kscans

Chapter 72 - An Abnormal Existence

A reunion with the shield knight, Glad.
Why at this timing? Let's turn back the clock a little.
They had been searching for Shinsuke and the others in the forest while subjugating Undead. Glad defended with his shield while bludgeoning them with his mace, and Sakura overwhelmed them with her spearmanship. ...So far, they had defeated about ten.
Amidst this, Olivia said, "...I want to help too, but with only my self-defense skills, I don't think I can beat an Undead. ...May I leave it to you?"
Glad replied with a slight smile, "Of course. If you were to be injured, Lady Olivia, my head alone would not be enough to atone for it."
Sakura wore a similar smile.
Olivia was aware that she was a burden to the two of them. ...But seeing their attitude, that they didn't mind, she felt a small sense of relief.
Just then, they heard human voices from a distance.
...Thinking someone was fighting an Undead, they headed in that direction. ...The reason was their objective to prevent any further damage. She hoped that Shinsuke and the others would be there, but if they were, it would be a little awkward. Because explaining why she, a royal, was here would be a hassle.
...Aware of her own contradictory thoughts, she headed in that direction.

*

Back to the present, on Shinsuke's side.
Glad and two women emerged from the forest.
The two women were lightly armored, but from their movements, I could tell they were quite skilled. ...The three of them looked at the large man and us. The woman with the short sword seemed to be talking to Glad.
Glad said, "...I have a general grasp of the situation. ...We will assist you."
He readied his shield and mace.
The woman with the spear also readied her weapon. The woman with the short sword fell back. ...It seemed she might be a scout. Scouts mainly deal with intelligence gathering and aren't skilled in combat. ...The only reason Rumily was able to fight so well was because she was exceptional.
...Damn it. I'm thinking too much. Focus on the big guy.
...The large man had stopped for a moment, looking at Glad and the others. Perhaps he was registering them as enemies. ...We didn't miss that opening. Altorine's group and I unleashed fire magic all at once.
Fireballs were launched in succession, hitting the large man. ...He was engulfed in flames. ...But he didn't fall. On the contrary, he started running toward us while on fire. Everyone except me was surprised by this action.
An Undead running. ...That alone was impossible.
But I had some idea of what was happening. ...If that thing was a mid-boss, running would be a simple matter. As it ran, the flames went out, and there wasn't a single burn mark. The large man was about to attack us with his right fist. The others were slow to react, but I was able to act immediately.
I took a stance. "Thunderclap Incarnation!"
I enhanced my body with lightning magic. I blocked the large man's attack with my sword. ...It was incredibly strong. I tried to parry it, but it was too powerful. It was all I could do to just block it. The large man was about to follow up with his left fist when Tina blocked it with her ice sword.
But she couldn't hold it back and was slowly being pushed back.
...This is bad, I thought. Just then.
"Shield Attack!"
Glad attacked the large man from behind.
A powerful impact, but the large man didn't even look back, though the force of his attack lessened slightly. ...In that opening, Tina and I disengaged. The large man changed his target and turned his gaze to Glad. Glad quickly moved away, but the large man sprouted four snakes from his back and was about to attack him. ...But the spear-wielding woman jumped in to help.
With brilliant and fluid spear work, she instantly lopped off the four snake heads. While they were regenerating, Glad and the spear wielder retreated. In that opening, the knights imbued their swords with fire magic and attacked from all four sides.
However, his body didn't catch fire, and what's more, there wasn't a single cut. He took no damage at all. ...Seeing this, I thought something was strange. The first attack, the arrows, had pierced his body. But sword attacks weren't working.
...Perhaps thrusting attacks were more effective than slashing? I thought, and shouted, "Serpent Sword!"
I extended my sword using my `Matter Conversion`. It struck the large man, but it didn't pierce him at all.
This is bad, I thought. "Thunderbolt!"
I unleashed lightning magic.
The large man was slightly stunned and stopped moving.
Altorine seized the opportunity. "'Charge' Skill!"
She activated her skill and charged. The large man hit an invisible wall and lost his balance.
Altorine imbued her sword with light magic. "Flash Sword!"
She unleashed a slash of light.
She lopped off the large man's head. This time, the battle was decided. No matter how strong he was, he was still an Undead; if you cut off his head, it's over. That's what everyone thought. But it wasn't over. ...The large man didn't fall.
...On the contrary, his head regenerated in an instant. ...The large man shook his head from side to side, as if doing a light warm-up.
One of the knights said with a frightened expression, "...Impossible. ...What is that monster...?"
Unease spread among the other knights. And it was no wonder—an Undead that didn't fall even when its head was cut off. ...I didn't know what to do.
No weaknesses, and if you get bitten, it's over. How were we supposed to deal with an opponent like this? ...Anything, any power would do.
...I want it. I wished for it strongly.
Just then, the world turned black and white.
I had felt this sensation before, during the fight in the arena.
...As I was thinking that, a voice came from somewhere.
[...Skill `Discernment` acquired.]
At these words, I thought, (What does this skill do?)
The voice replied to my question, [...`Discernment` allows you to see a target's individual characteristics, nature, abilities, magic, weaknesses, and so on. However, if the opponent is of a higher rank, it may be difficult to see their weaknesses.]
That's what it answered.
I thanked it from the bottom of my heart. It was the perfect ability for this situation. I acknowledged the end of the explanation.
...The moment I did, the colors of my surroundings returned to normal.
Everyone around me was on guard against the large man, keeping their distance.
I said, "Activate `Discernment`."
I activated the skill. The moment I did, words appeared around the large man's body. ...It was like a library function from a game.
Individual: Deceased Person. Nature: Regeneration, Infection, Domination, Super Strength. Abilities: None. Magic: None. Weakness: Controller Exists.
...So this is what it's like, I thought, and when I looked at the weakness, it said there was a controller. In other words, this thing was a puppet, and if I defeated the controller, it would be over. While `Discernment` was active, I saw a glowing line on the large man's body. ...The line led into the forest.
After seeing that, I shouted, "...Tina! Buy me some time! ...I've found a way to beat this thing!"
Tina acknowledged. ...I followed the line and headed into the forest. The large man saw me and tried to chase, but Tina shouted, "I won't let you! Aqua Machine Gun!"
A spray of water bullets was unleashed like a machine gun.
The large man flinched and fell to one knee. A single shot didn't have much power, but the continuous barrage stopped him. In that opening, I followed the line.
I entered the forest and reached the shade of a tree a short distance away.
...There, I found a single fly.
The fly seemed to have spotted me and took off. ...But since I could see the line, it was easy to follow. I swatted it down with my sword like a flyswatter. ...The fly that fell to the ground was still alive, so I squashed it with my foot.
Meanwhile, Tina and the others were holding off the large man.
...Just then, the large man suddenly collapsed. He didn't move, and his body decayed and turned to dust.
Altorine and the others cheered, victorious. ...Olivia and her group were also celebrating.
Carrying the dead fly, I returned to where everyone was.
I could hear the cheers, so I was confident we had won. ...When I appeared, Tina ran up to me.
"Shinsuke! I'm so glad you're safe! ...What on earth happened?!" she asked.
The others were also looking at me. I gathered everyone. ...After they had gathered, I showed them the fly in my hand.
Altorine asked, "...What is this fly?"
I replied, "...During the battle, I acquired the skill `Discernment`. When I activated it, I could see information about the large man. ...It said his weakness was a controller. ...Then, I saw a glowing line from the large man, and when I followed it, it was connected to this fly."
That was my explanation.
Everyone was surprised. And it was no wonder. ...To think that a fly like this was controlling him, their reaction was natural.
After seeing that, the woman with the short sword muttered, "...It's hard to believe this insect occurred naturally. ...It's more convincing to think someone created it."
...True, if this fly had such a special ability, there's no explanation for why no one knew about it until now. ...It's natural to assume that some madman recently created it in their research. ...But to think that far just by looking at it... I asked, "...Excuse me, Glad-san. Who is that woman?"
Glad replied, "This person is... w-my companion. Sh-she mainly gathers information and is not suited for combat."
At first, he was about to explain while looking at the woman, but for a moment, it looked like she gave him an intense glare.
...It seems she's someone who can't be explained.
I decided not to press the issue. ...It's probably best not to ask about the spear-wielding woman either. Tina, beside me, was smiling slightly. ...It seems she knows who they are. I'll have to ask her in private.
Afterward, the knights sat down in the grass.
...With the successful subjugation of the large man, an air of relief spread. ...And it was no wonder. They had fought such an abnormal monster.
It was only natural that they would be drained.
The color of the sky was crimson. It was approaching evening.
I said, "...Let's camp here for tonight."
The atmosphere from everyone was one of agreement. ...With that decided, we immediately started to build a bonfire and an iron hut.