Chapter 98: The Desperado's Ability!
"Loki, it looks like I win this time."
Through the divine mirror, Freya saw Torajirou Shiro being sent flying by Ottar's sword, and delight filled her face. At long last, she had seen this irritating man suffer a setback.
If someone took a direct strike from Ottar head-on, even Finn would be heavily injured. Even if Shiro used that strange skill Ottar had mentioned, as long as the healers of her Familia had not fallen, they could wear him down even if they had to spend lives to do it.
Thinking this, Freya turned her head, preparing to mock Loki. However, she suddenly realized that Loki was not showing the panicked expression she had imagined.
Loki had one foot planted on her chair, her elbow resting on her knee while her palm propped up her chin. Seeing Freya look at her, Loki raised a brow and said,
"It should be about time."
"What should be about time?"
Freya's answer was Loki's wicked smile.
"Did I not tell you? He leveled up to Level 5 today."
…
The taste of rust filled his mouth. Shiro spat out the blood in his mouth, took an elixir from his Gift Card, and drank it.
Facing the Freya Familia at full strength, he did not choose to answer Ottar's words. In the next second, Shiro lowered his body and rushed back into the enemy formation like a bolt of lightning.
Before anyone could react, he had already arrived in front of Ottar, and the sword in his hand came slashing down.
Clang—
Naturally, the surprise attack did not succeed. Ottar used the black greatsword he had commissioned to take the blow head-on without dodging, and half of Orario's ground seemed to tremble from the impact.
Yet Ottar, who received the blow from the front, acted as if nothing had happened and swung his right hand fiercely, knocking Shiro's sword aside.
Shiro took a step back. Ignoring his slightly numb arm, he used his left foot as an axis and swung his right leg toward Ottar.
Ottar caught the sweeping leg, but in the next instant, a tremendous force struck his chin and sent him flying backward with his head thrown up.
"That makes us even."
Shiro's body floated in midair, his left leg still held in the kicking posture as he looked at Ottar, who had crashed down and pinned two adventurers who had come to support him beneath his body.
The Gulliver Brothers quickly moved in and surrounded Shiro. The recovered Hedin also took aim at the sky, preventing him from escaping upward.
Ottar wiped the blood from his face, then stepped forward with the Gulliver Brothers to suppress Shiro. At this point, it was no longer time to insist on a fair duel between warriors.
For the sake of his goddess, he could abandon anything.
The lightning-fast battle appeared once again. Trees snapped, the earth split, and the sound of weapons clashing shook the eardrums.
The more they fought, the more shocked Ottar became.
Something was wrong.
The sensation transmitted through his weapon was far too abnormal.
In battle, momentum was strongest at first, weakened the second time, and exhausted by the third. Yet this man before them had been suppressed for so long, and not only did he show no sign of weakening, he was actually growing stronger as the battle continued.
It was almost as if the body from earlier had not been fully under his control.
A terrifying guess appeared in Ottar's mind. He bared his sharp boaz tusks as the corners of his mouth spread.
"Could it be that you are using us to adjust to your body after leveling up?"
The speed and arm strength Shiro displayed while fighting just now were worlds apart from the last time they met. Other than skills and magic, the only thing that could make a person's body grow stronger so rapidly was leveling up.
The moment those words were spoken, the intense battle instantly fell silent. The people who had been surrounding Shiro all stopped attacking and stared at him blankly.
They did not think Ottar would lie for the sake of his pride. In other words, the man before them had displayed this level of combat power while still holding back.
"You actually figured it out."
Shiro was somewhat surprised. He had indeed planned to use this chance to master his body in one go. Otherwise, having to spend several days carefully avoiding making a huge crater in the ground every time he moved would be far too exhausting.
Since Ottar had exposed it, Shiro felt too embarrassed to keep using them as practice.
He sighed and slowly spoke.
"Forget it. I've more or less gotten used to it anyway. If I want Freya to admit defeat from the bottom of her heart, I'll still have to completely suppress all of you."
As Shiro spoke, the aura around him changed.
A fierce chill appeared inside the minds of the Freya Familia members. Pressure like a tsunami crashed toward them, yet their bodies seemed frozen in place. They could not even perform the simple action of moving their feet.
"Don't underestimate us, bastard!!!"
Allen shouted, refusing to believe in this evil. He gathered every bit of strength in his body and prepared to take a step forward.
The instant he stepped out, he saw it.
The image of his limbs and head being cut off by Shiro.
He had no time to think. His survival instinct forcibly pulled his body backward, and for a moment, Allen lost his balance and fell to the ground.
From Ottar and the others' perspective, Allen had simply fallen for no reason.
This absurdly comical scene did not make anyone laugh. Whether it was Ottar or Hedin, they all noticed Allen's deathly pale face.
"Allen?!"
A strange sensation sank deep into Allen's body along with pain. Gritting his teeth, he reached for his neck.
The warm feeling on his hand made Allen understand clearly.
It was blood.
Shiro had wounded him in a way they could not comprehend. If his survival instinct had not dragged his body backward, he would have been beheaded in that instant.
Even after crossing countless lines between life and death, Allen's body was still warning him. If he faced that person, he would die. If he continued forward, there would only be death, with no other choice.
Fear unknowingly drowned the brave warrior. Other than fleeing, even the act of thinking itself had been stripped away.
Because of this strange scene, the members of the Freya Familia did not dare approach. Even a healer with power close to bringing people back from death would have no way to save someone whose head had been cut off.
"We surrender."
Freya's voice appeared over Folkvangr, which was now covered in cracks. The moment she saw Shiro's aura change through the divine mirror, she had rushed over.
Even if the members of her Familia did not know what had happened, she, as a god, had seen it clearly.
Just now, Shiro had twisted this planet's causality with his own will and forcibly engraved the intent to harm onto Allen's body.
Allen surviving was not because his own instinct had saved his life. It was because Shiro had never intended to kill him in the first place.
In the eyes of the gods, an ability capable of reaching that level was already [divine authority]. A group of humans facing someone who possessed divine authority had never had even the slightest chance of victory from the very beginning.
This time, Shiro had only crushed the will of her Familia members. If he had truly moved with killing intent, the moment the Freya Familia members saw him, their heads would have been sent flying high into the air.
Freya looked toward Loki, who had come with her, and raised her pale hand to rub her forehead.
"Loki, you knew from the very beginning, didn't you? This time, I lost."
…
(Don't forget to vote and leave a comment below! :D If possible, share your review to show your support.)
...
Read more than 20 chapters in advance:
patréon.com/U22
(Note: Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.)