Arthur Vs. The Cockatrice

“Fuhahaha! Just a little more, you damn bird!!”

“Kwaaah!!”

With a bold cry, Arthur entered the poisonous swamp where any ordinary person would die instantly. The Cockatrice let out a startled screech in response.

And rightly so—what it witnessed was an impossible scene. The water that had once been a lake was now fully dominated by the Cockatrice’s venomous blood.

Any living being other than the Cockatrice should have perished instantly just by entering. In fact, as Arthur stepped in, his boots sizzled audibly, beginning to melt.

But Arthur didn’t even notice.

Here’s what was happening to him:

Arthur was poisoned.

Immediately, he purified himself.

Arthur was poisoned again.

He purified again.

He repeated this about five times per second.

It was basically a cheat skill.

“Kweeeh!?”

“Incredible… To be completely unaffected by that level of poison? Impossible… And to enter such a deadly swamp without hesitation—what courage!! This must be the successor of the Holy King…”

“Amazing!! Charging boldly through that deadly poison… This is Prince Arthur’s power—and character… A true hero!!”

As the Cockatrice’s awe turned to fear, Elaine and Tristan continued to raise Arthur’s reputation in their minds without restraint.

Of course, Arthur wasn’t thinking about any of that. But Elaine and Tristan had no way of knowing.

“Kweeeeeh!!”

“Uooooooh!!”

Panicking at this incomprehensible creature, the Cockatrice acted reflexively.

Its snake tail, not meant for attack, lashed out and swept Arthur’s legs. Arthur, who had been running at full speed, flew straight at the Cockatrice, and in an attempt to grab onto something, accidentally seized the base of its tail.

Frankly, if the Cockatrice had tried to escape, Arthur—who possessed only average physical ability—would never have caught up. But the monster was so confused and instinctively terrified by Arthur charging through the poison that it faltered.

“I don’t really get it, but purifyyyyyyy!!”

Once he had it in his grasp, it was Arthur’s specialty. Assuming “poison = bad,” he unleashed healing light across the Cockatrice’s entire body, purging its venom.

“KWEHHHHHHHHHH!?!?”

“Fuhahaha! Did you really think you could defeat me, you stupid bird?! I’ll eat you up real good later!!”

The Cockatrice thrashed to break free, but its struggles gradually weakened. With the poison—its source of strength—disappearing, it was in agony.

Just as it tried to dunk its head into the swamp to absorb more venom—

“Arthur!! You’re not doing this alone!! Purification!!”

Just as Arthur was about to claim victory, Elaine began purifying as well. Her range was broader, cleansing the entire lake’s water.

She had cut off the Cockatrice’s means of recovery.

‘Damn that woman… She’s not going to let me hog all the glory!!’

Arthur glared at her, realizing what she was doing. But Elaine, oblivious, simply smiled and nodded, proud of her support. A tragic misunderstanding.

With Elaine purifying the lake and Arthur purifying the Cockatrice, the lingering poison around them began to fade—

“Now’s the time!!”

“Kwee…ehh…”

Just as the poisonous influence vanished, Tristan loosed an arrow that pierced the Cockatrice right between the eyes. Its twitching body slowly fell still—until it moved no more.

“Well done, Tristan!! Fuhahaha, looks like victory is mine!! ‘Far more capable than me, Prince Arthur is…’—Gweh!?”

Arthur, a man who subscribed to the philosophy of “My subordinates’ achievements are my achievements,” laughed triumphantly, assuming Elaine had finally admitted defeat. But suddenly, he was enveloped in something soft and squishy, and reeled from the impact.

Elaine had lunged forward and thrown her arms around Arthur. Naturally, the frail prince couldn’t bear the force and toppled backward into the lake.

“What were you thinking, charging in like that!? Even you could’ve died, you know!?”

Arthur was about to complain, but Elaine’s desperate expression stunned him.

‘Wait… She’s not upset because she lost to me…? This looks more like the kind of worry Kei once showed me…’

Memories from his previous life resurfaced, and Arthur couldn’t bring himself to speak harshly.

“Come on… there’s no way I’d die from poison like that…”

“That doesn’t mean you had to take such reckless risks!! I know you’re brave, and kind, and amazing!! But if something happened to you, there are people who would be heartbroken!! I’m just so glad you’re safe…”

“Gugh…!”

She hugged him tighter—so tight he couldn’t breathe.

‘This woman… Is she trying to kill me since she couldn’t outshine me?! Dammit—she’s strong!!’

Arthur tried to push her off, but she didn’t budge an inch. He didn’t feel pain, but he was on the verge of suffocating when he heard Tristan teasingly speak up.

“Fufu, the Saintess seems quite bold. I’m rather envious… But before we celebrate the birth of a new hero, shouldn’t we deal with the Cockatrice’s remains?”

“Wha…?! It’s not like that!!”

“Gwaah… I can finally breathe…”

Elaine quickly pulled away from Arthur. As he wheezed, trying to recover, he felt her eyes on him.

Blushing furiously, Elaine declared,

“I-I don’t like you or anything, okay!?”

‘I already knew that!!’

Still gasping for air, Arthur thought to himself. But for some reason, being called a hero by those two left a strange warmth blooming in his chest.