Chapter 769 - Chapter Eight: The Demon Race Executive's Attack
When [Holy] hits [Dark], if they are of similar power, both will diffuse and vanish. However, while the thickness of the mist changed, it did not disappear. The ultra-high-level spell was blocked and merely diffused. If an ultra-high-level Overflow doesn't work, won't we be unable to break through that defense?
What on earth should we do...
"Jeanne, please calm down. Most likely, they are rapid-firing [Dark] to create layers of thin mist with no real thickness."
I see! If they use both hands to create many layers of mist, it will stop somewhere. As expected of Eleanor-sama. She noticed immediately. Come to think of it, there was a time when I used three layers of [Light] walls to block an opponent's attack. Humans do it. Monsters would do it too.
"Then, let's rapid-fire as well."
Numbers against numbers. If we can penetrate just one spot, we'll manage.
I gripped my shakujo again. The bowl moved away from where the demon was and simultaneously ascended into the sun. If we just turn and dive again, we can get another shot in.
"No. This is the opponent's trap."
"A trap..."
"If you rapid-fire, your location will be exposed and it will be easier for them to counterattack. It would be fine if it were something we could bounce back with [Magic Reflection], but for example, if raw mana is released, the pressure could cause us to lose control and crash."
The Black Dragon Child's shockwave... that could attack a wide area simultaneously. Even if it's not that powerful, if it hits, there's a high possibility of crashing.
"It is a feat we humans cannot perform. We must not attack lightly."
The opponent knows we can hide ourselves and fly. Aside from a single shot while moving at high speed, if we fire many times, our trajectory will be predicted.
"You're right. I'm sorry."
"No, it's not something to apologize for. Experience is what matters in these situations."
Her making a deliberate guts pose was likely out of kindness.
"Then, shall I go? I'll secretly dispel the [Dark]."
"Can I ask you to do that?"
The intentions of the Priestess and Eleanor-sama seemed to match perfectly, and it was decided easily.
"Then, when I disappear, count from one to ten, and fire [Holy] at ten."
"Understood. Bonnie, please."
"Okaay."
"Here I go."
The Priestess vanished.
"O-ne, tw-o, thr-ee..."
Bonnie began to count. Simultaneously, the bowl began to move.
"Fo-ur, fi-ve, si-x..."
The bowl first moved far away from the fortress, then headed toward the mist from the opposite side of the sun. Even if we hide ourselves with magic, a shadow is created. If we go from the opposite side of the sun, the shadow will be behind us, making it harder to detect.
"Se-ven, ei-ght, ni-ne..."
By the time Bonnie counted to nine, we entered our dive.
"Ten!"
As if timed, the bowl passed over the mist.
"[Holy] Overflow!"
I fired it backward just like that.
Just before firing, the mist thinned out all at once. The Priestess had successfully dispelled it. Most likely, the attention of the two demons was drawn to the thinning of the mist. My eight-shot burst was fired right then.
Did we do it! At that thickness, it should have penetrated. Clinging to the back of the bowl as it rapidly ascended while turning left, I watched, and the mist completely vanished.
"T-they're not there..."
The demon was gone. It should have been hidden in the mist. The mist only covered a narrow area. If it had escaped, we should have seen it. Besides, I've heard that executive-class demons don't use [Teleport]. In fact, they were moving via magic circles and didn't use it during combat.
"Did they escape?"
"They're in the same place."
It was Germana. She seemed to have sensed the mana.
"It's [Camouflage]."
It seems they are applying [Camouflage] over a fairly wide area around the entrance. In other words, because it's covered in mana, it can't be detected with [Sense Living].
"Jeanne's magic hit just now. But it wasn't a fatal wound."
Since I couldn't see the target to aim, I fired in a diffused manner, but the price was that the damage was small.
"You know where they are, don't you?"
"Yes. I know."
As expected of one of the Five Great Spirits. She easily does things humans cannot.
"Jeanne, we're doing it again. Fire at the same spot."
"A-ah, yes."
Eleanor-sama's instructions came, and I attacked again. We circled once more and did the same thing.
"They moved."
It seems I missed.
"Do you know where they went?"
"Yes. They came out of the entrance and are slowly moving away to the south. They're slow and don't leave the ground, so they might not be able to walk well. However, I can't say they're weakened."
We wounded them. There's a chance. However, moving north means our shadow might be seen.
"We'll do the same thing."
Eleanor-sama was aggressive.
"Won't we be found out by our shadow?"
If a shadow is moving in a straight line from north to south, our approach will be obvious.
"Since they can't grasp our altitude, they won't be able to attack. If they attack, their location will be revealed at the same time."
Eleanor-sama said that another one is hidden with [Camouflage]. She probably wants to lure it out somehow.
We circled again and tried another surprise attack from the north. The place to fire [Holy] was the same. I probably missed, but I didn't worry about it and ascended to hover in the sun.
"Let's wait and see for a while here."
I looked down while hovering. Just in case, I cast [Sense Living], but it was blocked by [Camouflage] and I couldn't tell anything.
"Are you not going to attack? I know where they are."
It was Germana. Only Germana could see them.
"It's better if they don't realize someone with Germana-class abilities is here. If possible, we'll lure them out like this."
"Understood."
Certainly, she's the trump card among trump cards.
We waited like that for about an hour. The wounded one reached the wall surrounding the center of the fortress after heading south and entered the shade. It seemed to be resting in a spot shifted from directly south of the entrance, moving along the wall.
If it becomes a war of attrition, the opponent has the advantage. We won't be able to maintain the bowl. The same goes for [Camouflage] and [Magic Reflection], and even ground combat would become dangerous.
"We'll have to move soon."
Since the opponent was unexpectedly persistent, Eleanor-sama seemed to have given up.
"It can't be helped. Let's attack. Wilson, please."
"As you wish."
Bonnie fine-tuned the bowl's position.
"It's good now."
The OK was given. I dispelled [Magic Reflection]. Now our location was exposed.
Bonnie dropped a single pebble from the hole in the bottom of the bowl.
"[Glaciate]!"
Wilson-san, who had put his hand out of the hole in the bottom of the bowl, fired the spell. Aiming at the pebble, he created a massive iceberg directly beneath the bowl. The iceberg naturally began to fall as it grew.
"[Glaciate]! [Glaciate]! [Glaciate]!"
He fired [Glaciate] in rapid succession toward the falling iceberg. Iceberg upon iceberg upon iceberg stacked up, and now the entire field of vision was ice.
While it was far from the forest destruction Eleanor-sama had done once before, it was being dropped from a considerable height. Even if they released mana to destroy the massive quadruple iceberg like a Lindwurm, a large amount of massive ice blades—heavyweight ice shards—would rain down with great force, making it even more dangerous.
The bowl began a rapid diagonal ascent, so I cast [Magic Reflection]. While continuing to ascend, we all watched the falling situation.
What would happen? No, I was watching to see what they would do, but the shape of the falling iceberg changed. They dispelled it. It became a massive mass of water. It fell just like that, and as it hit, a roar that sounded like a landslide and a waterfall added together and divided by two rang out. Even though it was water, it was that much. Splashes large enough to easily crush a human flew around the entrance... no, beyond the surroundings, they flew over the first wall and near the outer wall. The inside of the first wall had become a pond.
"Jeanne, they've come out!"
Germana pointed. Judging by the direction, it was where the wounded one was. The bowl stopped.
Looking, a demon was climbing the wall to avoid being submerged. It's a demon. That look, it's probably Number Two. In the battle when the Demon Lord was resurrected last time, it fought a fierce battle with the joint forces of Gram and Northern Gram. Although it was slain, many hero candidates who were heroes died on the human side. Back then, I was the one who sent the demon's corpse.
The bowl dived rapidly. Avoiding the gaze of the demon looking up at the sky, we flew horizontally relative to the demon. The bowl slid left and right to match the direction of the opponent's neck.
"Jeanne!"
Eleanor-sama's signal came. The bowl's sliding stopped.
"Ei! Ya! Gaa!"
Aiming slightly from above at the right rear of the head, I fired two consecutive eight-shot [Holy] Overflows with reflection plates, using only my spirit. It was fired with a shout. I'm not yet confident enough to use [Voiceless] in actual combat.
Two ultra-high-level Overflows and one roughly high-level shot. The light flying toward the demon in front of me flew straight toward the target. Simultaneously, the bowl began a rapid diagonal ascent to the right. Weight suddenly pressed down on my legs.
"We did it!"
Germana confirmed it. I was doing my best just to brace myself so I wouldn't fall. When I twisted my neck sharply to look down to the left, a water column-like thing was rising in the pond. The demon must have fallen. I wonder if we can deliver the finishing blow.
"Get down!"
Eleanor-sama's voice rang out. Simultaneously, someone grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and pulled me down to the bottom of the bowl. On top of that, two or three people piled on top of me with a thud. It was heavy, or rather, painful. Since my face was pressed against the bottom of the bowl, my vision was blocked by my own sleeve. I didn't know what was happening, but a powerful shock came thrusting up from the front.
"Ngh!"
It felt like being punched up in the jaw. I felt like my neck went 'guki!', but I wonder if I'm okay?
Just as I thought my body floated, the weight of the people on top of me pressed into my back, as if we had hit the ceiling. This time a sound came from my spine. Is this really bad?
We spun around backward. Or rather, we started spinning and spinning. With several people on my back, or rather, with me on top of someone while lying on my back, I was blown away while spinning.
After spinning for a while, just as I started feeling dizzy, the spinning stopped.
"Gueh!"
The bowl took its correct posture, so I became the bottom layer again. Since I fell from a state where my back was arched, I hit my face hard from the recoil of my body returning.
"Are you okay?"
I am not okay at all!
The weight on my back lightened. It seemed those on top had gotten off. When I turned my neck, it was Bonnie and Will.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch. Since I was at the bottom, I hit my head."
Will was the bottom layer... and the top layer... I see. No wonder it was heavy.
I used [Holy] to heal my face and the areas where the sounds had come from. Since Wilson-san was there, I fired it by placing my palm directly on the spots.
"What happened?"
We returned to normal flight, so I asked. What on earth was that shock?
"We were hit by a [Maelstrom] of extraordinary power. The range was wide and we couldn't possibly dodge it."
According to Eleanor-sama, it was truly a wall of water. It seemed to have surged up from below with the force of a waterfall flowing backward. I've seen geysers before, but they didn't have width. Since we couldn't dodge left or right, a massive amount of water must have been sent flying.
"Look down."
I looked down as I was told.
"The water..."
The pond is no longer a pond. Except for what's pooled by the walls, it's almost gone. Did they move that much water all at once?
"It's clearly more than an Amphisbaena."
It's worthy of an A-rank.
"It's a miracle we're safe."
"It's because Wilson instantly made a lid and turned it into a sphere. I was busy just blocking the holes. And Germana gave us decisive help."
Germana apparently merged with the bowl's body and lid to act as an adhesive. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to maintain the sphere. If the lid had opened in that situation, wouldn't we all have died?
"Isn't that amazing! As expected of a spirit."
"Thank you. But the real thing starts now. Look at the entrance of the basement."
The demon was standing tall. It was imposing.
"Most likely, it's Number Two. Do you remember?"
"Yes."
That size. Those legs bent like a horse's hind legs. And it's holding a massive, pitch-black sword. It's holding its right hand high, ready to release magic at any time.
Those who answered were Wilson-san, Will, Bonnie, and me. That guy was defeated by the Sertoria containment squad using an ambush because he was raising spiders. At that time, the containment squad was led by the former heroes.
"Jeanne."
"Yes."
"Attack the other one again. We'll challenge that guy after we've definitely finished off one of them."
"Understood."
Number Two fired [Maelstrom] as its first move. It anticipated that we would bounce back lightning with [Magic Reflection]. If Germana hadn't been here, we would have crashed. This won't be easy.