Chapter 222: The Catastrophe in the Bathhouse
As I activated the Spatial Isolation Barrier, enveloping the area around Rio, it successfully deflected all of the opponent’s wind blades.
“Tch.”
The two intruders, having approached from outside the garden, split to the left and right. This time, compressed fireballs were launched from both sides, hurtling toward me and Rio. They fell slightly under the pull of gravity, but still flew straight for their targets.
“Shuu! I’ll protect Phonia-chan, so go!”
“Got it!”
I deployed the barrier once more and dashed into the garden of the open-air bath. With Rio on defense, no one would be able to breach our defenses. The Spatial Isolation Barrier was notoriously difficult to break.
Elvirinos, who possessed a magic-oriented status, took a backstep to distance himself from the Gravity Field. He fired an Earth Needle as a distraction toward the other assailant, but it veered slightly off course instead of heading straight for Elvirinos.
The fireball that Elvirinos had sent my way, of course, missed its mark. It crashed into the open-air bath, resulting in a massive explosion.
“Hiyaaah!?”
Phonia’s scream echoed through the chaos, but I knew Rio was there to protect her. Occasionally, I felt bursts of magic power emanating from Rio, each time causing the presence of those trapped in the Gravity Field to fade away.
I kicked off the air to change direction toward Elvirinos, drawing my katana to prepare for a horizontal slash. Elvirinos, now showing signs of panic, erected a Force Field—a shield against both physical and magical attacks—but I paid it no mind as I infused my katana with extra magic power and swung.
“Gah!”
With a clean slice as if the barrier had never existed, my katana cleaved through Elvirinos’s right arm and torso, severing them from his body.
“What!?”
The ease with which Elvirinos was dispatched left the other assailant in shock. I hurled my katana, which I had just swung to the right, toward the remaining attacker. Unable to react in time, the blade embedded itself into the assailant’s chest. The force of the impact sent him crashing through the glass partition separating the indoor bath from the open-air bath, plunging him into the water.
With my weapon gone, I quickly retrieved a dagger from the Dimensional Box, drawing it and scanning the area for threats.
“Grrraaaahhh!!”
A deep, rumbling roar of a beast echoed as the assailant facing Nil collided with the outer wall of the open-air bath. Nil’s wind blade struck the opponent, who was now solely focused on defense. Seizing the opportunity, Nil leaped into the air, claws enhanced by magic power at the ready. The assailant was shredded along with the wall, leaving behind a lifeless corpse.
Nil’s strike, now returned to her original size, was undeniably powerful.
“Phew… Are you both okay, Rio, Phonia?”
With the immediate threat neutralized, I called out and walked over to where Rio was guarding Phonia.
“Phonia-chan? …Phonia-chan!”
However, I heard Rio’s anxious voice. I had thought that as long as we were protected by the Spatial Isolation Barrier, no attack could harm us, but something must have happened to Phonia.
“Shuu! Phonia-chan isn’t… responding!”
“What do you mean!?”
In a panic, I cast appraisal on Phonia, and the status revealed “Sleep.”
“…It seems she’s just sleeping.”
“Eh?”
Peering into Phonia’s face, which Rio was cradling against her chest, I saw no signs of distress. Her breathing was steady, rising and falling rhythmically.
“When I appraised her, it showed her status as ‘sleeping.’”
“Really? I can’t believe she’d fall asleep at a time like this…”
As I pondered Phonia’s condition, Nil returned, having shrunk back down. She let out a wide yawn, looking rather drowsy.
“Could it be that there was some sleeping powder in the dinner…?”
“I’m not feeling sleepy at all…”
“Maybe you and I have some sort of resistance?”
That could be true. With our growth-enhancing skills, it wasn’t uncommon for us to acquire new skills unexpectedly. However, since the Danger Detection hadn’t alerted us during dinner, it seemed it wouldn’t warn us unless it was a life-threatening situation. But then again, falling asleep in front of enemies could be fatal… I really didn’t understand what criteria it was using.
From now on, I should appraise everything I eat… including the meals I cook myself. Yes, that sounds like a good plan.
“Well, we can think about it later. For now, let’s get out of the bath.”
“Right… With this mess, we won’t be able to enjoy it for a while.”
I let out a small sigh as I surveyed the utterly destroyed bath.
“Yeah. And it seems… it’s not over yet…”
“Eh? …What do you mean?”
Rio sighed heavily at my ominous statement. The alarm bells in my mind were still ringing. Though they had quieted down compared to before, I still felt a lingering sense of unease.
For now, I stored my weapons back in the Dimensional Box and returned to the changing room with Rio, who was still holding Phonia. Using magic, I dried myself off in an instant and began to get dressed.
…Just then, I sensed two familiar presences approaching the bathhouse. At the entrance, I could feel the presence of several people, likely the inn’s staff.
“A-Are you okay!?”
“We heard a tremendous noise! What happened!?”
The innkeeper, Mesaria-san, and the ever-composed Laila-san rushed in, their expressions filled with concern. Upon seeing the devastation of the indoor and open-air baths from the changing room, they covered their mouths in shock, rendered speechless.