Chapter 93

Rio stood back-to-back with Shiraha, positioning themselves between the Night Stalker and Conrads. He organized the situation in his mind.

Rio and Shiraha, as well as Conrads, were almost in agreement that their goal was to slay the Night Stalker. The Night Stalker, while keeping an eye on Conrads and Muse, was clearly targeting Rio and Shiraha, as evidenced by the direction of the curved swords. The most unpredictable factor was Muse's movements. For Muse, slaying the Night Stalker was a secondary concern. Defeating Conrads was merely a goal, but the primary objective was to secure Shiraha.

Both Conrads and Muse were formidable opponents. They seemed to understand each other's capabilities, which was why they were facing each other with their swords drawn. Conrads wanted to prioritize slaying the Night Stalker but judged that leaving Muse unchecked would cause chaos and lead to complications.

Conrads likely intended to leave the task of slaying the Night Stalker to Rio and Shiraha, but given the unpredictable nature of the heretical Enro style that Muse used, it was uncertain if Conrads could hold her back. Muse was capable of slipping past Conrads and interfering in Rio and Shiraha's battle.

Conrads remained in position, facing Rio and Shiraha, wary of the heretical Enro style. Rio shifted his gaze away from Conrads, stood beside Shiraha, and pointed his sword at the Night Stalker.

"Shiraha, the White Faces might also intervene. Be careful."

"I know."

Seeing Rio's movement, Muse called out in exasperation.

"Allying with a heretic? Are you out of your mind?"

Ignoring her, Rio took a deep breath and lunged at the Night Stalker. The Night Stalker jumped to the right to evade Rio's sword flash. Anticipating this, Shiraha thrust at the Night Stalker.

The Night Stalker deflected Shiraha's thrust with a curved sword from below. Seeing an opening, Rio delivered a powerful kick to the Night Stalker's side. Shiraha then brought his sword down from above on the staggered Night Stalker.

The Night Stalker's three eyes locked onto Shiraha's sword. With a burst of strength, the Night Stalker dodged Shiraha's sword and rolled to break his fall.

Rio, already in position, launched a follow-up attack. The Night Stalker parried Rio's upward swing with his curved sword. The clash of their swords sparked, and both tried to disarm each other, but they quickly broke apart to avoid a prolonged engagement.

Rio used the flexibility in his knees to leap back into range, feinting with his gaze before jumping in the opposite direction to attack the Night Stalker from the right. Shiraha, timing his movement perfectly, closed the distance from the left, cutting off the Night Stalker's escape route.

In response to this pincer attack, the Night Stalker charged at Shiraha, thrusting his curved sword. Shiraha, using the same unorthodox footwork as Rio, shifted his stance slightly and swung his sword horizontally for a counterattack. The Night Stalker jumped to avoid the straight sword flash.

Aiming for the vulnerable Night Stalker in mid-air, Rio thrust his sword. However, the Night Stalker kicked off a house wall, flying over Shiraha's head and landing on the ground.

Glancing at the wall with clear hoof marks, Rio readied his sword in a mid-level stance. At that moment, the sound of Conrads and Muse's sword clash ceased. Rio immediately turned his head in the direction of the sound.

Muse, having slipped past Conrads, was approaching. Conrads was also moving, but Muse was faster.

"Cover me."

"Be careful."

Exchanging brief words, Rio ran to intercept Muse. Shiraha moved behind Rio, positioning his sword to stop the Night Stalker's advance.

Seeing Rio ready to intercept her, Muse frowned, likely because being delayed would allow Conrads to catch up.

Anticipating that Muse would slash while running, Rio aimed low with his sword. Muse had her sword halfway back in its sheath. Recognizing the technique called "saya-nagashi" from the heretical Enro style, Rio closed the distance while maintaining a low stance. He had heard about this technique from Karil, where the sword's tip is hooked on the sheath to extend the reach and deflect the opponent's sword.

Rio aimed his sword at Muse's knee, but she hooked her sword on the sheath and moved her wrist to slide it up. At that moment, Rio jumped back, anticipating her move. As Muse's sword and sheath lost pressure and flew upward, Rio struck from above, knocking the sheath out of her hand.

The sword's tip separated from the sheath, which fell to the ground.

"---Too easy."

Muse muttered, kicking the sheath toward Rio as she ran. She had no hesitation in discarding the sheath, a technique that required it. The sheath flew at an angle and with a momentum that would interfere with Shiraha and the Night Stalker's battle.

"I thought you'd do that."

Without changing the angle of his downward strike, Rio swung his sword to knock the sheath away with the hilt. He then bent his elbow and thrust at Muse. She tilted her head to dodge the thrust, giving up on approaching Shiraha and retreating.

Conrads, seeing Muse take a step back, lunged at her. Aware of the penetrating ability of the divine sword Obous, Muse avoided Conrads' sword, dodging gracefully.

It wasn't that their skills were evenly matched; Muse was creating an opening by continuously evading, much like the tactic Rio used in his serious duel with Galdrat.

They had successfully repelled Muse, but they couldn't let their guard down. Rio had countered with unpredictable movements from his self-taught sword style and knowledge of the heretical Enro style from Karil. A skilled user like Muse would quickly adapt to Rio's movements. If she used a secret technique of the heretical Enro style that even Karil didn't know, Rio would be killed instantly.

"---Rio!"

Hearing Shiraha's shout, Rio quickly turned his gaze. Shiraha was looking at him, and the Night Stalker was nowhere to be seen. Rio panicked, realizing the Night Stalker had used a unique magic to disappear. The Night Stalker had taken advantage of Rio's focus on Muse to strike.

Shiraha must have seen the Night Stalker's movement to target Rio just before disappearing. Strategically, the Night Stalker would gain an advantage by eliminating Rio, who could negate the unique magic.

Muse laughed, likely recognizing the advantageous situation for kidnapping Shiraha. Conrads, leaving Muse to deal with the Night Stalker's ambush, positioned himself to prepare for the attack. Even if Rio were killed and Shiraha kidnapped, the priority was to slay the Night Stalker.

However, Rio did not waver. Making eye contact with Shiraha, he readied his sword at his waist and took a deep breath. Considering the timing of Shiraha's shout, the direction of Shiraha's body and sword, and the positions of everyone involved, he estimated the location where the Night Stalker had disappeared.

"---There!"

With a voice amplified by magic, Rio shouted and swung his sword. He sensed something expanding like a heat haze slightly to the left of his estimated location and struck. The sensation of breaking through a hard magical barrier traveled through his sword. The Night Stalker, with his sword raised, appeared in front of him.

The Night Stalker had already anticipated that Rio would need to strike to negate the unique magic and was in a defensive stance.

The Night Stalker's curved sword descended, cleaving the air toward Rio. Trusting Shiraha, Rio ignored the curved sword and pulled his sword back to a mid-level stance.

Immediately, the ground beneath Rio's feet collapsed. Following the pre-arranged signal, Shiraha had activated the magic array on his sword. Rio's head was now below the Night Stalker's descending curved sword.

Rio thrust his sword at the Night Stalker's legs. The Night Stalker, bracing for a powerful strike, couldn't move in time and was hit in the right thigh, spraying blue blood. The Night Stalker grimaced and retreated.

However, his retreat was blocked by the raised ground.

"Not letting you escape."

With a calm but clear voice filled with killing intent, Shiraha vanished from the Night Stalker's sight. Behind the raised ground, Shiraha had maximized his body enhancement and raised his sword.

As the raised ground collapsed, Shiraha swung his sword at the vulnerable Night Stalker's neck. The Night Stalker, with a somewhat satisfied look, released his curved sword, which fell to Shiraha's feet. The Night Stalker's head flew into the air, and as it hit the ground, his body collapsed, dissolving into a black mist.

Rio watched the Night Stalker's body, which he had never seen before, with caution. The black mist was being absorbed into the Night Stalker's dropped curved sword.

"Did it become a cursed weapon...?"

This phenomenon, which he hadn't seen when defeating apes or Tereops, was the only explanation.

Shiraha picked up the curved sword and pointed it at Muse. Without thinking, Rio also turned his sword toward Muse, noticing Conrads' gaze. Conrads and Muse, maintaining their distance, looked straight at Rio and whispered simultaneously.

"Did you just cut magic...?"