Chapter 356 - Isolation (3)

The first-stage effect of [Evolving Carapace] grants 50% resistance to bladed weapons. The second stage halves puncture damage.

So what happens when those effects are multiplied by 1.5?

The answer is simple: 75% resistance to bladed weapons, and 75% puncture damage reduction.

Combined with the bladed-weapon resistance, that makes me practically immune to puncture wounds inflicted by swords, even in my base form.

There is one frustrating drawback, though...

'If it weren't for the cap, I'd qualify for bladed-weapon immunity.'

Bladed-weapon resistance caps out at around 85%. That means even [Transcendence]'s passive enhancement can't push me into immunity.

With that in mind, to sum it up:

'Immune to thrusts.'

Slashing attacks would still work, but the Ogre's passive skill, [Iron Leather], stood firmly in their way.

And...

'With my current Physical Resistance and [Iron Leather]...'

Well, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call me every knight's worst nightmare at this point.

But perhaps someone was worried because she didn't know all that.

TAP!

The instant the Blood Knight kicked off the ground, someone shouted.

"Dodge...!"

It was Raven.

Showing her would be faster than explaining, right?

With that thought, I smoothly raised my shield and blocked his thrust.

CLANG!

Had it been a while since he'd heard that sound from the tip of his sword?

"...!"

He stared in dismay at the Aura stopped by my shield.

"H-how...?"

What did he mean, how?

[Unity], which I'd gained from the sixth stage of the Immortal's engravings, operated on the concept of becoming one with my equipment. That was why [Gigantification] also affected my gear.

The same went for [Evolving Carapace]...

'Oh, maybe that wasn't what he was wondering about?'

He probably wasn't questioning the finer details. He likely just wanted to know one thing.

How had I blocked Aura?

There was a long story behind that, but in this world where the strong devoured the weak, one sentence would suffice.

"Because I'm..."

I pushed his sword away with my shield.

"...stronger than you."

What more needed to be said in a world of nothing but winners and losers?

WHOOSH!

I swung my hammer with all my strength to hammer that fact into his head.

TAP!

As expected, he nimbly retreated.

I wasn't particularly disappointed. Nothing was easier than dragging back someone who was running away.

「The character has cast [Eye of the Storm].」

「The authority of the Transcendent unlocks the skill's latent power.」

The [Transcendence] and [Eye of the Storm] combo.

WHOOOOOSH!

A sudden gust seized the retreating knight by the hair and dragged him toward me. Or, more precisely, toward the spot where my hammer was swinging.

Unfortunately...

SHAAAH!

Just before the hammer connected, his body blurred like mist, and he swiftly moved through the air to evade it.

'Right, so Aura isn't your only trick?'

As I adjusted my grip on the hammer, Raven hurriedly shouted, falling into her old habits.

"... Blood Realm Entry! It's a rank-four Ability that temporarily accelerates the body and allows aerial movement!"

I appreciated the thought, but I'd recognized it on sight.

Besides, that explanation was too brief. It wasn't simply acceleration; it increased the Agility stat.

And...

'You left out the reduced Strength and the fact that it makes him incorporeal, so physical damage won't land.'

I smacked my lips as I watched the blood-red mist flit through the air like a gnat.

Now that I had the Demon Crusher, I'd hoped to finally enjoy landing a solid hit.

'As long as he has that, I'll save myself the trouble and leave the damage to the others.'

It was a shame I couldn't finish him with my own hands, but I wasn't going to be stubborn about it. Teamwork was a tank's most basic requirement, after all.

「Erwin Fornacci de Tersia has cast [Elemental Synthesis].」

Fire, water, wind, earth—and darkness, which had become Erwin's primary element after she contracted with the Spirit King.

Arrows combining all five elements flew after the blood-red mist.

But...

'Aura really is broken.'

A swing of his sword shattered all the arrows.

Still, perhaps he'd found those arrows threatening.

FWOOOSH!

The knight, who'd been busy fleeing, turned and flew toward Erwin. Apparently, he'd decided to eliminate the ranged attacker first...

As if I'd let him.

He was going to hurt this watching tank's feelings.

"Erwin, behind me."

As he flew in, Erwin disappeared behind my back.

This was why tanks mattered in the Labyrinth. They were walls the damage dealers could safely hide behind, anytime, anywhere.

WHOOSH!

Even after Erwin vanished behind me, he didn't give up and swung his sword.

It wasn't a pointless repeat attempt. Perhaps he thought the shield was what had blocked his Aura earlier, because this time he targeted the gaps in my armor—the joints where my skin was exposed.

Of course, the result wasn't much different.

SLASH!

It was a slash, not a thrust. I couldn't be completely immune to it, but [Iron Leather] activated, leaving me with nothing more than a shallow cut.

In short, I'd withstood Aura with my bare flesh.

"...!"

His eyes widened at the extraordinary sight.

Oh, come on. Why was he surprised all over again? Hadn't he believed me when I'd said I was stronger?

"Sheter Evon!"

Raven's curse struck while he paused briefly to attack me.

I'd encountered this spell countless times while exploring, so I didn't even have to wonder what it was.

[Materialization].

A rank-eight curse that forcibly removed physical immunity from incorporeal monsters.

Now this was teamwork.

There had been so many frustrating moments in Noark without a mage around.

WHOOOOSH!

The instant his misty body became solid, I brought my hammer down.

Another miss, though, probably because of my low Agility.

Man. I was confident one hit would put him down for good.

"I'll help."

Amelia joined the battle, too. Even now, the double she'd summoned earlier was single-handedly dealing with the corpses charging in from all sides...

"... Who are you people?"

The knight asked us that question despite being too hard-pressed by our fierce combination attacks to counterattack easily. Apparently, he simply had to know.

Naturally, we had no obligation to answer.

"People like you, I would have—"

"WAAAAAAAH!!"

Instead of calling on the ancestral god whose name I could no longer shout, I roared at the top of my lungs and swung my hammer again and again. He swallowed his questions and focused entirely on dodging.

And...

"..."

As the battle continued, he fought back with various skills, but he was quickly forced onto the defensive anyway.

It was inevitable. [Dungeon and Stone] was a team game, and none of our current members were lacking individually, either.

Take Erwin, for starters.

"Erwin, fall back!"

She hid behind me whenever he targeted her, but that didn't mean she was weaker than him. She could create distance using her naturally high Agility and the various utility abilities of her spirits.

Even one-on-one, she at least wouldn't have lost.

The same went for Amelia.

「Amelia Reinweils has cast [Power of the Abyss].」

She could block the Blood Knight's Aura with her own, and she wasn't outclassed physically, either.

Well, Raven was a slightly different story...

"Arhen Heil Tun... Eek!"

She didn't count. Asking a mage to fight a knight one-on-one was unreasonable to begin with.

"Stay right behind me, even if you're scared. He seems determined to target you."

"A-all right."

Erwin and Amelia were skilled enough to look after themselves, so I continued the battle while focusing on protecting Raven.

How much time passed like that?

'... Why isn't he running, even now?'

Little by little, I began to sense something was wrong.

He had to know he'd lose if this continued. Why wasn't he fleeing?

'Is he waiting for my MP to run dry?'

If so, that wasn't bad for us. [Impregnable Fortress] drained MP every second it was active, but that was precisely why I'd deliberately left [Gigantification] off.

The fight would end before I ran out of MP.

"What about Mass Teleportation?"

Feeling uneasy, I checked on our final insurance policy.

"If I start again now, it'll take about five more minutes."

"Start again...?"

"Actually... I stopped chanting earlier..."

So she'd thought we wouldn't need it, since we were dominating the fight.

"Start preparing it now, then. We don't know what might happen."

"... All right."

It happened just as I gave that order.

"Schuitz, magic...!"

Amelia suddenly shouted in alarm.

At the same time...

「Lilanne Vivian has cast the rank-three dark magic [Falling Star].」

A massive black sphere plunged from the sky, tearing through the fog.

'Motherfucker.'

Right. He'd been waiting for his friends.

* * *

The moment the spell activated and I instinctively knew I couldn't avoid it, my whole body went rigid.

I hadn't finished putting together my anti-magic build yet. My anti-Aura setup was more or less complete, but in exchange, my Mana resistance was much lower than before.

And amid all that...

'Looks like she noticed too late, too.'

Raven, who was chanting Mass Teleportation, didn't look capable of stopping it, either.

But...

'What choice do I have? I'll have to take it with my body.'

I made my decision in a split second.

That spell was coming for me, and Erwin and Amelia were some distance away. But if I dodged, Raven, standing right behind me, would never escape unharmed.

That left only one option.

"... Ugh!"

I scooped Raven's tiny body into my arms and dropped to the ground, covering her.

Then...

'Gigantification.'

The instant I enlarged my body, using even [Transcendence]...

["M-Mister...!"]

"Schuitz!!"

The spell plunged down and slammed into my back.

KABOOOOOOOM!

First came an impact that felt like it would shatter my spine.

Then a reverberation that churned my insides traveled through my bones and muscles, and a tingling sensation bloomed in my blood as though electricity were coursing through it.

Tsk. Was this because I didn't have the Corpse Golem anymore?

Why did it hurt so damn much?

"Uh..."

As I involuntarily grimaced at the unbearable pain, a voice came from below me.

"H-how... even [Gigantification]...?"

Well, was the jig up now?

This was exactly why I'd been holding off on [Gigantification]. Unlike [Swing], which had almost no visual effects, this was obvious the moment I used it.

"You couldn't be..."

Come on. Now wasn't the time.

"Let's talk... later."

As soon as the shock coursing through my back subsided, I hurriedly got to my feet.

CLATTER!

Something fell from my back: fragments of my utterly demolished armor.

And...

'Ugh, I'm dizzy.'

My vision was hazy. Not because of fog, but smoke.

Smoke rising from my own body.

HISSSSS!

Wow. How long had it been since my whole body had been wrecked this badly?

Even as I straightened up, every joint screamed in protest.

Tsk. Getting more dramatic by the day.

'Been a while since I was in crispy-outside, juicy-inside mode.'

Forcing myself to think lightly, I stood fully upright, set Raven down, and sent her behind me.

Was that when she finally got a proper look at me?

"Your... b-b-back...!"

What about my back? Finish the sentence, would you?

As I was thinking that, Amelia came up beside me and examined it in her place.

"I think you're better off not hearing what it looks like."

"... That bad?"

"Yes. It's a wonder you're standing at all."

Ah. Uh. Hmm...

Well, in that case.

"... Never mind. Just pour a potion on it."

"A potion... I've already poured one on."

Huh? I hadn't felt anything at all.

Oh, had my back gone completely numb?

'Huh. Come to think of it, I don't think it's been hurting for a while...'

Taking that as at least one positive, I looked ahead.

The first thing I saw was the Blood Knight standing a good distance away. He was a wreck after getting beaten on four-to-one.

Though from what I'd heard, he was in much better shape than me.

Anyway, that wasn't what mattered.

"Gramps, why'd you go and push yourself alone? You scared me so much when Necrapethor told me!"

A woman in robes stood beside the Blood Knight. Given the staff she was holding, she looked like a mage...

Was she the one who'd cast that spell, then?

"Oh! Hello! I have no idea how you survived that, but it's lovely to meet you!"

Noticing my gaze, the woman gave me a cheerful wave.

Erwin began trembling.

"Erwin, I'm fine. Don't let her provoke you."

Still worried despite saying that, I caught Erwin by the wrist and pulled her to my side before asking Amelia,

"Anyway, Emily, who's that woman?"

"The Screaming Witch, Lilanne Vivian."

Oh, so that was her. First time I'd seen her in person.

"Then who's the man beside her?"

I shifted my gaze next to the woman, and Amelia immediately answered again.

"The Lighthouse Keeper. His name is unknown."

Ha. This bastard was famous, too.

One of the few support-type Ability users in Orculus, wasn't he?

"And next to him..."

"That's enough. I know who he is."

I cut Amelia off and shifted my gaze.

The moment our eyes met, I saw his eyes curve into crescents through the gaps in his mask.

"Well! Are the numbers a little more even now, Mr. Knockoff?"

The Corpse Collector, Aveth Necrapethor.

For fuck's sake. Why did this bastard have to be involved in everything?