Ch.300Hero vs. Adventurer

Against Shun, who had awakened as a warrior of the Third Eye tribe, we were struggling more than ever before—even taking into account our hesitation to attack him.

“Hup!”

*THWACK!*

“Ugh!?”

Seti, who had never been overwhelmed in close combat against anyone before, was consistently dominated by Shun’s swordsmanship and allowed several hits.

“Stone Bullet!”

*FWOOSH!*

“Eh…?”

Shun casually caught Jessica’s fiercely launched Stone Bullet with just his left hand, like a major league catcher receiving a fastball.

“Ehhh?! He caught the Stone Bullet!?”

“What impossible technique is this… Then, Lightning Bolt {Accelerated Thunder Shot}!”

*CRACKLE!*

Feeling the crisis that we might be annihilated here if this continued, Phyllis steeled herself and fired a Lightning Bolt, but—

“Haah!”

*CRASH!*

Shun raised his sword, deployed a shield-shaped barrier, and deflected Phyllis’s Lightning Bolt.

Before we could even be surprised by this unexpected outcome, Shun charged toward Phyllis like a wild beast.

“Not so fast!”

*BANG!*

I fired using Mina’s gun to check Shun’s advance, but he avoided the magic bullet by a hair’s breadth, approached right up to Phyllis’s face, and swung his sharp sword.

“Hah!”

*CLANG!*

Just before Shun’s blade could touch Phyllis’s body, Seti, having regained his stance, leaped in from the side and blocked the blade.

Phyllis tried to fire her Repeating Rifle at Shun, who had stopped right in front of her, but Shun overpowered Seti and pushed him toward Phyllis, preventing her from successfully attacking.

After displaying his prowess against all four of us in an instant, Shun retreated about 4-5 meters and took a defensive stance.

A round ball-like object flew toward Shun’s feet and exploded.

*BOOM!*

“Yes!”

“Did we get him?”

“Hey Phyllis, that line…”

There was no time to nitpick Phyllis’s resurrection spell. My danger detection ability activated, sensing an intense killing intent descending from above.

“Whoa!”

*CLANG!*

Shun launched a jumping attack, using the explosion as cover, completely disregarding the damage from the magic bomb.

Thanks to my danger detection ability, I barely avoided his attack and managed to secure a safe distance again with the help of Seti and Phyllis.

Shun’s body was covered with fragment wounds and burn marks, but the mouth visible outside his mask showed no pain, not even a trace of tension.

“Are you okay, Will?”

“Yeah, somehow… But why is this guy so strong? He’s overwhelming compared even to the Dark Elves.”

“Whatever talent a ‘warrior’ possesses, it seems he was the Omnipotent Demon Lord’s trump card.”

“Ugh… Shun! Lower your sword! We have no intention of harming the Third Eye tribe! We are not the enemies you should be fighting!”

Phyllis shouted that we had no hostile intentions toward the Third Eye tribe, but Shun ignored her words and pointed his sword at us again.

Perhaps he was brainwashed while trapped in the glass pillar, or his mind was temporarily controlled by the mask.

‘He might be opposing us of his own will… but there’s the precedent of the Gentleman whose personality changed 180 degrees when his mask was removed.’

The question was how to break that brainwashing.

It would be fortunate if removing or breaking the mask would solve the problem, but considering Shun’s capabilities, it was uncertain whether we could remove just the mask without defeating him.

To make matters worse, the gun I was holding wasn’t my usual revolver but Mina’s large-caliber pistol.

Since I couldn’t even handle the recoil without gripping it firmly with both hands, using skills that relied on quick draws was obviously impossible…

“…No. There is a way.”

“What is it? Got a good idea?”

“Mina. Your gun can withstand my skill, unlike Wolfsbane, right?”

“Since titanium was used in the barrel, maybe one shot? At least it won’t explode like Wolfsbane.”

“OK. Then get the Glory Toast from the bag. Seti, Phyllis, Jessica! Hold on for about 30 seconds!”

Noticing I was up to something, Shun tried to concentrate his attacks on me again, but when it came to fighting for defense rather than attack or suppression, my companions’ capabilities were by no means inferior to Shun’s.

“Hyaah!”

*SWOOSH!*

*BANG! CLICK, BANG!*

“Diamond Dust!”

Seti’s wind blades flew from a distance, along with Phyllis’s rapid fire from her Repeating Rifle.

Jessica’s Diamond Dust joined in, restraining Shun’s movements.

Of course, Shun, living up to his name as a warrior, instantly broke through the ice and attempted close combat, but Seti parried his sword as if he’d been waiting for it and launched wind blades.

*SLASH!*

“!?”

At the moment when sword met spear, Shun finally allowed the first hit from the double attack that flew at his face.

Not missing that chance, Jessica used Diamond Dust once more, and even as his legs were freezing, Shun made a great backward jump, breaking the ice with the impact of his landing and regaining his stance.

“Yeah. As expected, this can’t be avoided.”

“Seti, that attack just now…”

“Since I can’t match Shun’s sword with strength, I swung shallowly to deflect it while using wind blades. I’ve completely mastered the timing, so he’ll have to be prepared if he wants to approach from now on.”

Seti, despite being covered in wounds, had finally found a way to deal with Shun.

This meant not only that we had a chance to counterattack, but more importantly, it stopped Shun’s fierce offensive.

Shun’s winning pattern had been to break through the opponent’s attack with strength and technique and then counterattack, but now that Seti was doing the same to him, he couldn’t recklessly charge in.

While Shun hesitated to attack, I was able to down the strength enhancement potion from the Glory Toast.

“Good. With this, I should be able to handle Mina’s gun with one hand.”

Though it fit awkwardly in the holster due to size differences, I could still activate my skill if I could just take a quick draw stance.

My target was Shun’s mask.

To break only the mask without delivering a headshot, I needed to aim when his face was turned to the side.

And that level of coordination didn’t need to be verbalized—it was the teamwork we had built up.

“Bayonet Phantasm {Phantom Light Sword}! Jessica, the fragment of omniscience!”

“Got it!”

As Jessica closed her eyes and spread a magic circle at her feet, Phyllis thrust the light sword extending from the tip of her rifle into the magic circle.

The brilliantly shining light sword scattered like sand grains, swirling around Jessica, and then was drawn into her smooth thighs revealed beneath her skirt hem.

This was the moment when the derringer, normally just a last resort for self-defense, transformed into the most formidable weapon.

*RATATATATATATATA!*

“!?!?”

Even for a Third Eye tribe warrior with unique gun manufacturing technology, this terrifying rapid fire was unexpected. Shun allowed the first few hits before frantically attempting to evade.

His gaze was fixed on Jessica, who was pouring out magic bullets without pause.

It wouldn’t be difficult to catch his profile if I just moved a little.

‘Now!’

Quick draw initiated, skill activated.

The unfamiliar thick grip touched my fingertips, and the muzzle that emerged from the awkward holster aimed at Shun’s profile.

Just as I was about to pull the trigger to split that unpleasant mask with a magic bullet—

*WHOOSH*

‘What the—!?’

Shun’s face was still turned toward Jessica.

However, above the mask Shun was wearing, another semi-transparent face—whether human or beast, I couldn’t tell—protruded and glared at me.

Despite time being frozen, that face was clearly moving, and it showed obvious signs of surprise.

‘Is that the Omnipotent Demon Lord?’

It was a baseless judgment, but I was certain.

And I also thought that to free Shun, I needed not only to break the mask but also to strike the Omnipotent Demon Lord’s main body visible there.

But just before I could put that thought into action, I heard the Omnipotent Demon Lord’s panicked voice.

‘Impossible!’

Looking at me with eyes full of astonishment, the Omnipotent Demon Lord spoke.

‘You should not even be able to perceive my existence! Even if showing you the past made it possible, you should only be able to hear my voice! There’s no way you could visually recognize my form, which I myself have forgotten after losing my physical body!’

“And yet it seems that’s exactly what happened.”

‘Those eyes! Do you possess special eyes that can transcend even Armedia’s taboo! If so, hand them over. Sacrifice your life to the Third Eye warrior E=Pe=Shun and give those eyes to me!’

The Omnipotent Demon Lord seems amazed that I can see his face.

By the way, if it’s true that he made it possible for me to hear his voice by showing me the past, then the Omnipotent Demon Lord has made the blunder of a lifetime.

“Hey, Mr. Omnipotent Demon Lord. You lost your physical body and got trapped on this island because of Armedia’s taboo, right? And the reason we shouldn’t be able to perceive you is the same?”

‘That’s right!’

“Then tell me… do you know what happens if you break that taboo on your own?”

‘What do you mean? A taboo is a taboo because it cannot be broken. How could the act of breaking it arbitrarily even be possible?’

…In this respect, he’s no different from the Third Eye tribe he created.

I thought the information coming in was too critical even with the Arcane Word discovered, but if it’s a mistake made out of complete ignorance about taboos, that makes sense.

If that’s the case, I have something else to do besides pulling the trigger.

“…As one who has perceived your existence, I command you, the Demon Lord who has broken the taboo.”

‘Ngh!? This, this pain is…?’

While aiming my gun at the Omnipotent Demon Lord, who was confused by the unexpected situation, I uttered a single command that could perfectly resolve this situation.

“Separate from the body of the Third Eye warrior E=Pe=Shun and reveal your true form right now!”

*BANG!*

One shooting star fired along with the absolute command right over a Demon Lord who broke the taboo.

The moment that light pierced between the Omnipotent Demon Lord’s eyes, the vast closed space surrounding us collapsed like a broken window.

Just like that time when I first perceived the Demon Lord’s existence.