531 – The Second Demon

I look at the diminutive old man and what seems like a Holy Knight riding together on a dragon.

“Dragon-god-sama! That man, he’s the one that fought with Volk!”

Aro shouts from my back.

Th-then, that old man is the strange swordsman Aro was talking about…!? An uneasy feeling passes through my chest.
Him coming here means that… What happened to Volk, the black lizard, and magiatite-jii…?

…No, right now, all I can do is to focus on the battle in front of me.
I have no choice but to pull through this and defeat all these guys, then search for Volk and his party.
I need to calm down.
If I mess up here, I won’t be able to rescue atlach-nacha… Aro and the treant will also be killed.

Perhaps wary of my [Dimension Claw], Lilixira comes to a halt still a fair distance from me… But, the dragon carrying the old man and Holy Knight dives towards me without any reservation… I’ll bring it down with [Dimension Claw].
It’ll be troublesome if I’m forced to take on even more enemies in this situation.

If that old man has stats on the level of Aruane’s, the situation could easily become difficult… Rather than that, from the fact that Volk lost even with magiatite-jii and the black lizard to help him, I can assume he’s equivalent to A rank.
Same as Aruane,【Lv: 90】… No, it’s possible his level is even higher.
While he’s still at my ideal distance, I’ll prioritise eliminating him…!

I raise a claw towards the dragon that the old man is riding on.

“Oi, oi, you’re sure acting like you’ve got a lotta leeway in front of me! Being ignored like this is lonely!”

Circling round to my front, Beelzebub flies past my chest, tearing into the base of my neck with his sinister-looking claws.
As I feel the pain and glance down, he immediately slips past and distances himself again.
It seems he used [Poison Claw] this time, but it didn’t have much of an effect on me.

The humanised Beelzebub’s attacks aren’t really that damaging, but… In this situation where I can’t focus on him alone, his ability to distract me with his small body and fast speed is troublesome.
I need to also look for an opportunity to defeat him…!

“Cheh! Didn’t even flinch! Saint-sama, let me cancel my humanisation already, won’t you?”

Beelzebub says with annoyance… I’d be happy if she took that option, but I doubt she’d ever do so.
If Beelzebub takes the form of a giant, ponderous fly, I’ll be able to quickly take him out with [Dimension Claw].
If that happens, Lilixira loses her main fighting force, and will become unable to take action.

I ignore Beelzebub flitting around me, and focus on my front.
The dragon carrying the old man and holy knight is continuing to close the distance, but it doesn’t look like they’re in range to do anything yet.
If that’s the case, I’ll be able to one-sidedly attack.

I raise my foreleg, and use [Dimension Claw] to shred the dragon mount.
I have no idea how the riders will react, but the dragon should be unable to avoid this attack.
I slice through the dragon’s body, cutting off everything from the shoulders down and causing it to plummet in a spray of blood.

【480 experience points have been acquired.】
【Due to the title skill [Walking Egg: Lv-], an additional 480 experience points have been acquired.】

The one I took down was… just the dragon itself.
Under the cover of the blood spray, the old man carried the Holy Knight and jumped down to the ground.
It seems he kicked off of his dragon mount at the last moment to throw himself at the ground.

He should have taken heavy damage after falling so hard without a plan from that height.
Yet, his landing didn’t throw up any dust clouds at all.
Just as he hit the ground, he seemed to stop in place for an instant.
Could he have some sort of gravity-controlling skill…? Looking at the current situation, he seems to be someone Lilixira anticipates as a significant part of her fighting strength…

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
[Anise Howgrey]
Species: Earth Huma
Condition: Normal

Lv: 55/55 (MAX)
HP: 424/424
MP: 265/294
Attack: 321+19
Defense: 225
Magic: 263
Speed: 371

Equipment:
Hand: [Shortsword of Empty Dreams: B]

Characteristic Skills:
[Grisha Language: Lv8] [Swordsman Talent: LvMAX]

Resistance Skills:
[Poison Resistance: Lv6] [Cutting Resistance: Lv7] [Fall Resistance: Lv4]

Normal Skills:

[Armour Pierce: LvMAX] [Blissful Spinner: LvMAX] [Exorcism Blade: LvMAX] [Godspeed Flash: LvMAX] [High Jump: LvMAX] [God-Felling Myriad Slash: Lv3]

Title Skills:
[Big EaterGiant Killer: LvMAX] [Sword God: Lv-] [Ascetic: Lv-]
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

This guy… Isn’t his level a bit low even, even just compared to the Holy Knights…? Did Volk’s group really lose to this old man… this Howgrey?

It’s completely unthinkable that he took down Volk with these stats.
I know firsthand just how much of an overwhelming advantage higher stats give in battle.
The first explanation that comes to mind are his skills, but I already recognise most of them.

…Maybe he acquires some sort of additional ability from his weapon.
It’s strange that the bonus attack that he gets from it is so low for its rank.

【[Shortsword of Empty Dreams]: Value B】
【[Attack: +19]】
【A shortsword that a certain noble had an alchemist make, in order to defeat a giant dragon.】
【…It’s true that it can cause injury through even the toughest of scales, but with such a tiny sword, thousands of slashes would be needed to take down a giant dragon.】
【It’s able to inflict minimal damage even on opponents with a huge difference in stats.】

…It’s certainly an unusual sword, but it seems it can’t have been responsible for beating Volk.
From the information, I don’t believe I’ll lose to such a sword either… What is Howgrey thinking by bringing such a thing here?

However, if that’s the case, Howgrey’s strength must lie in his skills after all.
If we’re talking about strange skills, there are only a few.
[Godspeed Flash] was used by Nell, a member of the [Starved Hunters], and should be a sword skill that momentarily raises the speed of the swordsman to shear through the enemy.
There are only two normal skills new to me.

【Normal Skill [Blissful Spinner]】
【By casting a sword in a spinning motion, it can be controlled freely as though part of the user’s body.
One of the ultimate sword skills.】

This doesn’t seem like it… if so, maybe it’s the last one.

【Normal Skill [God-Felling Myriad Slash]】
【A blade that has reached the realm of divinity.】
【A consecutive attack of blades that can fell even gods.】

I-it’s not this one either…?

“Hmph… You should go into hiding.
I know you holy knights have resolved yourselves, but you can’t even serve as a decoy in this situation.
You’d only die in vain.”

Howgrey says that to the holy knight riding with him earlier, and dashes along the ground towards me… However, his speed is appropriate for his stats.
It shouldn’t be any different from that of the holy knight whom he just warned off.
Howgrey’s pace is far behind Aruane’s, not to mention Beelzebub’s.

Is he seriously planning to cut me using such a sword, and with such stats…? He isn’t triggering any alarms from my [Presence Perception] either.
While Lilixira, Beelzebub, and Aruane give off an uneasy feeling, I sense absolutely nothing from Howgrey.

That’s exactly why I find that ominous.
I still have absolutely no idea what hidden strength he might have for him to have been brought here, even now that I’ve faced him down.