Chapter 327 - Battle of Kings

Just like the Yamata no Orochi

Multiple golden dragons attack one after another.

That skill-

Once activated, its the type that he can manipulate freely huh.

At the time of that great invasion

It certainly matches the skill that was witnessed on the Eastern battlefield.

[Its quite discomforting that youre still alive- Mimori.]

Saying this, Kirihara brandished his arm.

Three golden dragons intertwined with each other and attacked with a horizontal sweep in sync with the movement of the arms.

Seras flicked them away with her Spirit Sword.

At the same time, Seras deployed multiple ice s.h.i.+elds- making them float around me in the air.

Seeing this, Kirihara clicked his tongue.

[Protecting Mimori, tell me, what is the meaning of this Get out of the way, Seras]

Additional golden dragons undulated and attacked.

[

]

I unleashed

on the golden dragons themselves.

However, the dragons movements havent changed.

It seems like it doesnt have any effect on those golden dragons.

It would probably be the same for my other skills.

I finally encountered an opponent like this huh.

An opponent with the ability to negate Abnormal State Skill other than the G.o.ddess.

Seras cut the golden dragons one after another with her Spirit Sword.

Theyre exchanging blows.

The power of her Spirit Sword is flawless.

The golden dragons, which she couldnt block on rare occasions, collided with the floating ice s.h.i.+elds and disappeared.

In this case, the ice s.h.i.+eld is also shattered.

However, Seras only added more of those ice s.h.i.+elds.

Kirihara spoke.

[Dont worry, Seras Ill save you Now that Im here, youre safe- No matter how much that Low-rank being struggles]

[.]

Looking at Seras back, I could feel that she was shaken.

Those words Kirihara said just now.

It wasnt a lie.

Those words- They were spoken without any lies, the truth for Kirihara Takuto.]

[Dont take Kiriharas words seriously. It certainly is your strong point that you were able to understand others easily, but relying on that ability would also be a bad habit Dont let yourself be overwhelmed with every information you hear.]

[, Yes.]

Seras responded to my words and repelled the golden dragons with a quick cleave.

Her shaken thoughts seemed to have dissipated.

The sharpness in her movements has completely returned.

The momentum of Kiriharas attacks also increased.

However- Seras dealt with all of his attacks.

Everytime she moved, the raindrops sticking on Seras body snapped away.

To tell the truth Watching her fight sends s.h.i.+vers down my spine.

Seras is dealing with the many undulating golden dragons closing in on her, and she is doing it all by herself.

Shes able to handle them.

Looking at this, I suddenly realized that perhaps, her body really wasnt able to keep up with her.

No, I felt sure of it.

Even when Seras consciousness decides to move in a certain way, her body hasnt been able to keep up with it until now.

Her physical abilities dont allow her to do that.

However

Now that she was clad in the Origin Regalia, her physical abilities were much more advanced.

Her body has finally caught up with it Seras natural talent.

Moreover, Seras is also moving in a way that makes it easy for me to move.

I certainly am moving in line with Seras movements, but its strangely easy for me to position myself.

The ground is slippery due to the rain.

Some of the spots here and there are muddy.

However, our footing arent getting caught in the mud.

If we werent in such a situation, I would have watched her footwork in fascination

Shes flawless.

As a sword that I can rely on.

Back in Mills Ruins, when I had fought that Skeleton King

I remember my thoughts back then.

I want a sword.

This must be it.

The vanguard

The sword that I wanted at that time.

[Seras It seems like youre completely mind-controlled by Mimori. I suppose theres also that Stockholm Syndrome. Even when Im having you realize reality, such a thing is difficult for you. I really cant forgive you- Mimori.]

[The current me isnt anyone elses]

[ ? ]

[but Touka-donos]

While changing her posture, Seras quickly changed her grip on the Spirit Sword.

[Touka Mimoris sword]

[Dont make light of me. I couldnt help but pity you I see, just like Vysis said, a sheltered woman clueless about society Not knowing about divine providence, you could only settle as a work of art grown in a greenhouse. As expected, just as the case in my country, education really is the root cause for everything If the education received is broken, everything would just turn out to be a mess. Its exactly because of this that you should seek this Kings education, Seras Ashrain]

[You are not my King- My King is Touka-dono, no one else!]

[Mimori- I really cant show mercy on you Not knowing your place- How dare you do such a thing to Seras]

[Seras, can you close the distance between us?]

[I will try. Ill somehow get you as close as you want.]

[Im counting on you.]

At my command, Seras leaped forward.

Seeing this, Kirihara snapped his neck.

[Fuuu Youre finally coming into my embrace. Fine Come closer. Whats with that fighting spirit,

.]

(T/N: Golden Dragon Sword / Dragonic Sword)

Receiving Seras attack, Kiriharas sword is imbued with a golden light that is as bright as the Spirit Sword.

Its clearly different from the sword that was clad in that aura until now

That he too has such a weapon A high-output Golden Light Sword.

For a few seconds

A dazzling exchange of attacks and defense unfolded.

A clash of white and gold.

Their power was almost equal.

However, I could feel that Kirihara was being slightly outpushed.

Seras is making use of Hit & Away tactics, striking with small increments.

Kiriharas swordsmans.h.i.+p was indeed quite fast.

However, that speed of his was due to his status compensation.

He doesnt have the technique that Seras has.

Perhaps He has probably just been bulldozing everything until now.

I think thats why Seras is able to even deal with him and his golden dragons at the same time.

If Kirihara actually had the technique- the skill to properly make use of his abilities, I wouldnt be able to tell who would win between them.

However

Although I feel like he was being slightly overpowered

Even Seras, wearing her Origin Regalia, when fighting against Kirihara along with the numbers brought by his golden dragons

Her limit was just being able to fight evenly against huh.

No The current Kirihara had a Status that allowed him to defeat the Great Demon Emperor.

In other words, its safe to a.s.sume that his level had risen considerably.

The fact that Seras is able to fight against him on even level is probably close to a divine feat in itself.

Of course, theres also the fact that Kirihara wants to get his hands on Seras.

Therefore, I should take into account the possibility that he is holding back against Seras.

In this case, what I should do-

[

.]

Bakiiiiin!

Just in case, I decided to try my other Abnormal State Skills.

Trying out just in case theres something different when I try out my other skills.

Finding an opening within their exchanges of attack and defense, I unleashed my skills.

However, all my Skills that I hadnt tried out before were nullified.

[Good work. You can take your distance now, Seras.]

[Yes.]

[Now then]

From here on out

How should we make

[Fuuuuu I will be the judge]

[-]

Kirihara, this guy

[Seras How long can you fight against him?]

[I dont know. However If he doesnt have any more tricks in hand, I can hold him off for at least half an hour.]

[Excellent.]

[D*mned Low-rank]

Saying that, Kirihara, accompanied by a dense golden dragon, pointed the tip of his Golden Light Sword towards me.

[Arent you ashamed of yourself Mimori?]

[What now, Kirihara?]

[Sneaking around behind a woman.. having her protect you- I cant help but feel ashamed of you.]

[Hmph, man, woman, all that doesnt matter. Its all about the right person for the right job.]

[Silence A person who is merely being protected by others doesnt have the right to call himself a King. Only those who can move and show their royal authority should be recognized as Kings. In other words, you are not a King. Are you listening? The kanji for king is just horizontally mirrored E Do you understand, halfwit? That is why youre a fake Your nature is that of a Low-ranker In the end, you could only be an E-Rank Hero- for that is divine provi]

[Hmph Having such a rough time against an E-Rank Hero, how splendid of you, O great king. Heh.]

[Mimori]

Kirihara leaped forward.

The golden dragons behind him also followed Kiriharas move, surging for an attack.

[.]

Just from a glance, those golden dragons seem to be automatically protecting Kirihara.

Are those responding to Kiriharas emotions and movements?

Those golden dragons- They werent moving automatically?

They seemed to be being manually controlled, but was that actually not the case?

Were those things deeply connected with Kirihara himself?

Consciousness and emotions..

Were those things moving in conjunction with Kiriharas consciousness and emotions?

[.]

A golden dragon that managed to slip through Seras attack range hits an ice s.h.i.+eld protecting me, extinguis.h.i.+ng each other in the process.

Thereupon, Kirihara adds more golden dragons.

[D*mned ultracrepidarian Everything you grasped was originally supposed to be mine Seras, I defeated the Great Demon Emperor I saved your world. However, what did Mimori do? Did he save the world?]

[This man- He saved me.]

[Tsk, what a difficult woman, -Get out of the way! By this Kiriharas will, I will now rectify this world]

Seras continued to exchange blows with the golden dragons.

Occasionally, Kirihara also jumps forward, but Seras safely repels him.

Meanwhile

[

.]

Bakiiiiin!

Noticing my action, Kirihara looks at me.

[ ? Dont you understand that its useless? Hmph I see. All you can rely on is your puny sh*tty skills I suppose its understandable. In other words You could only pray that if you keep at it, it would eventually work against the odds Praying for the probability of something occurring, the very gesture of weaklings who pray to change their lives from gambling Being constantly tossed about by the odds and being betrayed by reality is exactly the proof that one is a weakling As expected, this proves that your nature is only that of a weakling! Thats why, come here, Seras]

[

,

,

,

.]

I kept shooting.

[

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

]

With the sound of gla.s.s breaking, the skill was nullified.

With the sound of gla.s.s breaking, the skill was nullified.

With the sound of gla.s.s breaking, the skill was nullified

[Hmph Was it so humiliating to be so weak before Seras? Or are you so afraid to admit that your Skills are useless that you are useless? You are too sh*tty. Clinging on Abnormal State Skills, dressing it up under the guise of Sorcery Thats too pathetic, Mimori Fuuuu So this is what happens when one reaches the pinnacle of patheticness huh.]

[Hmph.]

At his words, I snorted and laughed.

[ ? Whats funny? Ahh You have lost your mind with your own patheticness huh]

[You still havent realized it huh, Kirihara.]

[What is this sore loser saying]

[You since a while ago, you have been breathing a little unevenly Moreover- I wonder what that sweating is?]

At my words, Kirihara gently touches his cheek.

[, Dont tell me Youre still struggling?]

[Your movements Little by little, youre getting slower Dont you understand yet? That is getting accelerated by the constant exposure to my Abnormal State Skills.]

[]

[It may look like Im being blocked but in fact, even if its only slightly, its actually working.]

[ ! ]

[Thinking about it again, that

Its not like the original, right In that case]

In other words

[It isnt necessarily as effective as the one around that sh*tty G.o.ddess.]

[Tsk, Vysis Always so useless]

[The true ident.i.ty of that feeling of your movements slowing down is probably the result of a buildup of the meager effects of my skills. In fact Youre aware that your breathing is starting to become erratic, arent you? I noticed it and just kept shooting my skills. Turns out it wasnt as useless as you put it.]

[Hmph, no matter how much you try to chip away, your Abnormal State Skill is also a Unique Skill and it would have very high MP consumption. You can recover by leveling-up but in antic.i.p.ation of that, I didnt bring any of the Golden-eyed monsters here that would give you EXP to prevent that from happening I had precisely read through the future. Now then What now? How long can you keep this up Mimori?]

[Its 10.]

[ ? ]

[The MP consumption of my Abnormal State Skills, its only 10.]

[What stupidity are you saying now Thats a Unique Skill. Are you trying to bluff your way out now?]

[Then Why dont you see for yourself? I could continue doing this, until its already too late for you

.]

[Mimori]

Bam!

Kirihara intensely kicked off the ground.

And then

Kirihara and his golden dragons momentum increased.

Perhaps, they had felt some sense of danger.

Even though he hates to admit it- but perhaps, he had sensed it.

He had realized it, that he would be at a disadvantage if this battle continues any longer.

Thus, he decided to switch up, opting to end the battle fast.

[Here he comes Hold your ground, Seras.]

[Please leave it to me.]

This would be the most intense part of our battle.

Seras breathing finally begins to be disturbed.

The pressure of the battle was so great that the air around them seemed to vibrate.

Kiriharas offensive, unlike before, was quite fierce.

It was like he became the incarnation of violence.

During this time, I continued unleas.h.i.+ng my Skills.

And the more I unleashed, the more Kiriharas impatience grew.

[Kuku Even so, Kirihara]

[Fuuu Your laughter is entirely offensive, Mimori. For you to displease me so much, its even unbelievable Extremely unbelievable Even more so because youre merely being protected by Seras]

Ignoring whatever hes saying

[You claim to have defeated the Great Demon Emperor but isnt that guy something even Sogou can defeat?]

[.You b*stard, Mimori]

[Ive heard about it The story of the Great Demon Emperors attack on Alions royal castle. The Great Demon Emperor, unexpectedly, was about to be defeated by Sogou so you went and betrayed her, and hurriedly joined the Demon Emperors side?]

[Mi mori]

[Kuku In the first place, Ive been traveling quite a bit, but Ive never heard of it, you know?]

[What are you talking about]

[Ive heard about Sogou and the Elder Takaos reputation. However, Kirihara I never heard anything about you-

.]

[Jealousy huh? Have your taunting skills been the only thing that you improved Its too unsightly.]

[Jealousy? Hmph What are you talking about? If anyones being jealous here, it would be you, understand? After all, the one who got Seras was me

.]

Pikri

A vein popped out on Kiriharas temple.

[Ill definitely kill you Golden dragons. This King declares.]

[Who the heck is even a king here In the first place, you werent like that back in the former world, were you? Whats with that way of talking you trying to put on airs or something?]

[Its because I am a King.]

[You say youre supposedly a King you claim that youre someone great but theres probably no one who listens to you, right? Whatever it is that youre blabbing.]

[Mimo]

[Thats why, youre choosing to say words that are a little different from those usually spoken trying to exert your individuality trying to make yourself stand out. To make the other Heroes look at you. To make others recognize you.]

Gi ri

Kirihara violently grits his teeth.

[Mimo ri]

[Kirihara, your true colors, you see Youre a man who is driven by inequality, by the concept of the strong and the weak Putting on those silly publicity phrases set up to make money On top of that, consciously thinking that youre some sort of ruler However, your most important desires and reality dont mesh at all and in the end, you just end up looking like a selfish kid who was earnestly rampaging to accomplish the same thing over and over again]

[..]

[Youre nothing more than a pathetic, self-absorbed, pretentious b*stard.]

[..]

[And so, when you opened up the lid of the can of reality, you just find out that you dont have any popularity or any sh*t at all You say youre a King? Kuku Good grief, isnt that just laughable Hey, dont you think so, Kirihara!? Even you think so too, right, Pigimaru!?]

[PIGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!]

[MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!]

[Come on, Kirihara.]

[I will

[Binding Curse, Unleash]

-kill you!]

Yes

Theres only one way to break through that

.

That is

It would be through a Forbidden Curse.

First, what he sought Mira to turn over was Fly Kings head and Seras Ashrain.

In this regard

Fly Kings head and Seras Ashrain wouldnt be here for a while.

This is counterfeit information to make Kirihara relax.

I asked the Mad Emperor to prepare that instance for me.

Of course, Miras group carried it out.

The information in the message that the Fly King had been killed by Miras side was also intended to catch Kirihara off guard.

Whether or not it would lead to a positive result, I wanted to make the moves I could make.

Meanwhile the real us had arrived here earlier than the designated date and time.

Its for us to prepare for our ambush.

After Kirihara had arrived, it would be all over if we succeeded in catching him by surprise with my Abnormal State Skills in the building where I was hiding.

But the worst-case scenario that I had antic.i.p.ated occurred at that moment.

The G.o.ddess prepared countermeasures against my Abnormal State Skills.

However, if Vysis had realized the true ident.i.ty of the Fly King, I had already considered such a thing occurring as a possibility.

No It was exactly because it was the worst-case scenario that I thought such a thing was possible.

What is considered as the worst-case scenario for us

That would be the best move for the other side.

If it were possible, it would be a move they would definitely want to make.

Antic.i.p.ating this worst-case scenario turned out to be a lifesaver.

In this way, after my Abnormal State Skill is nullified

After somehow escaping from the building, I moved to the pillar with the rope-shaped Pigimaru.

Behind the pillar is a pile of rubble.

We had made a s.p.a.ce here in advance, where one person could hide by tampering with this pile of rubble.

At first glance, it would appear to be nothing more than a pile of rubble.

We had meticulously created such a camouflage.

Thereupon, I had Seras hide behind it, clad in her Origin Regalia, so that she could start fighting at full power as soon as she was needed.

Incidentally, if Kirihara headed toward Seras instead, I could use my escape window and immediately rush to Seras place.

I made it so that I could respond to either pattern of events that could occur.

I had obtained information on Kiriharas Unique Skills in advance.

This being the case, we would require countermeasures against the golden dragons and their energy body.

Would Seras be able to strike them with her Light Spirit Sword?

Would she be able to defend against its attacks with her floating s.h.i.+elds of ice?

I thought that if those golden dragons had ma.s.s, it might be possible.

In fact, both of those things were able to deal with the golden dragons energy body.

But even if Seras could deal with those things, if my Abnormal State Skill doesnt work, we would need another effective countermeasure.

When I broke through the slatted shutters and escaped from the building

Pigimaru let out a loud cry.

That was a signal.

A signal for Munin that tells her, the Forbidden Curse will be needed.

From the time that signal was rang out, Munin, who had been waiting at another location, moved in with Slei.

When she reached a certain distance within the vicinity, she was to dismount and quietly approach Kirihara from his blind spot.

The familiars report confirmed that there were Golden-eyed monsters in Kiriharas vicinity.

At the very least, those things werent sighted within Munin and Sleis field of activities.

Naturally, Vysis was also not around.

And from here

We need to bring Munin closer to Kirihara, to a distance where her Forbidden Curse can reach.

Then, what should we do so that Munin could get closer?

Kiriharas awareness.

His emotions.

We need to make him turn his attention to something other than Munin.

However, Kirihara seemed strangely composed.

No

Rather than composed

There was this certain bizarreness from him.

Although the way he speaks certainly has this peculiar strangeness

His thoughts themselves seemed to be very clear.

It was as if he was strangely observant.

That being the case, I had to deprive him of his thoughts.

I had to make sure that his antennae werent pointed at anything else but me and Seras.

And in the midst of the battle- I noticed something.

Kiriharas deep breathing from time to time.

Is he tired?

Is he being overloaded with the burden of continuously manipulating that large amount of golden dragons?

Moreover

Kirihara himself didnt seem to be paying attention to the burden of his skill in him at all.

Was his attention too focused on Seras?

Without a care about anything else, he kept on carrying on the conversation.

Here, Im going to take a gamble.

I would use my Abnormal State Skill on a wild goose chase.

Fortunately, the MP consumption of my skills is low, so I can use it as many times as I want.

Albeit slightly, the Abnormal State Skills are working.

The acc.u.mulating effects of my Abnormal State Skills may be infinitesimally slow, but it does exert its effect.

This is what I wanted him to think.

Thereupon, with the pa.s.sage of time, Kirihara began to notice it.

He realized that, as he continued to be subjected to my Abnormal State Skills, his movements were becoming slower and slower.

The longer this battle goes on, the more disadvantageous it becomes.

If I can keep on using my skill, Kirihara gets impatient.

His thought process would be to beat me as soon as possible.

Of course, the cause of the burden in his body isnt the acc.u.mulating effects of my Abnormal State Skills.

In fact, my skills must not have been even slightly effective.

That

can only be broken by a Forbidden Curse.

Its not the original, so it isnt necessarily as effective.

Thats what I told Kirihara.

In fact, I didnt see my abilities being effective at all.

However I couldnt let the prerequisite victory condition be broken.

Hence

My Abnormal State Skills were slightly effective.

I could only speak out such a bluff.

However, that bluff made it possible for him to think that

He must defeat Mimori Touka as soon as possible.

If I manage to make him have such a misapprehension, then my goal would be achieved.

In a situation like this, Kiriharas awareness would be focused solely on crus.h.i.+ng me.

His unusual obsession with Seras is also encouraging him to do that.

At this moment, Kiriharas consciousness would be exclusively occupied by me and Seras.

Another thing I realized was the properties of his golden dragons.

The golden dragons seemed to be linked to Kiriharas consciousness and emotions.

What I feared most was the case where they were automatically defending their wielder.

However, was this perhaps a characteristic of Kiriharas intense ego?

The golden dragons are deeply interlocked with Kirihara That is what I judged from my observations.

In that case, I will continue rubbing his emotion the wrong way, and turn his consciousness and emotions completely toward me.

Also, Kirihara, driven by his emotions, was fighting rather close with his golden dragons.

If he had been fighting in a way where he hides himself and fights from a distance

We may need to come up with another solution against him.

Originally I wanted to end this battle while Munin was still waiting on standby, without her needing to do anything.

The safety of the Forbidden Curse User must be absolutely ensured.

Her existence is necessary toward the decisive battle with the G.o.ddess.

Hence

Since the situation turned out like this, I wanted to incite his hatred to the maximum, and eventually, if possible, focus his everything on me.

His consciousness

Emotions

Everything, including his golden dragons.

Bring about illusions in his mind.

And then

As a final touch

With the greatest insult to Kirihara Takuto

I will create the opening that will lead to his end.

At that moment

You think so too, right, Pigimaru!?

Pigimarus earlier cry That was the second signal.

A signal conveying to Munin..

Now!