“Surround him!”
“That tentacle has range!”
“Engage!”
With the spear warrior defeated, the remaining three warriors surrounded Nero.
Three Rank 4 warriors could fight a Rank 5 monster. However, if the opponent was an intelligent Mystic Beast, and a high-ranking Rank 5 at that, a single fatal blow was possible if they let their guard down.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
The heavy warrior raised his shield and shouted, drawing Nero’s attention. The moment Nero reacted, the two warriors with longswords and hand axes pounced simultaneously.
“GAAAAAAA!!”
“Guh!!”
Nero’s tentacle instantly reacted, colliding with the hand axe, and the hand axe warrior groaned, burned by the electricity.
“—【Stone Shot】—”
Before Nero could follow up, the heavy warrior cast Magic, and Nero dodged the fired Stone Shot. The longsword warrior, who had been waiting, swung down with all his might.
CLANG!!
A sound like striking metal echoed, and Nero and the longsword warrior simultaneously retreated.
“Grrr…”
Nero’s tentacle, which was growling lowly, had a slight cut.
Nero’s fur, possessing 【Slashing and Piercing Resistance】, could not be harmed by ordinary weapons. Nero’s tentacle, his weapon, had the strength of a whip made of metal fibers, easily breaking an iron sword upon collision.
Nero glared at the warrior who had damaged his tentacle, which he had strengthened with Mana. The longsword warrior, who had only managed to inflict a slight wound with his full-force blow, spat out, “Monster.”
“Aim for the eyes or the stomach!”
“Then… 【Fire Enchant】—”
Flames erupted from the hand axe warrior, using Fire Magic on his axe and longsword, causing flames to burst from the enchanted weapons.
Originally, this Magic was used against monsters with high regenerative abilities or Undead monsters. The attack power itself did not change significantly, but they thought it would be effective if 【Slashing and Piercing Resistance】 deflected their weapons.
Seeing this, the heavy warrior also threw away his low-powered short spear, pulled out a spare weapon, a steel mace, from his back, and cast 【Rock Skin】 on himself.
“GAAAA!!”
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
The hand axe warrior lunged at Nero, who roared threateningly. Nero’s tentacle deflected the axe from the side without receiving the blow, but a faint smell of burning hair spread.
At the same time, the heavy warrior charged at Nero with his shield raised. A heavy collision echoed, and Nero’s claws cracked the shield, but the heavy warrior did not flinch, slamming the mace into Nero and trying to restrain Nero’s movements as if grappling.
“Now!”
“TAAAAAAAAH!!”
As if waiting for that moment, the longsword warrior leaped out, thrusting a flame-wreathed blow from Nero’s front.
Among them, the longsword warrior boasted the greatest attack power, and the hand axe warrior and heavy warrior had been moving from the beginning to create an opening for him to attack.
But, at that moment—
“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
A wide-range of electricity was released from Nero’s two tentacles. Nero’s electricity used the Mana within his body and was released from his flesh itself. Using it as a discharge would reduce its power, but the Kuaal’s electricity was not originally meant for direct attacks.
“What!?”
The flames disappeared from the sword, and the longsword warrior groaned in astonishment.
Kuaals emitted something like electromagnetic waves that interfered with Magic. Even if it was Magic that had already been cast, it could be interfered with if the caster’s mind was responsible for maintaining the Magic structure.
But why hadn’t Nero used it from the beginning?
The reason was to make them underestimate Nero, a beast-type, as a mere monster… and.
“—【Iron Break】—!”
“Gah!?”
Jesha’s Two-Handed Axe, aiming for the moment of opening when the Magic was extinguished, slashed from behind, and the heavy warrior, his back cleaved through armor and all, collapsed in a spray of blood.
Nero did not let his guard down even against weaker opponents. He had learned from that “girl,” who, despite being Rank 3, had fearlessly fought on equal terms, the brilliance of life that humans emitted in extreme situations.
Nero had not let his guard down from the beginning, and like the three warriors, he had created an opening for them to attack by using himself as bait.
“—【Dancing Ripper】—!!”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The Combat Art released by Camille in the next moment tore apart the hand axe warrior, who had been stunned and frozen.
Camille and the others did not know Nero’s aim. They simply exploited the warriors’ carelessness, who had diverted their attention from Camille and the others, thinking that their threat level was lower than the Mystic Beast.
“GAAAA!!”
At the same time, Nero also tore apart the longsword warrior with his claws, finishing him off.
Camille and Jesha stiffened their faces with tension at the sight of Nero, dyed in blood in the midst of the bloody haze, but Nero snorted again and turned his gaze towards Serejula, who was still fighting.
“HAAAAAAA!!”
The estranged sisters clashed blades in the depths of the Dungeon.
Even Aishe’s swordsmanship, boasting Rank 5 in close combat, could not capture Serejula, who only had a close combat Skill Rank of 3, and she was being toyed with by acrobatic Martial Arts combined with Magic and the “grotesque chains” specialized for it.
“Damn you!!”
Aishe used her shield to block the chain made by connecting multiple Hidden Weapons with metal rings, and struck the chain with a lightning-like blow, cutting it apart. However, the severed parts of the chain scattered, and the Hidden Weapons attacked Aishe as if they had been released.
“What!?”
Aishe immediately jumped back, defending with her shield and using her sword to deflect them. But by that time, the “grotesque chains,” replenished with Hidden Weapons and returned to their original length, were swung by Serejula, who was dancing in the air with Wind Magic, and Aishe was blown away along with the shield she had instinctively received.
This was the skill and weapon of the “War Demon,” feared by countless enemies and allies on the battlefield.
She charged into enemy lines alone, discarded her damaged weapons to continue fighting alone, stole enemy weapons, picked up weapons from corpses, and combined them to use them in a single technique, defeating a thousand formidable enemies.
“…I didn’t intend to use it again.”
She had never used it since washing her hands of assassination and finally being able to live a quiet life, and had never even shown it to her beloved disciple, Aria.
The reason Serejula became interested in Aria’s Pendulum and helped with its production was because she sympathized with Aria, who had arrived at similar means as herself in the midst of extreme battles.
The only reason she picked up this weapon for killing again was to “scold her sister as a sister” whom she had once let go of, and she needed overwhelming power to do so.
“Lies, lies, lies, no, no, no!! There’s no way I can lose, how could I, who became strong for my sister, ever lose!!”
Aishe, driven into a corner by someone she did not recognize as her beloved “sister,” unleashed her Body Enhancement to the fullest and swung her Magic Steel longsword high.
“Vanish!! 【Vorpal Blade】—!!”
The five-hit combo of the Level 5 longsword Combat Art, 【Vorpal Blade】, attacked Serejula.
Normally, 【Combat Arts】 were techniques that could produce high power but had large openings, making their timing crucial.
To deliver the finishing blow. To hit for sure. It should not be used in any other situation, but even so, Aishe’s 【Vorpal Blade】, released with disregard for defense and without fear of self-destruction, had greater power than a normal 【Vorpal Blade】, even though the openings were large.
If Serejula could use Wind Magic, she might have been able to fly herself away and escape alive from that range. But Serejula dared to confront it head-on, raising her grotesque chains.
The Thread Manipulation Skill was not a combat technique but a general skill, and even with a whip-like weapon, there were no Combat Arts.
However, Serejula had a “Magical Technology” that made it possible.
“—【Holy Flame】—”
The Level 5 Fire Magic 【Holy Flame】—the sacred flame that burned away evil life force was a composite Magic with Light Magic, and contrary to its difficulty, its normal power was inferior to Level 4 Magic.
As a characteristic, this Magic could interfere with Mana, but by itself, it only had the effect of slightly reducing the Magic released by the enemy.
But—
“—【Blaze】—”
The moment Serejula chanted it, blazing 【Holy Flame】 enveloped her body.
This ‘Original Magic,’ which involved wearing existing magic, had also been taught to Aria, who similarly combined magic and close combat. However, it consumed a vast amount of Mana and was difficult for Aria to use, as she lacked offensive magic.
This was Serejula’s trump card, as she couldn’t use high-level Combat Arts. The blow from the grotesque chain clad in holy flames offset the power of the 【Vorpal Blade】 unleashed by Aishe.
“Impossible…”
Aishe, her all-out Combat Art nullified and still stiff from unleashing it, uttered a stunned voice.
Unable to move, Aishe had no choice but to receive the attack if it came. It was less than a second, but in a battle between experts, it was a fatal opening… but.
“………ッ”
Suddenly, Serejula spat blood from her mouth and knelt.
Originally, she had a body that couldn’t handle strain due to possessing all four elements. As a result of fighting on the battlefield as a War Demon, her internal state was more damaged than she realized.
Even so, she thought her body could hold up for at least one battle. However, fighting Aishe, who was Rank 5 and serious, strained Serejula’s body.
“Heh, haha… I knew it. There’s no way I could lose to a fake!!”
Aishe, already mentally deranged, couldn’t rationally comprehend her sister’s figure, spitting blood and kneeling. She raised her sword.
“Aishe…”
If Serejula were in her prime, Aishe wouldn’t have stood a chance.
If Aishe’s mind were sound, she might have won without relying on luck.
In the original “Otome Game history,” there could have been a future where Serejula and Aishe cooperated with the Heroine and fought together to establish peace with the Evil Race.
There’s no point in talking about impossible futures. The current result is everything… but, like Aria, Serejula possessed a “power” she shouldn’t have had.
“…【Iron Rose】…”
Mana light burst forth like particles from Serejula, who was kneeling on the stone floor. As her figure vanished, she slashed Aishe’s body, along with the sword she had instinctively raised.
“Wh…”
Aishe, holding the broken one-handed sword, staggered back in a daze.
Serejula, who didn’t have the Spirit-loved ‘Pink Hair’ like Aria, the original user, consumed almost all of her Mana in just a few seconds and knelt again.
“Aishe…!”
“Nee…san?”
Aishe’s eyes regained a sliver of reason at Serejula’s voice. However, the mental damage was greater than the physical damage, and Aishe staggered as if dizzy…
“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
Suddenly letting out a cry like weeping, Aishe raised the broken sword.
Whether she was trying to fight again, or whether she regretted what she had done and was trying to commit suicide, it was impossible to know.
But, just before the raised sword was about to be swung down somewhere—
Thud!!
“――――ッ!”
Aishe’s body, struck by Nero’s body blow, was swallowed into a deep hole in the side passage of the dungeon… a complexly intertwined passage, and her body fell into the darkness.
‘…Nero’
‘Gaa’
Nero didn’t respond with “words” to Serejula’s glaring gaze, but only growled once.
Was he just eliminating Aria’s enemy, or was he trying to save Serejula…?
“…………”
Even if she was injured, there was a possibility that Aishe was still alive. Serejula sighed, drank the Potion she took out from her 【Shadow Storage】, and forcibly stood up.
“…In this state, I won’t be of any use even if I go to that girl’s place…”
—Question—
When Nero’s Tentacle crackled with electricity and asked “What are you going to do now?”, Serejula looked back over her shoulder at Camille and the others, who were keeping their distance as if wary of them.
“I’m going to aim for the deepest part of the dungeon with those kids. I have a feeling I’ll be able to meet that girl that way… You go to that girl’s place alone.”
‘Grrr…’
Nero narrowed his eyes slightly, reflecting Serejula and Camille in his pupils.
Nero and Serejula were companions, not comrades. But Nero bared his fangs as if to say, “Leave it to me,” and disappeared into the darkness with the speed of a gale.
Seeing him off, Serejula glanced at the hole where Aishe had fallen for a moment, sighed again, and softly muttered the words she hadn’t said to Nero.
“I’m counting on you to take care of the other ‘idiot daughter’… Nero.”
It ended up feeling similar to Ergrim, but how will that affect things in the future?
Next time, the scene will finally return to Aria.
The latest information on the book can be found on Twitter in addition to the activity report.