“Alright, alright, finally my turn, huh? Well, I’ll finish this off properly!”
Inside the birdcage, Akito rested Gae Bolg on his shoulder, staring at the Black Armor. The enemy was somehow still standing, but clearly faltering.
Akito clicked his tongue, wishing he could have fought head-on.
“Hey, Tennoji! Now’s your chance, while the Black Armor’s damaged! Don’t let your guard down, and take him down for sure!!”
Aisaka, the leader of the Seeker Clan, called out from outside the birdcage.
Akito waved his hand in response, “Yes, yes.” From here on out, anyone who couldn’t use Second Stratum Magic would only be a hindrance.
Akito was grateful that Aisaka had entrusted him with this task.
“Gotta meet their expectations.”
Just as Akito was about to approach the Black Armor, he saw a Seeker entering the Cage of Flames from another direction.
“Tch, what a nuisance.”
Akito grimaced, looking annoyed, but he recognized the Seeker who had entered.
–That’s definitely a member of Roar of the Raijuu.
Akito’s eyes darted around. He saw his brother, Tennoji Hayato, watching from outside the birdcage.
Akito was puzzled, as he had expected his brother, known as Japan’s strongest Seeker, to enter. The one inside the birdcage was clearly a young man.
Probably not much older than himself. Why would they send someone like that?
“Hey, hey, you’re in the way. I’m gonna take down the Black Armor, so step aside.”
The young man, addressed by Akito, stopped abruptly and turned around.
“I apologize, but I cannot do that. It is our responsibility to defeat that monster.”
“Huh?”
Polite tone, earnest face. He looked like a young master, completely unsuited for battle.
That was Akito’s impression, but when the young man smoothly drew his Katana, a chilling sensation ran down his spine.
“Here I go!”
The young man’s Katana, as he dashed forward, was enveloped in scorching flames.
“Y-You idiot! Normal magic doesn’t work on the Black Armor!!”
Akito shouted, but the young man didn’t slow down. The Black Armor thrust out the swords from the backs of its hands, ready to intercept.
“Damn!”
Even though he was a Seeker, he couldn’t just let someone die in front of him.
With that thought, Akito also dashed forward. The young man fluidly swung his Katana, clashing swords with the Black Armor.
In that instant–
A violent explosion occurred, and the Black Armor staggered backward. The young man followed up without missing a beat, slashing with his Katana in a horizontal sweep.
Another explosion erupted. Akito shielded his face with his arm from the intense light and blast.
“That’s… Second Stratum Fire Magic!?”
The explosion magic that was said to be exclusive to Albert. If he could use that, he must be quite skilled.
“I see… So my brother confidently sent him out, which means he’s that capable–interesting!”
The young man was relentlessly driving the Black Armor back with his incredible swordsmanship and repeated explosions, but the Black Armor was also pushing back, emitting a blue light from its body.
Even using Second Stratum Magic, he seemed to be struggling.
“Get out of the way! I’ll do it!!”
He thrust out the spear Gae Bolg, clad in Black Lightning, with all his might. The Black Armor tried to deflect it with its swords, but it was blown away by the gushing Black Lightning and crashed into the Cage of Flames.
A raging explosion erupted, and smoke billowed.
But the Black Armor, its entire body dyed blue, didn’t seem to have taken much damage.
Akito, still holding his spear, slowly backed away.
As expected, this was not an opponent to be taken lightly. It seemed difficult to defeat it alone within the time limit.
“Hey, buddy! What’s your name?”
“Eh?”
For a moment, the young man looked blank, but he quickly recomposed himself, readied his sword, and opened his mouth.
“I am Amasawa Rui from Elceed!”
“I see, I’m Tennoji Akito from Fameel!”
“You’re Tennoji-san’s younger brother, aren’t you?”
“Yeah! I don’t really want to, but we’ll have to attack together from here on out! That monster doesn’t seem easy to defeat.”
“Understood!”
The two readied their weapons and dashed forward simultaneously. The Black Armor also readied the swords that had emerged from the backs of its hands.
Explosions of flames and Black Lightning assailed the Black Armor.
◇◇◇
Kanzaki hid in the shadow of a building near the birdcage. He held his phone to his ear and shouted loudly.
“Hey! This is bad, Yuma’s being cornered! At this rate, he might get taken down!”
“Calm down, can you see the structure of the Birdcage?”
Aisha spoke on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah, there are a bunch of swords stuck in the ground. Flames are spewing out from them. I’m guessing it’s some kind of Magic Enchanted Armament.”
“Probably. They’re using those swords as a medium to construct Third Tier Magic.”
“Then, if I destroy the swords from the outside…”
“It’s useless. Prometheus members are around the perimeter, guarding the swords from the outside. A second-rate Seeker like you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“That bitch… saying whatever she wants.”
Kanzaki looked around the birdcage and saw foreign Seekers with sharp eyes, standing guard.
As Aisha said, they were probably members of Prometheus.
“Anyway, it’s a magic that they forced to construct using even those things. It definitely won’t last long. The real fight starts after the cage disappears. Contact Yuma-kun and bring him to my laboratory!”
“I know. …Hey, Aisha. If Yuma is defeated here, will he go berserk like during the Black Dungeon incident…?”
If he were to grow gigantic and rampage in the middle of the city, it would cause immense damage. Kanzaki wanted to avoid that at all costs, but,
“Don’t be ridiculous. During the Black Dungeon incident, he grew gigantic because there was an enormous amount of Mana at the lowest level. Even though Mana is overflowing on the surface now, it’s only as much as the lower levels of a dungeon. There’s no way he’d go berserk in this environment.”
“I see… If you say so, then that’s fine.”
If Aisha said so definitively, then it must be true. Kanzaki breathed a sigh of relief. He peeked out from the shadow of the building and looked at Yuma, who was fighting.
◇◇◇
The Seekers around the birdcage all gasped.
Matteo from Germany, Charlotte and Michael from England, all the Seekers were wide-eyed at the battle.
Flames rose and explosions occurred with every swing of the Katana. Black Lightning raced through the Birdcage, gathering at the tip of the spear and attacking the enemy.
A coordinated attack of Second Stratum Magic unlike anything they had ever seen. Even Albert, on top of the building, was watching the scene.
“Wow, amazing. To think there were such strong Seekers in Japan… but.”
The two Seekers were masters of Second Stratum Magic. They were powerful warriors engaged in a battle that would go down in history, but what surprised those around them even more was the Black Armor’s movements.
It was perfectly defending against the two’s incredible attacks with the swords that had emerged from the backs of its hands.
No matter how much the flames exploded, the Black Armor with the blue streaks showed no signs of faltering. It was narrowly dodging the spear attacks that released Black Lightning.
“No way, are you kidding me!? It’s two against one!”
Akito was shocked, and Rui grimaced as he swung his Katana.