Chapter 177: A Dagger in That Hand 1
*
The moment the Fountain exploded with a black flash.
Erica Longdagger was, understandably, dumbfounded.
Shin had fallen into the hole that opened in the ground.
If that could happen, then the reverse must also be possible.
Just as she thought that, this happened.
She had expected something to come from below, but she never imagined the Fountain itself would be blown away.
She realized she had wasted precious few moments only when Shin’s master, “Kind Barbara,” began to move.
Erica saw her activating some kind of magic in her hand.
Barrier Magic?
What can she do with Barrier Magic small enough to fit in her palm?
The next instant, Erica was stunned once again.
Barbara had crushed the spherical Barrier she created in her palm.
Is such a thing possible? Erica was genuinely impressed and couldn’t help but nod back at Barbara’s gaze, which seemed to say, “Watch this, okay?”
In the precious few moments Erica had lost, a massive amount of debris, potentially fatal, hung in the air.
Watching Barbara throw the crushed Barrier towards it, Erica thought.
I’ll try copying that next time.
A miniature Solntsaari Secret Technique—that was Erica’s assessment.
“Ahh, that felt a little refreshing.”
Erica ignored Barbara’s dangerous words.
The power unleashed was far too great to be dismissed with a mere “little.”
The vast amount of debris was almost completely pulverized, yet despite the explosion, the fragments didn’t scatter.
What an incredibly convenient spell.
Erica’s admiration, however, dissipated in the next moment.
Even with the distorted sense of time caused by Physical Enhancement, she didn’t miss it.
A large volume of water surged upwards, and from within it, Shin burst out.
The moment she saw him, she nearly fainted from the overwhelming euphoria.
The worry she had kept suppressed, frankly speaking, robbed Erica of her sanity.
Because the force she’d used to hold it back was so strong, the restraints blew off with tremendous force.
If Shin can fall from the sky, then he can also burst out from the ground.
It’s fine. Knowing him, this is within the realm of expectation.
But the elation surging within her own heart was unexpected.
“You die here! I’ll kill you!”
Seeing Shin shouting in mid-air—.
Erica Longdagger accepted his killing intent quite readily.
It even seemed almost gentle.
*
Throwing Daryl had slightly messed up my aim.
Using the speed gained from kicking off the water, I slashed directly at him.
“Try acting a little more human, will you!?”
Being told that by the least human-like guy here.
And being human, after my Sword was blocked mid-air, I was pulled down by gravity.
The man looked down on me as I was drawn towards the ground.
Just you wait, I’ll be right back up.
As I glared at the man while falling—.
“Your head is held a little too high, isn’t it?”
Flames suddenly caressed me.
Exactly, that’s absolutely right. I affirmed it reflexively, without a second thought.
“Erica?”
Hearing Erica’s unexpected voice, a stupid question escaped my lips.
Eh? Where?
My heart pounded, and I instinctively looked away from the enemy before me, searching for her.
She must be using Wind Magic to obscure the source of her voice; I could hear it, but couldn’t see her.
Where is she? It seemed I wasn’t the only one wondering; the man also looked around, bewildered.
I found her first.
Naturally. There was no way I’d lose.
The Golden Magicka traced a trajectory brimming with killing intent.
“Grovel on the ground.”
Should I describe it as stomping on something released mid-air?
Erica, accelerating from above with Wind Magic, “stomped” on the man’s face at the exact moment he spotted her and smirked.
The man’s body crashed into the ground, spinning like a drill.
Yes! Serves you right!
Splat! On the ground. That must hurt, right? It must! Getting splatted like that.
Just as I thought that, Erica grabbed my hand.
“Lowering you down, okay?”
Huh?
Before I could even reply, Erica flung me.
*
I landed on my back on the Cobblestone, placing both hands beside my head to act as springs before the back of my head could hit the ground.
I sensed jumping backward would lead to disaster, so I bounced upwards as much as possible.
The bones in my right hand, which held my Sword, were broken, but ignoring the pain, I curled my body, killing the momentum by converting it into rotation.
Thrown by Erica, I managed a landing like a street performer.
Glancing fearfully behind me, I saw my master standing there with her arms outstretched, a disappointed look on her face.
That would have been a disaster!
Before I could break into a cold sweat, Erica landed beside me, having flown at nearly the same speed.
“It seems humans can fly if they just try it.”
The moment our eyes met, she said something completely absurd.
Can’t you just fly freely by pushing your body with Wind Magic? That idea is colored by the corpses of countless fools who proved it impossible.
Incidentally, the number of fools continues to pile up every year.
As expected of someone who makes the impossible possible just by shouting her name; nothing is impossible for her.
“As someone who can’t fly, I would have preferred if you’d just taken my hand and lowered me down, you know?”
I put in a request for the future.
Being carried like a princess like that one time wouldn’t be bad, but it’s embarrassing in public, so let’s stick with holding hands.
Erica’s gaze flickered to my hand for an instant before looking away.
“Holding hands in public is, well, rather improper, I believe.”
“Well, can’t be helped then.”
Too bad. So it’s a choice between being carried like a princess or being thrown.
Ah well, not bad. I readied my Sword.
“Also, I think you’ve noticed, but that thing is still alive.”
“Indeed.”
“And that thing is your enemy. Sorry for letting him stand before you, Erica.”
“I don’t dislike a flashy escort, you know.”
Erica brushed off my apology with humor.
She’s kind as always. I love her.
Which means.
Erica turned around.
“That one belongs to me, so could I ask you to refrain, Barbara-sama?”
The presence of swelling Magicka sent a chill down my spine.
Startled, I looked back.
“Isn’t that unfair, My Bride?”
My master’s dissatisfied face made me blurt out.
“Consider it a wedding gift from my master!”
“Apologize to My Bride, you idiot disciple.”
My master looked at me as if I were utterly senseless.
She even sighed!
“Fine. I’ll yield since My Bride is making such a ‘good woman’ face.”
“Apologize to Erica, you idiot master. Erica is always a good woman.”
When I corrected my master’s mistake, Erica hiccuped.
Is she cold from being wet?
While I was correcting my master, I checked with Elza.
I ignored my master muttering “Like a virgin would know…” under her breath. Dammit, that ‘virgin’ comment still stings.
“Elza, how’s the ground looking?”
I called out to Elza, who was crouching beside my master, her hands pressed to the ground in silence.
“Reinforcing with Iron Stakes. Still reinforcing. The ground below is pretty unstable. Elza would be happy if you called the repair people soon.”
I see, not much time then.
“Shara, Luu, work with the adventurers to protect any residents who haven’t escaped yet. Master, please protect Elza so she can concentrate.”
Elza made a face like ‘Ugh…’, my master looked resigned, and Shara said, “Let’s get away before things get any sweeter,” pulling Luu’s hand and running towards the residents.
Ignoring Luu’s bewildered “How could it possibly get any sweeter than this!?”, I looked at Erica.
Her face was remarkably eloquent.
That expression, which could almost be seen as a smile, was incredibly belligerent.
“My Lady? Would you care to dance with me?”
“With pleasure.”
The Sword Erica drew sang with a clear sound like a musical instrument being played.
Its tip pointed towards the man slowly, unsteadily getting to his feet.