Book 9 Chapter 24
Episode 223
The compatibility between a swordsman and a mage is 7:3 to 8:2.
Moreover, the special ability of the Arch-Holy Sword Shurphen is to absorb the opponent's unique power, so even if we are generous, this match will likely be around 9:1.
In short, there's no time for contemplation. That's certainly the case.
- Alright, then, let the match of the century begin!
I felt Frie's voice, which I could no longer hear, wavering in the wind.
- On the left, we have the current hero of humanity, Lista Alter Shurphen, who is enjoying immense fame!
Perhaps because this face-to-face setup felt familiar, or perhaps because the venue of that match, on that day, was this very place 300 years ago.
- And on the right, we have the anchovy mage, Lynn, famous as the weakest member of the Hero's party!
- Anchovy, anchovy, anchovy. Lynn is an anchovy.
- Could that delinquent chain-smoker shrine maiden and the flamboyant sun parrot please be quiet.
- What was that, you punk?
What would you have done if it were you?
If the situation were reversed, what kind of expression would you be making right now?
I, I mean, Lista.
“Vagrant World-Honored One: Azure Ming Lightning Fire.”
I scream until my throat rips, as if tearing apart the chains of delusion that lead to the distant past.
To face the old hero, I needed the power of both fire and lightning, the strongest rune and the fastest rune among the eight elements.
Fire (火), strong but slow; Lightning (雷), fast but empty. The combination of these two elemental runes brilliantly carves my mental image onto the poetic realm.
“Linear Iron Halberd.”
The first rune used is Lightning (雷).
Spikes of light rise with transcendent speed, and I stack those spikes into a giant barrier.
To block the slash that shatters space-time.
Cha-aaaaang!
A tearing sound that seemed to shred my eardrums cut through the electrical wall, concept and all.
Not only that. The trees and buildings in the path of the slash were instantly severed at their middles, as if by magic.
The people of old saw hope in that sight. But now…
“Setsunen!”
Chwa-reureuk, countless chains of lightning sprouted, weaving the structures together and preventing their collapse.
[Aruuu!]
As soon as I steadied my tense gaze, Lista's body outline wavered and then vanished like a mirage.
Thump.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump.
My heartbeat pounded seven times in less than an instant, and the moment it reverberated for the seventh time, I turned around and raised my staff.
“Fourth Form, Elephant.”
A terrifying speed that made me let out a hollow laugh.
Lista's forte, the Mirage Footwork, which steals the opponent's rhythm and gets behind them. I definitely expected it to appear.
The dragon's flame and the holy sword's divinity clashed, and an intense pain surged through me, as if my tendons were tearing.
“Fire Ascent Curtain.”
Spinning backward, I simultaneously construct a magic circle, and a wave of fire rises, forming a large curtain.
- Lynn, can you create a magic like that for me?
On the day Lista said those words, this was the fire (火) rune version of the magic used to block both riverbanks and catch countless fish.
Will you recognize this?
Flames rising like cliffs on both sides gradually narrow the gap and soon merge into one. It swallows Lista, who was between them.
“Swallow him, Shurphen…”
In an instant, as holy light brilliantly concentrated in Shurphen, ten consecutive slashes occurred at speeds invisible to the eye.
Shurphen, modeled after the true holy sword Charillion, like Charillion, swallows the opponent's unique abilities and makes their power its own.
While Charillion multiplies that power several times and unleashes it, fortunately, Shurphen could not imitate such an unrealistic function.
“Even so…”
The cliff of flames scatters powerlessly, Shurphen's blade absorbs that power, disperses it, and begins to glow with flames.
The aftermath of the slash sharply diffused in all directions, scratching buildings, cutting palm leaves, and drawing a line of blood on my cheek.
Now it comes, the emission of sword energy that only masters of the sword can perform…
“Flash Lightning Sky Strike Cannon!”
“Slash!”
The fiery sword energy shot from the blade's tip and the flash of lightning clashed in mid-air.
In an explosion so intense that it created an updraft, the flagstones of the plaza turned to ashes.
Naturally, it doesn't end here. Masters always aim for a decisive blow amidst such chaos.
If I stop, I die.
Running along the outer wall of a four-story stone building that tilted at an angle, Setsunen urgently warned me.
[Aruuu!]
At the same time, I saw Shurphen spinning gracefully above my head.
Shurphen cried out loudly once.
It's warning me… If this were a real fight against an enemy, Shurphen would have even silenced its cry.
“Magic circle construction.”
The next instant, the hero's puppet, which had appeared like a flash in the air, gripped Shurphen's hilt.
“Five Stars.”
The sword's tip aimed directly at me, rapidly descending while kicking off the magic platform created in mid-air with all its might.
“Fire Mirror Lotus.”
That magic Pipi liked.
That magic Pipi used to dance with.
Our memories from that time: Pipi liked it, so Frie liked it, so Kiese liked it, Lista liked it, and I liked it.
[Aruru!]
Originally a magic where water droplets danced, it was renewed as a five-star fire magic. It becomes a defensive barrier with proven practical capabilities.
Pwooong!
Amidst the deafening roar as sound exploded like a shock, cold sweat beaded on my temples.
“It's gone?”
Only Shurphen had struck the barrier.
Shurphen, having swallowed the barrier's power, was once again transforming its blade's shape into flames.
That means…
Cha-aaaaang!
Was it instinct born of experience that made me parry the fingertips flying towards my cervical spine with my staff in an instant?
As the hero's gauntlet and my staff collided, letting out a dreadful metallic clang.
Lista's spinning kick, rotating his body's center with his heel, struck my abdomen. Although I blocked it with the shaft of my staff before it fully connected.
“Ugh…”
If Setsunen's power hadn't augmented my physical strength, my joints would have just shattered…
As if not wanting to miss me as I backflipped to create distance, Lista powerfully leaped, leaving cracks in the ground.
As he extended his hand to his partner, Shurphen, which had been stuck over there, soared into the air. It spun fiercely and flew into his grasp.
“Yes, I knew it would come to this.”
Shurphen's drawback is that it cannot absorb another power until it has absorbed and released one.
I aimed for that blind spot.
That's why I led the fight.
Right now, for a rectangular current barrier to momentarily trap Lista. Unlike when fighting the Dragon Slayer, I can now use my primary attribute.
“…!”
This barrier was created by embedding five amplified Orbios-type runes.
The moment he explodes with fire power to break through the barrier, the power of the current grows even stronger.
And I won't give him time to think. Chains of flame slither and unfold like snakes from all sides of the barrier.
“Pierce through.”
The moment those chains randomly pierced through the barrier, Shurphen unleashed its fire power, and the current barrier oxidized with a dazzling blaze.
A searing wind that stole all moisture from the air swept through the collapsed plaza, leaving my lips parched.
Even though it was a puppet, did it feel fatigue? Amidst the smoke, both of us regulated our breathing and looked at each other for a moment.
- An opening!
In that moment when I had to compose myself, what truly hurt was not my body, but my heart.
Because in that distant summer day, Lista's face, as he poked my side with a wooden sword, chuckled, and stepped back, superimposed itself onto that puppet.
Lista emphasized practical combat above all when teaching staff fighting, and I had to spar for an hour every day.
- Why do I have to learn staff fighting? I'm not from the Chaihak school, and where's the need to master close combat?
In fact, I didn't learn it because I wanted to. It was almost half-forced.
- Lynn, even demons think. They know that if they get close to a mage who uses area-of-effect magic, they'll surely win.
- …
- The essence of close combat is to exploit weaknesses. Erasing my own weaknesses and inducing the opponent to reveal theirs to win, that's the art of close combat.
Back then, Lista seemed to look at me and smile with a strangely wistful expression.
- If Lynn learns close combat, you'll gain the advantage of being able to exploit the weakness of any demon who dares to approach you closely.
Because no one would even imagine that a mage could be so skilled in close combat.
Staff fighting gradually took shape in my hands, and the day came when I no longer received any particular instruction from Lista.
On the day twilight fell and dusk faintly bloomed on the horizon, Lista looked at the stars in the sky and said:
- Lynn, do you like staff fighting now?
- To some extent. They say anything you're good at is fun, after all. But why do you ask?
- That's a relief.
- What's a relief?
- Because that staff fighting will be the only trace I can leave in Lynn's heart.
Why did the moonlight seem so desolate that day?
Why did your back, where the moonlight shattered stark white above your head, seem so sad?
I didn't know back then, but now I feel like I vaguely understand.
- Lynn, unlike me, you'll live a long, long time. You'll become an adult, get married, have children, and become a grandfather.
- Marriage? What am I… Who would like someone like me?
- In those moments of life, there will be many days when this staff fighting will be helpful, whether greatly or minimally.
As he said that and looked back at me, Lista's eyes curved gently, but the moonlight shimmered forlornly in the dewdrops within his pupils.
- Lynn, will you remember me each time?
You idiot.
Even without this staff fighting, I…
[Aruuuu!]
Not for a single moment.
Not even for a single moment.
I swear, not even for a single moment have I ever forgotten you.
“…!”
At that moment, the Arch-Holy Sword Shurphen cut through space-time. Had its power been minimized and its speed increased? The pressure sent my body flying, slamming into the outer wall.
My staff spiraled upwards into the sky, and before it reached the peak of its ascent, a blade lunged towards my eyes.
Then, a red flash grazed the corner of my vision, colliding with Shurphen's blade and scattering countless sparks.
“You idiot, get into position!”
Ironically, it was Lista's voice that jolted me awake from sinking into memories with Lista, into the swamp of sorrowful longing.
No, it's not Lista.
I mustn't be mistaken. That's Miria.
The Demon Sword clashing with Shurphen roared mightily. Its cry was just like Link telling me, "Get up, Lynn."
“Rain, Rain, Rain.”
Pipi, who had settled on my head, pecked the top of my head as if telling me to snap out of it, then spread her fiery wings and joined Miria.
Pipi.
I didn't want to show you this fight.
[Aruuu.]
It's agonizing.
It's agonizing beyond words.
Though it's such a painful fight, let's do our best. Now, let's put an end to our sad farewell story.
“Magic Circle Construction, Dual Five Star (Completion).”