Black Iron Magician

「You two, she’s coming again!」

「Kuh, again!?」

「Watch out under the floor too! There are several of them under there!」

The three disciples, who ended up fighting against the 『Peerless』 Freya, somehow managed to endure this predicament. Freya’s single tail split into nine, and they flew freely in the air and dived under the ground, attacking the girls from all directions.

「Rather than a wolf, she’s like a nine-tailed fox, isn’t she…!? Aspida Vega!」

Chinatsu put up her hardest barrier. However, Freya’s tails are not only as flexible as a whip, but they are also incredibly strong. This barrier, which Chinatsu believed to be her strongest barrier, could block the first hit, but it was pierced by the second hit. The only way Chinatsu can deal with the attacks is to stack Aspida Vega, which is difficult to handle, at high speed and leave the remaining attacks to Haruna and Touko.

「Tiny Hole

, and then!」

Haruna created palm-sized black holes in both hand and threw them to gouge the approaching tails. However, it also didn’t go as expected. Just before the thrown black hole hit Freya’s tail, a blue flame ball was shot from the tip of the tail. The flame ball is the same as Freya’s breath, and in terms of power, it’s on par with Nell’s flame. To put it bluntly, it’s super-powerful. The black hole carelessly swallowed the flame, and it immediately reached its capacity. The flame that couldn’t be fully absorbed overflowed from the black hole and disappeared before colliding with the tail.

「It disappeared in an instant…!?」

「You threw dark magic, huh? That’s new.」

「Pantile Breaking!」

As Haruna pointed out earlier, there were several tails approaching under the floor. Touko slammed her fist on the floor to intercept these tails with ki, just like what she did against the ant monsters in the Root of the Steel Tree dungeon. However, it was still no use. That alone was not enough to stop the tails’ advance. The attack with Berserk could ignore the defense, but it doesn’t work much against Freya who’s on another level.

「It’s an interesting wide-range technique, but it’s lacking in power. It’s laughable to try to stop my tails with something like that.」

「The skin and scales are too hard that it doesn’t reach to the core at all!? Sorry, I failed!」

「Retreat with your all! Don’t let the tail touch you! You’re done if you got hit even once!」

「Gii-kun! Support everything in the air!」

「「「Gii!」」」

In advance, Haruna had chanted the level 80 Darkness Magic 『Flock Bat』 and summoned a flock of dark bats, in other words, a flock of Gii-kuns. The purpose was to have the Gii-kuns firmly grab the backs of the three by the legs to help them move at high speed in the air. They read the intentions of the one they grabbed and assisted them in flight, making the trajectory of Haruna’s and Touko’s 『Sky Dash』 sharper and more unpredictable, and also accelerating Chinatsu’s movement around the scaffolding barriers. Gii-kuns, which filled with a considerable amount of Haruna’s magic power, seem to be working quite excellently.

With the help of Gii-kuns, the three managed to retreat. They managed to avoid the tails’ attacks that came from all direction and the blue flames that sometimes shot from them, even thought it was straining their bodies to the limit.

「Hah!」

Furthermore, Haruna succeeded in cutting off one of the tails that was closest to her with her Doggan Staff. No matter what the girls did, they could land a decisive blow on Freya’s tail, but Haruna’s Unique Skill seems to work without any problems. Chinatsu and Touko also tried their best and devoted themselves to defense.

「Hou…. Even though I’m just using my tail, you could defend all of my attacks, huh. Moreover, you cut off my tail along with my dragon scales. You’re definitely stronger than they were when I met them at that time. They have become a good master.」

Freya was honest in her praise for the three who showed the movement that was better than she expected. She was also impressed by Deris and Nell who trained them. However, the three didn’t have the time to be happy about it.

(The tail that Haruna cut off already regenerated!? There’s really no end to it! We struggled this much even though she’s just using her tail!)

(Thanks to Gii-kun, we are somehow able to survive now, but it will end immediately if she moves her main body…. At least, I have to be careful not to be driven into the wall…!)

(As expected of Nell-san’s mother! The power of each flame and the sharpness of her attack are just like Nell-san’s magic and sword! Still, I think we will lose at this rate. The only chance to win is to take advantage of when she’s immersed in her lingering memory…. Hmm, there’s no opening to get close to her! I don’t know what to do!)

Not only moving their bodies, but the three were also using their heads to find even a little of hope. And perhaps overheating from the intense calorie consumption, black smoke was beginning to rise from above the heads of two of them.

「Haruna, try to use poison onwhoa!?」

「■■■!」

「「!?」」

「Hm?」

In the midst of all this, there was someone who swung his sword at Touko while shouting something indescribable. It was Kira, who had been locked up in Chinatsu’s barrier prison until just a moment ago. Chinatsu, who had been focusing on fighting Freya, hadn’t repaired the barrier prison since meeting her, and Touko, who was carrying Kira, tossed him around there when the battle started and left alone.

「■■!」

「You bastard…! How dare you interrupt me at a time like this!」

「I’m sorry, the barrier was probably broken by the aftermath of the attack!」

「Chinatsu-chan, I can endure it by myself for a few seconds, so hurry up and reseal him!」

「Oka―― Haruna, look in front of you!」

「…!? Kuh!」

Immediately after Kira’s intrusion, the girls attempted to reconstruct the battle situation to a state where they could fight as fast as possible. However, something extremely fast was approaching at that time. …… It was Freya’s main body that was standing still until a moment ago. She probably dashed with her serious speed. It was far faster than the speed of the tail that the Haruna and Chinatsu were almost blown away when she passed by them. Yes, Freya passed the them and headed toward Kira, who was trying to get in the way.

Touko immediately jumped back. The next moment, Freya rushed into that place and sent Kira away with a vigorous tackle.

「Good grief, you’re so tactless. I hate to be interrupted. Especially, when I’m having fun.」

「■, ■■■… ■■…?」

Kira, who was attacked by Freya head-on, stood up by the wall while his armor creaked. It’s unknown whether he’s safe because he’s undead or because he has that much endurance, but it seems like he can still fight.

「This rotten stench and spirit of resentment… you’re Vakala’s subordinate, huh? You made me smell something bad after I woke up. The sin of offending me is heavy…!」

「■■■■――!」

Thus began the battle between Freya and Kira. It’s a development where Freya one-sidedly attacks Kira, but Kira continues to stand up like a zombie.

「H-Hey, let’s leave while we can now.」

「…… Right. Fortunately, White Wolf-san and Kira-san are busy dealing with each other. It’s an ideal development.」

「Then, full speed retreat!」

Then, Haruna and the others secretly sneaked out of the battlefield.