episode_0079

The air is heavy.

My whole body feels crushed.

I felt like my body was frozen, like prey in front of a predator.

As soon as he arrived here, McGuff unleashed his full force.

To be honest, I was surprised.

Even though the level difference is huge, I never thought I’d feel this intimidated. It was so uncomfortable when we were enemies, but once we became allies, I couldn’t be more reassured.

The puppet master’s face, which had been relaxed throughout, gradually hardened.

He said, drawing his sword.

“I’ll deal with that loach. You guys clean up the area.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Wow, thanks to you I survived.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I guess I’ll have some free time now.

After giving a simple order, McGuff rushed straight towards the puppet master. He raised his large sword, which was as big as his body, to his waist and prepared to take a deflection stance.

It’s a very honest strike, even without having to read the signals like a puppet master. But whether you can avoid it is a separate issue.

Boohoo!

The moment he thought that, his sword swung.

A strong wind blew up from where the sword had passed.

As if in a whirlwind, a gravitational force is generated in the space where the sword is swung. It is so strong that even my body, which was far away, was dragged along for a moment.

It was one of his signature abilities.

He wields a greatsword, so he is bound to be relatively slower than his equals. No matter how strong his attack power is, he knows that if the opponent dodges, it will be a complete failure.

That’s why he found a way to limit his opponent’s movements. He created wind pressure to limit his movements, and gravity to pull his opponent towards his sword.

If you unilaterally avoid the attack, the opponent will inevitably lose his/her pace.

‘That was really annoying in the game too.’

First of all, since they are allies, there aren’t many instances of them being hostile.

That’s why most of my battles with him were friendly duels.

If you just keep avoiding, at some point you’ll get groggy and it’ll be quite annoying.

Of course, the opponent is not easy either.

Phew!

“Huh?”

“Whew, you sure are hard to control.”

If MacGuff’s ability is to draw the opponent into his attack, the puppet master’s ability is to direct the attack itself in the wrong direction.

There was no need to control the entire body. One arm, one leg, or if that didn’t work, at least one wrist.

Even if you only fine-tune someone else’s body, the point of attack will change drastically. Because of that, there were many times when McGuff’s attacks couldn’t even get close to the guy.

“What an annoying talent.”

Of course, McGuff paid no attention and swung his sword.

I frowned.

‘It’s ambiguous.’

McGuff had a slight edge, but it wasn’t overwhelming.

Even though there was a one level difference, the actual skill difference didn’t seem to be that big.

It was a rare case. A full low-level player and an empty high-level player who had just leveled up. The skill gap might not be that big.

It’s a shame, but I guess I should be satisfied. It’s true that thanks to that, I can breathe a little easier.

All we have to do is quickly clean up our surroundings and join in.

I asked Yulis with that thought in mind.

“How long does it take to purify everything?”

“I think it’ll take a while. I’m starting to get tired···.”

The battle must have been fierce. Judging from the fact that she, who rarely loses her strength, is complaining of fatigue.

“Let’s just gather the puppets and tie them up. We can bring them back to their senses after the battle.”

I feel sorry for the civilians, but we don’t have time.

The puppet master must have known that he was cornered. He had to put some pressure on him before he got out.

“Wow··· I wanted to play some more, but I guess I can’t. There are more and more people coming.”

At that moment, the puppet master pulled my hand back. In his back pocket was a rolled up scroll.

There’s a high chance that it’s a scroll. And it has teleportation magic in it.

I shouted urgently.

“Stop McGuff! He’s trying to escape!”

“Shut up! I know that too!”

Even though your tone was a bit harsh, my wish was conveyed.

Boohoo!

He swung his sword sharply and stopped the guy’s arm.

The puppet master, who was trying to take out the scroll, quickly pulls his body away.

The bastard’s expression suddenly frowned.

“This is a bit annoying.”

I feel sorry for the guy, but I plan on continuing to block him from using it.

Of course, the guy will eventually be able to cast a scroll with just a flick of his hand, but…

[The ‘Slow Reading Method’ is cast on the scroll!]

[The casting time of the corresponding magic increases!]

There is one archmage here who knows how to use strange debuffs.

Oh, it wasn’t Lily.

That magic was a fairly high-level magic, and it was a type she couldn’t use yet.

Jess Cuban, the one he used after being retired from the previous fight.

“K, keuhehe···.”

I see him still lying on the floor, laughing. It looks like he just used all his strength to create that magic.

The puppet master swore at me.

“The dying worms···.”

By that time, the puppet’s binding was almost complete.

The brainwashing hasn’t gone away yet, but since we’ve tied him up tight, he won’t be able to run wild.

“I support you.”

That’s how we started helping McGuff.

Not directly. We didn’t have the confidence to get involved in that fight.

However, support was available from time to time when there was an opportunity.

For example, when the puppeteer is barely catching his breath, he might use a skill to distract the enemy by attacking them.

That alone was enough to put pressure on the guy.

[The puppet master uses the Return Scroll!]

[Preparing to cast······.]

Of course, the guy’s hands couldn’t be completely blocked, so the scroll was cast.

Now it’s time attack time. The goal is to inflict as much damage as possible before he returns.

In doing so, we must compensate for the damage as much as possible.

“Haa, ha··· How annoying.”

Before he knew it, several living organisms had formed in his body.

It’s closing in on all sides, so no matter how much of a guy he is, there’s no way he can avoid it.

Even in the midst of all this, there were no fatal injuries, so both he and we felt frustrated.

Boohoo!

Then McGuff swung his sword again.

With a bloody sound, the sword rushes towards him.

But this time, nothing happened to him, even though the attack was quite sharp.

McGuff clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, you damn loach···.”

I also clicked my tongue inwardly.

They didn’t match up from the start. It’s true that McGuff is stronger and has more powerful attacks. But what’s the point of that? They don’t match up anyway.

The stronger the attack, the stronger the signal it emits. That’s why he’ll probably try his best to avoid it.

In this state, it is impossible to inflict fatal damage on the guy.

Damn, so I have no choice but to send him away like this?

‘no.’

All you have to do is create a situation where he has no choice but to be attacked.

Even as I was thinking these thoughts, time continued to pass faithfully. With each passing moment, the letters on the scroll evaporated.

The puppet master snickered as he watched it. It seemed as if he had regained some of the composure he had lost.

“I think it’s time to wrap it up. To be honest, I’m not that satisfied, but it was still fun.”

He says, pointing to my torn scroll.

“Then before you go, let me give you a gift.”

Crackle crackle!

Electricity surged from his hands. He was going to use magic again. He didn’t need to save his strength since he would be back soon anyway.

And then the magic happened.

“Thunderstorm”

Kwakang! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Numerous lightning bolts struck the ground, as if raindrops were falling.

“Eww!”

“Damn, you still have this much power left?”

Of course. The guy was a proper archmage.

If you don’t hold back on your mana, you can easily cause natural disasters around you. This casting speed is surprising, though.

“Ugh···!”

Our formation was momentarily disrupted by the sudden attack.

Since the guy casted it in a hurry, the attack power itself wasn’t that strong.

But the lightning that poured down without mercy itself paralyzed his sight and hearing, which meant that he had time to prepare his next move.

I feel it.

A type of mana is condensed into one place through the rain of lightning. The lightning pouring down now is fake. That is the real thing.

Fortunately, it seems I’m not the only one who felt this.

I could vaguely see each person deploying their own defensive tactics.

Okay, I can feel somewhat reassured at this point…

The moment he thought that, a condensed lightning bolt shot out. Directed towards Jess Cuban, who was defenseless.

“Mr. Cuban!!”

Quagga River!

The breakthrough piece flies away with a loud noise.

The puppet master saw that and snickered.

“If everyone is sending such defensive signals, I have no choice but to attack something else.”

I frowned.

Damn it. You’ve already read the signal. It’s our fault for not being able to come up with another solution in an emergency situation.

As he was thinking that, a circular magic circle appeared above the floor where he was standing. Of course, it was a teleportation magic circle.

The end of this battle seemed imminent.

“Don’t miss it!”

McGuff quickly jumped to his feet. He charged his greatsword with fury in his eyes. Even if the bastard got away, I could sense his determination to strike him somehow.

But it will be of no use.

As I said before, his attacks are powerful but slow.

He was bound to be at a disadvantage against the puppet master, who had evasive abilities that were almost like foresight.

Even if you get close to him and swing your sword, he will definitely dodge and return leisurely.

The guy still had a smile on his face, as if he knew it.

But it won’t be like he thinks. That’s why I’m here.

“······.”

I looked at the floor. There was blood spilled everywhere.

It was the blood I had shed while fighting so far.

On the surface, it may look like there is no pattern, but if you look closely, you will see that the piles are all connected.

If you send blood directly to him using blood flow control, he’ll definitely notice something strange.

Although it was a bit cumbersome, the preliminary work was necessary to make it happen naturally. And the results are finally in sight.

I cast a spell without hesitation.

[Use ‘Blood Power Replacement’!]

[Combined with ‘Electric Shock’!]

[Electricity flows through your blood!]

This must have sent a signal to him as well.

But it can’t be avoided. The electricity spreading through his blood will paralyze him faster than he can move.

“Ugh?!”

The guy’s expression frowned for a moment.

The damage won’t be strong. Shock is a basic spell, and my proficiency is low. It’ll probably cause a brief paralysis that will wear off quickly.

But for me, that moment of paralysis, that fleeting moment, is what I need more than anything right now.

Chomp!

Immediately afterwards, McGuff’s greatsword was swung.

This time, the guy couldn’t dodge. My body was paralyzed by the unexpected attack. I had to take the greatsword that cut through my skin.

Blood spurted out like a fountain. The sound of flesh and bone crumbling echoed softly. McGuff’s blow sliced off half of the bastard’s upper body.

It was a fatal blow by anyone’s standards. If it had been just a little deeper, the upper body would have been severed.

“Cough!”

Blood gushed out from the bastard’s neck.

But we couldn’t continue the attack any further than that.

Because the bastard’s teleportation was activated before McGuff could swing his greatsword.

Pot!

The bastard’s body disappeared with a very small sound effect.

“······.”

“······.”

All that remains is a silence formed by confusion.

So the battle ended, with half victory and half defeat.