The New Gate:Volume 2 Chapter 2

After repelling the group that was approaching, they temporarily went outside the plains zone and took a break.

Although Rashia was mentally tired as a result of power leveling, it was also possible to say that her vitality and magic power were in the best condition.

“Uu, I thought I was going to die.”

“We managed to hold on though.”

“That’s not it, I think the Bio Hound is very formidable for a commoner. Especially its appearance.”

Shin also joined Wilhelm in teasing.

“Please don’t make me remember~”

She remembered the monster dragging its internal organs while approaching. Rashia’s shoulders quivered as she glared at the two people. Although one might say, there was not a bit of threatening language.

“That reminds me, was that the first time you fought that monster?”

“It’s not about the experience, though I am surprised! More than that, it was the rapid leveling up that scared me!

“That was expected since there is too much of a level difference with these monsters. Perhaps you will be around level 150 when you acquire 【Purification】.”

Rashia was a human without reincarnation so her level rising was kind of interesting. Her level would probably become near to Wilhelm. Though their fighting power was as different as heaven and earth, in the first place their role was also different, so it could not be compared.

“While that may be true, my body feels light and is overflowing with magic. Yet I am a little worried that my body has become so different.”

“Normally the level goes up little by little. You shouldn’t even feel a damn thing as it happens.”

“There is no way but to get used to this. Well, though it’s bad for you to attack a weakened enemy, this is for you to use, Rashia.”

Shin said that while taking out the secret book of 【Heal】 and 【Cure】. He understood that from the battle earlier, 【Heal】 art was similar to the【Heal】 skill, but its effect was fairly weak. According to Tiera, it had 1/3 of the skill effect, but he thought that it be lower depending on the user. The damage dealt was too low, though it be might due to the level differences. In fact, Rashia raised her level without stopping, so she was about level 40. However, she still couldn’t defeat several dying Bio Hounds, so it was too inefficient.

Due to such circumstances, he thought he had better teach her these skills. Since it was not a combat system skill, he didn’t have to worry about it getting misused.

“What is that?”

“This is a secret book. A skill, corresponding to its content, will be yours when you use it. It has 【Heal】 and 【Cure】this time.”

“Eh! The skills will be mine?!…I cannot accept such an expensive thing!? How much money do you think I have!?”

Rashia shook both of her hands in front her face. What kind of skill for a commoner? Her reaction was clearly understandable.

It was known that anyone could learn a skill by using a massive amount of money, so Shin’s words were misunderstood.

“I don’t need any compensation if you keep it a secret. I was originally going to teach you anyways. If you have these skills, you will be able to help those suffering, too.”

“And then? What’s up with this stinkin’ speech, tell me your true intentions!”

Shin tried to say lines that were out of character, but it seemed to be too suspicious somehow. Wilhelm’s eyes said “Don’t try to lie to me!”.

“Arts will get you nowhere. With this, we can speed up.”

“You are such a pain!!”

“What a wonderful rebuttal. But you should know better than me how weak the arts are, right? Even with the level difference, it is taking too much time since she needs to defeat 200 monsters. We can’t leave the orphanage to just Thoria-san for days, and that pig guy might start something while we are here.”

It became hard to argue with Shin when he mentioned the orphanage. There was no disadvantage since he knew that inefficiency was the problem. And he was certain that both 【Heal】 and 【Cure】 were useful to the church.

For Shin, those skills were for a beginner who had just began to play the game, to the extent that he felt that it was just petty help. Honestly, it might be somewhat out of this world’s common sense, but he thought about spreading it on a large scale only if the source was hidden.

Needless to say, the main reason he wanted to hurry was because there might be something bad happening while they were away. The absence of Wilhelm, who had the biggest combat capability, was a good opportunity for the opponent.

“I understand. I will accept your offer.”

“Do that.”

Rashia opened the secret book with a timid look. As she started to scan it, as with Tiera when she learned 【Analyze】, a green light enveloped Rashia and faded after a while.

“How is it?”

“Ah, yes. Certainly I understand how to use them.”

“Doesn’t she need to read it before learning it?”

“I heard that the method of learning is that it enters your mind.”

Shin replied to Wilhelm who was stretching his neck from side to side to look.

“It’s true, but it’s difficult to explain with words.”

Rashia mumbled with deep emotion while staring at the secret book she held.

“Well then, shall we go again?”

“Yeah.”

Shin got up from sitting, and was followed by Wilhelm.

“U-Understood.”

Rashia, who was originally not tired, began to move immediately too. A Pawn class Skull Face and a Bio Hound approached them as soon as they entered the field, and partly because her level had gone up, the effect of 【Heal】 was demonstrated in an interesting way.

The gloomy aura of the Bio Hound slowly faded with the Art, but dissipated instantly with the Skill, like how smoke was blown away by the wind. Shin didn’t have to weaken it, as he saw that the Bio Hound disappeared with several heals. From there, Shin understood why a skill successor would get favorable treatment.

“I guess there is a big difference in power.”

“Hmm? Well obviously, those were the Arts, you know.”

Wilhelm responded while looking ahead.

“Iya, it’s just that it’s my first time seeing an Art upgraded.”

“…I’m kind of surprised at how little you understand.”

The two people didn’t stop moving while talking frivolously. While Wilhelm crushed the arm and leg of a Jack class Skull Face with Venom, Shin beat a humanoid monster, gray orc, with the back of the blade.

The gray orc had another name, Zombie Orc. Its appearance was exactly like an orc version of a zombie monster.

“Please comfort those who are wounded, 【Heal】!!”

Rashia’s healing was focused on the weakened monsters. The level difference was still huge, but the Heal, which became a skill, showed a far superior effect compared to the art version. The two undead were changed into grains of light without much effort.

It was Rashia herself, who was surprised the most at the rapid level up and skill effect.

“It seems like it will speed up a little with this.”

“However, to meet the requirements ― almost none of these creeps are higher than level 150. Even if it is daytime, I wonder if it is because we are outside of the sealed zone, how annoying.”

“…Wait a moment. What is this seal talk? I’ve never heard of this.”

“Oioi, did you come without knowing about it? So that dangerous monsters don’t go out from here, there is a monster protectant barrier set up inside the plains. For some reason, the higher level undead appear near the center. The guild is managing it strictly.”

“I see, the effect of the seal is concentrated onto the strong monsters, and leaves the weak alone, huh?”

“The seal item seems to have a limitation too. It couldn’t be used here, I guess.”

Normally for a dungeon, the deeper the layer, the stronger the monsters are. Apparently on these plains, the depth of the layer seems to have been changed to the distance to the dungeon’s center.”

“What should I do to enter inside the seal?”

“An A rank or higher guild card from an adventurer shouldn’t have any problem. Since it is managed by the guild.”

“Then there is no problem. We will battle inside the seal tonight.”

Shin said while watching Rashia eliminate a gray orc. The low-level monsters didn’t approach much now, probably because her level rose. This meant they had to change the hunting ground. Though some of the monsters which attacked, such as the Jack class Skull Face, exceeded level 150 as expected, they were only a few in number including the 2 encounters, which they defeated just moments ago.

The number of the defeated could be counted with the fingers on both hands and were far from the target number. The 3 continued to battle for a while, and then decided to withdraw once Rashia’s level rose above 80.

After returning to the base, they took a nap until the sun set. The surroundings were clear, but Shin and Wilhelm took turns standing watch for cautions sake. Whether Rashia was mentally tired or not, she fell asleep without taking much time.

Shin decided to do some skill investigation while he stood watch because he had some spare time. Since he had already been using the combat system skills since the first day he transported into this world, he used detection system skills this time. There was a limit to how many skills he could use simultaneously during the game, and he had to activate them one by one.

“This is…”

He unintentionally leaked out a voice.

When he attempted to use more skills than the limit number, no problem seemed to arise. In addition, skills that were not possible to use simultaneously before were now possible. For example, when 【Sign Perception】 and 【Search】 were used together. Moreover, each skill effect’s advantage was put together, and the weak points almost vanished. The range of the effect was extended, and the distinction of individuals was possible at the same time.

“The effect from the skills combining was already exceptional. Are there any changes with the effects of the similar skills when used simultaneously?”

This one required more inspection…he made a mental note of it. There appeared to be only a pattern of more benefits for the moment, but he doubted whether it would go that conveniently well.

Besides, various thoughts filled his mind, like did it have any effect even with the automatic activation types? Was it restricted to manual activation types?

The time for standing watch passed in an instant while he was doing the inspections.

The sun set, and the time was 8:00 at night. Shin and Wilhelm judged that it was a suitable time, and advanced into the interior of the Wraith Plains with Rashia. Shin thought that it might take some time, but they were able to advance without much trouble since the haze that covered the plains in daytime was dispersed in the bright moonlight.

“What’s up with that haze? I certainly thought it would appear at night.”

“Well who knows, but from the story of my magician colleagues, the magic power in the dungeon has begun to leak out, though it is only a story.”

“Magic power?”

“They say that the dungeon itself is like an undead monster. Since the dungeon rose above the ground halfway, it receives damage when the sun shines upon it. I think that has affected the dungeon, which is filled with magic power, to overflow above ground.”

“Really? Certainly I understand that as a theory.”

It was a commonly known point that an undead was weak during the daytime. In fact, the undead emit a black aura when they are in the sun. It’s something like HP, which one could see. However, it was released into the air with time. Perhaps that was the real nature of the haze, a grand version of the aura that breaks out during the daytime.

“Hmm, I wonder if the lost magic power is being restored now?”

“I guess so. Well, that has nothing to do with us now.”

After Wilhelm said that, they returned to walking for a while. A transparent blue wall that was set up in front of them came into view. It appeared that they somehow had arrived at the seal location.

“Is this it?”

“Correct, this is the seal I talked about during the day. The blue wall is easy to understand since it is visualized, but it also covers the invisible, aerial part.”

“I see.”

Its height was only 4 mels at most, even if it was called a wall. Shin thought that there was a possibility that monsters could jump over, but it seemed that he was worried for nothing. Wilhelm looked back for an instant.

“Now then, is everyone ready?”

“Anytime.”

“I-I’m okay, too.”

“Kuu!”

Shin, Rashia and Yuzuha answer to Wilhelm’s words. Wilhelm, who verified it, put his guild card on the wall, and an entrance of about 2 mels high and 1 mel wide appeared.

Wilhelm entered first as he had battle experience in the seal. Rashia and Yuzuha were next to enter, and Shin was last. It was to guarantee their safety, just in case a monster attacked from behind.

Inside the seal, it seemed no different from the outside.

However, the enhanced perception ability of Shin, by using the skills together, already picked up several hostile presences. Since he still had enough time before coming into contact with the enemies, he focused on obtaining detailed information on each individual.

―― 3 Rupt Raptors from the front.

―― 2 Jump Kins from the left.

The appearance of the Rupt Raptor was a wyvern that had lost its wings. There were no hands, and it possessed a powerful leg with a strong kick. Moreover, there was the additional effect of paralysis on its claws. Its average level was around 170.

Seemingly, Jump Kin was a flying pumpkin. Wait, that isn’t jumping, is it? Shin wanted to retort. Anyways the pumpkin was rotten. Expressions of emotion showed on the rotten pumpkin and it used fire magic skills when it was happy, and earth when it was sad. Its level was about 200 on average.

“They are coming, huh”

Wilhelm muttered while Shin analyzed the enemies. It seemed that the enemies had arrived at Wilhelm’s perception range.

“Rupt Raptors from the front, Jump Kins from the left.”

“You know?”

“Ah, Wilhelm, handle the Rupt Raptors. I will divert the Jump Kins.”

“If you say so.”

They nodded to each other and began to mobilize.

Protection of Rashia was left to Yuzuha, while Shin and Wilhelm rushed to their targets.

Shin came closer to the enemies with a speed different from before. He drew his katana and kicked the ground to jump toward the two Jump Kins.

The Jump Kins were floating 2, 3 mels above the ground.

“Sish!”

Two lines of sword sparks drew an arc in the sky, and the Jump Kin stopped their movements the following second. Shin landed before the sounds of 2 raw foods falling to the earth resounded in the quiet plains.

Thus, with the strike from the back side of the 『Red Chidori』, the 2 monsters suffered a double abnormality state of faint and paralysis. Shin took out a large wrapping cloth from the Item Box, and quickly wrapped the Jump Kin. He returned to Rashia for her to deal the finishing blow.

Then, about a dozen seconds later, Wilhelm also faced off against the Rupt Raptors.

With no hands, it could be said that it was, without a doubt, a bipedal type dinosaur. Its body was about 2 mels and was half rotted, similar to the Bio Hounds, although its speed and strength were not comparable. It was clumsy, but it became a troublesome monster when it cooperated.

“Fyun!”

Wilhelm exchanged attacks with the front Rupt Raptor, while the other two Rupt Raptors together leaped upon the trap he set and were knocked down by Venom. The body of the Rupt Raptors were brittle. Hence, when a bone was broken, a vivid sound of internal organs exploding could be heard.

While confirming with a glance that it didn’t disappear from the damage he dealt, Wilhelm stood against the remaining Rupt Raptor. Whether or not it didn’t have a choice to escape, the last remaining one stared at Wilhelm.

“Going easy on something is so damn bothersome.”

Simultaneously with that phrase, the view of the Rupt Raptor turned black.

The Rupt Raptors had their heads caved in, with broken legs, and parts of their body had also collapsed while being tied by the rope. Wilhelm too, then returned to the place where Rashia was.

“Ii～ya～～～!!”

It goes without saying that a scream from Rashia was heard, from where the three people were gathered.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

While Shin’s party worked hard hunting undead in the middle of the Wraith Plains, dozens of mels from there, the sound of battle resounded from several figures inside a forest.

“Surround it! Aim at its core!”

“Give the injured potions for recovery! Priests and Mages use the light system arts!!”

“Attract the Jack’s attention! Don’t let it cooperate with the Pawns!!”

While the group of knights in full body shining armor let out a loud voice, they slashed at the Skull Faces. Behind the guard knights who handled a shield, there were a group of people wearing robes and priest cloths while firing dazzling light balls at the Skull Faces.

The black aura around the Pawn class Skull Faces vanished the moment it touched the light and it turned into mere bones. However, no one loosened up their guard in this place. Because the most formidable enemy still remained.

“Guu, its attack is too heavy.”

“Anyone who has strength left, go help! It won’t be possible to suppress it if the number of people standing decreases any further!!”

“Damn, what the hell is that!?”

Voices of half desperation resounded through the forest. Though there were dozens of knights with extensive fighting ability and they were hand-picked from the alliance countries, they hadn’t dealt any damage that could be said to be a fatal blow.

“No matter how much of a Jack class it is, we are supposed to endure here, but…”

The complaint that leaked unintentionally was drowned out by the sound of sword and shield clashing.

Normally, the battle should have ended a long time ago, but the Jack class Skull Face held a strange white shield, that repelled the vigorous attacks from the knight group. Many of the knights were injured by the damage taken from the counterattacks.

The skilled knight who commanded the battle, Berg, was also unable to decide whether they should attack the Skull Face which made unexpected movements.

It had an abnormal upper limit of expert class, quick sword techniques, in addition, the shield almost nullified the light attribute magic and magic system arts that should have been the weak point of any undead monster. Although the Skull Face was surrounded, attacking it unskillfully caused injury and the risk of being impatient was getting bigger.

(With the way things are going, it will not move anywhere. If only that shield didn’t exist, at least something could be done somehow…)

Since the battle had started, Berg had contemplated it a countless number of times. The existence that made the Skull Face a formidable enemy. High defensive ability and magic resistance. When he thought about it, the Skull Face’s movement hadn’t become slower, so it seemed that the shield wasn’t that heavy. He couldn’t help but to click his tongue, as if it was using some kind of irregular weapon in this battle.

(However, that doesn’t mean that no damage was dealt to the enemy either.)

Berg and the rest of the knights had their pride and had gained experience through numerous battles, thus they had techniques. By using every effort they had, little by little, they managed to deal some damage somehow. While ascertaining comrade and enemy conditions, they would eventually reach the road to victory. However, following the situation, Berg was getting ready to call for a withdraw when a silver flash ran into the knights’ view.

As the flash ran straight toward the Skull Face without stopping for a moment, he quietly stood still next to it.

――――Time stopped.

The battlefield which should have been filled with clamor, regained its former silence in an instant.

The real nature of the flash was silver hair that shined when hit by light. Because the owner of the hair ran too fast, it was seen only as a flash to the eyes of the knights.

Though the knights were slow and full of openings, no one felt danger from it. It was because they knew that the person with silver hair had never failed to give a decisive blow once so far.

The silver hair seemed very graceful with brilliant silver and transparent blue eyes. The expression showed a faint smile that possessed both motherhood and a mystique kind of work of art, too.

Pointed ears were visible when her hair was blown to the side by the wind, showing that her race was either elf or otherwise high elf.

Her clothes resembled waitress clothes, but they were not necessarily similar. If a person with modern knowledge was nearby, they would have guessed it was close to the maid cloth type called Victorian Maid. The apron was big, and the hem of the skirt was long. That was the uniform that the employees of Tsuki no Hokora wore. Was it made to fit her body? Or because she had a good figure originally? The clothes boosted her breasts to the bulging point, it was obvious that the eyes of several of the knights were focused on them.

Her attire itself brought about a calming atmosphere. The person who held a dagger in one hand, who gathered all of the attention in the battlefield to herself, was the sole High Elf of Tsuki no Hokora. The acting manager, and who conveyed the skills from ancient times.

That person was, Schnee Raizar.

That person was, Schnee Raizar.

“Wide Heal!”

The voice echoed throughout the quiet place.

At the same time, a strong, gentle light wrapped around the surrounding knights. It was the magic skill system 【Wide Heal】 released by Schnee. A wide area version of heal.

The knights, who were weakly sitting on the ground, recovered without a single wound when the light that wrapped their bodies disappeared.

While everyone raised their voices in admiration, Berg, the commander, promptly calmed himself down. He realized he was getting too careless, so he tried to re-focus his mind, and gave out instructions loudly.

As might be expected from a veteran, there were no useless instructions. The surrounding knights started to mobilize in a rush, and a different noise resounded throughout the forest from a little while ago.

“You have been a big help…we were thinking about stopping and withdrawing.”

Berg formally thanked Schnee who stood near him. His voice was still rattling.

“No, I was able to defeat it because of everyone’s assistance in fighting.”

The words of encouragement reached Berg’s ear. Berg thought that this feeling, that his mind was being cleansed just from hearing her voice, was not just his imagination.

“I am honored when you say so. But actually, it was thanks to Schnee-dono that the undead was defeated, please let me show Schnee-dono deference here.”

“If you say so…however, we cannot relax yet.”

Schnee replied with an awkward smile.

It was not a lie that they should be focused and remain on guard. It was the reality.

This incident began one month ago; it was at the time when an adventurer, who just had become a rank B, approached the Wraith Plains to test his strength. That adventurer was heading toward the Wraith Plains through the forest, and when he tried to enter the haze which showed the boundary line of the Wraith Plains, a Skull Face appeared and broke through the haze a few mels from where the adventurer was.

A monster from the Wraith Plains should not exist outside of it, and it was a situation that would overturn common sense.

Even though the adventurer was stunned from the impossible scene, he managed to break off from the fight. He left the place immediately when he understood the abnormality of the situation, and went to nearest town’s guild with all of his effort.

The guild that received the information quickly decided to dispatch an investigation team. From the investigation afterwards, the condition was unclear but although some monsters were much stronger than others, it was confirmed that monsters had come out from the haze and spilled into the forest.

The plains were vast, so it wasn’t understood when and where they left from; furthermore, it took several weeks until it was clearly confirmed that a monster had passed through the haze. It was unknown how many monsters reached the forest, and to make matters worse, because a control point was not set up, damage had already started to occur in the countries near the Wraith Plains.

It was the reason why the advanced level adventurers went all out when Shin went to the guild for the first time before.

Of course, the damaged countries wouldn’t just sit and do nothing either. They set-up every possible type of security and also set up patrols to protect the people of their own country. The greatest problem was that the monsters breaking through the haze had abilities that far surpassed the commonly known monsters. In most cases, coming into contact with the enemy would result in either annihilation or retreating, even with enough battle capabilities from allies.

Kings from each country that were concerned about this, united under the name of an alliance for the first time, and put together the best knights from each troop to form a monster subjugation force, a plan to calm the situation. At the same time, a request to a certain person was issued.

The requested destination was 『General Store Tsuki no Hokora』.

And that certain person was the acting manager of Tsuki no Hokora, Schnee Raizar.

Though whether or not she would accept the request was a gamble, Schnee accepted the request purely to protect the people. Thus, she went quickly and participated in the monster subjugation force.

“I understand. Then, I will leave to Schnee-dono the monsters’ weapons and raw materials as according to the contract.”

“Yes, I will hold them for now.”

She nodded at Berg’s words, and Schnee stored the equipment from the Skull Face that was scattered in the surrounding area into the Item Box.

Since the subjugation force was a joint military unit of knights from two or more countries, the scramble for precious equipment and raw materials was considered. After the subjugation was completed, she was expected to distribute it equally except for a portion. Schnee, who had the highest battle capabilities, was also given the safekeeping role, with forestalling and anti-theft by usage of the Item Box.

While seeing Schnee put an item away, Berg thought, if there was no Schnee Raizar, the situation would have advanced towards the worst case scenario.

From the battle just now, he understood that there was an enemy that they could not beat, even with the top class ability of the knights from each country. Certainly, part of it was because of the poor cooperation since it was a joint military unit, but it didn’t change the fact that the strength of the monster was abnormal.

The problem above all else was that there were monsters possessing extraordinary gear like the previous Skull Face. According to the information that had been collected up to now, it seemed that all of the Skull Faces held special gear, but it couldn’t absolutely be confirmed.

From Berg’s view, he prayed that these kinds of equipments would run out.

Up until now, Schnee had defeated a few of the monsters with special weapons, and the knights then took charge with just the numerical advantage. The arrangement was to contact Schnee immediately if there was an encounter with a weapon holder. The situation was somehow good enough this time. The monster that the knights had a hard time fighting with was instantly defeated by Schnee. And in addition to that, close range battle was assumed to be the weak point of elves.

“As expected of someone who stood side by side with a High Human before.”

The continental conquerors, the High Humans, which once existed. The people in this world couldn’t help but to have sense of respect towards those who fought with them. The achievement of those conquerors was carved into the memory of the people without fading, even now after a long time.

The reason why the knights fought bravely was also because there were strong feelings to compete with such an existence. No one wanted to show an unsightly appearance and misbehave themselves, as such, the monster subjugation went smoothly without any arguments as a result.

Several monsters that were in the reports were among the last Skull Faces that were defeated. They still needed to confirm whether or not any monsters had been passed over with the adventurer who had been dispatched by the guild after they had left. If there was nothing, the subjugation force would return. And a surveillance network would spread out under the cooperation of each country and guild.

“It would be good if there is nothing more, but…”

Berg talked to himself, suddenly remembering an unpleasant predicament from his long life full of experience. And then he saw the casual Schnee, who seemed to be reading a letter eagerly in the open space where the raw materials of the Skull Face were scattered.

“Schnee-dono? Did something happen?”

When Berg called out, Schnee put the letter away and turned around. During that period, Berg, by chance, saw 『Blue Moon』 written on there, but he didn’t know what that was.

“No, its nothing. After this though, because I will continue searching for someone, we will mobilize separately. Please launch the magic item I gave you if you encounter a monster, since it is difficult to pinpoint the specific area.”

“Roger that.”

Schnee, after that short communication, quickly left the place.

While maintaining an unbelievable speed, even while wearing a long skirt, Schnee thought over the content written in the letter.

It was the information on the message card that was sent from Tiera, which had written that a certain person seemed to be heading to the Wraith Plains.

The name of the person was not so unusual. There were a lot of people with similar names if she thought about searching for them. However, the story was different when the person has 『Blue Moon』. There was only one such person as far as Schnee knew.

“Did you come back, and return it…”

While noticing that she herself was not calm, Schnee continued to run at full speed. Her destination was the Wraith Plains.

She was irritated because of the time taken up by the monster search. Even if it was not her main job, without skimping on it, it was the obligation of a person who had received the work, so she still went.

Her heart was getting more impatient.

She might finally meet the person whom she looked forward to the most.

That thought filled Schnee, who deeply yearned for it.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

The hunting party started in the center of Wraith Plains and lasted for several nights. Currently, Shin’s party was still in the sealed area.

“Oi, Dammit, Shin! Pecker Hollow is coming!”

“It can’t be helped, let’s withdraw right away.”

Shin and Wilhelm perceived the monster that was approaching and had Rashia and Yuzuha go outside the seal. If a person was separated by the seal barrier, it seemed that they couldn’t be sensed by the monsters inside, even if they were very close. The Pecker Hollow appeared to lose interest in Shin and the others, and after loitering around for a while it left the place in no time.

The monster, Pecker Hollow, which approached was an undead monster at level 541. A large amount of corpses were joined together by a vengeful spirit to form a large monster. It had the upper body of a mantis, with folded forelimbs like sickles, and compound eyes. Also, though it had eyes that were compounded and the forelimbs were folded like sickles, it didn’t have similar organs to a mere insect. A large amount of people’s eyes were gathered within the compound eyes, and a person’s bones were gathered together to become the form of the sickles. It had feet and hands sticking out everywhere from it’s body, and somehow or another it gave off an abominable feeling. It was such an appearance that it caused almost all female players to approach neither the field nor the dungeon at all.

And most troublesome of all was its skill, 【Deadman’s Howl】. Though this skill caused little damage, it also inflicted the disorders of: confusion, curse, and other abnormal states at the same time. Moreover, the minimum level of the abnormal states were Ⅴ, which could be said to be brutal. Anyways, it would not be so bad if it hit Shin or Wilhelm, but Rashia and Yuzuha might receive the maximum level of the abnormal states in one go.

As expected, they had to evacuate to the outside of the seal when the troublesome monster appeared, since it was too dangerous to attack it.

“Did it leave?”

Wilhelm asked.

“Just wait a little more for the time being. We will be in trouble if it comes back after hearing the sound of battle.”

If the small fry’s were included, the number of monsters that had already been defeated in battle was already more than 200 over the last several days. If Shin’s count was not wrong, Rashia should be able to learn the long-cherished 【Purification】 after one more kill.

“Are Rashia and Yuzuha alright?”

“Yes, somehow I’m already becoming accustomed to it…”

“Kuu!”

While smiling wryly at the answer from Rashia, who was strangely looking far away, and at the energetic Yuzuha, Shin searched for a presence within the range of his perception. He was able to confirm one level 343 Jack class Skull Face, two level 158 Gray Orcs, one level 177 Gel Bison, and four level 249 Ein Jackals.

Gel Bison was a monster which had a slime-like, transparent gelatinous material that adhered to the skeletal remains of a bison. When a person approaches, the gel becomes like a whip and attacks. And then, it melts the prey while eating the opponent who was immobilized.

Ein Jackal was a monster that eats tainted meat. Because of that, it joined the undead group. It had the appearance of a purple jackal of about two mels. It was a low class monster, but had demon eyes that could paralyze its opponent. It was a difficult enemy for a beginner class player who was just getting into the game.

There was no problematic Pecker Hollow in the perception range anymore. Since time had passed after it moved outside the perception range, they assumed it was safe.

As for the distance for each monster, the nearest was the Skull Face and the other monsters were at the edge of the perception range.

“There is a Skull Face nearby, but it’s level is unusual.”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s the matter?”

Wilhelm and Rashia threw a question at Shin’s remark.

“The level is 343. Did I tell you the story about that Skull Face that had a King class level? I think this monster might be similar to that.”

“Though the place here is slightly irregular, the story of a monster like that leaving from here has not been heard. However, for the past month, something strange has been happening in the kingdom.”

“…That reminds me, Ragnal-san said that events where strong undead monsters attacked the village in Beirun occurred frequently.”

Rashia, who heard about the level of the Skull Face, took out the information from the corner of her memory. Beirun was a country that was located on the other side of the Wraith Plains and the Bayreuth kingdom.

“Strong undead, huh? It seems to be related after all. And who is Ragnal-san?”

“It is the master in the bar that I brought you to. You met him once.”

“Ah! It’s that person, huh?”

He recalled the silent man from Wilhelm’s words. That time, Wilhelm certainly said he was an adventurer friend.

“Well for now, leave the story for another time. What would you do? I would feel bad leaving it alone.”

Shin said and looked at Wilhelm.

“What kind of power did it have?”

“In my personal opinion, its ability was corresponding to its level. It is necessary to be cautious, as that Skull Face had unimaginable movements. The fellow I fought before had some tricky moves.”

“We only need to beat it, huh? It shouldn’t be necessary to make Rashia cross a one-way bridge.”

“That’s a good point.”

“No, I will go too!!”

Wilhelm proposed to Shin that the two of them would knock the abnormal enemy down. But as her level raised, Rashia became confident and was filled with eagerness.

“What to do? I don’t have any problem particularly. I think Rashia will be safe as long as she carries the item I gave her.”

The two people looked at each other spontaneously.

“Indeed. Oi Rashia, do you really want to do it?”

“Of course, I can’t return home with my head held high if you protected me the whole time!!”

Was it the result of the battles over the past few days? Rashia wasn’t shaken to see a monster over level 200, let alone a zombie, as she yelled with a high-spirited voice now. Actually, even though the Skull Face outside the seal was a low level monster, it was still a level 80+, and she was able to fight it without feeling daunted now. This was the fruit of the Spartan training by Shin and Wilhelm. It was probably too much for a girl of pubescence, but unfortunately they didn’t really care about that.

“Then, let’s do it!”

“Oi, don’t get in the way as much this time.”

“I won’t.”

Shin and Wilhelm were concerned about Rashia while facing the Skull Face. Though Rashia was slower due to the speed difference, she entrusted Yuzuha and the 2 people to go ahead because she only had to deal the finishing blow.

This time the Skull Face didn’t have any strange equipment. However, the posture with the sword and shield was similar to the unique Skull Face monster that Shin had fought before.

“This fellow might be similar to the one I fought before? It’s posture is quite similar.”

“It’s doesn’t matter if it’s the same. Oraa!!”

Wilhelm, who had a long reach, began his preemptive attack.

The single blow, which was aimed at the Skull Face’s core, was caught by the round shield on its left hand. The shield produced sparks as it was being drilled into. Though 『Venom』 cut into into the round shield, the arm that held the shield had already shaken the hit off, and the trajectory of 『Venom』 veered off.

Then the Skull Face promptly unleashed a single blow with its sword. Together with the sound of cutting air, the sword was swung downward. Wilhelm quickly pulled 『Venom』back and received it. Sparks scattered from the clash.

The sound of metal interlocking sent echoes into the night around the plains. The single blow was not only packed with power but also added weight to it, causing Wilhelm to stick to the ground.

Shin, who had waited behind Wilhelm, sensed that the Skull Face tried to knock Wilhelm down using the shield arm, so right away he slashed at the Skull Face while jumping from the back to the front of the shield.

However the shield on its left arm split into two at the same time as a “Kin” sound was heard. If its reaction had been any slower after the flash, its left foot would have been cut in an instant. It was able to minimize the damage dealt at the expense of one arm, which was usually unthinkable for a normal Skull Face.

“I see, this bone bastard really is able to move surprisingly different from the usual ones, isn’t it?”

Wilhelm, who witnessed its movement, sneered while baring his fanged teeth.

In the case of the Skull Face, if the core remained, even with an arm missing, it was not a problem for Rashia to deliver the final blow. Therefore, like any other difficult to kill monster, going easy was unnecessary.

Facing the Skull Face’s capability, Wilhelm’s fighting spirit was ignited.

“Are you forgetting our objective?”

“I know. I just want to enjoy myself a little.”

“I think that’s all right, but it would be bad if you force it.”

“I’m not worried about that. This fellow still resembles a practice board to me.”

Wilhelm prepared 『Venom』 while laughing wildly again.

He lowered his center of gravity. The spearhead was slightly pulled back, and 『Venom』 was slanted diagonally upward.

His right hand held the handle, while his left hand was stretched out. His appearance right now was just like a bow about to be shot. As it matched the rising of Wilhelm’s fighting spirit, the feeling of hearing the sound of a bow being drawn to its limit was heard.

Whether the Skull Face noticed Wilhelm’s presence or not, the Skull Face took its stance again. It pulled its right leg slightly behind it and the right hand holding the sword was raised almost level to its head. The sword tip was pointed straight at the sky, and an aura that slowly swayed gathered onto the Skull Face’s body.

In front of the knight-like posture, Wilhelm raised his fighting spirit even higher.

As if the atmosphere froze, not even one of them moved. And, it was similar to the silence between the cocking and firing of a gun.

“Will!!”

“Uh!!”

The shout from Rashia shattered the frozen atmosphere.

Two shadows ran, triggered by it.

The single blow of decapitation released by the Skull Face was intercepted, and red sparks brightened the darkness. Their weapons crossed in an instant.

In the next moment, the Skull Face dropped to the ground left with only a head and body intact, with Wilhelm standing still and 『Venom』 thrusted out.

The Skull Face had what people called; a near death experience. Its arms and legs vanished and numerous crack appeared on the surface of its core, all from the aftermath of a single blow from 『Venom』. It was on the verge crumbling.

“Rashia, don’t just stand there. Quickly, end that creep.”

“I almost didn’t get a turn. What was all of my determination from earlier for?!”

Rashia was angry at the result of her being left out, because her resolve in risking her life was wasted.

“There was no other way. There was no room for you to step in.”

“Urgh, God, is this a trial?…”

Though Rashia was in a bad mood, she didn’t forget to heal the core. The aura that covered the core disappeared when it received the light of healing from Rashia, and the Skull Face completely vanished.

At the same time, a golden light enveloped Rashia’s body.

“W-What is this?”

“Rashia!?”

Rashia was confused by the sudden event. Wilhelm, who was also surprised, couldn’t move carelessly without knowing what had happened.

“No need to worry!! This effect happens when the requirement has been met and a new skill is learned!!”

Shin raised his voice to calm the two confused people down. Apparently, Shin’s calculation was not wrong, and the 200th body was the Skull Face just now.

The light effect faded away as soon as Shin raised his voice. Rashia’s gaze wandered through the space as if she became engrossed in something.

“Oi, Rashia! Are you alright?”

“Fue? Ah, yes. I’m alright.”

Wilhelm called out to her while tapping her shoulder, and she replied with a somewhat lifeless voice.

“With you staring into space like you are dazed, are you really alright?”

“I’m alright, okay. It was because the way to use the skill suddenly flowed into my head.”

“Was there any difference from the time you used the secret book?”

“Um, yes there was. The secret book somehow had a more gentle feeling to it, while this time, it was more of an abrupt feeling. But maybe that explanation is poor and difficult to understand.”

It seemed to feel differently when compared to the secret book.

For some reason, there seemed to be various effects that occurred when a person learned a skill. Because the person in question wasn’t harmed, he didn’t have to worry, but Shin just didn’t understand that feeling properly. In the first place, the experience of information flowing directly into the brain was impossible.

“Well, first of all, because you successfully acquired 【Purification】. Congratulations.”

“Indeed, you did well.”

“Kuu!”

Shin, Wilhelm and Yuzuha each gave her their blessing.

“Thank you very much. I can take care of the orphanage with this, too.”

With the acquisition of 【Purification】, the orphanage would not have to worry about the inheritance problem anymore. It was Rashia’s real feelings as she thanked them with tears in the corner of her eyes.

“Now then, let’s go to base, get some sleep, and quickly return to the Bayreuth kingdom in the morning.”

“That’s right. There is no reason to stay here any longer.”

“Yes, let’s go then.”

With each of them smiling, they went outside the seal. There were no signs of enemies around the three people and one animal.

The request ended with this. They only had to return to the kingdom now. All of the members who were there thought so.

Until that happened.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

It happened out of the blue.

Right then, in the Wraith Plains, the insects and wild animals in the night strangely went silent. Therefore, Shin noticed immediately. Yuzuha, who was on top of Shin’s head, also perceived the unusual event with its superior hearing, which was the characteristic of animals, as its ears stood up.

“Hmm? What is that sound?”

“Kuu?”

It was a sound like the wind blowing through the grass. Shin wouldn’t mind if it was only the sound of the surrounding grass rubbing against each other.

But he couldn’t help but worry if the sound was also happening at the same time as a strange noise was heard, like that of a creature being crushed.

Shin and Yuzuha came to a halt and looked back, and so they saw the grotesque scene.

“What…is that?”

“Kuu…”

“Hmm? What happened to you…guys.”

Wilhelm noticed Shin’s movements and turned around, he too was speechless as he saw the same thing.

The place where the Skull Face was just defeated before, there was now a black orb just floating there, one that did not exist until just now. It was now in the process of swallowing the Pecker Hollow. When he looked at the map screen, a huge red marker, which wasn’t there before, was now at the edge of the view. White and blue markers were displayed which indicated Shin and the others.

The Pecker Hollow was rapidly being sucked into the black orb, which was about 30 cemels wide. The volume obviously didn’t match. A crunching, cracking sound was being made, because the Pecker Hollows body was being compressed.

The Pecker Hollow, which was the prey, didn’t even raise a death cry or show any other kind of resistance. All of the faces that appeared on its body seemed to be smiling. It appeared to be pleased with being completely absorbed.

“What the hell!? What the heck is that thing!?”

“Ugh, it is disgusting…”

Rashia covered her mouth from the spectacle of a person’s face being crushed slowly, and crouched down. Wilhelm rushed to Rashia, and Shin stood between them and the black orb.

It didn’t take much more time and the Pecker Hollow was completely sucked into the orb. Simultaneously, a big tremor suddenly occurred and the ground quivered.

“Uoo!?”

“Kya!”

“Kuuu!?”

In the spur of the moment, they somehow managed to keep their balance and avoided falling. When they looked around to see what had happened, they saw a purple light blowing toward the sky from everywhere in the Wraith Plains.

From the place where the Skull Face had fallen, a sparkly light was rising to the sky.

“Beautiful…”

Rashia muttered. This sudden occurrence was indeed really wondrous and beautiful.

If only there was no mysterious black orb in front, Shin would have enjoyed it, too. However, this was not the time to enjoy the scene.

He slightly expanded his map view. He noticed that the red markers, that had progressed to the edge of the view, had disappeared from the map.

“This is…”

His turned his attention away from the map and stared in the direction of the red markers where the monsters were, using the skill 【Long Sight】, while staying cautious of the orb. Then, he saw that the Gel Bison and Ein Jackal were emitting a sudden purple light from throughout their bodies. That glittery and shining light resembled the effect that happened when an undead monster was killed during the time in the game.

The monster, which was emitting light from its body, gradually lost it outline, and a short time later it would vanish like it was dissolved into the air.

And that, the light, which painted an arc in the atmosphere, was absorbed by the black orb.

Shin and Wilhelm who saw the scene moved to protect Rashia. While wary of their surroundings, they looked at the orb in front of them.

“Shit, its sucking the demon essence in!”

“Demon essence?”

“Ah! That light, the demon’s essence, is what moves the undead. Because it’s disappeared, it becomes impossible to maintain the body.”

“I see.”

After a while, all of the demon essence that the atmosphere contained was absorbed into the orb. Then the sphere whirled up into the sky and stopped at a height of about 10 mels from the ground. At the same time, a dark aura spread around the orb. It gradually took shape, and bones like a Skull Face were formed. In addition, it expanded to several times the size of a regular Skull Face. It was covered with jet black armor, and the aura filled the space between the bones and the armor. It only took 10 seconds.

A Skull Face more than 10 mels in height appeared before Shin and his party.

If it didn’t have a skeleton head attached, it would remind them of a valor knight. It was unimaginable that the ornament on the armor was made from the aura.

But from the body, there was a sinister aura rising up. It was definite evidence that it was an undead.

And, its burning look in front of Shin and the party caused their bodies to freeze from tension.

―――― 『Lord Skull Face Lv. 804』

When Shin activated 【Analyze • Ⅹ】, it displayed to him its name and its level.

The level’s numerical value was considered a high ranking enemy, even in THE NEW GATE.

“Level 804. Is it this dungeon’s boss?”

Shin was calmly asking himself this, but Wilhelm intensely responded.

“Oi, the level you said just now, was that true?”

“Yes, no doubt about it.”

“That…it is at a level that can destroy a country!?”

“Kururuuu!!”

Yuzuha openly raised a roar to try to intimidate it, but Wilhelm and Rashia couldn’t hide their shaking from the impossible numerical value. Except those monsters that stayed in the Sacred Place, since the Dusk of the Majesty, the monster with the highest confirmed level didn’t even reach level 600. Moreover, even that monster destroyed several countries at that time.

“B-But there is the seal and it is not possible to get out, right?”

“I wonder.”

When Shin replied to the anxious voice of Rashia, the Lord finally moved.

Its arm of several mels length bent and it clenched its fist. And then, while slightly bending its knee, it drew its fist toward the sky in an uppercut-like form.

A dry sound, “gashari”, was made at the same time its arm finished expanding. The invisible barrier that was thought to be covering the sky made a breaking sound and scattered like the demon essence from before, as witnessed by Shin and his party.

“Damn, the seal is finished.”

“Ah! Perhaps it was shattered by a single blow just now.”

“O-Oh no…”

The seal that was supposed to keep high-level monsters inside was disappointedly broken too easily. Rashia probably lost her strength as she fell backwards onto her buttocks.

The eyes of the Lord which had been sucking the demon essence captured the sight of Shin and the others.

“Hii!!”

“Kuu…”

“Oi, it looked over here…”

Wilhelm swallowed his saliva down.

“Indeed.”

It had no eyeballs, but Shin and the others were certain that they were being looked at. Rashia turned pale and trembled at the pressure.

Wilhelm held Rashia who was at a loss, and got ready to escape.

“GuuuuUUUUUU―――――――GaaaAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!”

The Lord let out a warcry as if it would not let any of them go. Shin put himself on guard as he felt the physical weight from the volume of the voice, while Yuzuha shrank its body, Wilhelm was forced to his knees, and Rashia covered her ears while crouching down.

“That roar, damn, it won’t let us get away huh?”

“No, it’s different. Look at the surroundings!”

Almost at the same time Shin raised his voice, white bones thrusted out, one after another, from the ground.

Obviously it was the arm of a humanoid monster. When the ground was gripped firmly, it dragged out its main body from the ground.

A skeleton that was wrapped in a rustic armor came out. Needless to say, it was a Skull Face. They ranged from the Jack, Queen, and the King class. One by one they emerged from the ground until it became a huge uproar. Additionally, each of the individual monsters was two times larger than normal, as the King class was close to 8 mels tall. The number of Skull Faces filling up the plains had already almost reached that of an army.

The aura that was given off by each individual combined, and the entire plains was dyed black.

The emergence of the Skull Faces was happening all over the plains, the surrounding area around Shin and his party was already overflowing with Skull Faces.

“Will!! What to do, Will!!”

“Calm down! Don’t panic about what we have to do! Oi Shin, let’s break through to escape right away!”

“No, I will stay.”

“Ah? What are you saying, you bastard. Do you want to die!?”

Wilhelm, who was irritated at Shin’s awfully calm speech, tried to grab Shin’s shoulder. Though he put power in it, to make him turn around, Shin didn’t move an inch as if Wilhelm was grabbing a gigantic mass of rock.

Shin, then turned around slowly, while calmly releasing the 【Limit】.

“Uo!?”

“Kyaa!”

Wilhelm and Rashia opened their eyes wide at the torrent of power that was given off by Shin.

“I cannot leave this fellow alone. I will open a path so that Wilhelm and Rashia can go ahead toward the kingdom before me.”

“This power…what the hell are you?”

“There is no time to talk about it now. In addition, I have some personal business with this fellow. I don’t want you guys to be dragged into this because that would be bad, so please just get away as far as you can.”

Shin said that while accumulating magic power in both hands. Wilhelm was not able to argue against the overwhelming density.

“Dammit, it can’t be helped then. I will take Rashia and that fox with me. Do I need to collect the item at the base?”

“If it’s possible then that would be nice, but I’m not bothered if it’s lost.”

“Then let’s start quickly. I will properly hear the circumstances when you come back!”

“Ah, I understand. Because I will put a body strengthening buff on you, your speed will be faster than usual. Don’t fall down, okay?”

“Hah! Who the hell do you think you are talking to!! Hey, this fox, it doesn’t want to be separated from you.”

When Wilhelm pulled on Yuzuha, Shin’s face was also pulled.

“Adadadada! Hey Yuzuha! Don’t cling there.”

“Kuu!! Kuu~!!”

Yuzuha, who disliked it, barked. It desperately clung, as if to say it didn’t want to leave Shin.

“Oi, what are you gonna do?”

“Yuzuha…”

By telepathy, Yuzuha’s strong feeling of not wanting to leave him was transmitted to Shin.

“…Sigh, I guess I don’t have any choice. Do you really never want to be separated?”

“Kuu!!”

Yuzuha, on top of Shin’s head, barked again. It was full of motivation.

“Have you settled your discussion? Then let’s be quick.”

“Ah sorry for the wait! Then let’s do this!!”

The body strengthening buff was put on Wilhelm, and while facing toward the direction of the base, Shin released a skill.

It was the lightning system magic skill, 【Lightning Bunker】.

2 parallel lines of very thick lightning bolts, with several mels diameter, were released towards the group of Skull Faces, and they instantly changed into charcoal. The lightning attack made a path through the encirclement of Skull Faces, while Shin maintained the skill.

“Go!!”

Wilhelm kicked the ground at the signal from Shin’s voice. With his leg strength raised by Shin’s buff, he ran through the breakthrough with enough force to leave an afterimage.

“Kyaaaa!!!――――――――ーーーーーーー…”

Rashia screamed at the excessive speed, but it was immediately inaudible. Since the edge of the seal was close by, with Wilhelm’s speed, it probably wouldn’t take much time to get outside of the encirclement of the Skull Faces army. Though swords and spears were thrown by the separate Skull Faces outside the range of the lightning attack, they were repelled by 『Venom』while their speed was maintained.

“Is he gone?”

“Kuu.”

He confirmed that the figures of the two people had disappeared and cancelled the 【Lightning Bunker】. He had killed dozens of Skull Faces, but a large amount of Skull Faces closed up the holes as soon as he cancelled the skill.

The opponents were the subordinates of the Lord Skull Face; Jack class, Queen class, and King class.

The glaring Lord didn’t pay any attention to Rashia and Wilhelm at all, it was focused on Shin the whole time.

There was no monster called Lord Skull Face according to Shin’s knowledge. There were no monsters that exceeded level 800 that Shin didn’t know of, in other words, it was a totally new monster. It was not an enemy that he could judge just from its level.

However, anything like an unknown enemy could become the key for Shin to return to his original world, so there was a possibility that some new information or something could be obtained. Since those possibilities existed, Shin didn’t have the option to run away.

“Now then, should we go this way?”

“Kuuー!!”

Shin prepared his katana, and while feeling that Yuzuha’s voice was reliable, he began to run toward the large army of Skull Face.

If one could say it with one word, it would be, “slaughter”.

Bones shattering, swords breaking, and armors that became lumps of mere iron fell to the ground.

Several deep cracks and gouges scarred the ground, which were unimaginable, since he caused them without using magic.

It was all due to Shin swinging his katana.

“Woosh!”

He kept swinging his katana without using any skills. He cut the cores right in half, those of more than 10 Skull Faces just like that, and they became demon essences as they disappeared.

In addition, he also crushed the swords and armors.

Whenever the katana drew an arc in the plains, where the moonlight shined, the Skull Faces were knocked down, like a sand castle crumbling.

If it were normal adventurers, to defeat a King class, they must be prepared for dozens of sacrifices. But now, it was just a wooden figure in this place.

Like casually cutting down the grass that grows too much, the Skull Faces were definitely being killed.

“Kuoooooo!!”

Not only was Shin attacking, Yuzuha, who took a position on top of Shin’s head, was also breathing out pale flames from its mouth and burning the enemy to ash.

It was a skill exclusive to monsters, 【Fox Fire】. It was a red flame, but an Element Tail originally spit out blue flames. Though it seemed difficult for the present Yuzuha, a diverse attack could be drawn out from the tails in the case of the adults with the original appearance of level 1000. As for the Element Tail, each one of their tails takes charge of either fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, light, or dark magic skills, as well as physical attacks, and magic system skills. It was like fighting multiple enemies from the opponent’s point of view.

The only tail that Yuzuha seemed to be able to control was the magic system skill, which strengthened the【Fox Fire】. Because it was not a skill that a player could use, it was simply based on the image that Yuzuha imagined.

“Man, there are too many enemies.”

“Kuu.”

Even though Shin and Yuzuha had already defeated more than 100 Skull Faces, they had hardly moved from their original spot. There were too many monsters. Moreover, even though each of them was bigger than usual, the gap from the defeated was quickly filled.

It felt like an eternity as he was doing the same thing again and again, like digging sand from the bottom of an hourglass and putting it back on top.

Apparently the Lord Skull Face, the boss, after making a massive amount of Skull Faces appear, withdrew to the center of the Wraith Plains. The plains stretched dozens of kemels from one end to another. Shin was at the edge of the plains, so no appearance of the Lord came into his range of view.

Having withdrawn to lure in the exhausted Shin, it might have started to prepare something.

Shin thought about how to make the enemy come out, while flourishing his katana and Yuzuha spat out flames. In the plains, which were dyed in black aura, only the circumference around Shin was cut out, like exposed skin.

“We shouldn’t overdo it too much?”

“Kuu!”

It looked like one person and one animal were going to be swallowed by the black muddy stream, if seen from the edge. But they talked in a carefree voice, which was inconceivable in this situation.

While chatting, Shin used a slashing attack to hit the Skull Faces, and the black muddy stream was pushed back on the contrary.

No enemy could break through the barrier-like, slashing attack in this place. Just like the Skull Face who fought with Wilhelm before, most of the Skull Faces were expert classes in footwork and sword techniques, but it could only gain them a little time. Rather, it was pathetic that they were no match for Shin.

“It’s no good, huh? The places where the enemies emerge from is too vast.”

Shin used the detection system skills together to scan the surrounding information. Thanks to his flashy actions, a lot of Skull Faces in the plains were gathered around Shin. But Shin perceived that there were some individuals leaving the plains; ignoring the battle.

And apparently there was a big reaction, so presumably there was a King class among them too.

“I’m gonna kick it up a notch. Hold on tight!”

“Kuu!!”

The powerful 『Red Chidori』 was swung around, and the surrounding Skull Faces disappeared.

While holding the 『Red Chidori』 in his left hand, he extended his arm behind him and made a throwing posture. The lighting that had run through 『Red Chidori』’s blade previously couldn’t be compared to the present. The katana blade, that was clad in red lightning, was completely luminescent in and of itself, and brightened the surroundings as if it emitted light. The sound of metal creaking could be heard; it was the shriek of the katana’s blade due to an excessive amount of magic power being poured into it. With his improved stats, it was impossible for the Legend grade weapon to endure Shin’s magic power.

Maybe sensing high density magic power mixing with the light, the Skull Faces hesitated to approach.

And, that hesitation gave Shin enough room to make his preparation.

Katana technique lightning combined skill, 【Hien Raikiri】.

It was a mixture of martial arts skill and magic skill. Then, the combo was put together into a single blow released by Shin.

The 『Red Chidori』 was thrown with strength that could be called inhuman, while also spreading out a shock wave. There was no kind of resistance in ripping apart the Skull Faces crowded together.

The red lighting immediately spread out in all directions from the katana’s blade, moving toward the Skull Faces that became ashes one after another. The appearance was totally like a Hydra. A lightning-like red Hydra was trampling down the black wave with ultra high speed. It felt like the Skull Faces were voluntarily sacrificing themselves to the jaws of the lightning.

After the 『Red Chidori』 flew, a road with a width of about 10 mels was formed, and the ground was cut into from the shock wave and lightning.

Shin immediately ran on that road.

He aimed toward the center of the plains. To the Lord Skull Face.

If he defeated it or destroyed the dungeon core, Shin expected that this turmoil would be settled.

(If Schnee was here, I could have done something different.)

He thought so momentarily, but there was no point in asking for too much. He changed his mindset into that only he could do it now.

He took out a new weapon, and unsheathed it from its scabbard, while speeding up.

It was a 《Mythology》 grade, extra long katana, named 『Hamon Hirumaki』.

It was Japan’s number one long katana. Its full length surpassed 3 mels, if the hilt was included, and the katana’s blade reflected the moonlight in the darkness. Though it’s a little different from the actual name, depending on the person, they would be reminded of 『Nenekirimaru』 when they heard the name.

『Hamon Hirumaki』 has a high anti-undead ability as was expected from that anecdote. It had an attack that boasted a ranged attack which was not inferior to a spear due to it having a very long blade.

“Fhew!!”

It was a simple cut, the same as the katana from before. But the Skull Faces that vanished appeared to be no match from a while ago.

The 『Hamon Hirumaki』 was originally a weapon that needed 800 STR or more for it to be swung properly, and it possessed a cutting ability that could cleave a low-level dragon’s head off only with its own weight. If it was swung by a physical strength that surpassed the max stats by a player like Shin, the power was immeasurable.

The blade cut the air, and even the shock wave was impacted into the surrounding objects, splintering them altogether. The Skull Faces had no chance against it. The magnitude of power was different from the start. It was already a disaster for the Skull Faces. Large scale storms, earthquakes, floods and so on; the overwhelming destruction that one could not go against.

The present Shin was exactly like that.

He charged through the gauged-out ground at a speed faster than the slow progress from the situation before.

Though the Skull Faces filled the gap made by 『Hamon Hirumaki』 , this time he didn’t get stranded or stuck.

“Be gone!!”

Then Shin invoked a magic skill.

Wind system magic skill, 【Air Barret】.

It was a skill that made a about 30 ~ 40 cemels mass of wind that was launched in any direction, it had enough power that it could shoot down small flight monsters. However, Shin was not satisfied with only that much power. All of the wind masses that were fired randomly all around exceeded 2 mels, that power could easily blow away the Skull Faces that wore light armor. The Skull Faces flew into the sky like bowling pins, and there was no dignity as a monster of fear remaining anymore.

As he headed toward the center of the plains, the number of Skull Faces that faced Shin multiplied. The majority of the map displayed in Shin’s view was red, and it was impossible to count the number of enemies.

While the white marker, which indicated himself, broke-through the red dyed tainted map on the edge of the view, Shin rushed forward.

The orb that had absorbed the Pecker Hollow appeared in his mind. Since then, the Skull Faces that emerged were certainly strong. But the abilities to strengthen its subordinates and respawn them was not unusual to some degree for a boss monster. Judging from the standards of this world, it would be extremely brutal, but Shin had experienced a larger scale if put on a scale. For this reason, while Shin swung his long katana, he wondered whether he could defeat the enemy as smoothly as that.

(There is no disadvantage in being cautious.)

He reserved his energy while he annihilated the enemies. It was possible since his stats were raised from the game era. Shin was surely powerful. But sometimes quantity exceeded quality. Regardless of how many of his stats were maxed, Shin was not invincible, nor immortal either. He could do nothing but die if killed.

“――――――――――――――――――――!!!!!!”

A roar resounded throughout the plains. With a high frequency like-signal, a large amount of hands started coming out of the ground.

The origin of the roar was the Lord Skull Face. Due to that roar, no matter how much he reduced the number of Skull Faces by, it didn’t matter. Whenever it made a sound, new Skull Faces emerged from the ground.

“Again?”

He muttered while feeling that the source of the roar was nearby. He had the urge to use a wide area annihilation magic skill to blow off the excessive number that sprang out, but he endured it because he couldn’t use it carelessly.

In this world, range and power were not the same as in the game. Even with the basic magic skill that Shin learned, especially with his stats, its power might be in an intermediate class or higher if he lost control. What scale could it become if he used the wide area magic at the highest class? It was unimaginable. A forest might vanish by mistake, so it was not a laughing matter.

The ability that rose remarkably at this moment, was restrained and became a burden while Shin fought.

(If it was only me here, I might do that.)

While seeing green markers displayed on the map, Shin invoked a magic skill.

Flame system magic skill, 【Ember Flame】.

By the way, the green marker expressed a neutral player or NPC who was neither friend nor enemy. In other words, it showed that this place had someone other than Shin.

Countless fireballs appeared high in the sky above Shin, they rained down over the Skull Faces that surrounded Shin and the green markers. The fireballs generated intense heat the moment they touched an object without exploding and would disappear. The Skull Faces that received a direct hit from the fireballs looked like bee nests and vanished.

Because it didn’t spread flames, there were little flying sparks near the surroundings. And he didn’t need to put up with any clouds of dust due to the explosions. Thus, he didn’t relax on the aiming even if there was a considerable distance.

Though Shin didn’t know it, it was the adventurers who had been dispatched to observe the Wraith Plains, the knights squadron. They accidentally encountered the Skull Faces which had left the plains, and it became a state of war.

“That’s bad.”

The Skull Faces’ bigger physiques that Shin was fighting in his surrounding area interfered with his field of vision, so he couldn’t see well, but they seemed to be receiving Shin’s protection and were fighting well when he saw the movements of the marker. The level of the Skull Faces crowding around the green markers were about 300; fortunately it were the weak classes of Skull Faces that had been strengthened. However, there were Skull Faces exceeding level 500 that were approaching from the rear.

No matter how much he supported them with a magic skill, the distance was too far and there was a limit. Shin had learned to use combinations of skills, so he was able to sense it because the perception range had been expanded. He might be able to go if he could fly, but a skill that enabled flight was nonexistent in THE NEW GATE, so it was not possible to ‘fly’ even if it was possible to ‘jump’ using a skill.

“Why are they approaching in this direction? Did they not hear the roar?”

While clad in the storm of his blade as usual, he changed his course toward the green marker. He didn’t know who they were, but he couldn’t abandon them.

“Kuu?”

“Do you want to help?” As if Yuzuha asked, and answered “They will die before you arrive”, as he defeated the nearby enemies with a magic skill. Though the red marker indicated that the Skull Faces disappeared, multiple individuals of the red appeared immediately from the ground.

“Tsk, there is not enough time!!”

He collected magic power in his hands in order to save those who were surrounded.

The moment Shin was about to release his magic skill, a blue lightning bolt exploded ahead of Shin’s point of view.

It was the same lightning system magic skill that he used when Shin let Wilhelm and Rashia escape, 【Lightning Bunker】.

The lightning passed near the green markers at point-blank range, and defeated the nearby Skull Faces. Not one wound was inflicted on the adventurers, while all the surrounding enemies were destroyed.

Shin felt relief for that situation for a short time, but he was momentarily unable to take his eyes off of it, due to the color of the marker and the name displayed.

The color of the marker was blue. The color that indicated a friend.

The displayed name was 【Schnee Raizar】.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

The blue marker, that showed Schnee, approached the green markers. It was likely that they were told to leave, as the green markers left the plains immediately. And then, the blue marker instantly changed direction towards Shin. It pushed forward in a straight line.

Though she was slower than Shin, almost all of the Skull Faces that bumped into her were instantly killed.

Silently killing and cutting the approaching Skull Faces, Shin also went toward Schnee. However, his steps were heavy. There was a hint that she remembered him in the letter from Tiera, but he didn’t know what to say when they met again.

Schnee, in the game era, didn’t converse more than what she was programmed to. As a support character, although he had raised her charm setting to the max, he had no idea if that had affected her personality.

If he thought about it, the store had been left neglected. As it was, there hadn’t even been any news from him for 500 years. What did she think of Shin? It was impossible to guess. Instead, it would not be strange if she was angry and hated him.

But without thinking about it too much, Schnee arrived at Shin’s position.

――――While a black skeleton squirmed, the two people had their reunion.

Whether it sensed something or not, the Skull Faces’ movements stopped.

Even if it tried to move right away, it couldn’t move forward; as if it was blocked by a totally invisible wall. Though Shin, while perplexed, also noticed the surroundings, he was hit lightly by paws on his forehead as some kind of interaction. Judging from the thoughts that flowed to him, Yuzuha seemed to have erected a barrier somehow. It didn’t seem like it would be able to hold for a long time, but it was not the situation for a lengthy reunion, so it was not a problem.

When he conveyed “Sorry”, the feeling of the thought “It’s all right” was returned. The fox could indeed read the atmosphere.

That exchange of thoughts was finished in an instant, and Shin changed his attention to Schnee again.

While her silver hair swayed from the wind, Schnee stared right at Shin.

Seeing that, Shin thought, ‘She hasn’t changed at all’ which was indeed an ordinary impression. The silver, shining hair, the transparent blue eyes, and even the clothes she wore; not one thing had changed from the last time they parted.

“…Have you been well?”

Though he thought he should say something else, only those words came out from his mouth.

Those were foolish words, he thought to himself. If the game had been over though, he wouldn’t have met her again, an NPC. So he had been curious.

In a sense, she was the longest-lasting friend he had in the game, and the one he held the most affection for. She was totally similar to a player even if he only saw her because of the VR(Virtual Reality). Therefore, in the VR-world, where the SF(Science Fiction) was excellent, the AI could be equipped with a conversation function…and so on, he thought.

“…………”

Schnee didn’t answer.

Her eyes became watery, and her lips pressed together tightly, as if to suppress something. Seeing the figure which was desperately enduring tears, Shin panicked.

“Schnee…tsu!?”

The moment he called out her name, the flash of silver flickered.

He was embraced affectionately by Schnee, and Shin received an impact that was far stronger than expected. It seems that the outstanding stats, even among his support characters, was not for show. As expected, he almost yelled out “Gofuu!!” but barely endured it.

“Sc-Schnee?”

“Don’t you have something to say?”

Embraced tightly, Shin’s spine almost screamed in pain. Even if the question was asked abruptly, in this situation where he was surrounded by enemies, he couldn’t think of anything.

“Um, sorry for neglecting you until nowAaa!?”

“That’s not it.”

“Gisiri” sound was made, as the force emitted by her arms intensified.

“T-Thank you for protecting the store!?”

“That’s not it.”

The force from her arms grew further. It was not an apology, nor even gratitude.

What was it then? What does he need to say?

Shin frantically ran through his memories.

He recalled back to when he came into this world, the last thing that came into his mind was the expression of Schnee weeping and the place everyone once spent time together called ‘Tsuki no Hokora’, which she continued to protect.

(Ah..I see)

From there, it became simple.

What was he really thinking about before, he wanted to laugh at himself.

These were words that he would say in the game, and he had to say them now.

He left the store, disappeared, and then came back.

The first thing he should have said――――

“…I’m home.”

“Welcome back.”

◆◆◆◆◆◆

“I’m home.”

Schnee ended the hug with Shin after hearing these words.

There were no tears anymore in her eyes. It was the usual calm expression, that Shin knew well.

“I thought you wouldn’t come home anymore.”

“…Indeed. I also thought that I wouldn’t meet you again.”

He had understood this at the time he left the shop. If the death game was cleared, the data for both Tsuki no Hokora and the support characters would be deleted. He would never be able to meet Schnee, or her real side again if that had happened.

Even though NPC’s could only receive it in the program as an example, Shin felt that it was the parting that was painful.

It was very difficult to express it in words.

No love and affection. The friendship would also be different.

More data, it could be said she was less than a human being. It was too complex, and personally Shin didn’t properly understand it either.

“Kyuu~”

A cry that lost strength, for the two people, resounded in the serious atmosphere. When Shin turned his eyes upward, he saw the figure of an exhausted Yuzuha above his head.

Apparently, by keeping the barrier up, it seemed to have reached its limit somehow. The barrier shattered, and they noticed the Skull Faces pouring in toward them.

“Though there is a lot to talk about, let’s get this situation under control for the time being.”

“Well. I had forgotten about it a little because of our reunion after such a long time.”

“Kuu~”

While smiling wryly at Yuzuha’s bark that said, “I will leave the rest to you~”, the two people faced the Skull Faces.

“The first blow. I want to execute something big.”

“Let’s do it. Now is just the right time.”

Shin said with a broad grin, and Schnee, with a pleasant smile, laughed. Then they held their hands up toward the sky.

“The manifestation for one to become pure.”

“The manifestation for one that becomes eternal.”

They invoked a magic system skill that was exclusive to cooperation.

Only 2 or more players, or support characters, were able to use it.

The name was ――――

“Sanctuary!!”

The chant melted the darkness.

And immediately the effect was visible in the sky above the whole area of the plains.

An enormous magic formation was drawn in the night sky.

Shin and Schnee. It could be said that no one in this world could rival these two people’s cooperation skills. That effect was more than enough to exceed the usage of skills of ordinary skill users by far.

Before the Skull Faces reached Shin, light shined from the heavens.

It cut the darkness, illuminated the earth, and the light cleared away the world’s impurity in the plains as the ones that were wriggling were purified without mercy. That light spread temporarily even into the veil of night, and it shone upon the whole plains as if the sun had suddenly appeared.

“AAaaaaa――――…”

Although various individual Skull Faces were hit by the light, most became sparkling demon essences and vanished. But as expected, the Lord wasn’t killed it seems. Though the unpleasant voice resounded throughout the plains, the moment the Skull Faces sprang out from the ground, they were exposed to the light of purification and disappeared instantly.

The two people’s magic power, which fueled the magic formation, kept pouring out as it was maintained for several seconds without fading away, it continued shining upon the ground with a powerful and gentle light. Under such conditions, it seemed that the Skull Faces couldn’t even act properly. The red markers that were swept away from the map were reflected in Shin’s field of vision, and a beautiful field was able to be perceived.

“Now then, since the nuisances are all gone, let’s move onto the elimination of the main culprit.”

“Does Master know the cause of this phenomenon?”

“Ah, it was caused by the monster named Lord Skull Face. Though I saw it for the first time just now, do you know anything about it?”

“…No, I too just heard of it now for the first time.”

Shin thought Schnee, who spent a long time in this world, would know something, but Schnee didn’t have any idea someway or another.

Since the Skull Faces disappeared, there was nothing that blocked the way to the Lord anymore.

They checked their equipment quickly and ran toward the target. Yuzuha had become completely energetic due to the recovery effect of 【Sanctuary】, and watched their surroundings while on top of Shin’s head.

Shin would have liked to hand over 『Blue Moon』 to Schnee, but it was already given over to Tiera, so instead a powerful anti-Lord ninja katana and dagger were handed over. Though the main job of Schnee was a Kunoichi(a female version of a ninja), she was able to equip any weapon she liked such as a ninja katana and dagger, because there was no equipment restriction on weapons due to her job. Most players were satisfied if their support character could use at most 2 or 3 types. However, Schnee was the support character of Shin, so unfortunately only 2 or 3 types of weapon mastery was out of the question.

She held the ninja katana in her right hand, the dagger in her left, and ran at full speed alongside Shin towards the Lord.

“I saw it.”

They ran through the plains with overwhelming speed, and the two arrived at the place where the Lord was. Now, due to the downpour of the light, demon essence flickered from the whole body of the Lord. It was kneeling on one knee, and the armor, which covered its whole body, was cracked in several places. Its HP gauge was about half-full. Great damage was already dealt to it even though they hadn’t attacked it directly, due to the powerful skill Shin and Schnee released together, which at the same time was its weak point.

“GGUUUuuuuu…”

It looked down at the two people while roaring. The demon-flames that lit up the interior of the skeleton, now in this situation, emitted an ominous light. As expected from a monster whose level exceeded 800, the pressure it exerted could not be neglected.

“I wanted to ask it various questions, but it seems that it can’t talk.”

Shin muttered in front of the Lord again. From the beginning, he didn’t expect that he could talk to it directly, but the monster itself didn’t exist in the game, so he observed its whole body in the hope that it might shed some light on information that he didn’t know.

Its appearance gave off the impression of an upgraded King class Skull Face, although it was tattered. Including the information from 【Analyze】, it was still of the higher kind of Skull Face.

“Either way, since the start, it was an opponent that must be defeated.”

“Indeed…I’m about to begin.”

“Roger.”

Following Schnee’s response, the Lord, which was preparing a counter attack, was attacked.

The Lord’s hand reached out and grasped a deep dark-colored greatsword out of thin air, and unleashed a powerful slash at the two people who broke through the front. Towards the blow that cut through the air, Shin stepped forward and readied the long katana to cross blades.

Due to the sudden acceleration and weight of the long katana, combined with Shin’s flashy physical strength, the middle part of the Lord’s greatsword collided and clashed against his katana.

When the steel frames collided, a thunderous sound was emitted. The Lord barely managed to keep its hand on the greatsword, which had bent backwards as a result of the clash. Schnee, who held two blades, prepared to approach the almost defenseless body of the Lord.

Sword system martial arts skill 【Blade Breaker】, suddenly appeared.

It was a skill that was highly effective against an opponent that was resistant to slashing attacks. Shin gave Schnee the 《Mythology》 grade ninja katana 『Lazuline Flame』, and the dagger 『Scarlet Flame』. Two flame colors, red and blue, left a trail while the two blades drew an arc through the air. Every time the armor of the Lord was smashed, the interior was exposed.

Inside, the broken armor was filled with a tar-like black liquid. It pulsated as if the thing itself had purpose. At the same time, as she was crushing the armor, it stretched toward Schnee.

“Uh!”

Schnee, who sensed the impending crisis in the form of a black tentacle, gave up the chase and retreated momentarily. The black tentacle that approached her was repelled by the two swords, and she withdrew from the tentacle range.

“Its attack is like the Gel Bison’s.”

When he saw the black tentacle emerging from the Skull Face, Shin was reminded of the monster in the plains, the Gel Bison. Was this because the Gel Bison was turned into demon essence and absorbed by the black orb? It immediately came into his mind.

(Don’t tell me, it’s able to use the abilities of all the monsters it absorbed?)

It was an assumption that he didn’t want to be correct, if possible. Undead monsters had many things that resembled a unique characteristic, and almost none of them relied on endurance to fight. Gel Bison did not really have much of a special attack, but Shin was worried about the monster that was absorbed first, the Pecker Hollow.

“No need to hold back.”

Confirming that Schnee had withdrawn, he gathered magic power in his left hand.

In the following moment, crimson flames were fired toward the Lord from Shin’s hand.

It was fired without chanting, flame system magic skill 【Flare Volcano】.

A roaring flame that exceeded the Lord’s height by dozens of mels ran through it in a flash, as it directly hit the Lord who couldn’t even properly move anymore.

It was burnt by two different kinds; the light of purification and the crimson flame, and the Lord was destroyed soon after it raised a death cry. The flames were extinguished after a while, and they left a trace of muddy melted earth from the high temperature that extended horizontally in a straight line.

“Is it over?”

He fired it with the intention of defeating it. However, Shin felt a strong sense of something being wrong, for the ‘strangely too quick’ end of the act.

Schnee might also have felt the same, as she didn’t let her guard down.

Shin, who carried 『Hamon Hirumaki』 on his shoulder, activated the detection system skill to the max. The demon essence in the atmosphere became dense as a result of the battle, and they concentrated on the flow of demon essence that they didn’t sense until now. Thereupon, they noticed the unnatural flow of the surrounding demon essence. The demon essence of the Skull Faces that had fallen didn’t dissolve in the air, but was absorbed into the earth. Not just one or two bodies, but it could be said that it was almost all of them.

“…Beneath us!”

The moment Shin turned his attention to the underground, a large shaking hit the 2 people.

A small red marker appeared on the map at the same time that Shin looked at it. It’s size increased along with the earthquake, until finally, it’s size exceeded that of the Lord.

“Master.”

“Ah, it looks like this is it’s true form.”

A black orb pierced through the ground and appeared simultaneously with Shin’s words. Unlike the time when he saw it earlier, this black orb had red lines drawn upon it; traveling like blood vessels and pulsating like a heart.

“The one that came up a while ago was just an empty shell, huh?”

That explained why the Lord fell so quickly. Apparently, the empty shell was just a decoy so it could gather the demon essences in the entire plains for the main body.

After the appearance of the black orb, a noticeably larger shake occurred. Gigantic arms emerged in sequence, with which it was even possible to grab a King class Skull Face. 3 pairs, or 6 arms, gripped the ground and dragged its main body out.

Its head was decorated with twisted horns, its body was a collection of Skull Faces, its lower body had the impression of a crustacean with 4 pairs of legs, and it had 5 scorpion-like tails.

It might still have obtained the ability of the Pecker Hollow, too. Its total length exceeded 20 mels, so judging from that standard, it was different from a conventional Skull Face.

As the orb was absorbed and it fused with the gigantic body, a demon-fire lit-up inside its eye sockets.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA――――――――!!!!!!!”

The roar emitted was also accompanied by a shock-wave. Though Shin and Schnee were exceptions, it would not be strange if whole bodies of average adventurers were blown away just from the wind pressure.

“Seriously?”

“It’s look like it.”

“If that’s the case, we should get serious too.”

Facing the Lord who issued its roar, Shin also changed his equipment. He selected the same equipment from when he challenged Origin before, using the shortcut system which registered a specific set, and changed his equipment instantaneously.

Deep crimson arm guards and leg guards covered his hands and legs, and a fluttering black long coat that had a muffler with red lightning streaks going down it appeared.

The scabbard of the 《Ancient》 grade katana,『True Moon』 was removed from its clasp, and the thumb of his left hand flexed out slightly so he could instantly draw out the katana.

With the change of equipment, Shin’s presence also changed with the new appearance.

Was it the equipment’s effect or that his focus changed? It gave off an overpowering feeling that wasn’t there a short while ago, due to the figure that was wrapped in red and black body armor.

The demon-flames, upon seeing Shin’s appearance and the glare from the two people, momentarily flickered in a big way. An intimidating feeling was given off by Shin, which was doubled due to the pressure received from his presence as well as from his new equipment set.

“…Let’s go.”

Loosening his katana for immediate use, his right hand was affixed to the handle.

He invoked 【Shukuchi】 silently, and instantly rushed into the Lord’s proximity.

The four arms swung toward Shin. Each held a jet black greatsword that was like solid darkness. It was clear that they possessed a heavy mass, and that was not a false impression as they each created a tornado in their wake.

The greatswords reached Shin first. The moment the greatswords entered the katana’s proximity, the handle vanished from the sheath and a red trail drew an arc in the air.

The four greatswords were intercepted despite only one sound reverberating. Shin jumped onto the Lord’s chest, as all the greatswords were repelled by the katana’s power.

The Lord was going to defend itself with its two remaining arms, but it felt a slight chill and right away re-routed one of its arms to over its head. Without any pause, metals clashed, and a sound reverberated as large sparks instantly flew.

It was an attack from Schnee’s 『Lazuline Flame』, an attack that hit the Lord’s blind spot. It made use of a strong point of ninjas, as the highest rank of assassins, as it was not easy to exchange attacks from the blind spot. However, undead monsters originally didn’t depend on senses. That reaction couldn’t have existed without the Lord’s perception skill that was strengthened outside of specifications. Though Schnee objectively understood the ability itself from that movement, it was also enough to understand just how much the Lord deviated from the standard of monsters called Skull Face.

“After all, it really is different from the existing monsters, huh?”

She landed using the recoil from the blow exchange, and analyzed the opponent’s ability while exchanging blows with the tails from the blind spot.

The pursuit of Schnee was slow due to Shin who landed on its chest. Though the Lord tried to intercept Shin with its other arm, the previous four arms and the one greatsword left couldn’t catch or do anything to Shin. The remaining greatsword was broken by a single blow from 【Blade Breaker】, and the Lord retreated several mels from that aftermath. The single blow from Shin, who was no longer going easy, became an unbelievable offensive power that corresponding to the stats that rose, showed the overwhelming force difference.

Even Schnee, who knew of Shin’s ability well, was astonished at that power.

“Swish!!”

The Lord, which while retreating earlier prepared its posture began a pursuit of Shin. The Lord, which had lost its weapons earlier, crossed its arms in a defense posture. When the katana swung down toward the Lord with its arms guarded, it created sparks as all of the arms were cut off and were blown away.

“GURUAAAAAAAA!!!!”

The tails approached with a war cry, and began attacking Shin in earnest. The four tails had saw-like blades attached, and although they struck out from every direction, Shin jumped toward the Lord before the pointed ends arrived.

A strike from its arm was unleashed in desperation, but Shin evaded it with the martial arts movement skill 【Flying Shadow】 that enabled double jumps in the air, and so Shin came closer to the Lord. The destination, while he evaded, was the Lord’s body; the location of the solar plexus in a human.

It could be said that the distance between the two was almost zero, the splendid gap for Shin was partly due to the differences in physique. And it was the place where the core of the Skull Face had just been absorbed. The Lord tried to gain some distance, but Shin had already prepared his attack prior to its action, and everything was too late.

“――――tsu!!”

A sharp exhale together with the katana swinging downward.

He unleashed the katana system martial art skill 【Mountain Cleaver】.

Even though he didn’t have any firm footing in the air, the stroke from Shin showed perfection and thorough power.

The visual sword trails were a mix between red and black lines that penetrated the Lord’s left shoulder from the air, went through the body, cut through one of the right legs that flew off, and left a deep cut in the ground from the aftermath.

“GIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The Lord screamed at the excessive damage. The slanted slash line had traveled through its body, and the black liquid along with its armor were torn as well. Although it was diverted from its core, Shin saw that about 1/5 of the black orb was cut.

“It retreated, huh?”

The core vanished from view immediately. Somehow, it seemed to be able to move freely inside the body to some extent. As he promptly thought about a countermeasure, ignoring the Lord who screamed, he landed on the ground and moved in pursuit without mercy.

He slashed at the Lord’s right legs consecutively to destroy its posture.

The slashing storm was done with a speed that left an afterimage. In addition, whenever Shin’s katana left a flash, different parts of the Lord’s body fell.

Katana system martial art skill 【Kasane Dachi】.

This skill generated, at random, multiple slashing attacks that each possessed a similar power as the individual slashes. It cut the internal parts of the Lord, which also caused the armor to fall off in pieces.

This skill was able to attack several enemies at the same time, as the larger the offensive ability the user possessed, the more its power increased altogether. It seemed like he had already gained total control of the skill, 【Kasane Dachi】, as each of the internal slashing attacks were already at a fatal offensive power.

“GI…A…aa…”

Destructive power was put into each of the slashing attacks that one by one were rampaging inside the Lord. The Lord was barely alive at the time it received the 【Mountain Cleaver】 and it also did not have enough power remaining to support itself.

All of the tails had already been cut off by Schnee and were blown away, leaving no possibility of resistance.

The body of the Lord swelled with the rising internal pressure. As additional invisible slashing attacks were generated inside the body due to【Kasane Dachi】, that ‘energy’ wanted to exit.

He didn’t overlook the core even though it was not found yet. The body that was hit by the tempest of slashing attacks was not a safe place anymore. The only destination the core could escape to was the head.

“It’s the end!”

He kicked the ground and jumped.

He kicked the ground and jumped.

Then he took an overhead stance with 『True Moon』, with the blade clad in red lightning, above the top of the Lord’s head.

Katana technique lightning combined skill 【Moon Arc : Thunder Flash】.

First of all, lightning was formed around the red blade as it swung toward the head. Next, the lightning on the katanas main body 『True Moon』 sliced through the skull of the Lord, and lightning struck from inside of it. The red lightning spread and blew away the demon-flames from within the eye sockets. The lightning strikes destroyed the head completely, as it went along the neck and the whole body of the Lord burnt completely as if it was not enough.

“…Tsu! …tsu…”

No screaming came out though its body was roasted.

The single attack from Shin sliced the orb together with the core that escaped to the head, and completely disappeared due to the additional lightning strikes. Naturally a Skull Face without its core would vanished in a short time. The Lord though, didn’t disappear right away because of that gigantic body, but its body was already but a corpse’s mere remains.

“Tsu…tsu…tsu!!”

Despite the crumbling body of the Lord, it stretched out its remaining arm toward Shin in its final moment.

“Master!!”

“Wait.”

Schnee shouted at Shin who didn’t move while seeing the state of the Lord. Schnee, who was rushing toward Shin, stopped at his command, and Shin fixed his eyes on the Lord.

The figure had neither hostility, the thirst of blood, nor the sense of intimidation that existed when he fought it a little while ago. The Lord that was extending out its arm towards Shin, seemed to be trying to grip something that was totally out of reach.

“(So…Wo…Ni)”

“Eh!?”

The voice reached Shin’s ear. Though it was a distorted and had a twisted pitch, it was certainly the words of a person.

However, soon after having uttered it, the Lord dissolved into the atmosphere and become demon essence, just like the other Skull Faces. A huge jewel with a diameter of about 50 cemels remained at the place where the Lord had been.

“Master! Are you alright!?”

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s no problem.”

He soothed Schnee, who rushed at him in a panicked state, and thought about the words he heard just a while ago in his mind.

(In the end, I could hardly understand anything. although it was indeed an enemy.)

He paid more attention to the jewel while having a hard time not showing disappointment on his face. It was certainly the highest grade jewel of the first-class. He collected it for the time being just in case it might become a clue to something.

When he turned his attention to the map, the markers for the monsters, which had escaped from the battle with the two, that he was able to perceive, seemed to have disappeared. There was a little individual monster which escaped the purification too, but it seemed to have faded away with the Lord’s defeat. Either way, the Lord was the cause of this disturbance.

The light that illuminated the surroundings was weakened when Shin confirmed it with the map. As he might have expected, the effect of 【Sanctuary】 seemed to gradually stop. When the light completely faded away, the surroundings became dark, although it was still lit by the moonlight.

And, a big change, as a result of defeating the Lord was visible on the plains. Though he didn’t see it because of the strong light of purification, the demon essence drifted smokily up to the sky from the whole plains. With the spectacle of demon essence floating up, the light seemed to dissolve into the night sky.

The scene that happened over the whole plains caused the surrounding knights and adventurers to remain on lookout.

The demon light that soared up high at the same time as the holy light that repelled the darkness faded out into the shades of the night.

There were many people in awe of that scene, which was never seen until now.

“It seems like it’s over.”

“It looks like it. In a while, it will be returned to the original plains, I guess.”

“…Should we return home?”

“Yes.”

Without saying “To where?”, the two people began to walk as they watched the light of the demon essences disappear.

He braced himself, during the battle earlier, to talk to Schnee the same way as he did in the past or in the game, but an indescribable atmosphere settled between the two people as soon as the tension was resolved.

The time separated was short to Shin, but long to Schnee.

They felt awkward around each other, but they gradually became talkative. In order to fill the time that had passed, they continued to talk.

As the investigation team that consisted of knights and adventurers came quickly, the two people had already left the plains.

Translator's Notes and References

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