D'Artagnan is the main character in The Three Musketeers.
He is famous as the disciple of all three, incredibly bold to the point of recklessness, has an unbroken winning streak, and is an extremely powerful "horse" in Pokemon.
So, what's different about his Alter version?
Of course he's different! He is now a bona fide scumbag with a sly, snake-like face.
"Hm, who's describing me like that?"
D'Artagnan Alter, now shortened to Dalter, looked around.
"Whatever, you guys."
He pointed at Robert and Saber. Both of them were extremely wary of him.
Then he threw the head of this Singularity's hero and smiled at Robert.
"I could tell with just one look that you're the type who believes in justice, right? If so, come at me."
"…What do you mean?"
"Huh? What else could I mean? I want you and Saber to fight me right now. Or do you still have some concerns?" He tilted his head.
"…"
Robert glanced at Saber. She was also looking at him, waiting for orders.
"…I refuse."
The moment Robert said that, Dalter smiled again.
"Wow, and here I thought you had the makings of a hero? Guess I was wrong."
"I've never called myself a hero."
"Yeah, yeah. By the way, are you curious whose head I just threw?"
'I didn't even fucking ask,' Robert thought, but still looked at the head. The face on it was frozen in absolute terror.
Then a rapier shot straight toward it.
Squish!
The head exploded into pieces. Blood, flesh, and brain matter splattered everywhere.
A bit of blood landed on Robert's cheek.
"That guy was the hero of this Singularity. The Shadow Servant here was too strong for him to handle. Luckily… or rather, unfortunately, he ran into me~"
"I only said a few words and he trusted me. He and his companions treated me well. I was quite happy about that, so I repaid their kindness by killing the Shadow Servant for them."
"But oh well, even though the Shadow Servant was very strong and I defeated it, I still wasn't satisfied. So I slaughtered everyone who had helped me just for fun. The look on that hero's face back then was pretty hilarious. Even now I can't help laughing when I think about it," he said with a cold, mocking smile.
"…"
Veins bulged on Robert's hand, but he endured it.
He still didn't know the enemy's strength, and his own power wasn't ready for combat yet. Rushing in recklessly would be the stupidest decision.
He had to hold back. This bastard was clearly trying to provoke him.
"Hmmm, how about this then?"
Dalter snapped his fingers. The entire Singularity began to change in a bizarre way.
Robert and Saber watched as the fantastical atmosphere of the Singularity transformed. The tower vanished, leaving only an empty grassy field with no obstacles.
"What? He can control the Singularity?" Saber raised an eyebrow.
Normally only Casters who specialized in territory creation and environment manipulation could do something like this. Yet this guy could do it even though he didn't look like a Caster at a— No, I shouldn't think that…
"Surprised? I won't explain how I did it~"
He picked up his rapier and spun it in a circle, flinging blood and wind outward.
"…You want to fight that badly? D'art… Gutun?" Robert said.
"D'Artagnan."
"Okay, okay, D'artgatan."
"You spelled my name wrong."
"I know. Just blame your name for being hard to spell."
"If that's your way of provoking me, it's actually quite smart."
Whoosh!
Clang!!
"!!"
The sword Saber was holding trembled violently. Her feet slid backward.
'Saber is being pushed back?!' Robert broke into a cold sweat as the situation quickly turned bad.
'This guy…' Saber narrowed her eyes. She poured more strength into a powerful swing, forcing Dalter back.
She followed up with another slash that cut the grass clean in half.
But it hit nothing.
"!"
Dalter was standing on top of Saber's sword, still smiling.
This guy!
Saber's sword erupted with terrifying heat, but he instantly vanished.
'He… insanely fast.'
She spun around. Dalter was now casually draping an arm over Robert's shoulder.
Robert was sweating profusely. His eyes darted toward Dalter.
The man wasn't even looking at him, as if Robert had never been an important target.
Bang!
"!"
The bullet was cut in half—along with Robert's arm.
"!!!"
Robert dropped his pistol and clutched his right arm, but there was no blood.
His arm was still completely intact…
"Scared?" Dalter tilted his head and smiled at Robert.
Wow… he's insane!
Dalter then picked up the pistol and handed it back to Robert.
"…"
"What? Not taking it?"
"…"
"There's nothing to be afraid of. I haven't done anything to you, see?" He grabbed Robert's hand and placed the gun in it.
Unpredictable and dangerous. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
BOOM!
Robert and Dalter saw Saber blazing with an incredibly powerful flame.
"Stay away from my Master… NOW!!"
Like a freight train charging at maximum speed, Dalter, who had just been standing next to Robert, vanished. Robert was blasted backward by the shockwave.
"Ugh, what the—"
Robert blinked rapidly. He couldn't see anything clearly, but the sounds of combat were deafening.
The sword fight was happening so fast that normal people couldn't follow it.
…Well, Robert could still see some of it, though not much.
"Excellent! Now this is what I call slaughter!" Dalter laughed joyfully as he dodged Saber's attacks and blocked a few.
Saber was like a heavy firepower tank. Every swing created explosions and terrifying heat.
Clang!
Both weapons collided. The figures of the two finally became clear.
"Not bad! You're stronger than I expected, even though you clearly haven't ascended or leveled up much."
"But still… I'm stronger right now!"
Dalter used brute force to shove Saber away. She then saw him disappear again.
"Where?!"
Her eyes widened as she saw Dalter circling around her at blinding speed. He was so fast he created twelve afterimages that kept appearing and vanishing.
"Damn it!"
Saber prepared to release a massive flame explosion around her.
Slice!
"…"
Saber looked down. Her abdomen had been pierced through.
"SABER!"
"Fun. Now die." Dalter smirked and tightened his grip on the sword.
Robert raised his gun, but no bullets came out—he was empty.
Saber gritted her teeth, staring at Dalter as he prepared to finish her.
Whoosh!
Dalter's eyes widened. He dodged to the side as three blades stabbed into the ground where he had been.
"Oh?"
"Groaahhhh!!!" Saber seized the chance and swung with all her might at Dalter.
Dalter dodged as usual, but Saber used the momentum to dash past him toward Robert. She grabbed him and retreated.
"Hey hey hey, I'm not done yet?" Dalter was about to chase when he stopped.
Several blades flew toward him, forcing him to leap back. He scanned his surroundings.
He couldn't sense anyone…
"An Assassin? Didn't expect that. Well, consider yourselves lucky this time."
We'll meet again someday. And I will be the one to end you, Saber.