Chapter 118:

There is a hidden ability in Weapon Demon.

It might be more appropriate to call it a function rather than an ability.

Using Weapon Demon automatically opens my right eye, the Revealed Eye.

For now, it is the only way I can open that eye.

It was also the real reason I activated Weapon Demon, which only enhances close-combat abilities, while fighting a mage.

'So he wasn't just strong because of his wand.'

Within my blood-red vision, I could clearly see the flow of mana around Ivan.

It was obviously not an ordinary level.

It wasn't that there was no way to break through.

If there hadn't been, I wouldn't have activated Weapon Demon and opened my eyes.

'In the end, using magic means moving mana, and if so, his moves are bound to be visible.'

As I charged, Ivan used the 4th-tier spell, Ground Shatter, to block my approach.

It was a spell that literally broke and twisted the ground to prevent approach.

In a normal situation, my charging speed would have been slowed by the breaking and jutting earth, but for me, right now, it wasn't much of a problem.

At a glance, Ground Shatter seems to magically warp all the ground within its range, but in reality, it's not like that at all.

It is a highly efficient spell that creates a disparity by infusing mana only into the necessary parts.

In other words, the places where mana does not gather are just normal ground.

“…!”

A look of bewilderment flickered across Ivan's face as he saw me weaving through the roaring, twisting earth without being hindered.

Unfortunately, that bewilderment did not last long.

He immediately changed the direction of his wand, and mana gathered at the landing spot I had deemed safe.

The ground shot up like a wedge, grazing my ear.

If I hadn't reduced my speed, my face would have been pierced.

Although I dodged without slowing down as much as possible, an opening was created, and my opponent was not dull enough to miss it.

“Blade Rain.”

As Ivan quietly uttered the words, blades made of mana surrounded me and then rained down like bullets without giving me a moment's rest.

Even in my Revealed Eye state, where I could predict where the blades would form, physically dodging all of them was impossible.

'If that's the case, then I just won't dodge!'

Since he had diverted his mana to the blades, he couldn't use Ground Shatter.

That meant there was nothing to hinder my charge.

I dodged the blades aimed at my limbs with minimal movement and ran in a straight line toward Ivan.

Blood splattered as mana blades grazed and pierced me, but it didn't matter.

If your body is sturdy enough, you can just ignore such trivial wounds.

Ivan seemed to have noticed that simple fact as well, as he quickly switched back to defense.

It took time for the world to catch up to Ivan's quick judgment.

A momentary delay until the mana that had been dancing to create the blades could gather again.

That was enough to reach right in front of Ivan's nose.

Kwang!

Ivan barely blocked the mana I had haphazardly thrown out and stumbled back two or three steps.

Ivan's utterly ordinary eyes remained calm, but his body did not.

His heartbeat quickened, and his muscles reacted to the pain, contracting.

“!”

Just as I was about to swing my staff like a club, his hand, holding a dagger, shot forward bizarrely and parried my attack.

It didn't stop there; it changed direction and the blade flew right at my neck.

I reflexively ducked my body, avoiding a fatal wound, but I couldn't prevent a long gash from being carved into my face.

'Did he forcibly move his body with mana?'

Moving one's own body with mana wasn't theoretically difficult, but putting it to use in a real fight was another matter.

Because it involved forcibly moving the body far beyond its limits, it was accompanied by the pain of torn muscles and twisted bones.

Ivan had unleashed it without any change in expression, and thanks to that, he had blocked my attack, which would have been otherwise unblockable.

“You should take better care of your body.”

Ivan gave no reply to my sneer.

I didn't know if it wasn't worth responding to or if he just didn't have the composure.

The time remaining was now about 30 seconds.

Since I had used half the duration to get close, I had to spend the other half beating him up.

If I failed, all that would be left was to get beaten up myself for a minute.

It was tight, but it wasn't an insufficient amount of time.

After all, almost no one could beat me in close combat with Weapon Demon activated.

I was at a level where I could subdue Ede, who had trained at Chartra for over a decade and was ranked among the strong in the original work, in about ten seconds of sparring.

Against Ivan, who was far closer to an assassin and a mage than a warrior, there was no way I could lose.

As long as there were no interruptions.

I tilted my head to the side, dodging an arrow.

Soon, more arrows flew to where I had been, and it was impossible to dodge them all while staying close to Ivan.

I couldn't just take the hits as I did with the mana blades either.

Because through my opened eyes, I could vividly see the poison coated on the tips of the arrows.

It wouldn't kill me, but if I was paralyzed for even a moment, precious time would be wasted.

The time remaining was now 20 seconds.

As Ivan slightly twisted his wand, mana gathered before me as if pouring out.

It was the explosion spell I had seen so many times.

Normally, I would have been swept away by the explosion that went off without any warning.

In fact, even now, knowing it was about to explode, there was no other way but to retreat.

The mana glowed brightly and entered its explosive reaction.

In less than a second, a massive boom shook the battlefield.

A flicker of certainty in his victory appeared on Ivan’s face, but soon that certainty turned to horror.

Because I, having taken the full force of the blast, had reached out for his neck.

“You son of a…”

“Save your words for later.”

Gripping Ivan's face, I quickly inserted my fingers toward his molars and pulled out a metal pill.

I had no intention of watching him take the easy way out with death again.

The status window blared a warning and shoved the decreasing remaining time in my face.

5, 4, 3….

As I gripped Ivan's neck with Mana Grasp, Ivan squeezed his eyes shut.

The strength drained from my body, and my eyes closed.

The only reason I didn't fall was because of the black arm made of mana that was gripping Ivan's neck.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I have something to ask.”

I mustered all my strength to raise the corners of my mouth.

This was about all I could do during the penalty.

I had to at least smile so the opponent wouldn't notice my strength had left me.

“…I have no intention of answering.”

“Originally, you probably intended to say something cool like that and chew the pill, but unfortunately, that easy option is not available.”

“……”

Ivan was frozen, seemingly completely unaware of the abnormality in my body.

The Ravens who had been supporting him also didn't move recklessly and cautiously watched for an opening.

In truth, I was full of openings, but to those who didn't know about the penalty, it must have looked like I had some kind of trick up my sleeve.

The suspicious and cautious nature of the Ravens was helpful in times like these.

If I could just hold on like this for another 30 seconds.

Hweee!

Ivan suddenly let out a whistle.

I had a feeling it was definitely not a good sign, and that feeling turned out to be spectacularly correct.

The Ravens who had been watching the situation from a distance rushed in all at once at the sound of the whistle.

Was it a signal to kill me without worrying about himself?

'Damn it, there's still some penalty time left?'

Once the penalty was over, I could easily handle small fry, but the problem was whether my body would remain intact until then.

No matter how tough Valheit's body was, I didn't think it could prevent an arm from being chopped off.

I glared at the penalty duration displayed on the status window and prayed for time to pass quickly.

Contrary to my wish, the countdown proceeded very slowly.

10… 9….

I guess I'll have to take the hits and endure, then counterattack.

I steeled myself and prepared for the impact.

'Huh? The shadow….'

My shadow writhed, and a jet-black blade shot out.

I immediately knew who had cast it.

There was no way anyone other than Hugo could use the Geller family's secret technique.

The charging Ravens reflexively dodged the sudden attack.

The shadow attack didn't kill anyone, but that was enough.

The moment the number on the status window hit 0, I turned my head and grinned pointedly.

***

Hugo slowly approached Valheit, who was tossing the Ravens around like toys.

Valheit, who seemed to be playing rather than fighting, didn't even acknowledge him until he was right beside him.

“You might as well kill them cleanly.”

“That's up to me. Wouldn't these friends also have more fun being beaten to the brink of death and then clinging to life, rather than dying right away?”

“I don't think so.”

Even a quick glance showed Ravens with seemingly all their limb bones broken, groaning and crawling on the ground.

He thought that they would all die if left like this anyway, so what was the meaning of them being alive right now, but there was no need to pity the enemy.

“Is this fellow the commander?”

“Yes, his name is Ivan. Though it's probably an alias.”

“…His face seems familiar yet unfamiliar.”

If he was a key figure in the Ravens, he might have seen him once or twice but his impression was faint.

The ordinary-faced Ivan just stared blankly at the sky with a look of resignation.

“What happened to the Imperial Guard?”

“They were annihilated by the time I went to support them. While you were facing off against the commander, most of the remaining Ravens rushed the Imperial Guard.”

“That’s a pity. What should I tell His Majesty?”

A hint of amusement lingered on Valheit's face, showing almost no trace of regret.

Thinking that at least his voice sounded regretful, Hugo shook his head.

“What are you planning to do now?”

“I’ll have to try to become friends with this guy Ivan. And I'll have to rendezvous with Til. Hmm, other than that….”

Valheit, who had been rambling on about his plans in an excited voice, shut his mouth.

A raven was cawing as it circled the blood-soaked battlefield.

“Should we get rid of the raven first?”

“No. Leave it be.”

Valheit, answering nonchalantly unlike just a moment ago, extended his arm, and the raven quickly flew down and landed on it.

While Hugo was trying to understand what on earth was happening, Valheit familiarly opened the letter tube attached to the raven's leg.

“Weren't you enemies with the Ravens?”

“Don’t see the world in such black and white. An enemy of one minute ago can become a friend one minute later.”

Valheit, spouting nonsensical logic, frowned as he read the letter.

It was unsettling to see a man who had been grinning even while fighting look like that.

“…You go and meet Til. I hope you two friends spend some time catching up on old stories.”

“Did something happen?”

“It says Sarme village is in an uproar because there's a problem with the curse. There have already been quite a few deaths.”

Valheit shrugged, his tone suggesting that a pest had shown up.

He wanted to ask if this was really a man who claimed to be for the Empire, but there was no reason to stop an unwelcome guest from leaving on his own.

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

“I’ll decide after hearing it.”

“Til must absolutely not go to Sarme village. There is someone there she must not meet.”

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