Enkrid had conserved his Will by forcibly controlling and restraining it until now, but he had overworked his mind for that. Because of that, it seemed like impurities had settled in his head too.
Restraint through control consumes more mental power than just using overflowing Will. It's natural that you need more strength to move a stone with greater volume and weight.
Enkrid could be said to be such a case.
Both his head and body had impurities settled in them. He had continued fighting while soaked in rain and forcibly controlled his Will. Naturally, his current state wasn't optimal.
Still, that didn't become a problem.
Kyaak!
Since several monsters blocked the path, he swung Penna to split their heads.
Beside him, Ragna also swung his great sword without hesitation.
The great sword swung lightly without any air-cutting sound pierced into the Owlbear's torso. It was a precise thrust.
Apart from heavy swordsmanship, Ragna's natural talent could have surprised masters of straight sword techniques.
'Anyway, he's a guy who surprises me every time I see him.'
In Enkrid's view, Ragna swung his sword with instinct and intuition. But that instinct and intuition ultimately worked in his favor.
'It's literally talent.'
The Owlbear that charged just before had actually been conscious of Ragna's slash. It was a fact you could infer just from its movements.
It was a rare special individual with excellent combat instincts instead of supernatural abilities.
'Just as there are exceptional beings among humans, there are such ones among monsters too.'
The Owlbear didn't hide its presence but rather revealed it, preparing for Ragna's slash.
When there's insufficient time to think and only a brief moment requiring instant judgment, people habitually take familiar actions.
Therefore, Ragna should have swung his sword just before. Just as the Owlbear instinctively expected that, Enkrid saw similarly, but Ragna didn't cut—he thrust. There was no sign of hesitation either.
It meant he attacked as he had intended from the beginning, not changing his mind midway.
With that, the Owlbear's combat instincts would have been driven into a dead end.
Originally, even if its torso was cut, it would have planned to scratch somewhere on Ragna with its claws.
If lucky, it might have at least gotten one eyeball.
The sight of it extending its arm while being pierced by the great sword was impressive. If Ragna had cut instead of thrusting, those extended claws might have reached Ragna's body.
'Well, he wouldn't have been hit even so.'
It was clear this was the better path.
The results showed that too.
The Owlbear pierced by the great sword was pushed back and fell. Its belly was holed, and its head was crushed by the following great sword strike.
"Why did you thrust?"
"Because I wanted to thrust."
The answer that came when he asked was remarkable.
'It's natural Heskal got beaten.'
He acted like he made deceptive swords his main focus, but that wasn't it. It was a part that made you repeatedly admire him when watching.
Heskal acted like his deceptive sword was his hidden fang, but that was an open secret—anyone who should know, knew.
His real skill lay in straight sword techniques, personal tactics that cornered opponents.
'Heskal created layers of deception with countless experiences and a clever mind, covering them like a curtain and using them as weapons.'
It was double deception. He used even deceptive swords as tactical tools. If you got caught up in his tactical calculations like that, you'd struggle like a butterfly caught in a spider web and die.
But what if the opponent was Ragna?
Ragna always pushed opponents against dead-end walls. Using heavy swords came after that. That's how his sword worked.
Thinking about it now, the foundation of the Wave-Blocking Sword was derived from Ragna's swordsmanship.
Only the process differed while the result was the same. He blocked through calculation.
Ragna blocked not through calculation but through innate talent.
He knew the path his sword should take without anyone telling him. It was like finding a path never traveled.
So it was heaven-sent talent—genius.
It was a completely different form of talent from Rem's improvisational judgment.
"Monster bastard."
Enkrid said. Even so, his steps didn't stop. Ragna kept his head half-lowered. Unless he had Will to spare, avoiding Medusa's gaze was right.
But Ragna, hearing Enkrid's words, raised his head.
It was a waste of Will, but hearing such words, he absolutely couldn't endure it.
"I'll return the words you just said. It's as unpleasant as being told I'm like that bastard Rem, Captain."
The lazy one who spoke clearly lowered his head again.
"Are you picking a fight?"
"I'm serious."
Enkrid chuckled and maintained his awareness range while keeping his head down.
Midway, someone who seemed to be from Hunter's Village shot a couple arrows then fled immediately.
Enkrid caught those arrows in mid-air.
They weren't very powerful. Unless shot with Will transferred into them, ordinary arrows couldn't be threatening to the current Enkrid.
When Leona Rockfreed first came to the city, he had to use Point Focus to dodge even flying throwing knives, but now he caught arrows in a calm state.
Dynamic vision, athletic ability, strength and reflexes—everything was incomparable to before.
Repeatedly advancing like that, he narrowed the distance with Medusa. The closer they got, the more he felt the pressure weighing down his body.
Countless monsters live in the demon realm. Among those monsters, names are given to the monsters that rank among the finest.
Balrog was like that, and Medusa was like that.
Saaaaaaaaack!
The spell snakes floating overhead spread the same cry as Scalers.
'This isn't good.'
They had fought well so far, but if time continued like this, Zaun would lose. The reason was simple.
No matter how outstanding they were, if the remaining monsters rushed toward Zaun's stronghold, they couldn't block them all individually.
'Even if the family head and those here survive, if all the remaining members of Zaun die, can the entity called Zaun be said to have survived?'
If a kingdom has no citizens, can it be called a country?
It couldn't be.
That's why they had to eliminate things that affected the entire battlefield.
Even without tactical intuition, anyone who recognized the situation would do this.
Enkrid roughly gauged the distance to Medusa while recalling the demon he had cut before.
'One Killer was a lethal type that killed opponents with just a graze.'
Medusa's fighting style was completely different.
Even with two swordsmen approaching, the monster among monsters that received a name from the demon realm only scattered petrification curses.
'Combat requiring endurance.'
Medusa would fight in that form. The scales wrapped around her body looked solid even at a glance, and her dark green lips cracked like drought-split earth would spew poison.
There was also a tail hidden behind her body, calmly concealing its presence.
'A sustaining-type monster.'
It could be considered a knight's natural enemy. Its intimidation pressed down on the battlefield, and the monster's stamina was hard to gauge by its size.
It also had abilities that could devour you in reverse if you tried to settle things in a short period.
It was a really bad opponent for knights specialized in short decisive battles.
Of course, Enkrid could fight in somewhat different forms too. So it would be fine to go with a war of attrition matching Medusa's tactics.
'If I fight with time, it's an easy victory.'
If he took tactics of diligently cutting and gnawing, wouldn't he win after suffering for about two days?
Including Medusa's hair, parts of her body would regenerate when cut, but that wouldn't be infinite.
The petrification curses scattered intermittently could be endured, and tail or claws could be dodged.
Then when he saw opportunities, he'd cut, stab, and gnaw again to kill her.
It was a future visible without fighting. Tomorrow that insight revealed.
At most three days would settle the match. Well, it was tactics no one but Enkrid could even try.
To fight like this required inexhaustible Will, plus stamina and mental strength to endure fighting for about three days.
But fighting like that would mean losing.
Meanwhile, Riley holding out in the back or Anahera and Cato gradually losing strength would die.
Then the side gate protecting Zaun would collapse. Even if the walls held, if enemies rushing through the side gate attacked from behind, it would become meaningless.
Would it be more accurate to say winning but unable to protect?
"Ragna."
"Yes."
"We go with one stroke."
Tactical explanation was useless. They'd move according to situations as they arose.
But roles had to be clearly decided.
"You open the path."
He couldn't entrust the finale to Ragna who had a hole in his shoulder.
Instead of answering, Ragna raised his great sword. The blade tip pointed to the sky.
Kraaaaack!
Lightning struck at just that moment. White light passed overhead.
Zaun was situated on a basin. If unlucky, it was the perfect posture to die struck by lightning, but it was also a good posture for raising momentum. Seeing that, Enkrid sheathed Tri-Iron and regulated his breathing before speaking. He absolutely couldn't hold back these words.
"Just two swordsmen, advance."
Ragna echoed the command, sharing that intention.
"Just two swordsmen, advance."
Cut down the demon realm's monster with one stroke. It was different from fighting One Killer. If they failed, they would die.
Was this gambling? It might be.
But if they didn't do this, many would die.
This fight was formidable. Dangerous. Worthy of being called gambling. That might be why.
'How interesting.'
It was enjoyable. The exhilaration surging from deep within Enkrid burned away all impurities.
The dregs that made his head heavy and limbs sluggish were swept away by flames.
The dregs disappeared and blazing fire took their place.
Flames that could vaporize all the raindrops currently falling blazed fiercely from within.
Preparations were complete. Ragna stood as if blocking in front of Enkrid and began to run.
With each step forward, Ragna could feel the intimidation the demon realm's monster gave off.
It felt like sinking into a swamp. Moreover, Medusa wasn't alone.
The moment he took one step, two Scalers leaped in from left and right like wind.
Ragna swung his great sword in a semicircle, splitting both Scalers in half.
Puwaaak!
Black blood scattered across the ground. Then he added speed to his steps.
Thud!
Kicking off the ground, Enkrid followed behind him.
Ragna was dumbfounded by the Captain calling him a monster.
Who was calling whom such a thing?
'Father, Mother, no one knows.'
The cross-section of hair cut while playing with Enkrid in the bath was sharp. The winner and loser in that sparring were clear.
It was sparring mixed with half seriousness. Since coming to Zaun, Enkrid hadn't done such real combat-like sparring with anyone.
The Captain facing real combat and the Captain devoted to sparring were completely different. Ragna knew that.
'The Captain giving his all.'
Would surpass his current self. Since the Fairy Forest, he had stubbornly made it seem like a draw, but if they fought properly, he would lose now.
Ragna found that extremely enjoyable. Whether rain poured, whether lightning struck in the distance, whether Medusa was ahead—thrills shook his entire body. Desire raised its head and motivation surged. Adding all of that, he was filled only with thoughts of wanting to see.
Come, what would he show? The guy who had groveled as a troublemaker squad leader had now surpassed him.
Genius? Talent? Ridiculous. One who had transcended all of that was here.
Moreover, he always craved something and never stopped moving his feet.
'Have you taken another step forward?'
He asked inwardly. No answer was needed. If it was Enkrid, he naturally would have.
He was an artisan who shaped clay called yesterday and fired it in today's flames to create pottery called tomorrow.
What kind of vessel had he fired?
He was curious about that.
Ragna's sword was calm. It struck down approaching things as if it always knew the answer.
Whoosh!
When they reached a certain distance, Medusa's tail finally swept the ground and charged.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak!
The ground lifted and shook. As the scales wrapping the tail pointed sharply upward, it seemed like a huge pillar made of blades was charging.
'I can't dodge.'
It wasn't a judgment reached by observing, recognizing, then exercising thought. It was instinct.
If he jumped up to dodge, the tail would follow. Therefore, he couldn't dodge and had to block.
Once he blocked, he'd be pressed into defense from an unwanted position. Ragna didn't need to think through this entire process.
He was only certain through intuition and instinct that he shouldn't dodge.
He raised his great sword and planted it in the ground.
Bang!
It felt like an entire palace pillar had flown over and collided. That wasn't even the end. Blade-like scales that thrust their heads close scratched the back of Ragna's sword-gripping hand.
Scrape-scrape.
The leather gauntlet tore, leaving wounds on his hand too. Still, well, his wrist wasn't severed.
Then Medusa's tail tip curved upward, and at its end, a pointed stinger like a shy bride appeared as if meeting her groom after three years.
If he pulled out the great sword, he'd be bounced away by the charging tail. Then he'd have to narrow the distance again while consuming Will and stamina.
That's what Medusa wanted.
But if he stayed still, he'd receive a surprise kiss from that bride, and since that tongue was truly pointed and sharp, it seemed natural a big hole would appear in his head.
If he didn't dodge, he'd be hit; to not be hit, he had to dodge.
Where was the answer? What path should he walk?
This time too, Ragna recognized all of this first through instinct. Then he reached back. The Captain's sidearm was caught in that hand. It was the sword called Penna. Gripping it, he swung. He condensed and contained Will in that simple motion. The same as shown when cutting Heskal.
'Will Conversion.'
Ragna succeeded at it again this time. When practicing alone, he only succeeded six times out of ten.
Will condensed in Penna burst forth blue-white light.
Pu-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak!
Following the trajectory Ragna swung, Medusa's tail tip was cut and flew through the air. The way it writhed seemed like it was still alive and moving while severed.
The bride was stood up.
And.
'Now.'
Medusa's head was far above. Even if three adult men stood on each other's shoulders, their eye level would be similar.
But thanks to the tail charging then stopping, stairs leading to the head were created.
Ragna's eyes saw the path. Then the Captain's eyes would see it too.
Just as when he reached back earlier and Penna was placed in his hand, words weren't needed.
Ragna half-bent his knees, and Enkrid stepped on Ragna's shoulder from behind and leaped upward.
Light steps. It meant he applied no force, yet Enkrid's body climbed up Medusa's body faster than a shot arrow.
Kwa-aang!
Tactless lightning struck right beside them. For a moment, the roar paralyzed hearing.