by Aneko Yusagi
“Shigaraki, I’m going to use my shields to restrain the opponent. Once I do, you attack along with Humming. Got it?”
“Un . . . understood.”
Thanks to the healing magic, Raphtalia was still able to fight. We had to make it through this or it was all for nothing. There was no other choice. I walked toward Nadia slowly.
“Oh? You’re changing your formation, I see. Is it finally time for you to make an appearance, little Rock?”
“I guess so. They say you’re supposed to save the main performance for last, but I’m going to make an exception and personally put on a show just for you.”
Up until now, Filo and Raphtalia had finished off all our opponents before I ever had to do anything, but that wasn’t going to work here, so I had no choice but to join the fight.
“In that case, I’ve got my magic ready to go, so . . . How about I give you a little performance, too?”
“Here I come!”
I took off running with Filo still on my shoulders. My stats had been reduced by the curse, but I was still pretty quick. It felt like the rest of the world was moving in slow motion as I sprinted toward Nadia. Nadia was considerably quick, too, as she pointed her harpoon at me and cast her spell. I had no idea just how powerful her magic could be, but I’d show her I could withstand anything she could dish out!
“You better not be thinking about taking this straight on, darling. You won’t survive!”
“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Thunder and lightning! Eradicate those before me!”
“Drifa Thunder Burst!”
As I ran toward Nadia, she cast her magic and . . . an ultra-thick bolt of lightning came hurling right at me. The roar of the thunder and the flash of the lightning were so intense that I thought I might end up deaf and blind—that’s how highly condensed the magical power of her attack was.
There was a ceremonial magic spell called Judgement that brought lightning down from the sky. It was the same one that the high priest of the Church of the Three Heroes used on me in his surprise attack. All by herself, Nadia had just hurled a magical attack at me that was pretty much on the same level as Judgement. This monster of a woman blew my mind. She was so powerful it made me want to lecture her about not showing up to help when we were out fighting enemies like the Spirit Tortoise.
I hugged Filo close and protected her with my shield and cape as I kept running. The magic that Nadia had cast smashed into me with a loud crackle. Speed was everything when it came to lightning. Only an instant after I first laid my eyes on it, it was right there in front of my face. It was a formidable attack, and “burnt black” wouldn’t even begin to describe the damage it would have done to anyone other than me.
“Eat this! Our true joint attack!”
I could feel myself being electrocuted by the bolt of lightning, which I deflected with my shield, before hurling Filo with all my might.
“Un . . . unbelievableeeeee! Rock Valley just took Nadia’s finishing move head-on and launched a counterattack of his ownnnnnnn!”
The announcer was practically screaming at the top of his lungs, and the spectators erupted into cheers. Who cares about that! Right now, I needed to focus on defeating the enemy in front of me.
“Take thiiiiiissss!”
Filo channeled all the magic power she had stored and launched her haikuikku-Spiral Twist combo straight at Nadia.
“Oh my! Impressive! That was my finishing move, too, you know?”
Nadia shouted excitedly when she saw Filo flying at her at a speed even faster than her own lightning had been. I couldn’t tell if she was flustered or just happy. Surely there was no way she could outmaneuver Filo’s attack, right?
“From what I saw in your other matches, she can maintain that increased speed in her movements for three seconds. That means she’ll deliver a powerful attack during that time, right?”
“Yah!”
“In that case . . .”
She’d predicted that I would counterattack by throwing Filo? No, that wasn’t it. She must have realized that we would use the time she was casting her magic as our chance to launch an attack. Nadia hugged her harpoon close and began casting another spell. Yeah . . . She was practically announcing that she was going to reuse the thunderclouds that had appeared when she made her previous attack.
Her incantation was fast—too fast! I’d never seen anyone use magic like that!
“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Lightning! Become the force that protects and supports me!”
“Drifa Lightning Speed!”
Magic . . . Such a profound art. There was a thunderous roar, and lightning rained down onto Nadia herself, but the lightning enveloped and electrified her body as if it were some kind of support magic. Rather than facing Filo’s charge head-on, Nadia made a large, yet swift, evasive maneuver.
This was bad. I was guessing Filo’s attack would continue on in a straight line. She could probably alter the path slightly, but haikuikku would wear off before she actually managed to connect with Nadia. It wasn’t likely that Spiral Strike on its own would be enough for a decisive blow.
“Kyaahhhh!!”
Filo made some kind of noise that sounded like a shriek as she hurled toward Nadia. Crackling charges of lightning were jumping from the electrified Nadia to Filo, just like static electricity. Ouch . . . Filo was spinning around in what was basically a special, lethal move, but even so, I’m sure getting electrocuted would still be painful.
“Here I goooo!”
Filo still hadn’t given up. In that case, there was only one thing for me to do.
“Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield!”
I made sure Nadia couldn’t dodge, by placing my shields behind her, at her feet, and beside her, leaving her with no escape. The shields would protect Filo from being electrocuted, while also restricting Nadia’s movement, to make sure Filo’s attack landed.
“Oh! That’s an interesting little trick you have there, isn’t it? You surprised little ol’ me!”
“I have a few of those up my sleeve.”
The only way she could go was to her other side or up. If possible, I wanted to keep her from moving sideways to help make sure Filo’s attack connected. As if to grant me my wish, Nadia crouched ever so slightly in preparation to jump to the side.
“Not happening! Shield Prison!”
I added my finishing touch by placing my Shield Prison to her side and sealing off her escape route! How did she like that! That was my shield interference combo that had cornered even L’Arc! My job may have been to protect, but I could still pull a trick like this off, too!
All that was left was for Filo’s Spiral Strike to connect, and then Raphtalia could attack.
“Oh my! You sure are impressive! But . . .”
Nadia thrust her harpoon into the ground hard and used it to swiftly propel herself up into a back flip over the shield that I had produced behind her.
“Waaahhhh!”
Filo charged smack dab into my shield, and along with a loud crunching sound, all of her speed and power vanished into thin air. Damn! But I still had Chain Shield!
“Cha—”
Before I could finish calling out the skill name, it felt almost like the air suddenly began to cling to us. It felt like air resistance . . . Just trying to move my arm felt cumbersome. What was happening?
As the question crossed my mind, I looked around and saw bubbles coming up out of the arena floor, as if we were at the bottom of the ocean or something. I could still breathe, so just what was this?!
“Oh? I guess our exchanges were too fast for their liking. It looks like they’ve used magic to alter the playing field and slow things down.”
What?! Hindering us at a time like this?! This coliseum allowed spectators to provide support by making a monetary offering. I guess this was just an extension of that.
“The thing is . . . Th
is is cooperative magic known as The Great Deep, and it artificially creates an underwater environment, which just happens to be where I fight best! I guess I really can’t lose this one now, can I?”
“No way . . .”
Raphtalia had leapt in front of me, with her katana readied to strike in a follow-up attack, but she blurted out in surprise.
“Damn it! Chain—”
“Too bad! You’re one step too late.”
The situation felt like some kind of farce comedy, as Nadia used my shields to shield herself, while thrusting Filo away with her harpoon. She then used it to hold Raphtalia off after parrying her strike.
Just how many fights had this woman been in?! I’d played my shield skill trump card to block her escape route, and she still dealt with the situation in a flash. Interference from the audience and our stats might have had something to do with it, too. But I had a feeling she was probably our most formidable opponent yet, when it came to pure skill.
“Ughhh . . . That was ouchieeee . . . But!”
Filo had smashed into my shield. Not to mention, she’d also been electrocuted by the lighting surrounding Nadia. But she pulled herself together and went to attack again. She was starting to look pretty beat-up.
“We’re not done! Chain Shield!”
I wasn’t going to just stand back and watch. But damn, I guess it was because of the artificial underwater environment. Nadia’s lightning was fanning out over a wide area now. It would have been one thing if we could nullify it, but apparently that wasn’t possible. So Nadia was hitting all of us with her attacks—with that formidable lightning! It was no problem for me, but that wasn’t the case for Raphtalia and Filo. Still, if I could just subdue this woman then Raphtalia and Filo could attack unilaterally!
“Got you!”
Chains now linked my shields, which then closed in on Nadia. I used the shields to bind her body tightly, restraining her movement.
“Oh, little Rock! You naughty boy, you!”
“Oh, shut it!”
Despite being restrained, Nadia pointed a hand at Filo and quickly cast a spell.
“Zweite Thunder Bolt!”
“Again, not happening! E Float Shield! Change Shield!”
Her attacks were still fanning out and proving to be a real pain in the ass, but I had to do what I could. I cast E Float Shield and willed it to move to where it could protect Filo. Then I used Change Shield to change it to Iron Shield, since that was a metallic shield that seemed like it would be conductive and thus absorb electrical-type attacks.
“Oh my!”
Nadia’s thunder bolt smashed into the shield, electrifying the shield but nothing else.
“Don’t forget about me!”
Raphtalia had backed off so that I could trap Nadia with Chain Shield, and now she lunged forward with her katana held high over her head.
“You’re lively as usual, aren’t you? But you’re still full of openings!”
“Huh? Ahh!”
Paying no attention to the restraints I had placed on her, Nadia grabbed her harpoon with her free arm and used it to trip Raphtalia. Raphtalia attempted to regain her balance, but Nadia used that momentum against her as well and gave Raphtalia a light shove. It knocked her onto her bottom right in front of my eyes. Damn it. This underwater stage was nothing but trouble for us.
“I guess that means you’re next, little Rock.”
Even worse, the Chain Shield time limit had been reached and the effect wore off. It was just me versus Nadia now.
“Give it your best shot!”
I may have been cursed, but my defense rating was still the same as usual. There was hardly any magical attack that would leave me with more than a scratch.
“Drifa Thunder Guard!”
Nadia called the crackling lightning down onto herself. It seemed to be counteroffensive magic that would protect the user. That would work well in a situation like this, but it would take a lot more than that to hurt me.
“Oh? Did you come prepared to deal with my attacks, then?”
“You could say that.”
It’s not like I’d devised a special countermeasure. I was just confident that I could withstand her attacks with my defense rating.
“By the way, little Rock, are you not going to raise a hand against me?”
Nadia seemed to be suspicious of the fact that I was fighting against her barehanded. Sorry, but I couldn’t use a weapon even if I wanted to.
I wasn’t sure if it was more support for Nadia, but I felt magic flowing around the arena. We had been artificially placed underwater, and now thunderclouds began to appear overhead. Seeing clouds, while underwater, was the kind of peculiar sight that you could only experience in another world.
Just how much support were they going to give Nadia?!
“Ughhh . . . I can feel the sparklieeesssss . . .”
Even worse, the electrical output of Nadia’s Thunder Guard was so high that Raphtalia and Filo couldn’t even attempt to attack. Even if I used Change Shield to switch my Float Shield to a shield that would give the electricity somewhere to go again, there was just so much lightning surrounding us that it wouldn’t even matter!
“Ugh . . . Even for little ol’ me, this is a bit . . . much . . .”
I looked over at Nadia. She was still smiling, but I could see a sense of urgency in her expression. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was taking damage from her own lightning or if Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks had taken their toll.
“You’re not making this easy, you know.”
Nadia stabbed at my back forcefully with her harpoon, but it simply made a loud thud and showed no sign of penetrating. The fact that she couldn’t use defense rating attacks, like the old Hengen Muso lady, was my only consolation. Otherwise, even I would have been in some serious trouble.
“Here I go!”
“Me toooo!”
It wasn’t like Raphtalia and Filo had just been hanging out doing nothing, while staring at the wall of lightning—they had been preparing to use skills. They couldn’t really get close, so they would need to use either a ranged magical attack or a skill.
“Wind Blade! Vacuum!”
Raphtalia took a quick-draw stance before unsheathing her katana and hurling a blade of wind at Nadia.
“Drifa Wind Shot!”
Filo seemed to have fired off a highly condensed ball of wind. They were up against a dense wall of lightning, after all. It was obvious they had put some thought into choosing their attacks. Raphtalia’s skill made a loud cracking sound as it smashed through the wall, and Filo’s magic followed right behind.
“Yeah! Nice work! Attack Support!”
A dart appeared in my left hand and I stabbed Nadia with it. The stabbing itself had basically no effect, but the effect of the Attack Support skill would increase the damage of the following attack twofold. Would she be able to withstand that?
“Oh?”
Nadia raised her harpoon high overhead as if to strike down the oncoming attack, but apparently casting two spells at once was too much even for her. Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks were nothing to make light of, either.
“I guess I have no choice, do I?”
Nadia took her harpoon and . . . broke it in half?! When she did, the power inside of it . . . some kind of magical power came flooding out. I felt an explosion of magic power originating from the harpoon.
I’d seen something like this in a game. There was an attack that had been some kind of finishing move and could only be used once because it required you to sacrifice your weapon. The trade-off for the power was that your weapon would be destroyed, and you could never use it again. To think a weapon like that existed in this world!
“That could be dangerous if you let it hit you in the wrong spot, just so you know.”
Nadia threw the broken harpoon at Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks, and it smashed right into them. In the same instant, a blinding light flashed and the harpoon exploded.
&nbs
p; “Kyaaaahhh!”
“Ahhh!”
Raphtalia and Filo were thrown backward by the force of the explosion. A protective membrane that must have been some form of support magic appeared around Nadia, and the explosion blew right by her like a strong breeze. I was standing by her side, and it was the same for me.
This support from outside the match was a real pain in the ass! Damn them! All of their support had been going straight to Nadia for a while now, too!
“You sure are tough, woman!”
“You think so?”
“We’re not done!”
“Yup! Take thiiis!”
Raphtalia and Filo sprung forward out of the cloud of dust, ready to strike.
“Oh! I like your spunk!”
Nadia use the remaining half of the harpoon—the piece that had been broken off by the lightning magic—to intercept Raphtalia’s katana.
“Argh . . .”
Raphtalia struggled against Nadia’s harpoon while being electrocuted, and Filo used that as her chance to attack. Nadia twisted around in an attempt to dodge the attack, but Filo’s claws dug into her skin.
“Oh my . . . Impressive!”
Nadia’s harpoon had taken on the form of a lightning bolt. But she changed it for just an instant, which was long enough for her to swipe at Filo and send her flying away.
“Kyahhh! Awww . . . I almost had heeerrrr!”
“That leaves one more now, doesn’t it?”
Raphtalia was still struggling with Nadia, who then used the remaining half of the broken harpoon to . . . deliver a swift jab to Raphtalia’s chest. The way she pulled off these ridiculous attacks, so casually, made it seem like it was all some kind of big joke or something.
“Huh? Uhh . . . ?! Ahhhhhh!”
A small explosion sent Raphtalia flying right in front of my eyes, as if she had been hit by a grenade. But Raphtalia broke her fall skillfully and sprung to her feet with her katana held out in front of her.
“I guess expecting to finish you off with that would be overly optimistic, now wouldn’t it? I already used the bigger explosion earlier, unfortunately. Taking that one point-blank might have been dangerous, even for a girl like me.”