Chapter 69 I'Ve Been Left Behind!!
"――Put on your clothes, quick!!!"
I realized it when Fiona yelled at me as I jumped high into the air.
Wait, I was completely naked.
The reason was simple. I had to use [Dragon Scale] to block Nord's preemptive attack with [Divine Thunder Spear].
[Aura Armor] may be a simple combat technique, but it's impossible to maintain it while deploying [Dragon Scale] in 2 seconds from underneath my clothes. I had to deploy [Dragon Scale] directly on my bare skin.
As I explained before, deploying [Dragon Scale] from underneath my clothes is a bit tricky. In that extreme situation, I didn't have the luxury to worry about my clothes.
So, the clothes that came into contact with [Dragon Scale] were blown away, and [Divine Thunder Spear] incinerated them.
At least, I managed to protect my Storage Ring, so it was a close call.
Luckily, I had a change of clothes inside the ring――but.
"There's no time to change clothes!!"
I retorted back at Fiona and kicked off the air.
My unique battle technique――[Skywalk Rapid Flash].
Thunder Magic――[Thunderclap].
In the instant before, several thick lightning bolts passed through the space where I was, making a loud cracking sound that shook my entire body.
Unlike [Divine Thunder Spear], [Thunderclap] is a Thunder Magic that burns a wide area of space with lightning. If I had tried to conserve my aura and dodge with [Skywalk], I would have definitely become lightning bait.
I can't afford to let my guard down for even a moment.
Changing clothes is now a luxury I can't afford.
So, I reluctantly gave up on changing and decided to continue the battle as is.
I repeated [Skywalk Rapid Flash], moving at high speed through the air while changing my direction unpredictably to avoid becoming Nord's target.
As I did so, I observed Nord, who had gotten back up, once again.
"As expected, the wound from earlier has closed up..."
Until just a moment ago, Nord's body had been as white as a statue. But now, without making a sound, it's changing color. His entire skin has turned jet black, and unique gray tribal tattoos have appeared all over his body, on his arms, legs, chest, and everywhere else.
And his golden eyes remain the same, but the whites of his eyes have turned a deep, blood-like crimson.
It's an intimidating, demonic appearance that sends shivers down one spine.
Considering he's become a Unique Individual, this kind of physical variation was expected. At least he hasn't transformed into a monster, so that's a relief.
So the problem is――
"What kind of monster ability is this? ...It can't be a human skill, right?"
This is the ability Nord acquired after becoming a Unique Individual.
While it's unknown what kind of ability he's gained, I can make some predictions based on the types of monsters living in the [God's Remains Labyrinth].
And considering Nord's original abilities, it's likely he won't rely too much on diverse abilities.
That's because Nord's own abilities are already incredibly powerful, so he doesn't need to rely on other abilities.
Among those abilities is one that allows him to circulate aura around his body, greatly increasing his skin's strength.
The transformed Nord, now with a jet-black intimidating appearance, seems to be circulating aura around his entire body, as if preparing for the next attack.
Not only that, but he's also widened his stance, lowered his hips, and is bracing himself for the next blow――no, it's more than that. His entire body is now protected by a thick aura armor, and he's even driven aura stakes into the ground from his feet.
It's like a Shield Knight's skill. Monsters like the Skeleton Knights from the "Underworld Floor" use abilities like this, but if he can absorb human skills by devouring humans, then he's essentially got a [Fortress] with [Aura Armor].
It seems he's really taken a liking to being blown away.
It's definitely tough to blow him away like before, considering how solid his defense is.
But――,
"I won't let you get away with this!!"
Phase one of the operation.
My role is to stall Nord.
If Garon and the other shield warriors surround him before I can move freely, we'll be wiped out one by one. My first job is to prevent that.
Thunder. Lightning. Flash.
Nord seems to have given up on precision aiming at me, who's moving around in the air. He's using [Thunderclap] to scatter thunderbolts over a wide area, trying to take me down like a pesky insect flying around him.
I dodged that while charging towards Nord with my sword.
His current defense is ridiculously tough. I need an ultimate technique-level attack to cut through his sturdy aura armor and robust skin.
But that's a story for sword attacks.
My unique sword technique, combined technique [Giant Flying Blade]――variation [Giant Spear Heavy Fang].
The massive aura released from the sword's trajectory has transformed into a gigantic spear, not a blade.
The heavy, jet-black spear imbued with gravity is flying towards Nord.
Originally, aura doesn't have weight, but that's the characteristic of gravity attribute.
The gigantic spear falling from the sky accelerates further with its own weight, flying towards Nord at high speed. He's so confident in his defense that he doesn't even try to dodge. As a result, his face is once again painted with shock.
"~~~~!!?"
A loud, heavy scream echoes.
The jet-black spear pierces Nord's abdomen from a diagonal angle, pinning him to the ground like a massive stake.
"Hah, you got careless...!!"
If it's a spear instead of a blade, its penetration power increases.
Moreover, the attack empowered by gravity attribute can even pierce through Nord's absurdly large aura-protected body.
However, for Nord, who's wary of being blown away by the shock rather than the damage from the attack, this might not be a problem――or so I thought.
But in the next instant, he notices something's off and his face turns pale with anxiety.
Carelessness, that's what it is.
If he's on guard against being blown away, it doesn't matter how much damage he take from my attacks. After all, he can heal instantly from any injury. So, Nord didn't like being restricted in his movements due to his injuries, no matter how minor.
"What a shame! It doesn't disappear easily!!"
The massive spear that pinned Nord to the ground.
Needless to say, this spear is made of aura, and objects made of aura are weak against external impacts. I mean, unless it's an aura sword or a specific skill, aura separated from a caster can't last long.
In other words, it would normally disappear quickly.
But the aura imbued with the "Black-White" attribute has a unique property that's different from the norm.
Even if it's just temporary, gaining "weight" makes its existence stable, but I don't know the exact theory behind it. Anyway, the aura structure doesn't break down in a short time, and it's also resistant to external impacts.
In other words, the black spear has the strength of a real spear and even more weight than that.
And this property is the biggest reason why I decided to use "Black-White" to defeat Nord.
But――
"Ah, I'll do it anyway...!!"
The massive spear I released, [Heavy Spear Fang], was long and deeply embedded in the ground. It's not easy to pull it out myself.
Nord, who realized he couldn't pull out the spear piercing his abdomen, grasped the spear's handle with both hands the next instant.
And from both hands, he poured an electrifying amount of thunderous power into the spear.
Of course, that thunder would also burn Nord's body from the inside out. His flesh would burn, his blood would boil, and his skin would tear. But for Nord, that level of damage wouldn't be a problem. He could heal instantly.
On the other hand, the spear didn't fare well.
No matter how strong it was against external impacts, there's a limit to its endurance. It couldn't withstand Nord's incredibly powerful Thunder Magic.
The black spear lost its color and dispersed into countless particles of light, disappearing――
"――Here comes the next one!!"
In an instant, I swung my sword again.
My unique sword technique――[Giant Spear Heavy Fang]
When Nord releases the first spear's restraint, without hesitation, a second spear pierced him, pinning him to the ground.
Even if Thunder Magic tries to erase the spear again, I'll keep pinning him to the ground with my spear, restricting his movements. That's my job――,
"Damn it, you've already adapted to this...!!"
Still, the special body Nord, as expected, has high intelligence.
Thunder Magic――[Thunder Cloak]
He stopped using the spear to channel lightning and instead began to envelop his entire body with it.
[Thunder Cloak] originally includes a technique that prevents the caster from taking damage from their own magic, by blocking the effects of lightning on themselves. However, this doesn't include internal damage. The lightning flowing into his body through the spear is still dealing damage to him, but he no longer needs to hold the spear.
The lightning enveloping his body naturally flows into the spear, dealing damage and disrupting the structure of his aura.
And on top of that――,
"You chose to dodge instead of defend..."
Nord released his [Aura Armor] and [Fortress] and began moving as soon as the spear disappeared due to [Thunder Cloak].
It seems he's learned that dodging is better than defending against our attacks.
"Bastard...!!"
However, his movements aren't fast enough to avoid [Giant Spear Heavy Fang], and there's a few-second time lag before the spear disappears. It's more than enough time to prepare the next spear.
I kept firing [Giant Spear Heavy Fang], keeping him pinned down.
Now, there are no attacks from Nord, and I'm the only one attacking. However, this doesn't mean I have the upper hand.
I flew through the air using [Skywalk Rapid Flash] and repeatedly fired [Giant Spear Heavy Fang] at Nord below.
But he increased the amount of lightning he was enveloped in using [Thunder Cloak], shortening the time it took for the spear to disappear.
The spear would pierce and disappear in under 2 seconds, and eventually, it would disappear in less than 1 second, with an incredible amount of lightning enveloping him. He didn't counterattack, but the golden eyes staring at me from below were filled with anger and pressure.
――[Thunder Cloak][Thunder Cloak][Thunder Cloak][Thunder Cloak][Thunder Cloak]
When he overlap [Thunder Cloak] on myself, the time he can be restrained by the spear decreases. It's almost there, the spear is about to break through his body before it could pierce his body.
At that moment, he'll crush that annoying insect with a burning gaze that seems to say, "I'll show you my wrath!"
Nord's response is correct.
In reality, if things continue like this, it's certain to happen. As the time he can be restrained by the spear decreases, my preparation time for techniques also decreases, and I'm caught in a vicious cycle where the amount of aura I can accumulate decreases.
And finally, that moment arrived.
The [Giant Spear Heavy Fang] I released didn't pierce through the enemy's body, but was instead dispelled by the thunder surrounding him. In response, he thrusts his palm towards me.
Did he get angry and lose his cool, or something? He instantly counterattacked.
Thunder Magic――[Thunderclap]
The thunder released from his palm rushed towards me――――but suddenly bent downwards in an unnatural curve.
Shield Skill――[Magic Absorb]
The several bolts of thunder that bent downwards dispersed and fell towards the 12 shield warriors standing around Nord, forming a shield around them at a distance of about 50 meters (≈164 feet).
Among them was Garon Gasterk, leading the Restraint Squad. The 12 shield warriors.
Even in this freezing Snowfield Floor, they wore their heavy armor and massive shields, using a shield skill that forcibly gathered released magic attacks towards themselves.
It's not like saying "Absorb" makes the magic harmless. It just redirects the attack's trajectory towards themselves.
So, it's the shield warriors' defensive power that blocks the [Thunderclap].
Shield Skill――[Aura Armor]
Shield Skill――[Aura Shield]
Shield Skill――[Magic Resist]
Garon and the others, who activated multiple skills simultaneously, effortlessly blocked the thunder that branched out into 12 paths, without even flinching.
No matter how much I mimic shield skills, I still can't match the real deal.
When it comes to defending against enemy attacks, there's no one better than a shield warrior.
"Unexpectedly, you took the bait so easily...!!"
I spent a sufficient amount of time in mid-air, pouring my aura into "Black-White" while gazing down at Nord below.
The way Nord countered my attack was indeed correct. However, that was only applicable if I were alone.
While Nord was fighting me, the members of Garon's Restraint Squad were closing in on Nord and surrounding it.
Furthermore, I wasn't just flying around aimlessly in mid-air. It's more effective to strike from above with [Giant Spear Heavy Fang], and it was also to prevent Garon's group from getting close to Nord from the ground.
Not only did I divert his attention, but as long as he was attacking me in mid-air, there was no risk of Garon's group getting hit by stray bullets.
During the time I was holding them off, Garon's group managed to complete their encirclement, that's how it was.
"Here it comes, the bonus!!"
I swung my sword and fired off the jet-black giant spear.
Earlier, it was easily deflected, but this time, it pierced through Nord without being deflected and successfully pinned it to the ground again.
It was a single, powerful blow infused with a lot of aura. I still had a few seconds left.
In that time, I kicked off the air and moved towards the ground.
The one waiting for me was――,
"――Garon!!"
I landed roughly, kicking up snow, and gave a brief shout to Garon Gasterk, the leader of the ≪Iron Wall Alliance≫ and commander of the Restraint Squad.
"Count on you!!"
So far, everything was going according to plan. It could be conveyed in just one word.
As expected, Garon turned around, his face stern, and gave a strong nod.
"I've got it!!"
From here on, I wouldn't be able to join the encirclement for several dozen seconds.
During that time, Garon's group had to completely hold off Nord's attacks without letting them through to me. Just how difficult that was, I, who had actually fought Nord, knew better than anyone.
Still, I had no doubts that Garon's group would do it.
I didn't feel even a hint of anxiety, and with [Rapid Flash], I leaped back into the air.
Behind me, Garon was shouting something, perhaps a cheer for his comrades.
"――No way, why are you naked?!?!"
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