Black Iron Magician

(If it’s just this much, I will have to stop and fight on the spot. I can defeat the enemies within the reach of the Dogan Staff, but there are so many of them. They would pass by me and go to Chinatsu and Touko. That’s no good, it’s still not enough. The power I’ve cultivated under Shishō is more than this.)

Looking at her feet fixed to the ground, Haruna shakes her head lightly.

(Let’s take one more step. My potential, the destination I aim for, the form I give my all, what Shishō expects from me―― this degree is still far from it!)

――――Zuun!

The sound echoed deep and wide over the ground, even though it was drowned out by the storm. It was the sound of a courageous footstep emanated from Haruna’s small body. She pulled one foot from the ground on the spot and took a step forward. It was a slow movement, but she was certainly moving forward while standing.

――――Zuun! Zuun! Zuun!

She takes one more step, and then another, and continued. The intervals were wide at the beginning, but she gradually increased her speed, and it became the speed of a normal brisk walk. With her body leaning forward, she moved her feet one after another faster than she could be shaken off from Rimudo.

「Okay, I’ve grasped it.」

She muttered so without anyone hearing it. Since she was facing forward, even Chinatsu’s lip-reading couldn’t read it. Still, Haruna seems to have found a form in which she could give her all.

The next moment, Haruna started running. She’s so fast that her footsteps couldn’t be seen, but her footprints remain as deep scars on Rimudo’s dragon scales. She freely runs around the rock surface and rushes into the enemy camp, where a large number of immune cells are swarming. Then, she swung her Doggan Staff, which was infused with the power of darkness, and sliced through everything in its path.

『Hou…! You aren’t afraid of my small clones and expose yourself to the danger, huh. I hope that’s not recklessness. My little clones have no name, but if I must say, they are cleaners. They are fragile beings that will disappear if separated from the parent body, but their number is equal to infinity. Now, defeat them and come climbing to my head!』

(Rimudo-san, how kind!)

As Rimudo said, the immune cells that Haruna cut off with her Doggan Staff flew into the air and vanished as if melting into the air. ‘Got separated from Rimudo’s body = game over’, it seems that it doesn’t apply only to Haruna and the others. If anything, the situation is somewhat better for the girls since they could count on Hund’s help.

However, it doesn’t change the fact that Rimudo’s cells are formidable enemies. Although there are differences among individuals, most of them have a deadly poison that can kill a giant elephant with just a few drops, have digestive fluids to eliminate intruders, and can split and regenerate when being cut in two. Even if the cell is cut in half and half of it is sent flying into the sky and disappeared, as long the other half that’s in contact with Rimudo is survived, it will keep reviving, and the situation will worsen as their number increases. Furthermore, since they completely act without regard to self-sacrifice, they are surely more troublesome than Zuha and Yuba, even when viewed individually.

「Touko-chan! I’ll run through to Rimudo-san’s head while fighting! I will destroy them as much as possible, but I might accidentally let them get past me, so I will leave them to you if that happens! Please tell Hund-kun that too!」

Still, Haruna is a nice and energetic girl who makes such a proposal with a smile in this situation. Seeing how the cells are resurrected, she judged that she could do it. Haruna, who was enjoying the voyage from the previous islands, sees this hell only as the next stage of the trial, and she’s even enjoying it.

「I can’t hear you! But I don’t even need to ask Chinatsu! I know what you want to say! Unlike you, I’m walking on four. I might be faster on four if I completely throw away my reason, but I can’t do that in this situation! You’ve got to be a little more considerate!」

「Haruna, to think that she wasn’t satisfied with just standing up and began to run around…! Even I never imagined such a thing…!」

「Oh, that’s great! Now, put your frustration into your sword! Also, don’t forget to tell Hund!」

「Hm? She’s going to rush at the enemies, huh…. Very well, I will also do my best!」

Despite everything, the party is somehow able to communicate with each other. With Haruna in the lead, they all rushed into the swarm of cells.

Haruna, who is in the middle of the enemy camp, should give priority to ensuring a safe path for everyone. The simple way to do that is by annihilating the enemies. Haruna, who’s the only one in the party who could run at full speed on two legs, took the lead at the same speed as on the ground and slashed the lower part of the cell with her Doggan Staff. Of course, it was not just a slash. Haruna, who knew the enemy’s viability from the previous blow, applied poison to the decorative blade of the Doggan Staff. There’s a saying that says ‘fight poison with poison’, but in this case, it’s really a rivalry between deadly poisons.

「It’s the worst poison I can use! Chaos Maia!」

『Chaos Maia』, a level 20 Abyss Magic. It’s a high-ranking magic that produces poisonous mud according to the magic power of the caster and the amount of MP used, and it is very difficult to handle. The reason is that it only produces mud to the extent that can be grasped in the palm of the hand, just like 『Adva』, the basic magic of Dark Magic. But then, that’s also the reason why it’s easy for Haruna to use, and she can do whatever she wants with it, such as smearing it on her weapon, punching with it, and throwing it as it is. And as mentioned before, she applied it to her Doggan Staff this time.

「Hah!」

――――Bushaa!

It’s not clear what kind of poison it is, but the moment the cell was cut by the Doggan Staff, it swelled up greatly and exploded while spurting out fluid from inside. The sight of it convulsing is so gruesome. And since the body didn’t regenerate after that, it seems that it has completely stopped functioning.

「Okay, just as planned!」

With her Unique Skill, Haruna gained the power to easily break through Rimudo’s dragon scales. The same can be said for her magic power. Her Unique Skill made her magic power one rank higher than Rimudo’s, making her Chaos Maia into an extraordinary poison. No matter how strong Rimudo’s immune cells are, there is no way they can survive after being fed such a toxic substance, and it would be no surprise if they suddenly exploded.

「…… Chinatsu, don’t touch that thing, okay? Even my ki can’t defend against it.」

「I know. Yes, I know…. We also have to avoid the liquid that the immune cell spurted out. After all, the enemies that come in contact with it are experiencing similar symptoms….」

Only at this time, Touko and Chinatsu were serious.