"Now, who's next?"
In response to my words, the men took a slight step back.
Among them, a swordsman who seemed to regain his composure quickly raised his voice.
"Calm down, you guys! That was just a fluke! As long as we don't let our guard down, there's no way we can lose to someone like him with the Crest of Nothingness!"
"Leader!"
"Y-Yeah, that's right."
The spearman and mage also regained their composure upon hearing the leader's words.
At the same time, a murderous intent filled their eyes. They couldn't accept the reality that they were being underestimated by someone they considered insignificant.
"Hey, don't you dare look down on us!"
The spearman spat as he charged ferociously.
The tip of his spear was indeed sharp, but its trajectory was too linear. To my eyes, it looked like child's play.
"Where are you aiming?"
"What!?"
I lightly stepped aside to avoid the spear, and the spearman's face showed a look of astonishment.
"No way! He dodged it so easily!? This can't be happening..."
Stunned by the shock, the spearman stopped moving.
I was about to seize the opportunity to counterattack when—
"Don't you dare take your eyes off me!"
"——"
Sensing the swordsman's presence behind me, I turned around.
His body and sword were already enveloped in a pale blue light.
"Sword Boost"—the same skill used by the knights who trained me.
With the activation of the skill, the man's movements and the speed of his sword increased dramatically.
"How about this!"
The swordsman shouted confidently.
However, despite the increased speed, his swordsmanship was still sloppy.
With this—
"Parry."
"What!?"
The moment my voice echoed, the swordsman's attack was deflected and slammed into the ground.
"Hey, wasn't that the 'Parry' of the Crest of the Sword?"
"But he has the Crest of Nothingness! That's impossible!"
Shock and fear appeared on their faces.
The common belief that the Crest of Nothingness couldn't use skills prevented them from grasping the situation.
(In battle, you should accept the reality in front of you rather than relying on preconceived notions...)
For these inexperienced guys, that was probably too difficult.
Proof of that was—
"This must be another fluke! And such miracles won't happen three times!"
Saying this, the swordsman used "Sword Boost" again.
But skills used without any ingenuity would never work on me.
"Parry."
"No way!?"
"Hey, wait—damn it!"
I parried the swordsman's attack once more.
The deflected sword struck the spearman's spear, causing both of them to lose their balance.
(Alright, successful diversion.)
Parrying is effective in disrupting the situation in a multi-opponent battle like this.
Even when surrounded by a horde of monsters in Creon, I often used similar tactics to turn the tables.
But I didn't intend to end it with just this.
I took advantage of the opening and thrust my sword into the spearman's right shoulder.
I felt the sharp blade tearing through flesh.
"Arrgh!"
The spearman screamed, dropping his spear as he lost his grip.
I quickly picked up the spear with my left hand.
"Honestly, I didn't use spears much in Creon, but..."
Even so, I'm probably better at it than this guy.
I gripped the spear tightly and faced the two again.
The spearman spoke nervously.
"W-What are you going to do with my spear...?"
"Since I have the chance, I'll teach you how to use it."
"Wha—!?"
"What the—!? A wild swing!?"
I first swung the spear widely with my left hand to create distance between us.
The two jumped back in a fluster, but their movements were clumsy.
Seizing the opportunity, I executed a flowing thrust.
"—Hyaah!"
"What! Arrrghhh!"
The thrust, released in the confusion, hit its mark.
Following the right shoulder, a hole opened in the spearman's left shoulder, spraying blood.
"Not done yet."
"Gah!"
I spun the spear and used the centrifugal force to strike the spearman's back of the head with the butt of the spear.
A dull thud resounded.
"Damn... it..."
The spearman collapsed, muttering a curse as he lost consciousness.
He wouldn't be returning to the fight.
Just then—
"You bastard! Don't get cocky!"
The martial artist, who should have been down, stood up and came straight at me.
He must have recovered enough from the earlier blow to move.
Trying to catch me off guard as I took down one of them was indeed effective.
But—
"Too bad it's me you're up against."
"!?」
My movement was even faster.
I threw the spear, piercing his leg.
With a dull sound, the martial artist's scream echoed.
"Arrgh! Y-You bastard...!"
"Did you think I didn't notice you recovering? Your murderous intent was too obvious."
"Damn...it..."
With the accumulated damage, the man slowly lost consciousness.
The martial artist joined the spearman in being incapacitated.
Now only the swordsman and mage remained. They stared at me with fearful eyes, sweat trickling down their foreheads.
However, a few seconds later—
"Damn it, I'm not backing down now!"
The swordsman slashed at me.
He stopped using "Sword Boost" and prioritized evasion.
He must have realized that straightforward attacks wouldn't work.
From my observations, being the leader, he seemed the calmest.
Though, it was still a close contest among them.
But—
"You know, just dodging won't get you anywhere against me."
"Keep talking—now!"
Amidst our exchange of blows, the swordsman suddenly jumped back to create distance.
Immediately after—
"Magic Ball!"
The mage cast the "Magic Ball" spell.
The number of magic balls was in the double digits. He must have been gathering mana for this while staying out of the fight.
The swordsman's movements were to buy time for the spell.
As I analyzed this, the mage shouted gleefully.
"You let your guard down! This magic can't be avoided by someone like you!"
A declaration made with conviction.
Indeed, as the mage said, even I couldn't dodge all of these.
But—
"Parry."
I used "Parry" again.
In Creon, parrying worked even against magic.
Though it was much harder than against close-range weapons, the success rate was about the same as a critical slash.
For the former world rank no. 1 like me, it wasn't a difficult technique.
As a result, all the magic balls were deflected, none of them reaching me.
"Impossible...!"
"He even deflected magic!?"
Seeing their astonishment, I spoke coldly.
"This is the end—Slash."
I swiftly swung my shortsword twice.
The released slashes cut through their shoulders and abdomens.
Blood spurted, staining the ground red.
"Arrgh!"
"No...this can't be..."
With their wounds, the two slowly collapsed.
The mage soon lost consciousness from the pain and shock.
—With this, the outcome was decided.
The spearman, martial artist, and mage were unconscious. The only one still conscious was the swordsman leader.
I walked over to him and pointed my blade at his neck.
"Eeek!"
He let out a frightened voice.
Finally, he seemed to understand his position.
"Your friend said earlier that this world is survival of the fittest... You get which side is the prey now, right?"
I said, raising my sword high.
Seeing this, the leader, with tears in his eyes, hastily pleaded.
"W-Wait! We were wrong! S-So please spare my life!"
"Goodbye."
"N-No! I don't want to die—"
I swung my sword down forcefully.
It made a loud sound as it struck—not his neck, but the ground beside him.
"...(Thud)"
Still, the man, thinking he was killed, foamed at the mouth and fainted.
"Well, that's that."
There's no need to dirty my hands for scum like this.
They've probably committed other misdeeds too, so taking them to the adventurer's guild for judgment would be best.
Having concluded, I turned to Ill and spoke.
"Hey, it's over. They're all knocked out, but do you want to take a shot?"
"......"
No response.
It seemed she was still in shock from the battle.
(Can't be helped, I'll wait a bit longer.)
With that thought, I let out a breath.
Thus, my first battle in this world ended in a resounding victory.