Black Iron Magician

(Well, even so, I have to prepare thoroughly and restrain them while risking my life like this. Now then, the sticky venom that I used to restrain them was also burned, and they should have been free after the explosion….)

The flames of the explosion dissipated, and those who were in it reappeared. Deris, who was caught in the explosion along with Haruna and the Touko, was almost unharmed thanks to the divine armor. It seems that the deep wound gouged out by Touko was also healed in this instant.

「Uooh!」

「Hah!」

At the same time that Deris’s figure came into view, Touko and Haruna jumped at him from his left and right. Their skin is a little scorched, but they don’t seem to be seriously injured. Even now, they are energetically trying to crack Deris’s head with their weapons.

(I see, so Chinatsu gave them Alma Divine Bless in advance. They are a lot more energetic than expected, huh? But well, the armor was peeled off by the explosion just now. There won’t be a next time――whoa!?)

Judging that a head-on fight was not a good idea, Deris tried to retreat straight up. However, his feet would not leave the ground. After all, something was entwined around his legs that prevented him from jumping. When he glanced down, he saw that chain-like barriers were restraining his legs.

(Chains!? No, Reflect Fortress!? Chinatsu made chains from the barrier that was stretched out on the ground to restrain me…!)

That’s right. Chinatsu deployed a carpet-type barrier on the path to defend against attacks from bellow the ground when advancing. And at this moment, it extends to Deris’s feet as well. Moreover, this barrier is an all-purpose barrier that can be changed at will. This means that it is also possible to create restraints.

(It wasn’t here until just now. No, did Chinatsu deploy it by taking advantage of the explosion so that I wouldn’t notice it? She ignored Haru and Touko to beat me to the punch? …… Hah! That damn Chinatsu, she looks like she’s having a hard time, but she’s got a lot of guts! Moreover, she’s in a position to shoot Miracle Regul at any time! If she could detect the type of magic through this barrier, anything deployed in the field would be nullified immediately!)

Even though Haruna and Touko were caught in the explosion, Chinatsu calmly watched the battle and did what she had to do. She was enduring the urge to save them, telling herself that it would lead to victory and would lead to their safety. It was to corner Deris at the cost of a great deal of stress.

(Taking the attacks would be bad, and evasion is not possible. Moreover, Chinatsu won’t let me use magic. And they are not so simple to fall for the same trick, damn…!)

――――Clang!

Deris blocked Haruna’s attack with Bardock’s gun barrel. However, he’s defenseless against Touko’s attack, which is approaching from the opposite side. Deris is blocking the Doggan Staff with Bardock while firing bullets, but since the muzzle is pointing in a different direction, no bullets are hitting the girls. The homing function may allow them to come back later, but even so, Touko’s attack will reach him first.

(He’s focusing on defending against Haruna! Then, I will knock him down with a single blow!)

Touko’s fist, which is coated in her ki, attacked Deris’s heart.

――――BAM!

A sound was mixed in the sound of continuous firing from the muzzle. It was only one shot, and it came from a completely different place.

「Gah…!?」

A magic bullet fired by Deris penetrated Touko’s right chest. However, it wasn’t fired from the muzzle. The magic bullet was shot from the side of the barrel of the gun.

「Touko-chan!?」

「Damn, you made me use my trump card. Still, it’s difficult to shoot backward. I was aiming for the heart, but I missed.」

A large hole was opened in Touko’s right chest, and a large amount of blood spewed out from her mouth and wound. Even if her heart wasn’t hit, it’s clearly a fatal wound.

(Oh no…! The reason Deris-san’s staff shaped like a gun was to make us, who know about guns, think that the bullets only come out of the muzzle! In reality, the bullets could be shot from anywhere!)

Chinatsu’s guess was half correct. If not from the muzzle, it can’t shoot continuously and don’t have a homing function, but it’s possible to shoot a straight single shot. Well, since the speed is the same, it’s almost impossible to dodge at such a distance without prior information.

(No, first aid is the top priority now!)

「First High Ai――」

「――Too slow.」

Deris’s magic bullet, which turned and came back, collided with the recovery magic that Chinatsu chanted toward Touko. The content of the magic bullet was Miracle Regul, which nullified Chinatsu’s magic.

「Kuh! Even the magic I was about to use was anticipated…!」

Furthermore, other offensive magic bullets are raining down on Chinatsu. Now, Chinatsu has her hands full with her own defense. She’s not in the situation to treat Touko or to support Haruna.

「Now, it’s just the two of us, Haru. Are you sure you’re up for this kind of contest of strength when you never know when a bullet is going to fly out?」

「……」

Haruna didn’t say anything to Deris who flaunted that Bardock could launch a surprise attack. The two staves are pushing each other, and Haruna is concentrating so that she can respond to any unexpected situation.

If it were a battle of strength, Haruna would have the upper hand because she has much higher physical strength. However, Deris now has a temporary power-up due to doping, and in a pure power match, they are evenly matched. Even if Haruna uses aiki, which is her forte, Deris already studied it thoroughly in their daily sparring, and he even pointed out how to deal with it. She might have a chance if she cooperated with Touko, but one-on-one against him would put her at a disadvantage. Also, the support magic of her Purple Lightning Magic has disappeared, probably nullified by Deris’s Miracle Regul. To put it bluntly, Haruna is absolutely at a disadvantage.

「…… Shishō, do you like rats?」

「Ha? There’s no way I would like such a disgusting creature.」

「I see. I’m glad to hear that.」

「What the hell are yAS#Q%[email protected]!?」

There was a sudden sharp pain. With a cracking sound, Deris opened his mouth and eyes wide.

「Haa… haa…」

It was an unexpected event. Tuoko, who was severely injured after being pierced through her right chest, launched a sharp kick at Deris’s spine. An unpleasant sound, like something cracking or being crushed, is transmitted from the waist to the rest of the body.

「H-Hehe…. My eyes… are blurry…. I was aiming… for the heart… but I missed…」

「Touko-chan!」

「T-Touko…!」

「I’ve been literally… shot in the heart… by Danna, so… all that’s left is… to move forward…! But… it’s only this far…. I leave the rest… to you… Haruna…」

Touko lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

「Hah!」

Haruna made a quick decision from there. She sent the gun Bardock flying to the distance, and she used her palm to hit the chin of Deris, who was still in agony, with all her might.