Surviving a Shounen Manga

Chapter 76

Chapter 76

The Explosive Conclusion

This was a rather fortuitous turn of events.

That was my honest opinion.

The princess had already grabbed all the limelight throughout this chapter. Summoning a black horse from the sky, changing her costume, and even blowing away a giant in one shot.

And me? Although I was the leading point of view of this chapter, and a fan favourite character to boot, there was no way my trick with the ghosts would stay etched in the readers memory.

That was a pretty terrible situation for me, all told.

This was an extended chapter, which started without giving me the rewards from the previous one. At this rate, whatd happen if I lost all the attention from the readers, and the chapter ended?

Yeah.

Just imagining it gave me the shivers.

Indeed, it might be better to just have one big match to finish things off.

Of course, it was a dangerous gamble. The princess was strong, sure, but the bigger risk was the plot forcefully trampling on me.

What if I lost in a contest of pure ability?

Whether the princess successfully became the emperor was not my problem, my problem was that all the things Id done here in Eastland would essentially lose their meaning. And a character has no future once he disappoints the readers.

To be honest, there was a biting chill running down my spine right now.

But even so,

Sorry, but you arent at that level.

I wasnt without confidence. Just how long and how far had I been building myself up?

The story wouldve definitely been different if shed awakened during the first power balance adjustment period, that is, the period of upheaval, instead of now.

Then I wouldve lost. Unconditionally. Without any suspense.

For a simple reason. At that time, not only the new characters coming on stage would be powerful, but the strength of the existing characters would also be downgraded to a certain extent.

This was the usual way to adjust the power balance in shounen manga. Since its not easy to keep creating stronger and stronger characters, you keep making slight adjustments to the existing characters and make them a bit weaker.

Of course, you never explicitly spell this out on paper or in story. Because the readers would notice and complain about plausibility.

Instead, you reveal it indirectly by appropriately directing the scenes. For example, during the Ramirez Scramble in the original, Kiriko couldnt even lift a rock the size of an elephant properly.

Well, anyway, this fight here and now was definitely worth the effort.

The princess was a munchkin, sure, but honestly, I wasnt any different in that aspect.

"Whoo"

While I was just calmly watching the princess stalk towards me

Hey!

Hey! Squatjaw!

"Huh?"

A voice suddenly tickled my ears.

It was Bayar Khan.

What should I do?

Huh? What do you mean?

No, what should I do here? Should I go to that kid? Or stay here with you?

Eh?

How does it look like to you?

He seemed to be genuinely asking.

No, what do you

I was originally going to stick to the side I wanted to prop up a little bit, you know? But to be honest, I have no idea whos the stronger one right now. This is the first time this has happened to me. Usually, for me, it just takes one look

Oh, so what are you going to do once you stick to somebody?

You even have to ask? Ill add some strength!

Haah.

This crazy asshole

Fine, just go over there. Why are you even suddenly sticking to me?

You sure?

What, are you afraid Im going to lose? This time, the two of you should get together and properly taste my strength.

Bayar Khan chuckled. He apparently thought that I was boasting.

Remember you chose this, kid. Dont come crying to me later.

Oh, and! When you go to the princess, take physical shape one more time, just like the tug-of-war. Got it?

Why that again?

Now we have such a big audience watching. Itd be a grand sight, wouldnt it?

Hey, you bastard is that really what you should be worried about?

I shrugged.

Even if a fight was imminent, what had to be taken care of, had to be taken care of.

Of course, now, even if I didnt arrange this, it didnt look like the princess would be treated any worse.

Alright, then. Im going. Good luck.

Bayar Khan quickly left my side.

And then,

Looks like theyve met up.

The princess looked at me and gave me a curious grin. Bayar Khan was probably tattling about me. That cheeky bastard told me to fight 2vs1, lets give it a shot and show him! Something like that.

It was kind of a strange feeling.

Coocoo was on the other side, and so was Bayar Khan.

No, even fighting the princess was quite strange.

Werent we colleagues just a few minutes ago?

Ah, no. She did say we werent teammates anymore.

Id thought the princess might feel the same way as me. I was probably a little squeamish.

But, well, its not like Im going to break down from just this.

I hurriedly brushed away my useless emotions.

For now, I had to focus on the battle.

Then,

"Are you ready?"

The princess spoke in a voice that was calmer than ever, as if she also had sorted out all her emotions.

"Be careful. If you dont want to die in one blow."

I couldnt help but snort.

"Oh my gosh, this is ridiculous."

This, was a phenomenon common to characters who experienced power-ups like awakening or evolution.

Their original personality disappears, and they suddenly become the cool and arrogant type.

Its just an awakening, so why would a character change so fundamentally? But with such a sudden infusion of self-confidence into their veins, they can come up with such a pretentious statement quite naturally.

Time to impart some much-needed education.

"King."

I quickly recalled the king I had summoned last time.

Then, when the gigantic squat-jawed ghost appeared

"I-, its a ghost! A squat-jawed ghost!"

"Its the ghost that fought with the general earlier!"

"Hey, this guy is a monster, too!"

The soldiers, whod been silent till now, dissolved into shouts and cries in an instant.

Alright. This was a good atmosphere.

"Ummm that ugly giant from earlier?"

As soon as King came out, he looked around, searching for Mong.

"That guys gone, were switching to a new opponent."

" Who?"

"That one ahead."

I pointed to the princess in front of me.

King glanced at her and tilted his head.

" Tiny."

"She doesnt have much going for her size, true. But she might be as strong as you."

Then,

"No one stronger than King!"

King growled, stomping his feet.

""

He was good at everything, but only his poor intelligence was a little disappointing.

"Alright, dont even think about playing around this time. You have to do your best."

"King King never holds back King! King!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

I purposefully didnt summon any ghosts other than King. Because it was clear that theyd all get blown to bits without accomplishing anything.

Yans ghosts had egos and memories. Because they could accumulate experience, it was possible for them to grow, too.

But that also meant that destruction carried an inherent risk for them. It took a lot of time and effort to grow a new ghost if one got annihilated.

So, when confronted with such a strong enemy, I couldnt summon them recklessly.

And to be frank, Yans unique ability wasnt very appropriate to deal with a body-enhancing costume type like the princess. It wasnt an ability specialized for adversaries in the first place, and its effectiveness was very low for one-on-one battles.

In fact, if I hadnt used this ability before and couldnt switch tracks without looking like a coward, I wouldve chosen another ability instead. But I had no other option.

But nevertheless,

"King, feel free to show off a little bit. Just how strong you are. How about going twice as hard as you did against the giant last time?"

"Good!"

I was confident.

Not because of some specific reason or because I had some kind of plan. There was nothing like that. Because King was strong enough to ignore such petty things as reason and rationality.

At that moment,

Booooom.

Kings fist fell on the princess like lightning from on high.

Bang-!

As if a meteorite had fallen from the heavens, a huge pit was carved into the earth where the princess had just been standing.

"Ugh missed! Running away?!"

The king roared in anger.

Although the princess managed to dodge Kings fist, she didnt counterattack immediately.

Instead, she was now looking at King with her eyes wide open, as if quite surprised by that destructive power.

Unfortunate.

It wouldve been better if shed taken a blow while still careless.

In fact, the princess had tried to stand her ground facing Kings attack. She hadnt even raised her guard, only trying to block that giant fist with a hand. Same as most newborn characters, she was overconfident in her own strength.

But her horse had felt threatened and escaped without instruction. Hed probably instinctively understood that Kings attack wasnt that easy to withstand.

I never did like that bastard.

By now I was convinced, that that cheeky horse had also been arranged by the author. A normal horse couldnt have withstood the princess activating her unique ability so easily. Really, he was much too strong for a horse randomly bought from a street market

Then,

" Thats no ordinary ghost, is it?"

The princess spoke with a slight hint of nervousness.

"Ah, yeah. Cant you tell just from his size? To be frank, hes in a completely different league from that old ghost standing next to you."

The princess smiled, hearing that.

"Haha, are you kidding me?"

"Its true. Tell him not to laugh."

Actually, I was being sincere. Even if Bayar Khan came back alive, he wouldnt be able to handle even one arm of King, in my opinion.

In fact, there was a reason why Kings intelligence was so low.

Simple. Because of balance.

To share space with that inevitable, inexorable, transcendent might, intelligence had to take a back seat.

The stats of the ghosts created by [Dance with Ghost Killer] were basically based on the physical ability of the owner. If the power of an ordinary ghost was comparable to that of the master, a captain was about five times stronger. And when two captains merged to create a king, the power

"Even if twenty of me rushed at King at the same time, they wont be able to win. In fact, I dont even know the true power of this guy."

The power, rose multiplicatively, meaning five squared.

The princess complexion stiffened even further at my words. She apparently realized that I wasnt lying in the least.

" I have to admit it. I was underestimating you."

Soon, the princess pulled out her great blade from behind her back, and fixed the reins in place.

"Be careful, because from now on, Ill get serious."

It was the same posture shed had when hitting Mong.

Another shockwave?

By now, I was done analyzing the princesss unique ability.

Her outfit had three main effects

1. Raising her overall physical ability.

2. Extra defence from the armour.

3. Shockwave.

If the first and second effects were common for costume types, the third was unique to the princess.

And I was more or less familiar with this shockwave, for a simple reason. Because this was the most common ability in the mid-to-late half part of Adventure King.

Shockwave was a kind of representative of a unique ability with no individuality, and although it didnt have much importance, it was an ability that characters who definitely cant be called weak usually had.

It was easy to guess why the princess had such a common ability. Because she was originally a character whose unique ability didnt need to be set in detail. Compared to her background, her unique ability wasnt that important.

In a way, it was natural. Because I hadnt been there in the original, and Eastland hadnt even appeared before the readers at this point. Naturally, the princess unique abilities also didnt appear.

Of course, if hed known in advance that the situation would turn out like this, the author wouldve put in a lot more effort into setting it, but

Anyway, the fact that the princess used shockwave was quite fortuitous for me.

Because unlike other esoteric abilities, powers set as strong like shockwave didnt need specific countermeasures. Even a simple punch could offset it.

But, of course,

"King, dont let your guard down."

"Weak cant you see?"

"Listen. Half your power no, you might have to use about seventy percent."

That is, if the opponent could stand it.

Then,

"Now try and stop me!"

The princess began to charge.

The wide distance between us quickly narrowed.

When I saw the ball of energy that had started to condense at the tip of the princess blade, I couldnt help but feel stunned.

Huh? She might be stronger than I thought?

Moreover, as the distance shortened, the pressure prickling on my skin became stronger and stronger.

Was this how it felt to look a rushing subway train in the eye?

"K-, King! Not seventy, use ninety percent!"

Soon,

Bang-!

A huge explosion bloomed at the point of contact.

Even though Id taken refuge behind King, I could feel a strong shock.

But,

"Weak weak too weak! I am King!"

King was great.

He was so exuberant that I was the one feeling embarrassed.

"Seventy percent fine hmph!"

I couldnt help but agree as I watched King raise his arms in a victors pose.

"Huh isnt he great?"

Id been underestimating him all this time, apparently.

In fact, King hadnt been very eye-catching in the original. Apart from drawing some attention when hed first appeared.

The reason was simple, because Yan himself was neither an adversary nor a strong man. Moreover, from a certain point onwards, hed focused on his role as a guide, so he hadnt even used King in many situations.

As a result, hed never fully realized the power King held.

As I was coming to understand, King was truly a cheat entity.

His ability was fixed in proportion based on the owners body.

It was natural that the stronger the summoner, the stronger the summoned being or object would be, but beyond a certain point, that got adjusted for the sake of balance.

However, it was different for guys with fixed formulae like this. Although I, who was the base reference value, might get adjusted for the sake of power balance at any time, the formula itself wouldnt change.

And I was different from Yan.

I was an existence whose power and ability was directly tied to my character rank (or class), and as long as my rank rose, my physical ability would also increase endlessly.

This meant my king could also become infinitely stronger. And his strength would be twenty-five times my own.

Along with that realization came a feeling that the huge ghost somehow looked adorable.

That was then.

"Not yet."

The princess whod taken up her great sword attacked again.

The condensed sphere of energy at the tip of her blade was larger than before.

Then,

Bang-!

Bang-!

Bang bang!!!

Explosions began ringing out one after another.

It was truly a terrifying attack. Trenches were furrowed all over the battlefield in the aftermath, making even a single spot of flat land difficult to find.

But nevertheless,

"You too weak!"

King wasnt harmed.

Or rather, instead of being completely untouched, he didnt show any sign of a wound.

Then,

"Haaaaagh!"

As if the princess couldnt stand it any longer, she roared with anger.

The ghostly figure of Bayar Khan came into existence behind her.

"Didnt you say you wanted us fight together? So this isnt cowardly."

Hed finally decided to mobilize his power, it seemed.

And Bayar Khan seemed to have fulfilled my request and conveyed my earlier words to her.

Therefore,

"Yeah, yeah, Ive been waiting. I told you, come at me together from the beginning."

I also took action.

Of course, I didnt do anything great. I just came out to the front instead of staying behind King. To set the scene properly, giving the two sides a matching feel.

Then, the conflict resumed again.

Bang-!

How long had it been?

"Why dont you try some more?"

I looked at the princess, who was breathing heavily.

However, she didnt answer, only gasping for breath.

In the end, they didnt manage to completely break through Kings defence.

In fact, if the princess had tried something else other than recklessly trying to attack him head on, the result mightve been different. The king was strong, but he didnt have any tactical or strategic acumen to speak of.

The princess attacks were fierce, but just as honest as her opposite party. It was a common mistake for newborn characters who were drunk on their own power.

"Hahhhhhhhhhhhh."

"Are you knackered out already? Cant even attack?"

""

In fact, from some point on in the fight, King had stopped attacking the princess first. Hed only counterattacked.

Id deliberately ordered him to do so, to show the readers his superiority. That he was holding back quite a bit.

Of course, this didnt mean that King was completely unharmed.

He had some holes here and there, his speech was a little slower than before, and his overall size had shrunk a jot.

But he was still much better off than the princess. She really looked like it was hard for her to even stand.

And precisely this situation,

Isnt this fine?

It was the best scenario I could think of.

Now that Id proven my strength and the princess hadnt yet been defeated, I could give up on the match.

Now was the right time.

"At this point, I can say you passed."

I brought out the words Id prepared earlier.

" What?"

"I think youll be fine from here on out. Youve grown up well."

"?"

"My test ends with this. My purpose from the beginning was not to pass the Warriors Path, but to unleash your ability. Bayar Khan asked me, huhu."

"What are you talking about?"

"Youve grown stronger, Princess Thermis. Strong to stand against me. Ill stop here. Ill be cheering you on in the future, so let me resign from this battle"

That was then.

"What are you talking about? Bayar Khan never said anything like that."

" Eh?"

"Are you scared? Please dont run away."

""

What a variable!

"No, thats not it"

"Lets just do it one more time. Ive rested enough, I think? If this doesnt work, Ill give up."

Then she slowly got up and raised her sword.

"No, wait wait a minute."

"Yeah, you really are strong. I admit it. Still, Ill just have to try."

Everythings ruined.

For those newly awakened, one clich always applied unconditionally. When they lost all their strength, theyd pass out.

If the princess fainted, thered be no way out.

Id win right away.

It was a disaster!

No, wait, wait, wait. Is this really alright?

As I watched the princess prepare for a final blow, I fell into utter confusion.

If this was her last ultimate blow, the plot might really develop towards a mutual KO.

But when I thought about it, that didnt mean I was going to lose. King might be defeated by her final blow, but Id still be standing. It was unlikely that the author would suddenly bestow the princess with power beyond plausibility.

Then I would win.

Until recently, Id honestly thought that the author might reverse the original development. Binding me, not the princess, to the Skull Empire.

But watching her awaken, Id changed my mind. I thought the storyline would get back on track.

The reason was simple. Because the princess had taken all the spotlight so far through her beautiful awakening and flashy show of strength.

Wouldnt it be strange to create such a character and then throw it away?

If I defeated the princess here, her character would become meaningless. A character designed as the final winner, defeated at its first appearance?

And if that happened, all the future developments planned in advance would also become useless.

It was confusing.

Was this really alright?

Would she really lose here like this?

Really?

"Lets go!"

"Ugh! Who cares! King, a hundred percent! Lets just throw some hands and see what happens!"

That was then.

Wait a moment! Wait a moment!!

A shout sounded from somewhere like a miracle.

A voice echoed in the air as if coming through a megaphone.

Can I stop you two for a second?

Surprisingly, the one speaking was Khan.

And Khan was the only person on this battlefield who could stop the princess from acting.

""

After I confirmed that the princess ball of energy had stopped growing, I also took a step back.

"I think its Khan? Lets see what he wants first."

""

The princess, whod been lost in thought for a moment, also lowered her sword, although she looked unwilling, like she didnt have a choice in the matter.

Soon after,

Did you stop? Oh, did you both stop? Im glad. I was wondering what to do if I was late.

Khans playful voice rang out again.

Sorry for interrupting. Its no big deal, its just I had a meeting with the ministers a while ago, you know? This is the first time in the history of the Warriors Path that weve seen two so powerful contestants so how about having both camps win? From the empires point of view, to be honest, its not very pleasant to win one and lose the other. How about you, my people? I think the rules were broken from the point the general was included, anyway. Since this is how things are shall we pass the both of them?

Then,

"Oooooh!"

"Great idea!"

"Right!"

The cheers of the people could be heard from far away.

So how about it, you two?

""

Thats right.

Id been thinking this whole time, that something was odd. Two incompatible developments seemed to be progressing at the same time.

Hes got a good head on his shoulders.

The main plot thread with the princess becoming the emperor would continue, while also tying me down as a bonus.

A well-thought-out scheme, all in all.

I didnt know if this was the emperors own idea or the authors intention shining through.

And since Id already mentioned surrendering, I couldnt possibly refuse.

After the princess and I both agreed, the rest was easy.

At Khans command, the test was immediately announced to be over, and for the first time in history, two camps were registered as victors.

In addition, Khan proceeded with the pledging ceremony on the spot. A ritual in which those who passed through the Warriors Path decided who they would be loyal to.

For some reason, he didnt want to delay even a single second.

The first was the princess.

As if she had already thought it through, she spoke immediately.

"I will serve the empire itself, not anybody specific within the empire!"

It mightve sounded confusing, but no one objected. Rather, everyone nodded, probably because this was exactly the same declaration that Bayar Khan had made in the past.

As everyone had seen with their own eyes, she was the one blessed with Bayar Khans protection.

Next was my turn.

In fact, this oath of allegiance was what I had to avoid the most. This was the basis of the fetters that would lock me here.

Well, its already too late for that, but

However, fortunately, Id already devised a plan for this, just in case.

Of course, it wasnt my best option.

But depending on you looked at it, it might not be all that bad.

"The one I will be loyal to is the woman next to me. A warrior like me, an indomitable woman who has risen to this position through many hardships and life and death. And who will lead the bright future of the Skull Empire."

Then, I winked at the princess who was looking at me in shock.

"Ive done all I could, so now its time for me to go."

Editors Notes:

None for this chapter.