episode_0121

The Balquira, weakened to the point of misery as phantoms bound to their fortress and armor.

However, even in their decline, the Balquira were truly formidable adversaries to us now.

Even with the supreme power of phantoms or a holy sword, we could only just barely defeat them through cooperative efforts.

“Indeed… it’s quite challenging.”

In adventurer terms, it would require a gold-tier adventurer rather than a silver-tier one to join the party and face this challenge.

Perhaps due to the pursuit battles, my skills were at the elite minimum… roughly equivalent to a kingdom knight or a gold-tier adventurer.

Facing knights and silver-tier adventurers in pursuit, my abilities steadily improved.

As the most famous unbeliever in history and the guardian of adolescent rebellion, Nietzsche once said, “The pain that does not kill me makes me stronger.”

To become a celestial horse, one must first become a celestial mare, or so the saying goes?

Nevertheless, enduring blows and cuts, persisting steadfastly, I had unknowingly grown strong enough to match a kingdom knight.

At least in one-on-one combat, I was almost on par with Brunhilde just before her possession.

Without relying on equipment, I could win about two or three out of ten fights one-on-one.

In a way, stepping into the starting line as a hero party member was a significant advancement for me.

Yet, facing the phantoms of Balquira one-on-one remained a daunting reality.

“Hilde! Behind you! Behind!”

“Two of them?!”

…Despite the difficulty, it was a situation we had to endure.

◆◆

“Hatursfull, Lifandi manneskju…!”

Hateful beings…!

After administering emergency treatment with potions and getting up again, not long after heading towards the watchtower, a second Balquira ambushed us.

From the half-collapsed roof of the two-story house, the creature hurled a spear charged with full force towards us.

If it weren’t for Freida, we wouldn’t have noticed the ambush.

Freida, who had been pushed aside and tumbled to the ground, quickly got up and rushed towards the creature. It created a shield of ice and a circular shield, then charged towards Freida, brandishing an ice spear in its right hand like a gleaming light.

Charging straight without flying back or throwing a second spear.

Seemingly overflowing with confidence in its close combat skills or drastically reduced intelligence, it appeared to be the type to charge at any visible enemy.

Well, either way, it was a welcome sight for us. If it approached us first, we wouldn’t need to scramble to tear apart the creature’s flying cloak.

“Hyaaaah!”

“Deyja…!”

The clash of the greatsword and spear blade leaving afterimages in the air.

The second Balquira deflected the holy sword’s strike with an ice shield and swiftly thrust its ice spear like a glint towards Freida, dividing the endless clash and exchange of blows.

– Clang!

The missed strike left deep scars on the ground, and shattered ice shards sparkled like snowflakes.

The rough and intense collision of flesh. The golden whirlpool and pale streaks of rain broke and clashed repeatedly.

“Freida! Hold your ground!”

I lunged towards the Balquira’s neck. In this battle, flanking was a must. I planned to attack from both sides to cut off its breath.

“Hilde! Don’t come! There are more behind!”

Even if Freida hadn’t urgently warned me, I would have known.

“What?! Oh no…!”

Kicking away the stone shards under his feet, Freida sent them flying over his head, signaling the third Balquira’s ambush. I abruptly stopped and turned my body towards the empty space, swinging my sword.

– Kaaah!

The descending blade met something unseen, ringing out a clear metallic sound.

Following, the pebble of Freyja that flew broke with a loud noise, and the empty space where nothing was present swayed greatly, revealing the figure of a skull warrior covered in dust.

“Ógeðslegur, svikari…!”

Balduria, who calls me a disgusting traitor, glares at me with venomous eyes.

As I rushed forward, it felt like my waist would bend like a bow under the force contained within the thrusting blade.

“If you have something to say, shout it in a common language…!”

I tensed my abs and thighs, straightened my waist, and pushed away his spear with both arms.

The spear thrust out decisively.

Instead of engaging me head-on in a contest of strength, he spun like a dancer, channeling his power through the spinning motion, aiming the sharp end of the spear directly at my head.

“I saw that earlier!”

I twisted my wrist to deflect the spearhead with the knife handle.

With a dull thud, both my sword’s pommel and the tip of his spear exploded simultaneously. The shattered pieces grazed my cheek, leaving a shallow cut.

“Dauðisvikaranum!”

Death to the traitor!

The onslaught continued. Quickly turning my head to evade, this time the blade struck downward.

Could I block it with my shoulder guard? No, it pierced through.

A near-certain intuition. Drawing from accumulated combat experience, I avoided it without second-guessing. I collapsed as if deflating, rolling forward to narrowly dodge his spear.

– Kwaahhh!

The missed spear tip pierced the ground and exploded. A force almost indistinguishable from a thrown spear. No, it was a thrown spear unleashed at close range.

“No, what…?”

I wiped cold sweat and rose to my feet. A chill ran down my spine. Unleashing a long-range finishing move at point-blank range—what kind of reckless technique was he using?

If I had relied on the shoulder guard, my arm would have been nearly severed.

“Ertu… hræddur?”

Are you… afraid?

Fluttering his torn cloak amidst the flying debris, Balduria landed and looked at me, his chin raised slightly. An overt mockery that I simply couldn’t ignore.

Afraid? Scared? What a joke.

No matter the ancient legends, he was nothing more than a ghost inferior even to an ogre now. If one were to fear such a meager specter, they wouldn’t have come here in the first place.

“Daring to provoke anyone. A mad ghost like you who can’t die.”

Thus, I grasped my longsword and retorted fiercely. You are not frightening in the slightest.

“Þá deyja!”

Then die. Balduria shouted at me like a shot, flying towards me like a bullet.

◆◆

An unexpected one-on-one battle with Balduria. It wasn’t a situation entirely unforeseen.

The Baldurias weren’t stationary enemies like fixed artillery but patrolmen attacking the moment they spotted intruders wandering inside the fortress.

Given the vastness of the fortress, it wasn’t likely for them to all emerge at once, but encountering two of them was quite probable.

Having already gained sufficient power after merging with the original novel’s party, we could easily defeat them upon meeting, but… we hadn’t reached that level yet.

As the battles dragged on, it was somewhat inevitable that either patrols would spot us or reinforcements drawn by the noise would appear.

Despite that, luck seemed to be on our side lately, so I thought this situation might resolve well… But it seemed that luck had run out here.

Seeing the appearance of the expected enemy was indeed expected.

– Kaaah!

Enough with distractions. The clashing metal sounds of the spear and sword focused my consciousness on the enemy before me. No time for idle thoughts.

“Haaaat!”

“Kyaaaak!”

The clash of spirit and technique, the beams of light from the spear and sword scattered fragments as they intertwined and dispersed.

– Quaduk!

The spaulder pierced through the ice window is torn off entirely, and the fist that sacrificed the spaulder strikes the face of the Valkyria.

“Kahaak!”

The Valkyria, whose lower jaw flew off completely, scorched with blue eyes, swung a shield at me. When I raised my arm to block, the tattered gauntlet froze and shattered.

Sliding on the exposed ground, the body was pushed out in a straight line.

“Looks good!”

Mockingly shouting at the Valkyria left with only the upper jaw, I rushed back towards the opponent, driving into the ground.

– Clang!

Twisting my body to dodge the spear thrust, it was blocked by the ice shield and deflected, freezing and penetrating the armor’s gap with its transparent spear tip.

“Guh…!”

Surging blood vessels. Gritting my teeth, enduring pain and fatigue, instead of retreating, I took a step forward and swung the sword.

Not yet. I can still fight more.

This is nothing.

Encouraging and pushing myself.

“Not far yet-!”

A battle with a formidable opponent above.

To win, one must focus all their mind on the specter in front of them and fight with all their might.

Forget about Freide and the second Valkyria. Erase the possibility of the fourth coming.

Just focusing on the enemy in front of me, searching for a way to defeat him with all my consciousness.

Thus, at the moment when my vitality, skills, and desires reached their peak.

– Thump.

My heart, which beat fiercely for a moment, froze like ice, exhaling a chilling cold akin to the frigid cold of a river in the snow.

The essence of power imbued in the fully awakened spread throughout my body through the veins.

Vision darkening from the edges. Pain disappearing as if washed away from the chest and wounds.

My breath was surprisingly cold, while my mind felt as if it were burning hot.

Sounds elongated strangely, and the movements of the attacking enemies slowed down oddly.

Sensations seemed five times faster than usual.

As the brain boiled inside the skull, every function of the brain was employed to find the answer for victory.

Momentary physical strength favored me.

The attack speed utilizing that strength also favored me.

However, what lagged behind was the duration of the Ice Heart and the difference in skill.

The combat experience of the Valkyria who had been through numerous battlefields and the systematically established and perfected Eisenschtein spear technique.

The difference in skill due to this overwhelmed the gap in physical abilities.

So then.

The brain that stopped all functions except combat provided the winning solution.

Combat experience cannot be caught up with. It belongs to the realm of pure experience.

But skills, not experience.

It’s possible. It can be caught up with.

Must catch up.

Intuition affirms. Instinct commands.

Observe. Engage. Remember. Recall.

Predict. Analyze. Interpret.

And—

Execute.

– Clang!

The ice spear cleaves through. From the tip to the blade, piercing through the entire spear, head-on.

Perfectly identical posture. A collision unfolded at the perfect timing.

Therefore, the victor is naturally the one with greater strength.

“Haaaah!”

The sword that shattered the ice spear tore apart the specter’s right arm.