kscans

Chapter 501 - Imperial Knight Commander vs. Remnants of the Demon Lord's Army

The event venue hosted by the clan "Fight☆Club" was in a state of utter chaos.

It was supposed to be a PvP-focused event, but just a moment ago, the famous singing clan "The Whale That Drinks the Moon and Its Merry Friends" had crashed it, and other surprises had led to an increase in the number of people who came to watch in person instead of on the stream.

And now, an Imperial Army invasion event, likely the first of its kind in the game, had begun. The Imperial Army Knight Commander had arrived on an airship. And it came with a world announcement. In other words, it was an official AFO event.

Most people were thinking, "What’s that event?" but Parfait and her friends were also tilting their heads, thinking, "What’s going on?" That was because the Imperial Army Knight Commander was Abel’s mother, Cecil.

They knew Cecil played AFO, and they also knew she was in the same clan as Esha and Noat. But just like with Noat, The Whale That Drinks the Moon, they had never expected her to log in at this timing.

Rick had asked Ash and Ren through Abel if they could participate. And he had received a reply that they couldn’t due to their schedules. With that in mind, something clicked for Parfait.

"Could it be that Abel-kun asked her to come in place of Ash-san and Instructor Ren?"

Chris nodded at Parfait’s murmur.

"Abel didn’t say anything to me, so I don’t think he asked. It’s possible that Cecil-san heard about it and came on her own accord. She did just say something to the effect of, ‘So this is the venue Abel was talking about.’"

"That’s nice of her. But I’ve heard she’s strong, I wonder how strong she is."

"I don’t know for sure, as there are no videos of her, but I’ve heard that Cecil-san is quite strong. My mother told me about her before."

"Oh, really?"

Cecil was originally an all-around athlete who excelled at all kinds of sports. Now, she worked as a female stunt person at the talent agency "Dragon Soul," and she also did scouting.

She had less work than Ash and Ren, but she was a renowned stunt person who livened up movies with unbelievable moves that made people wonder if a human could really move like that. In an age where almost indistinguishable CG could be created, doing it with a live person was refreshingly popular.

Such a highly-regarded Cecil was on stage with a vicious smile, taunting the crowd with, "Come on, bring it on!"

No one knew what the right thing to do was. As everyone on site waited for someone to make the first move, Xenobia, who was next to Parfait, said, "Well then, I’ll go," and walked towards the stage.

"Huh? W-wait, Xenobia-san?"

"I’ll be right back. She’s just the right level of strength."

As Xenobia walked onto the stage with a light gait, Cecil’s expression turned to surprise. "Whoa, Xenobia?"

And immediately after, a world announcement echoed.

"A remnant of the Demon Lord’s Army, the Demonfolk ‘Swift as Lightning,’ has joined the battle. I repeat—"

The players all looked at Xenobia on the stage with a "Huh?" expression. The Imperial Army invasion event was one thing, but what was this about a remnant of the Demon Lord’s Army? The information overload only added to the confusion.

Xenobia was on stage, swinging her arms and legs around as if warming up, when Cecil laughed with her hands behind her head.

"Well, this is a surprise. You were here?"

"Rick-kun called me… Oh, wait, no. Lunaria-chan told me to come out, I think."

"Lunaria’s still the same as ever. By the way, I don’t know much about this, but I just need to stand out, right?"

"That’s right. So I’ll fight you. And besides, I thought I’d take this chance to pay you back for last time."

"Pay me back? Oh, you mean during the Clan War. Esha and Noat were backing me up then, so I can’t really say it was my win."

"A loss is still a loss."

"I see, I see. Then shall we settle this after a hundred and twenty years!"

"I’d like nothing more."

It was unclear if the other players heard them, but at least Parfait and her group did.

Parfait and her friends couldn’t imagine it, but before they went into cold sleep on the spaceship Aphrodite, there was an event called the Clan War, and Cecil and Xenobia had fought there.

At that time, Esha had blown away Lunaria and Ivan with the ultra-wide-range annihilation magic, Destroy. She said it was part of a plan, but Parfait was a little suspicious.

There was a battle between the remaining clan members after that, and Cecil had won that time. However, the Clan War was a team battle, so it was hard to say if she could have won in a one-on-one fight.

(I know that Benny-shishou and Simon-sensei are strong because I’ve seen it firsthand, but is Cecil-san just as strong?)

After what happened on Cat Island and making a friend like Kazatoki who was as strong as her, she had come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t strange. Because of that, she had become more interested in strength. Ronios had also once said that Benitsuru was even stronger when she was Parfait’s age.

She hadn’t been able to beat Surya, whom she had fought on Cat Island, in terms of AFO’s in-game strength. She was a little excited to see what it would be like when people from the same generation as Surya, Benitsuru, and Simon fought each other.

A dome for PvP matches was deployed on the stage.

The combat format was virtual. A game-based PvP match that used the AFO system as is. Parfait and everyone else leaned forward, staring at the stage, wondering what kind of fight it would be.

Immediately after the start, Xenobia instantly moved in front of Cecil. And she aimed a punch wreathed in flames at her body.

Despite the swift attack, Cecil held the hilt of the sword at her waist with her left hand in a reverse grip, drew the sword, and blocked Xenobia’s fist with the hilt, deflecting it to the right.

Xenobia used the force of the deflected punch to pivot on her right foot and unleash a high-speed spinning back kick with her left leg.

Cecil ducked under it and then aimed a horizontal kick at Xenobia’s right leg, trying to sweep it out from under her.

Xenobia evaded into the air before her leg could be swept and put some distance between them with a backflip.

Cecil wasn’t one to just stand by and watch. She threw both of the swords she was holding in each hand at Xenobia’s landing point. Then she drew the sword on her back and closed the distance.

As soon as she landed, Xenobia knocked down both of the thrown swords with her right foot. Standing on her left leg alone, she prepared to face Cecil.

"Not bad!"

"I think it’s more amazing that you don’t feel rusty at all."

An intense exchange began immediately after. The interval between the clashes of their weapons was unusually short, and neither of them landed a clean hit. Moreover, they seemed to be using a lot of weapon skills, as fire and lightning attacks were being unleashed from both sides, making for a very flashy battle.

Parfait and Chris could follow the high-speed exchange, but Natsu, Ginny, and Cynthia could barely see it. Most of the other players also didn’t know what was happening.

However, they could tell that something amazing was happening, as the event venue was filled with thunderous cheers.

"I know you don’t get tired in virtual reality, but is it really possible to move like that?"

Parfait also groaned, "Uuuh," at Chris’s question.

"I think Benny-shishou and Simon-sensei could do it, but I don’t think I could."

It wasn’t a level where you could think and then move. It was a level where your body had to move before you even thought about moving, and it was like they were fighting on pure reflex. And they were adding effective weapon skills to their attacks on top of that, so honestly, Parfait’s impression was that she didn’t understand what was happening.

Five minutes passed, and just as she started to wonder if the match would ever end, there was a move.

"Ah!"

By the time Parfait noticed, it was already too late. Cecil had been launched into the air by Xenobia’s uppercut.

"Whoa! C-crap!"

Xenobia used the hand-to-hand combat instant movement skill, "Shukuchi," to chase after Cecil in the air. Appearing in front of Cecil in mid-air, Xenobia unleashed a furious barrage of attacks.

Weapon skills that normally had a cool-down time and couldn’t be used consecutively could be used continuously by Xenobia as long as certain conditions were met, thanks to a special skill she possessed.

Cecil also tried to counterattack while adjusting her posture in mid-air, but she was at a clear disadvantage, and the damage gradually accumulated.

"Today is my win."

"Damn it! I won’t forget this!"

Xenobia unleashed the wind-attribute attack, Gale Kick, in mid-air. Cecil blocked the attack, but the knockback attribute of the attack sent her flying violently into the wall of the PvP dome. That became the final damage, and Cecil’s HP ran out, settling the match.

However, as a result, the dome shattered like glass at the same time the match was decided.

The flashy special effects sent the players’ cheers to their peak. Cecil’s body was sent flying out of the stage to the ground, but she then faded away, and the airship that had been in the sky flew off somewhere.

"The Imperial Army Knight Commander has been repelled. A commemorative item will be awarded to the participants. I repeat—"

They hadn’t done anything in particular, but for some reason, the players were happy to receive a commemorative item. Parfait thought, "That was amazing," and looked inside her item bag.

"A Weapon Exchange Ticket?"

It was an item that could be exchanged for weapons from the Imperial Army Knight Commander’s collection, and the description said that the better the item, the more tickets were required.

"Cecil-chan is a weapon collector, you know."

Xenobia, who had returned from the stage at some point, said that upon seeing the Weapon Exchange Tickets that Parfait and her friends were holding.

"Ah, Xenobia-san, good work. You were amazing."

Parfait said that from the bottom of her heart. There was no way that the current Parfait could win against her.

"Cecil-chan hasn’t logged in for a while. I’ve been working hard to get my instincts back recently, so that might have been the difference. But well, this time it’s my win."

Xenobia said that with a satisfied, smug look on her face.

Parfait thought, "I see," but she also thought that she was so strong that she didn’t know if that had anything to do with it.

"Well then, I’m going to go see Lunaria-chan. She looks like she’s getting excited and might try to get on stage."

"Huh?"

When Parfait looked over at Lunaria, she was shaking her body and trying to stand up. However, Rosalie was holding a scythe in her hand and desperately holding Lunaria’s shoulders down to keep her from getting out of her chair. And Rosalie was looking at Xenobia with teary eyes that could be seen as an SOS.

"She’s probably going to say that she’ll fight next, so I’m going to go talk her down. Well then, Parfait-chan, good luck with your PvP match. I’ve trained Kazatoki-chan quite a bit, so I think you’ll enjoy it."

Parfait was worried if it was okay to have a normal fight after a fight like that. "Please don’t raise the bar too high," she thought, looking at Xenobia with a slightly resentful expression, but she was also a little relieved that her fight wouldn’t stand out as much.