A sharp, high-pitched metallic clang rang out through the night forest.
It was completely different from any metallic sound that had come before—so loud that it wouldn't have been surprising if it had echoed through the entire Treant Forest.
"Hmph. That composed expression of yours just cracked."
Antelme wore a look of smug satisfaction as he said this.
At the end of Antelme's gaze was Rei, a single slash mark on his cheek, blood trickling down.
From his stance of having deflected the Magic Sword's strike with Death Scythe, Rei leaped backward once, then gently touched the wound with the fingers of his left hand—the one holding the Twilight Spear.
Staining his fingers was red blood.
It was the first wound he had sustained in the battle against Antelme.
And yet, Rei had been holding back on his attacks and focusing primarily on defense for the explicit purpose of completely shutting out his opponent.
In other words, the first one to suffer a wound in this battle was not Antelme, but Rei.
"To get this excited over a scratch like this. Still, I'll admit I was a little surprised. I thought the ability of your Magic Sword was just to send out flying slashes, but to think it could also shoot out the blade itself. That was unexpected. ...That said, using your trump card and only managing this much is proof of your immaturity."
However, at Rei's words, Antelme did not fly into a rage like he had before.
It wasn't that he was somewhat satisfied with having inflicted a scratch on Rei, even if only a minor one...
(An act, huh. ...It probably wasn't entirely an act, but there's no doubt I was fooled.)
While it was unexpected, he couldn't imagine that someone who held the rank of A-Rank adventurer would act so mindlessly and rampage like that. Rather, it made sense to him.
That said, just because it made sense didn't mean it erased the frustrating feeling of having been deceived.
"For now, I understand that you're more capable than I expected. In that case, I'll need to hold back a little less... but let me tell you, don't die too easily, alright?"
"Hoh? You think you have the leisure to hold back against me? I've been considerably underestimated."
Antelme, replying to Rei, didn't bare his irritation like he had up until now.
What he was thinking inside was another matter, though.
"That's right. As an A-Rank adventurer, you probably have considerable skill. I'll acknowledge that. But that's all it is. You're stronger than I expected, but you still can't measure up to me. Given that, the caution I need to take against you... isn't zero, but the bare minimum will do."
Perhaps dissatisfied with the words coming out of Rei's mouth, Antelme frowned in displeasure.
He had deceived Rei, and on top of that, had even wounded him.
Given that, he probably expected Rei to be frustrated.
"I see. Then... let me see that strength of yours!"
Shouting, Antelme kicked off the ground.
His speed had increased, albeit slightly, compared to when they had been fighting earlier.
This was likely Antelme going all out.
That said, the increase in speed was only marginal.
Considering that, even though he had been putting on an act when he first fought Rei, the fight itself had been quite serious.
(No, or perhaps this is an act too?)
Having been deceived once, Rei suspected this action might also be an act, but he still deflected the Magic Sword swung at him within range with Death Scythe.
That Magic Sword, whose blade extended to nearly three meters, could no longer be classified as a longsword.
However, the extension only lasted for the moment it was swung, and in the next instant, it returned to Antelme's hand.
A blow that collided head-on with Death Scythe, which weighed about a hundred kilograms, and was deflected.
Yet, even after receiving such a blow, Antelme showed no particular concern and swiftly continued to his next attack.
If this had been some ordinary adventurer, the impact of colliding with Death Scythe would have numbed their hands... and depending on the circumstances, they might have even dropped their weapon on the ground.
The fact that such a thing didn't happen was a testament to Antelme's skill.
He must have deflected the majority of the impact through technique, minimizing the shock transmitted directly to his hands as much as possible.
Even from Rei's perspective, it was astonishing technique.
That said, performing such extra maneuvers naturally meant that his attacks became slightly slower, even if only a little.
That opening would become a major disadvantage when fighting an opponent like Rei.
"Look, you've created an opening in your attack!"
Along with those words, the Twilight Spear was swung, its spearhead unleashed aiming for Antelme's torso.
Antelme was equipped with metal armor that made lavish use of Mithril.
Mithril, also known as Magic Silver, was highly compatible with magic.
Because it was such armor, for Antelme—who could be called a Magic Item user—it was a suit boasting extremely solid defensive power.
However, Antelme evaded the Twilight Spear's spearhead released toward his torso by leaping to the side.
He must have instinctively judged that even with his armor, he shouldn't take Rei's attack.
There were a fair number of people who could instinctively sense that his attacks were dangerous.
However, those who could act instantaneously in accordance with that instinct inevitably dwindled in number.
This was likely the difference between an A-Rank adventurer and everyone else.
"Uoooooh!"
That said, Antelme wasn't finished with just evading Rei's attack.
Utilizing the momentum of his sideways movement, he spun his body in place and, as if retaliating for having his torso targeted, aimed for Rei's torso.
Giin! A high-pitched sound echoed around them.
The horizontally swept strike was, just like before, easily intercepted by Death Scythe...
"Guh!"
Perhaps because it was an impromptu strike.
Unable to deflect the impact of colliding with Death Scythe like he had before, Antelme took the full brunt of the shock head-on, and a groan of pain escaped his lips.
Even in that situation, taking distance to avoid Rei's follow-up was probably a decision typical of Antelme, but based on the flow of the battle so far, he thought that if he retreated, Rei wouldn't pursue...
"You think I'd let you get away!?"
Completely betraying Antelme's expectations, Rei closed the distance with Antelme, who should have created an opening, and swung Death Scythe.
"Guh... ooooooooooh!"
Against the blade swung to cleave his torso in two, Antelme instinctively used his Magic Sword as a shield.
A defensive stance where he held the Magic Sword in his right hand and pinned its tip with his foot to block.
However, in such a situation, there was no way he could properly receive Rei's strike... and in the next moment, Antelme was blown away.
Antelme didn't have a heavily muscled appearance, but his body was still covered in trained muscle.
Unlike fat, muscle naturally had weight.
Contrary to his appearance, Antelme carried considerable weight due to his muscles.
Despite that, Antelme wasn't sent tumbling across the ground... he was blown away in the truest, literal sense of the word.
For the blown-away Antelme, this was a completely unexpected turn of events.
He probably never imagined such a thing could happen.
The impact of crashing into a tree trunk knocked the wind out of him for a moment, but he was able to immediately assess his situation and stand up because Antelme also possessed the kind of skill befitting someone called a capable fighter.
...Though breaking Antelme's spirit was probably one of the reasons Rei didn't follow up.
"What's wrong? At this level of... what's essentially still a fight of mere child's play, are you already thinking you can't beat me? If that's the case, then so be it, but... A-Rank adventurer, noble bloodline, in the end, it amounts to only that much. ...Noble bloodline, huh."
At that final part about noble bloodline, a mocking... or rather, an exasperated smile floated onto his face.
At Rei's demeanor, Antelme endured the pain... no, as if he didn't even feel pain due to his rage, he stood up.
For Antelme, if adventurers as a whole were mocked, he wouldn't particularly mind.
Even from Antelme's perspective, it was clear that most adventurers only possessed enough skill to be mocked in such a way.
However, if the one being mocked wasn't the category of adventurer but himself, there was no way he could forgive such an insult.
Antelme was also an adventurer, but in his own perception, he was an adventurer and yet not an adventurer... that was probably his mindset.
What angered Antelme even more than that was, as expected, having his noble bloodline mocked.
For Antelme, who placed more importance on his noble bloodline than on being an adventurer, that was something that could absolutely never be forgiven.
To let Rei—the existence that had mocked him—go unpunished was something that could never be permitted.
That was why Antelme, voicing his irritation... no, his anger, stood up.
"Are you mocking me... me, who carries noble blood!?"
Along with his shout, an intense hostility and killing intent was released into the surroundings.
A hostility and killing intent so intense that if there had been a wild animal or something here... no, even a monster present, it wouldn't have been strange for them to flee in terror.
That said, to Rei, it was nothing more than a "is that all?" impression.
Normally, upon seeing an A-Rank adventurer this enraged, one would either flee... or do nothing but pray that they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
However, for Rei, who had fought countless powerful enemies up until now, his honest impression was nothing more than "is this it?"
Given that, even facing Antelme, he showed an appearance close to his usual self.
...No, rather, when it came to rage, Rei, whose wolf companions had been massacred, might have been the stronger of the two.
Even so, Rei didn't blatantly show his anger on his face.
If he did such a thing in this situation, it wouldn't be strange for Antelme to exploit the opening.
"That's right. Mocking, or rather... to be honest, saying I'm exasperated would be more accurate. Fighting against someone like you, I never expected things to turn out like this. Also, you called yourself an A-Rank adventurer so I had expectations, but you're not as strong as I'd hoped."
At Rei's words, Antelme thickened his killing intent even further.
He wouldn't so easily rise to Rei's provocations, but he must have had his own thoughts about the current situation.
For Rei, Antelme's demeanor was rather exactly what he wanted.
"Now then, I've mostly grasped your abilities. If you don't have any other trump cards up your sleeve, I'm thinking of ending this battle soon... do you mind?"
That was effectively a declaration of victory.
Words born from the confidence that even if Antelme tried to resist further, he would absolutely be no match for him.
At Rei's words, Antelme felt irritation... but still, based on their exchanges so far, it wasn't as if he couldn't sense the difference in ability between them, and he fell into bitter silence.
...Even while doing so, the fact that he was searching for some sort of comeback move showed a stubbornness typical of an A-Rank adventurer.
However, naturally, Rei had no kindness to wait for his opponent while they were searching for a comeback move.
Toward Antelme, who was currently thinking about how to escape this situation, Rei casually stepped forward.
However, his walking pace was slow, and his speed was by no means fast.
Even so, Rei, who was approaching with certainty, must have been terrifying to Antelme.
"Guh... uoooooh!"
As the distance between him and Rei closed, Antelme kicked off the ground with his Magic Sword in hand.
Whether he had recovered from the impact of being blown away earlier, or whether he was forcing himself to move through the pain.
But his speed was unmistakably slower than before.
...However, the swung Magic Sword had its blade extended, making its reach equal to that of the Twilight Spear or Death Scythe.
The thrust unleashed in that strike wasn't quite godspeed... but could definitely be described as a first-class thrust.
If it landed, most people would be pierced in a single blow... and depending on the circumstances, it wouldn't be strange for them to be reduced to chunks of flesh.
It was that kind of strike, but unfortunately, Rei was no ordinary human.
He evaded the thrust released toward his torso by swiftly shifting his body sideways, and utilizing that movement, unleashed a strike with Death Scythe.
The arm that Antelme had used to thrust was severed, and while still gripping the Magic Sword, it was sliced away and spun through the air. The next strike from the Twilight Spear didn't merely pierce Antelme's right thigh—it shattered it.
Rei then turned the wrist of the hand holding Death Scythe and cleanly severed the remaining left leg and left arm.