The identity of the suddenly rising stone wall was a magic spell called [Stone Rise], cast by Theo using [Elemental Sword].
Oswald, having no way of knowing this, had been running towards Theo's direction and abruptly stopped.
"Magic?"
Suddenly, Luna from within Theo's group caught his eye.
Even without the ability to use spirits, Luna was considered a formidable force on the continent with her magic alone.
The fear she instilled when she stormed through the front gate of [Ford Company] overwhelmed him.
Oswald turned his head towards his subordinates and shouted.
"Hey, you idiots! Aren't you doing your job properly? Weren't you supposed to block magic usage?"
His subordinates quickly pulled out a magical device from their belongings and fiddled with it.
One of them answered.
"The device is working normally, Oswald!"
"Then what the hell is that in front of my eyes! Are you saying that's not magic?"
"It is an artifact operating on external mana!"
Upon hearing this, Oswald glanced back at Theo. With a loud rumble, additional stone walls were emerging.
Still, since it posed no direct threat to him, Oswald silently observed the spectacle.
'The kids are right.'
If Luna could use magic, she would have used it by now.
Oswald, with a smirk on one side of his mouth, ordered his subordinates.
"Hey, do we have enough bombs? Throw some at that stone wall. I want to see that silver-haired bastard's face."
"······If we do that, the Polaris guys will hear it and arrive in no time."
"Ah, forget it! I'll take responsibility. Throw it now, you idiot! Do you think they came all this way without a plan? They pinpointed our location and came directly here."
Oswald snapped at his subordinates irritably. He had brought newcomers instead of elite members in case their faces were recognized, but he hadn't realized they would be this short-sighted.
However, the subordinates were more afraid of Oswald's wrath than anything else.
"We, we're sorry! We didn't think it through. We'll throw them right away!"
Oswald's subordinates threw bombs towards Theo's direction.
Bang! Boom─!
As the bombs hit the stone wall, it exploded, and fragments of the stone wall scattered everywhere.
Oswald narrowed his eyes and watched Theo through the swirling debris.
"Ha."
However, Theo was unscathed.
In the moment the stone wall was blown apart by the bombs, he had created additional stone walls.
Oswald let out a hollow laugh.
'As expected, his courage is the best on the continent.'
The thought he had before, that giving time to this silver-haired monster would pose a great threat in the future, was correct.
'...He learned something completely unexpected in less than a month!'
But Oswald's contemplation was short-lived.
'Whatever artifact it might be, it must have a limit on usage.'
He immediately ordered his subordinates to throw more bombs.
The subordinates threw the bombs towards the stone wall in perfect unison, more than triple the amount than before.
Bang!
Boom─!
Boom──!
With the increased number of bombs, the amount of stone fragments scattering increased dramatically.
Between Oswald's group and Theo's party, a thick haze of dust filled the air.
Oswald, gripping an axe in each hand, poised as if ready to charge at any moment, peered through the murky fog at Theo.
"Ha! Is that the end of your tricks?"
Seeing the stone walls completely destroyed, Oswald powered up his legs, infusing his right leg with formidable strength.
The identity of his right leg was a 'replacement body part.'
Due to body disharmony caused by his previously transplanted left arm, he had chosen to amputate his right leg and replace it.
"Better brace yourself!"
Oswald charged towards the silver-haired bastard with explosive speed.
Immediately, a dagger flew from the silver-haired man.
Without slowing down, Oswald deflected the dagger with his axe.
In no time, Oswald had reached right in front of Theo.
"Tired of your tricks! Got anything else to show, handsome bastard? Show it all now. You won't have the chance once you're dead!"
Whoosh──!
Oswald swung the axe in his left hand, aiming for Theo's shoulder.
"You're just as noisy as before. Like a dog."
Theo muttered, twisting his body slightly to dodge Oswald's attack.
"Whoa~ you dodged this?"
Oswald's eyes widened, filled with excitement.
'This is how it should be!'
There was a sense of accomplishment from acclimating to his 'replacement body part.'
The time spent sweating alone in the boring research ward wasn't wasted.
Since his subordinates were already swarming Theo's companions, Oswald continued his assault, targeting only Theo.
The axe in his grip danced as if moving to music.
Sssss──
Sssss──
The axe, as if responding to his call, ripped through the air with a whooshing sound.
Although the axe never once touched Theo, Oswald was unfazed.
"Right, this is how it should be! Let's see how far you can dodge!"
The axe he was currently using was an artifact given by Thomas, equipped with two special effects.
The first special effect was that the more consecutively the axe was swung, the faster its acceleration would become.
"Hahaha! Not so easy, is it? Is your skin starting to tremble?!"
The first special effect was working perfectly, effectively.
Clang──!
Bang──!
At some point, the silver-haired man began to fail in dodging and started to block the attacks.
Naturally, given the strength behind his axe, even blocking it would quickly accumulate damage.
If the man made even a slight mistake with his hand, Oswald would immediately take his head.
And so, he continued to hammer away at him.
"Ugh!"
The man's sword twisted at an odd angle and stabbed towards Oswald's left shoulder.
An unexpected counterattack in timing and trajectory.
This was the first time the man had attempted a counterattack since the battle began...
"Ugh!"
...and the sword was fast.
It even felt as if the sword's length had extended.
Theo's [Demon Sword] cleanly pierced through Oswald's left shoulder.
Pulling out the sword embedded in his shoulder would have been the perfect opportunity to leave Oswald one-armed again.
However, Theo did not get greedy and immediately withdrew his sword.
Oswald had the trait [Danger Perception].
Getting too greedy could have entangled Theo unnecessarily.
Nay commented,
─Oh my~ Boy, you're certainly strong in actual combat. To think you used sword qi, even if faintly, on your first try.
As Nay said, Theo managed to use sword qi, albeit crudely.
'...It certainly feels different.'
Human muscles tend to contract momentarily when stabbed with a blade, and naturally, the person who stabs feels this contraction.
But this time was different. It was like sticking a finger into soft pudding.
Steel was sliced through as easily as tofu.
A description from novels that suddenly made sense.
'Anyway, we did it.'
The goal was to stall for time in a standoff with Oswald until the Polaris Knights arrived.
With a hole in his shoulder, Oswald could no longer move as freely as before.
Since Theo's companions were also holding their own against Oswald's subordinates without taking much damage, all they needed to do was to keep stalling for time.
However, Oswald, as if he had read Theo's mind, did not back down.
Oswald's eyes flashed wildly as he laughed maniacally.
"Hahaha! I've never seen a monster like you in my life. Hey, you. Did you 'awaken' or something?"
With that, Oswald swung the axe in his right hand horizontally.
Theo crouched low as if to sit down, dodging Oswald's axe swing.
Then──
Whoosh!
──he swung his sword widely at Oswald's ankle, as if he was writing on the ground with the sword.
Oswald jumped up and raised the axe high above his head at the same time.
"Watch closely! This is a technique I've prepared just for you!"
Using the force of his fall, he then slammed the axe down towards Theo's head.
Of course, it was a large movement, and Theo did not simply let it hit him. He rolled to the side to avoid it.
Boom───!
As the axe struck the ground, a thunderous noise erupted as if the earth itself had shattered.
No, the ground actually started to break apart as if it had been bombed.
"······Kuk."
Caught in the shockwave, Theo was flung far away.
Biting his lower lip, Theo looked at the ground where the axe had struck. There, a crater as if a small meteorite had fallen was deeply indented.
Oswald laughed with a demonic grin distorting his face.
"How does it feel, you bastard? Starting to realize you're screwed?"
Theo did not respond. Instead, he communicated to Nay.
─...I'll have to use it, that thing.
