Extra in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 138
138 – Legend (7)
“You’re going to try?”
Ethan looked at me with a serious expression.
“…It’s clear that there’s been a significant… no, an enormous change since I last saw you…”
His gaze was different from the usual Ethan; it was the gaze of the warrior Ethan Bertrand.
Perhaps he was weighing the possibilities in his own way.
Whether I could handle Armianon alone.
However, before long, Ethan withdrew that gaze.
“…Alright. Well, I guess I have no choice but to leave it to you now. My strength was insufficient.”
With a hint of regret and lingering attachment, Ethan drew his sword.
“Now, let’s see what you can do.”
Ethan, having sheathed his sword, took a step back.
Seeing that, I drew my sword in turn.
────.
Until now, Armianon had remained silent, no matter what was happening above him, but suddenly he began to weep.
“What on earth…?”
Startled by the sudden crying, Ethan and I suppressed our bewilderment and looked around.
Wondering if there might be any changes.
Most notably, like the black lightning that had occurred several times before.
But this time, the change did not come from Armianon’s head.
As we carefully surveyed our surroundings, we soon realized.
Where his gaze was directed.
He was looking down.
To be precise, at the people below.
—
Even now, people are battling the slime monster.
Its structure is entirely different from that of a human eye, yet I, and Ethan, immediately recognized it.
What this creature was thinking.
And then, the ground began to move.
To be precise, the body of the creature we were standing on started to shift.
It lifted that massive foot.
“Wade!”
Ethan’s urgent voice reached me.
However, I was already moving my body before Ethan even spoke.
In an instant, I drew my sword and struck the side of its head.
KWAANG!
A sound erupted that one could never imagine as the sword hitting a creature’s head.
──────!
The dragon howled.
With a sound unheard until now.
As if in agony.
Ethan glanced back and forth between Arminon and me, then asked.
“…What did you do?”
“What do you mean?”
“No, it looked like you just struck it, but its reaction is clearly different. This creature didn’t let out a single scream when I or the others were hitting it with glee.”
At that question, I nodded inwardly.
To the naked eye, it must have seemed like an ordinary attack.
But, as Ethan suspected, it was not so.
Well, of course…
“I’ll explain later.”
I didn’t have the luxury to explain the difference right away.
“…Right, that was it.”
Ethan nodded with a hint of regret on his face.
Then he turned his gaze downward.
“I hope this makes it focus its attention back on us…”
—
──────!
“…It doesn’t seem possible.”
As Ethan had said, Arminanon’s gaze was not directed at us.
Rather, as if to draw strength from the pain just moments ago, he looked down with even more fury in his eyes.
It’s dangerous.
That thought struck me.
Even if we set aside other aspects, Arminanon was simply too large and heavy.
Just one step from such a massive being would become an unavoidable disaster for those below.
If he tried to move like he did moments ago, it wouldn’t be difficult to counter him in the same way as before…
Crackle!
That couldn’t be.
The moment I recognized the lightning sparking, I too moved with the speed of a flash, but unfortunately, I was too late.
Boom!
Black lightning struck the ground.
And in an instant, several people turned to charred remains.
“Ugh…!”
“P-please, save me…!”
The survivors of the lightning were not in good shape either.
Half of their bodies, or parts of them, were burned black, writhing in agony.
Seeing that scene, I came to a conclusion.
I must not give him an opening.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my body moved.
With a sword imbued with ample magic and intent, I struck directly at his head.
Boom!
───────!
With a resounding roar, Arminanon screamed once more.
However, no matter how painfully he screamed this time, I had no intention of stopping.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
I struck his head repeatedly.
I struck, and then struck again.
────────!
Was it due to the excruciating pain? Armiannon’s screams grew louder and louder.
To the point where they could shake the very heavens and earth.
And at the same time, Armiannon began to sway.
At first, it was merely a tremor of the head, but as the attacks continued, that tremor spread throughout its entire body.
Unlike the previous assaults, this time the focus was not merely on inflicting pain, but on delivering a proper shock.
The relentless onslaught left no room for it to regain its composure, and the tremors intensified, until finally, when it regained its senses.
Its very body was tilting.
And in that moment.
I swung my sword one last time.
With a conviction far greater than any swing before.
KWA-BOOM!
A powerful strike hit its head.
Its body lost all semblance of balance.
“Uh, uhhh…!!”
“Th-That…!!”
From below, I could hear the sounds of astonishment.
And then.
KuuuNG─
The black dragon toppled backward.
*
“…Huff.”
Changing position, I took a breath atop the fallen Armiannon’s belly.
This had been my intention from the very beginning.
To deprive it of the opportunity to look elsewhere.
No, to strip it of any chance to do anything else at all.
I wasn’t entirely certain.
I merely had a vague thought that it might be possible.
And ultimately, I succeeded.
Though it was an act carried out by my own hands… to be honest, I felt a bit dazed by it all.
Perhaps, if it were the old me, before finishing my training in Sheryl’s space, it would have been impossible.
“Wade, you…”
Just looking at Ethan’s face, which had suddenly appeared beside me, made it clear how absurd my actions had been.
Ethan, who rarely wore such an expression, was staring at me with eyes full of disbelief.
“…What on earth has been going on?”
Surely, a whirlwind of questions was swirling in his mind.
“…So, what are you going to do now?”
Ethan shook his head, pushing aside his doubts, and asked me.
“This guy, he doesn’t seem to have taken much damage after all.”
It was true, as he said.
Though the massive body had fallen backward, the actual damage accumulated by Arminanon wasn’t that significant.
In other words, it had merely toppled over.
Of course, there was bound to be some cumulative shock from the repeated blows to the head…
───────!!
Yet, it seemed that wasn’t a major issue for him.
“…What an absurd level of durability.”
Ethan shook his head in disbelief.
I silently agreed, even if I didn’t voice it.
Although it wasn’t Ben who had struck him, the area that had been hit was none other than his head.
Even if the shock hadn’t been fully transmitted, he had been struck not once or twice, but dozens of times.
Moreover, each of those attacks was infused with a significant amount of magical power and intent, so logically, his brain should have been nothing but mush by now.
Yet, he had merely lost his balance for a moment.
Indeed, it made me think that he truly was a monster from legends, deserving of the title that surpassed even calamity.
“Is there any sharp method to deal with this?”
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“…Well, at this point, there’s only one answer.”
I adjusted my grip on the sword.
“There’s no choice but to cut.”
It was impossible to kill him with shock.
No, at least for me, it was impossible.
So, to kill him, I had to strike.
“…Can you do it?”
Ethan’s question was laced with anxiety and concern.
“I have to try.”
I replied calmly.
You won’t know unless you try.
Then, there’s no choice but to give it a shot.
With that thought, I began to draw up my magic and intent once more.
What have I gained during the six months of training in Cheryl’s space?
What kind of progress have I made?
To provide an accurate explanation of that is, to be honest, a bit difficult.
Even I don’t fully understand this level yet.
I only grasp it sensorially.
It’s more of a vague feeling, I suppose.
Still, if I were to somehow articulate that part… I could say that my ‘intent’ has deepened.
Why was Arminanon’s reaction different to my attack compared to the other Ten Blades?
That too can be explained by the difference in the depth of intent.
My intent has reached a level that is a step further than theirs.
I infused that profound intent into my sword.
As a result, a blade of intent naturally formed on my sword.
“This is…”
Ethan’s astonished voice came from beside me.
He must have recognized it.
That what had emerged on my sword was a blade of intent.
And he likely sensed the difference between his blade of intent and mine, albeit vaguely.
Unlike him, who had to exert all his strength to create it, the blade of intent formed on my sword was far too natural.
The difference doesn’t end there, but perhaps that’s all Ethan can discern at this moment.
I lifted the sword, imbued with a vivid blade of intent.
Then, I began to walk toward Arminanon’s head.
I could see its large golden eyes staring at me, still unable to fully recover from its fallen body, swallowing the seething rage.
Without avoiding those eyes, I met its gaze as I approached its head.
—
And then.
He swung the sword just like that.
Not forcefully, not violently.
Just calmly.
Rather than swinging, it felt more like movement.
He simply swung the sword slowly.
And then…
Swoosh—
Just like that, Arminanon’s head split apart.
“…!”
Ethan’s gasp echoed in the air.
“Th-that…!”
“C-could it be…?!”
From afar, voices filled with shock, admiration, and hopeful disbelief recognized the anomaly occurring here.
However.
My expression was not bright.
“Wade, what on earth… No, why does your expression look like that…?”
Ethan’s question, puzzled by my lack of brightness, didn’t require an answer.
Swoosh—
The sight of Arminanon’s head, which had been split in half, instantly restoring itself resolved that question.