ago—"

Chalssak!

While Kadir was grumbling, Cheese slapped Kadir’s arm.Read this novel at novеlping.com for the best experience.

His tail, which was already long, suddenly extended and whipped like a lash.

What was even more surprising was that Kadir accepted this calmly, as if he was entirely used to it.

He must have been hit quite hard, yet he showed no reaction.

"...Didn’t his tail just stretch?"

"Because he is a cat."

"Are cats originally animals whose tails stretch?"

"There are those kinds, and there are others. The world is a vast place, is it not?"

If this were Earth, I would have retorted, ’What kind of bullshit is that?’

But this was a completely different world, not Earth. After all, creatures like Owlbears, goblins, and all sorts of bizarre lifeforms inhabited this place.

So, a cat that could stretch and shrink its body wasn’t particularly strange.

Even without mentioning the Forest of the Four Seasons, all kinds of bizarre creatures lived in this world.

Though it felt a bit unsettling, it was best to just let it go.

[The final duel of the Heavenly God Martial Festival! We shall now begin!]

De-eng!

With the resonant toll of a bell, the finals of the Heavenly God Martial Festival commenced.

As soon as the finals began, I looked at the two people who stepped onto the arena.

Kaylin and Ludwig. Despite the bell having rung, the two simply stared at each other.

Hadn’t someone said this? Once you reach the finals, being an underdog is meaningless.

It simply meant the strong had ascended, and the moment you let your guard down, you would be finished.

Hoo-ung!

The first to launch a preemptive strike was Ludwig. His figure vanished in an instant, only to reappear right in front of Kaylin’s nose.

He was already a strong man, but after suffering through hell in the Forest of the Four Seasons, he had grown even stronger.

The fact that one of his legs was made of solid Mithril was no longer an issue. Watching him fight up until now, he used it exactly like his own foot.

He was even capable of unleashing Sword Qi directly from that Mithril foot.

’Ah. He did that when we were in the forest too.’

He rarely did it because it was inefficient, but I recalled it boasting tremendous power.

Anyway, putting that aside, Kaylin also wore an amused expression at Ludwig, who had closed in right before her.

She then naturally manifested magic and soared into the air. Just as she had always done, she seemed intent on pouring down overwhelming firepower from the sky.

Kwak!

But Ludwig was not one to be caught off guard by this.

After all, he was a man who held the title of ’Guardian’ of the Holy Kingdom.

Not only had he been through all sorts of trials, but he had also crossed the threshold of death multiple times in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Above all, since he had encountered every imaginable variable in the Forest of the Four Seasons, his ability to adapt on the fly must have increased dramatically.

Kwang!

Thus, Ludwig grabbed Kaylin by the ankle and slammed her straight down.

Perhaps not expecting such a sudden assault, Kaylin crashed heavily against the ground.

But was she indeed a demon princess? As if she had already braced for the impact, she appeared perfectly fine despite being slammed onto the hard floor.

Hwareureuk!

Instead, while still lying on the ground, she thrust her hand forward and unleashed a powerful fire spell.

To evade the magic, Ludwig had no choice but to release Kaylin’s ankle and retreat.

"My, my. Grabbing a lady’s foot so recklessly. Is a Paladin allowed to do such a thing?"

"At least to you."

Ludwig replied in his characteristically blunt voice and immediately drew his sword. The Mythricon sword I had gifted him.

Up to this point, he had used a regular longsword, which showed just how strong Kaylin was.

Woo-oo-ung!

As he manifested his Aura, the dull blade transformed, glowing brilliantly as if it contained a green, starry galaxy.

It was a sign that he was getting serious. Kaylin also narrowed her eyes, unable to ignore the Mythricon.

Hoo-ung!

Soon, Ludwig rushed forward at lightning speed, and a fierce exchange of blows ensued.

Kaylin also seemed to have half-abandoned her flight magic, surprisingly opting for close-quarters combat.

Normally, a close-range battle between a warrior and a mage is overwhelmingly disadvantageous for the mage. But the demon princess was different.

Jureureuk!

Ludwig, who was rushing forward rapidly, suddenly slipped. Though he barely managed to regain his balance, his legs were splayed wide apart.New chapters come out on novelping(.)com first.

Kaylin didn’t stop there; she bound his legs tightly with magic.

Looking closely, some sort of wooden vines had sprouted to bind his legs.

"Impressive. Making the ground slippery and then immediately using a binding spell."

"Is that impressive?"

"She cast two spells simultaneously within a span of 0.1 seconds. Multi-casting is difficult unless one has reached the realm of an Archmage."

"Oh..."

I didn’t quite get it, but it meant she was amazing.

With that thought, I focused on the duel between the two.

Kaylin had recognized early on that she couldn’t face Ludwig with raw firepower alone, so she changed her approach.

In effect, the strategy established before the duel was completely overturned. Ludwig was bound to be at a severe disadvantage.

’Besides, looking at Kaylin’s combat style, she isn’t weak in close-quarters combat either.’

It was as if she was displaying the full marvel of a battle mage.

Lackey and Elia were also outstanding mages, but they hadn’t shown multi-casting like Kaylin.

Above all, that exceptional situational judgment. Considering she used such complex magic in the right place at the right time, she seemed to possess immense combat experience.

’She really is a bundle of variables.’

Perhaps because of that, I could see Ludwig gradually being pushed back.

If he tried to close in, she made the ground slippery; if he backed away, she unleashed a magical bombardment.

It was a total mess, but Ludwig was experienced. He saw through Kaylin’s intentions and systematically countered them.

First, he blocked the long-range bombardment using the superior defensive power of the Mythricon, then used the resulting shockwave to close the distance rapidly.

Furthermore, as if deciding to close in before she could make the ground slippery, he increased his speed and began to pressure her.

Chaeng! Chaeng!

Ludwig swung his sword, and Kaylin deployed a shield to block it.

With the powerful performance of the Mythricon combined with Ludwig’s technique, even Kaylin was bound to feel the pressure.

Perhaps because of that, Kaylin’s smile grew wider, and she became more aggressive than before.

Since ancient times, the demon race was highly combative, easily rivaling carnivorous beastfolk.

In particular, they possessed the trait of growing stronger the longer they fought, making a prolonged battle highly disadvantageous.

Above all...

Kkang!

Kaylin was just as experienced as Ludwig. She didn’t target Ludwig himself.

To be precise, she was targeting the Mythricon sword in Ludwig’s hand.

Hwiririk!

Was it because he was busy responding to Kaylin’s volatile magic that he didn’t realize what she was aiming for?

The Mythricon sword slipped from Ludwig’s hand and flew backward.

Normally, the match would have ended here, but he was a man who had survived countless chaotic battles.

Before even registering that his sword had been disarmed, he rushed straight at Kaylin and initiated hand-to-hand combat.

It seemed he intended to retrieve his sword using telekinesis while keeping her occupied with martial arts.

"You can’t do that~"

But Kaylin slyly slipped away from his martial arts, and moreover, she teleported directly to where the sword was.

While it took Lackey a considerable amount of time to activate it, her casting time was incredibly short.

Kaylin then pulled the Mythricon sword from the ground and pointed it at Ludwig.

Ludwig stared at it, then shrugged his shoulders, raised both hands, and spoke.

"I surrender."

De-e-eng!!!

With Ludwig’s declaration of surrender, the bell tolled loudly.

The winner of this Heavenly God Martial Festival had been decided. Mephisto’s demon princess, Kaylin.

Kaylin waved her hand, seemingly basking in the roaring cheers.

’Looking at her, she seems to secretly enjoy this kind of thing.’

In any case, the Heavenly God Martial Festival had come to an end. All that remained was what Kaylin would ask of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

As Yoo So-wol had mentioned before, if she wanted a duel with me, she planned to barge in under the pretext of interest.

Soon, Kaylin faced Yoo So-wol and began to state her wish.

"I don’t really have a wish. It’s just..."

Kaylin then glanced precisely in my direction and said,

"I wonder, if the Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly God were to duel, who would win?"

"...?"

She had pulled off a spectacular troll.