kscans

Chapter 357 - The Faceless Ice Wings

Pure instinct—no, it would be more accurate to say my body moved on its own.

It was only an instant later that I understood my feet had kicked off the ground, sensing something. It was that feeling again, one I hadn't felt in a while, where my thoughts were left behind by my body.

And another instant later, the sight of pure 'blue' that filled my vision showed me that my split-second evasion had saved my life.

Where my avatar had just been, a barrage of massive ice pillar cannonballs rained down. The gunners were none other than the countless ice spirits attending the faceless one that was staring me down.

And the magic circles that served as their muzzles—

"Ngh...—Come on!"

—did not fade.

"[Twaibolt Mirari]!!"

I reflexively summoned the pair of blue and white shields—I'm sorry for taking our shared equipment without permission, but this is an emergency...!

Negating the weight of the greatshields with the ability of [Construction], I slammed the 'tips' of the comma-shaped, distorted shields into the frozen ground of the summit.

The next moment, another volley of countless ice pillars rained down, striking the fixed [Twaibolt Mirari] and shattering on impact, scattering a mist of ice dust.

I don't know if it's a rapid-fire spell or what, but the barrage of ice showed no signs of stopping...—Okay, I see. For now, I can assume that even though it has no eyes, it's tracking me by 'sight' or something similar.

Why? Because it's persistently firing only at the shields I left behind—in that case!

"—I'm counting on you, partner!"

From a position I had retreated to under the cover of the mist, I unhesitatingly unleashed the only 'helping hand' I could call upon in this situation.

As I heard the sound of my [Ever-Quartz] shattering one of the targets as it flew through the curtain of ice dust that obscured my form—

"Then let's go straight to the climax...!"

I tossed aside the empty bottle of the high-grade magic recovery potion I had chugged in one gulp and followed my cheerfully pioneering partner at full throttle.

I got a good idea of how dangerous this opponent was from that merciless opening barrage.

I have no idea what its exact 'rank' is, but I can tell it's not an opponent I can afford to leisurely test the waters against on my first solo attempt.

So, if it's an opponent I can wear down with sheer momentum, then that's great.

Conversely, if 'momentum' doesn't work, then a solo victory with my one-hundred-percent-momentum build is impossible, so I have no choice but to go all out and see what happens!

"Become my arms—[An=Ru Galta (Hypothesis: The Wedge-Armor that Sings of the Royal Road)]!"

As I dodged the volley of projectiles from the [Lipis-Aicia]s that had re-targeted me, I sent the twin shields that had blocked the initial attack back to my inventory.

In their place, I summoned the [Revolving Wheel Shield]—and simultaneously activated [Fatal Peek] and [Whirlwind].

Ahead of me, the boss, Epel, still floated serenely in the sky, unmoving.

It just stared, stared at me with its eyeless gaze... Could it be the type whose main body isn't that strong in combat?—Nah, looking at that physique, I can't really hold onto such wishful thinking!

Trusting the bright red attack prediction lines that filled my vision, I ran, parrying the rain of ice pillars, which were too large to be called pebbles, with my armored left arm and my small right shield.

While building up the defense count on the [Revolving Wheel Shield] and watching my MP deplete at a terrifying rate, I waited for that moment—the moment the rain stopped.

And that moment, which came several dozen seconds later, was now.

"It's my turn, king of the mountain...!"

I sent a silent praise to my beloved sword for wiping out the nuisance turrets (the Lipis-Aicia) as ordered—and charged straight ahead into the cleared field of view.

You had your minions fire at me willy-nilly, and now my counter is maxed out, you bastard.

"Unfurl—[Runatiara]!"

The silver armor born from the [Revolving Wheel Shield], which I slammed against my chest, instantly enveloped my body as I ran up the trunk of the great tree I had landed on after a great leap.

Light rain won't work on me anymore—now, let's see what you've got, [Epel, Great Ice Spirit Guardian]! I wouldn't mind if you turned out to have surprisingly paper-thin durability and died in one hit, you know!!

"Kesshiki, Itto—... Tenth Strike!"

Kicking reality to the curb, I ran straight up the great tree. The steps of 'Matoi,' which shattered the ice trunk one after another, imbued my body with my master's technique.

This is the one near-ultimate single strike that I, in my base state without relying on skills, can execute with a precision close to the original, albeit imperfectly!!

Just straight ahead.

Throwing away the brakes, a sword of ultimate speed at the end of a multi-stage acceleration without a thought for the consequences.

Its name is—

"—[Blade of Thunder]!!"

I poured all my speed into the katana held over my shoulder and just swung it down with all my might.

If the blade grazes, the roar of a lightning flash that sears even steel.

A great roar that seemed impossible to have come from a single sword swing shook the sky—

"........................Alright, let's reset and go again."

I aimed my blade true at the 'core,' the likely weak point that existed within the blue light in place of its head, and felt a solid impact.

The momentum of the technique sent me flying over it, and I bit back a wry smile—and forced my sinking spirits back up.

While controlling my body, which was threatening to go into a spin from the recoil, I managed to look back. The great spirit's HP gauge, which was scattering a massive damage effect as it writhed in agony, showed that one of its five bars was about half-depleted.

And the next moment, whether out of anger or not, [Epel, Great Ice Spirit Guardian] let out a deep, resounding roar reminiscent of a whale—and from the light that had been scattering blood-like red, this time countless small 'blue' lights were scattered.

That was, without a doubt....

"['Flaking' Ice Spirit]... I see."

It was none other than the act of replenishing its minions—or rather, its own clones that had once been annihilated.

In other words, the 'spoils of war' I had gained at the cost of nearly sixty percent of my MP and significant mental fatigue from concentration amounted to about one-tenth of its total health....

"Give me a break...."

Now I had to do it all over again—a rematch against the great spirit, whose pulsating light was growing more intense, indicating its anger.

Alright, okay. Let me say it again, out loud.

"Give me a break...!"

...Unfortunately, the only reply to my lament was...

The light of countless magic circles, mercilessly deployed once more.