55 - CHAPTER XXIV "Duel in the Mythology Area"

A flash of light twinkles.

The source of the light is a knight's sword held by a blue knight.

With a swinging motion, azure light gushed out from the tip of the sword, a blow that reached to the end of the horizon.

The targeted moon wolf reacted with a desperate movement.

He twisted himself forcibly from the charging action and tried to get out of the line of fire of the vertical stroke which was swung far away from him.

He dodged.

A thin azure light passes just a hair's breadth ahead of him.

What he paid for his forced evasive maneuver was the momentum of the assault and the time he had to allow for the pursuit.

The blue knight, who was positioned at a distance from the target, thrust his sword into the stone pavement and drew two magic circles in the void with his free hands.

"You can even trick magic with a knight's body!

The words he uttered were answered by an extremely large fireball.

The fireball trailed like a meteor, and approached the moon wolf faster than a cannonball.

Again evasive maneuver. Impossible, I'm out of position, I won't make it in time.

Then cancel it out. Impossible, it's too big! The amount of magic power contained in the approaching fireball of crimson lotus is so great that even Gekkou cannot destroy it without a full-bodied blow that requires a pause.

Rieve instantly threw away the option of getting through unscathed and deployed a simple anti-magic barrier with all her might.

The bomb exploded as soon as it hit the target. A roar filled the space. Moreover, the sound of the explosion is not limited to a single shot.

The blue knight, perhaps responding to the direct hit (clean hit), chose to fire continuously without interruption.

The explosion sounded like a bundle of music, and the blooming crimson lotus filled the view.

--The eighth shot was the first to escape.

Gekkou, escaping from the relentless bombardment with his crossed arms as shields, sprinted toward the blue knight with the same momentum that he had gained after the breakthrough!

"----!"

He cut through the flying blue flashes and came very close to the target.

Close combat. Both fighters are at the point where they can display their maximum strength.

Moon Wolf and Blue Knight exchanged fists and swords again.

Their fists roared.

Blades tearing the sky.

A barrage of blows that would kill a demon of less than A rank with a single blow.

The sound of the aftermath is even more intense than the great fireball that just hit, and the shockwave created is more destructive than a thunderstorm.

Both sides wound each other, heal each other's wounds, and build more effective tactics as they fight.

And Helian, who was watching the battle from a distance, let out a roar of pain at the sight before him.

"Screw you ......!"

The battle unfolding before our eyes is truly a divine battle.

Forces of a different dimension from that of humans repeatedly collide with each other, manifesting subgod-like abilities. The power of the sword flashes and fist blows is so great that it seems as if this space itself could be shattered.

It is now a humanoid destructive phenomenon.

It is a disaster with a will that no human being can even resist.

A tyrannical event that just happens to take human form.

That was Helian's honest impression after seeing it directly with his own eyes, without the filter of [Tactics Chronicle].

However, that was not the cause of the abuse he had just uttered.

It was about the many abilities of the blue knights, which seemed to be nothing but anomalies even though he knew that they were mythological threats.

Based on Hellian's knowledge, the blue knight is definitely a close combatant.

This is evident from their equipment configuration of heavy armor, shields, and splendid knight's swords. It is not some kind of disguise to induce misidentification by the adversary. Each blow of the knight's sword is heavy and sharp, and inflicts damage beyond the Gekkou's strong defenses.

However, if he is a close combatant, the power of the large fireball he just fired is not right.

Like the moonlight bombardment by Lieve, there are indeed long-range attacks with great power even in the vanguard.

However, what Blue Knight used was a pure "magic" attack. The fact that Liewe used an anti-magic barrier instead of an anti-physical barrier is a proof of this.

Moon wolves' resistance to magic is not low. Among them, Leewe's magic resistance exceeds 255, which is usually the highest level, and has raised its total level to 300 through repeated reincarnations.

It is extraordinary that a blue knight, who is supposed to be a close combatant, can easily break through such magic resistance and inflict damage without using secret secrets.

Above all, the blue knight has already died seven times.

He was driven to death at the hands of Levee, who changed his tactics and used methods he had learned from his many years of actual combat experience, but each time he was revived instantly.

--It is impossible.

At least in [Tactics Chronicle], such ability is not confirmed. The reason is that there is a general rule that only the king (player) can resuscitate his subordinates. Unless they are reincarnated, they can only be reincarnated twice.

In such a situation, the special ability to revive oneself more than seven times. This is extraordinary by any standards. It is possible that it is a unique skill that Hellian does not know about, but a unique skill that allows a person to revive himself more than seven times is beyond insane.

When a superpower in a certain world made inroads into the universe, the balance of the game was also discussed, but this is no less a peculiar phenomenon than that.

"Gggg......!"

Suddenly, an intense pain shot through my skull.

This was no ordinary headache. It was the same kind of pain that he had felt when he had abused the secret of the Ratestwood capital. Perhaps his life force is being depleted.

He has already used the secret of the spell many times.

No matter how practical and cost-effective Riebe's secrets are, Helian's vitality will run out sooner or later if he uses them over and over again.

However, it is not an easy enemy to fight without secrets.

"Declaration of secret activation "Fobidun Phantasm": "Bloody Makeup"".

The newly invoked secret belongs to the body strengthening system, which can be used only under the condition that the accumulated damage in the battle exceeds 50% of the maximum HP.

It boasts a strengthening ratio equivalent to that of the "Red Moon Blessing" and also has the effect of imparting two fixed strokes of the same mark as that of the "Vermilion Moon Stigmata.

"--k,a......!"

The headache increased in return.

The invisible nails pressed against my skull became sharper and sharper, as if they were digging deeper and deeper into my skull (image). He clenched his fist so hard that the nail dug in, and bit down on his voice in anguish.

Do not let them know of your pain. Such an act of cruelty would disturb Levee's state of mind. Riebe, who is on the edge of battle, could not let his pain be known.

However, Gekko's senses, which had regained their sharpness after his return to the demon form, sensed the Lord's disorder with great acuity. In the midst of a high-speed battle that spared not even a blink of an eye, something akin to a sense of loyalty that had reached the point of instinct rang out in her brain, .

,

"Leave it, Lieve!　Only look at the enemy!

The voice of the king stopped him.

A moment's hesitation.

But still he was unable to break free of his hesitation,

"Is your king a man who would fall to his knees at this level?

With a single word, he cut them off.

The moon wolf no longer looks back.

To look back at this point would be to spit on the king.

Therefore, Gekko looks only at the enemy and sprints to complete his order as quickly as possible, even if it takes only a minute or a second.

"......,......!"

With her back in sight, the pain-stricken Helian picked up a water potion to restore her life force. He had already used one of these potions in this battle. This is the second and last bottle he has.

The life potion is a very rare item, and I drank almost all of it in the battle in the capital of Ratestwood. The few remaining stocks were provided to the research team of the 4th Legion as reagents to study whether or not it would be possible to make a potion that would have the same effect on vegetation in this world, and these two bottles were the only ones that could be brought out from the home country.

I wanted to save as much as possible for later, but that could not be said in the current situation where I was in so much pain that I could not think straight. I removed the lid with one hand and slurped down the contents, and although there was a lingering headache, the pain was lessened. Helian, who has somehow regained his ability to think, once again looks at the battlefield through the virtual window.

Levee has already caused seven deaths to the blue knight, and the damage she has sustained in the process is not insignificant. She heals her wounds with her self-healing skills, but she also uses various other skills. With this situation, her magical power will be depleted before her physical strength. The odds of winning the game are dropping by the minute. We must hurry to settle the matter.

(Think ......!)

The entanglements hidden in its invulnerability.

The art of defeating the knight.

The winning strategy to lead the squire to victory.

That's what we must think about.

The role of the king (player), who has no fighting ability, is essentially to think in order to lead his forces to victory.

Winning before fighting is the essence of the role, but there were cases in which unexpected battles occurred.

A king (player) who, when forced into such a situation, leaves the battle to his subordinates and quietly watches the battle is no better than a third-rate player.

Whenever a blue knight is crushed in the skull or shot through the heart, he transcends death and immediately revives completely. However, no one is truly immortal. In all ages, immortality usually has a gimmick or a condition. Like mistletoe for Baldur or leaves of the Bodhisattva tree for Siegfried, even mythological immortal heroes have factors that lead to their death. If so, there must be some mechanism in the immortality of the blue knight, and if we cannot find out the mechanism, there is no chance for us to win.

If he is truly immortal, we have no choice but to give up, but we have already given up the option of giving up. He stares at the numerous "windows in disguise," and his fevered brain is piling up thoughts.

"--......!

At that moment, Levee's body was hit with a powerful blow.

The blow was so strong that he could not even catch himself and fell on his back. It took a fatal moment for him to regain his posture. Rieve, who had accurately grasped the situation, had a vision of his own death.

However, when he jumped up his face, he saw not a deadly sword blade coming to cut off his head, but a blue knight who created more than fifty thunderbolts on the spot. It was as if he had not expected this. Rieve, who was preparing for a melee attack, was caught completely off-guard by the continuous stream of Shiden bullets. Realizing instantly that he would not be able to deploy the barrier in time, he foolishly uses his left arm as a shield.

Immediately after, there was a thunderous roar as if thousands of bamboo sticks had been cracked open.

Leewe narrowly escapes from the lethal zone where he was exposed to a flash of lightning and thunder so strong that it crushed his eyes. However, at a cost, her left arm was blackened as if carbonized, and her whole body was emitting smoke from the electric shock.

Significant critical damage. It is not difficult to imagine that her whole body would have been burnt to a crisp if she had delayed her response even for a moment, but this is the result even after sacrificing one arm to prevent it. Rieve's willow brow twists into an anguished expression and she uses the little remaining magic power she has to heal her left arm.

In order to make time for recovery, it is a situation in which he would like to bring them into a check-and-balance situation while keeping an open distance between them if possible. However, he had a feeling that he would be pushed out of the battle if he fell behind. Rieve healed his left arm at a minimum and immediately closed the gap to challenge for the dozens of times to a close combat.

Helian, who witnessed the whole scene through the battle record extracted from the , had a strong doubt in his mind.

(---- What was that?)

The magic attack must have been unexpected for Levee. The fact that he was caught off guard by the deployment of the barrier, which would have been just in time according to his past combat experience, and the fact that he could not afford to take even that minimum defensive action, shows the fact that he was caught off guard.

As a result, Riebe suffered severe damage from the unexpected attack. The recovery by self-healing skills has not caught up with her, and at this rate, it is inevitable that she will be overwhelmed and defeated in the near future. The attack was enough to determine the nightmarish future.

--That is why it does not make sense.

Because this was a fatal opportunity for Levee, and a perfect opportunity for the blue knight. The fight would have been over if he had closed the gap and went to cut off Lieve's head immediately, even if he had not made the unexpected magic attack.

That is why the battle has not yet been continued.

(Why did you bother to choose a magic attack?　Why didn't he come back to finish the job?)

There is no such line as "not enough time. This has been proven by the relentless attacks up to now.

Then you want to torture them to death. No, that's impossible. Blue Knight's actions up to this point have been consistent in that he is going to kill Lieve as soon as possible.

Or, did he choose a safer means of attack? It is a foolish question, more improbable. The greatest advantage of blue knight is his invulnerability to revive no matter how many times he is killed. Tactics that consider his own safety is nonsense.

Then, why did he choose a magic attack instead of a sword blow when he could have finished him off? Why did he choose a tactic that would prolong the battle?

"...... No, no. No, it's not."

Helian demands a course correction in his thinking.

The fact that they attacked from a long distance instead of close combat at the best opportunity for the blue knight.

From a different point of view, it is..,

"You didn't want to get close to Levee?　Or did they not want to move?"

This was the first irrational behavior shown by Blue Knight, who had been trying to kill Levee rationally. The fact that he dared to choose a long-distance attack, in other words, an attack method that could be performed without moving, when he could have delivered a fatal blow.

Sensing that there was a clear factor, Helian, as a king (player) who has always thrown himself into the front line, intuitively forced himself to analyze the puzzling behavior patterns of the hostile units.

Combining thought operation and manual operation, he extracted (filtered) only the movement information of the blue knight from the by specifying the conditions in the shortest and fastest way possible. Then, the extracted movement information is reflected on one of the placed on the right side of the field of view. The trajectory of the blue knight's light spot is

"Most of them stay within a certain range ......"

However, there are exceptions. In the when he was kicked away by Rieve, the location of the blue knight had moved to a faraway point. However, he immediately returned to his position, and he attacked back at Levee without any mercy with a ferociousness that did not seem to show any damage.

In other words, the distance does not mean that anything will happen to the blue knight. Even if the blue knight is moved away from this area, his invulnerability is not impaired. This has already been proven by the fact that he died once outside a certain range. Then,

"Even if there is no rule that says you can't leave, is there a reason you don't want to leave?"

It was a question that came out of my mouth.

The association born from this question made me wish to analyze Liewe's behavior as well as that of Blue Knight.

Herian's fingertips move as if they were independent living creatures, and the information on Lieve's movement is reflected on another newly unlocked in the center of her field of vision.

Rieve continues to fight with great care so that the aftermath of the battle does not affect the vulnerable Helian. This fact can be read from the behavior reflected in the in front of the viewer's field of vision. And the on the right side of the window, which reflects the movement information of the blue knight, also shows similar movements to those of Levee.

The behavior that could not be recognized when looking at them individually emerges as a clear commonality when they are compared side by side. And at the center point of the circle that is represented by the movement information of the blue knight, there exists a certain object. This fact led Helian's thoughts and eventually led him to an idea.

"----"

I'm about to do something stupid.

I was aware of that.

I'm not sure yet.

There is a possibility that what I've just come up with is just as misguided as I thought.

If so, it's just a wasted life.

If not, it might just end up being a drag on Levee.

But Helian bet on the possibility that this was not the case, made a decision, and ran.

"What the ......?

Rieve's eyes widen in shock.

If there had been a third person in this place, he would have been astonished as well.

It is so outrageous that it is not surprising.

He must be out of his mind.

Even Helian himself is aware that he is insane.

Yes, he is.

This is insane.

The fragile human race is breaking the mold of the human race by invading the war zone where the two bodies of the human race are on the rampage.

"--......!"

I hold my breath and run.

His full-speed run, however, was even slower than a slow tortoise compared to the blue knight and the moon wolf.

But that is an obvious fact and no reason to stop running.

Therefore, Helian runs the shortest distance to the destination with all his might, using his arms and legs.

This would have ended up as a mere outburst.

It is a suicidal act, almost like throwing oneself into a raging stormy sea.

Herian's body is that of a frail human being.

A stray bullet would easily kill him instantly.

To the mythic threat, he is a vulnerable intruder who does not even need to be stopped.

But there was one who reacted to the presence of the intruder with hypersensitivity.

--The blue knight.

"Fangs! A)metheno(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a!!!!"

The blue knight moved his head and stared at the intruder (Helian).

The hostile glare peeking through the slit stung with a tremendous density.

--I'm scared.

My heart beats wildly.

What Helian felt from the corner of his eye was pure fear.

No matter how he puts on the mask of the King of All Evil, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot kill the primal fear that arises from biological instincts.

It is a hostility so intense that even a non-warrior like myself can sense it.

Although I experienced it at the time of Wenli, it is incomparable to that which the blue knight radiates.

The simple fact that the blue knight is trying to kill me stimulates my survival instincts, and my brain is filled with screaming warnings to run away right now.

--d*mn, I'm scared.

A weak cry escapes my chest.

Your teeth are clenched together and your heart is pounding like it's about to explode.

If I don't stay strong, I'll lose consciousness.

Your trembling legs feel as if they will stop at any moment.

But there was someone here to intercept the killing spirit.

You are too rude, knight!

Twisting herself in between the two, she used herself as a shield to hold off the blue knight's charge.

She then used the engravings on her arms to strengthen her whole body, and intercepted all of the blue knight's slashes aimed at Helian.

In return, her entire body was covered with countless lacerations, but Rieve was not intimidated. Rather, she was caught up in such a strong emotion that such pain was no longer important. What fills her heart now is pure anger at the vindictive enemy who tried to cut off her Lord's head.

Driven by this primitive emotion, the bloody moon wolf continues to stand in front of the blue knight.

However, the reality is as heartless as ever.

The heavily damaged Gekkou has no power left to keep Aoukishi at bay.

The blue knight swung his knight's sword with a powerful blow, which finally blew the moon wolf away from the spot.

The distance between the two widened to the point of despair.

The blue knight turns his body and tries to chase after the underling (Helian).

But just before the blue knight took a step forward, HELIAN shouted.

"FOBIDUN PHANTASM: The binding chain of the evil wolf that eats the heavens and the earth!

Moved by the declaration, Lieve's left hand was directed toward the distant blue knight.

A strange sound as if hundreds of chains were bundled together rang out on the battlefield. The binding chain wrapped around her left arm was a manifestation of the secret depths of the jamming skill.

The binding chain released from her left hand binds the blue knight's body in layers as if it has a will, and sews her up rigidly on the spot.

The chain seized the blue knight's body in a number of ways, as if it had a will of its own.

But the repercussions were terrible.

Many of Levee's secret techniques are highly skilled because she has used them more than anyone else, and many of them boast high cost performance, but there are some exceptions.

The "Punil, the binding chain of the evil wolf that eats the heavens and the earth" that he had just invoked corresponded to such a case.

This secret spell, which completely ignores the target's resistance to abnormalities and has a short-lived but tremendous action-inhibiting effect, is one of the factors that make Lieve-Frekiwurz the leader of the army.

And its life force consumption is over 40%.

The amount of life force consumed is close to that of the "Invocation" that brought hellish suffering to Hellian in the capital of RATESTWOOD.

............!

The sensation of having one's skull skewered.

At the same time, something is being devoured from the inside.

Nearly half of what should have been stored in my body has been eaten away.

I am more horrified by the sense of loss than by the pain that assails me.

--It's all right.

I am familiar with the amount of life force consumed by the secret technique that Riebe-Frekiwurz uses.

This will not kill [Helian].

I was sure of that.

Then all that remained was for Tsukasa Misaki (himself) to endure.

He cheated himself that it was just a simple task, and put life into his dying legs.

There are only ten meters left to the destination.

On the way there, I picked up one of the pieces of debris that were scattered around my feet.

It is a half-broken straight sword.

Although only half of the sword blade remains, the mass of iron is heavy.

I could not swing it more than a few times with my slender arms.

But I could swing it once and smash it.

And that's enough.

At the same time as he finally reaches his destination, he swings the weapon in his hand.

He swung with all his might at the center of the place where the blue knight had not moved further away from--that is, the pedestal on which the blue knight had rested his back, and swung down at the that rested there.

The iron block that was struck as a blunt instrument created a distorted crack on the crystal ball.

--The reaction was dramatic.

"Hunger...aha...mute...metempsychosis...aha...boredom...aha...hunger...aha...boredom...hunger...aha...boredom...hunger...aha...boredom...hunger...aha...boredom...boredom...boredom. (a)a(a)a(a)a(a) )----......!!!?"

The space shatters with a sound like hundreds of shattered glasses.

The space where countless stone pillars had been standing in disorder returned to reality, and the endless battlefield, which had spread endlessly, turned into a finite hall.

At the same time, something unusual happens to the blue knight.

The blue knight, freed from the bondage of "the chains of the evil wolf that eats the heavens and the earth," looked up to the heavens and let out an anguished exclamation that echoed around him. It was as if he was screaming in agony, as if he had been cut off from something he could not lose. The agony of his suffering indicated that the crystal ball that had just been destroyed was something fatal to the blue knight.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It is no longer an immortal monster, but only a threat that can be defeated.

"Guh,ah......?

And Helian, too, was at his limit.

Perhaps it was the result of forcing her body to work with half its life force depleted, but her thoughts were foggy and her limbs refused to listen to her.

The blue knight attacks him at his back.

The blue knight has not given up anything even at this point of time.

He changed his expression of anguish into killing intent and raised his sword as if he was going to judge a sinner.

There is no way for Helian, a human being, to avoid this.

Death, which he cannot escape, is upon him.

But Helian was certain of one thing.

He had absolute faith that he would be there.

That is why Helian utters the forbidden words.

"FOBIDUN PHANTASM: Vermilion Stigma!

Words that push you off a cliff.

The sensation of life being devoured from a dying body.

The taste of death in his breath as it rushes out of his throat.

The body collapses as it leans against the altar.

But there was something that screamed out that it would not allow him to fall to his knees.

With his last remaining strength, what might be called his willpower, he endured the situation and turned around.

And sure enough, there she was.

--So I screamed.

"Riiiiiiiiiveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ----!

A name that speaks loudly.

A shout of victory.

The moon wolf responded with a roar.

Howling Moon.

The basic combat ability (status) has reached the limit value by applying the reinforcement skill over and over again.

The "Vermilion Stigma" mark was successfully applied seven times out of eight.

Two strokes are immediately spent to strengthen the whole body.

The enhancement by the secret of the "Vermilion Stigma" gives power beyond the limit.

The remaining number of strokes of the mark is five.

One stroke spent on his right foot, which kicks the ground, produces the phenomenon of forward projection.

In a moment of flight, he concentrates all the remaining marks into his right fist.

All four strokes are activated simultaneously.

His fist, filled with the power of destruction, shatters the knight's sword as it is lowered, and he sprints toward the enemy.

"------------------------ !!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Whose voice is that?

The hall that is the dueling hall of the sanctuary and the place of execution for knights is filled with screams.

And Gekkou's right fist, entrusted with the intent to destroy, surpassed all the blue knights and shot through the core of the knight without making any mistakes.