Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

Chapter139，Part3: 3 - Déjà vu

Part 3

Gilbert was about to run to get in-between, but Hay immediately shouted at him.

“You’re in the way, don’t come! Stay there in case something goes wrong! It’s still alright!”

Gilbert stopped, bit his lip in frustration, and stomped on the ground. I know how he felt. Our lack of ability was frustrating. Carmine and the others must be feeling the same.

《Fallen Mist’s》 movements were synchronized. As Hay said, if outsiders like Ruda and the others entered the fray, it would only result in creating openings for the knight to take.

“Kuh…… Damn… Is there anything I can do ―― What the hell Arnold’s doing? Even though he had received so much body-strengthening magic.” (Gilbert)

“…………? Wait a second… That’s ――” (Ruda)

Suddenly, the movement of the black knight, who was exchanging blows with Arnold, stopped for a moment. In that slight gap, Arnold pushed his sword through and the black knight stepped back.

Tired ―― No, not likely. Phantoms that are not human are generally more durable than humans.

For a moment I thought it was just my imagination, but it wasn’t.

Starting from the gap that had occurred just now, the black knight’s movements gradually became less and less precise. His movements stopped for a moment, his center of gravity swayed and his knees twitched as if they were cramping.

Before I knew it, the battle leaned into Arnold’s favor.

The ultra-high speed sword slashes started to become dull. It was not that Arnold’s movements have changed. The black knight, who was on the received end of his attack, was barely moving anymore.

“! Ah………… It was that sword, huh.” (Gilbert)

Gilbert looked at the big sword covered in purple light. With his words, Ruda understood everything.

It was lightning. The lightning covering Arnold’s sword traveled down from his opponent’s sword and damaged him.

Arnold’s opponent was wearing a suit of armor. Even the strongest armor can’t protect you against electricity. As commonly known, this is also one of the advantages of lightning magic.

Arnold had probably been waiting for this moment. He was waiting for the moment when the effect of his electrical attack accumulated, forcing his opponent to show an opening that would be fatal for him.

However, from his tactics, Ruda could sense the toughness and strength that only a Treasure Hunter can have.

This is ―― A Level 7. It was a tactic that could be reached only after a lot of study and experiences.

Finally, the black knight wobbled and fell down to his knees. Arnold roared at the big opening that finally occurred.

The air trembled. Even the other black knight stopped moving due to his tremendous fighting spirit. Arnold’s great sword shone and emitted a golden light.

The backlash of all his energy even numbed my body.

That was… Lightning. Unlike a natural one, it reminded me of the breath of a dragon ―― A golden lightning.

“『Heavy Lightning Strike』”

His blow reminded me of a lightning strike.

A golden line passed through the black knight who hurriedly lifted his sword.

The blade didn’t just pierce his black armor but went on to slice through several meters of cobblestones, scattering its energy around.

The black knight exploded. There was no need to think if it was alive or not.

It was a powerful blow, completely different from the precise attack he did before.

Gilbert, who had been watching everything opened his eyes to its limit and breathed out as if he had just remembered how to.

“Awe… Awesome……!” (Gilbert)

“This is ―― Level 7……!” (Ruda)

I had only seen him being played around by 《Infinite Variety》, but that blow was truly a hero’s strike.

Arnold, who had swung with his blade, was still covered in electricity and still emitted a golden light.

Without any sign of rejoicing at his victory, he narrowed his golden eyes and turned towards his next prey.

Hay and the others gradually widened their encirclement. And then, the lightning-clad hero leapted towards the black knight.

The fight ended so easily.

Arnold’s strike wasn’t as fast and as powerful as the blow he just did. The lightning-clad strike cut the black knight and his sword in two.

It was as if his previous struggle was like a dream.

After confirming that there was no longer anything moving, Arnold finally lowered his sword.

Hay checked on his companion who had been blown away and breathed a sigh of relief.

“The damage on our side isn’t that heavy. …… Arnold-san, you did it. As expected of a Level 8 Treasure Shrine, it was a strong enemy, but ――“ (Hay)

“Yeahhh… But, it’s probably not all it got.” (Arnold)

The light that was clad on his body started to weaken. There was nothing like joy on Arnold’s face.

Certainly, seeing as it had appeared in the middle of nowhere, it must not be that powerful. The fact that he is always on guard was proof of his long history in warfare.

However, it is still from a Level 8 ―― You were able to defeat an enemy of a Treasure Shrine Level above your own Level. Being a little bit happy won’t kill you ――.

And then Ruda suddenly felt something stuck in her mind.

“Not bad, Ossan! How did you do that technique? Do you think I can do it too?” (Gilbert)

“…… Keep your sleep talking in your sleep.” (Arnold)

Arnold was astounded by Gilbert’s excitement and seriousness in his foolish talk. Hay looked down at the corpse of the Phantom lying on the ground with a scowl.

Indeed, they weren’t letting their guard down. However, there was a loose tension in the air, something typical after a fierce battle.

A shock that wouldn’t lose to Arnold’s thunderous strike struck Ruda’s mind.

I opened my eyes widely. This is ―― A feeling of déjà vu. Ruda had encountered a similar situation before.

I just survived a desperate pinch, healed my wounds, took a break, and ――.

Ruda looked at Gilbert, who was also with her at that time. The red-haired boy, who received Ruda’s gaze, looked back at her with an absent-minded look.

“…… Gilbert… Do you…… Remember what happened at… The 【White Wolves Den】?”

“Eh……?? What happened so suddenly………… Eh…… Aaaaaah!?”

Gilbert’s expression instantly turned pale. He must have thought of the same thing. That’s how much of an impression it had left on him.

Our strength, circumstances, and everything else was different. However, only the situation was eerily similar.

Up to the point where I came here because I was, in a way, involved by Cry Andrich.

People call this ――『Infinite Trial』.

“Ossan… This is bad! Additional are coming! They came last time too!” (Gilbert)

“…… Did you lose your mind?” (Arnold)

As if Gilbert was in a panic, he hurriedly shouted to Arnold. I am sure he had no idea what he was doing, but for now, I am grateful for this momentum.

I know how you feel. Additional… Yes, we are getting additional. That was what happened last time. We fought against one strong enemy and managed to defeat it ―― But then, we got three additional enemies with different weapons on them.

If at that time Cry hadn’t come to their rescue, Ruda and the others would have died there. And this time, Arnold, a level 7 is with us, so there will be no guarantee that he will come to help us.

It may be just our imagination. Maybe we were worrying for nothing. But it wasn’t something that we could ignore.

Ruda also advises Hay, when he was confused by Gilbert’s sudden outburst.

“Hay-san, as Gilbert has said, I think we should move. Because when the last time something similar happened ―― Further enemies came.” (Ruda)

“…… Fumu. What do we do, Arnold-san?” (Hay)

Arnold groaned at what Hay said as he looked at his companions.

“…… Do we go back… Or go forward, huh……” (Arnold)

I was wrong about Arnold. He is definitely a Level 7 Hunter.

Sure, his pride was high and was inexplicably inflexible, but he won’t make a wrong decision when the time comes.

He engaged in battle with a Phantom. We were able to break through it and we were able to have a rough grasp of the enemy’s abilities. This time, we won because the number of enemies was small. However, if we proceed as it is, someone will probably be seriously injured. And there was no way that this man, who was much more intelligent than he looked, wouldn’t understand that.

Ruda stepped forward. She looked straight up at Arnold.

There was no certainty. But her instincts were telling her. Even if it was through Tino, Ruda was a little more familiar than him on 《Infinite Variety》.

“I think… We should go forward.” (Ruda)

“What…… Did you say?” (Arnold)

Perhaps Arnold wasn’t expecting those words, he gazed in wonder. Hay, Gilbert, Carmine and the others looked incredulously at Ruda due to what she just said.

Because… I knew. 『Infinite Trials』 isn’t something you can escape when you try to run away.

There was no way that the man known as 《Infinite Variety》 wouldn’t understand Arnold’s personality.

That’s why ―― Ruda chose to outsmart them.

Everything came from her intuitions. However, sometimes you have to trust your intuition rather than logic.

Exactly. If it was Infinite Variety, he would put a strong enemy on the retreat path.

However, if I say it like this, I don’t know what Arnold would think as he has a grudge against 《Infinite Variety》.

With a serious expression, Ruda said with all her heart.

“This is what ―― My instinct is telling me. We must move forward now. There are ―― Powerful enemies on the retreat path. Even if we go back, I think we should go forward and make a big detour. Please, just once. Believe in me!” (Ruda)

§　§　§

TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

From Ruda’s monologue, you can see that Cry’s trial has traumatized her XD

Even if you know… Everything is just a coincidence, it’s not like Cry is pulling the string (of fate) XD

Promised next part is the last part.

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