Ch.341Changed Raid NPC. (7)

The feel of the shot was good. I controlled the power well, and the attack was calibrated just right—I thought it would be an attack that wouldn’t leave a trace on a normal person.

“Well, I knew you weren’t normal, but still.”

“…Shooting suddenly while I’m in the middle of introducing myself? What an ill-mannered princess you are.”

“And you have manners? Luring people into a trap, turning citizens of another country into undead, and attacking them?”

The priest, seemingly unaffected despite taking a direct hit from my gun, dusted off the dirt and walked out from the wall. After hearing my words, he smirked and muttered, “I suppose that’s true,” before adjusting his posture. Huh? What’s this?

“I am Phildo Torrens Martini, High Priest of the Great Holy Empire. I look forward to working with you.”

“Heh, even rotten, you’ve got some grit. Insisting on finishing your introduction after taking that attack.”

“Couldn’t you have directed that grit toward something better? What grudge do you have against me and the Empire to cause all this trouble?”

As the Chancellor and I addressed him mockingly, the guy awkwardly smiled as if embarrassed and pointed his mace at us.

“Well now. If not for these circumstances, I would have properly explained everything to you both. Well, if you’d quietly allow yourselves to be captured first and listen to what I have to say, things might be different.”

“Quietly allow ourselves to be captured by a fanatic who turned our people into undead? Are you sick?”

“It seems my shot must have hit something vital. Otherwise, there’s no way someone would spout such idiotic nonsense.”

Certainly. Since I shot him, he must be hurting somewhere. I notice his eyebrow twitching slightly at our continued mockery, and simultaneously, veins bulge in the hand gripping his mace.

“I’ll start with the middle-aged gang leader.”

Without making even the sound of kicking off the ground, he closed the nearly 10-meter distance in one go, and his mace came down aiming for the Chancellor’s head. It was an attack that would surely split her skull if it connected directly, even for someone like the Chancellor. But seeing no disturbance or wavering in her purple eyes, I immediately drew the sword from my waist.

-CLANG! KAAANG!!!

“You look middle-aged yourself, yet you mock others’ age. How absurd.”

As if she had been prepared all along, the Chancellor summoned an incredibly thick barrier that blocked his mace head-on. With his abdomen completely exposed, I thrust my sword at him, but he twisted his body upward using his mace—stuck in the barrier—as a pivot, avoiding my blade.

But the Chancellor seemed to have anticipated even that, releasing the barrier before he could fully bounce back, causing him to fall awkwardly.

“At this angle, I can shoot more powerfully than before.”

-Click.

A much stronger beam of light than before shot out from the red pistol I received from Jack, slamming the priest into the ceiling. The control was so exquisite that I felt I had definitely become more skilled at handling it—only one layer of the ceiling collapsed, and the priest’s figure disappeared from view.

“He’s tougher than I thought. He didn’t die even from that attack.”

“Good thing you’re here. The shot felt good, but I can’t see anything because of the smoke.”

The priest’s figure was not visible amid the dust and falling debris. The Chancellor used this opportunity to prepare another spell, moving her staff as she spoke to me.

“If my guess is correct, those guys in the back have placed something on him. I’d like to think it’s holy magic, but they’re using undead. Consider dark magic as well.”

“I’ve been suspicious of that from the beginning. That’s why, like this—”

-TATATATATANG!!!

“”””?!!””””

I shot through the heads of all the idiots who were just staring blankly at us with their vision obscured by dust. Some reacted quickly and dodged, but even they lost shoulders or arms. They began raising voices of accusation against us for “ambushing” them when they weren’t participating in the battle.

Hmm, they really are idiots.

“This is absurd. They started this war themselves, yet they think they shouldn’t be attacked because they’re in the back? Then they shouldn’t have come to this country in the first place.”

-CRACKLE!!!

Having finished her preparations, the Chancellor frowned at their stupid remarks and swung her staff, causing lightning to strike the heads of those who had barely survived, charring them black.

That takes care of the small fry.

“The undead are moving again. And he… he’s moving above our heads.”

-KWATANG!!

Following the Chancellor’s voice, I shot directly above our head, and a masterless mace that was about to fall on my head was hit by the bullet and flew backward. Huh? But where is he?

“Holy spear bombardment.”

“Reverse Wall.”

-KAKAKAKAK!!!!

He had definitely moved above our heads, but now he came down from the hole that had been made earlier, creating and throwing spears glowing with holy magic. The Chancellor, as if she had anticipated this, deflected all the attacks with a new barrier. Indeed, the title of the continent’s strongest mage suits her well.

“Assistant, leave the defense to me and focus only on attacking.”

“Is your internal injury bothering you?”

“That’s part of it, but I have a bad feeling. I don’t want to receive his attacks unprepared.”

The Chancellor began preparing her next spell, ignoring my expression that said “Isn’t that obvious?” Anyway, having her compensate for my lacking defense means…

-TAT! PIPIT!

“I can focus solely on attacking?”

As I cut down the undead while mimicking Rey’s swordsmanship and charged forward, the priest surrounded himself with holy power and created a glowing spear. Certainly, since a spear is longer than a sword, it’s not a bad choice for using the undead as a wall and launching one-sided attacks, but…

“Wind Riding Form 1: Wind of Restraint.”

That’s only true at an ordinary level. Everyone ordinary here is already dead, and Rey’s sword is already among the strongest in this world. Moreover…

-PEET!

According to Jack, my agility and strength stats are already the highest among our group. Naturally, my sword, faster than the wind created by swordsmanship, cuts through the necks of the undead and the shaft of his spear, heading straight for his neck.

“Your swordsmanship shows admirable diligence.”

“?!”

I intended to cut his neck as well, but suddenly my arms, shoulders, and legs felt as if stones had been placed on them, slowing me down, and he easily avoided the blade. What is this?!

“First, you show no gratitude or reverence toward the deity who granted you that talent. We call such people heretics.”

“Ugh?!!”

-KWANG!!

Just as the priest who had avoided my blade was about to strike me with another holy magic-created mace, the Chancellor’s barrier appeared before me, blocking his attack, and I retreated while firing my gun to keep him at bay.

Wait, what was that just now?!

“Chancellor, I just…!!”

“I can’t tell from just one look. You slowed down momentarily. Or rather, his movements didn’t seem to speed up.”

When I tried to ask about what happened to me, the Chancellor cut me off and answered. But, she’s saying I didn’t slow down? I definitely felt like something was weighing on my body!

“Something weighing you down? Hmm, I still can’t tell. Try once more. Leave the defense to me.”

“…I almost died just now, you know?”

“Nonsense. You can’t die when I’m protecting you.”

The Chancellor urges me to try again quickly, completely ignoring my complaints. And the priest, stupidly waiting for us… no, now openly preparing various weapons with holy magic, is snickering as if we’re amusing. Ah, this is really annoying!!

“This time I’ll kill you!!”

-TAT!!

The movement most suitable for activating my skills and stats at full power. That’s the combat style of the man I love most.

I kick off the ground and jump sideways as if escaping from his line of sight, then kick off the wall and fly all the way to the ceiling. I can feel his gaze following me belatedly. No matter what he’s doing, if I completely disappear from his sight with Jack’s movements, he won’t have time to do anything! And then…

-FWAAAH!!!

The Chancellor guides a flame attack that sweeps away the surrounding undead rather than attacking him directly, creating a visual obstruction, and I immediately use that opportunity to kick off the walls and ground even more violently.

-…!!

At the moment when the sound of my previous jumps can’t catch up with the sound of my current jumps, I extend my fist toward the crown of his head. The fist of the man I love most has never lost to a single enemy until now!!!

-PAANG!!!

“Impressive speed and power. Is this the strength of an Imperial princess with skills? Now I understand how that Piana High Priest was defeated.”

“…Huh?”

With movements more relaxed than when he was shot or avoided my sword strike, the priest casually blocks my punch by swinging the weapons around him, tilting his head up to mock me.

This is impossible. Jack’s movements?! My attack with agility and strength stats exceeding 5,000…!!!

“But this too is just the struggle of a heretic. It’s meaningless before a servant of God.”

While I’m so shocked that even my thoughts seem to slow down, I see him grabbing a spear with his other hand and thrusting it at my face at point-blank range. No, I need to dodge first…!!!

-PAANG!!!

“Kyaah?!!”

“……”

With a loud noise, a wind blows from behind me, carrying me away as his spear thrusts through empty air. Unable to properly position myself, I crash back-first onto the ground, even coughing, when a familiar voice makes me aware of the situation with a “Hmm. I see.”

Couldn’t you have saved me more gently?!!

“Foolish talk. You were completely frozen, and I didn’t know what you were trying to do, so I was watching for a moment too. Rather, you should be grateful that I reacted this much despite completely losing track of your movements.”

“Frozen? Me?”

The Chancellor says that I, who was mimicking Jack’s movements by kicking off walls and the ceiling, had almost disappeared from her sight. However, after the attack, I appeared to be swinging my fist slowly, as if deliberately matching his defense. She thought I had some other plan and did it on purpose, but as she burns the surrounding undead with magic, she immediately continues.

“According to what you’re saying, it seems that when you get close to him, both your speed and thoughts slow down. You definitely took all the actions leading up to the punch at once, right?”

“Of course. It’s Jack’s movement. A one-hit kill movement that doesn’t stop for even a moment!”

“…I don’t know where that tremendous confidence comes from, but anyway, to my eyes, you definitely hesitated just before dropping your fist on the crown of his head. It seems my bad feeling was right on the mark.”

-KWAKWANG!!!

“Well now. I’m not sure how long I should watch you two ignoring me and continuing your conversation. May I attack now?”

As the man with a sinister smile breaks through the barrier the Chancellor had deployed with his holy weapon, the Chancellor shrugs her shoulders and continues speaking to me.

“Your gunshots not working on him, and even slowing down your movements and thoughts—if we know that much, there’s only one answer. He’s slowing down the ‘time’ in the surrounding space.”

This is truly a difficult type of enemy to deal with. After saying that, the Chancellor curled up the corners of her mouth as if somehow pleased.