The Villainous Aristocrat's Efforts Led to a Genuine Harem - Episode 46

Episode 46

I jumped to dodge the strike that came straight at me. Immediately, the Paladin Hunter rushed in and kicked at me, who had just dodged.

—Fast.

I had confidence in my speed. But the Paladin Hunter was beyond my imagination.

The Paladin Hunter grabbed the spear and at the same time rushed at me in one go.

…That long-range attack it used at the beginning, it doesn’t use it anymore, huh.

Yeah, that’s right. In the main game too, it was the instant death attack always used at the start.

…The protagonists survived it with 1 HP. But if you got hit by something like that here, your body would be split in two.

It kicked off the ground and closed the distance instantly. The strike that came from there was [Saint Break].

Black light gathered at the tip of the spear. It was a strike that swept through a wide area around it.

But I completely read the attack’s range, pulled it in until just before it hit, and then stepped in.

A flash. My Mithril Knife and Gladius slashed the Paladin Hunter’s body. And it immediately retreated.

It was only enough to scratch the sturdy armor. But I had dealt damage. The Paladin Hunter glared at me damply.

I parried the spear with my Mithril Knife and Gladius.

Each strike was heavy. And they came without pause.

One attack grazed my body. It almost blew me away with the shock.

There was no time to flinch at the pain.

Unlike the game, here I could suppress knockback with willpower.

I parried at the last moment while slamming in counter strikes.

Each strike was close, dangerously close. If I misjudged even once, the spear would pierce through me.

“……”

The Paladin Hunter glared at me with a grim aura. Its gaze flickered toward the monsters still fighting.

On the battlefield—humans were pushing forward. That seemed unsatisfactory to the Paladin Hunter.

Was it irritated that things weren’t going as expected—or perhaps not going according to the original history?

I gripped both daggers tightly and kicked the ground again. The Paladin Hunter also kicked off the ground.

Our strikes clashed. The shock of power against power shook the air.

I almost got blown away by the impact.

But I instantly counterattacked. I slammed the daggers into its armor.

The sturdy armor deflected the attack.

And the Paladin Hunter ignored damage. It swung its spear immediately.

I twisted my body at the last moment to dodge. But it grazed my shoulder.

Pain shot through my body from the shoulder.

There was pain. But I could still move.

It was a chance created by dodging at the last second.

I gripped the dagger again and struck from its side.

The Paladin Hunter reacted with its spear. The Mithril Knife strike slammed into its helmet. But it still wouldn’t go down.

With the fatigue from the battle piling up, I didn’t want to drag this into a long fight.

Even so, I couldn’t finish it.

I was growing impatient. My magic power wasn’t infinite. With each fight, body strengthening consumed more magic.

…One more step, just a little more speed was lacking. I thought I had trained enough. But I still didn’t have the speed and strength to surpass the Paladin Hunter.

That was why the fight had dragged on this long. The Paladin Hunter slowly raised its body, held its spear, and kicked the ground.

Then, it accelerated. With its overwhelming acceleration, I couldn’t react.

I thought I had gotten stronger, but it still wasn’t enough?

I matched my dagger to its strike. But the accelerated spear blew it away and pierced into my stomach.

I heard a scream, like a cry, from far away. Whose voice was that… Reem’s, maybe.

I saw Reem weaving through the monsters. She was trying to run to me.

I apologized in my heart. In the end, I couldn’t avoid my ruinous future… I whispered an apology.

—No, that’s wrong.

Not yet… not yet.

I stomped on the ground. I supported my collapsing body.

There was still a way to become stronger.

—[Adrenaline Boost].

The thing all game characters had used.

…The power Reem and Inaesia had used quite freely. If I used it—

The condition for activation… I already knew it.

The power I had turned away from a little… it was simple.

Accept the pain.

Accept this pain as happiness… as pleasure.

Reis-kun’s masochistic nature was there even before the moment I was reincarnated.

To sublimate it into [Adrenaline Boost], I just had to accept Reis-kun’s fetish.

The strike I took from the Paladin Hunter… the heat of the spear in my chest—was all a strike of love from the Paladin Hunter… a strike given for me.

I denied my sensible self that tried to reject it.

I stomped on the ground. As I raised my body, I felt like bl00d was being pumped from deep inside my chest.

My mind cleared. And through my reddish vision, I understood the situation with abnormal clarity.

And then, I swung the Mithril Knife in my right hand.

The strike easily sank into the Paladin Hunter’s face. It sent its body flying.

“……!?”

The Paladin Hunter was surprised. It immediately took distance from me.

But I swung my dagger down and activated space magic.

“……!?”

My slash attacked from behind the Paladin Hunter. I opened the entrance to space magic before me and the exit behind it.

The Paladin Hunter’s miasma tried to interfere with my magic. But I developed it faster.

At the same time, I jumped into the space magic, moved to its side, and swung the dagger.

The Paladin Hunter reacted. But I swung my Mithril Knife faster and cut its left arm.

“……!”

The armor fell. And for the first time, I thought I saw panic appear on its face.

“……!!”

With a suppressed voice, it swung its spear at me—but too slow.

I had already gotten behind it. I swung both daggers into its back, cutting it deeply.

The Paladin Hunter staggered. But its right foot stomped the ground and supported its body.

I didn’t think it was defeated.

Rather, the opposite.

The Paladin Hunter trusted its endurance and had already taken the next step.

A black vortex spread. It was swallowing its body.

By the time the Paladin Hunter noticed, the magic had already ripped through space.

It slashed its upper and lower body together. And from the cut spilled miasma like black bl00d.

“Ga… ah… ahh”

…Letting out a short scream, like a shriek, the Paladin Hunter generated miasma and slowly disappeared.

With its disappearance, the monsters raging around also vanished.

Silence covered the surroundings. Even so, I was startled by my own rough heartbeat.

It was like my heart was placed right by my ear. It was beating fast.

I knew the cause.

The gushing bl00d. …The moment the battle ended, the pain I had just accepted began to bare its fangs at my body.

“…Reis!”

Reem had run up. She held me in her arms. Tears were flowing.

The moment I saw Reem catching me, the last string of tension vanished. And I slowly closed my eyes.