Could it be a special skill that enhances physical abilities?
…No, it didn't seem like his strength had dramatically increased.
His reaction speed was exceptionally fast.
"Zone" refers to that intense state of focus often depicted in sports manga.
Or it could be a phenomenon that brings out one's latent potential.
Right now, King Clem was likely utilizing both.
Upon closer inspection, he had light trails emanating from his eyes, reminiscent of a certain basketball manga.
"Damn it, his reactions are too quick!"
Naturally, it wasn't just the Orc King who was targeted; I was under attack as well.
This time, I was on the defensive.
Then, I recalled King Clem's special skill as the 'Awakened Apostle.' This meant he could use skills from the Apostle's emblem.
The special skills I could currently access were four:
The Start of the S Apostle's emblem.
The Gem of the G Apostle's emblem.
The Labyrinth of the L Apostle's emblem.
The testimony of the Apostle M is the Mermaid.
The Start skill undoubtedly doubles physical abilities, but its downside is a 24-hour decrease in those abilities afterward.
As for the Gem, judging by the powers of the 'Apostle of Gems,' it seems each one specializes in attributes like strength, speed, defense, skills, or magic.
Labyrinth is... well, I'm not quite sure. Can it even use those fire and ice barriers?
And when it comes to the Mermaid, I have no clue at all. I suspect it has something to do with water.
Either way, I won't know for sure until I actually test them; however, trying them out in this situation poses too great a risk.
I don't even understand what the downsides could be, and using a special skill whose effects are uncertain is out of the question.
For now, Start seems to be the best option. Boosting my physical abilities will be crucial to match King Clem's reaction speed.
Yet, I hesitate when considering the drawbacks. The Royal Army of Loneliness will be defeated once we take down King Clem, but the Orcs won't simply retreat after we defeat their Orc King.
...No, it's not like I'm the only one who can settle this, and I'm not fighting alone.
Well, if it comes down to it, I might have to escape with Snow. By now, my health should have recovered enough to let me fly.
I brace myself and prepare to use the special skill of the Apostle S.
"Activating special skill! Start!!"
I felt my body lighten. My physical abilities had surged to twice their normal level. Initially, I was a bit disoriented, but I quickly grasped the enhancement and swung my sword.
"Blade Dance of the Sword Princess: Flashing Blades!"
The flashing blades moved at an incredible speed, but their trajectory was strictly linear. It was similar to the jewel-like entity, Sapphire. Fast, but lacking agility.
Taking advantage of my enhanced abilities from the Start, I forcefully changed direction. As I landed with the flashing blades, I pivoted sharply, darting across the battlefield with ease.
What I was doing resembled my fight against the Apostle of the Labyrinth, but that was merely a series of back-and-forth flashing blades. Now, the Blade Dance had a wholly different nature.
With my Blade Dance, I inflicted wound after wound on the Orc King, Clem. Despite his incredible reflexes allowing him to barely dodge my attacks, he was clearly struggling.
"Ha ha! You're getting a little too confident, aren't you? Do you think I, the great Clem, would fall to this?"
"Raging Vanisher!!"
As the ring of light expanded around the Orc King, a deafening explosion unleashed a torrent of light that engulfed the area.
BOOM!!
When the light faded, the landscape had transformed dramatically. A crater surrounded the Orc King, and the trees that had once stood nearby were uprooted, while the slope of the hill behind him had been gouged out.
Surely, that was the ultimate light magic. It unleashed concentrated light into the surroundings, creating a powerful area-of-effect spell that combined extreme heat and purification for total annihilation.
Of course, I hurriedly distanced myself and used the trees as cover, but I still took some damage from the Orc King's magic. Luckily, I was probably in good shape thanks to the strength boost from Start. It seemed that King Clem also managed to avoid fatal injuries by quickly distancing himself. However, the surrounding orcs were caught off guard and perished in the blast. Without us needing to intervene, the Orc King had effectively strangled his own allies.
…Wait! What about Snow?!
I anxiously looked towards where Snow and her group had been, only to find nothing. Panic surged within me at the thought that they might have been obliterated by the spell, but then I heard a voice from above — it was Shilfiil, and she had spotted them, easing my fears. It appeared they had narrowly escaped into the sky.
King Clem's elven girls had also managed to raise a barrier to protect themselves from the magic attack. Speaking of which, I wondered about the elite unit that had charged in from behind. The sounds of clashing swords indicated there hadn't been much damage.
"Well, well, you're still in one piece after taking that spell. You're more resilient than I expected," the Orc King remarked.
"Don't flatter yourself. Your attack didn't faze me at all," I retorted.
"Seems like we're both tough, then. But attacking with collateral damage? Is that how a king should act?"
"Hmph, if my subordinates die from something like this, they aren't fit to serve me. Look at that!"
As the Orc King spoke, the orcs who had been knocked down were rising like zombies. Though, to be fair, they were barely hanging on to life.
"Well then, shall we bring this to a close?"
The Orc King readied his war axe, still looking quite relaxed. It was a welcome sight for us, especially since the time for my special skill, Start, was limited.
"I'll kill you!"
Clem, perhaps feeling the pressure of time running out for his Zone special skill, rushed at the Orc King with reckless determination, swinging his sword. The massive war axe came crashing down, but Clem dodged with his natural reflexes, countering with a horizontal slash.
Using the sword that had been parried as a decoy, he aimed for the Orc King's neck from behind for a fatal strike.
"Vorpal Stab!"
With a hidden dagger, Clem executed a perfect critical hit, but the Orc King remained unfazed, countering with a backfist that sent Clem flying.
I timed my own attack to coincide with Clem's, launching a strike aimed just above the ground toward the Orc King's legs. But the Orc King dodged that too, spinning around and kicking me away with a swift motion.
"Tough luck. As an ascended being, I'm immune to instant-death attacks. And while your outside attack strategy against the public king was clever, it won't work on me. I possess danger detection, so surprises won't catch me off guard."
"Seriously? So critical hits and sneak attacks don't work... just how overpowered is this angelic transformation?"
King Clem seemed to have put everything into that last strike, yet he stood motionless, completely vulnerable to the counterattack. Perhaps the special skill had worn off, leaving him exposed. The Orc King swaggered over, kicking the fallen King Clem, preparing to crush him underfoot.
"Ugh...!"
One kick landed on his right arm, then the left, and finally both legs. I wanted to jump in and help, but my own special skill had just expired after that last attack.
This is bad. I'm out of options. While keeping my Unicorn ready, I contemplated a retreat, ensuring the Orc King didn't catch on to my intentions. If I could save King Clem, I would, but that angelic Orc King was a whole different level. Only S-rank adventurer Miba or the unpredictable Ava could stand a chance against him, maybe.
"Oh, almost killed him by mistake. What a shame. I think I'll use the King as bait to lure some women instead."
The Orc King grinned, lifting Clem's head just enough to mock him.
"Damn it...!"
Even in his dire state, King Clem continued to curse. I admired that spirit, in a way. Just when it seemed the three-way battle was concluding with the Orc King's victory, a miracle happened.
Could it be a miracle? Perhaps this was destined to happen. After all, the chaos was sparked by an angelic orc.
"If only you had stayed tucked away in your nest. Unfortunately for you, your life ends here. Don't think you can harm the humans and escape my gaze."
Suddenly, an orc appeared behind the Orc King—without warning, out of nowhere.
"What?! No way… Is that the traitor Jin?!"
"Holy Wing Shot!"
As the Orc King carelessly discarded King Clem and turned in a panic, the newly appeared orc, known as Jin, made his move. In an instant, the Orc King's body crumbled into pieces.
"Gah…!"
From Jin's back, twelve luminous wings unfurled, swiftly slicing through the Orc King and extinguishing his life.
...Wait, are there really that many angelic orcs? And twelve wings? Isn't that ridiculously overpowered? Given how easily the Orc King was defeated, it's clear just how overwhelming that strength is.
"I'm sorry. My kin have caused trouble. Not only did I handle the orcs here, but I took care of those in the nest as well. For a while, you won't have to worry about any orcs nearby."
The attack from earlier, the radiant wings, had claimed not just the Orc King's life but also wiped out every orc in the vicinity. After delivering this message, Jin disappeared as quickly as he had come.
At that moment, I suddenly recalled that there was a guardian spirit in this region, an orc known as the Orc King.
Well, it was an unexpected turn of events, but this commotion had reached some sort of conclusion. The Orc King, who had intervened in the war, was defeated, and King Clem, the mastermind behind the conflict, was incapacitated.
As King Clem was left vulnerable, elven girls rushed over in a flurry to provide him with medical assistance. Glancing at that scene, I discovered a pendant amid the remains of the Orc King.
"What is this?"
If I had been able to identify it, I would have tossed it away immediately.
Later, it was revealed that the pendant was... the emblem of the Loli King. It belonged to King Clem, known for his obsession with young girls, a legendary Ava item.
—Angel Quest: Proof of the Apostles, 21 remaining—
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AIWOn Kemomofu with Amy thread 362
929: Adventurer Anonymous: 2058/8/15 (Thu) 15:19:12 ID: Mdi93KnG2
Speaking of which, I heard there's a rare harpy in the Deep Green Forest. Anyone know anything about that?
930: Adventurer Anonymous: 2058/8/15 (Thu) 15:22:52 ID: eRleNAaD4
>>929 I haven't heard anything about it.
931: Kemomofu Fan: 2058/8/15 (Thu) 15:22:52 ID: km0Nmfm2L
Nya!? There's a rare Kemomofu there? Nya!?
932: Adventurer Anonymous: 08/15/2058 (Thu) 15:25:21 ID: aL10Nigh10
We definitely need to investigate that!
933: Adventurer Anonymous: 08/15/2058 (Thu) 15:26:45 ID: UcAn9cH3tha
Furry beings! '`A'`A (*´Д｀*) '`A'`A '`A'`A (*´Д｀*) '`A'`A
934: Adventurer Anonymous: 08/15/2058 (Thu) 15:30:33 ID: GiNg2Nkon
A harpy, huh? As far as furries go, it's kind of hit or miss.
By the way, what kind of rumors have you heard?
935: Depko: 08/15/2058 (Thu) 15:31:09 ID: Dpbl16Slv
>>929 I've heard about it, Dep.
Apparently, it has a unique fur color unlike other harpies, Dep.
936: Furry Fanatic: 08/15/2058 (Thu) 15:34:52 ID: km0Nmfm2L
Nyah!? Harpies are also dignified furries! Discrimination isn't good, nyah!
937: Adventurer Anonymous: 08/15/2058 (Thu) 15:36:45 ID: UcAn9cH3tha
Furry beings! '`A'`A (*´Д｀*) '`A'`A '`A'`A (*´Д｀*) '`A'`A
938: Adventurer Anonymous: 08/15/2058 (Thu) 15:39:12 ID: Mdi93KnG2
"Yes, just as the princess said, there's a harpy with a different coloration. It reportedly has pure white wings and bright red hair."