Chapter 29

This room was occupied by a considerable number of people.

A White Hero.

An Alliance soldier caught by him.

Behind the soldier were two civilians and one soldier who were in a state of despair, just waiting for death to come.

And standing demurely behind the man was a rather old, middle-aged woman.

Judging by her attire and demeanor alone, she had the grace of a wealthy madam from a drama, but the shadow sprawling at her feet was by no means demure.

The room was so dark that it was easy to miss if you didn't focus, but I saw it clearly.

A shadow, extending its arms in all directions like a mythical monster with multiple tentacles, was holding fast to the shadows of the three Alliance members.

That shadow was probably playing the role of preventing the Alliance people from escaping.

It was an authority named Shadow Grasp.

Its evaluation among players was not very good because its disadvantages were as clear as its advantages.

But the most important thing right now was that this woman was also a White Hero.

'Judging by the way he handles elements, that man is at least level 2. That means.... to gain the upper hand, it would be best to neutralize that woman first.'

Even if I couldn't completely neutralize her, I had to at least inflict significant damage before starting the battle.

To do that, what we had to do was wait.

I sent a wait signal to my squad members and stared at the man.

When our eyes met, the man from the White Hero faction grinned.

"...The atmosphere doesn't seem like that of an ordinary soldier. Come to think of it, I heard that the Alliance bastards have been copying our side's Nurturing System and using it in some units recently? Are you them?"

"......"

"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you all mute? There are five of you, but not a single one of you can speak? Hey, Isara."

The man, who expressed his displeasure by frowning as if our lack of response was unsatisfactory, called out to the woman behind him.

Instead of opening her mouth, she slightly bowed her waist and head.

"Capture those guys. If we beat them up after catching them, they'll eventually open their mouths."

This time, too, the woman did not answer.

But I, who had been focused on the woman's shadow from beginning to end, saw it clearly.

The tentacles that had been holding the Alliance soldier and civilians let them go and instead flew towards our group.

I held my sword in a reverse grip.

As expected.

An opportunity came when I waited.

"There's one characteristic of newbies who are lucky enough to have an excellent authority. They can't distinguish between when they should use it and when they shouldn't."

I struck down hard at the right moment.

The sword accurately pierced the stretching tentacle.

"Keoheup!"

The staggering and collapsing woman coughed up blood.

Shadow Grasp.

It was certainly an authority with outstanding effects.

Especially for beginners who had no information about D&K or lacked experience, there were countless cases where they couldn't deal with it properly and were defeated.

But its disadvantages were too great, making it an ill-fated authority that was abandoned even in the mid-ranks, let alone the top ranks.

The biggest disadvantage of Shadow Grasp is that it's possible to subdue the opponent just by attacking the shadow at the right time, as I had just demonstrated.

Furthermore, its speed wasn't so fast that it was impossible to deal with.

Shadow Grasp was an authority that should be used insidiously and meanly so that the opponent wouldn't notice, not an authority to be used openly like now.

Did she really not know it would turn out like this?

She was so surprised that her eyes, looking at me, couldn't find a place to focus and were shaking wildly.

"...What was that?"

The man was the same.

Even if not as much as the woman, he seemed flustered, as if he hadn't expected me to be able to deal with the shadow.

But the surprise was fleeting.

The man smiled brightly.

"This is a first."

"......?"

"Our commander is a very cautious person, so he avoids any battle where victory isn't certain. Ah, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Victory is important. But, it's true that I was disappointed. Just crushing weak guys without a proper fight.... It's a boring and tedious job."

"......"

"So what I'm trying to say is..."

The man let go of the woman he was holding as if throwing her.

There was no movement, as if she was already dead.

The man, who had raised large flames in both hands and then extinguished them, tidied his disheveled collar and said.

"From the White Hero's Brave Unit, I am Agris. That is the name that will guide you to the god of death. Remember it."

I had succeeded in neutralizing the woman, but there was one disappointing part.

His unbroken, high confidence.

Despite it being 5 against 1, the opponent seized the initiative with a performance using the characteristic flamboyance of the fire attribute.

As expected.

Looking at my companions, who were swallowing dryly and frozen stiff, I doubted if they could even exert 50% of their abilities.

'This is not good.'

It didn't seem like this could be resolved by scolding them with words.

I had to show them with actions rather than words.

At the very least, if I didn't show myself being overwhelmed by the opponent, they would pull themselves together to some extent and follow me.

"I am Ryan Kaltz. Did you say Agris? I'll remember the name. It would be a problem if I couldn't remember the name when carving it on your tombstone."

"I hope your skills are as good as your words."

Agris kicked off the ground.

I, too, pulled out the sword I had stuck in the floor and ran straight ahead.

Agris swung his fist.

His bulging, brawny muscles, pulled back with all his might, were starkly visible.

One might think it's just a fist... but one shouldn't compare a hero's fist to that of an ordinary person.

The fists they swing have a level of lethality that is by no means inferior to blades like swords and spears.

'First, I'll block with my shield...'

Kwaang!

"...Crazy."

I had intended to block the enemy's attack with my shield as usual and then follow up with a counterattack.

The moment I took the attack, I realized how foolish I had been to think I could handle a level 2 hero.

I, too, had been running forward and had gained momentum.

But the moment it met that fist, all the momentum vanished, and my arm was pushed back greatly.

Far from swinging my sword to counterattack, doing my best not to fall over was all I could do.

In the first place, the sound wasn't a 'thud' but a 'bang'.

As if I had blocked a cannon, the central part of my shield was ungracefully dented.

"Still, it seems you're not all talk."

Agris, who had laughed again, swung his other fist.

I was prepared for the follow-up attack, so I succeeded in dodging the fist without difficulty by tilting my head back.

His fist only grazed my cheek, but I felt a slight pain and the sensation of liquid flowing.

It was probably my cheek tearing from the wind pressure alone, causing blood to flow.

"Ryan!"

At Lirisa's shout, I quickly dodged.

Agris' eyes widened, and he crossed his arms in front of his head.

The arrow that flew in tore through the skin of Agris' arm and bounced off.

Surprisingly, Lirisa's decisive blow had not pierced his arm but had only created a wound that tore the skin.

It was a moment where I could clearly feel the gap between a level 1 and a level 2.

Lirisa's scream cracked, as if she was incredibly surprised.

"Wh-what kind of person blocks an arrow with their arm?!"

What else could it be?

It's a simple difference in stats.

Still, Lirisa didn't get discouraged and continued to prepare the next arrow.

What was he thinking?

Agris' gaze, which had been blankly staring at the arrow that had failed to hold and had fallen helplessly, turned to Lirisa.

"As expected, the most annoying ones after mages are archers. Usually, Isara would have taken care of it, but since that's not possible..."

Agris lowered his stance.

His eyes, which were staring straight ahead like a track and field athlete waiting for the starting signal of a referee, were blazing as if they held flames.

Unless you were an idiot, there was no way not to know what he was trying to do.

"Byan!"

"Ye-yes!"

"Protect her!"

"Understood!"

Byan's resounding answer and Agris' dash were simultaneous.

I, too, hastily chased after him, but it was difficult to overturn the difference in speed that came from our stats.

Byan blocked him first, and the sword he swung with all his might clashed with Agris' fist.

"Kuaaaah!"

Even though Selina had diligently nurtured him, Byan couldn't withstand a single blow from Agris and was sent flying helplessly like a leaf in a typhoon.

But his courage was not entirely meaningless.

Thanks to Byan's sacrifice, Lirisa secured a safe distance, and I was able to catch up to Agris.

I swung my sword with the intention of splitting his back in half.

Agris turned his body and counterattacked.

The clash of sword and fist.

The power was so great that it made me wonder if he was even human, and I was pushed back a couple of steps.

"Haat!"

With a resounding cry, Sergel's spear pierced Agris' shoulder, and Latia's sword, which had approached silently like an assassin, aimed for his empty side.

No matter how much of a level 2 hero he was, it was impossible to block or evade all the attacks coming from all directions simultaneously.

On top of that, with Lirisa's arrow support, small scratches began to increase all over his body.

Though they were only at the level of scratches.

But the important thing was that we were unilaterally pushing him back.

The leisurely smile on his lips disappeared, and displeasure and impatience slowly began to creep in.

"You weaklings seem to think you're something, but I'll show you the difference between level 1 and level 2!"

And undisguisable anger resided in his two eyes.

His two fists were engulfed in flames.

While my companions flinched at the dazzling effect that stole their attention, Agris' fist was aimed at me.

It seemed he had judged that I was the biggest hindrance.

I don't know if I should call this an honor or just bad luck.

For now, I raised my shield to block the attack.

I narrowed my eyes and held my breath.

The impact on the shield.

And.

Whoosh!

Hot flames raged as if exploding.

'Hot...'

It felt as if all the skin on the arm holding the shield was melting.

They say the most terrible pain in the world is being burned alive.

I think I understand why they say that.

It's painful.

But at the same time, I had this thought.

'Still, it's bearable.'

Was it because it was an element used by a level 2 hero?

It wasn't as threatening as I had worried.

If anything, the flames used by that mage who had died at my hands before were much hotter and more threatening.

The moment I judged that it was doable, my body moved on its own.

The sword in my right hand was shot, aiming for Agris' heart.

"......!"

He retreated as if fleeing.

But his reaction was too late.

The tip of the sword dug quite deeply into Agris' chest.

It was the first effective blow our Unit 917 had landed.

"Kuaaaah!"

He let out a painful scream, clutched the wound, and sank to his knees.

"What are you?"

Looking at him, a smile naturally formed on my lips.

This is unexpected.

"Seeing as you called us toys and all, I thought you were a veteran who had been through all sorts of things, but now I see you were a greenhouse flower?"