Interlude: The Sword (Part 3)

…

My grandfather once told me that fear is natural. However how it forces one to act is not. Despite having a racing heart, a mind filled with uncertainty, and trembling limbs… one can still choose to either flee or fight. All my life I was trained to always choose the latter. To wield a sword, even if it is to kill monsters, means to walk upon a path of ever-increasing danger. It is a life with threats looming on the horizon, getting closer day by day, and moments of peace and simply living are to be cherished due to their rarity.

To be one of the chosen of the gods means nothing less.

I had almost forgotten those words, despite the trials and tribulations which I'd encountered. Hestia-sama, Bell, and Arde had been everything I wished for in a Familia. They were kind, compassionate, and would always lend themselves to me. Hestia-sama treated me with great care but without pity. Bell always sought me out and asked me if I wished to spend time with him. I did. Arde, in a manner quite similar to her Sensei, was quiet unless spoken to, but I knew someone had purchased the beddings and other small comforts of my room.

Then, out of nowhere, as we waited for their Sensei to awaken, we were attacked.

Not by monsters, but by our fellow chosen.

I knew of the competitions between gods. The Divine Wagers which they fought with their gatherings. It had not crossed my mind that my newfound Familia would be under assault, but looking at the myriad strengths everyone exhibited, I should have expected it. We had fought against Apollo-sama's Familia for the sake of our home, rebuffed them, and found ourselves embroiled into a conflict which intended to see us split apart and broken.

Had I been the same person who I was mere weeks ago, I would've been afraid and shaken by the prospect of fighting the forces of three mighty Familias. I doubt that I would have been able to stand against the forces arrayed against me today. Fear would've grasped my heart, made me unsure, and allowed me to be cut down. I would have thought that defeating the forces before me would be impossible.

Yet, here I was, holding my ground with my heart urging me to charge and end the farce of a threat before me.

"We're running out of space to run." Filvis Challia was an incredible Mage. In the fight against the apocalyptic monster in Under Resort, she was one of the few who could cast Magic while moving. She used both blade and magic seamlessly like the ancient heroes of my people. One day, I hoped that I would be able to cast my own Magic while I fought. Not only that, but she was calm and collected throughout the battle. There was no doubt in my mind that I wished to be able to fight like her. "I won't be able to keep holding back if they keep this up."

I gave a nod in acknowledgement, batting aside another wave of arrows. The difference in strength between my former self and me was nothing short of incredible. I would have never thought I would be capable of turning aside rows of pikes and barrages of arrows. I'd have died many times over if not for my recent growth in power and the training Bell decided to share with me. The way they attack was not compatible with how I was taught, but the way they moved and predict attacks…

Pikes may only thrust forward or be swept down from above. Arrows will only hit where they are pointed. Take in the stance of the opponent, look at their knees and elbows, and eliminate possibilities. Bell had told me that he had been forced to memorize certain attacks, but as he continued to grow powerful he began to realize his Sensei was simplifying it for him. Being able to register threats at a faster pace, the intuition which many of the greater chosen attested to have, could be trained and put to use by examining an opponent and discerning their actions.

With one movement of my sword, I blocked three pikes with my sword's blade, another one with the guard, and yet another with the sword's pommel. Drawing it up, just another movement, I threw back another five pikes and their wielders while intercepting five arrows. One step back and I was struck by the wooden shafts of three different pikes to no effect. A crescent strike of my blade cuts the lethal heads and blocks another three arrows.

To be one of the chosen means to be beyond mere humans; I saw that now. We were gifted not only with extraordinary bodies, but minds as well. Given how monsters grew so much stronger and faster at each floor, it explained how so many of the greater chosen were able to match them. We were all changing in every respect.

I saw an opportunity as the wall of pikes tried to reconvene. I withdrew the small blades I had been given by Cranel. They were deadly despite their cheap make. My newfound strength allowed me to throw them with great precision and strength. I was sure that none of the gathered chosen before me would survive if one of the knives struck them in their stomachs or heads. That left most of the body for me to attack. I chose my targets carefully, striking shoulders or the joint where the leg meets the hip, removing my opponent from combat as accurately as Haji would have. I hoped I did well by him by learning how to fight at range instead of just with my sword. He would have been inordinately proud convincing me to use a weapon besides my blade.

As we withdrew, I took in the rest of the battle.

Or, rather, I would have if not for the yell from the opposing side.

"Scatter!" I recognized Laulos's voice. Bell's fellow student had been a good leader in the heat of battle. Her voice carried well over the din of combat. I understood why she left their group. In her own way, she had cared for her Sensei. She cared for him enough to be willing to hurt him and not care for the consequences of her actions. If I were to make a guess, I would say that I believed that she looked to him differently than the rest of his students. "He's coming from above!"

The block of pikes attempted to disperse. I could see that they were well organized. They split apart into small, equal squares which would have still been a great threat. They gained mobility by sacrificing hardly any strength and power. It was a hallmark of the teachings which Bell had shared with me.

However, there is a reason why the Sensei is the Sensei and the student is the student.

The lightning, which had so suddenly come into being from above and had been streaking toward the center of the block, collided with the ground… and split into four tendrils that shattered the squares of adventurers. I had almost forgotten that spells could be shaped through the use of certain staves, since most Mages preferred to simply enhance the strength of their spells, until I had witnessed Hikigaya wield a massive coil of lightning against the Black Goliaths and the Asura. Naturally, if he could curl lightning into an immense blade to strike against such massive enemy then he would have no issue splitting apart the attack and wreaking havoc upon the enemy. Truly, though he was limited in the number of Spells he had, Bell's Sensei made the most of his weapons.

My eyes and many others traced where the attack had come from. In the most flagrant location possible, he was located at the very top of one of the Coliseum's sides. The battle will take place in the Coliseum and will not reach the stands or anywhere within the stands indeed. Planning against Hikigaya-sensei, as Bell said, was impossible. The man didn't care for tradition or common decency in the slightest. From his perch, where he could overlook the whole battle, he was striking with impunity by arcing his magic into the sky before sending it straight down. Given his immense reserves of magic and the very nature of his spells, he alone would have decided the battle completely with just his simple plan.

But that wasn't the case in the slightest.

The Level 5 gave a command to the cloaked individual she had been guarding. The giant of a woman hefted her massive war axe and received a bolt of lightning with a fierce roar. Her Magic Resistance was terrifying, but as she turned toward Hikigaya-sensei's location, I wondered how Bell's Sensei would be capable of taking on a Level 5 as brutish and powerful as her.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, a figure clad in green slammed into the giant woman's side, sending her stumbling. The very same figure leapt off in the same moment, striking with a staff of obsidian steel as she arced through the air and landed in a crouch that seamlessly turned into a kick to the knees. The Level 5 roared at the barrage of hits from the hooded and masked figure, but as she turned to attack, arrows slammed into her with such force that she was sent reeling.

Tracing the trajectory of the arrows, I could hardly believe my eyes as I watched an archer arc through the air amid the coils of lightning which Hikigaya had filled the air with. No more than a speck of black in the torrents of power that surged through the air, the archer used a massive bow of the same obsidian steel to launch thick bolts of metal that would tear through wooden buildings with ease. The moment they landed on the other side of the Coliseum's roof they leapt once again into the sky filled with lightning without a care in the world. A weapon hidden within another weapon. My mind boggled at the sight, at the sheer audacity of the move, but there was no denying the effectiveness of the masked figure's methods.

Then, a sword landed just a step ahead of my form that took my breath away.

Since I had lost Shinonome [1], I had restrained myself from using a sword of high quality. Equipment was entirely secondary to skill. Prowess, above all else, was the greatest strength of an Adventurer. I decided to follow a path similar to Bell and his fellow students'. I wanted to grow stronger and find a weapon that would benefit me rather than have a weapon that I would have to mold myself around. I familiarized myself with many different types of blades and weapons. Bell had a multitude of weapons that he trained with which he generously allowed me to borrow. Though I preferred the blade, what I truly wanted was to be able to use whatever weapons I came across so that I would not be without one.

However, I could not refuse to take up the incredible blade of obsidian steel that had been given to me by Bell's Sensei. There was no doubt in my mind that it was made of the Apocalyptic beast which I had faced mere weeks ago and that it was a silent nod of recognition from Hikigaya Hachiman of me as a follower of the way of the sword. Not only that, but looking about, I found all my allies taking up their new weapons and gifts.

Bell received a longsword, Arde a pair of gauntlets and greaves, Erisuis twin axes, and Nelly a claymore. Challia produced a slender ebony rapier from a sheathe while sporting a small smile.

How could I possibly refuse my own gift, the call for victory, when they have so gladly taken it themselves?

How could I not commit myself completely to save one of the few friends I had left?

Haruhime, even if you don't think you're worth saving, I will do so anyway.

…

[1] Made a mistake in the earlier chapter by calling her 1st sword Zansetsu. Shinonome is the correct name.

…

Decidedly, This Situation Isn't Ideal. (16.1)

…

Though my new Mage Gauntlet was working, I couldn't help but not like my situation at all. With the Gauntlet I'd intended to have the best of both worlds. I wanted to be able to use my preferred two-handed weapons while still having the magic-enhancing properties of staves at my disposal. I spoke about it with Leona at length, decided on which stave I'd wanted after testing them out, and finally gotten the prototype… right when I needed it to compensate for having lost an arm.

Some happy-go-lucky idiot would call the situation fortunate, that it was working as intended and allowing me to direct magic and wield a weapon as I did with two hands, but I was neither happy-go-lucky nor an idiot. If I'd still had my damned arm, I would be so much more effective! Two hands for physical combat while I used a Mage Gauntlet made for Control to attack my enemies. It would've been a net gain, despite the amount of money and time I spent developing it, instead of just allowing me to work at 100%.

The glass is always half empty when it could be full, you stupid optimists! There's no such thing as a glass that's half full. Learn some goddamned grammar. Full means full! Half full is an oxymoron! Wait, half empty is too, now that I think about it! As expected, both pessimists and optimists are just foolish words meant to differentiate people! What a bunch of babies who just want to be special! Fuck off with your shitty shallow excuses to act differently! The correct way to look at the age old question is that the glass has been filled halfway, but there is more space left to be filled, and so you should complain or work until you get it filled to the brim!

Since to work is to lose, then I'll complain and bug Leona until I fucking get my arm back, dammit!

The battle had devolved into chaos… for the enemy that is. If they'd had a modicum of the skills I'd thought they'd had they would have stood a chance. Now, with lightning raining down on them, my students in their midst, and their trump card being harassed to hell and back? A bunch of headless chickens would've probably intimidated my students more. While I didn't know much about Yamato or Challia's training, everyone else on my side was used to fighting in a chaotic mess. I trained each of my students in the Dungeon and only in the Dungeon. They knew how to fight while wading through bodies and with yelling and screaming all around them.

So, in effect, I really only had to worry about two people once I started pumping magic into the arena like it was out of style: Laulos and the cloaked figure.

And it just so happened that the mysterious figure was actually known to Yamato and was now engaged in combat with the side character. Cranel, I hope you're paying attention, because you're about to raise some flags with your Yamato Nadeshiko real soon. I'll leave the romantic development in your hands, Harem Protagonist, while I go ahead and see to it that I get a few words with my student who accidentally changed warfare across the world for the next century or so.

Regular rapier in hand, I released the limiter on my coat before launching straight down toward the mess.

Wreathe self in lightning. Provide shell around self. Correction. Shell limits vision. Wings? Too dramatic. Cape. Better. Tacky. Better. Utilize lightning to attack and defend. Ensure shock and no fatalities. Focus down Adventurers of Level 3 and above. Mind excessive use of magic. Unlimited amounts of magic cannot be unveiled. Hide fact that Continuous Haste and Empower are active unless needed. Focus on split second dodging of attacks. Viewers will assume high skill is source of ability.

The pommel of my rapier saw some work as I applied it to the heads of several unnamed characters. There were a few girls in the mix, as expected of Apollo, but most were the muscled, square-jawed mooks that you'd expect the protagonist to win over every time. Their clothes were boring, their faces were normal, and their hair was colored naturally. Overall, they were stereotype cannonfodder for an unoriginal story arc. The only people of any actual worth were people who were dressed differently and had actual names. That meant that there were just a few actual threats in this farce of a Tournament Arc: Laulos, Lustra, Clio, and Jamil. Clio was the main adventurer/squeeze of Apollo. I didn't know if he was supposed to be special, but I wasn't going to take a Level 3 lightly.

Prioritize targets according to Level. Jamil being outfought by allies. Amazon Warriors facing students are being defeated. Auxiliaries attempting to break through but progressing slowly. Support auxiliaries. Provide cover from arrows with lightning. Cast Empower and Haste on frontline fighter. Provide support to caster and allow for casting of stronger spells. Enemy charges frontline fighter. Fighter engages. One slips through due to sheer numbers. Frontline fighter needs more training.

Clio of the Apollo Familia was your regular Level 3 adventurer. From my sources— Laulos and my various other employees— he was a fanatic. If Apollo wanted something, Clio got it for him. The man was the very picture of the receiving end. Hell, I was sure he was wearing makeup. Oi, buddy, you sure you're a dude? From what I'd heard, you sound like someone straight out of Ebina's BL delusions. Does your entire life seriously have to be about giving your Apollo-sama everything and anything he wants whenever he wants it?

Opponent attempts to speak. Insults being given regarding self. Ignore. Focus on destroying remainder of pike formations. Control of battlefield imperative to victory. Prioritize archers. Yamato has engaged cloaked figure. Cloaked figure skilled in combat but can't match Level 3 stats. Ignore insults. Continue only exchanging blows and focus on applying lightning where needed. Challia has finished chant. Beams of light collide with ground. Broken limbs and concussions. Good aim. Clio calls students failures. Call Laulos a failure. Riposte. Disarm. Break knee with side kick. Knee to jaw. Incapable of any more insults and no longer capable of battle. Refrain from using lightning. Not worth even the slightest amount of power.

I moved on to Lustra while making sure Challia was covered. The elf was decent in a fight and was well rounded for combat. I was actually surprised to see that there was someone like her. Most adventurers in Orario tended to specialize in combat. Which was idiotic. Your lives are on the line! Why the hell would you rely on someone else!? Work your ass off so you're not a liability the moment you overextend or make a simple mistake! Anyway, like I said earlier, Challia was a decent mage. The black haired elf wasn't someone I needed to look after. Surprising, yes. Unwanted, no. The less work I need to do the better.

Lustra afraid. Knees are shaking and hands trembling. Arde believes he wished to use her to tame monsters. Irrelevant. Use her as a tool for personal wealth. Not needed. Risk her life in the Dungeon as a Level 1 to pad his pockets for drugs. Don't need to keep in mind. Thrust blade into shoulder. Drops sword with scream. Stab into opposite shoulder. Drops shield. Still mobile. Two more attacks where leg meets rest of body. Lustra falls. Cognizant but incapable. Dealt with.

The Amazons were down for the count. Cranel worked well with Arde while Erisuis and Nelly covered one another. The new weapons they had basically smashed through what the Amazons used. After that, all they had to do was pummel the group of fighter-strippers into submission. The Barbelas, as they were known, were Ishtar's primary force. Jamil was arrogant to the extreme and went her own way most of the time, so it wasn't especially surprising to me that Ishtar sent a cohesive fighting unit to make sure her side won. I'd honestly expected more of Aisha Belka, given that she's known as an "Onee-sama" who helped kids out and the homeless, but here she was leading her fellows to try and enslave me. I suppose I shouldn't fully believe what my network tells me. Or, of course, there was the possibility that something odd was afoot. Either way, Arde and Cranel had to work together to deal with her. Arde went for an elbow drop and Cranel finished the battle with an Argonaut-enhanced uppercut while the Level 5 was trying to stand. Arde would've gone through a building with her attack and Cranel would've annihilated a concrete pillar. The Level 4 was just knocked out by the end of it. Jeez.

Final opponent.

"Challia, go ahead and finish off the stragglers. I'll deal with this." I stopped powering my lightning after I sent one last wave toward Jamil. The Level 5 was being set upon by my students from afar. Pikes were pelting her at a steady pace while Lyon and Orimoto did their work. Still, a Level 5 was a Level 5, and that meant it would take a while for them to finish her off. A quick, final barrage from me would help that along while I made it seem as though I was running out of steam. I turned to my last opponent of the day with feigned tiredness. "Laulos, how have you been?"

"…I'm doing alright." Yeah, Laulos was a bit worse for wear. Unfortunately, my student, you were a threat. That is the answer as to why I focused on making sure you did nothing while I set about demolishing your pike formation. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to apologize about the five or so strands of lightning I had following you. She splurged for a coat of magic resistance, but that didn't exactly mean anything when she got thrown around like a ragdoll due to sheer force. Sure, she wasn't smoking or twitching, but she was pretty much going to be black and blue tomorrow. My dear student you should really practice dodging lightning more often. "So, Sensei, how is this going to go?"

"It depends on you." I'd already known how this conversation was going to go. Laulos probably did as well. In the end, she and I both knew that we weren't going to be able to convince one another. She wanted me to swear I wouldn't risk my life for them, but we both knew that I wouldn't limit myself like that. My life was mine to spend to as I wished. Neither of us were the type to compromise. Even if we were beaten into the dirt and forced to face facts, she and I would never admit we were wrong. "If you surrender, you lose. If you don't, I'll make you surrender so you lose."

"And if I win?" Laulos was the student who took the best to my teachings. The red-haired girl before me was the most normal of my students. She didn't have Erisuis and Nelly's drive to become strong and reach their gods. She didn't have Cranel or Erisuis's broken skills. Though I most certainly wasn't normal, she took to my mindset of doing whatever it takes to win the easiest. Why? Because that's all she had. "What then?"

"Then you'll get beaten down by everyone else." Off all the people in this Coliseum, Laulos was the one I didn't want to fight the most. "So, why don't you just give up?"

"And just let go? Just let you keep risking your life and getting hurt every time you're afraid one of us might die?" Laulos lightly laughs and shakes her head. Bloodied glass clinks around her and she stands straighter. Tsk, she stole my own trick. She stood fully, a patch of blood on her shirt, but I knew she had healed and enervated herself by applying Elixirs through her wounds. "How about this, Hikigaya: you beat me here and now and I'll shut up and let you spend your life as you want… but if I win I'll go ahead and betray the Apollo Familia and have you promise me that you won't risk your life for me? Just me. Not anyone else."

It was a hilariously lopsided deal. Any idiot could tell it benefited me in every single way. Win or lose, the outcome was beneficial to me. All I had to do was take the infinitesimal risk that she might win.

"No." Naturally, knowing her and the dozens of tricks she had, I refused. "You're losing here and now."

"Shame." Laulos said, but the smile on her face said otherwise. With her foot, she brought up one of the discarded pikes to one hand and tested its weight. With her other hand, she reached for something beneath her collar. "A real shame."

Then, like some final boss or something, she turned invisible with the use of an obscenely expensive artifact.

You had me buy those clothes, dammit!

…

Decidedly, This Situation Isn't Ideal. (16.2)

…

Fighting against an enemy of Laulos's caliber wasn't something that I liked to do on a regular basis. The worst enemy to face was the one with nothing to lose, the determination to go through with anything, and who never fought fair. That was the sort of Adventurer I wanted my students and myself to be. Naturally, I never expected that I would ever have to fight my students so I taught them without much restraint. It would be outright idiotic to have an employee that wasn't well trained. The time and resources I spent on each one of them would be wasted if I didn't teach them as well as I possibly could. Ergo, I taught each one of my students as much as I could because I didn't want an imbecile watching my back or an idiot dying because they couldn't manage to think of a way out of a situation.

That is all.

Anyway, I was questioning my magnanimity at the moment.

Of course, Laulos was aware of the fact that I refused to show the limits of my magical ability. I never shared the exact details of Conscienta Strenuissium with anyone nor did I plan to. However, there was something to be said for inductive reasoning. Laulos, of all my students, was probably the one who suspected the most that I had such a broken skill at my disposal. I would've probably suspected the same thing if I'd never seen a Mage have a Mind Down despite all the magic they threw about. Under normal circumstances, I doubted that she'd pull off her invisibility trick, but with the audience we had I couldn't exactly start blasting the area with lightning after I'd already done so once before. A talented Mage with a specialized build could theoretically do what I just did, but only once. Therefore, Laulos was free to use invisibility unless I wanted a few dogs to start nipping at my heels.

Of course, that didn't mean that I was at her mercy.

Sheathing my rapier, I reached for the dozens of knives I had at my disposal and began embedding them into the packed dirt all around me. Throwing them with as much strength as I had made it so that the iron shattered against the ground. However, like the bullets that I wanted to replicate, they threw up clouds of brown dust all around me. Five knives and I had a fence which she had to pass through if she wanted to reach me.

Unless, of course, she came from above by leaping above it.

Incoming knives. Weapons become visible after leaving her hands. Three are decoys. Four are meant to hit. Four will hit simultaneously. Laulos seeks to take advantage of weakness. Should've attended recent training camp. Intercept incoming knives with own. Explosion. Decoy knives are monster crystals disguised as iron. Two-pronged attack. Can't ignore any attacks she sends. Cheeky.

This wasn't a matter of skill or brawn. Though I risked sounding chuuni, this was a test between minds. I had to fight against her plans, play by the rules she and I had set, and see who wins in a contest of cleverness.

Well, if I let it get that far that is.

I wasn't the kind of person to rely on my intelligence. I've fucked myself over more than anyone else in my entire life. Playing by rules just made you predictable. There was a whole slew of reasons why I never played by rules that didn't suit me… even if I made those rules myself.

If the whole world was against you, or even if it was just "fair," if your life is on the line then what you have to do is change it so it's in your favor.

The explosions she made? The ones that riddled my legs and left me reeling? They turned up plenty of dust.

Enough dust for me to see her sinking into a certain region of the immediate area.

Enough dust to hide my next move.

Shove Mage Glove into the ground. Mythrill not conductive and heavily resists physical damage. Begin chanting. Laulos has noticed. Dust moving. Ranged projectiles incoming. Weather attacks. Level 3. Can heal. Explosives. Heat and pressure. Continue chant. Cannot respond. Kick received to abdomen. Laulos trying to stop chant. Hands on neck. Chant finished.

Fire Ceaseless Thunderbolt Battery straight into battleground's foundation.

Stone gave way and ruptured to my attack. Spells gained power when one Levelled Up. Ceaseless Thunderbolt Battery was my main method of dealing with boss mobs. While it had plenty of firepower before, while I was a Level 1, it's a spell typically used by Level 4s and above. While I could use the spell far longer than them, their brief period of using the spell held more destructive ability. Basically, Continuous Chain Lightning is now as effective as Ceaseless Thunderbolt Battery was when I was Level 1. Now that I was Level 3 and had Mage, that meant that Ceaseless Thunderbolt Battery was nearly at the army-wiping strength it was meant to be used at.

I had it active for three seconds and in those three seconds I vaporized the immediate area around myself and Laulos and sent the two of us into the Coliseum's underbelly.

Laulos disentangled herself from me before we landed in the dark forest of stone and shadow below the Coliseum.

The only source of light was the hole covered with dust above us. Taking a single step back into the pitch black effectively made me invisible without the use of an Artifact. She couldn't see me and I couldn't see her.

However, what mattered the most was that the rest of the audience couldn't see the two of us.

Chant. Cast Mend. Pain in abdomen and neck fades. Chant. Cast Continuous Haste. Chant. Cast Continuous Chain Lightning. Create decoys. Source of light for Laulos pursue and attack. Prepare to cast net of lightning strands. Chant. Prepare to cast Empower when needed. Preparations complete. Ready Rapier. Imbue Rapier with electricity. No visual signs. Good.

Time to put being a Level 3 to work. I could only hope that I got the hang of finding people in the dark before Laulos did. Eh, who am I kidding, with the amount of things I pay attention to all the time, I probably already did.

Wind. Primary source is entrance. Secondary sources at back and north. Noise. Mainly cheering and yells from above. Focus. Strain. Breath. Own. Heartbeat. Own. Step. Not mobile. Laulos. Scent. Leather and dust. Blood. Not own. From healing. Laulos healed herself via direct potion application. Blood is hers. Focus. Track. Noise and scent in different places. One is decoy. Bloody shirt has already been discarded. One source smells lighter and accompanies noise. Laulos. Disregard primary scent. Laulos has reached northern source of wind. Scent has picked up. Laulos intends to attack decoy. Plan of approach?

Blitz of course.

Laulos strikes lightning decoy. Cry of surprise. Magic not effective due to nature of cloak. Aim for pommel strike to back of head. Miss. Cry of alarm. Scent and noise tracking not as effective as sight. Rapid movement. Kick reaches abdomen. Fist hits right side of face. Knife pommel strikes temple. Knee hits stomach. Continuous assault. Engaging due to own lack of ability to pursue. Not throwing knives due to inaccuracy. Fighting with Melee due to knowledge of inability to do otherwise. Opponent pressing advantage.

Laulos was a Level 3 and so was I. That meant that we could hurt each other as well as two regular people could at a faster pace. If I was able to see her I would be able to predict her movements, intercept her attacks, and whittle down her chances of winning to zero. That was the first advantage she took away from me. The second advantage she tried to take away was my ability to cast magic. Finally, she decided to engage at range with explosives to tire me out before coming in for the kill. The tactics were dirty, underhanded, and held nothing back in the slightest. She was coming at me with the intention of defeating me soundly by exploiting every weakness I had.

Predictive methods ineffective. Rapier ineffective. Can only attack or defend effectively when enemy presence is known. Must keep engaged. Must be in close contact with enemy. Discard rapier. Reroute magic effect to Gauntlet. Grab leg extended from knee attack. Cry of shock. Mage Gauntlet electrification success. Extrapolate form. Cannot use left arm for physical attack. Pull opponent forward. Apply forehead to opponent's forehead. Opponent concussed. Self has been concussed. Skill allows self to fight well even while concussed. Opponent does not have same advantage. Opponent now concussed and being shocked. Press advantage. Sweep remaining leg off floor. Flip opponent to back.

Though I didn't want to admit it, despite the fact I wanted to say I was better than Laulos, I couldn't deny that she surpassed all my expectations by adopting the way I fought completely and utterly… and I hated what I was looking at.

Opponent flails. Refuses to give up. Refuses to surrender. Must apply more force. Level 3. Requires more force. Can't. Laulos on back. Leg held aloft. Break. Can't. Opponent leg hits arm. Break or let go. Let go. Laulos launches attack on leg. Too fast. Destabilized. Fall. Tackled and pinned down. Hammer blows to face. Cries of exertion. Punch to abdomen. Electrified. Opponent resists. Again. Taste of blood. Escape from pin. Woozy. Concussions piling up. Laulos suspects more than expected.

Something clatters against the floor.

"Look at you! You can't even beat me!" Laulos yells in full view. My lightning surges and the dark cavern is set alight. Blood ran down from her forehead. Her form smoked due to the repeated charges of electricity which coursed through her. The scent of burnt hair hung in the air. The necklace she wore was gone and I could see bruises forming below her binding as her coat wasn't designed to close. She goes through the insides of her coat and broken knives clatter to the floor. I had hit her hard enough to break them against her skin. Her hands rise. "Do you expect me to believe that you won't die trying to save everyone, Hikigaya?!"

I don't have a reply. All I do is raise up my hands. I couldn't spare any thoughts I had.

Chant.

"As if I'd let you!"

The few paces between us filled with broken knives are crossed in an instant. I halt her incoming fist with my own. My Mage Gauntlet was composed of Mythrill and coursed with electricity, but she was the better fighter. I had a reinforced limb and she had the stronger one. We equaled one another in that regard. Shocks ran up my shoulder and down my spine and we withdrew in unison. She aimed a kick toward my abdomen. I intercepted with my own. Another meeting of equal strength. The moment her foot reached the ground, her other leg flashed forward. Again I intercepted the blow with my mirror limb. How could I not when I was the one who taught her all the moves? When all these techniques to stop a Mage from casting came from my own mind?

I managed to block the first of the three blows, but the fourth and last of the quick assault I couldn't manage to defend myself against.

Why?

Because I didn't have my left arm.

Ignis Fatuus surged within me as my Chant was disrupted. The magic building up within my system had nowhere to go. Pain surged within my body and though the blow was light, I fell as I felt my body break. Bones that I wanted to heal cracked. Flesh that I wanted to repair tore. My many wounds intensified rather than healed. I grit my teeth as even my tolerance for pain was briefly overcome. I hacked up blood onto the ground.

Before Laulos's next blow could land, I slammed whatever lightning I could spare at her. Sent flying by the lightning, I slammed her into the stone wall just before me. She gave a cry of pain, however I could see that she was withstanding it. It wasn't just her cloak resisting my magic. She had taken Magic Resistance as a Skill. I was basically hitting her with as much force as a Level 1 Mage would hit a Level 3. She had absconded entirely with an irreplaceable asset just so she could have an answer for my magic. My lightning had its uses but it wasn't going to allow me to win the fight.

"Is… is that all you have?" Laulos stood up with a grunt after she landed on the floor smoking. She clambered onto all fours sluggishly, but soon enough she was standing. She pulled something from her pocket. I knew what it was. We'd talked about it. It was a mythrill syringe with a needle enchanted for piercing. No need to cut into ourselves to send potions directly into our bodies. A last source of healing which could survive just about any damage. We both considered it obscenely expensive, yet there it was in her hand. She stabbed it into her neck and sent the healing elixir straight into her bloodstream. "Because if it is, Hikigaya, you've got no chance."

Unless I was willing to hurt her and treat her like a real enemy, I realized she was right.

…

Decidedly, This Situation Isn't Ideal. (16.3)

…

Pain didn't matter to her. Feelings didn't either. Looking at Laulos, all I could remember were all the words I had told her. Everything I taught her. How to ignore distractions. How to fight using every advantage at your disposal. How to single-mindedly pursue a goal with every weakness thrown aside. Before me stood my last student before the five who died. She was the one who gave me the confidence. Who made me believe that reaching the end of the Dungeon wasn't a matter of who you were but what you were willing to do. There's no doubt in my mind that she was a special case.

A student that changed the teacher.

I charged at her.

Could such a person really be called a student anymore?

Laulos met my assault by raising her arms. I changed the angle of my strike from her neck toward her chin. Very nearly my arm was trapped between hers. Though our bodies were tougher and stronger, that didn't mean we were any heavier than we were before. So, even though her chin didn't yield a centimeter to my blow, I still sent her off her feet. She corrected her defense immediately, crossing one hand over the other, just as she brought up her legs to her chest to make herself a smaller target. My lightning surged forward, enveloped her, and smashed her through the stone wall she had at her back.

My body ached and stung. My limbs were fine. However my vision was becoming blurry. I was swaying as I tried to stand still. After my charge, that dizziness was amplified. I nearly fell to my knees. I coughed and blood came from my mouth. The attacks to the abdomen were effective. Why wouldn't they be? I taught her to aim for them. The internal organs grew stronger and tougher, but they didn't enjoy having nigh-unbreakable bone surrounding them. She aimed for them for the same reason she aimed for the head. Damage was guaranteed.

When she landed, I was mid-flight with a leg sweeping toward her head. She stepped forward without fear, caught me, and threw me straight down. Stone gave way to my back just before she leapt at me elbow-first. Once more, she immediately went for hammer blows toward my head. However, instead of attempting to punch her, I found what I had needed. The blows sent my head ringing and I nearly lost my train of thought. However, soon enough, I was able to push her off me with a knee to her side and the split-second she was aloft, I threw her with lightning once more.

She rose, barely bruised from my attack.

"You know how this goes, Hikigaya! I've countered you perfectly! You can't beat me!" Laulos knew the importance of morale. Courage played a vital role in combat, I had told her, so take it away from anyone you fight. Since I was now fighting a perfect counter who never took on wounds… yeah, I guess she learned that lesson very well. "Give up! You and I both know that this only ends one way!"

Yeah, I did.

I didn't like it but I did.

I pushed myself up to my feet. My breathing was ragged. My stomach was a pulverized mess. I could barely stand. Seeing and hearing was a challenge. The taste of blood was on my lips.

But, all of that didn't matter, because I'd taken from her what I'd needed to take.

I tossed aside the mythrill syringe I'd pocketed from her.

It was empty as it clattered against the stone.

There was a brief surge of pain as my wounds rapidly healed. Bones and organs were rebuilt and reknit. Just as we had discussed one night, direct application of elixir to the veins during battle was exceedingly effective. Regardless of the cost, I would have to get one of those myself. A quick sanitation of the needles would make them reusable anyways.

"Pickpocketing, Hikigaya? Are you that desperate?" Laulos said one thing but the grimace on her features was more than apparent. I had found a holder for a third syringe on the inside of her coat. It was empty. I'd have stolen that one too if I'd had the chance… or at the very least kept it at the small of my back. Assets are only assets if they're not taken from you. Otherwise they're just weaknesses that beg to be exploited. I took a breath free of pain for the first time in the last four minutes. My mind, no longer focused on suppressing pain and overcoming concussions, became remarkably clearer. "Are you that scared of me?"

I took a breath and decided to say the words I should have the moment the fight began.

There were many things that needed to be said that would never be said. Both she and I weren't the type of people to compromise. We weren't ones to settle for mediocrity. As long as the results were the best, we wouldn't care about the means. Even if that meant being cruel or brutal to ourselves or others, both Laulos and I would strive for the best result. Both of us were focused on fixing the problem that we saw. She didn't want me to die for her. I… I didn't want to see her hurt. I wanted to keep protecting her. Even now, though I was fighting to protect her, I couldn't bring myself to hurt her so I could guarantee my victory.

"Laulos…" I unclasped my cape and threw it aside. Then, I called forth on my lightning. I condensed it, harnessed it, and placed its new form upon my missing limb. I brought my hands up in fists. One clad in mythrill and the other composed of lightning. If what I needed was force, a method to intercept her blows, then it would suffice. "You have no clue what you're asking for."

Charge forward. Assist charge with lightning recoil against stone floor. Counterattack is slow. Focus on strikes to the gut. Disregard concern. Can heal later. Duck beneath counter. Strike to jaw. Incoming knee. Grab. Left. Toss upward. Axe kick to stomach. Bring down. Launch back off stomach. Avoid counterstrike. Launch lightning arm. Weaken jaw further. Abdomen minimally damaged. Jaw weakened significantly. Need to immobilize and concuss further. No. Laulos must be conscious and cogent. Lesson cannot be learned if unconscious.

"You're asking me to stop trying to help you, to not risk my life for you, when you're not even able to match me? Is this supposed to be a joke, Laulos?" There was no denying it. There was only one reason I couldn't break her arms or hurt Laulos as much I as I needed. It was the same reason why I couldn't do the same to Nelly, Erisuis, Arde, and Cranel. They were my students. Teachers and students weren't strangers to one another. At least not the good ones. It was a relationship that involved trust no matter the motives of either party. The student trusted that they would be taught well. The teacher trusted that what they give will be used with good intentions and earnest goals. Somewhere along the line I had walked myself into that trap. The trap of caring for my students. There was no denying it now. Laulos wasn't the protagonist, yet here I was, incapable of beating her. "You're weak and it's my duty as a teacher to look after you until you aren't."

Laulos rises. Legs coiled and arms on the floor. Pouncing form. Laulos charges. Physical advantages allow initial strike to hit. Allow. Intends to bring down into grapple. Do not allow. Raise arms. Dual hammer blow to back. Laulos withstands. Switch to grab sides. Losing footing. Cannot fall. Raise Laulos up. Remove ability to leverage. Will attempt to struggle out. Rapid action necessary. Pile driver. Disentangle. Opponent on ground struggling. Concussion probable. Oops.

"You want me to not need risk my life for you? Then leave. Get the hell out of Orario. Every moment I spend training you is a moment I could be getting stronger, getting more Valis, and protecting myself." Laulos struggled to get up and I watched her. I knew the red-haired girl very well. She was proud. Incredibly proud. She held herself and others to standards she shouldn't. She was trying to be a hero and trying to make others heroes, too. She wanted everyone to fight without risk and get a happy ending. It was an incredibly selfish thing to demand. She cared too much. "I risk my life just training you because I could be getting stronger. Training you outside of the Dungeon is no different from me risking my life for you inside it. I can easily lose a limb because I didn't train enough just as I lost my arm saving Cranel."

Laulos rises. Did my words reach her? I didn't know. The only person who knows if they did would be Laulos herself.

"…" Saying nothing, Laulos raises her hands up. I do the same. Since I used the Elixir, I've been struck once. The attempt to drag me down had been a strong one. However, besides slightly bruised ribs, I was healthy. Laulos had a weakened jaw, a rapidly bruising abdomen, and a concussion. Despite all of that, she took a breath, steadied herself, and took a single step forward. Then another and another. She still intended to fight. To win. Even if it took everything she had. Finally, just as she was only five paces away, she spoke weakly. "I'm not weaker than you, Sensei."

A part of me wanted to agree. To tell her that she is as strong as I am. I had seen the lengths she was willing to go, the tricks she had at her disposal, and the abilities she had. They were adequate. I could see her surviving. She didn't need me. I didn't need to risk my life saving her when I could. She was strong enough to stand alone.

Those words and thoughts all came from the same place in my head. It was the part of me that wanted to go home. That wanted to return to Komachi, my parents, and my home. To see again the people I could barely remember. It was the part of me that wanted to prove that I could let go. This was the best opportunity to start. Laulos wanted me to let her go. She was adequate enough for me to let go. Letting her go was a true step toward reaching home. It would prepare me to let go of those who didn't want me to leave them and who I thought weren't prepared.

Yet, despite those thoughts and that knowledge, there was only one thing I was able to say to Laulos.

"No, you're not." I shook my head and raised my own hands. We were mirror images of one another. Both of us were fools trying to force our own impossible wants into reality. I wanted to go home yet not hurt anyone or myself by doing so. Laulos wanted everyone to live and lead happy lives. Neither of us were willing to back down. I couldn't let her go for the sake of my dream to go home. She couldn't let go despite the fact she couldn't win. "You're not stronger than me in the slightest, idiot."

Despite her injuries, Laulos smiled and gave the reply that I expected.

"Hey, at least I'm your idiot, right?"

And so, despite everything that happened, neither of us changed.

That is, until Phryne Jamil crashed through the ceiling, gave a cry, and cleaved her in half.

…