I Became the Narrow-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss

Dimestes, who has gained overwhelming physical enhancement at the cost of his intellect.

His intelligence remains intact, but his physical abilities are inferior compared to the past Dimestes.

If asked to choose between the two, my immediate response would be “Can’t I just have someone else do it?”

If faced with the necessity of taking on one of them without hesitation, I would choose the current Dimestes, who has lost his intellect.

Once a being has self-awareness and reason, the difficulty of reading the attacks of living beings skyrockets.

Fortunately, the chimeras charging at me right now lacked any intellect.

This means the practical difficulty of fighting them is no different from when I faced beasts.

However, the fact that they can use magic is a bit of a problem. Starting with that whoosh of the magic swirling around me.

Though I might disguise myself with magic, I can still find out where the chimeras are, but what about the drones?

Unlike the previous situation where targets were recognized with normal vision, the drones now need to use thermal cameras to aim.

If the chimera and I have similar body temperatures, it might not distinguish between friend and foe and shoot me right in the back.

I know from experience that getting shot isn’t a delightful experience.

First, I have to resolve this magic.

I slipped my hand into the pocket of my jacket.

*

Orthes pulled out a Magic Imprint Drive. This choice was hard for Neuro to comprehend.

The informal magic conducted through the Magic Imprint Drive couldn’t penetrate the chimeras’ skin.

Unless the drive was a high-end product, what Orthes took out were basic-level drives that anyone could easily buy.

The drives mounted on the gauntlet activated in succession. First up was the lubrication magic that scattered oil. The ground became slick with oil in the direction the chimeras were coming from.

The chimeras barreling in a straight line didn’t avoid the oil. Their hygiene concepts, which would have made them hesitant to get oily, were long gone, and this was no immediate threat to their survival.

Next up was the ignition magic. A flame as small as a lighter’s spark fell onto the oil and flared up.

The wall of fire igniting wasn’t enough to bar the chimeras. It wasn’t like I was trapping them in a burning room; the flames in open space wouldn’t kill a chimera.

However, it was enough to disrupt the magic swirling around me.

Each flickering flame was too complex for the mindless chimeras to mimic with their magic.

As they tried to imitate the flames, their magic began to shatter one by one. Now, the appearance of the chimeras was laid bare.

Orthes turned around.

“Now even normal cameras can see them. Is there any issue with your aiming?”

Neuro nodded. Was that really the plan?

“As before, please provide suppressive fire. We need to capture the last one alive, so just focus on that.”

Orthes, gripping the High-Frequency Blade, didn’t wait for Neuro’s response before charging in.

Neuro, having given the firing order to the drones, also picked up a bow. As he drew back the magic-enhanced string, a scrape like metal on metal rang out.

Naturally, the first target was Dimestes at the front.

Thwoosh—the moment the string was released, the air reverberated with a loud whack as the arrow flew. Flames ignited from the tip of the arrow.

It was a rocket-propelled arrow equipped with a shotgun projectile. It accelerated explosively, surpassing the speed of sound in an instant.

Dimestes’ long, stretched arms and hands elongated like rubber. His ten fingers ignored any limitations of joints or human anatomy and stretched forth.

The length exceeded 10 meters. The carapace covering his body also extended down to his fingers. However, this wasn’t armor for defense; they were biological blades sharpened like saw blades.

With his greatly extended arms and the blades attached, he wielded a weapon that took up vast space. The chimera’s arms and fingers split into five whips and flailed around.

The ten fingers curved unpredictably, sweeping across its front in a semi-circular fashion. The venomous fangs at the tips sprayed an acid-like liquid capable of dissolving the ground.

It was a scene reminiscent of a beast in mindless frenzy. There was no finesse or skill in the attack.

However, the size and ferocity of the attack made it a deadly threat.

The wind pressure generated by the whip-like arms caused the arrow to veer off course before it could even hit. One chimera behind Dimestes got hit, its left half shattered.

The storm of venom and blades didn’t differentiate between friend and foe. The chimeras standing near the whip-like arms were swiftly mowed down.

Orthes stood precisely a hair’s breadth in front of Dimestes’ whip-like arms. Within that precarious distance, the increasingly frenzied Dimestes continued his assaults on Orthes.

Watching that, Neuro recalled an ancient ritual—the bullfight. The wild attacks of the agitated bull might seem like a threat to the matador.

However, to a seasoned matador, such crises were merely performances. Both the bull’s attack and the matador’s retaliation unfolded according to his design.

This was the same as Orthes, who was skillfully guiding Dimestes’ attacks towards the other chimeras. He adeptly twisted his body to redirect Dimestes’ strikes toward other chimeras.

When Dimestes slaughtered one of the chimeras that had once been his subordinate, blood splattered into one of Dimestes’ eyes. Even the amount of blood that landed couldn’t obstruct the view of the multiple eyes already sprouted on Dimestes.

However, the smell and color of blood was enough to drive Dimestes even wilder. The untamed fury of a beast with no intellect rampaged.

Dimestes now became increasingly violent and fervent, tearing after Orthes and perhaps even his subordinates. Neuro watched in admiration.

“Was the cancellation of the mindless magic merely for the sake of attack? Or was it to induce this situation?”

Indeed. Considering the hidden puppeteer controlling these chimeras, magical power and bullets needed to be conserved.

Achieving the best results with minimal resource expenditure. This was far too rational a strategy to be a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Orthes lured Dimestes into a frenzy, exterminating most of the chimeras. Only a few remained alive at the back.

With that, capturing them would become much easier. Neuro nocked an arrow onto the string, glancing back at Orthes.

The calm smile on his face was as serene as always. Focusing on the task at hand rather than joining the fray and risking a tangle of Dimestes’ guidance was clearly the right move.

Neuro called back the drones, aiming them at the remaining chimeras. They were strong enough to survive having their limbs ripped apart.

*

What’s that guy doing not helping at all?

Can’t he see that the Dimestes who’s trying to kill me is over here dancing with his knives?

No, he clearly looked this way. He’s even giving me a thumbs up.

Is he trying to use the moment of Dimestes’ anger to capture the chimera?

That guy has been misinterpreting my intentions since a while back.

He seems to think I deliberately provoked Dimestes to create this situation, but that’s not what I meant.

I didn’t set the stage for you to catch the chimera more easily, so please help me out here!

I thought it would be at the level of just fighting a beast.

I could see through the attacks wielding those arms.

The problem is the venom.

Will Dimestes actually decide where to spray the venom? No, the venom just flies randomly along with the swinging of those arms.

I can’t avoid that venom, which burns the skin on contact.

If I could distract him with drone bullets, I’d have a chance.

The drone that had been aimed at Dimestes slowly moves. Is it finally going to fire?

It moved.

Backwards.

I lamented Neuro’s harsh nature.

A blue line predicting the attack appeared before my eyes. I took a step back.

The venomous fangs of Dimestes’ fingers skimmed over the place where my shoulder had just been.

The poisoned liquid splattered everywhere. A grenade launched from the pre-loaded Magic Imprint Drive ricocheted, wrapped in the venom.

Even diluted in water, the spots where that hit were rapidly corroding. What sort of beast’s essence did they mix to spit out such potent venom?

Gradually, the ferocity of the attacks began to slacken.

That’s only natural. Synthesizing and releasing venom typically consumes a lot of energy. He could substitute that energy consumption with magic though.

However, Dimestes was overusing the venom. The venom itself and those grotesquely elongated arms were both magical outputs. The amount of magical power being used was just too high.

Once again, the sharp whip-like arms slashed toward me. But the speed was not what it used to be.

It’s time to close the gap.

I took a step forward. The reduced speed allowed me to avoid the attack even from a closer distance.

One more step forward.

*

Neuro saw that moment when Orthes shifted from defense to offense.

For the first time, Orthes, who had only been evading Dimestes’ attacks, moved forward. He closed the gap on the first advance and swung his blade on the second.

Orthes was no longer satisfied with simply dodging. One of Dimestes’ fingers—transformed into a snake head—was severed. It had been aiming for Orthes from an angle.

And again, he took another step forward. With each step he took, a snake head was decapitated.

Dimestes’ patterns of attack gradually changed too. No longer a predator’s ferocity, but looking more like the desperation of a prey.

Orthes’ advancing steps resembled the countdown to a death sentence.

Finally, Dimestes, having lost all his finger arms, thrusted his remaining arms, blades of carapace flailing wildly toward Orthes.

Orthes instantaneously cut through the joints connecting the arms. A thud echoed as the two arms fell to the ground.

Dimestes charged forward with his remaining body, attempting to flatten Orthes. Orthes effortlessly lifted his blade.

The lifted blade pierced through Dimestes’ jaw and into his brain.

Neuro was reminded not of the ending of a bullfight, but of another scene.

It was the sight of a snake constricting its prey. Though Dimestes had been the snake, he now appeared to be the one being slowly hunted.

“Goodbye, former Director of Dimestes.”

It was a farewell too indifferent to be a eulogy. Orthes, pulling out the High-Frequency Blade, glanced at Neuro.

Neuro hastily opened his mouth at Orthes’ subtle display of strength.

“The chimera was successfully captured. It’s right over there.”

*

I glared at Neuro, who didn’t help me even after catching the chimera.

‘He’s just doing his assigned tasks, huh?’

Jealousy and anger flared up against Neuro, who was carrying out the policy I had dreamed of.

If only I had a subordinate I could offload my work onto…!

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