The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: The Whip of Love / Pork-san’s Melancholy

Joanne’s goal is to strengthen me while breaking my spirit and to involve me in her ambition.

It’s conceivable that she might inflict more pain than necessary, so I must be wary from the second round onwards.

Even so… I thought she only knew how to fight with brute strength, but she was skilled at sword defense.

She must have absorbed those techniques into her body while fighting with the sword-wielding Executives.

It’s been a while since I held a sword, but my combat strength should not have diminished.

After all, I have a foundation that has been forged through hellish training.

I possess combat strength well beyond the level of being disposed of.

I don’t know how many attempts it will take to score a point, but I’m sure I’ll manage somehow.

Definitely――

“Haah!”

The first round ended with just a light tap on the forehead, but from the second round on, it wasn’t so gentle.

……

Second round.

Since the first strike was a vertical swing that missed, I slashed horizontally.

Then, she caught the mock sword between her index finger and thumb.

Moreover, she even showed a movement that seemed to protect her left side, as if to avoid injuring her left ring finger.

“You won’t be able to win even against a frail maiden like me with that kind of effort.”

An immense sense of despair overwhelms me.

The same feeling of powerlessness that I felt when I faced Celestia before spread across my back.

Joanne, unlike the first time, is seriously trying to crush me, and she comes at me with a diagonal kick to my midsection.

The impact sends me flying to the ground. I roll over the thinly layered snow, coughing and spitting out blood.

As my body stops spinning and I lose momentum, I’m seized by a compulsion to stand up, accompanied by a slight feeling of nausea.

Through my unsteady vision, I see Joanne with her arms crossed.

It seems she’s not following up with another attack.

“Don’t worry, I’m holding back enough so it’s just a minor injury.”

“…”

I’m immediately hit with a healing spell, and the pain begins to fade from my body.

I saw it. Just before the whip-like sharp kick hit me, the speed had decreased.

Joanne is really holding back.

It’s a precaution to not kill me, but I can’t help but feel infuriated by that fact. It’s pathetic.

There are many nameless masters in this world.

It’s precisely because of such a world that true powerhouses like Whip remain hidden.

They are far stronger than Joanne when she’s holding back.

What am I going to do if I lose to her?

…….

The third round.

I launched an attack with a thrust, but my outstretched wrist was struck from below.

With a sharp pain, my practice sword was knocked away, and I crumbled to my knees.

Clenching my teeth, I looked at my right arm, which made a dull sound and had gained an extra joint.

Shocked, the sensation of pain disappeared.

It was beautifully broken at about a ten-degree angle upwards.

Joanne, coming to check on me, asked in a still gentle tone, ‘Shall we take a break?’

Provoked by her tone, I stubbornly refused.

(My offensive capabilities are too weak. What am I doing against an opponent who only counters with precision? … Weak. Hopelessly too weak…)

The fracture was so clean that it healed completely without even leaving a bruise.

…..

The fourth round.

I kicked up some snow to blind her, but she dodged beautifully and countered with a spinning kick.

Perhaps Joanne was starting to put more effort into it, as the sound of an explosion echoed inside the abdomen where the attack landed.

My body bent and fear crawled all over me, but the impact was far weaker than our previous exchange.

Even if my internal organs had burst, somehow my spirit remained unbroken.

No matter what, I absolutely can’t match her agility, reflexes, or power. Probably not even in technique.

In fact, I might not even be on a stage where I can compete in terms of technique—because for her, someone who can win with just speed and power, there’s no need to even use technique.

(Currently, Joanne is only displaying a fraction of her speed and power. If I can’t beat Joanne, who only counters weak attacks, I won’t stand a chance against Whip! At this rate, there’s no way I can achieve my goal!)

Normally, it’s impossible for a human to suddenly become strong.

Convenient awakenings don’t exist in this world.

Only fourteen individuals are allowed to accumulate the soil of the strong and are conditionally permitted to approach the realm of the gods.

One of those individuals is the girl in front of me, Joanne Sagamix.

After having my internal organs healed, I struggled as much as I could.

I used everything that caught my eye. My own blood. Stones. Soil. Tree branches. Wind.

However, all of it was utterly repelled.

Punched, kicked, dodged.

My jaw was shaken, I was flipped over, and my groin was kicked up.

While losing consciousness several times, I kept gaining experience.

Being able to redo the battle over and over with one of the few living Asuras in this world, I could feel the immense experience being etched into my body.

The growth from this intense time wouldn’t stop.

The mental wear from the acute pain wouldn’t stop.

(Come on, hang in there, me…!)

……

The ninety-fourth.

My frenzied swordplay finally pries open Joanne’s defense for the first time.

Until now, she had been parrying the flat of my sword with her fists, but overwhelmed by my intense momentum, she lost her posture and back steps.

To snatch a point from Joanne, I whip my legs, now as heavy as logs from fatigue, and leap forward.

That’s where my offensive ends.

She shifts her timing to deflect my attack, and as I lose my balance, she flows with it and throws me to the ground.

Sparks fly into my field of vision. I grab my severely struck ear and writhe on the ground.

It’s beyond mere pain.

My ear, slammed against the frozen ground, sends out signals of extreme pain, filled with intense agony.

Is my eardrum ruptured?

I don’t know. It feels like my brain, melted into a gooey mess, is about to spill out of my ear.

If even this pain is part of Joanne’s aim, then she knows all too well how to break a person’s spirit.

Still, there’s one certain progress.

I made Joanne use a technique.

She’s beginning to be pushed back, even if just slightly.

If I keep this up and gain more experience, maybe—―

――And then, the ninety-fifth.

A kick swift as a blizzard caught me off guard, and my naive thoughts were scattered to the wind.

The sparring had begun early in the morning, yet our training continued until dusk.

As the voices of people around us faded away, and only the sound of the blizzard striking could be heard――

We reached the one hundred fifty-seventh.

Suddenly, the surroundings began to darken, and Joanne unexpectedly looked up at the sky.

Was it time for sunset?

Having become reflexive enough to take advantage of Joanne’s lapse, I sprinted across the snowy field with my fatigued legs.

A momentary opening. But it was enough time to overwhelm an opponent whose concentration was waning.

Slipping beneath Joanne, I mustered all my strength to swing my sword upward.

Snow and sweat flew about. The girl, whose defensive actions were too slow, was hit directly by the practice sword for the first time that day.

“Oh――!”

The blade passed through her right upper arm.

Even if it was a practice sword, it easily sliced through the unprotected human skin.

With a bouncing motion, I swung the sword through, and a streak of blood ran down her right arm.

Joanne let out a maniacal laugh, perhaps a compliment to me for not losing focus during the long hours.

After licking the blood, she contained her aura and stopped the bleeding.

“Oakley, how many now?”

“One, one hundred… fifty… seven…”

“Whatever form it takes, one is still one. You’ve done well to endure the severe pain and fatigue.”

Joanne lightly clapped her hands, then put on the robe she had hung on the tree and came over to me.

Just when I thought she was simply wrapping me in the robe, Joanne gently kissed me on the ear.

“Let’s work hard again tomorrow.”

…So this hellish training continues tomorrow…

…..

Thanks to Juanquiro’s precise instructions and Pork’s ability to create poisonous thorns, the restoration of the holy land Metashim was completed.

However, the once vibrant city is no more, and Metashim, surrounded by poisonous thorns, is enveloped in a stagnant atmosphere.

The towering outer walls of the city, built as a measure against ferocious magical beasts, have become barriers isolating the Heretics from the outside world.

The thorns laid out by Pork have filled the holes in the destroyed outer walls, extending stems of brambles without a single gap, making it impossible for anyone to climb.

The only areas that remain unaffected by the poison thorns are the pathways atop the outer walls.

The Heretics positioned to the north, south, east, and west on the outer walls are responsible for watching for distant enemies in preparation for attacks.

Since Metashim is located on the frontier within the Holy Nation Geluid, there are rarely any humans passing by the now-mapless region surrounding the city.

Furthermore, due to the extensive recognition inhibition by Aaros in Metashim, the region has become a paradise for Heretics, devoid of any presence of Orthodox Believers.

Moreover, the city of Daskell was destroyed by a certain common Heretic, and the fact that Daskell served as a buffer zone between the Metashim region and the Orthodox territories has also played a part in concealing Metashim.

Thanks to the destruction of Daskell, it will be quite some time before the Orthodox Executives move to reclaim Metashim.

In fact, several months have passed since the fall of Metashim and Daskell—there has been no movement from the Kenneth Orthodox side, which answers the question.

For them, the loss of Celestia, the spiritual pillar of Orthodoxy, has been too fatal.

Even if someone were to approach the Metashim region, they would only be able to get so close before reaching a limit.

They would pass by the town without ever reaching it.

This is because the sacred land of Metashim remains unseen by chance due to perception inhibition.

It’s like the phenomenon where you’re about to talk about something very important, but as soon as you start to speak, the content of the conversation vanishes like trying to grasp a cloud—even if the town’s outline appears in the visitor’s field of vision, the next moment, their attention is distracted by something else.

The perception inhibition magic that Aaros employs affects the subconscious of people, working on the principle of deliberately lowering the priority of interest in the target.

Even if it’s the vast town of Metashim, once he casts his magic, its existence fades away. It is forgotten.

Although there are limitations to the objects affected by perception inhibition, it is an exceptional magic that can twist the concept of the target.

“Oh, it’s rare for someone to come by.”

Pork Tedrotus, bored and with time to spare, leans forward from his perch atop the outer wall upon spotting a figure stirring below.

Several kilometers away, a man with the appearance of a traveler can be seen striding along.

“Isn’t it bad for him to come any closer? Ah, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous…!”

As expressing she was killing time, the beautiful woman dressed as a man shouted playful soliloquies.

She laid her hands on a reinforced ballista, its strings replaced with poisonous thorns, and began to operate the weapon like a child enjoying an attraction.

The drawn spear with fletching was aimed, of course, at the traveler’s torso.

The mad crosshairs twined around the innocent traveler.

The spear entwined with poisonous thorns contaminated even the metal spearhead, altering its nature.

Once released from the fully drawn special string, the spear, which would lead to a poisonous death, would strike at a speed surpassing the speed of sound.

For an ordinary person, even a graze would lead to an inescapable poisonous death.

Even if a direct hit was avoided, the buds of thorns inside the spear would be released in all directions, and the poisonous thorns would explode radially.

Unbeknownst to the traveler, he was on the brink of an absolute crisis.

“…”

However, the traveler managed to escape the danger without realizing it.

The moment he witnessed the bizarre Heretic town, he suddenly became absent-minded and resumed walking. His steps, as if guided, strayed onto a path that avoided the holy land of Metashim.

This is the magic of cognitive inhibition.

An unlawful ability that returns even the thoughts conceived at that time to nothingness――

Pork withdrew from the ballista and pursed her lips in apparent boredom.

(Aaros-sama is amazing. It’s no exaggeration to say that the temple congregation has been able to grow so huge because of the magic of perception inhibition…)

Looking bored, Pork watches the traveler’s back as he leaves, as if to confirm the dignity of Guru Aaros.

According to the person in charge of surveillance, this is the third time someone has passed through the Metashim region.

No wonder Kenneth Orthodox can’t even send spies.

There are roughly two ways to enter this city. One is to follow a Heretic entering the holy land of Metashim and forcibly break through the perception inhibition to infiltrate.

Regarding this method, Celestia, right after the Daskell collapse, attempted it.

The operation itself was shoddy, so the result was a counterattack, but as of now, infiltration into Metashim by pursuit is the most likely scenario.

As for the second method, it involves killing Aaros to dispel the magic of perception inhibition, so there’s no need to even consider it.

However, it’s not impossible for a traveler passing through the Metashim region to notice by chance, which is why Aaros has asked for surveillance like this.

Pork jumps off the outer wall and begins to walk aimlessly through the holy land of Metashim.

“If Oakley and Joanne were around, I wouldn’t have been bored… but lately, there’s been no movement from the church, and I’m feeling idle.”

Muttering to herself, Pork went to peek into the room of the absent Oakley.

Naturally, the Executive candidate wasn’t back, and dust was dancing in the air inside.

Since Oakley’s disappearance, Pork has been somewhat aimlessly cleaning his room.

Maybe it’s because of the trauma from having a brand-new room smeared with blood and flesh.

Remembering the shock from that time, Pork began cleaning Oakley’s room, handling the tips of poisonous thorns.

“Even thinking about it now pisses me off. Seriously, making an Executive clean up after they’re having fun? That stupid couple, they’re really the worst…”

It’s not like I’m longing for his return.

Really, I truly just feel like he needs to be here… that’s all I’m thinking.

Pork cleaned the room until it was sparkling clean.