Sir X stood at the very center of the chaos as the battle between his forces and the monsters serving the Shadow of Victims raged on.
However, he noticed something that fundamentally shifted his view of the situation.
Unlike the other monsters he was used to dealing with, mindless beasts that swarmed indiscriminately, these creatures possessed a terrifying discipline.
While they were slaughtering his men, dropping soldiers like flies in mere seconds, not a single one of them laid a hand on him or his partner, Sandra. Even though Sandra was actively killing them using the undead monsters she controlled, the enemy forces simply bypassed her, as if she didn’t exist.
However, realizing that fact alone wasn’t the entirety of X’s worry.
It was the teenage girl standing motionless at the other end of the clearing, refusing to attack like the rest of her soldiers.
"I see. She wants to fight me personally," X frowned, his grip tightening on his hilt. He fully understood the situation he was about to walk into.
She was a Level 888. Unless that number was some kind of high-tier illusion, he knew he was screwed if he charged head-on into the battle without a concrete plan.
Looking to the side, he noticed Sandra was safe behind her wall of undead meat-shields. That meant he didn’t have to worry about protecting her and could instead focus all his attention on killing the anomaly before him.
With his blade stretched to the side, X began to walk Fanny down, slowly increasing his pace. He knew if he could close the distance and land a strike before she reacted, his chances of victory, however slim, would increase.
Fanny, on the other hand, remained frozen where she was.
The look on her face was blank, yet her eyes were filled with a bubbling, incoherent rage. She didn’t utter anything more than a repetitive, eerie whisper.
"He called the Supreme One a fool... He called the Supreme One a fool..."
Teddy, the plush bear in her grip, jerked its head toward her after noticing X was closing in fast.
"OI! Fanny! Snap out of it, he is coming already! Listen, Lord Kai is watching right now, so get your shit together! This is our moment, come on!"
Fanny instantly snapped out of her trance, looking toward the upper left where she sensed Kai’s gaze watching from the Throne Room.
"R-right, s-sorry about that."
"No worries, I was pissed off too. But humans are dummy people anyway, so we can understand their stupidity. But right now, we need to focus on killing them. See, look, he is right there, we can do it."
Teddy pointed a stubby arm to the side, indicating X’s position.
X, to his surprise, froze for a split second. They had caught him.
The moment he noticed they were distracted, discussing amongst themselves, he had managed to burst into a sprint, sneaking between the chaotic skirmishes to get right beside them. He had hoped to strike down the monster before she could notice him.
But now—
Fanny looked toward his exact location. The anger that had disappeared moments ago returned in an instant, darker and heavier than before.
"Dammit!" X cursed, his face twisting into a painful frown.
There was simply no going back. His element of surprise was gone, but his momentum was not. He was going to kill this monster no matter the cost.
He roared, swinging his blade down with everything he had.
Slash!
The blade cut nothing but air.
Before the white steel could land, Fanny moved. It took little effort for her to dodge the attack, her body blurring as she weaved through the follow-up strikes X threw her way.
Slash! Stab! Swipe!
She danced around the lethal edges.
Before she headed into battle, Sanovere had warned her about X’s weapon.
The Sword of Ladrona.
It was a Second-Grade Artifact, sharp enough to cut through almost any physical defense depending on the wielder’s mana output. However, it also possessed a passive ability that truly justified its grade.
Erasure. It had the ability to negate regeneration and erase biological matter upon contact.
That alone made Fanny understand the stakes of the battle she was facing. If she took it too lightly, a single scratch could be permanent. She could not let that happen. She would not soil the name of the Shadow of Victims by getting scarred by a human.
The battle continued for a while longer, a deadly dance of steel and shadows.
Fanny leaped back, sidestepped, and ducked, weaving through every single desperate attack X threw her way.
And then—
BAAM!
Fanny’s arm suddenly morphed. The human skin tore away, revealing a giant, scaled demonic hand with razor-sharp claws the size of daggers. She slashed directly at X’s position.
X reacted on instinct, raising his blade to block.
CLANG!
While he was able to block the lethal blow, the force was overwhelming. The claws slid past his guard, slicing cleanly through his armored gauntlet.
Two of his fingers flew into the air, followed by a spray of bright red blood.
"Argh!" X grunted, stumbling back.
"You got him, Fanny! Finish him!!!" Teddy pointed with triumphant laughter.
"R-right away." Fanny charged forward, the demonic arm pulsing, her intent solely on ending the man’s life.
However, X had no intention of going down that easily.
"RAAAARGH!"
He violently stabbed his blade into the ground.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave of white energy erupted from the impact point, threatening to send Fanny flying backward.
She skidded back a few feet, digging her claws into the dirt to anchor herself, but it was barely enough to create distance.
"Looks like someone is desperate to stay alive," Teddy said mockingly.
Fanny just frowned, her eyes cold.
[The Throne Room]
Seated comfortably on his throne back at the dungeon, Kai watched the entire sequence play out on the holographic screen before him.
The screen was split. On one side, he could see Fanny battling X. On the other, he could see the second subordinate he sent to stop their advanced unit, Phera, standing ready to battle Cowl.
"Hm... tell me, Sanovere. What do you think of Fanny’s combat skills so far?" Kai asked, his voice echoing in the quiet room.
Sanovere stared at the screen for a second longer, analyzing the movements.
"She is powerful, my Lord, and her immortality is far greater than mine as well. But just like any other pillar beneath you, strength is only one factor. I can praise her raw power, but I cannot praise her combat technique. She relies too much on her stats rather than skill."
"Is that so..." Kai looked to the other side. "Would you two say the same thing?"
"I do believe Sanovere said what we were all thinking, my Lord," Lyra replied, her eyes narrowing at the screen. "This battle should have ended the moment that man called you a fool. I see no reason why she would drag it out this long. It is disrespectful."
"Unless she is simply playing with her food," Carlotta chimed in, shrugging slightly. "Though I am not a strategist like Sanovere, my Lord, so my knowledge here is a bit lacking. I prefer simply crushing the enemy immediately."
"Thank you all for your feedback. You make me proud."
Kai rested his back further into the chair, tapping his finger on the armrest.
’Perhaps I made a mistake sending her out there alone. She was so insistent that I allow her to go alongside Phera that I ended up giving in to her demands. I don’t expect her to lose this battle anyway, he level gap is too wide, but still, she lacks the killer instinct.’
Mid-thought, Kai’s eyes caught movement on the other side of the screen.
It looked like Phera had made contact. She was standing opposite Cowl, the one identified as the strongest Mage in the human army.
Kai leaned forward.
’Now this... this might be interesting.’
...
[A/N]
Its a new week!!!
100ps-s.
200ps- 4 chaters and 50gt for 2 Chapters as well.
the Chapters will be filled throughout the following week or all at once on the weekend.