Episode 176 Gladio's surprise attack
Iris and the others continue to fly toward the west tower, looking back on the successful battle so far and feeling good. When they encountered a powerful monster in the east tower, it seemed like it was the end, but everything turned around with the appearance of Sword Saint Hyrein. And thanks to Iris, who happened to become a friend, traveling has become easier.
"The subjugation of the Scarlet King is just around the corner. Thank you, Sink."
"No. Besides, I'm of no use at all..."
"Still, this adventure started with Sink. If you hadn't taken me out of the royal palace, I would have died. Also, Iris-san also helped Sink when he was about to die. Sword Saint-sama also cooperated in this way. I'm really lucky."
The only thing Princess Serua possessed was a low-level magic outfit that could sense danger. However, believing in her magic equipment, he enlisted the help of her newly appointed bodyguard, Sink, and through a coincidence of connections, he succeeded in breaking three of her royal seals.
By continuing to meet the guardian of the west tower and breaking the final seal, Selua should awaken to the holy light.
"yeah?"
But just when things seem to be going well, you have to brace yourself.
Iris sensed something strange in front of her and stopped everyone. The inertial force that comes with a sudden stop is also canceled, so you don't feel like your body is being tossed around.
“Mr. Iris?”
"It's dangerous."
"Did you feel it too?"
Selua, who didn't really understand, tilted her head, and Sink heard her master's words and hurriedly activated her magic armor. Soon Serua also felt a tingling sensation.
This is proof that you are in danger.
Space distorted and two men appeared in front of me. One is Gladio Roca, a man known to Selua and Sink. The other person is Shu Arklight, a man that Iris and Hyrein know.
"You... Gladio!"
"Hmph. I would have let you live if you didn't do anything unnecessary. I can't overlook this any longer. I'll finish you all off here."
"I won't let you!"
Sink said that, trying to get her attention.
Since it is currently in the air, it cannot move according to Sink's will. It's all up to Iris' flying magic.
"You seem to have been lucky to survive. But would you let it go? That would be foolish."
"This time it won't be like that time."
"It's the same as before. You'll be killed by me in one blow. No, I'll kill you this time. Can you stop us? This guy is more troublesome than me, right?"
“What?”
Without any warning, Shu, who was floating next to Gladio, began to extend his hand towards Serua. This is the prelude to death magic. Knowing this, Hyrein created a magical barrier as a foothold and stepped into Shu's bosom. He then wields his sword with the intention of decapitating her.
The slash fired from outside of his consciousness reached Shu's neck and then stopped. It was stopped by Shu's high-density magical power. By using her extremely powerful magical power as bond energy, she is raising her own physical strength to the limit.
"Oh!"
The moment I realized that it had been stopped, Hi-Rain went down.
However, since the death magic had stopped, this attack had some meaning.
Then, Iris activated downward movement magic and stopped the aerial battle. It would be reckless for High Rain and Sink to fight in the air, where they cannot move freely. There's a collapsed main road below, so it's not easy to fight there either. But it's still better than in the air.
"What a waste"
Gladio uses spatial teleportation to get ahead of the ground.
Then, he brought out the sole of his palm, sending a shock of magical power into his body. His target was the defenseless Selua. Unlike Sink, Hyrein, and Iris, who are wary of her, Serua has not lost her princess sensibilities. Aiming for the moment she landed, Gladio tried to hit the bottom of her palm.
However, at that moment, Iris stopped time and retrieved Serua. Gladio's blow was a miss.
"What? Spatial teleportation?"
Gladio never thought he could stop time. Since he can use real spatial magic, he mistakenly thinks that Iris's time stop is a spatial transition.
There, Shu also slowly descended and landed on the ground.
Hirain orders Sink while closing the gap with Shu.
"Sink, protect the princess. Even I can't control this man."
“Even my master!?”
Sync, who doesn't know anything, is surprised. In fact, Shu is unconsciously blocking Hirain's blow. That means that the Sword Saint's slashing attacks will not work.
Since there is an instant death attack called death magic, Shuu's opponent can only be High Rain. As an awakened magician, he is the only one who can escape death from death magic.
In any case, as instructed by his master, Sink decided to protect Serua from Gladio first. Gladio, who can move freely through space, is certainly a threat, but it turns out that Iris can help Selua in the same way. This allows Sink to fight relatively freely.
"Sink, please be careful. I sense a strong danger."
"yes"
They have already been defeated once. Don't let your guard down. Sink changed the form of his magic armor to his sword, and decided to find an opening in Gladio first.
(Remember, his space movement is not invincible. At least you can see the magic circle)
Sink cannot use magic.
Therefore, they cannot fight by shooting magic at each other. If you are kept at a distance and attacked one-sidedly, your only options are defense or evasion.
However, even sinks that specialize in close combat have ways to deal with magic.
(Cut the magic circle. That's the only option)
Slash the moment you feel the signs of magic activation.
That is the only and most important countermeasure that Sink can take. And if the magic circle is destroyed, the caster who was performing magical calculations will be defenseless, albeit for a moment. In other words, it is an opportunity for Sink to attack.
But there is a problem.
(I can't break the magic circle as reliably as my master)
Sink is a swordsman with top-notch skills. He also has the ability to change the shape of his blade at will, allowing him to adapt to various situations. But he is also an inexperienced person.
In the first place, the reason Sink became Serua's bodyguard was to gain actual combat experience under the orders of his master, High Rain.
Simple sword skills can be acquired through training.
However, when it comes to fighting style, reading skills, and combat instincts, the number of battles matters.
On the other hand, Gladio is not only blessed with talent, but has also experienced countless battles. It's obvious which one is better in terms of pure strength.
“Can you defeat me?”
Gladio spoke in a provocative tone.
I couldn't see anything that looked like an opening from that stance. No, in actual battle, there are always gaps such as gaps in breathing or lapses in concentration. A warrior who has mastered battle skillfully hides these things, deceives them, or deliberately shows them off as an invitation.
Gladio is skilled in this respect.
At least it was better than the sink, and I couldn't find any hidden gaps.
If you ask me if I can defeat it, I would have to say that I am not confident.
"Your breathing is irregular, isn't it? Your line of sight is also shaking. The tilt of your center of gravity is obvious."
"……You are bothering me"
"That's why I can't protect you."
"Na"
My preconception that the enemy would use teleportation magic made me more wary of magic. However, even that wariness was read, and Gladio launched a normal attack on Sink. With the reflex action trained by the Kensei, Sink also blocks the first attack. However, he was too half-hearted, and his sword was knocked out of Sink's hand.
Of course, this doesn't stop Gladio's continuous attacks. I twisted his body and delivered a powerful kick.
"B-aaaaaaa!"
Perhaps because it was such a sharp blow, the pain came one tempo later. The sink bounced on the ground several times before hitting a raised road and coming to rest.
Iris quickly healed by going back in time, so the pain stopped immediately, but Sink remained in a sitting position and was unable to stand up.
"Weak. Too weak. You, who are weak, can't protect anything. You won't gain anything. The weak will only be exploited and rot away."
Serua escapes from Iris's arms and runs along the collapsed road to the bottom of the sink. She followed Iris, making sure she could stop time at any time.
And Serua bravely stands in front of Gladio.
"Stop it. If you are strong, protect the weak."
"Protect? It seems like you have a blessed bloodline and don't know much about the world. Leaving your fate in the hands of others is the height of foolishness. You are trying to obtain the power of the royal family, aren't you? You also desire power. What? Are you saying it's for protection? No, it's not. It's for crushing great power with even greater power."
"No. I'm for the country..."
"The Heiren royal family stole the power from us Roka people. If that power doesn't choose me, I will acquire the power of the Scarlet King, which is the opposite of the royal family's power. When I gained power, I decided to destroy Adibara.When that light that fell from the heavens destroyed Adibara, I was chilled, but it's convenient if you're still alive.''
Gladio strides towards Serua, casually grabs her shoulder and pushes her aside. As expected, Selua loses his balance and his unsteady footing gives way and he almost falls into the pothole in the road. Iris caught it and supported him so he wouldn't fall, but in the meantime Gladio had moved to the sink, where he was still sitting.
“You foolish last royal family without power. Burn your eyes at what you will lose because of your weakness!”
"Stop! Stop!"
Enough magical power gathered into his fist to explode Sink's head.
Serua's cries for him to stop were in vain, and Gladio swung his fist down.
◆◆◆
Shu and Hirain kept moving, even though they were lightly bumping into each other.
"I never thought that the 'God of Death'...no, the King of Hades would be in a place like this."
"I didn't expect you to be here either."
"I expected it when I found the witch. I didn't expect to fight her."
"As for me, I am supposed to kill that princess as a request. If you don't get in the way, I'll let it go, okay?"
“I don’t think I would regret my life even if I lived for three hundred years.”
"Really"
There is a slight connection between the two.
Shu has a debt for hurting his partner Iris, and Hyrein has a grudge for having destroyed his hometown and master.
However, maintaining negative emotions for a long time consumes a lot of energy.
Two hundred and fifty years had completely washed away their mutual connection.
“I didn’t mean to kill you, but if I leave you alone, you’re going to get in my way, right?”
"I have feelings for the Heiren royal family. I can't let them kill me."
"I see. Die."
"No, sir."
Shu deployed a magic circle to activate ``Zankuu Domain Divider Line'', but High Rain easily cut it down. The magic circle was destroyed by the magic equipment, which is a mass of high-strength magical power, and the attempt failed before its effect could be activated.
However, Shu is not showing off his magic carelessly.
In the meantime, I was preparing ``Meadow''. This is a technique that condenses the power of death and condenses it into a single point, killing the space itself.
Previously, there was no way to do high rain, and all I could do was avoid it.
However, there was no way he, who was known as the Sword Master, would continue to do impossible things forever. He found a new height at the tip of his mastered sword, practiced repeatedly, and finally reached his secret technique.
"Secret Technique: Star-Eating Soragui"
High Rain even tore through dead space.
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