Volume 7 Chapter 23 The Uproar Of The Gold-Ranked Frenzy
Ridge's suggestion was as follows.
"If Princess Cecilia is the key to the enemy's strategy, then we should just kidnap her."
I was shocked to hear such a cruel plan coming from a 10-year-old girl's mouth. It's true that nobles can be scary.
I, burst out laughing and said, "Wow, Ridge, you're still the same!" Meanwhile, Roman, who's also from a noble family, was smiling slyly, remembering the noble's way of thinking.
But I'm also in a tough spot, having lost my right arm. So, I decided to take the princess and make a plan to kidnap her.
"The problem is, how do we catch Princess Cecilia~desuwa?"
"Don't worry, I can use my Ajna Chakra to track her down, except for the 'Oath' area."
"That's great, Wade-kun. But if we run into 'Oath', we'll be in trouble. We need to give the kidnapping team some time to escape."
"Don't worry, Roman. Windy can handle the kidnapping team alone. You and I will create a diversion to give them time to escape. We just need to create an opening."
"So, it's all about timing, Wade-sama? When is the best time to do it?"
"Even the strongest enemies have a moment of weakness, Ridge-chan. For example, when they think they've won..."
"So, we'll catch them off guard when they think they've succeeded in their plan!"
We finalized our plan. Next, I focused on strengthening Durandal. I asked Gold and Sylvia,
"Can you strengthen Durandal since I've become weaker?"
"Leave it to me."
"Brother, don't make promises you can't keep. At least tell us what kind of strengthening you have in mind."
The discussion about how to strengthen Durandal got heated, and the siblings continued to argue passionately, even in the forge (which was surprisingly well-equipped).
The next morning, the siblings, who were on the brink of death, gave me the newly acquired Durandal. They explained it to me, and our preparations were finally complete. And right on that day, the 'Oath' group appeared.
I wore the gauntlet of Durandal on my left arm, grasping a greatsword.
'Oath' stood with an interested expression, then burst out laughing.
"'Slow', you've managed to do something in this short period, haven't you? Despite losing the source of your massive attack power, gravity magic, you're still... excited."
"I get it. Is that it? You're saying that, just like you has experienced many times with Geas, getting stronger under restrictions?"
"That's right. But still, yeah."
I shrugged my shoulders, saying "I guess that's it."
Roman and Alkei watched our casual exchange before the battle with strange expressions. They knew we wouldn't start fighting right away like last time.
We laughed and said.
"It's because we're alike, and battles are too much fun!"
I glared with a fierce gaze, while 'Oath' smiled deeply. Roman shook his head with a resigned expression, saying "As expected, people in this realm...", and Alkei made a bitter face with a sigh.
"Alright."
'Oath' said to me.
"Show me, 'Slow'. What you've been working on. What's got you so excited."
I smiled brightly and said, "Alright, I'll show you." I took off the top half of my clothes, revealing my stolen right arm. At the base of it, Durandal was attached.
I took a deep breath, commanding Durandal, the transformes sword.
"Durandal, prosthetic form."
I swung the greatsword Durandal in one swift motion. The remaining fragments of Durandal transformed into my lost right arm, recreating it.
A metallic arm. Its shape was more rugged and thicker than my original arm. To be precise, this was not my arm, but Gold's arm.
"I see. So you've turned that special sword into a prosthetic. You've thought this through."
"Yeah. Now, let's do this. I'll reveal the trick I've been working on during the battle."
I exhaled, holding Durandal with both hands, taking a stance. Then, Roman, who had been waiting nearby, whispered to me.
"Wade-kun, our goal for now is to secure enough time for Windy-kun to escape. Next, we need to deal damage to the enemy without taking any ourselves."
"I get it. We're not gonna rush into this, right? Don't worry, I think I can win without relying on gravity magic."
"That's good to hear."
"Alright then."
"Yeah."
I lowered my stance. Roman spread his arms wide, making a dramatic pose like he was on stage.
"―――Oh god! First, let's start the battle with a fanfare of explosive flames!"
As soon as Roman finished speaking, the entire mansion exploded, and the battle began.
Right after that, I and 'Oath' clashed, our swords locked in a fierce battle. Alkei, who was at the edge of my vision, stumbled due to the explosion and tried to escape by throwing a flask to the ground.
"Alkei, I'll take care of 'Slow'!"
"Well, in this situation, the key is definitely Alkei. Then―――!"
I parried 'Oath's sword and traced the rune on my right arm.
"This is the first setup, enjoy it!"
[acceleration]
The rune magic activated. I separated from 'Oath' and instantly escaped the room. Although it was slower than the acceleration set with gravity magic, it was easier to control.
"You think you can get away―――ugh!"
"This is my line! Come on, magic, blow it away! My magic, loved by the gods!"
It seemed Roman was taking care of 'Oath's footwork. I felt at ease and focused on Alkei.
"Acceleration, and also... Brahman."
I opened my second eye, the Ajna Chakra, which enhanced my dynamic vision ability.
As a result, my thoughts accelerated in sync with the currently active rune magic 'acceleration'. Paradoxically, the world seemed to slow down. Ah, this is interesting. There's still so much to explore with chakras and magic.
I burst out into the hallway, catching up to Alkei's back from my perspective. There was a faint scent of incense in the air. I held my breath, just like Roman told me to.
"'Slow down, Wade, stop!'"
"I'll not listen to that, you stu―――pid!"
I accelerated my feet and closed in on Alkei. Alkei clicked her tongue, drew a circle with her right arm, and threw a flask with her left hand.
"You didn't listen, so I have no choice but to do this."
The flask shattered unnaturally in mid-air. As its contents spilled out, a fierce gust of wind blew me away.
"Whoa, damn it! You think you can do this to me? But no way!"
I swung my right arm.
"I still have some tricks up my sleeve. Gold, I'll borrow some power from you."
My right arm, remade by Durandal, was stronger than my original arm. In other words, it was Gold's arm.
So, I should be able to use it. I erased the rune from my artificial arm and replaced it with a magic seal.
"Create Chain!"
A chain shot out from my iron arm, resisting the strong wind and binding Alkei's arm.
"What the―――?!"
"Yeah, the wind is strong. So, let's get blown away together!"
I pulled the chain, disrupting Alkei's balance and sending her flying towards me, caught up in the wind.
I braced myself against the wind's force and stood upright against the wall at the end of the hallway. As Alkei flew towards me, I swung my right arm.
One hit. My iron arm pierced Alkei's torso.
"Gah...!"
"First objective achieved. And I'll take you with me, too."
The wind died down. After landing on the ground, I used the chain created by Create Chain to bind Alkei.
That's when the killing intent arrived. I instinctively swung my greatsword.
The straight sword of 'Oath' cut my greatsword into pieces.
"What the―――?!"
"Sorry about that. Due to the Geas's oath, I get stronger when Alkei gets hurt. She's a precious ally, so I don't want her to get hurt too much."
In an instant, I broke free from the restraints of my chains. It was an 'Oath'-based recovery of Alkei. But the blow I dealt to her was quite heavy. It won't be of any use in this battle.
"Ah, I'm s-sorry, Alkei... Ah..."
"It's okay, Alkei. Your true strength isn't here, so don't worry about it. So, our current goal is―――."
Just then, an explosion blew the roof off the corridor. Roman was floating in the air, delivering a grand speech.
"After all, open spaces are where I truly shine! Come, 'Oath'! Take my divine blow, blessed by the gods!"
"...We've got no choice but to retreat now. Don't worry, I'll protect you, Alkei."
Roman summoned a bolt of lightning, which 'Oath' deflected with a rusty straight sword. "This feeling is just like when I was empowered by Typhon!" Roman gritted his teeth.
"But it's not over yet! Come, gods! Give me your applause! Bring a storm to this lord's estate, a battlefield! Bring down lightning! Bring a great flood with heavy rain!"
The weather suddenly turned harsh. Dark clouds gathered above us, lightning struck, and heavy rain poured down in large droplets.
In the midst of it all, I smiled quietly to myself.
"This environmental change is a blessing, Roman. ―――Crystal Needle."
I clapped my left hand, and a large number of transparent needles emerged from the crystal eyes. I grasped them with my iron prosthetic hand and released them into the air, where they mixed with the rain and fell towards 'Oath', pulled by gravity.
'Oath' was busy deflecting Roman's massive magic attacks with his sword. The crystal needles, which seemed to have no presence, mixed in. It was fine even if they didn't hit. It was even better if they did.
The timing was―――now.
"Explode, Crystal Needle."
The crystal needles, now transformed into needles, exploded simultaneously.
"Wh-when did..."
'Oath' let out a cry of surprise. I observed the effects with interest.
The explosion of the crystal, which contained a large amount of magic power, manifested as rapid crystal growth. So, if the needles pierced the body, the crystal would grow from the inside out, and even if they were just nearby, they would cause injuries.
So, what happened this time?―――The result was excellent.
"―――Hah, you did it, 'Slow'."
Unfortunately, not a single crystal needle was directly piercing 'Oath'. Judging from how 'Oath's' clothes weren't getting wet in this heavy rain, it's likely that he cut through all the raindrops.
But even so, 'Oath' didn't pay attention to the raindrops that were cut down. That's why he was suddenly attacked by several crystals that appeared from all directions, and his movements were stopped.
The biggest problem was that his worn-out sword was pierced by the crystal and bent halfway.
I'm not going to let this chance slip away.
I used [acceleration] to close in again, crushing the crystal while swinging my greatsword at 'Oath' with all my might. 'Oath' was embracing Alkei, his sword was bent halfway, and he was on the verge of defeat.
"No way, this is fun. 'Slow', you're really a strong enemy,"
'Oath' laughed and hugged Alkei even tighter.
And then, he said.
"This time, I'll let you win. Next time, I won't lose."
"T-t-thank you for waiting! I'll collect 'Oath' and Alkei!"
Suddenly, a familiar woman appeared out of nowhere. She was wearing the glasses I gave her, a thick knit hat, and a rich blue long hair.
Ah, yes―――it's that person named Terin.
She spread out a scroll with numerous runes written on it, surrounding the 3 of us.
"Great Rune activation! Rejecting external interference! Teleportation in 3, 2, ...fuuh?"
My greatsword was repelled by an invisible wall. At the same timing, Terin's and my eyes met. I was confused, while Terin's face turned pale, and she started trembling with tears in her eyes, saying "Ah, ah, ah, ah."
Right then, the teleportation was activated.
The 3 of them vanished like we were erased. I was left staring at the remaining residue, and Roman descended from the sky.
Thud, the sound of landing. Roman shrugged his shoulders, floated a sarcastic smile, and approached me.
"That was a good enough result. We were just one step away from a complete victory, but considering our goal, it's more than enough."
The rain started to weaken. It seemed like it was already over, and the rainclouds were thinning, with sunlight starting to peek through the gaps.
"The report of Princess Cecilia's abduction has just arrived from Windy-kun, and we also dealt some damage. However, considering 'Oath's' personality, it's likely that he's also suffered injuries and won't lift the Geas."
"...That's probably it. He's made up his mind. The damage I dealt isn't enough yet. ...Haha, this is too much fun!"
I ran my hand over my body, shaking off the raindrops. Then, I clenched my fist tightly and raised it high.
"Well, it's one win and one loss now. Let's get back to the political intrigue part. Let's scheme and plot, Roman."
"Yeah. For now, let's take a break here."
We flew high into the sky, riding the strong wind controlled by Roman, leaving the crumbling lord's mansion behind.
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