Boy Who Has Been Reincarnated Twice Spends Peacefully as an S-Rank Adventurer

The character name is not finalized. The character name will be fix once the official English translation light novel is release.

Chapter 69: The Two Demon and the Black Egg

After modifying the Good Loser into an airship and giving the crew a lecture on how to pilot it, I’d come to the Forest Island.

It would take time for the crew to get the hang of the new controls, and more importantly, I couldn’t just leave the escaped Demon to their own devices. Oh, and Bahamut. Can’t forget Bahamut.

“Alright, time to investigate the enemy’s headquarters.”

I vanished using Stealth Magic, activated Body Strengthening, and moved nimbly through the woods. On my last recon, I could see Bahamut’s massive body even from off the island, but it was nowhere to be seen now. Did it go out to hunt? Maybe the fact that I’d wiped out the island’s other monsters when I killed the first Bahamut had paid off. My goal this time was to find the Demon, so I was grateful to avoid any extra fights.

I encountered a few monsters along the way, but thanks to my Stealth Magic, they didn’t notice me, so I just passed them by. I couldn’t risk the Demon detecting me if I started a battle, and besides, clearing out the stragglers was Karm’s job.

After a while, I came to a small clearing.

“That’s…”

I spotted what looked like the ruins of an ancient structure.

“The ruins of some facility, maybe?”

It was too dilapidated to be called a building; only the foundation and a few pillars remained. Even those were covered in thick ivy and moss. It would have been impossible to spot from the air without looking very, very carefully.

But my attention wasn’t on the ruins themselves. It was drawn to something sitting in the very center.

“Is that… an eggshell?”

Yes, in the middle of the ruins was a large, black eggshell. I approached it and examined it.

“This is old. It’s covered in moss and dirt. Must have hatched a long time ago.” If the shell was this old, the chick would be a full adult by now. Or rather…

“Could this be… the egg of the Bahamut I killed?”

It’s hard to identify a monster just from its shell. An acquaintance from my previous, previous life could have identified it at a glance, but for a normal person like me, that level of expertise was impossible.

“If this was a Bahamut egg, does that mean the new Bahamut’s goal is… to lay another egg here? But… it’s supposed to be obeying the Demon…”

Hmm. I couldn’t be sure. I’d have to look around more.

I left the old shell and moved deeper into the ruins. Before long, I found a stone gate, standing all alone amidst the rubble.

It was completely unnatural, as if a house had been destroyed, leaving only the gate behind. And it was the only thing that had kept its shape perfectly. No… it wasn’t just its shape that was clean.

“There’s almost no moss or ivy on it…”

Compared to the rest of the ruins, it was pristine. And its architectural style seemed completely different from the other structures.

“It’s a Gate. And it’s active.” It was, without a doubt, a Demon teleporter.

“If it’s active, that means a Demon is nearby.”

A Gate is a magic item; it consumes magical power just by being on. It’s common sense to turn it off if you’re not using it. Or, rather, most magic items are designed to shut down automatically to conserve power. (Though, it’s possible modern Demon don’t care about waste.) In any case, this Gate was active. That was proof someone was using it.

This place had been Bahamut’s territory for ages, so it was unlikely a human had activated it. That left only one option: the Demon.

“And… that is probably part of their plan, too.”

A short distance from the Gate, I could see a large pile of unnaturally broken trees. And sitting in its center… was a large, black object.

“That’s definitely an egg.”

If the pile of trees was a nest, it was for something huge. Yep. Big enough for the new, adult-sized Bahamut.

Just then, the Gate began to glow.

“Someone’s coming.”

I hid in a position where I had a clear, diagonal view and watched. A high-ranking Demon could easily see through my stealth, so I had to be careful. The Gate flashed, and the stone doors opened on their own. (A researcher I knew once told me the “stone” is actually a mineral from the Demon world, but that’s not important.)

The Gate opened fully, and two figures emerged. Neither seemed to notice me, but I couldn’t let my guard down. They could just be faking it.

“Thanks to your screw-up, I’m getting caught in the backlash,” one of them grumbled.

“What was I supposed to do!? We were up against someone who could dismantle our magic items!”

Ah. That’s the Demon I met inside the Megalo Whale’s giant magic item.

“Don’t brag about your defeat, Barghest! I had to leave my post to cover for you, and the monster I was managing got killed!”

“Hah! If a human could kill it, it was useless for the mission anyway, wasn’t it, Rhodorga?”

So, Barghest was the one with the Megalo Whale, and Rhodorga was in charge of Bahamut. Got it.

“It wasn’t human strength. The familiar reported it was a magic item.”

Oh? Are they talking about us killing the first Bahamut?

“Even if it was weakened from having its magic drained… to think they possessed an item strong enough to kill a Bahamut. The descendants of the Sky Continent are still trouble, even in decline.”

Yep, they were talking about Bahamut. And “magic drained”… that means the Bahamut on this island, just like the Megalo Whale, was having its power stolen by a magic item. That would explain why it was so unnaturally small.

“But,” Barghest said, “if you just get a new Bahamut, won’t they just kill it with a magic item, too?”

Rhodorga shook his head. “No. The item apparently self-destructed after use. It seems they couldn’t get their hands on something that powerful and reusable.”

“So you’re not worried.”

“Correct. Human civilization in this era is in decline. They can’t make new magic items.”

An era of decline? What does that…

“Are you really so sure, Rhodorga?”

“…Well, I can’t deny the possibility they have more hidden away.”

Damn, that sounded important…

“Then I’ll lend you a hand,” Barghest said, thumping his chest.

“And that repays your debt? Because you screwed up, I had to abandon my watch on Bahamut!”

“But even if I hadn’t, the humans would have used that magic item to kill it eventually.”

“Hmph.” Rhodorga considered it. “True. We don’t know their inventory. The same situation was likely to happen sooner or later.”

“Right? So, this time, I’ll attack the human’s base and wipe them out, magic items and all. You just stay here and protect the new Bahamut and the egg.”

Barghest pointed at the black egg I’d seen earlier. So it is a Bahamut egg.

“Fine,” Rhodorga relented. “You can repay your debt.”

“Good. I’ll annihilate these humans, then go prep my new prey.”

Barghest licked his lips. Whoa. You’re not laying a hand on the sky-islanders. I can’t let that happen.

I was right to leave Liliera behind for this. I had no idea how strong Barghest, Rhodorga, or this new Bahamut would be.

“Well, I’m off.”

Oh no, you’re not. I drew my sword, leaped, and slashed Barghest as he took to the air. This is a fight. No complaints about a sneak attack.

“Gah!?” Barghest shrieked, hit from out of nowhere.

“Wha-!?” Rhodorga cried out in shock, seeing me suddenly appear and his companion drop. So, they really didn’t sense me.

“Hup!” I slammed Barghest into the ground with an axe kick, then turned to Rhodorga.

“Wh-Who are you!?”

“Just an adventurer.”

I accelerated with flight magic and charged.

“Gk!” Rhodorga fired a red blast of light from his palm to stop me.

“Not gonna hit me!”

I adjusted my trajectory, dodged, and closed the distance.

“Don’t underestimate me!” The red light suddenly exploded, scattering into a shotgun blast.

“How’s that!”

Heh. He saw a direct hit wouldn’t work, so he went for a dense, unavoidable spread. Not bad.

“Still… not good enough!” I burst through the dust cloud and appeared right in front of him.

“Impossible!?”

Too bad. By splitting the attack, you diluted the power of each shot. My full-body barrier was more than enough to handle that.

“Now, to finish this!”

…Wait. If I kill him, I can’t get any information. Change of plans: capture. I flipped my sword, gripping it reverse-style, and slammed the pommel into Rhodorga’s solar plexus.

“Guho!?”

Even with the pommel, a magically-strengthened blow is no joke. Rhodorga coughed up blood. Okay, now to bind him…

“I won’t let you!” Barghest, who I’d knocked down, lunged at me.

“I remember you, brat! To think you’d follow me all the way here!”

I wasn’t “following” you. And… wait, his wounds… they’re not fully healed, but they’re closing.

“Fuhaha! I was right to prepare a Hi-Potion for our next meeting!”

So the enemy can heal, too. Makes sense. Adventurers carry potions as well.

“Now, time to repay you for last time! If I kill you—the one who can stop our plans—it will more than make up for my past failure!”

He’s really overestimating me. But I don’t plan on losing. “Stan Hold!”

“Wall Guard!”

My lightning spell, meant to capture him, slammed into a newly-formed rock wall.

“Ha! I knew you’d try to capture me! I’m ready for it! My Wall Guard can withstand even a high-level magic spell!”

Oh, interesting. So, he’s a defender, huh? Bragging that he’s serious now and it won’t be like last time. “In that case… Burst Slash Rush!”

I slammed a series of magically-enhanced slashes into the wall. It withstood the first… and my second slash cut it cleanly in two.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

A scream came from behind the wall. “…Huh?”

Wait a minute. Weren’t you just bragging about your defense? Why’d you go down in two hits? That wasn’t even a combo; it was just two slashes. The wall crumbled, revealing… Barghest’s body… cut in half.

“…Uhh.” I was the one who was confused. His “wall” was pathetically weak. Were Demon always this weak?

“I… I don’t believe it…” Rhodorga’s weak voice came from behind me. I turned. He was staring, blood dripping from his mouth, his face pale with shock. “To shatter… Barghest’s… iron wall… just like that… What are you!?”

Huh!? “Iron wall”!? That thing!? “Umm… like I said, I’m just an adventurer.” This is getting embarrassing…

“‘Just an adventurer’!? Don’t mock me!” Rhodorga roared. But I am!

“Gk! If it’s come to this… at least the egg!” He flapped his wings and flew desperately toward the nest.

“What are you doing!?” He’s going for the Bahamut egg! He’s going to do something to it! This is definitely a plan I have to stop!

“Wait—” Just as I moved to intercept him… ZUZUUUUUUUN! A massive, black shadow filled my vision.

“Eh?” I looked up… into the mountain-sized body. “…Bahamut.” That’s right, it was the storm monster, Bahamut.

Crap. I was so focused on the Demon, I didn’t sense it approaching. “…” Bahamut stared at me. I met its gaze. My instincts screamed: If you look away, it attacks. How will it move? It’s supposed to be obeying the Demon. Will it attack me with him? Ugh, that would be a pain.

…Crack.

In the dead-silent forest, a tiny sound. Bahamut broke the stare-down, looking past me. Something was happening. Crack… crack… And then…

“Kyu-kyaaa!”

A small, but energetic cry. Is that… Bahamut bent down, then rose again… holding a tiny, tiny Bahamut in its mouth.

“So… the chick hatched.” The baby Bahamut chirped, its voice adorable. The next second, the mother… took flight, holding its newborn, and vanished into the sky.

“I guess it didn’t want to fight while protecting its child…” Well, that saved me the trouble of a pointless fight. A good outcome. I then remembered Rhodorga and looked back at the nest…

“…He’s flattened.”

Poor Rhodorga. He’d been crushed flat when Bahamut bent down to get its chick. Hmm. I guess… the maternal instinct was stronger than the fear of its “master.”

“In the end, I didn’t get any information about their plans.” Not only was Rhodorga paste, but the Gate was, too. I’ll never know where it led.

“But, I stopped their plan. I’ll call it a win.” Yep. Thinking about it that way, I’d call this a success.

“Time to go home.”

(Bahamut’s Point of View)

I am Bahamut, ruler of the sky. I was forced into servitude by a puny Demon, but I returned to find him weak. So I squished him. Fuhaha! Serves him right!

…And then I saw the really scary human. He just… looked dangerous. The other Demon was in two pieces behind him. It’s safe to assume this human is why my “master” was so weak. His aura… it’s terrifying.

This is bad. What do I do? I’m in serious trouble. I want to run. But my child… my egg is about to hatch! I can’t leave it! I can’t possibly win a fight. His silence… it’s so scary.

Just then… crack! My egg! Is it time? Is it!? Hurry! Be born!

Kyu-kyaaa!

Yes! It’s born! Okay, now we run! And so, with my newborn child, I successfully escaped from that terrifying human. …That was way too close.