I don't know much about Sophia.
Not in this world or in our previous one, for that matter.
I know her name there was Shouko Negishi, but if you asked me what kind of person she was, I don't think I'd be able to say a single thing with certainty.
That's how little we interacted.
I don't believe we ever had a real conversation.
In fact, the exchange we just had is probably more conversation than we ever managed in our previous lives.
I don't know anything about her.
Not then and not now.
I don't know what she was thinking when she chose to play a part in all this. But what she's done is show complete contempt for human life. She's helped bring catastrophe down on the people who Julius desperately fought to protect. I cannot forgive her for that. So I have to stop her here and now. I draw my sword and charge with fervor, but she easily deflects my strike with her broadsword.
"Ngh!"
She didn't have this broadsword until a second ago when it appeared from her shadow. I thought it might be Shadow Magic, but that's not quite right. It's probably the effect of some unknown skill of hers. It seems that she was keeping a broadsword in her shadow somehow, too, just like the man called Merazophis who appeared from it not long ago. The huge two-handed sword doesn't seem to suit Sophia's small frame. But she's wielding it with one hand.
My body gets blown back as if I weigh nothing at all. I quickly twist around in midair to land on my feet, so I don't take any damage at all. However, I can feel the difference in our power so keenly it's almost painful.
I charged with all my might, and she parried and brushed me off easily. It's safe to assume that Sophia has a skill that can cancel out magic. In which case, the only way to defeat her will be in a physical fight.
And yet, that brief exchange of blows made one thing clear. I can't beat her. Although I can't Appraise her, I know that the difference between our stats must be huge. But I was prepared for that reality. It's been obvious that Sophia is way stronger than I am since we first met in the capital. But even if her stats are higher, I'll find a way to win.
"Shun! Don't charge in alone like that!"
Katia steps up by my side.
"Asaka and I will hold off Merazophis. The rest is up to you guys."
Tagawa and Kushitani face off against Merazophis, who readies himself in turn.
"Shun, I can fight, too." Ms. Oka stands up, preparing her bow.
Anna has finished her treatment, which leaves her free to rejoin the front lines, too. As well as Mr. Hyrince, who was protecting the pair of them. That's right. I'm not alone. Maybe I can't do this by myself, but if we all come together, I know we can win.
"Looks like it's five against two. Hope you don't mind." Hyrince steps forward, his shield braced before him.
"Oh, that's fine with me. In fact, let's make it five against one." Sophia shoots a look toward the girl behind her.
The girl makes a face but quickly withdraws. "You don't seem too worried."
"I'm not worried in the least," Sophia responds smoothly.
Hoping to take advantage of her relaxed state, Ms. Oka looses an arrow at Sophia. A perfect surprise attack in the middle of a conversation.
For a moment, it seems cowardly to me, but I have to remind myself that Ms. Oka is as desperate as the rest of us.
Besides, a surprise attack can't be dirty if it doesn't work.
Sophia reaches out with her free hand and catches the arrow. Her reflexes are terrifying. There was no need for her to catch the arrow instead of dodging it. Dodging it would have been quicker and easier, I'm sure. But she probably decided to catch it in order to make her overwhelming power that much clearer.
However, no matter how clear our disadvantage, there are some fights you can't back down from. Hyrince charges, pushing his shield forward. Sophia tosses the arrow aside and grasps her broadsword with both hands. Immediately, a metallic clang echoes in the air. Sophia has caught Hyrince's rush attack with her broadsword. Her slim body doesn't falter an inch, despite Hyrince's heavy equipment. But then Katia and I follow up from either side of Hyrince. My sword and Katia's rapier plunge toward her at the same time. Then, for a moment, I don't understand what's happened to me. My vision whirls, and I slam into the ground, unable to quite control my fall. Confused, I nevertheless leap back to my feet. There's a dull pain in my hand, as if it's going numb. When I see Katia and Hyrince have been knocked to the ground like I was and Sophia finishing a swing of her sword, I realize what happened. Sophia used her broadsword to knock all three of us back. And all in one swing. It must have hit Hyrince first, then followed through to hit Katia and me seconds later. Katia hasn't managed to get up yet, and her rapier lies in pieces on the ground. Sophia must have been aiming at our weapons. My sword managed to withstand the blow somehow, but the aftershock caused serious damage to my wrist. To be honest, it's practically a miracle that I haven't let go of my sword. But what if Sophia had been aiming not at our weapons but directly at us? The image of Katia and me being sliced in half flashes across my mind. I shudder for a moment. She probably could have done it. Sophia must have deliberately aimed for our weapons to avoid killing us. Ms. Oka shoots more arrows and Anna casts magic at her, but she dodges the arrow with a slight duck of her head, and the magic gets canceled out before it even reaches her. "Oh, right. A half elf, is it? How very unusual." Sophia's gaze turns toward Anna. Hyrince stands up with his shield prepared as if to block her vision, but Sophia still seems to be deep in thought, ignoring him completely. While she's distracted, I charge at her with my sword. But I already know that she's not really distracted; she just doesn't care. Once again, she easily dodges the surprise attack. I was expecting that much, though. I immediately alter the trajectory of my sword, cutting back toward Sophia. Since her broadsword is so large and heavy, it's not built to make tight turns. Judging by what I've seen of her power so far, she can still move pretty quickly with it, but there must be a limit. If we can't beat her with sheer strength, we'll try besting her with speed! I move my sword as precisely as I can, carefully controlling my strength. Using as many sword thrusts as possible, I try to keep the movement of her broadsword in check. Sure enough, the long broadsword isn't suited to rapid-fire attacks, and Sophia begins to use the side of her sword to defend herself. Then Ms. Oka adds in more arrows, pressing her even further. This time, Sophia has to dodge the arrows, since she can't afford to catch them. I pile on even more sword attacks, trying to chase her down. This could work! But just as that thought crosses my mind, I see Sophia's foot move out of the corner of my eye. In the next second, a powerful impact hits my stomach. "Oof!" A grunt escapes my mouth, pushed out along with the air in my lungs. My body is sent flying, but the crash to my back never comes. Looking up, I see Hyrince's face. He must have caught me when I got blown backward. "You all right?!" "Yes, thank you." I'm not really fine, but I keep that to myself. My stomach is still throbbing with pain as I quickly remove myself from Hyrince's arms. It's obvious what happened this time. She kicked me. I never expected her to be able to throw a kick in that situation. "Your aim's not bad, but your swordsmanship is far too prim and proper. You realize that leaves you open to dirty tricks like this, right?" Sophia's voice is careless, even bordering on friendly. Silently, I brandish my sword once more. She's right, of course. I have lots of experience from training and fighting monsters but much less in the way of battling other humans. That means I'm weak to unexpected attacks and probably easy to read, too. Now I'm truly, painfully aware that there's a bigger difference between Sophia and me than I thought. It's more than just stats. She's seen a lot more bloodshed than I have and fought in far more real battles. That much is clear, despite how brief our exchange has been so far. Close by, I can hear the sounds of Tagawa and Kushitani fighting Merazophis. However, I can't afford to turn away. I can't take my eyes off Sophia for a moment. If I let my guard down for even one second, I have a terrible feeling that it will all be over. And yet, I can't help noticing Katia's gaze. Still crouching on the ground, she seems to be trying to tell me something with her eyes. Recognizing her intentions, I focus all my thoughts on that moment. "Hmm. Whatever shall I do? I know I'm supposed to kill all the elves except Ms. Oka, but where do half elves factor into that equation?" Sophia hasn't noticed. We're in the middle of a battle, but her thoughts are clearly elsewhere, without a care in the world. That's when Katia completes her magic. At that moment, I break into a run. Katia was invoking an Earth Magic spell. Instead of attacking Sophia directly, it makes the ground below us rumble. Sophia's magic nullification ability doesn't seem to work on magic that moves the ground instead of attacking her directly, so the spell works.
The ground shakes violently, breaking Sophia's posture ever so slightly. I aim for that brief opening. This is the only chance we have left of winning! Sophia welcomes my determined attack with a smile.
As if she's mocking us for our pathetic attempts.
But then her smile darkens.
Flying past me, Ms. Oka's arrow zooms toward Sophia.
She couldn't have seen it coming, since it was hidden in my shadow. We didn't plan this, but Ms. Oka must have picked up on the opening Katia was creating.
Still, off her balance, Sophia is unable to dodge the arrow. She has no choice but to block it with her sword, then tries to parry me. This time, Sophia's smile disappears entirely.
Because Hyrince's shield has crashed against her sword.
A shield throw.
Hyrince's shield isn't just armor. It's also an excellent weapon. The weight of the shield alone makes it a superb blunt weapon, and when it's thrown, it's like a cannon.
Hyrince's shield strikes just as Sophia is trying to regain her stance after blocking Ms. Oka's arrow. Even she can't handle the impact, and the broadsword in her hand goes flying backward. Now that she's completely off-balance, I swing my sword down toward Sophia's body.
"You really should have gone for the neck just now, don't you think?"
The bland remark stuns me into silence. My sword has definitely struck Sophia's body. But she doesn't seem hurt in the slightest. It's being blocked by something hard under my blade. When I look at Sophia's neck from incredibly up close, I realize what she means. The back of her neck is covered by something shiny and metallic.
Just like the hard scales of a wyrm or a dragon.
"That wasn't half-bad, I'll admit. It didn't work, though." Sophia aims another kick at me. I can't fully defend myself against it, and it knocks me back just like before, until Hyrince catches me once again. But this time, I can't pull away from Hyrince and stand up quite yet. I put all my power into that strike.
Yes, I avoided her vitals so I wouldn't kill her, but I wasn't holding anything back. Yet that attack didn't cause her a single bit of pain. She has the upper hand in stats and abilities, and yet we somehow managed to create a brief, perfect opportunity. But now it's been rendered meaningless.
If we'd merely failed, we might still be able to create another chance like that. But it won't work again. Magic doesn't affect Sophia.
So Anna, whose only means of fighting is magic, hasn't been able to lay a hand on her. If magic doesn't work, our only shot is physical attacks. But an attack with my full strength didn't work on Sophia.
That means neither magical nor physical attacks can touch her. If neither of them will work, if her defenses are that invincible, how are we supposed to fight her? For the first time, I feel the horror of being truly helpless.