novelraw Chapter 353
Chapter 353
Chapter 353
"Effective immediately, survival is the top priority. However, retreat is not authorized. 91st A Manuela Cappel, 98th A Erich Reichenau—for wounded personnel only, I grant authority to autonomously evacuate outside and return."
I spoke while cleaving through Vitriol.
Of the six bishops, four were here, the remaining two elsewhere. After the lightning strike, they'd broken free of Leo's plant restraints and warped hastily—so the four-two split likely meant they hadn't had time to coordinate. They must have grabbed whoever was nearest and warped.
"Can the command strategy room hear me? Please deploy the 91st C and 98th B from Bavaria to Corniviano 794:354:495 and to rendezvous with the 91st B, respectively."
SLASH—
A thick Vitriol tendril was severed in front of Mecklenburg.
Over twenty mages on our side were present at this location alone, and there were only four bishops. Any hopeful thoughts were instantly undermined by a scream from somewhere. With Magic Power loaded into my sword, I transferred Magic Power into the Vitriol bearing down on me and shouted.
"Farnese! Anyone here thinking something like 'if we stay doing this, their stamina resets to zero'?"
[Huh?! Hahaha….]Whether my phrasing was poor—I thought so too—Narce chuckled and swung his sword. SPLAT—the sound of Vitriol dropping was sharp and clear.
[—Enter through the narrow gate.]
[CRUNCH—]
A beat after Narce's incantation, the delayed sound of Vitriol followed. The sound of a blade grazing flesh mixed with a furious scream from an Old Human bishop. Then the Vitriol that had been coiling around our mages like a serpent was purified and pushed back. The light Narce generated in the darkness flashed past the edge of my vision. What flew at Mecklenburg and me were mere Vitriol branches, and we deflected them while awaiting Narce's answer.
[Hmm…. The person who created this field isn't here.]
"……."
Good, got it. Since their hope lay elsewhere, these four would now fight to the death to hold us. If they fled, we'd naturally search the entire area. In particular, they'd seen Leo's ability, and now that our side no longer needed to conceal capabilities either, Leo would use far more of his power than before. They could predict that much, so until the Space Magic ability user deployed new magic from another location, these four would try to buy time directly. I deflected a Vitriol strand with the flat of my blade, drove it down to the floor, and sliced through it.
CRASH—!
The coarse surface was severed, and the Vitriol detonated like ink with a thunderous boom. I stomped the ground to push it back with a barrier and spoke to Mecklenburg.
"Senior. The four bishops aren't clustered together—they're scattered among our twenty. They're trying to prevent us from surrounding them."
[One at 6 o'clock is amplification.]
CRASH—!
Following Narce's unique ability readout, an attack struck from somewhere, and Mecklenburg deflected it while making an irrelevant remark.
"Why am I the only one you call 'Senior'?"
That amplification ability user was probably the one who'd led the other three here. I fell silent, watching the bishop barely visible through the Vitriol erupting beside him.
[AAAARGH!]
[…Next to him, the bishop at 8 o'clock can nullify Magic Power released into the air. One bishop moving inside is using stealth, the other one is…?]
The other one was unknown? Noted for now. The bishop using stealth as a unique ability was likely the primary cause of the screams raining down among us. However, that target wasn't first priority yet. All the more so because of the difficulty.
I looked at the nullification ability user at 8 o'clock—the bearded Old Human bishop.
"Let's deal with 8 o'clock first. Farnese, the two Papal mages."
[Yes. …Ah~ acknowledged. Requesting support.]
I heard that response and thought how fortunate it was that we hadn't been formally commissioned. And that it would be best if we never were. Either way, having Narce, who could see through my strategy, made things far smoother.
"Senior. Pull out and move to 2 o'clock!"
Mecklenburg, with Magic Power loaded into his legs, spun his sword into a Wand, grabbed my arm, and kicked off the ground. The instant three leaps brought us behind the target bishop—the one using nullification—light burst from Mecklenburg's Wand. The bishop's vivid blue eyes turned toward us with killing intent, registering languidly in my vision. Like someone flipping a switch, the light vanished from Mecklenburg's Wand all at once, and in a single frame, Narce, standing on the opposite side of the bishop, leveled his Wand.
[…—Enter through the narrow gate.]
With the whisper, pitch-black Vitriol spun violently and flew at the target bishop and at us beyond.
CRASH—!
"…!"
The Wand the target bishop had extended toward us whipped around in an instant, aiming at the opposite side where Narce stood. His reaction speed was admirable, but….
'Too late.'
Having failed friend-or-foe identification and lost his mark, the bishop's expression froze for an instant. That instant was always both the stumbling block and the marker of victory. The moment Vitriol touched the bishop's body, it turned white and detonated. The bishop, on the verge of falling under mental manipulation magic, staggered and then snapped his eyes wide open, a horrifyingly thick plant stalk flew at his throat, and the gleam of the white sword Narce had switched to described a semicircle as it drew close. And behind us, the 'real' Vitriol was bearing down.
[—Enter through the narrow gate.]
[—Unless Yahweh keeps the city….]
I felt time dilating on everything as I ducked low and whirled backward. The sound of flesh being cut and an Old Human bishop's scream, the sound of Vitriol replacing flesh and surging upward. And the solemn chanting of Divine Power mages, the light erupting behind me….
CLANG— CREAK—
Amber Magic Power swirling on the deep blue blade flickered as it met Vitriol. Mecklenburg's sword was faster. Whether the outer fabric of his jacket at waist height was melting, a terrifying sound like cloth corroding in acid came from below. Vitriol flew from something whose body was invisible. The moment it passed us, I grabbed Mecklenburg's arm with Magic Power loaded into my legs and landed in front of Leo. The sight of a plant stalk entering the bishop's mouth—the bishop twisting his entire body trying to tear away the stalk coiled around his throat—made the back of my neck go cold. It would be penetrating the airway and descending into the lungs. Killing him. Literally. And….
[Fear not, for I am with you.]
CRASH—!
If we didn't kill him now, there would be no coming back. We had to eliminate at least one bishop and reduce them to three. Black mud covered the red barrier. No matter how hard we pushed, the barrier's light kept dimming. I clenched my teeth and thrust my Wand out hard. Even amid this, serpentine Vitriol flew in from behind, and Mecklenburg batted it away with a disgusted expression. I glanced at Leo, whose gaze was locked on the bishop beyond the bursting lights, and shouted.
"91st A! Divine Power protection!"
[—Thus declares the Lord: Behold, those who prophesy lying visions and speak….]
[Gkh, kagh, gkh…!]
"Senior. Use your unique ability on the target!"
Meanwhile, a massive Vitriol tendril plowed through the crowd and flew straight at us. The stealth user's attack, surely. I ducked low, pressed my hand to the ground behind me, and flattened Leo—who was manipulating plants from back there—down with Magic Power. Leo's gaze was still pinned not on me but on the bishop rolling in the distance. Mecklenburg, scowling ferociously, extended his Wand toward the bishop writhing on the ground. I swatted away the Vitriol obscuring the path in front of Leo and Mecklenburg and counted the seconds.
CRASH— BOOM—!
Attacks too fierce to handle alone rained down. The instant Mecklenburg drove his Wand downward, the color drained from the bishop's face—which had been flushed red as if about to burst from pressure.
CRASH—
I deflected the Vitriol flying at Mecklenburg. Black mud grazed my left arm and pain seared through. A few seconds later, the bishop's arm dropped to the ground, and all movement ceased completely. Leo, who had been under our cover, finally exhaled with an icily set face and spoke.
"…One eliminated. Three remain."
[AAAARGH! AAGH! AAAARGH!]
Alongside that, an agonized scream from someone on our side. That person would now be evacuated to a hospital in Bavaria.
[98th A Nina Mackensen has returned to Bavaria. Seventeen remain.]
[91st C has arrived.]
"……."
We had been twenty-one and were now down to seventeen, plus the 91st C's six and the Divine Power mage attached to each team for seven more. Now twenty-four. What remained on the enemy side was the amplification user, the unknown, and the stealth user, and….
"Scatter!"
It wasn't me who shouted.
CRASH—!
The sound of the last Vitriol salvo being deflected. Silence followed. The council of bishops, having suffered one loss, had fled.
'Hmm…. That won't do.'
I stared at the small blaze burning fiercely at the far edge of my vision. The fire we'd set in the east was growing. In the southern forest, where only lightning had struck without oxygen being used to expand the blaze, only smoke was visible—the flames were not yet visible from here.
"We need to change strategy. Alexandra Schumacher, Yulia Tsheringen, move to the four corners of this coordinate system. Set fire to every area with any concentration of trees. We're herding them toward the center."
They answered briefly and warped.
Even herding them meant the 'center' was already vast. I surveyed this expansive plain and spoke.
"Wittelsbach, search please."
BOOM—
Leo rolled his Wand into a Staff and struck the ground. The earth took on a life of its own, moving like waves. His faint Magic Power seeped into the plants—no, the earth—moving counter to the wind, glittering. It rippled like waves and pushed far into the distance. It was like the night sky had been brought down to earth.
Leo was the ideal person for searching and holding the bishops. Tsheringen set fire to the forest, Schumacher of the 91st expanded it, and Leo prevented the bishops from fleeing the burning forest—that was how we'd killed four in one strike. Natural variables attacking from all directions, razor-thin margins, muddled priorities, carbon monoxide—those had killed them. Opponents we might not have been able to kill easily in a one-on-one fight, or might not have been able to kill at all, we'd dispatched that readily.
'Tsheringen aside… Leo especially must have burned through enormous stamina.'
He'd had to keep using his ability endlessly so that no matter how much the bishops' Vitriol melted the stalks, more kept coming. I couldn't leave him like that any longer. I couldn't let the bishops flee. I glanced at Leo, whose sharp eyes were searching for where Magic Power registered, and spoke to Mecklenburg.
"Senior. The moment you find a bishop, please create a new space."
"No matter how proficient I am in Space Magic, against bishops, it'll break easily."
"Pinning their feet even briefly is enough."
RUMBLE— CRASH—!
Light that fell from far away turned the world alternately white and bright. White pillars dropping from the sky, the ensuing explosions, a portion of the sky turned red. Leo, who had been staining the ground silver, raised his head.
"Three further north than here, two to the south… no, they've warped. They keep changing positions."
"……."
I understood his meaning. Unless an environment formed that looked winnable to them, they would keep playing this game of tag indefinitely. I nodded and addressed everyone standing around me.
"Considering the enemy's unique abilities, the more we cluster, the greater our advantage. So once the two southern teams have also joined up, we split in half and each group moves to opposite ends of this space."
"Understood."
There was something to consider here. I had previously commanded the 98th A and had already memorized all their unique abilities. Among them, wasn't there one person with a useful ability related to warping? Someone who could teleport to any desired location using mental imagery and memory alone, without chanting coordinates.
"However, 101st Hohenzollern, Kleist, and 98th A Hindenburg will move separately. Myself with 101st Wittelsbach and 98th A Mecklenburg will also move separately."
***
Right, let me recall.
The moment I said that, confusion appeared on people's faces. If clustering was clearly advantageous, wouldn't groups of three be a loss? That's what their faces were saying.
Why did we need the additional three-person splits?
Simple. We needed bait.
BOOM—
"Gasp…! Quickly!"
With the wind, the 98th A's Hindenburg appeared before us with all the people who'd been separated from us, catching his breath. I snatched the hands of Mecklenburg and Leo, who had been grimacing while holding each other's arms, and grabbed Hindenburg's wrist. At that instant the wind shifted and Vitriol flew at us. Ulrike's sword crossed in front of me.
WHOOSH— CRASH—!
Since we needed bait, I'd created two teams—Elias's and mine—and… they had decided to attack Elias, Ulrike, and Hindenburg first instead of me, Leo, and Mecklenburg.
[The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens—.]
CRASH—!
[By his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew!]
As pre-planned, Mecklenburg's Space Magic deployed. Two Pleroma in bishop's vestments—one would be in stealth—and our mages were all still in the same plain as before, but it was different. This was a different space where warping was impossible.
'…So we've met the same ones again.'
Which meant the bishop who primarily handled Space Magic wasn't here yet…. I glanced at the amplification-ability bishop Narce had identified earlier and spoke into the artifact.
"91st B, C. 98th B. A bishop whose unique ability is Magic Power amplification will be escaping outside. Mark him."
[…?! How did you know….]
Good. The amplification bishop was now out of mind. We'd assigned three whole teams to a single bishop—we'd done our best. I spoke to Mecklenburg, whose face was bewildered.
"Senior. They'll attempt to escape. Forget the amplification target and retarget the remaining two."
CRASH— SHATTER—
Before I'd even finished, the sound of cracking mixed with what sounded like a downpour flooded my ears. Immediately, Mecklenburg's voice came through.
[The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.]
[Where are you?!]
CRASH—!
Following Mecklenburg's incantation, an unfamiliar chant sounded, and pitch-black Vitriol erupted on all sides. A massive dome of Vitriol engulfed us. I murmured at the sight.
"Our interests seem to have aligned."
Their dome and our Space Magic targeted the same subjects. We had two bishops before us. There was just one problem: 'we' included only Mecklenburg and myself.
"Is this really the time for comments like that?! The rest are outside!"
Right. I was starting to understand. These two bishops knew I was the overall commander. They believed the two of them could finish the two of us. The gumption to go for the head—that was bishop-worthy. Which meant they intended to go all out here, and….
"Hindenburg, do not enter the dome—stand by. Wittelsbach and the rest, find the Space Magic bishop and his companion."
[That voice—you who strained with all your might to rush to me so that very voice might reach me—where are you now?!]
CRASH—!!
Following their chant, the sound of Vitriol thickening outside the dome.
[You who trembled at the merest touch of my breath, cowering wretchedly—is it truly you, you worm?]
WHOOSH— CRASH—!!
Blade-like Vitriol projectiles flew at us. I rapidly swept my Wand to deflect them and surveyed my surroundings. I wrapped Sound Insulation Magic around myself and shouted to Mecklenburg behind me.
"Senior, the key here is obviously the stealth user. Let's take that one out first."
"……."
Why no answer? Mecklenburg's response was off, so I turned my head toward him.
"…!"
CRASH—!!
I barely deflected a glob of Vitriol flying in from the side and blinked rapidly.
'…What? Hypnosis?'
One bishop kept catching my eye. For some reason, I couldn't look away from him. Mecklenburg was reacting the same way. I knew at once. There had been one ability user Narce hadn't identified at a glance. This must be him. A mental interference ability user.
Mecklenburg's movements were visibly slowing. I struck Mecklenburg's shoulder hard and chanted.
[And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world….]
CRASH— SHATTER—!
A Vitriol strike instantly shattered my attack. I raised my arm to block the fragments of Magic Power and turned toward Mecklenburg, whose movements had dulled.
'No…!'
Was this bastard not going to snap out of it? I couldn't handle two bishops' attacks alone. Even if I called in allies through Hindenburg—no, doing so would actually make things worse. Unlike now, where some of our respective needs aligned, the arrival of reinforcements would give them ample incentive to desperately break Mecklenburg's Space Magic, and then we'd obviously have to endure another grueling chase. Also, given that Narce hadn't immediately identified this ability, we didn't know how powerful this mental-type unique ability bishop was, making it risky to summon a Divine Power mage.
'…For now, I'll try everything I can.'
I wrenched Mecklenburg's head around to make him look straight at me. The instant his eyes left that bishop, Mecklenburg's eyes widened and he grimaced.
"That person…!"
Yes, I figured out the ability was dangerous before you did. I grinned and pressed his cheek.
"That woke you right up, didn't it? You can't only look at pleasant things forever. Stop staring and get your head together…."
CRASH—!
I stomped hard to create a dome-shaped barrier. The impact sounds of Vitriol striking the barrier went on relentlessly. The time we could hold wouldn't be long. I opened my clutch, pulled out the hemostatic cloth inside, and wrapped it over my eyes.
"You've already realized the problem, Senior. Then isn't the solution simply not looking at that face?"
"…Wait, are you sane—?!"
"That's right. I'm not sane."
The pressure of the cloth made my eyes feel like they were rolling. A deafening explosion—the barrier collapsed. Some projectile rushed right up to my face, and some sword flew in from behind and knocked it away hard. Mecklenburg's Magic Power had regained its momentum. I opened my mouth alongside that impact.
"So you'll have to take responsibility and help me, Senior."
"What kind of absurd demand is this?!"
"Then you'd better get your head straight. Feeling confident?"
"……."
"I've already trained this way many times before."
In the past I'd felt defiant toward Leo for pushing uncomfortable training methods, but now I understood. In whatever way possible, we had to push ourselves to the limit. With my eyes covered, my remaining senses came vividly alive. The dreamy haze from before was no longer felt, and my entire body moved more crisply than when my eyes were open. The chill of Vitriol transmitting through my jacket was felt several times more intensely.
"So if you fight with the mindset of keeping your head straight and being my eyes, we can win. Understood?"
If there was no other way, I would make him overcome this situation through sheer willpower. I switched my Wand to a sword and continued.
"Come now, let's test how many temptations you can resist for my sake, Senior."
"Wait…!"
There was nothing more worth hearing. The stealthed bishop's sharp Vitriol was already flying at me. I pushed through the air rushing toward me and kicked off the ground.