Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 143
143. Mari-nee and Fierce battle
Since it was just me and my younger siblings, I’d heard words like Jade-san’s many times. But never had anything provoked my emotions like this. Now, I somewhat understand why. It felt like he’d intruded into a part of my heart I tried to keep closed off.
Sensing my rising anger, Gils adopted a combat stance. Vel had climbed from my hand to my shoulder and seemed equally ready for action. Though my MP was still reduced from using Moira’s Blessing Thread on Vel, I knew there was no going back now.
As we prepared, Jade-san drank an MP potion. Unlike with alcohol, he grimaced while drinking, but when he turned his gaze back to us, he smiled slyly.
“Good spirit.”
Saying that, Jade-san created some distance.
“Come, jou-chan!”
Without a word, Gils stepped forward, meeting my gaze as we passed each other. His eyes said, “Leave it to me,” and Vel and I stepped back. But we weren’t just going to watch.
Until now, I had to use all my threads to keep Gils alive. However, thanks to leveling up and improving my skills, I could now control one thread freely. I wasn’t sure what I could do against Jade-san, who even Roulette-san couldn’t beat. Still, I was finally able to fight alongside Gils again. Recently, I had left all the fighting to him.
Thinking this, Vel pecked my head with his beak.
“Piyo!”
Sorry, Vel, you’ve been fighting with us too. I patted Vel’s head, feeling a bit calmer. After a short while, we were ready.
“…”
“…”
A heavy silence spread over the stage. As we prepared to move, a gust of wind stirred up a cloud of dust, slightly obscuring our vision. This veil of sand served as the signal for Gils to move… but Jade-san charged at us even faster.
“I’ve blocked three times already. Time to switch things up, don’t you think?”
A surprise close-in attack. If it were me, I wouldn’t even be able to react and would be taken down. But Gils was different. Instead of retreating, he closed in to counter.
“Not bad, nii-chan.” (simply words for ‘bro’)
Jade-san had anticipated a retreat and was about to use his hands for something when Gils, charging to collide, forced Jade-san to back off instead.
“I’ve faced adventurers like you many times before.”
Not giving him a chance to recover, Gils pressed the attack. A swift punch almost reached Jade-san but fell just short at the last moment.
“!?”
Gils was shocked. I also thought he had him, but it seemed his movements slowed just before the strike.
“Nii-chan, you’re tough, but a precise strike will pierce you like a needle. And it will do a good job, won’t it?”
Jade-san held a needle in his hand.
And the same kind of needle was now embedded in Gils’s knee.
“Just a needle. But it’s enough to slow your movements, even if only for a brief moment.”
Silently, Gils pulled out the needle, letting his arm hang limply. From his fingertips, dragon threads began to flow.
“There were others who were fast, others who were strong… but you are different.”
Jade-san, arms crossed, urged Gils to continue.
“Unbelievable as it may be, you defeated Roulette and are fighting us without relying on such physical strength or status.”
“You’re using some sort of diversion technique, though. However, like with the glasses-wearing nee-chan, it doesn’t seem to affect nii-chan either.”
“Those kinds of things don’t work on me. But you speak the truth. Even with such measures nearly sealed, you defeated Roulette.”
If what Gils said was correct, just how strong was Jade-san’s true power? Feeling a chill run down my spine, I suddenly remembered that Graham-san’s name hadn’t come up in the entire exchange. I quietly shed a tear. Before the fight, they had encouraged each other, making it seem like they were getting along better… or so I had thought.
“You are dangerous. Therefore, I won’t hold back.”
The ground beneath Jade-san’s feet cracked and exploded. This was caused by the dragon threads controlled by Gils.
“I’m coming at you with everything I’ve got!”
The dragon threads from both his hands closed in from the sides. This was the attack that had once taken down many adventurers in one blow. He even adjusted the height to make it harder to avoid.
Given the range of the dragon threads controlled by Gils, it was impossible to avoid them by moving up or down or even by retreating.
“If that’s the case…”
Jade-san leaped forward, threading through the gaps between the threads. Although there was no other escape route, how many could instantly act without hesitation after seeing that power?
As I stood there in shock, Jade-san rolled as he landed, closing the distance to Gils. But as if anticipating this, Gils was ready with a fist.
“Oh!”
Dodging the powerful punch at the last moment, Jade-san also deftly avoided the dragon thread’s follow-up attack, making it seem as if he had eyes on his back. As I watched in amazement at his skillful evasion, Jade-san tried to move into Gils’s blind spot, reminiscent of Roulette-san’s tactics.
“Not so fast!”
I wove the magic silver thread I had been running along the ground into a lattice pattern just in front of Jade-san.
“!”
Caught off guard, Jade-san rolled away, putting some distance between us.
“Impressive. I didn’t expect someone without resistance to attack me so precisely while watching me.”
“I wasn’t actually watching you, Jade-san.”
Facing off against Jade-san on stage, I could now understand why Graham-san had missed his attack. Staring directly at Jade-san made his figure shimmer like a heat haze, making it hard to aim accurately. So, I only looked at Jade-san for a moment. After confirming his position, I focused on Gils, ready to protect him from any attack he couldn’t handle.
“I see.”
Though he was laughing, his face seemed to say, “Well done.”
If he was just boasting about his strength, I wouldn’t care. I don’t think of myself as strong.
But being looked at by Jade-san with eyes that seemed to watch over a child’s growth made my heart feel uneasy.
“Don’t think you can keep that smile on your face forever!”
As Jade-san tried to stand up, Gils attacked. With his stance broken, he shouldn’t be able to dodge as he did before. Facing the approaching dragon threads, Jade-san didn’t move. His body should have been cleaved in two by the direct hit… but instead, he was repelled and sent flying.
“!!”
Not only I but also Gils was shocked.
It didn’t look like he had used a defensive skill like the one Gilan had shown before. But the fact remained that Jade-san wasn’t down. More than that, he managed to rotate in mid-air and land gracefully, immediately regaining his stance.
While I was confused, Gils intensifies his attacks. However, unlike before, Jade-san stayed in place, parrying the oncoming dragon threads with his hands.
At first glance, it looked like he was blocking with his bare hands, but as he continued to defend, his long sleeves were cut, revealing what he was holding.
“Is that… a needle?”
I had seen Jade-san using needles as weapons, but how could such thin needles block the dragon threads…?
At that moment, a possibility dawned on me. In terms of thinness, the dragon threads were finer than the needles. Despite that, the dragon threads could cut through anything and possessed another special property. If that was the case…
“It seems like you figured it out, jou-chan. ‘Unbreakable’ isn’t just your nii-chan’s thread’s specialty.”
Jade-san, with a confident smile, twirled the needle around his fingers. I felt a twinge of caution towards his casual revelation, which soon became evident.
Jade-san began to handle Gils’s attacks with obvious ease. It wasn’t that Jade-san’s movements had become faster. Rather…
“What…? My body feels… heavy!?”
Gils’s movements had slowed down.
“Did you notice? This is a curse. Or in this world’s terms, a debuff.”
A debuff was a magic or skill that lowered the opponent’s abilities or inflicted status ailments. But why would it affect Gils, who was immune to illusions?
“Even if it doesn’t work directly on you, I figured it would through the threads to the jou-chan. It seems I was right.”
As if reading my thoughts, Jade-san once again casually revealed his hand.
“My status has indeed decreased.”
“Just blocking attacks isn’t much fun, after all.”
It seemed he had something else set up to go along with blocking the Dragon Threads.
What kind of person is he…?
“Now that the secret’s out, let’s get serious!”
Reacting slowly to Jade-san’s unexpected approach, Gils called out.
To make up for his delay, I encircled Gils again with magic silver threads.
But it seemed Jade-san had anticipated even that. He leapt just before the thread wall, stepped on Gils’s shoulder, and jumped even farther forward.
Straight towards me.
“What!? Maria!!”
By the time Gils’s cry reached me, Jade-san was already approaching.
There was no time to reset the threads I’d placed around Gils to intercept.
“Not yet!!”
In an instant, Gils kicked the thread wall towards me.
It was reckless, but the magic silver threads from behind Jade-san approached with tremendous force.
But Jade-san’s hand reached me just slightly faster.
I could do nothing but stare dumbfounded, without even the composure to brace myself.
But just then, a small figure leaped out to protect me.
It was Vel, who had been on my shoulder.
Despite being smaller than Nero, just like on that day in the sky, and like Gils…
Jade-san’s eyes widened at Vel’s audacity and he involuntarily stopped moving.
Seizing the opportunity, I manipulated the thread I’d retrieved and wrapped it around Jade-san’s neck.
“So this is also your power… I’ve lost.”
Jade-san said lightly, raising both hands.
And thus, our battle with Jade-san came to an end.
However, there was no sense of victory in it for us…