Chapter 10: Crushing Blow
THE King of Ruin and the Hero who will save the world. The common Succubi soldiers flinched when faced with the explosion of intimidating pressure coming from the two Players.
The All-Faction Conference held under the guise of peace talks had already broken down, and all hell broke loose between its members, who had abandoned words for swords.
“I’ll go first! Take thisssss!”
With blinding speed, Yu switched from his axe to a sword and slashed at Vagia. An attack that exceeded the reaction speed of mortals, making it difficult even for supernatural beings to follow. The way he instantly aimed for the enemy leader’s neck without regard for the danger was truly worthy of the title of Hero.
A second before the fatal blade could claim the life of the Succubus Queen, it was interrupted. Metal scraped metal in a thunderous peal as the tall Succubus—Freesia—intercepted the blade with her spear to protect her queen.
His first attack blocked, Yu wordlessly launched a second strike, but it was intercepted as well.
“Naïve boy. You have to try harder to take down a Noble Succubus,” Freesia said.
“Then how about this?”
With a whoosh, Yu sheathed his sword. Then he crouched, sending out a wave of murderous intent that paralyzed the Succubi. A flash, followed by an explosive shockwave that exceeded the speed of sound, blew away debris from the Deliberation Chamber and the leaves of the World Tree.
The shockwave subsided, revealing the outcome.
There, dripping with sweat, stood Goliath, the tiny guardian Succubus who’d managed to block Yu’s attack with her giant shield.
“Ph-Phew,” she panted. “N-Noble Succubus are Succubi aristocrats. We are the shield and spear that protect the queen. W-We aren’t weaklings.”
Goliath fumbled her words and spoke timidly, but her strength was not to be underestimated.
“That’s right! Even ladies have spears♡,” Vagia declared, cheering on her two brave subordinates.
But seeing as their expressions remained taut and strained, they more than understood the last exchange of blows in no way indicated they had the upper hand. Even Takuto calmly watched the fight after witnessing them clash up front and center.
“Not bad. But you aren’t much more than minions. You honestly believe you can hold your own against a Player? Don’t you think you are the naïve ones for underestimating the entity known as THE Hero?”
The Succubi were about to learn the meaning of those words. Because that deadly move was only a basic “Attack” to the Hero…
“Master! Elpower! Elspeed!” Ai chanted.
〈！〉Ai casts a spell.
Hero Yu’s Strength increased.
Hero Yu’s Speed increased.
“Oooh! Here it comes! Here it comes! This is it…ooooooh!”
Ai’s support magic amplified Yu’s attack strength and speed. His next strike would be so powerful that it would be ridiculous to call it a basic “Attack.” Death had come for the Succubi.
“Crap! 2 Forest Mana, release! Activate the Spell Card: Forest Strength!”
〈！〉Vagia’s Turn.
Activates Spell Card: Forest Strength.
“Ghh!”
“Aaaaaah!”
The impact this time was on an entirely different level from the last attack. There was no simple shockwave for them to dodge; only a life-reaping tempest raged chaotically. The two Noble Succubus guards and Vagia could still stand their own, but there wasn’t any room for the common Succubi soldiers to join the fray.
“H-He hits like a truck! I knew he would, but he’s even stronger than I thought!” Vagia shouted, panic edging into her voice. Composure wasn’t in the picture anymore. She was painfully aware that she had unintentionally put herself at a disadvantage in this match-up.
The Hero is the strongest in one-on-one fights.
Yu was putting his power on full display, and it was living up to Takuto’s expectations.
She underestimated the RPG Hero. Not only is he strong, but the equipment that boosts his abilities into the triple digits is game changing. He even seems to have undisclosed rare items I don’t know about… How much did he play that series?
Brave Questers is a game series in the RPG genre. The weapons and armor used by the Hero can generally be obtained from shops or treasure chests. There are also rare items that enemy monsters have a certain chance of dropping. These rare items, implemented as one of the game’s replayability elements, are extremely difficult to obtain. It’s common not to get even one item after defeating enemies for dozens of hours straight, and there are even items that can only be obtained after years of trying.
These legendary, rare weapons and armor come with abilities in a class of their own.
Takuto sometimes wondered what the point was of endgame content that made you powerful enough to defeat the Demon Lord in a single hit, but that was just the nature of video games. The difficulty and time it takes to obtain one of those rare items make the sense of accomplishment all the sweeter.
Yu was equipped from head to toe in the physical embodiment of all the time he’d sunk in. Nothing could defeat the Hero once he got serious…
But we can’t let it go to our heads. We’re pushing them back, but our advantage can be overturned the moment enemy reinforcements arrive. Our weakness is that we can’t fight around the clock. We’re lucky the Elf Saints aren’t here. If they had been, we’d already be in hot water.
Takuto calmly analyzed the situation. He wasn’t just sitting back and leaving everything to Yu. He was ordering Vittorio to use his skills to interfere in sneaky ways, and he used the Botchling to protect Ai and the Phon’kaven envoy from the Succubi soldiers. Moreover, he had a reason not to make any major moves yet.
The existence of the final Player.
If he’s going to make his move, it’ll be soon…
And just like Takuto had predicted, Mr. H made his move out of frustration over Vagia’s unfavorable position.
“Miss Vagia, please use it.”
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do…ehe♡. I’ll play one of my trump cards just for you boys!”
Takuto assumed Mr. H would use his ability.
What kind of attacks would he unleash? If Takuto knew that, he could learn his opponent’s game, and if he knew his game, he could take countermeasures.
Takuto hadn’t made his move yet, partly because he trusted Yu to handle things, but also because he was using him as bait to draw out Mr. H’s abilities. He chose to stay in the rear, where he could see everything as it unfolded, so that he would be able to support Yu no matter what came their way.
But he was about to learn how bad a decision that was.
Mr. H spoke to Vagia through the statue, and something appeared in her hand. The moment Takuto saw what it was, his eyes widened. He shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping his warning would reach him in time.
“YU! DODGE!”
〈！〉Item trade done.
Fearsome Scimitar of Hellflame Lv 125
With a zing, a line cut through the air. Hero Yu was on the other side of it.
“…Huh? Ghh! Guaaaaaaaaaagh!”
“Master!”
Bright red blood sprayed everywhere. It gushed forth from a deep wound in Yu’s torso, which had been cut in a straight line. He had leapt back to Takuto’s side, his expression contorted in anguish. He was still alive, but he had taken a direct hit.
Ai was frantically chanting a healing spell, so he should survive, but things had suddenly taken a turn for the worse for Team Takuto.
“Will you be all right?” Takuto asked. “Stand back for a bit.”
“No, I’m fine. This will heal in a jiffy. More importantly…” Yu forced himself to his feet, rejecting Takuto’s offer in the process, and glared at Vagia. Anger had replaced his usually easygoing expression. “What did you just use?” he demanded of Vagia. She held Mr. H’s statue in one hand and a curved sword of a strange design in her right.
Yu’s outfit might have looked like a school uniform, but it was actually the rarest, legendary armor. One specialized in defense, not enhancing abilities.
Vagia’s attack had cut through it like confetti in a single strike.
A highly saturated color scheme with an angular design. It’s clearly a weapon from another game, although it’s a type that’s more commonly seen in Western games… Without taking his eyes off Vagia, Takuto analyzed her weapon. He also didn’t forget to keep an eye on Yu’s status. He doesn’t look good. That was quite the powerful attack…