Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Story Left by the Witch☆ (5)
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A flash and a roar that felt like they would paralyze my eyes and ears.
After a colossal bolt of lightning struck, so immense it seemed to turn the world white for an instant.
Two beings, scattering unimaginable power, faced each other in a tense standoff.
“…”
“…”
Hilde, lunging forward with her spear.
Ófnir, aiming his two blade-like forelegs.
The battle between the great dragon and the girl with the spear was about to begin.
Hilde glared at Ófnir and spoke in an icy voice.
“Ratatoskr…!”
“Ooh, and who might this be?”
Ófnir let out a boisterous laugh, feigning amusement as he shouted.
“Heh, khahak!! Azure-white lightning!! The Azure-White Lightning Spear—!! Looks like those incompetent, inferior females failed to even buy some time, did they?”
“…”
“As expected, the incompetent are useless. No matter how much they borrow the power of a beast god… if they lack the ability in the first place, they’ll just be crushed by its weight.”
Ófnir continued in a sneering voice.
“But well… right now… heheh…! None of that matters anymore. I’ve found some information I want to hear, even if it means tearing off the limbs of that pink inferior species over there to get it!”
“You…!”
Hearing his shout, Hilde’s expression turned frigid. Veins began to throb beneath her eyes, which always held a cold, silver light.
*Grind…*
She looked as if she might explode at any moment.
‘Hilde…?’
I flinched at the sight.
As a worthy rival, as a friend… I thought I had seen many of her faces.
But this was the first time I had ever seen Hilde so enraged… so close to losing her reason.
*Rumble—!*
The atmosphere trembled.
The earth shook.
A torrent of ether boiled up.
The incarnation of lightning was furious.
*Rumble—!*
Hilde’s shoulders trembled as she lowered her head.
“Again… again, right in front of me…! You try to take what is mine…!”
Lightning leaked out unceasingly.
Her normally calm, azure-white ether churned with rage. Responding to that power, her skill… [Grimnir]… began to spew forth sinister bolts of lightning.
The sound of thunder echoed from the sky, now covered in dreary clouds.
*Rumble…!*
From between the strands of her lowered hair.
Her silver locks, reacting to the lightning, shot up toward the sky. The hair, swaying in the violently pulsating flow of azure-white ether, looked like a silver torch.
At last, Hilde raised her head.
“You dare try to harm my Lara…!”
Hearing those words, my face flushed slightly.
‘…? Is it just that the vocabulary is different in a fantasy world…? ‘My’…?’
Hilde screamed as if vomiting blood, her voice blazing.
“I’ll kill you—!! I will wipe every last one of you from this world—!! I will see you all eradicated from the Academy City forever—!!”
*Rumble—!!*
“You cursed things of this world!! I will not let you take what is precious to me anymore—!!”
*Rumble—!!*
In tune with her rage.
A flash of thunder roared.
Ófnir, finding even Hilde’s genuine fury to be like a child’s tantrum, pounded his forelegs together and burst into laughter.
“Khahak…! Go on, bark some more!”
“Die—!!”
Hilde shot forward as if launched.
My body froze as I watched her.
The raw desperation in her anger, which I was seeing for the first time, was overwhelming.
“Hi-Hilde…?!”
Should I join the fight? Or should I carefully try to gather information?
In that split second, the countless questions I’d been pondering were forgotten in my panic.
But because of that, the answer became even clearer.
‘…Right. Since it’s come to this, we have no choice but to fight and win…! If I try to hold her back and ask questions now, I’ll only end up correcting that thing’s subtle misunderstandings and misinterpretations…!’
It was far more convenient for Hilde to show clear hostility toward Ratatoskr.
Just as I gripped my spear, solidifying my resolve alongside Hilde’s newfound fury.
*Thump!*
*Thwump!*
The two beings kicked off the ground simultaneously and charged at each other.
The fight had begun.
*Whoosh—!!*
*Craaash—!!*
The battle started with a black tempest.
It was a scene like azure and white thunder raging through a storm of blades made of black ether. As their attacks collided, the ground around the library cracked and exploded into fragments.
*KABOOM—!!*
And with that explosion, Ófnir unfurled his sleek wings and took to the air.
“Khahat!! Let’s see you try and hit me!!”
“You…!”
*Whirrrr—!*
With a vibrating sound like a helicopter taking off.
The great dragon flew amidst the countless heaps of rubble.
His movements, flying around tauntingly, seemed sloppy, but they reeked of a trap.
The boss specialty of Ófnir, the [Priest of Conflict], was the counter-attack.
But Hilde, as always… was trying to charge in, planning to offset it with the destructive power of her ether skill, [Grimnir].
‘Hilde! That’s not an attack you can just tank with raw defense…!’
I shouted to Hilde, who was trying to push through regardless. No matter how much of an invincible powerhouse she was with her perfect offense and defense, she couldn’t be prepared for a sudden surprise attack.
“Hilde!! You can’t go in like that!! He has long-range attacks—!!”
“…!”
*Shhk—!*
Thankfully, Hilde listened to me.
Even in her rage, she reacted to my words with a nod.
There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her movement.
‘She’s listening to me…!’
Our friendship was not in vain.
Even now, it shone brightly, supporting us both.
Brynhildr… she still trusted me.
‘She’s listening to my plea to trust me.’
Not as The Pink Spiral.
Not as The Faded Spiral.
She was just trusting her friend, ‘Clara.’
Realizing that, I felt a lump form in my throat.
‘Right, let’s fight together… and win!’
What I do best.
What Hilde does best.
Now was the time to use those skills without hesitation.
*Tat—!*
Moving in a different direction from where Hilde had shot off, I ran while keeping a distant watch on Ófnir’s movements. I picked out the familiar and predictable attacks from his patterns.
‘What I can do now is use my knowledge of the original story and my cognitive abilities!’
I spoke to Hilde, who had stopped to stand guard.
“Hilde☆! His specialty is crushing anyone who charges at him! He’s a devious one who always sets a trap behind his flashy attacks and movements!!”
“I see, deception and counters are his specialty…! Understood!”
Hilde halted her charge and raised her spear, enveloping herself in an ether barrier.
“…Hup!”
In an instant, Hilde had assumed a solid defensive stance.
Seeing this, Ófnir stopped his frivolous movements and roared with laughter.
“Khahak!! Did that ‘Prophet’ of yours tell you that too?”
“Shut up!!”
“Khahak! In that case, I’ll just have to slice off those inferior ears of yours!!”
Ófnir’s thread-like killing intent focused on one point, creating a scene reminiscent of a bullet-hell game.
A straightforward, linear movement.
But it was less threatening than an unpredictable counter.
Ófnir swung his huge, blade-like forelegs in mid-air.
*Shwaaaak!*
Attacks came flying from between the heaps of wreckage.
*Shwaak—!!*
I deflected one of them with the tip of my spear.
‘It’ll be hard to block all of them…!’
Dozens of black blades shot out again.
They were blasts of black ether, imbued with a sinister edge like the blade of a guillotine.
They closed in on us like a net.
“I can dodge them─☆”
“I can see them too…!”
I, with my exceptional speed, evaded.
Hilde, capable of nullifying attacks, defended and intercepted.
We each prepared for the incoming storm of blades in our own way.
‘He’s all about misdirection, so the real attack should be coming soon…’
Ófnir, having prepared his ‘true attack pattern’ in the meantime, shouted confidently.
“Khahat!! It’s not over yet!! Die screaming in agony—!!”
It was a line from the barrier pattern I was sick of hearing.
“This is the second blade pattern! It’s going to get stronger! The ones that move like thick lines are an absolute-must-dodge!”
“Got it! Be careful, Lara!”
“Okay─☆”
“…I really don’t like any of these so-called ‘Prophets’.”
“Quiet now─☆”
A sudden pattern spoiler. But the creature, having already drawn up its ether for the attack, executed its prepared move.
*Shashashak—!*
Ófnir darted about, firing off a continuous stream of black blades. His twenty-meter-long green body moved as nimbly as a shadow.
*Shashashak—!*
Towards the spearman’s shield, fronted by a heavy chunk of iron.
The giant green dragon let out a bloodcurdling cry.
With its two forelegs larger than a person, it continuously created blades of wind.
*Shashashak—!*
Soon, the dozens of blades became hundreds, then thousands, forming a massive black storm of blades.
On the small mobile screen, this platforming pattern was depicted with a red zone and shoddy CG, but seeing it in person, it was an incredibly powerful attack.
I used the shaft of my spear to jump, as if pole-vaulting.
“Hup─☆”
In the eye of the storm.
The black blade storm approached, drawing a line.
*Shwiiing—!!*
As I squeezed my body through a narrow gap in the storm of blades.
A terrifying noise and a chilling killing intent rushed past me.
Another storm of blades approached.
“…!”
*Shwiiing—!!*
I dodged it by bending my back in mid-air.
‘Unlike the game pattern that only moved north, south, east, and west, this is three-dimensional, which makes it really tricky…’
A game of jump rope with death.
An attack I wouldn't even dream of dodging if I didn't have either my cognitive ability or my movement speed.
But I could dodge it.
“…!”
*Tat—!*
Another storm of blades passed by.
*Shwiiing—!!*
I moved through the storm, crossing between moments in time, evading every single one. And when I glanced over to see how Hilde was coping…
*Clang!*
*Thud!*
Hilde was commendably holding her ground amidst the storm of blades, her great spear imbued with the ether of lightning held before her. She was stronger than I remembered her being as a first-year.
“Haat—!”
And following my words, she steadfastly dodged the storm of blades that came at her like thick lines.
“…!”
Seeing that filled me with immense hope. I felt like I could give Hilde a kiss worth ten reward points when this battle was over.
‘Though I want to ask her about the true meaning of that forehead kiss first…!’
We were still in the middle of a battle.
The kiss talk would have to wait.
Most of the black blades around Hilde were being shattered by her lightning.
*Thwump!*
*Thwump!*
*Thwump!*
The lightning of the one who protects the Academy City.
The azure-white ether, belonging to the noblest of [Destiny] attributes, shone brighter than ever, shattering the storm of blades. It was the lightning of protection, one that blazed when trying to truly protect someone.
*Rumble—!!*
“…”
Watching it, I suddenly became curious about what was in Hilde’s heart.
‘The Academy City…? Or maybe…’
But that thought was shattered by a sharp cry.
“Shaaaak—!!”
Ófnir shrieked, continuously swinging its two forelegs. As several swings overlapped, the black walls of wind collided and resonated, growing ever larger.
*Rumble—!!*
Within that storm of blades, Ófnir raised a foreleg, its body trembling as it tried to shout something.
“The root of [Conflict] is distrust! Even your very shadows…!”
Another line I was sick of hearing.
*Tat—!*
As I hopped and skipped through the raging storm of blades like I was playing jump rope, I shouted to Hilde.
“Watch the ground! Clones are coming out─☆”
“Right! Lara!”
Hilde dropped her defensive barrier to attack, not even hesitating as she received minor cuts due to her slightly inferior evasiveness compared to mine.
*Psh!*
Blood spurted from the cuts.
The result of her trusting my orders and forcing her way through.
“Hilde—!!!”
I screamed at the sight. I felt like my mind was going blank.
‘Ah… so this is what it feels like.’
When she gets hurt.
My heart aches more than if I were the one in pain.
Hilde, still glaring at Ófnir with murderous eyes, answered.
“I’m fine!!! Dodge!!”
“…!”
Recognizing the attack she was about to unleash, I got as far away as possible. And the [Grimnir] that Hilde unleashed at maximum power erupted in a flash of light.
“Khahak!! You think I’ll let you!!”
“Yep☆ You have to─☆”
I charged ether into the tip of my spear and threw it with all my might at the rushing Ófnir. My secret technique, which now even worked on Priest-class bosses… [Red Flower Dazzling].
*Shwoook—!!*
*Thwaaack!!*
“Kuhak?!”
In that moment when Ófnir faltered.
*Rumble—!!*
Hilde slammed her spear into the ground and shouted.
“All of you!! Just die—!!”
*Rumble—!!*
The light of annihilation.
In an instant, hundreds of lightning bolts rained down through the black storm and exploded.
Now.
And for all time to come.
Of all the students who had ever passed through this Academy City, this was one of the most dazzling ether skills. It swept across the entire ground, swiftly annihilating Ófnir’s clones as they were just beginning to take form.
The clones, disappearing before they could even be created, cried out their last.
“Guhk…?!”
“Kuk…!”
*Rumble—!!*
As the brilliant flash passed.
Soon, even the storm of blades was completely swallowed by the lightning.
A colossal thunderbolt that seemed to dye everything white.
“…”
“…”
And when it disappeared.
Ófnir’s main body was gone, and I could feel a single presence, once hidden by the numerous clones, rapidly moving underground.
-Heheh…! Well, this is a lost cause since you know everything. Have fun with your pointless struggle!! Hahaha!!
“…”
“…”
The boss had executed a strategic retreat.