Chapter 92

The Night Stalker readied the curved sword at mid-level.

"That curved sword is well-maintained, too."

"Someone told you?"

"I don't know, but let's think and act as if we're dealing with humans."

"Okay."

Rio stepped forward and readied his sword at lower level. Behind him, Shiraha readied his sword at waist level.

He decided to follow the feeling of training against knights rather than the experience of fighting evil beasts and evil spirits.

The Night Stalker quickly closed the distance with Rio. The tip of the curved sword was aimed at Rio's chest.

If Rio dodged, it would be a thrust aimed at Shiraha behind him.

Rio pressed his sword against the extended curved sword from below and twisted his wrist to wrap around it.

The Night Stalker immediately twisted his wrist and freed the curved sword from Rio's.

Indeed, it was a movement that understood swordsmanship. It was also a movement optimized through rigorous training that couldn't be achieved overnight.

The Night Stalker quickly retreated to the left rear with sliding steps, keeping the tip of the sword aimed at Rio's legs to deter his counterattack.

Immediately after, the Night Stalker jumped backward in a hurry.

Shiraha used the momentum of the raised ground by magic to instantly close the distance with the Night Stalker.

Disliking the idea of getting too far from Shiraha, Rio gave up on pursuing.

"You don't seem to know swordsmanship with magic."

"Nobody does, to begin with."

While being scolded by Shiraha, Rio readied his sword again.

"It's only possible because of Shiraha's magic power and dexterity."

Thinking that Shiraha might be a better match than himself, Rio observed the Night Stalker's movements.

Unable to find an opening in Rio and Shiraha's teamwork, the Night Stalker slowly moved sideways, trying to find a gap.

Shiraha stood beside Rio and slightly raised the sword he had been holding at waist level.

Understanding what Shiraha wanted to do from his position, Rio took a deep breath.

No battle cry was needed.

Moving simultaneously, Rio and Shiraha, due to the difference in speed, had Rio step forward.

As the distance to the Night Stalker rapidly closed, the moment they entered each other's range, Shiraha activated the magic on the hilt of his sword, raising the ground between Rio and the Night Stalker to create a wall.

Just before that, Rio had feinted with his gaze and aimed the tip of his sword at the wall, unleashing a full-force thrust.

"――Ha!"

Riding the battle cry with magic, he expanded the magical barrier of the wall. Rio's sword tip pierced the magical barrier like a thin paper, dispersing the wall created by magic.

The Night Stalker, expecting an attack from either side of the wall, was slow to react to the third option.

The sharp thrust reached the Night Stalker's torso, making a hard sound. The upper body, resembling a beetle, seemed to have the hardness it appeared to have.

The Night Stalker deliberately waited for the counterattack, and Rio dodged to the side.

With Rio jumping to the side, a line of sight opened between Shiraha and the Night Stalker.

"――Phosphorus Flame"

Immediately after white sparks scattered in a radial pattern in front of Shiraha, blue flames ran through them.

The blue flames, which instantly dyed the night sky blue, engulfed and burned the Night Stalker along with the house behind it.

The blue flames, having consumed the magic power they contained, disappeared as if melting into the air.

While the magic was powerful enough to kill a human instantly, the Night Stalker was still standing.

Shiraha narrowed his eyes.

"Hard to burn."

"Really troublesome."

The upper body was hard and resistant to slashes. Magic was also less effective. It could disappear, move quickly, and had knowledge of swordsmanship.

As expected of a famous evil spirit, it was an extremely troublesome opponent.

Determined not to let it escape, Rio and Shiraha were about to take their next move when they heard slow footsteps approaching.

They had hoped it was Konrads catching up, but when they saw the person, both Rio and Shiraha frowned.

"Muse..."

Even with the white mask on, they could easily recognize the deputy branch manager of the guild, Muse, from her build and weapon.

Muse looked up at the night sky, seemingly in thought, as she saw Rio, Shiraha, and the Night Stalker.

"Is it really the Night Stalker? Why can I see it? Anyway, I hope you're not doing anything reckless. I was really worried when I received the news that it had escaped."

As Muse walked over, speaking calmly, the Night Stalker glanced at Rio and Shiraha's faces.

Judging from their expressions that Muse was not an ally, the Night Stalker aimed the curved sword at her, apparently deciding to eliminate the obstacle first.

However, the Night Stalker did not move.

Rio, who was also wary of Muse, could tell. Despite appearing to walk defenselessly, Muse was in a complete combat stance. As a user of the Unorthodox Enro style, the most dangerous moment was when she seemed defenseless.

Muse shrugged.

"I wonder why the evil spirit knows swordsmanship? Well, if it's visible, it's easier to talk. Shall I take care of it?"

As soon as she said that, Muse, in a posture as if falling forward, drew her sword and rushed at the Night Stalker with the speed of a flying bird. Each step was so wide that the distance between them rapidly closed.

The moment she entered the range of the Night Stalker, Muse stopped abruptly by thrusting the sheath into the ground and swung her sword not at the Night Stalker but at the wall of the house.

The sound of metal scraping against metal, which didn't seem like it was cutting through wood, echoed, and sparks flew.

Before the sparks could disappear in mid-air, Konrads, who had emerged from the wall, brought down the divine sword Obofs.

Muse tried to strike the hand holding the divine sword from below with the sheath as the divine sword was brought down with great speed.

Konrads immediately switched to a one-handed grip and, with the momentum of two steps, changed the downward strike to a thrust.

Muse, dodging the thrust by twisting her body with her right foot as the pivot, held the sword and sheath in each hand and aimed them at Konrads.

Muse thrust her sword, and Konrads moved to the right. Faster than Konrads could react, Muse struck her own sword from above with the sheath, changing its trajectory.

Konrads' expression twisted. Muse's raised sheath blocked his view, making it impossible to read the changed trajectory of the sword.

Konrads, holding the divine sword Obofs at his side, was blown away by Muse's horizontal slash. It was a powerful sword that Rio and Shiraha could never imitate.

Konrads, sliding his feet along the ground, stood protectively in front of Rio and Shiraha and readied his stance.

"Your response to a surprise attack is too quick. That's why the Unorthodox Enro is so annoying."

"From our perspective, your existence is annoying. I'll leave the Night Stalker to you, so please protect the young lady there."

"Eliminating you here would be more beneficial. Well, die."

"Barbaric. As expected of the Sludge. Die and cleanse your sins. I'll help you."

Konrads and Muse exchanged insults and readied their swords.

Rio, Shiraha, the Night Stalker, Konrads, and Muse. In this complete four-way deadlock, Rio muttered bitterly.

"I shouldn't have come to this town!"