Standing in midair, I looked down at Dolda.
Tension hung over the space like sediment.
Even the slightest movement demanded care.
My opponent was that kind of person.
"Thunderclap Dolda" was a pirate who had been active back when I was still human.
A fearsome figure who had rampaged across every sea in the world, it was said that the treasure he alone possessed was enough to found a kingdom.
Even the demons who had served the previous Demon Lord dared not approach the seas Dolda controlled.
That alone spoke volumes about the extent of his reputation.
The reason Dolda had been listed as a candidate for hero was derived from an incident where he refused the commission to slay the Demon Lord.
A country other than the fallen kingdom had dared to approach the villainous, irredeemable pirate and request his services.
What came back was the severed head of their envoy.
Its mouth had been stuffed with gold coins, apparently.
That was Dolda's idea of irony.
In general he was a free-spirited and dangerous personality, but so long as you did not approach the seas he controlled, you would suffer no harm.
For that reason, the various nations had tacitly tolerated Dolda's pirate fleet.
Occasionally, assassination attempts were made—only to be cut down in retaliation, as was customary.
Right up until the Demon Lord was finally destroyed, Dolda had made his name as a dyed-in-the-wool villain.
(That a pirate like him would end up in the Imperial Capital ten years later...)
Even I could only call it unexpected.
For him, the Empire should have been a place with no ties whatsoever.
According to the informant, a knight using lightning magic was indeed flagged as a person of concern.
But I didn't know their true identity.
That must have been kept classified as well.
What a peculiar encounter.
"I had heard the Demon King was a despicable necromancer, but that seems to be wrong. He can fight with a passion that stirs the heart, can't he?"
Dolda spoke, sounding genuinely delighted.
He felt not a shred of fear, even before the Demon King.
For someone who had spent years battling sea monsters, a lich was probably a trivial existence.
"Stirs the heart, you say. 'Thunderbolt'... not quite like yours."
"Oh? That is a rather old name. I am honored the Demon King knows of it."
Dolda said, sounding surprised.
The "honor" was surely a joke.
His face said as much.
"You were supposed to be a pirate. Why are you in the Imperial Capital?"
"Ha ha ha! What year are you living in? I retired from piracy the day my beloved ship sank. Now, I am a hired general."
Dolda laughed heartily, placing a hand on his chest.
It was surprising to learn he had given up piracy to become an Imperial general.
"Have you sworn loyalty to the Empire?"
"Hardly. I merely sought endless conflict, as I always have. Whether at sea or on land, it makes no difference. The Empire simply proved the most convenient vessel for my desires."
That was a quintessentially Dolda answer.
Few men wear the word loyalty less well than him.
As he himself stated, his affiliation with the Empire was likely temporary.
For Dolda, this might feel like a leisurely diversion.
"Enough idle talk. I am tasked with repelling the Demon Lord. After I finish you, I must clear out the undead in the city."
Glancing at the devastated streets, Dolda exhaled and hefted his battle axe.
The dormant purple lightning crackled to life once more, surging forth.
The synergistic effect of his body-enhancement magic granted him superhuman strength.
"Here I come."
Dolda lowered his center of gravity, and in the next instant, his form blurred.
He closed the distance in mid-air, leaving afterimages, his axe cleaving downward.
(Quite the speed.)
During our conversation, I had been enhancing my dynamic vision with magic.
Though I lacked physical eyes, my sensory perception succeeded.
Unlike before, Dolda’s movements no longer flickered in and out of focus.
"Hmph."
Dolda brought his axe down.
The trajectory would bisect me vertically.
A deceptively simple attack, yet it descended with sufficient speed and power to be more than a threat.
I twisted my body just before the blade made contact.
I felt the slash graze my shoulder.
Unfazed, I extend my miasma-clad hand toward Dolda’s face.
“Ngh…”
Dolda, his features contorting, withdraws his battle-axe and steps back. Even he must wish to avoid a direct hit from the miasma. While lightning magic output provides some defense against it, even that has its limits.
(Which means, if I can touch him, I can end this.)
From my hand, I manifest the forbidden vines of the curse, attempting to entangle Dolda. No matter how strong he is, he likely cannot prevent being turned undead.
“Wha—!?”
Though somewhat surprised, Dolda swiftly cuts down the advancing vines with his axe. His reaction speed is extraordinary. Dozens of vines are severed in an instant.
I pay no mind and continue generating more.
(A fearsome strength. But that’s all it is.)
Through this exchange, I am certain. "Dolda the Thunderclap" is not a threat capable of slaying the Demon Lord. He remains within the bounds of a human strongman. At the very least, he was not an existence that could even slow my stride. If this was a meeting arranged by the world's will, then it has been a miscalculation.
While Dolda is busy cutting the vines, I direct my consciousness elsewhere.
It was the nearest gun emplacement on the outer wall.
It was secured by vines.
I released the spell, dispelling the vine bindings.
Using the former operator—an undead—inside the emplacement, I swiveled the cannon barrel.
The aim settled on Dolda's back.
(The shell is loaded. I can fire at any moment.)
Having confirmed this, I fired the shell.
Dolda, who had been cutting away the vines, reacted to the bombardment from behind.
"Gu... OOOOOGH!?"
He brought his battle axe down against the incoming shell, deflecting it off course amid a shower of sparks.
A roar with gale-force wind and a thunderous strike.
The shell, its tip shattered, passed by Dolda and myself.
(He surprised me. To deflect even that cannon shot.)
I raised my estimation of Dolda.
He possessed extraordinary skill and physical strength.
He was unquestionably a figure worthy of being called a hero.
If only his character and conduct were good, he might have truly become the brave hero.
He had an aura of dominance that made one think so.
"...gh"
Dolda let out a low groan.
The cost of dodging the projectile was a shattered battle-axe and blood streaming from both his arms.
Overexerted muscles had reached their breaking point.
Bones were surely broken too.
He looked ready to drop his axe at any moment.
I approached Dolda from behind in that state.
Entwining vines around his limbs, I sealed any chance of a counterattack.
Through his helmet, Dolda shot me a gaze of ecstasy.
His blue eyes brimmed with fervent passion.
"Im...impressive—"
As I heard that murmur, I aligned the fingers of one hand and slashed.
Dolda's head spun through the air.
The helmeted skull burned with black flames, turning to ash and vanishing.
I released the vine-wrapped body.
Spouting blood from the severed neck, Dolda's body plummeted into the cityscape of the Imperial Capital.
Witnessing the fall, I landed on the outer wall.
(The Empire is desperate to bolster its forces. Were they even plotting continental conquest?)
The exact timeline was unclear, but they had hired Dolda as a general.
Their fervor for invading other nations was genuine.
Left unchecked, they might have made further dark moves.
Intervening at this stage appeared to be the correct decision.
A bit of an interruption, but my plans remain unchanged.
I'll steal the documents the Empire has hidden away.
All should be done by sunset, and I'll be swiftly gone.