[Did you think I would forgive you for harming the princess?]
“Go to hell, you damn fool!”
As my skull hung suspended in the air, Claude effortlessly sliced it in two as if swatting away trash. Enraged, Jigoro lunged at him with lightning speed and delivered an uppercut as if to scoop him up.
In response, Claude stepped back and swiftly thrust his halberd in a counterattack, but Jigoro deflected the shaft with a kick. This exchange occurred in less than a second. He was always a monstrous fellow!
“Mmm… taken down in such an unremarkable manner.”
Indeed, I died once. However, thanks to my skill of [Life Obsession] I was resurrected this one time. A spare skull I had hidden within my robes was now in place, and I picked up and reattached the mask that had fallen off when my head was severed.
Though I was nearly drained of health, the fact that I casually stood up made Claude click his tongue from behind his bone helmet. Perhaps he never encountered someone with a sort of extra life before. And despite being made of ash, he seems capable of clicking his tongue. How surprising.
“You let your guard down, Isam.”
“Indeed. I have no words in return.”
Before I knew it, Genjuro had made his way to the front, and his reasoning was sound. If I had retreated immediately instead of just watching Claude transform, I could have avoided this situation. My idle thoughts were a reflection of my regret for my own carelessness. It was one of those days filled with too many reflections for my liking.
After I healed myself with [Soul Magic], I retreated to regroup with Iris and the others. Fighting on the vanguard was proving to be exhausting for me. I was more suited to a support role in the rear.
“Iris, Shiitake, what are the results of [Appraisal]?”
“His level was lowered. But it’s still at 85…”
“Also, there’s an additional skill now. It’s called [Embrace of the Undying Princess].”
[Embrace of the Undying Princess] was undoubtedly related to Catherine. For now, she was merely closing her eyes and clinging to Claude, but it was likely that this had some significant effect. While I was curious to observe, waiting too long could have bad consequences for us.
We couldn’t just leave Jigoro to fend for himself against Claude. We had to quickly decide on a course of action.
“The enemy is a single entity, human-sized. Even if we attack from all directions, piling on all at once would be a bad move as we’d get in each other’s way. Shio and Seventh Armor, support Jigoro. Meanwhile, we’ll regroup and decide on the rotation for recovery and reinforcement.”
“Yes sir~~ssu!”
“Right away, boss!”
As soon as I spoke, Shio shot an arrow at Claude and Seventh Armor summoned new beasts with his [Summoning Magic] for a direct attack. And with Jigoro already exchanging blows directly in front of us, we needed the three of them to buy us some time while we quickly made some decisions.
“If Jigoro is in danger, I want Genjuro, Ruby, Shishu, and Nenashi to step forward. Eiji, Usaji, Moth-san, and Karl, who are quickly running out of health, should focus on healing. Once healed, we’ll rotate.”
“What about us and Sei-kun?”
“I’m counting on you to take turns charging from the rear, but be careful not to collide with the other vanguard.”
“What about the rear guard?”
“Of course, start providing covering fire immediately.”
“Is that necessary~?”
“Absolutely.”
The reason Wool asked this question was because Jigoro was holding his own against Claude. Even now, fists and swords, kicks and halberds clashed at a dizzying pace, sending sparks flying everywhere.
Jigoro was fighting with a grin that seemed to scream his love for the battle, yet with every clash of his gauntlets against the weapons, he was taking damage. It was unclear whether the draining of his health through the gauntlets was due to the weapons’ strength or some sort of skill. Either way, it appeared he would be worn down to defeat before long if things continued as they were.
“Genjuro and the others, can the four of you take over?”
“Umu. Thanks to Mikelo, I’m almost fully recovered.”
“Then I’m counting on you. Jigoro, rotate with them!”
“Tch, can’t be helped!”
Before his health reached a critical low, Jigoro retreated to make room for Genjuro and the others to step to the front. Genjuro deflected incoming sword and halberd attacks with his Oadachi and spear, while Ruby’s knives and Shishu’s legs sneaked through gaps in the armor on either side, with Nenashi’s vines intertwining to bind the enemy.
“You’re quite skilled. No wonder Jigoro was so fierce.”
“What’s this feeling?”
“It doesn’t feel like there’s much effect!”
“Hmm? This armor, it’s transforming!”
In contrast to Genjuro who was calmly stirring up his fighting spirit, the others didn’t seem to feel too positive about their attacks. Ruby and Shishu’s attacks did manage to inflict some damage, but it was far less than they had expected. It was almost negligible even.
The reason was likely that Claude’s body was composed of ash. Their attacks were designed to slash through flesh, but it seemed they were less effective against Claude’s ephemeral form.
Sliding a blade through the gaps in the armor proved to be extremely difficult. Any slight twist of Claude’s body would cause the attacks to only graze the surface or slip off the armor completely. I thought the enemy couldn’t dodge their attacks because he was too occupied with Genjuro, but it turned out that he didn’t have to dodge; Claude just let their attacks happen.
As for Nenashi’s vines, the moment they entwined around the armor, they were severed by the edges of the armor itself. The bones composing Claude’s armor were sharp like blades and seemed to move at his will. This allowed him to slip out before they could fully bind him.
I had an idea of how to inflict considerable damage on Claude. The first clue was the crumbling skull with ashes pouring out of it. That must be his core. If we do not deal with it, we have no chance of winning. Aiming for the vital spot of a master who could stand up to Genjuro and Jigoro, who was clad in strange and sturdy armor and who possessed an undying body… Haha, it’s ridiculous, really!
“Let’s start with one solid hit!”
While I was mentally resigning myself to fate, Hanna, who was mounted on Roja, charged forward with great momentum and brought her halberd down on the enemy. But Claude’s bone armor transformed into spikes and effortlessly blocked the attack without so much as a glance in her direction.
“Aah~, the healing really seeps into the body. Hey, brother, did you catch that just now?”
“Yeah. It was as you said.”
I nodded my head while using magic to strengthen Jigoro, who was being healed by Mikelo. Claude wasn’t able to see behind him. It was Catherine behind him who had been providing him with guidance.
Catherine’s words didn’t reach this far. But just before Hanna struck with her halberd, I clearly saw Catherine with her body glowing faintly in a translucent form whispering something in Claude’s ear. Even though her eyes are closed!
“Receiving advice from behind, is that the effect of the [Embrace of the Undying Princess]?”
“It’s not just that. Don’t underestimate the boss’s skill set; it’s unlikely to be that simple.”
A skill that allows for advice from a spirit. It’s far from a weak skill, but it seems too simplistic to be just that. The notion of being guarded from behind should be considered a secondary effect. What’s more intriguing is the glowing…
“Oh, Ooooh?”
“Dear, are you alright?”.
Indeed, there seemed to be some trick at play. Suddenly, Roja’s steps became unsteady and he started staggering like a drunkard. What was indicated on his marker was a “reversal” status ailment. This meant that his sense of direction, up, down, left, and right was completely jumbled.
Roja had been sprinting at a considerable despite, but despite having his directions all jumbled up, he managed to break away for a moment. As he gradually reduced his speed, he ended up standing still with his legs trembling uncontrollably.
“Magic circle, remote activation, dispel.”
“Uh…oh? It’s cured.”
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
I quickly lifted the curse from a distance. The two immediately ran to put some distance between them and the enemy. The fact that the curse was lifted without issue confirmed that it was indeed a curse. I think it was cast at the moment of the glowing.
Since Genjuro and the others who were closest to the enemy were not cursed, it seemed that there were special conditions for the curse to be triggered and for someone to be cursed. To verify this, someone would have to take a risk, but that could be a
rranged.
“Seventh Armor!”
“Leave it to me!”
As if he had been waiting for my command, Seventh Armor ordered his summoned crows to attack the enemy. Of course, he made sure not to get in the way of Genjuro and the others. He attacked almost solely from behind.
As expected, when Catherine glowed, almost all the crows were cursed at the same time. The curses were varied, with some crows being paralyzed, others being put to sleep, and others being turned to stone. While no one suffered multiple status ailments, it was clear that the curses were definitely cast in an area approximately 120 degrees behind Claude.
“It seems that getting cursed is a consequence of either attacking from behind or getting too close. So overwhelming them with numbers isn’t possible.”
“They neutralize the numerical advantage, huh…”
“So, the amulets are ineffective… That’s what it means, right?”
“It’s troublesome, but that’s the reality. Maybe it’s time for a change.”
While I worked out some of the specifications of the enemy’s skills with the help of Seventh Armor, Genjuro and the others continued to slash at the enemy furiously. Similar to the previous battle Jigoro had, none of Genjuro’s team was visibly injured, but their health was depleting. It wasn’t due to any status ailment, but something was slowly draining their health.
Only Nenashi had his vines cut, but since the vines used for attack could regenerate instantly and the damage was minimal, it was negligible. It appeared he too was subjected to the mysterious damage. This unidentified damage was truly frightening.
“Eiji, Karl. Leave the offense to Usaji and Moth-san and focus on defense. Try to avoid getting behind the enemy.”
“Guooooooooo!”
“I’ll show you what I can do!”
“I’m not feeling too optimistic about this matchup…”
“Let’s chip away as much as we can.”
Eiji and Karl were ready to move at any moment. Alright, let’s have them switch in smoothly and effectively while maintaining the attack.
“Fall back, Genjuro! Seventh Armor!”
“Right! Going for a self-destruct!”
[~~~?!]
While Genjuro and the others retreated, Seventh Armor triggered a self-destruct with the crows that were still alive on the field. The light-emitting explosion erupted behind Claude, but I expected that it wouldn’t cause any significant damage.
Contrary to my expectations, Claude showed signs of panic and he turned and managed to block the blast with his sword and halberd. His [Guardian Sword Mastery] and [Guardian Axe Spear Mastery] were not just for show.
However, I couldn’t be at ease. This unexpected move was problematic! Especially since I had secretly instructed Sei through the guild chat to launch a frontal attack, assuming that Claude wouldn’t turn around.
“Sei!”
“Damn, that guy won’t stop!”
Engulfed in the ash swirling from the explosion, Sei was unable to see clearly but he did not slow down and continued his attack. Tess unleashed a series of magic attacks and the barrage that followed, along with Phil’s charge, was recognized by all of us for its breakthrough ability. But now was not the time!
At this rate, they would be cursed with a status ailment by Catherine before getting attacked and slashed to death in the blink of an eye when they were defenseless. Eiji and the others wouldn’t make it in time.
[From behind, huh?]
“Tch! He noticed!”
Tess’s barrage was deflected with a sword, and a blow from the club was blocked with a halberd. But why had he turned in the first place? The explosion from Seventh Armor should have been sufficiently blocked by his sturdy armor without the need to turn, and it would have been more efficient to transform the armor like he did with Hanna to block Sei’s attack while inducing a status ailment.
Still, why had he turned around? It seemed that the key to overcoming this battle might lie in understanding this behavior. However, now that Sei had retreated, it was Eiji and the others’ turn to fight. Let’s consider improvising a plan to overcome the situation while providing solid support. That’s my role after all.
Leave a Reply