CH 281

Chapter 281 – Fighting Duarte

Even though I said we would be completing this request, well…

The first problem was how we were going to calm Duarte down. He wasn’t a monster. He was just a spiritual body, so I didn’t know if it was even possible to fight him like normal.

I decided to ask Shiki and the others if they had any suggestions.

“Well… I have heard that the body of a spirit demon is simply a materialization of their spirit.” (Shiki)

“If it’s materialized, does that mean it can be touched?” (Bouchi)

“No, apparently only special items and weapons are effective against them.” (Shiki)

“Would my [Azure Illusion Bow] work?” (Yofel)

“Most likely. However, the bow specializes in illusion magic, so we cannot expect much from it in terms of destructive power. It may only be able to hold him back for a moment.” (Shiki)

Well, I did give the bow to Yofel because it synergized well with her skill, <Illusion>.

“But with her skill, the attacks might be effective.” (Bouchi)

“Then would my [Plant]… work?” (Ior)

“Yes. It may serve us well as a powerful shield or spear.” (Shiki)

“Be that as it may, this one does not have any effective means to attack this spirit demon up front…” (Shiki)

Shiki’s attacks weren’t skills, so it might be difficult for him to score any effective damage.

With this being the case, I used the <Shop> skill and began to search for any weapons that might be effective against spirit demons.

And then—

“Shiki, use this.” (Bouchi)

“MIlord? Ohh… This is…!?” (Shiki)

What I placed into Shiki’s hands were a massive pair of crimson gauntlets that seemed to give off an imposing presence. On the backhand part of the gauntlet, there were beautiful sapphires inlaid.

“Concentrate on the gauntlets and try to visualize a blade coming out of them.” (Bouchi)

“As you wish, milord. Mm…?! T-This..?!” (Shiki)

Claw-like blades of light extended forward from the gems inlaid in the backs of the gauntlets that Shiki was wearing.

“These are the [Soul Gauntlets]. The name might give it away, but it’s a weapon that can change the soul’s energy into a blade. From soul to soul—now your attacks will be effective.” (Bouchi)

“I’ll be using this.” (Bouchi)

I showed everyone the other item that I had bought just now. It was a katana. The hilt was black, and the scabbard was as white as snow. When I slowly unsheathed it, revealing the blade, everyone was startled.

“A b-black blade?” (Yofel)

Right. The blade was completely black, as if it had been coated with black ink.

“This is the [Spirit Sword・Kuro-ichimonji].”

This sword was crafted from the blood of a garbel called Kurosame. There was a special power in his blood that could cut directly at the energy of the target.

“In short, this sword can deal with Duarte, who is essentially a cluster of energy.” (Bouchi)

“A-Amazing! How did such a crazy weapon just go poof and show up out of nowhere?!” (Oz)

Ah, right. Something like that was still a mystery to Oz.

“This is my skill. I don’t have the time to explain it to you, so for now, just take it for what it is.” (Bouchi)

“Uh-huh… You are a big box of surprises, aren’t you Hiro?” (Oz)

After successfully dodging her burning questions, I decided to tell her what we were going to do.

“Listen. This time, our task isn’t to subjugate. We’re just going to try to calm Duarte down, since he’s running rampant.” (Bouchi)

“Indeed. With these weapons, it is possible for us to shave away at Duarte’s energy. If we can do something about the negative tainted energy, his consciousness may be restored.” (Shiki)

“That’s right. Then in order to do that, we’ll need to do a bit of damage. Ior.” (Bouchi)

“What is it?” (Ior)

“Stop his movements with your skill. We’ll all attack at the same time to reduce his energy.” (Bouchi)

“Yeah. I’ll do my best.” (Ior)

“U-Um… What am I supposed to do?” (Oz)

Come to think of it, I haven’t come up with anything for Oz. Can she even fight?

“What can you do, Oz?” (Bouchi)

“I can sail the oceans of the world!” Oz declared proudly, puffing out her chest.

Well, so far she’d only been holding us back. When I tried to tell her that, she fell into a dejected slump with an almost audible deflating sound.

Ior tried to console her, but she suddenly perked up and shouted, seemingly out of competitiveness.

“I won’t lose to yoooouuu!!” (Oz)

She was about the same height as Ior, so the comparison probably made her jealous that Ior was being useful to me.

“For now, Shiki… you’ll go first to test the waters, alright?” (Bouchi)

“No problems with that. Shall we?” (Shiki)

Everyone nodded, and we headed to the front of the ship once more.

Duarte was still standing at the bow of the ship. He was still roaring, emitting coils of crackling electricity all over his skeletal body in the process.

“―Advance!” (Shiki)

Shiki dashed out while the rest of us waited to see what would happen. His rapid, ninja-like approach was completely silent, so Duarte hadn’t even noticed him yet.

Shiki arrived behind Duarte and tested the might of the [Soul Gauntlets] that he’d just acquired.

An azure flash rushed towards Duarte’s back.