“――――――――――――Hh!!”
Hero Klein, who had taken Aria’s blow, leaped back with incredible speed.
“――Hh.”
Aria, who was about to launch a follow-up attack, stopped in her tracks. Kitty took a stance beside her, as if to line up, and sent electricity running from her antennae in an intimidating display.
I wanted to go over there too, but wary of Klein, I gathered my mana and glared intently at him.
Klein, unmoving as he pressed his face with his swordless left hand, looked full of openings. But, an Intimidation so strong it made Aria involuntarily halt leaked from his entire body. Blood trickled from Klein’s forehead as he slowly removed his hand. He looked at us with those fiercely gleaming eyes and was laughing(…..).
“Aria!”
The moment I cried out, Aria leaped away from her spot. And as Kitty stepped forward to shield her, her claws scattered intense sparks.
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
Kitty’s claws were repelled, and she roared at the one who had done it.
“Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
Klein cackled as he swung his sword. But, you’ve got to be kidding me, right? Klein’s sword had also been deflected, but for him to be on par with Rank 6 Kitty’s massive body in close combat was impossible.
Their strength was equal. But if their sizes differed, so did their maneuverability. Towards Kitty, who possessed fur with Slashing and Piercing Resistance, Klein thrust his sword at her eyes with terrifying speed.
“Haaah!”
Aria’s dagger, lunging in to exploit the opening from that strike, aimed for Klein’s wrist.
“Hahaha!”
But Klein cackled at it, rotating his momentum-filled one-handed sword with just the strength of his wrist. He deflected the dagger Aria had thrown with all her might. Aria and Kitty, shielding each other, distanced themselves from Klein, maintaining a delicate interval(.).
“――【Freeze】――”
In that instant, I, who had been gathering my mana, unleashed a Level 6 ice magic.
A momentary opening from Klein, whose eyes had followed the two as they moved slightly out of human visual range. The pure white frost, aimed at that fleeting moment Aria and Kitty had created for me, enveloped Klein’s entire body without missing its mark.
The strongest single-target ice-type magic, which freezes and shatters its target. The only creatures that could survive this would be those with enormous bodies, or Phantasmal Beasts like Kitty or dragon types.
And yet…
“――Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!”
“Light” became a sword and shattered the frost from within.
Is that… the Divine Protection of a Light Spirit? No, Chigau. That’s… his magic resistance is orders of magnitude higher than a human’s.
Even so, he hadn’t escaped unscathed; his hair and clothes were frozen, and his fingertips were beginning to discolor. However, as the “light” enveloping Klein intensified, color began to return to his frozen skin.
“How troublesome…”
Is that the Divine Protection of a Light Spirit that the “Hero” is said to receive? It’s quite different from the Dungeon Spirit’s 【Divine Protection (Gift)】 I received…
The Hero’s Divine Protection is different from special abilities like mine, and also different from Physical Enhancement Battle Arts like Aria’s.
To borrow power I was supposed to obtain in the future, I, who wished for a power that shouldn’t exist, had no choice but to offer my lifespan as payment. Aria disliked that, hated cheating, and chose the form of a “technique” with many restrictions.
The Hero’s Divine Protection, from what I can tell, seems to be a physical ability enhancement similar to Aria’s “Iron Rose”. But compared to Iron Rose, which has many time limits and restrictions, Klein seemed to have no constraints whatsoever in obtaining that power.
…Truly troublesome. Aria’s first strike should normally have been a fatal wound, yet not only did it not cause much damage, but the bleeding has already stopped.
As I observed Klein and analyzed his combat strength, Klein, who suddenly turned his gaze towards me, blurred.
“Snow!”
At Aria’s voice, I reflexively evaded without even confirming the form of Klein, who should have been attacking me. With my Level 3 Martial Arts and kinetic vision, I can only barely follow his shadow anyway.
“――Hh!”
That’s why I tried to evade using only my perception, but Klein’s physical abilities surpassed even that.
Klein’s eyes, as he raised his one-handed sword, pursued me, narrowing as if toying with prey, forming a twisted smile as the sword’s trajectory bent at a right angle to target me.
I can’t dodge this. But――
“――【Iron Rose】――”
In that instant, Aria, her ash-grey hair fluttering particles of light like wings, sent Klein flying with a kick. The sword aimed at me passed right before my eyes.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the shadow of death.
Even though it used to always be by my side in the past…
“Hahaha! What’s that! Is that your “power”!?”
Klein, who received a kick with a Blade extended and still took no damage, let out a loud laugh. He wasn’t surprised by Aria’s “Iron Rose”, seeing it for the first time, and his eyes gleamed fiercely.
Aria and Klein transitioned directly into an exchange of Blades.
Aria, able to use 100% of her physical capabilities with Iron Rose, still couldn’t overwhelm Klein.
“Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“…Hh!”
Aria parried Klein’s strike, launched with such sharpness that the sword seemed to blur, with her dagger, sending up a grand shower of sparks.
Aria, deliberately using the force to unbalance herself, aimed at Klein with the Blade on her toe. But that kick was easily blocked by Klein’s knee guard.
Klein kicked at Aria, who was still off-balance. But Aria, as if she had anticipated it, entangled her blocked leg and slashed with her knife as she rose.
However, Klein saw it, deflected it with his one-handed sword, and sent Aria flying with a kick to her still-entangled leg.
“――Hh!”
Just how much power was in a mere kick? Aria, blown back a distance of ten houses, touched the ground with one hand and landed with a somersault.
It seemed she avoided having her leg broken, but she still dropped to one knee. Aria, whose attacks had been almost completely stopped without being parried, deactivated “Iron Rose” and her hair color returned to normal.
“Hahaha! At your limit already!? Is that all your power amounts to!?”
Klein cackled and lunged at the weakened Aria.
“Grawooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
Roaring as if to interrupt, Kitty unleashed a claw 【Battle Art】 from Klein’s direct side.
Aria, sensing this battle would drag on, conserved her mana while simultaneously creating a new attack opportunity.
“Oops.”
But even that certain-kill strike, powerful enough to gouge the hard, rocky ground, Klein dodged by leaping away after seeing it(……).
Because of those eyes, most surprise attacks are ineffective. The only attacks he’d truly taken were Aria’s initial strike and her Iron Rose blow. Kitty was fast too, but due to her massive size, her initial movements were slightly inferior to Aria’s or Klein’s.
Kitty, having unleashed her Battle Art, stiffened slightly. Not missing that opening, Klein, glaring at Kitty who had interfered, aimed a mana-infused hand at her.
“――【Lightning Bind】――”
“――【Rock Blast】――h!”
Klein defended against the Level 6 lightning magic, which activated an instant sooner, with the Level 5 earth magic he had been about to unleash on Kitty. While doing so, he distanced himself as if to escape the electrifying spot.
It surrounds the target with a cage of lightning, dealing damage each time they act. I thought this magic would be effective, but it seems things won’t go that smoothly.
“Hahaha! You, the white one, use some amazing magic, don’t you!”
Klein cackled with a twisted smile, as if he’d found an amusing toy.
Truly troublesome. However, thanks to Aria and Kitty, I’m starting to understand the “Hero’s Divine Protection” little by little.
The Divine Protection of the Light Spirit that Klein received isn’t a Physical Enhancement like “Iron Rose”. The Hero’s Divine Protection is probably an instantaneous enhancement of his Status itself.
While maintaining a human form and size, if his strength, endurance, and agility—even for an instant—all leaped to the level of a dragon type, his threat would surpass even an Elemental Dragon.
Mass from a huge body is a great weapon, but if one can obtain dragon-like power in human form, the destructive force concentrated at a single point would likely exceed even that of a dragon.
“It seems you all need further punishment. It looks like you intend to fight me seriously, but first, I’ll show you “despair”!”
As Klein said that and tore a pendant from his chest, I felt as if a faint mist that had been enveloping him cleared away.
Perception inhibitor…? Come to think of it, Aria was wearing something like that before to fool appraisals. Aria, too, scowled at this, and Klein’s appraised combat power became visible to our “eyes.”
【Hero Klein】【Race: Human ♂】【Rank 6】
【Magic Value: 382/454】【Stamina Value: 373/405】
【Total Combat Power: Instantaneous Enhancement: 9234】
“Do you understand now? You made me bleed! I’ll drag you back even if I have to tear off your limbs! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t die even after you’re back!”
Is he thinking that we’re considering something like suicide…?
Aria’s and Kitty’s eyes narrowed, glaring at the Hero’s combat power and his words. And I felt a sensation within myself, as if I were returning to my old self.
Kill to kill, kill to die.
That’s right… Perhaps I’ve been a little too docile.
Hero Klein, who had begun to reveal his power.
What is the true strength that Snow will show?