Chapter 216 Preliminary Test
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Having been interrupted just as I had steeled myself for a desperate end, I’d let my guard down more than I cared to admit.
But the situation had only marginally improved from a total catastrophe, and I forced strength back into my trembling legs.
To begin with, the girl in black was clearly a scout, given her light equipment.
That much was obvious from the fact that she’d detected the Isolation Barrier¹ concealing this assassination plot.
Her skills were likely focused on detection or something similar, and even if she had a few combat tricks up her sleeve, I couldn’t imagine her holding her own against a monster like Arman.
I had no idea which noble house had dispatched her, but if she possessed both the scouting prowess to find us and the martial might to trade blows with Arman, her name would already be famous.
Therefore, if I were to make use of her speed, I realized I would have to continue acting as Arman’s primary target.
With our retreat cut off by the barrier, we had to fight as a pair; otherwise, this unexpected help would be for naught, and she’d fail her master’s orders.
”Pardon the late introduction, but am I correct in assuming you are Roeni-dono?”
”Yes. You have my thanks for the assistance,” I replied.
Hearing her ask my name confirmed it – she wasn’t just some wandering warrior who happened to be passing by.
Naturally, I didn’t demand her identity in return.
I couldn’t risk Arman – who I still intended to drive away – overhearing which house employed such a reliable asset.
I dropped into a low stance, preparing to meet that massive sword again.
But then, the girl did the unthinkable; instead of taking the flank as I’d expected, she stepped out right in front of the attacker, completely exposed.
”W-wait…!”
”What do you think you’re doing?” Arman growled.
Looking closer, she was completely unarmed.
She had a masterfully crafted short blade tucked into her belt, yet she didn’t even reach for it as she walked into the greatsword’s reach without a hint of fear.
I tried to tell myself she had a plan, but as she continued to simply walk forward, a strangled scream caught in my throat.
I saw Arman’s blade twitch.
”Hmph!”
Vwoom!
The air itself seemed to groan as the massive blade tore through it.
Yet, in that same heartbeat, the shrill screech of scraping metal echoed, and she lunged inside the arc of the greatsword in a flash.
”Too fast…!”
”Wh-what?!” yelled Arman.
His shock was understandable; she hadn’t just dodged, but had somehow manifested an unfamiliar dagger with a tip narrowed like a needle.
That pitch-black blade, dark enough to vanish into the night, was now buried deep in the chest plate of the heavy armor the Marquis had surely provided, aimed directly at his heart.
”As expected, your defenses are quite robust. It seems a simple puncture isn’t enough to reach the heart through this.”
”Gugh… Aaargh!”
Could a blade truly pierce through armor reinforced by Rigid Body²?
The girl herself claimed it hadn’t been fatal, but I hadn’t seen Arman’s face twist in such agony in a long time.
(With that dagger, she might actually be able to wound him…)
As if responding to my thought, Arman swung again.
Desperate to eliminate the girl, he unleashed a heavy two-stage strike.
He intentionally pulled the first swing to bait a dodge, and just as the girl’s balance seemed to shift, he followed through with a massive horizontal cleave.
But the moment the blade should have hit, the girl’s body distorted like a black heat haze, and a second later, she was standing exactly where the greatsword had just passed.
”Wh—gh…!”
A sharp, metallic clink followed.
Arman’s expression shifted from shock to pure torment as he instinctively clutched his hand.
The armor protecting his thumb had been shorn away, exposing the raw skin beneath.
Crimson droplets began to hit the stone – a clear, undeniable wound.
”Hmm. I was hoping to take the thumb, but it seems I couldn’t even sever the tendon.”
”You…! A cursed evasion skill and a dagger specialized for piercing? Impressive, but a blade that sharp can’t possibly hold its edge for long!”
The second dagger was already in her hand, while the first remained lodged deep in Arman’s chest.
Arman took this as proof that the weapons were disposable, roaring that once he forced her to use up her hidden stash, his victory was guaranteed.
However, Concentration³ allowed me to see the world moving in slow motion, revealing a different truth.
Arman, blinded by his own power and the belief that he was the strongest on the field, couldn’t see it.
He assumed any movement he couldn’t track was the result of a skill.
But as the strikes rained down, the girl used the absolute minimum movement necessary, sticking to the greatsword’s shadow as she flowed around it.
If a skill were assisting her, there would be some unnatural hitch in her movements, yet her actions were perfectly fluid and devastatingly fast.
The kind of movement I could only achieve through the hyper-focus of Concentration, she was performing with even greater precision at normal speed.
”In that case, I should settle this quickly. If I can draw blood, I can certainly take an eye.”
”Grr… Try it if you dare!” shouted Arman.
Focused on the second dagger, Arman didn’t notice the first one hit the ground and dissolve into a dark mist.
(That black dagger… it’s part of her skill!)
She had been unarmed when she first approached to disguise her ability to manifest weapons at will.
(I can’t even fault her for acting on her own.)
Whether through magic or a physical skill, the ability to manifest matter is rare.
To create a blade with that kind of sharpness and durability on a whim… this might be a unique, one-of-a-kind skill.
If word of such a power got out, she’d be hounded for the rest of her life.
To use it effectively, she had to play the unarmed girl to bait an opening or feign being out of weapons.
For an ally, not knowing her deck could lead to a fatal lapse in coordination, requiring either absolute trust or solo action.
And unfortunately, right now, I was a liability, not an ally.
(If I pry too much, she might just leave me behind…)
The Princess’s Faction was a tight-knit group, which is likely why they’d sent someone this capable so quickly.
Probing into her secrets would be a slap in the face to that goodwill.
To the noble who employed her, keeping her secrets safe was far more important than a newcomer’s life.
To repay this debt, the best I could do was stay back, stay alert, and watch.
”What’s the matter?! Everyone I fight tries to go for the vitals once they realize they can’t pierce me! I’m long used to defending my weak spots!”
”Shouldn’t you be more worried about the clock? You need to finish us before the Isolation Barrier expires. If this lukewarm offense is your best, I could dodge you until tomorrow night without breaking a sweat.”
The fight had become a war of attrition.
Both sides had plenty of stamina left, but while one could only graze skin, the other found all his attacks meeting empty air.
The girl was playing it safe, wary of a hidden trump card while she bled the clock.
Arman, on the other hand, was convinced she’d run out of daggers or slip up eventually, trying to provoke her into a reckless move.
”Ha! Look at that! You can’t even scratch me anymore! What happened to taking my eyes?! You can’t even reach them, can you?!”
”Perhaps. But tell me… whatever made you think I only had two daggers?”
After another flurry of blows, the girl slammed a dagger into his chest plate again before leaping back out of range.
Arman, now too pained even to scream, watched as she reached into her sleeve and produced a third blade.
”Gh—! How many do you have?!”
”Do you really think I’d tell you? If you have a trick left, I suggest you show it before the fourth comes out.”
She wasn’t just fighting a war of endurance; she was breaking his mind.
It looked like a stalemate, but she was imposing a set of rules on him and then moving the goalposts.
Despite the terrible odds, Arman stubbornly kept charging in, trying to end it with brute force.
”‘—That makes five. You should probably start preparing yourself to go home in nothing but your skin.’”
”Daaaaamn you!!” Arman roared.
She wasn’t even aiming for his vitals anymore; his once-pristine armor was being shredded by those impossibly sharp blades.
Worst of all, the girl wasn’t even out of breath.
At this rate, by the time the barrier fell, Arman would be literally stripped bare.
For a man who had sold his soul to be a lapdog, failing his mission was the ultimate disgrace.
Yet, even as more daggers appeared, Arman didn’t change his tactics.
(Is he really out of options?)
I couldn’t tell if the girl thought the same, but she brandished a new dagger and lunged at the giant again.
”Dammit… Dammit all— Huh?”
It happened during the seventh dagger.
Arman suddenly dropped his sword, the massive slab of metal hitting the cobblestones with a bone-shaking thud.
He doubled over to grab it, but his dominant arm just hung there, limp and useless.
”Guh…?! Ah… AAAAAAHH!”
A wave of agony seemed to hit him all at once, and he clutched his dead arm, shaking.
To his credit, seeing the dagger pointed at him, he snatched up his sword with his remaining hand and leaped back to create distance.
”Did she… did she actually cut through?” I whispered.
”Wh-what did you do?!” Arman screamed.
”It seems you don’t have anything else hidden in your armor. And there are no more interesting magic stones left in this pouch, either.”
In the girl’s hand was a small tool pouch that had been attached to his belt.
She tossed it over a nearby garden wall and let her dagger vanish into mist.
”What… what is that?”
”I have no obligation to answer. I’ve seen through your movements, so I’ve decided there’s no longer any need to keep trading blows. …Roeni-dono. Would you like him dead or captured? It would be a waste to let him go after showing this much of my hand.”
”…! Capture him! He was one of the men who attacked the Princess. We need to make him spit out every crime he’s ever committed!”
Arman’s armor was a wreck – every spot where he might have hidden a trump card had been systematically torn open.
The fact that the girl could cut through Rigid Body was a shock, but her caution was even more impressive.
Since she’d set the stage this perfectly, I had to ask for the capture, no matter how difficult.
The girl in black gave a sharp nod.
Sensing he was cornered, Arman raised his greatsword with one hand and swung it down with everything he had.
The girl didn’t even move to dodge.
The sound of shattering stone echoed through the silent street.
”Wh— Wh-what?!”
”Even with only one arm, you still rely on that heavy slab of metal? It’s almost refreshing, but your technique is a bit too one-note for a killer.”
The girl had caught the blade; a dark haze was wrapped around her arm.
She hadn’t absorbed the impact; she’d simply blocked the edge, the force pulverizing the cobblestones beneath her feet.
As Arman recoiled in horror, she reached for the short blade at her waist.
As she drew the white steel, it was instantly enveloped in that same black mist, vanishing into the darkness of the night.
—
Summary:
Roeni watches as a mysterious black-clad girl dismantles the assassin Arman using summoned daggers and supernatural speed. The battle shifts from a contest of strength to a psychological game of attrition. Arman finds his armor shredded and his dominant arm paralyzed by the girl’s unseen tactics. The confrontation reaches its climax as the girl prepares to capture the now-defenseless assassin
—
Trivia:
- The Marquis provided the armor, implying high-level political backing for the assassination.
- The girl uses the term ‘kunai’ in the raw, though daggers was used in translation.
- Arman’s physical arm is explicitly dripping blood after the thumb armor is shorn.
- Roeni considers that the girl’s skill might be unique and dangerous if publicized
—
Character Insight:
Roeni shifts from desperate resolve to a cautious, observational role, realizing that her interference would only hinder the superior combatant. Arman’s arrogance crumbles into shock and agony as his Rigid Body defense is bypassed.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Arman – A towering, scar‑scarred knight in polished steel armor and a dented helm, cloaked in tattered fabric, wields a greatsword. Once Marina’s loyal escort and the narrator’s closest friend, he was cast out three months ago and now serves Marquis Kimble as an assassin. His Rigid Body skill fortifies his defenses, yet he fights a losing duel against a mysterious scout, driven by a quiet thirst for redemption.
• Roeni – Baroness and wife of Silcro Confianza, former adventurer‑guild receptionist and mentor to Yuuri, runs the family’s labyrinth‑exploration firm with sharp instincts and military‑like discipline. She resembles Lisa from a certain game—neat brown hair, practical, no‑nonsense. Now a protected target of the Princess’s Faction, she wields Concentration, seeing the world in slow motion while watching a high‑stakes battle against an assassin.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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