Chapter 120: Hero-nim? – 2

Chapter 120: Hero-nim? – 2

In the back alleys of the capital, various large and small fights are always breaking out.

Since the people there are those who revere fists more than law, it might be natural in a way.

However… usually, those fights don’t showcase incredible magic, divine power, or swordsmanship. That’s not the case.

Of course, today seems to be an exception.

Rupturing sounds echo everywhere, and the street barely maintains its form.

It’s a street with its own tradition and durability, where even all the organizations in the back alley fighting wouldn’t cause this much damage, but it was powerless before the Hero’s Holy Sword.

And, in response to that Holy Sword, the greatsword of the girl accused of heresy, and glass bottles filled with strange potions, are thrown to the ground.

From each of those glass bottles, magic that ordinary people would have no business seeing, and would be better off not seeing, pours out.

No matter how much fighting is a daily occurrence in the back alleys, such a situation had never happened before, so onlookers might gather, but…

The people of the back alleys weren’t foolish enough to risk their lives to watch a fight, no matter how entertaining it was.

……Well, some weren’t, but even they didn’t dare to approach the fight between those two.

It was natural.

The Holy Sword, so imbued with divine power that it was practically a divine power stick itself, descended towards the girl.

And the girl’s greatsword parried that mass of divine power with sheer physical strength, and in turn, she threw a glass bottle.

Clink!

With a clear sound unfitting for a serious battlefield, the glass bottle shattered, and something resembling a mist rose.

However, those who were even slightly close to it could tell.

That it was by no means an ordinary mist, or even a mist at all.

“Current… You’re being difficult.”

“I don’t usually use it because I have some bad memories, but I can’t just burn down the whole street, can I?”

“Tsk. Do you still have the strength to run your mouth?”

The electric current sparks, binding the Hero’s movements and blocking her vision.

The street transforms into widespread darkness, like a thundercloud before a lightning strike, and small lightning bolts occur everywhere.

Naturally, all that current was heading towards the Hero.

“…Wouldn’t it be nice if you lent me some strength at a time like this? Holy Sword-nim?”

‘Didn’t I tell you to do it with your own strength this time? You need to do some things yourself.’

“Damn it, seriously! That heretic is stronger than I thought!”

However, the Hero’s complaints towards the Holy Sword could not continue.

As if to show that the current seen earlier was literally just to obstruct vision and movement, the girl’s greatsword, clad in lightning, charged forward like a flash.

It wasn’t simply that the greatsword was imbued with lightning.

The girl’s movements themselves, including the greatsword, had become much faster than before, and she was even partially ignoring the terrain.

Literally like a ‘flash’, the girl’s greatsword approached the Hero.

And the Hero’s subsequent response was nothing special.

She merely held up the Holy Sword, and merely blocked the attack.

If it were an ordinary sword, it would have broken, and if it were an ordinary person, no matter how much divine power was imbued in the sword, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand the girl’s attack and would have been flung away.

However, the opponent was the Hero, and even if the Holy Sword wasn’t assisting and supporting, the divine power itself was directly bestowed by a god.

The descending greatsword and the Holy Sword blocking it stood in a standoff.

The greatsword, charging, leaping, and striking down, still flowed with electricity, and the Holy Sword flowed with divine power as always.

A close-quarters standoff where their swords met, and the moment one won, the other would have to allow a major attack.

Just as the standoff was about to turn into a power struggle, something unexpected happened in the Hero’s movements.

“Now, it would be better to be tied up quietly.”

The divine power gathered in the Holy Sword instantly vanished, and the greatsword’s current struck the Hero directly.

However, because of that, the girl’s movements also paused, albeit briefly, in that spot.

The standoff was the girl’s victory, and although the greatsword itself was blocked by the Holy Sword and couldn’t reach the Hero, the magic surrounding the greatsword reached the Hero.

Thus, the Hero was injured, and the girl’s attack landed.

……At the same time, because the attack landed and she had poured a lot of strength into the standoff, her body was inevitably fixed towards the Hero, who had suddenly released her strength,

And towards that spot, dazzlingly bright chains began to erupt.

“I specially chose a technique used by the inquisitors. It’s a very sturdy one, so don’t worry.”

“……Haa.”

No matter how strong and agile the girl was, it would be impossible for her to break the chains directly created by the Hero’s divine power.

She could parry, but once tied, it would be difficult to free herself by her own power.

Evasion? Impossible. That’s precisely why the Hero directly took the girl’s attack.

She gave up a move in the standoff, but ultimately gained an opportunity to bind the girl.

However, in that situation, the expression the girl showed was somehow not one of bewilderment or composure.

With a long sigh, her eyes towards the Hero held… somehow, intense irritation.

“You prepared something truly annoying, didn’t you?”

“It seems you’ve fought inquisitors before, haven’t you? This time will be very different from then…”

However, the Hero’s words could not continue.

Because something beyond her comprehension, something her own mind could never understand, had occurred.

With the now familiar sound of a glass bottle, chains perfectly identical to those the Hero herself had used shot out from the girl’s side.

Although they glowed very darkly, in contrast to the Hero’s brilliant and dazzling ones… it was clearly divine power.

No, in fact, it was divine power that was virtually perfectly identical to that of the inquisitors.

“…You bastard.”

“You might have a lot of questions… but how about we save them until one of us is knocked out? I also… have a lot to say.”

“……Alright. Fine.”

The Hero re-gripped the Holy Sword, and the girl pulled out a new glass bottle.

And, the next moment.

A massive lightning bolt fell from the sky onto the Hero.

***

‘…So far, so good.’

Although I used a bit too much mana, the performance of the newly made potions was undeniable.

Compared to the ice mist that previously obscured vision and slightly slowed the opponent, this time, it definitely bound movements with electricity and blocked vision.

Not only that, but the instantaneous acceleration and electric current were also among the newly made potions this time.

And the lightning bolt that just fell on the Hero’s head is also an effect of one of the newly made potions.

True to its name, ‘Divine Punishment Potion’, it seemed to pack a punch.

…Thud.

As I was about to observe the next action of the Hero-nim, who had been fried by the divine punishment… a faint but distinct sound of something bouncing was heard.

At that moment, I drew my sword. I instinctively felt danger, and a gut feeling told me I had to draw it now.

And then, the impact was delivered.

……With an indescribable roar.

The shock spread.

Perhaps because it surpassed the level that could be blocked by a sword, the shock spread throughout my entire body, and throughout the entire street.

I felt something surge up in my mouth.

My body seemed to be unable to withstand the shock and was spitting blood.

The divine power suddenly surged to a level completely different from the Hero’s just a moment ago, and her speed and power were also amplified.

I hadn’t fully grasped the situation, but there was no time.

If I took an attack like this without proper preparation, I might survive once, but there wouldn’t be a second time.

And then, a very brief silence, less than a second, fell.

It felt like I couldn’t even properly hold my stance due to the shock.

And surely, the Hero would end this silence and unleash her next strike.

Therefore, I quickly pulled out a potion from the ‘Repository of Knowledge’.

I didn’t use it, and couldn’t.

No matter how fast I was, I wasn’t at a level where I could use a potion in that fleeting moment.

At the same time, the Hero’s second strike powerfully struck my greatsword, which was barely blocking the Holy Sword.

……There was no sound. No, I couldn’t hear it.

…The Hero was not in my sight.

No, my vision itself wasn’t working properly in the first place.

It wasn’t that I failed to block the attack. It’s just… my body ended up in this state just from the shock of taking that attack.

But because I had taken the Holy Sword’s attack, I could instinctively feel it.

……That the divine power the Hero was using now was distinctly different from the Hero’s earlier.

She had said she would let the Hero fight with her own strength, but it seemed our damn Holy Sword had decided to step in directly.

Otherwise, there would be no way to explain that suddenly amplified divine power.

Thump, thump…

From afar, but at the same time close by, a sound was heard.

My vision, which had somewhat returned after the earlier strike, captured the Hero’s appearance.

Eyes burning with bright divine power, and a halo floating above her head.

Even her hair, which seemed to burn rather than just sparkle with gold.

……Even with a messed-up mind, if there was a Holy Sword, the Hero was still a Hero, it seemed.

…Thump, thump, clack.

And so, the Hero reached right in front of me.

And prepared her next strike.

Divine power, which was beyond light and took the form of flames, gathered in the Holy Sword, a sight that could only be described as holy, like a god condemning a sinner.

…I felt like I would fall straight into hell if I was hit by that.

I was clearly told I would be fighting the Hero without the Holy Sword’s power, but it seems I was scammed.

And so, the Hero’s third strike descended upon me……

“…Take off your cheat item and come back, you cheater.”

The potion I had taken out earlier accurately hit the Holy Sword.

It wasn’t a grand potion that destroyed weapons or canceled attacks.

Such a potion didn’t even exist in the first place.

It was just……

“…Wow, this feels good to wear, doesn’t it? Is this why everyone buys cheat items?”

It was merely a warp potion that moved the target that was hit.

It was just that the Holy Sword was hit by that potion, and the destination was my hand, nothing more than that.

As the Holy Sword disappeared, the Hero’s body, which hadn’t registered the situation for a moment, stiffened.

Neither the greatly enhanced divine power nor her much more ‘physically’ dazzling appearance seemed to have detected that fleeting change, and she began to blink ambiguously.

She seemed to be trying to say something, but she was so flustered that no proper words came out, as if she herself was dumbfounded.

In fact, if I waited, that enhanced state would probably be released on its own, but…

It was obvious that the divine power gathered in the Holy Sword right now, clearly intended to send me to hell, would also scatter.

“So, I wonder if our Hero-nim has ever been hit by a Holy Sword?”

So, I just smacked the Hero’s head with the Holy Sword.

……With the divine power, which seemed enough to send a person to hell and then some, still concentrated.

They say a beating is good medicine, but it’s questionable whether a Holy Sword falls into the category of a beating.

Well, it would definitely hurt, though.

……At least, after getting hit by it myself, it hurt like hell.