The moment its staff pointed at us, the surrounding scenery transformed into walls of flesh stained a deep scarlet.
At the same time, the Guilty and the civilians trapped within the walls began closing in on Ravenwood and me as though their minds had been seized.
“There has never been a crueler joke than this……!”
Ravenwood clicked her tongue as she muttered.
She was right. The Conductor of Flesh, one of the three bosses of the Lower Court, was certainly weaker than the other two.
Rather than relying on its own combat prowess, it preferred to summon an endless stream of the Guilty classified as minor enemies.
……But something about this situation was terribly wrong.
‘This situation makes no sense.’
The same had been true of the Toller. Enemies had been placed outside the stage where they belonged, and unavoidable set pieces had been designed with no consideration for the average player.
If this were truly a game, no one would play it.
What I had experienced before had at least been a game wearing the guise of a ‘Trash Game.’
This was so terrible that I did not even want to evaluate it as a game.
‘……Think.’
No matter how unreasonable it was, I had to find an answer.
‘Kill it first with a single strike.’
The standard strategy in the game was to ignore the enemies appearing around it and relentlessly attack the Conductor itself. Once it fell, everything else would be resolved as well.
Trying to struggle against the mind-controlled civilians and the Guilty would only exhaust us.
“Old hag! You can at least protect yourself, right?”
“Of course, clever boy! Do you think I cannot take care of myself? Do not waste your concern on me!”
Despite her confidence, I was somewhat worried.
Perhaps it was because she had shown me so many unreliable sides of herself.
“At the very least, I should avoid getting in your way, even if I cannot help…….”
Ravenwood muttered, and I soon heard the sounds of her handling the creatures on her own.
She certainly did not seem likely to hinder me.
‘Good.’
I felt as though I could somehow deal with that one creature.
Unlike the Toller, its own combat abilities were not particularly powerful. What would happen if I could force it into a one-on-one fight?
“From this moment onward―― I challenge you to a duel.”
Without the slightest hesitation, I pointed my sword at it.
[The Unique Skill, ‘Challenge to a Duel,’ activates!]
[Target: Conductor of Flesh]
[Duel Rules: For a set period, the participants will fight one-on-one on Battlefield ― Arena of Honor. No third party may intervene, and the duel will continue until the caster forfeits. (10 minutes)]
[You will receive a penalty if you lose or forfeit the duel. (Unknown)]
……The stage was now set.
Unless something unexpected happened, Ravenwood would keep the Guilty occupied.
All I had to do was defeat the Conductor quickly.
《……What? What did you just say?》
《Strange. What gives you such confi, dence?》
《Chaos. This is chaos!》
The three different heads rotated and fixed their gazes upon me. What appeared in their eyes was not bewilderment, but interest, contempt, and something resembling delight.
“Hey, with three heads, you should be able to hear me even better, should you not? I said we should forget our stations and fight this out one-on-one!”
“Clever boy, have you gone mad? This is an opponent we can handle if we slowly drag it into a battle of attrition!”
“Do not worry, old hag. Esteemed artists like that have pride high enough to pierce the heavens. If an admirer requests a private showing, surely it will oblige.”
More importantly, it was not a boss specialized in one-on-one combat.
That was the sole reason for my confidence.
Now…… take the bait.
《Kahahaha, ahahahahaha! Very well. I shall present a punishment befitting a foolish sinner!》
[The target, ‘Conductor of Flesh,’ has accepted ‘Challenge to a Duel’!]
[……However, the target is sending a Representative into the duel!]
The instant the message appeared before my eyes, a translucent barrier formed around us.
‘What?’
An inexplicable feeling of unease began winding around my entire body.
The target I had challenged was the ‘Conductor of Flesh.’
Why was it suddenly sending a Representative?
‘This is absolute bullshit!!’
That was impossible. It should not have been possible.
I should have been the only one capable of breaking down the laws.
Has Challenge to a Duel always been a skill that its target could alter according to its own preferences?
[Battlefield - Arena of Honor has been created!]
[All direct attacks against the duel participants will be nullified!]
……I did not know.
Because I did not know, confusion filled my mind. Then the creature spoke.
《Grrrrrr……!》
A low animalistic growl came from behind the Conductor.
Something slowly began emerging from the depths of the darkness.
Its form resembled a ‘hound.’
I knew it.
I knew that creature’s identity.
‘Black Hound(Black Hound)…….’
It was one of the three bosses of the Lower Court.
If the Toller symbolized strength and the Conductor was known for its intelligence, this creature represented agility.
In other words, among the classic trio of Strength, Agility, and Intelligence, it embodied Agility.
Its appearance was every bit as horrifying as it had been in the game.
Its form was so twisted that calling it a dog almost felt insulting to dogs. Its fur had fallen out in patches, and fragments of shattered gravestones and scraps of paper were embedded in its flesh.
A chain of handcuffs was cinched so tightly around its neck that it dug into the flesh, while each of its four legs ended in a deformed and unnatural number of toes.
Its bloodshot eyes made it look unmistakably rabid. Even those eyes writhed as though they might burst at any moment.
By the time it fully stepped into the arena, saliva was spraying from its mouth like rain.
Its eyes, steeped in murderous instinct, turned toward me with an eerie gleam.
[‘Black Hound’ activates ‘Black Silence(Black Silence)’!]
[Target: ‘The Absolved’ Ash Gray]
[All abilities will be sealed for 3 minutes, and physical abilities will decrease by a set amount! (15%)]
It was an Authority that temporarily erased every ability its target possessed while drastically lowering their physical capabilities.
The creature used it immediately upon seeing me.
A heaviness like sinking into a swamp engulfed my entire body.
‘Damn it. As expected, it used that the moment it saw me……!’
In a one-on-one fight, the player had to kill it using physical strength alone. In a party, everyone except the person whose abilities had been sealed had to respond to its attacks.
……At least, that was how it should have worked.
[Eligibility Confirmation: You are ‘The Absolved.’ You ignore the law that your abilities are sealed.]
[Immunity activates! You resist an unreasonable law!]
The privilege of The Absolved activated without conscious thought.
My body, which had felt unbearably heavy a moment ago, became light again. I felt as though I could do anything in this state.
Had I lacked this power, I would probably have been shouting about how unfair the situation was.
《Let us see this impressive duel of yours!》
The Conductor had lowered its guard.
It did not know that I was immune to the Hound’s skill.
It had failed to realize that I was The Absolved.
The Hound charged at me as though sensing that something was strange, but I responded with ease. Had I been even slightly slower, my body would never have kept up with it.
《BARK!》
“You damned mutt!”
A hound was still a hound. It swiftly aimed for my shin.
Had I been even a fraction late in blocking its molars with my sword, would it not have been my thigh that went flying?
I glanced toward Ravenwood.
The Conductor apparently wanted to observe the situation, so it had left the spectators alone.
‘At least it has a conscience.’
Had it intended to torment me psychologically, it would have made the creatures attack Ravenwood and tried to create an opening in my defense.
The Conductor appeared certain that I would lose.
The Hound and I exchanged several brief attacks. Whenever it charged with its head lowered, I lightly stepped backward and kept it firmly at bay.
《Grrrrrr…… YELP!》
Knowing that a single mistake would kill me, I responded calmly.
It was a period of complete concentration.
As our struggle continued with my sword between us, my ally suddenly spoke.
“Damn it, eat this!”
“Old hag?”
Ravenwood pulled something from inside her clothes and threw it.
It was a flask filled with condensed black mist.
It possessed no direct offensive power whatsoever. Its sole purpose was disruption.
‘A smoke bomb?’
Ravenwood demonstrated that she possessed a mind befitting a Scholar.
BANG!
She threw a stone at the Smoke Flask while it was still in the air. The bottle shattered, and smoke spread throughout the area.
Thick black mist filled our surroundings, completely obstructing everyone’s vision.
《You stupid and foolish lawbreaker! Do you dare interfere in the duel?!》
The Conductor snapped at Ravenwood, but she replied in an amused voice.
“What an impatient artist you are! All I did was scatter smoke into the empty air!”
She was right.
What Ravenwood had done did not qualify as direct intervention.
What if she had only altered the surrounding visibility?
Her purpose was ‘disruption,’ not an ‘attack.’
The Arena of Honor did not consider it an attack.
《Grrrrrr……!! Huff, huff!》
The dense black mist stood between the Hound and me. It repeatedly inhaled, and I heard the sound of its nostrils flaring as it tried to track me.
‘I cannot rely on my sight.’
Given a brief moment of respite, I quietly closed my eyes and focused on my hearing.
I heard the Hound’s footsteps through the dense mist.
STEP, STEP.
……I could see it.
I could turn this unfavorable situation around.
‘There!’
I opened my eyes and moved toward the direction I had been watching since earlier.
I charged without hesitation.
The Hound must have sensed my movement, because it leaped toward me through the mist.
‘Will to Protect!’
[The Unique Skill - Will to Protect activates!]
[Blocks one fatal attack against the designated target (self or ally).]
[Cooldown: 10 minutes]
It was a defensive skill that could block a single attack carrying near-instantaneous death.
It was the legacy left behind by Old Knight William.
CRUNCH!
When the Hound’s teeth reached the area beside my neck, I heard the sound of its teeth shattering.
《YELP!》
With a low animalistic cry, the Hound was flung aside and tumbled across the ground.
However, I did not bother aiming for it.
Even after being sent flying, it would quickly rise again.
There was only one thing I was targeting.
The one waiting beyond the mist that concealed the surroundings.
The creature standing in place with an arrogant expression and its hands clasped behind its back.
The ‘Conductor of Flesh.’
I charged fiercely toward it with my sword extended.
《Wh-What?! I am not your opponent in the duel!》
《This is improper! Is this not cheating?!》
《You uncultured lawbreaker!!》
Despite their words, each of the creature’s heads was smiling.
It was as though they knew precisely how the ‘duel’ I had activated worked.
“I forfeit―― the duel.”
My softly spoken words began shattering the Arena of Honor that surrounded us.
[The duelist has forfeited the duel.]
[Loser: ‘The Absolved’ Ash Gray]
[You receive the defeat penalty.]
[Penalty: Your next action will be restricted once!]
……I had anticipated a penalty.
I had assumed the loser would be placed at some sort of disadvantage.
However, such a petty restriction could not reach me.
[Eligibility Confirmation: You are ‘The Absolved.’ You ignore the law that you have lost.]
[Immunity activates! You resist an unreasonable law!]
[You are exempted from the penalty of Challenge to a Duel!]
That was because I possessed the Authority to resist every form of unreasonableness.
I had experienced it during the confrontation with the Toller, so this was information I remembered with certainty.
I was exempt from every status effect inflicted upon me.
Therefore, at this moment—
“Checkmate, you bastard!!”
The blade I thrust forward was aimed at the Conductor’s heart.
It had three necks, after all. However, my sword’s trajectory and path were limited.
I was not some martial arts master capable of unleashing several slashes at once.
It was better to target a place where a single strike could inflict tremendous damage.
《Huh?》
《That should not be――》
《Possi, bleee!》
CRUNCH.
Like driving a wooden stake into a vampire’s heart, I used the force and acceleration of my charge to pierce the exact area around its heart.
[Critical Hit!]
It was a familiar message log.
It appeared whenever an enemy’s weak point was struck precisely.
With its heart pierced, the creature’s body went limp.
It looked like a lifeless corpse.
‘I got it……! No, wait. Would it really end without a second phase?’
I had nearly said it aloud without thinking.
That would have been a flag.
I cautiously tightened my grip and tried to pull the longsword from the creature’s heart.
《Yes…… I had for, gotten.》
《I have always been waiting…….”
《For a splendid sacrifice called a body to come……!》
The creature, which had been hanging limply, suddenly raised its heads and stared at me.
The veins in its eyes began bursting.
‘It allowed itself to be struck?’
The muscles throughout its body gradually twisted into grotesque shapes, while dark-red tentacles began erupting from its blood vessels.
It was a graphic visual spectacle that had never appeared in the game.
The situation resembled what had happened with the Toller.
“Ugh!”
I hurriedly tried to pull out the longsword, but the creature’s hand had already closed around it.
I strained with all my strength, but the sword showed no sign of coming loose.
This was the difference between me and those that had transformed into monsters.
[Warning! The ‘Conductor of Flesh’ uses the Authority, ‘Flesh Alteration’!]
[Target: ‘The Absolved’ Ash Gray]
……It was the beginning of truly horrifying chaos.