Chapter 697 - Lord of Darkness
The entity of equal standing to the ranker known as the [Poet]—in other words, a current ranker. The blackwood lute, unanimously described as a 'horrible Anima' by all who learn of its detailed power, borrows the strength of heroes, using the 'names' known by its master as a medium.
Of course, it comes with numerous restrictions. The projection time for each 'name' is limited to a few to a dozen seconds, and once used, the cooldown time for each is, without exception, a uniform one month.
However, even with these and other extreme limitations, the assessment of those who know it remains unchanged.
【Bardenhode (The Storytelling, Deceiving Dreamer)】—which allows the user to temporarily house the 'power' of a summoned 'name', including their knowledge, for a short time—is,
…a top-tier cheat that can only be described as truly unfair.
"Nine seconds. I'm going in, Ricky-kun!"
"Roger that!"
In that instant, the black-robed figure vanished. His voice lingered, but everything else was gone without a sound. The [Adamant], seeing his colleague sprint out of existence, widened his eyes—no, he didn't even have time for that.
"Gah—Ugh, seriously…!?"
A purely reflexive defensive action. He followed the instinct that shot down his spine and activated a damage reduction skill, only to be hacked to pieces through it. He let out a gasp of astonishment as a massive amount of damage effects scattered around him.
His eyes barely caught a trail of crimson light hanging in the air. It was something he had seen with his own eyes several times, and through videos many more—a flash that always appeared in the heat of battle.
It was the phantom of the rabbit sword, his trademark.
And then, a second flash of instinct. Tossing aside all composure, the choice he made in response to the presence closing in from behind was to intercept. In the midst of his shock, without a moment's delay, he turned—
"Wha—!?"
…in that moment.
As Auerin inwardly cursed, "That damn Acrobat,"
…he and his fist were met by a massive warhammer that filled his vision. A rather shocking sound of iron striking flesh echoed, and he was sent flying at incredible speed, unable to stand his ground.
"Sorry, Auerin, I can't really hold back…!"
Although he only had to follow the 'instructions' for the [Acrobat] temporarily installed in his virtual brain, the power hidden within that 'name' was simply too wild.
It was a top-tier wild horse, in a different league from the [Sword Queen] or the [Sword Saint]. It was better than those two in that he could at least handle it, but honestly, it was the type of power he preferred not to use.
Every single step was utterly ridiculous. To think that the man himself controlled this manually gave him a deep appreciation for just how exceptional he was.
In other words, to be frank,
"Let's wrap this up quick…ly!"
He wanted to stop this zero-visibility, human-bullet jet plane as soon as possible. This wasn't something a normal person could withstand, which meant he had to finish off his opponent as quickly as possible.
And fortunately, with this 'name' inhabiting his body,
"Fuh…!—"
…it wouldn't even take a second to reach his distant foe—
"—Nope, too bad."
"…You can't be serious, kid."
And so, less than a second later.
The future he envisioned—stepping straight into his opponent's guard and slamming the point of a dagger, summoned through borrowed power, into their throat—never came to be.
His body, which had been racing at near-sonic speeds, was bound by layers upon layers of 'shadow.' The phantom blade wouldn't budge an inch, whether he pushed or pulled.
He wasn't surprised that he'd been caught—no, he was astonished that he'd been caught by him reacting to his movements, not by a pre-laid trap.
"…I don't suppose you could actually see that, could you?"
Even a veteran soldier, the South's number five, couldn't react to that speed. With a bittersweet smile caught between astonishment and admiration, he couldn't help but ask the boy who stood there casually, not even in a stance.
"Of course not. It might be slower than the real thing, but there's no way I could see that."
The [Undying], clad in a black deeper than even the [Poet]'s, let out an amused smile.
"It's just that…—Lately, I've had a lot of chances to be with him."
As he dispelled the 'bow' in his left hand,
"So I know how he moves. If I'm on guard, I can at least react."
"…………I should have known. You're an Istian ranker, after all."
Yata returned a smile of pure, unadulterated admiration to Tetra, who had declared it so nonchalantly—and that was the time limit.
The ground beneath them was black.
The 'darkness' that had, at some point, filled the entire field, stirred gently.
"'Embrace and destroy.'"
The 'King', having captured his enemy before him, drew a small dagger from thin air with his left hand and flashed it… gently, ever so slightly, he drew a cut across his own skin.
And then, as a small splash of crimson scattered from his right arm, the [Undying] spoke.
"—《Erebus》."
And in that instant.
Upon the 'shadow' that had turned to 'darkness', every being within the domain—in other words, regardless of friend or foe—all three, save for the boy monarch, met the same fate: death.
A myriad of debuff icons appeared simultaneously beneath their status bars, robbing their avatars of all freedom. At the same time, countless status effect damage instances triggered, instantly wiping out their remaining HP—and the bell signaling the end of the match rang out.
Thus, the first round of the Third Triangle Duo concluded.
"…………A flashy finale is beyond me, so give me a break."
"…I'd say that was more than overwhelmingly, devastatingly flashy, wouldn't you?"
It was a victory for 【Adamant & Undying】… or rather, a solo victory for the [Undying], who had annihilated everyone, including his own ally.
What, you ask what Ricky was doing? He tried to finish off the blasted-away Auerin and got counter-attacked for his troubles.