The Power of a Horn

The truth was soon revealed.

"That stinking old man's request was such a pain. But Ram took care of it quickly anyway. For the rest of today, Ram wants Rem by her side... Who's this brat?"

The newcomer made this declaration in a matter-of-fact tone.

Subaru looked at the person before him, the corners of his mouth twitching involuntarily.

She called herself Ram. Apparently, she was Rem's older sister. But the only difference between the two was their coloring-they might as well have been cast from the same mold.

They were the same height, wore the same little white kimonos, and had nearly identical faces. Only their hair and eye color had changed from blue to pink.

So Rem's claim that "big sister will take care of everything" came from the rose-tinted admiration between sisters. Ram didn't seem all that much more capable than Rem, at least judging by her appearance.

And what was with the way she'd addressed him?

"Hey, have you got something mixed up about our ages?" Subaru pointed at himself indignantly. "I know I have a baby face, but getting called a brat by a little girl who doesn't even look ten is ridiculous."

"I'm seventeen, you know."

As soon as he said that,

Rem and Ram turned to him at the same time and silently stared at him as though he were an intellectually disabled creature.

"Rem, Rem."

"Big sister, big sister."

"It seems Ram has been taken for a fool."

"It seems Rem has been taken for an idiot."

Before Subaru could ask what that reaction meant, the sound he hated most came from deep in the woods behind him.

"Grrr..."

That low growl, accompanied by the sound of scales scraping against the ground.

Subaru whirled around, and one look nearly made him collapse on the spot.

It was that crocodile again. And this time it definitely hadn't come alone. Behind it, the bushes shook violently as one horned crocodile mabeast after another crawled out of the shadows, their crimson eyes lighting up in dense clusters in the dim light. A rough count put them at no fewer than ten.

"We're done for, we're done for, we're done for! We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die! Run! Hurry, go find an adult in the village to help!!"

Subaru's voice rose almost to a shriek, one foot already poised to flee. But Ram glanced at them without a trace of panic on her face.

"A colony of horned crocodile mabeasts breeding near the village... Ram thought it would be such a pain to go looking for them one by one, but they've all gathered foolishly in front of Ram instead."

"Isn't your leader here? Oh well. You've saved Ram so much time she can spend with Rem.

Ten miniature Godzillas.

She'd said they'd "all gathered foolishly."

The next moment, Subaru saw it.

A horn was taking shape on Ram's forehead.

It was white, radiating a pure light. It slowly emerged from her forehead.

"Wh-what is that?! A horn? An oni?!"

"Of course we're oni. With big sister here, there's nothing to worry about. Rem and big sister have always been oni. Could you be a little quieter?"

But that was far from the only shocking thing.

With her horn grown, Ram casually waved a hand. That tiny hand, paired with the youthful appearance of a little pink-haired girl, looked utterly harmless, even overly cute.

And yet.

"Whoosh-whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!"

A visible emerald-green storm sprang up out of thin air. Blades of wind swept across the entire space like scythes, catching every horned crocodile in an instant!

The sounds of shattering scales erupted in rapid succession. Flesh was stripped away in the raging wind before the beasts could even get a full scream out.

A single move.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten mabeasts were reduced to bloody liquid, which pattered down onto the churned-up earth. A thick, rusty smell filled the air. Ram stood before the bloody mist, the light of the horn on her forehead slowly fading.