Happy New Year!
I hope you will treat it favorably again this year!
Giving a souvenir of a middle-aged old man stained with tears and snot must be a terrible idea.
Looking down at them calmly, the three men, paralyzed with fear and unable to move, have been begging for help and offering each other up to save their lives.
“Be quiet for a bit.”
I silenced their unpleasant bickering with just that one word.
With a slight wave of magic power, I knocked them out.
“Well then, I guess I’ll dispose of the corpses around here. If I leave them, they’ll become a source of plague and attract magic beasts.”
Then, I took out cords that automatically wrapped around my body from the otherworld and bound them, and threw them at the three men.
“The scene is the worst.”
As a result, a sight that could only be described as disgusting was created.
I wondered if I needed to take this back, and for a moment, I considered dealing with it on the spot, but I decided that having more information sources was never a problem.
I burned all the corpses in this area with magic.
“A new comer?”
Thinking so, I tried to gather magic power, but at that moment, I felt something like magic power from a distant mountain.
It was a giant magic power that could be felt even from a considerable distance.
I stared intently at the mountain in that direction.
“That’s quite a rough greeting.”
As I tried to focus magic power on my eyes to look at the mountain, I thought I saw a black flash.
Immediately after, a black magic cannon was fired.
If this continues, the hostages I just captured will die.
So, I gathered magic power to tear it apart with my Ore Tree and swung it down at the magic cannon.
“Not bad.”
Unlike the previous magic, this one gave me considerable resistance.
A heavy weight I could feel.
Although I was tearing through it, magic power was being replenished one after another.
I see, it’s the type that just overpowers with magic power.
“A long-range mage, huh?”
Furthermore, a mage who can snipe at a distance that can’t be easily closed, judging that I’m primarily a close-range fighter, such a mage is one of the best users in this world.
“Behind me!?”
Just when I thought it was impossible, a chill ran down my spine.
Following the words “bad premonition,” I immediately gave up on pushing back the magic cannon and forcibly grabbed the hostages, evading to the side.
Even if I scrape myself on the ground a little, I can heal as long as I’m alive.
The problem is.
“A knight in black armor… they don’t seem to be their companions.”
The visitor wearing such a monstrous armor is not an Apostle of God.
The long-range magic cannon was fired by someone else, and this knight came from another place via spatial transfer.
Was the previous attack a diversion to hide the magic fluctuations peculiar to spatial transfer?
No, if they could kill the hostages with that, it would be a success.
The presence on the mountain has now disappeared.
They’re probably moving to avoid revealing their sniping position.
“Then, I’ll defeat you in the meantime.”
How much time is needed for reinforcements? It won’t take long.
I cast a light barrier on the men and from there, I immediately closed the distance to the opponent.
An attack that would surely finish off a knight of that level, but I felt no resistance.
“He’s parrying!”
Slashing attacks are meaningless unless the blade pierces the someone you’re cutting.
Skillfully using my sword to deflect the blow as if sliding the blade of my Ore Tree, I opened my eyes, changed the direction of the momentum with my grip, and then leaped up towards the opponent’s neck, but he dodged it with a backstep.
The previous exchange was a no-holds-barred sparring session, and I learned of the opponent’s high skill.
I also saw their preparedness in redirecting force to the side and preparing for a counterattack.
Now then, how much of a difference in skill is there between us based on the previous exchange?
“Kaha.”
I didn’t need to think about that until now, but encountering an enemy with such resistance naturally brings a smile to my lips.
“…”
The opponent seems to be a very taciturn person in response to my emotional outburst.
Or rather, I don’t even want to converse with someone belonging to the Demon Lord’s Army.
“He dodged that too!”
If that’s the case, I’ll try to get him to react just a little. I lunged, swung up from a lowered stance, and countered the opponent’s attack, which I had foreseen, with an even faster returning blade, the Swallow Return, but he dodged it.
His physical ability, particularly his reaction speed, is extremely high. If I’m careless, I’ll die.
I can tell he’s not showing his full strength, but considering his current ability, I can win this fight.
I’m confident of that, but that confidence could be overturned depending on his hidden cards.
His equipment is also quite excellent. I slowly swing my Ore Tree, grinding away at his sword, but there’s no sign of it breaking. The armor, which should have been grazed and cut, regenerates before I know it.
Is he a Hero?
No, it’s different.
If you called him a fallen Hero, it would seem plausible, but the atmosphere is different.
It feels more like our side’s power.
Then, was it the work of nobles?
That doesn’t feel right either.
At the very least, they wouldn’t have the luxury of using such skilled fighters as assassins. It would be more reasonable to deploy them to Instructor Fushio’s front line rather than spending effort to take me down.
Then who is it?
“…”
“Damn it, this is really troublesome!!”
The quiet attacker’s slashes are unexpectedly sharp and heavy.
However, compared to the instructor, the threat is still small.
I dodged the tip of his sword with a sway back, immediately lunged and swung diagonally, which he dodged by shifting his body. Then, with the returning blade, he aimed for my leg.
It’s a practical sword that’s based on orthodox sword techniques but also incorporates unconventional ones.
Instead of aiming for fatal blows to the opponent, he targets essential parts for fighting, like hands and legs.
That’s another thing that’s not like a Hero.
In a way, the way Heroes fight is flashy.
Their fighting style focuses on defeating the opponent, favoring techniques like one-strike kills.
But this is what you’d call a trick technique, isn’t it?
Or rather, a sneaky technique.
He uses these frequently, reducing the momentum of my attacks and trying to wear down my stamina.
And that sense of unease that’s been lingering since earlier, or rather, a sense of déjà vu.
I feel like I know this person.
The more I fight, the more I know this person’s sword.
His face is hidden by a black helmet, so I can’t see it.
His body control is highly refined, and I wouldn’t forget someone I could fight this much with.
That’s why I can’t help but wonder who he is.
A silent knight.
Is it because he’s acting in a way that doesn’t reveal his information?
Or is it his natural personality?
Because he doesn’t let me grasp his characteristics, more and more doubts accumulate in my mind.
Who is it?
In a way, that doubt makes me confident that I know him.
There are almost no acquaintances in Isal.
Among them, if he’s a skilled fighter, I have to admit I truly don’t know him.
“Tch, I’ve run out of time.”
I observed him for too long.
I leaped back instinctively, and magic struck the spot where I had been standing again.
A magic cannon with enough power and range to damage me.
I wonder how many skilled individuals were sent, and the knight in front of me doesn’t miss the opening I created by a slight distance.
“You won’t get away with it!!”
I deployed magic with one hand, and purple lightning coursed through and approached the hostages I had laid down.
However, I can’t shield them all.
The man who looked the most important was burned by the lightning, convulsed, and then emitted the smell of burning flesh.
That’s no good.
It’s a fatal wound.
“The purpose is to silence them, I guess.”
It seems these guys have some pretty important information that they wouldn’t want to spill.
If that’s the case, I’m suddenly more inclined to retrieve them.
Moreover, I got to see his hand.
I thought he was a pure swordsman, but no, he’s a magic swordsman.
A well-rounded fighter who uses both magic and swords.
Is he a fighting style similar to mine?
If so, that makes the question of who he is even more pressing.
Magic swordsmen are surprisingly rare. It takes a lot of effort to train both magic and sword techniques.
In fact, while both instructors can use magic and physical techniques, it’s clear which one they specialize in.
Even in the Demon Lord’s Army, magic swordsmen are a rare type.
Furthermore, there are no magic swordsmen in Isal that I know of.
Since they’re trying to hinder us, they must be part of the enemy’s forces.
So why can’t I identify the opponent?
I considered the possibility that this sense of déjà vu could be a mistake, but my intuition tells me it’s not.
With long-range support, it’s already troublesome, and on top of that, I’m holding hostages.
Common sense dictates that I should retreat, but I feel I can’t just ignore this sense of déjà vu and retreat.
“Partner!”
“Understood!”
Then all I need to do is confirm the identity of this sense of déjà vu.
Connecting with my Ore Tree. Enhancing magic power circulation.
Furthermore, I deploy my magic armor. The attribute is lightning.
The long-range attack is performed with consideration so as not to involve the black knight.
If that’s the case, I need to synchronize with the opponent to attack.
When the black knight attacks and is in close proximity, the support attack is weak.
And when the black knight is about to be defeated, support comes in.
It’s a perfectly synchronized combination.
If I’m going to break through that.
“I’ll have to take a bit of a risk!!”
As a necessary expense, I push the black knight away with a horizontal slash and grit my teeth.
I deliberately take the sniping attack.
The impact I feel through my armor, the dull pain in my internal organs.
I feel pain, but it’s much less than I anticipated.
I can endure this.
Without losing my posture, and for just a brief moment, less than a second.
If I have that.
“Takemikazuchi.”
I can unleash lightning towards the sniper’s direction.
“!”
“You’ve finally shown a reaction!!”
And the attack, ignoring the black knight, creates a clear opening.
An attack aimed at the sniper, prioritizing it over the black knight, and I feel a sword approaching my back.
If this continues, one of my lungs will be taken.
But if I anticipated that.
“You’re an honest one!!”
Dodging that attack is nothing.
I deflect the thrust that was trying to pierce my right lung with my magic-protected elbow and use that momentum to spin in place.
I send back a reverse-diagonal slash from bottom to top as repayment for the blade that was aiming for my body.
The opponent will find it difficult to dodge the counterattack.
I can see him trying to avoid a fatal blow by forcibly shifting his body.
But my target isn’t your life.
The movements to protect your life naturally suppress other movements.
In other words.
“Let me see your face!!”
I can cut off the helmet that conceals your identity.
Of course, I won’t allow a slash that tears your face.
But I can cut the part that covers your face.
I feel the edge of my sword cutting through the metal fittings of the part covering your face, and by slicing through the fittings, the mask comes off.
“You…”
The black knight’s face, which hadn’t lowered his sword, was revealed.
And at the face that appeared there, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.
“Himusumi, is that you?”
There stood Himusumi, who had been missing.
When I cut him, his face was also cut, and blood was dripping, dyeing his face red, but I wouldn’t mistake his appearance.
His complexion was slightly pale, but there was no doubt that it was my fellow Dungeon Tester, Himusumi Toru.
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