by Yuu Tanaka
“You okay, Jet?”
“Arf!”
We had escaped by a hair’s breadth. If feline beastmen had nine lives, I think Fran was down to her last. We got really lucky!
“Nggaaaar!”
As we were still trying to process the situation, Linford let out a pained howl.
Something was hurting him.
What?
I stole a look at the giant Vilefiend.
What the hell is that?!
“That’s a lot of swords.”
Countless swords plunged through Linford’s body. There were several figures around him.
The one crushed his right leg with its fists. Another pierced his left leg with its spear. One danced through the sky, and one sprinted on the ground. They joined forces to subdue Linford.
“They’re so strong.”
Yeah… Who are they?
We looked on, captivated, when a new challenger approached.
She came from behind us, attacking Linford with something lean and snakelike.
“Graaargh!”
A whip. Welts covered Linford’s gigantic body, and he reeled in pain.
Although the whip was too fast to see, it showed no sign of striking the other figures. It snaked about, as graceful as it was deadly. Only a master could pull off such complex maneuvers.
As the whip lashed, Linford let out a pathetic cry. The sound of his screams woke us from the hopeless nightmare we’d fallen into.
We turned around and saw the beauty holding the whip. Her emerald green cloak flapped in the wind as she calmly surveyed the battleground.
Fran’s eyes widened as she looked at the woman.
“Amanda…?”
Amanda, the A-Rank adventurer of Alessa, had reached Bulbola.
“You’ll be okay now, Frannie. I’m here to help!”
Forlund
An hour had passed since people started turning into monsters.
I had taken down thirty of them, but how many more were left? I didn’t know whether this infection would spread to the rest of the city. I needed to destroy the source.
I headed towards the greatest concentration of Malice, cutting down the monstrosities in my path.
“Th-thank you for saving me!”
“…”
“Um…?”
“Oh…”
I motioned for the man to come to my side so I could escort him. It wasn’t safe here, and he shouldn’t waste time on pleasantries.
But he just turned pale, shouted an apology, and left. Why? I was willing to walk him to the nearest Knight Guard station. Perhaps he mistook my gesture as a sign to go away.
“Oh…”
This scenario had played out countless times. I was quiet, expressionless, and blessed with a mean face. I made no special effort to be intimidating…and I didn’t like the idea that I threatened people with a mere glance. I wasn’t good with words, so I could at least work on my body language and hand gestures. Still, the man was terrified regardless. What was I supposed do?
“Nothing I can do but slay more monsters.”
I looked around for a suitable vantage point and spotted a tall, four-story building—the tallest one in the neighborhood, probably the main office of a trade association. I should be able to survey most of the city from here.
“Hmm…”
Found it. I felt a malicious presence, apparent even under cover of night. At least the creature was attacking livestock, not people. I could deal with it from here. My target was close enough at three hundred meters. I wouldn’t miss.
“Pierce.”
A blade appeared out of thin air and launched itself at my command. It flew faster than an arrow and was sharper than a spear. The blade stabbed the beast, and it went quiet. Having finished its duty, the blade faded and returned to the aether.
My Extra Skill, Blade God’s Favor.
It recorded all the enchanted swords I ever touched and allowed me to reproduce them. The only exceptions were swords that were too strong for me.
The skill could only reproduce weapons which suited the situation, but after years of training I was could manipulate them at will. Manifesting these blades for a shorter time reduced the mana consumption, and I could summon a hundred of them if I had to.
“Found you…”
This time, the creature was attacking a person. I jumped off the rooftop and rushed to the scene.
What was causing all this? I doubted it was natural. Malice emanated from all the monsters I had slain tonight, concrete proof that it was something not of this world. The energy reminded me of a great Fiend I killed once.
Something…or someone…was behind this. Perhaps a magivice malfunction or a wicked wizard’s design. Whatever it was, I had to destroy the root cause.
Bulbola welcomed me when I lost my hometown. I would do everything to protect it.
“Forlund Harnoncourt shall strike you down.”
Chapter 7:
Chief of All Evil
“I didn’t think you’d be fighting a giant so soon. You okay, Fran?”
“Hm.”
“Thank goodness!”
Relieved, Amanda gave Fran a firm hug.
Fran still couldn’t believe her friend was actually here.
“What are you doing here, Amanda?”
“I came as soon as I got your message!”
How fast was she? We only sent our letter three days ago. Amanda explained that she used all the teleport skills she had to navigate mountains and forests in her march to Bulbola.
“I’m still a little bloated from all the mana potions I had to chug.”
Her feat was amazing regardless.
What about Alessa?
Amanda wasn’t allowed to stray too far from the city. The A-Rank adventurer had to remain there to deter Raydoss from an invasion.
“They’ll be fine. I left—I mean, Jean volunteered to take over.”
Isn’t Jean a B-Rank?
“He’s promoted to A-Rank on the battlefield.”
In fact, Raydoss was more afraid of him than they were of Amanda.
“Slaughterfield” Jean earned his nickname in the days of the Raydossian War. The necromancer was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. He commanded entire undead armies, made up of friend and foe alike. Stories of Jean’s undead army annihilating a five-thousand-strong Raydossian legion were still told in hushed tones in their barracks.
Now that I knew the story behind his nickname, Slaughterfield was a fitting title. The killing fields made an excellent recruitment house for his legion.
“Well, Fran, I’d love to stay and catch up, but I have to beat the tar out of the bastard who did this to you,” Amanda said, turning away.
Her eyes were stern and filled with anger.
“Be careful, Amanda…”
“Thank you, Fran. Your worry just made me a hundred times stronger!”
Amanda grinned. She waved at us and leapt into battle.
She sped towards Linford, raining whiplashes and spells upon the giant Vilefiend. A flick of her wrist cracked her whip as hard as one of our Sword Arts. That was the power of an A-Rank. This was a glimpse of our goal.
Are you watching this, Fran?
“Hm.”
The battle raged on.
Amanda wasn’t the only one. The other combatants were as strong, or stronger, than we were.
Suddenly, a hundred swords materialized out of thin air and shot towards Linford. We were close enough to see that each of them was enchanted.
We caught a glimpse of this skill before, while we were out gathering ingredients. The swords belonged to the adventurer we saw at the Haunt.
Name: Forlund Harnoncourt
Race: Human
Class: Skyblade
Level: 66/99
HP: 718; Magic: 431; Strength: 484; Agility: 437
Skills: Dagger Mastery 7; Disassemble 8; Danger Sense 6; Reveal Weakness 5; Aura Sense 7; Sword Arts 10; Advanced Sword Arts 6; Sword Mastery
10; Advanced Sword Mastery 7; Gathering 4; Kick Arts 5; Kick Mastery 6; Mental Status Resistance 4; Petrification Resistance 3; Elemental Blade 8; Jump 7; Throw 8; Poison Resistance 3; Dual Wielding 7; Magic Resistance 6; Paralysis Resistance 4; Spirit Manipulation; Dragon Killer; Beast Slayer
Class Skill: Halve Cost: Sword Arts
Extra Skill: Blade God’s Favor
Titles: Blade God’s Favorite; Haunt Liberator; Dungeon Conqueror; Dragon Killer; Beast Killer; A-Rank Adventurer
Equipment: Orihalcon Longsword; Orihalcon Swordbreaker; Dragonking Hide Armor; Blade God Helm; World Tree Bark Shoes; Dragoneater Spider Web Mantle; Bracelet of Mana Regeneration; Bracelet of Sacrifice
Forlund? That was the A-Rank Colbert talked about. Hundred Blade Forlund was as strong as Amanda.
His Extra Skill allowed him to reproduce any sword he had touched, with the exception of very strong enchanted blades.
Could he make a copy of me? It would be awkward either way, and I decided to stay away from Forlund.
Colbert was here too, and had gotten stronger from the last time we met. Demitris Style Arts? That looked like an interesting skill. He must have a piece of equipment with Fake Identity. Although I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t wearing it now.
All of the combatants were strong. Guildmaster Gammod swung his mighty hammer, staggering Linford. Phillip, the oldest of Christon’s sons, was doing good, too. Although his stats lagged behind Fran, his stolid and robust fighting style was reassuring. He wielded his giant lance fiercely, even in full plate armor. Brook had planned to assassinate his brother as soon as he showed weakness. Looking at him now, he would’ve had to wait a long time for that.
Strangely enough, Theraclede was in the fight as well. I thought he was supposed to be our enemy. The Mad Warrior seemed to have betrayed his former master. Colbert wasn’t attacking him either, so there must’ve been some reason. What bothered me was that his race was now Fiend and Hellion.
His Cannibalize skill gave me a really bad feeling. He wouldn’t be able to use it on me or Fran, but perhaps it was why Theraclede was fighting together with us. Was he planning to Cannibalize Linford? He wasn’t attacking us yet, but we couldn’t let our guard down.
“Woof!”
Jet! Are you okay? Oh…guess not.
“Arf…”
As I consulted Fran on what to do with Theraclede, Jet staggered back to us. He was visibly singed and patches of his fur were burned off, making him look ragged and worn. He had suffered some deep wounds, too. I immediately applied some first-aid Healing.
“You okay, boy?”
“Woof.”
“You did good today.”
As Fran patted Jet’s neck, I felt someone approach. She showed no hostility as she peeked from behind the rubble.
“Um, are you two all right?”
“Charlotte?”
“Arf?”
Charlotte, graceful dancer and dependable big sister of the orphanage, came before us.
“It’s me. How are your wounds?”
“They’re all right. I’m just a little tired.”
Tired in both mind and body.
Charlotte wiped a bit of mud off Fran’s cheek. Fran let her do it, still watching the intense battle unfold in the distance.
They’re all so strong, she thought.
Yeah…
She wasn’t just admiring Amanda and the others. Now that we were safe, we could see that Linford was not the invincible monster we previously thought.
Why was I so focused on running away? Was there really no chance of fighting him?
I was afraid and lost long before we started fighting.
I was thinking the same thing when I spent my EP on Space-Time Magic. Fortunately, I had unlocked a Unique Skill. Because of that, I managed to save our lives.
Still, I wondered. What if I had shown a little bit more grit? Maybe put some points into Flame Magic or Advanced Sword Arts or Elemental Blade? We might have had a fighting chance.
Teacher.
Yeah?
This sucks.
Yeah…it really does.
Vexed, we watched Amanda and the others fight.
We had to get back to training once this battle was over. I was still far too weak. I knew that now.
No.
No. This battle was still going. If I felt frustrated about my lack of courage, why wait to redeem myself?
I didn’t know it, but I was still trying to run away. I thought the battle was as good as won and we were no longer required.
What the hell was I thinking?!
Fran, we’re going back in.
Of course. We’ll get him back for what he did to us.
“Woof!”
Fran was faster on the uptake than I was.
There was no beating this girl.
“Are you returning to the fight?”
Charlotte looked worried as she saw Fran get up. I wondered if she was going to stop us. Instead, she held Fran’s hands and offered words of encouragement.
“Good luck out there, you two.”
“Hm.”
“Arf!”
“I won’t be able join you, so allow me to do this much,” Charlotte said as she lightly clasped her hands together.
The clear chime of a bell sounded, and a strange light enveloped Jet and Fran. Charlotte collapsed to her knees, her face drained of color.
“Charlotte! Are you okay?”
“W-woof?”
“I-I’m fine. I just used a little too much mana. I’ll be back to normal once I rest.”
“Don’t force yourself,” Fran said, worried.
Charlotte had a determined look on her face. She shook her head.
“I’m not very good at fighting. The least I can do…is bless you with the ability to exorcise Malice.”
She really was a priestess.
“Were you the one who destroyed the giant dome?”
“Yes.”
Wow. I didn’t think that was possible with her stats.
Everyone’s so strong, Fran thought.
They really are.
It wasn’t a matter of how high your stats were. It was a matter of finding something you could do and devoting all your power to see it through. That was what mattered. Fran seemed close to a breakthrough.
What is it? I asked.
I’ll fight, Teacher.
Her eyes shone with steady determination and valor.
Why?
I couldn’t do anything while we were running away from Linford. You took care of everything. You always do. So I’m going to fight this time.
Fran…
It was my fault for not talking to her. We still had time, so I asked her.
Okay. What are you planning?
There’s something I want to try out.
Which is?
I thought of a move that’ll need your Overboost to work. Pulling this off is going to take all of our powers combined.
An attack that would require both of our abilities. Fran was confident that she could handle my maximum output. I liked the sound of it. I was so lucky to have been born again as a sword! Having Fran wield me, despite all my moping, made me feel like I could become a Godsword!
This might be the first time that Fran personally asked for me to use a skill to supplement hers.
You got it, I told her.
“Hm.”
“Fran, Jet, good luck out there.”
“Hm. I’ll be going now.”
“Woof!”
We rushed to return to the battlefield.
Charlotte
I knew Fran was a high-rank adventurer. I could never beat her, even at my best. Even then, I didn’t expect her to be so strong.
I marveled as I watched her fight the terrible giant inside the dome. I knew she couldn’t win, but I admired her regardless. No normal person could defeat that monster. You would need to be a guildmaster at the very least.
“But I can at least destroy this barrier…!”
My Class made me more sensitive to Malice than others. I knew that was what the dome was made from. I hesitated, thinking my powers wouldn’t be enough. But I thought of Fran and brushed the anxieties aside.
I was going to break this dome. Fran was fighting for this city, as well as her life. I had to help.
I hurried towards the dome but was delayed in my efforts to rescue her. Monsters got in my way, and though I was able to defeat them, it took time that Fran didn’t have. I asked the Knight Guard to take care of the orphanage while I was gone. I left alone. Now, I knew that was a mistake.
All I could do was head for the dome as fast as I could…
Suddenly, the famous adventurer Amanda called out to me.
I knew her name. The teacher at the orphanage told me Amanda was going to take care of the orphanage from now on. She owned many orphanages across the land. The one in Bulbola would be safe now. Fran was the one to contact her. I could never repay that debt. The least I could do was try and save her.
Other adventurers had gathered as well, united to fight the giant wizard. They were all so strong. They might as well have been in a different galaxy to me. Even Steelclaw Colbert was taking orders in this party.
Colbert seemed to hold a grudge against a large man called Theraclede, but Amanda silenced them both with a glare. She wasn’t an A-Rank for nothing. She and her party would definitely be able to save Fran. All I had to do was focus on what I did best.
I succeeded in taking down the barrier. Fran escaped, warping away with magic. I admired her all the more for being able to think so clearly in a dire situation.
All I could do now was leave the rest to Amanda and Forlund. They were so in sync, despite only having met today. Maybe they could only anticipate each other’s movements because they were so experienced. They complemented each other’s styles well, too. They fought so gracefully that it looked like they had rehearsed.
I wasn’t frustrated. They were in a completely different league. Instead, I watched the battle unfold. It looked like a scene right out of a myth.
And yet Fran got up and moved to get a better view. She watched Amanda and the others fight, longing to join them.
The cruel extent of her injuries was apparent with a single glance at her bloodstained armor. She didn’t look wounded, so maybe she took some life potions. Still, a life potion did nothing to heal mental exhaustion. Her face was still pale from fending off the giant on her own. Yet she wanted to the return to the fight. I couldn’t stop her if I wanted to.