The Approaching Darkness (5)

Ian struck first. Since this was his opening move, he used the Three Talents Sword Style to gauge his opponent.

Whoosh—swish—slash—clang!

"...!"

"Is that a variation of the Three Talents Sword Technique?"

Whirr—clang—clang—krrrang!

"...So it's swordsmanship built on the foundation of the Three Talents. Simple, yet remarkably effective."

"...You seem to know quite a bit about it."

As Baden blocked the strikes, a thought crossed his mind.

He reminds me of a young Raphael.

That venomous glare in his eyes, paired with such outstanding fundamentals...

This is fun. It's been so long since I've faced an interesting opponent.

Maybe I should get a little serious.

Baden, who had been purely defending until now, finally shifted into an offensive stance. He gripped his wooden sword in one hand while his other began casting spells.

"Alright. Now it's my turn, Ian."

"I'll show you the true essence of magic swordsmanship."

Baden started layering every buff imaginable onto himself with a single hand—evasion increase, attack power enhancement, defense reinforcement, luck boost, weight increase, critical hit amplification, damage reduction, and more.

Watching this unfold, Ian muttered under his breath.

"Holy shit... what the hell is that..."

"Looks like we need to work on that language of yours, Ian. These are all gifts I've prepared just for you."

"So please, try to endure them."

CRRRRRACK—GRRRRIND—

The wooden sword Baden brought down pressed Ian's body with crushing force. It felt as if gravity had multiplied several times over. The ground around Ian began to cave inward.

CRUNCH—GRIND—

CLANG—KRRRIIING—

"Huff... huff... What the hell did you do to a wooden sword that it sounds like I'm fighting a real blade?"

"You really are a complete monster...!!"

Ian realized the Three Talents Sword Style alone wouldn't cut it and decided to switch to the Variable Sword Technique.

WHOOOOM—

"Fire attribute granted—"

"...!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

BOOM—KABOOM—KRRRRRAAAAANG—

"Kuh... KWAHAHAHAHA!! Yes! That's it!"

"Now that's more like a disciple of Raphael! That sword style... it's been ages since I've seen it!"

"You really do know a lot about my master. But you look like you're in your early twenties... how old are you, exactly?"

"Hmph. You're only asking that now? I'm forty-five. In the prime of my life."

"...You seem way more insane than I am."

"Enough talk! Speak with your sword, Ian!!"

Baden gripped the wooden sword with both hands and began pressing down on Ian with overwhelming power.

GRRRRIND—CRRRUNCH—

"Ughhh... Hup—Winds, heed me!"

Flames and wind infused Ian's blade. Using the power of the wind, he nimbly slipped free.

"Haa... Just who the hell are you??"

"Hehehe. That's what I should be asking you, Ian."

"Granting two attributes at the same time... Raphael really raised a clever disciple."

"Haa... Here I come again!"

This time, Ian slashed his sword from a distance. A fire-attribute attack comparable to a fireball flew along the path of his swing.

"Oho... Mixing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wind and fire attributes for an attack? Not a bad long-range technique."

"Holy crap... that didn't work either. I thought it'd at least graze you..."

"You're underestimating me far too much. I was Raphael's comrade. This much is nothing!"

"...! The Hero's Party!"

"...How do you know about that? Information about Raphael should have been strictly classified."

"Now I have even more questions for you, Ian."

Ian cursed his own loose tongue and desperately searched for a way to win.

"You're seriously disgustingly strong."

"Attribute release—"

"Light and darkness attributes granted—"

"Hm? Light and darkness? I've never seen those attributes before...? Did Raphael ever use something like that?"

Ian charged in once more. Baden looked at him with pity.

"That won't work on me anymore, Ian."

"You think so?"

The moment their blades met, Ian shouted.

"Reveal your true form!"

"!!!"

"This is...!"

Baden was utterly shocked. The Ian he was fighting had suddenly emerged from the shadow behind him, preparing to strike his back.

"So this was your hidden trump card!!"

Ian attacked with everything he had. Baden frantically tried to block both the frontal and rear assaults. He quickly freed one hand from the wooden sword and cast a divine spell.

"Protect me!"

A protective shield formed around Baden, blocking Ian's attack. But a sword strike slipped through the barrier. As a result, Baden managed to stop the frontal assault but couldn't defend against the one from behind. The blow landed cleanly.

"Krrrrgh... That's got quite a bite...?"

"I never imagined you'd attack from the shadows using darkness attributes. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to materialize an intangible shadow with light attribute power before striking..."

"Magnificent, Ian!"

"Not to mention using light attributes to nullify my holy barrier... Did you plan for that too?"

Baden marveled at Ian's calculated moves, but Ian, frustrated that his killing blow had failed, glared at him like he was some kind of monster.

"...You took that hit and you're completely fine? What the hell is your body made of?"

"KWAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm pretty sturdy, I'll admit."

Baden raised his sword again.

"Shall we go for round two?"

"This time I'll come at you even harder!"

Ian suddenly lowered his sword and declared,

"Since I landed the first successful hit, that means I win."

"Ahem..."

"Besides, even if I wanted to keep fighting, I'm out of stamina. I can't go on."

Seeing Ian like this, Baden looked visibly disappointed.

"Tsk. You'll need to train your body more."

"How can you even compare your body to mine?"

"Fair point..."

"Well, it was fun today, Ian."

"Let's spar again sometime. I'd like to see you a bit stronger by then."

"Wait, I don't want to fight you anymore?? And who the hell are you anyway??"

As Ian spoke, a thought occurred to him.

If he's from the same Hero's Party as Master... could he be the Hero?

"Pfft... PWAHAHAHAHA. No way he's the Hero. There's no chance someone this rude could be the Hero."

Baden stared at Ian in disbelief.

"Hah... Forget it. Just forget it... To think I'd get called rude by someone even worse than me..."

"Tsk. I'm leaving. Next time we meet, I'll treat it like real combat."

"...There's no talking to you. Do whatever you want. I'll be a lot stronger by then!"

"Hehehe. You really are Raphael's disciple."

"Just one question. Is Raphael... still alive?"

Baden asked with deadly seriousness. Ian looked at him and answered,

"...No. My master is dead. But she's still by my side."

"...I see. Well then, it was nice meeting you, Ian."

"...Yes. I learned a lot today."

And so, Ian and Baden's first meeting ended in Ian's victory.

All the while, Raphael had been watching the fight.

Ian, buzzing with excitement after sparring with someone from the Hero's Party, immediately ran to find Raphael. A pair of eyes watched him go.

"To witness such a spectacular scene..."

"Hmm... I didn't expect this. To defeat that Hero... Even if the Hero was holding back, this outcome is beyond imagination..."

"Just what is that boy?"

The man observing the results muttered to himself as he stared at Ian.

"That child does not belong to the eternal, undying Scales of Causality..."

"Yet he can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠interfere with the Scales..."

"He possesses abilities similar to the 'Nameless One.'"

"Could he be that person's reincarnation?"

"This world has far too many variables. Far too many..."

"The Scales of this other world have tilted toward the light."

"How utterly displeasing."

"But this world will soon fall into His grasp as well."

"First... I must find the regressors..."

"Those pathetic wretches who rejected the blessing of the Demon God Raphael..."

Raphael was currently in a state of extreme panic. The cause was the warning window that had appeared before her.

...What the hell is this...

This is way too different from the game.

Another timeline...? Does this mean beings from the past and future can come to this time period?

But... why are they coming to our world just to screw everything up? Are they trying to die?

Haa...

And what the hell are the Scales of Causality? It feels like something's on the tip of my tongue...

I've never heard of the Scales of Causality before.

Was there a Demon God in this world? I thought there was only the Goddess...

It's good that the Angelic Authorities have been unlocked... but it's not time to use them yet.

Ian... I need to make Ian grow stronger, and fast.

The Faith gathered around me right now is around 900... If I gather another million, I'll be able to achieve complete manifestation.

And it feels like something is hidden within the Scales of Causality. Like...

Ah. What was I doing again?

Right. I was thinking I need to make Ian stronger, wasn't I?

I should talk to Ian first.

The moment Ian reached Raphael, he blurted out,

"Huff... huff... Master!! I met the weirdest old man today!"

"He said he was part of the Hero's Party. Did you see him too?"

...Huh?

"Master? Are you okay?"

"Ah. Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I was just lost in thought for a second."

"I see. By the way, I'm sensing incredibly powerful divinity from you, Master."

"If an outsider saw you, they'd probably treat you like a holy relic."

Is it that bad?

Raphael began suppressing her aura.

Hmm... How about now?

"Whoa. I can barely feel any divine power at all."

Good.

"Ian. You need to get stronger."

"So starting today, we're doing special training. Ian."

"Eeeehhh...?"