Chapter 85
Caitlyn, unconscious.
For a moment, I simply stared down at her.
“······.”
The hand I carefully held was cold and stiff.
Her body was covered in sand, and white frost crackled at her fingertips.
The white had spread across her bronze skin, steadily leeching away her body heat.
The girl was a complete wreck.
-If we lose this, I’ll kill you···.
Those were the words she had spat out just before losing consciousness.
I turned those rough words over in my mind.
Her arms and legs surely had no feeling, and her consciousness must have been hazy.
Even in that situation, Caitlyn had shown no sign of groveling or breaking.
‘She’s unbelievably stubborn. Really.’
Snicker-.
I smiled softly.
My hand extended without thinking, my palm settling over her cheek as though she were asleep.
The place where we touched was so cold that I had to keep my hand there a little longer.
“You really worked hard.”
Using my body heat, I thawed her chilled cheek, if only a little.
The touch was my own way of expressing affection.
Caitlyn had perfectly lived up to my expectations.
That tenacious venom, that vicious envy and inferiority complex, was oddly endearing.
“Get some rest.”
Yes,
so this was the kind of person you were.
“I’ll make sure we win.”
I had certainly said I trusted you, but what was I supposed to do when you turned out to be this cool?
I had nearly fallen for her right then and there.
-Because that’s how much I trust you.
-Miss Caitlyn’s feet are the fastest in the academy.
As expected, I really did like her.
People who clung desperately to something even knowing it would break. People who poured their lives into filling a bottomless jar even knowing it could never be filled. Even if they weren’t bright emotions like love, happiness, or joy, even dark and filthy emotions could still become a step forward.
If we recognized the value of the steps they took, if we didn’t simply see the foolish actions of foolish people as foolish, if we could accept them, then it felt as though anything could become the catalyst for changing a person.
I rummaged through my robe.
Before long, I had a sword with a riot of colors in my hand.
Caitlyn, sprawled across the brush, was in the following condition.
[Status Effects]
-Overload
-Frostbite
-Mana Exhaustion
-Forced Weakness
She must have been put through hell to be dragging around so many debuffs.
I swung the sword as though carving away the air beside Caitlyn.
Immediately afterward, Imaginary Parry activated, removing the debuffs one by one.
[Status Effect Parry]
-Description: Status effects affecting a specific target are treated as ‘attacks.’ If the system user casts ‘Parry,’ they can detach the status effects from the target.
Pfft, pfft-.
A sound like air escaping rang out several times.
Then I pressed the tip of the sparkling balloon sword against the girl’s chest.
Ding-!
[Balloon Sword+]
-Category: Growing Weapon
-Grade: D+
-Growth Limit Grade: None
-Condition: Colorful, soft, sparkling
-Description: This is a special balloon sword. It emits a faint purifying light from its blade. The passive skill ‘Sparkle!’ can be used. This weapon can grow.
[Skill Name : Sparkle!]
-Heals the target stroked with this weapon.
-As the grade of the exclusive weapon rises, the skill’s range and effect increase.
This was my first time using the skill.
A faint radiance from the balloon sword enveloped Caitlyn.
The flushed skin began to settle, and the small scrapes started to heal.
Sliiide-.
The sword’s grade was still low, so its effect was not particularly powerful.
But it was enough to help her recover.
Caitlyn’s complexion had also visibly improved.
Just as I laid the girl flat, an alert rang from the crystal ball in my robe.
Beep beep beep-!
[The first member has withdrawn from the team.]
[Team member ‘Caitlyn Letus’ has been removed from the match after being deemed unable to fight.]
[The absence of the Sprinter has been confirmed. The team captain can manipulate the settings to fill the vacant Sprinter role.]
A message announcing an elimination from the match.
I casually shut off the crystal ball.
The flag from that side was already in our hands, after all.
Holding the thick flagpole, I spun around.
“Lady Glacia.”
“······.”
A blue-haired girl stood before me.
She had crossed all the way to the boundary of Zone 2.
Unlike the battered Caitlyn, Lin didn’t have so much as a scratch on her.
[Team Lin]
-Sprinter: Dexi Clouis
-Assistant: Lin Glacia
-Keeper:
-Eliminated: Gale Levint
The girl had already switched roles in the meantime.
Gale, whom I had knocked unconscious a few minutes ago.
Lin seemed to have switched the roles back as soon as the alert arrived.
A sharp chill leaked from the girl, cooling the muggy jungle air.
“······.”
While I tended to Caitlyn, Lin had shown no particular movement.
She had merely stood still and watched us.
I tossed a word at the expressionless girl.
“Thank you for waiting.”
“Yeah.”
Lin nodded.
Her blue eyes blinked without a trace of life.
“I didn’t know you had healing abilities too.”
“I’m rather versatile.”
“I see.”
It was such a doll-like response.
I slipped the flag I was holding into my robe.
As I pulled out Wriggler instead, the girl watching me spoke.
“Are you trying to run?”
“Who knows?”
“Give up. You’ll get caught anyway.”
“You say I’ll get caught anyway. Aren’t you being a little too certain?”
“I know because we clashed earlier. You’re strong. But not enough to be my opponent.”
“You never know which is longer until you compare them, do you? I wasn’t fighting at full strength earlier either.”
“It’ll hurt.”
“Pain is part of being young.”
“Yeah. I have no grudge against you.”
“Nor do I against you.”
A brief standoff.
That thin peace was shattered after only a few words.
The instant we fell silent, we both kicked off the ground without waiting for the other to move first.
“Fall down quietly.”
“Ignition. Scythe.”
Kaaang-!
The scythe and sword collided.
A heavy crack shook my ears.
Even as Lin continued her sword technique, she muttered as though surprised.
“You’re not running away.”
“It seemed worth trying.”
“You don’t intend to win?”
“Winning is the only thing I intend to do.”
Chaaang! Kagrk···!
Only sparks flew through the air.
A battle exchanged by the second.
The pocket watch I had hidden in my palm ticked away.
Each time I pressed the button, I slipped past the girl’s sword strikes.
“Hup···!”
Pfft-.
Pfft-.
The parries succeeded one after another.
Her attacks kept narrowly missing me.
Of course, with the overwhelming difference in our physical class, I couldn’t dodge everything.
Her fluid series of attacks continued, and for an instant, I lost the tempo.
“Got you.”
The girl then slipped into the opening.
The mistake came back with a heavy price.
-Lin Glacia Style Attack Swordsmanship, First Form-
‘Icebreaker.’
Chaaaash-!
With a vicious roar, the air around us was torn apart.
The trees standing nearby were felled in a cascade.
If not for the mask’s effect, I would have been knocked out on the spot.
Ding-!
[The item ‘Evil God’s Mask’ has been activated.]
-Uses remaining: 2/3
-Time until charges replenish: 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
A status window shimmered before my eyes.
The girl closed in again without giving me a moment to rest.
“Strange. I was sure that would knock you down.”
“I’m tougher than I look···!”
“I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to be without even a scratch.”
Crack-!
My opponent was a powerhouse said to rival most faculty members.
Not a single mistake could be allowed.
Click—the watch slowed the world’s speed.
After slipping past the oncoming blow, I swung my scythe deeply in return.
“It won’t work.”
Chaaang-!
The timing had been perfect, but it was blocked as though that were only natural.
Not the slightest emotion appeared in the girl’s eyes.
An indifferent blow knocked my scythe aside.
“You should have run instead. You might have been able to escape.”
“I suppose I should have. You’re truly terrifyingly strong.”
“You really don’t intend to forfeit?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t.”
I lightly shrugged my shoulders.
After clashing with her several times, both my arms throbbed as though they might be torn from their sockets.
But I didn’t let it show.
“I received a death threat.”
-If we lose this, I’ll kill you···.
“She said she’d kill me if we lost.”
Someone had answered the expectations I had placed on them.
If so, repaying that response was a duty I had to fulfill as a person.
I slowly tightened my grip on the scythe.
Standing straight, I faced the girl.
“We have to win this practical exam.”
“You really don’t understand a word I’m saying.”
The air grew cold and still.
Cloudy breath bloomed like flowers between her pale-red lips.
“Let’s finish this.”
Lin raised her sword.
She shifted from her usual one-handed grip, pouring strength into both hands.
Immediately afterward, azure sword aura churned through the jungle like a storm.
-Lin Glacia Style Attack Swordsmanship, Seventh Form-
‘Snow Calamity (雪災)’
Crackle, crackle-!
Blue light sprang wildly in every direction.
The energy within her body exploded, then was packed tightly onto the blade.
She compressed the sword aura again and again until its layers numbered in the hundreds.
A white haze bore down on the entirety of Zone 2.
“Sorry. It’ll hurt a little.”
Rumble, rumble-!
A realm far too overwhelming for a student.
Even so, I had no intention of backing down now.
“I’m the one who should apologize.”
I had been waiting for this.
The girl seemed ready to give it her all, as though this were the final blow.
I raised my scythe without being overwhelmed by that momentum.
The corners of the mask’s mouth curled upward grotesquely.
“It’ll hurt a little.”
A message appeared before my eyes.
It was the joker I had prepared.
Ding-!
[Skill 2 of the exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ has been activated.]
[Skill Name : Predation]
-Stores all damage inflicted on the user as is.
-The stored damage can be released.
A blow imbued with Jaber’s full power.
Damage amplified fourfold through the bug.
Swoooosh-!
Lin had already rushed right up to me, swinging her white blade.
Click-.
I pressed the watch, and the world slowed.
A frigid winter was falling down over my head.
Amid the flowing scene, I recited the activation phrase we had agreed on.
“······
Liberation
.
”
A faint resonance.
The next moment,
A silent flash swallowed the entire field.