Chapter 220

Chapter 10 | The Assassin and the Hero Face Off Standing amid the wasteland, I faced Epona alone. The view was flat in all directions, putting me at a disadvantage. We did pass through a forest to get here—that offered lots of places to hide. I could work with that. “We don’t want to kill each other here. Let’s set a few rules. The match will last one minute. It will end as soon as one of us surrenders, faints, or breaks a limb. If we run out of time, it’s a draw,” I said. “I like it. I wonder if you can handle my best for a full minute?” Epona responded. Putting myself in mortal danger wasn’t the only risk with fighting Epona—I could also lose My Loyal Knights. It was originally her skill, and it allowed the bearer to lend skills and a piece of their strength to a maximum of three people. The catch was that the ability could deem one of the knights unworthy if they lost a duel, rescinding the powers. That would be problematic, and it’s why I suggested a time limit. The match would end in a stalemate if I survived for a minute, meaning I wouldn’t lose. A minute was a long time against an opponent of Epona’s caliber. It might have been better to avoid this fight, given the risks, but getting a sense of our current gap in strength made it worth the danger. “Naoise is a fool. He was doing plenty to contribute to world peace by keeping you in check… Yet he got it in his head that he was useless and was overwhelmed by an inferiority complex,” I said. Epona would have lost herself long ago if not for Naoise. He’d undoubtedly done an excellent service toward protecting world peace. He was also legitimately strong. Naoise felt inferior to Nevan, Epona, and me, but he compared himself to the wrong people. Naoise was an excellent man in his own right. He overwhelmed any opponent without superhuman ability and even bettered us superhuman types in some ways. He was great at everything without specializing in any one area. I wished that he’d understood his strengths and was proud of them. “You should have told him that. He always indirectly hinted at wanting your recognition,” Epona responded. “…I’ll tell him the next time, then.” I drew my sword. The weapon was a decoy; I was best with a knife or a gun. Then I used a spell Dia developed called Haste Bolt. It strengthened the electrical current within the body, significantly increasing reaction speed. It also bolstered physical strength. The magic was tremendously potent, but it damaged the body and threatened to render me immobile. Not even Rapid Recovery could keep up. At best, I’d last for a little over a minute. The time limit on this bout meant that wouldn’t be a concern, though. Next, I injected a drug into my neck. It also enhanced my reflexes. I could never keep up with Epona’s speed, leaving me no choice but to rely on reactions to survive. This preparation should have allowed me to follow her movements. And finally… “Swift Wind Armor.” …I cast my favorite spell. It granted me wind-based defense that deflected attacks and allowed me to release compressed air to propel myself. “Are you ready, Lugh?” “Anytime. Give me your best shot, hero.” I beckoned for Epona to begin, and she smiled. Epona charged toward me, the ground exploding at her feet. She moved silently. No, that wasn’t right; she moved so fast that she outpaced the speed of sound. Thanks to my body’s strengthened electrical current and the drug, I followed her, but only barely. I dodged with the minimum amount of movement possible, lacking time for anything else. She whipped past me, and a second later, an invisible hammer knocked me off my feet. A sonic boom… Shock waves hammered the surrounding area, caused by Epona breaking the sound barrier. She turned and charged again. I released a piece of my Swift Wind Armor to propel myself back and dodge, yet I was sent flying through the air once more. I barely managed to land safely, cracking a bone in my right arm. I can’t even touch her. But that’s not a problem. Epona was as quick as I remembered. There was enough distance between us now for me to act, though. I didn’t have time to cast a spell or evade in any way besides the most optimal. However, I did have time to draw my gun and pull the trigger. Elite gunners could ready, aim, and fire in 0.2 seconds. And that was the best I could do in my past life. Now I could strengthen myself with mana and hasten my reflexes with magic, pushing my speed to 0.1 seconds—faster than humanly possible. This should be enough to hit her! I shot three rounds, as one did to make sure they took down their opponent. My arms felt liable to snap despite being strengthened by mana. I’d designed the pistol’s large bore for increased force and packed the bullets with as much Fahr Stone powder as possible without breaking the gun. The projectiles launched at an initial velocity of 1,020 meters per second, about three times the speed of sound and faster than an anti-materiel rifle. I’d built the gun with the best possible suppressor, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the recoil completely. This meant I had to steady the gun with my mana-strengthened arms to prevent the muzzle from wavering, and the shock wave cracked a bone in my left arm. “Quit holding back, Lugh!” Epona charged directly at the three bullets—each housing a force greater than an anti-tank rifle—and head-butted them out of the way. You’re joking… Destructive energy increased the faster two objects moved toward each other. Epona charged toward those bullets faster than sound, which should have increased the force of the impact. Yet she was uninjured. I fired the rest of the bullets in my magazine, but she deflected them all and threw a punch at my stomach once she entered point-blank range. I released my Wind Armor to propel myself backward and dampen the blow, but she was too swift. Her fist connected with my gut. There was an unpleasant crunching sound, and I was hurled away. “Huh? That didn’t feel like bone. How interesting!” Epona tilted her head and laughed as I fell to my knees and coughed up blood. She’d broken the frame of my bulletproof vest. It was designed to break to cancel the force of an excessive blow. The vest was made of monster bones that were so light and tough they could survive the full-speed charge of a ten-ton truck, and Epona broke it with one punch. Without it, I would’ve lost all my ribs. I chanted in midair to summon more Swift Wind Armor. Epona extended a hand toward me. “Fireball.” Fireball was among the first fire spells one learned. It produced a fist-sized sphere of flame when cast by a regular mage, but the hero’s version was quite different. The burning orb turned to plasma because of its immense heat and rocketed toward me with the speed of a laser cannon. I responded by pulling a Fahr Stone engineered to produce a directional explosion from my Leather Crane Bag and throwing it. The stone exploded and scattered mithril chaff in midair, diverting the plasma away from me. I’d managed to defend myself, but that was hardly one of Epona’s best attacks. It was a beginner spell. That meant… “Fireball.” …she was able to cast it again immediately. The new Fireball evaporated the chaff and pierced my body, distorting its shape. Fortunately, that was just an illusion I created using a wind spell to bend light. The magic was normally unusable after dark due to the lack of sunlight, but the glow from the plasma made it possible. I’d calculated the best place to spread the chaff produced by the Fahr Stone to disperse the plasma and enable my illusion. It didn’t matter how fast the hero was if I hid beyond her view.