4-09: Gold-Plated Mud (2/4)

4-09: Gold-Plated Mud (2/4)

With a suspicious yet gleeful and twisted crescent moon smile, Shinichi mocked Johann.

The boy mustve known that he would end up like this and so pretended to lose the advantage at first.

Clearly, the boy was toying with him.

No matter what he did, no matter how hard he fought, the boy that stood before him refused to treat him as a proper opponent.

But at the same time, it also became clear to him just how ignorant he was of Earths martial arts.

Even the five brains he had assimilated were ignorant in that regard.

Indeed, he might have been able to gain an overall advantage against Shinichi by incorporating those brains, but in the face of the unknown, no matter how high his Skill might be, there would still be a slight delay in response.

For normal people, such a difference might be negligible, but in a battle between highly skilled individuals, such a delay could prove fatal.

Johann felt humiliated, but at the same time, the rational part of him praised the boy.

Ah, damn it! Why didnt I realize something so elementary!? How could I be so proud of creating something this stupid!?

Johann yelled angrily as he criticized the thoughts he had before assimilating those brains.

No, wait! Even if thats true, my Resistance and Stamina are still far above yours! So eventually youll run out of str!?

Fu fu All I have to do is look at you, and it seems youll figure it all out for yourself. Indeed, that body of yours has a time limit, so you cant fight a battle of attrition either. I could just run around or teleport you into the depths of the sea, and victory will fall to me. Im sure even someone like you cant mass produce brains of that caliber. Theyre also not so convenient that they could be reused.

It was indeed a challenge to handle the brain, one of the most mysterious and delicate parts of the human body, and no matter how many bodies Johann could create, there was no way for him to replicate the same brain.

Thats why he had to steal someone elses brain. In the first place, if it were possible to access the knowledge and experience stored in the brain, then Johann would have kept his Skill always elevated. The fact that he hadnt done that only meant that reuse was impossible or couldnt be maintained for long.

Thats why the boy mocked him for thinking for even a moment that he might be able to suppress him once hed expended his current bodys life.

Dont be ridiculous! Theres still the Barrier of Teleportation that I Its gone!? Where did it go!? Did you destroy it? But that cant be, there werent any aftershocks or negative effect! How could it be destroyed so thoroughly? Dont tell me! Did that Silverganth weapon do it? Ahhhh!

Johann repeatedly murmured and argued with himself, then as he held his head as though it were aching, he told himself to shut up, but only Shinichi was able to make out those words with how much of a mess he was.

Looks like you finally understand that Skill isnt something you can just raise thoughtlessly. Indeed, Stellass silver wings werent just meant to open them an escape path.

Unwilling to accept his defeat, Johann let out an angry bellow and channeled his emotions to create two swords.

His was a body that combined the skills of a swordsman, the vision of a hunter, the agility of a fighter, and the speed of a thief. And he relentlessly rushed at the boy with killing intent.

He moved with top-notch precision despite his mental state, and while his first attack could be avoided even with half-hearted movements, there was no avoiding the second attack.

Those sharp silver blades of his could easily slice through any half-hearted defense, and regardless how many combat styles and techniques the boy might know, there was no denying that Johanns overall stats currently surpassed him. One wrong move, and Johann was sure to claim victory.

Hah, as they say, the foolish are indeed loud.

But that was a possibility so slim that the boy scoffed at the very thought.

He had already explained how to deal with Johann. All he had to do was send him somewhere or run away.

There was no reason to fight.

Johann could of course protect himself from being teleported away, but against someone with far superior Skill, he could not offer anything that might even resemble a resistance.

With him unable to fight the boy up close, already this was nothing more than a desperate struggle on his part.

Thats why

What!?!?

He was so shocked. For both of his blades were deflected, the boy neither taking a step away nor resorting to teleportation. Instead, he had simply moved his supposedly immobile left hand and parried the first slash, then grabbed the sword and struck it down with the second sword.

Why

Whether it was his skillful application of the Magic Raiment Battle Law or his forced use of his left arm, both were worthy of surprise, but what baffled Johann the most was why he took such an unnecessary action. But while the alchemist was speechless, a crescent moon smile surfaced on the boy.

Out of consideration for your delusions

Shinichi covered his face with his relatively fine right hand.

Allow me to crush your trump card personally.

Masquerade