Chapter 52 (1/2)

52 Mutual Deception

“――Did I do it?”

A chill ran down

I throw myself into the air by instinct and use [Psychokinesis] to aidforward

When I check with [Discern] whilst in h the place I had been in just before

After I landed, I spin around in the direction that the knife had co from

There I saw Gazaine’s figure leaning with his back against a pillar and his arms folded

“Tch Good instincts”

Gazaine clicks his tongue

I flick aze at the other “Gazaine” that had so; the only thing there was the chapel’s wall

“――[Illusion Magic], huh”

I

Iit

“That’s right

It’s a pity I missed just now, but your trump card… you’ve shown me the basics of it already, you know?”

Gazaine said with a grin

“damn…”

As I drew back, my face revealed my frustration

“Is that the end of your tricks?

In that case, I’ll come at you seriously now”

With those words, Gazaine’s body divides

Gazaine, who had increased his nuered ti

damn… Which one’s the real one!?

However, that thought itself was the trap

None of the three bodies were real While I was confused, the real Gazaine thrust a sharp knife at my unprotected back whilst clad in darkness!

But―

“What!?”

The one who cried out in surprise was Gazaine

And that’s how it should be, as Gazaine had stabbed nothing but empty space I was unharmed

“――《Grand Dasher》!”

The floor beneath my feet imploded with my chant as I ran towards Gazaine and attack him

Even this, which should have caught Gazaine completely by surprise, was evaded by him

That said, this was also within my calculations

From inside the sediment that I had unearthed with rab the tords that I had buried beforehand I then used [Flying Sword Techniques]――No, I used the [Flying Swords blades at Gazaine

“Whoa!?”

Gazaine repelled one of the blades with the dagger in his hand, but the other one shallowly grazed his side

My first effective strike

I attack hi [Steel Thread Techniques] to seal off Gazaine’s path of retreat

I try throwing a separation barrier frag Techniques], but this was easily evaded

――Like this, we’re back to square one

“Heh… You’re not bad…

I see, so your ‘clone’ was… ic]”

Gazaine said,a brazen smile

Right When Gazaine initially used his [Illusion Magic] clones as a decoy to attack e I had produced with [Light Spirit Magic]

Having learned that ht froe) that bent light to produce a false ie

By the way, I had intuitively realised that all three were fakes the moment he showed me the three clones

However, I purposely pretended to follow Gazaine’s plan to draw hie》, 《Grand Dasher》 , and [Flying Swordsmanshi+p], but Gazaine simply bit a hole in my trap

With this exchange, two of the trump cards I prepared have now been used

The shalloound in his side being the only thing I got out of it was painful

damn… He exceeded my expectations

No matter how excellent Gazaine’s physical abilities were, he wouldn’t have been able to dodge all of er]

“Geez, how many tricks do you have…

You jack-in-the-box bastard”

Gazaine’s eyes were laughing as he said that

――This is it

Contrary to when he is acting as leader, Gazaine’s eyes really light up like a kid when fighting

Even though he’s said to always be nefarious,ahen I see these eyes of his

Geez, I can’t bear to do aith this char villain

“Ahh… It’s regrettable to have to kill――you!”

The mo in front of me disappeared

――[Illusion Magic]!

I had already been caught within Gazaine’s deadly range

So even the “You!” I heard from behind was an illusion

I had already started turning, but I forcefully knock myself backwards with [Psychokinesis] to try to escape fro with the dagger――as an illusion, within which needles were hidden

However, the needleshalf of e》

But Gazaine had siers, kicks, hand chops, throwing needles, and the steel thread stored in his gauntlet at me at a hectic speed

Furtheric]

I naturally had no time to use [Appraisal], so I had no choice but to use [Mana Detection] to perceive it somehow

Caught in a violent rush that I couldn’t evade even with the near-counter stop [Discern], blood sprays out from all over my body

“What’s the matter!

Are you weak at close combat, Orochi!”

“Yeah――I’m bad at it!”

I stop Gazaine’s stabbing with the light, handmade outerwear on my torso

I sensed Gazaine’s surprise when I felt the tip of his dagger

This stab just noas an attack ai at the weak point of h to my heart

To stop that like I did was not possible with ordinary ic

The scraps that comprised my outerwear firo stiff with surprise

With this pheno Gazaine’s movements ――

“Namo (Θ π ξ λ)――”

Θ (condense) π (aqua) ξ (thunder) λ (wind)

I hit hi to those ic symbols――

“Amitabha (π ξ卜X π)――”

π (aqua) ξ (thunder) 卜(flame) X (mix) π (aqua)

Burned him with a fire bomb via electrified oil――

“Buddhaya (≡ λ Σ ∨ λ)!”

≡ (seismo) λ (wind) Σ (shock) ∨ (spread) λ (wind)

And a wind-attributed shockwave sent hi

I had started ic symbols as a joke, but I myself believed that the words “Na and that it felt closer to a chant than anything else

It didn’t factor in bringing about an i easy to enhance by iorated, I practiced it over and over to use as my best trump card

I use [Appraisal] on Gazaine who been electrified, roasted, and sent flying into the wall from a shockwave

《Gazaine Muntzer HP: 19/140, MP: 176/439 (39 + 400)》

This time, it wasn’t an illusion

“――Oh Earth Spirits, bind my enemy”

Finally, I affix all four of Gazaine’s liic]

“――Gazaine, it’s your loss”

“damnit…”

With his lilares at

What defended against Gazaine’s stab in that last exchange was――believe it or not, the [Dragon Scale Defence] skill

I ] totheether with steel thread

By searching for a protective on, I succeeded in acquiring the [Dragon Scale Defence] that both of the firedrakes, parent and child, possessed

This was not by chance

Because it was also a skill, I wondered if that on’s skill

After I thought of that, I repeated this trial-and-error with Melby