Ch.170Frill (6)

“Stop right there!!!”

Sasith immediately ran after Slave and Frill.

“Damn it… stop them quickly!”

Slave said, looking around.

“Hehehe. You can’t go.”

But we had already marked one person each.

“Tch!! No choice then!!”

With no other option, Slave chose to run straight ahead.

But… he was incredibly fast.

“Kuh… I won’t let you escape!!!”

Sasith also ran at full speed.

Hang in there, Sasith.

‘Frill… would be useful as a comrade.’

We absolutely need to recruit her. Well, I’ve also grown fond of her.

“My, what a foolish thing you’ve done.”

At that moment, Jevanni spoke.

“Foolish?”

“Even if all of you attacked together, you wouldn’t be able to defeat even one of us. Yet you deliberately split your numbers. Truly foolish.”

Jevanni said.

“The foolish ones are you.”

I said that, then raised my sword.

“I’ve sided with the protagonist. That means I absolutely won’t die.”

That’s what I said. They shouldn’t underestimate Sasith’s protagonist buff… and me, who’s stuck to him like a barnacle.

“What nonsense…”

“Stop flapping your gums and come at me.”

I drew my sword.

That’s when it happened.

“HYAAAAAAAH!!!”

Taiga suddenly charged forward.

“FENRIR!!!”

Taiga summoned Fenrir and had it shoot flames toward his baseball bat.

WHOOOOSH-!!!

The baseball bat was immediately engulfed in flames.

“DIE!!!”

Taiga swung the baseball bat with great force.

“URGHHHH!!”

The man with the lizard on his shoulder rolled to dodge.

KWAGAGAGAGAGANGGG-!!

The ground shattered from the impact.

Ah… right. Taiga was quite strong. I’d forgotten his strength after dealing with those monster-like guys in the Toshinbae. This was basically an otaku story, so the average combat power was high.

“How violent… your psychorobo is also poorly trained.”

The lizard man clicked his tongue and muttered.

“Stop talking nonsense and fight!!”

Taiga shouted loudly.

But… hitting the ground turned out to be a bad move.

KWARURURURURUNG-!!!

The ground began to collapse at tremendous speed.

“Hey!! Taiga!! You damn troll!!”

I cursed at Taiga without thinking.

“Ah!! Sorry!!!!”

Taiga immediately apologized.

KWARURURURURUNG-!!

We fell straight through the ground.

Shit. This is too much. Even shoddy construction has its limits!!! Does it collapse from one bat swing?!!

“Umi…!!”

I called out to Umi.

But Umi and her opponent, the seductive woman, were safe. They were just glaring at each other from a safe distance.

I was relieved for a moment, but…

“UWAAAAAAAGH!!”

I immediately made passionate contact with the ground.

KWAAAANG-!!

Taiga seemed to have landed on the opposite side. We got separated. Later… I’ll defeat this guy and regroup. That was my plan.

“Hufufufufu. Here we can fight without interruptions.”

Jevanni laughed and drew his sword.

SHRIIIING-!

It was a sword, but of a type I’d never seen before. It was a form of sword not used in any Earth culture.

The swords hanging on Jevanni’s back were all like that too.

“Are you curious about these swords?”

Jevanni smiled as he brandished his sword.

“I… collect swords as a hobby. After killing swordsmen from numerous universes, I collect their swords. The swordsman kind are all arrogant. Shattering their pride… killing them after driving them to despair is something I can’t quit. It’s too addictive.”

Jevanni said with an excited sigh.

“That sword in your hand… it looks quite unique.”

Jevanni said with a smile.

“I’d love to add it to my collection. Besides… I’m interested in swordsmen from the planet Earth.”

Jevanni took a stance with his sword.

It was a peculiar sword style I’d never seen anywhere. It was truly an alien swordsmanship.

“I heard there was a strong swordsman class called samurai in a country called Japan. You appear to be their descendant. Show me the taste of a samurai properly!!”

Jevanni rushed toward me.

“Oh yeah!!! Finally done with your monologue!! You’re quite the chatterbox!!”

I immediately ran toward Jevanni.

CLAAAAAANG-!!!!

My sword and Jevanni’s sword collided.

“Hnnnngh…!!”

Right after, I charged my breath.

The Flash Strike activated properly. Thin lines appeared on his body.

Whether the opponent was an alien or whatever, if I could see an opening, I could cut them.

CHANG-!!

I twisted my sword diagonally to deflect his strike. It was a parry I had practiced to exhaustion in the Dagger Dungeon.

“Huh…!!”

Jevanni’s expression froze for a moment.

“Die!!!”

While he was flustered, I immediately swung my sword.

SWOOOOOOSH-!!!!

With that, Jevanni’s body was cleanly cut in half.

“GURGHK…!!”

With that, Jevanni collapsed. His body was completely split in half.

But… there was no blood. No organs or body parts were visible beyond the cross-section. How should I put it… it felt like cutting jelly.

Is that how beings from the other world are? I decided to accept it as such.

“That was easier than I thought.”

He was surprisingly weak. Just an opponent I could beat with my current level.

“But you never know.”

My web novelist’s intuition activated.

The scene of thinking I’d killed him, walking away slowly, and then getting backstabbed flashed through my mind.

I immediately tried to confirm the kill. Better to be sure, right?

“Tch. You’re more perceptive than I thought.”

Jevanni clicked his tongue and stood up.

Gurururuk-!

Then, Jevanni immediately reattached his body.

“Phew… the surprise attack failed, I see.”

Jevanni said with a smile.

“So that’s how it is.”

It didn’t feel like I had cut him. There wasn’t that definite satisfaction of taking an enemy’s life with my sword strike.

“I modified my body to be immune to sword cuts. In exchange for sacrificing my ability to handle psychorobos, I gained this constitution. I’ve become a konnyaku human!!!”

Jevanni said with a laugh.

These other world guys keep going on about konnyaku… Frill did too. Is it some kind of racial concept?

“As a result… I earned the title of Swordsman Slayer. Swordsmen who can cut through rock and iron are common throughout the universe. However, they couldn’t cut a body that wobbles like konnyaku!!! As a result… they all died by my hand. HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Jevanni burst into grand laughter.

“You’re a swordsman, right? Bad luck. You’ve met the natural enemy of swordsmen.”

Jevanni said with a smirk.

“Indeed… you’re an annoying one.”

It wasn’t that he had no openings, nor was his swordsmanship particularly excellent. I could cut him. But that wasn’t the problem.

Even if cut, he reattaches his body and gets up. Slashing attacks were completely ineffective.

Magic might work… but my psychorobo was Pinocchio. Just a wooden shield. The only things he could burn were Geppetto’s heart and retirement funds.

“Master… you’re thinking disrespectful thoughts again, aren’t you?”

Suddenly materialized Pinocchio looked at me.

“No. Not really.”

I shook my head.

And while Pinocchio was off guard, I grabbed his leg and threw him.

WHOOOOSH-!!

“UWAAAAGH!! MASTER!!!”

Pinocchio flew at tremendous speed.

THWACK-!

Pinocchio hit Jevanni directly in the chest. If slashing doesn’t work… maybe striking would? That was my thinking.

SPLASH-!!!!

However, Jevanni’s body just wobbled greatly from the impact.

“How foolish. Strikes and gunfire are completely ineffective.”

SWOOSH-!!

After that, Jevanni took a stance.

“My konnyaku body is invincible!!”

Jevanni laughed loudly.

Honestly… I was in a bad situation. I didn’t expect my lack of magic ability to be such a hindrance again.

That’s when it happened.

“Ah… can you hear me?”

Suddenly a voice rang in my ear. Who… installed a listening device in my ear!!

“Ah. I see you can hear me. Let me tell you something good.”

It was Bluebeard.

“Your level growth is currently halted. If you overcome this trial… the lock will be released. The reward for victory is certain.”

Bluebeard said.

“And… if you defeat Jevanni, I’ll raise your stats based on the memories of the strong. A lot, too.”

Violet spoke in a tone that clearly showed her dislike.

She seemed to hate even talking to me. But… that contempt makes it even more appealing.

“In other words… it’s a growth event.”

I muttered with a smile.

“Yes. Defeat him without cutting him. It’ll be difficult, but.”

Bluebeard ended the communication with those words.

“I don’t know what you’re muttering to yourself, but… you’re finished.”

Jevanni smiled and raised his sword.

Splash-! Splash-!

Jevanni’s arms stretched like tentacles and moved fluidly.

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!! Whooshwhooshwhoosh-!!

Waving stretched arms while holding swords was definitely threatening. Basically, it increased his reach. Plus, this guy couldn’t be cut by swords. He was planning to engage in an extremely selfish damage exchange.

‘But… it’s not cool at all.’

Even with stretchy arms, only Straw Hat looks cool. I realized that once again.

“AHAHAHAHA!!! Are you so scared you can’t even move?!!!”

Jevanni seemed certain of victory.

Defeat him without using magic to inflict elemental damage. It was definitely a challenge.

However, I could solve it.

‘Don’t underestimate the imagination of an otaku web novelist.’

I found the answer at this very moment.

“Hnnnngh….!!”

While focusing the Blazing Stance on my legs, I immediately spun in place using my superior speed.

SCREEEEEEECH-!!!!

At the same time, I continuously scraped the ground with my sword.

SCREEEEEEECH-!!!

My sword and the floor began to create friction at an incredible speed. Sparks were almost flying.

“Have you gone insane with fear? Before you become any more unsightly… let me end your life!!”

Jevanni immediately rushed toward me.

SCREEEEEEECH-!!

At that moment, I stopped spinning.

“What…!”

Jevanni’s expression froze, and he stopped in his tracks.

SIZZZZZZLE-!!

As I had planned, my sword underwent a transformation. Due to the continuous rapid friction, a tremendous amount of heat had been generated.

My beloved sword Tomato… was now carrying extreme heat.

“Ha!!! Are you planning to heat up your sword for an elemental attack? Do you think such a makeshift method will accomplish anything?!!”

Having regained his composure, Jevanni closed the distance toward me.

“BLAZING SLASH!!!!”

I immediately swung my sword with great force.

CLAAAAAANG-!!

After deflecting Jevanni’s sword, I delivered another slash at close range.

SWOOOOOOOOSH-!!!!

The blazing sword cut through Jevanni’s body. As expected, there was no sensation of cutting.

However, the situation was different from before.

“HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTTT!!!!!!”

Jevanni immediately rolled on the ground, screaming in pain.

SIZZZZZZLE-!!

The cross-section of Jevanni’s body was burning and melting away.

“Today’s menu is grilled konnyaku. No complaints, right?”

I raised my sword.

This will work. I was certain of it.