Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Chapter 9: When Meeting the Dead (4)
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4
Seeing the formless ones and their minions charging at Azel, Niberis turned her body.
“Well then...”
Pzzzzzt!
In front of her, Arietta swung her sword down. The defensive barrier that manifested automatically clashed with the pure white blade, sending blue sparks flying. The moment Arietta judged that Niberis had shown an opening, she charged without hesitation.
“Strange darkness, be rent asunder!”
Arietta reeled back from the rebound and swung her sword. A blade of flash light then whipped across Niberis.
But Niberis showed no sign of tension at all. As if taking a stroll, she walked through the air and casually flicked her hand. As a result, the flash blade Arietta unleashed slid across her barrier and dissipated into the empty air. Arietta was stunned.
‘To deflect it so easily!’
Immediately after, Niberis's attack flew in. Flash arrows shot wildly from the air.
“Holy valor blesses the sword!”
With her cry, a barrier formed and blocked the flashes. But right then, an explosion roared from behind.
Kwarung! Kwang!
Lightning exploded, sending Arietta flying. Thrown to the ground, she barely twisted her body midair and kicked off the earth. Like skimming stones across water, she kicked off the ground, spun, kicked again, repeating the motion. Watching her, Niberis laughed.
“Heh. For a princess of a nation, you're prancing about like a street performer.”
At the same time, she lightly shook her hand. Two spheres of flash light formed and flew off in another direction.
Kwaaaang!
“Urk...!”
Boer groaned as he blocked it with his shield. This attack had targeted the rest of the group, separated from Arietta.
Nibers said,
“My workload is too heavy to deal with the vermin as well.”
“What did you say?”
Boer bristled.
Nibers didn't even glance at him anymore. Instead, the surviving monsters charged.
“Sir Zail!”
“I know!”
The two knights stood back-to-back, facing opposite directions. Enora trembled in fear between them.
Boer said, eyes fixed ahead,
“Miss Enora, don't worry! As long as I'm here, not a hair on your head will be harmed!”
“You stole the words right out of my mouth. Let's quickly clear these filthy things and help the princess!”
Zail declared boldly as well. Dozens of monsters then rushed at them.
“There's a lot of them!”
Zail unleashed sword strikes like a gale toward the approaching foes. His swift and precise attacks sliced through the charging monsters one by one.
The enemies were certainly numerous. Most were larger and sturdier than humans.
Yet a Spirit Order practitioner who had reached Quadruple Mastery was superhuman. He intimidated them with psychic waves and stole their lives with lightning-fast strikes, instilling fear.
Hesitation and confusion spread among the monsters. Having dealt with the beasts of the Valan Forest, Zail was accustomed to fighting hordes of them.
Boer held his own as well.
“Hmph! You filthy things! You're dying to stain my shield with your blood!”
Boer's way of handling the monsters with his shield was completely different from Zail's.
Thwack!
An orc charging at the front slammed into Boer's shield and flew into the air. Like being struck by a galloping horse, the muscle-bound brute, heavier than any human, soared several meters and passed over the heads of the other monsters.
Toward the frozen monsters, Boer thrust his sword over his shield. Another monster collapsed, its neck pierced like a skewer.
The panicked monsters charged all at once, swinging their weapons. As three swung swords and clubs simultaneously, Boer glared.
“Haaaaah!”
What burst out was less a human shout and more a beastly roar. It was a bellow infused with an intimidating psychic wave, similar to what Azel had used.
For an instant, the monsters' movements slowed. Blocking their weakened attacks with his shield, Boer stomped forward powerfully.
Kuuung!
A heavy thud shook the ground. The monsters' descending weapons rebounded with ferocious force, sending their wielders tumbling.
“Ha!”
Boer dashed forward, slashing them with his sword, then retreated to hold position.
After fending off a wave of enemies, Zail and Boer glanced at each other.
Their relationship was far from good. From the start of the journey, Boer had treated Zail like a country knight and looked down on him, constantly picking fights to seize control.
After Azel crushed him in a duel, Boer's attitude changed. Even so, things between him and Zail remained awkward. It was only natural, as both were young knights representing their organizations.
“Sir Zail, shall we compete to see who fells more?”
“I gladly accept.”
But in this moment, they acknowledged each other. To protect Enora and aid Arietta, they willingly entrusted their backs to one another.
Of course, the situation was far from easy. Surrounded by dozens of monsters while their movements were restricted, it seemed a harsh trial for both knights.
5
The current situation was unfolding exactly as the Dragon Shadow intended.
Arietta, their target; Azel, whom they were wary of; and the remaining three had all been separated. Azel aside, Zail, Boer, and Enora surrounded by dozens of monsters looked extremely dangerous.
However, Arietta couldn't go to their aid. Niberis was approaching, radiating overwhelming mana force.
“Well, I've shaken off the interloper... Dragon Demon Princess. To you, who shares our blood, I offer a merciful proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“Come with us quietly, and I'll spare your subordinates' lives.”
“What?”
“Surrender. No need to tire ourselves when the outcome is obvious.”
“Nonsense!”
Arietta kicked off the ground. Accelerating with Flash Step, she instantly appeared behind Niberis in a flash. And without hesitation, a sword strike!
But Niberis was nowhere there. Arietta was shocked by the sensation of slicing empty air.
Nibers's languid voice came from the side.
“Those who grip swords are all so predictably simple.”
‘An illusion?’
Nibers had predicted Arietta's move and laid an illusion in wait. Her magic was so swift and cunning that Arietta hadn't noticed the signs.
Kwagwang!
Lightning struck, blasting Arietta away. As she barely righted herself and landed, Niberis spoke.
“That's two. By rumor, you're supposed to be clever. Isn't it time you grasped your place?”
“Urk...!”
“Fine by me. If you insist on stubbornness, I'll just make you feel reality until it breaks.”
By “two,” Niberis meant the number of times she could have taken Arietta's life. Her goal was to capture the Dragon Demon Princess alive, so she held back even when she had openings for lethal blows.
Arietta cried out,
“Don't underestimate me! Dragonkin of darkness! Beast of light that scorches the shadows, roar!”
Amber flames ignited along the pure white blade. Unlike normal fire, they carried little heat but held tremendous destructive potential—a magical blaze.
“Go!”
She swung, and the fire stretched like a whip, lashing Niberis.
It wasn't a one-strike attack. In a single breath, Arietta unleashed dozens of varied sword strikes, tracing chaotic white trails in the air that battered Niberis.
Hwaaaaaak!
The impact exploded. From the point of collision, a fan of flames spread dozens of meters backward.
It was overwhelming firepower proving the Dragon Demon Princess's reputation was no fluke. Though she could slay dozens in an instant with such an attack, Arietta didn't assume it had ended her foe. She leaped in, swinging her sword down.
“Dragon of fire, spew your rage!”
The amber flames wrapping her blade turned into true fire radiating immense heat. Arietta unleashed a ferocious slash that could cleave a castle wall.
“...Satisfied with this much flailing?”
But the next instant, a languid voice whispered in her ear.
Kwang!
Simultaneously, lightning exploded from the side without warning. Arietta flew back, unable to even scream.
Before her, Niberis emerged through the raging magical flames unscathed, not a hair out of place.
Arietta rolled across the ground several times before rising, grinding her teeth.
‘Another illusion.’
Nibers was approaching from a position entirely different from where Arietta had thought she was.
This time, she had braced for an illusion spell. Yet she had still been completely fooled.
“How pitiful.”
Nibers said with sympathy. But the voice didn't come from the lips of the Niberis walking out of the flames.
‘Multiple illusions?’
Arietta's eyes widened.
Nibers approached from all directions. Seven of them, all appearing as solid as the real thing. Strong mana waves disrupting her senses scattered around, making it impossible to distinguish real from fake by presence.
Nibers said,
“Come quietly, and it'll be easier for everyone.”
As if her words were a spell, lightning exploded in succession. Arietta fled wildly from the blasts tearing through the darkness.
‘I can't read the signs!’
When warriors faced mages, they detected spells by sensing mana movements and responded. Even without identifying the spell type, knowing it was coming allowed them to block it.
But Niberis's magic showed no such signs. It was as if nothing was happening, then lightning struck.
‘Which means... she's just toying with me.’
Each bolt was enough to instantly kill an ordinary person. But for Niberis, they were effortless flicks of the finger. With her vast mana, she had techniques to wield it efficiently, skipping amplification to still produce this power.
Nibers said,
“Your defense is impressive. I hear the Dragon Sword Duke trained you—seems he taught you well.”
“You know my master?”
“I've never seen him myself. But his fame rings in my ears endlessly. Seeing his disciple, I can tell his skill is exceptional.”
Nibers praised Arietta's prowess sincerely.
Of course, it was the judgment of one overwhelmingly superior looking down. Something like, ‘Better than I expected.’
She kept using lightning to disable Arietta. Normally, even blocking the bolt itself, the nearby thunderclap would rupture eardrums and incapacitate.
Thus, Arietta had protected her eardrums with Dragon Spirit Art from the start. Unless struck directly, mere thunder wouldn't rob her combat ability.
‘An enemy I can't beat with my own strength.’
Arietta coldly analyzed her odds of victory.