Hannah

Species: HUMAN

Class: DOMAIN RULER

Health: 100%

Traits:

- BODY 99

- MIND 68

- REACTION 105

- PERCEPTION 87

Skills:

- ATTACK

- GUARD

- ATHLETICS

- ACROBATICS

- FORGING

- ART

- CARVING

- SCHOLAR

Weakness: NONE

So, this was facing a prodigy. Trait values alone were enough to crush most awakened, even starting domain rulers. Without magic or familiar companions, winning in a direct confrontation would have been an almost impossible task. The current situation wasn’t that much different. While Dallion had superior skills and two traits that provided an advantage, he also had to be careful not to hurt his opponent too much: take too much damage and Hannah would remain sealed; deal too much and she’d be resealed as a result of the fight.

Guess there’s a reason for high-level unsealing to be exceedingly difficult. If Adzorg were to be believed, there hadn’t been a domain ruler unsealing in modern history.

“Line attack!” Both Dallion and Hannah said simultaneously.

Two lines of destruction flew at each other with incredible speed.

MUTUAL ATTACK NEGATION

Both attacks have been split in two.

Attacks have no effect.

Both sides had bared their fangs, displaying their determination to attack. In another life, Dallion might have resorted to fair play, avoiding the use of magic advantages. However, this wasn’t a battle in which he could afford such frivolity.

“Lux, Gleam, keep her occupied!” he ordered, summoning his aura sword.

Both familiars emerged in the realm just as Dallion’s second weapon formed within his left hand. Hannah didn’t remain idle, either, summoning three additional swords. While one appeared in her free hand, the other two attached to her boots.

“Isn’t that impractical?” Dallion asked, using his music skills in an attempt to weaken his opponent. “It would have been different in the air, but running about in those might be a bit tricky.”

In response, a pair of daggers emerged, attaching themselves to Hannah’s belt. The moment they did, magic threads shot out from them, surrounding her entire body. It only took a second for Dallion to read the instructions within the threads: Hannah had just received a permanent flight spell.

That’s untypical.

Well, when I said that I used artifacts to compensate for her losses, I didn’t mention that some of them are awakened domain ones, Adzorg explained.

That would have been nice to know, Dallion grumbled mentally.

Artifacts aren’t an exact science. I had assumed they had been destroyed after her banishment. They were only intended for defense in the case someone has the bright idea of challenging her by invading her realm.

Like what I’m doing? Dallion waved his aura sword, casting flight and a full set of aether armor.

Gleam had already engaged the young innkeeper, bombarding her with wind attacks. All of them were avoided without issue, even granting Hannah a few guard bonuses in the process.

MODERATE WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 20%

A red rectangle popped up as Hannah combined her guard bonus with her standard speed, making the attack unavoidable.

Dallion’s aether armor shattered, leaving his left side exposed. If it hadn’t been for the spell, he probably would have suffered twice as much damage.

“Lux!” he shouted.

“Yes, boss!” The firebird flew right at him, surrounding his body in blue flames. It had been a while since Dallion had resorted to the familiar’s constant healing. Now felt like a good time to do so.

Taking advantage of his proximity to Hannah, Dallion immediately went on the counteroffensive. Twisting through the air, he proceeded with a series of blade slashes and offensive magic spells. The benefit of having an aura sword allowed him to combine the two effortlessly. Water droplets shot out from his harpsisword in the same fashion he has seen nymphs fight.

MINOR STRIKE

Dealt damage increased by 10%

MINOR STRIKE

Dealt damage increased by 10%

MINOR STRIKE

Dealt damage increased by 10%

A series of red rectangles emerged above Hannah. The first fraction of a second, Dallion was pleased. The next, though, his mood quickly changed.

“Lux, Heal her!” He ordered, casting an aether spell between him and Hannah to protect the girl from his own attacks.

“Boss?” the firebird chirped, confused.

“Do it!”

With some hesitation, the blue flames jumped off Dallion on their way to Hannah. Before reaching her, though, the girl did a triple slash attack, aimed solely at the creature.

MODERATE WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 20%

Three red rectangles popped up. Before a fourth one could emerge, the firebird flashed out of the realm, returning to Dallion’s own.

Gritting his teeth, Dallion slashed with the magic sword, in an attempt to capture Hannah in an aether sphere. Dozens of spheres filled up the nearby space, each merely capturing the spot where Hannah had been fractions of a second ago. A few seconds later, the distance between the two opponents was close to half a mile once more.

“Going all out from the start?” Dallion asked. “Life as a Legion captain must have been boring.”

“You have no idea,” Hannah admitted.

Dallion’s mind was racing. The brief exchange had proven that he’d have to change his methods. The question was how exactly. If they weren’t in a vast open realm, he might have used a spell to flood it with water, or used some other method to make her lose consciousness. As it stood, that wasn’t an option.

You’re in a tough spot, Gleam told Dallion. She’s still testing you. She has a lot of strong moves in store.

That sounded just like what a seasoned awakened would do—start with a bunch, but keep a few aces in the sleeve. No wonder that March respected her so much.

“It would be a waste not making use of all that power,” Dallion said. “So many possibilities, sealed away because of a promise.”

“It’s a lot easier to keep the promise than to break through it,” she replied. “I’ve accepted my life. This version of me is nothing but an old regret that could never be.”

“Why not?”

“You think it’s easy to win against yourself?” A flash of anger emanated from Hannah. “This isn’t like an awakened trial where you can change your mind. Don’t you think that if it were up to willpower alone, someone would have unsealed themselves by now? Sealing is the point of no return. You can’t lift yourself up by your bootstraps—you need someone else to help you do it, and that person must have the strength to see it through.”

Was that a call for help? Dallion couldn’t tell. From what he could sense with his music skills, it was more like stating cold facts.

“Can’t you accept my decision?” she asked.

“You’re asking me to give up?”

“I want to save you some time and effort. Give up now and we can say that you’re fulfilling my request. After everything I’ve done for you, you owe me that much.”

“After everything you’ve done for me, I owe you to break your seal. I want the domain ruler back, the one who wanted to prove to the world that she’s so much better than everyone thought.”

“And I can prove that as one of your minions?”

“As one of my friends. You know I cannot do this alone. I’ll need the help of many. People I know. People I trust.”

Gleam, start releasing sleep powder, Dallion ordered mentally.

In a realm this size? The shardfly protested.

At some point, there will be enough to affect her.

You know that she can blow it away with a simple line attack? And she could do four at once.

As I said, at some point there will be enough to affect her.

The familiar remained silent for a few seconds.

You’re one crazy kid, you know that? Gleam fluttered up higher into the sky.

“Help me change the world, Hannah,” Dallion continued, playing for time.

The blades the girl was holding trembled.

“Is that the point of your ambition?” she asked. “To take over the world?”

“I—” Dallion thought about it. It definitely hadn’t started that way, but the more he looked at things, the more he was convinced that he had no choice. Maybe if things were as peaceful as when he first went to Nerosal, things would be different.

If it wasn’t for Arthurows, he would have remained in the guild, happily clearing items and rising up the ranks. He wouldn’t have aimed to become a hunter, shifting to become a forger, instead. He’d still have ended up with Eury—as otherworlders, they were bound to attract each other. True, he would never have learned about Diroh, but Jiroh might well have remained in this world, working in Hannah’s inn and doing hunter missions on the side.

No, even that wouldn’t have lasted for long. Things were already in motion. With no one to stop him, the Star would have taken Nerosal and then moved to swallow up the rest of the world in his attempt to rid it of magic. The conflict between Priscord and Lanitol would have come to pass using some other excuse. As for the poison plague and the following global wars, they would have proceeded as well. Calm wasn’t in the cards. If Dallion wanted that, his only option was to find a quiet place in the wilderness and spend the rest of his days there, far from everything.

It seemed that was the otherwordler’s fate—to conquer the world or die trying.

“Yes,” he said. He could have claimed that it would be better than the alternative, but that was likely what everyone claimed.

“Why not let someone else conquer it? Does it have to be you?”

A smile appeared on Dallion’s face.

“I don’t think I have a choice.” Was I fooling myself to think that I ever did?

“Then you understand exactly what I’m going through. I can’t unseal myself.”

“Then I’ll prove that I can.” As Adzorg would say, if Dallion had troubles unsealing a domain ruler, what chance did he have when it came to facing the really powerful opponents?

Unsummoning the aura sword, Dallion switched the way he was holding the harpsisword and played a chord. Strands shot out, amplified by magic, attempting to attach themselves to Hannah. Her emotions were stable enough for the connection to take place, but before they could reach, two line attacks slashed through them, putting a quick end to the attempt.

Two more line attacks flew in Dallion’s direction.

It’s on, Dallion thought as he played another chord, while simultaneously performing two point attacks kicks.

ATTACK NEGATED

You’ve shattered HANNAH’s line attack.

Attack has no effect.

ATTACK NEGATED

You’ve shattered HANNAH’s line attack.

Attack has no effect.

Passive dominance, Dallion thought.

This was a page from the emperor’s book. The strong won their victories by attacking their opponents; the really strong won by having their opponents attack instead.

You’re playing a dangerous game, dear boy, Adzorg said. Hannah isn’t someone you should give carte blanche to when it comes to attacking.

It’s the best strategic move, Dallion said, casting a defensive spell between two chords on his harpsisword.

Maybe, but even if you’re right, that’s only half a win. You still have to claim the victory.

What was it that you kept yelling at me at the time? It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon?

I don’t believe I’ve ever said that, dear boy. But even so, chipping away at someone with a higher body trait tends to be on the impossible side.

Not if I use a bit of magic.

A resounding sigh filled Dallion’s domain.

Trust me, I am familiar with the magic well enough to have taken that into consideration. It still won’t be enough.

Of course it will.

A series of aether barriers appeared in the air in an attempt to slow down Hannah’s attacks. Since Dallion had changed his approach, so had she, going into an all-out attack.

It’s all about thinking out of the box.