023 – Boss: Forsaken #4

TL/ED: Lolz

Enrique Cadellico.

A dropout from Ludens.

A member of the "Fimblevet" organization, infiltrating and spreading propaganda.

Codenamed the Forsaken.

He felt that his calculations were seriously wrong.

"Damn it, these guys are nothing like what I heard! Useless fools! They can't even gather information properly!"

Defeat Ludens' rising stars appropriately to break their will.

And then expose the Academy's secrets…

It should have been an easy task.

Enrique knew the academy's vulnerabilities well from his time at Ludens.

In fact, even destroying the sealing system's crystal had been successful.

‘Damn, was the problem that I unreasonably rushed the plan?’

It was all because of those guys.

The ones who defeated Tier-1 monsters through some strange method.

Something had gone wrong when they instilled hope in Ludens' students.

‘The hope that anyone can become a hero. There's nothing scarier.’

If left to their own devices, the students would have gotten closer and closer to the path of heroes, and would have ended up as playthings of the gods.

Rushing was the right choice, but...

━Bloom, Flash of Light...!

"Ugh, my vision is still blurred! What the heck was that staff? There was no mention of such a weapon!"

Victoria Arkwright.

Current Vice-President of Ludens.

Victoria Arkwright was far more formidable than what Enrique's informants had reported.

Even Gawain, ‘The Sun’, the head of the Swordsmanship Club, and that enigmatic transfer student, were competent, but they couldn't match the danger posed by Victoria.

"Damn, are we going to be defeated by the Arkwright people again?"

No, that couldn't happen.

‘I can start over. Hide, catch my breath. These idiots make up as many pawns as I want.’

Enrique tightly held the trumpet, 「Hameln's Instrument」, in his hand.

With this unique weapon, he could start over as many times as needed. Fools or minions, he could create them at will.

"Yeah, no matter how many times I fall, I can start over. I did it two years ago."

Enrique decided to choose a place to hide for now.

Four places came to mind, each holding precious memories from their time at the Academy.

Of those, Enrique headed for the old clubroom they used to visit. It was located behind the "retired" school building.

It was where the club used to be, before ‘Fimblevet’ became a ruthless organization.

‘Going back to where it all began for a new beginning.’

It felt like fate.

Fate.

That word strangely touched his heart.

Enrique ran as hard as he could towards their old club club room. There, he found the room was oddly wide open, and inside were witnesses.

‘These guys...’

Some faces looked familiar, especially the guy with the black, rigidly styled hair, whose photo had been seen countless times on documents over the past few days.

He spoke.

"Enrique."

It was the first time the guy had seen him.

How did he know his name?

"You, Victor! Did you know I'd come!? Was this a trap!? You b*stard!"

Enrique quickly put the trumpet to his lips.

Buuuu-.

The trumpet of Hameln began to sound around the world again.

* * *

“In Act 1, you only need to be cautious during Phase 2 of the boss fight. During Phase 2, Enrique can charm up to three allied party members and control them."

"When fighting Enrique, do not include Dearmid in your party unless necessary. His damage output is so high during the two turns he's controlled that your party will wiped out, and the game will be over."

"A tip for you is to bring weaker characters in your party. The Phase 2 boss itself has low HP, so it goes down quickly."

Memories of the strategies he had written for beginners came to mind.

It felt strange to see the events I had written about unfolding before him.

Buuuuu-.

Enrique appeared in the warehouse and blew his trumpet, causing a dramatic change.

"Ugh, my, my body... it's not under my control... Enio, please, run..."

"...I'm being controlled... that trumpet... it's strange..."

Enrique's trumpet had the power to control people. Using the trumpet to manipulate students like puppets and engage in a large-scale battle was his method.

「Quirk «Steel» activated.」

In my case, thanks to «Steel», I could easily withstand Enrique's mind-control technique. After all, the trumpet was just a musical instrument before powerful mental strength.

Thump, thump, thump –

But why did I hear drum sounds from the trumpet?

Is it just me feeling something odd right now?

Anyway, that wasn't the most crucial issue.

"..."

"..."

After some strange groaning, Megaira and Alexto fell silent.

"Megaira, Alexto! Are you okay?"

Enio extended her hand towards the siblings, who seemed bewildered by the situation.

I grabbed Enio's arm to stop her.

"Stop."

Swish!

Enio's hand, which had been about to reach towards her, was cut by two daggers. If I hadn't stopped her, Enio might have been seriously injured.

"What's going on? Why me? What is this...?"

"They’re being controlled. It's a long story. Enio, can you use your shadow magic? First, bind the siblings with 《Shadow Bind》."

"…Victor, how did you even know the name of my skill?"

“There is no time to explain!”

I shouted loudly, and Enio meekly agreed, “Fine."

"Darken, 《Shadow Bind》."

As she rolled her foot, the shadow that had been extending beneath Enio like a living snake connected with the shadows of the two.

"That's it. Now the siblings won't be able to move."

"You did well."

《Shadow Bind》 was a decent utility skill. It had the drawback of immobilizing even Enio herself, but it had the advantage of lasting for a considerable number of turns.

"Damn, are you Blackstar's girl!"

Enrique, the Forsaken, seemed angry that things weren't going his way.

"But strong power always comes with vulnerabilities. Are you okay with being this defenseless?"

The punk-looking guy rushed at Enio.

It appeared he wanted to attack her in her vulnerable state to release the mind control.

"Victor!"

"Don't worry."

I also confronted the guy attacking Enio. We quickly became entangled in a close-quarters battle.

Thud, thud, thud!

Fists exchanged in a rapid and furious melee.

However, the only effective attacks were coming from Enrique.

"What's wrong, Victor! You're nothing special! That's why you can't even scratch me!"

"..."

This guy was accustomed to fighting.

He didn't just look tough; he seemed to have a knack for this "fighting" thing. Maybe he wasn't just a formality like the other punks?

"Victor, did you really take on a Tier 1 request? Something seems off, isn't it? Keep holding on! If you don't, the restraints will be released!"

"Victor!"

Enrique's punches were quite formidable, unlike the lackeys.

Even though Victor had a sturdy constitution, being relentlessly pummeled like this might result in a defeat.

"Victor, maybe it's better if I join...?"

No, if the restraints were released and even Megaira and Alexto joined this battle line, there would be no hope.

Enrique's minions were formidable. It wouldn't be wise for Enio to enter this front line.

"Enio, stay here. I'll protect you."

"Victor, you're going to such lengths for me...?"

"Do you have the luxury to chat about that right now?"

Thud!

“…”

My vision flashed.

Had I just been punched in the nose?

But I was fine.

Both Victor and I were no strangers to enduring pain.

We gritted our teeth and persevered.

If we held on, even a seemingly hopeless life could eventually see a ray of light.

"Here you are, Forsaken, no, dropout Enrique Cadellico!"

Look.

"It's too late, Victoria. You've caused such a ruckus. You should have noticed and come earlier."

"Victor, you..."

At the warehouse entrance, Victoria and several others were casting shadows through the bright light. Reinforcements, perhaps. It was dazzling.

Enio shouted.

"Victor got hurt protecting me!"

However, even with Enio's shout, it seemed they couldn't easily enter the warehouse. Gawain, the blonde one, said.

"Don't get too close! You'll fall under the trumpet's range! Miss Victoria, do you happen to have any long-range support magic?"

"I do, but it's not very powerful..."

Victoria hesitated.

“Executive member.”

Someone called me.

In the midst of being punched repeatedly, I felt a renewed sense of gratitude as I looked up into those steady eyes.

"I think I may have misunderstood you. You may look as cold as steel on the surface, but you're a passionate guy."

"I'm not an executive member; I'm Victor."

"All right, Victor. Catch!"

Luke unfastened something from his waist and threw it at me.

It flew like an arrow of fate and was wrapped tightly between my palms as if it had been there from the beginning.

Click.

It was an old scabbard.

"How amazing."

It's strange.

Something strange happened. I, Ha Seung-ri, had never held a sword before.

Even the largest of the everyday tools I'd touched was nothing more than a kitchen knife for cooking.

However, this solid, steel-like feeling gave me the sensation that this sword was something that should have been there all along.

I only realized it now.

The calluses on Victor’s hands.

It was made to fit the shape of a sword's handle.

No, it was not just calluses.

This guy's entire body was trained for ‘one specific action’.

How many hours did it take for him to become like this?

A thousand?

Five thousand?

Maybe he's lived this way his whole life?

When you invest enough time in something, even a person without much talent can acquire at least one skill.

Something like a specialty.

"Victor, you, you! You can't draw a sword after being expelled from the Student Council! Do you think you can break the rules!? You!? I heard you were that kind of guy! A Lapdog who obeys Ludens!"

Enrique, who had just been attacking me, looked confused as he watched me with the scabbard in my hand. I took a few steps back, facing him, and gave him a simple response.

"I'm a lapdog. Lapdogs sometimes bite people."

"What? What's that-!!!"

"Arkwright Style 1."

Snick.

The blade was smoothly drawn from the scabbard.

My body remembered.

Victor, who had no talent, had acquired the only technique he could master, the Arkwright Style. The one sword technique he had repeated tens of thousands of times. Arkwright Style 1.

The most basic move.

However, training tens of thousands of times was the way to turn the most basic sword skills into techniques worthy of being called the ultimate weapon.

"Victorrrr! You baaaaaastard--!"

“Cutting the light.”

Sshhhhh ───!!!

After the flash of a horizontal light trail.

“…”

In the same spot, all that remained was silence and the wind.

"I've only repaid the debt I owed."

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