Chapter 133
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Bwong, bwong, bwong.
As the three advance, a floating Sacred Sword appears before them.
The monster before their eyes is none other than the boss monster that Yamada considers to be among the strongest he has ever faced—the Claidheamh Soluis.
The Claidheamh Soluis’s resonance shakes the air. It’s more terrifying than any ferocious monster’s roar they’ve heard before. The three are shaken to their core.
However, they quickly rally their faltering spirits, each striving to remain calm.
Saint Mika and Angelica take another look at the monster before them. Its form is similar to the previous Sacred Sword, but the radiance it emits is on a completely different level.
「Here it comes!!」
Angelica shouts.
This serves as the signal for the battle to begin.
With a sound that slices through the air, the deadly blade rushes towards the three.
The action pattern is as expected.
Their strategy against the Sacred Sword isn’t particularly complex, if you don’t consider the fact that each action is life-threatening.
Even without its six-blade form, the Sacred Sword’s flight speed is extraordinary. Ashley steps forward. She deflects and pushes back the straight-line thrust of the Sacred Sword with her Holy Shield.
The plan is straightforward. Ashley reinforces the defense with her shield, Mika with her barrier, and Angelica prepares to activate Reflector, timing it with the emission of the laser.
「Hah!!」 Ashley exhales, skillfully evading the Claidheamh Soluis’s slashes multiple times.
Ashley’s shield handling, boasting one of the world’s highest levels of sturdiness, is in a class of its own. However, the Claidheamh Soluis attacks her with snake-like persistence. No matter how many times Ashley deflects it, parries it, or evades it, the speed and force of its slashes don’t diminish at all. It continues to slash at the three over and over again.
Gradually, even the formidable Ashley becomes unable to block everything. Finally, its blade reaches her. The tip slices through her armor—or it would have, if not for their preparation.
They had anticipated that the blade would eventually reach her during the repeated defenses.
Ashley had already activated three skills: Complete Strengthening+, Divine Guardian, and My Body is a Living Shield.
But that’s not the only reason.
Saint Mika had prepared a barrier.
Unlike previous flat barriers acting as walls or hemispherical ones enveloping the party, this one was compressed to the extreme, fitting tightly around the bodies of the three. It was an incredibly high-difficulty barrier for this crucial moment, but it was incorporated into the strategy at Saint Mika’s own suggestion.
Normally, the slash would have been able to cut through Ashley’s armor and reach her soft skin, but the meticulously planned strategy they had devised before the battle proved effective.
Ashley and Saint Mika feel Angelica’s hand touching their backs. Along with Angelica’s desperate chanting, they sense their own mana being manipulated through the mana pathway she has created.
「No need to rush,」 Ashley says to Angelica.
The Sacred Sword, seemingly unconcerned that its tip can’t reach the soft skin of the three, increases its floating—no, flying speed even further. Its movements appear to be searching for the trio’s blind spots. And indeed, this observation is not wrong.
The Claidheamh Soluis aims for their backs, flying around more freely than ever before.
「Ugh!!」
Finally, the Sacred Sword’s slashes exceed Ashley’s shield handling capabilities, which had been successfully deflecting them until now.
But Ashley calls out to the other two:
「Don’t worry, I’ll protect you both!!」
From this point on, Ashley takes the slashes she can’t block with her shield on her own body. However, as the Sacred Sword’s flight speed increases, its slashes grow more powerful. Gradually, large gashes begin to appear on Ashley’s armor. It won’t be long before her armor is destroyed and the deadly blade reaches her flesh.
Still, Ashley continues to stand in front of the other two without flinching, putting her body on the line.
「Angelica, hurry.」
Saint Mika urges.
The situation can’t exactly be called balanced. Even so, it’s clear that it will take some time for the Sacred Sword to completely obliterate the three at this pace.
Perhaps that’s why the Sacred Sword grows impatient, and earlier than last time—
「Here it comes!!!」
Saint Mika shouts.
Bwong, bwong, bwong, bwong
The Sacred Sword stops its flying slashes and begins to float gently in place. Its resonance intensifies, and the blade gleams with an eye-searing light, flickering on and off.
The Sacred Sword is now generating and storing an enormous amount of energy.
The three can feel the massive energy concentrating at its tip.
「Angelica!!」
Saint Mika cries out.
At that moment, a torrent of energy is released from the Sacred Sword’s tip.
Their vision is engulfed in light, and just as the three are about to be swallowed up and annihilated by the light—
「Reflector.」
The mage Angelica’s powerful voice resonates.
Particles reminiscent of morning mist appear and sparkle in front of the three.
In that instant, the laser that was about to strike the three changes direction 180 degrees, engulfing the Claidheamh Soluis. The torrent of energy still has power to spare, further gouging out the surroundings and causing a massive explosion.
「Phew, as expected of Angelica the Wise.」
「Angelica, I thought we were done for… You really had me worried.」
Ashley and Mika express their thoughts in their own ways. However, there’s not a trace of joy on Angelica’s face as she’s addressed.
「Why the long face?」
Ashley asks.
「Both of you, the battle continues. The second round is about to begin.」
Angelica responds.
Where Angelica’s gaze is fixed—as the explosive flames clear—the Claidheamh Soluis is floating there, having transformed into its six-blade form.
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