101. Heroes (3)
101. Heroes (3)
- 1 -
Evangeline and Lin Xue.
The initial clash between the two unfolded when they were as unprepared as possible, pouring in only their mana.
Yet even that alone was enough for the mana aftershock to deal damage to any unprepared ability-user nearby.
Kwakwakwang - !!!
The second impact was faster and stronger than the first.
One was a hastily charged 「Frenzy」 attack; the other, an 「Overlapping Strong Strike」 frantically gathered in that split second.
A collision whose impact slightly exceeded the system's assessment, occurring about five times in less than a single second.
Since it was an all-out attack, it was only natural that the two could not withstand the aftershock and were blown apart.
Kkudeudeuk...!
'She was strong after all.'
Tut!
'As expected of Evangeline...'
Having expended all the power they had gathered in an instant, it was time to gather strength once more.
However, Evangeline, who was rotating and loosening her arm that had gone stiff from the impact, and Shue, who had just spat blood from her split lip, had no intention of doing so.
Paat!
Recovering from the shock in a brief moment, the two closed in once again.
Tung! Tung!
'Now.'
Evangeline's form twisted as she took in the sight of Shue closing in on her with just two strides.
She had taken an irregular step at the right moment, twisting her posture.
An action that would be enough to fracture a normal human, but it was a simple matter for Evangeline, who was accustomed to a body forged of bone and mana.
Seukak - Kwadeuk - !
Above her head, a crimson slash unleashed from Shue's fingertips grazed past, drawing a five-line staff.
The sound of the far wall being gouged out could be heard, but even hearing that chilling sound, Evangeline did not stop.
'Where do you think you're going.'
Confirming the sword was tracing a straight line, Shue's eyes flashed, and she twisted her body, bringing her elbow down—
Chwak!
—and retracted it.
Because she had confirmed that the thrusting sword had twisted at a right angle and was rising again.
Seupat - !
Shue leaped once to the side to withdraw, then turned her body completely.
It was to dodge the sword aura Evangeline had sharply unleashed from that unstable stance, aimed at her left leg, and to attack at the same time.
Kwang!!
Kwajik!
Shue's spinning kick exploded against Evangeline's arm, elbow raised at a right angle.
Not only the initial impact, but the secondary shock filled with mana crumpled Evangeline's gauntlet.
"Tch."
Shue's expression depicted dissatisfaction.
'It was shallow.'
And sure enough.
Evangeline's posture was subtly tilted opposite to the location of the impact, and her left arm was already in a state protected by released mana.
In that state, Evangeline, grasping her sword with one hand, swung her right hand from behind her back toward the head.
Kwang!
Shue clenched her fist and struck back against the sword strike, deflecting it, but Evangeline's attack was not so easily blocked.
Kagang! Kwang!
Twice with one hand, once with two hands: a descending strike that flowed away, then reversed its course and came flying back; she swung a hand-sword made of mana in her left hand once, then grasped the sword with both hands, loaded it with strength, and thrust it forward.
Accompanied by joint movements that could not be performed by any human, and with all of those movements intertwined with mana, the attack was not only bizarre but could cause irreversible injury if even one hit properly.
Of course, neither Shue nor Evangeline were assets that would be incapacitated by a single grievous wound.
'She's seizing the momentum.'
The corners of Shue's eyes rose sharply, having already long since resolved herself to receiving minor injuries.
Hook - !
The brief gap created as she naturally withdrew was exploited as Lin Xue abruptly ducked her body.
Almost to the point of touching the ground.
Evangeline, who had been swinging her sword from right to left, caught her and likewise pursued, turning her sword at a right angle.
- Kuraak - !!
Kwang!!
But before the sword could fall, Shue's roar came first.
At the same time she made Evangeline falter with a mana-infused roar, she stomped the ground, shattering it beneath her feet.
Immediately after, the crimson force that had been gathering in her left hand sometime before burst forth.
Kwarrrung!!
It erupted from her fist, but it was worthy of being called cannon fire.
In terms of both physical force and firepower.
'Dangerous.'
Evangeline, having witnessed the force erupting directly toward her face, calmly stepped back half a step even while off-balance, loading mana into her sword.
In that short time, she swung several sword strikes, crisscrossing like a spider's web.
Seukak! Kagagak!
Shue's attack was blocked by Evangeline's mana spreading wide across a broad surface, and its trajectory was twisted as it was shaved away along the narrow edge.
"Take...!"
Kwang!!
But Shue's attack did not end there.
In the meantime, Shue had activated 「Mana Overload」 and lunged, her five slashes closing in toward Evangeline's abdomen.
- Dalgak. (Good. It's always fun fighting you.)
"Ridiculous...!"
Evangeline gave that assessment of the frontal rush, setting her sword diagonally in reverse.
The battle was rising to its climax.
- 2 -
'A fight between a swordswoman and a fistfighter.'
In truth, one was a somewhat underhanded warrior who could wield anything beyond just the sword, and the other, though by nature suited for close-quarters combat, was a firepower fanatic whose overflowing Frenzy and blood-based mana, along with the slashes containing it, allowed her to cover even mid-range.
But regardless, outwardly it was a fight between two who appeared to be a swordswoman and a fistfighter.
The two jobs that almost always appear as protagonists through any medium, and whose superiority debates never cease.
Of course, in such fights, the wisest answer is always 'it depends on the situation', and the most prudent action is not to get involved in the fight at all.
However, at this moment, victory belonged to the swordswoman.
"Attention. Salute. Both of you."
- Ddak!
"Well done... Evangeline. Congratulations."
- Dalgak.
As one could tell from the attitude they assumed while listening to Ran's command.
Shue had ceaselessly pressed forward with unending stamina and the power of Frenzy that grew stronger the longer she fought, but Eve had calmly shaved down and sculpted the force of that advance the entire time, and created situations that blocked the buildup of Frenzy.
Since Shue's strength grew if the battle continued, Eve had cut off the meridians in between stretches, preventing the battle situation from dragging on.
"Still as underhanded as ever..."
- Dalgeurak.
While doing so, Eve had been accumulating her own power, and at the final moment, with a single attack, she stunned Shue for a moment.
The moment Shue's 'Frenzy' had fully surged, right before she would lose her reason and pour out all her pent-up power, in that brief instant when she stopped in her tracks.
『Overlapping Strong Strike - During battle, can apply an attack of Stamina and Mana +50% to a necessary strike. Can increase or decrease up to 200%, but the limit for additional stacks is 10%.』
It was the power of this trait that, at some point, had occupied the trait window in place of 「Explosive Power」.
Had it been a real battle, Shue would have died there and then.
"Well done. Both of you. The victor, Evangeline, shall be promoted to elite, and regarding what you wish to receive as a reward, we shall speak of it separately later."
- Ddak!
"Haa... Yeah."
It could be said that this was an expected result to some degree.
As Shue herself had acknowledged, Eve was outstanding in 'every aspect'.
If Shue had won in the defensive battle that she herself had claimed as her specialty, that would be one thing, but having failed to do so and having carried over to this personal duel, her odds of victory were not high.
Even so, Shue had not given up and had done her best.
"You did well. Not giving up is one of the greatest values."
"Yeah... I know."
- Eureureung...
Shue, closing her eyes, accepted the hand stroking her and touching her ears with pleasure. On her face, there was the bitterness of defeat, but nothing like excessive jealousy could be seen.
In the gaze Eve looked down at her with, too, that goodwill still had not faded.
Even though it seemed this matter had been a great ambition from the two's standpoint, it appeared it was not enough to damage their relationship.
Like close friends who had spent many years together.
"You two, rest. Sonia? There is no need to change locations. Let us begin here."
"Yes, Master!"
I let Eve and Shue rest.
The duel had lasted about ten minutes. However, during that time, the two had literally put forth their full power, so they would be in a state with virtually no stamina or mana left.
Although Eve was undead and thus more free from the influence of stamina, her body was not invincible, so she was still affected by mana expenditure.
And though Shue's stamina was far superior to modern martial artists due to the influence of mana, she had used up all that mana and fought so hard that even her 'Frenzy' had been released by the time she fainted and awoke, so the result would not be much different.
"This is..."
"Here they are. Will you grant me half the portion? Lady Sonia."
"Ah, thank you. Lady Yuran."
"Please, call me Ran. If you are my Lord Husband's disciple, then you are one to be served by this concubine."
"Lord Husband... Ah, understood. Lady Ran."
"It is pleasing to hear."
I gave instructions to Ran and Sonia to draw out the summon promotion spell array.
While Sonia only knew because I had told her, Ran was drawing out the array quite naturally.
Though it was said that the knowledge of western and eastern continent dungeon lords did not differ greatly, this was still knowledge she ought not to know, as she had not yet attained a grade.
Was it surprisingly careless of her, or was it a matter of being found out not mattering to her? I felt it was probably the latter, but I deliberately did not call attention to it and waited.
Dalgak.
"Even at a time when you should be receiving due honors, you make me quite embarrassed. Eve."
- Ddak.
"It's not something to apologize for. It was just something I said. Thank you."
- Ddak!
In the meantime, Eve had, before I knew it, brewed coffee and handed it to me.
It was espresso.
Parak.
Before me was a necromancy text from the demon world.
The knowledge was already in my head, but its actual practice was a first, so I was in the middle of examining several spellcraft texts and verifying the knowledge.
'Even so, my knowledge is far superior in terms of precision, safety, and depth.'
Although the texts did contain things like the author's personal know-how, the knowledge in my head still conveyed that my knowledge was much safer and more stable.
On top of that, a premonition from somewhere was informing me that there would be 'no failure'.
There was no need for further comparison.
"It's all ready, Master."
Listening to Sonia, I rose from my seat and walked toward the two arrays drawn on the floor, connected by fate.
Even a brief glance told me there were no abnormalities.
'I was a little surprised when Eve killed him... but thanks to that, we can use him like this now.'
Upon the larger of the two arrays, the corpse of Tigris, headless and chest pierced from behind, had been placed.
Its massive body, which had been dead for nearly five days without rotting in the slightest, seemed as though it would revive immediately if only its head and heart were restored to normal.
'The preservation ability is excellent. I wonder if it applies to food too.'
It was a sight that idly sparked such stray thoughts.
It was the power of necromantic preservation magic and the shadow space.
After inserting the pre-preserved heart into the pierced section of its chest and fitting it in place, I summoned my staff and called her.
"Eve."
- Ddak!
Eve, who had been waiting, answered once with a poised stance, then walked with relaxed strides and knelt on one knee inside the smaller array.
It was that disciplined, splendid posture that had first made me suspect she was a knight.
Now, that thought had been discarded.
Because the knights I had actually seen were far more delinquent than her, and beyond that, rude and endlessly foolish.
"I am expectant to see how your form will change."
- Dalgak.
The light in her eyes looking at me emitted a soft glow, and a sentiment returned carrying the meaning of 'look forward to it'.
Now, this conveyance of inconvenient emotions from her would no longer be necessary, but that made me feel a faint sense of regret.
Once conversation became possible, this feeling as if our hearts were connected by fate would become a little more distant.
"Let us begin."
- Ddak!
But right now, worry would only slow progress.
The decision to stop this matter here was not an option anyway. That would be something I couldn't do even to Shue, who had just fought an all-out duel.
"「Spirit Ascension」."
Shaking off hesitation, I quickly activated the mana operation along with the incantation.
Keuoo...!!
From the two magic arrays, black mana was summoned, seizing both bodies, and then the body of the Arachne King gradually became dyed in blackness and melted away.
As the power it possessed was immense, the speed at which it was consumed as sacrifice was also slow.
"Eve."
- Dalgak.
Grasping the staff that was adhered by mana to the edge of Eve's magic array so it would not separate, I met Evangeline's gaze as she looked up at me.
From her, looking at me with unwavering eyes, I still felt nothing but loyalty and goodwill toward me.
"What kind of appearance will it be, I wonder."
- Dalgak.
Was it because I was now placing her to an even higher station?
Or was it because she and I were connected by mana?
Or perhaps, was it because worry still remained?
It could also be that the reverse scale Tigris had touched had not yet healed.
"I think your eyes will be blue. For some reason, I cannot imagine you as any color but that."
- Ddak.
"Will your hair color be black, like mine? Or will it be silver, or some other heavenly color? Perhaps it could even be blonde."
- Dalgeurak.
"But still, in any case..."
...An impulse surged up.
The one impulse that had been frustrating my heart so much these days.
"Whatever the case, whatever form you take. I will place you at my side."
- Ddak.
Even as this impulse and the thoughts I poured out grew gradually larger, my 'nobility' did not stop me.
Did that mean even this impulse of mine was noble?
Or did it mean my nobility would not be shaken by this much?
Did it mean the people here were permitted to see my disheveled state?
"You, too, shall protect me for eternity. For as long as you and I live."
- Dalgak!
Even if I still could not know the reason why, I did not stop pouring out my heart.
"Therefore."
- Ddak?
Reaching out and grasping her head, pulling her toward me, I looked up close as the light in her eyes wavered.
The sight of that always calmly flickering light being greatly disturbed felt akin to casting a stone into a tranquil lake.
Along with a certain coolness and an unidentifiable guilt, the impulse boiled up further.
"Always, strive to approach me with all your might."
- Dalgak, dalgeurak...
I cast it into that lake.
That emotion I had sensed always taking a step back and had been smoldering.
"If you retreat from me any further, I will not forgive you. Absolutely."
Questions still remained, but I gave a command that would bury such minor questions.
Containing my possessiveness, my reliance, and my affection.
"Yes. Master."
The very next moment, her form was dyed in darkness.
"I shall gladly do so."
Holding onto my hand that gripped the staff, she spoke to me.
"My liege. My master. My one and only sovereign."
With a cool, refreshing smile.