FATEFUL CONFRONTATION
By the time Fei drops us off at the border where the barrier used to be, the elves and the imperial army are already clashing.
The elf army is making full use of the forest, using the trees as shields and footholds while they shoot at the enemy from a distance with magic and arrows.
The imperial army, on the other hand, is being slowed down by the countless roots protruding from the ground, along with their own heavy armor.
At a glance, it looks like the elves have the upper hand.
Still, that won’t stop the imperial army.
Not unless I defeat the person standing in front of me right now.
“Well, well, well. You’re here, too, huh?”
Hugo smirks unpleasantly.
“Yeah. To defeat you.”
“Ha! That’s hilarious! You, defeat me? Like that’s ever gonna happen!!”
Waves of pressure roll off Hugo, as if he’s trying to dominate the entire area.
“Is Yuri all right?”
Daring to ignore him for a moment, I look over Hugo’s shoulder instead.
Yuri is lying on the ground, losing a frightening amount of blood.
As I speak, I sense Ms. Oka trembling behind me.
Judging by this situation, she must be the one who brought down Yuri.
“We’re healing her right now, so she won’t die, at least,” Sophia replies smoothly.
A boy I’ve never seen before is treating Yuri.
“Wald, be a dear and carry her somewhere safe when you’re done healing her, will you?”
“…All right.”
The boy called Wald looks disgruntled but appears to give in and nods.
“Do you really think we’ll just let you take her away?” I demand.
“Oh? Would you rather just leave an unconscious girl here on the battlefield, then? It’s all the same to me, really.”
I don’t have a good answer for that.
If we leave Yuri lying on the battlefield, she’s bound to get hurt.
“Hey, don’t ignore me!”
Hugo cuts in between Sophia and me.
“Hey, Natsume. Been a while, huh?”
Tagawa calls out casually, ignoring Hugo’s fury.
“Hunh? Who’re you?”
“C’mon, it’s me. Kunihiko Tagawa.”
Hugo looks oddly perplexed.
“Kunihiko Tagawa…Kunihiko Tagawa. Tagawa?”
What’s going on? Hugo’s acting strange, even for him.
Does he really not remember Tagawa?
“Well, whatever. The only guy I’ve got business with here is Shun. Shut up and stay out of it.”
Looking furious at being dismissed so easily, Tagawa tries to take a step forward, but I hold out a hand to stop him.
I have to face Hugo myself.
“Hugo. Let me ask you one thing. You don’t intend to surrender, do you?”
“Why would I? I’m gonna beat you to a pulp right here and now, then rub Oka’s nose in it till she knows what hell on earth feels like.”
“I see. All right, then.”
Clearly, reasoning with him isn’t an option.
“P-please, stop,” Ms. Oka calls out weakly. “I have to take care of Hugo with my own hands. You mustn’t get involved.”
I shake my head. “Sorry, but I have no choice.”
Ms. Oka is already injured.
It doesn’t look to be fatal, but she obviously can’t fight anymore.
“Anna, please heal Ms. Oka.”
“Of course.”
I leave Anna in charge of our teacher and take a step toward Hugo.
“Wait!”
“I can’t. Ms. Oka, Hugo’s not just your problem. I have to settle things with him myself, too.”
I hear Ms. Oka struggling behind me, but Katia holds her back.
She must be truly determined to fight Hugo.
If I step in and fight him instead, it might be an insult to that determination.
Still, I can’t back down.
I have even more reasons than Ms. Oka to fight Hugo.
“Mr. Hyrince, please protect Anna and Ms. Oka.”
“You got it.”
Normally, I’m sure he would try to stop me from taking on the enemy general alone.
But this is one time that I can’t let anyone else take care of it.
I think Hyrince understands that, too.
“Sophia. Don’t interfere.”
“This again? I’m not helping you even if you’re about to die this time, all right?”
“Yeah. That’s fine.”
I wasn’t expecting Hugo to tell Sophia not to get involved.
Honestly, I’m relieved.
Sophia is strong.
If she won’t interfere, then I can focus entirely on Hugo.
“Guys, you should stay out of this, too,” I tell my allies.
As the sounds of the furious battle between the elves and the imperial army echo all around us, Hugo and I face off in silence.
Readying my sword, I Appraise Hugo.
<Human
LV 61
Name: Hugo Baint Renxandt
Status:
HP: 3,169/4,831 (green) (details)
SP: 2,577/2,577 (yellow) (details)
Average Offensive Ability: 3,889 (details) +400
Average Magical Ability: 998 (details) +200
Average Speed Ability: 2,939 (details) +400
MP: 1,542/1,711 (blue) (details)
: 2,663/3,255 (red) +0 (details)
Average Defensive Ability: 1,255 (details) +200
Average Resistance Ability: 2,384 +200 (details)
Skills:
[HP Auto-Recovery LV 6]
[MP Recovery Speed LV 2]
[MP Lessened Consumption LV 2]
[SP Recovery Speed LV 7]
[SP Lessened Consumption LV 7]
[Magic Power Perception LV 3]
[Magic Power Operation LV 2]
[Magic Divinity LV 2]
[Magic Power Conferment LV 2]
[Magic Power Attack LV 1]
[Destruction Enhancement LV 4]
[Cutting Enhancement LV 4]
[Impact Enhancement LV 2]
[Piercing Enhancement LV 1]
[Shock Enhancement LV 1]
[Heretic Attack LV 4]
[Battle Divinity LV 2]
[Energy Conferment LV 2]
[Energy Attack LV 5]
[Sword Mastery LV 4]
[Throw LV 2]
[Spatial Maneuvering LV 2]
[Cooperation LV 2]
[Leadership LV 4]
[Concentration LV 10]
[Thought Acceleration LV 3]
[Prediction LV 1]
[Arithmetic Processing LV 1]
[Memory LV 1]
[Hit LV 8]
[Evasion LV 8]
[Stealth LV 3]
[Silence LV 1]
[Odorless LV 1]
[Appraisal LV 10]
[Conquest]
[Stupefaction]
[Water Magic LV 1]
[Lightning Magic LV 1]
[Jinx Magic LV 1]
[Heretic Magic LV 2]
[Demon Lord LV 1]
[Dignity LV 2]
[Rage LV 4]
[Overeating LV 3]
[Greed]
[Lust]
[Destruction Resistance LV 1]
[Impact Resistance LV 2]
[Cutting Resistance LV 2]
[Status Condition Resistance LV 3]
[Heresy Resistance LV 4]
[Pain Resistance LV 7]
[Vision Enhancement LV 3]
[Auditory Enhancement LV 2]
[Olfactory Enhancement LV 2]
[Taste Enhancement LV 2]
[Tactile Enhancement LV 2]
[Divinity Expansion LV 3]
[Ultimate Life LV 10]
[Magic Hoard LV 2]
[Instantaneous LV 5]
[Endurance LV 5]
[Herculean Strength LV 8]
[Sturdy LV 4]
[Technique User LV 2]
[Protection LV 2]
[Running LV 9]
[Taboo LV 9]
[n% I = W]
Skill Points: 217
Titles:
[Monster Slayer]
[Ruler of Greed]
[Ally Slayer]
[Human Slayer]
[Ruler of Lust]
[Human Slaughterer]
[Merciless]
[Monster Slaughterer]
[Master of Madness]
[Champion]
[Commander]
[Lord]
>
His stats are all over the place.
They’re low overall, but he has tons of skills.
His skill points are a strangely uneven number.
This is the strength that Hugo has built up using Greed.
He must have gained the more powerful skills due to titles.
The Ruler of Lust and Greed titles must have granted him powerful skills, as well as Master of Madness, which I’ve never even heard of.
What really concerns me is the Demon Lord skill.
The Demon Lord and Hero skills can be gained only by either using a huge amount of skill points or building up enough proficiency.
Since Hugo calls himself the real hero, I don’t think he would go out of his way to acquire the Demon Lord skill.
Which means he must have gained it by building up proficiency.
Now, I don’t know how you earn proficiency for the Demon Lord skill.
But for the Hero skill, it’s said that you can gain it by behaving in a way befitting of a hero.
Hyrince, for example, gained the Hero skill through proficiency.
So it’s safe to assume that the Demon Lord skill has similar acquisition requirements.
And Hugo met those requirements.
Just what sort of evil deeds has he committed?
I invoke Mental Warfare and Battle Divinity and look Hugo right in the eyes.
His smile is that of a man gone mad.
Like someone who can’t turn back even if he wanted to.
Quietly, I raise my sword toward my former classmate.
“Here we go.”
“Hurry it up!”
Hugo beckons me, so I charge forward.
I swing my sword down toward him, but Hugo blocks it with his own blade.
“Hah!”
We lock swords for a moment, then Hugo forces me back and swings a counterattack at me.
I use that momentum to dodge backward, but a black cloud spews forth from Hugo’s sword, chasing me down.
Surprised, I nonetheless sweep it away with my sword.
So Hugo’s weapon is a magic sword.
It seems to have a Dark-attribute effect on it, too.
However, its power is nothing so impressive.
Tagawa’s magic sword is probably much stronger.
I bathe my own sword in light to counter his.
This is an enhancement done with my own magic, not a function of the sword itself.
My light-coated sword clashes with the darkness of Hugo’s.
The light slashes through the darkness and knocks Hugo’s sword back.
“Huh?!”
Hugo stumbles backward, and I strike his chest with the butt of my sword.
The impact knocks him off his balance, and he hits the ground with a thud.
“Do you give up?”
I point the tip of my sword at his neck and offer Hugo another chance to surrender.
“Hmph! Don’t get full of yourself just ’cause you got in one lucky hit!”
Hugo pushes my sword away, leaps to his feet, and quickly regains his stance.
Then, with the agility of a beast, he charges at me recklessly.
I calmly assess the movements of his flailing sword and dodge the attack.
Then I sweep his sword away again and knock him to the ground, just like before.
“Do you give up?” I repeat.
He stares at me in disbelief, but then a grin supersedes his expression.
However, the smile quickly fades, too.
“It’s no use. Your magic won’t work on me.”
I could tell he was trying to use some kind of magic on me.
My guess is that he tried to use Jinx Magic.
I don’t know what effect that magic has, but it doesn’t matter.
Hugo’s magic attack power is too low, and my magic defense is too high.
On top of that, I have the Dragon Power skill I gained when I defeated the earth dragon in the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
As long as I’m using it to weaken the power of magic, Hugo’s spells can’t touch me.
“Surrender.”
“Hell no!”
Hugo stands up again, waving his sword around wildly.
There’s no trace of logic to his movements anymore; he’s just flailing around with his weapon at random.
It’s like a child throwing a tantrum.
His sword comes toward me, and I dodge it by a hairbreadth.
I firmly strike the hand holding Hugo’s sword, knocking it out of his grasp.
Then I form a fist with my left hand and punch the now-defenseless Hugo in the chest.
“Oogh!”
Hugo grunts painfully and crumples to the ground.
Seeing him clutching his side and groaning, I can’t help feeling a little gratified.
“This can’t be happening. This world exists just for me, doesn’t it? Why can’t I win?”
Still crouching on the ground, Hugo mutters to himself madly.
Does he really still believe that?
“This world isn’t yours. It belongs to everyone who lives in it, not any one person. Especially not you.”
Hugo glares up at me furiously.
But evidently he still isn’t able to stand because of the blow I dealt to his stomach.
“Oh? Well, isn’t that a lovely sentiment. But since you don’t know the truth, you just sound ridiculous.”
The speaker steps forward with a rather scornful smile.
Sophia Keren.
A reincarnation just like us.
And, according to Ms. Oka, an enemy who has sided with the beings called administrators.
As Sophia steps forward, Katia, Tagawa, and Kushitani step forward beside me.
Armed and ready.
They’re prepared to battle at any moment.
However, Sophia simply stands there calmly, along with the boy and girl on either side of her.
“Sophia!” Hugo snarls, still on the ground. “Kill them!”
“Hmm. Whatever shall I do?”
Sophia looks amused.
Her eyes are those of someone glaring down at an insect in disgust.
But I thought these two were allies?
“Now’s not the time to screw around!”
“Yes, but don’t you remember what you told me? I thought I wasn’t supposed to interfere.”
“Ngh!”
Hugo twitches.
“Besides, we have no further use for you,” Sophia continues casually.
She says it so easily that none of us understands her meaning at first.
As if she’s just commenting on some idle gossip.
“Wh-what?”
Hugo himself is the first one to respond to her chilling words.
“Merazophis, what’s the situation?”
Sophia ignores Hugo and addresses someone else.
At first I thought she was speaking to one of the two people flanking her, but I was wrong.
“We have already begun the invasion.”
“Is that right? A little soon, don’t you think?”
The man appears as suddenly as if he just sprang out of Sophia’s shadow.
There’s no other way to describe his abrupt appearance.
He has an overly serious expression and the pallor of a man who could die at any moment.
“Huh?! What’re you doing here?!”
Tagawa lets out a startled yell.
“You know that man?”
“He’s an executive in the demon army.”
My breath catches in my throat.
An executive in the demon army?
What would a man like that be doing here?
Did the demons already know that Hugo was out of control and choose this moment to attack?
No, that wouldn’t make any strategic sense.
Then I suddenly realize what Sophia’s words mean.
“No further use.” That can mean only one thing.
They were working behind the scenes, manipulating Hugo to control the imperial army.
“You’re part of the demon army?!”
“Very insightful. It’s a little late for that epiphany now, though. The invasion’s already begun, after all.”
I knew the sounds of the battle around me seemed more intense than normal.
If Sophia is telling the truth, the demon army has begun their assault.
The imperial army was nothing but a decoy.
While the elves were busy fighting them, the demon army launched a surprise attack.
“Sophia, you used me, you scumbag!!”
Sophia ignores Hugo’s shouting.
As if to say that she has no need to waste time on him.
No, as if his existence itself is pointless.
“Shun, what do we do?” Katia asks me quietly.
I don’t know what to do here, either.
But I know we can’t just let Sophia do as she pleases.
She’s the strongest person I’ve ever encountered.
I can’t just let her run wild.
“We defeat Sophia.”
“My, that’s quite a declaration.”
Sophia chuckles mockingly.
Her smile says she’s more than confident that we’re powerless to do such a thing.
“You certainly beat down our little puppet here, but if you think I’m on his level, you’re going to regret it.”
Her tone is light and joking, but there isn’t a hint of mirth in her eyes.
At that moment, the boy named Wald picks up Yuri and retreats with her.
Watching them go, the man called Merazophis draws his sword.
The other girl simply remains behind Sophia, unmoving.
“Well, if you insist, I’ll play with you.”
Sophia spreads her arms wide, calmly inviting us to attack.
Taking her up on her offer, I charge forward.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login