episode_0051

Six meters. The path was merely eighteen steps long horizontally.

Yet, standing erect vertically, it felt almost as if facing a formidable fortress wall.

“Grooooo!”

It wasn’t just any fortress wall, but one that thrashed like a whip with log-like arms.

Kwaaaang!

Overwhelming destructive force. With a single swing of its fist, a tree trunk of a leg was uprooted and collapsed.

Watching that sight, it seemed like my hard-earned determination would be uprooted just like those trees.

The attack style itself was no different from a martial artist’s, but simply being elongated by about three times made this creature something transcendent, far beyond a mere martial artist.

Was this payback for all the contempt I had shown towards martial artists?

I desperately dodged and evaded, yet every time I heard the thunderous impact, it sent shivers down my spine, almost unbearable.

At least the creature seemed unarmed and somewhat mindless, unlike a martial artist; if it had wielded a log like a club, I wouldn’t have lasted long, likely ending up flattened.

“Graaaah!”

“Kk…!”

In a situation where there was no opportunity to counterattack due to constant evasion, I had no idea what had become of Freida, who had leaped toward the Abyss Priest.

Even a momentary distraction would have turned me into a burst dumpling, smashed by the giant’s arm in an instant.

“Ignis Sagitta!”

Perched on Gerda’s back, Amy, falling backward, shot forth two flames. It was her favored offensive magic, Flame Arrow.

However, the corpse giant effortlessly nullified Amy’s magic by simply swinging its fist toward the flames.

The flames touched by the fist, shot out like fireworks, exploded, and the flames adhering to the giant’s body were extinguished.

Flame arrows that would have left severe burns on a White or similar beings, proved to be insufficient to incinerate the corpse giant.

“Tsk…! Glacies Térĕbra!”

The subsequent ice spear she shot forth also made little difference.

Embedded in the body of the giant, it was almost embarrassing to call the wounds inflicted by this tiny being anything more than scratches from a dagger.

For a living creature, even a slight injury would cause pain and bloodshed, but for this animated corpse, pain and bleeding were meaningless.

Amy’s magic could only momentarily divert the giant’s attention; it couldn’t inflict any substantial damage.

…But for me, it was an invaluable aid, a mere momentary gap that allowed me to at least attempt a counterattack.

“Hah-!”

As I flew past between the giant’s legs, I swiftly aimed the blade of my longsword towards the exposed ankle.

It felt like cutting through tough rubber. Simultaneously, I desperately twisted my foot in the opposite direction, quickly evading.

I couldn’t leave deep wounds.

Whether due to the resilience of the giant’s flesh or my own loss of focus, cutting through its body proved far more challenging than expected.

Why not use “Gangwan”?

Yes, that could have severed the giant’s ankle to the bone. But then, I’d burst like a stepped-on frog the next moment.

Using “Gangwan” repeatedly at reduced output is a skill I’ve barely mastered in practice, let alone in real combat.

Even a beast’s heart has its limits; staking my life on a mere 20% chance was out of the question.

“Grroooar!”

In any case, after slipping past the giant’s leg, leaving a faint mark, I swiftly turned to face it again.

Whoooosh!

More accurately, I faced the massive hand hurtling toward me.

Swiftly dodging aside, pushing off the ground with my hand, I leaped, deflecting the incoming kick.

“Ugh…!”

My body was thrown back by the force, rolling on the ground.

“Graaah!”

Five sharp and massive claws cleave through the air like a reaper’s scythe, aiming for me as I stumble off balance.

“Be careful! Magicae Obice!”

Three layers of magical barriers unfold before me, shattering into pieces as they block his hand.

Amy’s authorized spell usage has been exhausted to erect this barrier of magic. Thanks to this desperate defense, I manage to barely regain my footing.

“Really, it’s not easy at all. Not easy…”

I spring up, narrowly avoiding his claws, and exhale deeply, trying to calm my suffocating heart.

Thanks to Amy’s support, I’ve managed to hold on somehow… but I don’t dare attempt anything more.

In other words, once Amy’s magic is completely depleted, it means our defeat here is certain. It was not just distressing, but rather a grim situation.

‘…Should I try?’

To the extent that I seriously consider a reckless gamble with a 50% chance of survival.

======[ Freide ]======

As three women continue their precarious battle against the giant corpse, Freide fiercely pursues the Abyss Priestess who evades her.

Leaping and treading upon the towering corpses like stepping stones, she moves at a speed akin to a predator who has found its prey.

“This is… dangerous…!”

Even Hilde, who had previously shown no signs of urgency in front of him, now only wears a stern expression, desperately focused on fleeing.

“The touch of decay. The grip of the dead. The chill of the afterlife. Temporarily blinded by the explosion of command… ah, other than summoning the undead, it’s quite ordinary. …Can’t even hit.”

His every incantation and spell is futile against the agile movements and swift speed of the sword-wielding girl.

“…Slow and weak. Unlike before.”

“No chance of hitting…”

No matter how many times he strikes, his attacks miss. Every spell he casts fails to catch the nimble girl, only shattering feeble trees in vain.

For Hilde, this was an unprecedented and humbling situation.

“Hey, could it be that you’re showing off so much because of your inferiority complex? I… think I understand how you feel. If the body is weak, you’d want to boast about your mind, right.”

Rushing to lay down magic in anticipation of their path was ultimately meaningless. They were able to change direction and evade before the laid magic could even activate.

Their agility was so astonishing that it seemed to surpass even that of a holy knight.

“But that… proved to be useless. In the end, if you lack strength, you can only lose.”

Even the cursed magic had no effect at all.

“…For now.”

Ever since Freide, who had distanced herself from the group, reached out into the air and drew a slightly smoldering golden greatsword,

“Argh…!”

Hueg had no mental capacity to react to her mocking provocation. His situation was not so relaxed that he could express anger with a mouth as fierce and sharp as his comrade’s.

The golden greatsword in Freide’s hand nullified all the curses cast by Hueg.

“That sword, what in the world…!”

It was truly unbelievable, something that couldn’t be trusted.

A reddish-glowing golden metal. Hueg was well aware that such metal existed.

Amber Steel.

A rare metal akin to elven silver, more valuable than gold of the same weight.

‘How on earth does she have such a sword…!’

It wasn’t something an ordinary adventurer could carry around.

An Amber Steel greatsword. Moreover, a sword imbued with spatial storage capabilities and even the protection of an anti-demon spell.

Before his eyes was a renowned sword of a level that even knights of the kingdom could only dream of.

In truth, he had significantly underestimated the true value of the sword.

The greatsword in Freide’s possession surpassed the level of a renowned sword and could be considered a national treasure of a country.

How could he possibly fathom the situation where the Holy Sword of the Line Kingdom, Nibelung, was in the hands of an unheard-of adventurer girl?

Although the current Nibelung was nothing more than an empty shell having exhausted its true power, even with the basic abilities remaining in the shell, it was a sword worthy of being called a national treasure.

“I guess there’s nothing more to show… Then, I’ll finish this soon. I have to go watch Hilde’s fight.”

Finally, Freide closed in on Hugo within a few meters.

She tightly grasped the hilt of Niebelung’s sword, which was slung over her shoulder, and swung it diagonally, cutting through the air.

At that moment,

Shwaaaah!

A golden beam shot out from the black-and-gold sword adorned with intricate patterns, forming a crescent-shaped onslaught.

“What…!”

It was one of the basic abilities inscribed in Niebelung, the power to create and unleash the “Blade of Glory.”

“Of course, now I can use it.”

Gazing at the unhesitating, golden streak that cut through everything in its path, Freide’s mouth curled up in exhilaration and joy.

It was an astonishing advancement. Anyone familiar with the once inept warrior, Freid, would be astounded to the point of doubting their own eyes.

This ability, which had been impossible to activate with her previous strength, was now wielded effortlessly.

Why is that?

“Could it be because I’ve grown stronger than before?”

Pondering this for a moment, Freide approached the result of her onslaught.

Right up to the elderly man who had lost both legs, lying amidst the pile of felled trees carved through by her attack.

“Cough…! Cough…!”

High Priest Hugo Casval coughed up blood, drenching his beard, as he collapsed to the ground.

Astonishment, confusion, and intense agony filled his mind, leaving him disoriented. It felt like his brain had turned into mush, like a soggy corpse.

“Why, like this…!”

It was a perfect plan.

The moment he slaughtered the bodies strewn across the desolate battlefield, he immediately began devising the plan.

After preparing the undead army, intentionally exposing traces, luring in those who followed the scent, and annihilating them one by one.

It had been perfectly executed, thanks to the ever-changing tactics and deceitful strategies they had employed.

Summoning powerful undead using their corpses had also been successful without any issues.

So now, after wiping out the remaining paladins with the giant summoned from the corpses, all that remained was to escape to another place.

But unexpectedly, it seemed that one of the adventurers they had disregarded had caused the entire plan to fall apart in such an unusual manner.

[Hugo] had never expected this turn of events.

It was like sticking a pole into a mouse hole and suddenly having a polar bear pop out.

Hugo, who had been guarding the Bespianji Division’s commander of the Goddess Order, Beckmann, found it to be a truly painful misjudgment.

“This is the end.”

And indeed, it was his final misjudgment.

“I… might feel a little pain, but endure it. Heilde asked for me to be killed in a way that doesn’t leave a trace.”

Struggling to turn his body over, he glared at the black-haired girl aiming a golden greatsword at him.

“Who are you, really…?”

Hugo Casval demanded with a trembling voice, as if spitting out blood, shattered by the girl’s irrational and catastrophic identity, which had so easily ruined his plans on the brink of success.

“A hero.”

The response was nothing short of astonishing.