Episode 21: Crushed to Death
◇◇◇◇
Barbat felt a black, viscous air, as if gravity itself were bearing down on him. It resembled the Stella-Class killing intent that stung the skin on the battlefield, but it was even heavier.
“Brace yourself, Barbat.”
The Brat (Shithead) before him rose like a specter and spoke to him. The elusive, cloud-like impression he had felt earlier was now gone. Something had clearly changed—the quality of his Magical Power? The drastic change made him want to confirm it.
“Ha! What’s wrong? Did being told I’d defile your sister upset you that much? You were so scared you couldn’t even control your Magical Power, and now you think you can order me around!”
“I have no intention of wasting time talking to you anymore. If you don’t brace yourself, I’ll splatter your brains like a tomato and be done with it.”
It was no illusion. Among the Stella-Class he had encountered on the battlefield, the Brat (boy) resembled a noble who was unwavering and exceptionally specialized in combat. But so what? It wasn’t unheard of for a noble to suddenly awaken to their battle instincts in response to a life-threatening situation. There was no way the Brat (boy) could turn things around by struggling now.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Brat (Shithead)! Don’t get cocky! It’s your head that’s going to fly!”
“Here I come.”
The Brat (boy) disappeared from his low stance in an instant. Debris rose and clods of earth danced, as if he had kicked off the ground with tremendous force.
“Tch! So fast!”
The Brat (boy) had closed the distance to him in almost a single stride. The Brat (boy) was already brandishing a Star Tool that looked like a staff. Their cold, golden eyes met, and Barbat felt a cold sweat run down his back.
(This attack is dangerous!)
If he couldn’t deflect it, it held enough power to certainly kill him. His years of combat experience told him so. Almost purely on reflex, he positioned his sword to intercept the staff’s trajectory, bracing himself for the impact.
The Brat (boy) let out a short “huh” and swung the staff down emotionlessly. He had a vision of a giant star falling.
(What the hell is this…!)
The next moment, the Star Tools clashed with a dull roar. Magical Power collided, creating an eerie screeching sound. He held his sword with both hands, desperately enduring the impact that blocked the Star Tool.
“Guooooh! So heavy!”
His Stella-Class body cried out in agony from the sheer weight. If he lost focus even for a moment, he would be crushed and become a stain on the ground.
(This is bad! I’m going to be crushed!)
He couldn’t withstand the force head-on like this. He chose to deflect the attack and evade.
“Raahhhhh!”
With a shout, he tilted his sword to the left, deflecting the Brat (boy)’s strike. The Brat (boy)’s and his Star Tools dug into the ground. A moment later, a massive crater formed in the ground, and a powerful shockwave spread outwards.
(I need to create some distance, quick!)
Taking advantage of the moment when the Star Tool was stuck in the ground, he kicked off and retreated. Suddenly, he realized that his body’s center of gravity was off, and he collapsed to the ground. He felt the abnormality at the end of his left arm.
(What is this?)
His left arm, from the elbow down, had been sliced off and turned into mincemeat.
“Aaaah! It hurts! Fugg, ugh… huff.”
He couldn’t help but scream from the sudden surge of pain. He thought he had dodged it, but he had taken a hit to his left arm.
“What the hell is this! What’s going on!”
Clearly, the power was abnormal, and he was augmenting it with Magical Power. Stella-Class individuals had their raw strength increased in proportion to the Magical Power they possessed. He prided himself on having more Magical Power than most Stella-Class individuals, so he was confident that he could usually win a fistfight against a typical Stella-Class opponent. But this Brat (boy) was different, with a power clearly on another level from his own.
“I thought I put a lot of power into that, but you’re surprisingly tough, Barbat.”
The Brat (boy) approached, holding a Star Tool that was twice his height horizontally. It was becoming difficult to think of the Brat (boy) as just a noble’s child.
“Who the hell are you!”
“I told you my name earlier. Remember it.”
“That’s not what I mean! What’s the trick behind your power just now!”
The Brat (boy) looked at him with eyes that were devoid of emotion, as if he were not a child. There had to be something, or rather, there had to be. He couldn’t believe that the Brat (boy) had overwhelmingly more Magical Power than him.
“There’s no trick. I’m just brute-forcing it with power.”
“Don’t lie! I know you’re the marquis’s eldest son! There’s no way a mere guardian could have more Magical Power than me!”
He cast Healing Magic on his severed arm. With a gurgling sound, his arm regenerated as if time were being reversed.
(Close combat is no good. I have to overwhelm him with magic.)
He refined his Magical Power, pouring maximum firepower into the Brat (boy). It wasn’t like the sweeping attacks he had used earlier. He refined a thoroughly dense “Wind Blade.” With this, he could turn even a Stella-Class into mincemeat.
“A magic battle, huh? Fine by me.”
The Brat (boy)’s composure gave him an ominous feeling. He was challenging him to a magic battle on the premise that the Brat (boy) was running out of Magical Power. Otherwise, it would end with him being blocked by a Magical Barrier.
(No, that’s impossible. There’s no way he has that much Magical Power left!)
“Die, Brat (Shithead)!”
He unleashed the maximum-level “Wind Blade” that he had refined with both hands. The Brat (boy) didn’t make any defensive movements. From the way he was thrusting his right hand forward, it seemed he was going to meet the magic head-on.
“Fool! Your pathetic magic can’t break thr—”
“Meteor Ray.”
What was released from the Brat (boy)’s right hand was a beam of Magical Power so thick that he had never seen anything like it. His “Wind Blade” was instantly extinguished, and death was approaching before his eyes.