“What?!”
The flames that swept through the dungeon incinerated nearly half of the vampires and Defectives.
Scheherazade cried out in shock at the sudden event. Seizing that moment as an opportunity, I ran up the wall alongside the flames gusting past me and unleashed my “trump card.”
“――【Iron Rose (Ability)】――”
My pinkish-gold hair transformed into a burning, steely ash-grey. As particles of light trailed from my magic-filled body like a comet, I slashed Scheherazade’s face with my Black Knife, taking advantage of her momentary distraction by the flames.
“Guaaah!?”
Scheherazade screamed and retreated, both her eyes slashed in an instant. Even for a vampire who doesn’t feel pain, a slash to the skull would send a shock to the brain.
Should I press the attack here? No. Although I’ve caught up in combat power by using Iron Rose, she managed to instinctively evade a second strike even with her eyes and brain crushed. In that case, to ensure victory, I’ll crush her limbs first.
【Aria (Alicia)】【Race: Human ♀】【Rank 4】
【Mana: 185/330】【Stamina: 157/260】
【Strength: 10 (22)】【Endurance: 10 (22)】【Agility: 17 (36)】【Dexterity: 9 (10)】
【Total Combat Power: 1497 (Special Physical Enhancement Active: 2797)】
【Battle Art: Iron Rose /Limit 185 Seconds】
“Gah!?”
With a flash of my knife, I lopped off the head of a vampire that had escaped the flames, though it was half-charred.
I had no use for the Defectives engulfed in flames, who only possessed human-level regeneration. Dashing at over three times normal human speed, I slit the throat of a Defective who had escaped the baptism of fire with my Scythe Blade Type Pendulum, and then crushed the crown of a wide-eyed vampire behind it with the pendulum’s weight.
All this in mere seconds. The low-rank vampires, now turned beasts, and the Rank 3 Defectives finally attempted to evade, but it was too late.
I lunged forward at more than twice their speed. The tip of the dagger, thrown with strength surpassing a vampire’s, shattered the Magic Stone in the vampire’s heart. Then, with an upward back kick, my heel crushed the skull of a Defective attacking from behind.
My whirling Slashing Type Pendulum sliced halfway through the neck of a Defective that carelessly approached. I then wrapped the Pendulum’s Thread around the neck of the last vampire, which pounced as if to crush me, and pulled it towards me instead.
The lips of the vampire, now a beast, twisted into what looked like a smile as its prey came closer on its own. I parried the claws of its lunging arms with my knife and dagger, then used the momentum to deliver a knee kick that caved in the vampire’s face.
Still, the vampire didn’t fall. But as it reeled back, its throat exposed, I plunged my knife into it, aiming for the gap in its cervical vertebrae, and severed its head.
The vampire’s body collapsed, spewing blood. Amidst the bloody mist, in the corner of my vision, a white dress and black hair swayed as if laughing, then vanished deep into the passage.
“You baaaaastard!!”
Scheherazade, her eyeballs regenerated, launched a kick at me, her face bloodied.
Clang!!
I instantly blocked her Made of Magic Steel heel with the blade on my own heel. Simultaneously, as I pulled my leg back, we both kicked with our opposite legs. Thud!! Our knees collided, and the mana from both of us made the air tremble.
“What did you do?!”
“Who knows?”
There’s no way I could understand what that person was thinking.
Exchanging words as well, we put strength into our knees and each took a step back. This time, instead of blocking Scheherazade’s immediate sweeping kick, I parried it by kicking upwards with my shin.
By unleashing Iron Rose, our combat power is now almost equal. My Agility stat has increased, making me faster, but vampires have regenerative abilities, so I’ll lose if this becomes a battle of attrition.
Besides, I can only use Iron Rose for a few dozen more seconds. In that case, I’ll throw caution to the wind and drain all of Scheherazade’s stamina right here!
“”Haaah!!””
We both let out spirited cries as our techniques clashed.
My opponent was a higher Rank 5. If we traded blows directly, I’d be at a disadvantage. Moreover, she was a high-ranking vampire; a frontal melee engagement would normally be nothing short of suicide.
But I deliberately took a step forward!
“—Hk!”
Scheherazade took a step back, and I pressed forward even further, blocking her right-legged kick with the back of my left gauntlet.
Just as you exposed my hand by leaving those twins to die, I too have been watching how you fight. Your reliance on kicks is likely to leverage your speed and vampiric strength, but conversely, your small body is far too light for your Strength stat.
Kicks, like spears, lose half their power if the opponent gets in close. Even her monstrous Strength, which I should be wary of, was no longer something I couldn’t handle with Iron Rose and my Level 5 Martial Arts.
“Don’t underestimate me, little girl!!”
With that scream, the wings made of Blood Magic vanished, and her legs were covered in greaves made of reddish-black blood. If this was Scheherazade’s trump card, its power was likely enough to kill me. But—
Gwoh! The kick, roaring with power, landed, and my side and ribs creaked as I blocked it.
Swallowing the blood I coughed up, I used the momentum to spin and slammed the pommel of my Black Knife into Scheherazade’s temple.
“”—Hk!!””
We tumbled down, entangled. I ended up mounted on top of Scheherazade, who was on her back. As I raised my Black Dagger, Scheherazade, her face contorted into a beastly expression, bared her fangs and stretched out her arms to bite my throat.
Ignoring that, I slammed the dagger into her forehead. But a vampire wouldn’t perish from something like that.
With the dagger still piercing her brow, Scheherazade choked me with both hands. Hearing the bones in my own neck creak, I let out a kiai, as if expelling my held breath.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
I pulled out the Black Dagger and stabbed it into Scheherazade’s face again, and then a third time.
As I brandished the blade with a clear mind, a look of terror began to surface on Scheherazade’s impaled face.
My doubled Strength and Agility, my Endurance that withstood the overload, and my slightly increased Dexterity combined. The overwhelming barrage of blades, unleashed in a single breath, finally reached the very source of Scheherazade’s life.
“Damn yooouuu!!”
Scheherazade let out a cry of resentment.
I understood your feelings—your desire to avenge your comrades, staking everything on this battle. But I, too, have reasons I cannot lose… a “reason to return.”
That’s why you will die here.
The true value of the Battle Art 【Iron Rose】 isn’t its immense power or speed.
Its essence lies in the sheer violence of its power—doubling all the stats I’ve painstakingly trained up: mana, stamina, everything, thereby drastically increasing my combat power itself.
Exposed to that barrage of violence, Scheherazade’s head burst open, spraying dark blood behind her. I delivered the finishing blow by thrusting my blade into the heart of Scheherazade, whose brain was now completely pulverized.
With muscles trembling from overuse, I pried Scheherazade’s hands from my neck and stood up. I looked into the darkness of the passage, as if searching for “that girl” who had suddenly intervened in the fight and then vanished.
“Are you here…?”
Recalling the smile of that girl whose thoughts I couldn’t fathom, I started walking deeper into the dungeon, still wounded.
【Aria (Alicia)】【Race: Human ♀】【Rank 4】
【Mana: 53/340】(+10)【Stamina: 76/270】(+10)
【Strength: 10 (14)】【Endurance: 10 (14)】【Agility: 17 (24)】【Dexterity: 9】
【Dagger Technique Lv.4】【Martial Arts Lv.5】【Throwing Lv.4】
【Archery Lv.2】【Defense Lv.4】【Thread Manipulation Lv.4】
【Light Magic Lv.4】【Dark Magic Lv.4】【Non-Attribute Magic Lv.5】(+1)
【Utility Magic x6】【Mana Control Lv.5】【Intimidation Lv.5】
【Stealth Lv.4】【Night Vision Lv.2】【Detection Lv.4】
【Poison Resistance Lv.3】【Abnormal Status Resistance Lv.3】(+1)
【Simple Appraisal】
【Total Combat Power: 1566 (Physical Enhancement Active: 1934)】(+69)
Several days had passed since the “Ceremony of Selection” to decide the king began, and a number of warriors had already died in clashes between clans or in ambushes.
Amidst this, a certain rumor began to circulate.
Not only warriors separated from their clan’s main forces and assassination squads, but even supply units were being attacked, their corpses left exposed as if to make a spectacle of their brutal deaths.
“It happened again… Which clan is it?”
“It’s not ours, at least… but in this state, it’s hard to tell.”
The Gouma Clan Chief Dowhill’s commando unit discovered the still warm (・・) corpses, and a man who examined one of them shook his head.
The whispered “rumor” was about an “enemy entity” that attacked humans. The reason they didn’t think it was an enemy unit dispatched by another clan was the state of their deaths. All the corpses had been burned by intense flames, turned into charcoal, their identities unrecognizable.
“Are there any Monsters on this floor that breathe fire?”
“Around here, it’d be Hellhounds, I suppose. But Hellhounds wouldn’t…”
When the man looked up, the members of the commando unit looked down the passage and grimaced.
The walls and ceiling of this wide and tall passage were all scorched black as far as the eye could see. The number of corpses was fewer than ten, but because they were all charred, it was hard to tell if even that count was accurate.
The severity of the damage was the reason they couldn’t identify the enemy entity.
A high-rank Magician might be able to do the same, but could they secure enough magical power to burn such a wide area?
If they brought a dozen or so Magicians, they might be able to achieve the same, but there would be no point in doing so. If someone could do it alone, on this continent, it would likely only be the current Evil Lord.
That said, they couldn’t conclude it was a Monster either.
The Hellhounds in this labyrinth are giant dog-like Monsters called the Hounds of Hell, and while they do breathe fire, they couldn’t have caused this much destruction.
Could it be an unconfirmed superior species, like a Cerberus? Looking at the passage and corpses, which seemed as if they’d been scorched by a dragon’s breath, the members of the commando unit gulped, their tension rising.
“We’re moving out.”
“Understood.”
Considering the residual heat from the burned corpses and walls, the enemy entity must have left less than an hour ago. Considering the danger of encountering it, just as they were about to leave this place—
FWOOSH!!
“——!?”
Suddenly, infernal flames erupted from the depths of the passage, engulfing the commando unit. As its members collapsed, transformed into living torches uttering silent screams, a black-haired girl in a white dress emerged from the back of the passage. Her eyes, ringed with terrible dark circles, narrowed as she offered a cheerful smile.
“I do apologize, but that way was a dead end… Would you mind moving aside?”
Addressing them, already corpses, Karla crushed the unfortunate, charred remains of the commando unit underfoot as she passed silently through the passage.
Several days had passed since Karla had arrived in this land using spatial transfer magic.
Since she could use teleportation, she would return to her mansion when she felt sleepy, but she hadn’t returned once since entering this labyrinth.
Karla’s complexion, as she walked through the swirling ashes of burnt people, was so terrible she looked like a corpse, yet a smile played on her lips. The Monsters fled from the Intimidation she exuded.
“…Fufu.”
Karla smiled faintly, as if reminiscing. She had met the person she was looking for. She had no intention of helping “her” return, but if “she” were to be killed by some half-baked vampire or the like, Karla had even considered burning them all together.
The flames she had unleashed at that time were meant to burn “her” along with everything else. But “she,” whether unconsciously or intentionally, had dodged out of the fire’s path the moment it was released and used it as a means to counterattack.
“She” will become even stronger—
Strong enough to kill me… And then—
SHIIIING!
Suddenly, steel arrows rained down, piercing the ground at Karla’s feet as she leaped away, expelling magical power.
“——【Lightning(ライトニング)】——”
“——【Ice Lance(アイスランス)】——”
Karla unleashed Lightning from mid-air, which was countered and neutralized by the attacker’s ice.
A group clad in black emerged from the passage and shadows. As if seeping out from the darkness deeper within, an old man, covered in wrinkles, who had cast 【Ice Lance】, looked at Karla, a smile forming only on his lips.
“My name is Elgrim… Are you the Monster causing mischief, little missy?”
Elder Elgrim of the Mage Clan. The leader of a clan among the Evil Race specializing in assassination unleashed a dense Killing Intent, and upon receiving it, a wide smile spread across Karla’s face.
“She” will become stronger here too.
And Karla, too, will obtain strength worthy of “her” here.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Scheherazade battle, conclusion.
Unfortunately, the battle with her wasn’t enough to reach Rank 5.
And so, the black-haired girl faces a rank-up.
Next time, Ceremony of Selection Part 6: Majin vs. Majin