The Valkyries, reduced to wretchedly weak specters, had their souls bound to this fortress and their armor.
Yet, even in their decline, the Valkyries were formidable foes to us now.
Even with the Holy Sword that was practically a specter itself, we could barely defeat them with a coordinated attack.
“Sure… the difficulty is a bit high.”
It felt like a party of gold ranked Adventurers was necessary.
Thanks to the ongoing chase, my skills had levelled up to the lowest elite… about the level of a royal knight or gold-ranked Adventurer.
Since the ones chasing us were all knights or silver-ranked Adventurers, my skills had shot up!
Nietzsche, the most famous disbeliever and defender of the “chuunibyou” syndrome, said that “The pain that doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
Does that mean I had to first become a genius magic girl to become a celestial horse?
Anyway, following Nietzsche’s words, I had stubbornly endured all the hits and kept surviving, and before I knew it, I had gotten strong enough to match a royal knight.
At least in a one-on-one, I could almost keep up with the Brunhilde from just before I possessed her.
Without relying on gear, in a one-on-one, I could win about two to three times out of ten.
If I think about it, I had finally stepped onto the starting line as a member of the hero’s party, which was quite a leap forward for me.
However, still, facing the Valkyrie’s specter one-on-one was tough in reality.
“Hilde! Behind you! Behind!”
“Two of them?!”
…Even if it was tough, there was no choice but to deal with the situation at hand.
◆◆
“Hatursfull, Lifandi manneskju…!”
Hateful, living beings…!
After finishing emergency treatment with potions and just as I was getting up to head toward the watchtower, a second Valkyrie ambushed us.
It launched a spear imbued with its full power from the roof of a partially collapsed two-story house.
If it weren’t for Friede, I might not have noticed the ambush.
As Friede, who pushed me aside and tumbled on the ground, sprang up and rushed toward it, the Valkyrie conjured an ice spear and a round shield, charging straight at her.
It not only closed the distance without flying away but also made a frontal assault.
It was either someone overly confident in their close combat spear technique or a lunatic whose intelligence had plummeted, just rushing at any visible enemy.
Either way, it was good news for us. If they came to us first, we wouldn’t have to flail about trying to tear off the flying one’s cloak.
“Hyahhh!”
“Deyja…!”
A clash of great swords and spear tips left trails of light in the air.
The second Valkyrie deflected my Holy Sword’s strike with her ice shield and unleashed her ice spear like a beam of light, creating an unfathomable exchange.
– Kwadududuk!
The missed strike carved deep scars into the stone pavement, and shattered ice shards sparkled like snowflakes.
The rough and harsh clash of intent. Red and blue streams collided, breaking and swirling against each other repeatedly.
“Friede! Hold it just like that!”
I dashed toward the Valkyrie’s back. In a 1v1, backstabbing was a must. I was planning to thwart it from both the front and back.
“Hilde! Don’t come! There’s more behind!”
If Friede hadn’t glanced at me with urgency, I might have charged in anyway.
“What?! Damn…!”
Launching fragments of stone underfoot, Friede alerted me to a third Valkyrie’s ambush overhead. I quickly halted and turned, swinging my sword into thin air.
– Kaaang!
My diagonal slash was blocked by something unseen, ringing a clear metallic sound.
Then, Friede’s stone flew and shattered, revealing a skeleton knight covered in dust that it had stirred up.
“Ógeðslegur, svikari…!”
The Valkyrie called me a disgusting traitor, glaring at me with eyes full of malice.
The force contained in her thrust felt like it could bend my waist like a bow.
“If you have something to say, speak in a common tongue…!”
I tightened my abs and thighs, straightening my back as I pushed back against her spear.
The spear shot off with a thwok.
Instead of engaging me directly, she spun, releasing her force, aiming the tip of her spear at my head.
“I saw that earlier!”
I twisted my wrist to deflect the tip of her spear with the hilt of my sword.
A dull collision echoed, shattering my sword’s pommel while the tip of her spear broke.
A fragment grazed my cheek, leaving a thin wound.
“Dauðisvikaranum!”
To the betrayer, death!
She followed with a kick. When I quickly dodged by tilting my head, her spear came crashing down.
Could I block it with my shoulder? No, it would pierce through.
An instinct so close to certainty warned me to dodge and not think. I slumped down and rolled forward, barely escaping from her spear.
– Kwaaaang!
The missed spear tip exploded into the ground. The power was no different from that of a spear. No, it was essentially a spear cast at close range.
“No way…”
I broke into a cold sweat as I got up. My spine chirped. Casting a long-range finisher at zero distance? What kind of lousy tactic was that?
If I had depended on my shoulder, my arm might have been blown off.
“Ertu…hræddur?”
Are you afraid?
The Valkyrie landed, her torn cloak flapping, as she looked at me and taunted me openly.
Am I scared? Am I intimidated? What a ridiculous joke.
No matter the old legends, it was just a specter worse than an ogre. If I were scared of something so pathetic, I wouldn’t have come here.
“How dare you provoke me. A specter driven mad by being unable to die.”
So, I gripped my sword tighter and shot back in a fierce tone. I was not afraid of you at all.
“Þá deyja!”
Then die!
With that, the Valkyrie shouted and lunged at me like a cannonball.
◆◆
A one-on-one fight with the Valkyrie I never desired.
It wasn’t an unexpected situation.
Valkyries weren’t stationary, fixed fortification-type enemies; they were patrolling soldiers who attacked the moment they spotted an enemy while wandering inside the fortress.
Given the vastness of the fortress, it wasn’t usual for multiple ones to pop out at once, but two was definitely a possibility.
While the party in the original novel had gained enough strength, so they could chop whatever came their way without issues, we were still not at that level yet.
As each battle prolonged, it was only natural for support forces to appear, either having spotted us during their patrol or being drawn in by the noise.
Still, with my strange luck recently, I thought this would end well too… But it seemed like that luck was running dry.
Seeing that the expected enemy had shown up as expected.
– Kaaang!
Enough with the distractions. The sound of clashing weapons focused my consciousness on the enemy before me.
Now was not the time to be lost in thought.
“Haahhh!”
“Kyaaaak!”
Shouts and screams intertwined as the beams from spear and sword spilled shards everywhere.
– Kwaduduk!
My shoulder plowed through the ice spear, completely tearing it off, and my fist, sacrificing my shoulder, swung and struck the Valkyrie’s face.
“Kahaak!”
The Valkyrie, with only her lower jaw left, launched a fierce blow at me with her shield, which I blocked with my arms. The tattered gauntlet shattered upon impact.
Sliding over the torn-up ground, I skidded away.
“Looks good!”
I yelled mockingly at the Valkyrie with just her upper jaw remaining as I charged toward her again.
– Kwaduk!
Twisting my body to dodge her spear, my thrust skidded off her ice shield, and her translucent spear tip pierced through the gap in my armor.
“Ugh…!”
The blood spurted. I grit my teeth, enduring the pain and fatigue, choosing to advance one step further instead of retreating, swinging my sword again.
Not yet. I can still fight more.
This pain is nothing.
So, encouraging myself and building myself up.
“Not even close-!”
In a battle with a superior foe.
To win, I had to pour all my focus onto this single specter before me, fighting with all my might.
Forgetting about Friede and the second Valkyrie. Discarding the possibility of a fourth coming.
Focusing only on the enemy in front of me, I concentrated all my consciousness on finding a way to take it down.
When my intent, determination, and desire peaked at their utmost,
– Thump.
My heart thudded fiercely in a moment, exuding a chilling cold akin to a frozen river in winter.
The frigid air of bitter cold spread throughout my limbs as the essence of power dwelling in my awakened [Ice Heart] surged through my veins.
My vision darkened at the edges. The pain in my chest and wounds seemed to wash away.
My breath was astonishingly cold, while my mind felt ablaze.
The sounds around me distorted oddly, and the movement of the approaching enemy felt strangely slow.
It was as if my thought processes were running five times quicker than usual.
My brain boiled as I activated every function to seize the answer for victory.
In terms of raw strength, I had the upper hand.
The attack speed using that strength was also on my side.
Still, what I lacked was the duration of that strength and the difference in skill levels.
The Valkyrie’s battle experience, forged through many battles, far surpassed the skillful spear technique of Eisenstein.
That skill gap was overwhelmingly overshadowing my physical might.
If that’s the case.
The way to victory for me was.
The brain, halting all functions outside of combat, gave the only answer.
I could not match battle experience. That belonged solely to pure experience.
However, while experience is one thing, skill alone was something I could match.
I could, and must, catch up.
Instinct affirmed this. My very being commanded it.
Observe. Engage. Remember. Recall.
Predict. Analyze. Interpret.
And—
Embody it.
– Kwaduduk!
The ice spear shattered. From its tip to the shaft and the whole spear, right at the front.
Perfectly identical stance. Perfectly identical timing as we clashed.
Then, it was only natural that the one with the greater power would win.
“Haahhhh!”
As the great sword crushed the ice spear, it mercilessly ripped apart the Valkyrie’s right arm.
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