Chapter 821: 821: Twisted Horn Menace

「Grooourgh!」

The twisted horn antidemon had finally recognized Fran as an enemy after the defeat of his guards, the clawed knights.

He became obviously conscious of Fran now, behaving more defensive so as not to leave any openings for her.

However, he also seemed to understand the Nadia's power, so he did not immediately head towards us.

He appeared to still be confident in his victory, probably because his forces surrounded us. Indeed, the black swordsman-types and archer-types were there on all sides.

『It would be annoying if they all charged us at once. Let's keep up this pace and finish the boss off fast!』

「Nn!」

Fran leaned forward as she rushed out. She held me low in one hand, almost scraping the ground. Then, she swung at his leg.

Twisted Horn lowered his blade to block Fran's blow――but his attempt was thwarted.

Nadia had jumped upwards and slashed at Twisted Horn from above.

Her timing was perfect. She had not exchanged any words with Fran, but they were still in complete sync.

Fran's blade closed in from the ground, and Nadia's blade approached from the sky.

How would he respond to the simultaneous attacks from both above and below? Anyone would have trouble with this, but surely his huge body would make it make it even harder to evade.

「Gwogorgh!」

Then, an intense mana suddenly cloaked Twisted Horn. Shortly after, he blew away Fran and Nadia at the same time.

「Kuh!」

「Gwah!」

Both of them used their weapons to defend themselves, so they suffered little damage. However, they were stunned as they slid on the ground after their landing.

Twisted Horn didn't even do anything particularly special. He matched Nadia's swing with a horizontal slash, and then delivered an upwards swing to counter Fran.

However, his speed was simply extraordinary.

Not only was Fran using Brilliant Lightning Rush, but she had been greatly enhanced by Sophie's song. Nadia was also moving at similar speeds.

Yet Twisted Horn countered their ridiculously fast combination by swinging around his three-meter sword with even more ridiculous speed.

We could barely perceive his movements at that point.

『It's not just teleportation, they can use time acceleration!』

It seems that antidemons of the highest level could manipulate space-time magic with great precision.

Twisted Horn's overwhelming speed must have been further boosted by usage of physical enhancement and time acceleration.

「Gwooorgh......」

He didn't deliver a follow up strike.

Twisted Horn simply glared at Fran and Nadia, its green eyes shining at us.

「Mrgh.」

「Acting all smug, eh?」

Just as Nadia said, Twisted Horn's attitude gave the impression he had absolute confidence in his strength. He was clearly judging Fran and Nadia's worth.

The antidemons surrounding us also probably thought Twisted Horn was enough to defeat Fran and Nadia, which was why they took no action.

「......Better look down on us while you still can.」

「Nn! Let's make them cry!」

And then Fran made her move.

Our usual method of fighting huge opponents involved using our superior agility to distract our opponent, looking for an opening, and finishing the fight in one fell swoop.

Fran followed that strategy by using aerial hops and Brilliant Lightning Rush to fly erratically around Twisted Horn.

To my surprise, Nadia was able to perform similar movements. Not only was she fast, but she could make impossible changes in movement midair, as if ignoring inertia. That must be another power of Overgrowth or her Golden Devourer skill.

However, Twisted Horn was an extraordinary opponent beyond my imagination. I didn't think we were underestimating him, but we did not fully understand how dangerous he could be.

Fran and Nadia struck with blinding speed to create an opening, a simultaneous slash from both the front and the rear.

He would be forced on the defensive, then they could knock him off balance and settle the match with their most powerful moves.

That was the plan, but very next moment, a shocking situation occurred.

「Gwoogh!」

「!」

Nadia and Fran's eyes widened at the same time.

To their surprise, Twisted Horn had evaded them by using aerial hop. He didn't even need to defend if he could completely evade them.

And this time, he was the one flying through the air wildly swinging his blade at Fran and Nadia, just as they had done to him earlier.

I was confident Fran could beat him in control over fine movements, even if Twisted Horn could reach higher top speeds. However, Twisted Horn's agility proved to be more than a match for us.

Mobility was supposed to be our only advantage, yet he's got us beaten us there too!

The three of them dashed around violently as if they were intertwined in midair, exchanging blows all the while.

Shockwaves and roars scattered around each time they clashed, and his pursuit showed no signs of relenting.

If the adventurers accompanying us saw this scene, they would be able to tell there was something violently rampaging in the air, but they wouldn't be able to tell what because we were just too fast.

Neither side was able to land a clean hit on the other, and light scratches were healed instantly anyways.

However, it was obvious that the more time passed, Fran and Nadia only became more exhausted.

We were not in a good spot.

Fran must have understood this too, finally making the decision to use her trump card.

(Master, let's do this!)

『Got it!』

She squeezed my hilt tightly, maybe due to the frustration of being unable to win with her own strength. But this is one fight we have to win. Fran called out the skill that would bring her victory.

「Sword God Transformation!」