Chapter 77

〈 Episode 78 〉 Yusera (2)

*

A month had passed since the league began.

Some rankings had established themselves.

Team 2-A, which Yusera and I belonged to, was doing fairly well.

Thanks to Yusera’s ability to use Overload and go wild.

And finally, the inevitable match arrived.

It was against Team 4-B, which Elsie was part of.

Honestly, regardless of Yusera, I was a bit reluctant to face that opponent right now.

It didn’t mean Team 4-B was strong.

In fact, despite having Elsie, Team 4-B was still in the lower ranks.

Thanks to a strategy of Freira that was completely independent of the other team members.

Nevertheless, thoughts like this crossed my mind.

“We’re screwed.”

The moment I faced Elsie before the match began, I had that instinct.

Her gaze was like a predator eyeing its prey.

The moment I saw her, I felt like I was about to be shredded.

“I need to be a bit more careful today.”

Of course, if Elsie got too clingy, I could always use Wind’s Power to escape to higher ground.

However, the battlefield created by the Trial wasn’t always a forest.

In fact, the last battlefield had manifested as a desert, which had been a pain.

“I can judge after seeing the battlefield.”

With that thought, I stepped onto the lake again.

*

The battlefield looked like a ruined city.

Thanks to that, there were many obstructive barriers in sight.

Elsie moved through the enemy’s formation while constantly scanning the surroundings.

She wasn’t particularly looking for enemies.

“Where’s Allen?”

Of course, there was no guarantee that the candidate she was looking for, Sung Yoo-rang, was Allen.

She knew very well that there were many differences between the Allen she knew and Sung Yoo-rang.

Height, build, face, weapon—nothing matched.

In fact, it could be considered that they were completely different people.

“But for some reason, the atmosphere feels similar.”

There was a distinctly noticeable aura unique to Allen.

Although Sung Yoo-rang had other mixed atmospheres, there was certainly an aura of Allen among them.

That was the only reason she connected Sung Yoo-rang and Allen.

However, she also knew she shouldn’t make a judgment based solely on that.

That’s why she had been waiting for this opportunity to obtain solid proof.

“If I push him into a corner, he might have to draw his sword.”

She hadn’t seen it when she was with him, but according to Gwen, he used Reedval Family’s swordsmanship.

If it was a different swordsmanship, it might be hard to recognize, but she was confident she could recognize Reedval Family’s swordsmanship.

“The problem is finding him.”

She had spectated various matches that Sung Yoo-rang participated in until now.

Through that process, she found out that Sung Yoo-rang didn’t take the front much.

He primarily hid in higher ground at the back and observed the situation.

“Where could he be?”

As she searched for Sung Yoo-rang, a candidate stepped in her way.

A knight wielding a dual sword.

Sorry, but I didn’t have time to waste on him.

I had to reach Sung Yoo-rang as quickly as possible.

“Get out of the way.”

He didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

Well then, there was no choice.

She took out the Relic Breeze Bringer.

*

“Phew…”

Yusera sheathed her sword.

No need to use Overload against such an opponent.

Just as she was about to move again…

(Yusera, there’s an enemy ace who eliminated Rick nearby. Jake is currently engaged, so go assist him.)

It was an order from her instructor, Setia.

There could only be one enemy ace.

That swordswoman with the bobbed hair.

For some reason, every time she made eye contact with that girl, it sent a chill down her spine; her swordsmanship was indeed threatening.

She had also seen her in other matches.

The way she swung her sword as if possessed by madness was hard to believe belonged to a human.

“Can I win?”

She had defeated many opponents up until now.

But she had no confidence that she could win, especially against that swordsmanship filled with madness.

“But maybe…”

She had never truly reached her limits yet.

Perhaps this time she could gain some kind of enlightenment.

She didn’t know what it was, but for now, she decided to follow Setia’s orders.

She quickly moved according to Setia’s guidance.

As she hurried along, she soon spotted Elsie.

However, Jake, her teammate, had already been downed by Elsie.

“Am I too late?”

However, Elsie wasn’t entirely unhurt either.

It seemed that fighting Jake, a trickster-type knight, after the battle with Rick had exhausted her as well.

Her body showed multiple injuries, and her stamina was significantly depleted.

“It might be easier than I thought.”

She wasn’t being careless.

It was merely an objective assessment.

What was important was that she couldn’t give Elsie the chance to recover her strength.

She retrieved her sword from her inventory.

And, as she always did, she overloaded her sword to withstand ten strikes.

To her, Elsie said:

“Get out of the way…”

A warning from her opponent, as if.

But it didn’t reach Yusera, who had already made up her mind to fight.

Without hesitation, she swung her sword straight away.

“Grrk…!”

Elsie barely managed to deflect Yusera’s sword and groaned in exhaustion.

The initiative was completely with Yusera.

She immediately followed up with another swing.

“I’ll smash her in one go.”

Elsie blocked again, but she didn’t look comfortable.

Just pushing a little more, she felt like she would break apart.

Yusera swung for the third time to maintain the momentum.

“Blocked again?”

Though it felt like she was about to shatter, Elsie somehow managed to repel her sword.

Yusera’s determination to break her grew stronger.

But again, she was blocked.

“Why?”

This was incomprehensible.

The opponent, who seemed to be crumbling, was reviving like a flickering flame.

And then an even more incomprehensible situation occurred.

“I told you to get out of the way!”

Suddenly, she attacked back.

Caught off guard by this unexpected change, Yusera recoiled.

However, Elsie doggedly kept on her tail, swinging her sword.

“What the…!”

Yusera barely raised her sword in defense.

The fifth strike.

She knew this wouldn’t do.

To use Overload properly, she had to take the initiative in the attack.

But…

“No way.”

She absolutely couldn’t fight back.

Elsie’s barrage was neither that fast nor perfect.

But the pressure behind her sword was deadly.

Trying to evade rather than receiving the attacks while retreating, but in the end, perhaps due to greed, she allowed one.

“Gah!”

She got slashed right in the side.

But Elsie showed no signs of stopping her attack.

Yusera had no choice but to use her sword to block Elsie’s sword.

The eighth strike, the ninth strike…

Against a guy who said he could use Swordsmanship Class 1, she hadn’t experienced this kind of struggle.

She was simply being overwhelmed.

Clearly, in terms of strength, technique, and speed, she should have been superior—yet here she was.

On the tenth strike, her sword finally shattered.

“Damn!”

At the same time, Elsie’s sword pierced her body.

It wasn’t the first time experiencing death in a virtual space.

However, it was her first time losing so overwhelmingly.

“What the hell was that…?”

Just as she was about to ask how she did it, she realized Elsie’s eyes weren’t on her.

No, even during the fight, Elsie was looking at something else entirely.

“Where?”

Pulling her sword from Yusera’s body, Elsie asked.

“Where’s Allen… no, Sung Yoo-rang?”

Sung Yoo-rang?

That name popped out of nowhere.

Simultaneously, her consciousness faded.

It seemed like she had completely been processed to death.

*

“I knew she would go completely crazy without me noticing.”

That was my impression after watching the battle between Yusera and Elsie.

I had a hunch Elsie would win, but I didn’t expect such an overwhelming result.

In the original Hundred Braves, Elsie had exhibited a somewhat vengeful personality, but due to my intervention, it felt as if she had evolved to a completely different level for some reason.

“I can’t face her like this.”

Now that she was tired, it was the perfect opportunity.

I waited for the moment when Yusera, overlapping with Elsie, was processed dead, and I released the drawn arrow.

An arrow endowed with Overload was shot toward Elsie.

It was quite a distance.

However, having watched Wilhelm’s archery over his shoulder, I’d learned quite a bit.

Taking a shot at this distance shouldn’t be a problem.

Whoosh.

An arrow zipped quickly.

At that moment, Elsie turned her head.

Her gaze was precisely aimed in my direction.

And the arrow embedded itself in her forehead.

“Sorry, Elsie.”

I turned my head away from the sight of her weakly collapsing.

I thought that once I could reveal my identity later, I would have to properly apologize then.

I was slightly afraid of the aftershocks.

“By the way, I wonder if Yusera realized anything.”

Of course, it didn’t matter much to me.

It wasn’t directly tied to Yusera’s life as it was with Elsie.

This was definitely something that the Divine Seat and Yusera needed to resolve.

However, for some reason, it bothered me.

“Why?”

It wasn’t just about Yusera.

Elsie, Wilhelm… even Gwen.

It felt like there was something I was missing.

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

Even after the match ended, I couldn’t figure out what that was.

*