Chapter 176: The Horse and Deer Rise Again 5
The first move was taken by Baldo Barrel.
The spear thrust Baldo Barrel unleashed seemed like it would graze the man’s shoulder on a trajectory to catch his head, but…
The man dodged the spear with inhuman movements.
Anticipating a counterattack, Baldo Barrel quickly pulled his spear back.
Into that opening, Daryl let out a war cry and swung his sword straight down from an overhead stance, quite straightforwardly.
I ended up seeing it about ten steps behind.
Since I was completely late to the party, I decided to hang back a bit and observe rather than rush in recklessly.
Being late was frustrating enough to make me grind my teeth, but I praised my calm self.
See, thanks to that, I could catch the idiot.
Daryl, who had attacked so straightforwardly from overhead, had his arm grabbed and was thrown.
That’s what you get for attacking so straightforwardly from overhead, you idiot.
Thinking that, I caught Daryl with one hand as he flew straight towards me.
Converting the momentum he came flying with into rotation, I pivoted half a turn on my right leg.
I threw Daryl right back at the man.
“What the—!”
Daryl went flying while shouting. Why are you always so amusing?
The man dodged Daryl quite easily.
But it was enough.
Baldo Barrel unleashed a thrust towards the man’s torso.
He’s using Explosion Magic at the butt of his spear to gain speed and power.
Before thinking, ‘How skillful,’ I couldn’t help but think, ‘Wouldn’t it be better to just attack directly with that Explosion Magic?’
But the power was sufficient.
The man’s right flank was largely blown away.
Through the hole in his blown-off flank, I could see Daryl rolling, scattering the Flowers on the water’s surface.
I saw this from in front of the man, knees bent, in a thrusting stance.
The man’s expressionless face turned towards me.
His right arm raised to intercept.
Oh? What’s wrong? Your upper body is swaying, isn’t it?
Is it hard to keep your balance with your flank completely gone?
I get it. I’ve experienced it too.
“Die!”
As I shouted “Die!”, a question suddenly occurred to me.
Will this guy actually die?
Azure Flame erupted from my sword.
I realized my thoughts were lagging considerably behind my killing intent.
Ah, well.
Die.
I aimed a thrust at the man’s face—no, I unleashed it towards the mass of Black Magicka floating behind him.
“You could see it!? Longdagger!”
The man, who dodged my thrust by leaning back, let a tone of panic enter his voice for the first time.
Also, stop using ‘Longdagger’ like it’s some kind of ‘Ugh’ or ‘No way’.
The mass of Magicka moved away as if fleeing the thrust.
“Don’t run!”
“Beautiful girls are meant to run away!”
Perhaps out of relief from escaping my range, the man cracked a joke.
Careless.
As I pursued the mass of Magicka, the man’s right hand grabbed my airborne leg.
Ignoring the sensation, I unleashed a second thrust mid-air.
Not having used the trump card of ‘cutting before the sword’ to conserve Magicka paid off.
To my eyes, it looked like a faint blue Magicka Thread.
According to Erica, it’s a Supreme Skill achievable
I stopped in my tracks because I saw a Magicka Mass in the man’s hand.
The Magicka Mass was so dense it looked like I could touch it, reminding me of the Solntsaari Secret Technique.
At this close range, could I even do anything about that?
My thoughts spun round and round, freezing my feet.
“Well then, farewell, Longdagger.”
Reflexively, I ignored the danger of stumbling.
The timing of the Azure Flame erupting from my body unexpectedly coincided with the black flame erupting from the man’s.
Whatever comes, I’ll cut it down.
It’s about resolve. With resolve and Guts, eighty percent of things can be handled.
And if I shout Erica’s name, I can handle the remaining twenty percent.
In other words, one hundred percent.
Alright, bring it on!
Just as I steeled my resolve, my mouth forming an “E” shape, something unexpected happened.
The man’s Sword pointed towards the ceiling.
…Huh?
An intense flash, black yet searing to the eyes, erupted.
A ridiculous amount of Magicka slammed into the ceiling.
A deafening roar, a violent wind, and a blinding flash.
Towards the man flying towards the ceiling, I thought, Aren’t you the one who’s completely nuts?
Just as I was about to shout that, Daryl came flying from behind and crashed into me, making me bite my tongue.
＊
There’s a children’s toy called an Imo-pon.
The principle is simple. All you need is a tube and a stick of suitable thickness.
Then, you take potatoes that can’t be eaten for whatever reason, cut them to a suitable thickness, use them to plug both ends of the tube, and then push the inner potato piece with the stick.
And then you enjoy watching the potato pop out, pushed by the air.
It’s the kind of toy where you get carried away, start using edible potatoes as ammo, and end up getting scolded by your mother – that’s the whole package.
Children in Faltar learn from this toy that air can push things, and that wasting food gets you scolded by your mother.
And right now, I’m learning how that potato feels.
＊
What the man did was ridiculously simple.
He blasted open the ceiling, striking it with Magicka just as he had struck at me.
Magicka itself exerting a physical effect isn’t exactly a rare phenomenon.
If you hit a Barrier with something like Explosion Magic, it generates a Magicka Wave strong enough to make your eardrums ache, and the Magicka Wave emitted by Rainivati’s Fifth has enough pressure that you can feel it if it touches your body.
But doing that with just the human body is extremely difficult.
I say that, despite being someone who cuts things with Magicka myself.
Normally, it’s not something one can do.
Even the Magic Tool created by the genius Rainivati to fulfill a seemingly insane desire only produces something akin to being blown by the wind.
Magicka that hasn’t manifested as the phenomenon called magic.
It’s something that normally shouldn’t be able to interfere with anything.
Yet that man, although I don’t know how far it is to the surface…
…blasted through it using Magicka.
Simple, yet utterly absurd.
“Daryl! Don’t pass out!”
I yelled, tucking Daryl, who had crashed into me from behind, under my arm.
Along with a large amount of water, we were sucked into the hole the man had opened in the dome.
It’s a simple phenomenon.
If air can push, it can also pull.
If air can push the potato out, it can also pull the potato in.
In other words, the potato is me, Daryl, Baldo Barrel, and this massive amount of water.
I want to praise myself for unhesitatingly jumping into the hole to chase the man.
And I want to applaud Baldo Barrel for following without hesitation.
I’m convinced you must share the same bloodline as Houran.
Baldo Barrel is underwater yelling something, glub glub, but it’s definitely either “Guts!” or “Guts!”. Those are the only two options.
No, wait, just one option.
While being tossed about by the torrent of water, I kicked off the side of the hole to propel myself upward.
What’s this “Farewell, Longdagger” crap?
Don’t think you can get away after telling me you’re Erica’s enemy.
I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and kill you.
I’ll definitely kill you. Even if I catch you halfway, I’ll kill you.
I’ll absolutely kill you!
Suddenly, my vision brightened.
The sides of the hole disappeared, and instead, I kicked off the water with all my might. It felt like I’d seen the sun for the first time in a while.
Sucking air into my lungs, I yelled, “Take care of this idiot (Daryl)!” and tossed him towards Baldo Barrel.
I shouted.
“You die right here! I’ll kill you!”
Author’s Note
Thank you always for your comments, likes, and ratings.
Starting next week, I’ll be busy with work for about two weeks.
This chapter is just reaching its climax, but updates will stop for about two weeks.
I’m truly sorry, especially since we’re finally moving from the manly-man stuff to the heroine’s appearance.
The author is also eager for the sweetness, the Margrave, and Shara’s screams.