Paladin Charon, observing the arrow aimed at him, smirked.
"You intend to kill me?"
"Yes."
"And your reason?"
"Because I am a devil."
An utterly absurd reason.
However, for a devil, it might just be sufficient.
Of course, from Charon's perspective, it was ludicrous.
'A devil, what nonsense.'
Having received all the information from Athena and Baal, Charon knew exactly what kind of person Frondier was.
He was quite strong, but he possessed no divine power. Nor had he formed a contract with a devil.
Baal had explicitly warned him against engaging in battle, but the absence of those two powers had led Charon to disregard Frondier as a threat.
His survival in the operation was unexpected, but it wasn't something that would significantly alter the situation.
"…How strange."
Charon maintained his confident smirk as he addressed Frondier.
"A bow in this narrow street? Are you not afraid of missing? Before you can even nock another arrow, I will…"
Charon's words abruptly ceased.
His eyes, examining Frondier's bow, finally registered a crucial detail.
"…That bow."
"Hmm?"
Frondier blinked once.
"Do you recognize it?"
"…No, I don't."
Frondier's smile widened.
"I didn't think you would."
After all, it was a devil's bow.
• Grade: Unique
• Description: The bow once wielded by the devil Slindris. Though the devil himself met an early demise, the bow's fame grew as it passed through the hands of numerous devils, elevating its grade. A case where the weapon's performance surpasses that of its owner. However, its growth is limited due to the fixed name of the devil.
Ability Details >
- Sure Hit: Flies towards the target designated by the user.
This was the very bow that had fired the arrow that struck Pielott.
After rescuing Pielott, Frondier had found the bow lying beside the deceased devil and naturally absorbed it into his workshop.
Like Artemis' bow, Khryselakatos, which he had been using, it possessed the Sure Hit ability, but the description was slightly different.
'It doesn't simply guarantee that the arrow will hit the intended target, but rather that it will fly towards that target.'
In the case of Khryselakatos, it was impossible for someone else to intercept the arrow, as Pielott had demonstrated. To minimize damage, the target themselves had to either deflect, block, or withstand the arrow with a sturdy defense.
In that sense, this bow was somewhat inferior.
'There's no way you could know this bow.'
Charon would undoubtedly recognize it, but as it was a devil's bow, he wouldn't dare admit it.
And during this silence, it served as further evidence of Frondier being a devil.
"Slindris' Bow…"
"I thought it had vanished, but to think it ended up in the hands of a devil like that."
A few of the gods recognized the bow. It was quite renowned among devil weapons. This had worked out rather well for Frondier.
"Now, try to block this."
With those words, Frondier released the arrow.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew towards Charon in a curved trajectory.
"…Tsk!"
Clang!
Knowing the bow's properties, Charon intercepted the arrow with his sword.
Thud!
"?!"
Immediately after, another arrow grazed Charon's shoulder.
'How is he so fast…!'
There was always a delay between firing arrows. The time it took to retrieve an arrow from the quiver, nock it, aim, and fire.
Even without the need for aiming due to the bow's ability, that attack had been incredibly swift.
"Shall we slow things down a bit?"
Looking up, Charon saw that Frondier was already holding another arrow.
'…He doesn't have a quiver!'
Charon realized that Frondier had no visible arrows on his waist or back.
This was only natural, as Frondier was also replicating the arrows.
And those replicated arrows…
"…Gah?!"
Thud.
Charon collapsed to his knees.
After the arrow grazed his shoulder, a strange pain surged through him.
"Ugh… Argh…!"
He tried to regain his composure, but his hands trembled uncontrollably.
'This, could it be…!'
Indeed.
There was no reason why he wouldn't replicate the arrows if he could replicate the bow.
Arrows imbued with the mana of the Demon Realm.
Charon was now experiencing the same pain that Pielott had endured.
'No, it's different.'
Frondier's face remained calm, but behind that façade, a surge of rage threatened to break free.
Pielott had taken that arrow to his abdomen to protect Selena.
And that embedded arrow had ripped through him, inflicting a grievous wound and allowing the demonic mana to flow freely.
The pain Charon was experiencing from a mere graze on his shoulder paled in comparison to the agony Pielott had endured, and yet, Pielott had fought on and slain all those devils.
And this paladin, after a mere scratch on his shoulder, dared to kneel?
“Are you just going to grovel there?”
Frondier smiled.
It wasn’t a smile of amusement, joy, or mockery.
It was a smile born of pure, unadulterated killing intent.
“Get up, Paladin.”
Frondier drew back his bowstring as he spoke.
“Don’t you have people to protect?”
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