The Flesh as a Trap
My prediction hit the mark perfectly. Evaluating his opponents' capabilities could be called the Black Knight's hobby. No, perhaps it was closer to an instinctual behavioral pattern. To a Death Knight who relished battle and worshiped the strong, power was everything.
Unless they were completely sub-par from the start, he would thoroughly dissect anyone who met his passing grade. Even if there was a clear disparity in power, he would play along to evaluate just how far they could go. And if he truly took a liking to them, the Black Knight would grant them a clean death. Keeping their limbs as intact as possible. After all, to raise them as a fellow Death Knight, it was best to have an undamaged corpse. Or, he might just turn them into a Death Knight while they were still alive.
Having finished his evaluation, the Black Knight finally began to show his true colors. A pitch-black, muddy energy of death oozed from him. The chilling frost of the deceased, which corroded and contaminated everything it touched, filled the air. Living yet dead, the Death Knight raised his demonic sword, which seethed with murderous intent.
From then on, it was entirely one-sided. They were so busy just trying to survive that it couldn't even be called a fight anymore. It was only because there were two of them that they were holding on; if either had been alone, they would have been overwhelmed in an instant.
Injuries began to pile up on Yujin's body. His unbelievable reflexes, combat instincts, and rate of growth were astounding. He possessed a level of strength that made it hard to believe he was still a student. Yet, it was not enough. Not nearly enough. He was still far from ready to face a named monster.
It was the same for Frey. Once the Black Knight began to actively suppress her, she no longer had the breathing room to fire her heat rays. Simply evading the gale of sword qi was exhausting her. It was a miracle she hadn't sustained any serious injuries yet, but at this rate, even that wouldn't last.
Which means, in other words, it's finally Lucia's turn to step up. If possible, I wanted to move before the Black Knight went all out, but the timing never presented itself. More than anything, I needed time to prepare. It's one of Lucia's few decent combat techniques, but its fatal flaw is that it requires a warm-up period.
I took a deep breath, expanding my lungs to their absolute limit. Lifting my head, I glared at the pitch-black flash of light before me.
When pushed to the brink, humans sometimes exhibit superhuman strength that defies their physical limits. They release the biological limiters on their muscles and muscle fibers—safeguards normally kept in place to prevent self-destruction. Once the extreme situation passes, it leaves behind severe side effects like torn muscles and ruined joints, but for that brief moment, they can exert a miraculous power.
By utilizing my super-regeneration, I can trigger this phenomenon intentionally. Overclock. Because it forces an extreme output, my body breaks down systematically as a consequence. For anyone else, this would be a suicidal gamble.
My muscles, bones, and nerves creaked and screamed in agony. But to my ears, it sounded like a delightful harmony. A massive surge of adrenaline made my legs tingle. My field of vision narrowed. Shutting out everything else, I locked my gaze solely onto the Black Knight.
Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump. The sounds of the outside world faded away. Only the frantic beating of my heart echoed like tinnitus. The blood circulating through my body accelerated, and my body temperature rose to an abnormal degree. As the heat rushed to my head, a silly, loose smile slipped onto my face.
I lowered the tip of the spear gripped in my hand. Lucia isn't picky about weapons. She uses whatever she can get her hands on. Of course, she has her favorites—a light, long, slender rapier, or conversely, a massive, heavy mace. Depending on the day's situation and circumstances, she would wield completely unrelated, exotic armaments. While a spear isn't my usual go-to, it's not like I can't use it. I've handled one a few times during sparring sessions at the academy.
Lowering my stance slightly, I tensed the muscles in my legs. My eyes anxiously tracked the Black Knight. The Death Knight was completely ignoring someone like me, focusing entirely on driving Yujin and Frey into a corner. Don't rush just because you're anxious. That'll ruin everything. Stay calm, stay composed. But keep the body perfectly primed.
Thanks to the physical Overclock, my perception of time stretched to an extreme degree. The movements of the Black Knight, which had been nothing but a blur of afterimages moments ago, now entered my vision with relative clarity. Of course, even then, he was still so fast that tracking him was an ordeal. Focus. Focus to the absolute limit. The edges of my vision gradually bled into darkness. As if a shroud of night were unfurling, the light vanished, until nothing remained in my sight but the Black Knight.
The Black Knight is strong, but he isn't invincible. He's a named monster—the absolute highest tier among high-ranking monsters. But that's all he is. He isn't a Magic Beast, and he's certainly no Main. If he lets his guard down, I can definitely land a strike. Granted, it won't do any significant damage. Lucia might be incredibly persistent, but her offensive power is pitiful.
The moment I completely vanish from the Black Knight's field of vision... the exact instant he ceases to care about anyone other than Yujin and Frey...
A hunter is at his most vulnerable when he is actively hunting his prey. Vulnerable enough that a tiny sparrow could flutter down and peck at him. Of course, such a peck wouldn't actually harm the hunter. But what if the sparrow slipped inside his clothes? Or what if it flew straight into his mouth and stabbed the roof of his throat? Wouldn't even a seasoned hunter panic then?
Now!
Yujin had been doing an admirable job of blocking the Black Knight's onslaught, but under the relentless barrage of strikes, his Sun Sword was deflection. A glaring opening presented itself. Showing a weakness to an opponent far above your level was practically begging for death. The very moment the Black Knight became certain he could kill Yujin—I moved.
My legs, flushed red like half-cooked meat, kicked off the ground with explosive force, launching me toward the Black Knight. It was a terrifying speed, unlike anything I had ever achieved before. Yet, to the Black Knight, it seemed like child's play. Without even turning his head, he swung his longsword. His reaction was so blindingly fast it made me wonder if he had truly been ignoring me at all. Even with his eyes fixed on Yujin, his slash cut toward me with unerring precision.
I hastily raised the spear I had readied for a thrust, using it to block the pitch-black flash. I was supposed to be the one launching a surprise attack, yet it felt as though I was the one being ambushed. I hadn't even properly perceived his attack before blocking it. It was a horizontal slash. To avoid a fatal blow, I had vertically aligned the spear, which was instantly snapped in half. I had been so pleased with how sturdy this spear seemed, but it couldn't even withstand a single blow. Well, I expected as much. The Lizardman's spear did its job. It managed to block one attack, after all.
The trajectory of the slash was slightly deflected. A blow that should have cleanly decapitated me stopped at severing my carotid artery. First Astaroth, and now this guy—why do all these monsters love aiming for the neck? Well, I like it too. I guess we share a hobby, don't we?
A fountain of blood erupted from my half-severed neck. Since my carotid artery had been slashed, the blood gushed out in violent spurts, as if every drop in my body was scrambling to escape. For a human—no, for any living creature—this was a fatal wound. Left untreated, one would bleed to death within minutes. If not for my super-regeneration, that is.
"...!"
Ignoring the wound on my neck, I thrust the broken half of my spear forward. The Black Knight deflected it with practiced ease. The spear spun out of my grip, tearing the flesh of my palms as it flew away. *Thuck.* His longsword impaled my chest. My breasts—not particularly large, but soft and pillowy—were brutally crushed. The blade shattered my ribs and pierced straight through the heart they protected in a single thrust.
Bloody froth bubbled up my esophagus. I couldn't breathe. The pooling blood completely blocked my airway. Deprived of oxygen, my mind began to grow hazy. Yet, my senses remained excruciatingly sharp, allowing me to vividly feel the cold, sharp edge of the blade that had carved a hole through my chest.
"Hi-gup..."
...It hurts. My waist twisted, and my body went into spasms. My legs flailed and trembled. My wrists contorted as a faint groan escaped my lips. It hurts. It's so hot. It hurts. It's agonizing. *Eu-he*, it's burning hot. Drool spilled shamelessly from my mouth as my body shuddered. The saliva, mixed with thick blood, stained Lucia's already ruined clothes an even darker shade of crimson. My knees buckled, and my legs instinctively curled inward. In the process, the blade forced its way deeper through my soft flesh, gouging the wound even further. My mind went completely blank. My vision blurred. Tears welled up in my eyes, obscuring my sight. It hurts. It feels so good. It hurts. It feels absolutely amazing. More, do it more. Ruin Lucia completely.
...Is what you think I'd say, but there's no way I'd spout such nonsense in a dire situation like this, right? I was just kidding. Yes. I didn't mean it at all.
"Ugh, hi-he, eu-he...!"
It was hard to suppress the indecent groans that kept bubbling up from my throat. Biting my lower lip hard enough to tear the flesh, I forced my consciousness back from the brink of pleasure. I got lucky. It was a thrust. If it had been another slash, things would have been troublesome. I had moved with the expectation of getting hurt from the very beginning. However, the success of my plan hinged entirely on the *type* of injury I received. If you targeted my heart thinking it would guarantee a clean kill, you made a massive mistake. It's a fatal miscalculation born of your ignorance of Lucia's abilities.
The only reason I stayed hidden, quiet as a mouse, was entirely for this single moment. After all, with my skills, I wouldn't even be able to get near you. If you hadn't let your guard down and given me an opening, my limbs would have been hacked to pieces before I could even take a few steps. Thanks for stabbing me. In more ways than one.
"Kh-ugh...!"
I pushed my body forward, pulling myself along the blade. Did even the Black Knight fail to anticipate this? A flash of undeniable agitation rippled through the stoic Death Knight. It must have been his first time encountering someone who, despite having their heart pierced, refused to die and instead dragged themselves further onto the blade. The longsword dug even deeper into my body. With every inch it penetrated, my flesh ground against the steel, and my thoughts fractured. The hole gouged into Lucia's precious chest widened. Summoning every ounce of my strength, I grabbed the Black Knight's arm. I held on so he couldn't pull the longsword out. So he couldn't let go, and so he couldn't swing it.
That's why this is a one-time-only trick. Using Lucia's regeneration to catch the Black Knight off guard. Lucia is literally using her entire body to pin down the Black Knight's right arm. So, you know what you have to do now, right?
"Now!!"
I had never made such a screeching, ragged sound in my life. With my throat filling with blood, breathing was difficult enough, let alone speaking. But regardless of how my voice sounded, the message was delivered loud and clear. The Black Knight was a veteran warrior. Even if he was momentarily thrown off, it would only last for a split second. He could easily wrench the longsword free, hack me to pieces, or simply swat me away with his left arm. Indeed, that was exactly how the Black Knight reacted. Without even bothering to pull the sword out, he tensed his grip, intending to slice right through me.
It wasn't a bad decision. Cleaving through Lucia's soft body was as easy as pie. Even if my super-regeneration healed the wound and buried the longsword deep inside my flesh, it would be simple for someone of the Black Knight's strength to tear it free. If he made any mistakes, it was underestimating Lucia too much, and letting his judgment falter for even a single second. But his ultimate downfall was that Yujin's reaction was far faster.
Believing he could easily cut me down, the Black Knight found his movements restricted as I resisted with everything I had, pushing my body to its absolute limits with Overclock. Even so, this restraint would last for only a second or two at most. A fundamental difference in raw stats couldn't be overcome by Overclock alone. No matter how strong a mouse became, it could never defeat a cat. I would soon be sliced in half starting from my chest, and my desperate resistance would be rendered meaningless. In the end, Lucia had no way of actually harming the Black Knight. Holding him down for a mere few seconds was the absolute limit of my capabilities. But by creating that brief window of vulnerability, I had fulfilled my role.
The Sun Sword traced a circular arc. Like a blazing sun, a crimson light that banished the darkness cleaved through the air.
With his right arm and longsword pinned, the Black Knight immediately raised his left arm. He seemed intent on blocking with his gauntlet, but we had already witnessed this pattern of behavior. Using his left arm as a shield instead of his dominant right hand was the exact same move he had used to block the heat rays. Frey, who had snatched up the discarded spear, lunged forward. Channeling her entire momentum, she slammed into him, thrusting the spear directly into the Black Knight's left arm. A monstrous strength, unbelievable for her small frame, cleanly shattered the Black Knight's left arm. With that, his torso was left completely defenseless.
Slash. His right arm was severed. The sturdy, pitch-black armor was as soft as tofu in that single instant. With the arm I had been holding onto gone, I lost my balance and tumbled backward.
Grab. Frey's small hand gripped the Black Knight's helmet. From my position on the ground, I could only see Frey's back. Yet, I could easily picture the expression on her face.
"Let's see you survive this, you tin can bastard."
A point-blank bombardment. The Black Knight's helmet was instantly swallowed by a ravenous crimson light, bursting into flames.