Chapter 222: 15-year-old Inglis and the Evil Hyrule Menace (27)

「……That being said, considering the situation, I believe you have no option but to accept my terms! I really wish I didn’t have to say it, but both of us can consider these people as my hostage……」

「Uugh?!」

「Kgh, you damn lass!」

「You dare to use us against Lady Tiffany!」

The Highlanders showed their agitation at Inglis. It was no wonder, since they had just witnessed her strength that overpowered Tiffany.

Tiffany, however, reacted differently.

「Considering the situation, is it? If so, you must be not very cognizant, are you?」

「Ooh! So you still have an ace up your sleeves?!」

Inglis loved this kind of thing. She needed to settle the fight already, but it would be nice to see the glimpse of what Tiffany could offer.

「There you go, making such a delightful face again! I can’t wait to see that smile twist into agony!」

So remarked Tiffany as she began to dash towards Inglis, going past her supporting Highlanders.

「——?!」

Her dash, however, didn’t feel as vigorous as before. The effects of Inglis’ blows were evident, she couldn’t hide it.

「HYAAAaaahhhhh!」

The punch she swung lacked strength. Why would she fight in her current state? What’s in it for her? With that plaguing Inglis’ mind, she was ready to swat Tiffany’s fist away, but then…

With a high, clear sound, Tiffany’s body began to glow from within. This was… this light, it felt familiar.

「?!」

Then, when Inglis received Tiffany’s fist, the gleam exponentially grew. As it was hard for her to keep her eyes open, Inglis had to squint to see what was happening.

A unique, high-pitched vibration sound reached her ears. This is, no doubt, the same thing that Inglis saw on the Flying Battleship above the Royal Palace that night!

「This is a Hyrule Menace’s weaponization process?!」

From within the light, Tiffany, who was no longer in her human form, had her voice reached directly to Inglis’ head.

『Exactly! I still have this trick up my sleeve! Come, savor it! Experience the true essence of a Hyrule Menace! Its accursed power!』

Then, by the time the light subsided, Inglis’ body was wrapped up in platinum armor that had been restored to look brand new.

「……Amazing!」

However, the look was not everything.

The Ether that wrapped Inglis as a Divine Knight flowed into the armor which was Tiffany and flowed back to her with a much stronger amplification than it previously was. She could feel it on her skin.

Perhaps, the current Inglis was not only boosted in her defense, but also in her offense and her speed, giving her an overwhelming enhancement in all of her aspects. To put it in another way, it was like being in a state where her «Ether Armor» was active, without the «Ether Armor» being active.

「What marvelous power!」

Above all else, the fact that it amplified Ether was wonderful. All other Artifacts were destroyed when Inglis poured too much Ether into them, but… This armor, which Tiffany transformed into, showed no signs of breaking.

「Ooh! Lady Tiffany has?!」

「Sh-, she’s worn by that girl?!」

「Wh-, what do we do now?」

They must have never seen it happening before; their confusion was in plain sight.

Indeed, having their master turned into an armor that was attached to their enemy would make them confused with how to fight at all.

「I think you can just watch. After all, she is doing this to attack me!」

However, Tiffany had equipped herself on Inglis with a clear hostility. No way that was the end of it. And what kind of attack she would do to her, Inglis had some clues.

『Precisely!』

Tiffany’s voice echoed within her head. At the same time, Inglis’ feet kicked the ground on their own as though they were under some kind of influence.

The force behind the stomp was so great, the ground under her quaked. After all, not only «Ether Armor» was in full strength, its effect was further amplified by the Hyrule Menace that wrapped herself around Inglis.

Inglis’ body zoomed so fast further into the forest that she couldn’t properly react to the changes in her surroundings as she was pushing straight ahead and knocking down trees big and small in her trajectory.

「——?! I lost control of my body?!」

It wasn’t that she moved too fast that she couldn’t move well. She couldn’t control her limbs as she wanted. It wasn’t her intention to run into the forest in the first place. Not to mention, she didn’t remember activating «Ether Armor» either.

Her power was being drawn out on its own.

「Uuugh?! This is… so that’s what it is!」

At the same, a dizzying sense of weakness washed over her as her vision wavered for a moment. Just activating «Ether Armor» wouldn’t give her such adverse side effects. They must be caused by Tiffany, her effect on Inglis as a Hyrule Menace.

『Come, spit out all of your power!』

Tiffany’s voice rang out again as she stopped Inglis in her tracks after they passed through the forest towards Lekrea.

「Kgh!」

Inglis’ right hand thrust forward on its own, from which Ether began to converge. A pale and dazzling glow was born, a bullet of light was formed. And it was amplified to a greater degree than usual, swelling up to a far greater extent.

「A-, amazing!」

An Ether Strike that amazed even Inglis herself was being formed at the tip of her palm. That was a power that she couldn’t possibly produce by herself. She was so taken aback by the sight that her thoughts leaked out of her mouth.

『Fufu……What an astonishing power. Had I been hit by something like this, not even a bit of me would left.』

「What are you planning?!」

『Oh, I wonder. To celebrate the circumstance, why don’t we test our strength?』

The same time Tiffany finished her sentence, Inglis was made to unleash her Ether Strike.

A super enormous Ether Strike, far, far more enhanced than usual, flew towards the depression left by the town of Lekrea that had gone to the sky.

The Strike left a horribly deep furrow in its wake, and it landed some distance away where Lekrea was once. Once it did, a huge pillar of light rose so high it appeared to pierce even the heavens, blowing away more of the depression on the ground.

Because of that, the depression left on the former site of Lekrea was gouged even deeper and deeper, doubling its size. It left a trail of destruction the size of a town, wiping out everything to dust.

「——OOooh?!」

An exclamation escaped from Inglis. What amazing, tremendous power! It was kind of irritating that she had to borrow the power of a Hyrule Menace to produce it, and not at all her own strength, but… If she trained harder and even harder, it shouldn’t be impossible for her to achieve that level of power on her own. She should burn this scene and firepower into her head and use it as a benchmark to hone herself!

But, before all that…The feebleness that she felt from before, it multiplied several times over and struck Inglis’ body.

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