The Spearmaster and the Black Cat

After casting a quick glance at Helme and seeing small wings on her back for the first time – possibly an effect from her having absorbed a part of Golgonshura – I returned my attention to Delhart. I focused on <Tree of the Evil King> and <Hand guided by Thought>, creating a path of trees toward Delhart.

“Spirit Knight Delhart, you asked for a fight, so you got yourself one!”

“Hahaha, ridiculous! A halberd-type of spear similar to that of Demonic Puppet Yrzon? How laughable!”

No need to tell me, is what I thought but didn’t voice out.

I activated <Blood Path – Open Third Gate>, invoking <Bloody Accel>. Blood spewed out of both my feet. While dashing across the wooden road, I pulled the steel hilt from my hilt. As soon as I poured mana into it, the usual turquoise light blade surged out ― Murasame’s blade had triggered.

“A sword, huh? And on top of that, an unknown type of weapon――”

Delhart was worried about Murasame.

And behind me, around my back, floated a <Hand guided by Thought>, trailing behind with a slight delay. In the eyes of an opponent who could use Magic Observation, it might look as if a crooked mana hand, connected to me through mana strings, is swimming through the air.

As I rushed on like that, the wooden path crumbled apart midway, and vanished.

“How naive! It won’t work!”

It was an attack by Delhart. Mana blades with a sticky texture deployed in a fan formation from the trenches of his armor’s ribs.

Without minding that, I sporadically created new trees in order to salvage the few remnants of the wooden path while continuing to jump towards Delhart as if hopping, using the trees as foothold.

Soon my entire visual field was filled by Delhart’s huge frame. The instant I entered his spear’s range, I swung Murasame from the side, and matching the timing of the swing, I focused on the shoulder dragon 《Hal’Konk》. Ice pebbles were created from the Blue Eye of the Evil Dragon King, heading with a tremendous speed for Delhart’s head.

The ice pebbles were launched in close combat, so Delhart couldn’t react. No, he did react, but he didn’t manage to evade the pebbles. Several pebbles pierced his cheeks and forehead. One pebble also stabbed his chest.

“G-Guuaah!”

While Delhart got showered by the pebbles, he extended his violet spear below and to the side, parrying Murasame’s slash. The plasma blade slid across the spear’s surface.

I made several feints with my eyes, suggesting a competition of power between Murasame and Delhart’s spear. While making him believe so, I locked his weapon with Murasame.

Even without opposing the push, Delhart yelled, “You intend to have a contest of strength, eh――,” and forcibly twisted his spear.

My blade was thrown up, and after moving so as to target the inside, Delhart unleashed a <Thrust>-based technique.

I twisted my body, but wasn’t in time nonetheless. I got hit by his sharp thrust. My dark-green cloth bent and a part of it got punctured. It grazed my right flank so strongly that I could feel the impact even inside my body.

To be honest, that hurts damn a lot.

My body took one sharp stab after the other. Sparks flew from my coat. But, while shifting Murasame back downwards, I rotated it in order to ensnare Delhart’s spear, who was getting cocky with a series of attacks.

“For you to even be able to use swordsmanship――”

Delhart pulled the spear back with skilled movements, shifting to a combat range where he could unleash mid-thrusts while blending them with feints by using the lower muscles of his shoulders.

“Demonoid Martial Arts <Ryuuguto>――” 1

A chained thrusting attack boosted by a skill, huh? To feint with just his stance; what an amazing spirit world knight.

But, I also possess trump cards I haven’t used yet.

In the next moment, I focused on my new sage art <White Flame Sage Hand>. The aura of a white mist manifested around me within milliseconds. And a swarm of hands appeared from within the mist. I imagined their form to be like the spear hand attack I learned from Kisara and Gramps Ton.

“Gunuuoo!? White flames!? You possess the divine protection of the spirit world gods!?” Delhart was completely caught on the wrong foot.

In a hurry he lifted his spear sideways, shifting towards defense. My white hands were blocked by the spear handle.

But, as might be expected, even a spirit world knight couldn’t handle the entire swarm of spear hands assailing him in great force. His body took countless stabs. At the same time you could hear a series of loud bangs as if large cannons were continuously shooting their volleys.

Moreover, I added <Dusk of Lancer> to the mix.

“Dark God Rivograph!?”

Delhart’s magic armor was chipped away by the barrage of white flame hands and dark stakes, resulting in him having his bulky, light brown chest exposed in the end. Immediately following, the spear hands started to stab right through his skin.

Delhart madly screamed, “Guaaaaaah――”

His upper body became inflated, and a fountain of mana gushed out into the vicinity, erasing the white hands that had pierced his body. He twisted his naked, expanded body and stabbed his spear at my torso.

He’s definitely tough, but the spear trajectory is rather wild.

I summoned Ganghis into my left hand while simultaneously activating <Call of the Water Goddess>. As I twisted my left hand that held Ganghis, I extended the spear diagonally to the front, causing Ganghis to repel his spear.

Dripping with blood, Delhart shouted, “A-An illusion!?”

I also wondered whether it’s an illusion, but it looks like others than me can see it as well.

Having had his arm thrown upwards, Delhart’s balance fell apart. But, he still held onto his spear.

I unleashed a <Water Drill> with the force of having shifted my risen mana into Ganghis. The twin-moon-blade of Ganghis, clad by the sage art’s white flames and water vapor, penetrated Delhart’s chest.

“――Guuuaaahhh!”

Sheets of water sprays, which were burning with white flames, scattered from Ganghis’s spearhead into the surroundings. The glistening vapor transformed into a cone as if paying its respects to Divine Spear Ganghis.

Has the white mist of the sage art changed? Is it Water Goddess Akreshys? I can see something akin to a divine mirage.

But, the mirage vanished as fleeting as the hands of white mist.

An illusion that lasted but a few milliseconds, huh?

The spearhead of Ganghis was still embedded in Delhart’s body after the mirage passed. The attack hadn’t ended yet.

Without giving him any time to do anything, I used <Magic Hand guided by Thought>, unleashing a <Thrust> with Divine Spear Arost directly from above. Arost dove down with its cross-shaped spearhead spiraling while emitting a loud drilling sound. It seemed as if Arost might stab into the crown of Delhart’s head.

“Guaaaaaa!” He screamed.

Incredible, that fucker really managed to react here. By tilting his body, he had avoided his head being hit. But, Arost had torn through the top of his shoulder, making its way deep into his chest.

He’s now looking like Christ as he bore the cross…

Masses of blood were flowing out of the wound inflicted by Arost. The blood spray rained down on me as well. Delhart had stopped moving altogether.

<Magic Hand guided by Thought> twisted Arost downwards as if to bisect Delhart’s torso alongside the ring of blood spray that had formed around him. But, Delhart’s body was hard. The mana hand couldn’t bisect it, and instead only Arost’s handle sank deeper.

Well, since the momentum of the spiraling <Thrust> has stopped, it’s only reasonable, I guess. But, I’ll use the toughness of Delhart’s armor and muscles to my own advantage.

I erased Ganghis, and then I stepped with Arzen’s boot on the handle of Arost, kicked off it, and leaped high into the air. While twisting my body in the air, I moved around towards Delhart’s back.

“I’ll have you give me Baldok back――”

I touched Baldok, which had been embedded in Delhart’s back all the time, and immediately erased it. I also erased the <Magic Hand guided by Thought> behind me, and resummoned it as a foothold below me. Kicking off the crooked mana hand, I leaped high up while somersaulting in the air, perceiving the situation around me.

“Nnnn, nya～”

――A battlefield in the night sky, huh?

Delhart crashed towards the ground like a broken doll. The enemies around me…have been mostly mopped up.

At that point, I sensed movements in the Sea of trees below me. I checked Eva’s situation.

She was fighting against a black-haired vampire. Matabe was behind her. It looked like they were forming a joint front. Eva used her five Sergelon’s Balls to restrain the enemy.

While repelling some balls with sickle blades, the vampire swiftly rotated their body, dodging the rest of the balls. Their movements were fast. Eva glared at the opponent, obviously upset about her prided steel balls being dodged and repelled.

She kicked off the ground with her metallic legs which were clad in violet mana. Advancing in a forward-bent posture, she extended her tonfa from both sleeves, just to unleash a series of <Thrusts> aimed at the vampire’s torso.

The vampire focused on defense while slowly retreating. He warded the tonfa off with the sickle blades in his hands. He defended against the flurry of tonfa thrusts with a magnificent defensive sword dance that seemed to smoothly flow in all directions, and then tried to shift to counterattacking.

But, instead he suffered an intense low kick from Eva’s metallic foot. The power behind Eva’s kick was terrifying.

The vampire, who had his leg completely broken, had to quickly prop himself up by pressing one hand against the ground. He swiftly retreated by twisting his body while holding the sickles close to his thighs. While continuing to fall back by using his hands skillfully like a rhythmic gymnastics athlete, he had his crushed leg regenerate within a few milliseconds.

His maneuvers and the decent recovery speed are anything but normal. Is he a kin of <Head Servant Leader> class?

The vampire laughed daringly swinging his sickle blades as if pruning weeds. He seemed to also say something. Going by his behavior, he reminds me of the former Shadow Wing Brigade member Kary.

The sickles in his hands were exceptional weapons, filled with mana. He was apparently wearing a mantle with metal clasps in the shape of badges sewed onto it at both shoulders. Below he wore pants made out of lame leather and leather boots.

His stance of standing sideways was reminiscent of kenpo. Overall, his Magic Combat Style-based technique was high and you could sense an air of composure from his relaxed motions. He was definitely strong.

Maybe that’s the stray vampire called noble youth?

My <Head Servant Leader> Eva is honestly powerful. But, I cannot help worrying about her.

I stopped watching and took a nosedive.