Chapter 128
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: What You Wanted (1)
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The second wave. There were fewer golems than werewolves—just three in total. But they weren't made of stone; they were crystal golems.
—Looks delicious.
As Growl, stuck to the surface of my sword, had said, crystal golems were worth a fortune in materials alone. And if they belonged to Libra, they had to be top-grade.
"Can you use telekinesis to isolate one for a one-on-one?"
I asked Elise. She answered as if it were no big deal.
"Go grab one. I'll block the attacks from the others."
"Got it. I trust you."
"......"
——Wave 2 begins.
Rest time was over. This time, I charged in first. I thrust my sword at the largest of the golems.
Clang-! It didn't even scratch, but crackle-! Growl chewed away at the crystal's surface.
—Delicious.
Whoosh! The golem swung its arm. I rolled aside to dodge. As I stuck to the ground, the other two golems brought their fists down on me.
Thud-!
It struck empty air—blocked by Elise's 「Psychokinesis Barrier」.
The two smaller ones don't matter.
I unleashed my sword forms solely on the biggest one. I poured out Five Fires Style and Moon Eclipse Style.
Tang-! Tang-! Tang-!
Hammering sounds rang out from the golem, and each time my blade connected, Growl devoured a piece of it.
—Delicious.
Thud-! Boom-! Elise continued blocking the other two's attacks. If she slipped up even slightly, my head would be smashed—but that was the point of teaming.
The mage trusts the knight, and the knight trusts the mage.
But if this dragged on, my stamina would run out.
Before it got tough, I activated the 「SZX-9500」. I observed its mana core. I stabbed precisely at that spot. The tip kept slipping like on ice, but at one point...
Pfshk—!
It sank in just a bit.
"Pull it!"
I shoved hard and called to Elise. She seized the sword embedded in the golem with telekinesis and yanked.
Krrrrch—!
Thanks to that, the blade fully pierced the mana core, and the invading Growl gorged itself ravenously.
—Delicious!!!!!
Krrrrrrch-!
The golem, its mana core ripped out, soon crumbled into ordinary crystals. The cross-section looked mangled, like something gnawed by rats.
Ting-! Ting-!
The remaining two kept pounding at me.
But not a scratch on me. Thanks to Elise's 「Psychokinesis Barrier」, which rivaled magic.
—All done eating.
Shing! I yanked my sword free and spun around. I immediately sliced off one of the other golem's arms.
Snick—
The blade, which had been thudding dully until now, cleaved through the golem like butter. Growl's sharpness was on another level.
"Nice performance."
Worth feeding it.
I plunged my sword into the second golem's mana core. Krrrrch— Growl devoured it completely. The third one went the same way.
—I'm full. Need time to digest now.
As if sated, it said that and returned to relic form.
——Wave 2 ends.
"Haa......"
I panted, using my sword as a crutch. Stamina would recover soon, but seven more waves remained.
"You okay?"
Elise asked. I nodded.
"This is just wave 2? College kids are on another level. All geniuses?"
"......Get a grip. The real top-tier geniuses don't even join the program."
Elise, saying that, looked perfectly fine as always. Maybe because she was one of the 'real' ones. The gap was stark.
I slapped my waist and stood.
"Not giving up?"
"......Never. Lots of eyes watching."
At minimum, I had to prove useful to Libra.
"Then listen up. I'll help as much as I can."
Elise held up a finger.
"In teaming, offense and defense need harmony. You've been doing all the attacking so far, but from now on, lean on me a bit."
I looked at Elise. It felt so awkward seeing her volunteer help.
What's with her lately?
"When you're tired...... Listening?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Keep talking."
No reason to refuse help.
Elise probably knew more about teaming than me.
"In battle, you don't have to go all-out every moment. Just defend lightly, leave the rest to me, and rest......"
Wave after wave continued. Through it all, Elise watched Sion Askal. She took in every bit of him with clear eyes.
Without preconceptions or bias, as he truly was.
Elise supported him.
He protected her.
Her telekinesis aided his sword, and his sword stood in for her barrier.
It was a good team. A perfect fit.
She'd never meshed this well with anyone else.
The problem was Sion's stamina, as always.
Elise recalled something Gerkken had once said.
He couldn't maintain peak output due to poor stamina. If he could endure long fights, he could handle a 'Queen' role, but since he couldn't, he was just a 'Pawn'.
It rang true a hundred times over.
After the third and fourth waves, by the end of the fifth...
"Huuuuh...... Grraaah......"
He was like a human candle. Sweat dripping like wax. On the verge of flickering out, making the watcher anxious.
——From Wave 6, extended rest time. 20 minutes. Let's go.
"Water...... Any?"
Elise offered water with telekinesis. He barely twisted off the cap and chugged it.
"Isn't this enough already?"
Sion shook his head at her words.
His reason for pushing so hard was Libra, no doubt. Maybe as important to him as the entrance exam.
But that had limits.
"Look at the enemy."
This time, it was a Sword Puppet. A humanoid monster like a scarecrow. Just one, but it fit the saying 'mountains beyond mountains' perfectly.
Sword Puppets were in the Death Knight lineage. Human swordsman-type monsters went Sword Puppet - Dullahan - Death Knight.
"One clash."
Sion swallowed water and glanced at the ceiling camera in his mana space. A new light had come on.
Someone from Libra's upper echelons—at least an 'executive'—was watching now.
"I'll smash it in one clash."
"......Nonsense."
Dopamine rush? Delirium? He spouted weird stuff as he stood.
"Fix it in place with telekinesis for 1-2 seconds."
——Wave begins.
"Here goes."
Sion approached the Sword Puppet with his sword sheathed.
"Haa......"
Elise shook her head, but soon activated her mana body.
In a team, you commit to every decision. Even wrong ones.
Step.
Sion took one step. That put him in the Sword Puppet's range.
Shing-!
The scarecrow drew its massive sword. Elise charged max-output telekinesis, took a deep breath, and unleashed.
Grrrrch—!
Telekinesis so intense it warped space itself. It gripped the Sword Puppet's torso.
"Go!"
Sion drew in that opening.
「Askal Style Secret Sword: Draw」
———!
The rising sword arced like a crescent, slicing space, and right after...
「Askal Style Secret Sword: Straight Thrust」
Shoooaaa—!
A single straight line pierced the Sword Puppet's heart.
Draw into Straight Thrust linkage.
Just two strokes.
That was it.
The Sword Puppet's defenses were breached by the Draw, then its mana core pierced by the Straight Thrust.
Dead.
"......?"
But Elise couldn't comprehend it. She'd watched closest with her own eyes, which made it even stranger.
Sion Askal had definitely drawn his sword. A Draw strike.
Yet that drawn sword had simultaneously been 'shot' forward.
Without pulling or recovering it. Scientifically, without converting potential to kinetic energy.
As if a law of physics had been 'ignored'.
Sion Askal's sword purely slashed, then purely thrust. No gap between. Slash and thrust at once. Like one sword in one space split into two for that instant.
"You......"
Elise staggered toward him. Before she could ask, he toppled backward.
"!"
She caught him reflexively. They tumbled onto the grass together with his body.
"......"
She gazed at him, collapsed in her arms.
Snoooore—he was asleep.
"What...... kind of person are you?"
In the peaceful grass field, she murmured her full-heart doubt softly. Then, belatedly, one fact hit her.
The camera.
"......!"
Elise looked up at the ceiling.
The lit camera was still there. As their eyes met, it slyly turned off.
"No......!"
Elise hurriedly made excuses.
Hanging Garden's Zone 0. The smallest mansion even among those only bloodkin could enter.
The youngest mistress, 'Zia', was watching someone via camera.
Sion Askal.
She'd just seen his sword. The swordsmanship that felled the Sword Puppet in one blow.
It was special.
Undeniably special.
To the point she couldn't analyze the principle.
"......"
Click- click- Zia fiddled with the mouse. She rewound the footage left and right, pondering.
She had a collector's hobby.
Not money. Not objects. Not figures.
People.
She collected talent. A hobby no one in Libra knew about.
"This man......"
Name: Sion Askal. Jahanah said he wanted to be her knight.
As Zia gazed at him intently...
Bang-
The door opened. Zia pretended to tremble.
Jade in a suit. He frowned at her.
"......Why so startled."
"Ah- Ah-"
Zia fumbled to turn off the monitor. Jade strode over and turned it back on.
Sion Askal was there.
Jade checked him, then turned to Zia.
"Aaaah......"
Zia bit her lip.
"......"
Jade stared silently, then smirked.
"Not bad. Has the makings of a fine knight. Only flaw is he reveres me too much."
Jade stepped back two paces and sat on the sofa, crossing his legs.
"Want him?"
"My knight slots...... One's empty...... Can't pay salary......"
A thick smile spread on Jade's lips.
"Still in high school. Takes 2-3 years to become a knight."
"Yeees......"
"Don't worry. If he becomes one, he'll come to me no matter what. I'll send him your way then. More importantly, how's your health?"
Jade doted on Zia unexpectedly. She didn't know why.
"F-Fine......"
"Can't have you so frail."
He pulled a tonic from his jacket pocket. Dragonics with dragon scale garnish.
"Hard for me to get too. Three times a day. Stretch it over a month."
"......Yes."
"Good. Carry on."
Jade straightened his collar and cuffs, then left her office.
Zia dove back into Sion Askal's footage. Rewinding that divine swordsmanship.
"Secured...... maybe......"
Jade's bold claim, Jahanah's guarantee.
If this man joined Libra, could she have him?
But before acquiring, she'd need endless scrutiny to see if he was worth it.
——1 hour later.
I'm in the cafeteria. Final result: 6 waves. Passed out right after Straight Thrust.
Anyway.
Shake shake shake-
"......Ugh."
Trying to eat at last, but my hands keep shaking.
"Wha......?"
Suddenly, the fork moved on its own. Whoosh—floated up, twirled spaghetti, and rose to my mouth.
Tap- tap- on my lips.
Obvious.
I looked across.
Elise.
Pretending innocence, slicing her steak.
"......Why the sudden act?"
That was my question. Elise haughtily popped steak in her mouth and replied.
"Bellingham said it too. This is part of teaming. Once teamed, you're together not just in combat but all through missions. Didn't know?"
"Not that. Why to me?"
"Why to you? What does that mean?"
"Dumb if you don't get it."
"......"
Elise closed her eyes. Seemed 'dumb' was hard to take; she grumbled quietly.
"......You."
She sighed, pointing her fork at me.
"I just acknowledged you."
"......"
I stared silently. Unfamiliar. To me, used to pre-regression Elise, it felt alien.
"I see."
Maybe after all these days, she'd changed too.
Changing.
Ding-
Elise's smartphone rang. She glanced and said.
"Trip time. Been a while."
"Not interested."
"......This is teaming too. Share schedules."
She shoved spaghetti at my lips. I ate it.
Starving, I chewed chomp chomp, but suddenly...
Pain stabbed my temple. A news headline I'd seen burned like fire.
——Elise Petra kidnapped during trip...
I froze, spaghetti in mouth.
Elise's kidnapping was coming soon. The first of many crimes against her.
I looked at Elise.
Calmly chewing steak.
"......"
For me, no need to get involved.
Elise's business was hers.
......But.
"Teamed mages and knights average 5-6 years together."
Yael had said.
Back when Elise was still fine, reigning healthier than anyone, she'd asked me to protect Elise for some reason.
"Sharing schedules is mandatory."
Future Elise wasn't like this.
Pre-regression her was near-villainous.
A monster even Libra checked.
That woman back then......
Yeah.
Wasn't 'Elise'.
"You wouldn't get it."
Now, I kinda understood.
Yael's dying wish: 'Protect Elise'.
Was to protect this young Elise, who now covered her mouth and mumbled while I stared, steak in hers.
"Why?"
Impossible hope to restore her monster sister?
"If hungry, just say so? Pride?"
Elise, seemingly satisfied on her own, moved the fork with telekinesis to my mouth again.
"......No- Mmff."
I ate. Elise watched me with a strange look, lips pursed.
"But you...... Why so hard?"
Slicing steak with hands, twirling my spaghetti with telekinesis, she asked.
"What're you after, impressing Libra so much."
Hard.
Why I pushed hard.
No need to answer, but teaming.
That one reason, I explained to my teammate in one word.
"Revenge."
Whirl-! The twirling fork spun wildly. Noodles splattered my face.
"......What."
Spaghetti-faced, I glared at Elise. Her face was stiff.
Hand slicing steak trembled, bitten lip bloodless, breathing ragged as she bowed her head.
"......Revenge."
Her murmur looked pained.
"What's wrong?"
"Sorry."
Elise shot up.
I blankly watched her fleeing back.
"......What the hell."
Teaming earlier, now running off alone?