54 - CHAPTER XXIII "Duel in the Mythology Area"
The divine battle opened with the sound of sword fights and fist blows.
The former belonged to the blue knight and the latter to the moon wolf.
The blue knight's weapon was a broad knight's sword. However, he was handling it with one hand, and it was so heavy that it could not be handled even with two hands. The azure-silver sword blade with its ornate decoration, however, casts numerous slashing shadows in the air against its weight.
On the other hand, Gekkou's weapon is a red-colored gauntlet. The fist blows that Levee, the saint of fists, delivers are even greater than those of an alkimaira-made hammer. A left jab delivered with only wrist and upper arm movement is powerful enough to destroy the frontal armor of a modern main battle tank (MBT).
They collided.
The sword flash was deflected by a fist strike, and the fist strike was parried by the blade of the sword.
In the blink of an eye, they hit 28 times.
Each blow shook the atmosphere, and the two were sent flying in opposite directions at the twenty-ninth station.
A beat later, the aftermath of the shock blew up.
The aftermath turned into a storm of violence, destroying many of the stone pillars that had been erected around the two men.
The result of the sliced stone pillars is the result of the shining of the blue knight's sword, and the remnants of the former stone pillars shattered into tiny pieces are the result of the piercing of the red basket hand.
The first contact between the two has been completed.
However, even after such an attack and defense, both parties remained unharmed.
Not a single cut was found on Riebe's body. There is not a single blow mark on the blue knight's armor.
If there was any change from before the contact, the dust on the armor of the blue knight scattered like phosphorous.
--A monster.
If there were spectators who witnessed the scene, they must have thought so.
Even though they were only exchanging looks, the two were already moving out of the ordinary.
No, even if there had been spectators, they would not have been able to see them in the first place. At best, we could only guess that some destructive phenomenon had occurred from the sound of the delayed impact and the damage caused by the stone pillars that were scattered around the area.
--The reason for this is the mythical threat. That's why it's a divine battle.
It is lukewarm to say that they are monsters. From the very beginning, both of them have been non-humans. It is wrong to compare them with such fragile creatures as human beings.
They are not in the realm of ordinary human perception, but both are transcendent beings of mythic majesty. It is absurd for a person without power to try to estimate them. The scene unfolding before your eyes is a duel in the realm of myths between mythological threats.
But there was one who was watching the battle.
No.
There was a weak man there, who was in the battle.
"Tactical Window": Multiple Opening. Customized mode: single combat (duel)."
Helian opens multiple
Using pre-customized settings, she calls up a
A swarm of numerous
In particular, the
The transparency of the many virtual windows that were displayed in front of his eyes was also carefully controlled, and he had found an exquisite setting that allowed him to read the virtual windows while watching the battle. Helian is able to grasp the battle situation that ordinary people cannot read by making full use of numerous
"----!"
The sound of another collision. The second attack has begun.
The sword flashes that split the sky and the fists that darted through the air were sharper and stronger than before. The sword and fists converge with great power that would blow down the walls of the castle if unchecked, and the numerous attacks that are unleashed at an output optimized for slaughtering the enemy in front of them sometimes even twist the laws of physics.
Perhaps giving priority to letting his attackers pass through first rather than evading or defending himself, the blue knight stepped deeper than before and entered into the bosom of Levee.
In response to his move, Liewe immediately fired an intercepting fist. It hit. It was not a direct hit, but it gouged the right shoulder armor of the armor. At the cost of the damage, the blue knight swung up from a close range.
The sword blade came to cut off his head. Liewe ducked the sword by turning her back, but a shield bash came to her unprotected abdomen. A direct hit. The Seventh Legion's battle armor reduced some of the impact, but the force of the blow was so great that her legs, which should have been firmly rooted, floated.
However, Liewe ignored the damage and struck a kick to the left elbow of the blue knight with his floating right leg. Her toe, which aimed at the thinly armored joint, slightly shifted the point of impact, but inflicted enough damage to the blue knight that he almost took off his shield.
The sound of the collision was very strong.
Levee and the blue knight open the gap between them again as if they were going to fly apart.
There is no significant difference in the amount of damage caused by the attack and defense just now, and it seems that both of them are very competitive in the battle so far.
It is not because they are both mythological threats (SS rank) that they are evenly matched.
To begin with, the mythological threat (SS rank) is a threat level (rank) given to all those who exceed a certain level of combat power. In other words, those who have "immeasurable strength" are all ranked as mythological threats (SS rank), a rank with no upper limit.
Therefore, it is not possible to compare the strength of the two ranks based on a simple threat level (rank) alone, as is the case with ranks G through S, which have an upper and lower limit.
To take it to the extreme, even if a demon who has just barely reached the mythological threat (SS rank) challenges the commander of the 8th Legion (Nogarde), it will be defeated with a probability of more than 90%.
Therefore, even if the king (player) can recognize the mythological threat (SS rank), it is not a factor for the king (player) to judge whether or not he can win the battle.
After all, it is literally an enemy with "immeasurable strength.
You will not know the victory or defeat until you challenge the battle, and the existence that interrupts the calculation formula as a great variable value as a strategy - that is the mythical class threat.
"A lie aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! (a)a(a)--!"
They must have given up on the exchange of fire in rapid succession. The blue knight, who took a large backstep to keep his distance, fixed his shield on his folded arms and rushed forward with all his might with a roar. His posture as if he was pushing his shield over his shoulder indicates his choice of pure force.
Liewe, on the other hand, responded and intercepted them head-on. The two, accelerated beyond the speed of a bullet, collide with each other within a short distance, resulting in an antagonistic confrontation. Their bodies are not blown away from each other, but are balanced on the spot.
Rieve gritted his teeth at this fact.
Her physical strength (STR) has reached SS after activating "Red Moon Blessing".
As a moon wolf and a fist saint, Rieve's physical strength is the second highest after Galdi's among the eight major corps leaders, and she was expected to have a certain advantage when it came to force.
However, Blue Knight did not give up even a single step in a push-and-pull contest with Rieve. This meant that they were almost evenly matched in terms of physical strength.
"Ugh ......!"
Rieve has already given himself a strengthening technique.
The buff from Howling Moon is still in effect.
As a result, her physical strength has reached a considerable height, but this is the limit of enhancement by ordinary skills.
This is because she has reached the upper limit of her basic combat ability (status), which is set for each race.
Even for the [moon wolf], which is one of the highest ranked races, the enhancement of her physical strength cannot be achieved any more, no matter how many skills are applied to her.
--But there is a power here that overturns that assumption.
"The secret declaration of Fobidun Phantasms: Vermilion Stigmata."
This battle is one-on-one - the battle scale is defined as a solo battle.
The secret of Levee's greatest trump card cannot be used because it is included in the activation conditions of a large-scale war (full-scale war), but she had also acquired several other excellent secrets representing the "Red Moon Blessing".
The conditions for acquiring these secrets are very strict. There is no guarantee that the acquired secrets will be of any use, and some of them even have no practical use at all, as if they were wandering weapons, consuming not only the king's (player's) life (life) but also three whole "life stocks" just by activating them once. . and In addition, the condition that it cannot be activated unless the player is near the king is a big disadvantage.
However, as the most intensively trained of all the subordinates, and as a character who always stays with Helian as a close aide of the king, her operation method is basically the same as that of the king (Helian). Therefore, she was given a concept of training her to be specialized in single combat, but also specialized in secret knowledge.
Now, her power will be fully demonstrated.
"----!"
The "Stigmata of Vermilion Moon" was activated, and the surface of Riebe's body, enveloped in a crimson aura from the "Blessing of Red Moon," was covered with an exceptionally strong light.
As if by natural chance, the secret of the "Blessing of the Red Moon" breaks through the barrier of the upper limit that cannot be exceeded by skill.
The vivid vermilion light imprinted an imprint around both of Levee's arms, and both of her fists were loaded with new power.
The effect of this secret is to strengthen his physical strength (STR) and to amplify his attack power by consuming a number of times.
By consuming the engraving that has just been engraved, the instantaneous attack power is explosively increased.
And it is not a skill, but a support effect (buff) brought by the secret.
The magnification is well-known.
The maximum number of strokes of the mark is eight, but only four strokes were judged to be successful.
Rieve decides that it is enough.
She does not intend to enter into a long-term battle that will continue to drain the Lord's life.
Her aim was a very short-term battle from the beginning.
"Huh!
He pushes back the shield at once with his physical strength that has surpassed the limit.
Then, Liewe, who had gained the advantage of leaning forward, shot the shield and the blue knight's body away with her strong force from the close contact with the shield.
As a result of Ao knight's stopping while scraping the ground with his heel, a distance of 100 meters is created between the two.
Rieve dared to charge with a roar.
The distance between them becomes zero in the time it takes a moment.
First of all, she consumed a stroke of her right arm, and then she fired a fist strike at the knight's sword which the blue knight wielded to intercept her.
Collision.
Next, the sound of explosion.
Following the sound of the explosion, what reached Lieve's wolf ears was the sound of the crack of a blow.
The wide, thick blade of the sword was split in half and the tip of the sword flew through the air.
The tip of the sword tip flew through the air. In return, fresh blood splashed from Lieve's right fist, but she paid no attention to it.
She immediately followed up with a blow.
She spent a section of her left arm and fired a blow at the blue knight's kite shield.
Although the shield was not shattered, probably because the durability value of the shield was higher than that of the knight's sword, the shield was largely bounced off the blue knight's left arm by the excessive force of the blow.
The shield was completely empty.
A perfect opportunity.
There is no way he could have missed it.
The mark left on each arm is a stroke.
Activating one of the two engravings on the left arm, Lieve jumped into the blue knight's pocket.
The intercepting blade was released as quickly as possible. The half-broken knight's sword gouges into Liewe's stomach.
--No problem. This level of damage is not fatal.
Riebe steps further with an immediate response and strikes a direct blow with his left fist, which has gained explosive power.
"Ya(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)a(A)".
A blue knight screams out.
The cry of steel, which cannot be considered a human language, filled the battlefield with the sound of grief.
But the moon wolf did not slacken its pursuit.
The engraving on his right arm is activated.
The real blow.
Gekkou holds his right fist at his waist and shoots forward with his whole body as a launching pad.
"Oooooooooooooo----!"
At the same time as the bullet landed, there was an explosion sound that could not have been produced by a fist.
The atmosphere caught in the fist screamed, as if from the release of too much offensive power.
The blue knight's screams were drowned out by the sound of the explosion and the screams of the atmosphere.
"I(G)lie(A)a(a)......a(A)a(a)a(r)......a(A)a(a)a(a)r )......--"
And when the atmosphere that had fled and scattered returned...
The abdominal armor of the blue knight, which could only grunt no longer, had a wind hole so large that the view on the other side could be seen.
Soon, the blue knight stopped moaning and completely stopped moving. The remains of the knight lying on the cobblestone pavement did not move again, and the winner and the loser were decided here.
"----"
For your information, thirty-two seconds.
If the opening is abrupt, the closing is also abrupt.
The battle between those who have been in the mythical realm of each other ended in a short decisive battle, just as Gekkoh had planned.
--It's supposed to be.
"----!
It's not a coincidence that I realized it, but it's inevitable.
I had a flashback to the traumatic failure during the rebellion.
The regrets of the past sent out a loud warning.
The cry of instinct, that nothing is over yet, pushes Gekko's body forward.
--A flash.
A knight's sword cleaves the space where Lieve's head had been a moment ago, from the side.
The hair, lagging behind the movement of the head, becomes silver threads, flying through the air in pieces.
The blue knight, who was supposed to be a corpse, is there.
"What, ......?
Blinding astonishment.
So was her master.
The corpse lying in front of Gekiwa's eyes vanishes, and the blue knight reappears in the direction to her right.
(a)a(a)--!"
".........ck!"
He somehow managed to handle the wildly released continuous flashes and move out of the way.
Then Lieve saw that the blue knight had repaired the wound in his abdomen.
Even though the wound was completely fatal, even the destroyed weapon was restored, and there is the blue knight wielding his knightly sword furiously.
Rieve was unreasonable and astonished at the sight of the blue knight, and she immediately discarded her feelings.
She is accustomed to erasing her emotions.
It is a memory that has tormented her night after night since the abominable blunder.
The outpouring of emotions was less upsetting, and my consciousness and body immediately returned to top gear.
If it came back to life, then all I had to do was kill it again.
Rieve concluded, and unleashed a continuous barrage of blows.
The blue knight responded to the barrage with a flurry of flashes.
The speed of exchanges increased, and it soon shifted to a high-speed maneuver battle, running across the battlefield in all directions.
Leaving behind the sound of explosions made on this side, blue swords and red fists wielded fiercely on the other side.
The red aura from the "Red Moon Blessing" still enveloped Gekko's whole body, but the "Vermilion Moon Stigmata" were all used up. This is a situation in which she has no decisive power.
However, Gekko, who does not want to eat her master's life any more, has given up the idea of pushing through with simple offensive power, and has chosen to attack with a different kind of attack.
"Raging Commandment!"
The skill that was activated was a binding skill that belongs to the immediate-activation type of interference system.
It extended in response to her will and bound the blue knight's body in layers. The divine leather, which would bind a B rank or lower demon without question, was, however, torn to pieces by the blue knight's physical strength. As a result, he was able to obstruct the movement of the enemy in front of him for only one second.
"Dromi, the commandment of the divine iron!"
One second is enough.
Without a pause, he activates his binding skill with a cast time.
The divine iron, which has twice the binding power of Raising, binds the blue knight's body.
In that short time, which probably lasts no more than three seconds, Levee creates a new armament by fusing the chi and magic in her body and the power of the "Red Moon Blessing" that she wears.
It was originally a skill that could only be used when the effect of the terrain (field) of [under the moon] was obtained.
This place is somewhere in the labyrinth - probably a pseudo-expanded subspace - and the time is not even dusk. The moonlight does not reach the battlefield, and the activation of the skill would normally fail 100% of the time.
However, she is now surrounded by the "Red Moon Blessing.
As long as she has this blessing, the moonlight will always be with the moon wolf.
Moon Sword, stay!
At the moon wolf's request, a large sword woven with moonlight appeared behind her shoulders.
Three swords appeared on each side and stayed in the air for a total of six swords, which looked like the wings of the moon wolf, partly because of their length and fluidity.
Rieve-Frekiwurz's occupation is [fist saint].
She is also a versatile character who has experienced many jobs before she became a "fist saint".
He is also skilled in the use of swords, and his three-paired, six-winged greatswords are woven with moonlight.
Then there is no reason why she, a moon wolf, should not be able to handle it.
"Moon Sword, dance!"
Six moon swords dance in response to Levee's cry.
The moon swords lay down their blades at the optimum angle to the knightly blows wielded by the blue knight.
But the blue knight is no slouch. The great swords woven by the moonlight shattered like a glasswork and were destroyed in a total of eight blows.
--I don't care.
Even that is a decoy. The purpose of the six moon swords is also to buy time. And the moon swords have accomplished their task perfectly. Levee, who had time to knead her ki at close range of the blue knight, held out both of her palms with her five-fingered hands with a piercing kiai.
From her arms outstretched in front of her, she released a torrent of moonlight.
"----!
It was a bombardment of absolute destruction, combining the ki and magic power that had been kneaded over time, and infusing all the power of the "Red Moon Blessing".
The armor of the blue knight is massive and has good defense, but it is not as agile as the blue knight. Even a slight decrease in speed, which would be a mere margin of error against a lower-ranked opponent, can sometimes be fatal in a divine battle between mythological threats.
And to top it off, the two bondage skills that consumed a large amount of magic power and the support attack with the great sword of moonlight created an opening for the melee bombardment. There is no way to avoid them.
At the cost of the cancellation of the "Red Moon Blessing," they unleashed a large caliber fire with all their might.
The torrent of moonlight unleashed from almost zero distance engulfed the body of the blue knight and completely obliterated his torso.
After the reddish residue of the moonlight disappeared, what was left was the wreckage of the blue knight who had lost the upper half of his body.
"----"
Thus, the blue knight died.
The non-living creature may have been of the Living Armor type, but if the core of its head and heart were not only destroyed, but annihilated, it could only "die.
The second death.
Rieve is sure that she has taken the life of the blue knight.
But why, she asks herself.
Even though she has killed twice, her instinct as a moon wolf continues to warn her that the battle is not over.
And that instinct was right to the end.
"---- immortal, are you?"
The body of the blue knight, which is now only the lower half of his body, disappears.
Instead, the blue knight reappears, clad in armor without a scratch on his body.
Although he has already died twice, there is not the slightest sign of his will to fight.
The blue knight's eyes twinkled with hostility through the slit, and he quietly readied his wide knight's sword.
"You call yourself a knight with many lives ......?"
Rieve has never known such a monster.
To begin with, she has only seen an enemy that possesses the ability to revive itself once in her 150 years of life.
It is true that the ringleader of the recent rebellion had the unique skill to fight back only once after his death. However, it was not even close to revival, and even such an ability is quite rare. Furthermore, the ability to not only revive completely but also to survive a second death is too much to be denied.
However, on this battlefield, Rieve has no choice but to retreat.
This is a battle that he has received a royal command from his Lord.
And when the life of the king is at stake, there is no other outcome in this battle that Rieve can allow himself but victory.
"Then I will continue to kill until I die!"
He bends his knees and shoots out his legs in an instant.
With a single breath, Gekkoh pushed his body to the fastest speed and dared to charge for what might have been the first time in his life.