Chapter 73

Eri Nishizawa, Rin Shinozaki, Olivia.

She saw the girls who loved him like her, throwing themselves to protect Kim Deok-sung.

And she saw herself, pitifully unable to do anything.

If this continues, it's only natural that I'll fall behind those girls.

I can't let that happen.

I can't fall behind.

Swoosh.

Jealousy flares up in her heart.

“I hate it.”

[What are you saying? Are you going to betray the clan? You won't have anywhere to go if the clan abandons you!]

“I don’t care.”

Rustle.

Makoto throws off the pressure bandage.

Her large chest reveals its presence above her shirt.

Makoto grits her teeth.

Ritsuko’s voice is no longer something to fear.

“I don’t care if my true identity is revealed. Even if everyone abandons me, it doesn’t matter.”

Swoosh.

Makoto pulls out the wakizashi-type portrait weapon, Toshirou Honenami, from her waist.

“If I can protect my lord, that’s enough.”

I can’t lose to Olivia, Yui, or Rin.

My heart is neither as light as a feather nor capricious.

I want to prove that.

“From the day you injected the nanomachine bomb into my body, I swore to dedicate my entire body and soul to my lord.”

Makoto’s eyes shine.

“I won’t hesitate anymore.”

Crack.

A flash of light erupts, activating battle mode.

A green full-body glove covers Makoto’s entire body.

“Disappear from my life! Ugly old lady!!”

[Wh-What?! I’m not an old lady!!]

Ritsuko’s scream echoes as Makoto leaps forward from the floor.

It was the moment the tide of battle changed.

I’m alive.

“Kamiya Ryu killing technique! Fourth form! Carnage Dance!”

Ritsuko loudly calls out the skill name.

Crack!

A green line is drawn in the air with a mint-colored spark, ruthlessly attacking.

As the name suggests, the attack is like a dance, spreading out in a net-like formation in the air.

Gritting her teeth, she swings Durandal.

Swoosh.

Synchronization progresses, and the Black Prince’s talent guides her sword path.

[Blazing Sword Style]

[Third Form]

[Platinum Shield]

Swoosh.

A black, burning magical flame shield appears.

The moment it does, a loud explosion resounds.

A magical shockwave that makes her skin tingle.

She grits her teeth.

If 1/4 of my power is this much, how powerful is the original?

Even if she receives buffs inside the barrier, this is too much.

Without the True Name Liberation, it’s this strong.

‘If the slaves hadn’t come, I would have been in big trouble.’

There’s no day when the trio’s stalking is more welcome than today.

Crack!

Explosions continue to erupt around her.

Olivia, Rin, and Nishizawa are each facing different clones of Ritsuko.

Rumble.

Durandal trembles.

The Black Prince seems to be dissatisfied.

Whoosh!

“Die!! Kim Deok-sung!! You cockroach!!”

Ritsuko swings her dagger, speaking in Kansai dialect.

She thought I would die right away, but now she’s getting anxious.

Mint-colored lines are drawn chaotically in front of her eyes.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Relying on the Black Prince’s talent, she blocks all of her attacks.

‘She’s going to lose it.’

In this world’s setting, suitability refers to the efficiency of using a portrait weapon and the talent to control it effectively.

The higher the suitability, the more efficiently one can control the portrait weapon with less mana.

Conversely, for heroes with low suitability, the portrait weapon is almost a mana-consuming monster.

Moreover, in this world, suitability is proportional to mana control and various other talents.

The higher the suitability, the higher the other talents.

It’s an impossible task for me, or rather Kim Deok-sung’s body, with only C-rank suitability, to defend against an S-rank villain.

‘But thanks to the power of synchronization with the Black Stone, it’s possible.’

The Black Stone, as a dual core, has a mana amplification function.

The synchronization ability borrows the talent and experience of the Black Prince, one of the world’s greatest heroes.

Thanks to this incredible combination, I can barely keep up with geniuses like Olivia, Yui, and Rin.

This is the result I intended.

Thump, thump.

I squeeze out mana.

The mana veins in my chest and the Black Stone resonate, emitting mana.

[Adamantine Indestructibility]

I use the second ability.

The indestructible mana sword’s defensive power covers my entire body.

Bang! Crack!

I advance, taking her attacks with my bare body.

While [Adamantine Indestructibility] has a grand description like many skills in light novels, it’s not an invincible defensive skill.

If the defense is stripped away or an attack exceeds the defensive power of [Adamantine Indestructibility], it becomes ineffective.

But at least it’s enough to create an opportunity to land a hit on Ritsuko.

“Die!!”

“Wow, you’re really loud.”

The moment Makoto looks at Ritsuko and grips Durandal.

“Lord, Makoto, your sword, has arrived. I’m a bit late, sorry.”

“No...”

She’s surprised.

I thought she would keep losing her mind and stay behind.

Why is she suddenly like this?

Did she eat something wrong?

“From now on, I’ll protect Lord. Ugly old lady.”

Click.

Makoto bites her lip.

Green mana flames burn on the katana in her hand.

“Who raised you? Who taught you combat skills to survive in the dark world? How dare you betray me like this? What? Ugly old lady? Do you forget who holds your life in their hands?”

Ritsuko’s voice trembles.

Betrayal fills her eyes.

Of course, Ritsuko has her own story.

It’s unrealistic for a beautiful villain in a light novel to have no backstory.

In fact, the abuse she inflicted on Makoto was her way of showing consideration to help her survive in the dark world, according to the setting book.

A common cliché in light novels: a well-intentioned act that went wrong.

Originally, she was supposed to be turned into a heroine through the laundry machine setting, but due to the flood of characters in light novels, she ended up being 100% a villain.

“If you won’t listen to me, I’ll show you what I’m capable of.”

Ritsuko laughs.

She flicks her finger.

She seems to be trying to use the torture function of the nanomachine bomb.

“I thought you were lying just now? Old lady? That won’t work anymore.”

Makoto spits out coldly and charges forward.

Swoosh!

Wind rises from her entire body.

The moment her gift, ‘Gale,’ manifests.

Her figure is launched forward.

“Disappear in front of Lord!!”

Whoosh!

A green whirlwind engulfs her entire body.

Flash.

The wind blade whirlwind strikes Ritsuko directly.

“Gah!”

Ritsuko screams, caught off guard by relying solely on the nanomachine bomb.

Her body wavers like a mirage and disappears in a shower of light.

She seems to have used a mirror image to move her main body elsewhere.

“It was just a clone.”

Makoto mutters in a low voice.

[Where are you looking, Makoto? Did I teach you to do this? You can’t betray me. I raised you like a daughter, you can’t do this to me.]

Ritsuko’s distorted Kansai dialect echoes throughout the store.

[If you keep this up, I’ll have to show you my true power.]

Swoosh, swoosh.

The clones of Makoto that Olivia, Rin, and Nishizawa were facing disappear in flashes of light.

Creak.

The stairs shake.

[Since it’s come to this, I have no choice. I didn’t plan to use my ‘true power’ against these girls, but this is all because of Makoto.]

The eerie voice fills the stairs.

[Imanotsurugi—True Name Liberation]

Crack.

Sparks fly as Ritsuko’s figure appears in the air.

[The dagger that carves a thousand shadows]

The moment Ritsuko finishes speaking, her body splits.

From one to two, from two to four, from four to eight.

Endless clones of Ritsuko fill the stairs in an instant.

“From now on, I’m not playing around. I’m going all out, so be prepared!”

The clones speak in unison.

A terrifying sight.

Cold sweat trickles down my back.

I grip Durandal.

Is this really a bad situation?

The protagonist in the original barely won with his talent, but I don’t have such transcendent talent.

Moreover, in the original, Ritsuko kept underestimating the F-rank suitability protagonist and was suppressed without even using True Name Liberation.

So Ritsuko’s True Name Liberation only appears in the setting book.

‘The dagger that carves a thousand shadows, the ability to infinitely generate clones...’

While the stats weaken proportionally, the killing barrier remains active during True Name Liberation, so they don’t drop below a certain level.

The ability to endlessly overwhelm the opponent with a sea of clones.

I doubt the girls here can handle it.

We really need the chairman.

Is 10 minutes really this long?

“Hmph. Who would be scared by such talk? Lord will be protected by Eri. No matter how many clones you make, you’re still an old lady. You can never get married. No one will accept an old lady. Lord probably wouldn’t like a woman like you either.”

Eri Nishizawa stands in front of me, spinning her chain scythe.

She bites her lip.

Rin Shinozaki stands next to Eri.

White frost clings to the katana she draws.

“Shinozaki Ittoryu is invincible. I am the direct successor to my father, the greatest hero of the modern era, the sword demon Shinozaki Ichiro. I will never lose. Kim Deok-sung. Even if I lack in charm, I have the confidence to protect you. I will show you the power of your future wife. Even if I’m just a pillar man, you should watch from behind.”

Swoosh.

A platinum flame rises.

Olivia stands right next to Rin.

She glares forward with Flamberge in hand.

“You are a foolish, stupid, sea cucumber, the most hopeless and clueless man in the universe, but you are the only man this Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte has ever recognized. As your exclusive maid, I will protect you. That’s my duty. Be grateful!”

Olivia’s ears turn red.

Snap.

Finally, Makoto stands on the last side.

She holds her wakizashi and says,

“You awakened me from a life of slavery, saved me, and taught me about everyday life. My life belongs to Lord. I will live and die for Lord. I won’t lose to anyone else. No matter what anyone says, I am Lord’s first sword.”

I’m in the center, surrounded by the four girls, each holding their portrait weapons protectively.

While these lines would usually disgust me, they don’t this time.

Regardless of the words, they are genuinely risking their lives for me.

This is the rule of the kind light novel world, where bonds of trust are formed.

But I don’t want to die.

No.

I don’t want to see them die in front of me.

If even one heroine character is lost, it will seriously disrupt the final boss Messiah’s strategy.

I can’t let that happen.

‘Is this all there is?’

I bite my lip.

I try to suppress the subtle emotion rising in my heart.

I don’t want to admit it.

I can’t be assimilated into this kind world.

To return, I can’t form attachments, thinking of my ailing mother and father nearing retirement.

Just then, as I grit my teeth.

[Your resistance is futile. This is the end...]

Ritsuko’s final declaration is cut off mid-sentence.

Flash.

A blinding white light fills the stairs.

Overwhelming mana engulfs the killing barrier.

A tingling sense of wrongness is felt on the skin.

“This is...”

The moment Olivia notices something is off, her eyes widen.

[World End White]

【The White World that Calls the End】

The mantra that breaks the ‘rule’ is inscribed in the world.

A hero’s mental construct is manifested in reality.

Mental manifestation.

A technique that overlays one’s own world through a portrait weapon, transcending the laws of the universe.

The next stage after True Name Liberation, the standard that distinguishes S-rank heroes from EX-rank heroes, and S-rank villains from EX-rank villains.

While a one-to-one comparison is difficult in the power inflation of light novels, if True Name Liberation is like the transformation stage in a martial arts novel, mental manifestation is akin to the enlightenment stage.

I know the owner of this damn technique, which looks like a mental hospital with its pure white appearance.

“Who dares to oppress my beloved child so?”

In a world filled with brilliant white light, a gothic lolita girl with blood-red eyes and pure white hair, dressed in a black gothic lolita dress and holding a black lace umbrella, descends from the whitened sky and lands softly on the ground.