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{side: Daz}

“Gnuuh…”

I use my sword to parry the knife that was released from nowhere. The feeling in my left arm was dull.

It was a mistake to have attacked so forcefully, thinking it wouldn’t do much damage anyway. The blow slipped into the gap between the armor and the slightest of gaps.

It was not a blow that ruptured a tendon, but a blow that somehow managed to tear a single blood vessel.

The only problem was the paralyzing poison that had been incorporated into it.

As soon as I felt the discomfort, I cut deep into the wound and made it bleed out, but the discomfort in my left arm still remained.

…Even with this, it’s still fine, I could swing this big sword with one arm. It wouldn’t take half as much power of my sword to cut him down.

The real concern is…

As soon as I got close, a few knives broke through the smoke screen and came flying at me again.

Each time, I had to stop and calmly deal with them.

Yes, this is the real issue.

Even a scratch from one of his blows can cause a fatal difficulty here.

Of course, poisons are quite difficult to handle, and the amount one can safely carry around is limited. He can’t use too many of them. There is a good chance that most or even all of these knives are not poisoned.

However, there is no way for me to tell the difference, and I can’t take this knife as a prank because of my overconfidence for the upcoming fight with that little vampire girl.

In the end, I was unable to attack, and he was toying with me without being able to strike a decisive blow.

This is…

This is just like…

“Isn’t this just like the way a weak man fights? You’re a human being, why don’t you come at me head on?”

I yelled at him.

It’s the privilege of the weak to be stubborn. It’s a privilege of the weak to torture you and then pretend to be weak when the odds are stacked against you. It’s just too convenient.

I let out my frustration and shake my head. I know in my head that these guys are not going to risk their lives for nothing, and that they can use this kind of strategy depending on the situation. They, as a strong individual, I should be able to crush it head on.

This is when I gripped my sword.

“Weak, huh…? It’s not as if I’m a weakling, I’m just a simple adventurer, and I’d have to have at least a little of wisdom to deal with a monster like you, wouldn’t I?”

He appeared at the end of a complicated passage, saying something like that.

“Then what is it? Are you done sneaking around and hiding?”

“I don’t know… Maybe so. Or maybe not.”

The man chuckles provocatively. He is a man who’s every word and action is a lie, and he is elusive. The more you push these people, the more troublesome they become.

I was planning to save my trump card for the fight with the little vampire girl that would follow, but if I bothered with him any longer, I might lose my footing. Whatever it is that he’s after, now that he’s out in the open is the right time.

{Iron Wall}, that’s what I believe in the most useful among the techniques I use.

In exchange for consuming a small amount of energy, my skin becomes armored like steel for a few seconds.

No matter what comes my way, it will be able to repel all attacks of his level.

I bend down with my great sword in hand and save my strength.

Activating Iron Wall, I unleash the power I’ve accumulated to the limit instantly.

The distance to him is less than 100 meters, and I can close the distance in less than five seconds.

And when the distance to him was only about 50 meters left, I heard a metallic sound. It seemed that he was stretching a metal thread across the narrow passage. If I hadn’t used the Iron Wall to close the distance forcibly, I would have suffered damage that I couldn’t ignore. I could see his mouth lift in a grin.

But this time, I was right with I did.

No matter how hard this thread is, it can’t hurt my skin in front of the Iron Wall.

Although it kills my momentum for a moment, I forcefully break the thread and close in on him.

“…?”

The man who was sure that I would inflict a certain amount of pain on him had an astonished expression on his face and hurriedly took out a smoke screen and dropped it at his feet. The annoying smoke blocked my view, but I knew the distance to him. My aim may be a little off, but I don’t care.

I plunged into the smoke screen and caught his shadow.

But he doesn’t run away, he doesn’t get upset… He took a half step aside, as if to give way to someone else. In a relaxed voice, he said.

“Oh, it’s time, little girl.”

Immediately afterwards, a crimson sword appeared in front of my eyes, brushing against his cheek as it instantly drowned out the smoke screen that surrounded the area. The powerful dark magic contained in it is definitely the technique that that little vampire girl, that thing, showed me back then.

The interception is… It’s not something that can be parried with one hand. I’ve got too much momentum to avoid it… Then.

I thrust out my left hand, which was still uncomfortable, and used it as a shield.

Iron Wall was activated, but the crimson sword continued to cut through the flesh of my left arm without a moment’s thought. My brain couldn’t take the intense pain, and my vision flickered, but I held on to my consciousness. There was no way I was going to lose in a place like this.

The momentum of the sword finally began to slow down when it penetrated my left palm to my elbow.

I forcefully swung out my left hand, causing it to veer slightly off course.

The crimson sword went straight through a number of quarters and stopped moving.

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{Side: Leticia}

“Haah… Haah… That was no good, huh.”

I almost knocked Garum to the ground.

I heard the sound of the explosion and almost immediately received a message from Garum.

I was shocked when I heard that he had started a fight with the Black Knight by himself, but I guess he was a veteran. It seems that he was focusing on keeping his opponent close and using tools to exhaust his opponent’s mind and cloud his judgment.

As a result, the opponent was lured to the point that Garum had designated, and received a blow that was prepared with enough magic power in enough time. However, although he had said that he would draw the opponent to the last minute, I never expected him to take the bait until he was really close.

What would you have done if my aim had been even slightly off?

I would like to complain about this, but the battle is not over yet. I’m uncertain if I’d have been able to do it if I hadn’t had the chance. I replenished my depleted magic power by drinking some magic water. I promised myself that I would go back and get more water when I returned safely.

Black Knight staggered to his feet, but it was only for a moment. The axis of his body gradually stabilized.

He lost an arm.

But it’s only one arm.

In addition to that, the opponent would be able to literally slaughter me with a single blow.

“Hee hee, you’re good. The young lady is one thing, but that guy is a monster.”

Garum blurted out in exasperation as he watched.

“This… This is nothing compared to the humiliation we’ve suffered, little girl.”

Black Knight says with a bloodshot look in his eyes as he yells.

“Yeah, I’m sure you guys have something to say about that.”

But then again, so do we.

Overall, if the paths we follow never cross, we have to fight to decide.

There is no justice or evil.

The only thing that exists is willpower.

If you want to decide, you have to go through with it using force.

That’s what fighting is all about.

If you are standing there as a Goblin knight…

I’m going to confront you as a Demon Lord.

I don’t care if it’s immature or not.

If that’s the way we monsters are, then I’m going to smash you, head on, with it.