"I Just Won't."

Chapter 38: "I Just Won't."

Boom!!!

On the silent forest path, a roar suddenly erupted without warning. Gale-force winds swept through, carrying sand and dust high into the air in a spectacular display.

Two figures shot out of the blast, one after the other.

"Ha!"

Laisha flew backward as though she had been hurled away, stretching out a hand before her as she moved. With a sharp cry, she unleashed her magic power.

That magic power transformed directly into tangible gravity waves, like invisible dark currents pouring from a black hole, crashing toward the equally fast-approaching Shien.

Naturally, Shien could not see the invisible gravity waves.

That was perhaps what made this magic so troublesome—it was impossible to guard against.

But it did not matter even if he could not see the gravity waves.

Because Shien still had Evasion in effect. Combined with the combat intuition and instincts granted by God of War, he did not need to do anything at all. His body naturally swerved to the side, evading the invisible magical projectile.

Bang!

The powerful gravity wave grazed past Shien and struck the ground, blasting that area apart.

Riding the shockwave from the explosion, Shien accelerated through the rising cloud of dust and shot straight toward Laisha.

In the next instant, the broad-bladed sword flashed like a falling thunderbolt, carving a cold arc through the air as it mercilessly slashed at the girl before him.

Clang!!!

A resounding blow, like the tolling of a bell, rang out between the man and woman locked in battle.

Shien's merciless slash was blocked by Laisha's slender, beautiful hand.

Laisha had stopped Shien's strike with her bare hand, producing a loud crash like a ringing bell.

Shien could feel that his slash had landed on something soft and yielding, like a mass of water. He could not put any force behind it.

Looking closely, a ring of constantly swirling, rippling magic power had appeared before Laisha's raised palm at some point.

That magic power had likewise transformed into gravity. It was as though countless gravity waves were twisting together chaotically, forming a turbulent current of gravity.

Shien's blow had not struck Laisha's hand, but the turbulent gravity current. Like a stone being endlessly battered within an irregular torrent, it could neither fall nor rise, nor drift in any direction. It could only sway unsteadily within it.

The bell-like sound was not the sound of striking something hard, but the vibration created by the broad-bladed sword's edge shaking violently at high speed within the gravity current.

It was easy to imagine just how astonishing Laisha's magic was.

Yet she herself wore an expression of utter surprise.

"Are you really just a level-ten novice adventurer?" Laisha asked in disbelief. "How did you gain this much power without using the Holy Sword?"

In response, Shien gave her a smile without the slightest hint of amusement.

"I should be the one asking that, shouldn't I?" Shien said with a fake smile. "Doesn't magic require chanting a long spell first? What's with your ability to casually throw magic around with every gesture!?"

But before Laisha could answer, Shien suddenly freed one hand, grabbed the pack slung over his shoulder, and swung it viciously at her like a blunt weapon.

Laisha calmly dismissed the turbulent gravity current. Her body then drifted away like a weightless fallen leaf, seemingly altering the gravity around herself and flying off like a kite to widen the distance.

"As long as one's Chanting Skill is high enough, they can abandon chanting to a certain extent and cast magic directly, you know?" Laisha said with a smile. "Of course, no matter how high the Chanting Skill is, one generally still has to chant the name of the spell to activate it. My case is an effect of my Unique Skill. I don't even need to chant spell names—as long as I have enough magic power, I can cast magic successfully with a single thought."

So as long as she had enough magic power, she could instantly cast magic without limit?

"Well, that sort of setting showed up all the time too."

Shien slung the pack over his shoulder again, raised his broad-bladed sword one-handed, and pointed it at Laisha.

Laisha merely continued smiling lightly.

"Come to think of it, aside from the Holy Sword, Heroes also possess extraordinary Unique Skills, don't they?" Laisha examined Shien with great interest. "Could it be that your strength at level ten is the effect of a Unique Skill?"

Before that question could receive an answer, Laisha's expression sharpened, and she abruptly floated up into the air.

Boom!!!

A heavy broad-bladed sword immediately tore through the air and crashed down upon the spot where Laisha had been standing a second earlier. It struck the ground, shattered the rock there, and embedded itself amid flying stones, rubble, and dust, accompanied by a violent crash.

Shien had actually thrown his weapon directly at her, nearly hitting Laisha.

"Hey! That's dangerous!"

Floating in midair, Laisha shouted indignantly at Shien, who still held the pose from his throw.

"Did you expect me to seriously explain my abilities during a fight like you?" Shien said, looking at Laisha as though she were an idiot. "Don't you know that if you can act, don't keep talking? Villains usually die from talking too much."

As he spoke, Shien suddenly raised his eyebrows and darted to the side.

Boom!!!

The same explosive crash as before rang out and echoed through the surroundings.

An invisible gravity wave slammed into the spot where Shien had been standing, blasting the dirt there into the air.

"How underhanded!"

Having dashed aside and avoided the attack, Shien could not help but rebuke her.

"No, do you really have the right to say that?"

Laisha could not help but retort from the air.

The two spoke as though they were fooling around, their conversation utterly lacking any sense of tension.

Yet even as they talked like this, neither of them showed the slightest mercy when they attacked.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid the ceaseless explosions, countless gravity waves bombarded the ground like a barrage, setting off explosion after explosion and sending dust and shockwaves flying without end.

Facing the relentless bombardment, Shien moved like a phantom, darting and weaving at tremendous speed. He evaded every one of Laisha's attacks, retrieved his broad-bladed sword, then leaped into the air and charged toward Laisha, slashing at her like a meteor.

Using her Gravity Magic to control gravity, Laisha likewise evaded Shien's slashes time and again. Whenever she could not evade, she would raise a turbulent gravity current—either disrupting Shien's movements and preventing him from approaching, or knocking aside his sword and neutralizing his strike.

Thus, waves of magic power raged while the broad-bladed sword's flashes created bursts of blade light and sword shadows, appearing in rapid succession.

Their battle was incredibly fierce, yet neither could do anything to the other.

"I told you already. At your current level, you cannot defeat me without using the Holy Sword," Laisha declared. "I never expected you to display this degree of strength without it, but if you want to defeat me, this alone isn't enough."

"All right, draw the Holy Sword."

"Let me see just how strong the Hero who has appeared after a thousand years truly is."

Shien answered with a single question.

"Do I look like such a cooperative righteous protagonist?"

Just because she told him to use it, he was supposed to use it?

Putting aside whether he would lose face, the possibility of a trap or scheme alone was enough to make anyone hesitate.

Shien had always thought that protagonists who immediately did whatever their opponents told them after being provoked or goaded had something wrong with their heads.

So—

"I just won't!"