Episode 58: The Strike That Landed
The beast roars. Its claws and fangs flash.
In the dim underground, its pitch-black body blends in with the surroundings, making it hard to track its movements. Even so, relying on the prickly sensation on my skin—an ominous presence of evil magic—and my honed instincts, I manage to fend off its attacks.
“Take this!”
Using my entire body, I swing my blade swiftly and sharply, deflecting the claws and fangs.
Without any lag, I seamlessly follow up by pulling the trigger of the gun in my other hand.
This gun is not a product of iron mechanisms but a manifestation of a spirit’s power through magic. It doesn’t always function as it appears. I keep pulling the trigger, firing magical bullets in rapid succession.
The black wolves before me vanish with each shot… but there’s no end to them. I’d love to use a big spell to clear them all out at once, but the risk of a cave-in is too high underground. I can’t use [Sublimation] either—it’s powerful but too draining for a prolonged fight.
Neither of my contracted spirits, [Alvida] or [Arsène], has enough power to eliminate multiple enemies at once in a prolonged battle.
“Freeze and disappear—[Blizzard Flowers]!”
A freezing storm rages, and ice flowers bloom from the blade, annihilating the black wolves in front of me.
“You tried to gain the upper hand by luring us inside, but that was a mistake. Your magic and mine are fundamentally incompatible.”
Noel’s contracted spirit [Undine] excels at wide-area attacks.
The interior provides little room for escape, and that applies to the enemy as well. Noel’s ability hit perfectly.
“Incompatible? Heh… that’s true. If it were just me.”
Morgan smirks confidently.
Immediately, cracks form in the ice Noel created, shattering in an instant. Amidst the swirling ice fragments, vicious ice fangs surge from Morgan’s side. It looks as if ice fangs have burst from within Noel’s ice.
“What…!?”
Click, click, click. From the darkness, a figure emerges with mechanical steps.
Covered in an impersonal helmet, the face is obscured. Judging by the slight frame, one might guess it’s a girl.
“Did she just shatter Noel’s ice head-on…!?”
It’s no wonder Charl is surprised. Even with a favorable elemental match, destroying Noel’s ice directly with similar ice magic requires immense power.
The presence emanating from that ice… there’s no doubt.
“You’ve been sneaking around showing illusions that are bad for children’s education, haven’t you?”
“…”
The girl in the helmet says nothing. No emotions,
no taunts, no malice—just emptiness.
“…Hey, Noel. We should coordinate—”
I try to suggest teaming up to Noel while keeping an eye on the enemy, but he doesn’t respond.
“—”
Noel just stares straight at the helmeted girl. His eyes and face are filled with seething hatred.
“Noel?”
Hatred, resentment—those are the only words to describe him now.
Gritting his teeth, his ragged breaths suggest he’s barely containing himself. If he lets go of that restraint, he might kill the helmeted girl right then and there.
“Why… are you here…!?”
“…”
“Answer me…!”
The girl remains silent, unaffected by Noel’s burning hatred, cold as ice, embodying emptiness.
“Heh. Lucille lent her to me.”
Morgan answers in place of the silent girl.
We all gasp at the name that comes out.
“Lucille?”
“So, it was Lucille who lured us here…?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I just provided the information about this place out of goodwill…
The voice came from behind us. The same voice came down the stairs leading to the basement, and it was unmistakably …… It is Lucille herself.
Yes, I did lend her, my sister to Morgan, but that’s all. Can you please stop blaming me for everything just because you happened to have a bad encounter?””
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, claiming goodwill. Even a demon like you has that?”
“Of course. I’m human, after all.”
Lucille chuckles, as if mocking not just me but humanity itself.
“…You said, sister…?”
Noel asks without turning around, without showing his face.
“That girl in the helmet is working for you ……?”
“I said she’s my [sister], not [pawn]. Show some love and call her [family].”
“…!”
Noel grits his teeth. He seems to be holding something back, something raging inside him.
“Oh, that’s right. You have a connection with my sister, don’t you?”
“…”
“I know all about that incident. It was quite unfortunate…”
Noel doesn’t turn around, so he can’t see Lucille’s expression. Yet, knowing this, Lucille deliberately makes a face of mixed pity and delight.
“You had a wonderful fiancée, didn’t you? She was attacked by [Ragument] with the carriage… When you arrived, you saw the carriage torn to pieces by [Ragument] and burning flames. And amidst that, my sister… You lost your beloved fiancée. How tragic.”
“You…!”
Noel roars. In the same moment, he channels ice power into his sword, aiming it at Lucille—this is bad!
“Stop, you fool!”
I swing my blade upward just in time.
Barely. I manage to divert Noel’s sword upwards, causing the released ice power to cover the ceiling.
“Don’t interfere!”
“Calm down! Do you want to involve Charl and the others too!?”
Noel’s attack would have hit Lucille and also affected Charl and the others.
That demon woman… She provoked him knowing this would happen…!
“Rest assured, prince. Even if you hadn’t made it in time, I would have protected everyone.”
“Don’t spout nonsense…!”
“Everyone still has roles to play… Look, they’re coming from the front.”
“…! Damn!”
I don’t need Lucille to tell me. I aim my gun at the approaching black wolves and pull the trigger. But in the slight distraction, Noel slips away from me. His sword is already brimming with ice power, ready to unleash a wide-area attack in the confined underground space to obliterate Lucille.
Noel, consumed by hatred, couldn’t see anything around him. He was unaware that even Charles and the others near Lucile were getting caught up in his rage. This isn’t good…!
“Arsène!”
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I dismissed the spirit and used its final moments to keep the black wolves at bay.
Taking advantage of the gap created, I dashed towards Noel, summoning Arsène to cloak myself in spirit armor. I readied my swords as I ran.
“Right Sword of Forewarning! Left Sword of Claiming!”
I slashed twice at Noel’s sword, now brimming with icy power, as I passed by.
The cuts were mere grazes, but that was enough.
“Freeze and vanish! Blooming Flower!”
No flowers of ice blossomed from his sword. Instead, the cold blade merely sliced through the air.
Noel, realizing something was off, turned his furious gaze towards me.
“Sorry, but I’m borrowing your magic.”
This ability of the spirit [Arsene].
Arsène’s power allows the Right Sword of Forewarning and the Left Sword of Claiming to steal magic from the target.
Not only enemies, but depending on how it is used, This works on allies too, if needed.
“Third Prince, you…!”
“Don’t get distracted! They’re coming!”
“Damn it…! Such a nuisance…!”
It wasn’t just Lucile. With Alvida gone, the pack of black wolves rushed in, forcing Noel to deal with them. Now was my chance…!
“Lucile!”
I didn’t use the stolen magic. Instead, I charged straight at Lucile, who wore a smug smile. Utilizing Arsène’s full mobility, I went in for the attack—!
“Too bad.”
In an instant, a circular shield of dark magic appeared in front of Lucile.
My blades struck it but couldn’t reach Lucile. This power… It’s true that it protected Charles and the others from Noel’s attacks.
“If it’s just a shield made of magic, not an actual spell, I can’t steal it. Your blades won’t reach me.”
“Oh, really?”
“Is that just wishful thinking?”
Lucile let out an unpleasant chuckle.
Instead of a retort, I chanted,
“Coordinate Exchange.”
In the next moment,
I teleported not to the front where the shield was but behind Lucile, slashing at her unguarded back.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice a remote placement?”
Another dark shield intercepted my blade.
“If you can’t hit from the front, you try the back. How predictable.”
Lucile’s face twisted with a cruel, delighted expression.
I’ll wipe that smirk off her face.
“Transcend!”
With a chant,
immense power surged through me, enhancing my dual blades.
“…!”
Lucile’s smirk vanished, realizing my intent.
“Too slow!”
“Ugh…!”
With the first enhanced strike, I shattered the dark shield and immediately followed with a second blow.
A single slash cut across the demon woman’s body,
and she was sent flying back, crashing into the cold wall of the underground chamber.
“Heh… That was a bit surprising. You can actually do something.”
“Bitter much?”
“Just stating facts. This isn’t even enough to hurt me.”
“…No.”
I gripped my sword tightly, feeling the sure feedback through the hilt. I locked eyes with my opponent.
“It definitely landed.”
“…!?”
As if confirming the truth, blood spurted from Lucile’s right shoulder.
“Gah…!”
A wound marked her right shoulder, and Lucile knelt slightly, clutching it.
The confidence and glee faded from her face, replaced by shock and pain.
“This time is different. My blade can reach you now.”
“I see… Maybe I underestimated you.”
Lucile was bathed in blood during the battle at the royal capital, but that was from my brother Leo’s arm.
This time, it was her own blood.
We weren’t just being toyed with. Even if it wasn’t a decisive blow, we had landed a strike.
“Transcend… That magic ring is more troublesome than I thought.”
(I’d love to press the advantage now, but…)
The situation was precarious.
Though it seemed we had the upper hand, we were barely holding on.
In this confined underground space, anything could turn the tide.
“Damn it…!”
Noel, fending off the black wolves, was pushed back by the armored girl’s strikes and fell to his knees.
He tried to lash out at her with eyes full of rage, but I held him back.
“Noel, we need to retreat!”
“Are you joking? Retreat when she’s right there?!”
There was no time to argue. I forcibly activated the magic stored in the Right Sword of Forewarning and the Left Sword of Claiming, adding the enhancement of Transcend.
“Transcend – Blooming Snow!”
Lucile was sent flying, creating an opening.
Ice flowers erupted from my dual blades, filling the space and enveloping Lucile, Morgan, and the armored girl, obscuring their vision.
The enhanced ice’s power wouldn’t finish them off, but it would buy us time.
“Earth Bind!”
“Third Prince, you…!”
Noel glared at me, but he was too exhausted to break free from even Earth Bind. He had been through too much—fighting the black wolves above ground, using powerful spells underground, and facing both the armored girl and Morgan.
(I’m running out of strength too…)
Transcend is a highly draining spell. Activating it twice in such a short span, plus enhancing Blooming Snow, had nearly depleted my magic reserves.
Retreat was the right choice. If we had continued fighting, we would have been the ones crushed.
“Let’s get out of here!”
With Nenel recovered, we escaped to the surface with Noel before the ice shattered.
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