kscans

Chapter 370 - Effort and Talent

Fierce fighting raged throughout the Great Forest of the Undead.

Currently, the excitement was concentrated in three locations: the northeastern rocky area where Hayato's group was, the vicinity of the Area Stone where Lunaria and her forces were stationed, and the area around Mist's Mansion.

The New Demon Lord's Army was particularly stirred up around Mist's Mansion. This was largely due to their success in repelling Noat, the key NPC for this event. When Parsha sang from her broom in the sky, Noat had mysteriously collapsed. The New Demon Lord's side had erupted in cheers, assuming Parsha knew the NPC's weakness.

However, though Noat had fallen, she hadn't vanished from the battlefield. An allied Tamer NPC had carried her away to safety. In a flustered voice, Parsha had cried out, "L-leave the pursuit to me!" and given chase.

Leaving that matter to Parsha, the strategy now circulating was to target Alvie of "Kiss of Death." This information had been provided by the "Rampage" and "Bounty Hunter" clans.

The intel was this: "The Demon Lord is weak against ghosts." The Demon Lord couldn't fight unless the Ghost-type Monsters were suppressed by a Requiem. This knowledge spread like wildfire.

Once that was known, the plan was simple. If they defeated Alvie, the leader of the song and dance support clan "Kiss of Death," a large number of players capable of using Requiem would be eliminated from the battlefield. That alone wouldn't guarantee victory, but if the Demon Lord couldn't participate, they had a chance to win, or at least force a draw. Currently, the Great Forest of the Undead was New Demon Lord territory. If they fought until time ran out, it would be a draw, but the territory would remain theirs.

And so, the fighting around Mist's Mansion intensified, with the New Demon Lord's Army trying to defeat Alvie, and the old Demon Lord's Army trying to protect him.

The person most feared by the old Demon Lord's Army on that field, Nanagi, walked about in ragged, ronin-like clothes and a Hannya mask, her movements deceptively unguarded. But anyone who approached thinking she was defenseless was met with a harsh counterattack. She would strike without even drawing her sword from its scabbard. Both enemies and allies were stirred up, exclaiming, "It's an invisible iai!"

And the armored samurai who seemed to be Nanagi's allies were also strong. They all carried ominous-looking swords and dealt unbelievable amounts of damage. The samurai didn't coordinate to help each other, but their individual strength was outstanding. Furthermore, perhaps due to unique skills, some attacks caused slashes to explode, while others had weapon skills that made a hail of swords rain down from the sky. While they were reliable, the samurai who defeated enemies while also catching allies in the crossfire were feared not just by the enemy, but by their own side as well.

(Now then, if I rampage this much, they should show up...) Nanagi thought as she fought, searching for Benitsuru and Simon.

She knew she couldn't win against them now, but she needed to confirm the current gap in their strength. It didn't matter how many times she lost before the event ended, as long as she won in the final battle. In fact, even if the old Demon Lord's Army won the event, she would be satisfied if she could just defeat Benitsuru and Simon.

She didn't know how much meaning there was in being strong in this virtual reality. In the real world, her muscle and grip strength were so weak she couldn't even hold a sword. This virtual reality was her reality. Becoming stronger here had meaning.

The samurai Nanagi admired. Warriors who fought on without even fearing death.

Before, she had relied on the strength of her weapon, clinging to victory even through cowardly means. But after losing to Simon and regaining her real-world memories, she had rediscovered her initial motivation. She began to train even harder to get one step closer to the samurai she admired. The joy of feeling her own skills, which she thought had hit a ceiling, gradually improving was irreplaceable.

Nanagi took a deep breath and looked at the cursed blade in her hand. The Demonic Sword Shita-kiri Suzume. A cursed blade named after the bird from a cautionary fairy tale about how greed leads to ruin. A cursed sword whose attack power increased the lower the user's defense. Now, she wore a Hannya mask that reduced her defense to a negative value, further increasing her attack power.

Was wanting to become stronger a form of greed? Was it wrong to desire power beyond one's station? Musing on this, she swung the cursed blade and cut down her foes.

Suddenly, the face of an ordinary man, Hayato, floated into Nanagi's mind. A man without the power to fight in this world. Completely ordinary. He had a craftsman's single-mindedness, but that was all. From Nanagi's perspective, Hayato was just "a lucky guy."

In terms of strength, Hayato was certainly strong. He created all sorts of production items and was surrounded by powerful allies. It wasn't the kind of strength Nanagi sought, but he was undeniably strong. Yet, she felt he was dangerous in a way that went beyond that visible strength. When Amanda became so completely fixated on Hayato, it was beyond surprise, it was terrifying. She could now understand why players called Hayato the "NPC charmer."

She had tried to do something about it, but it was already too late. She had even concluded that it would be better to just capture him and present him to Amanda. However, as long as the superior AI Diite was protecting Hayato, it was impossible for Hypnos to kidnap him. No matter how powerful Ambrosia's members were, as simple AIs, they were only capable of fighting. They couldn't pull off something as delicate as a kidnapping.

There was a possibility that Amanda was considering some other plan, but Nanagi had reached a point where she no longer cared. She agreed with Amanda's goal of world domination and the world that would follow, but watching her actions so far had made her doubt if Amanda could really achieve it. She had thought Amanda was capable of it before meeting Hayato, but now she felt the probability had dropped to about fifty percent.

It seemed like Amanda would stop if Hayato asked her to. Apparently, she had refused him once, but who knew what would happen if he kept asking. Even if they won this event, Amanda might get soft in the end. In that case, she would do as she pleased as well. She would prioritize defeating Simon and Benitsuru. It wouldn't be so bad to die as a madwoman seeking strength.

This event would last for at least a week. How much stronger could she become in that time? Nanagi pondered this as she searched for Benitsuru and the others.

"Nanagicchi, found you!"

Benitsuru's voice reached Nanagi's ears. Through the Hannya mask, she watched Benitsuru. Her carefree, naive and innocent demeanor, unchanged from before, stirred a strange mix of warmth and irritation within her.

(She found me, an enemy, yet she approaches as if on a stroll without even taking a stance. I'm not even an enemy to her. She probably doesn't think that, but at the very least she doesn't consider me dangerous, and the thought of losing has never even crossed her mind... I see. I understand why the AI Hypnos gets so emotional.)

Nanagi recalled what Hypnos had said. "You see, Diite pities me. She thinks it's sad that I'm just a backup. She pities me from on high. How could I possibly forgive someone like that?"

(That's right. There's no reason to be pitied by another human from such a lofty position.)

They were in a forest surrounded by trees. The sounds of battle could be heard faintly in the distance. No one, friend or foe, approached Nanagi, who would cut down anyone who came near. So she had known Benitsuru was close by.

Suppressing the urge to attack immediately, Nanagi spoke.

"It's been a while."

"Ah, yeah, it's been a while since we met in person. Since we met in the prison? But you seem a lot calmer than back then."

Nanagi and her group had been locked in a prison in the Eastern Country. Benitsuru and Simon had visited them there once. Back then, Nanagi's memories hadn't returned. A demon possessed by strength, that was how the current Nanagi viewed her past self. Her feelings hadn't changed since then, but she was impressed with how much a person could change just from having a few memories altered.

"A lot has happened, and I've changed. But my desire to become stronger remains."

"Isn't that fine? Wanting to get stronger is important."

"You haven't changed, despite what was done to you. Or are you just putting on an act?"

"You mean the coup?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's not a bad thing for a strong person to be on top. That just happened because I was weak."

"Hoh..."

Nanagi was impressed. Back then, she and her group had coddled Benitsuru, turning her into their puppet. They had tried to pit her against Simon, whose differing ideology made her a nuisance, in order to silence her, but Hayato's group's intervention had foiled their plans completely. They had intended to mold her into an ignorant and selfish princess, but in just a few months of not seeing her, she had changed so much. The old Benitsuru would have blamed someone else, Nanagi thought, and would never have admitted her own weakness, not even if her mouth were torn open.

She felt a pang of guilt, thinking that if Benitsuru had just listened to Simon's nagging from the start, her life might have turned out differently. It was a feeling born from her restored memories, but she quickly shook her head, dismissing the thought as being too late.

"It seems Simon is suited to be a leader—oh right, she was a teacher, wasn't she?"

"Eh? Did you say something?"

"—Nothing. Come, we no longer need words, do we? To speak with our swords, that is the way of the samurai."

"That's so old-fashioned it's cringe! But, fine. It's true I was weak back then, but it's not like I don't hold a grudge. Time for some summary execution, something like that!"

In an instant, Benitsuru was in front of Nanagi. It was the Hand-to-Hand Combat skill Shukuchi, but Benitsuru already had her sword in hand. A high-speed horizontal slash came at Nanagi.

"Tch!"

Nanagi blocked by drawing her sword from its scabbard with her left hand. It was so sudden that she had drawn the sword with her left hand, in a reverse grip. Due to durability concerns, she would have preferred to dodge, but dodging that attack was impossible. So she blocked it by drawing her sword as quickly as she could.

This put them in a sword lock, but her stance was so unconventional that she couldn't put much force into it.

Nanagi used the slash skill "Flying Swallow." It was Nanagi's unique skill, received from the god Diite as a reward for the Clan War. A technique that could arbitrarily slash up to three times the equipped weapon's range. However, the slash was a physical object, nothing more than an invisible sword slash, and could be blocked by obstacles, preventing her from slashing an arbitrary location.

Kin, a high-pitched sound rang out. The pressure pushing against her sword in the lock vanished just before, and Benitsuru had blocked Flying Swallow with her own blade while retreating backward.

(A swordsman's intuition? Or did Simon tell her?) Simon knew the trick behind Flying Swallow. It was possible she had blocked the attack based on that information. But Nanagi quickly discarded the thought. It didn't matter either way. It was more important to fight a strong enemy for even a second longer than to know the circumstances.

—But then, she looked at Benitsuru's sword and frowned.

"What is with that sword?"

"Hm? Oh, this? It's the famous sword Yatagarasu that Hayacchi made for me! Isn't it cool?"

"I know that. Why is it the lowest quality?"

Her first thought was that she was being looked down upon. That Benitsuru didn't even need to get serious. But given Benitsuru's personality, Nanagi didn't think she would do something like that.

"This is me!"

"...What are you talking about?"

"The appearance is respectable but the contents don't match, that's what Hayacchi said when he made this for me! It's a family heirloom now! A super heirloom!"

"That's quite the sarcastic remark. Normally, one would get angry being told that, you know?"

"I was a little annoyed at first, too. But, he promised to give me a highest quality famous sword Yatagarasu when my contents become respectable too."

Benitsuru swung her sword around with a happy yet embarrassed look on her face, as if remembering that time.

"What's there to be happy about? It doesn't change the fact that you're no good right now, does it?"

"Don't be silly. Hayacchi told me I can become respectable on the inside too. It means I still have room to grow! Geez, Hayacchi, you deserve a reward! Even though you're not here!"

"Is that the reason? But it might be a lie from Hayato. It's highly likely he just said something irresponsible on the spot."

Nanagi took this opportunity to try and mentally unbalance Benitsuru. Winning this way wouldn't mean she had gotten stronger, but the experience of winning, no matter the circumstances, would build confidence.

But it seemed that tactic wouldn't work on Benitsuru. She just looked at Nanagi with a puzzled expression.

"There's no way Hayacchi would lie like that, right?"

Her face showed her complete and utter belief that Hayato wouldn't lie. Normally, if someone had even a shred of doubt, they would deny it emotionally, saying it out loud to convince themselves it wasn't a lie. Benitsuru had none of that. Her attitude was more like, 'What is this person even saying?'

Once again, Nanagi felt a sense of fear towards Hayato. Despite having been deceived by an adult like herself, Benitsuru had no doubt in the words of another adult, Hayato. After everything that had happened, it would have been normal for someone her age to be more jaded, yet she was still pure. The fact that Hayato had saved Benitsuru and the others probably played a part, but she believed from the bottom of her heart that Hayato wouldn't lie.

And what was even scarier was that Nanagi herself had thought, 'Hayato wouldn't lie about something like that.'

(He really is terrifying. I haven't even been around him that long, yet I also thought Hayato wouldn't tell such a lie. As long as Hayato is involved, it feels like I can't win any fight in this virtual reality. Should I think of a way to prevent him from logging in...?)

If she could log out herself, that might be possible, but unfortunately, even after regaining her memories, she couldn't log out now. And even if she could, her real-world self was frail. It might be possible using other players, but she didn't think anyone would believe the words of a mere NPC. And she had tried several times, but some of her words didn't seem to reach the players.

(It's probably words related to reality that don't get through. Even if Amanda and Hypnos have some control over the spaceship, various restrictions remain... But it's strange. Why are there restrictions on the side that has their memories back? And those near Hayato who have their memories back were having conversations about reality, weren't they...?)

For better or worse, various restrictions remained. Not just for Hayato's side, but for Nanagi's as well. She had heard that Hypnos had set up various things, but now that itself seemed suspicious. Hypnos, who passed on information and tried to kidnap Hayato, with actions that made it unclear if he was friend or foe, was already not an ally in Nanagi's mind.

(He must have his own objective. Should I investigate that first...?)

"Nanagicchi, are you done yet?"

Benitsuru's voice brought Nanagi back to her senses. She had been standing there defenseless, lost in thought. It was her own carelessness, but still, her evaluation of Benitsuru dropped.

"You're quite composed. Does this mean you can beat someone like me anytime?"

It would be easy for Benitsuru to cut down an opponent who was just standing there spacing out. The fact that she didn't and instead called out to Nanagi already felt like she was being looked down upon.

"I probably could win, but there's no meaning in that."

"No meaning?"

"It's fine to win with a surprise attack, but if you want to break your opponent's spirit, you have to show them the difference in power first."

"So you're going to carve it into my heart that I can never win."

"There's that, but you and I, Nanagicchi, also have a master and disciple relationship. A master must always break their disciple's spirit!"

It was a logic she couldn't comprehend, but Benitsuru was the successor to the Azuma-ryu sword style. It was highly likely she had been raised that way. Nanagi remembered. Benitsuru was still in her late teens, yet she had mastered the Azuma-ryu sword style. That was why, in the past, she had bowed her head and asked Benitsuru to teach her swordsmanship in this world.

There are many talented people in the world. But unlike in a game, even if you have a talent for something, you don't know what that talent is. The only way to find out if you have talent is through hard work. Benitsuru had a talent for the sword. But it wasn't something she had obtained without effort. She must have endured grueling training over and over since she was much younger. Even a genetically enhanced human like Amanda was who she was today because she had been drilled with studies from childhood.

If asked if she herself had put in that much effort, the answer was no. It was only natural that she would lose. Nanagi took a deep breath in, and then out. It might be a meaningless act in a virtual reality, but it was a ritual to calm her mind.

(In this world, there are no physical handicaps. The only thing that matters is the power of thought. I must erase all unnecessary thoughts from my mind and sharpen it.)

Nanagi raised her sword straight in front of her. Benitsuru, wary of this, raised her sword in a similar stance.

The sounds of the surroundings faded away. Whether it was the tension emanating from the two that caused it, or if they were so focused they could no longer hear anything else, was unknown, but that small area became like a different world.

"Kieeeei!"

With a war cry, Nanagi lunged at Benitsuru. It was a straightforward, high-speed overhead slash with no tricks. With enough force to cut Benitsuru and her sword clean in two.

But Benitsuru brushed Nanagi's blade with the tip of her own, and the full-force overhead slash passed just to Benitsuru's right and stabbed into the ground. Had she changed the sword's trajectory, or had Benitsuru dodged? Before Nanagi could process it, Benitsuru's sword struck her, and she fell to the ground.

"That was your best overhead slash yet. But if you want to cut me, you'll have to be twice as fast. I'll be looking forward to tomorrow."

(She's so far away... But I don't need these pointless thoughts anymore. If I have time to think about such things, I should be swinging my sword one more time—But, looking forward to tomorrow, huh. How she looks down on me.)

Nanagi immediately vanished from the battlefield. At the same time, the members of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords also disappeared. And just after Benitsuru sheathed her sword, cheers erupted from Mist's Mansion, and with a song, the music skill "Requiem" was activated.