Chapter 43
“It looks like you activated some kind of Skill, but you think that’ll let you stand up to me...?”
I kicked off the ground, rushed straight at Malice, and swung my sword.
Malice hurriedly blocked with her katana.
Our blades locked.
“N-No way... Your speed and strength just now... they’re on par with mine, a Sword Saint! How is this possible?!”
Sword Saints have exceptionally high Attack Power and Speed.
Heavy Knights, on the other hand, are low in both.
As a result, these crucial stats for close combat are usually about twice as high for a Sword Saint.
But the effects of 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉 and 〈Upset〉 have increased my Attack Power and Speed by 【115%】.
The gap in our stats was no more.
“H-Heh heh... You really are something, Elymas. You keep finding ways to entertain me. But... power beyond your station always comes with some kind of flaw, and eventually that flaw brings you down. You’re close to your limit already, aren’t you? I’ll put you down properly in no time.”
Our swords clashed again and again, ringing with the sound of metal.
“Do you know the story of the 〈Wax-Winged Angel〉? I’ve always loved that tale.”
The 〈Wax-Winged Angel〉 is a folktale from this world.
It tells of an angel born without wings and cast down to earth. Dreaming of its homeland, it made wings out of wax and flew into the sky, only for the sun’s heat to melt them. It fell to its death...
“I love watching people who struggle beyond their means get crushed for it. And when it’s you—the one I admired—it’s all the more satisfying. I’m truly happy you’ve become this strong, Elymas. Thank you. Every time you gain something, I get the pleasure of plucking it away from you. That power you struggled to obtain without relying on House Edvaughn... I wonder what face you’ll make when you lose it.”
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.”
I knocked Malice’s katana aside with 〈Parry〉, creating an opening and slashing at her.
At the last moment, Malice brought her katana back up to block.
“Heh heh heh, that was close... But your favorite Skill is still just an inferior version of one of mine.”
Malice tried to bring her katana in line with my sword as I slashed at her again.
“〈Flowing Water〉...!”
It was a sword technique learned through the Sword Saint’s exclusive Skill Tree.
Using the blade to shape the flow of mana, it naturally guided an enemy’s sword away, as though carried by a current.
It consumed MP, but was almost a direct upgrade to 〈Parry〉.
I changed my timing, dodged Malice’s 〈Flowing Water〉, and aimed for her body.
Malice kicked off the ground and leaped back, dodging at the last moment.
“Why...?! Our stats should be equal, so why am I stuck on the defensive?!”
“Even when you had the advantage in stats, you couldn’t push me into a corner. Of course things would turn out this way once the conditions were right.”
Malice’s expression stiffened.
But she quickly twisted her lips into a smile.
“Then how about this?! 〈Adamantine Flurry〉!”
Golden mana enveloped Malice’s body.
She used mana to enhance her physical abilities, boosting her speed as she leaped at me with her katana ready.
Her movements with 〈Adamantine Flurry〉 were certainly faster than mine now.
Even when she’d used it before, all I could do was endure it while taking damage.
I wasn’t sure I could handle it reliably even in my current state.
“If I can’t reach you in a normal exchange, I’ll hit you with 〈Adamantine Flurry〉 ten times... no, a hundred times! Eventually, you’ll fail to block!”
I leaped backward, knocking aside the first and second strikes with the edge of my sword.
Her third strike came down in a huge swing.
I dodged it by retreating farther back.
Malice’s missed swing threw her slightly off balance, but she forced out a fourth strike from that awkward stance, aiming straight for me.
“Malice, there’s a major opening in your 〈Adamantine Flurry〉.”
The opening came when she forced out a fourth strike with 〈Adamantine Flurry〉.
〈Adamantine Flurry〉 was a Skill that explosively enhanced the body’s abilities for a brief moment.
How many sword strikes someone could unleash in that instant depended on their stats and skill.
Given Malice’s abilities, she should have stopped after three strikes at most.
Between her third strike and the fourth one she forced out, Malice was left defenseless for the briefest moment.
Now that our stats were even, that moment was a fatal opening.
It would be too late once she brought her fourth strike down.
Even if I pursued her as she quickly tried to retreat, she’d have regained her balance by then.
I knocked Malice’s katana sharply to the side with all my strength.
The katana flew from her hand.
Malice’s eyes widened.
She gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and immediately rushed toward me.
Even after losing her weapon, she was trying to seize her slim chance of victory.
I couldn’t help but admire her determination.
“Sword Saints have decent HP, but their Defense is quite low. Classes and monsters that rely on a high number of attacks—and certain Skills with unusual damage formulas—can exploit that weakness.”
I thrust out the 〈Frenzied Ogre Shield〉 and sent Malice flying backward.
“〈Shield Bash〉!”
〈Shield Bash〉 compares 【Defense + Attack Power / 2】. If your value is higher, you can knock your opponent back with force proportional to the difference.
Sword Saints have low Defense to begin with, and my Attack Power had doubled.
“Gah!”
Malice’s body flew effortlessly from one end of the Guild to the other.
She slammed into the wall with a tremendous crash.
The impact made the entire Guild shake violently.
Malice’s body convulsed, then her head slumped and she went still.
She wasn’t dead.
The wall was far enough away that the impact shouldn’t have dealt lethal damage.
Still, the heavy blunt-force damage had drained her HP all at once, and she seemed to have lost consciousness.
I returned my sword to its sheath.
I relaxed my body and settled into a natural stance.
The red mana of 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉 stopped flowing.
At the same time, I deactivated 〈Life Shield〉.
In the end, I didn’t need to use it.
It was a safety net, so ideally I wouldn’t need it. As it turned out, I’d finished the fight with strength to spare.
“We won... Elymas-san won! He won!”
Overcome with emotion, Ruche threw her arms around me.
“H-Hey, what’s gotten into you, Ruche?”
“I’m so glad... I’m really so glad...! Elymas-san, you seemed so confident, so I thought, ‘He’ll be fine. I should trust him.’ But that girl was so scary... She was coming at you like she meant to kill you, Elymas-san... I was so worried...! But, but I’m so glad you won...!”
Tears welled up in Ruche’s eyes.
“I’m fine. I told you I already had all the pieces I needed to fight her.”
Since the fight had gone as I’d anticipated, it had been relatively safe.
Before activating 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉, I’d seen Malice’s trump card, 〈Adamantine Flurry〉, and found her decisive opening.
Malice had certainly come at me with enough force to kill me, but the fight against Embryo had been far more dangerous.
“This can’t be... Malice, a Sword Saint, was defeated by a Heavy Knight? Landing a single hit was already unbelievable, but Elymas fought her on equal terms and then beat her... This shouldn’t be possible...”
Aizasu sank to his knees, looking utterly defeated.
He stared blankly at Malice, who had lost consciousness.