◈ Episode 19. How Undignified (3)
—Invite a demon to the ritual. There are two meanings to that.
The demon hunter of Akshan had said so.
—The first is literally a ritual. An action performed according to established rules in order to destroy a demon. What needs explaining is the second. Then, exactly “where” is the demon invited when invited to that ritual?
Tap, tap—he had touched his own temple.
—That’s right. It is invited into the demon hunter’s “consciousness.”...
I deliberately provoked Count Askyura.
“Why is an ugly vampire still calling himself a noble?”
At my question, Count Askyura radiated killing intent.
Seeing that, I wondered if I really needed to add those final words, but……
The water had already been spilled.
Besides, it was actually what I wanted. ‘There’s nothing good about dragging this out.’ Count Askyura’s level was 4
3
0.
As if that weren’t enough, he had reclaimed all the authority he had distributed.
It would be right to say his actual strength was beyond his level.
For me, who was only level 100, to face a monster like that? Even with [Natural Enemy Relationship]
and 『Magic』.
I couldn’t guarantee that I would be able to inflict meaningful damage.
But if it was [Exorcism Ritual],
the story changed. ‘Invite a demon to the ritual.’ Put simply, it meant bringing the demon into my head.
Back when Arcana was nothing more than a game.
I had performed the exorcism ritual several times.
Thinking back on it now, I really had been fearless back then.
During the exorcism ritual, you inevitably experienced scenes that put horror games to shame. And I had watched them without even blinking.
Because I had that experience.
I could step forward like this now. ‘The initiative in the ritual depends on mental strength.’ A battle of mental strength.
I might not know about anything else, but I was confident in that one thing. 『No demonic temptation, deception, or trial can so much as scratch Grandfell’s lofty pride.』 So it wasn’t baseless confidence.
It was an action with something to believe in. [Inviting the vampire, Count Askyura, into the “ritual.”]
Count Askyura, invited into Grandfell’s—my—consciousness.
I stared at him.
At this moment, how was I reflected in those red eyes?...
“!”
Askyura doubted his own eyes.
What had happened?
Surely, the one standing atop the stairs had been me……? ‘What is this? Why?’ Why had my position and his been reversed?
He was looking down at me from atop the stairs. ‘How……!!’ Just how high up was he?
No matter how far I tilted my head back, I couldn’t even see him properly!
Askyura shouted.
“You used a despicable trick. Human!!”
Then an utterly composed voice came.
“Despicable, you say. What is despicable, Askyura?”
An arrogant attitude with not the slightest hint of tension.
Askyura felt a sense of incongruity. ‘This is impossible……!’ He had definitely released killing intent.
A lowly human should have been overcome with fear.
Yet for some reason, he was perfectly fine.
Askyura opened his mouth.
“……
Yes. It’s a trick. It couldn’t be anything else. The fact that your position and mine have been switched. The fact that I can’t look at you no matter how high I raise my head. All of it is nothing but a worthless trick!”
Click—the sound of heels rang in his ears.
Then the arrogant voice continued.
“Is that so? It seems that is how it appears to your eyes.”
“……?!”……
Wh-what did he say?
What did that mean?
Askyura shouted inwardly. ‘No. There is no mistake. It is a simple trick!’ There was no way my eyes were wrong.
Our places had merely changed.
Taking advantage of the moment I looked away…….
“!”……
No, I did not look away.
I was not careless either.
I had clearly moved with the intention of tearing apart the one who dared utter such nonsense without knowing his place.
Then when on earth could he have used a trick great enough to change positions?
And in my castle, no less.
“Then look, Askyura.”
“……?”
“What does this appear to be to you?”
At the same time as that question.
Something blocked his vision.
It was a boulder so massive its size could not be measured.
“……
Do not dare try to deceive me!!”
Rumble—!
To be precise, it was a stone coffin.
A gigantic coffin of stone was crashing down upon him.
Askyura drew up his mana. ‘This is dangerous.’ Even if it was shaped like a coffin, it likely had no special effect.
The problem was its size.
Even if it was nothing more than an ordinary lump of stone.
At that size, it was dangerous.
“Disappear!!”
Swooooosh—!
Mana shot toward the stone coffin.
Yet for some reason.
The stone coffin did not receive even a scratch.
Askyura was flustered. ‘What on earth is this……?’ He had used more than half his mana.
So why could he not even scratch it?
His confusion lasted only a moment.
The man’s voice reached him.
“It seems your condition is rather severe, Askyura.”……
Unforgivable!
In that instant, Askyura’s form vanished into thin air.
To be precise, he had scattered into hundreds of bats.
“Damn it!”
From bats back into a vampire.
Askyura, having returned to his original form, gasped for breath.
Because he had been unable to avoid the stone coffin.
He had used the one-time escape technique he should have saved until the very end.
“Even in your rough breathing, I can sense no dignity.”
“……
Shut up!”
“However, this has made it certain.”
Click—the sound of footsteps rang out again.
He was descending the stairs.
Askyura smiled inwardly. ‘How foolish. Human.’ It was an opportunity that had rolled in of its own accord.
Whatever trick he had used.
It had been frustrating not even being able to look at him. ‘If he comes down from those stairs, there is no problem.’ Askyura steadied his breathing.
So that he would not miss the opportunity he had seized.
He sharpened his fangs.
Click—the sound of shoes that had been ringing in his ears stopped.
Askyura raised his head.
And was horrified.
“……
H-how?”
He had clearly come down the stairs.
He was clearly standing on the same ground.
Then why……
was I still looking up at him?
“How is your new field of vision, Askyura? No, you ugly vampire.”
Impossible.
This is my castle.
Using tricks on me is impossible.
As if he had read those thoughts.
The man spoke.
“Surely you do not still believe this place is your castle?”
“What do you……?!”
“Look properly, vampire.”
“……?”
At the man’s words, Askyura looked around.
“I-it’s impossible. Why, in the portraits……?”
Why is your face there?
All the portraits of himself hung throughout the place had changed into portraits of the man.
Something was wrong.
Askyura began to break out in a cold sweat.
The still-relaxed voice reached his ears.
“All of this is your fear.”*
Whoooosh—!
A fierce wind blew.
Jesse Heinness grabbed her pointed hat and said.
“Wh-what am I looking at……!”
Enough to make the staff she had been gripping tightly seem pointless.
Nothing happened to Jesse.
Level 397.
Ranked 4th among players.
In terms of combat power, she surpassed the 2nd-ranked Rox.
And was evaluated as comparable to the 1st-ranked Skal.
Because she was the great mage, Jesse Heinness?
No.
Absolutely not.
The opponent was a level 430 named monster.
And a demon-type one at that.
A powerful enemy whose mere appearance had made even Jesse tense up.
Yes, the reason nothing had happened to Jesse.
Was entirely thanks to “Mr. Really Amazing Magic”!
“What is with that overreaction!”
Mr. Really Amazing Magic.
Yes, Hoyeol had merely raised a stone pillar.
Just as he had when facing Count Askyura’s knights.
But Count Askyura’s response had been far too excessive. ‘At that size, he didn’t need to go that far!’ He had concentrated an excessive amount of mana.
Trying to knock away the stone pillar had been strange enough……
And then, he had even missed.
Kwa-kwa-boom—!
Because of that, the castle collapsed, revealing the sky.
As if that weren’t enough, to avoid the crumbling stone pillar, he had suddenly transformed into bats and fled.
“And where has he been looking since earlier!”
His gaze was also unstable.
Count Askyura had been staring at the ceiling for a while now.
He was breathing hard and even shouting into empty air.
Later on, he had even been terrified by a portrait with his own face on it.
“……
I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.”
For some reason.
Jesse did not find the count’s behavior unfamiliar.
After thinking hard, she finally realized.
“That’s right! No matter how I look at it, that’s the status abnormality, Fear!”...
I checked the message that appeared. [The vampire, Count Askyura, has been inflicted with “Fear.”]……
That was close.
I keenly felt the gap in level.
What I felt above all was Count Askyura’s mana. ‘If it even grazes me, I’m dead. Seriously.’ If I had rushed in relying only on the demon hunter class.
By now, I would be crossing into the afterlife.
That didn’t mean close combat was possible either.
Count Askyura had merely swung his hand through the air.
And from the aftermath alone, the objects around us had been smashed apart.
In that sense, the long coat and suit were not a problem.
Even if I had worn armor, it would have been one hit, had something like that grazed me.
But that was my situation.
My inner circumstances, which Count Askyura had no way of knowing.
The proof appeared one after another as messages. —Hunt the vampire. (In progress) ▲ ●Announce that the hunt has begun. (Success) ●Make him feel the fear of being hunted. (Success) ●Hunt the vampire. (In progress)
All that remained was to hunt Count Askyura, who had fallen into fear.
“……
Y-you are my fear? Th-that cannot be.”
A vampire who had lost his will to fight.
He might seem like easy prey, but not to me.
Above all, I was not confident I could finish Count Askyura in a single strike.
I did not possess magic or physical ability with that much power. ‘It won’t be enough.’ Of course, I had come into contact with players, observed their skills, and tried imitating them.
But my stats and equipment were the problem.
No matter how effective silver weapons were against demon-types.
Their absolute attack power was pitiful. ‘I resent my own weakness.’ This was an opportunity to monopolize the experience points……!
But I had to judge calmly.
I took out the silver dagger.
Then I interfered with its form, changing its shape. The silver dagger divided into four.
Their shape resembled stakes.
I did not delay.
Swish, swish, swish—!!
Count Askyura had lost his will to fight.
I sent the silver stakes flying toward him.
Pupupup—!!
I had divided an already short silver dagger into four.
The stakes had no choice but to be even smaller.
“N-nooooooo!!”
But Count Askyura, fallen into fear, seemed to feel it differently.
As if he had truly been impaled by enormous stakes.
Count Askyura began to convulse. ‘But fear alone cannot defeat an enemy.’ There was no telling how long that status abnormality would last.
So I said.
“I will leave the cleanup to you.”
That was the best I could do.
At my request, the pointed hat bobbed.
“Huh? You’re leaving the rest to me? After you’ve finished everything! To me!”
How should I answer?
Honestly.
That I lacked the ability.
Answering that was impossible.
Given Grandfell’s noble personality.
He would rather die at Count Askyura’s hands.
Than confess to his own lack of ability.
Fortunately, however.
“Ah! I’m sorry! I need to mind my manners! Please forget that backtalk just now!”
The pointed hat said that and immediately chanted a skill.
I watched.
Oooooooo—!
Mana condensed at the end of her staff.
Blonde hair fluttering.
A bluish light settling in her pupils.
The air around us changing.
The scenery of the sky roiling in an instant.
“Divine Punishment.”
At that moment.
Crack-crack-crackle—!!
A powerful bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.
The force shook the entire area.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom—!!
Thunder rang out belatedly.
The roar was enough to make my eardrums tingle. ‘Is this the power of top-ranked players?’ It was destructive power on a level I could not even dream of reaching right now.
As if Count Askyura had not been enough, now even a player.
It felt like I was having a lot of chances today to realize the gap, didn’t it?
But I did not feel discouraged.
No matter how powerful a skill had ended Count Askyura’s life, it was certain that my contribution in reducing Count Askyura to that state would be greater.
As if supporting that, messages appeared. [Your contribution to defeating Count Askyura has been recognized.] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] …… [Due to your high contribution to the defeat, loot will be acquired automatically.]
Because all of it was only natural.
There was no reason to be surprised in the slightest.
I, like that, checked my inventory and flinched.……
Wait, no matter how you look at it, this is something I should be surprised about, isn’t it?