Leave a comment

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Some days after that meeting, they gathered in the courtyard of the school built near Castle Seyfert. Crim looked around, and then spoke with an apologetic voice.

“Sigh… My apologies, somehow things turned like this as soon as word about the duel got out.”

Around them was a large audience, holding drinks and snacks like they were in a festival.

Amongst them were the other members of Lua Cheia, who were just as merry as the rest of the audience, and Rouge who looked like she was about to pass out. Da’at Criferd was essentially the opposite, celebrating like there was no tomorrow.

Glancing at the crowd around them, Crim formed a pitch black scythe in her hand.

When Ryunosuke heard about the duel, his business instincts went to work to organize it as a big public event, which resulted in what Crim was seeing.

“Don’t worry about it. I had already heard that duels can often turn into big events like this, so it’s a good way to get used to it. And also…”

Suzaku was fully equipped and pointed his sword at Crim as he spoke. He was not using the red sword, but the Demonic Sword Gram he had obtained during the fight with Fafnir.

“I’m more than used to fighting in front of an audience.”

He was not boasting, he was actually perfectly calm. The tip of his sword was not moving in the slightest, creating a stark contrast to Crim, who was nervously shifting around and could not keep still.

It was rare for someone to be able to remain with such composure when under the scrutiny of so many pairs of eyes. Most would either overexert themselves, or their senses would become dull. Only someone with a lot of courage could do that, or…

I guess he’s used to large audiences already.

Crim assumed that much about him, but she felt like it would be rude to point it out, so she kept the thought to herself.

Ever since Crim became known as the Scarlet Demon Lord, the number of people challenging her to duels had decreased drastically, and it had been a while since her last PvP fight. Even the countdown sound effect before the fight started felt nostalgic to her.

As the countdown neared its end, Crim’s senses began to tingle, and eventually it was time.

«1v1 BATTLE START!!»

“…Ah!”

The next instant, Suzaku appeared in front of Crim. That was followed by a lightning fast thrust, which Crim blocked with the handle of her scythe. Sparks flew everywhere as the Demonic Sword Gram’s blade was diverted and merely grazed Crim’s shoulder.

“Quite merciless right off the bat, aren’t we?!”
“Who would hold back against a stronger opponent!”

Then, Suzaku’s blade twitched.

Something’s coming..!

Crim tried to instinctively move away…

“…Backshot!!”

As Suzaku shouted the name of that ability, he thrust his sword three times at incredible speed. Crim dodged them, almost like she was dancing, before jumping back to put distance between them.

“…You dodged all that without any special abilities? What kind of monster are you?”
“That’s not quite right, I didn’t dodge it. It’s rather surprising.”

Crim shook her hand after stepping back, and the audience roared. Her shoulder, right arm, and left cheek were glowing, showing damage. She had been grazed in those places.

“Still, One-Handed Swordsmanship – Luminous Form, huh? That’s a rather niche choice that I haven’t seen in a while.”
“I know what most people think about it, but it fits my style the best.”

One-handed swords were a pretty popular choice amongst players, and once they allocated 100 Skill Points in it, they unlocked six Forms as new Skills.

Those were Blaze, Flowing, Unbreaking, Gale, Shadowy, and Luminous Form. Suzaku was currently using Luminous Form, which seemed fitting for a main character representing light, but it was not really popular despite that.

Luminous Form’s main trait was swift and chained attacks, which was especially useful in PvP.

But players specialized in PvP tended to prefer Flowing Form, which had a plethora of parries, or Shadowy Form, which offered life steal and various status effects. Gale Form offered more AoE attacks which were larger and more powerful. And it did not pack as much of a punch as Blaze Form, which was good against bosses.

Luminous Form did allow the player to quickly raise a shield to defend, but that was also not as useful for tank players as Unbreaking Form.

In short, it was the perfect example of jack of all trades, master of none. Because of that, most players would quickly switch to other Forms that fit their playstyle better. But…

“I won’t let you! Flechette!!”

Just as Crim held her scythe ready to attack, she had to face another ability just as fast as Backshot. Flechette was an attack that fully utilized the agility of a one-handed sword, being activated in just a handful of frames, and left a luminous trail. Crim was forced to dodge it, and could not fight back as she wanted.

While the Luminous Form was not the best at anything, it could slot into any situation to a certain degree, meaning it also did not have any particular weak points if the player was fast enough to react.

And the Dragonblood Hero Suzaku could do just that. It was like he could stab a thousand times at once, chasing like a swordsman of light after Crim.

“Wait, am I seeing this right…”
“Is he…is he actually putting a Demon Lord into a defensive position..?”

The audience could hardly believe what they were seeing. They had not expected Suzaku to chase after Crim like that, while she remained unable to retaliate the entire time.

Hmm, I wanted to keep this going for a bit longer, but I guess it wouldn’t be wise to sandbag too much either. It’s about time I switch gears.

Crim did not want to disappoint the audience for too long, so she switched her mindset and firmly planted her right foot to initiate her comeback.

“Again, I won’t let…!”

Noticing that, Suzaku quickly readied Flechette again, aiming for her head. But…

“…What?!”

There was a loud bang as she moved, and a cloud of dust rose an instant later. Suzaku had been tracking her movements when aiming Flechette, but he was shocked to realize there was nothing there right after using it.

“…Too bad, I’m faster.”
“…?!”

He turned around hearing a girl whisper behind him, and showcasing his own lightning fast reflexes, he used his sword to block the scythe being swung at him.

Using the pushback from that, Crim jumped back and landed elegantly after making a flip. Then, as if she had all the time in the world, she made her scythe rotate in her hand before holding it ready.

Suzaku had been properly tracking her movements, but there was one specific and very crucial reason why it had missed.

In short, Crim was many times faster than Suzaku had assumed. That alone was enough for her to make him miss his mark entirely. On top of that, she had moved to counterattack right away, meaning that speed gave her full control over the situation.

Suzaku quickly understood all of that, and even as he held his sword ready, it was obvious he was starting to get nervous.

“Seriously…are you an actual monster or what?”
“No…not quite, I’m a Demon Lord.”

While Suzaku stared at her with suspicion, Crim’s rose colored lips bent upwards into a confident grin.

Support Us

Unlock Early Access ------- Select Project ------- Project Gender Bender Project Necro ∴ Support your favorite series and unlock chapters before the public release.