I can’t remain weak any longer! It’s extremely shameful and painful to leave Ayame here while fighting in my stead. I make a silent vow that this is the final day where I’m a liability to those around me instead of a strong supporting pillar.
I simply refuse to remain weak! ƒreewebɳovel.com
My samurai decides to speak up; “what, you thought you are the main character of a novel and I’m your sidekick who will become obsolete in a few dozen chapters or something? I would rather slit my own throat than be a useless damsel in distress, so stop patronizing me already. We each have our own roles to fulfill and fights to fight, and this is mine. Focus on your part, do the things you can do.”
Before I can reply Iris speaks up in a cold tone, “done with your little tactical discussion? Oh, and for the record, I’m not letting your boytoy leave either. Also, I must thank you for letting me get ready, you bunch of amateurs.”
“Pfft. It should be me saying that. I’ve been using your inaction to my advantage, dumbass.” Ayame lies through her teeth as naturally as she breathes.
I know she doesn’t have any spells that require such a long charging time, she is just extremely competitive and hates being looked down upon or being ridiculed.
Also, isn’t her word usage a bit too antagonistic? I know Iris is out for our blood, but my samurai wasn’t berating our previous opponents with curse words to this degree.
Where’s her usual regal demeanor?
I quickly realize the reason behind her uncharacteristic hostility. Oh. She was called a ‘weeb’.
“I see how it is. I hope you aren’t an actual child, you tiny little bitch, for I will massacre you.”
My would-be killer seems to have a vulgar side to her as well… I’m starting to see more and more similarities between these two. find-more-stories-on-NovelFire
“Hmph! You are one to talk, emotionless midget…” Ayame retorts, fully utilizing the fact that her height distorting robe makes her seem to be slightly taller than Iris.
If only the two of them weren’t trained killers with superhuman strength I could envision a hot catfight going down between two beautiful women that I would love to spectate, but as it stands a real, deadly showdown is about to happen right in front of my eyes, and I think Ayame is the underdog this time around.
I watch as the tension between Ayame and Iris reaches its boiling point. Unlike my samurai, Iris clearly wasn’t bluffing about using this time to prepare.
As I observe, she suddenly takes a deep breath, holds her sword’s hilt in both hands as the tip of the blade is pointed towards the ground and a strange transformation begins unveiling itself in front of our eyes right after stating the name of the spell she’s been silently preparing to cast; “[Echoes of Despair]”
Her already intimidating black armor now seems to pulse with a malicious dark energy, and the once-gleaming blade in her hands begins to shift in color. The intricate designs on her sword seem to bleed into one another with the metal itself turning a deep crimson as if soaked in the blood of countless victims.
The transformation isn’t limited to her weapon; a red aura that’s visible even to the naked eye begins to emanate from her body, spreading out like a miasma, corrupting the very air around her.
Her straight, jet-black hair starts to flutter wildly, despite the lack of any wind in the room. It’s as if the crimson energy surrounding her is generating its own violent atmosphere, a chaotic force unable to be contained within her small physical frame.
(Picture of Iris powered up.)
Veins begin to pop on her forehead, pulsing with the same eerie red light, and her eyes turn bloodshot, the whites completely overtaken by the crimson. It seems to be entirely harmful to the black haired woman as a thin trail of blood begins to flow out from each of her eye sockets.
It’s clear that whatever spell she’s using comes at a heavy cost to her body- self-harm that visibly strains her, but also makes her more dangerous and powerful.
“Fuck… You have to run! She’s a Child of Agony, I can’t fight this monster while shielding you!” Ayame shouts erratically then activates her own self-buff spell, [Eternal Spirit of the Unyielding].
She seems to be painfully aware of what we are facing and I would absolutely love to ask what is going on exactly, but I refuse to become an even bigger hindrance than I already am, so I activate [Lesser Evasion] to heighten my reflexes and dash for the window that leads to the outside world.
Iris chuckles, but her voice is no longer the same as it was before, transforming into something twisted and unnatural. Her voice now carries a sinister edge, like the seductive whisper of a demoness while at the same time being laced with an underlying growl that resembles a hideous monster’s.
The cold, calculated tone she once had is now corrupted, as if her very humanity is hanging by a thread, teetering on the brink of something far darker and threatening.
“I, Iris Thornclaw,” she intones, “in the name of the Vraven Kingdom and its majesties, the King and Queen, sentence the two of you to be executed.”
As the final, ominous word leaves her lips, Iris explodes into motion with terrifying speed. She moves like a phantom, a blur of red and black, and the sheer force of her charge is like a shockwave blasting through the room. Her crimson blade, now fully ignited in a blood-red glow, arcs toward me with a force that seems capable of cleaving mountains.
Before I can even react, Ayame is there, her [Flash Step] propelling her into Iris’s path with a speed that matches her foe’s. The clash of their blades sends a concussive blast through the air creating a sound that is akin to thunder splitting the sky.
Ayame’s katana shimmers with the spiritual energy of her [Eternal Spirit of the Unyielding] spell, allowing her to hold firm against Iris’s overwhelming power, though I can see the strain it puts on her.
I’m a hundred percent confident that if we didn’t get Ayame her new weapon, her old steel one would’ve been broken into pieces on first contact and the two of us would’ve been long dead by now.
Iris’s monstrous strength pushes Ayame back as the ground beneath her feet cracks under the pressure, but my samurai is undeterred. With a fluid, acrobatic twist, she deflects the blow and dances to the side, using the momentum to launch herself into a rapid series of slashes. Her movements are a blur of silver and steel, each strike infused with the precision and discipline of her training.
Thanks to Ayame’s timely intervention I manage to reach my destination in one piece and jump straight out of the room and land with a somersault onto the earthen ground.
I turn around just for a single glance, and see a mighty flurry of strikes being exchanged, though so far neither combatant seems to have been hit, as they are extremely speedy and proficient in the way of the blade.
I refocus on my part of the mission. I know Ayame good enough to understand that she wishes to triumph over this new enemy of hers in a warrior’s duel, so even if I could help she wouldn’t be happy about it- though I would still sneak attack this Iris person to take the easy way out if I had an actual chance of doing so.
As far as I’m concerned this honor thingy isn’t worth dying for.
[Slave Master lvl 8 → 9]
Looks like Blossom is also in a sticky situation… At least she seems to be winning.
I think and then begin sprinting towards the warehouse.