I Will Be Unrivaled With The Skill [Sewing]! They Said It Was A Bad Skill, But With Effort, I will Make It A Hit~ - Chapter 109

Episode 109: The First Strike

Having discovered the Guardian, Pheripatos was standing by at a distance with Nina.

“Hey, Nina. What’s the most important thing in a surprise attack?”

“Hmm. Not getting noticed?”

“Well, yeah, that’s part of it. But ultimately, you’ve got to land the hit. Alright then, what do you think is the next most important thing?”

“Umm… Umm… Doing as much damage as possible?”

“Exactly. You’re surprisingly sharp, despite how you look.

…So that means—if you unleash an unavoidable attack at full power, that in itself becomes a surprise attack.”

“I see.”

“Looks like you get it. It’s about time—I’m off to take down that big ugly demon. You stay here and watch. If you get any closer, you’ll probably get caught up in it.”

“Got it.”

“From here on out, don’t hesitate. Trust yourself and act on instinct. That will determine your fate.”

“Pheripatos-sama, do your best.”

“…Just watch from there.”

With that, Pheripatos disappeared toward the ominous presence.

Though still at a distance, Pheripatos could see the enemy beast clearly.

The Guardian resembled a half-human, half-beast monster. Its lower body was thick, and its legs were like a gazelle’s, but it floated in the air with wings sprouting from its back.

Its face was vicious, like an ogre or cyclops, with a bluish tone across its entire body. It was easily three times larger than Pheripatos. In its hand was an axe, and its strength looked formidable.

Additionally, all Guardians were known for their exceptional defense. After all, they existed to protect something.

Pheripatos, deciding to call the creature a “Gazelle Demon,” glanced behind it.

Behind the Gazelle Demon was an open gateway. Beyond it was dyed in shades of black and red—a subspace, known to be an alternate dimension.

“Just as I thought. That thing’s huge.”

The entrance to the subspace—the “Door”—was perhaps the largest Pheripatos had ever seen.

“If we’d been any slower, the whole damn country might’ve been wiped out.”

In the quiet forest, devoid of even animal sounds, Pheripatos muttered to himself.

He calmly gathered strength in his legs and leapt high into the sky.

In an instant, his body pierced through the clouds, filling his heart with a serene stillness.

The Guardian may have noticed him, but the presence was likely too insignificant to register—Pheripatos knew that.

However, what was about to happen would be impossible to ignore.

Pheripatos blended his mana and fighting spirit within his body, then entrusted himself to the skill. As the skill guided him, he compressed the energy into the form of a cross-shaped sword.

Even though he had used his internal mana and fighting spirit, it didn’t feel like they were decreasing. It was as if the skill itself was supplying power.

“Let’s go with black today.”

For some reason, this technique could change colors.

As the compression continued, the cross-shaped sword made of mana and fighting spirit began to tremble—and suddenly began multiplying rapidly within his body.

From the original cross-sword, smaller versions split off.

Pheripatos continued compressing to control the growth, but he couldn’t contain all of it within his body.

Tiny, miniature cross-swords began to spill out and spread across the sky with Pheripatos at the center.

He intensified the compression. The large cross-sword within him began to glow black.

In response, the smaller cross-swords in the sky also began to glow black.

Pheripatos loved the sky.

It felt like the most unwavering thing in the world.

The skies of the world were connected, and they always gave him strength.

No matter how strong he became, he knew he’d never possess the vast and steady power the sky held.

But even so, Pheripatos could temporarily dye the sky in his colors.

“【Heavenly Cross Blade】”

Pheripatos released the endlessly multiplying cross-swords from his body.

KIKIKIKIIIIIN!!!

A massive cross-shaped blade and countless smaller ones emitted a distinct sound as they rained down upon the Guardian.

The Guardian appeared as though it was going to dodge, but realizing it was impossible to avoid such a wide-ranged attack, it braced itself for defense with all its might.

“GyuOOOOOOOO!!!”

With a roar, it countered the threat with full-powered magic.

Even the cross-swords as small as grains of sand were powerful enough to injure the Guardian, but if it paid attention to each and every one, it would not survive.

In an instant, the Guardian made a choice—it concentrated its power solely on the three largest incoming blades.

Acting on the instinct etched into its being—the impulse to protect—the Guardian’s stance stirred something within Pheripatos.

“Damn, you are strong… Gazelle Demon.”

The battle had only just begun.

Fabius stood atop the tallest tower in the city, observing the great forest. Beside him was Xenon.

“Fabius, Pheripatos has moved.”

As Xenon said this, the distant sky began to shine black.

Suddenly, a gigantic cross appeared in the sky—and fell toward the ground.

“I’ll activate my magic as well.”

The moment that calm voice reached Fabius, a transparent, dome-shaped barrier appeared, covering the entire city of Trias.

“Fabius, I need you to relay a message. Let them know it’s going as planned.”

“Yes!”

Fabius immediately jumped from the tower. It was safe, thanks to the steps of magical energy Xenon had laid around the tower.

Alone once more atop the tower, Xenon murmured as he watched the young adventurer.

“I’ll be watching your performance from here, Fabius.”

Some time later, the fastest-moving monsters began making their way toward the city of Trias.

There was a hastily built defensive wall surrounding the city, but Xenon’s barrier enveloped everything, including that wall.

“Monsters are approaching.”

Fabius, now back on top of the tower, reported to Xenon.

“This is not the time to panic. Let them come as close as possible.”

Xenon remained composed, as if this were peacetime.

It was different from what Fabius had imagined.

He had thought that when a stampede occurred, adventurers would encircle the city and desperately fight to hold the line. But now, not a single adventurer was stationed outside the city for its defense.

All of them were inside the city, maintaining a tense readiness while preparing their weapons.

Can the presence of just one Platinum-ranked adventurer really change things this much? Fabius wondered. He had thought of them as people from another world entirely, but… was the gap really that vast?

As he pondered this, the monsters reached the barrier.

The creatures rammed into it and slashed at it with their claws, but the barrier didn’t so much as tremble.

“For the sake of the people in the city, let’s deliver the first strike. Fabius, watch closely.”

Xenon extended his right hand and channeled his magic into the barrier.

The barrier began to glow, then unleashed a shockwave in the direction where the monsters were most densely gathered.

Shuun.

The monsters caught in the shockwave were effortlessly erased.

After that, the pattern repeated: waiting for the monsters to arrive, letting them gather, and then Xenon wiping them out with magic.

Fabius began to wonder if Xenon might end the entire stampede by himself.

But then Xenon spoke.

“Fabius, it’s almost time to begin the real battle. At this pace, even I’ll get worn out. Tell the adventurers to make their final preparations.”

There was a schedule in place for regularly lowering the barrier so Xenon could rest.

Suppressing his skepticism about whether Xenon really needed rest at all, Fabius turned to deliver the message—when Xenon spoke again.

“There are more monsters than I expected.”

Realizing that rest was indeed necessary, Fabius began descending the tower.