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440 p1. Noble Faction and New School Year [13]

(What is that…!?)

A gigantic golden cube appeared as if tearing the space apart while a wild spiritual power raged.

Floating above Gauran’s head, it emitted a majestic brilliance and a solemn glow.

As I looked closer, the giant cube was a collection of small cubes, all of which continued to rotate irregularly.

(Just like Deal, Von, Shin – All the swordsmen I have been fighting recently are full of incomprehensible abilities…)

As I bit my lip lightly, two small cubes fell into Gauran’s hand.

「–Armis.」

In an instant, the two cubes melted and became gauntlets that guarded his arms.

Gauran clenched his fists shut and nodded in satisfaction, dropping his center of gravity deeply.

「Shall we start then?」

As soon as he said that, he rushed in at a terrifying speed.

(Damnit… Just what kind of ability does it have!?)

Having the initiative taken from me, I reluctantly chose to intercept.

「Ha!」

I unleashed an overhead slash with all my weight on it.

「Fuh!」

Gauran blocked the blow with his golden right arm.

「「…」」

A deadlock state was born, and the sensation that ran through my arms was… nothing.

(What is this strange feeling…)

Normally, when you slash something, the recoil impact returns to your body. From the hand to the arm, from the arm to the whole body, a heavy impact runs.

However, the moment when my sword landed on Gauran’s fist, I felt nothing in return.

Even though my swing was full of might and spiritual power, it felt as if I slashed through tofu, or layers of cotton. I felt nothing

「Hou, it’s considerably powerful. But with this level of power, you can’t break through my〈Aurum Cubes〉!」

Gauran clenched his left fist and unleashed a solid thrust containing his weight.

I immediately defended myself with the black sword, but that turned out to be a mistake.

「~~ (Heavy, no… sharp…!?)」

Heavy, sharp, deep, strong.

An incomprehensible impact shot through the black sword.

After receiving a powerful blow, I was sent flying across the venue, breaking through the inner wall of the National Holy War Arena, and crashed onto the road of Orest.

「Haa haa… (What… was that…)」

It was an attack that mixed two different types of power – a punch and a slash.

「Shit… (The damage from consecutive battles is catching up to my legs…)」

I put strength into my trembling legs and managed to stand up.

As I got up, a tragic sight spread before me.

Orest had turned into hell, with citizens on the ground everywhere, buildings burning violently, screams, sword clashes, and sounds of destruction echoing.

「Can you really afford to look away during the battle?」

Gauran’s voice came from above.

As I made a quick decision and rolled away, a pair of military boots trampled through the spot where my head had been a while ago.

(No hesitation at all…)

Before I was able to prepare, Gauran began to increase his offensive.

「–King Fist, Rakshasa!」

A golden fist filled my field of vision.

(Fast, but… if it’s just at this level!)

I swung my black sword and defended the attack properly.

At the same time, the sense of nothingness I felt earlier was still there.

(Again, it’s strangely light again…)

Gauran’s fists were surprisingly light. No, it was not light.

There was no impact at all, as if his first had stopped.

As I furrowed my eyebrows, Gauran’s elbow gently came into contact with the black sword.

「-Get ready. You’re gonna fly.」

In the next moment, my field of vision was greatly blurred.

「Ka, ha… (What… power…)」

From the black sword to my arm, from the arm to my torso, from the torso to my brain. A strong impact shook my whole body.

If I let my guard down even just for a second, I would fall unconscious.

「You’re surprisingly tough. It seems that the report that you don’t die even if you’re killed is true.」

After saying so calmly and composed, Gauran cracked his neck.

On the other hand, since I’ve taken a lot of damage, I buy time to recover.

「I’ve figured it out.『Absorption』and 『Emission』, that’s the ability of the〈Aurum Cubes〉, isn’t it?」

「Hou, you figured it out in this short period of time? Contrary to expectations, you seem to be clever as well.」

Gauran not only didn’t hide his ability, but rather was composed enough to praise me.

「But there’s nothing you can do about it. True strength is something you can’t deal with.」

Saying so, Gauran lowered his center of gravity and assumed a fighting stance.

(The true soul dress〈Aurum Cubes〉that governs absorption and emission… it’s certainly a troublesome ability, but… there’s a way to deal with it.)

The starting point for offense and defense is limited to those golden arms. In other words, as long as I pay attention to that, I won’t take any fatal blows.

(It seems better to avoid straight attacks and close combat. All attacks will be absorbed by the golden gauntlet, and it will be countered back to me with double power.)

What I need now is the ability to fight at medium and long distances.

I took a short, shallow breath and unleashed my new power.

「Invade -〈Fafnir〉!」

Black and white flames clad my whole body, and the surrounding temperature rose sharply.

「Hmm,〈Fafnir〉? An imitation, I see.」

Gauran raised his eyebrows slightly, but he remained completely unmoved and calmly took his stance.

No matter what the situation was, he kept his composure and just focused on the enemy in front of him.

Whether it’s the difference in seniority or the number of battles we’ve gone through, the difference in experience was obvious.

「I will attack this time! –Dragon Roar!」

I swung my black sword with great force, releasing black and white flames far into the sky.

「Mmm…」

Scorching hellfire poured down like rain, stopping Gauran in his tracks.

Not allowing any time, I continued to launch follow-up attacks.

「–Dark Shadow!」

Black and white flames pouring down from the sky + tentacles of darkness creeping in from below, a three-dimensional omnidirectional attack from above and below.

He can’t defend this with his two arms.

However,

「Fuu – Efugio.」

A huge golden cube appeared, enclosing Gauran.

The black and white flames and dark tentacles were all sucked into it.

「Wha!?」

「Kuku, wide range attacks are within the realm of assumption.」

He snapped his fingers as he said that.

「-Dimittis.」

At the same time, a golden cube appeared in a corner of the city area and… the Dragon Roar and Dark Shadow were shot at the fleeing civilians and the Holy Knights who were fighting the enemy.

「What is this… Guaaaa…!?」

「Doesn’t this darkness attack belong to that Allen Rodore guy!?」

「Oi oi, please stop joking! In such a devastating situation, we have to deal with that monster too!?」

As the battlefield was in great confusion, Gauran spoke calmly.

「The essence of my true soul dress〈Aurum Cubes〉is ”the power that controls the subspace”. By applying this, it becomes possible to absorb and emit all things. ―Let me give you one piece of advice here. From now on, all your attacks will be aimed at the civilians and infrastructures of Orest. You should come at me with that in mind.」

「T-That’s cowardly…!」

「”Cowardly” is a weapon. Shouldn’t we use weapons effectively depending on the battlefield?」