NOVEL WEB Ch. 50
Chapter 50 - The Road to Midnight (2)
‘Of all the people, why him.’
I scowled at the silver-armored warrior, ‘Salvatio’, who was fighting Serene.
It was a given, but since he was a character from the original
It wasn't a problem of him being an opponent I couldn't handle at this point, or having a bad matchup.
Rather, from a purely strategic point of view, it wasn't bad. Salvatio, a balanced type like Serene, was not a bad combination.
‘In this formation, just holding on won't be a big problem.’
Also, since he had to hide his identity, he didn't bring his real weapon, which made it much easier.
That ridiculously large greatsword, closer to a lump of iron than a sword, was for that reason. He intended to use it for a short while and then discard it.
‘The problem is that he’s not the one I was looking for…….’
Well, anyway.
“I will join in. Professor, your support.”
“Uh, uh…… Y-yes! I should!”
Shing-.
I said to Mathieu as I drew my sword. Sentiments were sentiments, but I had to support Serene quickly.
***
Serene, engaged in a close battle with the silver-armored warrior, Salvatio, thought.
‘……He’s strong.’
The more they exchanged blows, the more she could tell. The opponent before her was definitely a strong one.
KABOOOOM-!
A cracking sound so loud it was unbelievable for a clash between cold weapons.
Salvatio’s greatsword, in proportion to its ridiculous size and crudeness, was displaying formidable power.
If Serene’s 『Gungnir』 hadn’t been an artifact-grade weapon infinitely close to a sacred treasure, it would have long since shattered from the impact.
Serene’s martial prowess was evaluated to be in the upper echelons of a Senior Knight at the time of her admission, and that was a fact.
Serene herself was well aware of that. Then, what was the level of martial prowess of the opponent who could push such a Serene this far?
As the only daughter of a prestigious family who had seen many famous masters of her time, Serene could tell.
‘He hasn’t shown his full skill, but he’s at least a Master Knight-level powerhouse.’
Once that assessment was made, various thoughts arose in Serene’s mind.
Why would a powerhouse of this level attack the academy? What kind of big shot is behind this?
But among those thoughts, there was one topic that stimulated Serene’s emotions more than anything else.
“Why, with such great power, can you use it for such a lawless act……!!”
The head of a nameless person, rolling powerlessly on the floor, caught the corner of Serene’s vision.
However, Salvatio did not answer her anger. He just silently delivered the next attack to Serene.
Kagagagak-!!
Serene raised 『Gungnir』 and received the heavy blow.
And at the same time, she could see it.
“……!”
Thwack-.
Rain, with his sword drawn, leaping to aim for the armored warrior’s rear.
‘No, Mr. Rain can’t handle this level.’
Serene was certain. If Rain and that armored warrior were to fight properly, Rain wouldn’t last even three exchanges.
“Mr. Rain, fall back!!”
Because of that, Serene put more strength into the hand holding her weapon and pushed. It was with the single-minded thought that she could not let him deal with Rain here.
Kagagagak-!!
But the situation turned out differently than she thought.
Thwack-!
The light sound of a weapon flying was heard. It was not the result of being pushed by Serene’s struggle for power, but as Salvatio intended.
Salvatio’s greatsword was swung again in the same direction as Serene’s force—that is, in the opposite direction of where the force was originally headed.
“What in the……!”
And that meant it was the same location where Rain was rushing in.
‘In that one moment, he reversed the direction of the force?’
Of course, the absolute amount of force would have decreased by that much, but even that would be burdensome for Rain. The follow-up attack would be even more unbearable.
Stumble-.
As the greatsword that had been meeting her force disappeared, Serene’s body was thrown forward. And that meant she was not in a state to pursue the armored warrior and hold him down.
‘Damn……!’
Serene’s strength was clear, but even she could not defy the laws of physics.
Her body tilted, and she had to right it. Those two processes had to be gone through.
Feeling anxious, Serene righted herself as quickly as possible. What she saw was-.
Swoosh-!
The armored warrior’s sword, cutting a wide arc through the air.
‘……!’
Serene’s eyes widened. With Rain’s current physical ability, he shouldn’t be able to dodge it, a thought simultaneously crossed her mind.
And that judgment was correct. In reality, Rain had not dodged Salvatio’s sword strike with his physical ability.
For Rain to directly clash with that armored warrior, Salvatio, now was the most foolish act of suicide in the world.
If he were to fight directly, there would be no holding on or anything; he would be sliced in half, sword and all, in one blow.
There was such a staggering spec difference between Salvatio and Rain.
So what should Rain do? He asked himself.
The conclusion that was eventually reached was simple.
‘Just don’t meet the sword in the first place.’
Therefore, Rain approached just enough to draw Salvatio’s attention and then immediately retreated.
Not one tempo, but at least three tempos early.
The calculation was that if he moved this early, he could at least create a minimum distance even with this overwhelming spec difference.
And the result.
Swoosh-!
Despite being the sound of cutting through the wind, it was an eerie sound.
Rain succeeded in dodging Salvatio’s sword strike by a hair’s breadth.
‘I moved that early, and this is the difference?’
He couldn't help but be disgusted by the overwhelming difference in skill he felt even after dodging.
“…….”
Salvatio, without any agitation, remained silent and looked at me while lifting his missed greatsword. If this continued, a follow-up attack would come, but.
“Professor Mathieu!”
“Uh, uh uh, y-yes!”
Fwoosh-!!
As if filling that gap, Mathieu’s Magic Bullet flew at Salvatio from behind.
Naturally, the Magic Bullet did not inflict any damage on Salvatio, but it somehow bought time once more.
“Huuuuh-!!”
Clang-!
The sound of Serene’s Divine Spear clashing with that crude greatsword.
Having regained her posture in the meantime, Serene was once again clinging to Salvatio.
With that flow, the tide of battle was slowly, that is, in line with Rain’s side’s objective, flowing.
At the beginning of the battle, Serene had thought that the current situation, where Rain had joined in and was holding on, was just a coincidence.
That Rain was barely holding on in this battle because the situation had miraculously or exquisitely fallen into place. That's what she thought.
‘……No, that’s not it.’
The longer the battle went on, the more she could feel it.
The current Rain was not just barely holding on by relying on coincidences.
He was, in fact, controlling it. Not just his own movements, but the battlefield itself.
Clang-!
The pattern was the same.
He would draw Salvatio’s attention to support Serene who was fighting him, or he would launch a follow-up attack on Salvatio when an opening appeared.
And the created gap was covered again by Mathieu, or Serene. More precisely, Rain was creating a timing that could only be covered.
‘The objective is the same. But… he’s aiming for the gaps that can’t be helped but be hit.’
Of course, this was only because Rain’s threat level was minimal.
If Rain had been a threat to Salvatio above a certain level, Salvatio would have taken care of Rain even if it meant taking some damage.
‘……Perhaps even that is his intention.’
Serene was amazed. She felt that Rain’s true worth, which she could not feel in one-on-one spars, was being revealed on this battlefield.
And at the same time, she wondered what kind of experience he had gone through in the time she hadn't seen him to gain such an ability, but…….
One thing was certain. The tide of battle had clearly turned to Serene’s side.
Yes, the situation was clearly advantageous.
To the point where she felt they might not only be able to hold on but also defeat the armored warrior before them, Salvatio.
***
With the steadfastly holding Serene at the center, Mathieu providing support, and me occasionally striking in to draw Salvatio’s attention… the current situation was all too ideal.
I didn't know how the others I had sent to the other floors were faring, but I felt that if we could just maintain this situation, we could successfully complete 『Prelude to Ruin』 without a single regression.
It was that ideal of a situation, but I never let my guard down.
It was true that the flow of the battle had turned in our favor, and it was worth trying to push hard and eliminate Salvatio, but…….
‘That’s a gamble with too low a probability.’
No matter how advantageous the situation was, he was one of the main villains of
His hidden strength should not be underestimated.
Also, Salvatio was an enemy that could be eliminated later.
He was only dangerous when he wielded his exclusive weapon, so it would be fine to deal with him in the next event where they met alone.
I did not let my guard down. I did not ruin the situation with a low-probability gamble.
Everything was definitely going as planned.
Thwack-!
Salvatio, as if to break the unfavorable flow, forcibly pushed Serene away and rushed towards me. His intention was probably to eliminate me for certain, even if it meant taking some damage.
But this too was not an unexpected development.
[System : Skill, 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』 has been used!]
[ Strength : D > B ]
[ Agility : C+ > A ]
[ Stamina : D > B ]
[ Intellect : B > A ]
[ Mana : F+ > C ]
[ Dexterity : B+ > A+ ]
Screech-!
I activated 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 and parried Salvatio’s greatsword.
‘In this state, I’m at a disadvantage, but it’s possible to hold on and drag it out.’
[ Time remaining : 59.26 ]
“……!”
Salvatio remained silent even at such a sudden change, but I could feel a tremor at the tip of his sword.
And that, was an opening.
“Miss Serene-!!”
I shouted. And, on the other side.
“……Yes!”
Woooo-.
Serene was concentrating her mana into the Divine Spear 『Gungnir』. She was preparing his signature technique, the spear-throwing technique ‘Arclight’.
Salvatio’s rear was undefended, completely open. If it hit properly, he wouldn’t be unscathed.
‘Maybe we can really defeat him…….’
Just as I was thinking that.
When the faint moonlight shining through the window shone particularly brightly.
The anomaly occurred.
CRASH-!!
The window between me and Mathieu shattered, and someone broke in.
I couldn't help but follow the intruder's form with my eyes for a moment, and I caught a glimpse of the intruder's face.
It didn't take long to identify exactly who that face belonged to, and I couldn't help but scowl.
‘He was someone I had to meet, but……. of all times, now?’
Yes. A clear enemy, remaining in my memory.
‘Dismantler’ Gabriel.
He was the most vicious scum among the main villain group of
And, he was also the one I had to kill in this scenario.
Without fail.