The Final Challenge (5)

Kwaaaang!!!!!---- Kiiiiik!! “Ghhhk!!......”

In that instant, a numbing sensation like my entire body had been struck shot straight through my brain. At the same time, an enormous pressure sent me sliding backward, my shoes screeching against the ground in an unpleasant noise. My slender legs trembled violently; the bones had clearly taken damage. If I hadn’t blocked the pain in advance, I probably would have dropped the shield the moment I collided with that lightning. The aftershock was that severe.

The witch on the other side showed no sign of stopping, pouring even more current into me as if determined to finish things this time. I crouched behind the shield and held my ground, and the intensity only grew. I had expected it, but the crushing pressure made me bite down hard on my lip. Slowly, I opened my tightly shut eyes.

Through the flickering blue background, the violently shaking shield filled my vision. It was a massive shield taking the full brunt of that tremendous lightning. Even so, its condition was far from normal. Any ordinary shield would have melted on the first impact. The only reason it was still holding was because the old man’s shield had been forged from a special material resistant to magic. Surviving the perfect trap I had set for him hadn’t been just clever thinking; equipment really did matter. That was why hunters always talked about “gear carrying” someone.

Once I adapted to the pressure, I repaired my broken legs and slowly stepped forward. My steps were steady, if not fast. Every time I advanced, the shield—the only thing keeping me alive—rang like a warning bell, but I ignored it. Even as every muscle screamed and my hands gripping the shield convulsed, I kept moving forward as if entranced. I repaired the shield bit by bit as it melted under the strain, pushing my body to its absolute limit.

Thanks to that effort, the distance between us gradually closed. The witch maintaining the lightning attack grew visibly flustered by the unnatural situation. I was clearly on the verge of collapse, yet I kept advancing through the storm with stubborn persistence. The sight was hard to believe. Who in their right mind would cross a barrage of lightning while relying on a shield that could shatter at any moment? It took extraordinary courage and willpower. I looked like a candle flame that refused to go out even while swaying violently in a gale.

Finally, the witch, her face twisted in frustration at the unexpected turn, poured even more power into her spell. It became a contest between the one trying to advance and the one trying to stop her. Which would happen first—the lightning running out, or the shield breaking? The standoff lasted until the very end before the outcome was decided.

Pzzt-pzzt-pzzt!!!...... Clanggg!!---

Just as the weakening lightning finally stopped, the shield—now little more than a tattered rag—shattered. In a way, it was a draw. But considering the overall situation, it was my victory. The witch had just used a massive spell and left herself slightly open. I wasn’t about to miss that.

Leaving the shield’s glittering fragments behind, I created a sword in both hands and dashed forward. The distance had already narrowed considerably during our standoff. I leaped high, determined not to give her time to prepare another spell, and finally reached my target after overcoming every obstacle.

Ching!...

A sharp metallic ring echoed through the quiet space. It was the sound of my sword clashing against the witch’s defensive magic right in front of me. Calming my pounding heart, I slowly raised my head. Through the transparent blue barrier, my eyes met the witches’.

A girl and the witches stared at each other across the shimmering curtain. Though their faces were half-hidden by robes, their shock was unmistakable. I couldn’t see myself, but I knew I must look terrifying. Even while covered in wounds, my eyes—visible through the smiling mask—burned with madness as they stared straight ahead. From the outside, I probably looked like a demon that had just crawled out of hell. Not that it mattered to me.

“Finally... I made it this far.”

The beings that had seemed utterly unreachable were now right in front of me. All the hardships I had endured flashed through my mind, filling me with an indescribable sense of accomplishment. Reaching this point had taken an enormous amount of time. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had pushed myself this hard. But the moment of reflection was brief. I widened my eyes. The witch frozen like ice in front of me had started moving again.

In that instant, a massive flame erupted right before me. It took the shape of a ferocious beast opening its jaws. The spell passed cleanly through the blue barrier, and before I could react, I was swallowed whole.

Whoosh!!!---

Boom---

The flame surged forward, sweeping away everything in its path. The heat was so intense it blurred my vision, and the front was filled with brilliant yellow fire. When the flames finally died down, nothing remained on the ground. The girl who had been standing right in front of the barrier had vanished as if evaporated.

The black-robed witch who had cast the spell snorted while looking beyond the now-clean barrier. When the girl had charged straight at them, she had wondered if there was some hidden trump card. But the girl hadn’t possessed the power to break the barrier after all. That ominous premonition had just been paranoia.

Yet she never realized the truth: that moment of carelessness had been the girl’s true goal all along.

Indeed, after the massive flame swept across the ground, no living creature remained visible. That was why she missed it—the black, shadow-like shape left just behind where the girl had stood. At first glance, it looked like a trace left by the girl burning away. But the thing writhed like a living creature and quickly slid across the floor.

By the time they noticed, the black substance that had completely merged with the ground had already slipped through the barrier from below. What happened next was enough to shock the witches present.

Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle!!!... Splash!---

A doll-like figure suddenly rose from the violently churning black shadow. The black liquid formed a human shape, then gradually faded to a translucent ashen color before changing form once more. The final, stabilized appearance was none other than the girl they had thought they had definitely eliminated moments ago.

And all of this had taken only three seconds.

The witches, who had believed everything was over and lowered their guard, had no way to respond to the sudden situation. Moreover, once a mage allowed a swordsman to approach this closely without any obstacles—especially considering the elemental disadvantage—the fight was already over.

The price of carelessness came back like a massive boomerang.

Slash!---

The first target of the sword that flashed forward like lightning was the witch in charge of defense. She was the closest, and I couldn’t risk her using that annoying barrier magic again. Caught completely off guard, the foremost witch had her head severed before she could even react.

After cleanly eliminating one with a single fluid motion, I spun halfway around and hurled a dagger that had appeared in my other hand. The blade flew through the air and struck the witch in the back who had been trying to cast recovery magic, burying itself in the crown of her head.

With her sisters dying so helplessly, the last remaining witch finally snapped out of her daze. She raised her staff in fury, only to be kicked in the stomach by my incoming leg and sent tumbling across the floor. After rolling several times, she hurriedly pushed herself up with both arms—only to find me already standing right in front of her, sword pressed against her neck.

It was a perfect checkmate.

-----

I looked down at the last witch and finally exhaled the breath I had been holding. As expected, the witches’ close-combat ability was practically zero. Combined with the element of surprise, dealing with them had been easy. All the suffering I had endured for this single strike was finally paying off.

But one question remained. How had I survived being engulfed in flames right in front of them and turned into charcoal? The answer was simple. From the very beginning of my charge, the figure standing there had not been my real ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body.

The moment I blocked the witch’s first attack with the shield, I had already hidden my true body inside the shadow. In other words, the version of me that had charged toward the witches was a construct similar to a clone, painstakingly created using my stored Residual. My real body had slipped into the shadow, remotely controlling the clone while moving alongside it in secret.

This was the hidden trump card I had prepared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to break through that troublesome defensive magic—using a decoy to induce carelessness, then launching a surprise attack through the ground outside the barrier’s range. Of course, the plan had several conditions. The most important was successfully reaching right in front of the barrier. If the clone was destroyed before getting close enough, everything would fall apart. If the witches noticed something was wrong after eliminating the enemy and the raid still hadn’t ended, they would grow suspicious. And since I was hiding inside the clone’s shadow, once the camouflage disappeared, discovery was only a matter of time. Most crucially, to truly induce carelessness, I had needed to be convincingly defeated right in front of them.

Well, more than half of the clone had burned away while I hurriedly retrieved it according to plan, but it didn’t matter much. By that point, the operation had already succeeded.

The mechanical voice speaking from the system sounded clearly abnormal. It produced an unpleasant ringing noise as if it had malfunctioned, then suddenly fell silent. The next voice that came through was enough to paralyze my thoughts.

...What the hell did that mean? What was “modification,” and what was “Hardcore Mode”? My mind couldn’t keep up with the system spouting incomprehensible words. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The witch lying at my feet began to be covered in pitch-black stains all over her body. I didn’t know what kind of omen it was, but one thing was certain: it couldn’t possibly be good for me.

Faced with the completely unexpected situation, I cursed inwardly. Then a flash of light so bright it blocked my vision erupted, followed by a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠powerful shockwave that crashed over me like a tsunami. After being sent flying far backward, I lifted my head again—and an unbelievable sight awaited me.