Episode 159: Second Stratum Magic
Charlotte’s katana in her right hand is enveloped in flames, while the katana in her left hand crackles with lightning.
Using Thunder Magic to accelerate the electrical signals (impulses) transmitted from her brain to her body, Charlotte’s movements are amplified many times over, leaving the Black Armor unable to keep up.
“Here I go!”
The flaming katana swung down from above and the lightning katana swung up from below intersect.
“Dragon Fang!!”
Flames and lightning explode, sending the Black Armor flying backward. Charlotte presses the attack further.
The Black Armor manages to stop, but its posture is still broken. Taking advantage of this opening, Charlotte brings down her Willow Leaf Sabers on the Black Armor’s shoulders.
A metallic clang rings out. Charlotte thought she had struck a direct hit, but,
“Eh?”
She couldn’t help but utter a sound. Both of her swords were caught. The Black Armor was holding the swords, still ablaze with flames and crackling with lightning, as if it were nothing.
“Impossible!?”
The swords wouldn’t budge an inch. The difference in power was simply too great.
The moment Charlotte thought that, cracks appeared in the swords, and they shattered into pieces with a loud crash.
The Black Armor leaps backward and flees.
The Seekers of Ophanims unleash their magic one after another, but they can’t stop the Black Armor.
The monster disappears beyond the buildings.
“Are you alright, Charlotte?”
Michael rushes over, voicing his concern, but Charlotte remains silent, standing still.
“As you said, that thing might be a Chimera-level monster. To think our full power wouldn’t work…”
Listening to Michael’s words, Charlotte stares at her hands.
She knew that Japanese Seekers were helpless against the Black Armor. However, Charlotte had been dismissive of the reports from Japan, a country considered a developing nation in Dungeon Conquest.
She thought they could handle it, but she was wrong.
That monster couldn’t be defeated by conventional means. They would need to cooperate with other Seeker Clans to defeat it.
Charlotte clenches her fists, glares sharply, and issues instructions to her members.
“New Magic Enchanted Armaments! We’re chasing after the Black Armor immediately!!”
◇◇◇
Tennoji, Rui, and the others, entering the Nerima city area, were caught in a traffic jam.
People were overflowing onto the sidewalks and roads, trying to escape as quickly as possible. The appearance of the Hell Garm and the Black Armor had been reported on TV and the internet, so it was only natural.
“It’s chaotic,”
Rui says, grimacing as he looks out of the car.
“We can’t go any further by car. Let’s go on foot.”
Tennoji unfastens his seatbelt and gets out of the minivan. The members of “Roar of the Raijuu” also get out of the two cars behind them.
“We’re heading to the site immediately! Don’t fall behind!”
“Yes, sir!”
Since there were people on the sidewalk, the ten members jumped onto the roofs of the cars and ran.
As they reached a wide public road, an explosion could be heard from beyond the buildings.
“It’s already started?”
Tennoji clicks his tongue and looks in the direction of the rising smoke. He felt increasingly impatient, as he wanted to defeat the Black Armor with his own hands.
“Let’s hurry.”
Tennoji replies “Yeah” to Rui’s words and hurried to the scene.
◇◇◇
“Whoa!”
Yuma twists his body, and a Wind Blade passes in front of him, slicing through a utility pole. The utility pole falls, tearing down the power lines.
“Scary…”
Many Seekers run towards him from the front. People who appear to be Seekers emerge one after another from behind and from the side streets.
“Seriously, how many are there!?”
Yuma dodges the Fire, Water, Wind, and Thunder Magic unleashed by the Seekers as he flees.
–I think it’d be okay if I got hit, but I’m reflexively dodging.
While running, Yuma raises his right hand. He extends his five fingers like thorns, stabbing them into the vicinity of the roof of a low building.
He creates barbs at the tips of his fingers and uses the recoil from returning them to their original state to move to the top of the building in one go.
“Hey! He flew away!?”
“Chase him! Chase after him!!”
The Seekers below are in a frenzy. Thinking he should take advantage of the moment, he goes up to the roof, only to be surprised.
“Eh!?”
There were also two Seekers on the roof of the building.
Their eyes meet, and their movements freeze for a moment. The Seekers don’t miss that opportunity and unleash Water and Thunder Magic.
A mass of water charged with lightning collides with his body, crackling and pushing him back.
“Whoaaaa!”
He was knocked off the roof of the building he had finally climbed onto. While falling, Yuma looks around.
“Damn it! In that case…”
He extends his fingers like thorns once more, stabbing them into another building. Softening his fingers, he uses the momentum of the fall to swing widely and move.
“Whoa! It feels like Spider-Man! This is great!”
He thought he would pass through the buildings as he was, but a Seeker peeks out from the roof.
“Eh!?”
Yuma is surprised, and they fire Wind and Fire Magic at him from above.
He is hit directly, and Yuma falls while screaming, “Aaaaaah!” He crashes into the ground, hitting his head hard.
“Ouch… Well, it doesn’t hurt, though… That was mean.”
Yuma groans and gets up, looking around. Another Seeker is running from afar.
It would be easy to defeat them, but he can’t hurt the Seekers. He has to do something. Yuma uses Bloody Oar to enhance his physical abilities.
If he runs at full speed, no one will be able to keep up. Leaving the clamoring Seekers behind, he passes through the buildings and emerges onto the main street.
–Out of the city as is.
As he runs along the road, he notices someone standing in the distance.
A tall, blond man. He slams on the brakes in a hurry.
“Flame Emperor… Albert!”
Yuma immediately turns on his heel and tries to run in another direction, but his feet won’t move. What’s wrong? When he looks down at his feet, the road surface is dyed white.
“T-This is… Ice!?”
As Yuma is bewildered, he sees a figure approaching him.
“Honestly, just stopping you is hard enough.”
A tanned-skinned woman with distinctive short silver hair. She’s speaking in English as well. Is she one of Albert’s companions?
“Even monsters seem perplexed. Is this your first time seeing it? Second Stratum Water Magic: Freezing.”
The woman raises a bracelet on her right hand. A blue gem shines, and the ice spreading on the ground rises from his feet.
–C-Cold!
Thinking that this was bad, Yuma puts strength into his legs and tears them free. The ice cracks and shatters with a crackling sound. Now he can move freely.
“You’re surprisingly strong. But–“
The silver-haired woman narrows her eyes. Yuma immediately tries to escape, but a calm voice is heard from nearby.
“That’s enough. Just stopping him for a moment… That’s enough, Mia.”
Startled, he turns around and sees Albert standing in front of him. He raises his right hand and smiles.
“This is Second Stratum Fire Magic.”
A flash. An explosion occurs, and Yuma is blown away by the impact.
He is sent flying more than ten meters away, rolling along the ground to the side of the road.
“A… Gagh!?”
Smoke rises from his body, and parts of his metal shell are glowing red.
–I-It hurts! What is this!? My arms and chest are burning hot and painful!
Yuma endures the pain and stands up, staggering.
When he raises his face, he sees Albert smiling at him.