by Aneko Yusagi
“Anti-Zweite Tornado!”
Because of the interference magic from the other three, Filo’s tornado became nothing more than a refreshing breeze.
Filo began to concentrate even harder. I grabbed Motoyasu’s arm to keep him from moving.
“Let me go!”
“Why should I? Filo!”
“Yup! Haikuikku!”
Filo was a blur, moving very quickly. She was suddenly behind Motoyasu. I still had a grip on him.
“Ugh…”
There was a ripping sound, and Filo’s claws bit into him again and again.
“Don’t think that’s enough to beat me!”
Motoyasu tore himself free of my grip and spun his spear, readying it. He thrust it straight at my eyes.
He was fast. I tipped my head to the side just in time for the spear tip to graze my ear.
“Ha!”
“Waahh!”
A soldier had been trapped in the cage with us, and Raphtalia took him out.
The soldiers were trying to rush in any time they thought that Melty or Raphtalia had let their guard down. They were always wrong. Those two weren’t to be trifled with. They could certainly protect themselves… But how long was it going to take to finish?
What should we do? If we could defeat Motoyasu, we’d get an opportunity to escape. Of course we’d still have to deal with Bitch and the others.
Things were looking bad. It was going to be a matter of what would run out sooner: my endurance or Bitch’s magic.
“Huh?!”
Bitch and her friends were drinking magic water to replenish their lost magic!
That wasn’t good. Did that mean that I’d have to somehow hold on until they ran out of magic potions?!
“You’re pretty good, Naofumi. Is this how you managed to kill Ren and Itsuki?!”
“I already told you I didn’t do that! Listen to me!”
Motoyasu was using skills so quickly that he was running out of breath. Still, I was starting to take a lot of damage!
I felt blood dripping from my body.
“Besides, I’m not powerful because of the reasons you think. I’ve had a hard time of it here! I’m not like you, Mr. ‘I know everything about the world.’ I’m not trying to be badass!”
Since I was summoned to the world, I’d spent so much time trying out so many different things, battling so many different monsters.
I hadn’t pulled any punches when it came to methods that might make me stronger. I’d tried to unlock as many shields and abilities as I could. But… but in the end… Did a shielder really stand no chance?
“Fool!”
“What?”
Motoyasu was distracted. Bitch was screaming his name. I followed his gaze to see what he was looking at.
The magic sword was protruding from the shoulder of one of his party members.
Hey now—that should make it harder for them to keep up the magic barrage.
Raphtalia had been paying attention. Noticing that we were in trouble, she’d broken from her post at the back and come to assist us.
As for Melty… she was still working to destroy the Lightning Cage. Any time a soldier got too close for comfort she used a spell to send him flying.
But there were still soldiers trying to get close.
“Princess! Watch out!”
“Mel!”
“Ugh!”
Seeing that Melty was about to be overwhelmed, Filo immediately transformed into her Filolial Queen form and rushed to help. She tossed the soldiers away as if they were toys. She wasn’t using Haikuikku, but she still moved very quickly. It was thanks to the battle with Fitoria.
“Mr. Naofumi! Stop watching Filo—you’re leaving yourself wide open!”
“Damn!”
Bitch was furious that she’d lost a party member. She drew her sword and swung it at Raphtalia.
“We’ve crossed swords before. You cannot defeat me!”
The clashing of their swords was loud and sharp. But Raphtalia was parrying all of Bitch’s attacks.
Yes—it was a good fight. I was just praying that Melty would find a way to destroy the cage.
“Myne! Damn!”
Motoyasu turned to run to Bitch, but I stopped him.
“Motoyasu, listen to me. Everything that is happening is because of a conspiracy perpetrated by Bitch, the princess, and the Church of the Three Heroes. We did NOT kill Ren or Itsuki.”
“I don’t believe you! Out of my way!”
I tried, again and again, to reason with him. But Motoyasu wouldn’t listen. This wasn’t loyalty. It was blind faith! He was too stubborn to listen.
What should we do? I couldn’t attack, and if Filo started attacking there would be no one to protect Melty. Sure, she’d come if I called her…
“Mr. Naofumi!”
Raphtalia shouted my name. Her tail was all puffed up. She had something she really wanted to tell me.
That’s it—Motoyasu had just shown me the way.
Motoyasu was watching for Myne to leave herself open. I brushed past him and synchronized my breathing with Raphtalia’s.
“I am the source of all power. Hear my words and heed them. Hide us!”
“First Hiding!”
I was concentrating and focusing on Raphtalia, and just as she cast her spell, a new skill name appeared in my field of view.
So that’s how you do it…
“Hiding Shield! Change Shield!”
“What are you doing to Myne? Paralyze Spear!”
Motoyasu turned and sent a skill flying at Raphtalia. But…
“What?!”
A shield appeared immediately before Raphtalia’s eyes.
Yes, that was our combo skill.
Hiding Shield. It was a skill that made an invisible magic shield.
I used Change Shield to turn it into a shield with a counter effect.
I decided to use the Soul Eater Shield, with its counter effect of soul eat.
“Ugh!”
The Soul Eater Shield bit into Motoyasu, turned into a ball of magic, and flew towards me.
“It stole my SP!”
I had hoped for that effect. The soul eat effect stole his SP.
I had no way of knowing how much SP Motoyasu had, but this should make things a little easier on us.
“Don’t underestimate Mr. Naofumi.”
Raphtalia said before disappearing with Hide Mirage and moving away unseen.
“Where is she?!”
“Mr. Motoyasu! Leave her to me!”
Bitch tried to cancel Raphtalia’s magic, but Raphtalia was already too far away.
“It won’t be that easy!”
Motoyasu lowered his spear and came charging at me like a boar.
“Take that!"
Motoyasu saw that I was relieved by Raphtalia’s escape. He sent a skill flying at me. From the way he moved, I assumed it was a Shooting Star Spear.
My new and improved armor had made my vision better… but could I do it?
I reached out… and grabbed the handle of the glowing spear.
“You idiot! Did you just grab my Shooting Star Spear?!”
“You’re the idiot, using the same skills over and over! I can follow your every movement, Dumbass!”
The Chimera Viper Shield’s counter effect, Snake Bite (medium), activated and bit into Motoyasu.
“Ugh… My body…”
Finally, he was poisoned.
Motoyasu made a convoluted gesture and somehow produced medicine from his spear.
How did he do that?
“I won’t let you!”
“Ha! Try and stop me!”
I reached out to stop him from taking the medicine, but I was too late. He’d managed to drink it while I was trying to figure out where it had come from.
“Heh… Don’t think that poison is such a big deal.”
Okay, but how do you get an antidote out of a spear? I didn’t understand.
“Poison doesn’t work? Is that
what you said? I hate to tell you that I’ve seen it work plenty of times.”
Filo was attacking so quickly that Motoyasu was having trouble coming up with an answer.
“Seriously, calm down and listen to me! We didn’t do anything to Ren or Itsuki! How many times do I have to tell you that it’s all a conspiracy—and the woman behind you is the one pulling the strings!”
“Why should I listen to you? I believe in my friends!”
Friends? I think he meant to say “women.”
Regardless—I’d tried. It was fair to say I’d been true to my promise to Fitoria.
And I hadn’t tried to use the Shield of Rage yet.
“Okay, well, I tried to be fair to you. I tried to talk it out. I didn’t want to do this.”
I made a show of holding my shield out. If I didn’t do something, the situation would only get worse.
If Melty wasn’t able to break the cage, then support troops would keep showing up until they overwhelmed us. If we didn’t escape before that happened, that would be the end of us.
“Don’t forget Filo!”
I called out to Raphtalia for her support.
“Judging from how you’ve been attacking, you’ve got reason to be cautious.”
“Ugh…”
“Melty.”
“What?”
“You understand?”
“…Yes.”
I only had one idea.
I’d use Raphtalia’s magic to make an invisible shield, and I’d set it where Motoyasu was moving. It would have a counter effect, and Filo and Melty would combine their magic to damage him.
If we just kept using magic, they’d interfere and stop it. But would they be able to stop this?
“Your friends sure do like using fire and wind magic. I’m sure you realize that neither of those are very effective against me, right?”
I wasn’t sure what to be grateful for, but it seemed like Fitoria’s protection was giving us an edge over Motoyasu.
“And certainly you realize that I still have a trump card I haven’t used yet?”
Motoyasu had seen the Shield of Rage once before.
He was having a difficult enough fight as things were—and he knew I wasn’t using the shield yet.
So what would happen if I pulled out the Shield of Rage now?
Well, Filo would go crazy… but that wasn’t such a big problem.
“Not yet!”
Motoyasu quickly leveled his spear at me.
“Air Strike Javelin!”
The spear was whistling through the air at me.
“Yeah, right!”
I snatched it out of the air. There was a metallic clang when it hit my fingers, and I felt a little pain.
I was holding the spear, but the second I loosened my grip it flew back into Motoyasu’s hand.
“Mel.”
“Right. Filo, breathe with me!”
“Okay!”
Melty and Filo synchronized their breathing and began to chant a spell.
“We are the source of all power. Hear our words and heed them…”
“Combo Magic?!”
The Bitch and her friends all went pale.
What was that? Wait… I’d read about it in the magic book.
Some very advanced magic required the cooperation of another wizard or witch.
Combo magic was one of those types.
At the very least it required two people, but they could combine their powers to make more complicated spells.
The level above combo magic was called ceremony magic. Apparently it was very large-scale magic that was used in wars. It could be very powerful… or so I’d heard.
“Destroy them with a swirling storm!”
“Typhoon!”
Melty and Filo moved their hands together, and a small tornado emerged from the point where they met. It was small, but looked very powerful, and it was filled with rain and hail. It howled at Motoyasu and his party.
They wouldn’t be able to stop it. They’d have to endure it.
“Damn! I’ll protect you!”
Motoyasu dashed to stand before his party. He held his spear out horizontal and took the brunt of the tornado head-on.
“Arghhhhhhh!”
He wasn’t able to bear the force, and he went flipping through the air.
But then the tornado dissipated. Maybe Melty and Filo’s magic wasn’t strong enough to keep it sustained.
Motoyasu collapsed heavily, but then he was back on his feet in a second.
“I… I can’t lose here. Not to you… If I lose, then Princess Melty, Raphtalia… Filo… they’ll all belong to you.”
The thought of him truly believing in his justice, fighting all this way, made me feel like he had some qualities that might actually be commendable.
But hey… how come I was the bad guy?
Motoyasu wasn’t so stupid as to think I was the mid-level boss in his little game, was he?
It pissed me off just to think about it. Who did he think he was?
“I’ll save them. For Ren and Itsuki!”
“You womanizing clown… It’s pathetic to see you like this.”
Why wouldn’t he just believe me? Wasn’t it an easier explanation than all of this brain washing business?
If only he’d dedicate that fanatical resolve to something more important… What a waste.
“Ugh…”
We couldn’t deliver the final blow. His friends were standing in the way.
But to think that he fought this whole way and wasn’t giving up even though he was on the verge of collapse… I guess he really was a hero in that regard.
But he couldn’t just blindly believe in himself and continue to insist on his own personal version of justice.
“Give it up. You can’t beat us. All I want is for you to listen to me.”
We were at a crossroads. I had to find some way to get him to listen, or this was the end of the line.
…Unless we could run away.
“Melty, I appreciate your help with the fighting. But please go back to breaking the cage.”
“I already am!”
“Mr. Motoyasu! If we don’t defeat the Shield Demon now, he’ll escape! We have to take care of them now, or we won’t get another chance to save Melty!”
“I know that!”
I guess Motoyasu and his party members had no way of knowing that it was all a conspiracy. They really wanted to kill Melty.
It was kind of sad. The real enemy was standing right next to him, and he didn’t know it.
But Bitch didn’t know how to give up.
I looked over to Raphtalia, and she nodded back at me.
I wanted her to use Hide Mirage to vanish and shut Bitch up once and for all.
She still had the magic sword. If she could use it to knock Bitch out, we might still have a chance of escape.
But I couldn’t pretend that I’d be satisfied with that. A part of me wanted her dead.
Still, if I ever wanted to clear my name, I couldn’t go around killing people.
If I wanted to take care of Bitch, I’d have to make sure that Trash had been dealt with first.
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be any better than he was.
But if I wanted to get rid of someone that was standing in my way—I’d just have to sacrifice them and power through.
Was that right? No! I had to prove my innocence!
“I’m not losing… I’m not!!”
I couldn’t tell if that was some kind of kamikaze thing, but Motoyasu was running right for me with his spear out.
“Filo!”
“Yup!”
The next attack would put an end to this… Or so I thought. Before they could clash, the whole area was filled with a bizarre sound.
I looked around and discovered that all the soldiers that had been standing around were gone. Something was happening, but what?
I heard rhythmic slaps… like someone was… clapping?
“Ah… I’d expec
t no less from the Spear. You’ve demonstrated excellent resolve. Thank you for your efforts.”
The whole area was filled with a presence so powerful it was nearly suffocating… but what was it?
Chapter Eight: Judgment
Filo’s wings were standing up straight. She quickly reverted to her Filolial Queen form and ran back down the path she’d come up. She plucked Melty up and set her on her back. Raphtalia was about to duck to the ground, but Filo reached out for her.
“What?!”
“Me!”
“Wh… What’s happening, Filo?!”
“AHHHHHH!”
“I… I’m the princess. I don’t care what your emotions might be doing to you. You cannot just pick me up and…”
She must have used Haikuikku, because she was just a blur. She ran through Motoyasu and Bitch, kicking them left and right as she ran for me.
Huh? Who would have thought Motoyasu would be so easily defeated?
Then I noticed that I was clearly out of breath.
Furthermore, it looked like neither Motoyasu nor Bitch had taken any damage.
“Hey, Filo…. Ugh!”
Suddenly Filo, and everyone else, friend and foe alike, were lying in a pile at my feet.
“Master! Prepare to defend! Switch to that black Shield! If you don’t, we’ll never survive!”
“W…What are you talking about?”
“Just do it! Put a lot of Shield in the air over us.”
“Ugh… Fine!”
Persuaded by Filo’s panic, I switched to the Shield of Rage. I used Shield Prison and followed it with Air Strike Shield and Second Shield.
At nearly the same time as the Shield Prison’s deployment, a massive pillar of light appeared in the sky directly over us.
“Ugh…”
I was rocked to my very core by an intense shock.
The pillar of light immediately blasted through the Second Shield and Air Strike Shield, but the Shield Prison seemed to be holding.
“Filo! Are you okay?”
“Yup! I think I’m fine!”
The standing feather on her head was glowing. Had it saved her?
Normally Filo went insane whenever I used the Shield of Rage because she’d eaten the dragon core that had caused it to become stronger. This time, however, she seemed to be able to control it.
It seemed I had a lot of things I needed to thank Fitoria for.