Chapter 22: vs 《Sealed Labyrinth Fourth Layer Guardian α》④
Though I had said it would be a one-on-one duel—
“Guess it’s no good after all…”
I immediately tried to cast Light Magic, but strangely enough, I couldn’t activate it no matter what I did. All I felt was the sensation of Mana draining from my body when attempting to use magic. Ah, but even if I can’t use magic, it seems I’m still allowed to move the Mana within me.
“You understand, don’t you, boy? My 《No-Skill》 means not only can you not use Skills, but also magic.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
That was another blatant lie. If I could activate 《Out Strider del Sole》, I could take care of this guy in an instant.
“Is that really true?”
The 《No-Skill》 shot back with a hint of skepticism.
“Absolutely true.”
The more I insisted, the more my response reeked of deceit.
“Holy Knight…”
Eris’s voice came from behind me, sounding as if she was worried about me. Having witnessed my combat style based on 《Autobahn》 during the battle against the 《Crystal Humanoid》 in the Second Layer, she might have thought that without it, I had no means to deal with 《No-Skill》.
“What’s with that face? Don’t look so worried.”
I had thought this before; Eris’s emotions were always so transparent.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Even now, the corners of her eyes and her brows were drooping with concern.
“Just watch.”
In a single breath, I closed the distance to 《No-Skill》.
“Take this!”
With a conviction born from my speed, I swung my sword in a decisive slash, but 《No-Skill》 skillfully dodged my strike with agile movements and a counter-technique.
“Wonderful!! This is it!!”
His eyes widened in joy as he exclaimed.
“Which part of it is it, huh?! Nya-ro!!”
As soon as I stepped back into our shared airspace, I unleashed a flurry of irregular strikes to his hand, legs, torso, and neck.
“Ah, ahhh!!”
《No-Skill》 absorbed every single blow, letting out a sound that was beyond words. His expression twisted with delight.
“Hey, 《No-Skill》!! You’re a bit creepy, you know!!”
I dodged his sweeping attack by bending backward as far as I could, then launched a rapid thrust while still in that position.
“I saw that technique just now.”
He barely stepped back, evading my thrust by a hair’s breadth. Damn it. That was a perfect read. It was the same technique that Eris had used to gouge his shoulder plate, so he must have learned from it.
“Oh, is that so?”
This time, I repeated my high-speed movements to prevent him from locking onto me, adding even more ferocious strikes.
“Impressive!! Young Lady!! Look at him!! He is undoubtedly the strongest swordsman in this world!!”
He perfectly absorbed all of it. But— I didn’t care!! I continued my assault with varied rhythms, feints, misdirection, relaxation, illusions, angle changes, and attacks from blind spots. Yet he managed to take every single one without faltering— the sounds of our swords clashing echoed like a relentless battle of life and death, a cacophony of gya gya gya gya gya gya.
“Boy!! You are the most amazing swordsman I’ve ever met!!”
He roared with joy, trembling with excitement— from that moment on, it was his time, for him, by him.
His skill was nothing short of divine. And above all, it was relentless— and insidious. His swordsmanship was like a complex chess puzzle, throwing out moves that I despised one after another, shifting from offense to defense with ease, bold yet delicate, a troublesome opponent who could switch between power and technique at will.
“Your speed, sword speed, power— everything is amazing!! You far surpass me in every aspect!!”
“Thanks!! You bastard!!”
As I made a horizontal slash, I couldn’t help but create some distance. Time for a reset.
“While you may have surpassed me in all those aspects, when it comes to swordsmanship, I’m still several steps above you.”
He had a nasty habit of lifting someone up only to bring them down. He must have been an unpleasant person in his previous life. However… he was right. Compared to the 《Sword Maniac》 I had faced in the previous 《Blade Labyrinth》, the one before me now was a master among masters. It was frustrating, but in terms of swordsmanship, he was superior.
But now—
“Oh, so you’re the type to say things like that? Fine then—”
I could see through his bottom line. From an extreme forward-leaning stance, I kicked off the ground with all my might. The ground exploded beneath me. Accelerating to nearly my maximum speed,
“—If you can see it, then try to read it!!”
I unleashed my fastest thrust, enhanced with acceleration, aimed straight for his throat— he didn’t hesitate to meet my blade with his own— it was fine— he pushed back and deflected my strike— yet— ah, that feeling— like water— my sword was swept away— launched into the air— and at the same time— my right arm was cleanly severed just below the elbow.
《No-Skill》 smirked. His upturned lips resembled a crescent moon. As I fell forward, losing my balance—
“This means the match is over.”
But I knew that once this scenario unfolded, that smirk would definitely appear.
—It was fun.
He had said that before delivering the finishing blow to Eris. As he wore that expression, confident of his victory, and let his guard down— that moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
The moment 《No-Skill》 raised his sword to declare the end—
“Yeah.”
It was me who answered. With a light tap. My remaining left hand was already resting against his chest.
“See?”
It was too late to realize now!!
—Stinger!!
I unleashed the blend of Qi and Mana that I had been meticulously preparing within me.
“Gaaahhh!!!”
《No-Skill》 let out a beast-like scream. Unable to withstand the damage, he bent over, collapsing to the ground, spewing blood as he writhed in agony.
“Sorry about that. You won in swordsmanship. But you were the one who said it first. Strangely enough, you hit the nail on the head about my true nature.”
“What… do you mean?”
He asked me, barely clinging to life.
“I’ll apologize first. Just like you said, I’m not a swordsman. I just need to survive. That’s all there is to it. I don’t have any noble ideals like you do, so I’ll do whatever it takes. I can’t afford to die here. There are things I absolutely must survive for.”
I had to conquer the 《Sealed Labyrinth》, of course, but I also needed to return to Earth. More importantly, I had made promises with Anon and Ash. I had to return to reunite with Sena.
And right now, above all—
“Fuh, fuhuh…”
Even while spewing blood, 《No-Skill》 stood up and grinned.
“No, you are a wonderful swordsman. You’ll do anything to survive— that’s also a vision of a swordsman’s ideal… isn’t it? Ah, truly, truly, it’s just delightful…”
Saying that, he picked up the sword he had dropped.
“Don’t worry… you’ve won splendidly. This sword is yours… You might be able to wield two Grams after all.”
I couldn’t ask him, “What do you mean?” as I was unable to grasp his intent.
“Until we meet again.”
He declared, and then with his Gram Copy,
“Forgive me!!”
He severed his own neck.
“Hyooooo!!”
Don’t say “Until we meet again!” I don’t want to see you again!!
Watching 《No-Skill》 dissolve into particles of light, I screamed inwardly.
I took the painkillers Sena had given me with water, and Eris helped me treat my severed arm. I had no choice but to use an incredibly potent Potion. Aligning the severed ends, I poured the Potion generously over the wound, and just to be safe, I downed another one.
However, no matter how rare the Potion was, it couldn’t compare to Mika and Sensei’s instantaneous full recovery. For a while, it seemed I wouldn’t have full use of my right arm.
But I couldn’t afford to dwell on that. There were things that needed to be done immediately.
“Eris, grab your Sword. It’s been a while since we’ve done this.”
I called out to her, hoping she would accept.