Entering a Company From Another World! – Chapter 651

The appearance of Instructor Fushio, who so easily lost his castle walls, was…

“A ship? No, an airship.”

A ship, which was originally a vessel for sea travel. It had donned a rainbow-colored membrane and was carving its way through the chaos to reach the instructor’s castle.

“It looks like part of a party of heroes challenging the Demon Lord.”
“Kaka! It’s not bad to be thought of as the Demon Lord, but I don’t like having my status decided by others’ evaluations.”

An Undead King lurking in the chaos.

The mere mention of this word reeks of a final boss. My comment was just an observation, but it seemed to displease the instructor, who began to radiate a faint, unpleasant magic.

It had no effect on me, but for an average skilled individual, this alone would be enough to cause mental contamination.

Once again, I realized the terrifying power of the Undead.

However.

“Is that like wanting to announce yourself after defeating the President? What do you think?”
“I can’t say that. But I will say that my ambition is high.”
“We can’t afford to have peace disrupted by that.”

More importantly, I needed to deal with this giant ship that seemed poised to sow physical destruction.

When the instructor invited them into the castle, the front of the ship had completely pierced through it.

Furthermore, they had cemented the castle walls to fix it in place, preventing the chaos from flowing in.

Even if such a ship were to struggle, in the chaos where there was nothing to fix it to, it would only be a waste of power, and the castle would move with it.

Grasping the Ore Tree in my right hand, I tilted my head, rolled my shoulders, and lightly stretched my body.

I had thought it was cramped while moving through the chaos, but my body didn’t feel stiff.

“Your skills seem to have improved. The mastery of your magic is quite good.”
“I trained desperately. Before coming here, I was sparring with the President with a weapon I wasn’t used to.”
“Is that the Holy Sword?”

Although I carried a Holy Sword at my waist for emergencies, I had no intention of drawing it. It was purely for defense.

“No, I broke a few of the Holy Swords that were stored in the country.”
“Magic power that even Holy Swords couldn’t withstand, or perhaps brute strength like Raidou’s.”
“The President said I’m still clumsy with it.”

My current equipment was far from my full combat gear. I didn’t have the luxury of bringing armor, so I was wearing a form-fitting inner suit, like a dive suit. It gave me a slightly sci-fi appearance.

Combined with the rugged Ore Tree sword, it created a somewhat incongruous impression.

“So, you must continue to improve.”

A grotesque figure, clattering with the sound of bones, walked past me. The instructor, at its center, seemed to be reveling in the upcoming battle and was in a good mood.

“Oh, you’re really alive. And you’ve certainly turned into a monster, Undead King Nōraifu.”

That good mood, however, abruptly vanished with the mocking voice from above.

“Hmm, Jiro, is that someone you know?”
“You could say we know each other. But he’s a traitor.”

That presence, that voice, that form. Why were they here? I frowned and looked up to see a gentle-looking man gazing at me with contempt.

“Carter Isperio. I thought you’d escaped from prison and fled with your tail between your legs. You should have just stayed hidden in your hideout if you were that scared. It’s quite a journey for you to come all the way here.”
“Oh, I thought I’d seen that face somewhere. Isn’t that one of the Human Tools? Their name was… ah, sorry, I don’t really remember.”
“I’m incredibly relieved you don’t remember me. It makes me impressed with how limited your information network is.”

Given his apparent resentment towards the Demon Lord’s Army from birth, he seemed ready to pick a fight. But that didn’t concern me, an Earthling. His becoming a general in the Demon Lord’s Army was widely known, perhaps even celebrated with a parade, which might explain his bitterness. He seemed to be making a sarcastic remark, unaware that I had actually become a general.

“Hey, what are you wasting time talking about? Finish off that Undead quickly!”
“Oh, apologies. I got a bit carried away.”

For now, there was only one enemy visible. There might be more combatants on the ship, but none had appeared yet. Yet, there were two voices.

“What? Has it changed from Aiwa to this greenhorn? Does that mean she’s tired of you, you dullard?”
“Do you know who’s speaking? I have a sword with a power that feels very magical.”
“The sword Carter is holding is the voice. Don’t worry, it’s nothing compared to Jiro’s Ore Tree, just a dull blade.”

The voice belonged to Carter’s sword. The outright mockery of it being dull suggested some past history.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how long this damned undead can keep up this pointless chatter.”
“All undead are damned. That’s something you don’t understand, which is why you’re a dullard.”

A verbal sparring match, filled with sparks of sarcasm.

“Then you’ll be cut down by that dullard and perish. Carter, attack!”

The other party seemed rather short-tempered, his visible magic boiling with rage. He was ordering his wielder and looked ready to strike.

“Instructor, is it okay if I take point?”
“My, this is going to be easy for me.”

Before it came to that, I stepped forward, taking the position of front-liner, shield, and attacker.

“Oh, you think you can defeat me?”
“Who knows? We’ll find out when we try.”
“Even with the Undead King on your side, you being here will make you lose even if you could have won!”

As if waiting for this, Carter, who had been calm, suddenly leaned forward and attacked with full force. A shining blade, surging magic. It seemed he intended to cut me down in one blow.

“Hmph!”

Why should I take an attack that I can clearly see and deal with? An overhead strike, met with a deflection using the Ore Tree’s blade. The collision of magic created particles like sparks, but the Ore Tree’s blade remained unharmed.

“Wha—”

A perfect deflection. The one who received it, while being carried by the momentum,’s eyes widened. He quickly regained his posture and tried to block my counter-attack, but…

“Fool, you’re a greenhorn because you can’t even gauge Jiro’s true strength.”

I wondered if I should be paying attention here. The instructor, taking advantage of my blind spot, unleashed magic that completely surrounded Carter, leaving him with no way to escape. Truly the instructor, perfectly synchronized with my movements. His actions showed absolute confidence that I would completely immobilize Carter. Perfect coordination born of being trusted.

What will you do now, Carter? If it continues like this, either my counter-attack or the instructor’s magic will surely hit you.

As the Ore Tree’s blade swung slowly towards Carter’s neck, I saw him insert his sword between the Ore Tree and his neck. I momentarily thought he might block the frontal attack and endure the magic, but then I saw flames erupt from his sword and engulf the magic.

I instantly pulled back, protecting myself from the flames. The flames, serpentine, flew towards me, but I managed to fend them off with a slash of the Ore Tree.

“What was that?”
“The Flame of God. If you’re burned by that, even your soul will be consumed.”
“You should have told me that sooner. So, that’s the Divine Sword mentioned in the report?”

A brief clash. A single exchange of blows. Yet, it provided a surprising amount of information.

“Hey! You would have died if you hadn’t blocked that! Get it together!!”
“My apologies. He seems to have improved considerably; I won’t be careless next time.”

Carter’s arm seemed to have changed little since the spar with the President that day. Was he satisfied, or had he not grown at all?

I resettled into a mid-stance with the Ore Tree, observing him. He didn’t inspire the same dread as when I fought the instructor. No, I felt the danger of a fatal wound if I were careless, but that was all. If I could focus on his attacks and, more importantly, prevent him from attacking the instructor, I could win.

This wasn’t carelessness; it was a clear difference in skill. Feeling this.

“Alright, let’s break him.”

Without carelessness or complacency, and because he was an obstacle to the Demon Lord’s Army regardless, I stepped forward and declared to the instructor behind me, “Let’s eliminate any future worries.”

“Oh, are you talking about that dullard over there? Or the greenhorn’s spirit?”
“Both.”

While they engaged in a thorny verbal exchange, we engaged in lighthearted banter. They had discord; we had camaraderie.

“Well then, I’ll attack.”
“Move as you like. I’ll do the same.”

Is this what they call being in sync? I stepped forward faster than Carter, entering the Ore Tree’s range in a flash. The floor of the prison tower castle created by the instructor didn’t break under my step, nor did it develop grooves from the shockwaves of my slashes. It was good that I could cut without the footing collapsing. This meant I didn’t have to worry about my footing being disrupted.

While thinking it was easy, I unleashed high-speed slashes that outpaced the sound of the wind, creating a cage. The time from swinging to raising my sword was less than a hundredth of a second. This action, too fast to be seen by the eye, was something I had repeated countless times. It was a natural movement, more so than breathing. Optimizing this is what sword techniques are about.

My foundation was a technique from a splintered branch of the Jigen-ryu style, so my attacks were often focused on delivering a single powerful blow. However, since joining the Demon Lord’s Army, I keenly felt the importance and difficulty of finishing an opponent in one strike, which led me to refine my techniques through repeated improvements. I developed a sword technique that focused on inflicting fatal damage, incorporating connecting moves to maintain a constant state of lethality through successive strikes.

“Kuh!?”
“Hey, what’s wrong?! You’re being pushed back!?”

The key to successive strikes is to minimize the lag time to the next attack. A light attack is not enough. An attack that is merely fast is light; an attack that is merely strong is sluggish. Only by combining strength and speed can sharpness be born. A low-level swordsman swings vertically; a second-rate one slashes horizontally; only a first-rate one can do so in all directions. By seamlessly connecting these and forcing the opponent to constantly think about defending, I apply pressure. That’s what Carter is experiencing now.

His desperation was evident. His movements were purely defensive. Naturally, since he was given no time to retaliate. However, no matter how powerful the weapon, it’s useless if the wielder is like this. His counter-attack being limited to fire made it even easier for me to attack.

“Your flames aren’t working at all either!?”
“Shut up!! What is this guy!? It’s the Flame of God! It should melt a dullard like that so easily! Why isn’t it melting!?”

I discovered that the flames, which surprised me at first, could be defended against by coating them with magic. Once I knew that, there were many ways to attack. I wouldn’t use magic. After all.

“Hey, hey, don’t ignore this old man. I’m lonely.”

It would interfere with the instructor’s magic. I only needed to focus on cutting. Just doing that would solve most problems. It reaffirmed how secure I felt with strong support.

But for the opponent, it must be a nightmare. Here I am, a wielder whose slashes have been praised by the President within the Demon Lord’s Army, and Instructor Fushio, a mage considered troublesome even by the President. It was obvious what would happen when we teamed up.

Perhaps that’s why. My blade is now once again aiming for Carter’s neck.

Today’s word: There are people you wish you never had to meet.

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