I Won
I parried the lion’s savage, rushing claw with my spear-sword. The beast had both size and raw strength over me, but I deftly redirected its power and knocked the attack aside. The lion had clearly expected an easy push. When it found itself the one being forced back, its brows twitched in irritation. I let out a snort and taunted it.
In the northern ecosystem, adventurers are strong—but not the strongest. It might sound confusing at first. What it means is that while adventurers have excellent technique, they can never win a pure contest of strength against monsters head-on. No matter how much you reinforce your body with the Northern Breathing Method or wrap yourself in aura, the gap between species is a wall that’s almost impossible to overcome.
People who have lived their entire lives in that environment naturally learn how to use an opponent’s strength. Redirecting a lion’s power to deflect its own attack, for example. Of course it’s a high-risk maneuver—if you slip up, it’ll cost you your life. But I wasn’t worried. If these guys tried to copy my technique and failed, they’d be the ones taking fatal damage.
Unlike monsters that can keep charging even after losing limbs or regenerate on the spot, a single clean hit is often lethal to humans. In a fight where one mistake means death, my weapon and the weapons of the three enemies clashed in a chaotic storm.
I knocked aside blades that came at me so fast they left afterimages. When I thrust my spear-sword into an opening to pierce a vital point, claws flew in from somewhere to block it. After exchanging hundreds of blows in mere minutes, I clicked my tongue and stepped back.
It had been a fierce battle, yet my opponents were still unscathed while my body was covered in cuts and gashes both large and small. The sensation in my left arm—the one I’d used as a shield to block the rabbit’s kick—was growing dull. If not for the defensive gear I’d bought in the North, I’d already be dead.
Honestly, trying to take on three equal opponents alone was insane to begin with.
Adventurers fighting monsters is already considered nearly impossible, yet I pull it off every time. The lion had expected me to be helplessly overwhelmed by the difference in numbers, but I’d managed to trade blows on relatively even ground and forced a stalemate.
I used my connection to my summons and monsters to coordinate the battlefield beneath the altar. A few screams rose from below, then massive summoned creatures appeared on the altar platform.
The expressions of the Masters I’d been fighting hardened at the sight of my pride and joy—Calor, Yotun, and the silently appearing Umbra.
If you’re going to shamelessly overwhelm me with numbers, then I get to do the same. With this, I wouldn’t be pushed back like before.
......
I may not look it, but I chose the Summoner class. That means my summons and I are inseparable. Seeing that they had no rebuttal, I chuckled while watching them shut their mouths.
I pulled a potion from my inventory to heal my wounds, drank it, and looked at the lion.
My suggestion must have wounded the lion’s pride; a vein bulged on its forehead. After taking several deep breaths, it closed its eyes, then opened them again—now burning with fierce determination.
I smirked at the lion’s words, which came from having experienced the same situation in reverse. Sensing Calor and Yotun raising their immense power on either side of me, I drew out every ounce of strength I had.
Today, right here, the three executives of the Flame of Doom would die.
The moment I raised my power to its limit, I lowered my stance and leaped. The lion did the same at almost the exact same instant. We moved so fast we vanished from sight for a split second, then collided perfectly in the center.
Every time spear-sword and claws met, sparks flew. Our auras, carrying our respective wills, ground against each other with tremendous repulsive force. Perhaps because it was the strongest of the three, even after being reduced from three to one, the lion refused to yield and fought me on equal footing.
Its physical abilities were superior to mine, but my superior technique more than made up for it.
The longer the battle dragged on, the more our blood boiled, and both our expressions grew savage on their own. We cast aside the politeness we’d shown at the start and swung our weapons with pure killing intent. As time passed, we abandoned defense entirely and attacked relentlessly. The sight of us swinging weapons at each other without caring about the wounds we inflicted was close to madness, yet a wide smile filled my face.
Fighting a strong opponent is just that fun.
But we couldn’t lose ourselves completely in the fight. The factions we belonged to and the current situation wouldn’t allow it. While exchanging blows in a frenzy, I left a wound on the lion’s shoulder and smirked as I swung my spear-sword again.
BOOM!
My words had struck home. The lion’s expression stiffened and its movements slowed. Even as I pressed the attack, I wore a look of genuine confusion.
It was a hypothesis anyone could come up with with just a little thought. If the leader was absent during an imperial palace raid, why would they even bother attacking? Unless the leader of the Flame of Doom was handling something more important than raiding the palace—like excavating the ruins of an ancient civilization hidden beneath it—there was no way the leader would be absent.
Taking advantage of the momentary lapse in the lion’s concentration, I left a long gash along its side.
Laughing heartily, I pressed the now-distracted lion harder. At our level, even the tiniest opening could decide life or death. We had been evenly matched, but the moment momentum swung in my favor, the lion could no longer defeat me.
Using that opening to both disturb its focus and satisfy my curiosity, I asked a question. Too relaxed? Don’t worry. Those guys had no means of escape anyway. Even if they had teleport scrolls, getting away was impossible. No matter how incompetent the imperial palace might be, they would have prepared solid anti-teleportation measures.
If it had been some other shadowy organization, I wouldn’t have doubted them. From the history I remembered from my previous life and the current history of the continent, I had learned that many catastrophes were caused by human stupidity. But if the Flame of Doom was the main actor, it was different. I hated what they did, but they were a competent and intelligent group. I was certain they had far more talented people than the empire. There was no way they would attack the imperial palace during a continental conference without a very good reason.
I mobilized every piece of knowledge I possessed and made an inference. The fact that they had attacked precisely when we were all gathered meant there had to be a reason. The idea that they had deliberately hired another force to create chaos on the surface while they alone went underground to the palace…
…!
They tried to maintain a poker face, but they couldn’t hide the slight tremble in their pupils. I was certain. I didn’t know the exact reason or what this altar even did, but the fact that they were using it while we were all gathered here proved there was definitely a reason.
......
Having roughly figured out their intentions, I grinned and switched my spear-sword to a reverse grip. The battle below seemed to have reached a conclusion as well; aside from the fight between Gold-ranks on the altar, the noise gradually died down.
I immediately fused with Ikelos, donning the armor, and charged straight at the lion, swinging my spear-sword. Thanks to Ikelos armor equalizing our strength, the longer we fought, the more wounds appeared on the lion’s body. Its expression hardened after an aura slash grazed its face and left a wound.
Tsk. Seeing the lion not even trying to hide its expression, it didn’t seem to be lying. Honestly, for such a vast underground space, it was a miracle the palace above was still intact. I canceled the plan to destroy the altar as a contingency and used my enhanced physical abilities from the fusion to drive the lion back.
In that case, I’d finish them off before they could take whatever was inside the altar.
With that thought, I charged in. The lion retreated without hesitation and shouted.
I tilted my head at the mention of teleporting away, then quickly regained my senses and rushed forward. Something they’d gone to this much trouble to obtain must have been meticulously prepared by the Flame of Doom. The fact that they were abandoning it without hesitation made me hurry to catch the lion, but unfortunately its movements were faster.
A perfectly executed Naryatagon unfolded from the lion’s body. Seeing it throw away all pride, I stared at it with a dazed expression without realizing it. The lion that had rolled across the ground smirked annoyingly and showed off the ring on its finger.
The ring was engraved with an ultra-compact teleportation magic circle.
It was a valid point. I had nothing to say in return. As it laughed at me, clearly intending to repay the humiliation I had given it, and then disappeared, I could only wear a hollow expression.
The surviving Flame of Doom members used their teleport rings one after another. Calor and Yotun, furious at losing their prey, fiercely drove the rabbit and rat back. But before their attacks could land, the teleport rings activated first. Umbra barely managed to turn part of its body into chains to restrain the rabbit, but the ring overcame the interference and teleported the rabbit away.
No matter how disadvantageous the situation was, I never expected them to abandon the altar and retreat. When even the Flame of Doom subordinates fled without hesitation, the warriors fighting below the altar looked bewildered.
Listening to the murmuring in the background, I stood on the altar and let out a sigh. A debt is a debt, and a merit is a merit. It was a shame to let them escape, but since we had successfully defended the altar, I decided to console myself by claiming the altar’s reward. As I looked around to sort out the situation, I spotted a rat bound by Luna.
Luna proudly showed off a bracelet. The wooden bracelet, which clearly emanated an extraordinary aura, pulsed with mana as if it were alive. The somehow familiar energy made me look at her with a suspicious expression. Luna stroked the bracelet with a proud face.
At Luna’s words, the bound rat made a wronged face and struggled wildly. I walked up to the rat that seemed to be screaming about what kind of cheating ability that was and sneered at it.
I ignored the rat that was protesting why it was being blamed for what the lion had done to it and put on a refreshed expression.
With this, I had won the battle of pride against the lion.