But what was that attack? Did he slash with an incredible speed? But it didn’t seem that way…
Gazef’s face rose to Climb’s mind.
Gazef Stronoff’s original martial art, ‘Sixfold Slash of Light’, was said to deliver six attacks at once. If so, perhaps he was using something similar, but not quite as powerful, a ‘Twofold Slash of Light’.
However, that meant that Succulent was using a bizarre technique where the first attack was normal speed and only the second attack was fast.
It doesn’t connect. I’d be able to deal with it somehow if I knew what kind of technique it was but… anyways, it’s dangerous to be on the defensive. Should I attack?”
Climb swallowed his saliva and ran in. His eyes switched from Succulent over to Cocco Doll, causing Succulent’s face to twist greatly.
A bodyguard won’t like it if you go for their target, even if it’s only a threat. I know that from experience.
Approach while doing everything that he himself would not enjoy.
Devil of Illusions; a devil that uses illusions… there’s a chance that the nickname itself is a deception but… it’s worth checking.
He brought down his sword while closing the distance. But as expected, it was easily repelled. He endured the impact that was being transmitted and swung again. It was not an attack that was raised high so there was no strength in it. Regardless, it was enough.
As his broadsword was again deflected by Succulent’s sword, Climb nodded his head in satisfaction and widened the distance.
“An illusion! It’s not a martial art!”
He felt that something was out of place when his sword was repelled. Rather than the weapon he could see with his eyes, he had felt his sword being deflected by something slightly in front of it.
“Your right arm itself is an illusion. Your real arm and your sword is invisible!”
The sword that he thought he blocked was an illusion and the invisible blade was what slashed his body.
Succulent erased all expressions on his face and began to talk in a flat voice.
“…That’s right. I just combined a spell that made a part of the body invisible with illusion magic since I chose classes in Illusionist and Fencer. Now that you know, it’s a boring trick, right? You can laugh if you want.”
Just how could he laugh? Without a doubt, it sounded incredibly simple when said out loud and even made one wonder how they didn’t notice it before. However, in a battle where a single slash could mean your death, there was nothing more frightening than a sword that you could not see. And the fact that the illusion was visible on top of that made it that much easier to forget about it.
“My strength purely as a warrior might be less than yours since my skills are split, but…”
Succulent turned his hand holding the sword with a flick. But was that truly his real arm? There was a chance that the arm he could see was an illusion and that his real hand was holding a dagger while looking for an opportunity to throw it.
Cold sweat trailed down Climb’s body as he realized the terror of illusions.
“Among magic casters, an illusionist can only use illusion spells. The higher tiers have damage spells that attack with illusions and kill by tricking the brain, however… I have yet to reach that level.”
“That sounds like a lie. Where’s your proof?”
“I guess you’re right.”
Succulent spoke with a smile.
“Well, but there’s no reason for you to believe me. So, hmm, what was I going to say… right. As such, I can’t cast any spells to strengthen myself or weaken you. However… will you be able to tell the difference between illusion and reality?”
As soon as his words ended, Succulent’s body became divided and it looked as if several Succulents were overlapping.
“「Multiple Vision」.”
Although it seemed like one of them would be the real body, there was no guarantee that that was true.
Why did I give a magic caster time!
Climb’s objective was to buy time, but giving a magic caster time to cast buffs was incredibly dangerous.
With a roar, Climb activated the ‘Ability Boost’ and the ‘Strengthen Perception’ martial arts and closed the distance to Succulent in one breath.
“「Scintillating Scotoma」.”
“Ugh!”
Climb felt a portion of his vision fade away. However, the effect disappeared immediately. It seems his magic resist had succeeded.
Having endured with his feet planted, Climb swung his sword like he was trying to slash through all of the clones. But only one of them was within the reach of his swing. As expected, if he wanted to hit all of them, he had to engage the original. Otherwise, there would be no strength in his sword.
The Succulent that got hit was cut in two. However, there was no blood and the sword passed through him without resistance.
“—Wrong.”
A chill rose from his guts and the area around his neck grew hot. Climb covered the area where he felt the heat with his left hand.
He felt a sharp pain from the hand covering his neck and the ominous sensation of his clothes being dyed in fresh blood. If he had not sensed his bloodlust, if he had hesitated to sacrifice his hand, his neck would have been severed. Relieved to have escaped death, he gritted his teeth to endure the pain and slashed his sword horizontally.
Again, the sword only cut air with no resistance.
Anymore was dangerous.
Having realized this, Climb used ‘Evasion’ and retreated back. His eyes reflected the image of two Succulents simultaneously raising their swords. Climb knew that all the swords were illusions and focused his ears.
The chain shirt he wore and the beating of his heart sounded noisy in his ears. The only thing that he had to listen to was the sound coming from the man before him.
— No. — No. —This one!
The noise was not coming from the sword that was heading towards him. The faint sound of a blade cutting through air came from the empty space in front of him. It was heading for the middle of Climb’s face.
Climb hastily turned his face and— felt heat graze past his cheek as well as the pain of his flesh being slashed open. Hot liquid spilled from his cheek and flowed down his neck.
“One in two chances!”
Climb spit out the blood that was trailing into his mouth and poured everything he had into this attack.
Because he had used it for earlier to shield himself, he could feel nothing but pain below his left wrist. He wasn’t sure if his fingers could move properly. It was even possible that the nerves were severed. But even if he could only hold on to it, Climb grasped the handle of his sword.
The pain exploded and caused him to grit his teeth. However, his left hand moved properly and he could grip the sword’s handle. Perhaps the pain was the reason his hand felt like a swollen balloon.
He firmly gripped it with both hands and brought down his sword from overhead with as much strength as he could muster.
Blood— sprouted. Along with the sensation of cutting through something hard, blood erupted like a fountain. It seemed that he had managed to hit the real one this time.
Succulent fell to the floor like he had been stabbed in the vitals. Although it was hard to believe that he had won against a man who was as skilled as adamantium ranked adventurers, the fact that he had collapsed was the undeniable truth. Climb forced down his rising joy and turned his eyes to Cocco doll who was quietly looking in his direction. He didn’t seem to have any intention of fleeing.
Perhaps because he lost a bit of his tension, the flaring pain from his cheek and left arm made him nauseous.