Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Frost Storm Onslaught
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The combat system of Brightest Darkness 4 is largely divided into two categories.
Evasion and deflection, generally used against humanoid enemies, and defense and rolling, generally used against monster-type enemies. Finally, there's the special counterattack known as parrying.
Of course, you could use evasion and deflection against monster-types, or defense and rolling against humanoids. There weren't any hard system restrictions forcing you to do otherwise.
It was purely a matter of efficiency.
“As expected, Iris has a good eye!”
For example, in a situation like this, facing a boss with an insane combo pattern that could chain up to 13 hits in a row, rolling would leave you wide open during the recovery frames. You'd eat one hit, get staggered, and then get shredded by the follow-ups until you dropped dead.
Ice-covered twin daggers clashed repeatedly against a sword with a red blade, producing sharp metallic sounds. My hands were going numb. Far more than when I'd deflected that giant blunt weapon from the human butcher.
Her arms looked so slender they might snap if tapped, yet her strength was monstrous.
After I deflected even the final 13th attack, she staggered back a few steps before immediately launching into her next pattern. She crouched low, crossing her arms in front of her head as she charged.
‘Seven-hit combo.’
I recalled the pattern and prepared to counter.
The third and sixth strikes had subtle off-beats, and if you got baited into parrying on the regular beat, combat fatigue would trigger and you'd be dead for sure.
An icy path formed behind Lize. The ice road lingered for a moment before scattering frost particles and exploding. A fog of frost blanketed the area.
I took care not to enter the frost fog zones as I deflected the swinging twin daggers.
Right hand, left hand, then the off-beat right hand again. Followed by two right-hand strikes with an off-beat left. The finale was a diagonal slash from the right.
I parried every single one up to that final diagonal slash. Seizing the moment when Lize hesitated, I counterattacked from my side. My sword sliced across her arm, leaving a shallow cut from which a few drops of blood trickled.
‘It definitely connected properly this time too.’
Even though the blade plunged into exposed flesh on her defenseless forearm, the only wound was that faint scratch. Barely enough to draw a few drops of blood.
I'd landed plenty of hits before, but they all resulted in nothing more than light scratches. It seemed like the game's HP mechanics worked that way.
Lize glanced down at the scratches covering her forearm and shouted in a delighted voice.
“Yes, that’s it! That’s how it should be! A real man’s got to have that kind of grit, right? The more I see of you, the more I like you!”
Then she kicked off the ground and charged at me again. Her expression as she looked at me was filled with obvious joy. Not joy from the fight itself, but genuine interest and pleasure directed at me.
A cut on the arm meant nothing to her. As expected from the game, she wouldn’t drop from a single hit anyway.
The figure before me leaped into the air. Ice and frost gathered around her body. She gripped her daggers in reverse grip with both hands, positioning the tips downward for a plunging strike.
It was an unblockable attack.
I quickly created distance and rolled backward. With a gruesome crunch—Kwadududuk!—an ice meteor collided with the ground right nearby. Even though I rolled the moment I saw it, it was that close.
‘Vanilla mode, and I could’ve walked it off.’
Spikes of sharp ice jutted out in all directions from where Lize landed. Their tips were chillingly razor-sharp.
The one who created them casually snapped a spike and stepped out as if it were nothing. Well, if she got hurt by her own ice, that’d be comedic in its own right.
The next attack came immediately. She crossed her arms once, swung her left dagger from low-right to high-left once, then unleashed a four-hit combo.
I parried them all and raised my sword to chest level to counter the final strike. Lize pulled one arm back, leveling her dagger horizontally.
It was a thrusting attack that couldn’t be blocked with weapon defense.
To counter it, you had to parry at the right timing, evade or roll, or raise a shield—one of those three.
—Chaeng!
Naturally, I chose to parry.
The blue blade, extended to near-longsword length by ice growing along it, met the bloodstained red blade of my sword.
My body couldn’t withstand the recoil and slid backward. I barely stopped by thrusting my sword tip into the ground. Lize looked genuinely shocked, as if she hadn’t expected me to parry even this.
“Wow, you blocked that too? Where did Iris find such an amazing rookie?”
I used the opening to shake the frost off my arm and flick my numb hand.
Since my sword lacked frost resistance enchantments, even perfect parries would gradually fill the frost gauge. The key was ending it before that happened.
Lize had accumulated a fair number of minor wounds, but without visible HP, I could only estimate her stamina.
Back when I did speedruns, I memorized every little detail like that, but after shifting focus to no-level barehanded runs, I forgot it all quickly.
“Didn’t you say you’d go easy on me?”
“Hey, I tried to hold back. I really did, but you’re blocking so well—what can I do? It makes me curious just how much you can handle. Iris and Erika must feel the same, right?”
I glanced over at the two watching our duel from a distance.
As Lize said, Iris stood motionless with her arms crossed under her chest, staring at us. Erika watched with eyes full of keen interest.
Whatever else, it was clear neither had any intention of stopping the spar.
“Iris, hasn’t he passed the test by now? How long are you planning to make us fight?”
I probed Iris just in case. From my perspective, nothing to lose. If it worked, I’d skip Lize’s final pattern. If not, no real harm done.
Even if it ended here, neither Lize nor Erika seemed likely to fail me.
Iris seemed to ponder for a moment before giving a small nod.
“The skills he’s shown so far prove him more than qualified. From a testing standpoint, we could end it now without issue. If that’s what both of you want, we’ll call it here. Any objections, Lize?”
“What? Hold on. End it now? You serious?”
“We’ve seen plenty of his ability already. I said entry exam, not deathmatch.”
“But I haven’t even used half my moves! Don’t you have any sense of romance, Iris?”
“Go find romance somewhere else. This is an entry exam.”
“Argh... Fine, just one more! One technique, then I’ll pass him! If I throw this many attacks and don’t land a single hit on the rookie, what does that say about me as Knight Captain? And honestly, Iris, you’re curious too how far he can parry. Right? Come on?”
“......”
Iris clearly hesitated. From my standpoint, it was utterly absurd.
‘That excuse actually works? Seriously?’
“......Do as you like.”
‘It worked.’
Was this another case of warped common sense, like her outfit? Why did that fly?
Ignoring my disbelief, Lize—now brimming with energy after Iris’s approval—raised her daggers again. I reluctantly reset my stance. Guess I had to fight one more round.
She said just one more technique, so—
‘......Wait. One technique?’
A chill suddenly ran down my spine. This feeling was very, very bad.
“Alright, rookie! Sorry about this, but a Knight Captain’s gotta have some dignity!”
“You said you’d hold back, so what’s this in an entry exam? And what if I block this one too? Your dignity won’t mean squat then!”
“You think you can block this? Bold rookie! Fine, tell you what—if you block it, I’ll grant you one wish! Even naughty ones are fine! How’s that? Pumped now?”
“I don’t need that, so just stop!”
“Sorry, no can do! But seriously, anything goes, so think it over!”
Lize flashed a cheeky smile as she coated her twin daggers in ice. White frost clung to her entire body, and the surrounding air rapidly cooled. I let out a deep sigh at the sight.
‘So it came to this. What was that move called? Frost Storm Barrage?’
Frost Storm Barrage was the final combo added to the Lize boss fight in Nightmare mode.
It chained 20 hits, each with filthy high damage, complete with homing that made rolling nearly impossible unless you were lucky.
It practically forced you to wield a greatshield or parry every single hit. If your luck sucked, the frost would build mid-combo and burst, sending you packing.
And to top it off, it was a pattern she only used twice per fight across all boss battles, so researching it took forever.
Lize lightly swung her arm vertically, laying down an icy path in between. Time to focus. I cleared my mind of all distractions, concentrating solely on the daggers in her hands.
Leaving a blurry afterimage, Lize shot forward like an arrow.
‘First four hits.’
She spun her body counterclockwise, following with a two-hit spinning strike. The moment sword met dagger, electricity jolted through my hand. I nearly dropped it.
No time to wince. A storm of frost swirled around the daggers. I parried the first two and immediately pulled my bloodstained sword to my chest.
As I raised my arm, two intense shocks grazed past my chest. My body slid back from the impact. No way I could’ve reacted visually to that speed.
Not done yet—the area filled with thick frost and chill, making Lize’s form hazy even at arm’s length.
In-game, visibility was at least somewhat maintained, but not here. Honestly, even the daggers’ outlines were faint now.
I gave up tracking with my eyes and moved by muscle memory instead. Recalling mouse right-click parries, I swung my arm like hitting a rhythm.
‘Next eight hits.’
The thought had barely formed when the clash of blades rang out exactly eight times, shoving my body back again. Lize pressed immediately. No chance to readjust or catch my breath.
Frost now caked my arms and legs, making movement a struggle. Forcing my limbs to respond was reaching its limit. Felt like the frost would burst on the 19th—or the final—hit.
‘Can’t last like this. Gotta land a hit mid-combo to cancel it.’
As I thought that, the 16th attack flew in. I parried it and brainstormed. Parry the 17th, and a brief opening for a counter would appear.
Tricky timing, but success would stagger her and cancel the pattern. I committed and prepared to counter the incoming dagger.
Then my body suddenly grew heavy.
Something dragged my entire frame downward, making my legs buckle. My sword tip hesitated.
‘Combat fatigue...!’
I steadied my suddenly weighted body. The combo hadn’t continued yet, so I had time. Just before I swung my bloodstained sword again, I caught Lize’s lip curling up.
I checked her stance. It looked awkward at a glance. But I knew what it meant.
Attack now, and she’d parry me instantly and counter.
Before I could twist my sword’s trajectory despite myself, someone blurred in between us.
“Stop!”