I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

Sloth stood up from his seat with a bored expression, his red eyes gleaming, and spoke in a deep, resonating voice.

“[Hmmm, there was a child using a strange trick a moment ago… For now, I will prohibit those bothersome techniques in my presence.]”

An opening line distinctly different from what I had heard back in Velvets.

‘Pffft! Did the “Avatar of Fire” of Kang Do-hee feels that threatening to him?’

But it didn’t matter. Kang Do-hee’s “Avatar of Fire” has a limitation: “once per day.”

And anyway, I hadn’t planned to use it, whether it was threatening or not.

Sssssss—

A sticky, unsettling aura emanated from Sloth’s body, enveloping everything. It felt like thousands of chains were binding me tightly.

‘So, my skills are sealed.’

Sloth’s authority.

[Nullification] had activated.

‘Hmm, this really makes my skills unusable.’

I tried to use a skill just in case, but it felt like the activation was completely blocked.

The only relief was that my mana hadn’t been sealed. Despite knowing it from the game, experiencing it firsthand brought a sense of reassurance.

Then, I calmed my gaze.

‘Facing Sloth’s demon kin with physical strength alone is no simple task.’

The demon could use skills as freely as he wanted, while I, though not entirely restrained, had my hands metaphorically tied.

‘But it’s fine because we have Sophia.’

Unlike other healers, Sophia’s basic healing abilities aren’t treated as skills. This means she could continuously heal even under the effects of Sloth’s [Nullification].

‘And the more Sophia practices rapid healing, the higher her healing output becomes.’

This is precisely why Sophia is rated highly among the top three healers.

Still, I was worried that seniors like Ga-eul and Ichika, who rely heavily on skills, would become dead weight. But there was no helping it.

Leaving them behind wasn’t an option, because without them, dealing with the minions would have been a huge hassle.

‘Or… maybe not? Since Kang Do-hee’s “Avatar of Fire” was available… Maybe leaving them behind would’ve been fine…?’

At that moment.

Sloth raised one hand into the air.

“[Your deaths will occur without you even realizing it…]”

The black dust scattered across the ground began to rise into the air, as if gravity had flipped. The particles gathered above Sloth’s head, forming a pitch-black sphere.

“[Now, die without pain.]”

As he uttered those words and swung his raised hand toward us, the condensed black particles rained down in a barrage.

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!

It was like witnessing a storm of black meteors.

Thump—

We instinctively leaped aside to avoid the attack.

Every spot the dust touched left deep craters and holes, quickly spreading and staining the surroundings pitch-black.

‘Starting with an area-wide attack from the get-go… How unpleasant. It’s like “if you don’t know how to deal with it, too bad, you die.”‘

The particles, being clumped-up dust, covered a far larger area than they appeared to, and the absence of pain was unnerving. My senses rejected it, even though I knew in my mind how dangerous those clumps were.

‘Still, this will be a short battle.’

Although Sloth’s attack power ranked among the upper tiers of the demon kin, his defense wasn’t particularly formidable.

Roughly eight times the durability of the minion tank Kang Do-hee had shattered just moments ago? In other words, if we all focused our attacks and dealt enough damage quickly, we could definitely take him down within a short span.

Ssssssh—!

Sloth then swung his staff, as if the dust alone wasn’t his only method of attack. The staff extended, sweeping toward all of us.

Kaaaang!

It was Yoo-ri who blocked it. She had moved to the right to intercept the staff, keeping us from getting swept away.

Bang—!

But the tip of the staff erupted with black dust. Seeing this, I shouted.

“Sophia, focus your heals on Yoo-ri!”

“Yes!”

Five golden arrows shot out from the rear, piercing Yoo-ri and restoring her strength.

Now was our moment to counterattack.

“Now!”

Paang!

Kang Do-hee launched himself, kicking Sloth to push him in my direction. Sloth’s body was hurled towards me.

Slash—!

I seized the moment, swinging my sword.

Then—

Rip—!

‘Huh? Senior Ga-eul…?’

Somehow, she had secured a mana thread to the shattered minion statue, launching herself into the air like she was using a 3D maneuvering device. And she cracked her whip, which I didn’t even know she’d practiced.

Maybe it was similar to the mana threads she used, but since when did everyone start bringing out secret weapons without telling me?

Scrape—

The sound of stone being scratched echoed once again.

‘How…?’

This time, it was Ichika.
A pitch-black shadow pierced the back of Sloth’s head and immediately retreated.

‘Is the shadow not considered a skill?’

No.

I definitely remember hearing that materializing shadows counts as a skill. Without physical form, the shadow would lose its attack power and become nothing more than a bothersome ghost.

‘Then, how is this possible?’

While I was puzzling over it, Ichika emerged from the shadows, pouting her lips and wearing a focused expression.

Seeing that, I let out a wry laugh.

‘Hah, she’s attacking from within the shadow she’s wrapped herself in?’

Once again, dozens of shadows surged up and flew toward Sloth. But only one of them concealed Ichika.

Sloth, looking annoyed, thrust his spear at one of the shadows.

Boom—!

Ichika wasn’t in that one.

With Ga-eul and Ichika successfully drawing Sloth’s attention, it gave me, Kang Do-hee, and Alice more freedom to move.

Despite my initial concerns, their movements were anything but ordinary. Sophia, Ga-eul, and even Ichika. Though they weren’t as strong as the main offensive team, they were still managing to deal small, consistent damage.

And the most effective member for tackling Sloth’s demon kin, who had to be dealt with using only basic attacks and physical power, was none other than Alice.

While Sloth’s attention was momentarily drawn to Ichika—

A long blade suddenly thrust out from within the shadows.

KABOOM—!

With a deafening roar that rang in my ears, a piece of Sloth’s body was blasted off.

‘Wow, that power is no joke…’

What kind of training did the Sword Emperor put Alice through to make her this strong?

Feeling a sense of satisfaction at my unexpectedly competent teammates, I couldn’t help but smile.

Nice.

‘At this rate, we might even set a new record for defeating Sloth!’

.

.

.

Bang!

Crunch!

CRACK—!

Slice—!

“[Y-You accursed insects──!!!!]”

Sloth was getting battered by relentless attacks from all sides, unable to hide his confusion.

When he had first sensed the anomaly in the Demon Realm faster than anyone else and discovered that the portal to the Middle Realm had opened, he had screamed in triumphant delight.

The Middle Realm.

A place full of delicious emotions and abundant energy. But manifesting there always came at a great cost, so he could only watch it longingly like an unattainable feast.

However, when the path from the Demon Realm to the Middle Realm finally opened—

Sloth, contrary to his name, rushed to the Middle Realm faster than anyone.

He knew that when other demon kin eventually descended, he’d be left behind if he didn’t act. Though he hated moving and was loath to do anything active, he had positioned himself, confident that prey would come rolling in if he just opened his mouth and waited.

Descending was the hard part, but he hadn’t expected any real trouble once he manifested in full.

After all, the difference in power was so vast.

Indeed, when the first wave of insects dared to crawl into his territory, they were easily disposed of.

And when the second wave of silver-haired insects appeared, it was the same.

Even his minions alone had been more than enough to handle them.

‘Yes, that’s how it should be. We are fundamentally superior beings, unlike these lowly creatures.’

Sloth’s trembling pupils fixed on the fearless beings charging at him.

‘But what the hell are these bugs…?’

Even though his authority had stripped away their skills, none of them were panicking.

Even the life-draining black powder swirling around them didn’t faze them.

Most concerning of all—

That one.

Sloth’s gaze landed on the black-haired insect.

That bug kept approaching, staring him down and swinging its sword.

Crunch—! Crack—!

The unsettling sound of his body being carved apart.

“[Y-You filthy, wretched creature—!!!]”

He swung his long scythe with all his might, but the creature had already disappeared.

It felt as if everything he did was being read in advance.

And on top of that, a creeping, inexplicable fear was crawling up from deep inside him.

An unfamiliar emotion for a noble of the Demon Realm, who had always reigned with dignity.

“[Do you think I’ll meet my end here───!!!]”

He roared, his voice booming as he raised all six of his hands skyward.

Fine, if these bugs could dodge his life-draining powder like rats—
He’d simply ensure there was nowhere left to dodge.

Woooosh—

Like a black hole, the swirling white and black powder mixed together, forming a massive sphere that could easily cover the entire area.

“[Fine, let’s see if you insects can dodge this, which engulfs the entire area!]”

However—

Just then, as if waiting for this exact moment, the black-haired insect charged at him with a peculiar grin.

“Hah, this is definitely going to set a new record.”