Ch.7171. Gideon (2)

[ Using ‘Exploration Eye’. ]

[ Loading target information. ]

[ 24-hour cooldown applies for the same target. ]

< Character Info >

[ Gideon Gaelstard La Tristan ]

[ Trait: Grand Duke of Tristan ]

[ Status: … ]

< Status Info >

[Normal]

Strength: S+

Agility: S+

Endurance: A

Luck: F

Authority: S+

[Supernatural]

Mana: SS

Magic Power: F

Divine Power: F

[Skills]

Swordsmanship: SS+

Mana Control: SS+

Intuition: SS+

< Misc. >

[ ‘Demonic Fragment’ is eroding the target! ]

[ Currently 0%, 2 minutes remaining until erosion completion! ]

Impressive.

In terms of pure specs, he’s below Krat, but his stats are excellently balanced.

The title of the Empire’s strongest knight isn’t something you can earn easily, after all.

And among those stats.

‘…This guy isn’t exactly human-spec either.’

I look at his SS+ swordsmanship, ranked equal to Krat’s martial arts, followed by his ‘Mana Control’ and ‘Intuition’ stats.

So, someone who has few equals when it comes to techniques using mana.

His ability to instinctively find the most efficient choices during combat has reached an almost transcendent level.

It’s not for nothing that he can match Krat despite the catastrophic stat difference.

From my perspective, someone who enjoys fighting by executing pre-planned strategies to checkmate opponents, it’s a trait that makes me sigh.

“So.”

And Krat, having heard the ‘purpose’ of this battle I just laid out, opened his mouth with a hollow laugh.

Gideon was slowly rising, drawing his sword, his eyes beginning to emit an ominous red glow.

That’s proof he’s completely entering a state of madness.

“You want us to subdue the Empire’s strongest ‘alive’ when he’s gone completely berserk and charging at us?”

“No.”

Strictly speaking, neither Gideon nor this person is truly the ‘Empire’s strongest.’

If you said ‘strongest among knights’ or ‘holy knights,’ that would be about right.

‘…If it weren’t for those few monsters in the imperial palace, it wouldn’t be wrong.’

I chew over that thought with a bitter smile.

Those guys are extraordinarily powerful.

Well, anyway.

There’s one more thing that’s incorrect besides that.

“He hasn’t gone completely mad. At least during combat, he might make better judgments than usual?”

The family madness he’d been suppressing has burst forth, and the demonic fragment is eroding him, making him want to kill any living thing.

What both have in common is that they give buffs, not debuffs, when it comes to killing people.

“…Are you really planning to kill everyone here?”

Krat growled in a low voice.

Naturally, subduing someone alive is harder than just killing them.

Especially with Gideon in that state, it would be nearly impossible even with Krat included.

But.

“When I said I’d fight you, everyone had the same reaction, didn’t they?”

“…”

Bad compatibility, impossible to subdue alive, this and that.

There are plenty of risk factors.

“Margrave.”

“What.”

“If this really seemed impossible, I would have already run away.”

“…”

I’m doing this because it’s all possible.

I value my own life too, you know?

I wouldn’t do it without confidence.

“So, well. The goal is as I just said… ‘enduring’ for 2 minutes.”

I scratch my cheek while choosing my words.

“You heard the plan, so let’s move accordingly. I keep saying this, but it won’t take long.”

I continue in a listless voice.

“Let’s quickly subdue His Grace and go home.”

“…”

While glances asking ‘you’re really going to do this no matter what’ fly from all directions.

“…-!”

Gideon charged at us with a roar.

●

They say to catch a knight, you should target the horse he’s riding, not the knight himself.

The first target is, naturally, the saint who can provide support to those around her but has virtually no combat ability.

“…!”

Among the top-tier knights, Grand Duke Tristan is evaluated as having no equal when it comes to combat techniques.

By compressing mana and ejecting it behind his back, his momentary acceleration surpasses even Krat’s speed. No one properly reacted.

But.

“You can’t pass!”

Fortunately, there’s a very reliable bodyguard for that part.

There’s someone who can cut down anything that enters close range.

Distance to the opponent: two steps.

The meteoric iron circlet flashes. An ancient curse that has continued for eons grants Yuria’s sword terrifying power.

-!

However.

Sparks flew as Yuria’s eyes widened.

“He blocked it?!”

Elia screams in shock.

This was Yuria’s strike that cut a meteoric iron automaton at the same distance in half with one blow. But Gideon blocks it while charging forward.

Flawless mana control, footwork, arm angle, and sword contact surface. A miraculous result created by controlling all the minute variables that a normal human would find difficult to think about properly in actual combat.

And having blocked the Severance, Gideon flowed past Yuria like water.

“…!”

Yuria’s eyes widened at the sight.

Indeed.

While Yuria displays near-invincible combat power against opponents who enter her range, if you simply ‘ignore her like this,’ she becomes neutralized.

There’s no way Gideon could know Yuria’s abilities. I never introduced these party members to each other.

However, his intuition that chooses paths infinitely close to the correct answer judged after crossing swords once that there was no need to deal with her further.

‘…What a monster.’

Even without ‘original knowledge’ like me that lets me see through all information, his suitability and timeliness are both on par with mine.

It means there’s virtually no gap between someone with a strategy guide in their head and someone fighting in real time.

It’s proof that those flashy stats attached to this person aren’t there for nothing.

Next, Gideon’s sword flew toward the saint with a vicious gleam. Lucien’s face turns pale as he’s directly exposed to the killing intent that seems to set all the surrounding air ablaze.

But.

There’s someone who was already ‘waiting’ in front of him.

Me, who knew from the start that he’d target this side.

[ Crisis situation detected. ]

[ Judged to be a direct threat to life. ]

[ Applying ‘Skill: Desperate Situation’ at EX grade. ]

[ Activating ‘Skill: Proof of Faith’. ]

[ All stat bonuses are converted to ‘Endurance’ and ‘Divine Power’. ]

[ Activating ‘Skill: Stigmata’. ]

A three-stage skill combo.

Inflated stats, all converted to endurance and divine power, creating a divine power shield that becomes even sturdier under that influence.

Of course, the sword thrust forward is a strike from someone who earned the title of the Empire’s strongest knight. There’s no way this level could block it.

The barrier that held up quite well against Valkarsus’s alchemy tears like cardboard. The sword rushes toward Lucien, but.

Following that.

“Calivan.”

[ Activating ‘Skill: Mental World’. ]

The buffs I’m receiving are transferred to Lucien as well, adding sturdiness to the defensive blessings Lucien managed to set up just in time.

Thanks to that, Gideon’s sword, which had been flying like an enraged boar, stopped with sparks flying.

It’s absurd. What level of effort went into blocking just one strike?

But that effort wasn’t in vain, as counterattacks fly from the surroundings.

Yuria, Elia, and Krat.

The Margrave at the front, like a human tank, creates an opening.

Gideon notices others approaching from the sides and swings his sword again, but the Margrave catches it with his ‘bare hands.’

“…”

This guy’s really insane.

Of course, his hand gets cut. The sword cuts through his hand and partially digs into his arm. Even that steel-like body that shows no scratches no matter how much I attack it takes damage.

But, in other words.

This person blocked Gideon’s strike with ‘just that much.’

Truly a rival, I suppose.

“Hit him!”

At those words, Yuria and Elia, who had been waiting nearby, leap simultaneously.

Of course, compared to Gideon or Krat, they’re flawed attackers, but in a case like now where Krat sacrificed his body to completely block Gideon’s attack, they could land quite effective hits.

But.

“…”

Gideon takes a deep breath and simply ‘releases’ his sword. Krat is flustered, and Gideon, having gained some distance, ‘closes his eyes.’ A swordsman abandoning his sword and even giving up his vision.

A normal person might wonder what kind of suicidal act this is, but.

“Damn, crazy-!”

In empty air, slashes that could tear through steel suddenly manifest.

No preliminary movement, no body motion, no mana manipulation.

With strikes that have no detectable signs of attack, both Yuria and Elia’s bodies are simultaneously knocked back.

A technique approaching the divine, causing shock to appear on both Elia and Yuria’s faces.

If not for the blessings the saint had created in time, they might have been seriously injured.

Protective barriers of various colors are layered over their bodies.

‘…Divine armor?’

A defensive blessing with extremely high resistance to physical attacks.

Seeing her create something like this instantly without prayer or holy relics shows that a saint is indeed a saint.

But while the attack was slowed, Gideon had already retrieved his sword from Krat’s body. Kicking away Krat’s body trying to restrain him, pulling out the sword embedded in his arm and creating distance.

Amazingly, he gained the initiative in close combat against that person.

“…This bastard, before he couldn’t do anything once I got within this distance…!”

That’s because the demonic fragment is attached.

As Elnore’s example shows, when a fragment gets involved, the target’s power is enhanced in some way. The longer the erosion progresses on Gideon, the higher the probability that stat corrections are being added.

In other words, the longer this fight continues, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us.

The continuing battle follows that pattern.

He deflects all our attacks while landing all his own, unilaterally accumulating damage on our side.

Amazingly, he’s pushing back this level of members single-handedly. Even if I had ordered them to kill rather than subdue alive, the situation probably wouldn’t have changed much.

“…”

No, I should put it differently.

It’s because we have this level of members that we’re holding out this much.

The martial prowess Gideon is currently displaying is truly at the level of fighting a hundred alone. Even accounting for his combat power being higher than usual, it’s an excessive level.

And watching that.

“…”

I don’t know how this will sound, but.

I feel good.

No, the fact that Gideon with the ‘demonic fragment’ can display this level of combat power is definitely good news.

Because.

There will definitely be a point in the scenario where I’ll make full use of that combat power.

“So, we’re somehow managing to face him following the teacher’s plan!”

It’s natural for Elia to let out such a scream.

“How are we supposed to capture something like that alive-!”

But.

“I already caught him.”

“…Huh?”

I just smile at Elia, who widens her eyes and asks that, as I stand up.

Don’t mistake the purpose of the battle.

I clearly said at the beginning that the goal was to ‘endure’ for 2 minutes.

< Misc. >

[ ‘Demonic Fragment’ is eroding the target! ]

[ Currently 90%, 12 seconds remaining until erosion completion! ]

[ ‘Grey Demon’ begins to dwell in the target! ]

Scanning that window with my eyes, I glance at Gideon.

Gideon’s breathing, which hadn’t produced a single drop of sweat, becomes rough. Soon, gray demonic energy begins billowing around his body.

It’s proof that the Grey Demon is beginning to fully dwell in that body. A process every vessel must inevitably go through once.

Then I call the only member who had been quietly waiting until now.

“Elnore.”

“…”

Elnore conveys her words to me with just her gaze.

She seems to be asking ‘Are you really sure about this?’, but I just nod.

“…”

Eventually, Elnore sighs and reluctantly walks forward with heavy steps.

It’s an unusual reaction for someone who would do anything I asked without complaint, but considering the action she’s about to take, it’s a natural response.

Elnore walks into the middle of the space where an intense battle is ongoing, completely defenseless.

Without drawing her sword, without any blessings or defensive techniques. Just with her bare body.

“Wait, what is that!”

I stop the saint, who’s shocked and trying to layer blessings on her.

“It’s fine.”

“…What?!”

“Just watch.”

Then, Elnore finally enters the range of Gideon’s swinging sword.

If she continues, she’ll be cut and suffer fatal injuries in this desperate situation.

But.

As soon as Elnore enters that range.

Gideon’s sword stops.

That terrifying sword that had been dealing death blows toward anyone without hesitation.

As soon as Elnore gets caught in the middle, it stops right there.

“…”

“…”

Elnore with wide eyes and Gideon with irises completely dyed red look directly into each other’s eyes.

Gideon’s sword trembles.

Even though he’s being eroded by the demonic fragment and should be suffering from the urge to kill anything alive. Even though the family madness is layered on top, causing him to lose all reason.

Only in front of Elnore does he stop his sword. His movements freeze.

“What…?”

“What’s happening!”

Everyone else also stops their movements in confusion at that sight.

-!

Then that demonic energy bursts out around him.

It’s a scene I’ve seen many times.

Everything the demonic energy touches slows down. Soon everything will slow down until it stops.

And.

There’s someone who’s been waiting for just this moment.

“…”

I quickly approach Gideon.

Now that the erosion is sufficiently complete with the Grey Demon dwelling in him, and Gideon is completely frozen so I can approach without burden, this state is the core of this entire battle.

< System Message >

[ Demonic energy detected. ]

[ ‘Seal of the Fallen’ reacts! ]

What I need here is.

[ Skill: King of Pandemonium ] [ Grade: A ]

[ -Worship the great lord!- ]

[ Reveals the majesty of hell’s ruler to all. When skill is used, grants superiority against demon types for 5 minutes. ]

This.

While I could resist the White Demon’s authority with the fatal charm skill before, I can somewhat offset the Grey Demon’s authority with this.

[ Activating ‘Skill: King of Pandemonium’. ]

[ Gains absolute superiority against demon-type enemies for 5 minutes! ]

[ Facing an opponent with equivalent abilities. ]

[ Resisting target’s unique ability ‘Authority: Erosion’! ]

While everything slows down.

Only I move normally.

“Isn’t that enough?”

I’ve never used this when facing this guy before, but it’s necessary right now.

I chuckle and speak.

I need to have a ‘negotiation’ with this guy.

“Come out. Let’s have a talk.”

With those words.

The world was dyed gray.

●

Her body feels heavy.

That was the first thought Elia Krisanax had.

“…”

Her consciousness drifts hazily like floating in a vast ocean.

It’s a familiar experience.

It’s exactly the same as the gray energy that covered the entire visible space during the full moon festival event before. Everything within range had stopped.

However, unlike then, now she can barely move her body.

‘…Huh. How is that possible?’

Is there something particularly different about her? She doesn’t remember anything like that.

She doesn’t know the reason, but since it’s possible now, let’s try moving.

When she forcefully lifts her eyes, the first thing that catches her eye is gray.

And the next thing that enters her vision is.

“How was it handling ‘your descendant’ for 2 minutes? Not too bad, right?”

Darwood, who moves normally even in this situation where everything has slowed down. He doesn’t seem perfectly normal either, appearing ‘slower’ than usual, but compared to her who can barely lift her eyes, he’s moving at a much more normal speed.

And what’s listening to those words on the other side is.

“…!”

Her vision feels like it’s burning.

Just looking at it feels like poison is flowing through her optic nerves.

Incomprehensible, disgusting, horrible. No matter what bad words you attach, there seems to be no sentence evil enough to compare with ‘that thing.’

She can’t even look directly at its form. It feels like her mind is being contaminated.

“Deliberately.”

Even the ‘voice’ flowing from that side is worse.

“You called me¾î°¡U, and planted ±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚ in this man Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠?”

Terrible noise mixed in, making it completely incomprehensible.

As she suffers from the feeling of her organs twisting, the man in front of her calmly continues speaking.

“Just make me one promise.”

But.

How is that man having such a calm conversation with something like that?

“Later, once. When I ask, dwell in Gideon. The people here deliberately risked their lives to create the ‘foundation’ for that.”

“…”

Come to think of it, when this person entered the battle from the beginning, he said to ‘endure’ for 2 minutes, never once saying he would defeat the other side.

It was all groundwork for whatever this person is talking about now.

“So I’d like you to quietly dwell in Elnore’s body for now. I need to gather all three fragments on that side anyway. That’s more convenient for you too, right?”

“…”

Elia hesitated.

She doesn’t know what this person just said means, but.

She instinctively grasped that it was extremely important information.

“I know I shouldn’t ask you guys for such things without compensation. So.”

While she’s mulling over those thoughts, Darwood suddenly throws off his shirt.

“…”

Hmm.

Perhaps securing that view through all that hardship wasn’t entirely in vain after all.

Elia stares intently at Darwood while thinking that.

In the current situation, there probably aren’t many people who would condemn her for looking that way.

But soon, something strange catches her eye.

‘…What is that?’

A ‘tattoo’ carved on his chest.

No, it’s somewhat inappropriate to just call it a tattoo.

It’s more like something that has ‘taken root’ in that body and is ‘supplying’ something to it.

It looked like.

It seemed intended to ‘transform’ that man into something.

“In exchange, I offer part of my ‘future’ to you.”

“…”

Though there was no response.

Elia could instinctively sense it.

The abomination across from Darwood was deeply shocked by those words.

No.

More precisely, it might be more accurate to say it was ‘grieving.’

“At first I wondered what this was… but thinking about it, I came up with an answer. I met someone called the Luminary recently.”

“…”

“I still don’t know exactly ‘who’ that is… but I know it’s someone who became that way because of me.”

“…”

“This thing, you’re blocking ̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞, right? So I don’t become like that guy.”

“…”

Elia flinched.

Just now.

When Darwood spoke, there was a similar atmosphere to when that abomination opened its mouth.

As if they were becoming similar to each other.

“Don’t do that. Let it proceed to the end. I’ve already finished preparing myself.”

“No¾î°. You, if î°¡U you do ±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞that¾ð¾…”

“…To match that guy’s level, I think I need to go that far.”

Darwood sighs and continues.

“I’ll die if I can’t face that guy anyway.”

Having said that, he glances around.

As if taking in each of the humans frozen in the gray space.

“…And all these people will die too.”

And, perhaps it’s just her imagination.

But there seemed to be much more sincerity in the latter statement than the former.

“…”

Then, the abomination that had been sadly looking at Darwood for a while.

Slowly walked over and approached Darwood.

From what she could barely make out, it seemed to be embracing him.

As if comforting him.

As if grieving in advance for the path of hardship he would walk.

– I love you. See you later.

Such words flowed out next.

Among all the words spoken so far, clear enough for even Elia to understand properly.

– Then, surely. You.

A sentence filled with the purest devotion.

– With me, to the end of the world.

And before that sentence could end.

The gray rapidly receded from the world.

●