kscans

Chapter 215 - The Kingdom's Battlefield, Part Three.

The Salamander’s Great Fireball was closing in.

…The magicians who saw it didn’t run; they were frozen in place.

…There were two reasons. First, the shock that their most powerful attack had been ineffective. Second, the time it took to comprehend that something was coming at them.

Because of this, no one moved or made a sound. They just stood there.

In the midst of it all, Matilda shouted, "!! What are you doing?! Run, now!!"

Her shout broke the silence, and everyone present began to scream and panic. But there were only three seconds left until the Great Fireball hit.

They wouldn’t make it.

Milfy cried out, "...Rumily! We have to evacuate! ...Rumily?"

She was nowhere to be found.

…The thought that she had run ahead never crossed Milfy’s mind. Just then, a shadow leaped from the wall. A girl with a blue scarf.

It was Rumily.

"...Great Wind Blade Defense!!"

A wind disk the size of a single-story house materialized in front of Rumily.

…The Great Fireball crashed into the wind wall, but it didn’t explode. It continued to push forward with enough force to destroy the wall and the Royal Capital itself. Rumily held her ground against the attack. She had created a small foothold of wind in mid-air and was holding on, but it was only a matter of time.

…The magicians, having recovered from their stupor, immediately fled. They didn’t try to help; they just ran to save themselves. Rumily held no grudge against them. In fact, she had created the wall for that very purpose.

Rumily thought, "...This is it for me. …If I release this, I’ll just be burned to a crisp. …At the very least, I have to weaken it as much as possible."

She continued to pour her magic into the shield.

She no longer had any intention of surviving. She had accepted that this was her place of death. Her only wish was that she could have said goodbye to those two. Just as her magic was running out and she was about to lose consciousness… …she felt something injected into her neck.

The pain jolted her awake. She looked to her right and saw Milfy.

She was flying, approaching Rumily. …As she wondered how, a continuous stream of water spheres shot out from her left. They flew over the wind wall and rained down on the Great Fireball.

Milfy shouted, "Wind Shield!!"

She erected a barrier of wind.

…The two wind walls halted the Great Fireball’s advance. Matilda’s relentless `Water Barrage` was weakening the Great Fireball, little by little.

Rumily asked, her face a mask of confusion, "...Wh-Why? Why didn’t you run?"

Rumily had wanted the people here, especially Milfy and Matilda, to escape.

Milfy replied, "...If I ran away and left the person I love behind, I wouldn’t feel anything for the rest of my life. Just emptiness. That’s why we’re going to survive this. All three of us."

Her eyes were filled with determination.

…Tears welled up in Rumily’s eyes. Those words struck deeper than any blade, resonated more than any malicious gossip.

…Matilda’s voice boomed from behind. "...Hey!! Stop having a touching moment and think of a way out of this!!"

…The two of them snapped back to reality and looked ahead. The situation was still dire and dangerous. Although the Great Fireball’s power had diminished slightly, it still had more than enough force to burn the Royal Capital to the ground.

…The magic of the two women holding it back was not infinite.

The injection earlier was a prototype that could instantly restore magic. It had been kept in case the cannon shot missed and a second one was needed. Matilda and Milfy had used it, and had also administered it to Rumily.

However, the situation remained unchanged.

As they wondered what to do, a voice came from behind.

"...Matilda-san!! Milfy-san!! Pour your magic into this magic stone!!"

They turned at the sound of the voice.

…Standing there was Sakura, the Queen’s personal maid. The question of why she was here was irrelevant.

Sakura said, "We’ll use the cannon to extinguish that fireball!! If you two pour your magic into it, even if we can’t push it back, we should be able to cancel it out!!"

At Sakura’s instruction, Milfy cried out in a panicked voice, "...B-But!! What about Rumily?!"

Rumily was in the line of fire. If they shot, she would die too.

Sakura explained, "...The moment we fire, Rumily-san, please drop to the ground!! The soldiers below are ready to catch you!!"

Matilda made a calm judgment. "...Milfy, let’s take the gamble. …Either way, if we continue like this, we’re just delaying our deaths. We won’t survive."

Rumily smiled and replied, "...Milfy, go. …It’s okay. I’m confident in my speed."

…Her eyes held a hint of anxiety. Even with her skill, if she mistimed it, she would either be burned by the Great Fireball or vaporized by the cannon blast.

A moment’s hesitation was not an option.

Milfy said, "...Alright. You better live."

With tears in her eyes, she joined Matilda.

The wind shield she had been maintaining vanished, and the Great Fireball began to advance again, but Rumily paid it no mind and continued to pour her magic into her own shield.

…The two of them poured every last drop of their magic into the magic stone. The charging speed was incomparable to the first shot.

And then, their magic was depleted, and they collapsed on the spot.

Sakura said, "...This amount of magic should be enough. …Rumily-san!! On my signal, get to the ground immediately!!"

At the loud voice, Rumily gave a thumbs-up with her right hand without looking back.

Sakura shouted, "...Counting down!! Three… two… one… Fire!!"

She pulled the trigger.

…During the countdown, Rumily had been lowering her wind foothold to increase her falling speed.

…The moment the count reached one, she released the foothold and began to fall.

Rumily released her wind shield and activated her skill.

"...Skill: ‘Acceleration’!!"

She focused solely on falling. The Great Fireball moved, and the heatwave made her right leg hot and painful.

…Just as it was about to hit her, the cannon blast struck the Great Fireball. It stopped again. Rumily plummeted at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

…The cannon blast was locked in a struggle with the Great Fireball. Despite containing the magic of only two people, its power was immense, a testament to their high magic levels.

And then, the Great Fireball and the cannon blast both exploded… …and vanished. The aftershock cracked the wall, sending the three on the cannon platform flying. Rumily landed on a large cloth held by the soldiers on the ground.

She lost consciousness immediately. The soldier who caught her checked her condition and saw that her right leg was severely burned.

The soldier shouted, "...This is bad!! Get her to a doctor, now!!"

At his command, the soldiers carried her away at a run.

After being blown away, Sakura said, "...Ugh. …Quickly. …I have to get… these two… and escape."

She forced her pain-wracked body to move.

The opportunity that person had bought for them. …She absolutely could not let it go to waste.

Sakura picked up the two of them and descended.

A short time earlier, the Salamander…

After launching the Great Fireball, it noticed something was blocking it, preventing it from advancing.

It took a deep breath and was about to fire a second shot when,

"ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

A roar echoed.

It looked down to see a human with a great axe.

After being blown away, Bardos had immediately righted himself.

…He had a bad feeling. And he was right. The Salamander was not only unharmed, but was radiating killing intent.

Bardos grinned. "...Heh heh. That’s more like it."

At that moment, the Salamander launched a Great Fireball from its mouth. It was headed towards the Royal Capital.

Bardos thought, "...Tch. Can’t do anything about that. I’ll leave it to them. …As for me…"

He readied his great axe and charged.

…Approaching the Salamander’s feet, Bardos swung his great axe in a powerful horizontal sweep. Its skin couldn’t withstand the blade and was cut. Blood gushed out like a fountain. Its durability was lower than an Orc King’s, but it had withstood that cannon blast, so there had to be something more to it.

But for the Salamander, it was just a scratch. In fact, it barely felt any pain. The Salamander stuck out its tongue and cloaked it in flames.

Its target was the human. It swung its tongue sideways, as it always did.

Seeing the attack coming, Bardos shouted, "...Murderous Dance!!"

He unleashed his technique.

…He spun at high speed, clashing with the Salamander’s attack, their powers locked in a stalemate. …The Salamander, unfazed, put more force into its attack.

Bardos poured all his strength into the rotation of his great axe.

"DOOORYAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

He increased his rotation speed.

And then, SPAAAAAAN.

…He sliced off the Salamander’s tongue. The Salamander shrieked. Having the tip of its tongue severed was, as expected, painful. It backed away slightly.

Bardos stopped spinning, panting for breath.

"...Hah, hah… …How do you like that, you lizard bastard?"

He grinned, drenched in sweat.

The Salamander became wary of the human below. …It sensed, `This one is strong`. The Salamander’s body glowed red, and flames enveloped its entire form.

This was the secret to how it had survived the cannon blast. …A body as hot as a scorching inferno, nullifying any attack.

Bardos chuckled. "...Heh heh. Looks like you’re getting serious. …This is the best. Skill: ‘Berserk’!!"

With his spirits soaring, he activated his skill.

He breathed new life into his exhausted body.

Just then.

"...I will not let you fight alone."

Leona stood beside him, shield and spear in hand.

From the left.

"...I too shall offer my meager assistance."

Glad stood there, holding a shield and mace.

Seeing the two of them, Bardos said, "...This is the final showdown. …Let’s go!!!"

With a battle cry, the three of them charged.

The Salamander raised its right foot to meet them.

And so, the battle in the Kingdom escalated even further.