The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"Hah… hah… hah…!"
A little distance away from the battlefield, Mona could be seen.
Though all four limbs were intact, there was no vitality left in her face.
Sweat drenched her body…
Her skin had turned pale and sickly, as though she had come down with a deadly illness.
"I… I thought I was going to die… seriously. That was way too close…"
She had separated part of her body and soul.
Leaving most of herself behind, she performed an emergency escape.
That was how she barely managed to survive.
It was the same method Altera had used before.
Since Mona herself had taught it to her, Mona was the original creator of the technique.
"Al actually used a god-class spell for real… that’s insane. She seriously came to kill me."
Remembering what had just happened, Mona trembled violently.
"W-Well… in the end, I’m the one who wins, right?"
The god-class spell had nearly killed her…
But amidst the chaos, she had successfully escaped.
"Since they used a god-class spell, they probably think they finished me off. Hehe, Al’s such an idiot. Did she really think someone as cautious as me wouldn’t prepare insurance? Sure, running into them this time was unexpected, but I always prepare multiple backups just in case anything happens."
Grinning smugly, Mona slowly stood up.
"Now then… what a waste, but I’ll have to abandon the research results. I’d really like to take them with me, but there’s no way I can go back there now… alright. Time to hurry back to Reez."
Mona tried to open a transfer gate…
"Huh!? I-It won’t open… what!?"
As panic overtook her, footsteps echoed from behind.
Fearfully, she turned around…
"Sorry, but you’re not getting away."
Rain stood there.
Even though Mona had supposedly been annihilated by the god-class spell…
She was very much alive.
She had hidden herself inside a small cave.
"W-Why are you here…!?"
"Thanks to Al-san."
According to Al-san…
Mona was an extremely cunning opponent, so even a god-class spell might not be enough to finish her off.
If struck directly, there would be no resisting it.
However, there was a high possibility she would prepare a substitute or some other escape method.
That was why Al-san secretly asked me to search the surrounding area.
Since Mona would likely relax after escaping, finding her should be fairly easy.
…That was the plan.
Afterward…
Al-san deployed a barrier around the entire area to prevent teleportation magic.
Then I asked the animals for help and tracked down Mona’s location… that’s how it happened.
She had probably used most of her power escaping from the god-class spell…
Which meant she could no longer run.
This time, she was completely cornered.
"Heh, hehahaha… wow, you really got me there. I’ll admit it, that was impressive. Come to think of it, Al’s always been ridiculously cautious and thorough."
"Surrender peacefully. I guarantee your life."
"Hmm, what should I do? It’s not like I can be sure you’ll actually protect me."
"You seem awfully calm."
"Well, yeah. The insurance I prepared for situations like this… wasn’t just one thing!"
Mona sharply declared that.
As if it were a signal, a magic circle instantly spread beneath her feet.
No-chant magic!?
And it was fast!
"Carelessness gets you killed! Die!"
What she unleashed was a super-class spell.
A phantom beast from another world was summoned, scattering crimson hellfire everywhere.
Even as an enemy, her timing was perfect.
Normally, there would be no way to avoid it.
But…
You’re not the only one who kept a trump card hidden!
"Jinrai!"
In that instant, color vanished from the world.
The raging flames rushed toward me, yet their movement was painfully slow.
Not just the flames—even the drifting leaves and the water droplets falling from the cave ceiling had slowed to less than a tenth of their normal speed.
Within that stagnant world, only I could move normally…
No.
I could move even faster than usual.
By separating myself from the laws of the world, I could move within the principles I created myself.
Simply put, it was super acceleration.
Not only my physical abilities, but even my thoughts accelerated.
Because of that, I could move at a speed the opponent could never predict.
This was my trump card.
A new power I obtained through training with Suzu-san and the others.
"...!"
In that slowly flowing world, I slipped through the flames and dove straight into Mona’s guard.
First, one strike.
I slammed a palm thrust into her abdomen.
Then I moved behind her and fired a Fireball at point-blank range.
To finish it off, I bound her with Aegis’s wires.
At that moment, Jinrai ended.
The world returned to normal, and time began to flow properly again.
"Gah!?"
Hit by both the strike and magic almost simultaneously, then restrained…
Mona collapsed without understanding what had happened.
"Eh… w-what just…? Ugh…"
"Still want to keep going?"
"Ugh…"
When I pointed the blade of Kusanagi at her, Mona’s face twisted in fear.
The fact that she prepared so many backups meant one thing:
She valued her own life greatly.
Sensing that I was completely serious, Mona trembled slightly.
From the look of things, she had run out of insurance…
Or at least, she no longer had anything capable of turning the situation around.
"What’ll it be?"
"...I surrender."
"Good. Then stay still. I’ll call Al-san and have her seal your powers so you can’t use them anymore—"
"...That would be a problem."
Suddenly, the voice of an unfamiliar third party interrupted.
Comments
Post a Comment