Chapter 90
90. Mercedes
You looked like there was a lot going on, so instead of charging in, I tried talking first.
If I'd known this would happen, I should've started by stabbing you once.
Her eyes were the eyes of a killer. Hatred, rage, murderous intent—all of it was pooled there.
"How can you... a mere human...? So you really weren't human after all...!"
Even then, she was still questioning how I could still be alive after a hundred years.
Her eyes were completely wild, but it looked like her ability to think and reason were still intact—
"No, I don't care about any of that. Even if I'm seeing a hallucination, it doesn't matter...!"
-and the instant I thought that, she gave up on reason altogether. I also raised my shield, tense.
With the rumbling thunder unique to mana reinforcement, a glow of mana wrapped around Mercedes's body.
Unlike before, she was using mana reinforcement from the very start. In that case, there was no need for me to hold back either.
-Rumble!
I activated mana reinforcement too and immediately caught Mercedes's charging sword.
I thought I'd blocked it pretty well since the conditions were equal, but the impact still shoved my body back a little.
Well, even without mana reinforcement, her base stats had already been higher than mine. Makes sense.
And unlike me, who relies on item advantage, her mana reinforcement itself seems to be at a higher level too.
-KWAANG!
The moment Mercedes knocked my sword upward, an explosion erupted.
It was the backlash from our mana colliding. Apparently that's common between mana reinforcement users.
After batting my sword aside, Mercedes used the pointed tip of her kite shield to aim for my chest.
Since it was a pointed shield, the force of that attack was closer to a heavy axe swing.
-CRACK!
I blocked Mercedes's shield with my own, then swung my sword with my other hand for her neck.
Mercedes blocked it familiarly with the lower edge of her blade, then worked her wrist and shoulder into sword wrestling.
Since there was a difference in strength, if this stalemate kept up, I'd naturally be at a disadvantage.
[All-Out]
I activated the buff, boosting my strength and forcibly breaking the stalemate.
Then I swung the leg I'd left free and threw a surprise kick—but it was blocked at once.
Mercedes swung her shield again, trying to slam down on my extended leg.
-KWAANG!
It was a simple attack, so dodging it wasn't hard. The ground where the shield slammed down split with a dry crack.
I swung my sword in from the side at the crouched Mercedes, but it was immediately blocked by her shield.
Mercedes used her shield to close the distance and thrust her sword in at point-blank range.
I blocked it with my shield as well, and the close-range contest of strength continued.
"Look at those eyes."
I tossed out a remark to Mercedes, who was still glaring at me with murderous eyes.
"Hrrng!"
Mercedes bared her teeth and let out a strangled groan, twisting her body violently as she attacked.
I have no idea why Mercedes is this agitated, but it works in my favor.
It's just like the last duel. Too much blood has rushed to her head, making her movements wild and simplistic.
There's no way I lose this.
**
I've gotten stronger in many ways since Floor 7, but Mercedes is still a tough opponent.
She outclassed me in both strength and speed, her basic swordsmanship was better, and even her mastery of mana reinforcement was overwhelming.
But victory and defeat aren't decided by those kinds of stat advantages. This time too, it ended the same way as the duel.
-KWAANG!
Mercedes took a heavy hit to the side of the face from my shield and went flying.
My mana reinforcement was completely item-dependent, but that actually gave me one superior point.
Its duration—regardless of my stamina or endurance, it maintained a fixed level.
As the fight dragged on and her injuries piled up, Mercedes found it harder and harder to maintain mana reinforcement.
By now, its output had fallen to about half of its initial level, almost the same as my limited mana reinforcement.
With our specs nearly equalized like that, it was only natural that I would take the advantage.
I chased after the reeling Mercedes and swung the hand axe at my waist.
"Kgh!"
Mercedes failed to block it and took another hit, forcing her to back away.
I have skills like [All-Out] and [Weakness Insight], plus a variety of weapon techniques, including throwing attacks.
On top of that, I have top-tier combat endurance that gets stronger as I take damage.
The moment Mercedes no longer had the stat gap needed to end this quickly, the outcome was set.
"Y-you filthy... filthy human! I'll kill you. I'll definitely kill you!"
It's not like she doesn't know that, so why is she throwing herself at me like this?
"I told you, you can't kill me."
-CRUNCH!
I swung a blunt weapon and struck one of Mercedes's arms as she rushed in. There was a satisfying crack as it broke.
But Mercedes didn't care and kept coming.
Yeah, something's definitely wrong with her.
She was charging as if she'd met a blood-sworn enemy, not even caring about her own body.
I'd heard that cutting off a maiden elf's ears was an incredibly cruel thing to do, but it clearly wasn't just that grudge.
Didn't she even shout earlier that it wouldn't matter even if she were seeing a hallucination?
-BOOM!
I kicked Mercedes away, sending her flying far back. Her waist slammed into a tree, and she couldn't get back up properly.
She must've used up all her mana; mana reinforcement had cut out, and not a single one of her limbs was unscathed.
Without regeneration like mine or any system compensation based on HP, she'd have trouble even twitching a finger.
-Crrk, crrk!
But Mercedes used her shoulder to support herself in place of her broken arm and forced herself back up.
She looked like she could barely hold her sword, but she staggered toward me anyway.
"AAAAAAAAAA!!"
Now she was screaming at the top of her lungs. I kicked her again.
-Thump!
Knocked down once more, Mercedes dragged her forehead and knees against the ground as she struggled back up.
There was no more murderous intent in her dirt-streaked face. All that remained was grief and resentment.
Tears were now streaming down Mercedes's dust-covered cheeks.
"Because of you... Because of you. It's all because of you...!"
This was the first time I'd ever been blamed this heavily by someone.
Honestly, I was pretty taken aback.
No, shouldn't you at least tell me why before you blame me?
It could be a misunderstanding.
"Because of you, His Highness...!"
Oh, there's the keyword that gives me the context.
If by 'His Highness' she means that High Elf prince, then maybe—but I haven't really done anything to him.
At most, I broke his arm when we first met and taunted him for hiding behind a woman?
I definitely didn't do anything big enough to deserve this much resentment. And it doesn't seem related to cutting off her ears either.
Okay, let's subdue her first and then hear what she has to say.
"Get some sleep."
I drove a flying knee right into Mercedes's solar plexus and knocked her unconscious.
**
I dragged the unconscious Mercedes to the Dark Elf village.
If I wanted to hear her story, I'd first need to get her back on her feet, and that wasn't something I could do alone.
More precisely, I could heal her, but if she woke up and started rampaging, I doubted I'd be able to subdue her again.
I couldn't use mana reinforcement again until I recharged the pendant.
After being laid on the bed, Mercedes only opened her eyes about three hours later.
"W-Where is this...?"
"Oh, you're awake."
The moment she came to, Mercedes stared at me wide-eyed and tried to draw her sword.
"Don't move. I asked Eleanor to set up a bunch of spells in case you freak out again."
Naturally, I confiscated your sword and armor, and I've set up plenty of suppression magic around the bed.
After confirming her sword was gone, Mercedes glared at me with wary eyes.
"At first I was just going to kill you, but I got a few things I wanted to ask."
"I have nothing to tell you. Kill me."
"I didn't even ask, and you went and blurted it out first. I don't know what it is, but you said it was my fault, right?"
Apparently she'd misspoken, because Mercedes let out a frustrated 'tch' and turned her head away.
I never thought I'd actually see a captured elf knight in real life saying, 'Tch, kill me.'
"I didn't know, but that old prince guy inherited the throne, right? The 'His Highness' you meant is him, isn't it?"
……
"You made it sound like something happened to His Highness because of me. When I told Eleanor about that, that's what she said."
Mercedes's expression twisted slightly. Looks like I'd hit the mark.
"They said he was the one who declared war on the Dark Elves—that he picked a fight at a totally random, bizarre time."
The two elf factions had effectively been at war since Floor 8, but I heard the war was only truly declared after the king changed.
The one who issued the declaration and started the war in earnest wasn't the former king, but that clumsy-looking prince.
No one knows the exact reason. It's only natural, since a hundred years have passed since contact between them was cut off.
According to Eleanor, who had known him for a long time as his fiancée, it was incredibly absurd.
"And your condition is a little strange too, so didn't something happen on your side?"
Mercedes bit her lip slightly. I was just guessing, but it seemed to be right.
"Let me hear exactly how this is my fault."
Mercedes was surely playing an important role in this epic quest as well.