c21-c40 · 028-ch28

Chapter 28: The Duty of Those Who Lead

"You're first, Andante."

"Dammit...! Don't come near me! 《Bomb Rain》!"

I gently brush away the rain of explosions Andante unleashes with my wind-wrapped deck brush. Explosion magic is no problem as long as you're careful the moment it detonates. You can deal with it easily by either triggering it early before it hits or deflecting the attack before it explodes.

"Don't underestimate me!"

When I enter the range of his fists, he switches from magic to a flurry of punches as expected. A single clean hit would cause serious damage, but I can tell where he's aiming from his gaze and preparatory movements, so it's easy to respond.

"Yeah, your punches have good sharpness."

"Oh, is that right!!"

"That's exactly why it's such a waste."

When I step back a few paces, he switches back to bombardment and heat magic. His magic accuracy is lacking, but fuel efficiency and firepower are quite excellent. He must be in the upper ranks of A-rank. The problem is how he uses it.

"Just as I thought, you haven't been making the most of your talent."

"Huh?"

"You can use both magic and close combat at a high level—there's no doubt you have talent. And yet, you use magic when enemies are far away and punch them when they're close. You're just changing your attack method based on distance alone, with no intent of your own involved. Do you understand what that means?"

"Like I care!!"

"It means your opponent can always choose the distance that's favorable to them. Someone good at close combat will fight you up close, and anyone with long-range firepower will never let you approach. Can you see how wasteful that is?"

Distance management is both the foundation and the secret technique of combat. Even just 1cm can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Andante's approach is sloppy. He has the talent to overpower enemies at mid-to-close range with pure firepower, so he probably never had the chance to realize where he was lacking.

If there's weakness there, exploiting it is only natural.

"You understand? The privilege of being able to use both is that you can force unfavorable distances on your opponent—that's what you need to be conscious of."

"What about it!!"

I take just one step forward. Then, Andante's hands, which had been casting magic, freeze for an instant.

"You have a habit of hesitating whether to use magic or fists at this distance, don't you?"

"...!"

That's the moment I wanted. In a fight where every 0.1 second counts, there's no way I'd let such an opening slip by. I thrust the tip of my deck brush hard under his chin.

"Gah..."

"That's what it means to control the distance."

Andante collapses on the spot, thrashing around like he's drowning. I got his throat—he won't die or lose consciousness, but he probably won't be able to move properly for several minutes.

Alright, next.

"Now then, the long-range firepower, Silurica."

"...! Stay away!"

I move at high speed and appear near Silurica. She fires her bow on reflex, but attacks without charge or accuracy are child's play. I catch the flying arrow with a sigh.

"Using a bow when I've closed the distance? You don't have many options, do you?"

"No way, how can you react..."

"Is your role just to deliver the finishing blow? Your technique is excellent and your power is considerable, but this party has enough firepower between the magic fighter and swordsman. If you want to provide long-range support, it would be far more effective to restrain enemies with arrows while buffing them."

Parties each have their roles. For a long-range archer, that would be attacks from blind spots, single-shot firepower, and interference like hindering enemy movements.

And the core of this party is the two frontliners. The coordination between Andante, who switches between magic and close combat, and Anarchy, who can unleash fast attacks, is impressive—their pincer attacks on blind spots are troublesome and pack serious firepower. Plus, they have Main, who's specialized in interference.

Therefore, her position has overlapping roles with multiple others. Of course, if that's intentional, it's fine, but it probably isn't.

"My arrows...! You, you!"

She seems to have run out of arrows, and starts swinging the bow itself. She doesn't seem to know anything about close combat.

I grab the bow Silurica is swinging around and forcibly take it from her.

"Even so, if you want to focus on one-hit kills, you need to output power that outweighs the drawbacks: long charge time, big openings, and being helpless if someone gets close."

I nock one of the arrows I caught to the bow I stole and fire it at Silurica. The released arrow passes right by her face and pierces straight through the empty space behind her.

"I missed...?"

"Also, just shooting arrows straight ahead like that—you'll stumble before long."

"Huh...? Huh-bweh!"

The missed arrow changes trajectory due to my magic, spinning around and coming back to strike Silurica hard in the back of the head. I put a simple cushion on the arrowhead with wind magic, so she should be fine, but the impact knocked her unconscious.

I hit her a bit too hard. Well, whatever. Next.

"Magic support, Main. Looking at how your party fights, your magic is the starting point, isn't it?"

"Eek...!"

I use a special footwork to move silently behind Main. The surprised girl raises the grimoire she was holding.

"S-《Spider Net》!!"

"A spell that fixes your feet to the ground, huh? It's a good spell, but not something you use on someone who's already close."

We're at a distance where I could reach out and attack, but I put strength into lifting my foot. There's no absolutes in magic effects—even binding spells have limits to their strength. I have to prove that with my own body.

"If you're going to focus on interference, you always have to be thinking. What if the magic doesn't work? What if it's dealt with midway, like I'm doing? Once you've finished creating your starting point, what will you do next?"

"Y-you're forcibly moving by gouging out the ground...!?"

The magical fixation seems to have covered her feet and the surrounding ground as the range, so my step came with a chunk of ground attached to the bottom of my foot. It's like wearing platform boots and hard to balance, but it's interesting, so I'll allow it.

"Your skill in deploying multiple types of weakening magic simultaneously is wonderful. But it's meaningless if you just cast magic and call it done. If monsters and frontline firepower are evenly matched, you're the one who changes the tide of battle. 《Spider Net》."

I cast a fixation spell at the feet of Main, who's trying to escape. She probably can't move anymore with her strength.

"Let me teach you something. With weakening magic, it's not the effect that matters—it's the range you use it on and the timing."

"D-《Downfo..."

"《Paralyzation》"

I cast my spell faster than she can chant. With a thud, Main drops the book she was holding on the spot.

"M-my hand..."

"This is a spell that paralyzes the body. It's hard to work on deep layer monsters or people with magic resistance, so I focused the effect on just your hands to strengthen it. It's surprisingly useful in interpersonal combat."

Swordsmen can't attack without holding their swords, and for mages, if you crush their throats, you can usually manage somehow. But I aimed for her hands rather than her throat because I determined that this book was the necessary factor for her to exercise magic.

"If you're going to use magic, here's one more thing. You need to make sure others can't tell what conditions you need to exercise it. If you use a book as a medium, you should carry things like staves too."

"Ah, ahh..."

Main is desperately trying to pick up the book with her paralyzed hands. Burning the book is an option, but that seems too pitiful, so I move it a little away from her where she can't reach. Unable to move from that spot and unable to exercise magic, continuing the fight is impossible. I'll stop here.

Now then...

I peel off the ground stuck to the soles of my feet and walk toward him.

"You're last."

I stand before Anarchy, whose pain has faded and is just now trying to get up.

"Your comrades have fallen, leaving only you."

Just as I did with the other three, I ready my deck brush. Carefully, and perfectly, to break his spirit.

"This isn't uncommon in combat in the deep layer, especially in uncharted territory."

This act is, ultimately, nothing more than my ego. I know I'm not some noble being who can teach others, and I'm fully aware that even after doing this, they might not change one bit.

"Have you ever thought about what you'd do if that happened? Now that it's come to this, what will you choose?"

That's exactly why I'll give it my all. Because that's the duty of those who stand at the front.

"Now ready your sword, Anarchy, leader of Stained Hawk. I'm going to get a bit serious now, but don't worry. People are surprisingly sturdy—they won't die unless they actually die."