Chapter 257: The Final Move, The Distorted Mirror

(Fly King...... He isn’t an opponent that I could be negligent at all.)

Fly King casted his Sorcery on the Sixth and the fake John Doe.

However, Fly King didn’t become negligent at all.

He never lowered his guard.

If he had thought that “they won” and let his guard down, I would have been able to finish him off already.

Now, the other side is looking for a way to win.

They are probably already aware of my capabilities to some extent.

However, that also goes for me......

That Sorcery of his requires a number of conditions and steps before they can be activated.

And the enemy is unable to keep up with my “current” speed right now.

Indeed, he is able to react to my attacks.

However, only that Princess Knight has the physical capabilities to respond.

And even then, all she could do was defend.

Earlier, I used the blood of a soldier to block her sense of sight.

However, it seems that the Princess Knight can cope with the loss of vision.

There weren’t any changes with her stance at all.

It seems like she could fight without relying on her vision.

Fortunately, all she could do was defend.

Other than them......

There’s also that slime lurking inside Fly King’s robe.

It doesn’t seem to be a monster that excels in combat.

It seems like he’s making use of that slime to watch over his back.

It’s safe to assume that it doesn’t have any offensive capabilities.

If that’s the case———– It would really be about when he casts that Sorcery.

I have my aim already in mind.

It would be that moment when he casts his Sorcery.

After I continued to attack several times, the enemy made a move.

Fly King appears to have something to that Princess Knight.

“Can you match with me?”

“I’ll try.”

That was about all I could hear.

However, I could easily guess what they were talking about.

Thereupon, something flashed.

Our blades clashed.

I then withdrew in that instant.

From the enemy’s point of view, it probably seemed like I was teleporting away.

My offensive continues.

During this time, I tried to understand the enemy’s capabilities more.

And starting with their abilities...... n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Their habits......

Their speed......

The pattern of their movements.

Shaking the enemy with my offense, I tried to determine various things.

[Piii.]

(......? That thing’s been doing that over and over again——– What the heck is with it?)

Disappearing from sight, I continued to attack.

[Pipiii.]

( ? )

With each attack, that slime of his chirped.

The sound of blades colliding with each other resounds in the air.

Now, as that Princess Knight blocked my attack————

(Her reaction speed...... increased?)

Attack......

[Piii.]

Attack......

[Pipipiii.]

That slime’s strange cries continued.

It seems like...... those cries were linked to the movements of the Princess Knight.

(There’s a single chirp...... and it sometimes does three chirps......)

Did Fly King figure something out?

He already grasped my attack habits huh.

That within such a short time?

I kept on attacking.

(———-I see, I understand now. That chirping really is linked to that Princess Knight’s movements. The Fly King is telling that Princess Knight “something ” with his slime’s cries......)

The reaction speed of the Princess Knight was visibly increasing.

If this keeps up, she might catch up with my speed.

In that case......

(What is it...... that he grasped?)

I don’t know.

It would be hard to know your own habits unless someone else points them out to you.

That slime’s cry......

“What is it” that its signals convey?

Even so, there are some things I figured out.

“That slime’s chirps were linked to that Princess Knight’s movements.”

On the other hand, such actions would make their movements more “standardized”.

If the opponent’s movement is linked to my movements......

It also makes it easier for me to grasp my opponent’s movement.

And there......

I could possibly find the key that leads to their opening.

......I also grasped the other party’s aim.

Fly King grasped my habits and attack patterns.

Using the slime’s cry as a signal, he mobilizes that Princess Knight.

“Can you match with me?”

Those words earlier mean this.

The more those signals pile up, the more the enemy would try to deal with it.

[.........................]

However, I understood it.

That link between that slime and that Princess Knight is just a preparatory step.

All this time, I had been observing him.

The Fly King.

His real coup de grâce is his Sorcery.

If he wants to certainly finish off something, he would need to use his Sorcery.

The one I should really watch out for is the Fly King.

Most probably, he would commence whatever it is that he’s planning when I turn my attention towards the movements of the Princess Knight and that slime of his.

I know it.

We’re the “same kind” of person after all.

(However...... What is it that he’s planning? How exactly does he plan to cast his Sorcery on me?)

It needs him to utter at least one syllable to cast his Sorcery......

(T/N: Originally three syllables for Da-a-ku, changed to one syllable for Dark. This kinda makes John Doe seem even faster though.)

Yes, it seems like it is required for him to vocalize a word of at least three syllables.

Moreover, he needs me “within his recognition” and has his arm pointed towards me.

Once I understand the characteristics of his Sorcery, it could be said that the battle becomes easier.

All I have to do is move at a speed that matches the nature of his Sorcery.

Above all, the enemy sees the situation wrong.

Thereupon, he has already fallen into my trap.

Yes......

I’m also preparing my own steps against the enemy.

The attacks I have unleashed thus far......

The speed I have shown to them actually wasn’t my “maximum speed”.

All of my attacks so far were just preparatory steps.

“The speed of attacks so far are the highest speed that John Doe could exert.”

In order to convince the enemy of this, I had been attacking at a reduced speed, especially for my last few attacks.

I was unable to exert my full speed on my first attack.

However, I should be able to exert greater speed “now”.

Why?

It was because the nausea and vertigo I had been feeling minutes ago had finally subsided.

That’s why———– I can reach my “maximum speed” now.

But even though I had recovered to the point where I could exert my “maximum speed”, I continued to attack at a speed close to that of my initial attacks.

All in order to make sure that my best strike would be the decisive blow.

The time to settle this matter——— is close.

The question though, was at what point and what kind of Sorcery would Fly King use?

How does he plan to cast his Sorcery on me?

Since he’s wearing a mask, his expression was unreadable......

Most probably a sense of peril and relief.

I knew it because we are the same kind of person.

Because we’re the same kind of person, I can “see through” his thoughts, even when I couldn’t see his expression.

I can see through his thoughts, all at the palm of my hands.

In a sense, it could be said that my thoughts are currently synchronized with the Fly King’s.

I understand.

How dangerous that Fly King is.

[Seras.]

The Fly King spoke.

[From here on out, be in complete sync with me.]

[Acknowledged.]

[Seras Ashrain.]

[Yes.]

[For my sake...... Are you willing to lay down your life?]

[Yes, of course.]

Thereupon, stretching out his arms, the Fly King stood ready.

[I thank you for your resolve.]

(.......................)

Remaining out of their sight, I kept my gaze on Fly King.

I could already see what it is that they’re aiming for......

I mustn’t be negligent.

I mustn’t overlook anything.

His movements......

His thoughts......

At that moment......

My earlier nausea and vertigo......

All of it completely disappeared.

And this is the moment......

That I would unleash my attack that could be said as my final move.

▽

Inwardly, I was amazed.

So that’s how it is.

Fly King.

Plunging into striking distance, I launched my attack.

And the moment that I was about to swing my sword————

I understood everything.

If that Princess Knight’s sword “blocks” my attack......

“As soon as our blades collide with each other, John Doe will withdraw almost simultaneously.”

Thus, the Fly King wouldn’t make it in time.

As soon as he finished saying the name of his Sorcery, I would already be out of sight.

He only had a paper-thin of a time, and that’s why his Sorcery was unable to make it in time.

However, what if they struck me at that moment?

His Sorcery might make it in time.

Seras Ashrain isn’t showing any signs of blocking my attack.

She didn’t look like she would be blocking my attack.

Her eyes dead set on her goal———— to strike me down with her sword.

All so that Fly King could launch his decisive strike, his Sorcery.

Letting me cut through her flesh, letting me slash past her bones......

Using an ally as a sacrifice————- He would then crush the enemy.

“Cutting off the standardized pattern.”

This is an act of taking the opponent by surprise.

Therefore, to make it easier for one to draw out an opening......

Fly King pulled down the previous “standard”, the Princess Knight blocking my attack.

However, I am not surprised by this move.

Within my mind, the same thought repeats over and over again.

I knew it.

Yeah, I knew already.

You and I are “the same”.

Within a state that seemed like the time had stopped————-

I’m clearly seeing another “me” before my eyes.

We———- Yes, the both of us.

We both have the ruthlessness to easily cut off our “comrades”.

“For my sake...... Are you willing to lay down your life?”

The words the Fly King said earlier.

That’s right.

The both of us are such people.

Even if he had to sacrifice that Princess Knight, he would settle this with his Sorcery.

Just like how I sacrificed the Sixth, all to observe your Sorcery.

But even so......

Fly King...... You can only curse your misfortune.

Your misfortune that you were “the same” as this John Doe.

Because of this, I’ve seen through everything. That plan of yours———— your thoughts.

That moment indeed happened in less than a blink of an eye.

Sensing the enemy’s aim almost reflexively, I already pressed my attack towards the Fly King.

[ <>

I could see through your thoughts.

The opening you were hoping to create will not be created.

I’ll only unleash a feint towards that Princess Knight.

And then, I would unleash my own coup de grâce towards my real target, the Fly King.

——————-Slaaaaash——————-

[————————————————————-]

What the?

I’ve been struck......?

This speed————

——rk > ————– ......!]

Retreat.

I need to retreat————

[———————]

——–but I can’t move.

(That’s right, if I remember correctly...... It’s his Sorcery that steals away my movement......)

At that moment......

I finally turned my attention away towards “her”......

Towards that Princess Knight.

[I finally————- got you.]

The words said by Fly King sounded like he’s finally free from a heavy burden.

[Hiding the maximum speed...... It isn’t just you who is doing that. Above all......]

As I felt blood gushing out of my wounds, the Fly King’s gaze descended on me and he spoke.

[Just as I planned—————- All you could think about would be “me”.]

In the middle of the battle, I noticed something.

I noticed that John Doe’s attention was focused on me a lot.

Seras was the one blocking his attacks.

But it seemed to me that he was constantly focusing his attention on “me”.

In other words, he was thinking that I was planning something against him huh?

On the contrary, he only sees Seras as “my shield”, blocking all of his attacks.

In other words, he doesn’t think of her as a “sword”......

I’ve also noticed subtle changes in Seras.

Little by little, it seems like she’s getting used to John Doe’s attacks.

Her reaction time is also increasing.

Using my resources, I formulate a plan.

However, Seras is able to focus all of her efforts on direct exchange against John Doe.

I wonder if John Doe is aware of this slight omen?

I wonder if John Doe noticed Seras Ashrain’s prodigious combat sense.

Those three......

In the beginning, “Humanity’s Strongest” had high hopes for her as her future enemy.

The Strongest Blood Champion, Even Speed, described her as a genius.

The Strongest of the Four Warlights, Gio Shadowblade, appraised her as someone on a different level.

The battle talents of this High Elven Princess Knight.

Since that battle against Civit, Seras has grown to a level where it could be said that her battle talents had “blossomed”.

She may not have been flashy with her means.

But behind the scenes, she has been active and her talent has blossomed at an unusual rate.

Seras had followed me through all the fierce battles we had gone through.

She had always been by my side.

Five Dragon Warriors.

Ashinto.

Golden Demon Zone.

Human-Faced.

Great Demon Emperor’s Army.

Heroic Sword.

Together, we’ve been through it all.

And thus...... I decided to bet on my Deputy.

In the middle of a battle, I decided to take a gamble.

First, while John Doe was out of sight, I called out to Seras.

Thereupon, I quietly whispered to her.

The enemy’s recognition inhibition is nullified while he’s within about 5 meters away from me.

Conversely speaking, he would always be at a distance of over five meters.

So, there is little danger of being overheard if I speak with whispers.

Moreover, after that time when he appeared because of my and escaped......

It seemed like he became very cautious and kept a large distance.

In addition, the intervals between John Doe’s attacks were gradually becoming known.

At first glance, it may seem like his attack intervals were random.

But surprisingly, there is a certain amount of time before his next attack.

The enemy must be thinking after each attack.

It seems that by repeating his attacks, the enemy is trying to measure something.

If that’s the case......

There shouldn’t be much risk of being overheard————-

I can make time to have a “secret talk” with Seras.

With him being at a distance where he’s worrying about my range, I could “turn the tables against him”.

This “secret talk” only consists of me talking by myself.

The mask I’m wearing makes it impossible to visually tell if my mouth is moving.

However, Seras has already taken off her mask.

It would be unnatural for her to wear it here for us to converse.

Thus, I decided it would be better if Seras didn’t wear hers.

From time to time, Seras responded with silent signals.

She was doing a similar approach as to what she usually did when she’s judging whether someone’s speaking the truth or not.

Upon hearing my words, Seras immediately gave her acknowledgement.

It could be said that regarding this matter, we’re completely harmonized with each other.

Just like that, I also told her about the idea of hiding her “maximum speed”.

I also told her that I wanted to bet on the strike brought upon by her maximum speed.

“It seems like he’s completely into me...... I think it’s worth a try. You’ll be alright. I’ll prepare the stage for you.”

Seras denoted her “acknowledgement”.

However, I could see a hint of unease on Seras’ face.

“Don’t be so nervous...... It’s okay if you fail. When that happens, we’ll just figure out our next move. However...... I want to bet on you. Your battle talent that Civit, Eve, and Gio recognizes———— the genuine battle talent that I had seen for myself.”

With these few words, Seras’ anxiety vanished.

As she had gathered her resolve, I declared.

“I’ll tell you this again and again. You are the best Deputy there is.”

From this point on, I used Pigimaru’s cries as a front.

I hoped that the enemy’s attention would be drawn by Pigimaru’s voice.

It might also somewhat distract his attention from the whispered instructions I made to Seras.

After that......

I gave Pigimaru instructions in my robe, using my fingers.

With interchanging squeals of 1 to 3......

I instructed him to squeal in time with Seras’ movement.

Yes.....

Seras wasn’t matching with Pigimaru’s cries.

However, it would be most satisfactory if the enemy misunderstands.

That “Seras’ movements are in tune with Pigimaru’s cries”.

However, the reality is different.

It’s just that Seras is adapting to the enemy’s speed on her own.

It’s not like I saw through something about my opponent.

Those cries Pigimaru makes doesn’t hold any meaning at all.

But by doing this, the enemy will think that “I” had seen through something......

This will make him pay more attention to “me”.

In short, the purpose of my plan was......

“How can we draw the enemy’s attention away from Seras?”

—-To hinder their awareness of Seras.

In a sense, you could say that I’m doing that “recognition inhibition” as well.

Weaving along this plan was me, always acting nonchalant.

Acting all aloof, I kept giving off the vibe that I was on to something.

The atmosphere around me exerts the thought “It wouldn’t be Seras, but me who will deal with you.”

However, I tried not to be blatant about it.

Until the very end, the atmosphere around would be as if “I’m trying to hide my plans”.

From the information I had gathered so far, I had analyzed the enemy’s character.

The enemy is probably the type that thinks properly......

He would be cautious, trying to read the intent hidden beneath the other side’s thoughts.

In that case......

There would be a high possibility that he would come to the conclusion that “Seras and the slime’s actions was just a front to allow Fly King to deal the decisive strike”.

However, such a thought would exactly be his pitfall.

Yes.

This is just like a “face down card” in that card game.

Whenever someone had set a card......

They would think that “they have something prepared against them”.

That’s why, they keep paying attention to their face-down cards.

In other words, what I did was that “I had set a face-down card”.

I also threw out a lot of other “baits” that would make John Doe think of the situation wrongly.

By doing so, John Doe would devote most of his attention towards me.

It never even occurred to him that Seras may be hiding her “maximum speed”.

Or perhaps, in the mind of someone with a sense of values like him, he might see it as if I would be sacrificing Seras to defeat him.

He’s someone who abandoned the Sixth without a second thought after all.

That would be entirely possible.

That’s why......

“For my sake...... Are you willing to lay down your life?”

So that my voice could reach John Doe’s ears, I said.

And at that moment————- I was already prepared for the decisive blow.

From here on out, I had Seras be in “complete” sync with me.

And the word “complete” I had told her at that time......

Was the signal for “go for it”, just as I told her in advance.

“Your next move will be to attack at your own discretion.”

At this point, Seras dropped her defensive stance.

Seeing such an action, the enemy will probably think that......

“By having Seras slash him, the repeated pattern will disappear and taking advantage of the opening, I would cast my Sorcery.”

And the result......

In the end———— It seemed like everything fell into place.

Seras Ashrain, who was almost never in his sight......

The Princess Knight, who had adapted to the enemy’s movement through repeated exchanges......

With a maximum speed greater than John Doe’s......

She had slashed him down.

It seems that her speed being even greater his disturbed John Doe’s consciousness even more than Seras slashing him down.

Moreover, the cut wound he received was deep.

In that case, what he would be doing was his withdrawal speed that he’s so proud of————

[ ]

—–but it was already too late.

The first thing I need to do is to use my fastest skill.

It seems that with that wound, he can no longer focus his consciousness.

Even so, John still somehow tried to retreat but———

I can now see him fairly well.

And there would be no way I would let him get away.

Perhaps, because of his injuries and agitation, his withdrawal speed isn’t as fast as before.

So, before he reached 20 meters away from me......

[———— .....!]

————–Crickle, crackle————–

The probability of dealing with him like that...... incredibly increased.

And then......

[I finally————- got you.]

Yeah.

In a way, it is as you think, John Doe.

In the end, I’ll be the one settling this matter.

In a way, that isn’t a lie.

I don’t know why is it that you’re so focused on me.

I don’t even know why is it that you just didn’t leave this place when you had an ability like that.

However......

[Hiding the maximum speed...... It isn’t just you who is doing that. Above all......]

The reason for your defeat......

[Just as I planned—————- All you could think about would be “me”.]