Kant Kepri (2)
"Haah... You finally came. Whether you believe it or not, I hoped you wouldn't. You're a good person. I don't want to kill someone as good as you."
"... Alan-ssi."
Kant gripped his mace with a bitter expression.
Since I revealed myself as a member of the Birds of Palos, combat was inevitable. He knew that too, so he prepared for battle.
"Already wanting to fight? How about talking instead?"
"After all, you're here to kill me, right? How could talking have any meaning?"
"It does for me. If you don't want to talk, I'll blackmail you."
With a flick, he pointed his sword at Heni's neck, who was lying unconscious at his feet. This was a threat: kill Heni immediately if he didn't respond to the conversation.
"... What do you want to say?"
Unable to bear seeing Heni die, Kant lowered the mace he was pointing at me.
The conversation began.
"I have many things I want to ask. First, why did you betray them? You know what the Birds of Palos is since you were involved."
"Betray? Did the Crow woman say I betrayed the Birds?"
'The Crow' was a euphemism for Montblanc.
"Not that?"
"Hahaha. I haven't betrayed the Birds of Palos. I'm still one of the members scattered across the continent."
"Hmm."
Kant's face looked very arrogant. It didn't seem like he was lying.
'Then why did Montblanc call him a traitor?'
The question grew.
And the answer would come from Kant in front of me.
"If you didn't betray them, why was the order given to kill you?"
"Didn't I say? I didn't betray the 'Birds of Palos'."
"What are you trying to say? Don't beat around the bush, spill it all."
"....."
A slight tinge of irritation in my words made Kant close his mouth and look at me. Then he smiled and spoke.
"Seeing that you didn't immediately understand my words, it seems Alan-ssi has only recently become a member of the Birds."
"Yeah, exactly. So explain it so I can understand. Why did the Crow, or Montblanc, call you a spy?"
"As I said earlier, I haven't betrayed the Birds of Palos. I just passed information about the Crow to the Eagle."
"... Eagle?"
It wasn't the real eagle... Probably a euphemism for someone like Montblanc.
And that someone would be an executive of the Birds of Palos, like Montblanc.
'Wait a second. Executive?'
As I continued thinking, something popped up.
There was a mention before: one reason I joined Montblanc was because in the Fairy Masters game I was crazy playing, Montblanc never appeared.
Even though she was a 9-star superhuman, she never appeared in this world-setting game. I was curious what story was hidden that she didn't appear.
And this meant I knew information about the executives of the Birds of Palos except Montblanc.
Of course, the info I knew was only about their ranks, classes, attack patterns, and the fairies they owned, related to combat.
Anyway, since it was Eagle, one person came to mind.
"[Eden Piritus]?"
"... How do you know that name?"
When I mentioned the name that came to mind, Kant's face turned pale, as if seeing a ghost.
"Exactly. How do I know this?"
"... You have many secrets too, just like me."
"Anyway, you spilled the info about the Crow to that person."
I got unexpected information from an unexpected place.
Until now, I thought the Birds of Palos was an organization united under one leader. But hearing Kant's words, it wasn't.
'Right. An organization that grew in the shadows like this couldn't be clean. Why didn't I think of this?'
Even in organizations that grow normally, factions exist. Factions always exist when humans create civilization and power.
Especially for the Birds of Palos, which grew to a scale comparable to the Ferdium Empire in the shadows.
'For now, one thing is clear. The Crow and Eagle have an antagonistic relationship.'
If it wasn't antagonistic, Montblanc wouldn't have ordered Kant to kill him if he was a spy.
This was very important information.
If the opportunity arises, I'll take down Montblanc, and if done well, I can get help from outside. Honestly, I don't know how long it would take to defeat Montblanc alone.
'Anyway, it's interesting.'
I laughed inwardly and looked at Kant.
"Kant-ssi. Let's make a bet."
"A bet? Suddenly?"
"Yes. If I win, you spill all the information you know. Conversely, if you win, I spill all the information I know."
"Will the information I know help you?"
"After all, I'm playing the role of the Crow's assassin. What wouldn't help?"
"... That's an interesting story. Okay. Let's bet."
Kant nodded.
I moved Heni, who was unconscious, to the back and stepped forward. Then Kant pointed his mace at me again and advanced.
Step by step, the distance between us narrowed.
"Hyaaahaaaaaat!"
At that moment, suddenly Kant let out a thunderous roar and charged at me. At the same time as he roared, pure white light appeared on his body.
From the start, an ultimate skill.
The roar just now wasn't ordinary. It was Kant's fourth skill, his ultimate [Battle Roar (Lv.38/Special)].
The [Battle Roar] skill raises all stats of friendly troops who hear the roar by 1 point each, increases skill hit rate, and slightly increases skill damage.
'[Lust Release].'
I also used the magic curse embedded in my bracelet, [Lust Release]. My senses expanded, and information I hadn't felt before started pouring into my head like a flood.
'[Will-o'-the-Wisp (Lv6/Rare)].'
Next, I used the [Will-o'-the-Wisp] skill. Then six purple fireballs appeared around me and began to rotate around me.
"Hyaaaaat!"
"Kraaaaat!"
Alan and Kant simultaneously swung their weapons at each other.
Clang-!
The sword and mace collided in the middle.
"Kup?"
Kant was pushed back.
Even though he had the buff from Battle Roar, Kant's strength stat was 101 (100+1), while mine was much higher at 110 (102+8).
No matter how much experience Kant had, in a pure strength fight, I had to win.
I swung my sword at Kant who retreated. He hurriedly swung his mace to block my sword.
'Tsk.'
I was pressing Kant hard, but the situation wasn't great. I clicked my tongue seeing the cracks on my sword.
'My strength is superior, but the weapon is superior to that guy.'
Two weapons collided by owners with strong power. Kant's short, thick mace could easily concentrate power in one place. But the sword wasn't like that.
'Directly hitting should be avoided as much as possible.'
Every time the mace hit the sword, cracks spread like spiderwebs and grew. After a few more hits, it would be a precarious situation where the sword would shatter.
"Kueup?"
At that moment, Kant bit his lip and retreated. Because he was hit in the side by the will-o'-the-wisps circling around me.
It was rare grade, but the skill level was less than 10. Most importantly, the will-o'-the-wisp had no physical power.
Nevertheless, Kant's face twisted as he retreated because of the burn effect from the will-o'-the-wisp. The will-o'-the-wisp gives a [Burn] effect to the hit area.
By now, there should be a large burn mark on Kant's side.
"Hup!"
I swung my sword chasing the retreating Kant. Pop-! The left shoulder of his armor was torn, and blood spurted from there.
"Hyaaaaat!"
Kant swung his mace for a counter, but I stepped back mockingly and dodged his attack. Then I threw the remaining 5 will-o'-the-wisps at him.
Kant swung his mace to knock away the will-o'-the-wisps, but to eliminate the will-o'-the-wisps without physical power, he had to infuse mana.
Unfortunately, poor Kant didn't infuse mana into his mace.
"Kruuuuuup!"
Veins bulged on Kant's neck. From his mouth came a groan like a wounded beast. Burn effect was applied to his two arms and legs, chest, and the left shoulder with the wound.
"Hyaaaaaaaat!"
Ssssssssssss-!
Despite the tremendous pain, Kant swung his mace at me with a shout. Bright light was pouring out from his mace.
It was his third skill, [Holy Strike (Lv.40/Advanced)]. If hit by that, even bones couldn't be cut.
'Even though I can use mana, I didn't use it to eliminate the will-o'-the-wisp?'
I couldn't hide my surprise at that sight.
Kant, being a skilled person, should know he could eliminate the will-o'-the-wisp with a mana-infused attack, but he didn't.
But I couldn't continue thinking. Because Kant, who approached me closely, swung his mace fiercely.
I dodged his attack and swung my sword again. Spit-! A thin line was drawn on his cheek, and blood droplets spurted from there.
"Kraaaaa!"
"Ugh?"
Even though the sword was swung near his face, Kant didn't stop. Instead, he clung closer and swung his mace at me.
'This... can't be dodged!'
I never imagined he would do a mindless rush like this. I was caught off guard even though I wasn't being careless.
"Hyaaaa!"
If I can't dodge, I won't block. It's impossible to attack with a sword while already extending it. I swung my left fist.
Puk-! Puk-!
"Kup!"
"Kruuuuuuuk!"
My fist and Kant's mace stabbed into each other's bodies at the same time. My fist went into his nose bridge, and his mace into my side.
'Fuck!'
His ribs broke. The power was enormous, as expected from a skill attack.
"Uuuuu..."
Kant also couldn't steady himself and fell backward.
But the greater damage was to me.
Kant was a Battle Monk with high durability stats, so even if my strength stat was high, he could endure it. In contrast, my ribs in my side broke.
"Hueu, hueu, hueu..."
Kant, who had fallen backward, staggered and stood up. His lips were stained with blood from the nosebleed. He breathed roughly.
"Hue, huhuhuhuhu, huhuhuhuhu."
I held my side and laughed.
"Kant, what have you been doing all this time?"
"Hueu, hueu..."
"You got injured. That's why you went all out from the beginning to quickly deal with me."
I don't know what he did during the long time since leaving the sanctuary, but Kant's body wasn't normal. That's why he used Battle Roar from the start and hit me with the will-o'-the-wisp instead of eliminating it. He saved mana to deliver a fatal blow to me.
"Hup, hyaaaaaaaat!"
Kant didn't answer, caught his breath, and charged at me again. As if using a skill again, bright light was pouring from his mace.
'What should I do?'
The broken ribs were poking at the internal organs inside. If my durability stat was low, I would have been rolling on the floor in pain and screaming.
'Tsk. This is why it's annoying, but I have no choice.'
Snap-!
I clicked my tongue and flicked my finger, throwing my body sideways.
Kruuuuuuung-!
"Kup?"
At the same time, with a tiger's loud roar, an unknown aura rushed from behind and covered Kant. Kant couldn't avoid the attack coming from behind.
"....."
Behind him stood a beautiful woman with short orange hair, extending her fist.
It was Rina, the fairy I claimed this morning.
There was no trace of guilt or apology on her face as she attacked Kant. Instead, a faint anger was there.