Black Iron Magician

「Deris-san, it’s shaking a lot! Is it really okay!?」

「It’s okay, I just let my guard down a little.」

「Shishō! I think a little carelessness can be fatal in this case!」

「I-It’s shaking desuwa!?」

「E-Evacuate to the sky…!」

「Danna, you are so cool…. No, now is not the time for that! Everyone, calm down! Calm down and get under the table!」

Hey, aren’t they all overreacting a little? If we were in Japan, we’d probably be wary slightly and just say, ‘Ooh, it’s shaking a lot’. Don’t worry, this is just an everyday occurrence. In other words, this is nothing out of the ordinary.

…… If you don’t take it easy, you won’t be able to keep up with their fight that will last for who knows how long. Oh, I hope it ends soon….

「I can’t see anything at all because the light is spreading inside the barrier! It’s like the sun!」

「Looking for their presence also doesn’t work. I feel like their presence is all over the place inside the barrier…. What’s going on?」

「Well, you just simply can’t keep up with their speed. Inside the barrier is too narrow for them to fight at full power after all. They are moving so fast, going here and there, so it seems as if they are all over the place.」

「W-What kind of speed is that…?」

「What kind of speed, hmm? Let’s see…」

She sure asked something that’s hard to explain. They both have a similar type of strategy, and there’s no other way to measure them.

As everyone knows, Nell’s tactic is to charge first. She likes to use her super-powerful flame to mow down her opponents along with their attacks before they could get her. Her status is, of course, based on attack power and speed at the expense of endurance. However, the problem of sacrificing her defense aspect has been completely solved by her own ingenuity, so she’s almost invincible. I said that she would mow down the opponents along with their attacks, but in the first place, she’s a demon who won’t let them attack first. Yeah, a demon. Moreover, as you can see in this barrier, the range is also extremely vast. It’s a simple and clear strength: super attack power x super speed = the strongest. In short, don’t go against her.

On the other hand, Maria is…. She is the third from the top in the ranks of the Great Eight Demons, but her pure destructive power and speed are the best. She has the power that if she were to arm-wrestle with Hund, she would win overwhelmingly even if she uses a little finger against both arms. It’s completely an appearance fraud. The only salvation is that her defense is not that great, just like Nell. However, I don’t know if it’s a vampire trait or not, but Maria has an absurd super-regeneration ability. Even if you blow away her head and heart, if there’s even a single hair left, she will regenerate from there. And for some reason, the clothes she wears will regenerate too. Nell has tried it a long time ago, so there’s no doubt about it.

Well, in conclusion, Nell and Maria are two of the strongest people in the world, competing for the fastest position, and the women whom you shouldn’t make enemies of the most. There’s no way I can explain how fast they are. However, if I had to say――

「―― If you can catch up with that speed, you can obtain the world. I guarantee it.」

「Ehh…. But, if you say it with such a serious face, I can’t help but be convinced. Still, you surprisingly seem composed, Deris-san.」

「That’s not true, Chinatsu-chan. Shishō at this time is just trying to distract himself with other things.」

「Hahaha….」

Haru is watching me closely, huh. Well, her judgment is correct. I’ve been using a thick layer of the highest level of Holy Magic, but my arms are shaking already.

「Chinatsu, if possible, I would appreciate it if you could keep giving me Refresh magic. You bought the scroll the other day, right?」

「It seems that you are really in a pinch. I understand.」

Still, if the inside of the barrier is shining like this, Haru can’t see the battle between the two. The level of the battle is terrific because it is between the top classes, and the guests can’t understand it.

「Hey, you guys! We are doing this as an event, you know!? Fight while taking that into consideration! If they can’t see it, there’s no point in it!」

「Hm? Ah, that’s right. Appearance is important.」

Damn Vakala, he forgot his job as the emcee and just watched the battle.

――――Whoosh!

As if understanding my words, the flame walls covering the inner surface of the barrier disappeared immediately. Inside it is Nell, who bleeds from her cheek, and Maria, who has suffered a slight burn on her entire body.

「Haa, haa…. Ah, that’s right~. I was enjoying it that I forgot about my debut. Ehehe~」

Seeing that Maria is playing cute more than usual, it seems that the composure she had before the match has gone. While I was thinking about it, Maria’s body was completely back to normal and her gothic dress was as good as new. She’s a monster as usual.

「………」

As for Nell, she heals her cheek by lighting the fire on her finger and pushing it into the wound on her cheek. When she let go of her fingertip, there’s no trace of the wound and she’s completely healed. However, Nell is also breathing heavily, so I guess they are even for now.

「Nell-san used that method when she received Touko-chan’s attack before, but is that also recovery magic?」

「Aah, when I rushed and attacked her face, huh. But immediately after that, she flicked my forehead and I fainted.」

「Howeh!? T-Touko, you are a daredevil, huh….」

「She said that she wanted to try to receive my Berserk, so I got carried away…. Still, is that something to be worried about that much? Danna, you let out a strange voice, you know?」

No, at least I respected her and was surprised enough to let out a strange voice. Still, what kind of situation was that? Does Nell have a masochistic side that she wanted to receive the attack with Berserk on it?

「… Nope. Absolutely not.」

「What’s wrong?」

「Nah, just talking to myself. We were talking about how Nell’s wounds heal with fire, right? Nell’s fire isn’t healing magic. If I were to have the fire of her fingertip pressed on me, I would be burned and receive damage.」

「Hmm? What does that mean?」

「Nell has 『Fire Absorption』, the high-rank Skill of 『Fire Resistance』 after 『Fire Nullification』. Whether it’s her own fire or the enemy’s fire, she will be healed instead of receiving damage when the fire touched her. Nell’s fire is her greatest attack and her greatest recovery method, a weapon that combines offense and defense. The higher the power of the fire, the more it heals. Even if she has a fatal wound, she can heal it on her own.」

「She doesn’t have any weakness at all….」

Yeah, almost none. If it’s like the previous situation, where the barrier is filled with flames, it is the same as fighting while recovering at the same time. It’s unreasonable that the enemy is burned but she is recovering. The only wound on Nell’s cheek, which she received the moment the fire was extinguished, was probably harassment from Maria to pay back for it.

「How about crushing her with a lot of water? Like, fighting in the sea!」

「Right, Haru is good at swimming. But, it’s scary that she’s likely to evaporate even the sea.」

「T-That’s right, Nell-shishō is likely to do it….」

Oh, it seems that the two are about to move to the second round.