Evil Avalon

Chapter 156 Moonlight streaming through a small window

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

The golem and the knife-user leapt around, using the walls, ceiling, and every possible surface as footholds, waging an aerial battle.
Thanks to them, everything around was getting smashed, concrete fragments flying everywhere, and visibility kept getting worse.

Just as I was about to rush past and leave the fight behind, Kirara-chan swept her dress dramatically and joined the fray, unleashing her weapon skill.

"Now’s our chance to finish them off! Let’s go!"

At a glance, the white-robed enemy had power close to ten levels above ours.
In DunEx, the rule of thumb was that fighting such an opponent required ten times their strength.
We currently met that condition, and there was good reason to believe this was the time to take them down. That knife-user was simply too fast.

We couldn’t know how much longer the golem would last, and if he came after us, there’d be no way to shake him off.
If we had the strength gathered and several buffs active, just like Kirara-chan said, now was the perfect opportunity. Besides—

(He’s the one who barged in here all alone.)

Charging right into the middle of a group of adventurers like this meant he was seriously underestimating us.
I couldn’t help but feel like teaching him just how much that would cost him.

I gave a small nod of agreement to Kirara-chan, and then Kirigaya and the Kinrankai members fell into formation and raised their swords in turn.
On the other hand, it was going to be a tough fight for Kano and Satsuki, so I asked them to stay back and defend.

"Mamiya-san, please take care of Kano and Satsuki!"

"Understood. Chizuru, protect them."

"…Yes, brother. Great magical protection — Mana Protection."

At the request of her older brother, Mamiya Subaru, Chi-chan raised her staff in a circle while a dark pixie sat on her shoulder, and activated a powerful barrier.
A transparent membrane enveloped Kano and Satsuki. With this, they should be safe from any direct hits by weapon skills.

It was thanks to her enormous MP that this defensive magic could boast such extraordinary toughness.
Having such a ridiculous heroine on our side — a mage who could also tank and support — was incredibly reassuring.

(Now then. I’d like to end this quickly, but—)

My golem was locked in a fierce aerial battle with the knife-user, but against someone over level 30, even a mithril-alloy body wouldn’t hold out forever.
Already there were distortions in its arms and legs. Still, it was holding its own for a few reasons.

The key in aerial combat was to watch out for the first strike.
No matter how much STR you had, the next attack always caused your body to spin the other way due to recoil, and you couldn’t put force into your slashes.
That was why I’d instructed the golem to parry the first blow and then actively counterattack.

For that, the ability to track the first strike and secure footholds was crucial.
Thanks to Satsuki’s Accel Vision, not only us but the golem too now had greatly improved dynamic vision, and footholds could be created where needed with Aerial.
That was why we were able to hang on even against a stronger opponent in aerial combat.

However — that only worked when facing a single opponent.
If there were multiple enemies, the level difference would become too much to handle, and we’d be crushed instantly.
We needed to take him out before the white-robed allies in the back joined the fight.

Naturally, my role in this battle was also in the air.
Since the golem wouldn’t last long on its own, it made sense for me to support it.

"Leave the air to me and the golem — aim for him when he lands!"

"You heard him, everyone — let’s go!"

As Kirigaya shouted to the others and dashed forward, I followed suit, kicking off the wall, twisting my body, and landing on the ceiling.
Though I’d tried coordinated aerial combat with the golem a few times in DunEx, this was the first time in an actual battle.

As I planned my next moves and route and looked ahead to assess the situation, I could see the knife-user scattering concrete shards at incredible speed and power, darting around in all directions.
Jumping into that mess was daunting, but there was no choice.

I leapt off the wall several times to close in from behind — and right away, the golem failed to block a strike and spun out.
I quickly created a foothold to pull it back, then moved ahead to take its place.
Aiming to end it in a single blow, I swung at his back — but as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he caught the attack while looking elsewhere, and used the recoil to spin, launching a counterattack from an unexpected angle.

(…Damn, he’s strong.)

Even compared to the white-robed fighter on the rooftop, he was every bit as good.
I’d assumed someone that strong would only be stationed on the roof — but maybe all of the Holy Empire’s combatants were this formidable.

Realizing I’d underestimated him sent a chill down my spine as I braced for his next attack.
Kirara-chan followed up with a sharp jumping slash, and several Kinrankai members layered weapon skills on top of that.
But even in an awkward position, the knife-user blocked every single strike with just one arm.

That was the difference in level.
Dynamic vision, brute strength, stamina, agility, magic — being superior in all parameters made even this kind of acrobatic defense possible.
Still, perhaps realizing he was pushing himself too far, his expression twisted as he tried to disengage — but of course, we weren’t about to let that happen.

At Kirigaya’s signal, the Kinrankai members formed ranks to block his escape route, and one after another, they pressed the attack without giving him time to breathe.
Amid the swirling fine dust and chunks of concrete, the knife-user leapt toward the less-defended area — a desperate bid to break through.

Finally, my moment to shine—

"Go get him, big bro!"

"Souta, do your best!"

—or rather, I decided to leave it to the golem.
Because honestly, facing down an opponent this much stronger was terrifying.
Kano and Satsuki were behind me, cheering me on with their fists raised, but please don’t underestimate my chicken heart.

The knife-user came hurtling toward me like a bullet, kicking off the walls on either side.
In response to my command, the golem spread its limbs wide in midair, forming an X shape as if to say it wouldn’t let him through.
In an instant, the gap between them closed and they collided.
Sparks flew as the golem’s thick mithril-alloy chest was effortlessly pierced through by the knife.

The knife-user grabbed the golem by the head, intending to throw aside the nuisance.
But unlike a human, the golem wasn’t incapacitated just because its chest had been pierced.
It clung to the knife-user as they fell together, and Kirara-chan and the Kinrankai members rushed to the landing point one after another, thrusting their weapons in.

I’d been keeping watch, wondering when the Holy Empire’s other fighters would come to help — but they only stood in the distance, pointing and laughing at us.
It seemed they had no sense of camaraderie, which was a relief.

"Hurry up!"

As I recalled the heavily damaged golem into its magic circle, grateful for its work, Kirigaya checked the time and raised his voice.
The fight hadn’t even taken a minute, and though we’d brought him down quickly, we didn’t have much time to spare.

The Holy Empire’s fighters in the back were probably just as strong as the knife-user we’d defeated.
If we left them alone, it would spell disaster here — but if they didn’t come after us, we’d ignore them… or so I thought.

The moment they saw us start running, they charged at us with terrifying speed.
Until now, they’d only been toying with us despite being up against this many adventurers.
The confidence that they could wipe us out at any time was clear from the way they ran.

The Kinrankai members turned and bravely engaged them, but we had no room to help.
We carried the lives of everyone in this building in our hands.
Sorry, but we had to move on ahead.

"Run! Just past that turn is the elevator!"

At Kirigaya’s shout, Mamiya’s siblings and Kirara-chan dashed after him.
Behind us, the sound of weapon skills exploding echoed, and I, taking up the rear, batted away a magic bullet flying toward us with my sword.
I kept running forward despite the shock running through my hand being nearly too much — but… it looked like we wouldn’t make it in time.

"Kano, go on ahead! I’ll catch up later!"

"Wha— but…!"

"Satsuki, I’m counting on you!"

We made it to the elevator, but the enemy would catch up before the doors could close.
I shoved Kano’s back as she ran ahead, telling her to go, entrusting her to Satsuki.
What was needed in this situation was someone to hold them off and buy time.

"Close it already! Damn it!"

I barked at the hesitant Kirigaya, as another blindingly bright magic bullet flew at us.
I batted it away again just in time.
At the same moment, a white-robed mage with a staff slid across the floor toward me, so I struck out with a slash aimed at his path — but he dodged it easily with acrobatic movements.
I followed up with a slash at the swordsman behind him, but he blocked after seeing it and even countered.

I clicked my tongue at the overwhelming difference in level, but twisted my blade aside and narrowly avoided it.
Then the last white robe came tearing through the air toward me — a martial artist.

I saw him draw back his fist, magic surging as he prepared to smash the entire elevator.
I forced my breathless body into a spin and unleashed a skill.

"Not… gonna… happen! Vorpal Thrust!!"

Fuelled by a mix of panic and rage at having what I held most dear targeted, I unleashed my sword skill — but he twisted his body like a contortionist and dodged every strike.

In return, the martial artist closed in sharply and threw a straight punch at my face.
The roar of it rushing toward me sent chills down my spine as I barely dodged by springing off an Aerial foothold.
If it had hit, I’d have been more than blown away — it might have killed me outright.

"Big bro!"

"It’s okay! Souta! You’d better come back to us, alright!?"

"Yeah, you can count on me!"

Kano started to rush out to me, but Satsuki hurriedly held her back.
Then, with a serious look I’d never seen before, she told me to come back no matter what — so I raised my fist, gave the best smile I could muster, and promised.

And then, leaving only me behind… the doors closed.

The frantic chaos suddenly shifted, and the dim hallway fell quiet.
Instead, three intense auras flared nearby, laden with murderous intent.
The electric chill that sank into my guts told me everything — if I fought now, I couldn’t possibly win.

The Kinrankai members arrived a moment later, panting heavily, though their numbers seemed fewer.
Looking beyond, I saw several adventurers lying in pools of blood.
Had they really been taken out in just that short time?

We still had over ten allies left, but facing the three white robes standing before us… I had to admit it would be extremely difficult.

If only I could use my trump card — Overdrive — things might have been different, but right now it was still deep in cooldown.
It would probably take close to ten more minutes before I could use it again.
And there was no guarantee these opponents would graciously give me that much time.
I wanted to run, but… it didn’t look like I’d be able to.

『te omor!!』

With a roar of rage, the martial artist lunged at me, his hand outstretched.
I leaned back to evade it and swung upward with a counterattack slash — but the moment I caught sight of a magic bullet fired from the side, I threw myself into a desperate roll to dodge.

The allied adventurers formed a line to prevent the enemy from getting behind them and launched their own attacks, but against these high-level mages going all out, their tactics didn’t work at all.
A flash of light — and a blast of flames engulfed several of them in an instant, burning them to death.
The few who charged through the fire to slash at the enemy were effortlessly cut down in turn.

When facing an overwhelmingly stronger opponent, the key to grasping even the slightest chance of victory was to die over and over, testing what worked and what didn’t, learning through trial and error.
But unless you’d experienced a game like DunEx, where resurrection was possible, that kind of mindset was meaningless.

I kicked off the wall to reset the fight and leapt into the air — but both the swordsman and the martial artist leapt after me, determined not to let me escape.
I barely dodged a punch from my blind spot, but I couldn’t completely avoid a sharp slash, and my side was cut deeply.
Ignoring the spray of blood, I kicked off footholds and the ceiling, deflecting the relentless attacks coming from all directions and countering where I could.

Then a flash of light burst behind me, and I moved to dodge on instinct — but not fast enough.
Everything below my right knee was blown off.
A searing pain that felt like it would fry my brain roared through me, and my vision went dark — but I clenched my teeth and didn’t black out.
Instead, I leapt with my remaining left leg and brought my blade across the martial artist’s neck in one stroke.

At least… I’d take one of them with me.

As I fell, the faces of my beloved little sister and my best friend came to mind.

(…Looks like I won’t be able to keep that promise after all.)

A sudden, almost laughable end.
I’d charged into dungeons vowing to become the world’s greatest adventurer, but this world was nothing like the game — nothing ever went as planned.
I had plenty of regrets, plenty of if only I’d…, but more than anything, what hurt most — what weighed heavier than the death waiting for me — was the regret of not being able to protect the people I loved to the very end.

(Please, live on… Oh, that’s right.)

Back in my original world, I’d always been alone.
A dull, meaningless, worthless person — “me.”
But when I came to this world, it gave me color, warmth.

The Narumi family, who loved me unconditionally and deeply.
The friends who smiled at me without calculation, even though I was isolated in class.
And Butao and Kaoru, who taught me what it meant to fall in love.
All of them — for the first time in my life — had shown me something incredibly warm, incredibly precious.

I’d been saved.

And so, at least now, I had to repay that debt somehow.
Burn everything I had left here, down to my last breath.
That other me, deep inside, was scolding me.
(That’s right. You’re right. Even if it only raises Kano and the others’ chance of survival by one in ten thousand, as long as even a finger still moves — I’ll fight back.)

I landed, gritting through pain that felt like it would drop me any second, then jumped again on my remaining foot.
One final charge, using the blood and flesh of fallen allies flying around me as a smokescreen.

"――Ooooohhhhhh!!"

『Era încă în viață!?』

Just one more kick-off from a foothold and blood gushed from my side and leg.
My blood pressure dropped and my vision dimmed, but from behind a falling ally I unleashed a critical slash.

Yet even that missed being fatal by a hair, thanks to the enemy’s monstrous reflexes.
Before I could follow up, the swordsman struck with a thrust so fast my eyes couldn’t even follow it.

No time to dodge — it pierced my abdomen, and something inside me flew out behind me.
But… I could still move.
It was time for my golem’s same “if I die, I’m taking you with me” plan.

Even if I died, I wouldn’t let go of him.
Even as a hammer-like fist shattered several of my teeth, I used everything I had left to grab onto the sword that skewered me, and the arm that held it.
We fell together, and it seemed the surviving adventurers finished him off as we landed.

(There should still… be one more… left… now then…)

Blood poured endlessly from my mouth, and my vision was so clouded I could barely see.
I could no longer even move a single finger.
And this place was so… haah… cold…

Breathing shallowly, I looked weakly up at the small window where moonlight shone through, and couldn’t help but wish:

Please—

TL Note- That's some serious character development at the end....

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