novelnext Chapter 190 : Infiltrators (5)
Chapter 190 : Infiltrators (5)
Craack! Craaack…!Booom!
The slash aimed at her neck was effortlessly deflected.
The redirected slash crashed into the air behind her, violently shaking the surrounding area as it carved a massive scar through the space.
Without a word, Charlotte smiled as she casually rubbed her right hand.
“……”
Brushing away the stone dust falling from above, I replayed our previous exchange in my mind.
'…If she had poured mana into her defense to block it, I would've noticed immediately.'
Even Dabios of Slaughter, an SS-Rank Beast, had neutralized most powerful attacks by activating Slaughter Field.
If even a supreme Beast with that level of defensive power and absorption had to rely on such an ability, there was no way an ordinary human could casually deflect my slash with a bare hand.
Especially without concentrating mana.
'Then... how did she do it?'
Whether as a player...
As a war hero...
Or after transmigrating into this world...
I'd experienced countless battles.
I couldn't claim absolute certainty, but one exchange was usually enough for me to grasp most things about an opponent.
Just as Clina had said earlier...
There was a high probability that this woman wasn't human.
Battles against humans inevitably became contests of tactics.
No matter how adaptable someone was, they always had weaknesses.
Nothing in this world was absolutely invincible.
That was why, when equally skilled opponents fought, the one who knew more about the other usually emerged victorious.
That same principle was why I had always held the advantage over most enemies.
Not only was I among the five greatest combat improvisers in the Empire...
I also possessed overwhelming superiority in information.
This time, however, I couldn't rely on that logic because I knew almost nothing about my opponent.
Even so...
I had been confident.
She had been completely unarmed.
I, meanwhile, had entered fully equipped.
Unless the gap in our abilities was overwhelming, common sense dictated that the one holding a weapon would defeat the one without one.
But...
That hadn't happened.
Not even remotely.
Charlotte Platina fought as though her entire body itself were both weapon and armor.
'Something even Karen, the successor of Akasha, couldn't accomplish...'
No human in the Empire surpassed Karen Rosefield in physical ability.
Not now.
Not even two hundred years ago.
The fact that we'd managed to defeat her had bordered on a miracle.
Francia and Rubia's overwhelming growth...
Combined with relentlessly exploiting Karen's weakness...
That was the only reason we'd prevailed.
Having fought Karen for such a long time, I knew one thing with certainty.
The physical abilities possessed by the enemy before me...
Could never belong to a human.
Then what exactly had consumed Charlotte Platina?
A Beast?
An evil spirit?
Or something else entirely?
'Whatever it is... retreat isn't an option.'
Whether she was possessed by a Beast or an evil spirit...
I only needed to create a single opening.
If slashes didn't work...
I'd use something else.
No matter how powerful her body was, she'd still suffer damage if I landed a decisive blow while she was off guard.
With that in mind, I charged again.
This time, my priority was analyzing her habits.
Boom!
Craaash!
I focused on her overall defensive posture...
Her counterattacking posture...
And, above all else...
Whether there was any part of her body she instinctively prioritized protecting.
After roughly six exchanges, I kept my eyes fixed on Charlotte while quietly speaking to Edel behind me.
“She'll keep trying to push me away.”
“Help me close the distance.”
“Got it.”
“And I'll need your strongest attack.”
“A concentrated breakthrough.”
“Maximum cutting power.”
“Maximum penetration.”
“Mana Reverse Flow.”
“The timing will be when I'm knocked back for the third time.”
“You understand?”
“…Got it.”
At Edel's confident reply, I nodded.
As I regulated my breathing several times, I devoted myself to calculating the optimal attack route.
At the same time, I sorted through every technique available to me.
Lukezax's slash.
Francia's Illusion Swordsmanship.
Rubia's Holy Magic.
The Grimoire's abilities.
Enchant Magic.
Regen Stock.
Mana Armor.
Dark Spear.
Black Azure Aura.
Judging from her defensive capabilities, mutual destruction seemed unlikely to work.
Still, depending on the circumstances, I might even have to consider a self-destructive attack using my regenerative abilities.
After mentally listing roughly thirty additional possibilities and preparing a response for each one...
I finally finished.
“I'll end this with one strike.”
Concentrating every ounce of mana throughout my body into both hands and both feet...
I launched myself like a missile.
BOOOOM!
First—
A direct shoulder charge.
Creeeak...
Of course, someone who could casually stop even sharpened blades and sword slashes wouldn't be injured by something like this.
Charlotte simply caught me with both hands...
And hurled me upward.
The instant I was airborne...
I launched another slash directly at her.
Fwoooosh!
At that exact moment, Edel leaped behind me...
Propelling me toward Charlotte once again.
This time, my trajectory was the complete opposite of the slash's direction.
Toward the back of her head.
Completing a midair somersault, I landed...
And brought my sword crashing down with all my weight behind it.
Charlotte deflected the slash...
Then immediately seized my blade with both hands.
The instant she did—
I activated Illusion Swordsmanship and thrust my sword straight toward her throat.
However—
“Did you really think that would be enough?”
Even though I had struck directly at her neck...
I couldn't feel the slightest sensation of piercing flesh.
More importantly...
The surprise attack from Illusion Swordsmanship hadn't worked.
'Still no mana concentration whatsoever...'
That all but confirmed my theory.
A permanently active ability.
One that consumed virtually no mana.
An extremely efficient circulating-type ability.
Clang!
Blocking Charlotte's knife-hand strike with Mana Armor, I immediately activated Enchant Magic.
“Surely that's not all you've got.”
A permanently active...
High-efficiency...
Circulating ability.
One of the rarest and highest-grade ability patterns in MAGA.
But if there were anyone capable of disrupting mana circulation...
It was Edel and me.
Before she could even retract her arm...
I swiftly adjusted my grip and unleashed another slash.
Whoosh!
The slash rushed straight toward Charlotte's chest.
For a brief instant...
Sparks erupted.
Then...
It rebounded directly back toward me.
As I was blown back over ten meters by my own attack, Charlotte sneered.
“You fool!”
“If you already knew it wouldn't work...”
“You shouldn't have kept repeating it!”
“…Is that so?”
Instead of cutting into my flesh...
The returning slash was absorbed by Black Azure Aura and converted into mana.
At the same time—
Edel once again launched me back toward Charlotte.
This time...
I gathered even the mana that should've gone into my hands and feet...
And unleashed our final combination.
.
.
.
First—
Instead of weaving mana through my slash as before, I reversed its circulation completely.
Second—
I coated the slash with the Holy Magic Divine Aura to neutralize her demonic energy.
Third—
To maximize Edel's attack by exploiting the nature of Charlotte's ability...
I fired three Dark Spears in the exact opposite direction from my slash.
The crucial point...
Was executing every technique at precisely the same instant.
Fortunately...
I succeeded.
And the result...
“How...?!”
“There are no invincible techniques.”
A deep wound stretched from Charlotte's left shoulder all the way down to her right side.
She staggered backward while clutching the injury.
Splurt!
Blood erupted from the deepest part of the wound...
Staining the luxurious carpet crimson.
“You insignificant human...!”
“How did you manage to wound this body?!”
“You can figure that out yourself...!”
Seeing Charlotte retreat step by step, I poured nearly all my remaining mana into my legs and charged once more.
“How dare you!!”
Naturally...
She wasn't about to let me approach freely.
Her kick sent me flying backward once again.
That made...
The third time.
After barely managing a safe landing, I muttered,
“…Now, Edel.”
At that instant—
Edel Ribenia, who had patiently been waiting for the perfect opportunity—
Charged forward in a unique cross-stepping stance.
“Tch...!”
Her target—
The heart.
Whether Charlotte was a Beast or an evil spirit...
As long as she retained a human form, physical weaknesses still existed.
Most of her defensive ability concentrated upon her surface—
Her skin.
Had that not been the case, my previous attacks would've never pierced through the surface at all...
Nor left wounds capable of drawing that much blood.
She had already suffered a major injury at the hands of someone she had considered beneath her.
Naturally...
Her anger and confusion had grown considerably.
At the same time...
She had become far more focused on me than on Edel.
And because of that...
It became possible.
No matter how small the opening...
If it was an opening...
Edel Ribenia would exploit it without fail.
That was her greatest strength.
Fwoooosh—
The sound of tearing air rang through the room.
Her acceleration...
Stacked upon further acceleration...
Exceeded even that of a first-rate assassin.
Charlotte desperately moved both uninjured hands to protect the wound.
But there was no defending against the physical wind pressure itself.
Headwind Pierce—
A secret magic that spun mana-generated wind at maximum speed to repel everything around it...
While simultaneously rotating the user's weapon in the opposite direction to maximize cutting power.
The dagger Edel favored—
Barisada—
Was a supreme-grade Artifact capable of distorting and passing through space.
Using both simultaneously...
Edel drove her dagger directly into Charlotte's heart.
Thrust!
“Ghk?!”
“Do we still look like discarded pieces to you?”
“You...!”
Charlotte instantly yanked the dagger free and flung Edel over ten meters away.
But the strike had already reached deep into her heart.
Blood poured from the wound in alarming quantities.
Even so...
The killing intent radiating from her body only continued growing stronger.
Automatically recalling her dagger back into her hand, Edel returned to my side as I slowly stood.
“…Did we get her?”
“…You really shouldn't have said that.”
Though admittedly...
That wasn't the reason she remained standing.
Without taking our eyes off Charlotte, we slowly retreated.
The combination attack Edel and I had just executed represented the strongest coordinated assault we were currently capable of.
We couldn't launch anything stronger.
And even if we could...
It probably wouldn't accomplish anything.
The little stamina and mana we had left needed to be reserved for escaping this place.
Further confrontation had to be avoided.
Even so...
Instead of fleeing immediately...
We chose to remain facing her.
Since we hadn't managed to defeat Charlotte Platina here...
This battle had effectively become the opening engagement of the war to come.
If we had no choice but to fight...
Then we'd have to win.
But...
Winning before the battle truly began...
Was always the better option.
“I think we've both learned enough about each other's capabilities by now.”
So...
I made her an offer.
“What do you say, Chairman of the Platinum Dawn Society?”
“Why don't we end things here...”
“And agree to a ceasefire?”
An offer she would never accept.
Yet one that could only benefit us.