Chapter 305

Chapter 305: Chapter 305

Rayleigh had expected Apollo Familia to make him fight for every step beyond the entrance... and they did not disappoint.

Before he had even reached the first corner, he found the corridor remade into a choke point: two rows of heavy barricades narrowed the passage until only three people could stand abreast.

Shield bearers held the front, spearmen waited directly behind them, and archers had positioned themselves along the gallery overhead.

What drew Rayleigh’s attention, however, was that almost none of them were looking at him.

Some had their eyes closed, while the others stared fixedly at the floor.

A rope had been secured along the wall and threaded through every defender’s hands, giving them a physical point of reference that Sakanade could not easily distort.

’Hyakinthos adapted quickly.’

Rayleigh continued forward as the captain’s voice carried from somewhere deeper in the keep.

"Don’t pursue him, and don’t react to anything you think you see. Hold your assigned position and attack only on the signal. If the line breaks, fall back to the next barricade."

It was a considerable improvement over the disorder on the outer wall.

Rayleigh allowed himself a faint smile.

At least someone here was treating this battle seriously.

A bell rang, and the archers released their arrows in a single volley.

They were not aiming for Rayleigh; instead, they filled the corridor according to angles they had committed to memory, while the shield line remained exactly where it had been ordered to stand.

Rayleigh slipped through the first two waves with Shunpo, only for a second bell to sound as soon as he emerged.

From the gallery, three mages released the spells they had prepared.

Fire surged down the passage, and because the flames covered the entire corridor, there was no need for anyone to know precisely where he stood.

Rayleigh drew Benihime with his free hand and raised a crimson barrier before him.

The fire broke against it and spilled around the shield, flooding the stone corridor with heat while he continued advancing behind its protection.

Another bell sounded.

The shield line opened just wide enough for half a dozen spears to thrust forward at predetermined heights.

Rayleigh twisted past the first three, caught the fourth on Benihime’s guard, and used Sakanade to knock the remaining weapons aside.

Before the defenders could recover their formation, he stepped inside their reach and struck the leading shield bearer across the temple with the flat of his blade.

The man fell into his comrades, and Rayleigh passed through the opening before they could close it again.

Two adventurers tried to intercept him without opening their eyes, following the rope and listening for his footsteps instead. It was a better answer than trusting their reversed vision, but neither could keep up with him.

Rayleigh caught one by the wrist, redirected the man’s sword into the stone floor, and drove his shoulder into the adventurer’s chest hard enough to send him crashing back into the barricade.

The second swung toward the sound and took Sakanade’s sheath across the jaw.

By the time the shield line regained its footing, Rayleigh was already beyond it.

"Bakudō #4: Hainawa."

A glowing rope of spiritual energy coiled around three defenders and pulled them together before they could turn, and he anchored the binding to one of the barricade supports without breaking stride.

The archers on the gallery tried to fire downward again.

Rayleigh raised Shinsō. "Shoot to kill, Shinsō."

The blade shot through the narrow gap between two stone columns with enough precision to sever the strings of three bows in a single line.

It retracted at once, then struck again from a different angle, knocking a mage’s staff from her hand before she could complete her spell.

Rayleigh never slowed, and by the time the first group understood that the strange sword could cross the hall faster than they could react, he had reached the stairway leading deeper into the keep.

...

Hyakinthos accepted the reports without wasting time on surprise.

The outer line had lasted less than four minutes—worse than he had hoped, but still long enough to give them something useful.

Rayleigh had shown how he dealt with prepared area attacks, and the new Zanpakutō at his waist was every bit as dangerous as Hyakinthos had expected after seeing it outside the workshop: a sword that could extend through a straight line almost instantly.

That made their original interior defenses untenable.

Hyakinthos pointed to the next section of the map.

"Abandon the long corridors. Force him through rooms and around corners, where that blade can’t exploit its reach. Keep the doors open so no one is trapped when a line collapses, and stop trying to hold ground once he gets past you. The flag matters more than any room."

Apollo stood beside the map table with his arms folded.

Much of his irritation had faded; Rayleigh’s pace had finally convinced him that this War Game would be nothing like an ordinary siege.

"Can you stop him?"

Hyakinthos looked toward the stairs leading to the upper floors. "I can fight him. Whether that will be enough to stop him is why we prepared everything else first."

He did not try to hide the uncertainty in that answer.

Apollo disliked it, but no better answer was available.

...

Rayleigh reached the second floor and recognized the change immediately.

The next corridor stood empty, with every side door left open.

The instant he crossed the first doorway, a heavy iron gate crashed down behind him and another dropped ahead, sealing him inside a square chamber.

Panels in the walls slid aside, and Apollo Familia members attacked from four directions at once.

Sakanade had ruined their senses, but they had clearly been instructed not to aim for Rayleigh himself.

Two fighters swept long weapons through the center of the room, while another pair cast nets weighted with metal balls across opposite corners.

A mage outside the chamber released a spell through a firing slit, covering the floor in ice.

Rayleigh sprang over the net, but the broad head of a polearm followed from his left, claiming too much space for him to avoid cleanly in midair.

He caught it with Benihime and allowed the impact to carry him toward the wall, planted one foot against the stone, and pushed off before the second weapon could reach him.

He landed beside one attacker and struck him behind the ear, then turned with the motion, caught the next fighter across the ribs with his sheath, and sent him crashing into a third.

The fourth adventurer kept his distance, which was probably the most sensible decision anyone in the room had made.

Rayleigh lifted a finger. "Bakudō #1: Sai."

The man’s arms locked behind his back, and he had just enough time to stare at them in disbelief before Rayleigh reached him and knocked him unconscious.

As the chamber fell quiet, Rayleigh regarded the sealed gates for a moment.

"Better."

He sheathed Benihime and pointed Shinsō toward the gate ahead.

The defenders on the other side watched the narrow blade punch through the reinforced metal, pierce the locking mechanism, and retract before anyone could move.

When the damaged lock gave way, the gate dropped several inches.

Rayleigh caught its lower edge and lifted, metal shrieking against the stone grooves until there was enough space for him to pass beneath.

The Apollo Familia members waiting beyond it retreated immediately.

None of them tried to make a heroic last stand.

Hyakinthos had trained them well.