novelraw Chapter 132: Ice & Lava
Chapter 132: Ice & Lava
This is a little too much!
"Remember, prioritise saving people's lives!" one of the police chiefs screamed as he raised his shield and charged forward as if he were a bowling ball aiming for a strike.
I wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed but the main direction that the monsters were rushing toward was where I was standing.
This would've been a great time to have Gon by my side…
But what kind of person brings their sword along with them during a date?
On the bright side, I did have some useful things in my bag. But just how much difference would that make when monsters continued to jump out from the portal while being supported by an army of skeletons and dozens of dark magic users as well?
"Come on now, surely you guys don't care this much about his death," I muttered as I dodged a ball of black fire.
When Arthurr killed the Immortal in the novel, the reaction was nothing like this. If anything, it wasn't even mentioned again. It happened and the story moved along.
But now that it was my turn, they were making sure that I felt every bit of the consequences for my actions.
We don't need to win. We just need to survive long enough for someone like the Headmistress to arrive.
People of her calibre weren't exactly super abundant, but there were a couple of people just a tier below her in the city. Not all of them were exactly selfless heroes who would go out of their way to save people, but we just needed one.
Just one.
As I pulled my spear out of the chest of a dark user, I clicked my tongue and shifted my stance.
"They never stop coming." This must've been what it felt like to pour out water from a boat that had a hole in it while sinking in the middle of the ocean.
Running away wasn't even an option even though I knew that I was the target.
Not only because they would follow my presence and I would end up pulling them towards the very same people that I was meant to protect, but I could tell that I was being recorded. It wouldn't exactly be fitting of the image that I had curated if I were to be cowardly now.
I even heard the occasional shuttering sounds that came from cameras.
Not that I would run away even if I had the choice.
It'll work out. That was the feeling I had, even though I hadn't planned for any of this to occur.
Momma, guess I'm going viral again. Sorry about that!
As mana crawled up my arm, I leaped into the air, created a large bolt of lightning as a cluster of skeletons was rushing forward with their shields raised. As I reached the peak of my jump and my descent started, I threw the bolt not at the skeleton but in the center of the ground where they were gathered.
As the lightning struck the ground, it branched off and struck the skeletons.
Although it didn't kill any of them, it had stunned them momentarily, slowing them down.
"Bell!" a familiar voice called out my name, and I watched as the temperature around me dropped while waves of ice formed beside me.
Diana had made her way next to me, her shoes scraping against the rapidly forming layer of ice that she had created.
As she raised both hands into the air, she formed a large ice hammer and spun in place a few times before throwing it.
I watched as the hammer crashed into the stunned group of skeletons.
"Nice hit. And good timing there," I said.
"Please be careful. I don't want to be sitting beside your hospital bed for a week again. You're not alone. I'm here," she told me as she created a bow and began shooting out arrows at a rapid pace.
Fhew. Fhew. Fhew!
"I'll try my best," I responded, but no promises.
A dozen monsters, half of them skeletons, the other half demonic monsters, charged at the two of us at once.
Diana slammed her hands down on the ground and a large tidal wave of ice surged forward, locking the joints of the monsters.
"Perfect," I said as I raised my hand and created numerous lightning bolts that shot out once I pointed them at their targets. They detonated and expanded outward, crashing and exploding the ice in a violent manner.
Most of the monsters shattered just like the ice, while a few more sturdy ones remained standing while being heavily damaged.
Diana exhaled sharply as she pulled her claws out of the chest of a monster, whom she tossed aside with ease as if it only weighed a few kilograms.
"This is ridiculous. Why today?" she grunted to herself.
Perhaps I was mistaken but she was taking her anger out on those poor monsters that stood no chance against her one-on-one.
Once she embraces more of her vampiric side, she'll be even stronger.
She was extremely effective with her AOE attacks and her capability in close-range hand-to-hand combat.
A dark magic user had tried to flank us amidst the chaos and was chanting something that made my skin crawl. Snapping my fingers, I sent a bolt straight through his staff, causing the spell to fail and explode in his face.
"Good work!" one of the officers said as she ran past me and whirled her legs to create this mini-tornado.
It looked like some kind of light show with how many different elements were being displayed before me.
If it wasn't for the fact that this was a matter of life or death, I would've taken a seat and sat down with a pair of sunglasses to enjoy the show.
"Are those zombies that were just summoned?" Diana asked.
This was the issue with dealing with dark magic users. Half of them knew how to summon and create more undead.
On the bright side, the necromancer who had summoned the skeletons was either too scared or was unable to sacrifice his own life to summon the stronger version.
More monsters were pouring out onto the battlefield, and it felt like there was no end to them.
As my mana trickled downward, I made sure to keep track of it in the back of my mind.
I had so much mana at this point from constantly training it whenever I had the opportunity to do so that, unless I acquired a powerful spell that would drain a lot of my mana in a single go, I could go for much longer.
However, that didn't mean it was infinite.
I would need to drink a mana potion if it got too low.
Thankfully, the reinforcements had also brought along their own supplies so I didn't have to share mine.
If anything, I reckon that some of them who were fangirling or fanboying over me would be willing to hand me theirs if I asked.
We're holding them back but just barely. I'm just glad that a demon isn't in the fray or else… Wait, please don't tell me I just raised my own flag.
Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case as I continued to deal with whatever came in my direction.
At least, in the meantime, that wasn't the case.
A battlefield with this many people on both sides made it impossible for any sense of order to exist.
Obviously, that meant that it was constantly shifting and as a result, Diana who had joined my side ended up naturally drifting away from where I was and vice versa without either of us saying a word, which was a good thing because there was no point constantly overlapping our attacks when we could be in two different places killing more without wasting mana.
Although she made my life a lot easier, I didn't feel disappointed at being left alone to deal with the walls that were slowly closing in on me.
Catching a glimpse of her in the corner of my eye, she was some distance away, tearing through a cluster of undead with her bare hands.
She'll be fine without me as well. More than fine. I just hope that she doesn't start getting bloodthirsty out of nowhere. Hopefully, she has enough pills left over.
We weren't exactly in the right place and time to have a drinking session.
Spinning my spear to create this makeshift shield, I deflected projectiles made of jagged bones. Sparks appeared in the air as they ricocheted away.
That dark magic user was killed before he could cast another spell, as someone had taken the opportunity that they were busy to bury three arrows into their skull.
A large mass of monsters surged forward all at once, moving in a coordinated manner.
Skeletons with shields in the front. Bulkier demonic monsters behind them as reinforcement. Long-range monsters at the back and on the sides were the dark magic users.
"...Of course," I muttered. All rushing towards me.
Planting my feet, I raised my spear. Mana flared as sparks of lightning crawled up the metal of my weapon. I could probably handle the first wave on my own without relying on my artifacts or codes.
Maybe even the second wave.
I also wouldn't be alone, as even now, some of them were being handled by nearby allies.
They charged forward at full speed and the ground near me trembled under their stomping weight.
Drawing in a breath, I was about to strike first from where I stood when I felt a rush of heat. The heat rolled across the battlefield as if it were a living thing.
It was so hot that even the air warped around it.
Most of the monsters in the way of the attack didn't even have the time to react as a massive flood of lava surged across the ground.
It moved at a terrifying speed, and it flowed in a controlled pattern, resembling the shape of a large serpent.
Violet, who was inside my clothes, chirped as she saw something that she might someday grow up to look like.
It carved through the horde charge at me and bones melted, armors glowed red, flesh turned into ashes, and holes were left in their bodies, making survival a task that was nearly impossible.
That's one powerful attack.
I wondered how long it took her to charge that spell up.
I hadn't even noticed that she had reached my vicinity.
Obviously, I was referring to Ichiko.
In seconds, she had erased a large chunk of the horde, leaving behind scorched ground.
As the lava serpent slowed down and dissipated after it reached a certain distance away, she appeared behind me.
"Was I helpful there?" she asked.
Without even turning around, I smiled and responded, "Thank you for the assistance there."
"I'm glad I could be of use," she giggled as she spat five small lava balls into the air, striking down flying monsters in the air as if they were target practice. "Was I more helpful than Diana?"
"..."