kscans

Chapter 676 - Excessive Overkill

Even if I say 'battle command,' with members of this caliber, detailed instructions aren't necessary. My partner, who let out a reluctant and resigned sigh, naturally understands this.

Therefore,

"Sigh…—Kanata-kun."

It took her only a moment to process and switch gears. Sora-san, with a composed expression and tone, spoke just that one phrase. After letting out a call that wasn't even an instruction,

"'The rising, scorching sun, the setting evening moon, the chain of constellations that dyes the darkness—'"

She abruptly began to chant a song.

And the 'command' was more than sufficient. In a party where each member can think and make their own decisions, and where there's trust that they can read intentions from brief actions.

The most straightforward 'command' is to let them act freely.

"Senpai!"

"Got it."

As Kanata, whose name was called, crouched down, I, who received the voice, turned around. Facing front and back respectively—

"[Fire Enchant]."

"[Shadow Enchant]."

With the final signal being the glow of different colored magic on the pair of daggers and the single short sword drawn from their respective waists, our feet took a step forward.

Leaving my junior, who had activated his Anima and entered his signature gliding maneuver, I, too, prepared to unleash my own signature [Rock—…et Step], but I managed to restrain myself at the last second. In this still unfamiliar and strange sensation, I kicked off the floor with all my might.

My newly acquired aerial walking ability is, after all, an optional additional skill. The mysterious power known as 'Critical Jump,' which I've been familiar with since the days of [Fataless Jumper] and [Land Insulate], lives on in [Talaria Record].

Furthermore, upon evolving to its grandiose name, the jump action enhancement from [Rega-Lielta] has been boosted even more than in the past.

Add to that my own techniques to push various boosts, and… I can kick away any minor resistance and lightly touch the tail of the speed of sound.

"Hah!"

Up, down, left, right, there's no shortage of footholds on the ceiling or walls. As I soar through the 'underwater' that offers far less resistance than the real thing, I become a pinball with a blade in hand.

Behind me, I count eleven. As if testing each other, I haphazardly and carelessly slice through the gently swaying [Ripis Aquia], passing by them—

"…Isn't that cheating?"

No feedback. I turn around to find that the traces of my blade are already gone, and all that remains are the figures of the water spirits, their bodies slightly disturbed and swaying, completely unharmed.

I understand that physical attacks are likely ineffective or nullified against this fluid existence, and that this magic attack would be effective, based on the behavior of Kanata, who knows the basics, and Tetra, who enchanted my rabbit short sword. And the same goes for its weakness.

Just like the [Ripis Aisia] I encountered on the snowy mountain governed by the Great Ice Spirit, it's not hard to imagine that the glowing script (core) within its body is the weak point.

So, it's only natural that I, who swung my blade aiming for the core, would declare, "Cheating." Why? Because the weak point moved at high speed.

Within the body of the nearly two-meter-long seagull-like creature, a piece of script zipped around randomly at a speed that made its original shape impossible to discern. The light spread throughout its body, improving visibility, but faced with this extremely annoying trick, I held back a wry smile.

"'—Stakes of heaven, rain of light, the judgment that falls fills the holy grail.'"

I've bought a few seconds for a test hit. Now, let's see if the main, second attack will get through.

The moment the song ended.

A brilliance that couldn't be compared to that of the dimly glowing water spirits was born, and the magic that formed its body created a distinct current in the water with its pressure.

Intermediate Light Magic Aptitude spell, [Geo-Stake]—a short distance ahead, with the water spirits in between. What manifested in the hands of the girl, protected by the excessive bodyguards of the Sword Saint and the Undying, was not a great spear of light that rivaled the size of the giant water birds.

No, what was unleashed without hesitation after a moment of aiming was,

"—!"

A collective body of countless stakes of light, designed to pierce the enemy at the caster's will.

From one, then two. The light split in two, flying forward and backward, and as it reached the center of the water spirits, it scattered in response to Sora's action of clenching both her fists.

Needless to say, she's a master of controlling swarms. The shrunken, divided stakes found all their targets without fail—and as the light burst, an explosion without fire was born.

Her precision was so perfect it was terrifying. I understand that it's not a big deal compared to over a thousand magic swords, but to say I can comprehend it is impossible.

I've checked the archives for a standard [Geo-Stake] before, and it's supposed to be a carpet-bombing spell that you just scatter around…

"Oh, more than I expected…"

The light cleared, revealing the figures of the enemies, their bodies partially collapsed.

Their HP bars above their heads showed that all of them had about thirty percent remaining. As I confirmed the results of the battle while enduring the blast wave, or rather, the water current, I was about to express my admiration with a still-lackadaisical tone.

"Tough, huh…—"

As the words left my mouth, at that very moment.

Not her familiar greatsword, but a short sword, easy to handle for adventuring.

However, in her small hands, it looked like a reasonably long katana… the moment I saw the Sword Saint draw it.

The moment I saw her unique stance, shouldering the blade she had drawn with her right hand on her right shoulder, letting the edge flow down her back—at that moment, I instinctively tried to shout for her to stop.

"—Thirteenth Blade."

"Gah…!?"

Realizing I couldn't stop her, I ducked with a scream.

"[Uminari (Ocean's Roar)]."

Three hundred and sixty degrees, all around. A blade that traveled through the water, released from her as the origin point, raced around, tearing apart the water spirits that had survived the explosive light stakes.