The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Millinia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 031 – The Realm of a Master [B]
“…“
Hunty activated her instant movement magic.
She appeared behind one of the houses, then she began to chant and phased back.
“!”
She activated her magic simultaneously. As time began to advance, a thunder penetrated through the house toward Leonhart.
All she needed to do was to make sure he was unable to observe the timing and origin. She shot the thunder while thinking of the swelling power within. Leonhart reacted,
“! Oooh!”
Deflected by Leonhart at the last moment.
However, she almost got him. As if to prove that, Leonhart cheekily raised the corner of his mouth.
“That one was quite good…!”
However, Hunty kept shooting her magic without minding his reaction.
Shoot magic, then stop time; by repeating this process, it produced a pseudo-continuous magic attack that blew away the village as a result.
This method was only possible because Hunty could use instant movement magic; she made use of her advantage on the battlefield.
As lightning continuously illuminated the village, Leonhart’s voice echoed in the midst of the rain of thunder.
He had a calm voice, juxtaposed to the violent situation around him.
“…I see. I understand your strategy. So you wanted to turn it into a battle of endurance through the use of long-range attacks.”
Leonhart blocked the lightning as he saw Hunty, who was hiding behind the house, as she moved around.
Her position was already revealed. However, that was exactly why Hunty felt weird.
…Why didn’t he close the distance…?
Considering the skill of her opponent, he should’ve been capable of deflecting the incoming lightning as he advanced forward. In fact, he did so earlier.
However right now, he stayed rooted in his spot.
Without a doubt she was currently holding the advantage. However, her opponent should’ve been aware of that as well. In that case, why did he allow her to continue…
As she was lost in her thoughts, Leonhart continued to speak.
“It’s true that as a swordsman, I can’t do much in the way of long-range combat… the sword is unable to land unless I can get close. I’ve also had such worries… in the past.”
Along with those words, Leonhart condensed his sword’s aura.
“Hey, Hunty Kalar… do you know about the flying slash?”
“!!”
At that moment, Hunty felt a freezing, tingling sensation run down her spine, then she instinctively dropped to the ground following that feeling.
Immediately after that,
“…“
Leonhart slash cut the air.
Leonhart wielded the Demonic Sword Orpheil.
He did a horizontal swing, producing an invisible slash with friction in the air.
Immediately, the house was decimated.
The slash, which was released without a sound, also split the neighboring house in two — the wooden structure lost its support and eventually collapsed.
And the destruction didn’t stop there, the tree behind it also felt the brunt of the attack and fell, leaving only the tree stump in its wake.
However, none of it was senseless destruction and it was executed with precision. The part of the tree which was cut had been sliced clean, without any damage to the surrounding parts below.
The long-range slash that was just released was something that completely turned the possibilities of future sword fighters on its head.
He had unleashed a shockwave from the sword; it was a special move known as Vacuum Wave which was further sublimated by Leonhart. However, this very slash, which was just one of his many slash techniques, wasn’t a big deal for him.
It would become the goal for swordsmen from this moment onward — to reach the realm of the master.
“That was absurd…”
It was practically a coincidence that Hunty managed to avoid the attack.
She had suddenly felt chills run down her body, and she threw herself on the ground following such a feeling.
It was only due to her instinct as a warrior that Hunty chose to evade below. If she hesitated even for a moment, or chose to evade to the side, then Hunty would’ve suffered the same fate as the surrounding buildings and trees.
And the very majin who caused it, Leonhart, proudly raised the corner of his mouth.
“How was it? Isn’t it interesting? I just used a sword slash as countermeasure for long-distance combat — it’s the epitome of the romance and excitement of a swordsman. I was so excited the first time I managed to do it, you see. I couldn’t help but think that I was a genius.”
Leonhart, who mused as if he was her close friend, made Hunty frown as she responded.
“…Shut up, you sword idiot.”
Hunty responded with such words. However, she couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly.
Normal people wouldn’t have thought to shoot their slash, even if they did, most of them wouldn’t be able to do it.
However, the majin in front of her managed to easily accomplish it. It was something common people would have to work their whole lives to achieve. This man easily surpassed all those people’s lifetime of efforts.
It might also be because of his capability as majin and their eternal lifespan, but that was undoubtedly something unachievable without talent.
As Hunty broke out in a cold sweat, Leonhart still found it funny and laughed, even though she responded to him coldly.
“Don’t take it so badly. It’s good news for you as well, you know.”
Then he lightly swung his sword. Then a few moments later, the building material that had been rolling into the distance was split in two.
That made Hunty feel the danger. After all, he needed no special stance or anything. This majin in front of her could shoot his slash just by swinging normally. That meant the tactics she had used up until now collapsed. Leonhart confirmed her thoughts.
“Because you don’t have to run away anymore — it’s the same wherever you might be after all!!”
“…!”
Leonhart swung his sword as he spoke.
The concept of having an advantage by fighting long distance was no more. Even now, every time her opponent slashed the air, anything in the trajectory was cut in two. As she confirmed that with her own eyes, Hunty used her instant movement to evade and move toward the opposite direction of the enemy’s slash.
Leonhart noticed her, and showed his joyful expression as he turned around.
“Oh yeah? You still have that…!”
Leonhart shouted and attacked toward Hunty.
Immediately, the invisible blade produced more violent friction to the air than usual. However,
“This is bad…!”
Hunty no longer had leisure in her avoidance. She had no time to attack, and was forced into a situation where she had no choice but to keep evading.
To be precise, even if she did attack by shooting magic at him, he would simultaneously defend and attack. That single slash served both to cut the magic and attack toward her. That would force her into a situation where despite being the one who initiated the attack, he would immediately counter it and force her to avoid it. It was a daunting realization and was enough to make her lose the opportunity to attack.
Furthermore, just like how Leonhart had to watch how she attacked earlier, Hunty was forced to observe the starting position of Leonhart’s blade.
He had said that it would be the same wherever she might be. However, it wasn’t like his advantage at close range disappeared. Her opponent held the advantage the closer she was, and once she entered his direct range, she wouldn’t be able to react anymore.
Therefore, even as she needed to observe Leonhart’s slashing behavior, she also couldn’t approach him. She was in a predicament.
Hunty pondered. No, she had no choice but to contemplate.
Her initial strategy had completely collapsed. Long distance magic combat wasn’t effective against Leonhart. However, short distance was even more out of question. She might survive an exchange or two. However, the moment she wished for more, it would spell her defeat.
Then what should I do? There’s no meaning in continuing to escape like this. I can’t win this way.
She kept avoiding the attacks. She watched when and how he would attack — then Hunty used her instant movement to phase into Admiral Space.
“Fuh…”
There she caught her breath. This was one of the reasons why Hunty managed to keep up with Leonhart’s momentum. As long as she stayed in this space, time wouldn’t progress.
Therefore, she could rest as much as she needed. She could even sleep if she felt like it. That was the reason she initially planned for an endurance battle, but it didn’t seem to be possible anymore. However, she couldn’t afford to just give up.
Hunty moved to a spot where she could attack him from behind. She chanted her magic and phased back to reality — only to be greeted by something horrifying.
“—!”
The moment Hunty phased back to reality, a slash passed just beside her. The stormy wind shook Hunty’s black hair.
“That, that thing just now was…!”
Hunty eyes shot wide open.
No way, it was too fast.
The attack flew at the same moment she phased back to reality. Leonhart explained with a wry smile and a disappointed tone.
“So I missed, huh? But I think I’m starting to understand…!”
Hunty couldn’t help but to react to those words.
“What do you understand…?”
“Aah?”
As he heard the word muttered in her pale appearance, Leonhart squinted his sharp eyes and snorted.
“What are you so surprised about? — I just predicted it, you know. Since you keep using your instant movement over and over, it’s allowed me to gradually read your movement patterns. It’s not like you move randomly to avoid an attack, rather you choose where to move… Basically, I’ve just considered this as fighting against an opponent so fast, I can’t catch them with my eyes.”
Leonhart mused in a very casual tone.
“It seems I need some time to read more accurately. However, we can rephrase it this way… The moment I completely read your movement pattern—
At that moment,
“—it will be your last breath.”
It would spell the end of her.
T/N:
Hello again! This time, I would list all magic that was already used over the course of the series. Well, there’s only few of them, but it was better than nothing
Fire Arrow: It’s a rudimentary spell of fire element. Small flame shot from the finger of the caster and burned the enemy. It only targeted a single individual.
Thunder Strike: It’s a basic magic of thunder element. Caster shot a horizontal bolt of lightning. It deals damage to all matter than the thunder passed through.
Electromagnetic Barrier: It’s an intermediate magic of thunder element. Caster conjured a high-voltage barrier around the designated area. Everything within that area took damage.
Thunder God Lightning: It’s a highest rank magic of thunder element. It produces massive rain of thunder in the designated area.
Instant Movement: I honestly dunno whether to consider this proper magic at all, but since only those with Magic LV 3 are able to use it due to their affinity to space, I guess it is. Considering how Hunty was able to spam it without chanting to avoid a crisis, maybe it didn’t need to be chanted at all. Anyway, this magic allowed the caster to phased into Admiral space, where nothing moved, and phased back to reality. Note that despite how easy she spam it, there are chances they might get stuck in admiral space and unable to come out for some time. The extended stay in this space would render users to gradually losing awareness of themselves, becoming nothing but fuzzy clouds. Also, although time didn’t progress in this space, the time you spent there would make you age immediately once they left the space. Therefore, it was fatal magic to be used by most people. But since Hunty can’t age, she could use it without worry(and this was the reason why she couldn’t drag other along with her; risk of trapped would very well age human to death if they were unlucky)
Healing: It is considered a spell that treats wounds and considered Divine Magic, a separate skill altogether that depends more on divine blessing than user capability. People could have talent in it, but unless they received the corresponding divine blessing, they would still be unable to use said magic despite their natural talent.
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