Frieren 22

Title: The Exchange of Offense and Defense

The massive sword, larger than Ash’s body, struck down, and under the influence of abnormal gravity, the ground trembled and cracked.

Though the swirling dust was affected by the strange gravity, small stones still exploded in all directions, some hitting Ash, causing him to wince in pain.

This scene was caught by Millie, who had just stepped out of her room. Initially, Millie worried that Ash would be easily defeated, but now she witnessed a shocking sight.

Ash, who used to be so serious and diligent in studying magic, was now brimming with confidence. This left Millie, an elf, in awe.

It was this spirit of perseverance that gave him the strength and absolute confidence to cast such strange magic. Even if Ash let his guard down for a moment, he could have been split in two, yet he didn’t retreat a single step.

Of course… that’s what she saw.

In reality, no one noticed the cold sweat dripping down the side of Ash’s ear or the slight stiffness in his body.

…The truth was, he didn’t want to retreat. This was the first time he had used Gravitational Lightning, a gravity-based magic from the Age of Myths that he had painstakingly researched, in actual combat.

As a result, he had stomped too hard, and his foot sank into the ground. His body hadn’t fully transformed yet, so—he couldn’t pull it out!

After all, the ground, compacted by gravity, was harder than concrete. The fact that his foot didn’t shatter outright showed how strong his physique was.

Fortunately… as his body leaned back, his head narrowly avoided the fate of a summer watermelon.

But Ash didn’t even have time to feel lucky. Basalt, standing before him, also looked utterly shocked.

Though he didn’t understand why his sword suddenly felt so much heavier or why he struggled to control it, he knew this was the work of this “human.”

“No matter if you’re a mage or a warrior! Today, you—will be a corpse!!”

After another failed attack, Basalt’s eyes glinted with cruelty and arrogance. Deciding to hold nothing back, he stomped heavily on the ground and charged into the abnormal gravity field. Like an armored tank, he caused the earth to rumble. He swung his massive sword like a tornado, slashing diagonally.

But as he closed in, the gravity affecting his body and sword suddenly vanished. The blade hissed, passing over Ash’s ducked head and hurtling straight toward him.

Ash darted beneath the sword, and before his opponent could react, he dashed past Basalt’s legs, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Basalt only felt the pain in his heel a moment later, his eyes widening in shock.

But as he ignored the minor wound and turned, the blood from that insignificant cut gushed out like an opened faucet under the influence of the returning gravity.

His heavy armor pressed down on the wound, causing excruciating pain and forcing him to his knees.

This situation left Basalt stunned.

He couldn’t fathom how a mage could display such extraordinary close-combat skills and strange magic simultaneously, even bringing him to his knees.

Though it was an unexpected attack, was there really a mage capable of such a thing?

Before Basalt could process it, Ash charged forward again with his knife. Halfway through, the gravity vanished once more.

This constant shifting made Basalt realize… it seemed his opponent needed a brief moment to switch between these two modes. His eyes narrowed.

The next second, Basalt swung his massive sword, creating a thunderous sound as it swept across the ground. He kicked up a thick cloud of dust, obscuring Ash’s entire body and line of sight.

And in the next moment, the massive blade pierced through the dust, slashing toward Ash.

Ash’s quick reaction—initially smug from his successful attack and expecting his opponent to retreat rather than advance—left him no time to respond. Instinctively, he swung his knife in a reverse grip to parry.

But that rushed defensive swing, compared to the giant’s clearly prepared slash, felt woefully inadequate.

*BANG!*

His entire body was thrown back. Ash felt the wind roar past his ears, forming an arc as he crashed into a nearby building’s wall, even breaking through the already dilapidated stone structure, disappearing from everyone’s view.

Ash seemed done for, but no one at the scene paid attention to his condition. Or rather, no one had the time to.

The sounds of battle cries echoed everywhere, but in truth, the fight between the demons and elves—aside from Frieren and Millie—was one-sided. Amid the roars, the pained screams of the dying filled the air.

The elves had no time to spare, and Basalt, for the moment, ignored them. He rushed forward and swung his sword in front of the stone house.

Instantly, the entire wall of the dilapidated stone house shattered. With one wall gone, the already crumbling structure collapsed entirely.

Amid the swirling dust, Basalt prepared to swing his sword randomly to kill Ash within the debris, as he was no longer visible.

But before he could strike again, the flying dust and broken stones were suddenly controlled by a mysterious force. They paused in midair for a moment, and then…

*BOOM!!!*

A powerful repulsive force sent the sand and stones shooting toward him like bullets, hitting Basalt directly before he could react.

The sand and small stones struck his armor, producing no effect. But the hole in his mask was pierced.

“You cunning—!” Basalt, in pain, couldn’t open his eyes for a moment. But out of caution, he didn’t move. He only swung his long sword randomly in place, forcing Ash to stay back.

But Ash had no intention of approaching. He tossed his military knife into the air, purple lightning gathered in his hand, and he slammed it into the ground.

The lightning slithered like a snake, swiftly racing toward the immobile giant.

Wherever the purple lightning passed, the ground cracked and shattered, leaving scorched marks everywhere. In an instant, it coiled around the giant’s body.

Maximum gravity was applied at that moment.

The earth groaned, and the ground within a three-meter radius sank, forcing the giant in the center to kneel as his injured legs couldn’t withstand the stronger, more focused gravity compared to before. As blood gushed from his legs, Basalt was forced to kneel on the ground.

When his knees hit the earth, under the abnormal gravity, his massive size, and the heavy armor, the ground couldn’t even support his knees, collapsing over a meter deep.

His body wounded, the gravity abnormal, and his legs pinned.

This put Basalt in nearly the same predicament as Ash earlier—he couldn’t even stand. He could only struggle to keep from falling.