Moto Sekai Ichi – 185 | Sousaku – 創作

185　Kisenshou Match Part 3

"You're looking a little gaunt, Ernte."

Silvia Virginia was challenging the title, trying to become the Kisenshou.

The audience, knowing what had happened last time, was excited.

The King of Castall implicitly admitted that Ernte was "evil."

This, so to speak, was a battle between the just and the wicked. It couldn't possibly not be exciting.

"Everything's a mess."
"What? "
"You made everything a mess."
"……I see."

Ernte scratched his ragged gray hair and stared at Silvia with a laugh deep in his throat.

"The last six months have been terrible. I was stoned by brats whose names I didn't even know, and they hurled abusive language at me as if they were avenging their parents. Wherever I go, I am always worried about people's eyes on me. There is no sign of the Kisenshou's prestige. All because of you. Hey, what's the fun in picking on an old man like this? "
"What do you mean?"
"I resent you, I hate you ...... this old man for the rest of his life will not forgive you."
"……u……"

Unexpectedly, Silvia shivered.
It was an indescribable feeling to have an old man who had lived four hundred years bear hostility toward you.

"Are you still afraid of me? "

Ernte raised one eyebrow and smirked.
Silvia then opened her mouth after a few moments of silence.

"Indeed, I'm still afraid of you."
"Oh! You admit it."
"However, I came here today to overcome that."
"Ho-ho-ho, overcome? You? You, the one who could not do anything to me and lost? "
"I can. You cannot do it, but I can. I am aware that you have not been able to shake off your fear of Second-dono or even think of overcoming it."
"……You can say what you want."
"You are the one who has been doing whatever you want. You will be alone for the rest of your life until you pay your bills."
"Don't get smart with me, little girl."

Ernte was again threatening and terrifying...... but Silvia was not intimidated.

"It's useless. I am no longer afraid of that. I am the one who will not forgive you. I will never forgive you for defiling the Kisenshou title, for stealing the dreams of the contestants, no matter how much you cry and apologize.……! "

When Ernte realized that his intimidation did not work, he snickered, as if it were trivial, and silently readied the bow he had taken from his inventory.

Mithril Compound Bow―― Lightweight and powerful, it was a pulleyed bow that excelled in everything from rapid-fire to range to power. The only drawback was the fact that the unit itself and the special arrows were very expensive.

Ernte had everything on the line here. With a strong desire for revenge based on a distorted hatred, he spent a large sum of money to prepare a new powerful bow and arrows, and he was ready and prepared to confront Silvia.

Silvia, on the other hand, had still the same longbow...... or so he thought. She took out a "short bow," which could be found at any arms store. Although it had less range and power than a longbow, it was superior in rapid fire. However, everything was significantly inferior to the mithril compound bow that Ernte had.

"Wow, with such a crude bow――"
"Do not underestimate it."
"……Ohh? "

Yes, this was not an ordinary short bow.

「Six-stage modified rapid-fire specialized three-way-rook short bow」――A secret weapon modified by the blacksmith master Yukari to specialize in rapid fire in six stages and with the Bestowal of the " three-way Rook" effect.

In exchange for a dramatic reduction in range and power, it has gained unparalleled rapid-fire performance, and the Bestowal effect of three-way Rook "reduces the stagger time after using a skill by 0.00125 seconds". The orange crystal embedded in the bow is proof of this three-way Rook.

In other words…… a serious weapon.

Silvia was serious, too. She even brought out a very foul-looking bow and was determined to get Ernte's head by any means necessary.

"――Begin! "

The decisive battle finally opened with the order by the referee.

"Hmm!? "

Immediately afterward, Ernte arched his body widely, and he dodged the arrow that flew at him.

Silvia's 《Soldier Archery》――However, it was too fast, too early. Ernte's sense of the blow was such that it seemed as if she had been shooting before the order was given.

Then, Silvia dared to stop her hand and said just one sentence.

"Didn't you see that? "

A phrase she thought as if to say that her techniques were up to the task.
It was a provocation, word for word the same as the words Second had uttered in the exhibition match.

"…………～gh! ! "

Ernte's face turned red and black and he became agitated.

―― I've been made a fool. I, the absolute champion, the Kisenshou.

For decades I was the pinnacle. None of them could oppose me. I was able to do as I wished.

And now, look at that. In just six months, I have fallen to the very bottom of the pit.

It's their fault.
Without them, I would still be great.

……Give it back.
Give it back, give it back, give it back.

Give me back my life's purpose, my peace of mind――!

"G-G-Give it back!! "

The old man screamed with bloodshot eyes, his face twitching and drooling.

Silvia scowled, "Have you finally gone mad?" and readjusted her short bow.

"! "

Shortly after, "Soldier Archery" flew in from Ernte.

I see……Silvia responded with an extremely calm and collected 《Soldier Archery》 to bump the Mithril Compound Bow shot, convinced of its superior performance.

"Fumu."

Respond and notice. Silvia's Soldier successfully repelled Ernte's Soldier, but it was heavily contested at the moment of the collision. Apparently, there was quite a difference in power.

"Haa, haa……Give it back, give it back! "

A barrage of Soldiers.
Ernte continued to hit his 《Soldier Archery》 at the very limit of his bow's performance, without even a breath.

A mithril compound bow could fire two to three times in 1.0 seconds at a rapid rate of fire. The maximum number of rapid-fire attacks was ten, and rapid-fire was judged to be if used within 1.2 seconds of each shot. If the user fired ten times rapidly, a 5.0-second cooldown time would occur before the eleventh attack, so the most efficient way to attack consecutively was to insert a 1.2-second or longer breather at the ninth attack.

Ernte, however, did not even think about the cooldown time, but instead shot ten times, screamed, shot ten times, and then screamed, repeating the same actions that one would not expect from a Kisenshou holder.

Silvia responded to all of them without hesitation. Each arrow was carefully handled by hitting each Soldier with an arrow. It was as if filling in the black with white. Even though she had sensed that it was futile, she was careful, meticulous, and never slacking off.

"D-Die……lose……Haa, haaa…… Lose, die, die……! "

……Ernte's messy attack then continued for nearly two hours.

By the time Ernte was breathing hard and tottering, the night was already beginning to fall.

Still, out of hatred, out of vindictiveness, Ernte continued to shoot his arrows.

Silvia's intuition was right. The lonely old man had long since gone mad.

"…………"

In the long hours, Silvia thought about many things.

And finally, she concluded with this thought.

――He's like a child.

Ernte behaved like a child throwing a tantrum because he did not get things his way.

The reason he was firing a barrage of Soldiers in this way was to get back at Silvia by doing to her what Second did to him in the exhibition match. It was the very essence of a stubborn child.

But the deed was far from childlike and endearing.

It was not malice at the root, it was desire. A foolish heart that put its own desires above all else. He was a selfish and greedy old man who thought nothing of other people or the title game, as long as it was good enough for him.

Miserable…… This word came to Silvia's mind.

Silvia's passion for justice was slowly cooling.
And at the same time, a cold discomfort akin to pity also welled up.

After a long time of taking arrows, Silvia saw through Ernte's true nature as a man.

This old man is lonely because of that…… she thought.

"Give it back, give it back…… Lose, lose, lose……! "

Oh, you poor thing――

"Enough, let's stop. Please, Ernte…… I can't stand to watch this."
"What are you trying to say!? You little girl! You, because of you! Because of you, I'm...!! "
"Ernte, you must have more than a little conscience left. Stop this useless struggle. Give it up and pay for your sins properly."
"Don't be so entitled with your righteousness, you little brat! It's boring, hearing you spew all that nonsense! I don't care about such things now! "
"……Now? Did you ever?"

Silvia stopped her response to Ernte's ten shots at the nine-shot mark and dodged only the last one.

Just like that, the attacker and defender were easily switched.

"Let me tell you, Ernte. This is what rapid-fire is all about."

Silvia drew her bow on Ernte, who was on cool-down time.

At the moment...... various scenes flashed through Silvia's mind.

For the past six months, Silvia had been through hell. First of all, it was without a doubt the most strenuous period of her life so far.

Why did she work so hard to get to that point?

Of course, it was because she didn't want to lose.
Of course, it was because she couldn't lose.

Defeat was painful. She never wanted to experience that pain again.

With that one thought in mind, she worked hard.

――Pathetic.

Those who have known the pain of defeat and still failed to do their best to overcome it were oh-so pathetic.
Those who fail to conquer themselves will face further hell.

Having a strong heart that will not give in to any hardship.
Conquer yourself and be humble, and never give in to any desires, but keep your convictions.
I will show justice with my own hands, no matter how evil it may appear.

Learn from me, you fool――!!

"! ? "

Silvia instantly shot three arrows.

Both Ernte and the audience were wide-eyed and amazed.

It was as if three arrows flew at almost the same time.

This was the strength of the rapid-fire specialized six-stage modified short bow. The power of the bow allowed it to fire five 《Soldier Archery》 shots per second.

Each shot was not very powerful. However, the DPS of five shots per second is not average. Lance, Knight, Silver, Rook, and Bishop all shared characteristics that would not benefit from a rapid-fire modification and would not increase their DPS as much.

With this modification in this bow, the Soldier barrage would be the second most DPS-producing method of attack after close-range Dragon Horse shooting.

"W……What is that……!? "

Ernte shivered with fear.

What poured down from the sky was a veritable rain of arrows.

The density was incomparable to Ernte's Soldier barrage up to that point.
The number of projectiles was as if she was unleashing 《Dragon Horse Archery》 endlessly.

Silvia fired nine shots of 《Soldier Archery》 in about 1.8 seconds, moved on for 1.2 seconds, and fired another nine shots in 1.8 seconds, not letting up on her attack at all.

"Gah, gah, gah, gah!"

Shot after shot after shot.

Ernte thought as he was getting more and more wounded as he watched.

There is no way I could beat this thing, he thought.

……I lost again.

The old man, covered in wounds, his face contorted in pain, quietly resigned himself.

Then.

"This is my loss!! "

"! "

A declaration of defeat.

At Ernte's cry, Silvia stopped shooting her arrow.

"――That's enough! Winner, Silvia Virginia! "

A new Kisenshou was born.

"Excellent skills, Silvia Virginia. Soldier raining down, for such a clear day. I was impressed. You are the perfect person to be the next Kisenshou."

After the match, Ernte walked up to Silvia with a somewhat resigned look on his face.

"……What are you up to?"

Silvia took her vigilance to another level, without even a moment to savor the achievement of her long-cherished dream of acquiring the Kisenshou title.
Ernte's attitude seemed so unnatural.

"I'm sorry. Something was wrong with me. For a long time, yeah."
"…………"
"It's just as you said. I may have expected too much. I will give up and atone for my sins. I'm ready for it. I don't know if that absolves me from what I've done……"
"Do you mean it? "
"I promise."

Looking Silvia firmly in the eye, Ernte nodded.

After a moment of silence, Silvia opened her mouth.

"Then…… You have to show it with your actions."
"Understood."

It was not like she had forgiven him. Silvia, however, did not take any further hostile attitude toward Ernte. He swore to atone for his sins, there was no need to stand in the way of his decision.

"Haaa. Still, at my age, this injury, in addition to the game time, is hard to take."

As they bowed to each other Silvia stepped out to leave. Ernte said such a thing.

"It's a game, it can't be helped."
"That's true, but ...... mmm, I can't move as fast as I'd like."

Silvia was told by the title fight management that unless one of the contestants was injured to a great extent, the contestants would exit the tournament at the same time. Hence, she waited for Ernte's slow steps following the rules.

"Excuse me for a moment, I need to recover a little here. I don't think I'll last until I exit."

Suddenly, Ernte took a potion from his inventory.

……A finely decorated glass bottle filled with blue liquid.

The moment he held it in his hand―― strangely enough, the air turned cold.

"――! ! "

One woman began sprinting at a tremendous speed immediately after Ernte took out the vial.

She was Renko, the second-generation leader of the righteous R6.

She knew better than anyone the horror of that drug.

Madness Agent―― A buff potion once compounded by her beloved saint. A fearsome drug that increased the user's status twenty-fold for ten minutes in exchange for the user's life.

"Tch……! "

However, even she, with her high AGI, was unlikely to be able to stop it in time.

The place where she was watching the games was a long distance from the center of the arena. As a righteous bandit, I should not be so imposing, she thought, so she watched the game from a corner, which turned out to be a bad idea.

Renko looked around the hall as he ran to see if anyone else had noticed.

But no one in the audience realized that those blue potions were dangerous. Neither the relying Second nor Raspberry Bell were even aware of the potion yet. Because Ernte had turned his back on Second, the only one he feared, and was hiding the potion.

"Silvia! Don't let the old man take that blue potion! "

Renko shouted.
However, it was drowned out by the cheers of excitement at the birth of the new Kisenshou.

"Fuck! "

I'm not going to make it.

Renko was about to give up, when...

"Uhng!? "

Suddenly, Ernte was blown away.

A beat later, the air split. And then, a cloud of dust rose in a line.

It was as if something very quick had moved in its path.

"――Your turn should have ended just a few minutes ago. From now until the end of the final game tomorrow, it's our turn ...... Am I wrong? "

The Kongou, Rokunchea.

He was the only man other than Renko and the other three who knew about the Madness Agent in the venue.

"Ha, hahahahahaa! Idiots! The potion is still in my hand! "

Ernte, who had been flung nearly ten meters by Rokunchea's 《Rook Shield Arts》 Rush effect, however, was undaunted, laughed, and opened the lid of the bottle.

"That's not a problem. Because if you make this much of a fuss, he will notice."

"――Indeed. Ufufu."

"! ? "

A moment later, a dark shadow appeared behind Ernte and overwhelmed the area with despair.

Rokunchea, and even Silvia, couldn't help but get goosebumps when they saw her.

"Ah, what a poor creature. How can you bear the loneliness? By all means, have a drink."

Thread-like eyes and a gently smiling mouth. These words, uttered in a natural, relaxed manner, easily entered Ernte's ears. But the implications were very hard to fathom.

She was saying, quite succinctly, to die.
She said that it did not matter to her whether he took the Madness Agent or not. Either way, I can kill you in one breath, she implied.

"…………"

Thoughts raced through Ernte's head.

Ernte, a former Kisenshou, would be able to strike more than one blow to Silvia or Second if his status was multiplied by 20. And if he was lucky, he would be able to kill them.

Still…… he didn't feel like he could give even a blow to the woman in front of him, no matter what he did.

Thinking back, he saw her once in a restaurant.
A foe who should never be antagonized, and his instincts warned. A companion to that Second Firstest.

He had no choice but to show remorse here and aim for another gap.

"……I give up."

The moment Ernte removed the bottle from his mouth to surrender.
His consciousness disappeared into a deep darkness.

======

Thank you for reading.

Cheat sheet

Status Details

HP　Hit Points
MP　Magic Points
SP　Stamina Points
STR　Short range attack skill power, strength, physical power.
DEX　Long range attack skill power, dexterity, hit rate.
AGI　Quickness, avoidance rate.
INT　Attack Magic skill power.
LUK　Good luck, critical rate.
VIT　Simple defense.
MGR　Magic defense.

Skill Ranking

From lower (16th) to higher (1st) class, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade

16th class
15th class
14th class
13th class
12h class
11th class
10th class
9th class
8th class
7th class
6th class
5th class
4th class
3rd class
2nd class
1st class
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9 (Can challenge Title when all related skills are at this level)

Types of combat skills

Named after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.

Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou)
Lance(Kyousha)
Knight (Keima)
Silver General (Ginshou)
Gold General (Kinshou)
Bishop (Kakugyou)
Rook (Hisha)
Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma)
Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou).

List of Swordsmanship skills

【Swordsmanship】　Damage： STR Dependent.

《Dragon King Swordsmanship》　Powerful ranged attack forward + stun.
《Dragon Horse Swordsmanship》　Powerful ranged attack in all directions.
《Rook Swordsmanship》　Very strong single-target attack.
《Bishop Swordsmanship》　Quick and powerful penetrating attack.
《Gold Swordsmanship》　Ranged attack in all directions.
《Silver Swordsmanship》　Strong, single-target attack.
《Knight Swordsmanship》　Precision attack＋added damage against vital points.
《Lance Swordsmanship》　Penetrating attack.
《Soldier Swordsmanship》　Normal attack.

(Rook＋Knight, Silver＋Knight, Lance＋Knight, Soldier＋Knight are possible for Combine)

List of Jojutsu (cane) skills

【Jojutsu】Thrust・Strike・Sweep

《Dragon King Jojutsu》　Extremely powerful wide-area attack
《Dragon Horse Jojutsu》　Wide range defense + knockback
《Rook Jojutsu》　Very powerful ranged attack
《Bishop Jojutsu》　Rush piercing attack
《Gold Jojutsu》　Very strong defense
《Silver Jojutsu》　Powerful ranged attack
《Knight Jojutsu》　Rush attack
《Lance Jojutsu》　Piercing attack
《Soldier Jojutsu》　Conventional attack

List of Spearmanship skills

【Spearmanship】

《Dragon King Spearmanship》　Extremely powerful single-target attack
《Dragon Horse Spearmanship》　Powerful long-range attack (shockwave)
《Rook Spearmanship》　Rush attack (charge thrust)
《Bishop Spearmanship》　Powerful ranged attack (Cleave)
《Gold Spearmanship》　Counterattack (Counter)
《Silver Spearmanship》　Powerful single-target attack (charge thrust)
《Knight Spearmanship》　Forward leaping attack (leaping thrust)
《Lance Spearmanship》　Ranged attack (Cleave)
《Soldier Spearmanship》　Normal Attack (Thrust)

List of Archery skills

【Archery】

《Dragon King Archery》　Powerful on-impact ranged attack.
《Dragon Horse Archery》　Powerful piercing ranged attack.
《Rook Archery》　Very strong single-target range attack.
《Bishop Archery》　Strong piercing range attack.
《Gold Archery》　Range attack with added knockback.
《Silver Archery》　Strong single-target range attack.
《Knight Archery》　Precise sniping range attack.
《Lance Archery》　Piercing range attack.
《Soldier Archery》　Normal range attack.

List of Shield Arts skills

【Shield Arts】

《Dragon King Shield Arts》　Very powerful ranged attack to the front.
《Dragon Horse Shield Arts》　Reinforced defense + all-range attack.
《Rook Shield Arts》　Powerful forward Rush attack (VIT converted to STR and added to net STR)
《Bishop Shield Arts》　Great Reinforced Defense (16th class: 250% ~ Grade 9th: 600% Defense)
《Gold Shield Arts》　Range homing defense ＋ Knockback（While active, attacks within a certain range would redirect themselves towards the shield）
《Silver Shield Arts》　Reinforced defense (parry grace time reduced by 0.01 second, successful parry triggers counterattack effect)
《Knight Shield Arts》　Defense + Knockback.
《Lance Shield Arts》　Piercing Reflective Defense
《Soldier Shield Arts》　Normal defense.
Success condition for parry: Activate the skill 0.287 to 0.250 seconds before the attack reaches the target.

List of Magic skills

【Magic】 (Four attributes: fire, water, wind, and earth)
Advantages and disadvantages: Fire>Earth>Wind>Water>Fire
・First Form　Normal Attack （Preparation time： Super short. Cooldown： Super short）
・Second Form　Extended range attack （Slow. Long）
・Third Form　Strong single-target attack （Short. Short）
・Fourth Form　Powerful extended-range attack （Super slow. Super long）
・Fifth Form　Very powerful extended-range attack （Slowest. Longest）

【Magical Magic】
《Combine》　Combines two magic skills into a single attack.
《Synergy》　Overlays two magic spells on top of another magic spell.
《Charge》　Magic attack that increases in magnitude the more it is charged up.

List of Thread Manipulation skills

【Thread Manipulation】
《Dragon King Thread Manipulation》　The most powerful single attack, limited to the restrained target.
《Dragon Horse Thread Manipulation》　Simultaneously emits multiple threads, forcibly restraining the touched object.
《Rook Thread Manipulation》　Very powerful single attack using a bundle of threads
《Bishop Thread Manipulation》　Powerful penetrating attack using thread like a needle.
《Gold Thread Manipulation》　Thread restraints on objects within a 4-meter radius.
《Silver Thread Manipulation》　Powerful single-target attack with a bundle of threads
《Knight Thread Manipulation》　Manipulate monsters, humans, and puppets using strings for a certain period of time.
《Lance Thread Manipulation》　Penetrating attack using thread like a needle.
《Soldier Thread Manipulation》　Single target attack with a bundle of threads
(Gold + Lance or Bishop can be Combined)

ToC