Hero Party After the Nuclear War

Chapter 16

From the shadow, whose origin was unknown, a mechanical ninja emerged, and Eris immediately charged at the ninja, infusing her hand with mana.

[Eris: Swift Blade of Dawn.]

It was longer than a dagger but shorter than a longsword. Eris instantly conjured a sword wreathed in the blue radiance of dawn and swung it mercilessly at Hanbae, but Hanbae smiled and easily blocked her sword by drawing a wakizashi from his waist.

His physical ability had reached a level nearly beyond human thanks to various cybernetic implants, coupled with Stat enhancements gained through the Servants. Eris, who had no implants, no Summoner, and could only rely on the power of the Archangel Michaellis within her body, was inevitably outmatched.

Normally, magical power is countered with magic, but as Hanbae shattered even that premise, Eris, overwhelmed by his strength, kept coughing violently as she stared at the poisoned Dante.

"Dante...!"

"I have no hobby of cutting down women. All I want is that Karasu's head. And that Holy Sword stuck over there... So it'd be best if you step aside right now. That aside."

Kiiiing!

Hanbae forcefully swung his wakizashi and deflected Eris's Swift Blade of Dawn, then ruthlessly kicked her in the abdomen. Struck by an inhuman force, Eris's body collided once with the Holy Sword and was flung to the ground.

"Guh... Agh...!"

"I was wondering why Karasu, who usually acts alone, brought along a companion—and to think he brought a magic user with this level of power. Guess he does have an eye for people. Heh. This is an unexpected gain. She'll fetch a high price in the market."

"M-Market?"

"A spy who can use magic is highly sought after in many ways. And judging by her face, she could sell for a high price."

Using the Summoner, Hanbae quickly checked Eris's vitals as she lay on the ground. Realizing that only the Spirit inside her body was damaged, he immediately drew the blade from his back.

"This is unexpected. I thought you were a Psycher. To think you embedded a Spirit into your body artificially. I'll have to make sure it's completely destroyed."

[Eris: Arrow of Dawn.]

[Hanbae: Shadow Slash.]

Eris activated the Magical Bow in an instant, but Hanbae easily dodged the arrow she fired, hid his blade in the black shadow, and in a blink, cleanly slashed upward to cut through her body.

"Kyaa... Aaaagh!?"

With a single slash, Hanbae not only destroyed the Spirit Eris had activated, but also sliced clean through her clothes and flesh. Blood spattered across Hanbae's ninja garb, and she collapsed to her knees without resistance.

"You'd best not expect Dante to wake up. Orochi's poison affects not only the Servant but the Summoner as well. He is no longer of this world. Regrettably."

Hanbae kicked the collapsed Dante, who was foaming at the mouth, as if he were a nuisance, then grasped the firmly embedded Holy Sword's hilt and yanked it upward with all his strength.

"You... are."

Aiming at Hanbae just before he pulled out the Holy Sword, Eris drew the Double-Barrel Shotgun Dante had given her for self-defense.

"You can't pull it out. The Holy Sword... chooses its wielder. You're not the kind of... freak who'd be able to draw it. It's impossible for you."

But right in front of Eris, the shadowy ninja Hanbae casually and effortlessly pulled the Holy Sword from the ground.

Though it was rusted all over from the passage of time, and the ancient mechanical functions no longer worked, he still splendidly lifted the massive Holy Sword onto his back using nothing but his own strength.

"I don't know on what basis you say that. But that's quite a shame. I've heard of the Hero's legend. The tale of the Hero and his companions who set out to slay the Demon King. I have no idea why that story is suddenly relevant now. Well, whatever."

He swung the heavy Holy Sword with surprising ease, shrugged his shoulders, and nodded.

"My business here is done... So, if you'll excuse me."

No need to spill unnecessary blood. Thinking so, Hanbae dragged away the Holy Sword of the Hero.

Eris was left there, utterly despondent.

The noble Hero she believed in did not exist.

Two hundred years after the war ended, what had appeared before her were nothing but exaggerated, human-centric stories. Even her own existence as the Hero's Fairy had been denied, and a corner of her heart was completely shattered.

"Excuse you? We're not done here yet, you idiot."

"?!"

Right behind Hanbae, who was dragging away the Holy Sword, stood a man in a black coat and gas mask—Dante, who should have been lying on the ground foaming at the mouth from Orochi's poison.

Holding a pistol in his left hand, he pulled the trigger before Hanbae could even sense the ambush and turn around.

Bang!

"Guh?!"

The bullet should've pierced his head cleanly... but it didn't.

Thanks to the Servant Hanbae had summoned, the bullet didn't leave a hole in his skull.

Still, it had some effect. Because the bullet hit a vital spot, the Spirit that received the damage on Hanbae's behalf was destroyed by just a single .45 ACP Round—not by magic or explosives—and the summoning was canceled.

In battles with Summoners, the goal is to exhaust the opponent's Servants first, or to land a decisive blow right before they summon a new one, or when the Summoner's Mana Bullets run out and need reloading.

Having neutralized a Servant with a single bullet without using a Mana Bullet, the tide of battle had overwhelmingly shifted in Dante's favor.

"W-What? H-How... How did you escape Orochi's poison?"

Hanbae, horrified, swung his sword a beat too late, while Dante stepped back and began unloading bullets from his M4 until the magazine ran dry.

"Kugh?!"

Though he summoned a new Servant while enduring the barrage with his mechanical body, the penetrating rounds were sharp enough that even a mechanical body wasn't enough to prevent Hanbae from becoming half scrap metal.

Just before the Servant was switched out, Dante let out a loud laugh and gave a command to his own Servant.

"Escaped Orochi's poison? Don't flatter yourself. I was never hit by your shuriken in the first place. You think a guy like me, who's survived this long in the field, wouldn't notice an assassin coming for my neck? Idiot! Let me show you how I survived."

At that moment.

Eris suddenly sensed the density of Maso in the surroundings growing thicker. Wondering why it had increased so abruptly, she quickly turned to Dante, eyes wide.

This high-density Maso... was emanating from his Summoner. Fueled by semi-permanent nuclear energy and mana, the more powerful the Servant summoned, the more overloaded the Summoner became.

And that overload... led to a massive release of Maso, created by the fusion of radiation from nuclear energy and mana.

In the dense Maso that was nearly unbearable for a human, Hanbae cursed in an Eastern language and stepped back.

"Koitsu...!"

"Annihilate my enemy. Trickster of deception and mischief. Illusion and transformation!"

At that moment, right beside Dante, a 'god' tore through the veil of illusion, giggling mockingly at Hanbae, revealing the form of a masked mage.

Neither Evil Spirits, Spirits, Heroic Spirits, Phantoms, nor human—what Dante summoned at that moment was a 'god' itself.

"Loki!"

[Loki: Mirage Blade.]

In the blink of an eye, Loki conjured multiple illusionary blades burning with blue light above Hanbae's head and began raining them down like a hailstorm.

"Gah?!"

Hanbae struggled to dodge the illusionary blades summoned by Loki, but it was futile. He would've been better off focusing on defense. Pierced all over by the falling blades, he clicked his tongue and checked his Servant's Endurance.

Losing his main Servant, 'Orochi', with just a single bullet and no turn or Action cost meant the outcome was already decided.

Still, there had to be a chance somewhere. Hanbae quickly used his Summoner to analyze Loki's status and search for a weakness.

[Divine Spirit-type Loki.

Strength: 3 Mana: 8 Agility: 3

Endurance: 2 Intelligence: 7 Charisma: 8

Weakness Attribute: Unknown.

Flavor Text: One of the three gods mentioned in the mythology of the northern people—Odin, Thor, and Loki. Famous as a master of mischief, deception, illusions, and transformation. Also known as the 'freest god', the Trickster.

Summoned as an 'Avatar' and turned into a Servant, Loki lost his divinity. Though weakened compared to the original who wielded true 'Divine Authority', Loki's magic, including illusions that even deceived gods, remains intact.

Main Skills: Mirage Blade, Illusion Magic, ???, ???]

It was then that Hanbae realized: the Dante he thought he had struck with a shuriken was merely an 'illusion' created by Dante's Servant, Loki.

Dante hadn't switched Servants to gain extra Strength to lift the Holy Sword, but to 'deceive' the assassin tailing him. He changed his Servant from 'Spirit-Type Pixie' to 'Divine Spirit-type Loki' and used illusion magic.

Everything had gone according to his plan.

Loki's doppelgänger, identical to himself, pretended to lift the Holy Sword, while the real Dante remained hidden in stealth, calmly awaiting Hanbae's ambush.

Thinking Dante was distracted by the Holy Sword, Hanbae misjudged the illusion before him as the real Dante and hastily threw a shuriken.

All while equipping his main Servant, 'Phantom-type Orochi', to activate 'Poison'.

To perfectly deceive Hanbae, Dante had quietly watched as his comrade Eris was beaten to a pulp and rolled on the ground, waiting for the ninja to retrieve the Holy Sword and walk away—then shot him in the back of the head.

In other words... everyone here, including Hanbae...

'had been dancing in the palm of Dante's hand from the very beginning.'

He hadn't spent all that time in the wasteland for nothing; he was a seasoned Mercenary.

People thought he was just a trigger-happy Mercenary who solved everything with bullets, but he had the knowledge accumulated from his time in the wasteland—and the cunning to put that knowledge to use.

"I've been... had!"

Having wasted a turn switching Servants, Hanbae belatedly operated his Summoner to issue a command.

[Ronin: Iaido Slash.]

[Loki: Illusion Magic.]

Hanbae's Servant, the 'Human-type Ronin', had excellent Agility Stats, so its skill reached Loki much faster—but just before the Ronin's blade could land, Loki's body blurred like a mirage.

"Sorry, but Loki's Illusion Magic is preemptive. Even if your Agility Stat is lacking, it always activates faster than your move!"

Fooled by the Illusion Magic, the Ronin instantly became incapacitated as if groggy. Could it possibly have an effect that binds for more than a turn? Hanbae quickly scanned the skill effects.

[Illusion Magic: (Preemptive Skill) Creates an illusion that deflects magical attacks. (Charisma Check.) On the next turn, Loki acts faster than the opponent fooled by the illusion.]

In short, Loki is a Servant who uses a strategy of psychological warfare and dual options, leveraging his below-average Agility Stat with 'Illusion Magic' and the powerful offensive spell 'Mirage Blade' to entangle the enemy.

Had he realized this even a bit sooner, he might've responded better. But he had assumed from the start that all Servants had already been revealed, so he was unprepared.

In his entry were only Servants meant to counter 'Evil Spirit-type Jack O'Lantern, Phantom-type Leviathan, and Heroic Spirit-type Skaark'—none with the Mana/Charisma foundation necessary to counter Loki.

"Unbelievable...!!"

This was a disaster.

The short time it would take for the next Servant to be defeated and for him to switch again...

In that window, Dante would undoubtedly unleash all the bullets and explosives he had.

A perfect checkmate, nothing could be more flawless.

At that moment, what caught Hanbae's eye like a final glimmer of hope...

was the holy sword lying scattered on the ground.

Maybe, just maybe, if it's that holy sword. If it's the legendary weapon used by the Hero... could it become the decisive move to overturn the current situation?