Knight of Death

[Death Knight]

Ominous black letters.

The black knight swings the reins.

The black horse neighs and gallops.

Death Knight.

Though a long-awaited opponent, the pressure was no joke when actually faced with it.

The ominous black letters spelling [Death Knight] seemed to invade Americano as black mist rolled in.

It was psychological.

“Wow…”

She could only exclaim in awe.

Her hands trembled.

Undead.

“The variance is extreme.”

‘(It’s coming!)’

Americano kicked off the ground.

Holding swords in both hands,

She raised [Sword Aura].

The black horse charges.

The black knight.

[Death Knight] swung a spear wrapped in black [Sword Aura].

Sword and spear.

She tries to deflect the spear, but,

Crack.

The sword breaks.

Unable to withstand the [Sword Aura], the sword tip flies out of her sight.

The tip of [Death Knight]’s spear tilts towards her brow.

As she watches the approaching spear with [Focused] gaze, her instincts strongly cried out that she didn’t need to dodge.

Because [Death Knight] kept tilting the spear tip.

The spear tip grazes her nape.

“…”

Americano covered the wound on her nape with her hand.

Even the cuirass was lightly torn.

Steel Cuirass.

‘Now it’s really useless.’

More than that, what dominated her mind was [Death Knight]’s action just now. The way it now leisurely rode its horse, observing Americano instead of charging right in.

“Haa…”

She removed her hand from her nape and looked at it, soaked wet.

The blood was so red it was almost black.

It was tainted with [Evil Energy].

[Heal].

Americano didn’t guard against [Death Knight].

[Death Knight] was clearly looking down on Americano and waited leisurely until her treatment was finished.

If you’ve come to your senses, heal immediately and come at me again.

Though wordless, that’s what it seemed to be saying.

“It doesn’t feel bad.”

Indeed, that kind of attitude is only cool when shown by a strong person.

[Death Knight]’s attitude was a kind of provocation and consideration telling her to come at it properly. Consideration born from arrogance is cool.

‘I might end up admiring it.’

The broken sword.

She discarded it.

The discarded sword bounced on the ground and flew away from her swung hand.

She took out [Black Sword] and [Magic Sword] from her inventory, preparing her current maximum power.

Whoosh.

Blue flames bloom.

As she strongly circulated magical power, the accompanying chill cooled her body while the blue flames heated it in opposition.

She circulated magical power strongly in her body, regardless of [Magical Power] stat.

At first, she had grasped the overflowing magical power limited to [Magical Power], but now she emitted it more strongly and quickly on top of that.

The vague sensation she had felt every time she used her Awakened Ability before.

Awakened Abilities ignore stats.

That must have been the biggest reason for excluding Awakened Abilities in the game.

But now it was different.

She became able to use Awakened Abilities.

She became able to use magical power along the path of using Awakened Abilities.

More powerfully.

More intensely!

More mightily!!

Americano exerted strength throughout her body, strongly emitting magical power.

But,

Crack.

A fissure forms in [Magic Sword].

Chill seeps in through that gap.

Americano, startled.

She restricted her magical power.

‘This is the limit.’

It’s regrettable, but such reckless enhancement was possible thanks to the harmony of [Nine Yin Constitution]’s magical power recovery and heating ability to withstand the chill from [Nine Yin Constitution]’s aftereffects.

The current state where the heating ability can handle it is her maximum power.

Even so,

Blaze.

Thick flames covered her to the point Americano’s figure couldn’t be seen. A single black line moves within the blue flames.

Americano, who became an incarnation of fire, points [Black Sword] at [Death Knight].

With a sonic boom, she disappeared from her spot in an instant.

Silence fell upon the town square.

Americano was floating in the sky.

She drew a trajectory of blue flames.

She’s well aware of her current situation and state.

Flying up to this height was entirely her will.

Below her.

[Death Knight].

Americano had flown up together with it by body-slamming.

The ground rapidly flowed past behind [Death Knight].

Buildings pass by.

The castle walls pass by.

The forest appears.

[Phantom Sword]

[Ejection]

She swung [Phantom Sword] in midair.

[Death Knight] rotated its spear.

It deflects the [Phantom Sword]s.

Though [Phantom Sword] is imbued with holy power, [Death Knight] shattered them without a care.

Even the great [Death Knight] has no means of approach in midair.

Certain of this, Americano,

‘Let’s see if you can handle this too.’

Gripping the sword with both hands,

Raising it high,

[Execution Sword]

A giant sword of magical power.

The enlarged magical blade brought [Death Knight] within range.

She swings down.

“Tch.”

It bisects the black horse.

[Death Knight] avoided [Execution Sword] by using the black horse as a foothold.

Still, this was certain.

The [Boosted] [Execution Sword] was enough of a threat to [Death Knight].

‘It means I have a way to kill it.’

That’s when.

‘(I’m ready!)’

She was startled.

Cappuccino’s voice.

It woke Americano, who had been so highly focused that even time seemed to slow.

Time accelerates again and the sound of fluttering flames grows louder. The parabola of blue flames begins its descent.

Before she could use [Phantom Sword] or [Execution Sword], she landed on the ground.

The ground where Americano landed exploded and was torn up,

[Death Knight] landed lightly as if it had just made a small hop.

It blatantly showed the difference in their levels, leaving her at a loss.

A magic circle shines on her chest.

Cappuccino was in town.

But Cappuccino’s magic is transmitted from afar through the magic circle engraved on Americano.

Memorize magic.

It’s transmitted in the form of completed magic via the magic circle.

However,

[Receiving… 0%]

[2 minutes until completion.]

‘(What is this!)’

For some reason, it was taking time.

Still, she knows what magic it is.

[Heater] magic.

Weak magic wouldn’t work on [Death Knight] anyway. So she had requested magic that could use more magical power more strongly.

Though her expectations were off,

“No choice, I guess.”

2 minutes.

[Death Knight].

It strokes its fallen steed nearby, then soon turns to look this way.

Its red eye light shines.

[Death Knight]’s anger is glimpsed.

Americano has no cold sweat.

Instead, steam rises.

───She dodged.

The spear flew in.

[Death Knight]’s thrown spear.

She deflected it sideways with [Black Sword] and also bent her body to the side to dodge.

Just as she was about to rush at [Death Knight].

It was already right in front of her.

Sword.

Sword.

Sword.

So fast that “swinging” doesn’t do it justice, swords only appeared for an instant at the moment of collision.

The sensation of “can cut” conveyed by [Black Sword] and the instinctive sense of “it’s coming” harmonize.

Faster than she’s conscious of,

Faster than she can think,

She deflects [Death Knight]’s sword strikes.

Only the intuition that it would come this way moved her body.

The sword’s form is barely visible only at the moment of collision, and in that instant she accelerated her arm with magical power as thick as the blue flames.

The sword appears at the next position.

Faster than sound.

The swords collide.

Collision at the next position.

The interval between was shorter than the brief time it takes for sound to reach the ear.

Sword strikes are exchanged.

Sounds accumulate.

The air pressure tightens.

The moment the sound reaches the ears.

An explosion of sound erupts in the space they shared, distorting the flames.

Boom.

She’s pushed back.

Americano’s body, impacted by the sword strikes along with the sound and flames, scraped along the ground as she was pushed away from [Death Knight].

And [Death Knight]?

‘It didn’t get pushed back..!’

Damn, it’s strong!

[Elder Treant] also had ominous black letters, but are there levels even among the same color?

No, it could simply be the difference between combat and stationary types. If that huge body of [Elder Treant] was compressed into this small frame, its strength feels roughly similar.

Thoughts of comparison are a waste.

Even in this moment of being pushed back,

[Death Knight] was moving at an unbelievable speed.

Americano also poured in magical power to balance her body. She can barely move as much as [Death Knight].

Still, she fell behind in speed when it came to detailed movements.

Americano disappeared.

[Death Knight] disappeared.

They exchanged positions.

No,

‘Ugh..!’

Unable to withstand [Death Knight]’s sword strike, she was flung into the air.

She was overwhelmed in strength too.

Speed was barely equal.

The other side had the advantage in agility.

To be overwhelmed in strength as well?

‘I’m using boost to the max over here!!’

Landing point.

[Death Knight].

It was already there first.

It wrapped thick magical power of [Evil Energy] around its sword.

It performs a charge unseen until now.

It put in strength for 0.1 seconds or 0.01 seconds.

The magical power imbuing the sword grows instantly.

Americano knows very well what that is.

[Sword Aura].

A high-output sword strike.

The Sword Master’s ultimate move.

Americano balanced herself in midair and raised her sword high.

[Execution Sword]

It’s not enough.

This can’t win.

Awakened Ability.

She generated electricity.

Electricity fills her body at a speed approaching light.

The electricity climbs up even [Black Sword], giving it the aura of intense lightning.

As the electric touch meets the magical giant sword, it crackles.

She plunged her lightning-infused [Execution Sword] into [Death Knight]’s [Sword Aura].

‘Ah…’

She lost.

[Sword Aura] and [Execution Sword].

The black magical blade splits the blue flames.

Landing.

Failure.

Americano rolled on the bare ground.

Rolling.

Rolling.

Flying.

Rolling.

She stops.

Ugh…

She barely maintained [Boost].

She maxed out her electrical ability.

Crackle.

Spark.

Sparks fly from her body.

Who,

Here,

Thought it would,

End?

She finally met [Death Knight].

If she doesn’t do her best here,

When will such a chance come again?

[Heal].

[Heal].

[Heal].

She takes out an elixir… but the elixir evaporates.

[Boost]’s flames erased the elixir.

Can’t use this.

Enduring with her self-healing ability, she looks at the progress notification floating before her eyes.

[Receiving… 87%]

[About 20 seconds until completion.]

Best.

Maximum.

Power.

20 seconds left.

20 seconds left.

She touched the ground.

She raised her upper body.

‘All that happened in less than 2 minutes?’

A smile spread across her lips at the fact that she had accomplished such feats.

Hidden within the blue flames and invisible to others, a bright smile that would be hard to show others bloomed fully.