NLBM 126

Chapter 126. A Whisper for the One Who Loves You

Counting.

A term originating from card games, referring to the act of calculating and keeping track of an opponent’s hand.

In games like TCGs, where the cards in one’s hand were limited, it was an essential skill.

The same applied to turn-based games, where the number of skills one could use in a battle was restricted.

You needed to know your opponent’s equivalent of a hand—their skills, traits, and fighting style—and count them in order to build a strategy around them.

For a veteran player like Camilla, there were times when she had already mapped out exactly how she would defeat an enemy before the battle even began.

…It’s no different from a game. I just have to count properly.

Camilla steadied her thoughts as she watched the Reaper drag his chains toward them.

The Reaper was a dual-class Rogue and Mage.

Level 20, but in reality, his build consisted of a Level 15 Rogue and a Level 5 Mage.

His combat style primarily revolved around close-quarters fighting.

His magic was mostly used for enhancement.

If the distance between him and his target grew too great—or if there were multiple targets—he relied primarily on his chains for ranged attacks.

His basic attack pattern is assassination. But in a situation like this, where he can’t get behind his enemy… he’ll fight head-on.

Just as Camilla predicted, the moment the distance between the Reaper and Nashu closed to within ten meters, he raised his dagger and charged.

“Nashu, meet him head-on!”

The instant Camilla gave the order, Nashu charged forward without hesitation.

BANG!

The shield cracked, and one of Nashu’s arms was nearly broken in half, but the first attack had been successfully blocked.

If the first attack is blocked, he’ll use the chains.

The chains rattled.

The moment the Reaper wrapped them around Nashu’s leg and neck, Camilla snapped her fingers.

“Ugh… B-Burst!”

At the signal, Mina grimaced but detonated the alchemical potions hanging from Nashu’s waist.

KABOOOOOM!

A horrific explosion erupted.

Part of Nashu’s body was blasted away, and the Reaper was caught in the blast as well.

There goes Incorporeal.

Just as expected, the Reaper used Incorporeal—a skill similar to Vlad’s Shadow Walking—to briefly escape into another dimension and avoid the explosion before returning.

One escape skill sealed.

Camilla immediately shouted.

“Heal!”

Netanel instantly poured healing magic into Nashu’s mangled body.

The arm that had nearly been blown away, the side where shattered pieces of armor had pierced deep enough to expose his organs, and his ruined legs—all of it rapidly regenerated.

But perhaps because the healing had been performed too hastily, the chains the Reaper had swung had healed directly into Nashu’s body.

It was an utterly grotesque sight.

But that was exactly what Camilla had intended.

A Rogue’s movement skills could not be activated while in an overlapping state.

As long as Nashu kept the chains trapped within his own body, the Reaper would have no choice but to remain anchored in that spot and fight.

“Attack him, Nashu! Aim for the head!”

“Grrrrrr!”

Driven mad by Berserk, Nashu no longer felt pain.

Gripping the chains embedded in his body, she charged at the Reaper.

The arm wielding her mace was shredded apart in an instant by the Reaper’s counterattack, but they had a Level 15 Priest on their side.

“Employer! Are you actually a monster!? Don’t you have a human heart!?”

“The rest doesn’t matter! Just make sure her arms and head don’t fall off!”

“Aaaah! This is exactly why I hate Transcendents from before the Divine War!”

Even as he trembled in fury, Netanel regenerated Nashu’s arm before it could fall off. Every now and then, he mixed curses and blessings into his spells to ensure the offensive enhancement from Turn the Tables wouldn’t be interrupted.

Even with the High Priest’s full support, Nashu was being pushed back relentlessly.

Naturally.

There was no way a Level 3 like Nashu could land meaningful damage against a Level 15 Rogue.

But she could endure.

Sweep, Blade Thrust, Soul Drain… they’re all gone. Now!

Camilla continued counting without even blinking as she watched the young knight being brutally carved apart.

“Mina!”

At her shout, Mina—who had been dry-heaving—clenched her hand tightly.

“B-Burst!”

A sharp sound rang out from the explosive potions Camilla had scattered around earlier when she had taken a bag out of her inventory.

There weren’t many of them.

But from the Reaper’s perspective, after witnessing Nashu’s body get blown apart, there was no way he could simply ignore the sound.

His head turned—only slightly—toward the source.

And in that opening, Camilla threw herself forward and cast her spell.

Dominate!

The dice rolled.

The result was, unsurprisingly, a failure.

But her goal hadn’t been to successfully cast the spell.

She wanted to add another caster-type enemy within a twenty-five-meter radius.

Whenever a new enemy appeared while the Reaper had someone restrained, he would inevitably throw his chains to keep the new threat in check.

But what if the chains were tied down?

Then he’ll throw his weapon.

Just as she predicted, the dagger in the Reaper’s left hand flew toward Camilla.

Netanel’s face twisted in shock as he desperately layered barrier after barrier and blessing after blessing over her.

But the Reaper’s weapon possessed resistance against holy power.

The dagger pierced through the barriers.

And then—

It drove straight between Camilla’s ribs.

An unimaginable pain exploded through her body, far worse than anything she had felt from having her arms or legs scratched.

Her vision went black.

AAAGH! AGH! AGH! IT HURTS LIKE HELL!

Perhaps the blade had grazed her lung.

Blood spilled from her mouth every time she coughed.

Yet even as she gasped for breath, Camilla lifted her eyes and checked the system window.

HP: 2/12

Her already pitiful health had been reduced to almost nothing.

The Reaper’s thrown attack had a base damage of eight.

And judging by this result, she had been unlucky enough to suffer a critical hit.

It was complete bullshit.

But everything had gone according to plan so far.

Even at Level 3, Nashu was a Tier 0 tank.

Thanks to Berserk, she didn’t even know how to retreat and was throwing herself into the battle with everything she had.

No matter how impressive a Level 20 Reaper might be, if he kept getting distracted while fighting at point-blank range, eventually he would have to leave himself open.

“AAAAAAAH!”

Swinging her arm despite the bone being exposed, Nashu finally succeeded in smashing the Reaper across the head.

BANG!

With a sound like an artillery shell exploding, the Reaper’s head snapped violently to the side.

At last.

Stun had triggered.

Because of his resistance, it would probably only last one turn.

But one turn was enough.

Camilla coughed up a mouthful of blood and forced out a word.

“Sanct—! Cough!”

Netanel spat out something that sounded suspiciously like a curse before raising his scepter.

“O Scales! I invoke the Golden Law!”

A brilliant light erupted.

A Sanctuary was declared around the stunned Reaper.

The Reaper twitched as he attempted to escape, but Nashu let out a savage roar and crushed him beneath her.

And she didn’t stop there.

She tore the chains embedded in her arm and lower abdomen free, wrapped them around the Reaper’s neck, and slammed her head into him.

It was a desperate attack carried out with absolute devotion to Camilla’s order.

Aim for the head.

Thanks to Nashu’s traits, status effects continued to trigger.

But the Dark Tower’s system wasn’t that generous.

If stuns were inflicted continuously, immunity would eventually kick in.

It didn’t matter.

What mattered was keeping him trapped right there.

Only then could Netanel continue dropping Sanctuaries in the exact same location.

“O Scales!”

How much mana—or whatever else he was burning—Camilla had no idea.

Every time Netanel swung his scepter, terrifying golden light erupted around them.

“My Lady, this…!”

Mina rushed over and forcibly shoved a healing potion into Camilla’s mouth before pouring more over her chest.

Her nearly empty health bar recovered.

But in exchange, the inside of her lungs felt as though they were burning.

Still, Camilla wasn’t shameless enough to demand a miracle from Netanel when he was practically holding the Reaper down by himself.

Coughing violently, she began walking toward the Sanctuary one step at a time.

At Level 1, she had needed to cast Sanctuary eleven times.

But now, she was Level 4.

Spell Enhancement.

First, she used Spell Enhancement to raise the rank of her existing mental-type magic by one level.

Fragment of Dreams.

Next, she activated the special ability of the shattered Dream Amulet she had taken from the treasury.

[Camilla Lord casts Fragment of Dreams on ‘The Cursed One: Drakan.’]

[‘The Cursed One: Drakan’ becomes vulnerable to mental damage for 3 turns.]

Listening to the system notification confirming that the trait had activated successfully, Camilla spat bloodied saliva onto the ground.

You bastard. We’re settling this today.

Meanwhile, the Reaper recovered from the stun and rose to his feet, gripping Nashu by the neck.

Without Netanel’s support, Nashu’s body had become a complete wreck.

After struggling a few times, she finally lost consciousness.

Perhaps because Nashu had been completely subdued, the Reaper turned his gaze away from her.

Instead, he stared directly at Camilla.

It almost looked as though he was considering his options.

Should he stab Nashu?

Or should he attack the newly appeared, more dangerous target?

Camilla decided to end his dilemma for him.

Dominate.

The dice rolled.

Failure appeared almost immediately.

But it succeeded in provoking him.

The visible curve of his mouth beneath the black hood twisted.

The Reaper released Nashu and charged at Camilla.

In an instant, his hand closed around her throat.

“My Lady…!”

Crushed beneath the Aura of Fear, Mina couldn’t even move from where she stood.

She screamed.

Before the Reaper’s attention could shift toward Mina, Camilla cast another spell.

Charm.

Result: 14/20

[Failure!]

The result felt strangely familiar.

But unlike before, the Reaper didn’t smile.

Instead, he growled and raised his dagger.

Goddess’s Luck. Charm.

Camilla cast Charm for the second time.

Within that brief span of time, five Sanctuaries had overlapped.

Enhanced spells.

Special abilities.

Everything had been stacked together.

Result: 20/20

[Success!]

It worked—

But perhaps she had been too late.

Thrust!

A black blade plunged into her lower abdomen.

“Ghk…!”

Forget the dignity of a lord.

Camilla couldn’t endure it.

A low cry escaped her lips.

Fortunately, the blade hadn’t gone too deep.

She still had one HP remaining.

Although, judging by the blood streaming from her mouth and abdomen, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she disappeared from existence at any moment.

Camilla looked up at the Reaper, who had frozen in place.

Oddly enough, he seemed more shocked by what he had done than she was.

Her lips moved.

“Drakan… if you love me…”

The Reaper stared at her as though he had been struck by lightning.

That’s right, you bastard.

You love your lord, don’t you?

Camilla stared fiercely into the blazing red flames that occupied the place where his eyes should have been.

Then she smiled viciously.

And through bloodstained lips, she whispered as though grinding the words between her teeth.

“Die.”

The dagger buried in her abdomen slid free.

A pain like being burned alive followed.

But instead of screaming, Camilla continued to smile until the very end.

Because the Reaper was raising the dagger—still dripping with her blood—to his own throat.

I won.

Go ahead.

Try screwing me over again.

See if I don’t break you first.

The final winner is me, you bastards.

The exhilaration of victory surged through her, reaching the very top of her head.

But it didn’t last long.

Her vision blurred.

And then, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, her knees gave way.

From somewhere far away, she heard her party members screaming.

“My Lady…! My Lady, you can’t die! Aaaah! Nashu is in danger too! Nashu!”

“I can’t take this anymore! Employer! Lady Nashu!”

As her consciousness slowly faded, Camilla had one final thought.

Hey, System. Don’t forget to give me the Reaper’s reward. If you forget, I swear I won’t let you get away with—