Accompanied by the sound of flesh being pierced, Diego stood atop the thunderously collapsing venomous demonic dragon.
At this time, Diego was still five years away from disappearing…
Hiss hiss…
Diego exhaled bursts of white breath from his mouth. His eyes glowed with an eerie red light. His dinosaurified face, combined with his blood-soaked body, looked exceptionally ferocious and terrifying.
The elf Sui, injured from the battle against the venomous demonic dragon, knelt naked on the ground. She remained motionless, staring blankly at the man before her.
"You really are violent…" Frieren came jogging over, holding her staff.
"What are you talking about…" Diego jumped down from the venomous demonic dragon and walked up to Frieren. "You were the one who attacked first, weren't you? That rock you controlled was huge—the venomous demonic dragon was almost smashed to death by you."
"Come on, that level would only knock it out at most." Frieren said with a serious face.
"Fair enough. Let's talk later." Diego turned and walked toward the nearby elf. "You…"
As the blood mist from the dead venomous demonic dragon gradually dissipated, Diego's face finally became clear to the elf.
The elf—who had just breathed a sigh of relief—suddenly darkened. She clutched her injured left shoulder and stared fixedly at Diego.
"…Orc face!!"
Diego's expression darkened as well. He sighed, dispelled his dinosaurification, and revealed his original face.
He then yanked off his black sweater and tossed it onto the elf's face.
"!!" The elf instinctively shrank back and tightly shut her eyes, thinking she was about to be assaulted by a beastly Diego.
"No taste… It's clearly very handsome. Considering you wore the venomous demonic dragon down to almost nothing, I'm giving you this sweater to cover up."
"?!"
The elf hugged the black sweater and slowly opened her eyes. She saw Diego cutting off one of the venomous demonic dragon's horns from its head, then gesturing to Frieren as they slowly walked away.
The elf stared blankly at Diego's departing figure. When she looked down, she realized her own clothes were completely torn and offered no meaningful coverage at all.
"Kyaa!"
The elf's face flushed red. She hurriedly put on the oversized black sweater, covering her smooth, snow-white skin.
"I… I was seen completely…"
…
The next day.
The elf found Diego and the others just as they were about to leave town.
At this moment, Diego was leaning against the wall in a small alley, one hand holding his hat down to cover his face and avoid being recognized by passersby. He looked nothing like the ferocious figure from last night.
His body was tightly huddled in the corner. His beloved horse Silver Bullet stood beside him, blocking the line of sight, quietly waiting for Frieren to exchange the venomous demonic dragon's horn for magical tools.
"…Esteemed warrior, please forgive my extreme rudeness last night." The elf knelt on one knee, displaying impeccable courtesy.
"…It's nothing. We each got what we needed." Diego kept his face covered; his expression beneath the hat couldn't be seen. "Hey, how about making a deal with me?"
"?!" The elf stood up, looking at Diego in confusion.
"You leave this place right now, and the debt of me saving your life last night is canceled." Diego extended his hand, pointing behind the elf. "I'm warning you in advance—don't come near me."
"What do you mean? I don't understand… If you just need me to leave, that's completely fine. But the life-saving grace from yesterday… I want to repay it as much as possible…"
A strong gust of wind blew past, sending Diego's hat flying and landing in front of the elf.
The elf picked up the hat and brought it to Diego. Her pupils shrank as she realized the face of her savior gradually overlapped with the face on a wanted poster.
!!
So that's how it is… Last night, under the cover of darkness and blood, I couldn't recognize him. This man is…
Diego Brando!!
The most heinous criminal in human history!!
Thud…
The elf was tackled to the ground by Diego.
Diego straddled her, his face showing signs of dinosaurification again. He growled lowly into the elf's ear:
"I warned you, elf!"
Diego's heavy breathing constantly disrupted the elf's thoughts.
So… so close. Too close. No wonder he didn't let me see his face clearly—was he afraid his whereabouts would be reported to the guards?
"Don't make a sound… If you don't do exactly as I say, you will die without question." Diego's ears twitched. Then he lifted the elf off the ground and slammed one hand against the wall.
Scary Monsters granted him overwhelmingly powerful senses of smell, touch, and hearing. Every movement within hundreds of meters formed a 3D-printed map in his mind, allowing him to precisely track the guards' positions.
From a god's-eye view, it looked exactly like a classic wall-pin—locking the elf tightly in place.
The elf's expression turned cold. She slapped Diego's hand away and glared at him with the look one gives a scumbag, shouting with a hint of anger:
"Hmph, you… huh?! Wait, wait wait wait wait?!"
Her sudden tough attitude was instantly broken by Diego's next move. Contrary to what she expected, her body involuntarily let out soft, almost coquettish sounds.
Diego pressed his right hand against the back of the elf's head, their foreheads touching tightly. His left hand pinched her chin as he slowly threatened:
"If you don't want an entire city dragged down because of you and dying by my hand…"
"Do exactly as I say right now. Don't make a sound. Relax your body. No unnatural trembling allowed!"
His hot breath hit the elf's face, completely disrupting her normal thinking. Only one phrase remained in her mind.
So close… so close…
Tap tap tap tap…
The guards were coming!
"Mmph…"
Diego pulled the elf into his arms and kissed her deeply—like lovers in the heat of passion. Their lips were tightly locked, allowing no sound to escape.
The passing guards only glanced over briefly before hurrying on, paying no further attention.
After two seconds of short-circuiting, the assaulted elf suddenly pushed with both hands, trying to shove Diego away.
"Guh… guh… mmph!"
But how could a frail elf push away a man whose physical strength had been infinitely amplified by Heavenly Restriction?
Once he sensed the guards had completely left, Diego let out a breath of relief and released the elf.
"Cough cough cough… Haa—haa—haa—" The elf gulped down long-missed fresh air, trembling as she slowly leaned against the wall—out of Diego's range.
"~~~~~~, Eh?! Ehhh?!" The elf was lost in the reality of being forcibly kissed, ripples forming in her eyes. "Ah… ah…"
Snapping back to her senses, the elf drew a knife and swung it at Diego. He dodged to the side.
"Y-You, you, you—mark my words!" The elf's eyes were red, tears swirling within them. She clenched her fists tightly and shouted at Diego with a mix of shame and fury. "I'll never forget that Orc face of yours!"
"This debt—I will absolutely make you pay!!"
Go forth! My fearsome beasts!
(PS: Scary Monsters refers to Diego's own dinosaurification, while the small dinosaurs he infects are called fearsome beasts.)
"..." Diego released the small dinosaurs to leave the city, then scratched his cheek with an awkward laugh and walked up to the elf.
He extended a hand in an attempt to smooth things over: "Haha… looks like we successfully evaded the guards' pursuit…"
"Get away from me!! Lewd orc!!" The elf threw a small pebble that hit Diego square on the forehead.
Then she clenched both fists and kept "cursing": "Pig head pig head pig head! Idiot idiot idiot! Dummy dummy dummy! You stupid orc!!"
"Haa… haa…" Then she ran off quickly. Just before disappearing, the elf turned back with red eyes and glared at Diego. "Hmph… just you wait! No matter where you run to the ends of the earth, I will make you pay for this!"
What the… I never intended to expose you in the first place…
And what was our dear Miss Frieren doing at this time?
Clack!
At the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild, Miss Frieren stood dumbfounded, having witnessed the entire scene. The magical tool she had been holding slipped from her arms and fell to the ground.
"…What the heck is Dio doing? Did he send me away on purpose just to go force-kiss some civilian girl?"
"Hey~~! Frieren, grab the magical tool—we're heading back to the inn!"
"Oh, okay."
Frieren picked up the magical tool and trotted over to Diego's side.
"Who was that girl just now?"
"Shut up! Don't ask!"
…
Outskirts…
"Traveling with a wanted criminal like you is really troublesome." Not long after leaving the city gates, Frieren called out toward the nearby woods. "Every time we go gather supplies, we have to hide from the guards."
The next second, Diego appeared in front of Frieren and said in a low voice: "Isn't it all for collecting magical tools for you? Otherwise, just buying food wouldn't require being this paranoid."
"Who told you attacking guards is a serious crime? If we don't hide, there'll be a lot of trouble."
"Tch…"
Tap tap tap tap…
Someone was chasing…
Diego's ears twitched as he continued to utilize his dinosaur-enhanced sense of smell.
Sniff sniff…
It's that elf from before.
Diego turned his head, focused into the distance, flashed forward, and appeared in front of the elf—startling her into taking several steps back.
"It's you. Why are you following me?" Diego dug in his ear with his pinky. "If you don't explain clearly, I'll have to treat you as an enemy."
The elf waved her hands to indicate she meant no harm.
After some explanation…
"Hah? You want to join my party?"
Diego took several steps back, slowly moved beside Frieren, crouched slightly, and hugged her.
Frieren: ? (completely out of the loop)
"I refuse!"
"Why… If you insist on a reason…" Diego stepped away from Frieren, spread his hands toward her.
"It's not about whether we're heading the same way. You want to explore and recover lost ancient magical tools, and Frieren is interested in that too. But most importantly…"
"Of course it's because my party already has an elf big sister! Your role overlaps! And if you join as the warrior, then what about me?! What would I even be?!"
The moment Frieren heard this, all sleepiness vanished. She put her hands on her hips and declared confidently: "Hehe~ I'm the older big sister!"
"Being clingy isn't a virtue, Miss Elf. I'll say it again…"
…
"No one can become kono Dio's companion. This Dio only needs subordinates who are loyal to me."
Diego said this to Takanashi Rikka.
While leaving Morioh and preparing to return to the Hori house, he ran into Takanashi Rikka and another lady with yellow hair in twin tails on the street.
"『Master of the Thunder Warhammer』, Dekomori Sanae has arrived! Death!" Dekomori Sanae grabbed her two twin tails and swung them in front of Diego. "You dare say that the wielder of the 『Evil King's True Eye』, Takanashi Rikka, and her foremost servant are unworthy to walk with you!"
Thwack!
A hand chop landed on Dekomori Sanae's head.
"Oww—! Death!"
"So what's with that eyepatch? Did you hurt your eye?" Diego sighed and stared at Takanashi Rikka.
"My contractor 『Scary Monsters』, we finally meet again." Takanashi Rikka covered her eyepatch, showing a nostalgic expression.
Then her body began to twitch rapidly.
"My eye! My eye is resonating! The encounter with you has finally caused the 『Evil King's True Eye』—sealed by the holy adjuster—to show signs of unsealing."
Thwack!
Another hand chop.
"Owww—!"