Chapter 416

“Kya.”
It was a lighthearted scene.
I took out two of them in a matter of seconds.
Schlieffen swung his sword without stopping.
Dancing swords sprinkled the air.
Nine crescents made of blue wind shot out in all directions.
Most of them hit trees or the ground, but three hit them.
“——!!”
“—.”
The SS did not scream until the moment Schlieffen’s auror manifested.
The storm of blackness burst forth.
The winds of the sword consumed them.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwak!
Nine whirlwinds surged up the calibration.
“Whoa—.”
Schlieffen cleared his throat.
It seemed to be exhausted from using a lot of mana at once.
Suddenly, I felt awkward.
Whirlwind was a good enough skill, but in this situation, Wind Blade, the essence of the Stormblade, would have been more effective.
I could take them out with less effort.
‘Asshole. Hasn’t he awakened yet?
A plausible doubt flashed through my mind.
In the original world, it was on a trip to Dainhar with me that Schlieffen awakened the Stormblade.
It was an unbelievably quick awakening considering my age at the time.
‘No, even with that, this is too slow.
It’s time to catch the Winter Witch.
It still didn’t make sense.
If Schlieffen hadn’t awakened the Aurors, the islands would have been buried under snow and ice.
While I was thinking to myself, the battle was still going on.
Shoot!
Torn flesh and guts rained down in a drizzle.
There were only two SS men left.
They didn’t just charge in, they circled around, waiting for an opening.
With the barrier of the vortex surrounding it, it seemed difficult to get in.
I chuckled to myself as I watched the daring move.
“Are those guys human?”
I had a feeling from earlier, but this was a really weird opponent.
And it’s not just because of the spooky masks and the fact that they don’t make any noise.
I’d be hesitant if five out of seven of us were split, but these guys didn’t show any signs of being intimidated.
Any living thing would be afraid of death.
Schlieffen said to himself.
“The Gestapo has already shown up—.”
This guy’s demeanor was adding to the weirdness.
Schlieffen’s face was tense as he stared into the wind.
It’s good to not belittle your opponent, but isn’t this a bit much?
After watching the battle in silence, I called for Schlieffen.
“Dude. What’s with all the dickheads?”
“You—!”
Turning his head, Schlieffen’s eyes widened.
He was so focused on the battle that he didn’t even seem to notice my presence.
He glanced alternately at the wind barrier and at me.
“Damn it, why aren’t you running for cover!”
“Surprise. You didn’t have to run away in the first place, you’ve already caught five.”
“You don’t know anything, they’re not that tough, Barca’s SS don’t die—”
Schlieffen interrupted.
Suddenly, four shadows rushed through the gap in the nine whirlwinds.
It was Barca’s SS.
Coming in from different directions, they were all dressed in Imperial regalia.
“Wait a minute. That’s—.”
I narrowed my eyes.
The conquest and mask were covered in blood, but they were unmistakable.
Of the four, two of them were clearly the ones who were torn apart by the vortex as soon as the battle began.
“Are you here already—!”
It’s too late to sprinkle blackness.
Two stayed put and two split up.
Schlieffen reflexively took a defensive stance.
The swordfire of the two SS units struck the Failed Lord.
Kaaaaaah!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Three blades were clashing.
Suddenly, with a crunching sound, one of the SS men’s fingers snapped off.
I marveled at the frozen cut.
“Oh, that was a scam too.”
It was the cold air from the failload.
The condensed cold affected not only those who were cut by the blade, but also those who were engaged.
The chill that traveled through the sword shin began to freeze his hands and then his body.
“——.”
But the SS didn’t care.
Instead, they pushed forward even harder and unleashed an onslaught.
Every time the sword clashed with the sword, both ice and embers splashed out.
Voila!
Eventually, both arms of the frozen SS man broke off around the hilt of his sword.
At the same time, two others popped out of the squares on the left and right and charged at Schlieffen.
“Boom!”
We should have fought back, but the situation was not favorable.
The rushing SS was restricting Schlieffen’s movements.
Catching his breath, he gripped the hilt of his sword.
Paaaaaaah—!
The Fail Lord’s blue blade scattered, angered by the wind.
“That’s.”
It was the same Stormblade I knew.
Schlieffen swung the hilt of his sword wide.
A light breeze drew an arc.
Snap!
The body of the four SS men was bisected up and down.
“What, I could have used that, right?”
It was a neat punch.
It was rougher than I remembered, but it was still great.
The guts spilled out like a spilled pot.
Eight chunks of meat littered the floor.
It was a hollow ending.
“You should have seen this coming. What were you thinking–ahem?”
I was about to boo Schleifen for putting up such a futile and frustrating fight.
Chaaaaaah!
The bodies of the dismembered SS men attracted like magnets.
The blood that had drained out was back in, and the frozen body parts were back in place.
Even the damaged uniforms and masks pieced themselves back together.
In a flash, the regenerated SS turned their heads toward us at the same time.
“—Have you played it yet?”
Schlieffen twisted his lips.
The sword that was angered by the wind has returned to its original form.
Three SS men emerged from the slowly diminishing whirlwind.
“Those bastards are—.”
There are facets.
Like the previous two, they’d been torn apart by the whirlwind, but now they looked like factory-fresh dolls.
The SS, now back to seven men, began to close in on the encirclement.
Schlieffen kept his eyes on them and opened his mouth.
“This is why Barca’s SS are so annoying. They don’t die.”
“Aha, I see why they only used a whirlwind. You were trying to delay playback as much as possible.”
I flicked my finger.
Why use an inefficient method?
With Windblade, you can easily cut them down, but they regenerate in a flash.
Hagin.
He’s a smart guy, so he won’t do anything stupid with it.
I arched an eyebrow.
“Is that some kind of black magic? I thought that usually involved destroying the part that serves as the heart.”
“They have a device inside their bodies that acts as a nuke. But no matter what we do, we can’t destroy it.”
“At all costs?”
“If I could have destroyed it, I would have done so long ago. The number of innocents Barca would have killed would have been significantly reduced—but I failed.”
Schlieffen’s blue eyes burned with hatred.
I had a pretty good idea of what had been going on.
A foe who could not be killed would have taken much from him.
Out of nowhere, Schlieffen glanced at me and snarled through clenched teeth.
“So when the hell are you going to run away?”
“Ah.”
In that moment, I realized.
Even without the vortex, there was a reason why the fight was frustrating.
This asshole was fighting to protect me.
Even though I could have taken it out on my own if I wanted to.
“Cub. Still the same.”
The corners of my mouth turned up.
On this side of the world, Schlieffen was Schlieffen.
Being falsely accused of being a traitor, being banished to obscurity, not having a single servant left to support him, and wearing a stupid beard worthy of any lumberjack, did not incontinence the convictions of the noblest of nobles.
I swiped at my face once and then opened my mouth.
“Okay. I feel good. I’ll make sure we meet on this side of the world.”
“What?”
“I know a woman who’s going to give you dementia.
At this point, I’m still on Nimbus.”
I did as I was told, but I was extremely worried.
I felt like I had to hurry up and get things organized.
I said, drawing my sword.
“Turn around for a second, you’ll be blinded.”
“What the hell are you talking about—”
Schlieffen interrupted.
I raised my sword and gripped the hilt hard.
Paaaaaaaaah—!
The colors of the sunset splashed across the sword.
“Boom!”
Everywhere is colored scarlet.
Schlieffen frowned.
The light that resembled my pupils stretched out wide, sweeping over the SS and the Schlieffen and the rainy schoolyard.
Soon, the light subsided, and I saw the SS assembled in front of me.
“Bye. Assholes.”
“——?!”
“Why the fuck are you stepping on someone else’s school steeple?”
They flinched as they realized what was happening.
The SS tried to respond, but I had already done my job.
As he lowered his bloody sword, hundreds of red lines drew across their bodies.
It was the moment when the fastest SS man stepped back.
All lines opened at the same time.
Furious!
The entire avant-garde exploded in a shower of blood.
“What the—!”
Schlieffen gulped.
He would have seen me swing a knife.
If you’re only this surprised, you’ve got a long way to go.
I wiped the blood from my face and clicked my tongue.
“Ew, dirty.”
There were seven of us, so it was a lot.
Scattered flesh, bones, and entrails clattered everywhere.
If left alone, it would replay, but luckily the hack was easy to find.
Seven shards of gray iron lay in a pool of blood.
“Let’s see—.”
I picked up one of them.
I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of machining made that schlieffen indestructible.
It wasn’t too hard to recognize the structure.
“Aha. You’ve got a coating.”
Mana shimmered over the surface of the iron sculpture.
It was a stellar sign, a specialty of bald cubs.
I can’t help but keep playing.
It was a small amount of mana, but if the people here were to generate enough firepower to melt the core, they would need the power of Sister Navardose or her clan.
“You’re a fast learner. He’s got a pretty good head on his shoulders, though.”
It’s a usage that the world has never seen before.
It’s a technique I’ve only seen used in structures like the Roots of Parallel Worlds, but it seems that Nebula Clasier has gotten a lot better over time.
Of course, it’s none of your business now.
“Utscha.”
I swung the knife lightly.
Seven pieces of iron cracked simultaneously.
Snap!
The black magic imprinted within the piece of iron was destroyed in a shower of black light.
The gathering blood and flesh stopped moving.
“——.”
That was it.
The SS never played it again.
The murky aura of Barka was rising like smoke over the blood-soaked stone.
“—You.”
Schlieffen was speechless.
The look on his face as he stared back at me was something I wanted to take a picture of and keep.
I smirked as I returned the sword to its scabbard.
“Pick some daffodils before you leave. They’re my sister’s favorite flower.”