Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: 20-1. Knowing Love.
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A horn blared, signaling the start of the match. I charged straight at Mardol with Wolf Fang.
Void Slash was a powerful technique, but if it got reflected, I'd be at a disadvantage. Cutting through the wind, kicking off the ground, I leaped forward.
I tried to thrust my sword into the gap in her armor. That had to be the weak point when facing full plate armor.
Clang.
"Good call."
"...You're blocking it, as expected."
But the flash of steel couldn't continue and was stopped by a glass wall. Right after, clones made of white crystal burst forth. Wearing transparent knight helmets, they resembled Mardol more than me.
"Urgh...!"
One clone perfectly replicated the sword path I'd just swung, while the other pressed me with a mirrored reversal from both sides.
Ching! Clang! Metallic clashes rang out as the glass phantoms guarded her like loyal escorts. Defending against their sudden attacks was no easy feat.
This is bullshit.
It felt like fighting myself. A chilling sense of danger made me back off to create distance. I needed a strategy. How to break that Mirror Mirage spell...
"...What are you doing?"
That was when I heard her distinctive tone from within the glass helmet. The heavily armored knight before me charged.
The exact same Wolf Fang. This was what happened if you took it head-on. The distance closed in an instant. Our helmets were close enough to clash.
"Mardol. Looks like you have no intention of letting me rest."
"Right. You're interesting."
The princess swung her sword. I blocked her glass blade with my steel one. A clash of strength against strength. No matter how immense Mardol's raw power was, this time was different.
"...Huh? Why aren't you budging...?"
"This much... I can handle now...!"
My sword trembled as I barely held my ground. She must have been planning to make me drop it.
Now my will backed my strength—I wasn't yielding. Planting my feet firmly, I deflected the weight she poured into her strike. Ku-crack. Cracks spiderwebbed across the arena floor.
「Howling Wind.」
In that moment, her golden wolf eyes gleamed. Abandoning the precarious balance, she shifted straight to offense. Unlike Kainel, she clearly had tons of combat experience.
Awooooooo─!
The wolf's howl exploded right in my face. The howling battered my ears, throwing off my balance in an instant. As the original technique, it hit harder than Leon's version.
"You let your guard down, Licht."
She didn't miss my stagger, swinging her sword at the opening.
Her blade—forged from the same material as her armor—traced a sparkling arc, refracting light to target every vulnerability. How did she spot the gaps in such a split second?
"Haha..."
A dry laugh escaped me. The daughter of Emperor Locke was strong. If I hadn't possessed this body, she might have claimed the top spot.
"..."
But I had to surpass her now. I needed to take down the Demon Lords too—losing to the protagonist wasn't an option.
"Drake Style, Form 2: Reverse Scale Thrust."
If she wanted to beat me, she'd need 15 more years. The best defense is a good offense. I countered into her attack, thrusting my sword at her opening.
A technique designed to pierce even dragon scales by targeting weaknesses. Our blades canceled each other out, sparks flying as our experience and effort collided.
"...Urk."
This time, Mardol fell back. Reverse Scale Thrust was built for chaining strikes. Facing it for the first time would overwhelm anyone.
"Even mixed in Shadow Slash... Tough luck."
"You have to use that one with clear intent from the start."
Mardol continued regretfully. She'd deliberately scarred the shadowed ground to make it unavoidable, but as they say, the best defense is offense.
I know Shadow Slash's weakness better than she does.
Countering with an attack this fierce nullified it. If I'd focused solely on defense, I'd have been done for.
It was a low-power technique to begin with. That's why I mostly paired it with Void Slash.
No wonder players called you trash if you couldn't learn Form 4.
Mardol relied on her immense strength to power through, but that alone wasn't enough.
"Like this."
My thoughts aligned. I stomped the ground hard, circulating blood flow taut through my body. Wind pressure gathered in my right hand.
"...You're doing it, huh."
Mardol, in her glass helmet, murmured lowly, mimicking my speech pattern before I knew it.
At that moment, in the stands, four figures sat together.
"Hey, Kai."
"Yeah, Ariel?"
"So... who do you think wins?"
The red-haired mage watched the fight and asked the hero beside her. Kainel gave an awkward smile before answering.
"Licht, probably."
"Why...? Not Mardol? She's super strong too..."
"You'll know once you fight him. His scariness always comes from the unexpected."
The hero couple, each defeated by the finalists, gave differing assessments based on firsthand experience.
"Exactly! Junior Kainel knows his stuff."
"Nex, even so, our Mardol's gonna win."
The second-years who knew the identity inside the glass armor—Pine Granasia—shared similar views.
Nex had traveled with him and knew the real strength of this peculiar junior in the Black Knight helmet.
"You really think that? Shar?"
"...Yes. She's stronger than anyone."
The saintess who wrapped her fists in holy power.
Sharutineth Saintmarriage could only cheer for the sister she knew inside that glass armor. She couldn't let Pine's lifelong efforts go to waste.
"Void Slash. Does he really need to use a big move like that...?"
That was when Kainel grumbled while watching. A technique that would just get reflected by Mirror Mirage anyway.
The hero wondered, Why is Licht using something with such a huge wind-up?
He'd even told Licht himself that Drake Style's weakness was the telltale preparatory motions. It didn't fit his meticulous personality. It was contradictory.
"He's aiming for something. Our junior Licht!"
"Huh? What do you mean, Nex...?"
The purple-haired man tilted his head at the comment. It was obviously going to get reflected and blocked.
He'd seen it in Ariel's match too, and it was the same from the start.
Thudududugak!!
Licht unleashed Void Slash, and sure enough, Mardol raised a glass wall, hurling it back with multiplied force. Their winds collided.
"See?"
In the chaos, the black-helmeted man emerged. Cutting through the dust, Licht appeared, and Nex flashed a foxy grin.
"Told you. Honestly, I don't know any second-year stronger than junior Licht."
Void Slash had been used assuming it'd be blocked from the start.
"Ah, no way..."
He'd turned the weakness of the large motion into a strength. Watching, Kainel smiled faintly, thinking, Worth beating me after all.
Drake Style's weakness was the need for preparatory motions. No mana use meant lots of openings, and as Kainel said, it burdened the body heavily.
Pros and cons, like any technique.
Right after Void Slash, I charged straight ahead. Mirror Mirage had weaknesses too.
From constant pressure, I'd figured it out: the clones were slightly slower than the original. I swung at the multiple clones unleashing Void Slash at me, smashing them all.
Void Slash was slow to begin with, so mimicking it widened the gap even more. I sliced through the oncoming wind, cut, and leaped over.
The dissipated storm from the clash shrouded Mardol's vision in dust. An opportunity I couldn't miss.
"...Huh? How?"
"Combined Reverse Scale Thrust and Void Slash. Something you don't have."
Now right in her face, I swung again. A chaining assault carrying wind. Using Form 2's speed-focused Reverse Scale Thrust to cover the weakness.
Drake Style forms complemented each other—flawed techniques born from one man's effort.
Paradoxically, that made them stronger than anything. I'd fused them all into Demon Lord Slayer against Magic Hat.
One more slash, and it'd be my win. I instinctively felt her mana barrier wearing thin. Unable to match my amplified speed, Mardol was being pushed back.
"...You're strong."
Cornered, she spoke. Her gleaming golden eyes burned with unyielding fighting spirit, refusing defeat.
「Glass Knight.」
That was when a shadow fell over my vision. A massive sword plummeted from above, trying to crush me.
"What...?"
Battle-honed instincts kicked in—I used Wing Flow to deflect the sudden greatsword. Looking back, something had appeared behind Mardol.
A gigantic knight from the waist up. It mimicked her movements like a puppet show. How? Magic?
Glittering like glass, majestic as a giant spirit. Did knight classes even have a skill like that?
"Licht, with you... I can fight seriously."
I retreated again. Head-on would get me crushed. I lowered my steel sword briefly to catch my breath.
That technique, like my Void Slash, would have caught allies in the crossfire if any were nearby.
Couldn't use it against Magic Hat, I bet.
Awestruck. Twisting the concept of steel to shape glass that size—she was the real deal, proof of being the protagonist.
"Same here, Mardol."
Honestly, I was thrilled. As a player who loved the game, what could be more fun? Battle lust surged through me.
"I believe in love."
Rain fell. A downpour, and a cobalt sword plunged from the sky, embedding before my feet. Judgment: my old iron sword couldn't beat her.
"...I'll go all out too."
The difference between hound and wolf was knowing love.
I had to prove I was a wolf, not a pup.
More precisely, with the sword born from my conviction, I had to shatter that glass knight's armor.