I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The Battlemaiden and the Faceless Knight

THAT SQUADRON of Fiends had come out of nowhere.

We have to push them back! I said.

Uh-huh. Seeing them only fanned the flames in Fran’s heart. However, one question remained. Where did they come from?

How had such a formidable force appeared unnoticed?

I didn’t even feel them coming, I said.

Hm.

Maybe we were too preoccupied with fighting the monsters?

Or maybe they used some kind of spell or skill, Fran suggested.

I studied the squadron before us. The front lines were hobgoblin pikemen with archers and mages behind them. Then came High Orcs with their warriors, shieldmen, blademen, and snipers. Last of all were Minotaur soldiers and lancers. 

The hobgoblins were E-Threats, while the orcs and Minotaurs were D-Threats. However, there were elite guards behind them: Minotaur high mages, high swordsmen, and axemashers who were more like C-Threats than anything. The high mages could use Flame Magic, and the high swordsmen had Advanced Sword Mastery.

Among the squadron were Minotaur dark paladins—C-Threats who stood head and shoulders above their kinsmen. They had access to Dark Magic, as well as Advanced Axe Mastery and Advanced Shield Mastery. Four of these powerful Fiends stood shoulder to shoulder, and they weren’t even the commanders.

The Minotaurs formed a protective wall around their commander and her lieutenant. I Identified them, and a chill ran down my blade. The mob of powerful Fiends was dangerous enough, but their leaders were on a different scale. If Fran and I didn’t have to defend this line, I would have teleported us the hell out of here. 

Name: Valkyrie Killarcher

Race: Faerie; Tenma

Level: 66

HP: 1352; Magic: 2387; Strength: 682; Agility: 1339

Skills: Intimidate 6; Hidden 3; Stealth 10; Wind Magic 7; Bow Arts 10; Advanced Bow Arts 5; Bow Mastery 10; Advanced Bow Mastery 5; Fear Resistance 7; Vigilance 4; Presence Sense 5; Conceal Presence 7; Illusion Magic 6; Sword Arts 8; Sword Mastery 8; 

Brute Force 6; Confusion Resistance 7; Regeneration 8; Command 8; Abnormal Status Resistance 6; Spear Arts 10; Advanced Spear Arts 4; Spear Mastery 10; Advanced Spear Mastery 4; Elemental Blade 7; Vigor 4; Light Magic 4; 

Mana Sense 6; Mana Thruster 6; Darkvision; Spirit Control; Battlefield Frenzy; Dull Pain; Steadfast; Walking Assistance; Mana Regeneration; Mana Manipulation

Class Skill: Battlemaiden

Titles: Vanguard Battlemaiden

Equipment: Battlemaiden Spear; Battlemaiden Bow; Battlemaiden Outfit

Name: Dullahan

Race: Specter

Level: 1

HP: 1588; Magic: 693; Strength: 781; Agility: 587

Skills: Frighten 5; Stealth 4; Flame Magic 3; Presence Sense 6; Fear 9; Conceal Presence 3; Sword Arts 10; Advanced Sword Arts 2; Brute Force 8; Instant Regeneration 3; Abnormal Status Resistance 9; Shield Mastery 10; Advanced Shield Mastery 4; Shield Arts 2; Advanced Shield Arts 4; Mental Status Resistance 9; Elemental Blade 7; Fire Magic 10; Magic Resistance 6; Mana Sense 8; Mana Drain 7; Thunder Resistance 4; Darkvision; Spirit Manipulation; Pain Immunity; Mana Manipulation

Titles: Faceless Knight

Equipment: Fiendstone Knightsword; Anti-Mana Full Plate; Anti-Mana Shield; Barrier Ring

A Valkyrie and a Dullahan, two of the strongest creatures in folklore. The Valkyrie was clearly a B-Threat, and the Dullahan was almost as strong. Both were well-balanced fighters with few weaknesses.

The Valkyrie’s strength was particularly tremendous. Her shining blonde hair was matched only by the glory of her armor, glinting in the morning sun. She looked more divine than monstrous, but I felt her hostility even from here.

By contrast, the Dullahan was a large humanoid in full plate armor. It wasn’t clutching its head, but I couldn’t see whether anything was under its helmet. It was barely noticeable standing next to the brilliant Valkyrie, but the prospect of hardly being able to detect such a powerful monster was more terrifying than reassuring.

Worse still, the Dullahan and Valkyrie had some deeply unpleasant skills to go with their dangerously high stats. The Valkyrie’s Class Skill, Battlemaiden, increased her battle arts and masteries and heightened her senses. Her title, Vanguard Battlemaiden, was just as terrifying.

Vanguard Battlemaiden: title bequeathed to worthy Valkyries.

Effects: applies the Valkyrie’s Stealth and Movement Skills to an army with more than a hundred members. 

 Reduced effectiveness if army members are not under her direct control.

This title was overkill. That was why Fran and I had failed to notice the sudden influx of Fiends! Was this whole army under the Valkyrie’s influence? Perhaps we only found them as fast as we did because they weren’t under her direct control. Then again, maybe we could’ve spotted them faster without it. The Dullahan’s skills weren’t much better. Its Faceless Knight was straightforward but dangerous, increasing its Regeneration and Absorption Skills.

Given the powerful army at her command, that Valkyrie might as well have been an A-Threat. 

“I must applaud your reflexes,” said the Valkyrie, speaking directly into Fran’s ear with Wind Magic. “You did well to avoid my arrows.”

“Who are you?” Fran responded with a spell of her own. 

“So,” said the Valkyrie, “you can use magic. Very well. I am a servant of Lady Murelia. The Valkyrie who controls the army before you.”

“Murelia? She’s behind this attack?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”

“Why are you doing this?” Fran asked.

“Ah, so you are unaware. It has nothing to do with you. If you surrender now, I shall grant you a swift death.”

“I was about to tell you the same thing,” said Fran.

“You think you can defeat me? Mere monsters exhaust you.”

“I can defeat you easily.”

“Bwa ha ha ha!” the Valkyrie laughed. “I like your spirit, girl! I didn’t expect such willful prey when I left for the killing fields today! Come then, entertain us with your struggle!”

The Valkyrie sounded more like a hunter than a mindless blood knight—she savored hunting and killing her prey more than anything. 

“Archers!” she cried. “Loose your arrows!”

Who was this “Murelia” person? A dungeon master? I wanted to get more information out of this Valkyrie, but that wasn’t going to happen right now. The Fiend archers obeyed her command, releasing a pelting rain of arrows upon us. The battle began. 

Damn it! We have to fend these monsters off first! I told Fran.

I blocked the funnel with Great Walls while Fran handled the incoming volley of arrows. If we were taking on these Fiends, we had to stop the rest of the army from advancing first. I figured these walls would be enough to block them.

“Hellflame Arrow!” 

The Valkyrie fired a burning missile right into my new walls. The arrowhead’s immense mana gathered power and heat as it flew through the air. It pierced goblins and orcs alike, then struck the wall and exploded, blowing the structure into pieces.

Tch! I set up more Great Walls to replace it.

“Bwa ha ha! Hellflame Arrow!” The Valkyrie destroyed the walls just as quickly.

How is she doing that so fast?! All my efforts were useless. I could only watch as the monsters rushed through the giant hole she’d blown in our defenses. Damn it!

“We can’t let them through!” cried Fran. “Urgh!”

Careful! Watch out for the arrows, Fran!

“Hm!”

When we tried to get in front of the monsters and halt their advance, more arrows rained down on us. It was impossible—there was no way we could fight back the Fiend army, hold off the Valkyrie and her elite unit, and avoid the hail of arrows. We needed to stop fighting the army long enough to deal with her, but Fran wouldn’t allow that. 

What else could we do? Was there anything? 

I activated Multi Mind and searched frantically for an answer. The Valkyrie’s presence meant that I couldn’t erect walls to block off the monsters. The only option left was to try and decimate their forces. 

Ekato Keraunos could cover a lot of ground with its hundred lightning bolts. Multiple castings would annihilate the weaker monsters and paralyze the survivors. However, over three thousand of these bastards were left. Casting Ekato Keraunos that many times would drain my mana dry, leaving me with nothing left to fight the Valkyrie and her guard. 

If I absorbed crystals, I could recover from the mana loss, but that would take a lot of crystals. There was no chance I had time. Was there a way to absorb hundreds at once…?

Yes. Yes, there was. And I might just be able to do it. I activated Transmogrify, and found that Mana Control and Spirit Control made it easier to alter my shape—much easier. I almost couldn’t believe it. Now we had a fighting chance!

The best way to do this was to use as much mana as I could in the initial attack. I was about to rank up again, and I didn’t want to waste the full recovery that would happen when I did. 

Take this!

I fired off a chain of Ekato Keraunos, covering the battlefield with hundreds and hundreds of lightning bolts. I didn’t have time to aim, but there was so much lightning that I didn’t think it’d matter. This should’ve been more than enough to put a dent in the monsters’ forces. As lightning struck on all sides, they scattered, leaving only charred corpses behind.

I let the Valkyrie’s guard have a taste, too. I hoped the lightning would be powerful enough to distract them, although if it managed to kill a few, then all the better. 

You’ll have to take care of yourself for a bit, Fran!

“Hm!”

I couldn’t waste a single ounce of focus. I turned off all my Sensory and Vigilance Skills to concentrate on Transmogrify.

I’ll be taking your crystals! All of them!

I knew I couldn’t Transmogrify my blade—that would leave Fran defenseless in the heat of battle. Instead, I used it on the tassels hanging from my hilt. They regenerated along with the rest of me, so I knew they counted as part of my body. I should’ve been able to control them the same way I controlled my blade. 

I split my tassels into ten steel threads and stretched them into the air, infusing them with mana until they spread out like tree branches. One tassel became ten, and ten became a hundred, until they covered the entire battleground—absorbing every crystal they pierced. 

Urgh…come on…just a little bit more…aaargh!

The micromanagement was much more challenging than the mana drain. I might not have had a brain, but I was getting a splitting headache!

Yes…I can feel it!

Mana surged back through the steel threads toward me. 

My second rank up for the day!

My crystal counter jumped as soon as I finished absorbing. Now I had an extra 75 EP! I couldn’t waste time celebrating, though. I hit a wall; the steel threads began to unravel against my will. Tch…I guess that’s the limit of what I can do with Transmogrify. 

I made the best of it with one final attack. Stun Bolt!

Fifty Stun Bolts spread over the spiderweb of threads, paralyzing all the monsters touching it. The chain of attacks starting with Ekato Keraunos and ending with Stun Bolt killed almost a thousand monsters, and incapacitated as many again. 

That worked. Kind of.

You okay, Teacher? Fran asked.

Y-yeah…

I felt almost limp, although in truth, it was more of a phantom sensation—like malaise or despondency. That was probably the cost of using so many simultaneous skills and spells. I needed to do more research on Multi Mind. But that will have to wait. Time to push everything to its absolute limit.

If I didn’t get my act together, Fran would have to cover for me. At least Ekato Keraunos had done its job—the Fiends would probably attack again soon, but they had stopped for the time being. We just had to deal with the remaining monsters.

“Gyagyuuu…”

“Arf…”

“Arooo…”

We’d eliminated all the monsters directly surrounding Fran, and we had a little breathing room. Unfortunately, the ones left were now completely terrified of her, and tried to flee as soon as she looked at them. That wasn’t good. We had to kill them before they got away. Maybe another round of magic would do it?

As I tried to figure it out, Wind Magic carried the Valkyrie’s voice across the battlefield. “Amazing! I am somewhat impressed by your display.”

She didn’t seem alarmed, despite how many of her monsters I’d just annihilated. I guessed that I hadn’t done much damage to her guard yet. 

She seemed angrier with her forces than with Fran. “Worthless creatures! You should be ashamed to call yourselves servants of Lady Murelia! You are useful only as cannon fodder! Redeem yourselves by striking at the enemy, even if it costs you your lives! For the glory of Lady Murelia!”

Under normal circumstances, such orders would result in desertion, but the monsters only roared in agreement.

“Groaaargh!”

“Gyuuuuu!”

“Raaaargh!”

Something wasn’t right here. “For the glory of Lady Murelia” was like an incantation. Suddenly, the whole army looked prepared to die. They stared at Fran with pure hatred in their bloodshot eyes. If they were going to perish, they would take this little girl down with them. 

Before Fran and I figured out what was going on, they rushed us. These bastards aren’t afraid to die!

We cut them down one after the other, but they just kept on coming. These guys were on a suicide mission! It was like they wanted to die. 

Fran was under attack from all sides and tiring, but she still grinned. “You’re right where I want you!”

So long as the monsters focused on her, they weren’t going after the Black Cats. 

“Raaaah!” Fran roared, cutting her enemies down with a dancing blade. 

If we could somehow stem the tide, we only had the Valkyrie and her guard left to worry about. That felt like a single ray of hope, shining through this battlefield of despair. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

“The arrows!” Fran cried.

The elites shot another volley, waiting for Fran to tire. They weren’t even worried about killing their allies, so long as they hurt Fran.

So, this is what they’re planning! Will our barriers hold—Fran!

“Gah!” Fran sensed their killing intent and twisted away, but not quite quickly enough. An arrow pierced the monster in front of her and shattered her right shoulder. “Urgh…”

Healing you now!

I held her shoulder in place with Telekinesis and teleported us a short distance away. It was just as well that I did. A moment later, an arrow exploded right where we’d stood.

Hang in there, Fran!

I blinked us a good distance away again, healing Fran’s shattered shoulder at the same time.

What hit me? she asked.

The Valkyrie’s arrow!

It had come from behind a cover of suicidal monsters—flying straight for us instead of raining down from overhead. It went through a dozen of the Valkyrie’s soldiers without losing speed, aimed straight at Fran’s heart. If Fran hadn’t noticed it, she would’ve been dead. How many times did she have to brush death today?!

Good job catching it when you did.

“I…guess.”

Fran’s instincts were as sharp as ever, but we couldn’t keep dodging these arrows all day. On the other hand, if we tried to get closer, the Valkyrie would probably turn Fran into a pincushion. We needed to come up with a plan, so I kept teleporting us out of the way. 

Fran, let’s level up your Sense Skills. If you can’t react quickly enough, you’ll get killed.

“Hm. Go for it.”

Shall I do it for you?

“Do it. I trust you.”

I couldn’t let Fran down. I had to pick the right skills and fast! I took full advantage of Multi Mind to work out the best fit.

This one!

First up was Danger Sense—I maxed it out for 16 EP, which unlocked Enhanced Senses. It was only another 12 EP to buy, so I did that, too. Both skills were crucial in sensing incoming threats, but I didn’t stop there. It was better to err on the side of overkill. I took the Reaction Speed Up that I got from the Crimson Wolf and dumped 18 EP into it, looking for a certain skill.

There you are! I only had 29 EP left, but I finally got what I needed. Hello, Heightened Reflexes!

Fran already got this skill as a buff from Flashing Thunderclap, so I knew how powerful it was—it allowed her to react to attacks even I couldn’t see coming. Heightened Reflexes was how Gaudartha had outpaced Fran, despite her being much faster. It should greatly increase our Sense Skills’ strength.

I can see them! 

I had to concentrate, but I was finally able to swat the Valkyrie’s arrows away with Telekinesis. At last, we had some foothold against those things!

“Wow! This is great, Teacher!”

However, the battlemaiden’s sensory abilities were much more powerful than I thought. We teleported every few seconds, and she was still firing arrows at us! 

“Tch!” Fran’s senses were sharper. She batted away the arrows with the back of her hand.

Good job, Fran!

“Hm!”

Time for our counterattack.

“Hm!” Fran readied me again.

The Valkyrie just kept grinning down at us. “Ha ha ha! Very good! To think that you can deflect my arrows!”

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Powerful words from one who almost lost her arm! What excellent news! How dull it would be if you died without a struggle!”

The Valkyrie loosed a slew of arrows, shouting with joy. She had fast arrows, arrows that exploded at the slightest touch, invisible arrows, and arrows that flew in a wide arc. None were easy to dodge, and one in three still hit us, even with all the Sense Skills I’d upgraded. I didn’t want to think about what would have happened to us without those new skills. 

I watched for more of the Valkyrie’s fast arrows, since they were her most dangerous attack, but none came. Maybe they weren’t as easy to use as I’d thought? At any rate, there was no way we’d win this by staying on the defensive. 

Almost done! I told Fran.

Hm! She bought me some time while I prepared our next attack. 

Take this! Kanna Kamuy!

I chanted the spell name; it just felt as though it would have more oomph that way. Still, No Cast allowed me to cast two of the spells at once. Surely, that would finish the fight!

However, the stress of casting it twice was terrible. Just as bad as pushing my limits with Transmogrify, if not worse.

Aaargh…! I didn’t have any teeth, but I felt as though I gritted them, trying to control the spell. 

The sky opened, and pillars of lightning crashed down on the Valkyrie just as she drew her bow. I wanted to give her as little time to react as possible. Two lightning dragons thumped into the earth, swallowing her whole.

Score! Surely even that Valkyrie will die after that kind of… Wait.

I should have remembered that it was bad luck to celebrate a victory before you won. I’d completely forgotten about the Dullahan. It reappeared behind the Valkyrie, towering over her and covering her with its shield. 

When Kanna Kamuy struck, I knew they would survive. The Dullahan’s defense was tremendous, and it had Advanced Shield Mastery, Magic Resistance, Anti-Mana Shield, and Full Plate, as well as its Barrier Ring. Thunder Resistance on top of all that felt like a personal attack at this point.

In the end, the results were even worse than I’d expected. White smoke wisped from the Dullahan’s body. Its HP was reduced to half, but that was all. Instant Regeneration would soon wipe even that out. Worse, the Dullahan only lost a fraction of its mana pool, while mine was almost empty. 

How could you block that? That spell killed a hydra in one hit!

Kanna Kamuy and Black Thunderfall had defeated Phelms in the fighting tournament, and I’d been sure a direct hit would kill the Valkyrie…but the Dullahan’s defense was too great. It even dispersed the impact so that there was no explosion. 

Dammit! How the hell did it manage to do that?!

“Teacher, look.”

Huh?

I followed Fran’s gaze and saw that the Minotaur dark paladins and High Orc shieldmen were burnt to a crisp. The shieldmen were all dead, and only two of the four dark paladins were standing.

What had happened to them? They couldn’t have died from my attack’s impact—the Dullahan had dispersed it. And all the other orcs and Minotaurs were still healthy.

Did the Dullahan transfer the damage?

Somehow, the dark paladins and shieldmen had taken the brunt of Kanna Kamuy’s damage, although I had no idea how. At any rate, the result was that we’d killed over a hundred of their elites…but at the cost of our greatest weapon.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! To think…a Grand Spell!” said the Valkyrie. “Excellent!”

“…”

She laughed to hide her cold sweat, while the Dullahan stood silently beside her. As we watched, it laid its gauntlet on a nearby monster.

“Gyoo? Gahya…!”

“…”

The creature withered up and died, and the Dullahan moved on to the next one. Somehow, it was absorbing their mana. This was bad. This was really bad. There was no point now in trying to exhaust the Dullahan’s mana; this whole army was basically its external mana tank. 

On top of that, it would be difficult to hit them with Kanna Kamuy again. They were now moving targets, and the slight delay between casting and activation would give them plenty of time to get away. 

We need to get closer and prevent her from using the bow. We’re helpless at this range.

Got it, said Fran.

She closed in, zigzagging to avoid shots from the Valkyrie’s bow. The monsters around her reacted by trying to dogpile her, but they were no match for Fran’s reflexes. She avoided the Valkyrie’s arrows and cut a path toward her.

I avoided teleportation as much as possible—if we overused it, the Valkyrie would quickly learn to anticipate our path. Still, avoiding her attacks, the monsters, and the Fiends all at once was too much. We had to do something. 

If we got close enough, the Valkyrie would have to stop using her bow. At the very least, that would reduce the damage she could do with it. I only hoped that she was less skilled at melee range. Still, could we really defeat that thing up close…?

I thought of maxing out other elements, running through dozens of options that might help. In the end, I decided against it. It would be a terrible decision to waste all this precious EP in a panic. If I leveled up anything, it should be sword-related. Maybe Sword King? That was definitely a skill worth having. 

I’d just chosen Sword King when I discovered that, for some reason, I couldn’t level it up. Every time I tried, the P.A.’s cold voice prevented it. Skill requirements not met.

That was frustrating, but I wasn’t out of the game yet. There was still Advanced Sword Arts—that should provide a good defense for the Valkyrie’s Advanced Bow Arts. 

Fran agreed, so I went ahead. Eighteen points into Advanced Sword Mastery it is!

“Hm!”

The effects were immediate.

Advanced Sword Mastery is now Level 10. 

Acquired skill: Enhanced Sword Arts.

Requirements met. 

Acquired Unique Skill: Sword King Arts. 

Sword Arts have been integrated into Sword King Arts.

Acquired Sword King Arts and Sword King Mastery. 

Acquired Unique Skill: Sword God’s Blessing.

Fran has acquired Sword God’s Blessing. Unlocked Class: Sword King.

A torrent of announcements came out of the P.A. I almost didn’t catch them all, but the most important one was the Sword God’s Blessing. I felt a clear, definite improvement in Fran’s sword arm through my hilt. It was as if we somehow blended together.

Sword God’s Blessing: a blessing on the battlefield for sword wielders.

Well, that was vague! I didn’t know exactly how it worked, but I guessed that Fran was stronger now. I mean, it was the blessing of a god, so it had to be of some use, right? 

“What’s this? You have grown faster.” Even the Valkyrie was surprised. Her expression grew grim, but she didn’t panic yet. “Kill her, my minions!”

Still, Fran’s swordsmanship wasn’t the only thing that had improved. “Advanced Sword Art: Circle Impact.”

Fran took her newly acquired skill for a spin. She turned in a tight circle, cutting down the monsters around her. Enhanced Sword Arts was more effective than I’d thought. Everything had improved: Fran’s rotation speed, the area of effect, and the damage she dealt. She immediately split twenty of the monsters around us in half.

“Sword Sonic!”

And there was the upgraded version of Sonic Wave. The shock wave cut a path through the monsters ahead. Fran rushed down it before they had a chance to block her. The Valkyrie’s guards were directly in front of us now. Now for the real battle!

Go right for the Valkyrie!

“Hm!” Fran sped up until she was almost a blur.

“Taaah!”

“Gyagyo!”

She cut through the hobgoblins who stood in her path. As strong as they were, they were no match for Fran. However…

“Tch!”

There’s no end to them!

“Gyogyo!”

“Gegyagya!”

The Fiends surrounded Fran. Their shouts sounded like the usual babbling between goblins and orcs, but I knew they were signaling each other to hold her down. They might’ve been individually weak, but together, they were still a force to reckon with. The monsters piled on fearlessly, backing off only when Fran gave chase, then thrusting their spears forward to slow her advance.

Some Fiends even tried to latch onto her, despite the almost-certain chance of death. They were set on killing Fran, even if it cost their lives. Was it because they all came from the same dungeon? Or was their solidarity due to the Valkyrie’s Battlefield Frenzy? Either way, the Fiends wore down our health with a barrage of Spear Arts and Bow Arts, damaging us faster than Mana Sap and Life Sap could absorb. 

“Ugh!”

“You really have improved your reflexes!” said the Valkyrie. “That was excellent!”

She perched atop an Earth Magic mound, firing arrows into the slightest opening. As much as I wanted to fight back, the Dullahan beside her would block any reckless attacks. I would only waste mana.

“Hmph. I suppose it is time I got serious,” she added. “You have done damage enough to our forces.”

Was she finally about to show her real strength?

“But tell me,” she asked, “why do you fight?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you risk your life against the horde? Is someone employing you? I see no reason to be so bold for mere coin. You fight as if you intend to destroy us completely.”

“You’re not going through here,” Fran said simply.

“Oh?”

“I’m going to protect everyone.”

The Valkyrie nodded slowly. “The Black Cats.”

“Hm!”

“Ka ha ha! What a moving tale! That a single Black Cat would risk her life for the sake of her village! I may cry,” she said, mocking us openly. “Do you really think we are the only forces in Lady Murelia’s army?”

“…!”

“There are two more squadrons: one coming from the east and one from the west, both moving toward Green Goat. They may not be so powerful as us, but their captains are more than capable of destroying your little friends.”

“…!”

“The squadrons may be small in number, but they are shock troopers, trained to cut through the beast knights’ ranks.”

I felt Fran’s hand shiver. The Valkyrie was getting into her head!

Teacher, is she…

She’s telling the truth, but don’t let her provoke you! The villagers can’t have arrived in Green Goat yet, and there’s nothing we can do to help them right now. All we can do is hope and pray that the adventurers are prepared! I had to calm her down.

Fran wasn’t listening. “All right,” she told the Valkyrie. “I’ll just have to kill you quickly so I can go help them.”

Fran, that’s exactly what she wants! She’s trying to make you panic!

“Even so,” the Valkyrie taunted, “will you have time? You can forget about military help. Your armies need supplies and resources; ours can march on mana alone.”

“I’ll kill you!” Fran growled.

“You are welcome to try!”

No, Fran, don’t take the bait! It was too late, though. There was no stopping her. 

“Flashing Thunderclap!”

Fran wanted to finish this as fast as possible. If I tried to talk her out of it, I’d only make her hesitate, and I’d likely get her killed. All I could do now was support her, keeping up our mana and Life Sap while Fran did what she had to.

I hadn’t given up on her yet. If Fran let her instincts control the flow of battle, it might even help us out. After all, that was a beastman’s most natural way of fighting. 

Teacher, teleport!

All right!

I blinked us high above the enemies, but the Valkyrie’s next arrow rushed toward us all the same. Somehow, she had learned to read our teleportation path. However, I’d expected this. Before the arrow struck us, I activated Dimension Shift. Immediately, our Danger Sense and Vigilance sharpened. I swatted the Valkyrie’s fast arrow straight out of the air. 

Still, I had to be careful, or I’d burn straight through my mana pool. At least that would help Fran to make this fight a short one. 

“Haaaa!”

Fran was quickly wiping that smug grin off the Valkyrie’s face. “I didn’t think Timespace Magic could be so troublesome!”

We dodged another flurry of attacks with a chain of short teleportation spells. To an outside observer, it might have looked as though Fran charged in recklessly, but in fact her instincts allowed her to watch like a predator stalking its prey. Her mind buzzed with a dozen ways to kill the Valkyrie, but cold animal frenzy guided her actions more than thought. 

Step by step, Fran coaxed the Valkyrie to make more mistakes—sometimes allowing herself to be hurt, or dodging attacks that passed within inches of her body. Fran led the Valkyrie, dictating the flow of her attacks, until she was almost in front of the battlemaiden, covered in wounds. 

The Valkyrie faltered for a split second. Fran charged right at her; it was the only opening she needed. “Sword King Arts: Skycutter!”

She brought down her sword with her newly learned Sword King Art. That was the only skill under Sword King Arts, perhaps because it was the only skill you needed. Its speed and power exceeded Pressurized Quickdraw, and it even accelerated time. It might not have been quite the same as a Timespace spell, but Unleash Potential further enhanced Fran’s reflexes. My blade was so sharp that I felt myself cut through the air. My blade rang with it.

This attack would end the battle.

I saw the Dullahan’s arm twitch as it reached to protect the Valkyrie, but even if it could cover her with its shield, it wasn’t fast enough to react in time. My blade sank into the Valkyrie’s shoulder, cutting through her collarbone and all the way down to her heart.

“Gah…!”

Fran sliced the Valkyrie in two. I slashed through her heart, and even her crystal. I was sure that I did…yet I didn’t absorb it. What was going on?

Doubt flashed through my mind. Somehow, something unbelievable had happened. 

“…!”

Impossible!

The Valkyrie’s fatal wound closed as quickly as it opened. How? She didn’t have Instant Regeneration. Even if she did, surely no one could recover from a broken crystal, could they? Yet that’s exactly what happened.

At the same time, the two remaining Minotaur dark paladins coughed up blood. I felt immense mana from their crystals flow through me. Somehow, I had absorbed those instead of the Valkyrie’s.

It was the same damage transfer that blocked Kanna Kamuy!

What sort of trickery was this? Could the Valkyrie access the same skill the Dullahan had used earlier? 

“Heh…ha ha ha ha! S-splendid!” the Valkyrie laughed. “My blood ran cold with that!”

She skipped backward to put distance between us. At least this time, she was honest enough to admit to her fear, but so what? That was a once-in-a-lifetime strike, and all Fran and I had to show for it was fear? We may have defeated the dark paladins, but we barely hurt the Valkyrie!

As she and the Dullahan retreated, the Fiends piled onto Fran. 

The Valkyrie’s going to attack us with arrows again!

“Out of the way!” Fran cried.

“Gegyagya!”

“Gyogyoa!”

There was no stopping the Fiends. They fought without fear, creating a living wall around the Valkyrie. Time was running short. 

“Aaaargh!”

***

While Fran fought the Valkyrie, another battle raged in the forest to the south. 

“Grrrr!”

“Move, you damn dog!”

A platoon of a hundred Fiends engaged a lone wolf. However, the platoon was no longer in perfect form—it had lost a good half its strength in the battle. The wolf suffered as well as the Fiends did everything they could to kill it. They were well equipped, and most could use magic. They even held formation with half their unit dead, fighting more like a human army than a violent gang of goblins and orcs. 

The monster they fought was equally strange—a Darkness Wolf, powerful even by the standards of this world. It was a Unique creature, attacking the Fiends from the shadows with its spells and claws, slowly thinning them down.

“We can’t waste the life Lady Murelia gave us,” a demon muttered through his teeth. 

Try as he might, he couldn’t detect the jet-black spells that kept firing off around him. He knew the wolf had his unit on the run. 

“Hold it down, you damn Fiends! Even if it costs you your lives!”

Somehow, the Fiends obeyed. 

“Gyagya!”

“Gyaooo!”

“Gyaargh!”

They surrounded the wolf, and some even latched onto it. They may have had no respect for the demon commanding them, but they obeyed his words completely—or rather, obeyed the force of Murelia’s authority. She had transformed these hedonistic monsters into a real fighting force. 

“Grrr…grooaaar!”

However, the direwolf was stronger—rushing through the pack even with goblins hanging off its back, tearing its enemies apart. 

The Fiends couldn’t defeat the wolf, even though they were prepared to die for it. So, the battle raged on, blood soaking into the earth. 

Why hadn’t the direwolf fled? It was faster than these creatures and could outrun them if it wanted. What reason did the wolf have to keep fighting? Was it protecting its territory, or simply too stubborn to quit? 

In fact, it was neither of these reasons. 

“We have no time for you, you damned dog! The city must fall!”

“Grrrgh!”

The direwolf and demon had one thing in common: they both fought for Green Goat. The demon was set on the city’s destruction, but the wolf’s master had sworn to save it. Jet wanted to make his masters happy—both the small one, and her sword. If it would make them smile, he would happily risk his life.

The demon glowered at the stubborn wolf. “Rejoice, you filthy dog! I shall use my greatest weapon to destroy you!”

He focused his energy until it outstripped even his capacity to contain it—the spell tearing through his very life force and converting it to mana. 

“Grr…” Jet growled, sensing the impending danger.

“Now, Fiends!”

“Hrr?”

The demon signaled, and the Fiends surrounding Jet blew up—a chain of suicidal explosions with enough force to destroy a hut. Even if he knew the demon’s plan, Jet had no chance to defend against it. 

“Yaaargh! Corruption Wedge!” With his remaining mana, the demon launched himself at Jet with speed that rivaled a diving falcon. “I have you now!”

He plunged through the explosion, tearing into Jet’s paw with total disregard for his own safety. No matter how fast Jet was, he couldn’t respond in time.

“Die!”

The demon’s claws flashed straight for Jet’s face. Jet was much larger and faster than the demon, and for a moment, it looked as though the attack wouldn’t land. 

“Gyaiin!”

Jet howled. The demon had imbued his claws with malice, and the curse racked Jet’s body, sucking the life out of him. Jet curled up in pain. He felt that his body was failing. If he kept fighting, he would die. Still, he turned to his attacker and pressed on. 

“Gaaah! You bastard! What is wrong with you?!”

“Raaargh!”

If Jet stopped now, the demon would destroy Green Goat. He had to keep fighting, even if it cost his life. 

“Groooooar!” He sank his jaws into the demon’s body. 

“No! But the curse took hold of you…you…!”

Jet bit down with all his might, feeling the demon go limp in his jaws. 

“You’re going to die here…”

“Grr…”

The demon’s dying words rang true. Even as it perished, Jet’s own body crumpled beneath him. His legs could no longer support him, and the Fiends were everywhere, slowly closing in to strike the killing blow. 

Jet’s muzzle twisted bitterly—not at losing the battle, but at the fact that he would never see his masters again. His vision wavered and faded. There was nothing he could do to stop the Fiends all around him from finishing the job.

He waited for death, but death never came. 

“Fiends! Get your dirty hands away from him!”

“Gya gyaoooo!”

“Giiiii!”

A savior appeared, dispersing the monsters. “You fought well, Jet! You saved Green Goat!”

“Urr…”

“I’m healing you now. Hang in there, friend!”

Jet couldn’t see who was stroking his muzzle and feeding him potions. Although his vision had failed, however, his nose was still true. He knew exactly who came to his aid.

“You can leave the rest to me.”

“Arf…”

His thoughts slipped away into sleep, and he dozed off, reassured. 

“I must thank my lucky stars,” said the voice. “To think I have so many Fiends to fight so soon! They shall make for good sport.”

***

The tides of battle had changed, and Fran was in trouble. She tried desperately to end the fight so that she could help her kinsmen, but the Valkyrie and her Fiends harassed Fran at every turn. 

“Move!”

“Gyagya!”

“Gyoa!”

Between the Sword God’s Blessing and Flashing Thunderclap, Fran was the fastest thing on the battlefield. She charged through ranks of Fiends to reach the Valkyrie, swinging wild and wide—trying to finish the battle with one attack. That only made it easier for the Dullahan to block. It took the brunt of the punishment, while the Valkyrie danced away, ready to exploit the gaps in Fran’s defense. None had proved fatal yet, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time. 

“Urrrghh!”

Fran, calm down! I urged her.

I’m trying…!

If it wasn’t for our enemies’ damage transfer ability, the fight would already be over. How were they doing this? Was it some kind of Shield Art to transfer damage to their minions? It wasn’t a buff or a spell, and they didn’t have any other skills or equipment that could do that—I would have noticed it with Identify. That left either their weapons or their titles. 

The High Orc shieldmen’s Shield Arts, or the Advanced Shield Arts the Minotaur dark paladins possessed, seemed like the most likely culprit—especially because the Minotaur high swordsmen and High Orc warriors were already using their Shield Arts to save the Dullahan from lethal injury.

If either of those turned out to be the cause, we were in for a rough fight. Half the Fiends on the battlefield had Shield Arts. That didn’t mean they all had that specific skill, but what if they did? We couldn’t just cut through dozens of them—they were too powerful. Besides, the Valkyrie and Dullahan had so far prevented us from decimating their minions. They attacked us the second we took our attention off them.

We were reaching the end of our rope, and Fran was getting hurt quicker than I could heal her. Still, she had to keep fighting to make the most of Flashing Thunderclap. When it wore off, she would crumble. 

The longer this went on, the more aggressive the Valkyrie became, firing arrows even when they risked striking the Dullahan. The arrows exploded left, right, and center, but any damage the Dullahan might have taken immediately transferred to other Fiends. Meanwhile, Fran was almost dead on her feet. 

When she struggled to get back up, the Valkyrie sneered at her. “Aha ha ha! Have you time to fall when your friends are dying, even as we speak?”

Block her out, Fran! She’s trying to get in your head!

“Urgh…” Fran ground her teeth and glared at the Valkyrie. She was losing control. 

I had no choice but to use our trump card: Skill Taker. However, I still didn’t know which skill to take, or who to take it from. The Valkyrie and the Dullahan were both well-balanced fighters. Nothing I chose would cripple them completely.

The best thing I could think of was either the Valkyrie’s Advanced Bow Arts or the Dullahan’s Advanced Shield Arts. That would knock their firepower down significantly, even if it didn’t stop them altogether. While they fretted over the lost skill, maybe we’d even get the chance to go in for the kill. 

But which skill do I take…?

I was about to consult Fran about my decision when another attack struck.

“Come on!”

“Urgh…aah!”

As Fran lost concentration, her Stealth Skills began to fail. The Valkyrie read our teleport path.

“Guaaah! Eergh!”

An arrow pierced Fran’s left side as her right leg was blown to bits. She immediately regenerated, but before her leg even grew all the way back, it twisted and broke, and her arm was torn away. The Valkyrie used up her mana, determined to put Fran down. 

Fran, keep regenerating!

“Hurgh…!”

Fran’s willpower still burned within her, but her body started to fail. She wanted the Valkyrie dead more than anything else in the world, but the blood loss and pain took their toll on her young body. She wouldn’t last much longer!

“Aaaaagh!”

No! Fran, calm down! But I couldn’t stop her. 

Fran charged in recklessly, as though facing down some two-bit Fiend. However, her opponent was a towering Valkyrie, and Fran’s mind was close to breaking. 

What should I do? Could I teleport us far enough away that we could deal with weaker units? Fran would never allow it. If this Valkyrie got past us, it wouldn’t just be the end of Green Goat, it could destroy the entire Beastman Nation! 

If only I could work out which skill to take from them! I was so frantic and distracted trying to decide that I almost didn’t notice when something unexpected happened. 

Teacher, something’s coming.

Yeah, I feel it, too!

Something powerful approached from the southwest, and it was coming in fast. Surely, the Fiends couldn’t have more reinforcements? No, I didn’t think that was what it was. Those would have come from the north, and besides, the Valkyrie looked just as surprised as we were. 

“It’s here!” Fran cried.

Above!

Suddenly, the fighting stopped. Everyone looked up at the thing descending from the morning sky. 

“Kuoooon!”

“A wyvern?” the Valkyrie muttered. “No—a dragon?”

The red dragon must have been almost ten meters long. It flapped its powerful wings, glaring down at the battlefield with golden eyes as though scanning for prey. Eventually, the Fiends stopped staring and got into an anti-air formation. 

The dragon was a little smaller than some, but it was at least a C-Threat. Moreover, its presence on the battlefield might finally turn the tide. Dragons were majestic creatures, even when they were small. It was impossible to take your eyes off them. 

Still, Fran and I both knew that we had nothing to fear from this uninvited guest. In fact, Fran grinned from ear to ear. 

“Burn them to cinders, Lind!”

“Kuoooooo!”

We knew that pale girl with the pixie cut and burning crimson eyes, riding on the back of that dragon. 

“Quite a fight you’ve gotten into, Fran! Would you like some backup?”

“Mea!”

The mysterious girl we’d met in the Forest of the Scorpion Lion had returned.