Black Iron Magician

「You are using a flame sword against my water, huh… But…」

「Yes. I think you somehow guessed it, but you shouldn’t underestimate this sword. The attribute compatibility or something like that is probably meaningless.

「………」

After placing the wooden scabbard on her waist, Chinatsu lightly swings the flame magic sword to the side. Then, the air is distorted and the stage in that direction is wrapped in flames. Immediately after, the flames disappeared in an instant. However, the charred stage that remained became the proof of its power.

If you are wrapped in the flames even a little, you will be struck by that ridiculous power in an instant. The flames just now were a warning from Chinatsu that Weerel should never let her guard down.

However, there was a line of sweat on Chinatsu’s forehead as she gave that warning. It was not because of the heat. Deris, who was watching from his seat, didn’t miss that sweat.

「Naturally, I can’t say that she has mastered Pluto. Even that one swing just now sucked a lot of her magic power.」

「Is that so? It looked normal to me… Also, what about her magic power being sucked?」

「Pluto is a legendary weapon that produces a semi-permanent flame with tremendous firepower by itself. However, it also has the ability to increase its firepower by absorbing the magic power of its user. I’m sure she kept the consumption of her magic power as minimum as possible for that swing just now. However, if she were an ordinary adventurer, that swing was enough to empty her magic power and make her collapse. Moreover, you need quite the capability to handle that power-specialized sword. If you rely on the skill, the minimum requirement is Sword King, which you acquired after you’ve mastered Sword Arts, and you will be able to handle it somehow. It’s just like a high-energy mass in the shape of a sword… Just like Haru’s Doggan Staff, it’s not something that can be used by anyone. Do you understand?」

「Fuhee… Then, she has to settle the match in a short-term battle, huh.」

「After all, you will run out of magic if you swing it around randomly. That damn Nell, she is trying to make Chinatsu get accustomed to Pluto in this match…」

「Ah, Wee-chan started moving!」

Weerel, riding on the giant slug, raised her staff highly and started to sing the chant again. At about the same time, Chinatsu kicked the ground and jumped. With the flame magic sword in her hands, she is heading straight to the head of the water slug where Weerel is on. Chinatsu is as fast as a bullet and it’s the fastest speed in this tournament.

「*Inhales*――」

However, Weerel responded to that speed. The slug suddenly sucked in some air and swelled, making its originally large body even larger.

「――Fuh!」

「!?」

Soap bubbles are released from the part that seems to be the mouth of the slug toward Chinatsu. The diameter of a soap bubble is as large as a person’s height and it is fired like a machine gun. At this moment, Chinatsu’s Danger Detection skill kicked in and let her know that these soap bubbles are dangerous.

(I feel like touching them is bad…!)

For Chinatsu, the speed of the soap bubbles is really slow. However, the number is enormous. They formed a wall blocking the path of Chinatsu who is going straight through the air. At this rate, a collision is inevitable.

「Reflect!」

―――― Crash!

Chinatsu created a barrier in the air to defend the soap bubbles… or not. She used the barrier as a foothold instead and jumped even further. She used Reflect many times, zigzagged to add feints, and accurately went through the gap between soap bubbles. She kept the magic consumption as minimum as possible that the magic barriers were thin enough to be broken by a kick from her.

(She got through, huh…)

Chinatsu is already in front of Weerel with the sword that can cause a fatal wound if she receives an attack from it even once. Still, Weerel is continuing her song without being disturbed. Just before the flame magic sword is swung, her next magic is completed.

「Labyris Orca…!」

A swarm of orcas suddenly jumped out of the water slug’s body. They divided into two, one heading toward Chinatsu and the other heading toward the other direction. They are approaching Chinatsu while opening their mouth.

(Is she trying to do a pincer attack? But, I’ve seen that magic before!)

The speed of the orcas is clearly faster than the speed of the soap bubbles and they will come again even if Chinatsu evade them. But even so, they can’t catch up to Chinatsu. Unlike the enclosed training grounds, this is the sky above the stage where she has freedom. It’s possible for her to avoid the orcas and reach Weerel with the sword. Chinatsu decided so and tried to make a barrier foothold again in the air.

―――― Bang! Bang, baang!

Suddenly, Chinatsu received a strong impact with a fierce explosion sound from all directions. It’s not a single shot, but in quick succession.

(The orcas that went in the other direction are breaking the surrounding soap bubbles…!)

She quickly checked the situation in less than a second. When the orca bites the floating soap bubble, an impact and sound are released from it. After she realized that the soap bubbles couldn’t hit Chinatsu, Weerel used the orcas to break them instead. The orcas are pulverized when they bite the soap bubbles, but new orcas appeared one after another from the water slug, so their number is not decreasing.

(Still, it has this much impact. I’m sure that even Wee will be affected by this――eh.)

Weerel, who was above the slug before, sank into the slug’s body. She’s wrapped by a large bubble and there’s no sign of her drowning in the water. She’s probably hiding inside it to avoid the impact of the soap bubbles.

(Not only spitting out soap bubbles, but that giant slug can act as a barrier too, huh. And then, I’ll be the only one receiving the impact…)

Chinatsu tries to escape from this place by creating a new Reflect, but she won’t make it in time because of the rigidness from the impact and the approaching attack of the orcas. At this last minute, Chinatsu judged that worrying about the consumption of the magic power won’t help her and then fixed her grasp of the flame magic sword.

「Ha!」

A flash of flame. Then, the flame vortex emitted from Pluto swallowed the orcas, and instead of getting extinguished by the water, the flame evaporated them instantly. And before the next soap bubble broke, Chinatsu used All Cure to restore her health, formed a foothold with Reflect, and retreated. Since she had applied Regen before the match started, her HP is already fully recovered. Chinatsu used the best of her abilities as a priest and was immediately back in perfect condition.

「Kuvalere…!」

「Glitter Lance!」

Chinatsu created five spears of light and jumped to the water slug with them. The flame magic sword easily cut open the outer skin of the slug, and the light spears pierced that spot. However, the light spears lost their momentum as soon as they went inside the water. After they completely stopped, they became bubbles and disappeared as if being disgested.

(As expected of high-rank magic…)

Regardless, Chinatsu continues to push forward, relying on Pluto. Even if it’s impossible with the light spear, there’s no problem with the firepower of this sword. However, Weerel is not the only one inside the water slug. There are multiple jellyfishes swimming inside the body and approaching Chinatsu.