Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 88
88. Mari-nee and along with his strength
At last, Leon and the other four appeared.
The fragments of memory flowing from Maria through the [Inheritance of Souls] told me what they did to Maria before.
Just that makes me want to tear them apart right now… but something is off.
Leon, a warrior-type man, like other adventurers, is filled with anger and hatred on his face.
But the other four, or rather three, are strange in a different way from Leon.
First is the mage-type woman, Mist.
Her demeanor is akin to those PK scum.
She directs clear hostility towards us of her own volition.
The problem lies with the other three.
The men, one a knight-type and the other a thief-type, named Gillan and Arx respectively, and the woman, a priestess-type named Lotus.
They are not ruled by emotions.
Just by looking into their eyes, one can see a hint of rationality remaining.
Despite this, they are here, cooperating with Leon and Mist.
I completely fail to understand, but if they intend to harm Maria, I will show no mercy.
As I try to eliminate Mist, who is obstructing my vision, using [Dragon Thread], my attack unintentionally gets redirected towards Gillan.
“Hmph!”
Similar to [Clown], it’s a skill that redirects attacks.
But against this thread, defense is futile.
As I attempt to bisect Gillan, the thread entangles him.
However, just before the thread touches Gillan, it is stopped by a golden membrane-like barrier, immobilizing it.
Even with all my strength, it remains motionless, showing no sign of breaking.
Is this a skill?
Given the nature of [Dragon Thread], which ignores defense, it’s not surprising if there are skills like attack nullification or absolute defense… but…
As I struggle to keep my composure, trying to retract the thread, a blade is suddenly thrust into the elbow of my left arm.
“If it’s a puppet, its structural weaknesses should be the same as a human’s.”
Did he precisely hit the back of my elbow, where the thin, tanned leather made from wyvern skin doesn’t hinder movement?
I attempt to attack with my right hand, but Arx easily dodges it.
Furthermore, as he moved away, the dagger wielded with sharp precision sever tendons, leaving my left hand barely hanging from my elbow.
Is this the weakness inherent in mimicking the human body?
“If so, let me show you the strength inherent in being a puppet.”
Briefly exposing my back vulnerable to them, I use my right hand to tear off my left arm.
Then, changing every motion into a twisting movement, I throw my left arm aimed at Arx with the most acceleration.
It’s commendable that he instinctively takes a defensive posture, but does he think he can withstand it with a thief’s defense?
Even after shattering his crossed arms, my thrown left arm doesn’t stop and pierces Arx’s body.
“If you can’t win with speed, compensate with strength.”
First, one down.
Before facing the next opponent, several flames come flying.
Most are dealt with using the thread, but being one-armed, I can’t handle them all and am forced to dodge.
It seems Mist is spewing insults toward Maria, but it’s unbearable to listen to.
I want to shut her mouth as soon as possible, but her magic is unnecessarily strong, and there’s no opening.
What’s even more troublesome is Leon.
“Kuh!”
He attacks in the gaps like a seamstress.
His sword strikes are sharp, and although I block them with my right hand multiple times, I still take damage each time.
This body, made of adamantite and wyvern leather, shouldn’t take damage from mere physical attacks like Arx’s, without targeting weaknesses like Arx did.
Is he somehow enhancing the magical power of his attacks?
My body doesn’t necessarily have a high defense against magic.
This needs to be improved upon quickly with those three…
And amidst such thoughts, the attacks continue.
I exploit openings to swing the thread, but Gillan manages to fend off every single one.
As frustrating as it is, this has answered my questions.
It’s impossible for one person alone to block repeated attacks from [Dragon Thread].
What’s likely enabling this is the support of Lotus, who is probably behind Gillan.
And the more powerful the support, the greater the price to pay.
So, although it seems a breakthrough might be possible with time, we don’t have the luxury.
Since the start of this battle, several tens of minutes have passed.
It’s not hard to imagine that Maria’s MP is nearing its limit.
“In that case…”
I immediately switched my mindset and charged at Gillan.
Even after successfully blocking what is likely the most threatening attack, [Dragon Thread], Gillan vigilantly tracks my movements.
It’s not just skills or equipment; the strength this man possesses is evident in his defensive stance.
Admittedly, even without skills, it wouldn’t have been easy to break this man, Gillan.
His resilience against external attacks is akin to a fortress… but don’t think you can withstand this blow!
Gripping the thread tightly, I gather the aura of my entire body into my right hand, compressing it.
As its color transcends from black to white, I thrust my right hand toward the void between Gillan and me, and the moment it makes contact, a blinding light bursts forth from within his body, causing an explosion.
And without even understanding what happened, I sever Lotus, who is left dumbfounded, with the thread.
That’s three down.
As I prepare to face the next opponent and take a step forward, my body sways.
“Ugh.”
The strain is indeed significant…
I manage to hold my ground somehow, supporting my upper body.
Not yet, I can’t collapse yet.
In the blink of an eye, having defeated the two pillars of defense, Mist seems to have lost her will to fight, sitting down on the spot.
“W-What just happened! Why did Gillan, and even Lotus? It’s impossible!!”
Approaching her, I grab her by the neck and lift her up.
“Stop… it hurts… let me go…”
Stop it, it hurts… which mouth is saying that?!
Right now, I am purely feeling anger as myself, I remember that!!
“Why is it that while you possess such human-like emotions and pain, you cannot imagine the voiceless, agonizing cries of Maria and the others? Are you truly, like Maria, an adventurer?”
However, Mist offers no response to my question, only crying out in anguish.
…Perhaps seeking an answer is futile.
“Then I will protect only those I want to protect, my family.”
“Please… forgive…”
I couldn’t even allow her to speak anymore. I crushed Mist’s neck with my grip.
I won’t allow Maria’s entrusted thread to be tainted for the likes of her.
Now, that’s four down.
The last one standing is Leon, with a hideous face bearing no resemblance to the faces in Maria’s memories.
“Why? Why is someone like that valued more than me? It’s unacceptable, it shouldn’t be allowed!!”
Though he’s ruled by emotions, his swordsmanship is truly remarkable.
Dealing with him with just my right hand, I couldn’t surpass it all, and accumulating damage was slowing down my movements.
This led to further damage, as Leon, who had pushed away my right hand, thrust his sword into my vulnerable abdomen.
“Gah!”
Perhaps due to the magic imbued in the sword, excruciating pain surged from my abdomen throughout my body.
But this is nothing compared to the pain Maria endured!!
“Urgh!”
With the sword still inside me, I bind Leon’s body with the thread.
“Damn it, let go!”
With the damage I’ve taken, I can’t exert enough force to simply sever you.
But like this, restraining your movements is possible.
And with this close proximity, even with my current state, it’s not difficult to land a blow on you.
Black aura begins to gather in my right hand again.
“Using such a cheat-like tool, how despicable!”
There’s truly no salvation for this one.
Then know that the strength Maria possesses surpasses yours.
“This is a souvenir from the underworld. The name of the skill I’m about to unleash is [Karmic Calamity]. My second skill.”
The black aura gradually changes into a dazzling white.
“This skill’s power is unaffected by levels, stats, or even the wielded equipment. Therefore, an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to defeat even weak monsters if they were to use it.”
“So what, what’s the point of such a worthless skill!”
Ah, for you, it’s undoubtedly a worthless skill.
But when used by Maria, entrusted to me, its value changes entirely.
“The only thing that determines the power of this skill is one thing. The karma possessed by the one who unleashes the skill. And the greater the difference in karma between the user and the target, the greater the power.”
My right hand is now enveloped in a blinding white light.
“Maria’s karma is 140,000. Your karma in Caldia is below 0. Endure the strength of Maria’s karma, if you can!!”
With a fist elevated to its limit, glowing white, I strike Leon’s abdomen.
As the impact of the fist causes the restraining thread to dig into his armor, before the thread can sever, a burst of light like with Gillan occurs, and engulfed in that light, Leon’s body disappears.
“That makes five.”
With the adventurers dealt with, everything is settled…
I tried to head towards Maria, but due to the damage and the backlash from [Karmic Calamity], my worn-out body reached its limit, and I collapsed to my knees.
I thought my upper body would crash onto the ground… but that didn’t happen.
“Gils, Gils!!”
I don’t know when she approached, but Maria is holding me in her arms.
The warmth emanating from her body tells me that she’s just concerned for me.
Even while deeply wounded herself, is Maria still worried about me…?
Lifting my creaking right hand, I stroke Maria’s head.
It’s okay, Maria.
We, we won’t go anywhere without you.
And oh, what a sight.
Her eyes, which didn’t reflect any color, but Maria’s black hair are so beautiful, and her eyes are as clear as if they were reflecting the deep blue sky.
Nero, my eldest brother who resides within me, and Kuuga, my second brother.
Are you watching?
The Maria we protected is here.
She’s here with us.
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