Chapter 25 | The Assassin Fights with His Friend
Naoise had changed entirely since I last saw him. It wasn’t just his clothes that were different; he seemed a wholly other creature.
Miasma was leaking from his body. That meant he had become some manner of monster or demon. Naoise could never go back to the way things were before.
“Did you really desire power so desperately that you were willing to sacrifice your humanity?” I muttered.
There had been signs things were headed in this direction.
From the moment I met Naoise, it was clear that he thought himself to be exceptional. Yet he despaired when faced with the hero’s absurd strength. Later, he grew jealous when I, his supposed equal, began racking up accomplishments. He then decided that if he couldn’t match my individual strength, he would show his worth by creating an order of knights.
But I had rejected his efforts… And this was the result.
His present state was my fault.
I went to check on Nevan.
“Are you okay?”
“I had a bit of a fright. Still, this hurts my feelings, Sir Lugh. Don’t make that expression… I’m capable enough to buy you time to come save me.”
“Sorry, it seems I underestimated you.”
Nevan wasn’t the kind who overestimated herself or tried to show off. Considering she would likely work with Dia, Tarte, and me again, I didn’t want to misjudge her. Doing so could endanger the entire team. Nevan was smart, and she wouldn’t pretend to be capable of more than she was.
I decided to hold a training match with her sometime in the future. That would allow me to determine her strength. It was perilous to overestimate her, but the same could be said of underestimating her.
“Naoise has gotten really strong,” Nevan remarked as she and I watched him fight. He was taking on Liogel alone and matching the demon blow for blow.
If I tried to join now without understanding Naoise’s power, it could put us both at risk. Understanding his abilities first was paramount.
Meanwhile, the others readied themselves to strike at any moment if an opportunity for a lethal blow presented itself. Tarte enveloped her spear with lightning, Dia began chanting Demonkiller, and Nevan prepared a rapid-fire light spell together with the weapon I gave her.
“That blade is incredible,” commented Nevan.
“Yeah. It’s ominous and powerful. If you told me it wasn’t a weapon but a demon in sword form, I might believe it,” I agreed.
“That idiot, no, that imbecile’s swordsmanship looks the same as it ever did, though. First-class but not quite elite. His physical capabilities have improved, but not past human levels. His ability to strengthen himself with mana is still crude, which is a shame. He can only match that demon because of the tremendous energy flowing into him from the sword. Most astonishingly…” Nevan trailed off.
“All injuries inflicted on the demon with that weapon aren’t regenerating. I didn’t think that was possible,” I finished.
The black greatsword Naoise wielded was tremendously strong. Liogel’s claws could easily cut through steel, but the blade parried them without a taking a scratch.
The sword increased its owner’s power with miasma. It was also keen enough to cut through Liogel’s skin and prevented the demon from healing.
It was possible that Naoise’s transformation hadn’t made him mightier at all, but rather just allowed him to use that magic weapon.
The sword was clearly stronger than any object had any right to be.
I’d learned how to make weapons imbued with magic power by researching divine treasures. However, I couldn’t get an object to house an advanced spell like Demonkiller.
I didn’t even know what the power that was endlessly gushing out of the sword was.
“…Well, I get the picture. I’ll go back him up. He’ll lose unless we help him,” I said.
“That he will. That demon is a swift learner. They’re evenly matched right now, which means it’s only a matter of time until Naoise loses,” Nevan stated.
I had to agree. Liogel’s intellect made him a formidable combatant.
My drug had already run out, and my instantaneous mana discharge had returned to normal. Even then, I could still fight if I joined my strength with Naoise.
As I moved to join my friend, I looked back at Tarte and Dia and gave them a sign. If this went as I anticipated, I would need their help.
I drew a gun.
Naoise’s physical capabilities had been improved, but his skill was the same as before—perhaps even worse, as he was having trouble controlling his newfound abilities.
I could predict his actions many moves ahead.
The firearm I was holding was a rifle I kept stored in my Leather Crane Bag. It was larger than a pistol, enabling it to fire larger-caliber bullets. The significantly greater amount of Fahr Stone powder packed inside would allow it to pierce Liogel’s flesh.
I took a breath, then strengthened my Tuatha Dé eyes. By doing so, I could see a split second into the future. I wouldn’t be any use in this situation otherwise.
Hitting your target while they were locked in fierce close combat with another was impossible for a normal person.
I wasn’t a normal person, however.
I could even do that without the advantage of my Tuatha Dé eyes. In my previous life, I once shot a target through a passing bullet train window while riding in a car traveling one hundred forty kilometers per hour in the opposite direction.
I had a good understanding of Naoise and Liogel’s movements and knew what they’d do next. All I had to think about was aim and timing.
“…”
Wordlessly, I fired a bullet that struck Liogel square in the face, blowing his head off just as he was about to counter Naoise’s attack.
It was just a simple lead bullet, imbued with none of the power of Naoise’s sword, of course. Liogel’s head would heal immediately. My shot accomplished nothing on its own.
Yet…
“Thanks for the backup!” called Naoise.
He sliced the now-exposed Liogel with a downward diagonal slash.
If I created openings, Naoise could wound the demon.
Liogel’s head regenerated, but the deep laceration in his shoulder remained, and blood poured from it endlessly.
A bleeding demon was a novel sight. I was interested to see if Liogel’s movements would falter if he lost enough blood.
“Witness my power!” Naoise cried.
I see. If a demon’s regeneration is cut off, it can’t ignore the same weaknesses that all other living creatures share.
Liogel was clearly growing sluggish. That he still fought with precision showed that he was an experienced fighter.
Now that we had turned the tables, Naoise was growing overexcited and started taking large swings. Liogel, on the other hand, maintained precise movements and thrust expertly at Naoise’s neck.
It was a good attack. Had I not been there, it would have reached Naoise and maybe even given Liogel a chance at victory. However, I’d foreseen the demon’s strike ahead of time.
My bullet blew away Liogel’s arm from the shoulder down, throwing off his balance.
“HYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
Naoise swept his sword sideways with an ecstatic battle cry.
Actually, it was less a battle cry and more a scream full of overwhelming fear and embarrassment from the knowledge that he would have been killed if not for my help. That resulted in a crude attack, which let Liogel easily avoid a lethal injury.
“Naoise…”
I had thought his skills hadn’t changed, but that wasn’t entirely right. He couldn’t control his new power, and he was fighting recklessly. He would’ve been killed twice already if not for my intervention. The normal Naoise would not have lost his cool, and I knew he would’ve inflicted a mortal wound using the chance I’d just given him.
Liogel jumped back, and Naoise frantically gave chase. He didn’t understand that the demon was luring him.
“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!”
The injured Liogel roared at Naoise as he charged, sending shock waves his way. Naoise was knocked off his feet, leaving him wide open. Despite that, Liogel left Naoise and, still bleeding, charged straight toward me.
“I just need to kill you!”
Evidently, he had decided that I was more dangerous than Naoise.
His eyes were focused on the barrel of my gun. He was ready to dodge any shots I fired.
It was an intelligent decision, but a foolish one at the same time. With Liogel’s elite level of focus, I didn’t doubt he could evade projectiles. However, this was a carnivore’s concentration, which meant he only saw what he was looking at.
In other words, he is defenseless against anything coming from his blind spots.
I had anticipated that Liogel might do this.
I took out a hand grenade in my left hand and threw it. Liogel’s response was slow because his attention was trained on the gun.
The grenade exploded in midair, producing the same sound the traps had.
Liogel stood upright from shock. His eardrums ruptured, and blood flowed from his ears.
“I have been waiting for this!”
Tarte, who had been slowly approaching so that Liogel wouldn’t notice, stabbed the demon in the side with her lightning-enveloped spear. The electric current ravaged his insides, and the shock forced him to come to a full stop.
Liogel had tried to get up after the blast, but now he was immobilized.
“Demonkiller! It’s about time.”
Dia’s Demonkiller forced Liogel’s Crimson Heart to materialize, shining bright red. She had chanted the extremely difficult spell perfectly.
The demon couldn’t move, and his core was vulnerable. That meant there was one thing left to do.
“Holy Light Amplifier!”
Nevan’s attack was the finishing blow. She used a spell to accumulate and strengthen light mana with a tool I’d made.
It was a simple object made to solve light magic’s output problem by storing a large amount of mana beforehand. If you charged it fully, you could achieve plenty of power with light magic.
Nevan’s attack pierced the Crimson Heart in the blink of an eye.
I had intended to use Naoise as a decoy from the beginning. Then I’d forced the demon to go after me and created a chance to strike. I’d communicated as much to Tarte and the others beforehand.
There was a gaping hole in Liogel’s heart, and his life began to fade.
“Argh, y-you bastard… If you just hadn’t…”
“That’s right. I’m the one who killed you.”
The demon tried desperately to claw at me, but before he made contact, he turned into particles of light and vanished.
Liogel, you were strong.
One wrong step might have been the end for me. The difference was that I’d been given intel beforehand and had time to formulate a strategy. In an honest fight, my side would have lost outright.
I paid my respects to the demon. Afterward, I heard clapping.
“So this is the true power of a Holy Knight and his attendants. You did well for a lowly human.”
It was Naoise. He approached me wearing his usual grin, emanating miasma as he did so. As he got nearer, I realized there was something different about his expression. It seemed he was looking down on us.
“Let’s talk. A lot has happened since you disappeared,” I said.
“Splendid idea. I have plenty to say to you as well, Lugh,” he responded.
Desperately, I searched for the right words to say to my friend who had changed so much.
Words that would allow us to laugh together once again.
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