Chapter Seventy-One
“…Even so, isn’t it a bit much? How many monsters and people per person?”
Amidst the cacophony of sounds—the sounds of destruction, landing, collisions, clamor, and roars—Lilea’s voice strangely reached my ears, as if weaving through the gaps.
“I want to fight Amses.”
I declared, and with a surge of sharp, concentrated killing intent, I kicked off the ground and charged forward.
“Hey, wait, isn’t running away after saying that unfair!?”
—Did you even listen to what I said about Sofia?
I could hear her muttering. However, before she could interrupt my actions, a magician jumped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. Immediately after, an annoyed shout followed, but I shut it out, not having the luxury to spare any attention.
With a speed like an arrow released from a bow—using ‘Shroud,’ I closed the distance of several meters in an instant. The sword I swung towards his neck was blocked by a now-familiar metallic clang, a dull sensation and numbness traveling up my arm.
“…This is… quite troublesome.”
Amses frowned. A stalemate arose again, accompanied by the grating screech of clashing metal. However, my arm was already screaming in protest. But even so, I put my weight into it, forcing the situation into a deadlock.
“As expected, mental manipulation magic, including mine, is terribly incompatible with someone like you.”
Disappointment. Discouragement. Dejection.
He spoke, his emotions flickering across his face.
“It clashes terribly with people like you and Lilea, who fixate on one thing and try to connect everything to it.”
Magic that manipulated others according to one’s will.
That was the essence of mental manipulation magic. Constant deception, guidance, misdirection.
Until the target fell into the trap.
But there were also people who were completely immune to it. Even with magic that made the impossible possible, there were strange people who were completely unaffected, he said.
“However, it works well on those who are only half-heartedly clever. Especially on people… like them, and me.”
The already overwhelming force in his slender arms, not much different from mine, intensified. Where did he get such strength? I almost wanted to whine.
—But in my case, that feeling was immediately followed by joy.
I had been disappointed that I couldn’t fight the ‘Magician Hunter.’ I had felt frustrated and had lingering regrets.
However, this from Amses was enough to blow away all those feelings that had occupied most of my heart.
It was probably the effect of his magic. In simple terms, was he using mental manipulation magic to numb the limiters inherent in his body?
Was that why he could so easily counter me even though I was using ‘Shroud’?
I didn’t know. I didn’t understand at all. But there was one thing I knew for sure: the man named Amses before me was strong.
I was overpowered and pushed back slightly. Immediately after, a silver trajectory flashed towards my head, and I barely managed to dodge it with a hair’s breadth. The whooshing sound that reached my ears a moment later told me that the Grim Reaper’s scythe had just grazed my neck.
“Fuha!!”
He had been disappointed that mental manipulation magic didn’t work on me, but so what? Even if it didn’t work, Amses’s strength remained unshaken.
He followed up with a relentless onslaught, as if not giving me even a moment to breathe. I somehow managed to evade the violent attacks.
And I waited for my chance. I focused on the scene before me, the walls, the enemy, everything—
“Be torn apart—‘Shooting Star’—!!”
“Too slow.”
I seized a small opening and unleashed an attack, judging that it would definitely hit. However, he dismissed it with a single word, “Too slow,” and dodged it by a hair’s breadth. I managed to block the sword he swung down with a snap decision, but immediately after, a sharp kick landed in my side, forcing the air out of my lungs.
“Gah…!!”
His reaction speed. His reflexes. If I only considered those, he might even surpass the ‘Magician Hunter’ I faced that night. Or rather, he was already fast, and yet he was getting even faster…!!
“…Guh.”
Despite being kicked away, I somehow managed to extend my leg and scrape it against the ground to lessen the impact. As soon as I felt the momentum die down completely, I saw Amses before me, about to swing his weapon down.
“Did you think I couldn’t fight in close combat just because I’m a mental manipulation magician?”
—Too bad. I’m actually better at close combat.
He added those words with a smile. Too bad? …No, no, that’s wrong. He should be saying, I’m lucky.
The higher the wall, the better.
“No way.”
With my slightly numb arm, I swung my weapon again and blocked the incoming attack. And I grinned.
Despite the age difference of more than ten years, his unwavering stance, ready to kill without hesitation once he decided to, made me tremble. Was it a pre-battle shiver? Or was it a tremor born from the fear of knowing that I had to defeat this man to survive?
I didn’t know, but I hoped it was the former.
“If you weren’t at least this strong, I would have been disappointed after you declared you would kill all the nobles—!!!”
I stomped on the ground, taking a deep, wide stance.
—A single, lightning-fast slash.
A strike with all the unnecessary movements removed. Even I knew that this was the best strike I could deliver in that moment. It would probably be enough to deal with most opponents, but I already knew Amses wasn’t “most.” Therefore—
—‘Sword Creation.’—
I created a sword in my other hand as I finished my swing. And taking advantage of my ambidexterity, I thrust it towards his abdomen.
“…Seriously, what kind of reflexes do you have?”
However, an unexpected sight appeared before me. A drop of crimson blood. But it wasn’t from a pierced abdomen. It was a small wound created when Amses grabbed the blade with his bare hand and stopped it.
He instantly discarded one of his daggers and grabbed my thrusting sword. Would I have been able to make that decision—to grab the sword instead of parrying it, judging that there wasn’t enough time—if I were in his place?
…And because of that, a strange stalemate arose. It continued for two, three seconds, and then the balance suddenly broke as both Amses and I released our weapons almost simultaneously. Immediately after, Amses swung down his arm in a straight line.
I knew all too well the power behind that swing, having crossed swords with him repeatedly.
“But…”
For a moment, the word “dodge” flashed through my mind. However, I immediately dismissed the thought and calmly assessed the trajectory of his attack, showing no fear. I swung one of my swords to meet his, and a loud clang resonated.
“It wouldn’t be any fun if you weren’t at least this strong—!!!”
I furrowed my brow at the impact that almost ripped my arm off. It was an extraordinary amount of power. But even so, I repeated the words in my heart. Putting all my strength into it, I uttered a single word through gritted teeth.
‘Shooting Star.’
Attack clashed against attack. As a result, after a momentary deadlock, both Amses and I were sent flying. Amses landed among the horde of monsters. I crashed into a seemingly empty house, buried under the rubble.
“Julius!?”
Perhaps the distance had closed due to being blown away.
Sofia’s scream was clearly audible.
But instead of replying, I began to think. What I needed to be wary of was Amses’s physical abilities.
It was probably due to his magic, but I couldn’t find a countermeasure. I didn’t even know his weakness.
If I could land a full-powered ‘Shooting Star,’ I could probably defeat him, but with a fully charged attack… with his agility…
It probably wouldn’t hit.
Overwhelming him with numbers was an option, but the larger the scale, the less control I would have. That would be a bad move with Sofia and Lilea around.
So what should I do—thinking that, I smiled wryly.
“…Ouch, what should I do?”
Could I possibly defeat Amses by clashing with him with all my might, exchanging blows until the end? Unable to think of anything but such a brute-force approach, I stopped thinking. In short, I was at a dead end.
The Star Slayer’s techniques were, in the end, all meant for slaying “stars.” Therefore, they were all large-scale techniques.
They were effective against monsters that relied on instinct and brute force, but they were completely ineffective against opponents with beast-like agility.
What would the Star Slayer have done in this situation? Thinking that—I remembered that he was exceptionally strong even in one-on-one combat.
He wasn’t a good reference point at all.
However, I convinced myself that overcoming such an opponent was how one grew as a swordsman.
“I’ve heard from Oliver. Your attack is astonishing. But even a one-hit kill is meaningless if it doesn’t hit. It’s meaningless if you can’t fire it. Then, all I have to do is make sure you can’t fire it.”
Amses’s voice reached me from afar. I thought he was right.
If there was some distance between us, he would almost certainly dodge ‘Shooting Star.’ It would just tire out my arm. Knowing that, I couldn’t fire it recklessly.
The only solution was to forcefully fire it and make it hit. What should I do to achieve that?
Thinking that—perhaps, if I exchanged blows with him until… Once again, I reached that conclusion. With a smile on my lips, I stood up.
“Then I just have to fire it after all that.”
If I could just land a full-powered ‘Shooting Star,’ like the one I fired against the Ogre, even if it meant breaking my arm…
Then, although it was an incredibly simple plan, I would pour all my strength into it, unleashing ‘Naglfar’ to throw Amses off balance. And then, I would use ‘Shroud’ to close the distance and fire ‘Shooting Star.’ …That seemed like the most feasible option with the highest chance of success.
As a bonus, I could also take care of some of the overwhelming number of monsters. Lilea would probably call it unnecessary, but it would also help them.
Then, it was simple—
“In that case, let’s have a contest of wills.”
I swung the weapon in my hand once, like shaking off water from an umbrella.
Then, I tightened my grip on the hilt until I heard a creak.
Now, let the battle, which had been momentarily interrupted, resume. Let this be the signal fire.
“Suu… Shoot it down—!!!”
I drew a straight line in the air and let out a shout.
How long could I keep this up? I didn’t know. But I wouldn’t know unless I tried. So, making sure my falling star attack didn’t hit Sofia and the others, I took a deep breath and chanted, to completely rob Amses of his composure,
“—‘Falling Star, Naglfar’—!!!”
[Translator – Vine]
[Proofreader – Lust]
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