Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 8

by Takehaya

  “The staff is...?!”

  But what attracted Yurika’s attention the most wasn’t Maki, but her staff. It was enveloped in red and indigo light, and its form had greatly changed. It now appeared in the shape of a large sword. The red mana that manipulated physical energy had transformed the staff into a sword, and the indigo mana that controlled mental energy was surrounding it to make it more powerful. It was a potentially deadly combination of spells Maki had picked out personally.

  “Here I come, Yurika!”

  Maki made a quick dash forward. With her entire body enhanced by magic, Maki was far faster than before. She was closing in on Yurika in the blink of an eye.

  “She’s fast!”

  Yurika had had Maki targeted with her staff, but Maki was now so fast that Yurika couldn’t keep up with her, much less keep her aim on her. Despite being slowed by the snow, Maki was too fast even for Yurika’s eyes.

  “I can do this!”

  As Maki closed the distance between her and Yurika, she felt she had a chance of winning. Even though Yurika could combine instant, weak magic with her own normal, powerful magic, she couldn’t cast anything on an opponent she couldn’t target.

  But to think I’d have to use this against Yurika...

  If Yurika could use spells at any time, Maki would just have to attack her using overwhelming speed and power. That was only possible thanks to precast spells she’d prepared beforehand, but she hadn’t actually planned on using them against Yurika. She’d wanted to save this ace up her sleeve for her fight against Koutarou.

  Maki had fixated on the white light Koutarou had summoned around his sword, and this was the way she’d planned to overcome it. Koutarou’s sword had the power to dispel magic, so using overwhelming speed to avoid it was an absolute necessity. And since she knew he had more mana at his disposal, a drawn-out fight would be to her disadvantage. She would move to finish it all in a single hit. That had been Maki’s plan to defeat Koutarou, but it seemed that it was also effective against Yurika. She could defeat Yurika without giving her a chance to cast any spells.

  “Maki-chan?!”

  As she turned her head, Yurika spotted Maki in her peripheral vision.

  “Too slow!”

  However, by that time, Maki was already swinging her sword. The next moment, Yurika ordered her staff to cast the same spell as before, disturbing the snow under Maki’s feet. However, Maki was far faster than before, and she instead kicked off the snow and jumped into the air before she could lose her balance.

  “Haaaaaaaah!”

  “Kyaaah!”

  With no time to cast a spell of her own, Yurika was only able to use the staff in her hands to protect herself.

  Maki’s sword and Yurika’s staff collided. Yurika was barely able to block Maki’s swing. As she held her ground, she ordered her staff to cast another spell.

  “You’re too naive!”

  But in spite of the situation, Maki didn’t relent. She instead prepared for another attack.

  “Oh no!”

  The reason for that was the indigo magic infused in Maki’s sword. It erased several seconds of its target’s memory. Maki watched as the spell passed through her staff and into Yurika.

  “Huh...?”

  The next moment, Yurika lost sight of Maki.

  Amnesia?!

  However, since she had been hit by this same spell before, Yurika wasn’t too shaken up. She recognized its effects and began looking for Maki to counterattack.

  “Hiyaaaaah!”

  Unfortunately, Maki was quicker on the draw. She kicked her leg into Yurika’s side. She was still just disoriented enough from Maki’s memory-erasing spell that Yurika took the blow without being able to cast anything to defend herself.

  Maki had magically enhanced her legs to increase their speed and strength, but she’d also covered them with a spell that exploded on contact. Taking such a powerful kick directly, Yurika was sent flying and crashed into the snow.

  “Urgh...”

  A pained groan escaped Yurika’s lips, but luckily, she was still able to get back up. The snow had acted as a cushion and reduced the damage she took from the fall. If it wasn’t for the snow, she probably would have been knocked out right then and there.

  “Good job getting back on your feet, Nijino Yurika! As expected of Rainbow Nana’s successor!”

  Maki didn’t ease up on her attacks. She readied her sword with both hands and charged towards Yurika.

  I have to hurry! The time limit is near!

  Maki was continuing to attack at full power to keep Yurika from counterattacking as much as she was out of necessity. The several spells she had prepared beforehand all required a massive amount of mana to keep active. Though she could use that power to easily overwhelm an opponent, she couldn’t keep it up for long.

  “Wh-What can I do to capture Maki-chan?!”

  Maki was approaching Yurika at high speed while rapidly changing directions to throw her off. And with Yurika still reeling from the damage she’d taken, she couldn’t aim properly at Maki.

  “It’s impossible for you the way you are now! And even if you enhance your own strength, it’s already too late!”

  Maki could taste her victory. Yurika was thrown off by Maki’s movements and couldn’t cast any spells. The next strike would take her down. But though she was confident, Maki made sure to play it safe and began taking careful aim for Yurika as she waited for the right time to attack.

  What can I do?!

  While Yurika was racking her brain, Maki moved in on her. Sensing the incoming attack, Yurika did her best to defend herself.

  “Quick Cast Anti-Magic Shield!”

  Maki’s sword met the shield that Yurika had created.

  “Well done blocking it!”

  Maki took the opportunity to back off instead of attacking again. As she jumped back, the snow covering her body was scattered into the air.

  Huh...?

  Seeing that, Yurika looked down at herself. She too was covered in snow, but it was nothing compared to the amount that had accumulated on Maki.

  “I see! I could do that!”

  Realizing a potential path to victory, Yurika’s eyes started sparkling as she raised her staff above her head. While chanting her spell, she mentally ordered Encyclopedia to cast a spell too.

  “I’ve got you!”

  To Maki, this looked like a golden opportunity. Since she was confident that Yurika wouldn’t be able to hit her, she didn’t care what spell Yurika was preparing. If anything, with Maki’s speed what it was, Yurika had left herself wide open.

  However, Maki hadn’t anticipated the spell combination Yurika was about to use.

  “Quick Cast Acid Cloud! Modifier: Effective Area, Large!”

  Yurika unleashed a spell that created a potent cloud of acid. She’d also had Encyclopedia call forth a cloud. It was made of poison gas which, if inhaled, would spread through the body.

  “What?!”

  Maki was shocked. Yurika had cast the clouds around herself, so Maki jumped right into them as she went to attack.

  “Th-This is...?!”

  The two thick clouds obscured her view, making it difficult to see Yurika. They then began eroding her clothes and skin.

  “Guh! Kah! T-To think she would use such a reckless tactic! But with this, we’ll both― No, wait! So that’s what she’s planning!”

  Maki saw through Yurika’s plan. Since Maki moved around a lot more than Yurika did, she would come into more contact with the acid. And since she was so much more active, her body consumed more oxygen, meaning she would need to breathe in more of the poisoned air. That meant Maki would suffer more damage from the clouds than Yurika would. On top of that, Maki had lost sight of Yurika and could no longer attack.

  That was the strategy Yurika had come up with after seeing the snow covering Maki. If she came into that much contact with the falling snow, surely the same would be true for an acid or poison cloud. It was a simple but ef
fective means of indirect attack.

  “Energy Bolts! Target Option: Spread!”

  But Yurika’s attack didn’t stop there. She fired the same kind of magic arrows as before at the area where she assumed Maki would be.

  “C-Curse you, Yurika!”

  Maki hurriedly moved to dodge and was able to get out of the way in time. Although Maki’s speed had marginally been compromised by the acid and poison, Yurika wasn’t aiming for her directly.

  “Heh, to think you’d become this strong!”

  And the result was exactly what Yurika was going for. Since Maki needed to move quickly and take large steps to dodge, she would suffer even more from the acid and poison. Her entire body was now covered in the acid and she was taking massive damage. Moreover, the slight amount of poison she had already breathed in was beginning to spread throughout her body. There was no need for Yurika’s attacks to hit. Even if Maki dodged them, Yurika still had the upper hand.

  “Ugh!”

  Maki clenched her jaw in pain and leaped with all of her strength, trying to escape the effective area of the clouds. Staying in them any longer would lead to her defeat.

  I’ve been had! To think victory has slipped through my fingers after all this!

  After leaping from the clouds, Maki turned around. If she didn’t treat the damage from the acid and poison, she wouldn’t be able to continue fighting. And as things were, she didn’t have enough remaining mana to switch things up and try to fight long-range. Either way, she realized she was no longer in a position to come out on top.

  You won’t get so lucky next time, Nijino Yurika!

  Frustrated and humiliated, Maki retreated while telling herself that she was sure to win against Yurika in the future as long as she took her time to prepare.

  “...She ran off?”

  Realizing that the attacks had stopped and Maki’s presence was moving away, Yurika dismissed her spells. The clouds dispersed and a glowing white Yurika appeared from their center.

  “No, she probably didn’t... Maki-chan probably just let me go because she wanted to avoid going down together...”

  Yurika leaned against her staff and let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t think that she had won against Maki. In fact, Yurika herself had taken a beating from the acid and poison. If the fighting had continued on much longer like that, it wasn’t hard to imagine both of them collapsing from serious damage, regardless of who won.

  “Maki-chan is really strong...”

  After letting out another sigh of relief, Yurika began using healing magic to treat her wounds. If she hadn’t noticed that Maki was covered in more snow than she was, she definitely would have lost. And though it was only by a narrow margin, Yurika felt a deep sense of relief that she’d managed to escape defeat.

  But, but...

  But at that time, Yurika was gripped by a terrible doubt—one so profound that it threatened to undermine her entire identity.

  “But, but... Should a magical girl of love and courage really be using acid and poison?”

  The magical girl of love and courage, Rainbow Yurika now had a signature acid and poison cloud attack combo.

  “It feels like Maki-chan is the more magical girl-like one here... At least she used a sword...”

  While she had gotten a second transformation and a power-up, Yurika felt like she had lost something important as a magical girl.

  Pursuit and Conditions for Being a Couple

  Wednesday, February 3rd

  The ski resort hotel had an arcade on the premises. The game machines inside were all antique models that were over a decade old, however, so most of the guests just passed by without entering.

  “Come on! Power-up, power-up!”

  “You’re going for it now?!”

  But it had a certain appeal to enthusiasts like Koutarou and Theia who loved old games. Because of that, Koutarou, Theia, and Ruth were the only ones in the arcade now. The three of them had found the place after dinner, and they now were taking some time to enjoy themselves. Koutarou and Theia were playing a game together with Ruth watching over them from behind.

  “See what happened? You should’ve picked up the power-up right there.”

  “As if I could grab it in the middle of that rain of bullets!”

  “I won’t listen to your excuses. More importantly, hurry up and continue. A knight can’t be letting his princess fight on her own.”

  Koutarou had gotten a game over, but Theia was still playing. She was controlling a small fighter in the center of the screen and was trying to fight off invaders coming from space.

  “You know, it’s hard not to laugh seeing you fight alien invaders.”

  “I couldn’t laugh even if I wanted to when I’m this busy defending myself. Hurry up and continue.”

  “Hang on. I need to get some more change.”

  “I’ve already gotten you some, Satomi-sama.”

  As Koutarou stood up to get more change, Ruth presented her hands to him. She was carefully holding handfuls of coins.

  “Thank you. I’ll pay you back later.”

  “No need to worry. Please use them freely.”

  “I can’t just―”

  “Hurry, Koutarou! I’m about to lose!”

  “Okay, okay!”

  Koutarou put the coins he got from Ruth into the machine and sat back down next to Theia. When he did, his blue fighter reappeared next to Theia’s pink fighter and the two of them continued working together to defeat the invaders. After a while, they finally reached the last boss of the game.

  “Koutarou, it’s time for a combo attack!”

  “I got it! I’ll do the rapid fire! You take care of the ship!”

  “Leave it to me! Just believe in me and keep firing!”

  “Understood!”

  Through their skillful tag team approach, they chipped away at the enemy’s huge battleship little by little. Koutarou focused on offense and endlessly mashed the button to fire as fast as he could, while Theia dexterously evaded the enemy’s attacks. It was a splendid fight that made use of both their skills. Eventually, their teamwork paid off and the enemy battleship exploded.

  “Ooh!”

  “Did we do it?!”

  After a flashy explosion, the screen faded to the credit roll, displaying the names of everyone involved in creating the game. At the end was a special thanks to the players who played all the way through.

  “We did it, Theia! We beat it!”

  “Hoorah! We reign victorious!”

  When they saw the end message, Koutarou and Theia began cheering loudly. They pointed at the screen and celebrated their accomplishment before bragging about all the cool things they’d done along the way. All the while, Ruth was watching over the two of them with a smile.

  “All right, I’ll give you a reward for your contributions to the glory of the royal families.”

  “A reward?”

  “Indeed. I’ll buy you a soda. Same cola as usual?”

  “Sure. Aren’t you feeling generous today?”

  “Praising vassals when they deserve it is the duty of royalty.”

  “Who are you calling a vassal?”

  “You, of course. Even if you aren’t right now, you will be eventually!”

  Still excited, Theia shot up from her seat and took off towards the vending machine, not giving Koutarou any time to object.

  “I will be eventually, huh?”

  Theia hadn’t changed a bit since they first met. She was coercive and spoke to him like she was looking down on him. In the past, Koutarou would have never even considered obeying her, but he’d begun changing his mind as of late. Ever since he found out the real reason Theia wanted to make him her vassal, his will to resist had almost completely vanished.

  But still... What is this?

  Ever since they’d gotten to the ski resort, Koutarou had been feeling like something was different about Theia. She’d seemed troubled the past few days, but when the class reached the ski resort, she a
lmost seemed to return to her usual self.

  It’s normal Theia, but... something’s still...

  Theia was talking and acting the way she always did, so in that sense things seemed normal, but Koutarou felt like something was still somehow different. He just didn’t know what it was. That’s what left him feeling so perplexed now.

  “Is something the matter, Satomi-sama?” Ruth asked when she noticed the puzzled look on Koutarou’s face.

  “No, not with me... but did something happen with Theia?”

  Koutarou was honestly turning to Ruth for answers. He was sure Ruth would have noticed too, and if the reason was anything that meant trouble, he would help if he could.

  “Why do you think that, Satomi-sama?”

  However, Ruth only answered Koutarou’s question with another question and a happy smile.

  It seems like something definitely happened...

  Seeing Ruth’s smile, Koutarou quickly gathered his thoughts.

  “How do I put this... She looks the same as always, but... Her presence, maybe? I just feel like something’s a bit off.”

  Theia was currently putting coins into the vending machine. Nothing appeared to be wrong, exactly, but something was definitely different. Koutarou struggled to put that into words, but he felt like something was out of place.

  “Does it bother you?”

  “No, it’s not like that. I just noticed. That’s all.”

  Ruth nodded with a satisfied expression on her face after hearing Koutarou’s answer, and her smile grew slightly brighter.

  “I see... Satomi-sama, Her Highness had a personal worry. And after resolving that, it seems like her frame of mind has changed slightly as a result.”

  “A worry, huh? So it’s not like something major happened?”

  “No, nothing like that. Although, that’s not to say it wasn’t major to Her Highness.”

  “I see. So that’s why...”

  Koutarou looked at Theia. As if sensing his gaze on her, Theia turned towards him.

  “Koutarou, there’s a cola with zero calories and one that’s unhealthy. Which one do you want?”