The World's Strongest Faker

Situation Solved

"What!?"

A barrier of water abruptly rushing upward―only a magician could create such a thing. Gustaf considered the possibility that some other knight had been hidden, and shouted―

"If you won't stay quiet then we'll just kill everyone! All of you bastards, fire on the hostages!"

At Gustaf's order, the Rebellion soldiers aimed at the civilians on the other side of the barrier and pulled their triggers in unison. Those hostages, startled by the water and then the volley of gunshots, panicked and screamed as if they'd been thrown into a cauldron of hot oil.

But not a single fired bullet reached the hostages. Despite making a noise like a crashing waterfall, the bullets were all stopped by Sophia’s water wall.

Water had very strong impact resistance, and falling onto its surface from high up was like hitting concrete. For a high-speed object like a rifle bullet, hitting ordinary water would be enough to break it into fragments, and water infused with Sophia's magic power had a solidity like iron. Nothing made of lead could penetrate that. And Sophia was not fighting alone. At the same time she used the Water Wall, Ernest invoked Limit Break. He jumped from the third-floor atrium, making a decisive surprise attack from above Gustaf's head.

"Tch! They had people above too!?"

But Gustaf was a terrorist who had struggled through many extreme

situations. Noticing the surprise attack immediately, he quickly made a

countermove, reaching out toward Ernest's Galatine with the same left hand that had caught Christine's Lævateinn before. The Judgment Ring that seized every single attack as sin―his left hand activated the ability that had rendered Christine's earth-shaking blow powerless.

Ernest's sword was only faster than Sophia's sword; it was several times less powerful, so it couldn't penetrate that ability. The surprise attack must have been a blunder. Ernest's blow would surely be taken as sin and returned to him

as penance―if Gustaf's left hand could capture Ernest's flashing blade!

"…Huh?" In that instant, Gustaf saw something unbelievable: his own left arm flying in a spray of blood.

No matter how well Gustaf's left hand rendered attacks powerless, it had no way to catch an attack Gustaf couldn't see, and what Gustaf couldn't catch, he couldn't stop. Ernest swung Galatine with a speed that far exceeded human motion perception, so quickly that Ernest's own body couldn't track. It was an invisible s***h. An invisible s***h that even made Ernest shocked. Gustaf cried in agony, but his ego won’t secede.

“You damn b***h!! Do you think I will be defeated here?” Gustaf had still magical energy left on his judgment ring, he couldn’t be pathetically defeated by someone who’s not well-known. Even if he is suffering from excruciating pain in his left arm, he will not accept defeat here.

With his right hand, Gustaf threw a punch, but Ernest used another of the abilities he gained earlier from the system.

“...What?”

Ernest neatly and nimbly dodged the incoming fist by simply leaning on the right. That was impossible! Gustaf thought it was the power of the second princess, with its power and speed, nobody couldn’t dodge it but it was evaded.

He looked at his enemy again, his eyes gleaming ominously red, and the aura around him was overwhelmingly powerful.

“What….?”

Gustaf, who shrieked inwardly from the overwhelming person in front of him, inadvertently swung another punch but this time, it was caught by Ernest’s bare hand.

The attack was powerful, powerful enough to send a shockwave upon impact. If that was a normal human, they would’ve been completely obliterated. Yet this man in front of him, he doesn’t know who he was and yet he is this strong?

Then, Ernest clenched his right hand that caught Gustaf’s right hand. A sound of bones breaking and shattering echoed in the mall.

With both Gustaf's arms gone, it didn't matter how strong his bluster was, though these injuries hardly stopped the man's mouth.

"Gaaaah! M-My arms! You f*****g―"

"Such noisy rattling, huh?"

"Hii…!"

But Gustaf withdrew his rant the moment he saw Ernest's angry face.

"Even if it looks bad, I went easy on you. After what you did to Christine, I wouldn't mind taking another limb or two. After all, even with rehabilitation, that kind of trauma isn't permanent."

Ernest spurned Gustaf by turning his freezing gaze away, as if from filth. The hostages he now surveyed were uninjured, meaning his move had been a success.

But it was far from complete, Ernest still had some terrorists to deal with, he counted them in his head, there are still five of them.

“You’ve been rowdy earlier huh? Seeing Christine like that, I won’t f*****g forgive you.” Ernest glared at the terrorist who becomes panicked the moment his piercing and intimidating gaze fall upon them.

“Fire!!”

The terrorist turned to their new target and fired. The assault rifles sprayed a torrential amount of bullets around him. With this amount of bullet hounding towards him, Ernest remained calm. After all, those bullets won’t reach another ten seconds.

That’s right, even with the bullet velocity of 880 meters per second, in Ernest’s perception, they are moving as slow as snails. With his Galatine, he swung it in all directions and repelled all incoming bullets in mere milliseconds.

[Limit Break: 10 seconds left.]

The terrorists have some mixed reactions to what happened, their bullets moving so fast for a normal human to see were deflected that easily?

But Ernest didn’t give them time to be shocked, with the remaining time he had on Limit Break, he instantly went one after another and knocked them out by bashing their head with the hilt of galatine.

The last terrorist in his area fell down on the ground.

The Rebellion soldiers were collapsed here and there, not a

single one still standing. On that battlefield, he could see only one person's back.

"Christine…."

It was the Crimson Princess with her lilac hair swinging, her body clad in a dress of flame, and her hand gripping Lævateinn as it scattered flame. After suffering a critical strike and a disgrace she had never received before, Christine still made the first move and floored every one of the soldiers so quickly that Ernest didn’t even notice it. She had precise judgment with calm composure, and despite being humiliated, she still controlled her strength.

Sophia, who was among the crowds, rose to her feet and pushed Ernest lightly in Christine’s position.

“Let me report this to the people outside.”

"Thanks."

‘She shouldn't have been forced to do something like that!’

"Christine!"

Ernest ran up to Christine, and when she turned toward his voice, hugged her close.

"Ah! Hey, w-what!?"

Christine was confused and alarmed about being suddenly hugged, but Ernest didn't care. Right now, he knew he wanted to do this, so he tightly embraced Christine, concealing her skin with his own body. It seemed to put that gentle, heroic girl at ease.

"Sorry. If only I had come and saved you more quickly… then you wouldn't be embarrassed like this."

"Ernest…!"

Whether his feelings were coming across or not, Christine entrusted her small trembling body to Ernest’s embrace. Ernest tried not to look at Christine's expression, but his embrace remained strong.

Not long afterward, Sophia called out to him.

"Brother."

That was fast, did she report it using the communication rune?

"Sophia, thanks. Raising a barrier was a big help. Was anyone injured?"

"Of course not. Do you think I'm that clumsy?"

Looking indignant, Sophia extended to Christine the clothes Crhstine had dropped on the floor.

"I gathered them for you. You don't plan to stand around half-naked much longer, I hope."

"T-Thanks…. I'm surprised you'd do that for me."

"How rude. Shouldn't you be thankful that I covered for you after you rushed out so carelessly?"

"Ooh…."

Glowering at Sophia, Christine self-consciously averted her gaze. But

Sophia―

"Still… I have a bit better opinion of you."

"Eh?"

"I couldn't save that parent and child, yet you put your life on the line for a complete stranger's sake."

"…I-It's not like I was trying to look good. …But well, it would've been

dangerous if your barrier hadn't been there. That technique was excellent…."

They had acted thoroughly hostile to each other until now, but whether from honest appraisal or embarrassment, Christine and Sophia's glances were both unusually warm, and Ernest spied the exchange of some mutual acceptance. It'd be nice if they could take this opportunity to get along better.

"Ah, that's right. Sophia, can you cast healing?"

"Of course, but… no, you're not telling me you were hurt?"

"No, not me, him."

He pointed at Gustaf. The man's bleeding was severe, so they couldn't leave him the way he was, and healing a wound by manipulating water was a skill limited to high-level water users.

"You don't need to connect the arm, just stop the blood. He'll become violent and troublesome again otherwise."

"I understand, Brother. You wouldn't want this man's life in your conscience."

"I've rendered him powerless, but let's still be careful―"

"Dooon't mooove!!!"

An angry scream erupted from among the hostages. Ernest and the girls turned toward the voice and saw a young man in a red tunic thrusting a handgun at a middle-aged woman's temple.

"P-Please save me!"

"Freeze, all of you brats! If you twitch, I'll blow this hag's head off!"

Ernest tensed.

"Oh no, one slipped into the hostages?"

"…Hehe, hahahahaha! Hiding among the peasants ain't something only you kids can do!"

"Gustaf…."

The criminal gave a distorted sneer with his tattooed face while blood gushed from both armless shoulders.

"Hey, the midget over there!"

"M-Midget you say!?"

"Yeah you, midget. You said you do healing, so get over here and fix my

arms! You won't tell me you can't, right? Hehehe…."

At Gustaf's laugh, the middle-aged woman screamed again. If a gun was

pressed to Ernest's temple, he'd probably do the same.

Dammit!

Ernest ground his teeth in anger. Limit Break time limit passed, even if it was active the muzzle was firmly pointed at the woman and he couldn't risk a discharge.

"Hurry up!"

"Brother…."

"We don't have a choice. He's taken control of the situation―"

"Not at all."

A boy's voice resounded directly in Ernest's head, then countless rays of light passed beside him. *Swish swish swish* They were magic arrows shining with sky-blue radiance.

"Uaaaah!"

"Gah-ah…."

The magic arrows pierced Gustaf and the hostage-taker repeatedly, this time leaving them helpless for sure.

"What!? What was that―"

Christine shook at the sudden turn, but Ernest had seen this before. He knew this voice.

This technique is….

"Hahaha, well well, it's sad having to lend a hand after all. I didn't want to

steal someone else's achievement."

The empty space before their eyes began to sparkle, and then the image of empty air crumbled like scales falling. In the midst of that crumbling, a slender young man appeared holding a bow. Even his enhanced perception, who was able to sense Gustaf's group from a distance, hadn't detected him.

But it didn't surprise Ernest, because stealth was this young man's special ability. Ernest knew because they were originally classmates, seven years ago.

"Michael. It's been a while, hasn't it?"