Published at 25th of March 2019 11:06 pm

Volume 6: Chapter 5: Raid Battle

1

A man writhed in the darkness.

He slowly stretched his bones and body.

The sound of flowing sewage came from somewhere unseen. This was a sewer, but it was different from the sewers of modern Tokyo or the old world. This zone, used exclusively by this man, only had streams of water thinner than fingers flowing through it, and was more like an underground dungeon.

There was a pile of stolen Adventurer clothing that served as a bed. The man sat up and touched his abdomen with his fingers. Dry blood stained his fingers like rust. Beneath his tattered black jacket, his burning wounds had mended.

… He had probably made a full recovery.

The iron, mask-like helmet glowed dimly in the darkness. It was enchanted with a magical effect that gave him night vision.

The Moveable Armor was a relic passed down from an ancient era. It was more than a magical item or ancient technology; it was an Phantasmal artifact of the Precursors.

Its capability was beyond the technology of the People of the Land, the magic of the Adventurers, and even the Kunie Clan. It was the crystallization of the lost age.

The man looked over himself with his green-tinged sight.

He had made a full recovery.

The physical ability of the man was powerful. The Moveable Armor raised all physical traits of its user, especially stamina. In terms of HP, he had 3 times his survivability after equipping the armor. But it didn't boost the recovery rate of the user meaningfully. The armor wasn't designed with its user taking damage in mind. The defense of the armor was capable of negating most attacks; since they wouldn't get hurt, there was no need to boost their healing rate. Getting wounded merely highlighted the weakness of the armor, a grave insult to him.

But the Moveable Armor was not his only piece of equipment.

The tall and skinny man held 'Sentou Byakumaru,' which rattled in its sheath. In his hand, it seemed rather short.

Whoever wielded this sword gained the power of the Hero of Ice Ridge, Lugrius. The more blood Byakumaru drank, the more power the man could draw on. His biceps that had grown three times larger were proof of this. The sword rattling in its sheath was thirsting for more sacrifices.

He growled and left without a backwards glance.

The man didn't really see this place as his base. Just a quiet place for him to rest was good enough. This underground room was situated below a collapsed building. There was airflow, so this place was connected to the surface, but as far as the man knew there were no viable entrances or exits into it. He could teleport and wouldn't be inconvenienced at all, but it would take a lot of work for normal People of the Land or Adventurers to clear the rubble so they could reach it.

The scenery of Akiba came into the man's mind. This was the city he had guarded all these years. Although the Adventurers had been remodeling the buildings, the layout of the city remained the same.

The man moved to a certain teleport point he remembered.

The wind blowing across the land surrounded him suddenly.

The wind of this winter night hit the man, threatening to freeze his body. But the Resistant Cold function of the Moveable Armor allowed him to feel nothing. It was just a high class wine for the fine feast he was going to consume.

The man walked among the crumbling ruins and the deserted shopping streets.

Several dim lights lit up in the darkness. The man couldn't help smiling as he looked at these frail lights. He trembled with joy, and his slightly hunched upper body leaned ahead as far as it could as he licked his lips.

The bustle of the day faded away with the sun, and silence fell upon the Akiba, like a young girl lying in the dark. She was an arrogant and strong woman in the day, but was frightened in the darkness of the night.

The tall and skinny man drew his sword.

The numbing breeze of winter flowed around him; it was no longer cold.

The man let out twisted laughter from the pleasure and pain of his body and soul crystallizing.

He was the winter. He was the numbing breeze.

The man took off his black jacket, as if he could not feel the strong, icy wind.

Illuminated by the lights of Akiba far below him, the figure of the man looked unbalanced. His skinny body was tough, but it didn't have a normal musculature. Wearing a tight tank top and leather shoes, only the man's extremities were covered by metallic armor, in the form of gauntlets and leg guards. The bulkiness of this armor made it look out of place on the man. Taking off his dirty jacket and landing like a giant bird on the streets, the man was a murderous weapon.

The giant metal sheathing enclosed grey fibers that could store mana and absorb impacts. The magical fibers took in power supplied by the city's magic circle, operating silently. Several protective barriers were created around his limbs and a force field was erected around him.

Memories of battles with titans in the freezing north awakened within him.

They were not the memories of this man, this Person of the Land.

They were the memories of the hero Lugrius.

As an Ancient, Lugrius had fought as one of the Knights of Izumo. In order to protect the smiles of the people of Susukino, he battled the evil titans for a hundred years. He drove the titans into the Jade Garden of Owl Mountain and was just a step away from sealing them forever. Such was the legacy of the hero Lugrius.

This intense pride ravaged the man's heart like a snow storm.

If the 'Daughter of the Spring Elm' Sto Inau hadn't betrayed him, if not for her treachery and her poison, Lugrius would not have died. Lugrius would still be revered by the people in the north as one of the immortal, eternal Ancients. But because of that frail girl…

With a chill that threatened to freeze everything, a wintery breeze spewed from the opening in the sheath. The magic blade called forth the man's rage, calling on him to release the carnage of the cursed frost.

The resentment of Lugrius howled, demanding that the people gather and kneel before him, to offer their lives to him.

The man shook his head.

He was not Lugrius.

He was a Person of the Land, one of the Kunie, a glorious guardian of Akiba. But he was not honored by the masses and was looked down upon as an automaton. Even though he was stronger than the Adventurers, at best he could be called a guardian; most of the people saw him as a guard dog that was just another piece of the city. As if he were an enslaved warrior of a defeated clan waiting to be sacrificed.

Because of his circumstances, a dark resentment burned in his heart. This hate intertwined with the freezing white wrath. That's right. The man was sure this was the reason Lugrius chose him.

In order to slay the human who betrayed him, the 'Daughter of the Spring Elm'.

The man leaped off the building without any hesitation. His legs smashed onto the ground. His barrier protected him from the damage of falling from the 6th floor. The ground throughout Akiba was not paved anyway, it was just black soil overgrown with roots and moss. The man stomped on the frozen and twisted branches and roots, and sensed the life force around the area was weak.

There was no prey.

The Murderer wondered if something was going on. Perhaps everyone had fled.

The Murderer had excellent combat capabilities, but he was not perfect and was bad at many things, scouting for enemies being one of them. The duty guards of the Kunie clan were on stand-by in the guard room after all. When they detected any crimes being committed, they would teleport to the scene directly using their Moveable Armors to apprehend the criminals.

Scouting for enemies was the function of the guard room, not an ability endowed to each individual guard. The ancient magical equipment mobile suits did not boost the ability of their users that respect.

The man's scanning radius was not enough to cover the whole of Akiba. But even so, the number of people moving around in Akiba tonight was too low. Resting at night was normal in this world, but that was not so for Akiba. Maybe it was because of their endless stamina, the Adventurers slept much later than People of the Land. They were capable of fending off monsters lurking in the night as well.

That was why there should still be Adventurers wandering the streets deep into the night. The sacrifices the man presented to the blade were such people.

He couldn't sense any signs of life right now.

The man swung Byakumaru around in frustration, releasing whirlwinds that froze the undergrowth. The man stepped on them, shattering them to pieces as he prowled north, searching for prey.

The teleport ability of the Moveable Armor was only effective within the city zone.

The magic circle built under the city powered the Moveable Armor. So if the Adventurers were to evacuate the city, he would not be able to follow.

The teleport ability couldn't work across zones.

Some closed-off areas formed their own barriers known as zones. Take hotel rooms for instance. The small area that was filled with just 2 beds was its own zone because of the door, separated from the outside with magic. It was located within Akiba, but was not part of the Akiba city zone.

The magical facility known as the guild hall was the same. The many bases situated within the obsidian building were all separate zones. The buildings renovated by the Adventurers were also individual zones.

The man could not invade such zones by teleportation. Even if he wanted to walk in, the inherent magic of the zone could identify all visitors, filtering out unauthorized personnel.

That's why he couldn't prey on people hiding in these zones.

The man held his throat with one hand and let out a sinister laugh.

In other words, this was a defensive battle.

The Adventurers had admitted defeat and hidden before the might of the hero. The man laughed as he continued wandering the streets for prey. Peeking into alleys, destroying signboards, wielding the magic blade made him happy. He might not agree, but these were the actions of a bloodthirsty killer.

The man didn't have to wait long.

A petite figure stood in his way.

The man's mouth formed a crescent.

What a small and tender piece of meat.

The Murderer caught up to the small figure who smelled of spring oil. The frost blade howled in anticipation of its living meal. The wrath and hunger of the fallen hero spilled out across Akiba.

2

Akatsuki braced herself as her weapon clashed with the Murderer's.

Her opponent was a monster, and there was no room for error. No, even without errors, there was a high chance Akatsuki would lose.

Akatsuki was not a member of a warrior class that was proficient in tanking the attacks of enemies, but was a weapon-based class that specialized in dealing damage.

For the role that Akatsuki was playing, she ranked number 3. What this meant was that there were 2 others who would be better suited to taking on the Murderer.

But half the reason Akatsuki was taking on the Murderer was coincidence. Akiba was 2 km wide, it was not extremely vast, but was in no way small. To handle this Murderer who might appear from anywhere, the surveillance network consisting of a raid party was too small. But they couldn't invest more manpower because of constraints.

The raid leader Rieze divided her forces into parties of 3-6 members, setting up a thin but wide surveillance network.

Another reason was Akatsuki's subclass and battle experience. The Tracker subclass gave Akatsuki the abilities to detect life signs, recon for enemies and perform wide-area searches. Akatsuki's reconnaissance ability could match that of 4 parties, so it was not just a coincidence that Akatsuki found the Murderer.

Akatsuki attacked from the left quietly.

The silver flash of Quick Assault split the darkness of the night into upper and lower halves. Akatsuki knew this was not enough to kill the Murderer, and leaped forward with the attack. Quick Assault boosted the agility and leg strength of the user, so Akatsuki moved in search of a safe zone around the Murderer.

But the Kodachi she raised above the Murderer's back was knocked away by a chill that could freeze the bone.

Akatsuki expected this, but she still groaned from the pain, standing up after a forward roll.

She thought she had sneaked into a blind spot, but was knocked away by her foe.

"Akats… Ah!"

Maryele, who was exposed to the ice storm, shielded her face. But a healing light shone on Akatsuki's back. This was Auto Healing magic. Like the healing pulse magic of Druids and the preventive magic of Kannagi, they were unique magics of each healing class.

The healing wave felt like the warm hands of Maryele supporting her. Akatsuki moved forward, twisting her body left and right to avoid the attacks.

In front of her was the alien killer she had lost to that day.

The central figure of the incident that must be defeated.

The man smiled smugly as he waited for Akatsuki to come at him. The imposing armor the man was wearing was a Moveable Armor… Or rather, a part of the suit. Akatsuki and the others already knew that its defensive capability rivaled that of phantasmal armor. But Akatsuki was not afraid.

The streets of Akiba turned into frozen land in the snow storm.

Looking at the other side of the road, Akatsuki thought about the building and walls that were the same as usual as she fought. The range of the snow storm was 5 meters, 10 meters at the most. The chill originated from the blade the Murderer was wielding.

Akatsuki dodged the new attack patterns she didn't experience last time as she thought about how to handle them. Understanding the enemy was the first thing Rieze had taught her. Observing your foe, separating the things you could do and the things you could not do. No matter how hard the battle became, never stop observing. Akatsuki followed this teaching closely.

But she couldn't stay on the defensive. Maryele was right behind her. Maryele was the leader of Crescent Moon Alliance with a bright smile, a friend of her lord. As a ninja and a player, Akatsuki couldn't let Maryele get hurt.

Maryele was a healer. The vanguard needed to hold off the enemy, allowing the healer to do her part. Even though Akatsuki was not a tank, she was the only one who could play that role, so she had to concentrate the hate of the opponent on her.

The intense emotions were strong enough to tear off her limbs.

Akatsuki suppressed her heart that wanted to swing her sword wildly.

Her first move was Accel Fang. She knew it didn't hit.

Following the momentum, she used Accel Fang again. It glanced off the gauntlet of the enemy, making a screeching sound and leaving the smell of burnt metal. Using the 2 Accel Fangs she cast along the same path as a feint, she lowered her body so much she was almost hugging the ground.

If it were the Akatsuki from before, she would have jumped upwards.

Wanting to increase her attack power, Akatsuki would want to gain the higher ground over her foes. But it was different this time. If Akatsuki moved close to the ground, the enemy's view would be blocked by his own limbs. The old Akatsuki would not be able to get over her inferiority complex and use it to attack.

All these were things given to Akatsuki by everyone.

Death Stinger broke through the Murderer's defense. The strike that hit the back of his knee unfortunately did not inflict any bad status effect. But the Murderer was slightly off balance. He used brute force to swipe out, while Akatsuki used her Changing Kiln to block.

The sound of metal on metal reverberated in the night streets of Akiba.

Akatsuki, who was knocked back 5 meters, was sweating. Compared to the chill from the Murderer, the consecutive battle movements and tension made her temperature rise. Her hands hurt. When her blade clashed with the Murderer, Akatsuki supported the Kodachi with her right hand, even though she usually wielded it with just her left. She sensed that she couldn't defend the blow without using both hands.

She took some damage even when defending with both hands.

This couldn't be helped. According to the setting of Elder Tales, if the attack timing of 2 players matched, they would cancel each other out. But it was not something you could achieve easily, and you could only cancel out damage equivalent to your attack power. The stronger party would negate all damage, while the balance of the damage would be inflicted on the weaker party. The stronger attack of the Murderer hurt Akatsuki in their exchanges.

Even so, Akatsuki was still smiling.

Her arms that felt swollen recovered under the golden light. Auto Heal would activate when allies took damage, recovering their HP. The healing power could recover about 5 to 10 attacks. It was a great spell that automatically healed allies when they were hurt. For beginners to major raids like Akatsuki and Maryele, the psychological assurance of magic cast before battle was a huge advantage.

But this magic had a weak point. It activated after damage was dealt, meaning it couldn't stop fatal attacks, or powerful attacks that cut off an arm. Maryele's skill level in Auto Heal was lower than a cleric from D. D. D, so it was still far from total HP recovery even when it was used.

But.

Akatsuki ran forward anyway.

After somersaulting with an attack, she used Trick Step, twisting half a circle forcibly with her right leg, moving past her opponent with dazzling movements, and cast Paralyzing Blow.

Akatsuki kept attacking because she was not dead.

"Akatsuki-chan!"

The Murderer landed another glancing blow. Akatsuki felt her iron armor ripping. That strike was a deadly storm passing through the top of Akatsuki's heart.

But Akatsuki was still alive.

Akatsuki's fighting spirit was burning. A week ago, she had to hide behind Soujirou to fight. The battle was not going well now, Auto Heal and normal healing spells were not enough to stop Akatsuki's HP from falling. But this was expected. The foe was the Murderer, a raid-class enemy, not someone a member of a weak guild could take on after some preparation. Even the leader of West Wind Brigade, Soujirou, fell under his attack. Even with the time limit, Akatsuki had to handle this Murderer for some reasons. These reasons gave Akatsuki the strength to fight on.

Her hand that was extended forward was wearing a Star Gauntlet. This production grade gauntlet was made by the Lucky Dice sisters. The gauntlet emitted a force field, its defense was higher than it looked, but it could not protect her against the snow. This time, the Black Feather Garb shone magically, creating space for Akatsuki to turn.

Akatsuki slid into the gap using her inherent agility and was thankful for the new defense equipment. The light and flexible gear gave her elemental defense and abilities several times stronger than in the past, but weighed about the same. These were all gifts from the tea party girls.

'- Can you use this?'

'- Is the size not right? Let me help you tailor it. '

'- You can eat the strawberry here, there is enough for everyone. '

'- I have a good ingredient here, fufufu. '

The smiling girls treated Akatsuki like a sister. Maybe half of their intention was to tease her, but they helped Akatsuki without reservation.

Most of the equipment protecting Akatsuki right now was gifted by them.

The durability of her old gear fell drastically after the battle with the Murderer and could not keep up with Akatsuki's new battle.

Akatsuki knew all the girls, but had not spoken to half of them. Akatsuki was not sure whether the girls knew about the Murderer and the crisis Akiba was facing, but they all encouraged Akatsuki and fed her snacks.

This spurred the familiar feelings of impatience and frustration in Akatsuki. This was her reflex, disliking people who treated her like a kid. But on the other hand, Akatsuki felt a soothing sensation.

Akatsuki was asking everyone for help, so in a sense, it was normal to be treated like a kid. Akatsuki decided to give up resisting, because she was not good enough. Looking for help was equivalent to admitting defeat.

But, whether she was not good enough or lost, there was still merit in this.

Akatsuki felt that there were some things you could only understand after admitting your own weakness.

The calmness in her heart was one of them.

Reflecting calmly like this, she would notice that the people talking to Akatsuki meant no harm. They were treating Akatsuki with pure kindness.

The people Akatsuki rejected with her bare fangs did not look down at her one bit.

It was an embarrassing experience, but not unbearable.

Akatsuki's swordplay became sharp.

She was not concerned with her dwindling HP.

She continued to attack, trying to inflict bad status effects on the Murderer and to slow him down. Instead of prolonging her life, Akatsuki was displaying the confidence she had with their strategy.

"10 more… 5!"

Maryele's shout made Akatsuki smile.

Speaking of which, this was a first for Maryele too.

The two of them were challenging the first major raid of their lives.

3

Rieze relayed the contents to the other section team leaders after receiving the telepathic message.

"Target sighted, he is moving along the main road towards old Ogawa district on foot. Akatsuki-san's team made first contact. 2 woman team, 1 healer. D team move in to intercept, the rest stand by!"

Rieze shouted her command through telepathy while on the move.

The raid battle was finally starting.

Rieze sent out commands by telepathy consecutively. There were 24 Adventurers in Akiba right now, which would make 4 parties with 6 members each under normal circumstances. But Rieze didn't assign the members this way. Right now, the 23 members working under Rieze were split into groups of 2 or 3, forming about 10 groups.

Rieze was paired up with a partner. Behind her was Kyouko, a level 90 Guardian, one of the victims of the incident. Rieze herself was a Sorcerer.

This type of roster was weak. Even if team D linked up with Akatsuki, there would be only 4 members. It would be hard to take on an enemy on the level of a major raid boss.

Rieze and Kyouko who were situated in the canal headed for the main road running behind the railings. Unfortunately, they were far from the battle field, so they had to cut diagonally across Akiba. The distance was about 1 kilometer. But with the strong body of the Adventurers, they would arrive in 2 minutes.

The 2 of them went around the remnants of an old signboard, dashing through a trail covered with grass.

"Akatsuki-san…"

"Yes. Kyouko-chan, are you okay?"

"Of course. To be frank, I am afraid of that guy. But I would rather fight him so Souji-sama won't need to face him again. My athletic appearance is not just for show!"

"That's the spirit!"

"We have to win!"

Rieze didn't answer and just nodded firmly and ran. The people of Akiba had cleaned up the metro central square in the spirit of volunteerism. The 2 of them dashed across the place with strides as large as long jumpers and charged into the guild building, climbing up the stairs as if they had grown wings.

Rieze revised the battle plan while biting her lips.

The mysteries had been solved, there was no use for all his gimmicks.

The enemy was the undead warrior Lugrius.

No, he was someone who was similar to Lugrius.

In the 10th expansion pack 'Heart of Fantasy', he was the boss of the quest 'Glory of Days Past'. Glory of Days Past was a Full Raid quest, requiring 24 players to challenge, the difficulty was medium. It was hard in the beginning when information was lacking, but the difficulty went down after the trick to it became common knowledge. In the end, Glory of Days Past was just a quest that led to a bigger quest 'Prison of 9 Heroes', so it couldn't be too difficult.

The undead warrior Lugrius who should have died in the Ezzo Empire should be wandering around Hokkaido if he became a raid boss, so why was he attacking Akiba? Rieze didn't know, and there was no need to worry about the details. She was not interested in the cause. Rieze thought that studying the cause was only meaningful for the planning stage, and the only way to turn things around for unexpected events was through military maneuvers.

Rieze interviewed all the victims of the Murderer, and concluded that the Murderer was Lugrius, or someone with similar capability and character as Lugrius. It took so long because the Murderer wasn't able to use his skills fully or wanted to hide his abilities.

Another reason was that apart from being the raid boss Lugrius, he also possessed the power of the Moveable Armor. The monster used 2 different powers, which covered each other's tracks.

The key to solving the mystery was the Murderer's weapon Sentou-Byamaru.

The last person to fight the Murderer, Akatsuki, was certain.

To be honest, Kodachi were small and it was difficult to distinguish between weapons. Rieze was not confident in identifying the weapon by name just by seeing it. But since the girl using Kodachi said so, Rieze judged that this was reliable information.

The rest was elementary. The name Sentou-Byamaru reminded Rieze of the legacy of the hero who fought using this blade for Ezzo… Lugrius, as well as his fall to the dark side and the raid quest.

The cursed weapon.

It sounded exaggerated, but Sentou-Byamaru was a cursed weapon.

From the reports of Mikakage, Rieze learned that flavor text was affecting the whole world. The grudges of the hero along with his wrath and hate were the flavor text of his trusted sword. The cursed text became reality, possessing the one who bore his sword.

(Ridiculous!)

Rieze bit her lip after feeling frustrated for the hundredth time. Flavor text becoming reality and affecting the user.

This was like a living nightmare, attempting to rip the dreamer apart and something that aroused the fear from within.

But Rieze had a mind capable of running the training corps of D. D. D, she thought of a strategy outside the domain of fear. If the Murderer had the abilities of Lugrius, his capability could be divided into 3 types.

The first was a huge increase in HP. The HP of Lugrius varied widely with the number of people within the zone. In the Glory of Days Past quest, when fighting him in the the underground tomb, there were 50 People of the Land prisoners captured by him in the same zone. Just with this, Lugrius' HP was 3 times his minimum HP.

If Akiba was as lively as ever, his HP would probably be several hundred times larger, and even West Wind Brigade or D. D. D couldn't take this monster down.

That's why Rieze came up with a plan. She and Henrietta who was not here right now issued a strict warning. Just like the quest featuring Lugrius, they needed to escort the People of the Land out of the zone to seek refuge, so Akiba would become a zone with just them around. This was the minimum requirement to fight Lugrius.

The second was an increase of stats with the number of people around him. Lugrius would increase his attack, evasion, defense, and accuracy with the number of Adventurers within 50m of him. This was one of the secrets to why Lugrius could defeat Soujirou, and the reason why Rieze was spreading her forces out so thin.

It was the same with the quest Glory of Days Past. Leaving the strongest party of 6, the other 18 members would fend off the evil spirits summoned by the grudge of Lugrius and escort the People of the Land to safety. By weakening Lugrius this way, they would be able to defeat him.

The last ability was the frost area attack. Lugrius would conjure a snowstorm in front of him, obscuring visibility and dealing freeze damage. It was a simple ability, and could only be defended by equipping elemental defense gear.

'The more living people that are around him, the stronger he gets, freezing all those alive'. This was the flavor text describing Lugrius' grudge after dying.

He was not a simple enemy from the field or dungeon zones, but a quest boss with flavor text, that's why he possessed such abilities.

These 3 abilities were the secret behind Lugrius, and the reason why the difficulty of this battle was at the level of despair. A medium level 90 raid became a terrible force in Akiba that was full of living souls.

Especially when combined with the instant teleport ability of the Moveable Armor.

Lugrius could make his escape anytime. He could also strike at a time and place with a lot of Akiba citizens. The Murderer stalked the streets of Akiba at night, but there was no telling how long he would continue. Maybe the reason was because the quest was set at night, or it may be the preference of the Murderer, it could also be a coincidence.

Rieze considered the worst case scenario.

She worried that the Murderer who possessed the abilities of Lugrius might no longer be an NPC. The witness testimony stated that the Murderer was called Enbart Nelles, a Samurai. This meant that apart from being cursed, he also had a human mind with the ability to learn.

Raid quests were the contents of the game. The difficulty was high enough to wipe out the players, but the developers only set the bar high in order for the players to have a sense of accomplishment when they succeeded in the challenge. Rieze understood this because she had joined the largest battle guild in Yamato. The players who enjoyed challenging raids had a relationship of enigmatic trust with the game developers.

But this was no longer a game called Elder Tales, and Rieze and the others were not game characters. This raid might not be beatable anymore. There was a big possibility that this was the case.

Would this possibility increase in the future? The Murderer would learn of Rieze's battle plan just by fighting them once, and he might adapt with more cunning and deadly attacks. The teleport capability and the abilities of Lugrius were a perfect combination and with the combination of these two, Rieze could only imagine the hell that would follow.

Rieze came up with a countermeasure with a good chance of success.

But even so, there was no telling if it would work.

The world after the Catastrophe was no longer a game, there was no guarantee that any plans would work. Rieze felt a chill when she realized this. Just turning this thought into words made Rieze shiver as if an ice demon had grabbed her spine.

The title of tactician and the glory of leading the training corps didn't mean a thing out here.

They only increased Rieze's insecurities. Because any mistakes made by Rieze who was holding such a position would cost others their lives.

Rieze pushed her tired legs forward.

How terrifying. Rieze had finally reached the terrifying stage where she couldn't take responsibility if she troubled others. Rieze recalled that silver-haired princess. She had known such fear since birth, but even so, she still barged into the lords' conference and came to Akiba on a griffon with Rieze's lord. Rieze held her in reverence.

That princess was incredible.

Krusty too. Shiroe as well. The 11 guild masters also. Including Akatsuki.

Trying to change things with no guarantee of success, what a terrifying thing. Rieze felt embarrassed to have derided them as middle school girls exchanging diaries. She was only talking on her high horse from a safe position.

Rieze felt shamed from her ugliness. But all the more reason for her to not back down.

There were 9 contingencies for this battle. Rieze instructed others to make adjustments when the situation called for it. But her inability to narrow down the plan to just 1 was proof of her incompetence as a tactician.

But even so… this was better than failure.

"We are here!"

Kyouko barged through the metal door which led to the night sky with a bright moon. The debris of the columns lay around her feet, the evergreen trees blocked half her vision. Far below them was the central square before the metro station.

This place where the wind howled was the black obsidian fortress that was the pride of Akiba… the 15 story guild building. The high-rise building had a roof that looked like it had been smashed by a punch from a titan.

"Careful Rieze-san!"

The chilling wind lifted Rieze's cape. Rieze tightened her clothes while Kyouko held on to her belt, the two of them hid behind the pillars.

Rieze opened her telepathy menu and prepared for the next step of the battle together with Kyouko.

4

In an unknown basement of the same guild building, a different kind of battle was coming to a conclusion.

The faded wallpaper together with the indirect illumination created an atmosphere akin to the deep sea during the night. Raynesia gulped when she recalled the maze that led to this drawing room. It was impolite for a princess, but there was no stopping the relentless fearful emotions that kept rising up.

She had seen all kinds of aristocrats.

Although she thought they were troublesome, she had never felt so uneasy before. For the first time, she understood what it was like to be overwhelmed not by the content of the conversation, but the atmosphere of the place. An eerie atmosphere seemed to have overwhelmed her, different from the fear her grandfather or Krusty gave her.

She realized her hands resting on her thighs were grabbing a handkerchief tightly and relaxed.

She even wanted to rely on this thin piece of cloth.

A warm hand rested on Raynesia's shoulders. It was Henrietta, one of the talented ladies that was the pride of Akiba. The touch that eased Raynesia made her want to turn around to give her thanks, but her will stopped her.

Her priority was to converse with the man sitting on the couch opposite her… Kinjo.

The leader of the Kunie was wearing a barely visible smile with a relaxed attitude. It made Raynesia feel the Kinjo who apologized in a straightforward manner in the Water Maple Consulate was a complete fantasy.

He was not fearless, nor was he taunting.

Raynesia believed this was Kinjo's true expression. Maybe his attitude the previous time they met was all an act. Elissa also criticized Raynesia this way all the time. Raynesia didn't want to point this out at this place, but her feelings remained tense.

"Are you sure you want to stop the magic circuit between the magic circle and the Moveable Armor?"

"I am certain."

Raynesia answered.

She had been repeating this request since she set foot in the underground residence of the Kunie clan. Kinjo had already agreed. The Kunie clan serfs wearing black tops were definitely starting the process.

The query this time was probably the final confirmation.

"Stopping the supply of magic means the magic barrier protecting the city will be lost, and restarting the system will take 10 years."

Raynesia nodded her head in response to Kinjo's questioning eyes.

"Yes, I understand."

"The guard system protecting Akiba will be down."

"Yes."

"This city will be defenseless."

"That's right."

Raynesia answered smoothly.

If anyone asked if she had reservations… there certainly were.

This was expected. Even at this moment in time where she was pretending to be calm, her heart was already regretting and at the verge of tears.

(Why me?) She thought.

(Why is this happening?) She wondered.

If she could escape, she would run no matter how much she had to apologize.

This was only natural.

But she steeled her heart and made this request.

Thinking back, she realized why Kinjo visited her that day.

The reason behind the young man's visit was to transfer the burden of making this decision to Raynesia. He left with the smile he was wearing right now after dumping the responsibility on Raynesia. This was the best course of action for him.

Raynesia thought that was despicable, and hoped he didn't resort to that. This was the mistake of the Kunie clan this time, shouldn't they make the decision and bear the responsibility? Raynesia thought the Kunie clan should resolve the matter immediately and compensate the city.

Even though the matter was not so simple, Kinjo should have made the decision to stop the magic supply as the person in charge. If the people were not satisfied with this incident, he should let the citizens stone him… Raynesia had thought about that before.

But thinking carefully, this was the same course of action Raynesia wanted to take.

When Raynesia found out about this, she wanted to contact her grandfather Duke Sergead, or complain about this to Krusty. But wasn't that dumping the responsibility on them? Raynesia was sure she never did that before. Wrong, Raynesia had always been doing that.

Kinjo was very similar to Raynesia.

But after that, the girl in black charged into the city.

Here was what Raynesia thought back then.

'Ah, that worked out in my favor. '

If the masses knew about this incident, there would be a standoff between the Adventurers and People of the Land. Raynesia, as the daughter of the Corwen family, had to prevent this from happening. But on the other hand, when she was at a loss, the Adventurer girl came to her aid and shone a path leading to the resolution of the crisis. By overhearing the news, this girl had pushed the development of the events before she could make any decision.

For a moment, Raynesia definitely thought this way.

That's why Raynesia noticed. The way Kinjo pushed the responsibility to Raynesia was just like Raynesia who had been pushing her responsibility away since birth. The frustration Raynesia was feeling against this young man was actually directed at herself.

Raynesia had discussed this incident with Rieze and Henrietta, who in turn reported it to the Round Table Council. But the one making the decision was Raynesia. She couldn't push the responsibility from Kinjo to the Round Table Council. Not just because she was unhappy to be put in such a position.

Kinjo was a Person of the Land, Raynesia was also a Person of the Land. That's why she couldn't dump this responsibility onto the Adventurers.

Adventurers were a different kind of existence from People of the Land.

To be honest, the People of the Land were a weak existence compared to the Adventurers. But that was why there was a line they would not back away from. If they pushed away their duties because of weakness, that meant they were worse than just being frail. That way, there would be no way they could work together… and become friends.

Elissa's words rang in Raynesia's ears.

Raynesia let go of all pretense and stared at Kinjo.

"This incident is not just the fault of the Kunie clan, but the mistake of the People of the Land as a whole. We overlooked this due to our lack of vigilance. We have to face this fact. I conclude that the best course of action we can take right now is to stop the magic supply."

"…"

"In order to apologize to all the Adventurers, we have to do our part. What we can do right now is to stop the magic circle."

"It might cause even more trouble."

Raynesia had no reply to this criticism.

This was expected. The impact this incident caused could not be shouldered by Raynesia alone. Wrong, this decision would gamble the irreplaceable lives of many people, so who could shoulder this burden? Raynesia wanted to say 'God can do it'. But those were just useless words.

But being a noble meant taking up this heavy responsibility.

The aristocrats had to show their courage even when facing the risk of death.

Her grandfather had always shown Raynesia through his example.

Just like the belief in God, this teaching was intangible, but was a truth that Raynesia could touch in her heart.

. Raynesia nodded her head stiffly. Her movement lacked grace and looked ugly.

"Please do not worry."

But Henrietta standing behind Raynesia spoke encouragingly. Wearing the official uniform of a Round Table Council representative with a flowing cape, Henrietta said in a clear voice:

"The Round Table Council already knows about this incident, please take note that we also agree to stopping the magic circle."

"So you have the backing of the Round Table…"

"Not a backing. Just fellow residents of Akiba working together to resolve the issue. I also consider the Kunie clan to be residents of Akiba… Am I wrong?"

"Is that what Shiroe-dono told you to say?"

"No."

At those last words, Raynesia could tell that Henrietta had tensed up.

Raynesia didn't understand the meaning behind this exchange, but she glared at Kinjo with unrelenting resolve.

"… I understand. No matter how this incident came about, the Kunie clan were still negligent in our security. This will leave a stain in our proud history of using the magic barrier to protect the city for several hundred years. We were distracted from the calamity coming from the other continents, and underestimated the threat from the west, it is all my fault."

"… Kinjo-sama?"

Raynesia couldn't understand the words of the young man who was bowing before her. These enigmatic words gave her some premonition, but it slipped away from her grasp.

(Because this man… the Kunie clan are different in some ways from the People of the Land…)

"Like you said, we have to do the things we can do. Not to reject, but to take a step forward. I am sorry Raynesia-sama, I did something akin to testing you this time. Allow me to owe you a favor for this incident."

Kinjo raised his head with a sincere expression. This was an expression Raynesia saw for the first time. But he reverted to his enigmatic smile and announced: "But, I want to let someone else return the favor."

It seemed like Kinjo was testing her.

Raynesia finally understood. Their last meeting was a test for Raynesia. Raynesia understood this without knowing the objective and the result. This troubled her. Even if Raynesia was not suitable, Kinjo in front of her, the mind-reading monster, the white glasses demon, all of them attempted to force Raynesia to shoulder this heavy burden.

"The preparations are done."

Kinjo announced after his clansman whispered in his ear.

In response, Raynesia turned around and looked at Henrietta for the first time. The talented lady with blonde hair and glasses had a far away look and muttered a few words.

"10 more… 5… understood, in one minute."

Henrietta ended the telepathy and nodded. After the confirmation, Raynesia said in a clear voice:

"Alright, I will request formally. Please stop the magic circuit supply to the defenses of Akiba city."

One minute later, ripples similar to a sigh of a titan spread across Akiba.

The renowned invincible guard system ceased operation.

5

"10 meters… 5 meters…. Engage!"

A cute voice rang out on the street.

A giant stone body appeared which was avoided easily by Akatsuki who seemed to preempt its arrival. The grey granite golem raised its arms as thick as a car and smashed downwards.

The Murderer was uncertain whether he could take the blow and dodge. The attack of the golem was wide and ignored defenses, but the speed was horrible so it could be avoided easily.

But this was within Akatsuki's calculations.

After the Murderer avoided the golem's attack, Akatsuki aimed for his flank and used Fatal Ambush. This skill that had the word ambush in it had a long casting time, and would take some effort to hit a fast opponent. With the golem's attack as a cover, she cast this skill from the Murderer's blind spot.

She was rewarded with damage to the Murderer for pulling off this high difficulty attack.

Akatsuki twisted her body to avoid the raging attacks and snowstorm. She avoided by a mere 10 cm. This distance was not enough to avoid the area attack of the snowstorm, but this was where the golem came in again. Akatsuki hid behind the giant and waited for the storm to disperse.

But the price was the golem freezing with cracking sounds.

The golem boasted high HP similar to its appearance, but that was relative to the other familiars that could be called forth by the Summoner. This type of familiar level summon only had a third of the power of Adventurers of similar levels, so its HP was also one third. Even though the golem was tough and sturdy, its HP was less than that of Akatsuki's.

But it still endured the Murderer's attack for 5 seconds, and 5 seconds was enough for Akatsuki and the others to make their next move.

"Heartbeat Healing… Hoi~"

Mikakage raised her staff that resembled a broom, casting the unique healing spell of the Druids from the hood of an abandoned car. Bright green light protected Akatsuki's heart with a pulsing sound, and Akatsuki's strength returned gradually with each beat of the rhythm.

The tiny girl Allie with the same appearance and movement as Mikakage was also casting her magic by Mikakage's feet. Plant fairy Alraune could assist in battles just like other minions, and had the special ability of boosting the recovery effects of the Summoner's spell. The introverted Allie shut her eyes as she waved her spoon. She was not scared, she was just giving her all to aid her master.

Healing over time spells with wide area recovery spell and instant recovery spell… Mikakage cast all her magic on Akatsuki. Using multiple healing spells was the unique style of the druids, Mikakage healed Akatsuki's wounds without reservation. Without regards to her MP, Mikakage healed Akatsuki's HP to 80%.

Akatsuki didn't thank her. She didn't have the effort to spare.

Akatsuki's duty right now was to attract the Murderer's attention and run down the main street. Completing her task perfectly was the only way to show her gratitude. Akatsuki, in her most focused mental state ever, understood this point.

Akatsuki's range of awareness spread out, becoming as clear as the water surface, grasping the situation in her surroundings.

Maryele, who was running right behind her, continued to cast Auto Heal to keep its effect from lapsing. A guerrilla Monk and her Cleric partner who were participants from West Wind Brigade joined them.

Akatsuki leaped away from the Monk's direction when she felt a burning sensation on her skin.

The Summoner Byakko who called forth the earlier golem conjured a Lance Damsel from a big magic circle. A fairy wearing pure white female armor threw a spear of light that split into 7. Akatsuki recalled it was a variation of the 'Combat Summon: Sword Princess'. This was the strongest attack magic of the Summoner, but it didn't inflict fatal wounds on the Murderer. This was expected. Even though the attack was powerful, a raid boss would not go down from a single attack. But the consecutive attacks were strong enough to pierce through a boulder.

Akatsuki's team dashed through the duo who kept on using attack and healing spells… the zone where Mikakage and Byakko were stationed. She couldn't stop because Akatsuki's team's duty was to lure the Murderer to the designated point. The duo would run out of MP in 2 minutes at this rate of spell casting.

"Good luck!"

A cheerful encouragement that didn't suit the intense battlefield rang out. Behind the Murderer who was pressing in with a looming smile, Mikakage was waving her hands so hard that they might fall off. Akatsuki felt a warmth in her heart. This was definitely not because of Heartbeat Healing.

"Update! 10 more meters!"

The voice of Maryele came from behind. Akatsuki leaped through the sky as if she were flying to the moon. After passing through the 'Mikakage and Byakko Area', there were 10 more meters to the next one. This was like visiting several attraction sites of a winter parade. Lugrius' abilities would increase with the number of Adventurers within 50 meters, which was why they could only station limited people within this range.

If the battle dragged on, the limited manpower would exhaust their MP eventually. The damage output of the limited manpower was weak, so the battle would definitely drag on, so they couldn't increase the MP usage rate. It was a vicious cycle.

In order to break this stalemate, Rieze came up with this raid battle plan. Stationing several 50 meter spherical zones that didn't overlap in Akiba. A team centered around Akatsuki would lure the Murderer through the zones, while the members stationed in each area would provide support with covering fire and healing spells.

Akatsuki thought about the zones that were left and continued running.

She swore to keep running until day broke.

Akatsuki noticed that the support from Maryele had been dwindling. Akatsuki, who was a weapon specialist class, adjusted the way she fought depending on her remaining MP. At worst, this would lead to lower damage output and the battle dragging longer. But it was not the same for the healer class Maryele. If Maryele held back on her healing support, it would directly result in Akatsuki's demise.

Because of this huge responsibility, Akatsuki wanted to protect everyone, she didn't want to lose. Akatsuki's equipment, the magic protecting her, healing her, all these didn't belong to Akatsuki.

In order to pay back these borrowed treasures, she kept on dashing ahead.

Seeking quicker steps and faster strikes.

A gear inside Akatsuki fell into place.

Lowering her center of gravity and holding her breath. The image she drew from her heart when assuming this pose became a trigger for a skill. This was the unique skill of Trackers, Hide Shadow. It usually required the use of the game menu to activate it, but Akatsuki could call forth the technique with her body movements alone through practice.

Her presence dissipated from her body clad in black, as if her life force itself was gone. The 'presence' of Akatsuki right now was very vague.

Akatsuki didn't know her location, but she could see the attack from the demon blade clearly from her fixed field of vision. Akatsuki was exposed in front of the dangerous attack, but there was another Akatsuki watching from another position. Her Hide Shadow was at the level of Shadow Lurk, her separated life force advanced in a straight line on the battlefield.

Akatsuki dodged past the ice storm like attack of the Murderer.

The body that looked like Akatsuki and Akatsuki's consciousness were in different places.

The evidence was the shining body of Akatsuki swaying in the ice storm, negating all attacks like illusions.

Akatsuki reached the back of the Murderer enduring the overwhelming sense of acceleration.

She couldn't keep this up much longer.

She could only activate this special skill by holding her breath and calming her heart. The skill used for infiltration missions or escaping from monsters was forcibly applied on the battlefield. This was the 'Over level' Akatsuki learned.

… Boring.

Akatsuki wielded her blade like a sparrow.

The sudden attack from behind cut into the throat of the Murderer slightly. Even attacking with the illusion just now, he still managed to evade a fatal hit, the demon blade was formidable indeed.

… Boring.

Akatsuki did not feel the joy of achieving her wish. She stopped her breath and activated Shadow Lurk again. The shadow copies that appeared immediately confused the Murderer and helped Akatsuki evade the triple strike and leap backwards.

Large icicles formed with the strikes, but Akatsuki ignored the flying ice attack and continued to accelerate, dancing on the blade of the Murderer.

This 'Over level' was similar to the demon blade.

Its usage was against the common sense of Elder Tales.

The strength Akatsuki desired was similar to the crazy demon that created snow storms. She felt ashamed of her naivety of wanting such powers.

With a pulsing green light in her breast and a golden shine around her body.

The gauntlets on her hands were full of power while the black garb on her body shielded her from harm.

Most importantly, the hands waving at Akatsuki so hard as if they were going to fall off… the cheers, the gentle nods of encouragement warmed Akatsuki's heart and body.

'Over level' was understanding the Elder Tales game system, after the changes of the Catastrophe, a state you reached after working hard on it. It was part ingenuity and part hard work. In the end, Akatsuki didn't learn any of the 8 'Over levels' D. D. D discovered and was taught to her by Rieze. Just like Nyanta's cooking was the combination of his Chef subclass and his real life cooking skills, all the 'Over levels' were the observation and research of the subject in question.

It was not something you could use after hearing its explanation.

It was not something you could gain instantly after leveling up in a game.

'Over level' was not something you could get just by wishing for it, it was something you achieved after going through hard work and thinking.

Nazuna said 'daring to say that Over level is boring is the real Over level'. Akatsuki carved these words into her heart. 'Over levels' were not used by high level Adventurers to flaunt their strength, it was something more precious, a piece of something she touched that day.

Akatsuki ran in orderran in order to express this, cutting off her naive thinking of wanting power. No matter what she had to go through, she had to destroy that demon blade.

The secret behind Akatsuki's 'Over level' Shadow Lurk was the skill of the Tracker subclass Hide Shadow. This skill that couldn't be used in combat was forcibly utilized by Akatsuki after the Catastrophe. Combining it with Road Mirage and Trick Step, she could create clones of herself.

This was something Akatsuki created, wings that only belonged to Akatsuki.

Even with all the buff magic and support, Akatsuki still couldn't match up to the Murderer. The Murderer breathed out an air of insanity triggered by the smell of blood, suppressing Akatsuki in this duel with brute strength.

(… Have to pull away by using a skill.)

After determining her strategy, Akatsuki used Stealth Blade that increased attack penetration in her attempt to get away from the tall and lanky man. The Murderer who had seen this attack several times would dodge to the left, giving Akatsuki the chance to back away. But…

"Is that it? Is that it?"

The Murderer allowed the blade to cut into his flank and smiled with glee. The Murderer, who drew closer at the expense of losing HP, let out a hellish chill. The snow storm solidified in an instant, freezing his wounds along with Akatsuki's beloved blade.

Akatsuki lost her only weapon and fell to the ground from a blow from her opponent's arm.

6

"I'm okay."

Akatsuki stood up.

Her momentary lapse left her on the brink of death, with less than 5% of her HP left. But she was still alive.

Maryele rushed over and used healing spells with mediocre effect. Her MP was running out.

"I'm sorry. I'm… really sorry."

The sad voice of Maryele pained Akatsuki's heart. Maryele did nothing wrong. This was her first raid battle but she had to bear the burden of being the primary healer because she was partnered with Akatsuki. Akatsuki wanted to console Maryele, but she couldn't find the words to say. So Akatsuki put all her heart into the same reply.

"I'm okay."

These were words of bravado, but not bravado at the same time. It was from the bottom of her heart wishing the person she cared about not to worry. Akatsuki was not sure whether her message was conveyed and prepared to dash ahead. At this moment, a short stick-like object spun in the air towards her.

"Just in time, take this."

The 25th girl who stuck her head out of the workshop said as she lifted her goggles.

The sheath of the sword she received was still warm. In the hands of Akatsuki, who was freezing in the snow storm, it radiated a warmth of a fresh birth.

"… Meito-Haganemushi"

"Wrong… it's 'Haganemushi-Tatara', reforged version."

With a closer look, Akatsuki found that the length and the hilt were different, it was made to accommodate Akatsuki. Most importantly, the status screen that reflected the item's background… the flavor text was different.

"Something this great, I can't afford it…" "Win with this."

Akatsuki was on the verge of tears, but Amenona's sword smith Tatara interrupted her. It was not her usual lazy voice, but a determined tone.

"Defeat him with my sword."

In the battle field she was pointing at, the guerilla from West Wind Brigade, Kawara, was battling.

She was covered in wounds and blood all over, but she was still fighting with a fierce roar. The Murderer's primary target was Akatsuki, and he was still looking at her. But the young girl was using the skills of a Monk to defend Akatsuki, who was knocked down by the Murderer.

"Akatsuki-yan, the preparations are complete."

Akatsuki nodded at Maryele who was using healing spells. It was time.

There was no need for words.

Akatsuki dashed like an arrow in a straight line. She sent her Shadow Lurk clone out to attack with Accel Fang, using her brand new Kodachi. The Murderer's Sentou-Byakumaru clashed with Haganemushi-Tatara. In the storm of grinding metal, Akatsuki's clone deformed and faded.

Akatsuki appeared behind the Murderer and struck at his head with Venom Strike. The man deflected the poisonous blow with a flick of his head, twisting his body forcibly to strike at Akatsuki, who was in midair.

This blow would definitely be fatal if it landed, but Akatsuki did a double jump in the air to avoid it. Reinforcements were here.

"Getting careless towards the end, just like Shiroe!"

Nazuna dashed in like a bullet.

Wearing thick sole wooden sandals, she elegantly somersaulted in air, running beside Akatsuki away from the demon blade. Nazuna probably felt eyes looking at her and softened her expression, but her eyes were still focused.

"Alright then, since you are Shiroe's junior, that means you are my junior too. To keep Soujirou from worrying, allow me to assist!"

Akatsuki nodded.

The Murderer charged at them like a tank. Rounding the corner of the main street, they ran towards a narrow gap between 2 buildings. Akatsuki and the fox-ear beauty dashed in. The snow storm blowing into the alley was stopped by Nazuna's barrier magic.

"Are you alright?"

The gentle voice showing no signs of being chased by a monster made Akatsuki raise her head. "Why are you crying?" Nazuna teased with a gentle smile. Akatsuki wiped her tears, but she couldn't say the words 'I'm fine. ' She was so happy.

She was at the brink of death and being chased by a fearsome foe, but Akatsuki didn't feel the fear of losing something. Surrounded by her friends, Akatsuki was challenging a raid. For the first time, she felt the warmth and camaraderie of battling together.

Right now, the streets of Akiba at night were a battle field.

The stage for Akatsuki, Raynesia, and the girls of the Water Maple Consulate.

These feelings eclipsed the longing Akatsuki had for Shiroe. Akatsuki really liked the excellent and intelligent young man she revered as her lord, but she was now confident of liking him more. Preparing for others was a honorable path. Making a place for others to smile was very difficult. Her lord who understood the difficulty and value of this was worthy of Akatsuki's love.

"Engage!"

This shout made Nazuna and Akatsuki jump up. Countless lightning arrows flew towards the Murderer through the narrow passage. Compared to Akatsuki who fought with multiple skill usage and attacks from blind spots, Assassins who specialized in sniping with Assassinate dealt more damage.

Nazuna and Akatsuki ran in the air, leaving behind the enemy howling insanely while chasing them. There were several translucent watery footholds 5cm in diameter under their feet. This is Nazuna's 'Over level', Skywalker.

This was using the basic Kannagi spell Purification Barrier and setting it up freely somewhere. The magic barrier used to intercept damage was cast at a space of Nazuna's choosing. This small force field that couldn't intercept any significant damage was the creative use of protective magic for movement, creating a foothold in midair.

The place they arrived at after the frantic run was the central square of Akiba. The Akiba metro, the elevated tracks, railings, and buildings surrounded this place, which was known as the heart of Akiba. After reaching this place, Akatsuki turned around in the pitch-black building and prepared for battle, waiting for the Murderer to come.

The deep breaths of the chilly winter air hurt Akatsuki's chest. Her lungs hurt from the cold, but cooled Akatsuki's head.

The Murderer noticed that Akatsuki had stopped and moved slowly into the square with loud steps. Akatsuki was left with 20% HP, it was about the same for the Murderer. Although their actual value differed by a hundred fold, Akatsuki still lifted her sword and awaited the Murderer.

This was the Straight Eyes stance Akatsuki had used thousands, tens of thousands of time since the Catastrophe.

"Not running?"

Akatsuki nodded to acknowledge the question the Murderer asked with a cramping smile.

"Then, it's about time…" The murder charged in as he shouted "to die!". He lifted Sentou-Byakumaru above his head, the sword growing larger with its ice coating, ready to strike. The 2 swords that were about the same size when displayed in Anemona differed widely now, it was like comparing a branch to a tree trunk.

But from the skies far above, water akin to a waterfall fell, splashing the lifted Sentou-Byakumaru.

Akatsuki could see in her mind the comrades surrounding the central square. Her wide area enemy detection ability provided her with this intel. If the others wandered within 50 meters of the Murderer, all their efforts would be in vain. 50 meters was longer than the range of all healing and attack spells. This meant her comrades could not take part in the battle.

But there was a blind spot.

A place higher than 15 stories, a place slightly above 50 meters.

With Kyouko acting as a safety harness, Rieze was barely within Akatsuki's detection range. The sorcerer's wide area attack, Freezing Rain, used a flood of water with ice particles in it to wash away the enemies. If she used it in a dungeon, the range was only 20 meters. But the water was falling freely under gravity towards the enemy right now.

This attack absorbed the freezing chill of the Murderer, feeding off the cold and solidifying the moment it touched him.

"What…!"

The Murderer tried to turn and escape, but his lower limbs and his gauntlet holding his sword were encased in a pillar of ice. His plan to split Akatsuki backfired, leaving Byakumaru that he was holding in his hand protruding out at the top of the ice pillar.

The damage from the spell was insignificant, less than 1% of his total health. But he was trapped in a stupendous amount of ice, restricting his movements, making it hard for him to evade attacks. The Murderer was unwilling to compromise and struggled in vain. He was really stunned by this turn of events now.

He didn't know why, but even Raynesia, who exited from the guild building, was staring at him.

It had nothing to do with his remaining HP.

Luring the Murderer here was to sap him of his combat prowess. Letting him see through all the tactics so he would let down his guard. The tactician with curly hair used the powers of the Murderer against him, trapping him in place. Akatsuki approached him deftly.

Her first attack was a simple Deadly Dance. Akatsuki lowered her center of gravity and slashed upwards. This was a melee attack skill, not powerful, but had a short cool down of 1 second. And its damage increased with each consecutive successful strike.

Akatsuki hit the exposed Byakumaru as if she were forging a blade.

Meitou Haganemushi had the ability of lowering the durability of your opponent's weapon, a tradable weapon acquired from a major raid. It was best used for player versus player battles, an outstanding Kodachi with the capability of destroying an opponent's weapon. Meitou-Haganemushi had now been reforged into Haganemushi-Tatara. It might not be phantasmal level, but it was the strongest weapon Akatsuki had ever used. But the thing fueling Akatsuki's fighting spirit was not the attack power of the weapon.

Something more intangible, simple and important was protecting Akatsuki.

… The swordsmith of Anemona Tatara reforged this blade just for this quiet friend of hers. 'May this serious and righteous girl never fall to the wrong path; may both the sword and the girl support each other, to fight against evil curses and the suffering of the world. '

The meaningless flavour text meant to provide the background of the item warmed Akatsuki.

These words contained meaning, emotions, history, relations, and legacy.

They were not meaningless.

In the heart of the reader, it was irreplaceably important since the very beginning. Because it was irreplaceable, the tragedy was triggered by the Murderer and Akatsuki found redemption.

In the blue light of the coming dawn, the strong sound of sword strikes reverberated in the surroundings.

The sparrow who found her home focused on swinging her sword over 20 times.

Even in the morning before the sun was visible, Akatsuki and her comrades believed they would emerge victorious.

Mikakage, Azukikomo, Henrietta, Maryele, and Rieze, who seemed to have bumped her nose somewhere, and Kyouko, who was hugging Raynesia in her arms, were all watching the moment the cursed blade shattered. They gasped as the Murderer collapsed to the ground sluggishly.

There were no cheers of victory, just the sighs and sounds of relief. The girls gathered at the central square looked at each other and smiled sheepishly. Everyone showed their weak side and relied on others. A lot of the girls made blunders too.

But this was the first real battle of the girls of Water Maple Consulate.

The small and modest raid group completed their mission successfully.

Their victory was the bell announcing the Second Coming of the Catastrophe, a blessing as they moved on into the future.

The girls, who should have been exhausted, moved into the office and drawing room of Raynesia's residence, holding a slumber party until afternoon. An epilogue that only Elissa knew.

Akiba Raid MAP

Guild Organization Chart

Log Horizon

Terminology

Character Popularity Ballot

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