Use your skills.

Few would have understood what that meant when Rei said those words.

That was because there was a strong understanding among people that skills were things only people could use.

It was true that there were monsters that could manipulate the elements like wind and water, spitting fire, or using the ground to create spikes.

However, those were just special attacks unique to the monster’s race.

In other words, those attacks were similar to a human using their own fists to punch an opponent.

That was why no one could accurately understand what Rei meant by ‘use your skills’.

Also, did Set refer to someone else……maybe a soldier who was hiding nearby? There were a few soldiers who believed that, but many of them had heard Rei call out to his Griffon using the name Set. Above all, the punitive force had fought against Rei multiple times already.

Naturally, they had collected information on Rei as one of their top priorities and had provided such information to people above a certain rank.

The name of Rei’s tamed Griffon was clearly present in that information……making those people very confused as to the intentions of Rei’s words.

Noiz was equally confused, but from his experience as an S rank adventurer, he judged his position to be dangerous if he remained where he was and immediately jumped away.

At the same time……

「Gurururururururu~!」

With Rei’s permission, Set gave a loud cry before using Fire Breath towards the ground.

The flames flew towards where Noiz had just been, enveloping it with intense heat as the ground burned.

It was now autumn and the weather had cooled a lot.

However, the people present felt as if it had to returned to mid summer in an instant from the intense heat of Set’s fire breath.

This was an unexpected turn of events, even for Noiz.

He spoke with disbelief as he landed some distance from where the fire breath had landed.

「The Griffon can use Fire Breath?」

As Noiz muttered, somewhat in shock, he suddenly spun around as he swung his magic sword.

A high pitched metallic screech echoed out and Rei frowned as he spoke.

「If you were surprised for just a little longer, this would have been the only attack I needed.」

「Hmph, you’re giving off too much killing intent. No, you’ve suppressed your killing intent quite well, but you’re still too green as far as I am concerned.」

「Is that so……-!」

Using the momentum from the magic sword’s deflection of his attack, Rei tried to stab Noiz with a thrust of the Death Scythe’s shaft, but that attack was also met with the magic sword in a violent clash.

「I had a feeling it wasn’t an ordinary monster, but I can’t believe it can use Fire Breath. Is it a rare species of Griffon?」

「Hah-, well said. I don’t think you should be saying that after you dodged his attack so easily though. But……now that you’ve seen it, I’ll be giving my all as well. My title of Crimson was given to both me and Set. Set!」

「Gurururururu~!」

In response to Rei’s shout, Set used Fire Breath again from above.

The flames from his beak spread into the surroundings as it hit the ground.

It didn’t just reach Noiz either.

No matter how much space had been made for the two of them, it was still only a 100m square.

Since that was the case……Set’s fire breath started to head towards the wall of soldiers as the flames poured down.

「UWAAAAAAAAAAH-!」

「Get down, get down, get down! We’re going to get caught up in their fight!」

「Hot, hothothot! Someone please put out the fire, the fire!」

「Damn it! That Crimson, doing whatever he wants just because this is our camp!」

「Water, is there anyone who can use water magic!?」

「You think there are mages so conveniently around!? Use sand, put out the fires with sand and dirt on the ground!」

Despite the screams and confusion, the soldiers piled dirt on the comrades who were burning.

However, the flames from Set’s fire breath wouldn’t disappear so easily and those who were unlucky even had the flames on their body spread to the dead grass on the ground, spreading the carnage even further.

While the soldiers were thrust into what could only be described as screaming confusion……

「HAAAAAAAH-!」

「You think an attack like that will work? You’re not living up to your title of Crimson!」

Rei and Noiz were sweeping freely through the battlefield, which had since become a scorching hell, their weapons clashing everywhere.

With both of them using Overlord’s Armour, their movements couldn’t be followed by the soldiers’ eyes.

They rapidly blinked all over the place, fighting here for a moment, and there in the next.

All that said, this situation still placed Noiz at an advantage.

In fact, a magic shield that Rei had just put up had already been destroyed due to an attack from Noiz’s magic sword.

Adding on to that……

「Gururururu~!」

Set continued to use Fire Breath as he tracked Noiz in his Overlord’s Armour.

However, Fire Breath was an attack that required Set to breath in before using it, releasing flames from his beak.

In other words, there was a slight delay between Set using Fire Breath and the flames actually coming out.

With his ability to make high speed movements in Overlord’s Armour, Noiz could easily avoid it with the delay.

As a result, while Set’s Fire Breath couldn’t hit Noiz, it did cause significant damage to the soldiers in the surrounding area.

「Is that so? Then I’ll kick things up a notch. Set!」

「Gurururu~!」

「What-!」

The next moment, Set used Evil Eye Impact.

The power was quite weak, but unlike Fire Breath, the skill could be used instantly.

And, in this case, the instantaneous effect was the important aspect.

Even if the impact was light, it was sufficient to stop Noiz for a moment……for just a moment……

「I’ve got you!」

Not missing that moment, Rei swung the Death Scythe at Noiz.

However, quickly coming back to his senses, Noiz evaded the attack at an almost inhuman speed, only possible from his experience in reaching S rank.

Even so……he couldn’t avoid the attack completely and a small cut was made on his face.

It was a really small cut, but it was still the first time that Noiz had been injured in this battle.

(Tch, the cut was too small……if I had managed to take away an arm, I would have been able to absorb a lot of magic power with the effect of the Bracelet of Magic Absorption.)

Rei grumbled in irritation.

The amount of magic power he could absorb was proportional to the damage he could inflict on his opponent.

In other words, the slightest scratch he had made on Noiz was only enough to take a sparrow’s tear drop of magic power away from Noiz.

But……

「……Did you do something just now?」

Noiz spoke as he wiped away a drop of blood from his cheek with his thumb.

Using Overlord’s Armour required him to control his magic power to his absolute limits.

That was why he had sensed that he had lost some magic power……even if it was just a drop in an ocean, a infinitesimally minute amount.

「Well, who knows. There’s a good chance you’re just imagining things, right? Overlord’s Armour does using a lot of magic power after all.」

Noiz nodded at Rei’s words.

「I said you did something, but I didn’t say it had to do with magic power. ……But, I see. Will my magic power be sapped if I’m injured by the Scythe? It’s certainly a troublesome attack to deal with……but once I know how it works, it’s not that hard to deal with!」

With a sharp shout from Noiz, Rei swung the Death Scythe as metallic clashes echoed out.

They fought each other in high speed clashes using the super fast movement provided by Overlord’s Armour.

The sound of Rei’s Death Scythe clashing with Noiz’s magic sword could be heard throughout.

「Set!」

「Guru~!」

The high speed clashes continued as Rei called out to Set.

They blinked through multiple locations, appearing before disappearing again.

Because of how the battle was taking place, the soldiers in the surroundings were unable to do anything as they watched on.

The only people capable of participating in the fight were Noiz, Rei, and……

「Gururururururu~!」

Set’s cry echoed out, freezing soldiers in the surroundings.

However, his cry, using King’s Awe, was only able to freeze the soldiers……his main target, Noiz, was completely unfazed by it.

King’s Awe was a skill that was only effective against opponents weaker than him.

In other words, Noiz was stronger than Set.

However, Set didn’t feel discouraged by that.

He already knew from fighting together with Rei that Noiz was stronger than them.

As for King’s Awe, he had only hoped to slow down Noiz for a moment rather than actually stopping him.

That was why……

「Gururururu~!」

With a loud cry, two water balls, about 40cm in diameter, appeared next to Set before shooting out.

As Rei and Noiz practically flew around the battlefield, Set was one of the few capable of keeping track of their movements.

The water balls were shot out towards Noiz’s future positions.

Rather than hitting him directly, the water balls targeted locations where Set believed Noiz would go to. And, of course, Noiz easily destroyed the water balls as they flew towards him, scattering water all over the ground.

However, the time needed for him to swing his magic sword was more than enough for Rei.

At that singular opportunity, Rei chose to use……

「Magic Shield!」

At those words, a magic shield was created again, able to block a single attack.

Any attack could be blocked, even if it was one from an S rank adventurer.

But……

「Using that again!」

Noiz shouted as if he had already predicted it, thrusting his sword towards Rei.

His thrusts, which were like flashes of light, attacked multiple times.

Knowing that the magic shield would disappear after blocking a single thrust, Rei avoided losing the magic shield by parrying the thrusts with the Death Scythe.

The continuous metallic echoes were enough to draw the attention of the surrounding soldiers.

「Hey, they’re over there!」

「Don’t worry about them! Put out the fires first!」

「Hot, hot! Someone, help me! Put out the fires!」

The soldiers could tell where Noiz and Rei were now fighting, but they had no attention to spare as they tried to help their comrades, who were burning alive.

As the soldiers rushed about, the battle between Rei and Noiz grew harsher and more intense.

Rei felt anxious as he watched Set try to attack Noiz in the moments where the Death Scythe and magic sword clashed.

(Damn it, even with Set, we are only equal……no, we’re still at a disadvantage. If the fight continues like this, I’ll run out of magic power to keep Overlord’s Armour up and I’ll lose. If that’s the case, it’s all or nothing!

Making up his mind, Rei swung the Death Scythe.

「Power Slash!」

The skill that activated with his words was an attack that increased the raw power of his attack rather than the sharpness of the blade.

Combined with Overlord’s Armour and the weight behind the Death Scythe, exceeding 100kg, it was impossible to block Rei’s attack, even for Noiz.

No, in terms of whether it could be blocked, Noiz could block it, but he was still hit by the immense force behind the attack, which he hadn’t expected.

「Gah-!」

Rei shouted out as he saw Noiz get blasted backwards.

「Set! Poison!」

「Gurururururu~!」

With just those words, Set understood what Rei wanted and used Poison Claw as he descended from the sky.

Poison Claw was the highest level skill Set knew.

In other words, it could be considered his strongest attack.

However, as its name suggested, it required a direct hit to take effect.

If asked whether Set could easily hit Noiz, who was wearing Overlord’s Armour and moving and blinding fast speeds as he fought……the answer was no.

Set’s sharp Griffon eyesight was good enough to capture Noiz’s movements.

However, it was still hard for Set, who was barely two years old, to keep up with Noiz physically.

……Yes. That was if it was just Set.

「Wind Hand!」

As Rei activated the skill, a wind tentacle stretched out from the shaft of the Death Scythe.

Only the tip of the tentacle could interact with objects and its power wasn’t very strong.

But even so, it was enough to stop Noiz for just a moment.

「What-!?」

「Gururururururu~!」

That moment was enough as Set descended in a straight line towards Noiz with Poison Claw active.

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