12-3 Part 1
The Mysterious Book Says to Run Away
But I Have No Intention of Listening
- Imitation -
Translator : PolterGlast
『This is... the adjacent
labyrinth...?! Well done, Ashley, we can retreat with this!』
At the end of where I dug relying on intuition, there was a
chalk-white labyrinth just like this one. I only dug about 2 meters. There
should be a considerable distance between stakes, but if Zirant says so,
it must be true.
『No doubt about it, it's the other
side! Look, there's an up staircase over there!』
「Then let's have me draw the big
guy's attention.」
I turned back from the escape route to the original large
room, slipped through the slashes, and circled behind the Cherubim Armor.
「Shinza, are you okay?!」
「Yeah, I made an escape route in the
wall over there! There's an up staircase ahead, you escort the wounded!」
「Y-Yeah, understood!」
This armored doll doesn't seem to have any real
intelligence. That armor just mechanically swings its greatsword aiming at me,
the target before its eyes.
It's sluggish corresponding to its weight, but there are
times when its movements accelerate momentarily. If I let those pass relying on
agility (AGI), it's not impossible to deal with it, knowing the slight risks. I
bought time.
「The phrase 'Demon-san, over here, follow the
sound of clapping hands' might refer to a situation like
this.」
『Stop thinking about unnecessary
things! More importantly, the evacuation over there is almost finished.』
Since I can't take my eyes off the enemy, that kind of
communication helps. When I glanced at the other side for just an instant, Kachua
remained as the rearguard.
「Hurry, you come here too, Shinza!」
「You go on ahead.」
「...What are you saying, hurry up and
join us?!」
『That's right, what are you thinking!
Retreat, that is Wagahai's order!』
「Never mind, just go, I'll buy a
little more time. If you encounter monsters where you escape to, you'll be
pincered. Trust me and go ahead.」
「I-I know, but... Fine, I get it!
Come back quickly, okay!」
Watching Kachua leave, I stopped playing tag with the
Cherubim Armor. I told Kachua that, but my true feelings are different.
If I lose to something like this, I probably won't be able to survive the
coming era.
No, to put it more simply, I just want to win against this
guy that my Shovel can't make a dent in. I want victory.
『Stop thinking stupid things and
retreat!』
「I refuse. I'll defeat this guy and
become even stronger.」
Once again, I threw myself into a fight to the death with
him. The Book of the Evil Dragon brought me unbelievable physical
abilities, but at the same time, it robbed me of the chance for a hard fight.
A hard fight is what makes a person grow. Then this is the
perfect opportunity. I began what you call grinding experience points (EXP)
with my life on the line.
I smashed the Shovel against the super-ancient armor
over and over again. Every time I found an opening, I skewered the joints of
the armor with the Scoop, and with my inexhaustible stamina (VIT), I
competed with him.
「Have its movements dulled a little?」
『You, you, you abnormal freak... If
you take even one hit from that, you will die, you know...』
「I am aware.」
『Eei, I can't bear to watch
anymore...! I'll lend you power from the inside!』
I don't know the mechanism, but at that moment, my body
became just a little bit lighter. Does it mean that if Zirant's magic
doesn't work on the enemy, she decided to grant power to me?
「It's plain, but not bad.」
『It's not plain, your physical abilities
are already in an insane realm!』
However, how should I say it. After repeatedly striking it
with my weapons, I somehow started to understand the brittle parts of the
enemy.
This Cherubim Armor seems to have an old wound. The right
shoulder, the one holding the sword, which no one would bother to aim for—only
there, the reverberation of the metal is strange.
「Zirant, I'm aiming for its leg. Freeze it temporarily.」
『What an arrogant Apostle... You have
a plan, do you not?』
「It's nothing that grand. It's just a
test.」
『Then if that test fails, give up and
retreat. That is the condition.』
「Understood, it's about time to wrap
this up.」
The enhancement of my physical abilities vanished, and
instead, the Shovel released cold air and was enveloped in frost.
Slipping through the slashes of the tireless Cherubim Armor's left and right
hands, I smashed a freezing blow into its right leg.
That froze its leg to the earth, sealing its movements. In
that opening, I leaped onto the back of the giant body and thrust the Shovel
deep into the defenseless joint of its right shoulder.
『It pierced?! Good, cut it off, Ashley!』
I did exactly as told by the meddlesome Evil Dragon. The
armor was slightly damaged in that part, and as I stabbed something inside back
and forth about 4 times on the back of the rampaging guy, that right arm
gripping the sword crashed to the earth with a roar.
「This is—a genuine monster.」
I jumped off him and took my distance. What was inside the
armor was something like dry, parched jerky.
However, even though it lost its weapon and dominant arm,
the Cherubim Armor reached its remaining left hand towards me, broke its ice
shackles, and advanced this way.
『Stop this any further, you'll be
crushed. ...Ashley?』
「Sorry, I want to fight more.」
My already heightened fighting spirit swelled up. Something
sleeping inside me screams to defeat him. Don't lose to a guy like this.
「............Nn, what is it?」
『Umu, somehow, it suddenly stopped. Ashley,
what's with those eyes? They're glowing.』
However, the Cherubim Armor fell to one knee and its left
hand to the ground, and suddenly stopped moving.
「That's not something that just
started now.」
『No, your eyes. Only your eyes are
glowing.』
「Well, sometimes only my eyes glow. I
am a firefly.」
My vision suddenly went dark. It seems the glow Zirant
mentioned has subsided. The Cherubim Armor before my eyes stopped moving,
hanging its head as if prostrating.
『Did you do that...?』
As if that could be. Why would an armored doll I've never
met obey me? It's contradictory. However, I didn't argue with Zirant any
further. Suddenly, dry applause and laughter echoed.
「Fufufu... This is surprising. I
never thought someone would appear who could fight evenly with this and stop
it.」
Turning towards the voice, there stood a knight clad in
white armor. Was he watching the whole thing? He was quite excited, but he
possessed a somewhat eccentric atmosphere.
「Moreover, to smash through the wall
and come to this side of the labyrinth... On top of that, to be possessed by
such an imitation, it is truly comical.」
「Watching from the sidelines? If you
were watching, you could have helped out.」
By imitation, you couldn't possibly mean Zirant,
right. If so, you've failed your first contact with me.
「Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet.
My name is Ventos—one who serves a certain person. Please remember me as
the White Knight Ventos.」
「Is that so.」
Only the armor is white; an atmosphere suited for calling
yourself a Black Knight would be more fitting. A small-built man, or perhaps
the voice quality made it feel like a woman.
「Step back, Shinza, that guy
is—」
This might also be a troublesome opponent. As if to protect
me, a translucent Zirant appeared before my eyes and said this in an
extremely hostile voice.
「That guy is a Demon Noble! An old
god corrupted by the forbidden world, the Abyss!」
「In other words, an old acquaintance
of yours?」
「Don't be stupid! Anyway, absolutely
do not let your guard down!」
「Rest assured about that. There's no
way I'd have good feelings toward a guy who calls you an imitation.」
The White Knight Ventos didn't pay any mind. He
didn't pay much interest to Zirant, and only stared at me.
「Shinza. No, Ashley Gnose Urgos. You resemble him.
Standing next to that imitation there reminds me of those days.」
「She is not an imitation. Zirant is Zirant, don't say it again.」
My warning didn't seem to reach the White Knight; he seemed engrossed in his own talk. Listen here, Zirant, I don't know the circumstances, but you are you, not an imitation. You are the real deal that I know.
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