Chapter 737 - The Giant Monsters' Stalemate
“[Third Bullet, Three Brilliant Scorching Heat Gaze].”
“Ugh, so ho—?!”
This was the first time I had seen it. The heat ray fired from the twin pistols held side-by-side boasted twice the thermal energy of the Second, no longer a “beam” but an instantaneous heat bomb that filled the space.
And as it unleashed a destructive force that scorched even my skin as I stood behind the master of flames herself… she stated quietly, in a single phrase:
“They blocked it.”
“Huh…?”
The third shot from [Nova Rescellerate] blew away the swarm of projectiles that had been closing in, erased all the cunningly placed and lethally effective traps, and incinerated the next barrage that was likely about to be fired—and in response to all that—
“Nngh… haah! Th-that was terrifying! Absolutely no mercy!!”
“…”
The two small figures that emerged from the scattered crimson flames were still standing side-by-side, unharmed. They hadn’t taken it head-on, of course; I saw them put up a wall just before the beam was fired… but still.
“Blocking that with just a wall…?”
“If it were an ordinary wall, I’m confident I could burn through even solid steel… but unless I’m mistaken, wasn’t that a recreation of [Salamandrite]? If they can put up multiple thick walls of that stuff, I suppose it’s not surprising they could block it.”
“Sala… what?”
“[Salamandrite]. It’s a special ore mined from the secret sanctum of the great fire spirit Kidun. It’s incredibly heavy and difficult to adapt for equipment, but it’s a rare mineral with exceptional heat resistance.”
“I don’t know whether I should be amazed at them for casually pulling something like that out with ‘creation,’ or terrified of Hinayo-san for nearly vaporizing it. I just don’t know anymore.”
My enemies and allies are all monsters, their abilities on the level of giant kaiju. I’m well aware that I’m probably just as crazy for surviving on this stage where they’re all rampaging freely, but I would very much like the public to know that I am desperately fighting just to avoid looking pathetic.
Anyway, the red one is making a racket as usual, which is normal for her… but the blue one, also operating as usual, is the epitome of cool. She has this inexplicable air of dignity about her, a masterful deadpan poker face. I should try to learn from her (?)—
…and,
“Here they come, Haru-kun.”
“Yep, here they come…”
Their offense is beyond fierce, it’s a natural disaster. Their defense is beyond sturdy, it’s in the realm of the divine, the antithesis of paper. While I was struggling to come up with a new rhythm to poke at them, a rain of magic began to fall for what felt like the dozenth time.
Lances of lightning, cannonballs of earth. Hundreds of projectiles, probably imbued with the same ridiculous homing capabilities as before, specialized in making me cry.
Seriously, I haven’t been able to do a single thing.
I’ve been chased from one end of the stage to the other, managing to slip in counterattacks in the briefest of openings, but a light poke at the end of a desperate escape isn’t enough to even scratch their barrier… —and, [Rocket].
“Whoa, ngh…!”
The simultaneously fired barrage of lightning and earth flew at me with infuriatingly different speeds, tracing complex trajectories. It was mixed with unpredictable, random movements that convinced me this wasn’t just simple auto-tracking, skillfully robbing me of my leeway and freedom as I soared through the air.
Honestly, I’m at the point where I want to keep [Eyes Oculus] active at all times. But even at its lowest magnification, the thought-accelerating golden eyes only last for about three minutes, and the attack-predicting silver eyes I want more only last for a little over a minute on their own. I can’t rely on it except in an emergency—
“Whoa, that was close!”
Following a bad feeling that ran down my spine, I spun around and swung my scythe.
The blade of watery light swatted away a magic circle that had appeared in the empty air—it was probably a conditional trap set to a specific coordinate. The dispelled magic scattered and vanished.
And yet, I hadn't escaped danger, nor had the number of fatal threats diminished.
My reflexive action might have been the optimal move to prevent an accidental death, but if all it does is postpone my death by one second, the result is the same—in other words,
Cornered by the barrage thanks to a trap that served its purpose even after being dispelled, I was about to be pulverized by lightning and earth in roughly two seconds.
If that’s the case, I have no choice but to do this.
“[Flood]!”
My hand raised to the heavens, and water didn’t just overflow, it exploded in all directions.
It was certainly tamer than the bugged-out version from my fight with [Screen], but it was still outside the bounds of common sense. The [Water Spirit’s Blessing] skill I acquired during the clan tour was functioning at full capacity, pushing the already insane output of my water torrent to an even higher level of absurdity.
The result was a massive tsunami formed from a single point of eruption.
The water created by water magic is ultra-pure and non-conductive. In Arcadia, which over-exaggerates physical phenomena in a fantastical or game-like way despite its realistic tendencies, water magic is an absolute shield against lightning magic—a perfect counter.
Just as I planned, while being carried by the raging current, I saw with my own two eyes over a hundred lightning lances being nullified. Furthermore, though they didn’t dissolve like the lightning, the already slow earth projectiles were slowed even further by the water’s resistance.
Estimated time until the remaining projectiles reach me: six seconds. I had more than enough time.
“‘Whirl, O vortex of water; gather, O raging waves. A shield without form resides in the spirit; a blade without shape sways in reality.’”
One of the special effects of the unique skill [Water Spirit’s Blessing]: underwater adaptation.
Weaving words that would normally be impossible underwater, and treating the raging current that could easily crush a normal person’s body like a gentle breeze—I prepared a spell to counter their miracles.
[Maelstrom] was the ‘all-purpose offensive and defensive water spell’ I had long desired, and its most notable advantage was its applicability to any and every situation I could think of.
It could be used as a simple flying water buzzsaw with considerable power, activated from my body to create a pseudo-offensive barrier, or fired remotely from a thrown weapon for a tricky surprise attack. And,
—it could absorb surrounding water to become an instant grand spell.
“Whoa, hey, another new move?!”
Ignoring the little one’s voice that reached my ears, the current accelerated, and the swirling water embraced the earthen chunks, shattering them to pieces. The absurd volume of water from my earlier [Flood] became the building blocks for this massive vortex.
Sorry to disappoint, but this is an existing move. It’s a classic combo for firepower-focused water mages, one with countless videos uploaded to the archives… but,
this is likely the world’s first practical demonstration by someone with 1500 MID and the Blessing. So behold.
“Hyaaa… SEHHH!!”
A great ring, thrown.
“—Ri-na!”
“Ngh…!”
The moment I hurled the giant water saw, which had to be at least twenty meters in diameter, I heard the voices of the (unrelated) twins and broke into a full sprint without a second thought. My destination, of course—
“Pardon my escort!”
—was my partner, who responded with a smile, no extra words needed in this emergency.
I wrapped an arm around her waist and leaped. In the distance, the giant water saw exploded against its target with a deafening roar, and we flew away into the air, escaping the bursting tsunami it released.
And from above, I looked down to see… the figures of the Eastern Wings, who had dispelled the tornado they used to blow away my water with an even larger ring of their own, once again appearing completely unscathed.
“……Were we able to surprise them, I wonder?”
“Even if it meant hitting your own ally?”
Hinayo-san was smiling elegantly, acting like her usual self, though the signs of fatigue were becoming hard to ignore… but this is no time to be making such comments, is it?
As the waves receded and the magical water dissolved into the air, I landed on the stage that had returned to its normal state and said one thing.
“Well… this is getting bad.”
“Yes, it is.”
Nearly seven minutes have passed since the match began. With just over three minutes remaining, their gauges are still full. On our side, while Hinayo-san’s ‘guns’ are steadily ramping up…
“Hey, hey! Isn’t it about time you started making a comeback? Things are looking bad for you!”
Just as the ever-energetic red one says. It was necessary for our strategy against the Eastern Wings, but because I cut loose with [Hellgread Ignis (Crimson Red Hellfire Seed)], one of us is a near-dead idiot.
In other words, if we continue this cat-and-mouse game, we will lose when time runs out. An unavoidable decision based on the ratio of our remaining health awaits us.
What to do… well, it’s not like there’s much of a choice, is there?
When it comes to this, there’s really only one option.
“Mmm… I told you before the match, didn’t I?”
And so, as I still hesitated, they too seemed to be losing their patience.
“I said we’d play with you without holding back, so come at us with everything you’ve got!”
The red one, who proclaimed herself the great senior at every opportunity, took the lead in egging me on.
“Ri-na-chan said it too, right? ‘Come at us without fear.’”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Huh? No way, you totally did.”
“The intent and nuance were completely different.”
“Were they…? Well, whatever.”
She theatrically tapped her chest with her thumb, an inviting gesture.
Her meaning was clear, her spirit was clear, all that remained was my decision. Or rather, less a decision and more a matter of my petty pride and stubbornness… well, then.
“Haaah… If my opponents are invincible little runts whose very existence is unfair, I can only hope I won’t be too heavily criticized, right?”
I glanced at my partner beside me for confirmation.
“On the contrary, isn’t that what the vast majority of people want to see?”
“You think so…? I guess we’ll go with that.”
Her smile was, as always, unwavering, and with that, my escape route was well and truly cut off. Very well, I’ll trust her words and awaken it—
“Awaken.”
The memory of the magic-devouring Sakura, sleeping in the pendant on my chest.