The Spearmaster and the Black Cat-Novel

Chapter 220 – Four-Eye Rulizeze

What came into view first was a huge rock. The place where this rock pillar was towering was an elevation as if the ground level had been raised, kind of like a small island floating all alone at a lakeside. Yet, it was no lakeside that surrounded it, but a shallow film of water reaching up to the ankles. The rock pillar looked like some idol as it reached all the way to the ceiling of the dome.

This whole scene had an ambiance making it likely for spirits to dwell here.

I sensed a magic source response from the vicinity of the pillar. Water trickled down from the pillar. The water, which had been accumulating underground, was clear with a transparent color – seemingly spring water – and probably because of the spring or underground water, the damp air filling the cave was clear and pleasant.

I had smelled it before, but a nice aroma was hanging in the air.

A pure space? And yet, no child spirits had appeared…

Well, they weren’t present at the time with the deidans’ treasure either. This place is the evil god domain inside the labyrinth. I guess there’s no way for child spirits to be present here.

“…Zemetas, Adomos, I will take the lead.”

“As you order, Your Excellency.”

“Your Excellency, please be careful.”

I went in front of the Burning Knights, who were walking while making their bones clatter, and walked across the ground, which was mixed with sand, while being cautious as Zemetas has urged me to do.

Besides the one behind the pillar…I felt no other magic source responses. And the all-important map point was below the rock pillar, the sandy elevation.

“…If I place down the magic treasure map over there, the treasure chest and monsters should spawn.”

The instant I pointed at the spot,

“Who is it!? Puny underlings of the spirit world! This is the territory of Four-Eye Rulizeze of the Cycluse race! And, you’re thousands of years too early to see my naked body!” A raspy voice, as if it was crawling up from the depths of the ground. Though, it was clearly a woman’s voice. It came from where I had sensed the magic source, behind the pillar.

“A woman?”

Eva extended her tonfa towards the rock. “Nn, I don’t understand the language, but I heard a womanly voice from behind that huge rock.”

Next, while readying her Jade Snake Bow, Viine said, “Master, shall I shoot down that rock?”

“No, wait.”

At that moment, “Nn――”, Rollo’s throaty voice resounded. At the same time she ran up to the place where the water was accumulating, lowered her head, and extended her red tongue towards the water’s surface. She skillfully drank the water by scooping it up.

“Rollo, don’t drink too much. This is the evil god domain, after all.”

“Nnn, nya.”

It felt like a 『It’s fine nya』. Is it actually hydrogen water with a rich mineral density? Or is it good for the body like some famous spring water? It looks like Rollo will be fine, but the problem is the person behind the rock.

“…The one hiding behind the rock over there, let’s have a chat?”

“Why do I have to follow your request? Besides…right now it’s impossible.”

“What is?”

“Can’t you imagine from where you are, fool?”

That’s quite the haughty tone. Imagining from this place, huh…? Water is flowing down from a rock, sand, and a place where water gushes forth from underground.

“…Are you possibly taking a bath?”

“That’s right. I’m naked, and unarmed. That’s why, please, for heaven’s sake, don’t come over here…”

Is she embarrassed because she’s nude?

“Naked, eh? That piqued my interest.” Unintentionally I muttered this in a language my bloodkin understood.

“”Shuuya?””

“Master?”

“Your Excellency?”

Ugh, cold remarks were thrust at me by the female camp.

“It can’t be helped, can it? She only understands my words.”

“Nude bodies…haven’t you gotten your fill of…watching ours during the breaks?”

Yeah, I have most certainly fully grasped your small, naked body, Rebecca-san.

“Master, the other party is saying that she can’t come out because she’s naked, right?”

“Seems so. Also that she’s unarmed.”

“Then I will act as representative.”

“No, I will go. You guys won’t understand her, will you? Hence, you will remain here on standby.”

“Nn, lewd Shuuya.”

“I will go, if you’re going to follow me, feel free to do so.”

I started walking towards the rock.

“I shall follow you then.”

“No choice, is there…?”

“Your Excellency, I shall serve as your shield.”

“Indeed, leave it to us Burning Knights.”

In the end, I went around to the rock’s backside with everyone. Even Kaldo, who had been silent, accompanied us.

I guess I will give the unknown woman on the other side a warning, just in case.

“――We’re going to reach the rock anytime now. Don’t think badly of us.”

“Hiiiii, don’t cooomeee!” She jumped out of the rock’s shadow while raising her voice in fear.

I don’t know what she’s intending, but she swiftly climbed up the huge rock that seemed easy to slip on. Just as she had said, she was naked. The hair of the climbing woman was long and light green. Her height appeared to be around my level or taller.

While skillfully using her two thick and two thin arms, she continued to scale the moss-overgrown rock. Her skin was flesh-colored, close to white, and the hue, which resembled that of humans, was seductive. Water drops that had splashed off the rock were clinging to the fair, transparent-like surface of her skin as if she were sweating. Her feet resembled those of normal people, but I guess the shape of her fingers were different.

『It’s a somewhat largish but cute butt…』 Helme’s butt love sensor spiked.

“Nn, tall.”

“Around as tall as Shuuya? Or maybe even taller.”

“She has four arms like evil races and catmen, but finely different in the details?”

“A comrade of the folks we fought at the entrance area of the 20th floor? Her hair is light green. For the time being, I’m going to take some notes――” Mysty observed.

Seeing the naked monster, a woman who’s probably frantically trying to climb atop the rock, my < Head servant Leaders > stated their own impressions of her.

Mysty was jotting down information on her parchment. As I got slightly interested, I stepped up closely behind her. Obviously capitalizing on her physical abilities as < Head Servant Leader >, she was writing while moving her quill at a dazzling speed. I took a peek at the parchment.

□■□■

Investigation Report of the Evil God Domain, No. 35

A mysterious, largely-built woman living in a cave.

Note: Her butt is large. Spirit Helme-sama is likely to be attached to it.

Her hair is light green, and she possesses four arms with somewhat different sizes. Her body is splendidly muscular. Her legs are long, slender, and well-proportioned to an extent that it would make one jealous. The shape of her toes seems different from humans, they appear to have claws attached. The shape of her fingers seems to be somewhat different as well, but I can’t examine them well because of her high speed in climbing the rock.

I’m curious since master has been continuing the unknown conversation in a smooth manner with that woman (demon?)

Even the other day master held smooth conversations with the Ragni people. I wonder what kind of language it is. The vowels, consonants, voiced sounds, and intonations are faintly different, completely contrary to the relatively close sensation by the evil race’s dwarf language. I don’t understand the way how its pronounced either…an evil god domain language, that seems to be an imitation? Is it possibly a language shared with the spirit world Sebdola?

Going by the appearance of master’s conversation, he seems to have gotten interested in the “woman” monster. Looking at his face, it’s pretty much obvious. Rebecca became sullen after realizing that.

Why is she living in a cave located inside such a forest in the first place? I’m also curious about the lamps and lanterns I have never seen before. The carpet, which was clad in mana, and the drawings carved into the walls are interesting as well. There’s also alcoves similar to the ones at the walls of the cave…

□■□■

Mysty had become engrossed in writing something like a journal.

I guess I will also try to act a bit like a professor as she does. Let’s check the woman with the Kaleidoscope.

I touched the cross-shaped, metal attachment next to my right eye. A faint blue frame screen was cast over the cave’s interior. A ▽ mark was visible at the frame border tracing the monster which was clinging to the rock after having climbed close to the ceiling. I focused on the cursor.

――――――――――――――――

???Cycluse?Another?Lifeform?ad＃＃

Brain Waves: Excited

Body: normal

Gender: female ??

Overall Physical Strength: 567

Elenium Integration: 2801

Weapons: present

――――――――――――――――

The display is behaving buggy. Is it because she’s a lifeform belonging to the spirit world or a different dimension? Her physical strength and Elenium values are high. She appears to be strong.

“…Hey, four-arm, what are you going to do after climbing up so high?”

“Don’t come here~~~Idiot!~~~~Pervert!~”

She was swinging her two long arms with all her might towards her back. She was kind like a wounded, cornered animal.

“I’m already here, but…your lower body, and to be precise, your butt is visible.”

“Eeeeeh, kyaa――”

At the moment she tried to conceal her body with her four hands, her feet slipped.

No choice ― I suppose I will rescue her. I jumped and caught the falling woman in midair.

“――Eh?”

She was quite heavy, but I didn’t point that out to her.

“You okay?”

“Aah, yesh…”

She was a monster possessing four arms. Two eyes were hidden by a thick, black eyepatch which was connected with her mouth. Two eyes, which were located where humans would have their eyebrows, fixedly glared at me. The color of their pupils were green. Her pretty, emerald-like eyes steadily gazed into my eyes.

At that moment, her skin at her cheeks became slightly red.

After landing I lowered her, releasing her courteously.

“――Look, there’s a change of clothes over there, right?”

“Yeah. Ah, kyaa――”

The four-eyes woman stared back at me with the two eyes which weren’t hidden by the eyepatch, but seemingly having realized all over again that she was naked, she donned an expression as if trying to gloss it over. She turned around in a hurry. I could see her running across the mana-laden carpet through the opened iron door.

“She’s hiding it with an eyepatch, but she has four eyes…”

“A few days back, there were four-eyed demons in one of the armies that attacked us.”

Rebecca and Viine said while readying the weapons and staying alert.

“True. She might be a subspecies of the same race. Her skin color is different, though.”

“Master, are you going to postpone the placement of the magic treasure map?” Mysty asked.

“That’s how it is. Just in case I have to ask her, who’s currently putting on some clothes, some things…”

At that point demon-san returned after putting on an outfit. Her long hair had been tucked behind her long ears. She wore armor, which felt like a piece of art with its beautiful metallic spirals that seemed to have had a damask processing applied to it, unifying the shoulder and upper arm armor parts along the collar area. It seemed to possess a design like the Chinese-style apricot leaves accessories.

Her torso area with its black leather armor had many small, olive brown belts incorporated as if to tighten her big body like a corset. It was obviously a special leather armor made out of magic beast hides. Mana-clad rivets affixed the small belts to the armor. Somehow those were especially dense in the area around her wrists. The leather wrappings of two straight swords tinged with bluish white mana peeked out beyond her shoulders. Two longswords of the scimitar family with curved blades hung on both sides of her waist.

A quad-blade user like Kire, huh?

“…Sorry for the impoliteness from just now. It was unnecessary for you to save me, but it remains a fact that you did. Allow me to thank you for that.” She smiled, exposing her teeth.

Those teeth were monster-like, sharp shark fangs. She was smiling, but different from her attitude just now, she was now quiet and refined.

“No, it is us who are sorry for intruding upon you during your bath.” In response to her words, I apologized politely, and bowed my head.

I don’t know whether she understood the meaning behind that gesture like the people of the Ragni village.

“…It’s rare for someone to apologize to me. Let me introduce myself. I’m a remnant of the Cycluse race, the name is Four-Eye Rulizeze. How should I call you?”

The meaning got through to her.

“I’m Shuuya.”

“I see. Shuuya, are you a human?”

“No, something else, but not all that different.”

“Hoh. Even if you might be a subspecies, for a human to come to this continent of the evil god domain…” She said while staring at me with her two un-blindfolded eyes.

“…Rulizeze-san, there’s something I’d like to ask, if I may.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know of magic treasure maps?”

“I do. It’s a treasure chest that appears together with monsters, right? I remember Roaring Poison Knight King Rasen having boasted about it. Though I killed the subordinate who had the map, fuhahaha!” Suddenly she roared with laughter while revealing an expression befitting a monster.

“…I see. I have one on me. The map’s excavation point is below the rock in the middle over there… Is it fine for us to make it spawn?”

“What, so that’s why you trespassed into my home? What will you do if I don’t allow you to do so?”

Of course it’s not like I’m going to cause a bother to someone who’s living here. As for maps, Rebecca has dead maps in stock as well, or we could stop the treasure hunt and go back home for the moment.

“…I don’t intend to push anything unreasonable on you. We will head to the spot of another map, or go home.”

“How boring. Please spare me such obvious glib talk.”

I don’t quite understand what this demon-type woman wants to do. But, as she wishes, I will talk more bluntly with her.

“…Very well. Still, if you don’t allow us to place the map down here, we will go home, I think.”

“…Humph, you didn’t come to fight against me!?”

“If you want to fight, I will humor you, but either way, it’s no good for us to place down the map then?”

“No, it’s okay.”

Really!?

“I see. Then let me do so.”

“Wait, that comes after you fought against me.”

“Got it, in that case…”

I released my mana and summoned my Magic Halberd into my right hand.

“――Kuuh, what thick…mana. But, you seem to be skilled at handling it too…” Rulizeze lifted both edges of her cheeks while swiftly jumping backwards. “…Nice, very nice! So that halberd is your main weapon, huh? You’ve got the spirit to challenge me. Fuhahahaha, it has suddenly become fun. Interesting! I like! Shuuya, are you maybe a demon wearing a human skin?”

She’s so easy to figure out.

“Pfft, maybe.” While going along with the joke and laughing, I perceived the green shine in Rulizeze’s eyes.

Given that mana was dwelling in her eyes, she was apparently analyzing me.

“…It’s been thousands of years since I’ve been transferred to the evil domain. The numbers of eccentric spirit world knights, evil domain knights, evil domain monks, and divine domain warriors challenging me had been decreasing, and now this. Irresistible. Let’s enjoy the feat of combat.”

Rulizeze appeared to be a battle maniac. But I have to inform the others in advance, before the battle with her. I don’t think that my bloodkin have understood this conversation.

“Rulizeze, it’s alright to have a fight, but wait a moment.”

“A strategy meeting? I don’t mind, go for it――” Rulizeze laughed scornfully.

The jerk with her chin had a nuance of telling me to do as I please. But, strategy meeting? Looks like I’m being looked down upon.

For the time being, I turned towards my friends. “Everyone, it’s been decided that I will fight against her.”

“Eh? It looked like you were happily chatting with each other, though?”

“Master, you plan to have some fun, right?”

Nothing less of Viine. She guessed my feelings correctly while smiling. She’s reading my emotions at the same level as Eva.

“It’s as you say. I’m sorry, everyone, but you will have to spectate.”

“Nn, Shuuya, your face is beaming with joy. I will watch!”

“――Okay. I guess we will enjoy ourselves in a relaxed manner as well. It’s time for some black tea.” Rebecca said while backing off.

She retrieved various break utilities from her item box, and set them up on the ground.

“Since there aren’t overly many rocks here, I will help you normally.”

“Oki, thanks.”

Rebecca-san always would prepare the matting and sweets for her friends during breaks. Mysty joined her, and briskly moved around like a waitress.

“That four-eyed demon? She might be confident in her skills, but to choose to fight against Shuuya…” Yui was baffled as she sheathed her katana.

“Sure, but maybe it’s inevitable. If this was your home, you would desperately resist as well, right? Anyway, let’s leave this to Shuuya. Everyone, come sit over here and get some tea.”

“Sure.”

“Nn.”

“Okay.”

“Just in case I will create a golem and position it in advance.” Mysty added.

The beauties sat down on the cloth spread out on the ground as if having a picnic. Kaldo stared at me with his refined face. I sensed from his eyes the strong will to fight here.

“She’s slightly different…from the opponent you defeated earlier, milord. She’s a fighter with an aura similar to that of martial arts masters on the surface.”

“That’s your analysis of her?”

“…Yes. Allow me to use the battle as reference.” Kaldo looked at me with a sharp glint in his eyes as a martial arts practitioner, and soldier.

Kaldo, who I have used as reference, is now going to use me as reference, it seems.

Because it was slightly embarrassing, I nodded with a smile, turned around, and stepped up towards Rulizeze.

I asked, “――Sorry for having made you wait. So, where are we going to fight?”, while focusing on using a somewhat low voice.

“Hmm? What about your friends? You’re not going to fight me together?”

“No, I alone will fight you.”

She widened her eyes, apparently shocked.

“You’re saying, you’re going to fight me alone, two-arm Shuuya? You’re much too overconfident. Are you an idiot…?”

“You can call me idiot, if you want. So, where are we going to do it?”

“Hah, I think the bathing spot over there will suffice――”

“Got it――”

Both of us walked across the shallow lake, pushing our way through the water with a dredging force. Just like Ganryu-jima where the master swordsmen Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro duked it out. 1 I measured the combat distance while the sheets of water spray splashed up from the surface.

This risky distance sure makes my adrenaline pump. It looked as though it was the same for Rulizeze, too.

While laughing, Rulizeze extended her upper arms to the tops of her shoulders, grabbed the bluish white hilts by grasping them with her pretty, slender fingers, and drew the straight silver steel swords.

Does she follow the samurai code of chivalry? She only drew two swords.

…She belongs to those believing in battle that matches the opponent, huh? Well, you might as well say, it’s the thought that counts.

I was pleased with her sincere feelings towards a serious battle. I will also hold back on my chains and ancient magic. Let’s limit it to my favorite spear, < Magic Hand guided by Thought >, and the acceleration of the blood path’s third gate. Since my opponent is wearing proper armor, I send mana to my upper arms.

The rings protecting my arms at irregular places were automatically deployed to my hands. The rings’ hues were cool, making them appear like futuristic defense gadgets. In reality they were broken light rings, but…since they were suiting me unexpectedly, there was no problem.

At that moment Rulizeze and I stopped running as if mutually understanding each other without saying anything, and ceased moving.

“…As you can see, I’m only using two arms, but don’t mind me. Come at me with your full power while using all your eyes and arms. It’s a true battle with no limits, so don’t hold back.”

“――What a brave male. As you wish.”

Rulizeze lifted her eyepatch, using her lower arms. The color of those eyes were the same as the ones above, but something similar to a magic crest dwelt within them. And, shining, helical, emerald marks extended from the outer corners of her eyes to the back of her vertical, long ears, as if forming tattoos.

“…I will release the first awakening of the Demonic Eyes < Demonic Pliability – Thunder >…I won’t hold back then. Let me show you the true nature of my strength as one who was called a spirit world knight in the past.”

The demonic eyes’ magic crests rotated quickly like the hands of a clock. She crossed her lower arms at her lower body, drew the curved swords at her waist, and then came charging at me in a forward-bent posture.

It was Rulizeze who made the first move. She made a sharp step-in with her legs that were filled with mana. While pushing aside the water, she closed the distance to me in an instant, and swung down her two straight swords in her upper arms.

――Quite fast.

While dodging one sword coming from overhead by shifting a half step to the side, I warded off the other blade approaching from my right side by receiving it with the upper part of my halberd, which I had moved to the right side to block the sword line trying to mow down my neck.

Even with her first attack blocked with a strange, hard sound similar to a screeching, Rulizeze didn’t mind it, and unleashed a sword thrust while using flexible footwork. She bent her lower arms like whips, brandishing the vermilion, curved blades. They lunged at me from the left and right as if scissoring my torso. It was a technique similar to the one Kire used.

I retreated two steps without receiving the blades, avoiding the sharp sweeps from both sides.

However, while advancing after having increased her speed, she went at me with thrusting techniques, launching them in succession.

“Ouch!”

I continued repelling the thrusts while rotating my halberd in a circle, but there were blades I couldn’t repel because she had two more arms than me. And, each time her silver and vermilion blades grazed me, they caused cuts as I only wore a leather armor.

“Retreating is foolish――” Rulizeze blamed my actions with a composed expression.

She unleashed fast thrusts with her four arms while advancing as if to chase after me who was retreating. Given that the metals of the rings surrounding my arms served as proper armor, hard sounds and sparks were scattered each time a blade hit those.

After Rulizeze feinted with her eyes while exhibiting such terrifying swordsmanship, “――What about this?”

She dug a foot into the sand, and kicked it up.

――Aiming to blind my eyes by making sand fly into my eyes, she delivered a diagonal slash from a folded posture as if pushing her shoulders forward.

Immediately after I evaded the slash and the sand screen by rotating to the left, the curved blades of the swords in Rulizeze’s lower arms once again approached from the left and right as if to scissor my torso.

Without hurry, I turned the halberd’s red spear directly towards the shoal’s soil, and not Rulizeze. Stabbing the ground and jumping upwards with it like a pole jumper, I dodged the two red blades. After landing, I immediately scooped up the ground with the Magic Halberd. I sent muddy water flying at Rulizeze’s eyes after having scooped it up with the red ax blade.

Rulizeze apparently hadn’t expected for me to do the same as she did. At once she dodged to the right, but the muddy water hit a part of her left eye. This should obstruct a part of her visual field temporarily.

“Kuh! ――This is it! A true battle. Nice! Very nice, nice, nice, nice, nice!” She rattled on with laughter while excited and running in a posture tilted to the side.

Her two left eyes were still closed. As soon as her right eyes dilated for an instant, she moved in a right angle after having kept pace with me sideways. Straight away after bending her knees, she jumped lightly into the air ― and while performing a left turn, unleashed a peculiar, rotational slash, obviously making use of the four swords in all her four arms. It was a four-way slash with the blades all extending from faintly different angles.

While being reminded of Yui’s and Kaldo’s rotational slash, I invoked < Blood Path – Open Third Gate > ―― and right after, < Blood Acceleration >.

Because my body’s speed increased through my blood-stained soles, I grasped the shape of each and every single blade approaching my body while dodging them at paper-thin margin. It was obvious that Rulizeze was a sword master, but the sword flashes, blending vermilion and silver colors, crossed through empty air.

At the moment I finished evading the four blades, I tried to strike Rulizeze’s belly with the Magic Halberd’s butt end, but she distanced herself a bit.

“Magnificent body speed. Is it a technique of taijutsu, no, spear arts? You could become a spirit world knight like me. But, the second stage of < Demonic Pliability – Thunder >――”

At that moment, mana swelled up in her four wrists, apparently linking with her four eyes. Similar to hidden weapons, many green objects reminding me of jack knives flew out like brandished blades, no, protruded out of her wrists.

――Those looked to me like spetsnaz knives of the former Soviet Union.

I blocked them by rotating my halberd, but there were too many knives. I couldn’t ward them off. At once I crossed my arms in front of my head while holding halberd.

Using the broken rings given to me by Buu, which I had deployed on both arms, I kept flicking off the thick knives to the sides while creating small fireworks of sparks at various places.

Guooh, thud, thud, ouuuch! While causing dull sounds as they seemingly penetrated into my bones, the knife blades pierced my lower body half…it hurt way a lot.

Moreover, my important place in the nether region was stabbed as well…this is, somehow… I perceive some weird feeling due to the excessive pain, but I frantically deny that sensation.

I took some distance from Rulizeze while my leather pants got ripped apart and dyed crimson. I quickly extracted the stuck knives.

“…I will take those legs of yours which are producing that speed. Four-Arm Cycluse Style < Demonic Pliability – Friend Eater >――” Rulizeze, who talked while performing brisk step-work, displayed an explosive acceleration as she muttered those words that were likely the name of a technique.

While closing the combat distance, she scythed at me with an unknown sword flash. It was right after I finished pulling out the last green knife, but I stabbed my halberd diagonally into the ground, completely blocking those four sword flashes.

As the dissonant metallic sound hurt my ears, I spoke up, “Well that’s to be expected if you mention that you’re going to target my legs, right?”

“Hah, true that. < Demonic Pliability – Mirror Slash >――”

Seriously? The first attack was apparently a fake. The instant she muttered the name of that technique, another body of Rulizeze, which had materialized as if shifting into space, slashed at my legs.

“Master――”

As the scream of my chosen bloodkin reached me from behind, both my legs were severed, and my body danced in the air. I watched the scenery of the cave as it changed by 180°.

It was an unknown ceiling….I guess that’s the scenery I see in response to being cut by this. It’s been quite a while since I had been normally cut. My bloodkin were surprised, but I won’t make them worry any longer.

As the suzerain of the Lucival ― I focused on blood mana < First Gate >.

“If you want to kill me, just my legs aren’t enough. You have to slice my passionately burning soul.” While saying something like that, I manipulated the blood surging out of my leg stumps, connected that blood with the cut sections of my severed legs.

The two, severed lower legs danced through the air for a moment, and then were carried to beneath my knees. Like the N and S pole of a magnet, my legs joined together at the cut section and were reformed to the previous state.

I definitely won’t do something like inversing my legs, or turning them upside down.

“What was that!?” Of course Rulizeze was surprised while revealing a dumbfounded expression.

It seemed as if the mana dwelling in her four eyes had decreased.

I landed on the surface of the shallow. The sensations of my legs were normal. The water was cold. I fully captured Rulizeze in my sight, and glared at her.

While ascertaining the touch by tightly grasping the Magic Halberd, I shortened the combat distance to her. I raised the halberd overhead with an exaggerated motion as if scooping up sand and water from below.

“Kuuh! I’m watching with Demonic Eyes < Demonic Pliability – Thunder >――” Such words shot out of Rulizeze’s mouth.

In preparation for my halberd’s attack, she moved the hands of her two lower arms towards her lower body, being deceived by my low trajectory. At that point I clad my whole body with Magic Combat Style.

I used the fact that my body’s speed had gone up by yet another stage. It might give the impression as though my whole body’s muscles had grown by one size while being wrapped up in an aura with the explicit goal to be seen. While feeling an intense throbbing in my body, I brought Magic Halberd Baldok, which I had been carrying as if drawing a low trajectory, to an overhead position while nimbly moving the fingers holding the halberd like a player who plays a difficult piece of Rachmaninoff.

I swung down the halberd with the image of slashing Rulizeze’s head apart from above.

“What!? Fast――”

While using the momentum of the rotational slash, she swiftly lifted up the two straight swords and the curved sword in her lower left hand above her head, crossing all three blades.

The red ax blade was stopped by the three of them. Red sparks scattered, lightly burning her hair.

The three blades had no chips after receiving the powerful ex blade. They must be named or magic swords. She fell for my feint, but her reaction was still abnormally fast. It might be a power of her < Demonic Pliability – Thunder >.

Furthermore, she tried to thrust out the vermilion blade in her lower right hand. However, she apparently hadn’t expected that I would swing down the halberd, on top of it being a powerful blow struck down by me. While twisting her face, Rulizeze forcibly went down on one knee in the shallow lake, with her balance thrown in disorder drastically. She stopped the counterattack thrust in the middle of it.

“Going by that face, it was a surprising speed and power?” While smiling, I chatted her up in order to provoke her.

Then I switched towards pushing down the red ax blade against the three swords. Or at least I pretended to do so.

“Gu, guhh, don’t underestimate me!”

At that moment I deliberately erased the Magic Halberd which had pressed against those three swords.

Yep, the balance was suddenly destroyed. Even Rulizeze wouldn’t be able to deal with this.

It might have been different, if she had several legs. Her grounding fell completely apart, her stance was thrown in disorder, and she pitched forward.

Right after, I activated < Magic Hand guided by Thought >. I made the huge, crooked mana fist boldly punch Rulizeze’s left face side as her visual field was still impeded on that side. Half of her left face and the surface of her leather armor were caved in, leaving behind a mark of the crooked fist.

“――Guuaaa.”

Rulizeze dropped the swords in her upper and lower hands, and was blown away to the rock while somersaulting.

Is she going to directly hit the rock? I wondered, but wow――

She moved her bloodstained body in midair, shifted her posture, and hit the rock surface with the soles of her two feet. As if using the force of being blown away for the reverse, she kicked off and flew back in my direction as recoil.

Her bloody hair was sticky, and the traces of the fist looked painful. She donned an expression filled with the intention of getting brutal. And, she only held one vermilion curved sword in her lower right arm.