Even if I resolved myself to take action, my resolve did not change the task at hand. The plan was to move steadily and make sure that every enemy was dealt with decisively. Just as I was thinking that, a change occurred in the ash vanguard.
“Whoa?!”
To my surprise, their arms morphed into blade-like shapes. If these were as hard as metal, it would pose a serious challenge. Could I handle this?
However, giving up was not an option on the table. The ash vanguards, brandishing their blade-like arms, continued their strategy of overwhelming me with numbers with no real coordination. In a normal group fight, such tactics could be easily exploited, but facing them alone presented considerable difficulty.
“Hmph! Mmh?!”
Gliding low, I countered with my scythe in front and my tail in the rear. But when my tail collided with the arm of an ash vanguard, I felt something different. The ash seemed to be denser than before, even if only slightly.
Fortunately, it hadn’t become dramatically harder. However, it seemed that the arms, unlike the torso, wouldn’t crumble as easily as before. I hadn’t anticipated they would become stronger!
The willingness to sacrifice oneself to protect one’s master was admirable, but for someone like me who was engaged in battle against the clones, it was extremely irritating. Moreover, it had become a dilemma. It was now difficult to simply sweep them away with physical attacks alone.
“I hoped to conserve it, but there’s no helping it. Wind Wave.”
Conserving magic power was no longer an option. From now on, I had to fight with magic, not just when I had a chance that I couldn’t afford to miss. Even a simple spell could be effective, so I tried to fight while conserving as much magic power as possible. After all, there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be a second or third phase to the battle.
“Ora ora ora!”
“Umu, tough bones indeed.”
“Haa, haa… Aren’t those two a bit too lively?”
“Could it be a difference in innate strength…”
The battle with Claude had shifted from being purely defensive to a stalemate. Claude’s dropping level had significantly changed the dynamic. Seeing this, it was clear that reducing the number of ash vanguards and inflicting damage on Catherine was of the utmost importance.
Since I decided to use magic, it was time to unleash spells that could turn the tide of the battle despite being outnumbered. However, if I were to prepare something effective without expending too much magic power… there was only one option.
“Not something I like, but… Summon Undead.”
“””Oooaaahhh…”””
I used the most basic [Spirit Channeling] spell, Summon Undead. Just like when I summoned the jailer, a hole appeared in the ground, and the damned souls of the abyss poured out. The undead immediately attacked the nearby ash vanguards.
At first glance, we seemed to have the upper hand in numbers. However, the undead were effortlessly sliced through by the blade-like arms of the ash vanguard, and their numbers began to dwindle rapidly.
They were, after all, only weak creatures summoned by a basic spell who were no match for even the ash vanguards. This outcome was expected and in line with my predictions. My goal was simply to stop the movements of all the Ash Vanguards, if only for a brief moment.
“Short Teleport! Decapitation!”
Facing tougher enemies did not mean I had to engage them directly. I used Short Teleport and moved right behind Catherine and, with the enhanced dexterity from the Dexterity Boost, aimed for her neck with a precise martial technique from my [Scythe Mastery].
The blade caught the neck of Catherine, who was unable to react at all, and slashed it away just like Ruby had done. She couldn’t even utter a scream of death, and normally that would have killed her instantly…but that didn’t happen this time either.
“Ooooooooooooooh!”
“Looks like his level’s dropped again, huh?”
Just like Shiitake had reported about the drop in levels, Claude had expended his levels to resurrect Catherine again. It seemed that inflicting fatal wounds on Catherine would be more effective than laboriously defeating the ash vanguard.
After dealing with the undead, the ash vanguard immediately intervened between Catherine and me, as if to say they wouldn’t allow any further interference. It was as though I was being cast as the villain. But that was fine by me!
Ssshhh…
As the sound of ash flowing filled the air, the ash vanguard began to transform once again. Just as I wondered if they would sprout new limbs like me, the Vanguard fused into a single mass.
From the towering pile of ash with the helmets mixed in, tendrils of ash like Iris or Nenashi’s twisted around. The tips of these tendrils were sharp, just like blades.
“There’s no way it’s just gotten bigger for nothing… Grand Slash!”
I tried using a martial technique that launched a slash from my scythe. Although it shaved off a large amount of ash, it couldn’t split the mass. The scattered ash immediately returned, and the shaved-off parts were swiftly restored.
It seems like the ash’s defensive power hasn’t changed, but were they planning on forcibly blocking attacks with the sheer mass of ash? It would take quite a bit of magic power, but if I used a powerful spell to blow them away with a single blow…
“Howoooooooo?!”
That was close! The conglomerate of ash vanguard had fired ash bullets at me, much like a shotgun! It grazed the hem of my robe!
So long-range attacks had finally come into play. It seemed that I couldn’t just pummel them from a distance anymore. That’s fine with me, I’m sadly used to fighting superior enemies rather than numerous inferior ones. First encounter or not, I don’t care!
“Crescent Magic Circle, remote activation, Magic Bomb!”
I launched a Magic Bomb spell of my [Explosion Magic] skill at the mass of ash. The blast knocked away part of the mass, but it didn’t completely disintegrate it. The blasted parts quickly regenerated.
But that didn’t really matter to me. My goal this time wasn’t them.
“Thorn Whip. Tail Whip, and Tail Bite.”
The blast scattered not only ash but also helmets that had been mixed in, several of which were now separated from the main body. I captured one with my Thorn Whip and struck it with a martial technique using my tail. As usual, it didn’t shatter with a single blow, but I then caught it in the jaws of the tail’s dragon head. With my enhanced strength and the bonus from my martial techniques, the deformed helmet along with its contents was crushed in my grip.
Destroying the heads of the ash vanguard, which were part of Claude himself, was crucial because it also weakened him. Even destroying the contents of a helmet, which was considered part of him, could result in a level drop. The efficiency may be low, but if there’s significance in battering the protective wall itself, that approach works just fine!
There was a need for constant movement, as the enemy tried to prevent my attacks by sending ash flying at me, but it wasn’t a problem. Thanks to my gear that made me capable of flying, I was able to evade in three-dimensional trajectories. Without it, I would have been defeated long ago.
But the enemy was too tricky. While it barraged me with ash bullets to block my attacks, it also began to flail its bladed tendrils wildly. The tendrils sometimes collided and cut each other in half, but being made of ash, they were brittle and quickly returned to their original state.
Rather, the severed tendrils scattered in the air created a smoke screen-like effect that obscured my vision. Fighting in such conditions was difficult!
“Tch! So you’ve adapted already!”
Even when the movements were such that they could lead to self-harm, the main body didn’t seem to care, resulting in surprisingly few openings. Was this an attitude of disregarding appearances as long as it prevented attacks?
While I could appreciate the relentless determination to use any means necessary to win, at this moment, it was nothing but irritating. Stop delaying! This will wear down Jigoro and the others!
“I’ll make you regret becoming one! Magic circle, spell adjustment, Molten Lava Shot!”
I unleashed countless pebbles of lava, intending to incinerate Catherine along with the mass of ash. However, the ash then transformed into a dome-like shape that enveloped and protected her. This made it impossible to inflict damage on Catherine.
However, the exposed parts of the helmet seemed to be affected by the lava. The magic resistance of the helmet might still be intact, but many of the helmets themselves were severely damaged. It seemed that the more damaged the helmets were, the lower their magic resistance became, and the insides of such helmets were being sizzled by the oozing lava.
Each time a helmet was destroyed, Claude would replenish it, but a quick glance revealed that the number of helmets crammed into his ribcage had dwindled considerably. Could there be less than ten left? The goal seemed to be in sight. Just one more push!
“That’s right. If the cohesion between the ash particles is so weak that they tear apart upon collision… Magic circle, remote activation, Rock Fall.”
dropped rocks conjured by magic from the top of the ash dome. As expected, the sound of rocks shattering through the dome and crashing to the ground echoed through the area.
In the process, I had aimed to catch several helmets in the fall. I managed to catch only two, but I presumed they were thoroughly crushed and mangled.
“Aaaaaah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”
It seemed that not only helmets but Catherine herself had been caught in the Rockfall spell. To me, it was a stroke of luck; for her, unfortunately, it was quite the opposite.
However, to heal those injuries, Claude had to deplete his stock of helmeted heads. At that moment, I didn’t miss the sight of a head amidst the mass of ash, which meant…
“Let’s finish this in one go! Star Magic Circle, remote activation, Magic Bomb!”
“~~~~?!”
I mercilessly pursued Catherine as she crouched on the ground in pain. Five explosions occurred at close range, sending Catherine’s slender figure flying through the air. Although the head was immediately used to heal her, her wounds were not completely healed. Finally, the supply had run out!
As soon as all the helmeted heads vanished, what was once a mass of ash controlling them simply became a mound of ash. With this, the knights sworn to protect the princess had all but disappeared.
“It’s over. Decapitation.”
“Help me! Cla…”
Until the very end, she didn’t try to resist on her own and was constantly protected by Claude. With a great sweep of my scythe, I harvested the princess’s head. The head was separated from her body and would not return to its former state, and her health gauge continued to dwindle. Just like that, Catherine fell.
“Oh…Ooooooooooooooooooh!”
“Aaaaah?!”
“Tch!”
“That surprised me, but there’s no damage, right?”
At that moment, Claude’s scream was unlike any we had ever heard before and a torrent of ash flowed like tears from the large sockets of his skull as he crumpled to his knees and collapsed. His joints disintegrated and he fell apart before he became a pile of ash and bone in a matter of seconds.
Is this the end? If so, that would be a relief… but I don’t hear any announcement signaling the end of the battle. It feels almost as if I’ve been caught in the kind of trap I had set for that hero guy and his companions.
My companions are aware of the cunning traps I’ve set before, so not a single person here let their guard down. And their caution was justified.
[…You’ve done it now, minions of that greedy man.]
Emerging from the collapsing pile of ash and bones was a creature resembling a mannequin made entirely of ash. The creature’s voice carried an intelligent tone, yet it was laced with a chilling hatred.
Judging from the circumstances, this must be Claude. How is it that just moments ago there was no hint of intellect, and now this?
[I will always protect the princess. I won’t let things go as you wish!… Come forth, Princess.]
“”””?!””””
Suddenly, a translucent Catherine appeared as if seeping out of the void. Was I facing the ghost of an enemy I had just defeated?
Catherine’s spirit seemed to cling to Claude from behind. Her face was brimming with satisfaction.
[Princess, your body will surely be regenerated. Please wait here for a short while.]
As Claude spoke, the sword and halberd he had been wielding in his giant form burst open and something flew out from inside them. It was a sword and a halberd, perfectly sized for Claude. Though they were tarnished, their quality was obvious even to an amateur’s eye. They must be his true weapons.
In addition, the scattered bones around him gathered into an armor that enveloped him. With that, Claude quickly transformed into a knight with a sinister aura, clad in bone armor. Huh? He’s cool though.
[First…]
“Run, brother!”
“Eh?! Wait, hol—?!”
Because I was fighting alone, I was isolated and quickly found myself at a disadvantage as Claude closed the distance between us in an instant. His blade bore down on me as I frantically tried to deflect it with my scythe, but it was all in vain. Just as easily as Catherine, my head was sent spinning through the air.
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