kscans

Chapter 253 - The Sun in the Night

"Erina-san, Mia-san."

"Okay!"

"…Surely you don't mean to…"

I held my sword at the ready and bent my knees.

Simultaneously, the twelve warriors’ eyes began to glow—

"I'll take half."

"Leave it to me!"

And we charged.

Twelve steel weapons swung down as one steel blade soared up.

I parried a spear-like arrow with my sword and dodged a thrusting lance with a barrel roll. I caught a horizontal sword slash on my blade.

I dodged upward to avoid an axe that immediately tried to pincer me, then backhanded away a mace aimed at the back of my head. In that instant, a shield bash rushed toward me.

I met the charge, which was like a runaway truck, with both feet. I absorbed the impact with my knees and pushed back, kicking off to create significant distance.

Temporarily above the enemy, I raised my one-and-a-half-handed sword with both hands.

"Burn!"

From convergence to release took about a tenth of a second. I prioritized speed over power, but it was still enough to melt and crush mere iron.

The warriors responded to my hammer of wind and flame.

—WHOOSH!

They answered with a single arrow.

"Tch!"

I dodged the projectile hurtling toward my brow by leaning back, then flipped around despite being thrown off balance by the wind pressure, putting my back to them to gain more distance.

A glance behind me showed the other side of the battlefield. The remaining six warriors were engaged with Blanc, Ukon, and Sakon.

The five I was fighting were in pursuit. It seemed the mace wielder had been unlucky enough to take a direct hit from the flames and was now burning. And now, the six that had been fighting over there were turning their gazes toward me.

"Honestly!"

But, behind the golems.

"You always do such reckless things!"

The water of the gentle river rose up, forming a great serpent.

Water splashed as if from an explosion. The fluid serpent coiled its body, encircling the warriors who were clashing with the golems.

That was a huge help. Furthermore, the surrounding stone buildings began to change shape, becoming stone soldiers and joining the fray.

Now, as for my opponents… tch!

"Whoa!?"

An arrow nearly pierced my back. I flew into a roll to the right. The arrow that grazed Flügel disappeared into the false sky.

Five warriors pursued me. Their four eyes burned with clear murderous intent, and they flew at the same speed as me despite having no wings.

My evasion had slightly slowed me down, and the inhuman fiends mercilessly raised their weapons.

I twisted my body to dodge an incredibly fast lance charge. I blocked an overhead axe swing with my sword, letting the impact force me downward.

I parried the blade of a swordsman waiting below with my gauntlet, using the recoil to fly just above the ground. I threw a knife in retaliation, but it was blocked by the shield user.

Similar buildings lined the road on both sides—structures that looked like luxurious apartments, as if a piece of a palace had been cut out and pasted here. On the road between these deserted buildings, a dogfight between warriors wielding anachronistic weapons had begun.

I dodged the arrows raining down on me, relying on my foresight as the white stone pavement was pulverized with each impact. Weaving through the projectiles, which had the destructive power of tank shells, I sensed that one had somehow circled around. A spearman leaped out from a crossroad ahead.

I struck down the horizontally sweeping spearhead with my sword. Thrown into an inverted position by the recoil, I spun horizontally and slammed a backfist into its face.

It was hard. I felt the impact reverberate through my bones, but a monster wouldn't be stopped by something like this.

As expected, the spearman let out a roar of anger and thrust with the butt of his spear. I blocked it with my crossguard and retreated without slowing down. As a swordsman's blade descended from above, I parried it with my gauntlet, only to see the follow-up spear thrust looming before my eyes.

It grazed my helmet, sending sparks flying. The moment my vision wavered from the impact, a tower shield burst through the wall of a nearby apartment and charged me.

I raised my altitude slightly to avoid it, and behind the shield user, an axeman took flight. I couldn't dodge the wide swing in time and had to block it with my blade.

Unable to withstand the impact, I was pushed higher than the rooftops. In that instant, an arrow wreathed in purple lightning flew at me from the side.

"Ngh!"

Following the prediction from my Spirit Eye, I somehow managed to meet it with my blade.

It was heavy. If the previous arrows were tank shells, this was a battleship's main cannon.

Before the intense pain could travel up my arms, I parried it, the blade groaning under the strain. The deflected arrow shot through the wall of an apartment and continued on, piercing several buildings in a row.

As the delayed roar echoed, I flew to avoid the debris. Four sources of mana pursued me from behind, with one trailing slightly farther back.

I flew through the grid-like streets of straight lines and right angles, desperately fleeing the arrows. I sensed the spearman drop in altitude and use his flight acceleration to begin sprinting across the stone pavement.

He was the fastest. One moment he was running on the road, the next he leaped onto a wall, running with his shoulder to the ground.

At a break in the apartments, he leaped from a building and launched a thrust from my side.

I twisted my waist and somehow managed to dodge. As we passed, the spearman spun his weapon and swung the butt-end toward my temple.

I threw up my left arm to defend just in time. As I raised my sword for an immediate counterattack, I was stopped by the longsword of the swordsman who had caught up.

With both my hands momentarily tied, the axeman charged. I avoided his diagonal slash by forcefully retreating, blasting wind and fire at maximum output from both arms.

The instant I forced all three of them back, a large shadow fell over me. I didn't need to see it; I saw it. A shield as tall as a man was falling from above.

"Kuh!"

If I dodged, I'd be shot in the next instant. I had no choice. I raised my sword and gripped the blade with my left hand.

I tried to receive it in a half-sword grip, but I couldn't stop it. I was slammed into the stone pavement, and an impact like my body had been torn apart assaulted me.

"Gah…!?"

I bounced, and my vision cleared. Debris danced around me, and directly below was a massive crater.

And then, the tip of a spear thrusting from the side. Before I could think, I blocked it with my gauntlet, but I couldn't defend against the second and third high-speed thrusts. They struck my helmet and breastplate directly.

A powerful impact struck me, shaking my brain and shattering my ribs. As I was sent flying parallel to the ground, I saw the fragments of my broken helmet left behind.

My head felt light, and my right chest felt strange. A half-second later, I realized my helmet was destroyed and there was a hole in my breastplate.

The cloth that had been under my helmet came loose and flew off somewhere. I had no time to worry about it as I retreated in an S-pattern. An arrow wreathed in purple lightning passed through the spot where I had just been.

My head and right chest. If I took another hit in either of those places, I would die. Blood flowing from my forehead passed my nose and wet the corner of my mouth.

Clutching my sword in one hand, I flew away with my back to them. Relying on my foresight to dodge the pursuing arrows, I took a small, deep breath.

The fused monster we defeated with three people and three machines. Can I win against five of them, and not the 'newly hatched' versions?

—I can.

I kicked my speed up a notch. Tossing aside fine control, I went for maximum acceleration. At the end of the road ahead was a clock tower, one that stood out even in this massive city.

Its form was so splendid and majestic it would overwhelm any who saw it. But I had no time to admire it.

I gained altitude rapidly, aiming for the space beneath the clock tower's hands, and continued to accelerate.

Flying in a straight line, I must have been an easy target. I sensed a vast amount of mana gathering and an arrow being loosed, one that left sound in its wake.

It was too fast to dodge after thinking. The moment the prediction flashed behind my eyes, I barrel rolled.

The arrow of purple lightning grazed my breastplate and passed by. It brought about a destruction that would have pierced the clock tower and then some, and a moment later, a deafening roar enveloped the floor.

"Guuuh…!"

I endured the wind pressure that threatened to blow me away and maintained my course, aiming for the large hole that had just been created.

I plunged into the billowing cloud of dust and pushed straight through without hesitation.

Immediately after passing through the clock tower, I folded my legs and did a vertical flip. I kicked off the wind to reverse my direction and slammed my shoulder into the clock face.

"Oooohhh…!"

With a low groan, I released my mana at maximum output. The sounds of cracking and creaking spread out from the large hole I'd passed through.

The five warriors who had been flying behind me. I pushed the top of the clock tower down, aiming right for them.

Once it surpassed its structural limits, gravity took over, and the massive object fell toward them at terrifying speed.

The spearman and swordsman managed to dodge left and right. The shield bearer and axeman were positioned in a way that delayed their evasion.

Even so, the shield bearer managed to block it. He defended against this massive object, whose weight in tons was foolish to even consider, with just a single shield.

The top of the clock tower stopped for a brief moment. As the parts not in contact with the shield began to collapse under their own weight, I immediately raised my left arm.

Exceeding maximum output… I sent a surge of mana that surpassed the magic tool's tolerance.

The bracelet glowed red-hot as an enormous mass of heat was generated in my palm.

"Oraaaaaaaaah!"

I swung it down at the behemoth below.

The top of the clock tower exploded. The flying debris hindered the spearman and swordsman who were trying to pincer me, and I descended into the cloud of dust.

Even with my vision obscured, I knew the positions of the mana sources. I closed in rapidly on a trajectory that would put the shield bearer between me and the axeman. Faster than he could turn his tower shield toward me…!

The moment my gaze met the shield bearer's four eyes, I swung my sword.

A single flash. The burning blade sliced off its neck, as thick as a log.

Carried by the momentum, I dove, leaving the retaliatory arrows behind. I pulled up just above the ground and landed on the stone pavement on the soles of my feet.

My boots carved two lines into the ground, scattering pebbles as I leaped to the side.

My vision swam from the successive G-forces, but it wasn't unbearable. Trusting in the regenerative power of my Nucleus, I threw my entire body into motion.

There was nothing inside the apartments. They were only beautiful on the outside; the inside was just an empty box. Though partitioned into rooms by walls, not even doors had been fitted.

They were learning my movements. Not just mine, but the fighting styles of everyone who had set foot in this place.

But unfortunately for them, I was growing too. And being this close to the dragon was a boon. I could fight without holding back.

And most importantly—I hadn't shown them how I fight in an 'urban environment' yet.

Recalling my battles from the Tokyo Incident, I shattered the floor and took flight. I raised my left arm above my head and smashed through the roof.

Delayed, the spearman, swordsman, and axeman burst into the room. Leaving them behind, I flew above the building.

In the false night sky, I saw a flash of purple lightning. A bowman, with stars at his back, drawing a massive bow. From the way his four eyes widened, it seemed he hadn't expected me to emerge from above.

He immediately re-nocked his bow and aimed the arrowhead at me. I charged him head-on. I wouldn't give the three below time to catch up.

A bolt of purple lightning was unleashed. As it left sound behind, I swung my sword down from an overhead stance.

Impact shot through both my arms. I couldn't do something as skillful as cleaving it in two. But just knocking it down…!

"Haaaaaaaaah!"

A sound like a massive wire snapping echoed around me, and the purple lightning scattered along with the arrowhead.

Without slowing down, I pressed forward. The bowman dropped his bow, grabbed an arrow, and reared back. As the warrior swung the arrowhead like he was throwing a punch, I swung my sword without mercy.

The steel blade lopped off its neck. That's three.

I continued flying in an arc as the three monsters pursued me relentlessly. Their four eyes gleamed under the stars as they closed in on me, cloaked in moonlight.

They stuck right behind me, trying to close the distance. Due to the difference in speed, the spearman pulled slightly ahead.

At that exact moment, I aimed for the sky at a sharp angle. I kicked off the wind, enduring the sharp pain that shot through my legs, and leaped.

As I shot almost vertically upward with leg power and wind, the spearman followed in the same trajectory. The axeman and swordsman approached on a path like they were climbing a hill.

I pinpointed the spearman's position below me with mana and released the sword in my right hand, which felt like it could shatter at any moment.

The spearman, who had just begun his ascent, offered his face right to the blade.

"GA…!?"

With a short, deathly cry, its skull cracked. Immediately after, the residual mana in the blade ruptured, engulfing it in an explosion.

Two left.

As I flew as if aiming for the moon, the swordsman and axeman continued their pursuit without slowing. With my sword and knives gone, they intended to cut down my unarmed body.

If they caught me, I would die.

In that case, I'd just have to go to them.

I arched my back, taking the full force of the wind pressure on my body. My vision turned red, and my consciousness began to fade.

But the premonition of my own death jolted me awake. I folded my legs and twisted my body.

I kicked off the wind of mana and came to a sudden stop. The sound and sensation of breaking bones washed over me, but fortunately, the endorphins in my brain masked it.

I unleashed the power in both my legs and descended toward the two pursuers. At the same time, I channeled mana to my left hand.

The moonlight was at my back. Unlike sunlight, it probably wouldn't be enough to blind them.

But for eyes accustomed to this false night, how would this light appear?

A mass of flame, created in my palm. The [Bracelet of the Flame Horse] screamed, its surface melting as it converted mana and generated a fireball the size of a human head.

As I drew my arm back, an aurora appeared behind me, and it slowed the four-eyed monsters.

Their counterattack was delayed. Seizing the opportunity, I slammed the fireball into the swordsman's face.

A beam of heat was unleashed, turning the monster's head and everything above it to dust. Amidst its scattering body, I reached my right hand toward the gleam of steel.

The axeman already had its weapon raised. Before it could reach me, my five fingers grasped the hilt.

In the instant before it turned to salt, I swung the longsword, striking the handle of the axe.

Upon impact, the blade groaned. The crumbling blade was brittle and would surely let the axe pass in an instant.

Faster than that, I spun the sword.

With the axe handle still resting on it, the blade reversed. The blade changed to an upward slash. Bind.

The tip of the sword split the axeman's face vertically, and the force applied to the axe lessened slightly.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

But it immediately let out a roar, re-gripped the handle, and brought the blade down.

I released the sword as it turned to salt and half-stepped to evade the blow. At the same time, I once again poured mana into the [Bracelet of the Flame Horse].

—HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH!!

With a sound like a horse's neigh, a crimson inferno raged. Without converging it, I slammed it into the side of the axeman's head.

At point-blank range, I mixed it with wind. Before my opponent could swing its axe horizontally, a beam of heat entered through its ear canal and ravaged its brain.

A flame in the shape of a cavalryman burst through the monster's head and flew off, leaving not a single piece of brain behind.

The monstrous warrior, its head completely incinerated, fell headfirst toward the ground.

An equivalent mass of salt crashed into the stone pavement.

"Fuuuuu…"

The breath I exhaled was hot. My throat was parched. It felt like even my eyeballs were about to boil.

Without a moment's rest, I reformed my [Arcane Gear]. My battered boots, my greaves, my cracked and hole-ridden breastplate and gauntlets, even my shattered helmet—all returned to their original state.

Then, I drew the sword from the scabbard at my waist. With Flügel fluttering, I headed toward Erina-san and the others.

I glanced at my bracelet. The elegant golden ornamentation that was once there was gone, revealing a melted surface.

According to Shizuku-san, as long as the core was intact, it could withstand several more battles in this state. If so, there was no problem.

As the figures of Erina-san and the others came into view, a deafening roar greeted me.

A four-eyed warrior crashed into a nearby building and collapsed limply amidst the rubble. A gaping hole, large enough for a human torso to fit through, was torn in its chest.

And on the stone pavement lay five other piles of salt. The golems were covered in wounds, but Erina-san and Mia-san, with only minor scratches, were still standing.

They spotted me, and Mia-san, leaning on her staff, gave me an exasperated look.

"Honestly… You're just reckless, you absolute animal."

"But it worked out, didn't it?"

"It did! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Oh, you two…"

Mia-san held her head in her hands as she looked at me, now fully recovered except for my bracelet. And then there was Erina-san, laughing boisterously with her hands on her hips.

It seemed they could still fight. The golems could probably last one or two more battles.

I tore my gaze away from my comrades.

And turned my eyes to the source of mana that, in this space—no, in this entire labyrinth—exuded the most overwhelming presence.

—GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!

Its roar thundered.

The otherworldly cry shook the city, sent mana swirling, and cracked the false sky.

But at this point, something like this wasn't enough to make me flinch. We had already been through this.

…Yeah.

"Still terrifying…"

I was just putting on a brave face. It was super scary.

Can I go home now…? I feel like I've done enough work. We really tried our best.

Ah, no good. The exit gate is beyond that thing, isn't it?

"Hey, Kyo-chan!"

"Oof."

A sharp slap on the back nearly made me stumble forward.

I glanced to my side and saw a smile as bright as the sun.

"You ready to go?"

—"Of course I am."

I put on a brave face again.

The creature known as 'man' is truly a foolish being.

I was keenly aware that I was trying to act cool in front of someone I cared about.

Either way, if I didn't smash that damn lizard's skull in, the anger in my gut wouldn't settle. That's why I came here.

I would see this through to the end.

"We'll have to be a little more reckless, won't we?"

Mia-san stood on the opposite side of me from Erina-san.

"Let's show 'em what the Invisible Ninjas are made of!!"

Erina-san laughed with her usual playful demeanor.

"…Well, everyone. Stay alive."

I, too, acted as I always did, shouldering my sword with a sigh.

In the center of this great city. Inside a skyscraper that seemed completely out of place in this medieval European townscape.

The white dragon raised its neck.

Everything up to this point had been nothing more than a 'snore.' Its eyes slowly opened.

Its gaze met ours, and held.

—GGGGYYYYYAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

The white dragon. The moving labyrinth. The Environment Invasion-Type Monster… the Guivre.

Looking up at its majestic form, we stepped forward.

It was still far. But we were almost there.

Toward the final destination of this adventure.