kscans

Chapter 395 - Demon Lord

Lunaria was on her knees, groaning as she clutched her head.

Amanda approached the defenseless Lunaria.

"I was surprised when I heard your scores were better than mine as a child. But you had a bad handler, didn’t you? He tried to make you his masterpiece with his own training methods, but he overdid it and ended up with that result."

Hayato noticed Xenobia, who was nearby, rush forward.

However, Xenobia couldn’t get close to Lunaria and Amanda. It seemed there was an invisible wall preventing her from going any further.

"Th, that’s cowardly! Lunaria-chan! Stay conscious!"

Some people can faint from the pain when their memories return. Xenobia called it cowardly to incorporate that into a battle.

But Amanda was unfazed.

"What’s wrong with being cowardly? I’d rather win using cowardly tactics than lose fighting fair and square. There are people who say you can gain something from losing, but only those who won’t die even if they lose can say that."

After saying that, Amanda seemed to realize something and smiled at Xenobia.

"Besides, we’re competing to see who becomes the Demon Lord right now, aren’t we? A Demon Lord would do this much, right?"

As if she couldn't hear her, Xenobia was pounding on the invisible wall, calling out to Lunaria to not pass out.

Hayato also went to the invisible wall and was about to cheer for Lunaria.

"...wait."

Immediately after, he heard a voice from Lunaria.

"Eh? Wait? I’m not going to wait, you know? It’s pathetic for a Demon Lord to beg for her life."

Amanda swung Durandal.

At that moment, Lunaria, who had been clutching her head with both hands, lifted her face while still on her knees.

Amanda leaped backward. She put an excessive amount of distance between herself and Lunaria with an expression of pure shock.

Seeing that, Hayato didn't understand what had happened for a moment. Xenobia was the same, her calls having stopped.

(Amanda-san's face isn't just surprised, that’s the face of someone who felt fear, isn't it? And I feel like it's hard to breathe, even though this is a virtual space…)

Amanda and Xenobia seemed to be the same, breathing heavily as if they were out of breath despite being in a virtual reality.

In this situation, Lunaria slowly stood up. With her hands still clutching her head and her long silver hair covering her face, Hayato couldn't see her expression. Only Amanda, who was in front of her, could probably see it.

"Lunaria, you…!"

That Amanda was readying her weapon against the unarmed Lunaria. Until now, her stance had been relaxed, but now she was on high alert, holding her weapon with both hands crossed.

"...wait."

Lunaria spoke again.

"It’s not ‘wait’… I couldn’t hear the first part clearly. What are you saying?"

Amanda asked, still on guard.

"Apologize!"

"...Eh?"

"Apologize to everyone! Apologize for saying such terrible things!"

There’s an expression about a pigeon being shot with a bean gun. Hayato had never seen a real bean gun or a pigeon, but he vaguely thought that he must be making such a face right now.

Amanda and Xenobia seemed to be the same, staring at Lunaria with dumbfounded expressions.

Hayato had heard the gist of the story. During the Clan War event when Ambrosia lost to Blackjack, Amanda had berated them, calling them "useless."

Lunaria had gotten angry at that and attacked Amanda, shouting "Apologize," only to be beaten.

"That’s the first thing you say after getting your memories back? There are other things you could say. What’s going on inside your head?"

"Whether I have my memories or not, I’ve lived in this world with everyone. The only problem is that Amanda insulted everyone. Apologize to them for that!"

"I don’t know if you’re pure or just stupid, but I’m not going to apologize. If you want me to apologize, you’ll have to beat me."

"That was my intention from the start. I’ll beat you until you apologize."

"To be able to say that while in enough pain to pass out, you’re quite something. But without your weapons, you have no chance of winning. Overclock."

Arondight and Excalibur were lying on the floor. Normally, when a weapon is dropped, it just returns to the item bag, but for some reason, they had left Lunaria’s hands.

They were right between Amanda and Lunaria, but Amanda used the super buff skill, Overclock, first to prevent Lunaria from getting them.

However, Lunaria showed no signs of panic and readied herself by lightly thrusting out both hands.

"There’s no way you can win bare-handed!"

At a high speed that Hayato could barely follow, Amanda closed in on Lunaria. Then she attacked with a thrust of her sword.

Hayato thought the sword had pierced Lunaria, but that wasn’t the case.

Lunaria dodged the attack by rotating to Amanda’s right side, grabbing and holding Amanda’s right arm. She then locked the joint and used her weight to slam Amanda to the ground.

Hayato was only able to understand it after the movement had stopped. It was so fast that the situation had changed before he could recognize what was happening.

Since Lunaria currently held all the territories, her stats were increased. Due to her STR, she could hold Amanda down, but that didn't mean she could move quickly.

In that situation, she had managed to capture Amanda, who was in an Overclock state.

"You’ve got to be kidding me!?"

"I’m not. This is Azuma-ryu taijutsu. No matter how fast you can move, you can’t move once you’re in this position."

"Don’t mess with me… eh?"

Amanda tried to struggle free, but Lunaria let go of the arm she had locked and stood up.

Furthermore, she didn’t pick up the fallen weapons and put some distance between herself and Amanda.

"I’m giving you a chance so you don’t think it was a fluke. If you think you can’t win, then apologize."

Amanda slowly stood up and glared at Lunaria.

"This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to kill someone…!"

"Is that so? I have never thought that, and I never will. But it’s true that I feel anger. I want to get rid of this emotion quickly, so apologize now."

"How can you say that after releasing such killing intent just now!"

Amanda closed in on Lunaria with a furious expression.

In contrast, Lunaria was calm. She deflected Amanda’s attacks with a blank expression, as if she no longer felt any pain.

Amanda’s movements defied the laws of physics. Normally, it should be difficult to block or dodge them, but Lunaria was handling the attacks with the bare minimum of movement.

"Lunaria-chan, that’s amazing…"

Xenobia muttered with a look of surprise.

"It’s too fast for me to see, but is it really that amazing?"

"Y, yeah. Lunaria-chan isn’t just dodging the attacks, she’s using her own attacks and feints to misdirect Amanda-chan’s attacks. Since the attacks are so much faster than her, it’s impossible to do that without accurately predicting where they’ll come from. In fact, it’s like Lunaria-chan is controlling Amanda-chan’s attacks…"

Even with that explanation, Hayato couldn’t understand it, but he could tell it was a considerable situation.

At the very least, Lunaria’s HP wasn’t decreasing. That was proof that Amanda’s sword, Durandal, and her throwing knives weren’t hitting.

Despite Amanda’s storm of attacks, Lunaria was dodging with slow movements. It might just look that way to Hayato, but if all those movements were calculated by Lunaria, then she must be quite formidable.

(So this is the real Lunaria-san. She didn't need Excalibur or anything. And it looks like she won't need to use the ring I prepared either.)

Excalibur was prepared so she could move faster than Amanda, but she was overwhelming Amanda in her Overclock state even without it.

"This is just like the saying, ‘A willow is not broken by the snow.’ No blizzard or storm can defeat me. You made a mistake. Restoring my memories was a bad move. The current me is a Super Demon Lord."

"Hah! With just defense, you can’t… guh!"

She might have been about to say "beat me," but before that, Lunaria’s punch hit Amanda’s stomach.

The damage from a bare-handed attack was low, but the impact caused Amanda to double over. In that opening, Lunaria crouched down and swept Amanda’s legs out from behind with one hand.

Perhaps because her posture was broken, Amanda did a full rotation in the air and fell flat on her back on the floor.

Lunaria looked down at Amanda with cold eyes, and Amanda looked up at Lunaria with eyes full of astonishment.

"This is an attack I learned from Cecil-chan and Ivan. I didn’t attack because I want you to apologize before your HP runs out, but I can do it if I want to."

Amanda immediately tried to sweep Lunaria’s legs with her own, but Lunaria dodged by doing a backflip.

Amanda also used the momentum of her leg sweep and wind magic to regain her posture and create distance.

Amanda was breathing heavily, while Lunaria acted as if she hadn't done anything particularly difficult.

(She's overwhelming her. She won't lose now, but…)

Hayato felt a bit conflicted. He was definitely on Lunaria’s side, but he didn’t think badly of Amanda either. He couldn't sympathize with her goals or methods, but he didn't think she was evil either. The best outcome would be for them to reconcile, but he watched the situation, thinking that would be impossible.

"Are you going to continue?"

When Lunaria asked, Amanda let out a deep breath and then laughed.

"Of course. You think you’ve already won?"

"I won years ago. There’s no reason why you, all alone without any comrades, can beat me."

"...You might be right about that."

When Amanda muttered that, everyone looked at her with a face that said, "Eh?"

Amanda, who usually had a mocking smile on her face, had an unusually calm expression.

"But you know, even someone like me has found comrades who will scheme with me. Sorry, but I’m not alone anymore."

"...I wish you had felt that way about the members of Ambrosia."

"That’s impossible. The clan members back then weren’t comrades. To begin with, back then I was only thinking about how to get revenge on the research institute, the Foundation, so I was just using them as pawns."

"...Pawns."

"I thought I could get some sympathy from you. You remember, don’t you, about that research institute. I just used others to get my revenge on that place. Is revenge a bad thing?"

"I’m not telling you to apologize for your revenge. I’m telling you to apologize for using others and for insulting everyone."

"Ah, I didn’t phrase that well. I don’t think using others is a bad thing either. And I don’t think it was wrong to tell useless people that they were useless. More importantly, how about it? Why don’t you join me in getting revenge on the research institute and the Foundation, even now?"

Hayato was surprised by Amanda’s proposal, but Lunaria immediately shook her head.

"I don’t care about the research institute or the Foundation. I just remembered, but I’m going to forget it again. All I need now is this place where everyone is."

"There’s no way you can forget something, you know. Oh well, negotiations have broken down."

After saying that, Amanda glanced at Hayato.

(There it is again. We’ve been making eye contact every now and then… ?)

Hayato thought, but Amanda quickly averted her gaze.

"I can’t use Overclock anymore. Now, what should I do?"

The effect time had run out, but for some reason, Amanda acted as if she had plenty of leeway. Hayato wondered if she had a trump card. Lunaria seemed to think the same, as she didn’t let her guard down.

"By the way, is it okay if you don’t get serious? If you do that, you’ll miss your chance to win again. Back then, if you had abandoned Xenobia, you might have been able to beat me."

"A Demon Lord doesn’t win like that. A Demon Lord wins with overwhelming strength."

"I don’t care about your Demon Lord theory, but it’s meaningless if you lose because of it."

"Even if a Demon Lord loses, they transform, so it’s fine."

"Is that so."

Amanda suddenly threw a knife at Lunaria.

Lunaria stopped the knife by catching it between her index and middle fingers, just like in a manga.

"An attack like this won’t work on a Demon Lord…"

Why did she throw the knife? Everyone thought it was to close the distance, but that wasn’t it. Amanda was picking up Arondight and Excalibur from the floor.

"Let me tell you, that’s my exclusive equipment…"

"I have limited administrator privileges right now. I can equip it, ignoring the ownership rights."

Amanda held Arondight in her right hand and Excalibur in her left.

"Now, for round two. You’ll regret holding back. Black Swan, White Lightning."

Amanda activated the weapon-exclusive skills.

She used weapon skills that normally couldn’t be used until landing a hit on a strong enemy without any restrictions. And Amanda closed in at a speed that couldn't be compared to Overclock.

Lunaria handled the attack without panic, but she couldn’t keep up her defense against the faster attack. Especially during the skill, the sword’s trajectory being dyed white or black was extremely distracting in a one-on-one fight.

Although there were no clean hits, Lunaria’s HP slowly began to decrease.

"Lunaria-san!"

Forgetting that he had been sympathetic to Amanda until just a moment ago, Hayato shouted.

At his voice, Amanda’s body stiffened slightly, but it was only for a moment. She immediately launched an attack at Lunaria.

"Eh?"

Amanda let out a surprised voice.

Lunaria had used the hand-to-hand combat skill "Blade Catch" to block Arondight’s attack.

Lunaria, who didn’t have hand-to-hand combat skills, could use Blade Catch thanks to the benefit of her Demon Lord Skill. It was a unique skill exclusive to the Demon Lord that allowed her to use any combat skill, just like the Hero Skill.

Amanda must have wondered why Lunaria, who should have been able to dodge the attack with her own physical abilities, would do such a thing. That moment of hesitation was fatal.

Lunaria immediately switched her equipment to the ring and bracelet she had received from Hayato.

That equipment was just a ring and bracelet that raised the Stealing Skill.

Both raised the Stealing Skill by 40, but there was a limit that skills could only be raised up to 50 with equipment. So, Lunaria’s current Stealing Skill was raised to 50.

Lunaria immediately used the Steal skill.

Using the Steal skill during Blade Catch to steal the opponent’s weapon was a skill combo. Hayato had had his AI Killer stolen by Diite in a battle, and he had taught it to Lunaria.

The success of Steal depended on the value of the Stealing Skill. Her current skill was 50, so it was a 50% chance.

But Lunaria hit the mark as if it were a matter of course.

Lunaria snatched Arondight back from Amanda’s hand.

"What was that!?"

Confused, Amanda immediately distanced herself. In that time, Lunaria equipped Arondight.

"This is a skill combo I learned from Hayato-san. I temporarily raised my Stealing Skill with this ring and bracelet."

Lunaria showed the ring and bracelet to Amanda before unequipping them and putting them in her item bag. Then she nodded at the returned Arondight.

"Arondight is also saying it prefers me."

Lunaria said with a smile, then turned a serious face to Amanda, pointing the tip of Arondight at her.

"This is the last time. Apologize to everyone."

"...Eh? Ah… I’d rather die."

"Then fine. I’ll apologize to everyone on your behalf."

Lunaria used Shukuchi from her Demon Lord Skill to close in on Amanda. Then she attacked Amanda. She ended up in a sword lock with the Excalibur Amanda was holding.

"This child has recognized you as a strong enemy. You shouldn’t expect me to hold back any longer."

"I never said a word about you holding back."

"Then, from here on, I’m going all out. You’re not ready to be a Demon Lord yet. You need to study more about being a Demon Lord. Black Swan."

With those words as a signal, a fierce battle began.

But it was one-sided. Lunaria’s Arondight slipped past Amanda’s defense and piled on the attacks.

Amanda, who was using White Lightning, could move at almost the same speed as Lunaria. But her defense couldn’t keep up.

Hayato found the situation strange.

(Why isn’t Amanda-san using Durandal? Because she can’t use Overclock? But I think she could manage if she focused on defense… It only takes a moment to switch equipment, so why?)

Amanda was blocking Lunaria’s attacks with Excalibur. Not just blocking, but attacking as well.

Durandal was a weapon with infinite durability. It was a cheat-level piece of equipment that could withstand endless attacks. By focusing on defense, it could reduce the opponent’s weapon durability, making it incredibly strong in one-on-one fights.

But Amanda was fighting with Excalibur.

There was the demerit that she couldn't use White Lightning if she changed her equipment, but Hayato thought she should be able to handle Lunaria’s attacks if she focused on defense with Durandal.

As he was thinking this, the black trajectory of Arondight gradually painted over the white trajectory of the Excalibur wielded by Amanda.

Amanda’s expression was pained.

A few seconds later, Lunaria’s attack landed a clean hit on Amanda.

There would be no pain, but the impact of the attack broke her posture, and she staggered backward.

"Amanda-san!"

Hayato shouted Amanda’s name.

Amanda, who had been glancing at Hayato from time to time, now stared at him. And a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Immediately after, Lunaria’s piercing attack assaulted Amanda. Amanda must have thought she wouldn’t make it with Excalibur, because she aimed for a mutual strike with a left-hand knife-hand strike.

Both attacks landed at almost the same time.

But only Amanda was sent flying to the wall.

Amanda was still standing, but she slowly fell to her knees as her strength left her. Then she fell face down.

The entire time she was falling, Amanda was staring at Hayato. To Hayato, her calm gaze seemed to want to say something.

At the same time as the attack, the invisible wall disappeared, and Xenobia rushed over to Lunaria.

Lunaria had a puzzled look on her face as she rubbed the spot where Amanda’s knife-hand had hit, tilting her head.

That was also concerning, but Hayato rushed over to Amanda.

"Amanda-san."

He called out, but she didn't react. And her body gradually began to turn transparent.

"...Eh?"

Hayato noticed a ring on Amanda’s finger. It was the Stealing Skill-raising ring that he should have given to Lunaria.

Hayato opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Amanda quietly disappeared.