WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: nemui
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈
Vol. 4 Ch. 6: Q. Is a Cape Necessary? A. Yes, Because It Looks Cool
──────
Theo ran, following Lenny's senses. Lenny seemed to be winding through extremely narrow paths, and Theo, unfamiliar with the area, struggled to find his way.
If Lenny had not been tracking it, Theo would have lost it long ago.
Then Carla descended, blocking out the moonlight. There was no one around, so no one would be startled by Carla flying through the air.
"Up ahead, there's an open area with few people... Rosé is waiting there."
The direction Carla pointed was slightly off from the direction the Termea was fleeing.
Hulk looked around.
"Then we just need to guide it there. Luckily, there aren't many people around here. We'll move across the rooftops too. Don't lose your footing, Theo."
"R-Right!"
His physical abilities had risen dramatically during Curse Armament Manifestation, but this was his first time leaping across rooftops.
He had been fairly nervous at first, but he got used to it surprisingly quickly. Back in Worg, he had trained with Allen by exchanging sword strikes while hopping across stepping stones.
It had been extremely difficult to accurately judge his stride and jumping distance, keep his balance, and dodge Allen's attacks. Compared to that, jumping from roof to roof was easy.
He was glad Allen had also taught him how to fight on unstable footing.
"Rosé is a Strengthening type too, right? Is she bad at jumping onto rooftops and things like that?"
"Cherry Beauty isn't that slow, but she breaks things right away. That's why we make her wait where she can cut loose without tearing up the city."
"I see... Ah!"
While following Lenny's senses, Theo noticed something. There was a wide road in the direction Lenny was heading.
"The Termea is probably heading for the main street ahead!"
"All right. Then we'll get ahead of it."
"Hulk, I have an idea."
Theo hesitated, wondering how to explain it.
But before he could say everything, Hulk urged him on.
"Fine by me. I'll cover you from below, and Carla will cover you from above. Give it everything you've got."
"Thank you!"
Theo sped up and circled around to the exit leading to the main street.
The Termea should be crawling through the gaps between buildings, making its way toward the main street.
（Thanks to Lenny, I know. It'll probably come out here.）
Theo waited in front of the gap between two buildings. He dismissed his shield and sword so he could use both hands.
All that remained was to say it aloud. When trying something for the first time, it was better to use his voice.
"'Curse Armament Manifestation: A knight's cape is for protecting the weak.'"
Instead of appearing over his clothes as usual, the cape manifested in his hands. It was large enough to block the passage.
Theo quickly tied the spread-out red-black cape to protrusions on the buildings.
He would block the Termea's exit with this cloth.
The Termea stabbed its regenerated Blood Tail into it, but it could not pierce Theo's cape.
If it charged hard enough, it could probably tear the cloth away. But it would get tangled in it for a few seconds, giving Theo and the others an opening to attack all at once.
Theo did not know whether the Termea had thought that far ahead, but perhaps it sensed a trap, because it changed course.
Theo immediately dismissed the manifested cape and pursued the Termea from the rooftops.
Hulk ran beside him.
"That curtain... no, tablecloth? Looks like it could be useful in all sorts of ways."
"It's a cape! A knight's cape!"
"Hey, Theo. I get the sword, shield, and spurs, but does a knight really need a cape?"
"They do! Absolutely!"
In the stories Theo loved, a knight's cape was useful in all sorts of ways.
A knight could drape it over the heroine, wrap up and carry things in it, or sometimes use it to distract an enemy.
His yearning for such knightly tales had manifested as this cape.
Theo flared his nostrils as he passionately explained, and Hulk grinned, showing his white teeth.
"Curse Armament Manifestation evolves depending on its user. Keep trying anything you think you can do."
"Yes!"
Hulk could not use Curse Armament Manifestation, but he was the oldest member of the Gray Knights after Carla.
Theo was grateful that someone who understood how Gray Knights fought was watching over his efforts and giving him advice.
Theo answered with a firm, "Yes!"
Then Carla, flying at rooftop height, spoke to them.
"...Rosé is ahead."
"We've driven it into position. Now it's Cherry Beauty's job."
Running across the rooftops, Theo narrowed his eyes.
In the open space beyond where the buildings ended stood a woman with pinkish hair.
Her back was slumped, and she held a massive battle-axe taller than herself in one hand.
* * *
Rosé had been waiting in an empty lot on the outskirts when she heard someone call, "Rosé!" She raised her bowed head.
Her movements were slow and languid, as though her head were terribly heavy.
When she spotted Carla in the night sky, Rosé tightened her grip on her battle-axe.
The battle-axe had not been created through Curse Armament Manifestation. It was a custom battle-axe made of Red Steel.
Rosé had no talent for Manifestation, and all the power of her curse was devoted to physical Strengthening, so she carried a weapon with her.
"...It's here."
A red-black mass burst from between the buildings.
The mass wobbled and quivered, then swiftly became a giant spider.
Rosé smiled despite herself. The bigger the enemy, the better. That meant she could enjoy herself longer.
（Come now, Charles. Let's dance.）
Though she murmured sweetly in her heart, what escaped her mouth was a beastlike growl.
"Raaaaaaaaah!"
Rosé charged with a roar.
The Termea launched its Blood Tail at her. Rosé narrowly evaded it and brought down her axe.
The spider-like Termea caught the blow with the carapace covering its body.
Carapace-Bearers were troublesome. Even attacks from strengthened Gray Knights bounced off them.
But that did not matter to Rosé.
The battle-axe swung down by her sickly thin arm split the Termea in two, carapace and all.
The smaller piece that fell to the ground began to harden. But more than half of it was still full of life. A Termea would not die unless its volume was reduced to less than half.
"Raaah!"
Each time she swung the battle-axe, it cut through the air with a whoom, whoom. Between those sounds, Rosé heard a hallucinated voice.
"Watch out for the Blood Tail. Some Carapace-Bearers can launch Blood Tails from the surface of their shells."
A young man's gentle voice warned Rosé.
（Yes, Charles. I'll be careful.）
Rosé smiled, ecstasy in her heart and a vicious expression on her face.
"Hff, hahaha! Ahahahahahaha!"
Just as Charles had warned, bumps rose across the carapace's surface. Blood Tails sprouted from them and aimed for Rosé.
Rosé twisted her neck to avoid them, then grabbed a Blood Tail with her left hand, the hand not holding her battle-axe.
"Rrrraaaaaaaaaah!"
Roaring like a bear, Rosé swung the Termea's huge body around with one hand.
Though she had cut some of it away, it still had considerable mass. Rosé swung it with her off hand and slammed it into the ground.
"Hmph!"
Rosé did it again and again, lifting the Termea and smashing it down, lifting it and smashing it down.
This was not how a warrior or knight fought. It was the way someone fought when they only wanted to rage, like a child's tantrum.
"Don't die so easily, you damn Termea. Try harder, or I won't be able to hear Charles's voice."
The impacts were not enough to kill the Termea, but they could stop its movements for a few seconds.
Rosé raised her battle-axe with both hands and hacked it into the Termea's body again and again.
Her face devoid of reason or sanity, she laughed shrilly.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
