NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 172
172. I’m Counting On You
“You can alternate between strength and speed—but you can’t manifest both forms ‘simultaneously,’ can you?”
Gyrasvrim’s sword howled.
Luca parried the greatsword, deflecting it.
“Naive.”
Immediately after, a coiled tail struck her down.
“Wha—!?”
The Demon General let out a confused cry.
The figure of Luca, struck by the tail, blurred and vanished.
It seemed she had created a clone to evade the attack.
“That was close.”
“Barely dodged it, huh? But in your strength-focused form, you won’t be able to keep up with my speed.”
Gyrasvrim readied his sword again.
“On the other hand, in your speed-focused form, you lack destructive power. As a dragon warrior now, I can pinpoint the moment you switch forms and respond accordingly…”
He’s right.
Neither strength nor speed alone can defeat Gyrasvrim.
What are you planning, Luca…?
“True. But—”
Her figure blurred once more as she spoke.
A dazzling red light erupted from the sword in her hand—,
“I don’t recall saying I couldn’t handle them simultaneously.”
“You…!?”
The Demon General, sensing the change in her presence, let out a bewildered cry.
“Defeat made me stronger. To win next time—I kept honing my strength. I kept wishing to grow stronger.”
Luca merged the two halves of Forsgreed back into one.
Not a dual blade, nor a greatsword, but a standard longsword.
“And—I reached it. This realm. Force Greed, [Origin Form].”
A rainbow-colored radiance spilled from the longsword, enveloping its blade.
“What matters is imagining it. Defining the shape of strength within yourself and embodying that thought. That’s what Greed once taught me.”
“What is this presence…!?”
Gyrasvrim groaned.
“The power of Vim Force and Greed manifesting simultaneously…!? A human reaching such a level—”
“I can only use it for an instant. Once a day is the limit. But for that one moment, by pouring all my physical strength, mental energy, and the power of my factor into it—this technique becomes possible.”
As she spoke, Luca’s body transformed into light.
Moving at sub-light speed, she dashed forward, creating clones one after another.
The original and the clones—seventeen Lucas in total, all raising their swords simultaneously.
The rainbow radiance enveloping the blade mixed with a crimson glow.
“Ultimate Technique, [Blast Requiem].”
A strike of maximum destructive power, amplified by the force of a maximum-speed charge.
Seventeen simultaneous attacks from every direction, leaving no blind spot.
“Tch…!”
Gyrasvrim swung his greatsword upward to intercept.
With a sharp crack, the sword shattered halfway.
The relentless barrage of red and rainbow slashes struck Gyrasvrim, exploding upon impact—.
“…Impressive.”
The fallen Gyrasvrim looked up at Luca.
The dragon mask cracked, revealing the face of a fierce warrior beneath.
“A body that once died… returned to this world in disgrace… but, heh, I’m satisfied. To face a strong opponent like you, this time I can meet my end properly.”
His smiling face was filled with contentment.
“Luca Abasta—strong one. I shall carve your name into the depths of my soul… and now… I shall… depart…”
“I’ll carve yours too. The name of a strong demon warrior.”
Luca held her sword and bowed to the Demon General.
“It was… fun…”
With a serene smile, Gyrasvrim’s body turned into countless particles of black snow, vanishing into the wind—.
“Gyrasvrim was defeated…!?”
Dialva and Zarea exclaimed in shock.
“Wow. Impressive, Luca.”
Sarome smiled.
Ah, she’s truly grown stronger.
The fighting spirit to defeat an opponent she once lost to.
The will and desire to surpass her former self.
Her way of fighting conveyed all of that intensely.
Just watching it made my chest burn with emotion.
“I’m pretty exhausted… so I’ll take a little break…”
With that, Luca crouched down behind me.
Her breathing was ragged.
No doubt, the one-on-one duel with Gyrasvrim had taken its toll.
“Take it easy. We’ll handle the rest.”
Sarome stepped forward with a carefree smile.
“I’m not a ‘warrior’ like Luca, after all. I don’t care for one-on-one duels. Haruto, I’ll need your support.”
She turned her gaze to the tattered-robed, curse-like demon.
Dialva.
“He seems like an easy target. For me—for me, that is.”
Her tone shifted subtly, and the aura around her filled with the killing intent of an assassin.
“He’s different from Gyrasvrim, relying more on magic and curses. So—”
I whispered a plan to Sarome.
“Yeah, that works.”
She nodded at the proposed strategy.
“I’ll handle the defense. You focus on the attack.”
“Thanks. I’m counting on you… mmm.”
Sarome leaned in and brushed her lips against mine in a fleeting kiss.
“Wha…!? S-Sarome…?”
The sweet, melting sensation felt out of place on the battlefield, making my heart skip a beat.
“Alright, I’m off.”
With a mischievous grin, Sarome dashed forward.
Her dancer-clad figure blurred like a heat haze.
“H-Hey! What are you doing, taking advantage of the chaos like that, Sarome!?”
Behind me, Lilith let out a shriek.
“…That’s a bit unfair.”
“…I’m a little jealous.”
For some reason, Luca and Alice also voiced their thoughts.
N-No, this is the battlefield.
Sarome probably just did that to ease her own tension.
…Probably.
I refocused and concentrated on activating my skills.
It’s the same method as before.
In this space, defensive skills are basically auto-activated.
I overlay my will on top of that, rearranging the activation patterns and order—coordinated defense.
How the enemy perceives my skills.
How they judge them.
That will decide the outcome—.
“Elze-style assassination technique Secret Method—[Dragon’s Breath].”
Sarome controlled her presence, intermittently creating clones as she closed in on Dialva.
“[Fioroute].”
Dialva moved through space, skillfully maintaining distance.
This battle is fundamentally about controlling the distance.
Dialva, who specializes in long-range attacks, wants to keep his distance.
Sarome, on the other hand, wants to close in and finish it with a single strike.
“Rot… melt away… be cursed, writhe, suffer…”
Dialva scattered black and purple mist—likely poison or curses—but all of it was repelled and dispersed by the golden radiance that automatically appeared.
“Not just simple destruction, but even all poisons and curses are blocked… troublesome.”
Clicking his tongue, the Demon General leaped through space again.
Sarome, erasing her presence and closing in from a blind spot, and Dialva, sensing it and moving through space.
This back-and-forth continued for a while—,
“[Fioroute].”
Dialva’s figure vanished.
Immediately after, he appeared behind Sarome.
—No, that’s not it.
That was a feint.
He reappeared in front of Sarome, then to her right, then her left—spamming instantaneous movements to confuse her.
I couldn’t keep up with his movements either.
“If you can’t tell where the attack is coming from, you shouldn’t be able to time your defenses—well, this is the end.”
The attack launched from Sarome’s blind spot at a moment I couldn’t react was, however,
Bzzzt!
Repelled with a sparking sound, scattering into mist.
Blocked by the auto-activated defensive barrier, Armor Phase.
“You reacted to that timing…!?”
No, there’s no need to react.
My defense automatically guards what I want to protect.
“Thanks, Haruto. I’ll take it from here!”
Taking advantage of Dialva’s surprise, Sarome closed the distance in an instant and slashed with her knife.
Blue blood splattered spectacularly.