Does that even count as a sword? I broke his swords! Where the hell did he pull that from?

  Lodged into the ground, at the spot where I just was, was a massive sword. Like, really massive. One of those that are only possible in anime and games. A giant lump of metal shaped vaguely into the shape of a sword. I was not expecting that… Yeah, we’re in the world of a game, so it’s perfectly reasonable here. Still, how the hell can he wield something that big? It doesn’t even fit his neat, classy look.

  Whatever… His terrible fashion sense is none of my business. What worries me more is the fact that the sword appeared out of thin air. “A skill, huh?” Did he summon it? Was it created with magic? I’d love to figure it out, but I gotta hurry. Before he can pull it off the ground. Agility Burst!

  Now! Heart Piercer! There’s no way he can lift the sword up in time to block. I win! I thrust my sword forward, but Armand disappeared. All I saw was a wall right in front of me. “What?!” My blade stabbed into the dry surface and stopped. “Dammit!” I pulled my sword out and jumped back. It was hard to see since it’s dark, but I finally understood what happened after gaining some distance. The wall is… “Magic… Earth magic?” Yes, the wall was nothing more than a barrier slightly larger than a person. It grew from the ground and stretched the floor below as if molded on the spot. Then Armand should be just behind the wall.

  *SMACK!* I heard a loud impact as I realized what was going on. The barrier Armand created cracked and got torn apart by his absurdly large sword. “Ouch!” The earth barrier broke into numerous shards, and the impact sent them flying at me. “Ungh…” I raised my arms to block, but there was no escape. The shards pelted my whole body until they eventually stopped. That was awful…

  It hurt, but the damage was not that bad. I can still move, so I gotta stop him before he can do that again. Shake it off… I took a step forward, still feeling the sting from his attack, and charged him again. He had a cocky look on his face, like someone who had pulled off a successful prank. Try using the wall again then. It’s not gonna be as easy this time.

  A barrier popped up right in front of him, but I was ready for it. I took a step to the side and positioned myself for a Heart Piercer. Armand held his sword behind him, clutching the handle with both hands. It was only for a split second, but I saw the handle glow with blue light. That’s… a charge attack! The light turned red, and the gigantic sword instantly started moving. Forget Heart Piercer! Parrying Strike! He unleashed a vicious 360 slash that even my best defense couldn’t stop. My skill prevented the sword from breaking, but the impact was so strong that it sent me rolling to the ground.

  “Gotcha! How about this next?” I looked for the voice, but he was no longer there. Above me. He jumped after me with that ridiculous sword and went for a leaping attack. There’s no defending against that. Agility Burst! I slid to the side, and the sword opened another crater. I turned with a second activation and rushed him. Before he can recover his sword. This time I’ll hit him. Heart Piercier! “Ughh…”

  “Huh? Go in!” I hit the side of his chest, and it worked… I think… He was bleeding, but that was it. The stab didn’t go past the surface. There was nothing protecting his chest, so why? Why is he so tanky? What the hell am I dealing with here?

  “Get off me!” He finally pulled out his sword and hit me with the side of his giant blade. The weight alone delivered a hard punch and knocked into a nearby wall.

  This is gonna be harder than I thought… He’s resistant, but I managed to damage him. It may take a while, but I just need to wear him down one attack at a time. “Get up! Are you done already?” Armand breaks into a run, dragging his sword along the ground. Arghh… What a pain… *Bang bang bang!* I dumped the whole magazine in his direction, but he was unarmed. Just as I expected… Still, it slowed his charge enough to give me an opening. Time to dump my MP on him!

  Agility Burst, Slash Flurry, Butterfly’s Wings. I gave it everything I had and just started spamming. Skill after skill after skill. He couldn’t retaliate against my speed with his sword. He had to try to grab me or something, but if he did, I’d just get out of the way. I’d get behind and slash, slash, slash! Faster! More! More! More! More Slash Flurry! More Butterfly’s Wings.

  “?!” Did I just…? Let me try that again. I activated Butterfly’s Wings, followed by Slash Flurry. At this level, each Slash Flurry attacks 5 times, but… “10?” That’s 10 slashes! I knew I wasn’t seeing things! I can activate both of them at the same time! This changes everything…

  Death by a thousand cuts, was it? Heheheh… I can get to a thousand in no time! Take this! “ARGH!!!” Every second, from every direction, Armand was getting hit by dozens of slashes. With no way of interrupting me easily, he had to endure my onslaught. He grabbed his sword in a ready position, and the handle started glowing again. This guy… He’s going for a charged slash while I’m attacking him. Can he last long enough to finish it? It’s a race now!

  In a matter of seconds, his whole body was covered in shallow cuts. I could tell I dealt significant damage from the frustrated look on his face. But I was out of time. He finished charging his attack and unleashed a powerful slash. I had plenty of time to get out of the way, but that gave him some time. I tried to get close and continue the onslaught, but he didn’t let me. “No, you don’t!” He raised his hand, and a second later, multiple earth barriers rose from the ground. He completely surrounded himself. There was no way around this time.

  “He’s going for the shard trick again.” While the walls were going up, I caught a glimpse of him charging up for another attack. “There’s no escape.” If he spins now, he’s gonna send shards out in every direction. But if he does that… “He’s gonna hit Ririna!” Agility Burst! I can’t let that happen! I have to finish him off now! He was completely surrounded, except for one spot. Wall artist! The barriers counted as walls, so I ran up in the blink of an eye and got in from above. “Heart Piercer!”

  He should be weakened now! Please! Stop him! “H- how!?” He was in a low stance. His back was turned up, and he turned his head to try and look up. With a thrusting motion, I fell onto him from above and stabbed his back. Deeper! Go! Pierce him! Kill him! “NO!”

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  I poured all my strength into it. Come on… Come on… “GO!”

  “UGHH!” The sword finally pierced his chest. The glow in the handle disappeared, and the magical walls crumbled. “This can’t be! This can’t be… Get off!” He had enough strength left to swipe me off his back with his arm. “How is this possible?” He tried to raise himself up, but fell down. “I was supposed to be the one… The VISS Driver… Almost in my grasp…”

  “What?” VISS Driver? He said that, didn’t he? He’s not moving anymore. Is he dead already? Why did he say that name? Could I get something out of him? Maybe he’s not dead yet. No… That’s not what matters the most right now. I need to get Ririna out of here. The combination of Slash Flurry and Butterfly’s Wings burned through my MP like crazy. I cleared out everyone in the mansion, but they might have incoming reinforcements.

  I shook my head and ran straight for the altar. “Ririna!” She’s unharmed. My fight with Armand caused a lot of destruction. I was worried she might get hit by some debris, but no. She’s fine. Good…

  “Nghh…” Ririna twitched, and her eyes softly opened. “I- Iroha…?” Her voice sounded like she was sleep talking.

  “Ririna! You’re awake! Are you alright? Can you hear me?” I wrapped my hand around her back and lifted her slightly. She was very sluggish and barely reacted to anything.

  “I- is that you, Iroha? There’s no way… Am I still dreaming…?” I shook my head in response with a smile.

  “It’s not a dream, Ririna. I came to save you. Everything’s fine now.”

  “Save… But you’re so far… How can you…? It’s not possible…” Ririna blinked, trying to snap out of her daze, but it wasn’t working. She was more aware now and actually engaged in conversation.

  “Don’t worry about that for now. Let’s get you out of here first. Can you move?” She answered no with her head.

  “I’m very tired right now… Armand… He cast a spell on me… To make me sleep. It should wear off eventually… I’ll be alright. Don’t worry…” She must have seen my expression and smiled to reassure me. This damn cutie… This is not the time for you to be worrying about me.

  “Okay, I’ll carry you out of here then. Just relax. Everything will be fine.” She looked directly at me and smiled back before closing her eyes. Even staying awake was a struggle for her, and I felt her strength fade as she leaned against my arm.

  “Iroha…” She murmured. “Thank you… Even if it’s dream… I’m really happy you came for me… I got to see you one last time…” Then she went back to sleep. You silly girl… It’s not a dream, and this is not the last time you’re gonna see me… This girl…

  All I had to do was lift her and get out of here, but there was something else I had to take care of first. I don’t know if Armand’s dead, but he may have something that will help me make sense of this whole situation. His goals, his plans, anything really. Any information about the VISS Driver and the demons’ society would also be very helpful. But it wasn’t going to be that easy… While I was talking to Ririna, I saw some kind of shadow sneak in through one of the windows on top. And this shadow was going straight for Armand’s body.

  “Who’s there?! What do you think you’re doing sneaking around like that?”

  “Geehh! Y- you noticed me?” A girl with dark blue hair turned in my direction. She had long, messy hair, and her bangs were particularly messy, slipping down to her face. The moonlight illuminated her. She had an expression like that a child caught snacking before dinner. There were eyebags under her eyes, and she had a visible fang. She slumped while averting her gaze. There were no horns on her head, but instead she had a small pair of bat-style wings behind her ears, with a larger pair on her back. “I’m so sorry!” She bowed. “Sorry for making you look at something so unsightly! I- I just need to retrieve something, and I’ll disappear right away! S- someone who’s lower than a bug shouldn’t be noticed at all.”

  “Ehh?” Who the hell is this? Her self-confidence is so low that I feel a kind of affinity with her. Unsightly, though? If we had met under any other situation, I’d be gushing about how cute she is. Is this chick crazy? No, she’s definitely crazy! “How did you get in here?” I raised my sword out of instinct. I’m not about to let any mistakes ruin everything now. She’s wearing some kind of armor. A small, blue, metallic chest plate and a similar-looking short skirt that’s longer on the front and the sides. Honestly, it’s kinda like that ridiculous bikini armor that appears in games. Not like I have much room to talk. I fight with a dress that can stop bullets.

  “Eeek! D- don’t attack me!” She waved her hands in front of her. “I- I’m not here to fight… But I understand. O- of course you want me to die. Who wouldn’t want a nuisance like me to die? Yes, of course…” She touched her index fingers together in front of her with a gloomy expression.

  “No… It’s not like that…” I’m so confused… Who is she? Is she a foe or an ally? I get that she’s nervous. It happens to me a lot. But I was never this bad, was I? “You’re not exactly a nuisance…”

  “Y- y- y- you mean it?! Ghehehehe… You’re so nice! I know you’re just saying that to make me feel better, but I’m so happy!” She spoke enthusiastically and moved in place energetically. Like a sudden burst of energy that she had no idea what to do with. “M- my name is Lythea Heart Kamellia! It’s nice to meet you!” She had a weird smile on her face, but it was kinda charming. Then her energy suddenly vanished.

  “No, wait… Please don’t remember my name. I- it’s disgusting to remember the name of someone like me, I know… A- and… So- sorry! I’m about to do something bad to you… Sorry for making you be nice to me.” She stopped in the middle of her rambling like she had just realized something. “W- wait! I don’t need to hurt you? C- could it be that… y- you’re attracted to me?!” The pitch of voice increased drastically at the end.

  “Attracted?” Am I? Well, I am. She’s a cute girl. She looks like she’s smaller than me, but that’s just because she’s hunched over. She’s a bit crazy, but when you put everything together, she’s my type. Under different circumstances, I’d be the one trying to get close to her. How did she know, though? Was I really that obvious?

  “Yes… I can sense lust… Hehehehe… Lust is good. I don’t have to hurt you… I can just do this.” She pulled her bangs to the side and looked straight at me. Then, her eyes glowed pink for a moment. She let go, and some strands of hair fell back onto her face. “Good good… Please stay there for a moment. I need to bring the man with me…” The girl turned to the side and went over to Armand.

  She wants to take Armand? I can’t let her. “…” What the hell? I can’t move! Her eyes… That’s what that was… Sh- she’s a succubus! It’s so obvious now! The wings, the skimpy outfit, now that she’s turned around, the tail with a heart at the end, sensing lust… The signs were all there… How did I not think of that until now? Her personality threw me off… A succubus is supposed to act more seductively and be confident… Did she hit me with charm? I can’t move because I’m mesmerized…? I should have just attacked her right away.

  “Oh! He’s dead… That’s good…” Good? Is she not with him? Maybe she was here to silence him. I really can’t tell if she’s an enemy. The girl sifted through his pockets and took something with her. “Th- that should be it…” I want that… I need that information. I can’t let her get away that easily! Charm, mesmerize, whatever that’s called, it’s a psychological attack, isn’t it? What’s taking so long? Psychological Attack Resistance. Aren’t you supposed to protect me against these things? Let me move already!

  “Huh? Woah!” I managed to break free and swung my sword down at her location. “The charm didn’t work?” With a flap of her wings, she glided across the floor and avoided my attack. “Heh… Of course, it didn’t… Who’d be attracted to a failure like me? Who’d get aroused by a failure like me? I’m not popular like the others… Of course my charm wouldn’t work… Heheheh… Sorry for getting cocky! Sorry for getting carried away. Sorry for thinking you liked me. I- I didn’t mean to imply you had bad taste.” She looked dead inside as she apologized.

  I’m getting a headache… She’s damn hot! She is, but now’s not the time for this. “I- I could be popular as well… If I had time to play around, I’d be popular as well… B- but I’m not a trashy bimbo… I’m too busy saving the world. Otherwise, I’d be popular too!” She continued rambling, sounding a bit bitter this time around.

  “Stop talking to yourself and hand over what you took from Armand! I wasn’t done with him!” I swung my sword at her, but I was stopped by something.

  “Ah… Th- that’s not something I can do… I don’t want to hurt you, but I have a job to do.” She blocked my sword with something like a needle the size of a javelin. The whole thing was made out of metal. One of the ends was sharp, and the other had a chain attached to it. I knew it… I could tell by her armor. She can fight.

  It wasn’t really my intention to start a fight with her, but at least now I know what’s going on.