Chapter 428: Pseudo Fanatic Sword

After hearing a little bit about Count Bailleys' situation. We were waiting for Velmeria to settle down with a cup of tea.

「…Colbert. Acquaintance?」

「No, I don't know any of those guys who will sneak up on you while spreading their killing intent. Frederick? Is it the Count's men?」

「I don't think so. I'm going to Velmeria. You guys take care of them. Take some of them alive if you can.」

The source of this conversation was the mysterious presence that was trying to surround the house while emitting their killing intent.

In all likelihood, it was an enemy attack. What's more, if I may say so――

『Fran, it could be that magic sword』

(Really?)

『They've got that eerie magic mixed in with their magic』

Even from a distance, there was no mistaking the disgust that welled up inside me. It is the same kind of magic that the magic sword was emitting.

(Understood)

『But…』

(But?)

However, there was a problem. For some reason, there were multiple sources of this sickening magic. Worst of all, there was the possibility that there was more than one of those magic swords.

(…Just crush everything)

『Well, you're right. When that magic sword comes out, I’ll do everything i can』

(Okay)

Eliante, I'm sorry. But there might be some damage around here. But we can't leave that magic sword unchecked. We have to make sure we kill it when it appears.

「Is that okay? you can't make the first move to claim self-defence. Just keep that in mind」

So, we have to be passive. A few minutes later, Frederick left the room and headed downstairs to Velmeria.

Inside the mansion, the guards were on alert. The level of the soldiers in the house was high, and there was no one who hadn't noticed the mysterious presence that was narrowing their encirclement.

However, it seems that the attacker's first move was something beyond our imagination.

Guooooo!

「Su-suddenly they unleashed huge magic spell!」

Multiple magics had landed on the villa. The room we were in was unaffected, but through the window we could see tongues of red flame stretching out and turning the space orange. Perhaps someone had released an inferno burst from outside the premises.

In addition to that, it seems that wind magic and earth magic have torn holes in the villa. Colbert also looked surprised.

「How dare they make such a flashy moves in the noble district of the royal capital!」

「What do you mean?」

「Do you know! We're in the king's lap! And if he causes a disturbance in this place full of nobles, he'd be sentenced with death! Even if he was a marquis!」

That's why the people in the villa didn't think they would cause such a conspicuous commotion. They were probably thinking that they would try to assassinate and subdue them in close combat after they entered the villa.

The fact that they had been betrayed made them realize that the air in the villa was shaking.

Was Marquis Ashtner running out of time, or was he were on the verge of ruin? Either way, it seemed that the enemy was simply straightforward.

「Miss, lets split up. I'll take the front gate, can i leave the back gate to you?」

「Nn」

「Yoshi, lets go」

I really wanted to head in the direction of the magic sword, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't locate its presence. Its not like that magic sword had disappeared, but there were several weak reactions of it.

『For the time being, let's check it with our eyes』

「Nn!」

『Urushi, look for suspicious guys around the premises』

「woof!」

And when Fran arrived at the back gate, the enemy had already made their way into the villa. There were two men in front of us. They looked like adventurers. However, both Fran and I were stunned at the sight of their strange appearance.

『Wha-what are they…』

「Sword, stuck」

『And that impaled sword…It looks like a magic sword』

What can I say? There were swords stuck deep in the backs of the men. From the center of the back of their neck, it looked as if a sword had been inserted in place of their spine. Along the spine, an estoc-like sword pierced through the body.

(Note: エストック esutokku - a variety of swords)

The men were both in that state. Moreover, the hand cover on their estoc was familiar. An engraving of a man in agony. It looked just like the hand cover attached to that half-destroyed magic sword.

The appraisal worked for this thing. Well, all I found out was the name. However, the name was not something that could be ignored.

『Pseudo Fanatic Sword』

「Fanatic sword? I've heard it somewhere」

『That's from the scroll that Rumina showed us in Ulmut』

(Note: ルミナ rumina, author-san was really kind to mention who she is which i actually forgot)

That scroll contained the list of the name of divine sword that Rumina, the dungeon master of Ulmut and a member of the Black Cat tribe, carried. Its been on that list.

『Sword of blind devotion, Fanatics』

「So, that's a divine sword?」

『Pseudo means it's not the real one. Maybe it's a duplicate or something…Don't let your guard down!』

Yes, a pseudo. It's not real. But even if it was a pseudo, it was a divine sword. This finally smelled fishy.

「――」

「――」

「Here it comes!」

But then again, they're under mind control too! They have the same face as Hamuls and Gordon. They also have the same state of fanaticism and were using potential release. Their status is very high, and they have many skills. Not even the soldiers in the villa will be able to compete with them.

「Awakening! Brilliant Lightning Rush!」

But still, from the start, they are no match for Fran.

When we are facing both Hamuls and Gordon, we were too focused on wait-and-see and trapping approach. We were also too concerned about the damage to our surrounding. However, the current Fran was serious both in a good and bad way.

When she heard that the enemy had something to do with a divine sword, her switch must have been flipped.

The man on the right, who was about to unleash a sword technique, was sliced in half by Fran's void sword technique, which has closed the distance at lightning speed. The men were not even able to react to Fran's extreme speed.

(Note: 空気抜刀術 kūki battō-jutsu, vacuum air pulling sword technique, void sword drawing arts)

The sword is swung with a speed that doesn't even allow for a blink, then his body is shifted diagonally with a delay.

『Kuh』

「Master? What's wrong?」

『No, it's just triggered cannibalism』

The slash had cut down the pseudo fanatic sword as well. As a result, a sickening amount of magic power flowed into me. I had already experienced this once before, but the amount of magic I absorbed was much less than last time, so I only felt a little disgust, but it was still unpleasant.

The fact that I had absorbed so little power could be seen from my increased stats. In fact, the magic power I have only increased by 2.

『What's more is, there's another one』

「Nn! Haaa!」

「――」

The man swung his sword over his head, as if he had finally realized that his friends had been killed instantly. But by that time, Fran was already prepared.

Faster than the man's sword swung down, she unleashed void sword technique once again, cutting off both of the man's legs.

『Just lie down!』

I invoked my telekinesis on that guy…

『What?』

For a moment, the pseudo fanatic sword on the man's back seemed to glow, and I saw it suck the magic power out of him. And then my telekinesis is cancelled out.

『This guy――can manipulate magic huh!』

I tried to restrain it with earth magic, but that was counteracted as well. That pseudo fanatic sword was the user. No, parasite? The wearer? Whatever it was, it seemed to have the power to use the man's magic to counteract my magic and skills.

Seeing that my morphing and swordsmanship skills are still usable, it seems that the magic released to the outside world is being dissipated by that sword in some way.

In the meantime, the man's legs had finished regenerating at a tremendous rate. Abnormal regeneration and pain blocking made him a pseudo-immortal, and combined with the ability to cancel out magic power to blocks its opponent's attack. That was a nasty ability.

If we had run into them when I was weaker, we would have been in a pinch. But they're not much of a threat for us now.

Even though my magic and skills have been blocked, my swords skills have not diminished, and I am still in Fran's hands. That's enough for me.

「Haaa!」

「――」

The match is decided in an instant. No matter how good he is at regeneration and even if he feels no pain, if his hands and feet are cut off, there will be an opening. The regeneration process had already begun, but it would take at least ten seconds for the limbs that had been severed from their roots to be restored.

『Yosh, this is our chance!』

「Nn!」

Our target was the pseudo fanatic sword. Fran grabbed the hilt and attempted to pull the sword off the man's back.

「Muuuuu!」

『Hang in there!』

I would have joined in with telekinesis, but it would only be cancelled out. Naturally, I tried dimensional storage too, but I couldn't store the pseudo fanatic sword in this state, as it was treated as the man's equipment.

「Haaaaaaaa!」

『Yosh, it came out!』

It had holding into his body quite tightly, but it could not resist Fran's strength. In about three seconds, the pseudo fanatic sword was pulled out of the man's body. I immediately tried to stow it away, and this time I was able to do so without any problem. At last, we got a clue.

「――」

But I couldn't be all that happy. The man whose sword had been pulled out of his back had died shortly after. It was going to be difficult to get any information from the attacker this time.

『Well, that simplifies the story.』

「Nn, cut them down」

When we pull out the pseudo fanatic sword, he will die, and if we leave him alone, he will die from his potential release. Then we can defeat him without thinking about capturing him.

『For the time being lets take down the assailant who broke into the premises』