Mob MC 310.1

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Chapter 310.1. Shocking Truth

-Masatoshi's POV-

Shin's strike was much heavier than one would expect from a slender blade. Gritting his teeth, Masatoshi, armed with a bastard sword, used the thickness of the blade to his advantage, attempting to break through Shin's attack with determination.

"Whoa!"

"Oops."

However, Shin effortlessly deflected the blow without engaging in a strength contest, smoothly stepping back. 

Putting too much force into his attack, Masatoshi nearly stumbled but managed to recover his stance and reposition his sword without dodging or blocking.

With a sharp thrust as fast as an arrow, Shin launched an attack, but Masatoshi remained composed, not attempting to evade the strike, and readied his sword again.

A scratching sound, like glass being scraped, indicated that something stopped Shin's thrust right in front of Masatoshi's face. Six crimson crystal fragments formed a magical shield, acting as the pivot.

[Prism Crimson]

It was the magic crystal renowned as Masatoshi's trademark, which automatically defended him even without his dodging, something he had absolute faith in.

"Your magic is quite troublesome."

Despite his attack being completely thwarted, Shin smiled confidently.

"Heh, as long as I have this crystal, my victory is assured. [Prism Crimson] excels in offense and defense, even more than the person wielding it!"

Masatoshi transmitted his thoughts candidly, and the 32 crimson crystals whirled around him, following his commands.

[Crimson Rain]

Eighteen of the crystals swiftly gathered and combined into three flaming spears.

"Take this!"

I swung his sword horizontally, extending the distance while simultaneously launching the hovering fiery spears into the air. The right leg left shoulder, and the anticipated evasion route.

"You seem to have thought this through."

[Sword Of Dispelling Evil]

With a faint smile, Shin muttered, and the blade he held warped like a mirage. Then, with a sharp step forward, he intercepted the spear approaching his right leg.

A clinking sound like shattering glass filled the air, and the fiery spears got disintegrated, while the crystal fragment touched by the blade disappeared.

"Ha!"

[Triple Soaring Strike]

With a triumphant cry, Shin returned his sword, severing the spear approaching his left shoulder. He spun around, extending his arm to shoot down the final spear.

Three flashes of the sword remained in the wake of Shin's sword swings. His swordsmanship was extraordinary.

"Seriously? You already mastered [Sword of Dispelling Evil]?"

It was Shin's exclusive magic, a version of [Magic Break] applied to his blade, a terrifying magic sword that could erase any magic upon contact. Surprisingly, it could even nullify magic barriers.

Masatoshi was surprised because, in the original story, Shin was supposed to learn this magic sword in the latter half of the series.

However, I remained unfazed.

He's always preparing for the inevitable battle with Shin. Masatoshi had mentally simulated various combat scenarios. Among them was the one where Shin used [Sword of Dispelling Evil].

"That technique has a fatal weakness!"

[Crimson Downpour]

Although my spears got shattered, some crystal fragments remained in the vicinity. These fragments surrounded Shin and launched as arrows.

[Sword of Dispelling Evil] was powerful but could only dispel the magic at the point of contact. My spear formed from multiple crystal fragments. So the untouched pieces were still intact.

Moreover, the arrows were floating right before Shin, creating another excellent opportunity to attack.

This time, it was an attack from countless arrows from all directions, designed to be nearly impossible to defend against with his blade.

"Even one hit, and it's over, Shin! My victory!"

With utmost confidence, I shouted gleefully, aware of Shin's weakness in all types of magic. I had adopted the strategy of firing multiple shots, hoping at least one would hit.

"You're doing well! But how about this?"

[Silence Field]

Shin channeled his mana and cast a magic. The surrounding space quivered slightly, and he created an invisible dome. Because it was transparent, one wouldn't typically notice that the magic had been cast unless they observed the slight distortion in the surroundings.

However, as a god, Masatoshi was familiar with this magic too. He knew all of Shin's techniques.

Just before the arrows touched the dome, the flaming arrows came to a sudden halt, and Masatoshi withdrew a throwing knife from his hip and aimed it at Shin.

"What?"

To Shin's surprise and against his expectations, he hurriedly deactivated his magic to deflect the oncoming knife.

"Hahaha, Shin, I know everything about your abilities! Magic within the range of that magic is all canceled, including enhancements to your body. So, you can't defend against physical attacks!"

Masatoshi explained without the need for bragging, but he still took the time to clarify. Perhaps he preferred a fair fight and was explaining the situation willingly.

"You're pleasantly surprising, in a good way."

Coolly, Shin smiled and extended his hands forward.

[Icicle Ivy]

From Shin's palms, cold, shining ivy made of ice sprouted, proliferating at an incredible speed, and covering the surroundings swiftly.

The exhalation turned white, the floor began to freeze, frost gathered on Shin's enchanted armor, and Masatoshi started to feel the cold.

Shin had cast the magic without using magic tools. Masatoshi clicked his mouth, then began cutting through the ice ivy winding around him with his sword.

"Damn! Why can you use other magic too?"

It seemed he could indeed use elemental magic. Something that was not present in the original story.

"Without using elemental magic, I don't stand a chance against you."

Using the ice ivy as a foothold, Shin skated closer, narrowing the distance between them.

"So, you were concealing your power, huh? Don't underestimate me, flames, roar! Melt away all this ice!"

[Magna Lovers]

I raised his sword and plunged it into the ground, enveloping it in intense flames. 

The floor heaved, and magma erupted as if from a volcano, incinerating everything in its path.

In a straight line along where Shin was running, the ground repeatedly erupted into a river of magma.