Chapter 29: Glass

POV: Clone

"What the hell was that? There is no way you can be that much stronger than us, and how are you using those weapons?" Itsuki started barraging me with questions while looking like I'd robbed him.

"Seriously Endou, what is going on with you?" Ren at least stuck to one question at a time and was much calmer than Itsuki.

"I told you from the start that… what?!" I felt a presence far more powerful than anything I've felt since coming to this world.

The others seemed to be able to feel it as well, but they started looking around the ship rather than noticing that it was coming from above. This presence was emitting a powerful sense of dread. I looked up to see that there was a woman in a black kimono with silver embroidery looking down on us. She looked Japanese with black hair, but at the same time she didn't seem human, a bit like a ghost but not quite, and her eyes were slit like a cat's. Whatever she was, she definitely looked out of place in this world that was of a more medieval European style.

"Are you all so threatened by these little monsters? It seems there is but one true Hero among you." She was holding a pair of fans with a large gem embedded in each, one of which shot a stream of light over our heads. It went into a second Soul Eater that was attempting to sneak up on the others while they were distracted. Strange, I thought there would only be one boss, regardless she managed to kill it in one attack. I hope that was because light magic was its weakness and not pure power. "I would prefer to fight without your interference. The approaching battle is of sublime importance." She narrowed her eyes as she looked at me. "Well, from what I saw of the last fight, it seems that you are a Hero. The others seemed unable to fight at all, but you are different. You're quite hard to keep track of as well."

"You'd be surprised how often I hear things like that."

"Oh, and what is your name?"

"It is only proper manners to give one's own name prior to asking for another's, is it not?"

"Of course. My name is Glass, feel free to consider me your enemy."

"Really now. You would think that it would make things simpler when people tell me that they are the enemy, but this is the first time someone has actually said so before I have reason to believe it. Very well then, engrave this name into your soul before your inevitable defeat. I am the right-hand man of the Godslaying Demon King, Rapid Fang Shadow Claw Kousuke E. Abyssgate." I turn and assumed a pose holding my left hand over my right eye and Heavenly Eye. I saw that not only Glass but the other heroes and their parties as well were speechless after seeing my greatness. Though, the green-haired girl from Itsuki's party did let out a sound that was more of an exclamation than a word.

Glass was the first to speak a response to my introduction, "Abyssgate then, that was quite an introduction. Now, shall we begin the only battle of the wave worthy of the name!"

"As if," Motoyasu shouted. I'm a little surprised he hasn't tried flirting with her yet, it's been a solid three minutes since she first appeared. "[Meteor Spear]!" Oh, he as a Meteor series skill too. I suppose that probably means he went to Zeltoble and copied some weapons there. It makes sense that they would go where they know good weapons are from their game knowledge. Ren and Itsuki unleased their own Meteor attacks. Am I the only hero who has yet to leave the country? Their parties also went ahead and attempted to attack Glass, while I held Blake and Raphtalia back.

Glass looked at the attacks coming towards her with pity. "How cute… [Circle Dance Zero! Reverse Snow Moon Flower]!" An image of the blood moon appeared behind her and she released several crescent arcs of light. The other heroes and parties were blown back and fell in an instant, but they were still breathing. It would seem that, as I predicted, she is a far superior foe to the Soul Eater from earlier. I'd best dispel the other clones to avoid overtaxing my main body.

"An impressive attack with a good name, perfect for clearing away weaklings that are unable to see when a fight is far beyond their capabilities." I gave her a slight applaud as I walked forward.

"They truly are a pathetic little bunch, why would such people believe they could fight a wave? I feel bad for your weapons, they must be crying." She looked at the heroes as she spoke the latter part.

"Some people are just naturally full of themselves, regardless of whether they have the skill to back up their beliefs."

"True enough, though I think our conversation has gone on long enough!" Glass rushed at me while opening her fans. She was fast, but not fast enough to catch me. I evaded her attack and spun around twice ending up behind her.

"You may not wish to continue our conversation, but in a truly serious fight you will die and I have questions that I would like you to answer."

Blake rushed in for a series of quick strikes, each of which Glass was able to block with her fans while her head was turned to see me.

"First of which being, why is it that you declared yourself my enemy? As I said, it is rare for people to make such a bold statement, but there is usually a reason behind their actions."

Raphtalia appeared from an invisibility spell and was about to slash Glass from behind who then turned and blocked it with one of her fans, causing an audible crack as the blade was chipped.

"You believe yourself to be strong enough that you don't need to fight me seriously? How insulting. Though I will give you credit that your speed is remarkable. [Circle Dance Zero! Reverse Snow Moon Flower]!" Glass used her AoE attack in hopes that it would be enough to hit me.

I nimbly moved between the lights, jumping and turning horizontal to fit between two of the arcs while Blake and Raphtalia fell back to stay out of its effective range. "You accuse this Lord of insults while using an attack like that? Or is it that that is your only attack that you are comfortable using without knowing the strength of the Abyss?" She rushed to strike before I could land. I plunged a sword into the wood of the deck, right next to the face of the large armored man from Itsuki's party and used it as an anchor to move and evade her follow-up attack. "It seems that if we continue here, the fools may get caught in the crossfire."

Glass looked around for a moment. "Very well, my aesthetics do not tolerate unnecessary interventions in our noble struggle. Let us go somewhere else." Glass jumped from the ship and landed on the cliff, fairly close to the rift.

"I hate to ask, but could you two make sure these idiots don't get eaten by monsters before they wake up?"

"I guess it would be a problem if those three died." (Raphtalia)

"Understood, but we'll be keeping an eye on your fight as well." (Blake)

I followed after Glass. "So, you chose to fight one on one, that's quite honorable of you. Here I come!" She seemed to be moving faster now, but the signs of effort suggest that her body was actually slowing slightly and that she was compensating through force of will.

I continued to evade her strikes and asked, "So, are you not going to answer my question as to why it is that you wish to be the enemy of the Abyss?" I really do find the situation to be rather unusual. "Or if you won't answer that, will defeating you end the wave?"

She looked at me as if I was a crazy student asking the teacher a basic question that anyone should be able to answer. "We are enemies because that is how it must be, and no, my defeat will not end the wave for you." Her attack style changed slightly and one came rather close to hitting me. Similar to Motoyasu in our duel, she was learning to consider possible ways that I might dodge and plan her next attack accordingly. Of course that just made it all the more fun when I still evaded her attacks.

"If that is the case, is there any reason for me to defeat you, other than that you wish to defeat me?"

"You misunderstand. I do not wish to defeat you. I need to kill you. [Circle Dance of Nothingness, Moon Break]!" A new attack skill? Her movements were different than those that accompanied the previous one. Ah, there it is. Numerous light blades came raining down upon me from the sky. Of course I could easily go untouched by them, the hard part was not to let any mar my coat after Erhard went through all the trouble of enhancing it. Even if it is only a part of a clone, it is still a very nice coat.

"You need me dead? I am afraid that killing this Lord is a task far beyond you. However that does beg the question of why you need to kill me. I for one see no benefit to anyone that would come from my death. Unless of course, you have the suicidal goal of annoying my master by removing his right hand." What benefit could there be in killing me. She had the chance to kill the other three heroes, but left them on the ship. Could she want to only kill a strong hero and let the others remain to prevent a new summoning? Or maybe it's a situation where someone told her she had to kill me to earn some reward. In that case it's the person behind her who I need to ask questions of.

As the dust cleared Glass seemed shocked that I had managed to come out of that attack unscathed. It should come as no surprise that the Heavenly Eye crafted and given to me by the godslaying demon king would allow me to see where every blade was going and stand in the proper position at the correct times to avoid them. "That… shouldn't be possible." She didn't move, only looked at me standing unharmed after what I assume was her strongest AoE attack.

"How about we try a different line of questions. What are you? You look similar to a human but different, you also seem a bit transparent and your presence is like nothing I've ever felt." As I was talking a new timer appeared in my main body's vision.

00:59

Is there a time limit until the wave ends on its own?

"The time? But it's much sooner than expected." Glass seemed to see the numbers too and know something about them.

"Do you know what these new numbers mean?"

Glass walked over to the rift. "Sigh. I will withdraw for now, but know that we will be the ones to emerge victorious from the waves. Abyssgate, I will remember that name." Another Soul Eater appeared from behind the rift. She killed it and walked into the rift, which then closed, ending the wave and removing the mysterious timer.

I turned to the ship as it was drifting towards the ground. Apparently whatever magic kept it in the air was no longer able to do so. There were enough ledges on the cliff face for me to get down without much trouble and I ran over to make sure Blake and Raphtalia were ok.

POV: Main

As my clone fired off the most powerful attack spell in my arsenal, I saw my MP rapidly drop. "Just killed the boss, things should be ending pretty soon."

"How long is pretty soon?" (Sebastian)

"The rift isn't too far away from then, but the boss fight was on a floating ship so it could..." That was when I felt her presence. I could even feel traces of it all the way out here. "Scratch that, something just came up." I downed another Magic Water to be prepared for whatever was about to happen.

Who and what is she? Killing the boss was supposed to let the heroes destroy the rift and end the wave, why is this strange woman showing up and declaring herself my enemy? She just took out the other heroes like they were child's play; better not let things escalate too much until I have the full story.

"Well now, this is an unexpected turn of events."

"What's happening out there, Lord Abyssgate?"

"Someone showed up after they killed the boss, for whatever reason she managed to take down the other heroes with a single move and has declared herself my enemy."

"I'm not sure whether to be impressed by her strength or pity her for saying something so suicidal."

"There are far too many unknowns to kill her just yet; of most interest is the reason for her actions and what she is. Unfortunately she doesn't seem very keen on answering any of my questions. And while she claims to need me dead, she also seems to have a sense of honor."

"And here I thought only those obsessed with the church's teachings were capable of such contradiction." Sebastian chuckled a bit as he continued to fight. "So, what is the plan, capture and interrogate her?"

"I'm not sure that it would be possible to capture her alive as we are now. Remember, she took down all three of the other heroes with a single attack and Ren managed to kill the dragon that became the zombie we fought. For now I'm getting a feel for her fighting style and probing for more info." A new countdown appeared. "Hmm? A new countdown just appeared, and it would seem she is reacting to it."

"Reacting to it?"

The cracks in the sky closed as the wave came to an end and oddly, all of the interdimensional shadow monsters dissolved as if they had been slain.

"She just escaped through the rift. It seems this wave has given us a multitude of new questions."

"Well I suppose having questions means that you at least know that you don't know the answer."

"Quite right, though it can feel rather unfulfilling."

It's probably a good thing that the villagers and soldiers are too busy fighting to question how I know what is happening with the other heroes.

POV: Ship

"Sigh. I can't believe we are stuck babysitting these fools while Master Endou is fighting a new enemy."

"I know, I can barely even make out their movements from here and can't even hear what Master Kousuke is saying."

"Think he would get mad if I killed the princess and blamed it on Glass?" Talia turned and looked at Malty's unconscious body.

"Probably. Though I sort of want to check if any of them have anything valuable." Blake looked at all the other heroes' party members.

"We only do that to bandits. Besides they'd know it was us."

""Sigh.""

Both female members of the shield hero party lamented in the knowledge that doing what they wanted would only cause trouble for them and their dear master.

AN: The self-introduction of the Lord always leaves people speechless, whether it is due to thinking he is cool or trying to determine if he is being serious is debatable.