A clear, hard sound rang out.

eep> ]

I finished saying the name of the skill.

However

He isnt there anymore.

[ < Paralyze > ]

I activated it in front of me.

Thereupon, I immediately activated <Paralyze> to my left, right and behind me.

[..]

However, the figure of a man sleeping because of my skill didnt appear.

He also didnt appear paralyzed

The man remained out of my sight.

Perhaps, did he vanish while hes in a state of sleep or paralysis?

Even if thats so, he had disappeared somewhere out of my sight.

[Are you alright!?]

Seras shouted, sword at the ready.

[Yeah Thanks to you, Im alright.]

The time that I had managed to catch sight of the man

It was only at the moment of impact when Seras received the mans sword with her own.

The moment their two swords collided, the man vanished.

Looking at that

I guess I could say that he had withdrawn abnormally fast.

When their swords collided, I had activated my <Sleep>.

However

Before I could finish saying the name of my skill, he disappeared.

In an instant, that is.

[Your reaction speed saved me.]

[Its just that, even with my Regalia of the Spirits, I could barely block his strike. To be honest His speed is terrifying. Im doubting if I even saw things right.]

[Indeed He was too fast.]

Keeping my vigilance high, I looked around.

He isnt around.

There also isnt any place nearby where he could hide.

There shouldnt be any place like that.

[Pigimaru, how is it?]

[P- Pinyuiii~~]

It seems like Pigimaru was unable to sense him either.

[Seras.]

[M- My apologies but I couldnt feel any presence.]

Yes

[His presence couldnt be felt huh?]

Teleportation?

Im unable to see him.

However, if he had been in my range, my skill would have taken its effect on him.

Thats why, with that in mind, I had fired off my <Paralyze> earlier.

However, in the first place

From the beginning, the enemy had managed to read that the range of my spell was about 30 meters.

So, even if hes close by, he would be at least 30 meters away.

Above all, theres the problem with my recognition in order to use my skill.

All of my skills other than <Slow> requires me to have my enemy within my recognition.

With my arm facing the target

They need to be within my recognition I would then say the skill name Skill Activation

This process is necessary.

Even if its teleportation, the speed of his withdrawal

My recognition speed is just too slow to become aware of him.

What should I do?

For me to strike that sneaky mole, I need to use my skill that needed a preliminary actions to use

No, that would be impossible.

As expected, the condition that I needed to have my target within my recognition is a bottleneck.

[So this is John Doe]

Fortunately

Even though she was on defense, Seras can just barely react to him.

In that case though, how is that we would attack?

Using the combination technique with Pigimaru Im not sure if that would be effective.

There is a high probability that he would judge my change in appearance as dangerous.

Its possible that once I activate it, the enemy will take as much distance as he could.

This enemy

Hes just too incompatible with my Abnormal State Skills.

The hurdle of me, having my enemy within my recognition itself, is high.

Is he still here?

Or was it that he isnt here anymore?

I cant even tell.

Its also difficult to tell from the footprints around us.

There were already a lot of footprints left by the 6th Cavalry.

Standing in this place, theres also the problem that I couldnt properly hear if anyone approaches.

The groaning of the Sixths soldiers lying around just drowns it.

Even if there is the slightest footstep or breathing sound that may resound with his movements, I couldnt detect it with them around.

No Even if thats so

I should be able to hear the sound of his footsteps.

Could it be that he has an ability that makes it incapable for others to recognize the sound of his movements?

There are good reasons for me to think so.

Heck, I couldnt even see the sword or any equipment in the hand of the enemy.

It was as if

All perceptions in phenomena and objects related to John Doe had been inhibited.

Could it be I wouldnt be able to recognize footprints that are more than five meters away?

[Seras.]

With my analysis of the current situation in mind, I conveyed it to Seras.

[Instant Teleportation or perhaps, total inhibition of perception itself regarding John Doe huh.]

[But if its teleportation, then he must have teleported from quite the distance. In that case, he should be observing the situation somewhere]

We are at a higher platform with no obstacles hindering the view of the nearby vicinity.

If he had a teleportation ability, it means that he had teleported from a very distant place.

However, if he was that far away

Would he even be able to see us?

If thats the case

[Its highly likely that he had a recognition inhibiting ability]

[H- However He was visible when he attacked.]

[That is.]

For a few moments, I pondered.

[It was possible that his ability gets nullified when he gets within a few meters of another person.]

Theres no point in him going to the trouble of deactivating his ability when he gets close.

Then, its reasonable for me to assume that this was the case.

Presence

Thats right.

If the essence of his ability is presence

It would be something that gets harder to erase the close he gets to others.

In other words, his ability is to dilute his presence to the limit

Its an ability to make others unaware of his very existence huh?

[]

What the heck is this?

Its like he went to the extreme of becoming a mob that hes erasing his very existence.

Leaning close to Seras ear, I whispered.

[The Sixth fellows lying around could be used as obstacles for the enemy Thanks to them, the easiest routes to attack should be reasonably limited. In other words, we might be able to narrow down some of the routes where he could attack.]

Keeping her voice low, Seras kept her gaze forward.

[I see Indeed.]

Anyway, the problem would be his overwhelming speed of attack and withdrawal.

As long as we couldnt deal with that, it would be difficult for us to win.

[.]

Walking behind Seras, I then placed my hand on her back.

Im going to use <Slow> now.

With my current action, Seras seemed to have guessed my action.

As long as theyre within about 1 meter radius from me, people within the range of my <Slow> could move.

They could also move if theyre judged to be in contact with me.

For example, Pigimaru is in contact with me, so he can normally move.

With this

No matter where he comes from, Pigimarus reaction time will be faster than his actions.

Seras will be slower once she leaves the meter radius though.

Therefore, the distance she can swing her sword and the range she can move are limited.

But as long as she is within my range, she can move fast.

With my hand still on Seras back, I brought my other hand on the hilt of the dagger at my waist.

Perhaps

It would also be good if I could kill him myself.

The problem with <Slow> is that I couldnt use other skills while its active.

However, the effects of my skills that have already been activated will not disappear.

Thus, the effects of the skills on the Sixth fellows lying around will persist.

The other drawback would be the huge amount of MP consumed while activating.

It will continue activating while consuming my MP, and it will only automatically stop once it has consumed 5000 MP.

In addition, once I use it, it would enter a cooldown time.

But for now, I want to have time for me to safely conjure up a plan.

At least, for the time when <Slow> consumes 5000 of my MP

[ < Slow > ]

With the safety level increased It becomes easier to concentrate on thinking.

I can use this time to assess the enemys capabilities and devise a countermeasure.

Or perhaps, while <Slow> is activated

It would also be good if either Seras or I can finish off the slowed John Doe.

[Status Open.]

With my status displayed, I could check my MP consumption.

Now then

How are you going to come out, John Doe?