The undead opened its enormous claws, twisting its body in a grotesque manner before violently lashing out at Artoria Pendragon.
"Be careful."
Noticing that the creature's attention was completely focused on Artoria, Arthur whispered a brief warning. Then he turned and quickly advanced toward the nearby bushes, searching for a suitable position from which he could strike.
As the undead's massive claws descended with crushing force, Artoria raised her longsword to block the attack. She stepped forward with her right foot, stabilizing her stance, and at that very moment an explosion of light suddenly appeared along the blade, dispelling the darkness surrounding it.
This was the power of runes, which she now used as an enchantment to strengthen her sword.
The blade shone as if it were wrapped in spiritual flames as she raised it and delivered a powerful downward strike.
The undead let out a piercing sound, similar to the unpleasant noise of nails scraping across a chalkboard, and immediately struck at Artoria with its other claw.
At that same instant, a wall of ice appeared before her, forming out of thin air and blocking the monstrous attack.
Although it was also an application of runic writing, the power of that particular rune was remarkable. Artoria had practiced it for less than three months, yet it already demonstrated impressive usefulness in battle.
Meanwhile, Arthur secretly observed the fight from the opposite side of Artoria, analyzing every movement as he searched for a suitable opportunity to intervene.
Unfortunately, there was absolutely no opening…
Although the undead's attention seemed completely focused on Artoria, in reality it remained constantly aware of everything around it. This was evident from its translucent eyes, which moved rapidly as they scanned the surroundings.
It seems we've practically won without me needing to do anything?
Arthur suddenly realized this.
Artoria's combat power was far greater than he had imagined. At that moment, relying on her runes, her innate Red Dragon body, and her swordsmanship, she was actually pushing the enormous undead back step by step.
No… it's not pushing it back…
Arthur fixed his gaze carefully on the gigantic creature.
Although it seemed as though the undead was retreating, in reality it was merely defending itself with extreme ease against Artoria's attacks, almost never allowing her sword to truly strike it.
Finally, after retreating a certain distance, the undead suddenly raised its claws and brutally stabbed them into the ground.
A gleaming blade emerged from the earth and shot toward Artoria.
She raised her sword to block the strike, but the heavy impact still sent her flying several meters backward.
At that same moment, the undead raised its enormous skeletal hand again and slammed it into the ground once more.
Two sharp blades erupted from the earth and struck Artoria while she was still in midair.
She lifted her longsword to block, but the other blade still grazed her shoulder, opening a cut that sent blood scattering.
But that wasn't all.
The undead lifted its arm again, preparing to unleash a third deadly blade, when suddenly a sound echoed from behind it.
The moment it turned its head, the reckless human was already running straight toward it.
The action seemed completely absurd, as though he were simply rushing toward his own death.
The undead raised its enormous claws and ferociously attacked Arthur.
Artoria's eyes widened in shock.
When the gigantic claw pierced Arthur's heart, her mind seemed to buzz violently, as if everything inside her head had collapsed.
"ARTHUR!"
However, instead of blood spraying from Arthur's body as she had expected, the undead's enormous claws simply passed straight through him!
"Die."
At that moment, a voice sounded not far away.
Then, before Artoria's eyes, a spear was violently launched toward the undead's body.
Whoosh!
The sharp, pleasant sound of the weapon cutting through the air echoed as the spear pierced the creature's body.
After staggering several times, the undead did not fall.
Instead, it let out a piercing shriek and raised its right claw to attack Arthur.
Arthur drew the sword from his waist and blocked the attack.
Although he managed to block the heavy blow, the impact left his entire arm numb.
As he watched the undead raise its other claw to attack again, Arthur's pupils suddenly gleamed.
His Berserker form activated instantly.
The arm that had gone numb immediately regained its strength.
Rune-shaped ice spikes rapidly emerged from the ground, and the undead's claw ended up piercing those frozen spikes.
After blocking the attack, Arthur pulled the spear from the creature's body, pushed off the ground with force, and leaped directly onto the monster's head.
Then he raised the spear again and drove it down with all his strength into the undead's skull.
This time, the creature let out a miserable howl.
With a deafening roar that echoed throughout the forest, the enormous undead finally succumbed to the pressure and collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Arthur immediately retreated, still breathing heavily.
It would be truly ironic if he were crushed to death after defeating the undead.
The two abilities Morgan had taught him consumed an absurd amount of magical power—especially the Word of Power, which embodied the concept of death. The stronger the enemy, the greater the energy consumption.
He had not dared to hold back just now and had nearly exhausted all the magical power in his body.
"Are you alright? And what was that just now?" Artoria quickly walked over to Arthur, placed a hand on his shoulder, and looked at him with obvious concern.
"If even after using illusions to draw its attention, then combining that with my spear imbued with the concept of death and its destructive power, it still doesn't die… then the two of us will probably end up meeting in the underworld."
"When did you learn that ability?" Artoria asked, her eyes filled with doubt. "I've never seen you use it in battle before."
"This is an ability meant only for real combat. It's too dangerous to use in ordinary battles…" Arthur paused briefly after saying that.
Suddenly, he realized something.
He finally understood why Morgan had brought him to that training.
Scáthach had always been extremely strict with him, but no matter how harsh her training was, it had never truly been a life-and-death test.
It was completely different from what he was facing now.
Only in such a brutal environment would he be forced to seriously think about how to defeat an enemy.
"Being able to create your own image… and that weapon carrying an aura of death…" Artoria murmured to herself. "I feel like you're much stronger than before."
"Yes, I think so too," Arthur nodded slightly. "But that's not what we should be thinking about right now. Before we talk, we need to find a place to hide. Who knows what strange monsters might attack us later?"
He had already realized something important.
In fact, the training had begun the very moment Morgan brought them into that vast forest.
Artoria nodded slowly, looked at Arthur for a few more seconds, and then crouched down.
"Get on."
Arthur: "???"
"You must be out of energy. I'll carry you to the other side."
"Our roles have been reversed?" Arthur complained.
But the next moment he awkwardly shut his mouth when he saw the firm and determined look in Artoria's eyes.
"…Thank you for the help." He sighed.
(End of Chapter)