The Incompetent Hero's Triumphant Return (2)
"...Whoa, I'd heard the stories, but there really are a ton of them."
"To think a being exists that can command undead in numbers like these. Fighting them does not look easy."
Before the capital of the Prynn Kingdom, we faced a legion of undead so vast it felt like standing before a towering wall.
"The situation looks worse than what we were told. What will you do, Doryeong?"
"What do you mean, what will I do? We break through, obviously. You stay here. It's dangerous."
"Even if I cannot compare to you, Doryeong, I still possess the ability to protect myself."
"Those are undead. You can't kill them with ordinary swordplay, right?"
Instead of answering, Baekryeon drew her hwan-do. She pulled several talismans from her pack and wrapped them around the blade. A faint, unsettling dark-blue aura coiled along the edge.
"What is that?"
"Talismans that drive away the wicked. Affix these and cut down the dead, and you can send those who should not remain back to the underworld. Do you require one as well, Doryeong?"
"No. Don't need it."
"As you said, Doryeong, ordinary swordplay cannot kill those dead. Are you certain?"
True enough—but that only applies in ordinary cases.
What I carried was the Holy Sword.
A divine weapon forged by the gods themselves, the pinnacle among sacred artifacts that held holy power. Even if I could not draw out the sword's full strength, its inherent properties remained. Slicing through an undead legion would be simple.
"Then let's go."
"This young lady is prepared."
Preparations finished, the two of us charged toward the undead legion.
Originally I had planned to rest in a village a few days out and arrive at a leisurely pace. But the moment we heard that the Demon King's army had invaded the capital of the Prynn Kingdom, we raced here without pause. What greeted us was an undead army surrounding the capital in an endless ring.
Looking at that sight, I thought it was a spectacular view in more ways than one. At the same time, I understood exactly why Leon had gotten wrecked here.
Leon was already weak. Facing that many enemies, of course he lost.
Grrraaaaah!....
The undead legion that sensed us charged, baring their teeth as they executed the only command they knew: Kill the enemy.
But undead that merely followed programmed orders, incapable of true initiative, were no match for me.
Slash—
Gyaaaaaah!!...
Every swing of the pure-white Holy Sword left a white trail, and four or five undead fell. The holy power inherent in the blade wrenched death-screams from them as they crumbled to dust and vanished.
I glanced sideways at Baekryeon. She too was holding her own against the countless horde. Each sweep of her hwan-do cut an undead down cleanly, one after another. Perhaps because of the dark-blue aura wrapping the blade, those she struck were engulfed in blue flames and reduced to ash—different from the Holy Sword's effect.
"Doryeong, I have a feeling that remaining at your side will entangle me in all manner of interesting affairs!"
"That is not a compliment!"
Vertical Split
The vertical slash drove forward without end, cleaving earth and undead alike.
Horizontal Split
The horizontal slash sheared through the undead at the waist with the force to sever a mountain.
"Doryeong, you...."
"We keep going. If you don't want to be left behind, somehow catch up."
The undead legion had clearly locked onto our presence. These undead could not think for themselves, so the one controlling them—the Lich—would have noticed us by now and begun to respond. Their pressure would only grow heavier.
"Doryeong! Over there!! A sorcerer!"
"!"
In the distance, living figures began preparing magic. Black Dawn Society Second Order... no, Third Order?
"Too far to stop them! Dodge or block!!"
"!!"
Red flames flickered. Blue crystals formed. Green light flashed.
The red flames swelled into a massive fireball that burned everything—friend or foe—without distinction. The blue crystals became a giant ice spear that pierced everything—friend or foe—without distinction. The green light became a colossal lightning cannon that swallowed everything—friend or foe—without distinction.
Boom!!!
Crunch!!
Kiiing!!!
"You alive?!"
"Somehow I still live!...."
There were plenty of undead. Apparently they did not care about losses among their own. Their fire magic reduced undead to ash, their ice magic skewered them, their lightning magic erased them. Yet the undead remained—so many, so very many, enough to make one sick of the sight.
"We're heading for the capital. I'll break the encirclement somehow—follow me!"
"Understood!"
Slash!
I raised the speed of my swings even higher. The undead fell without resistance, as if I were slicing tofu. Like drawing white lines across a black canvas, we carved through the black wave.
"...! Doryeong!! The sorcerers again!...."
Mages, huh....
They were no real problem for me, but a glance back showed Baekryeon looking injured—she must not have fully dodged the previous barrage. In perfect condition she could have avoided it, but the forced march had left her body fatigued, and she had failed to evade cleanly.
I told her not to overdo it, damn it.
"Out of the way! Move!!"
Coercive Presence
"!!"
"Ugh!..."
"Hah..., can't breathe!...."
Boom!!!
A mage's magic is an extremely delicate, precise craft. Casting is therefore inevitably slow. Skill and proficiency can increase the speed, yet the delicate nature never changes. The slightest external interference—or even a minor personal mistake—can trigger a mana explosion.
"D-Doryeong!... What was that just now?..."
"I just scared them a little."
Sword King's Oppression. In the game it was a CC skill that rendered the target unable to act with a certain probability. Applied to reality, it had become a highly useful suppression technique. As long as I sensed the opponent and they sensed me, I could use it regardless of distance. It crushed the target's mind with pressure, locking their body in place.
"B-But why did you not use it earlier?"
"No reason to waste it on attacks I don't need to stop."
"Then why now?"
"Because you couldn't dodge."
At my words Baekryeon flushed and lowered her head. Meanwhile the end of the undead's black wave came into view. Beyond it, something raised a cloud of dust as it raced from the capital walls.
"Kingdom army?"
"That is fortunate. Shall we join them, then?"
"No? Actually, perfect. With this, every actor has taken the stage."
We fully escaped the undead wave and ran toward the approaching kingdom forces. They had spotted us as well; a range of expressions crossed their faces—astonishment that the one who had broken through that undead army was Hero Leon; disappointment that what they had hoped was neighboring support turned out to be only two people; and various other reactions.
"....Baekryeon."
"What is it?"
"You sought strength for revenge. You took up the sword to reach a realm where you could cut all things under heaven and earth."
"Th-That is so, but?... Why bring that up so suddenly?..., Wait—did this young lady even speak of it that far?"
I stopped and turned. Facing the undead army that still pursued us, I put the capital walls and the kingdom soldiers at my back. Baekryeon was naturally flustered by the sudden halt.
"D-Doryeong?...."
"Cutting everything is not what matters. What matters is... cutting what you intend to cut."
I readjusted my grip on the sword. The stage was set. The actors had arrived. There was no longer any reason to hold back.
And since Baekryeon kept following me, I decided to offer her one piece of advice.
"Even if you cannot cut steel, even if you cannot cut paper—if you can precisely cut the target you mean to cut, then whether you fail against steel or paper is irrelevant. A swordsman is one who cuts what he desires with a sword. Simply swinging a blade does not make you a swordsman."
A line was drawn.
In ages past, the sword aura of the one called the Sword King was said to have cleaved Mount Tai. Here and now, against a countless undead host, that same power appeared once more.
Horizontal Split — Beyond Space
As if an eraser had wiped the page clean, every wave before my eyes was cut away; everything before me was erased. Beyond space itself, all things were severed.
"Th-This is...."
"Hmm... I meant to cut everything, yet a few remain."
The enemies who had barely survived, the kingdom soldiers who had rushed out in support—both groups froze, words and actions halted, their gazes locked on the one who had displayed a technique bordering on the divine.
Yeah. This is it.
I poured every ounce of force into the shout, riding the momentum. Sword King's Oppression was a technique that crushed an opponent's will and restricted their actions. But this was not a game. Applied cleverly, it could also serve as a skill that raised ally morale. The cry laced with Oppression reached the soldiers, and their fighting spirit soared.
"Let's go!!!"
"Uwooo!!!"
Of course the opponents were undead and would not truly die, yet they could still be suppressed—limbs severed, heads cut, and they would be neutralized. More than that, a faint holy power already clung to the soldiers' blades. They must have received aid from the Holy City priests inside the capital, who had imbued their weapons with sacred energy.
"Good. Then what's left now is...."
"You... I have never heard that the current Hero possessed power of this magnitude. Are you... truly the Incompetent Hero?"
"That is...."
"The Lich."
A Lich Mage had appeared before them. What was the bastard's name again? Memory was hazy, but he was not important enough to matter.
"Yes. I am the Incompetent Hero Leon."
"....The Demon Lord's oracle was not mistaken. I feel only foolishness at my own arrogance."
"Right. And because of that arrogance, you're going to die."
At those words the Lich began to laugh, bones rattling as if something were hilarious.
"Foolish! You swagger about relying solely on that Holy Sword, yet you cannot kill me! Even a Holy Sword cannot reach my Life Vessel, which rests in another space! And so long as the Life Vessel remains intact, I shall never die!!"
The Lich crowed with arrogance and began preparing magic—while simultaneously wrapping himself in dozens of protective spells. As expected of a Lich who had lived through long ages, his magical prowess was first-rate. Baekryeon noticed as well; her brow furrowed and her grip on the sword tightened.
"Doryeong, use that technique from earlier once more...."
"At his level, even if I use it a mana explosion won't trigger. And even if I stun him, he'll recover fast and finish the spell."
"Hahaha! Exactly as you say! I shall erase you and this entire kingdom!!"
A sphere of fiercely burning flame swelled into being—far larger and more powerful than the fire magic those Second- or Third-Order nobodies had used.
"Kgh! Doryeong!...."
"Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen."
I raised the sword high. There was one thing that bastard had completely wrong....
Killer Spot + Intuition
A line appeared on him. Not a line of instant death—rather, a faint thread of mana linking him to the thing called a Life Vessel. Mana, too, was part of all things. If it could be seen, it could be cut.
Vertical Split
"Infer—"
Slash—
"...What...?"
I cut the magic. I cut the line to the Life Vessel. I cut the Lich. That was all.
"You missed your chance to die. Hurry up and go even now."
The Lich's end was little different from that of any ordinary undead. And once the one who had summoned the legion vanished, the remaining undead simply weathered away into nothing.