How long had I been unconscious? When I opened my eyes, I could still see the adventurers rushing toward Erebus. Judging by their almost unchanged positions, I must have just woken up.
Where is Lisbeth...?
While searching for the three fugitives, I found them gathered near where I last saw them.
It looked like Ars had collapsed against a tree, likely struck by a black orb that flew past.
"Phew..." I naturally rose, supporting myself with my hands. I could sense the current state of my body.
Two hands with thick, clumsy fingers and dark brown skin appeared in my field of vision. Below, two legs with hooves were visible. For some reason, I felt like the muzzle still retained the shape of a horse.
Humanization skill. Although imperfect, it was exactly what I dreamed of. My body transformed into a bipedal, humanoid form with arms.
I felt a strange surge of power within me. So what if it was a little different than I expected? This body was much more agile than in horse form. She wrapped the cloth she wore back around her waist. Then she looked at Erebus, besieged by adventurers.
"This creature is still a cub..." The goddess's memories, imprinted in her mind after rethinking this information, revealed that Erebus was still a newborn infant.
And it seemed to have some problems; it was an imperfect product that even heroes couldn't fully comprehend.
However, it had absorbed the insects of several heroes and could use these powers to generate infinite energy—that was the same thing. Moreover, its endurance should have surpassed that of heroes.
"But I don't think I'll lose to that thing." She took a deep breath, feeling her new body fill with power. It... was worth a try.
A black sphere appeared around Erebus again. Upon seeing it, she immediately rushed toward Lisbeth.
"Ah...ah!? Se-Semo!?" Lisbeth, leaning against a tree next to Ars, noticed me first, her expression filled with shock. Immediately, the black spheres expanded, one of them flying toward the place where Lisbeth, Ars, and Claire had gathered.
"Whoa!" My fist struck the black sphere directly, causing it to explode and disappear. Then I looked at Lisbeth and asked.
"Lisbeth. Where's Ars?"
"Uh, uh? Ah, Ars is protecting us in that black sphere... Oh, no, but Shimo...? Is that you...?"
"We'll talk about this later." Let's deal with this kitten first."
With these words, he broke through the dust kicked up by the black spheres and delivered a downward kick with his hoof, striking one of Erebus's heads.
"Ah!?" Erebus's head twisted, as if broken, from the downward kick. The instant I landed, I unleashed a hail of blows on his other two heads.
"One blow is enough for this guy! No, two! No, three!" Having never possessed any combat skills, I knew nothing of striking technique and could only rely on brute force, mercilessly pounding with my fists.
"Crunch! Cough! Horror!" These random strikes were surprisingly effective. Each powerful blow caused the twelve eyes to tremble violently, and cries of agony erupted from their throats.
"Chirp! Chirp!" Erebus, under relentless attack, suddenly reared, but I was no longer the defenseless steed I once was. I immediately summoned all my strength to parry the blow.
"That little brat, you're tired too!" The adventurer swarm attack had indeed worked. Now I felt a different weight from his wildly flailing paws. I grabbed his head with each hand and pushed him into a corner.
"Mages! Give that brat a magical slap on the flank!" While I pushed and punched him, shouting, the mages unleashed a hail of spells.
Judging by the occasional arrows and short swords flying past, all the adventurers behind me had spontaneously united to attack.
They should all have been exhausted, but the look on their faces betrayed a desperate attempt to squeeze out their last bit of strength.
"Fireball!" "I heard Lisbeth's voice somewhere in the middle. Had she heard my scream and come to my aid? A small fireball, apparently Lisbeth's magic, flew through the air and pierced the boy's side.
"Aaah! Cough, squeak!" Every time my blows and spells hit their mark, the black smoke rising from Erebus's body grew thicker.
Even though I couldn't see the wound, it was clearly effective...! "Anyone who dares challenge me deserves it! Right leg! Left arm! A beating is fair!" Remembering the phrase of the man who had been doused with fresh milk, I continued to mercilessly attack Erebus for some time until he finally collapsed.
I immediately jumped up and crushed half his head with my horse's hoof, the skull exploding into black smoke and dissipating.
"Zip...zip..."
Then, starting with its exploding head, its entire body collapsed, belching black smoke... and finally, the enormous figure vanished completely. "...It's dead." Dead.
This creature, born with the wrath of the goddess, is doomed to perish.
In other words... the destruction of the other world is postponed!
When this thing completely vanished, the surrounding and
The adventurers rejoiced.
Those previously tired faces now shone with a bright, victorious light.
"Shimo!!!" Lisbeth broke through the jubilation and ran toward me. And indeed, the voice I heard halfway there belonged to Lisbeth. I immediately wanted to hug her.
"Shimo! What happened to your body?! Where's your broken leg?!"
"Ah~ I woke up like this. Come to think of it, my leg seems to have completely healed." Lisbeth smiled, her face shining with joy. Ah, she's so sweet. I don't care about Ars anymore; I just want to hug her tightly.
"Oh, by the way, where's Ars?"
"I'm fine." Ars grabbed my hand and came over with Clea. Though his face was covered in cold sweat, he seemed to be moving with difficulty.
"Clea, don't you have the ability to heal? "It seems you used something on the Hero."
"I used up all my remaining Ether and was able to cast a spell... but it only healed my broken ribs and leg injuries... I'm so sorry..." What?
He looks fine, but I didn't expect his injuries to be more serious than I thought.
"I'm okay, Shimo, I'm so glad you're okay... I thought something terrible would happen..."
Ars sighed with relief. "By the way, I need to do something first."
"Klea."
"You?" I called to Klea, immediately picking her up. Although Klea looked about 170 cm taller, I was much larger.
"Uh, ah!? W-what...!?" Then I sat down on the ground, letting Klea lie facedown on my lap.
I felt the surprising elasticity of her breasts as I dropped to one knee, but now was not the time to worry about that.
"Uh, Mr. Shimo...?" Klaya stared at me, her eyes tightly closed.
Then I lifted Klaya's skirt, revealing her buttocks in panties and stockings.
The buttons on the torn skirt flew off, and gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd.
And I... *smack!*
I slapped Klaya's plump, voluptuous buttocks.
"Ow! What are you doing?!" *smack!*
*smack!*
"Ow! Ow! That hurts! Stop hitting me!" The blow, delivered with greater force, echoed loudly with its elasticity.
Lisbeth and Ars looked shocked, and the surrounding adventurers stirred slightly.
I yelled at Klaya:
"We agreed beforehand, and you still ended up in danger! What were you even thinking?!" *smack!*
*smack!*
*smack!* "Ow! Ow! That hurts!"
"You almost caused a disaster! The adventurers suffered even more losses trying to protect us! Do you even have a brain?!" *smack!*
*smack!*
*smack!*
*smack!*
"Ow... that hurts...!"
"My leg is also broken! If I hadn't deactivated my beast form in time, I would have died long ago! Right?!"
*smack!*
"Ow, ah, that hurts so much... don't, don't hit me anymore...!"
*smack!*
"Do you understand what you did wrong?! Tell me!?"
*Smack!*
"Ow! Uh... I know I was wrong..."
"Too soft!" *Smack!*
"Ow! I, I really know I was wrong! Don't, don't hit me anymore...!"
"You know what you did wrong?! Get hit again!" *Smack!*
"Ow! Ow... Ow..." Tears streamed down Claire's tightly closed eyes, her face flushed.
Her translucent brown panties and stockings were torn in several places across her buttocks, revealing fragments of underwear and a swollen, reddened buttock.
The men awkwardly turned their faces or backs away, and the women, inexplicably blushing, glanced at them.
He ripped off Clea's dress, a button missing, picked her up, and began questioning her.
"Do you know why I'm angry?"
"Waaah... wahh... it... it was my recklessness... that put everyone in danger..."
"That's right. And one more thing." He placed his hand on Klia's shoulder, looking at her tear-stained face.
"I'm angry because you didn't care about your own safety. Don't do that again. Understand?"
Hearing this, Klia burst into tears, wiping away her tears and stuttering, "I didn't understand what I meant and started talking."
"Ah... I understand... I'm so sorry... waaah..."
"Hm. Okay. It's okay... Ars. It's over." Turning around, I saw Lisbeth staring blankly at us, her face slightly flushed, while Ars turned away, his ears bright red. Ars turned back to me, coughing several times.
"Cough, cough... After Shimo got what he deserved, he became so uncontrollable."
"Ah, it's simply incredible to have arms! I'm so glad I can fly!"
A pleasant, refreshing feeling washed over me. Having arms is such bliss. It seems I really can do anything.
After my punishment ended, the adventurers, who had been in an awkward mood, tidied up the surroundings, began tending to the wounded who couldn't move, and prepared to move on.
For some reason, it seemed like everyone had accomplished something, and their steps were surprisingly light on the way back.
"But Shimo... his muscles really did become exaggeratedly large and intimidating after the body change... He was impressive before, but it's especially noticeable now, as his physique can be directly compared to a human's." "...Really?" At that moment, my lower body was covered only by a strip of cloth; I was
Almost half-naked.
Looking over my body, I realized my muscles were no joke.
For some reason, the female adventurers surrounding me kept stealing glances at me... "...Even so, it's just a face. Has your face changed in any way?"
I touched my face and asked Lisbeth.
"No significant changes... but my face and neck seem to have shrunk a little to accommodate my body size."
"I see..." Just as I was touching my face, feeling somewhat disappointed, the same adventurer who, judging by the looks of it, had taken the photos earlier approached me.
"Oh, Divine Beastmaster. Truly admirable. You've certainly demonstrated astonishing strength befitting a divine beast."
"Oh, it's the gentleman who seemed to be taking the photos earlier. Nice to meet you." After these pleasantries, the man I'd assumed was an adventurer introduced himself as a government official from the lord's city, responsible for documentation and photography. No wonder he was so calm. "That heroic pose when you beat the Hero-Eater was so valiant... Can I have some photos?" I readily agreed and asked if the square box hanging around my neck was a photo, to which he showed me the box.
"Yes. Its official name is the Magic Printing Machine. It's a device that uses Ethel's energy to project the image of a crystal ball onto paper. It produces photos like these."
As we talked, he showed several photos of adventurers. They looked like they were taken with a Polaroid camera. Hmm... if a government official uses one, don't they have digital cameras?
As I was scrolling through the photos one by one… a photo of me physically abusing Claire appeared in the middle… and I stared at the photo in which Claire's buttocks were completely exposed," the civil servant explained, sweating profusely.
"Ah, th-that... I had absolutely no ulterior motives...!"
Ah, alright. But I did have ulterior motives. I casually said I'd handle it myself, and after making sure there were no other photos, I removed the four photos in which Claire's buttocks were visible.
But since we have a Polaroid camera... it might come in handy.
Just as I was pondering how to use this idea that had occurred to me while I was looking through the camera, I suddenly saw the entrance to the dungeon.
When all the adventurers had departed and the spatial gate had vanished before they could return, I had a strange feeling I could do it, so I focused my mind.
Zip...
"Ah, huh...? What is this, Shimo...?"
"Oh... I knew it..." My body seemed to turn into smoke, then resumed its horse form.
That means... I can change form!
"Wow. It was just a guess, but it actually worked. I always felt it was possible..."
"Although this is the first time I've seen it with my own eyes... I've heard that divine beasts can return to their original forms..." Ars and Lisbeth looked surprised.
Click.
Now I can simultaneously use the horse's agility.
My joy seemed to double.
I leaned over so Ars and Lisbeth could mount me and said to Klea,
"Klea. Get on too. We can take one more person."
"Okay, okay..."
Perhaps due to the punishment, Klea, standing nearby in confusion, fidgeted and lifted her hips after I ordered her to straddle me. The button on her skirt came undone, and with each movement of her legs, her stockinged legs peeked through the gap, creating a rather tempting sight.
"Ah...! Uh..." Perhaps due to the pain in her buttocks from the punishment, she trembled as she rose, then hesitantly sat back down. Heh-heh. Very good, very good. Extremely pleasant.
Enjoying the curious glances of the adventurers and occasionally answering their questions, she unknowingly found herself in Ladia.
"Phew~ Finally... I can live in the city as a human..."
Returning to her human form, she raised her hands and looked around the city with excitement.
The thought of being able to freely enter and exit the buildings she'd previously only gazed at with admiration, leaving behind the musty, fetid warehouses and living in human dwellings, made her feel completely new.
"Strictly speaking, you're still like a monster... Are you really that happy?" Lisbeth chuckled, standing next to her.
After the Battle of Erepos, her previous aloofness had vanished.
Her joy had more than doubled, maybe even tripled... The travelers split up: the seriously wounded headed straight for the church, the rest to the administrative office.
I quietly called out to Clea, who was heading toward the church.
"Ah, Clea."
"Y-yes? Did something happen?" She turned around, frightened. Where were they going?
"I almost died saving you, shouldn't I apologize?"
"Y-yes... I'm so sorry..."
"A verbal apology isn't enough, is it?" Hearing this, Clea hesitated for a moment.
and then she dug in her pocket as if she were taking out her wallet.
Trying to dissuade her, on the way back, I dropped the bait needed for the devious operation I'd planned.
"If you feel unwell, buy me a drink later. Since we can go to the tavern, I'd like to try one too." The real punishment is just beginning, bitch.