episode_0240

“Haha, really, it’s not even funny that you surrendered, Sir Knight.”

MacHeart, with a dejected expression at Edan’s firm attitude, forced a relaxed smile and laughter.

Initially smiling casually towards Edan and me, MacHeart immediately changed his demeanor, extending his black hand and launching another attack.

“If dying here together is your wish… then so be it! I’ll do as you please!”

Seemingly giving up on persuading Edan to leave, MacHeart immediately used his unique ability to engage in the attack. Naturally, Edan and I couldn’t just stand still and take his attacks, so we each wielded our swords and began the battle.

“Dark hands! Tear those damn bastards apart limb from limb!”

– Shaaak!

– Shaaak!!

At MacHeart’s command, six shadow hands rushed out from all directions. It was a technique that I had experienced once before when I was trapped in MacHeart’s illusionary world.

However, back then, I couldn’t deal with it because it was a realm of complete darkness. MacHeart’s shadow hands literally created hands in the darkness, so the larger the area shrouded in darkness, the more effective the technique was.

Although the surroundings were generally blurry, it wasn’t pitch black enough to summon MacHeart’s shadow hands, giving us enough time to react to the approaching shadow hands.

“Edan! I’ll take the front with the 3rd stance! I’ll block the ones coming from below!”

“Got it, Relis! Leave the rest to me!”

Due to the nature of the attacks coming from the shadows, there were slightly more attacks coming from behind. And since the attacks were more sudden, immediate reflexes were crucial.

However, it wasn’t that I deliberately placed Edan in a more dangerous position. It was simply because, in terms of immediate sense as a swordsman, Edan was much more reliable than me, so I entrusted him with a position I could trust.

On the other hand, with a slightly lower center of gravity, I found it easier to deal with enemies crawling up from the ground, so I used the 3rd stance to prepare for MacHeart’s attacks.

Edan and I took on the shadow hands, focusing on defense against the approaching enemies. There was no better match for Edan in this world. It wasn’t just about strength, but also about the suitability as partners who had synchronized their breathing for a long time.

– Swish!

– Shaaak!

As Edan and I took up our combat stances, the shadow hands were gradually sliced off one by one by our swords. We each guarded our assigned positions, concentrating on defense against the oncoming enemies.

Certainly, there was no one better than Edan to have my back in this world. It wasn’t just about strength, but also about the suitability as partners who had synchronized their breathing for a long time.

– Fwoosh! Clang!

The enchanted dagger pierced MacHeart’s shadow hand, and the light emanating from the pierced area illuminated and dispelled the shadow hand.

It was one of Relis’s secondary support spells, the effect of ‘Eternal Flame.’ Originally used to illuminate dark paths or caves in the night, the spell could be occasionally utilized as an offensive spell against enemies with ‘dark attributes.’

Although I had almost used up all my remaining skill points to learn this spell, it was necessary. After all, we had to survive here to level up or learn other skills in the future.

After a few minutes of battle, we became quite adept at slicing through MacHeart’s shadow hands, and at some point, our speed in cutting them off surpassed MacHeart’s speed in creating them.

From the start, if you were a Sword Expert, it was more than enough to face off against the current level of MacHart one-on-one. Moreover, with the support of the mana tank release, the situation naturally became advantageous for us.

Even though this space was advantageous for MacHart to use his unique magic, with just six shadow claws, he couldn’t overpower me and Edan, no matter how much it was his space. Even if those dark claws looked like a technique that high-level bosses would use (which they actually did), objectively, the power of each shadow claw wasn’t that great even in the original.

It was an ability specialized in restraining the movement of the opponent and weakening them by absorbing mana. Unless the autopilot was turned on, due to the nature of the “Luminor Academy” system where one had to control four party members at once, it was difficult to deal with, but as long as each of us did our part properly, we couldn’t lose.

– Grrrr!

“Ugh, you damn bastards…!!”

MacHart’s calm expression as he continued his attacks gradually twisted into desperation. He was starting to realize that if he didn’t hurry and deal with me and Edan, his side would be in danger.

Time was no longer on MacHart’s side. With his mana, he couldn’t maintain this space for long to face me and Edan, and soon, the battle would end in our victory due to MacHart’s depleted mana.

By the time that much time had passed, the reinforcements from the Guild would have probably arrived. Even if Antonio was tied down, with the basic physical strength of a hero, we should have been able to easily subdue him.

Initially, when the number of summoned claws decreased and the attack density of the guy gradually decreased, and when the number of summons he could do at once was halved, me and Edan shared the next strategy to defeat him.

“Edan, it seems like he’s reaching his limit.”

“Got it. I’ll cover you from now on, so Lily, take a break…”

“No. I’m not saying I’ve reached my limit, but it seems like he has reached his limit. The frequency of incoming attacks has decreased, and he can only summon half the number of summons at once.”

“Ah.”

Edan, who nodded understandingly at my words, continued with the next strategy to finish off MacHart.

“I’ll go with position 5. It’s the stance we used when hunting the Hound Pack in the Dark Forest.”

“Understood, Lily.”

“And this is something I mentioned before starting today’s operation, but we shouldn’t just kill him outright.”

“…I’ll try.”

Whether it was an effort to subdue without killing or an effort to resist the urge to kill, it seemed like there was some ambiguous meaning in the answer.

No matter how much the plan was made to kill MacHart, it was difficult to handle the aftermath if we just killed him with a sword. MacHart’s defeat had to be revealed to everyone after he revealed himself as a demon.

From the beginning of the operation to the end of the battle, I roughly sketched out the scenario in my head and signaled to Edan, who started narrowing the distance to MacHart in a single breath, holding the sword in both hands. Our “position 5” had begun.

– Clang!

“….!!”

Edan ran straight towards where MacHart was, aiming to take down the top priority MacHart. When MacHart saw Edan suddenly rushing towards him like a moth to a flame, his eyes widened momentarily.

However, the boy who smirked slightly after that continued to attack without giving up towards Edan rushing towards him, countless black hands reaching out from below to grab him on the path to MacHart.

“You thought you’d have the upper hand if you got close?! I expected more from a guy who handles a sword, but you’re just a stupid guy who can only swing it!”

MacHart’s unique ability became stronger around him. Like all magic of the demons, dark magic could exert strong power around the caster’s body.

In particular, MacHart’s ability to create hands weakening the body in the shadows was a type that was greatly affected. Shadows became denser the closer they were to the owner’s body.

However, that didn’t mean MacHart had an advantage over Edan.

No matter how much stronger he became in close combat, Edan was stronger than MacHart to begin with, even considering that aspect.

-Swish! Swish! Swish!

Edan, cutting down the black hands appearing under his feet with the sword expert’s swordsmanship, rushed forward, and the summons hastily created by MacHart were dispersed into shadow fragments with just a few sword strikes.

The power gained from the narrowed distance was not enough to subdue Edan. That was the ability the sword expert possessed in the “Luminor Academy.”

30 meters, 20 meters, 10 meters. As Edan and MacHart’s distance closed, MacHart’s attacks towards Edan intensified, and Edan mostly dodged or parried those attacks as he moved forward.

‘…Edan can still handle this alone.’

Since there weren’t many opportunities to help, judgment had to be made carefully.

If support was given at the wrong time, it could put Edan in danger, or even if not, the limited opportunities had to be used carefully.

“Now, die!!”

-Crash!

‘Now…!’

As a huge hand seemed to emerge from the ground towards Edan, I immediately threw a dagger in my hand towards the giant hand.

“Edan! I’ll take care of that!”

“…Got it!”

With the dagger throw, the blackwood-patterned dagger flew towards the shadow hand’s back of the hand enveloping Edan, and the ‘everlasting flame’ stored in the dagger was manifested, dispersing one hand back into shadow fragments.

And as Edan and MacHart’s distance almost closed in.

“Don’t come any closer…!! You monster…!!”

In a final effort, MacHart summoned three hands from the ground, and the last three summons rushed towards Edan from the front and sides to surround him.

Anticipating the final pattern, I threw two prepared daggers and shouted to Edan.

“Cut through the middle, Edan!!!”

-Nod.

Edan nodded as if understanding my words.

Although it wasn’t clearly visible as it was far away, it was most likely the case.

The two daggers flying from my hands each knocked down the summons summoned by MacHart on the left and right, and as I said, Edan decisively cut through the middle one of the three summons summoned by MacHart.

-Swish.

All the monsters blocking the path between the boy and Edan fell, and as Edan’s sword clashed with MacHart’s, a brief commotion ensued.

…And so, when all the battles had come to an end, there was only one person left standing in the place, and that person was Ethan.