“Is that it? Alright. Zero, I’ll take you on. Climb, take care of the one behind me!”
The only person who didn’t understand was Climb. The rogue threw a dart at Tsuare without hesitation, and the dart thrown by the former orichalcum ranked adventurer was sharp and fast.
Yet Tsuare was somehow able to dodge the dart almost effortlessly. From Sebas’ description, Tsuare was just a simple maid. Her movement just now was too agile for this to be a coincidence.
“Was I already seen through?”
The appearance was that of Tsuare, but the voice was that of “Devil of Illusions” Succulent.
“The reason why you didn’t say anything to someone who came to rescue you was because your voice would give it away, right? But if you try to stand behind someone, anybody would be suspicious. Even before that I was a bit hesitant, considering the possibility that she was either being mind-controlled or that someone was disguising as her.”
With that, Brain revealed Succulent’s trick while focusing on Zero.
“I also noticed something about the way you were running, but I couldn’t get any solid proof even until the very end… I have to admit you’re quite good. No wonder, even though I was injured, you were able to avoid my dart without saying anything.”
The rogue stopped talking and gave Succulent a grateful expression.
Zero tsked.
“O, of course, boss.”
Tsuare’s figure melted away and Succulent appeared. He was still wearing a maid’s clothing. Succulent understood what Zero meant very well and stared at Climb.
“We meet again, kiddo.”
His voice was strangely tense, considering the fact that he had won against Climb yesterday. Eight Fingers was not a forgiving organization, and no further failures would be tolerated. Succulent’s back was against the wall and he could not afford to give any quarter.
“Was Eight Fingers capable of releasing someone imprisoned directly under the orders of the Royal Princess??”
Climb felt the extent of the Eight Fingers’ influence as he gripped his sword.
“…I can’t lose this time.”
Yesterday, Brain defeated him with a single strike but since both Zero and Succulent were present, it would be difficult for Brain to face against two of the Six Arms at once. Climb also couldn’t rely on Brain winning against Zero and focus only on stalling for time. He knew Succulent was better than he was. With some half-assed resolve, he would just lose again like yesterday.
This time he will win.
Climb resolved himself to not back away and stepped towards Succulent.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry~. I’ll help you out.”
The rogue spoke from behind him. The light tone was probably intended to prevent Climb from tensing up too much. He was thankful for the support, but the rogue had received a strike from Zero and still hadn’t fully recovered even after using a potion. He was also not sure how well the rogue would be able to support someone he had never fought side by side with before.
The rogue smiled as if he read what Climb was thinking.
“Don’t worry, I usually fill the support role. I’ll show you a way of fighting other than clashing with blades.”
“Thank you.”
The rogue had vast experience. Climb didn’t need to accommodate him, instead the rogue would support where Climb was lacking. Climb only needed to fight Succulent with all his strength. When he steeled his determination and turned around, Succulent was making clones like last time. There were several Succulents, and Climb couldn’t tell which was the real one. A bitter taste spread through his mouth. The moment the two of them slowly edged towards each other, an opened pouch flew from behind Climb towards Succulent.
“This is how rogues fight!”
The pouch exploded beneath Succulent’s feet and powder spread everywhere. Succulent covered his mouth to guard against poison, but this wasn’t poison, it was a magic item.
“It’s the ‘Powder of Will O’ Wisp’.”
The effect was immediate. Out of the five Succulents, only one had some milky, white light about him.
Succulent realized this and his eyes opened wide.
The ‘Powder of Will O’ Wisp’ was intended to be used against stealthy opponents like rogues or someone using invisibility magic. It only reacted to living beings.
Since ‘Multiple Vision’ copied the main body, even if one threw ink on it, it would be reflected immediately amongst the clones. Unless someone was really good at distinguishing, it was very hard to discern the true body. However, the effects from magic items were not reflected in the clones. If it was a high class spell, it would be able to deceive even magic items, but someone like Succulent, who trained to be an Illusionist and Fencer at the same time, couldn’t cast that kind of magic.
Climb’s sword came swinging towards Succulent’s true body.
“Damn it.”
Succulent leaped away, avoiding the attack. It was a splendid dodge, however the maid’s clothing became messy as the result.
They exchanged ten more blows just like that.
The one on the offensive was Climb. This wasn’t an intentional trick of Succulent, but the pure difference in their abilities. There was no way a person could suddenly become extremely strong over the course of a day, so nothing should have changed from yesterday. However, there were always exceptions. Climb had simply gotten stronger and Succulent became weaker.
First of all, unlike yesterday, Climb had his armour, shield, sword and other accessories with him this time. His stamina and defense had increased and he could use his usual fighting style. On the other hand, all of Succulent’s magical items had been taken away when he was arrested, and he was also wearing the cumbersome attire of a maid right now.
Because of their changed equipment, the difference between them became smaller, but that was not all.
One reason was that Climb already knew how Succulent fought. Another was that there was a rogue supporting him. Thanks to the items the rogue was using, Succulent’s illusion magic was useless. It was as if they were ready to face Succulent.
The rogue had actually collected information on the Six Arms and had prepared to face every single one. The fact he was prepared for even the imprisoned Succulent was amazing. Only someone with a truly meticulous personality could prepare for all that.
“Damn it!”
Even before the fight was fully underway, Succulent let out a frustrated scream.
The one in his sight was the rogue, but Climb always moved to block Succulent’s path towards his target. He could not allow Succulent to attack him, and being shielded by Climb, the rogue started to taunt Succulent.
“Oi, oi. Don’t make such a scary face. You’re supposed to be a member of Six Arms, someone who can stand toe to toe with adamantium ranked adventurers. This kind of handicap should be easy for you.”
Succulent’s face crinkled with rage. The scratches from earlier exchanges bled, making his face even uglier.
“Bastard!”
With a loud curse, Succulent posed to cast his magic. Normally, a warrior like Climb would charge to disrupt the casting, but this time he didn’t. While trading more than ten blows with Succulent, he had started to trust the rogue to do the right thing at the right moment.
A bottle flew from behind Climb and shattered at Succulent’s feet. He could see coloured smoke spreading everywhere.
“Guh! Cough, cough ”
Succulent coughed in pain.
The rogue had interrupted the casting with an alchemical item, which effects became immediately apparent.
If he had specialized as a magic caster, this kind of disruption would have been nothing, but because he had trained to be a warrior alongside magic caster, even a minor disruption broke his concentration, causing him to waste his mana.