Chapter: 502
As I watched Luca’s advance, shrouded in darkness and with skin so pale it was almost unrecognizable, I couldn’t help but smirk. It turned out as I wished.
Luca, now captured by the Authority of Agra, had completely lost his sanity.
Now, there are two problems.
One is whether I can withstand his power.
The other is whether his tactics are the same as I know.
“Die#%>#%!”
I just stood there, watching the attack of someone who had lost even their human voice.
Three major signs. Steps so powerful they shook the ground. An exaggerated gathering of strength that made me think his waist might snap. The force gathering at the axe’s blade.
The timing I remembered was 0.3 seconds after the axe was swung.
If that timing is accurate, I can endure against Luca.
Luca’s attack comes flying at me.
The veins in his arms stood out as if they were about to burst.
Raging red eyes filled with fury looked at me.
The axe, infused with the Evil God’s power, hurtled toward me.
Boom!
The fierce impact resonated through my shield. My shield-wielding hand trembled.
My body, having endured the shock, screamed.
A metallic taste flooded my mouth.
I failed the parry.
Not entirely, though.
I may not have reduced the shock to zero, but I managed to lessen it significantly.
However, despite the reduction, Luca’s power, boosted by the Evil God’s authority, was too much to endure.
Ignoring the pain coursing through me, I watched Luca’s next move.
His slightly lowered jaw. The axe pulled back. The weight leaning forward.
He was going to charge with his shoulder.
I remembered the timing. After his foot left the ground, 0.5 seconds later. I memorized it both with my head and body.
But can I trust that timing?
I just failed by putting my complete trust in my memory a moment ago?
I need to think carefully. I can’t afford to deal with Luca’s attack with a sloppy parry.
No matter how hard I bite down, my opportunities are at most three or four.
I have to find the answer within that.
I open my eyes wide.
I focus all my attention on my sight.
I absorb every movement Luca displays.
And then I compare.
The Luca I saw beyond the monitor and the Luca in front of me now.
“Ah=%^#!%!”
The moment I absorb Luca’s charge, my body is thrown into the void.
In a space where gravity seems to vanish, my legs flail. And in the distance, Luca’s axe swings.
Luca’s axe reaches me faster than I can fly away.
I didn’t bother dwelling on what to do.
I follow my instincts.
I imbue my shield with divinity.
I paint a miracle.
As a detailed magic circle, drawn by artistic sensibility, etched itself onto my shield, the axe struck right on top of it.
The shield made of light collided with the axe, and shortly after, the light shattered and scattered into the void.
And in that moment, I was already readied again.
I gazed at Luca, his eyes slightly curled.
From the last skirmish, I gained a certain level of confidence.
I understood why I failed the parry.
Luca’s physical abilities now far surpassed the game’s counterpart.
Even his physique was tailored for that halberd.
So there’s no way my known timing aligns with the timing at which Luca swings his weapon.
So what should I do?
In a situation where my knowledge is rendered useless, how do I proceed?
What do I do?
I must find a new timing.
Smirking, I gripped my shield tight again.
Luca’s pattern wasn’t greatly different from what I knew.
Luca, consumed by corruption and having lost his sanity, wouldn’t suddenly change his pattern.
So all I need to do is adjust the timing.
Assuming the enemy’s attack is faster than before.
“Al!%$%!^%”
The axe raised high. My legs rooted in place. The energy saturating the axe’s tip.
I know what attack is coming. I know very well how to respond.
But I won’t.
I watch. I observe. I merely gaze at the weapon the opponent swings.
The signs of attack.
The axe plunging downward.
The energy exploding from where it had gathered.
That explosion shooting toward me.
And just when I think it’s extremely close, I raise my shield.
Having given up on parrying, the impact of the attack transfers directly to me.
Did I… push it a little too far?
What I just did, trying to absorb the next attack after barely pulling off a miracle, was insane.
The shock, unable to be endured by my arm, pushes me away, and the blast erupts from the axe’s tip hitting me.
Ah, crap, I’m screwed.
…
As thoughts, which had been interrupted for a moment, return, a ringing fills my ears.
Under normal circumstances, at this point, terror would swell up my spine.
The premonition of defeat would consume me, turning me into a fragile little child who could do nothing.
The Mesugaki Skill delivers helplessness when a defeat occurs, thank you very much.
But this time, it wasn’t so. Not today.
Absolutely not now.
I’m not afraid at all.
I’m not scared even a little bit.
I’m not thinking of the word fear at all.
What’s etched on my mouth is nothing but a smile.
What spills from my lips is nothing but laughter.
“Guh. Hah. Kaaah.”
Aaaah! Damn it. That hurts like hell.
Seeing protagonists in creative works, they always mention things like broken bones or damaged organs, but how do they distinguish such things?
Everything just hurts. How do you figure out what hurts from that?
Ah. I guess I can tell if a bone is broken.
My arm’s wholly immobile, so it seems my bone might be broken too.
Ignoring the pain of reality, I used the blessing granted by Armadi.
Armadi’s touch. A skill that heals countless status effects and injuries of the flesh. As a servant of Armadi, possessing his divinity, I can perform miracles comparable to Lord Jushin.
“Ugh!”
The pain felt when the wounds heal instantaneously is something I can never get used to.
Despite experiencing this miserable state countless times, I still can’t become numb to pain.
But I can endure it. I can turn a blind eye to it.
I can bear it for the joy to come.
I stagger to my feet and look ahead.
I see Luca waiting patiently for me to rise.
Despite losing his sanity, he faced this madman who refused to stray from his purpose of trials.
And I smiled.
For Luca to charge at me once more.
“Ah!%^#@!”
His movement was the same as the first time I saw it.
Good. Now I could verify whether the new timing I conceived was right or wrong.
In the past, that is, when I was behind the monitor, I was a weakling.
I was so busy being crushed by reality that I couldn’t even think of the word exercise.
Oh, how I wished that weakling had reflexes.
What I chose back then was to invest countless hours to catch timings.
So that I could counter perfectly just by observing signs.
If it were the me back then, I’d probably have dedicated a whole day just to modify one timing.
Or maybe I would have been stuck in front of the monitor for days on end.
What about now?
Now that I’ve fallen into this world?
Now that I dwell within Lucy’s body?
I’m someone who’s exerted countless efforts and honed undeniable talents over and over.
There’s no need for that.
The axe comes flying.
The raw force that crushed me is approaching.
Without hesitation, it comes down like a guillotine condemning me to death. But there was no deafening sound.
A clear clang resonates through the blackened corridor.
The axe, unable to crush my shield, rebounds.
The faint glimpse of Luca’s reason returns amidst confusion.
And beyond the shield, my laughter spills out halfway.
“Didn’t you say it would be a trial?♡ At this rate, you’ll hardly be a toy!♡”
Luca cannot become my trial.
He can’t make me stronger than this.
What influence could a pathetic boss who was easily taken down long ago possibly have on me?
*
“Aah. If only a few more companions were here, it would’ve been easier.”
Yuden tried to act composed, but her situation wasn’t good.
With the wizard focusing on interpreting the magic circle and the clergy doing their utmost to maintain the area, she was alone, holding the frontline.
It was true that Yuden possessed astonishing talents.
But the situation was grim.
Behind her stood those she needed to protect.
Enemies lurking for an opportunity to break the deadlock.
And the wrath of a dragon that could reduce her to ashes at any moment.
In such a scenario, merely maintaining the deadlock proved that Yuden’s title wasn’t bestowed upon her for nothing.
But she couldn’t just stay like this.
It was true that energy was constantly leaking below, but it was even faster that she was being exhausted.
Even though the Saintess healed whenever an opportunity arose, she could not rely solely on that. The moment the divine area collapsed, it meant their defeat.
Why hadn’t reinforcements arrived even after they broke through?
Surely the kingdom should respond sensitively to a crucial hub like Soul Academy?
If things were as they should be, then by now…
“Wow. It looks even bigger from here. That’s infuriating.”
Upon hearing a casual voice from behind, Yuden couldn’t help but click her tongue.
“Excuse me, Lady Karia. Is this really the time to be so leisurely?”
“Would I really be that way to someone who came to help?”
“Then hurry up and help!”
“I’ll assist you even if you don’t fuss about.”
Karia casually spoke as she stood next to Yuden, holding an abundance of scrolls.
“Yuden, if you admire Benedict, you should know. He once hunted a dragon.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“I was right there with him.”
Karia’s decades-long event nearly ruined her life. It was a curse from which she would have never escaped if it weren’t for a little girl.
“I tend to be quite prepared, you see. I prepare for experiences that hit hard.”
More accurately, she had come to be prepared.
The one who forced that nightmare of a dragon upon me was my employer.
What on earth was that child planning?
“To prepare for the shock. The fury of the dragon is loud in many ways.”
When Karia opened a scroll, light burst forth from it.
The wrath of the dragon, which could erase everything, descended onto reality beyond the magic circle.
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