A Cliché Multiverse story - Chapter 541: Struggle

Nothing could escape Asahi’s Domain of Insight. He observed every inch of the dungeon floor, reading the battle flow from every angle. Aimi had a great deal of space to maneuver. She used her speed to make a fool out of the veteran adventurers by retiring their comrades one by one.

Right now she was targeting the adventurers defending Riveria while Ais pursued her but never landing an attack on the slippery Aimi. The menacing assault from every direction caused one after another adventurer to fall.

Only Haruhime was left around Lefiya and Riveria.

But Aimi had looked past one glaring detail around her — the position of Tiona, Tione, Finn, Alise, and Gareth.

The five tough opponents meticulously cut down the territory. Aimi couldn’t freely move and had to change direction with every quick burst of motion.

“They are figuring out the way to beat Aimi,” Asahi whispered. “Will they stick the landing, though?”

“They will,” Ryuu said, voice bursting with confidence. “Riveria-sama’s strategy will work.”

She wasn’t depressed after getting knocked out of the battle. On the contrary, she felt glad to not contest against Aimi’s incredulous wits.

Kaguya, who sat beside Ryuu, shook her head. “Aimi is the hunter. I don’t see Riveria succeeding. Just look at Aimi for a second. She isn’t even out of breath. What are you feeding her, Dear?”

“Nothing. It’s her breathing technique and footwork. There is no wasted movement. Geez, yandere are built differently.”

Asahi once again realized the absurdity of Aimi’s strength.

‘Klyscha, show her status.’

Aimi Akane: [Reveal Backstory]

Favorability points: 666 [Soul Companion]

Age: 25

Level: 325

Race: Human

Class: Legendary Hunter

[Attributes]

Strength: 205

Dexterity: 410

Constitution: 310

Defense: 250

Charm: 42

Magic: 280

[Skills]

—Firearm Mastery (SS-Rank)

—Dagger Mastery (SSS-Rank)

—Stealth (SS-Rank)

—Darkness Element (SS-Rank)

—Natural Mentor (A-Rank)

—Tracker (S-Rank): The skill allows the user to mark a target and gives faint hints about their direction within a range of a hundred kilometers.

—Hunter’s Soul (EX-Rank): If Aimi kills a tracked target, their soul chart is recorded inside Aimi’s soul.

—Blood Hunt (S-Rank): Targets marked with the tracker will periodically suffer bleeding.

—From the Shadows (SSS-Rank): Sneak attacks carry a certain chance of instant kill effect. The probability of the attack depends on Aimi and her target’s luck.

Her parameters were nothing to write home about compared to Asahi and Yuriko. Rather, it was her growth that astonished him. She wasn’t given a broken race from the start or a broken class. She grinded her basic class and a set of skills with the passion of a yandere, to the point her basic Hunter Class evolved into a higher class. The skills lent her so much success inside the dungeon environment.

She had the mindset of a gamer without being one.

‘So many SSS skills.’

Aimi could destroy even the primordial gods in DxD world with her hunting and assassination skills. She had the spells of her Diva if the battle came down to a duel. Right now, she couldn’t use any of those skills, leaving her somewhat vulnerable in front of skilled adventurers.

***

On the other side, the battle reached a boiling point.

Aimi outclassed Ais’s magic but found herself surrounded by the team. Finn, Ais, Alise, and Gareth seemed out of breath, whereas Tiona and Tione looked better because of their extreme upbringings. Swimming and fighting from an early age did wonders for their stamina.

Aimi took the initiative before they overwhelmed her and appeared before Gareth, the heaviest hitter of the squad. He was far from the team, jogging towards the squad to regroup with them. His short, fortress-like build sacrificed agility for strength and defense.

Her teleportation-level agility caught everyone off-guard.

“Help Gareth!” Finn shouted as he ran toward Gareth. “Ais, Tiona, go for it!”

Ais immediately dashed like a whirlwind, trying to cross the two hundred meters mark.

“Ya think I’m weak? Taste the power of a full blood dwarf.”

The gruff dwarf roared and swung his grand ax with monumental strength, generating a blast of wind that could knock out adventurers senseless.

That wasn’t enough to deter Aimi.

She performed five slashes to dismantle a section of the incoming gust before kicking Gareth in the chest. His shallow armor caved in, and he was knocked back. She jumped on his shoulder, grabbed his neck, and slid her dagger over his throat.

“Gareth retired.”

Gareth’s body immediately disappeared from the spot.

She used her opponents’ exhaustion to her advantage and got rid of Gareth in seven seconds.

Her composure and cold approach to battle brought down the morale further. A grim look crossed Finn’s face as he charged at Aimi and launched three thrusts in the span of a second. Finn was still outputting ridiculous power, despite his out-of-breath condition.

“Everyone, attack at once!”

Ais also reached Aimi and waved her sword, her posture riddled with imperfections. Her lack of magic power made her dizzy to an extent.

Alise, on the other hand, launched a high-speed series of attacks, her rapier becoming a blur to those watching.

“Haap!” Aimi twisted her waist with inhumane flexibility, evading every strike with perfect footwork. Nothing seemed to get past Aimi’s net of perception as if she had eyes everywhere around her. She dodged Ais and Alise before dispatched Finn to Asahi’s side with a stab to his chest.

“How dare you…” Tione’s fury exploded. In a blind rage, she waved her kukri knives. “Die!”

“Ora, Aimi-chan. Collect your dues!” Tiona kicked the ground and swung down her large double-bladed sword as if she wanted to crush Aimi into a pulp.

Aimi nimbly sidestepped, and Tiona’s sword slammed into the ground, crushing a nearby boulder with its shockwave.

“You’re too slow,” Aimi calmly mocked Tiona as she evaded Tione’s kukri knives. “Natural talent will only take you so far. Hard work is the key to harnessing the full potential of your gifted physique.”

“What?” Tione snapped and threw her knives at Aimi. “I have been fighting the day I could walk on my feet.”

Aimi retreated to a much safer position and shook her head. “I should have taught you discipline first.”

“Fuck your discipline. Argh, I’ll smack your face with my fists.”

Alise stepped in front of Tione and did a quick slash with her rapier, sending a wave of flames towards Aimi. “Get a hold of yourself, Tione.”

Tione, Tione, Ais, and Alise attacked Aimi in unison, never finding a rhythm to their teamwork.

The assassin continued to rampage amidst their flawed coordination and took out Tione, who was still in a frenzy.

Then Tiona’s turn came.

In the end, only Alise and Ais were standing against Aimi, their sweaty palms losing grip over their weapons.

Meanwhile, Riveria was standing in a daze. She was reminded of the time Asahi took on Freya’s entire Familia on his own. The insane power difference that made one feel helpless; she was feeling it now.

“Captain, snap out of it!” Haruhime shook Riveria before hitting Lefiya with the hilt of her dagger. “It’s not over yet.”

Haruhime didn’t care about victory or loss; she wanted everyone to give their all and leave with no regrets.

As if showing her faith, Haruhime charged at Aimi. Even a mage like Lefiya could outpace Haruhime, but the fox showed conviction. The little fox displayed courage where the calm and collected Riveria faltered.

Riveria regained her composure and clenched her staff. “We can still fight.”

Lefiya chanted a spell. “Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree…”

…Only to freeze when Riveria rushed at Aimi like a vanguard.