“……Aura,”
As the devil muttered in a daze, his other arm also dropped.
Staggering, the devil stumbled back.
The sensation he felt when both his arms were severed wasn't so much pain as it was a sense of loss, followed by an overwhelming terror.
Stepping back, he could see his rolling arms even more clearly. They were still clutching the swords tightly, unaware that they had been severed.
The devil wouldn't die immediately from losing his arms. But his defeat was absolute.
He had lost. Less than two seconds after drawing his main weapons.
‘…It wasn’t a high-speed draw. This is on another level.’
Thud.
His strength gave out, and the devil fell to his knees. The blood flowing from his severed arms soon pooled on the ground.
“…You never drew your sword.”
Finally, the devil understood.
The true nature of the high-speed draw that his eyes couldn't follow.
It was simple once you knew, and all the more ridiculous for it.
“You can separate your aura from the actual sword and attack different targets simultaneously.”
—I can separate my aura from my physical sword, allowing me to launch simultaneous attacks on different targets.
As Pielott had told Frondier before, he could separate his sword and aura.
However, it was only possible with his drawing technique.
Pielott had started with the simple reason that he found drawing techniques cool, but in retrospect, his skills had reached a level that would have been impossible without the constraints of a drawing technique.
Pielott's drawing technique had all the same drawbacks of any other drawing technique.
However, it was precisely because of this that it could only be executed in a stationary state, with the same movements and the same breathing. By making all of that his routine, Pielott had finally achieved the separation of aura.
However, he was also well aware of the weaknesses of drawing techniques.
The speed and power of the sword were reduced while it was sheathed, the sword and sheath were prone to damage, and the act of sheathing the sword itself was incredibly dangerous in a combat situation.
He had managed to overcome all the other issues, but the last one remained a problem. To draw the sword, he had to sheathe it first. How could he overcome that gap?
But when Pielott first told Frondier about his drawing technique, he had said something utterly absurd.
—If you find it difficult to sheathe your sword during battle, why not just not draw it in the first place?
Of course, Frondier wasn't a swordsman. He had no idea what her words truly meant.
But Pielott, because Frondier had said it could be done—
He did it.
“You really do enjoy pushing people’s buttons.”
Pielott muttered in a dying voice.
The devil spoke.
“…You led me on.”
Pielott had only drawn his sword directly once, when the devil had fired multiple arrows.
Thinking back on it now, there had been no need for it. It had clearly been a ploy to lure the devil in.
“Because I couldn’t move.”
As the devil had said, Pielott could no longer move a single step. The demonic energy of the demon realm was constantly eating away at his body, growing stronger.
The devil asked,
“You could have driven me back if you had used that technique from the start. You wouldn’t have needed to take the risk of engaging me in close combat. Why didn’t you?”
“Driving you back wasn’t the point, you fool.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you ran away from me, you would just go back to my companions with that bow. Did you think I’d just sit back and watch you do that?”
“…You mean to say, even on the verge of death, you lured me in to eliminate the threat to your comrades?”
The devil let out a chuckle.
“...I’ve seen something truly fine before taking you with me on the road to death. I have witnessed the pinnacle of aura, something not even a demon could manifest—”
Slice—
Before he could finish speaking, the devil’s head was sent flying by Pielott’s sword.
This time, it was a real blade that cut him down.
“Just die. Demon. What pinnacle of aura manipulation?”
Pielott sheathed his sword and let out a sigh.
He had won. But his body was no different from a loser’s.
In this situation, Frondier and the others were probably busy as well. He couldn’t imagine anyone coming to his aid.
‘…Am I going to die? Here?’
He thought blankly.
He sheathed his sword. It was getting difficult to even hold.
‘But if this single demon was all they had planned to kill Senior Frondier, it was far too naive…’
At that moment.
Pielott felt a chilling presence descend upon him and lifted his head.
‘This energy…!’
Something hostile was approaching from afar, no, it was swarming towards him from all directions.
The plan to kill Frondier.
This single demon was definitely not enough.
That was why—
—Before taking you with me on the road to death.
“…Ha.”
Pielott raised his head.
He saw the same thing that Frondier had once seen.
Black clouds.
Black clouds formed by a swarm of demons, like a horde of bats, emanating an aura of pure murderous intent towards him.
"... ..."
Pielott closed his eyes.
Even after being pierced by arrows and consumed by the demonic energy of the demon realm, he had managed to kill a devil.
He thought he had truly done his best.
Pielott sensed his impending death.
Even before those black clouds arrived.
—My comrades are not coming.
"... Pielott."
He opened his eyes as he uttered his own name.
A cold voice echoed within him.
"Stop being a child, Pielott."
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