Hello readers! This is Jun with your weekly chapter of the Retired Hero!

 

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Tl: Jun

ED: Jun

 

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Chapter 34 

The Hero is Acknowledged

 

A sharp knife went through my chest.

The sensation of a foreign object entering my body induced a hopeless nausea.

However, this sort of thing is all just my imagination.

I crushed down the nausea and stood up like that.

 

“That’s a well made black magic there”

“Hoh, so you’ve seen through on first sight that it was an illusion spell”

 

The next instant, the knife stuck on my chest disappeared without a trace.

As I thought, the illusion black magic of Phantom who could produce even the feel of the material is astounding.

You would be incapacitated with just this knife illusion unless you understand a part of the black magic.

 

“Interesting! Then how about this?”

 

Countless knives appeared around Phantom.

All of them were pointed towards and trying to fly out even now.

 

“I’m looking forward to seeing how long you can stay unperturbed”

 

The knives simultaneously went towards me.

Even if there are this many of them, they’re illusions in the end.

I advance without minding being hit.

However, I felt a strange sense of discomfort and so I reflexively swung Echsdarc.

Upon doing so, a single metallic sound, which I wasn’t supposed to hear, resounded nearby.

 

“ … So you just mixed in a genuine knife”

“So you saw through even this!? Really, who are you?”

“I’m telling you, I’m just a villager”

 

I set up Echsdarc and focused straight at Phantom.

I experienced something quite clever.

He must have planned to mix in a genuine thing within the illusion and skewer opponents who approach and make light of him.

Because I heard the sound of cutting wind that shouldn’t have happened, I managed to notice it somehow.

 

“Isvel, I’m sorry but step back. Being made to attack each other will make the situation worse”

“I know… I’m sorry, but I’ll be relying on you for a while”

“Right”

 

Phantom here could easily make others mistake their allies for himself.

A one on one is much safer against an illusion spellcaster than many vs one.

 

“You truly are a troublesome human, you. It cannot be helped… I was thinking about letting it end at the level of incapacitating you, but I am done with that”

 

The expression of his eyes changed.

Dense magic power circulated in Phantom’s body and increased his body’s reaction speed.

It looks like he entered complete battle readiness.

 

“I shall put an end to your life with certainty. After all, you look like you will become something bothersome should I let you live”

“ … Be gentle with me”

“That is if I can!”

 

Phantom’s magic power, was transmitted to a vast area as he spread his hands.

The trees that are put under his control rustled and the tree branches began to grow like ivy.

The leaves began to possess sharp kill-and-wound abilities like a blade.

It’s a black magic which would cause substances to mistake itself to be a sort of existence, which is considered to be exceedingly difficult to learn among illusion spells.

The tree branches were under the impression that they were tentacles in order to capture people and the leaves were under the impression that they were blades to injure people.

 

“Trees and shrubs are docile so they’re lovely. They merge into the scenery as part of nature and yet they would become naughty kids who would kill and wound people with a single command”

 

The leaves fluttered around Phantom and the trees danced.

Instrumentalist of illusions, I recalled that was his nickname.

Certainly that name was appropriate from what I can see in the scenery before me.

 

“Now, the opening of a nightmare”

 

Wind blades came attacking from all directions.

Having judged that I won’t be in time if I deal with one direction, I surround Echsdarc with magic power and swung it as if making a round.

 

“Flying Sword – Tempest!”

 

I spread my magic powered cutting attack around me like a windstorm.

The leaves that were swallowed up in the cutting attack’s windstorm continued to be blown off and fell down on the ground.

Perhaps the dropped leaves lost its effect, they returned to ordinary leaves.

It seems its effects will be cut off if one receives a stimulus from the outside world.

 

“Now that we removed the leaves, the next one will be coming”

 

Before I could set up my sword once again, the tree branches immediately drew near from the sides.

I rolled and avoided the branches closest to me and mowed down the branches that came chasing me with Echsdarc.

At the same time I turned around and cut down the remaining branches.

 

“ …Is this all?”

“Fufu”

 

A daring smile was shown on Phantom.

The next instant, the ground broke open and countless branches that are sharpened at the points, came from right underneath. 

 

“I’ve dispatched several under the ground! Turn into skewers!”

“ …”

 

He completely outwitted me――is what Phantom must have been thinking.

However, for me it went as expected.

I dealt with the attack that appeared as I expected just by lightly swinging Echsdarc to it.

 

“ … I had completely thought it was a surprise attack you see”

“The killing intent from the first half of the attack for diverting my senses from my feet was weak. The vibration when it dug through the ground was transmitted to me you know”

“How weak did you think it was… What are you, a monster?”

 

The senses that I have polished during my days as a Hero won’t grow dull so easily.

The sounds of the leaf blades cutting the air, the tree branches obstructing the flow of air and the weak vibration digging through the ground.

If I concentrate, it will be easy to sense everything.

 

“*sigh*… Then, I’ll extend the area a little more and――”

“――I’m sorry, but”

 

I kick the ground and closed in on Phantom in the blink of an eye.

 

“How about I have you go home”

 

Before Phantom responded, my Echsdarc was drawn to the base of his neck.

It’s not a great way to say it, but Illusion spellcasters are weak to body strengthening.

They can defeat enemies with illusions without doing any hand-to-hand combat so many of the people are the types to not train it.

With the physical ability of me who is a former Hero, it’s obvious that it will come to this.

 

“I don’t think anything will change even if we continue like this though――”

“――Would that really be the case I wonder?”

 

Eleira, who was beside me before I was aware of, swung down her sword straight towards me.

I successfully dodged it by leaping behind at once, but I ended up increasing my distance to Phantom.

 

“Forgive me lord Phantom. It’s just…”

“No need, this time you have saved me. It was a failure on my part for taking him lightly you see… And so, you want to fight him don’t you?”

“… Yes. He is an expert. I request kindly to have a bout with him by any means”

“*sigh* Well, you seem more compatible against him”

“Thank you very much, sir”

 

The movements of the woman called Eleira are far too clean.

Movements so refined――like she was adapting to the wind, ground and atmosphere.

She would no doubt be one called an expert.

I hadn’t even realized that her intent to kill was directed to me.

 

“Then, since I am already here, allow me the privilege to go against you, lady Isvel. You too should have too much free time don’t you, lady Isvel”

“ …! Fine then!”

 

This is not good.

Although she excels at handling magic power, her sensory portion falls behind me.

In other words, it means she has weak resistance against illusions.

If we consider our affinities, I ought to go against Phantom, but――

 

“Pleased to meet you… Vice captain of the first Demon lord elite guard unit, Eleira Fluute. I request kindly to be your opponent by any means”

 

It looks like this girl won’t let me go.

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