Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 201

Verdant Pearl Knights (2)Verdant Pearl Knights Captain Eris Samantha swung her fist toward Irena. Her fist was wrapped in bubbling white foam.

It looked as though her fist had been coated with the thick, elastic foam of well-brewed beer. As I stepped between Irena and Eris and raised my sword, the foam collided with the blade.

“…”

With a boing-like sound, Kairus was flung backward. It was a bizarre clash, utterly unfitting for such a desperate situation.

“Kairus Featherwing, and Irena Kellogg.”

Verdant Pearl Knights Captain Eris assumed a posture as if she were putting on gloves. White shaving foam wrapped around both of her arms.

“Pitiful things. To come seeking the place of your own deaths.”

After confirming that Irena, who had been collapsed on the ground, had risen, Kairus leveled his sword at Eris.

“What can you possibly do with soap bubbles?”

I had no intention of being overpowered by momentum. While the Verdant Pearl Knights and the Imperial Army guarding the broadcast tower watched us warily, Eris stepped forward.

Her limbs became covered in white foam.

“There are many things I can do.”

“…It’s different from the foam I broke through.”

What Kairus had pierced earlier was closer to a soap bubble. It had not been foam of such density.

“Because my target has been decided.”

A rebounding sound rang out. Eris, who had approached right up to me, kicked up her foam-covered foot. Kairus brought his sword down toward that foot.

With an unpleasant boing-boing sound, the sword was deflected away.

‘Only the density has changed.’

There was no other difference. The foam enveloping Eris’s leg was the same as the foam wall Kairus had pierced earlier.

“Your sword will never reach me.”

It was the same foam that even a full-force charge had failed to break through, requiring Irena’s assistance.

As she lowered her raised leg and stamped the Rear Node, the rebound force pushed Eris backward as if she had been bounced away.

“It’s alright.”

From behind Kairus, Irena spoke and raised her sword.

“In the end, we’ll win.”

“That’s right.”

Kairus gave a short reply to Irena’s words. Nothing had changed. Together, we were facing a single knight captain.

‘If it barely failed to break through…’

It meant that Eris also had to exert her full strength to block Kairus’s attacks.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Irena hurled herself far away. Immediately after, with a deafening propulsion sound, Kairus shot toward Eris.

‘I can’t reduce my speed.’

Greater speed meant greater power. To face Eris, I had to keep charging forward without stopping, pouring in everything I had.

Just as Kairus’s sword was about to collide with Eris’s thick foam-wrapped fist, Eris suddenly felt her wrist grow heavy in an instant. The air itself was pressing down on it.

“…Hmm?”

It had been a close call. If she hadn’t reacted to the sudden heaviness, she would have been struck by Kairus’s attack just moments ago.

Eris’s gaze instinctively turned toward Irena. Kairus had no room for such distractions right now.

‘Verdant Pearl Knights Captain. I didn’t come here to watch.’

This was the result of training with the elastic swing.

Irena could not keep up with Eris’s movements. However, the foam covered her hands, and Kairus intended to strike at her chest.

Then it was possible to predict exactly when to crush Eris’s wrist with the wind.

“Ha. No wonder that redhead rated you so highly.”

She had managed to react to the sudden weight, but it had put some strain on her wrist. If it continued, that strain would become an injury.

Irena’s training had landed a proper blow on Eris.

“In that case, perhaps…”

She was confident she could block Kairus’s attack, so should she deal with Irena instead?

As that thought crossed her mind, a high, sharp vibration—resembling birdsong—rang in Eris’s ears.

“…!”

In that instant, what entered her sight was Kairus’s sword boring through the foam wrapped around her arm.

Eris’s body reacted as she drove her knee upward toward the blade. With a resounding clang, Kairus’s sword shot up into the air.

“Ha, you crazy woman. You’re quite something.”

Even Kairus could not help but admire her.

In that brief moment, she had grasped the situation and succeeded in striking the flat of the blade as it attempted a horizontal slash.

“That sword…”

The Veil of Plumed Mist gripped in Kairus’s hand trembled violently, emitting a piercing vibration.

It was Nimbus’s vibration blade. Its output was entirely different from when it was used with Flicker. Unlike the faint birdsong from before, an ultra-high-pitched sound now rang out, like the scream of a bird.

“I must really be an idiot.”

I should have used this sooner. Lately, I had relied too much on the abilities of the Veil of Plumed Mist. But this sword was not something that had to be used that way.

The vibration blade drastically increased cutting power. No matter how strong the foam created by Eris was, it would inevitably be sliced apart.

“Ah, I see. Truly impressive.”

As she spoke, Eris immediately withdrew the foam that had enveloped her limbs.

Kairus was not the only one who had finished his assessment. For supersonic flight, the turbine sound had to shift into a jet-like roar.

Even if she could not use the abilities of her battle gear, Eris was still a knight captain.

“Let’s continue. Come at me, you rebel bastards.”

With a sharp resonance, the Veil of Plumed Mist swung again, and Eris parried every strike.

“Why are you so good at fighting?”

Eris’s skill surpassed what Kairus had expected. But…

He still had Irena. Moving in sync with Kairus and waiting for an opening, Irena charged at Eris.

“What are you doing right now?”

At that moment, with a wet, sticky sound, two clumps of foam clung to Irena’s shoes.

“Hng… Gah?!”

The foam possessed tremendous elasticity. Irena had unwillingly ended up wearing what were essentially spring shoes.

The attack she had prepared while waiting for an opening was rendered useless. No, it was worse than merely being nullified.

Having barely managed to stand, Irena now found it difficult to remain upright because of the foam clinging to her feet. Even standing still caused her body to sway back and forth.

‘If this is how it is…’

Kairus’s mind grew complicated. Should he remove that foam for her? Could Irena possibly shake it off on her own?

“Don’t worry about me! Even if I can’t move, there’s still something I can do.”

At Irena’s declaration, Kairus set aside his concerns and focused on Eris.

She was not the type to stubbornly insist on doing what was beyond her capabilities. If there was something she could do, she would do it.

In fact, Irena had a plan of her own.

‘At this point, it’s a game of odds.’

Kairus’s movements were predictable. Therefore, she also knew the path his sword would take. Eris defended by striking the flat of the blade to deflect it.

In other words, if she knew the path of the sword, she could also anticipate Eris’s method of defense.

‘The moment Eris tries to deflect Kairus’s sword, if I apply overload to her wrist or ankle using Swift Blade like before…’

That alone would be of great help to Kairus.

‘The problem is that the flat of the blade has two sides.’

Irena could not predict which side of the blade Eris would strike to defend herself. That depended entirely on Eris’s movements. If Kairus and Eris fought longer, she would gradually grow accustomed to those movements and predict them with greater accuracy.

But not now. Like a gamble of guessing the front or back of a coin, Irena had to take a chance on which side of the blade Eris would target.

Keeping some distance, Irena began her solitary game of odds.

‘…This is difficult.’

It wasn’t enough simply to guess correctly. If she failed, the sudden weight might instead be transferred to Kairus. In that case, Irena’s attempt to help would instead place him in danger.

She had to choose only the moments when such a risk would not occur before attempting her gamble.

“If I succeed just a few times…”

Murmuring to herself, Irena focused her mind. She only needed to succeed a few times. Once strain was placed on Eris’s wrists or ankles, Eris would no longer be able to deflect Kairus’s attacks as lightly as she was doing now.

“All units! Prepare!”

However, Irena soon encountered another difficulty.

This time, she was not drawn into the battle between Kairus and Eris. Because her legs floated unsteadily even when she stood still, she could not provide proper support.

There was quite a distance between the place where Kairus and Eris were fighting and the spot where Irena stood.

Then the Verdant Pearl Knights could charge at Irena.

“Why are you doing this to me…?”

With a tearful expression, Irena lamented toward the knights of the Verdant Pearl Knights.

While dealing with them, she also had to predict Kairus’s movements and attempt her gamble at the right moment.

Her head was already spinning. She smacked her own cheek hard and tightened her grip on her sword.

“Let’s do this. If I die, it can’t be helped—but if I survive, it’s experience.”

She had to adapt to the foam enveloping her feet. Watching the Verdant Pearl Knights rushing toward her, Irena steadied her mind.

“Your woman doesn’t look like she’s in good shape. Are you sure you don’t want to go to her?”

“She’ll manage just fine.”

Kairus replied without the slightest hesitation as he continued fighting Eris. As he dodged the incoming kick, the air burst apart, violently shaking the surrounding bushes and trees.

With every breath they took, dozens of exchanges passed between them. Kairus could not afford to worry about Irena.

All he could do was trust that she would manage on her own. At the very least, she had never disappointed him so far.

“And why don’t you worry about your own fate instead?”

Whoosh—winds surged in from both directions and collided at Eris’s position. The two currents, differing in temperature and humidity, clashed and instantly produced an enormous mass of clouds.

Kairus had no choice but to acknowledge that Eris was exceptionally skilled at defending against his sword.

She blocked with incredible precision. He had never imagined she could deflect the flat of the blade so perfectly and for so long.

So what choice did he have? It was time to stop relying solely on sword strikes.

“Cumulonimbus.”

An immense mass of dark storm clouds formed in an instant, rumbling as if lightning would burst forth at any moment.

‘I need to get out of here.’

Eris, now enveloped within the cumulonimbus, understood as well. If she remained inside the cloud, she would be scorched by the lightning raging within it.

But if she rushed out? Kairus, waiting for that very moment, would strike immediately.

To escape, she would have to rely entirely on instinct and reflexes.

‘So… how much can I endure?’

The Featherwing family belonged to the Valorn Empire, and most victims struck by the lightning produced by Cloud Seizing Art were from the Aylan Republic.

Could she possibly withstand it? As that question crossed Eris’s mind, she simultaneously pushed her battle gear’s output to its maximum to protect her body.

The colossal cumulonimbus that had been raging to burst out from within her body crackled with lightning, threatening Eris from all sides.

Yet she did not move. She had decided to endure it once.

Ignoring the warning and remaining inside, Eris was finally struck by a bolt of lightning.

“Aghaaaaaaaaa!”

Flash! Her vision flickered, and Eris trembled violently as she let out a grotesque scream.

‘This is madness.’

She was not incapacitated by a single strike. She could endure a few more.

The thunder and lightning raging within the cumulonimbus were beyond Kairus’s control, relying purely on chance.

But if she were struck by several more of those blind bolts of lightning, Eris would be finished.