“Get Mitaka out of here, now! We have to save him no matter what!!”
Mia, aboard the Osprey, kept her eyes fixed on Mitaka as he was carried in on a stretcher. He lay there, limp, his cheeks smudged with soot in places, but he didn’t seem to have any severe external injuries. But he had taken a Lightning Strike from the 【Yellow King】. His internal organs and brain must have suffered more damage than could be imagined.
The members of Prometheus also boarded, and four Messiahs began casting Recovery Magic on Mitaka. The top-ranked Messiahs in America. All they could do was leave it to them. Mia urged the pilot to get them out of there as soon as possible. Ryan, a member of Prometheus, confronted Mia.
“Are you sure about this, Mia-san!? To retreat and leave Albert-san behind! He could die, you know!”
Ryan had been with Prometheus since its founding, was close to Albert, and, more than anything, looked up to him like an older brother. It was only natural that he would voice his dissatisfaction. But Mia gave Ryan a cold look.
“The retreat is Albert’s decision. He deliberately became a decoy to allow Mitaka Yuma to escape. We can’t let that go to waste.”
“But—”
Ignoring Ryan’s continued protests, Mia shouted towards the cockpit.
“Take off! Get us out of here, now!!”
“Understood.”
The pilot, peering out from the cockpit, started the engine and gripped the control stick. Mia shifted her gaze to the prone Mitaka Yuma.
—Albert saw hope in this child. That’s why he’s risking his life to protect him. Then I have to protect him with all my strength too!
The Osprey rose vertically. The cabin shook violently, and Mia, struggling to keep her balance, called out to one of the Messiahs.
“How is it? Can you heal the wounds?”
The woman who was asked wore a grave expression.
“I’m casting magic with all my might… but these wounds were inflicted by powerful magic. It will take a considerable amount of time to heal them.”
“I see… I guess so.”
Mia, squatting on the floor, dropped her shoulders powerlessly. Those wounds were inflicted by the 【Yellow King】. There was no way they could be healed so easily. Still, if they could escape from here, there was a good chance he could be saved. The Osprey carrying Mia and the others leveled its rotors and increased its speed, heading west towards McConnell Air Force Base.
◇◇◇
“Wow… that’s some serious intimidation.”
Akito, still aboard Gae Bolg, muttered as he glared at the 【Yellow King】. Rui felt the same way. They had seen the 【Red King】, the 【Green Lord】, and the 【Blue King】 before, but the Golden Giant towering before them exuded a more vicious and intense intimidation than any of the other Kings. It was easy to see why Yuma had been defeated…
The Golden Giant slowly raised its right hand, palm facing them.
“You guys, be careful. If you get hit by that, you’ll be obliterated,” Albert said with a chuckle, and Akito retorted, “I know that! You don’t have to tell me.” The next moment, a flash of Lightning struck the ground. The ground was gouged out, and a massive amount of earth soared high into the sky.
Akito and Albert escaped into the air, while Rui circled widely to evade the attack. One hit would mean instant death. Rui, running, held his Katana low and unleashed a fiery slash into the air. The scattered flames transformed into three Birds and attacked the 【Yellow King】. Akito and Albert also launched attacks one after another. All of their magic struck the Golden Giant, hitting its head, chest, and shoulders, and exploding. With such a large target, they couldn’t miss.
But when the smoke cleared, the Giant reappeared unscathed. So, these attacks were still ineffective. Even so, Rui and the others didn’t flinch and tried attacking again and again. They unleashed dozens of spells, but they had no effect whatsoever. Rui wondered if he could launch a direct attack and tried to approach the 【Yellow King】’s feet. But the closer he got, the more plasma crackled and wrapped around his body. If he went any further, his body would be charred black.
Rui reluctantly distanced himself from the 【Yellow King】. Ignoring Rui, the Giant spread its legs shoulder-width apart and put all its strength into its body. An incredible number of Lightning bolts scattered around it. The 【Yellow King】’s Lightning Strike tore apart the earth, tore apart the air, and destroyed everything. Each Lightning bolt took on the form of a Dragon and spread out around them.
This was the 【Yellow King】’s wide-range attack. The three desperately tried to evade the attacks. A mere graze would mean instant death. Albert, Akito, and Rui had no time to counterattack. Escape was their only option. It was the only way to survive. The “Lightning Storm” that had lasted for about three minutes gradually subsided, and in the end, only a ‘Wasteland’ with swirling dust remained.
“Haa… haa… that’s one nasty guy. This one is…”
Akito, in the air on Gae Bolg, was sweating on his forehead and breathing heavily. Aerial movement required precise Magical Power manipulation, which drained both his mind and body. Rui had also used the power of the 【Dark Knight】 many times to evade the Lightning Strikes. The “Godspeed” ability was already a heavy burden on his body. He had pushed himself too hard to avoid the attacks, and Rui’s legs were reaching their limit.
“Damn, at this rate…”
Rui put strength into his legs and held his Katana at eye level. He couldn’t afford to be exhausted yet. No matter the attack, it was meaningless if it didn’t hit. If he kept evading, he might find a way out. Just as he was thinking that, a change occurred in the Golden Giant. The Giant’s entire body began to shine, enveloped in light. Rui and the others squinted at the intense brightness. When the light subsided in a few seconds, what stood there was a shining ‘Deer’.
“Could it be… it changed form because its attacks weren’t hitting? If so, then it really does have high intelligence.”
Rui gritted his teeth and glared at the “Golden Deer”. From the sky, Akito’s voice came down, “Be careful!” Of course, he had no intention of letting his guard down. Rui raised his flaming Katana. Long-range magic attacks were the only way to buy time. Just as Rui was about to swing his Katana, he noticed an anomaly in the sky. Dark clouds hung over the sky, which had been clear until just now, and rumbled ominously.
He took a step back with a bad feeling. At that moment, Black Lightning struck nearby.
“This is—”Black Lightning”!!”
Second Stratum Magic of Lightning. If he got hit, he wouldn’t get away unscathed. But the Black Lightning wasn’t just one bolt. Hundreds of “Black Lightning” bolts rained down from above. Somehow managing to barely evade them, Rui looked up at the sky. Akito and Albert also seemed to be desperately evading. But there was no sign of the Lightning Strikes stopping.
The Golden Deer raised a cry towards the sky. In the form of a Deer, it unleashed even faster and more accurate attacks. Rui evaded the Lightning Strikes and bit his lip at the desperate situation he was in.