episode_0095

“Your expression has changed a bit. It used to be like a frozen specimen, but now it looks somewhat like a living creature.”

Irina grinned wryly.

As if mocking me for drawing my sword and exposing raw enmity.

“Well, even so, it’s short-lived.”

With that, she pulled out the bow that had been tied to her back with her left arm.

The bow was a short bow that looked exactly like Irina’s favorite, with platinum hair tangled like spider silk on the branch that drew the bow. It was probably called Rameld’s Short Bow?

In the original work, it was nothing more than an early-game weapon that would be replaced due to performance issues by the middle stage, but…

“You think all you can take is a corpse? You’re overflowing with confidence.”

That’s the story after becoming so strong that you could effortlessly slice through demons with your eyes closed. At this point, it was a weapon more threatening than Valita’s Explosive Spear.

“Do you really think you can die? With this woman by my side.”

Irina sneered as she nocked an arrow on her bow. If Emelia is by her side, does it seem likely that she could die so easily?

…It’s a valid point with no way to refute it.

“You talk too much. Is it because you’re old?”

If that’s the case, I can only respond with insults.

Why didn’t Mr. Voltaire say that? When there’s no argument to counter, you should curse.

“What?”

“Were you eighty years old, or was it two… Anyway, isn’t it an age where your joints won’t even straighten?”

With sharp sarcasm, I lunged toward the ground, pulling the dark blade horizontally towards the cheek.

“Isn’t it? Grandma Irina!”

Gripping the hilt firmly with both hands, I recalled the sensation of activating the ability that I had practiced many times.

A chilling cold overflowed from the heart and spread through the veins, giving tremendous strength to both arms.

“Hah, that’s how you guys are. Short-lived beings!”

Irina grabbed the bowstring firmly and leaped backward. Her elven movements were light and swift like a rabbit.

The arrows that followed were literally like lightning.

Thwack!

As soon as she released the bowstring, a burst of sound erupted. Irina’s favorite, Rameld’s Short Bow, unleashed its power engraved on the bowstring, spreading magic.

Shantansi.

The arrow that brushed past like a whip split into dozens of pieces, spreading out like a surface rather than a line. It was a sight akin to needles raining down.

“Tsk…!”

I jammed my toe into the ground, coming to a sudden stop, then pivoted around it, changing direction.

Clearing away all the shrapnel was an impossible feat for me now. The force of the attack was too overwhelming to face head-on, even with my armor.

Kwadddduhk!

Sure enough, the ground where I had just been standing shattered and scattered fragments as if it had been thrown into a mixer.

A force that could pierce through even steel plating. If I had taken it head-on, by now I would have become nothing more than a sponge in the depths.

Well, I dodged it. For now—

“But first, you!”

I change direction, launching myself towards the high priestess wearing the pendant around her neck.

Emelia. She had to be dealt with first. It’s a rule to kill the priestess first when engaging enemies that include priests.

It’s the same in games, isn’t it? To take down the ADC, you have to cut off the support first. Reality works the same way.

However, it wasn’t an easy task.

“Hah!”

“O Holy Elia!”

As my longsword aimed for her head like a falcon, she grabbed her pendant and emitted a brilliant white radiance.

Kwajijijik!

A harsh, sharp crushing sound reverberated, like forcing a stake into a rock.

“…Tsk.”

The intense recoil running through my arm. I furrowed my brow in frustration and clicked my tongue.

“…This power, were you really trying to kill me, Miss Brunhilde?”

Emelia shot back with a cold expression, glaring at the tip of the black iron longsword near her nose.

The representative defensive miracle of the Goddess Sect, the Sacred Barrier.

The pure white barrier, etched with traces of the impact, barely held my sword at bay.

“Haah….”

Instead of answering, I took a deep breath, filling my limbs with vigor, and pulled out the sword stuck in the sacred barrier.

“It’s sturdy. Beyond my expectations.”

The same technique, but depending on who uses it, its power varies greatly.

The barrier cast by the Bolton priest could barely withstand a White’s blow, but Emelia’s divine barrier was strong enough to withstand even a strike from Gangwan.

“Of course. I wasn’t just idling around.”

Emelia answered, extending her right hand towards me while holding a necklace with her left hand. Her voice had become noticeably colder, containing an obvious hint of sarcasm.

“Unlike you.”

“Going after him first? Do you think I’m that easy!”

A swift counterattack without a chance for a response.

Five orbs of light rose from Emelia’s right arm and shot towards me, accompanied by a powerful presence and vibrations behind me.

“Grrr…!”

That roar, that vibration. Even without turning around, I had a hunch about what it was.

An earth spirit. A shield-like spirit made entirely of rock, usable as a temporary barrier.

“Ugh…!”

I rolled on the ground to avoid Emelia’s “Arrow of Judgment,” then quickly got up and distanced myself from the rock spirit.

The delayed punch of the rock spirit. Although its force seemed somewhat weaker compared to the colossal corpse giant of 6-7 meters, it still possessed enough power to burst a person’s head like a watermelon.

“Did you manage to dodge it?”

As I checked the rock spirit, the “Arrow of Judgment” extended through the air, changing direction to track me.

“Something like this…!”

I widened the distance, deflecting two light orbs with my sword and shattering them, using the forest’s trees as shields against the remaining two.

I simply took the last one with my shoulder guard.

Crash!

“Ugh…!”

The impact felt like being struck by a hammer against a bent steel plate, but I could endure it to some extent.

Overwhelming attacks were only effective against those classified as ‘evil’ by the goddess. Against ordinary attack miracles, I could somehow endure them.

Even the sacred barrier from earlier, if it didn’t break with one blow, enduring another would have been enough.

“What are you doing! Look over here, Brunnhilde!”

Is the problem on this side as expected?

As I dodged the arrow storm, a faint glow emanated from the rocky body.

You can buff spirits. It’s unbelievable. It was impossible in the game.

“Hey, it seems like you’ve gotten dull compared to before! Is your skill a bit rusty?”

“Did you enjoy the adventurer’s play? I hope you did.”

Even as they relentlessly attacked, the two women continued to taunt me without stopping. I couldn’t find a moment to respond as I ran and rolled, wielding my sword.

“I can’t stop, I can’t stop.”

I couldn’t afford to pause for even a moment, lest I be overwhelmed by the onslaught of light and metal.

I thought I could push through, but I couldn’t even find an opportunity to attack.

Both women had clearly become stronger than before, enough to confidently declare themselves as members of a hero party no matter where they went.

“Kkuh, haaaah!”

“Grrraaah!”

Even as I tried to engage in close combat, flying like a bullet and swinging my sword, attacks aimed at Emelia were often blocked by the rock spirit.

I could have torn the rock spirit apart, but it would have been just a waste of energy.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“I can’t…!”

In the meantime, the recovered spirit would come back at me, preventing me from focusing on Irina.

“Slow, slow! How could someone like you reach me now? Don’t even dream!”

It was impossible for me to keep up with the movements of the elf who leaped between trees and shot arrows.

Using excessively worried me due to the physical exertion and vulnerability right after its release. Pursuing bare-handed widened the distance every time I dodged the bullets.

“Cowardly long-range attackers…! Come at me head-on, face to face!”

One year, hiding behind regenerating rocks, only shooting guiding punitive arrows, and the other year, widening the distance as if taunting to follow while relentlessly shooting sand arrows.

They say one doesn’t notice getting wet in a drizzle.

Gradually accumulating fatigue, increasing wounds on the armor, it felt like being hunted down like a wild animal.

“What? If you’re unsatisfied, pick up a bow yourself.”

“I’m fighting head-on. It’s what you couldn’t penetrate.”

Irina and Emellia continued to mock me.

Damn it.

If only I were a little faster and stronger, I could have struck that smug face.

…Really, just a bit stronger.

I gritted my teeth.

I hadn’t been idling away, but I regretted my complacency, satisfied with the skills of an ordinary knight.

I aimed wrong from the start.

Instead of reclaiming Brunhilde’s skills, I should have aimed to become even stronger than when I possessed Brunhilde.

“Ha, damn it.”

It was a belated regret, too late.

If I were to regret and reflect, I should have resolved to do so long before encountering these two women. Regretting now won’t change anything.

What I need to do now is not regret—

“Yes, this is how we must fight to win.”

I was determined.

“I’ve been too complacent. Whether to live or die, I’ll shout until the end.”

Even if there’s a chance of receiving a fatal wound, I’ll leap with all my might.

The judgment itself was mistaken, thinking I should avoid exhausting battles because the enemy has a healer, exchanging those wounds, which they can heal.

If it were an opponent weaker than me, I might not know, but it’s clearly impossible to gain the upper hand against a stronger opponent in that way.

With such passive tactics, it will only slowly but surely consume my stamina and energy, leading to certain defeat.

That’s why―

“Yeah, from now on… let’s really fight for our lives, ladies of the military brothel!”

I shouted fiercely and changed the direction I was running, leaping straight toward the enemy.

A straight charge with no thought of evasion.

Dozens of arrows and beams of light aimed directly at me, coming at me head-on, each one carrying the power to break through my armor.

“Haaaah!”

Can I block it? Can I dodge it? Casting aside such worries,

Just head-on.

The sword I wielded felt lighter than ever before.