Chapter 197

It seems like a long time has passed since the battle began …….

We continue to treat injured people at the lifeguard base, but the number of injured people being brought in is not decreasing, it is only increasing.

We have prepared linen to lay on the ground and our healing magicians will treat those who cannot fit in the tents at the base.

That gives us a place to start with, but there are still problems.

That is, those who have been slashed by the sword held by a man who appears to be the head of the Legion.

They have been unable to heal their wounds by any means, and the only way to keep them alive is to give them first aid and let them survive the situation.

It was painful for us not to be able to help those who were suffering in front of us.

“Ururu-dono, I will carry the injured one.”

“Oh, thank you very much …….”

One of the knights who is now protecting us at the base, Arc-san, lays the injured person brought by the black clothes on the ground covered with linen.

He is someone who used to travel with Usato-kun and is trustworthy.

Rather, he takes the initiative to help treat the wounded without us having to say anything, and if the knights under his control go wild, he immediately subdues them, so he is more than dependable.

In such a short time, you’ve become a master of caring! I was so impressed that I kept inwardly tsk-tsk-tsk-ing.

“Okay, ……! Keep up the good work! I’ll heal you soon!”

With renewed energy, I cast a healing spell on the injured man in front of me.

I’ve done this dozens of times already, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this process. The wounds are always painful to look at, and the agonizing pain on their faces is so painful that you want to turn your back on them.

But the people who are running the battlefield are probably suffering more than I am, so I can not be discouraged.

Besides…

“There’s room here, bring me over here!”

“That’s right, Gerna-kun! I’ll be honest, I might collapse, but I’ll do my best!”

“No, you need to rest a bit!

“I’m not going to faint until I see Suzune-sana!”

Both Gerna-kun and Kate-san are doing a great job as healing magicians.

Gerna-kun, in particular, has lost the confusion she showed at the beginning and is now firmly facing the injured person.

Big brother also–.

“Olga-san ……”

“Don’t worry, Sharn-san. I’m still fine.”

“…… Yes.”

Hmmm? It’s kind of like the distance is getting closer as I’m taking my eyes off the road a bit. ……

No, they probably don’t think about it that way, but they’re serious about it,…….

“It looks like it’s going to be okay if Sharn-san is here! Yeah!”

Now is not the time to be thinking about floating around, so I finish treating the injured person, interrupting my thoughts halfway through.

Your brother’s buoyant talk is important, but now is not the time to dwell on it.

As I switch my thoughts and try to deal with the next injured person to be brought in, a knight comes running to the base with a panicked look and tells something to the escorting knights, including Arc-san.

When I looked in that direction to see what it was, Arc-san, with a pleased expression on his face, spoke out so that everyone present could hear him.

“The one who manipulated the knights ……! We have succeeded in capturing the leader of the Third Legion!”

“Yes, Arc-san, then it could be ……!”

“Yes! Now there will be no more people to be manipulated!”

Thank God……. I am relieved from the bottom of my heart to finally not have to worry about being attacked by my allies.

But I didn’t think it was the Third Legion leader who was manipulating me.

I didn’t know the strength of the people who are called the legionnaires of the demon army, but I knew that they were pretty amazing people.

“But the third legionary commander was captured by the knights?”

“I heard that Usato-dono captured him.”

“…… Eh, Usato-kun?”

“Yes. I’m sure of it.”

—What are you doing, Usato-kun?

I mean, you, when I asked you earlier, I heard that you were fighting another corps leader somewhere else!

“I can understand your confusion. Yes, I understand.”

Arc-san’s nodding also seems to be filled with a sense of realization.

“Usato-kun ……, you’re fighting again, aren’t you?”

A healing magician’s main job is to help, not fight.

When you think about it, Usato-kun’s decision seems wrong, but considering his character, it is easy to see what he was fighting for.

I’m sure he fought because if he didn’t do something about the enemy in front of him, a lot of people would get hurt.

I don’t know if that decision was right or wrong, but at least I thought it was.

“I have to work harder, too. ……!”

It lifts the heart that was a bit on the verge of falling apart.

Just as Usato-kun is running the battlefield as a healing magician, I am standing here now as a healing magician.

Then I can’t show my unworthiness as his senpai and sister in his rescue squad……!

Koga, commander of the 2nd Legion of the Demon King’s Army.

Clad in dark magic, his movements are the complete opposite of Usato’s.

Whereas Usato is the type who sees through the movements of his opponents and strikes a counter without question, Koga is the type who moves in any direction and tries to strike a sharp blow as if to exploit an opening.

“O light!”

He manipulates the magic bullet and swings his sword down at Koga.

He manoeuvres to prevent the sword with his arm and at the same time shoots magic bullets as they rain down, but these are drowned out by the scythe extending from Koga’s back.

“You can’t reach me that much! Hero!”

“A normal magic bullet would be cancelled out by that thing on your back. ……”

The magic bullets that are normally controlled are, so to speak, balloons.

If they are just cut by a sickle, as they are now, the magic inside them will burst.

Until now, they have tried to push through with the number of magic bullets, but that may be impossible. ……

“…… Good.”

Words are power.

You say it out loud, you hear it with your ears, and your brain perceives it.

It is more efficient and much faster to form and manipulate the image in those words as magic than to think it all up in your head and move it around, and the speed of forming magic is much faster.

Perhaps Usato is shouting the name of the technique for the same reason as I am..

“…… chakram”.

He mutters and collects the magic bullets to form another shape.

The two magic bullets, which have changed into a shape similar to a circular boomerang, begin to rotate at high speed.

“If you can make it disappear, make it disappear.!”

“Ugh, what’s that ……!”

It’s a dangerous technique that cuts off anything that comes in contact with it while it’s spinning at high speed.

Unlike ordinary magic bullets, I can only control two, but they are still powerful enough.

Gripping the sword, I perform a medium-range magic attack while directing the circular magic.

“Cut up!”

“Excellent!”

Koga places his hands on the ground and directs the four scythes extended from his back towards the high-speed spinning magic bullet.

The current magic bullets are shaped specifically for cutting.

I chop the scythes with my sword and send two magic bullets flying to separate Koga’s torso and neck.

“You can’t stop me with a half-hearted defence!”

“Eat this ……!”

In line with this, I also continuously shoot out rays of light magic from the palm of my right arm with my left hand attached.

Koga, who had played them with her gigantic arm, attempted to approach us while avoiding the magic bullets that were approaching to cut her to pieces.

“I’ll have to catch up…..”

My system of magic is light, but it doesn’t mean I can manipulate it at the same speed as light.

It means light as purification, in the sense that the target is annihilated without question.

Therefore, both magical beams and magic bullets are slower than senpai’s electric magic, and are not compatible with fast-moving opponents such as Usato and Koga.

“Hero, your magic and your skills are astounding, but you’re too slow to catch me,……!”

“Don’t count on it ……!”

But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck!

He gripped his sword with both hands and used it to deal with the claws and scythes that Koga was wielding.

He moves so fast that it’s hard to read him.

“Haaaa!”

It’s not too fast for you to deal with now that you’ve had a hand in it with Usato!

He avoids the belt protruding from Koga’s body and releases an improvised magic bullet generated by his palm.

“Ha, I ain’t eating that slow!”

That is also immediately dealt with by the scythe on his back, but when he evades, he raises his sword, which he re-holds in one hand, and swings it to cut off his head.

I know that the black magic will prevent me from doing so.

It’s only a bluff for the real blow. ……!

He produces a small sword, with magic condensed in the opposite palm holding the sword.

“Pierce it……!”

He floats it in his fist and swings it at Koga, who has turned his attention to defending himself against the sword.

It is aimed at its heart!

It will kill you instantly before you can respond!

“Flashpoint!”

“Oh shii!!!”

The sword that floats to accompany the fist is struck into Koga’s torso at the same time as the name of the technique is shouted.

By releasing the sword condensed with light magic along with the blow, the entire defence is annihilated and transformed into a penetrating blow!

“Ora!”

“Aha!”

A blow that will surely wipe out Koga’s heart.

But just before the sword of light obliterated Koga’s heart, he was hit by an unnatural impact and fell backwards as if he was being pushed out.

“Now, the magic power burst from both of Koga’s arms ……?”

He lost his target and shifted his gaze from the sword of light, which flew far backwards, to Koga, who took an unexpected action.

Koga, somewhat panicked, stepped back and looked at his own arms and let out an exclamation of admiration.

“I see, so unlike Usato, this is what mine will look like.”

“You, now that’s …… Usato’s …….”

“Oh.”

Just before Koga fell backwards, a sludge-like cloud of magic power burst from both his arms.

Now, from both of his arms, the black magic power that had erupted had transformed into sword-like spikes, and several of them were flying out of his hands.

“I’m not sure how many times I’ve had it in my body. I know what he’s doing, as you can see. Even if the …… seeds are cracked, what he’s doing is still not right, though.”

He quickly put his arm back on and waved his hand at my stunned face.

There was no blood.

Can Koga be as capable of unleashing his magic as Usato? ……?

“Originally, if it’s dark magic that assimilates the body, there’s no reason why Usato, who has assimilated Ferrum, can’t do it and I can’t, you know?”

“Did you let your own magic power go out of control, ……?”

“Even if you fail, it’s better than dying. But you know, this takes a lot of courage. I can’t help wondering how you can use it so readily.”

“Thank God for Usato, right?”

“What did you say, ……?”

“The more I fight that guy, the stronger I get. That’s my favourite opponent!　Hahahaha!”

“……”

Calm down, if you get angry here, you’re playing right into his hands.

I’m sure you’ll agree with me.

…… The fact that he used the same technique as Usato means that he can use the same movement method as him. There’s no way Koga, who was fighting Usato earlier, wouldn’t be able to do that.

“I think we should settle this right away.”

To be honest, fighting Usato at full strength is tough, even without the mental aspect of it.

Although their fighting styles are different, Kogas are just as unpredictable and troublesome to deal with as Usato.

I decided to do so and manoeuvred a circular magic bullet, which I had stalled beside me, to head towards Koga.

“…… Go!”

“Oh? I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out. But–“

Koga, with both arms flailing widely, slams his arms into the magic projectiles coming towards him and performs a magic outburst.

In a moment, the same piercing thorns as before are thrust out from the arms of Koga with a shock.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work anymore.”

The magic bullet that was supposed to cut him up was forcibly erased.

Not only does it have an impact, but it also has hardness. ……!

Having obliterated the circular magic bullet, Koga puts both arms on the ground and begins to transform its body.

“Haaaa……!”

“The figure is changing ……?”

Until now, he had four scythes extending from his back, making him look halfway between man and beast, but now he has transformed into a porcupine-like figure with sword-like thorns growing from his back.

It was as if he had specialised only in killing, and I turned my full attention to Koga.

“Well, now, let me do the same as that guy, with a new way of fighting……!”

“Aha!”

At the moment when he tries to generate the next magic bullet while stifling his agitation, Koga, who should have been more than ten metres away just a moment ago, is approaching right in front of him.

He immediately slammed his sword down and tried to intercept it, but it was evaded at an abnormal speed.

“You’ve unleashed your magic power and gained instantaneous acceleration!”

“That’s right!”

Fast ……!

I had been able to deal with it well enough, but the same acceleration method as Usato’s had turned his movements into something even more irregular.

I barely follow the movement with my eyes.

“Ah, there it is!”

“Blast it!”

He turns his back and uses his sword as a shield.

Nevertheless, Koga raises his fist and slams it into the sword. At the same time, a powerful shockwave and several thorns formed by black magic are projected from the fist.

“Ughh! Ts, this!”

Not everything can be prevented and I get spines in my left shoulder and side.

It hurts like hell, but there’s no time to be in pain!　While using the shockwave to evade backwards as if falling down, she holds her palm out in front of her and fires a series of magic bullets.

While keeping Koga in view, who avoids the magic bullets that approach like a machine gun, I analyse the current Koga.

“It’s going to take some time to get used to it. ……”

It turns out that there are additional attacks with shockwaves and thorns to the normal attacks.

Their speed has also increased dramatically, so fighting them at half distance is bad for us.

It’s impossible to deal with it in the same way as before.

You can’t just go in there and let him keep firing his magic, or you can be prepared to get wounded and make sure my magic kills him instantly. …… I’m confident I can do both, but I have to be prepared to take some risks.

“Hmm?”

Just as I am about to return fire, with Koga in my sights as he tries to dodge a magic bullet and attack me, I realise that someone clad in flames and lightning is flying towards where I am.

The person, who scatters the flames and lands neatly, smiles at me, unaware of his cloak, which is on fire.

“Kazuki-kun, I hope you’re okay!”

“Senpai, that’s my line. …… You’re on fire, your cloak.”

“Eh? You’re kidding ……, it’s hot!

The moment she landed was cool, but she was in a hurry to put out the fire. ……

When I shifted my gaze from senpai, who was hurriedly putting out the flames on his cloak, to Koga, he had stopped moving, looking sideways at Amira.

Meanwhile, Amira, who had been fighting senpai, was bleeding from her shoulder but did not seem to have lost her will to fight yet.

“…… Fu!　As expected of a corps leader class. You finally landed a blow with my Miracle Special Move ‘Flame Lightning Shippo Zan’, which also utilises the opponent’s flames. ……!”

After putting out the fire, the senpai wipes his forehead and says something like that

” Ha ha ha ……. Is everything alright over there?”

“I’m still fine, but I don’t think the sword withstood the blow.”

The sword that he raised was cracked and broken in half.

The sword is supposed to be quite strong, but it seems that it could not withstand senpai’s strength.

However, I somehow know that the sword I have is also nearing its limit.

“Could this be what you call a desperate situation?”

“No, no, you don’t think so, do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

He then picked up two swords that were lying nearby.

“There are plenty of weapons on the battlefield, you know. If your favourite sword is broken, you can use this one next time.”

He uses his healing magic to patch up the damage and stands up.

I’m not doomed.

I’ve already shown my inadequacy last time.

So this time I’m going to fight hard and win.

“Let’s not give up and fight.”

“Ah!”

So this time, I will not be ashamed of the heartfelt friends I have made in this world.

Having switched our thoughts with these words, me and my senpai

Author’s Note:

＞＞Maybe Usato is shouting the name of the technique for the same reason as me.

Usato ” Eh?” (not thinking about anything)

Kazuki’s light magic basically ignores defences and makes them disappear.

It is even more unforgiving than Usato’s, as it does not take the slightest hint of force.

Here’s an explanation of the technique.

The name of the technique is “Hikari Tenken” (named after Inugami-senpai).

This is a technique in which a sword of light attached to the fist is released with a blow.

If it strikes directly, the part of the fist that struck will disappear as if it were hollowed out.

It ignores defence and comes out fast.

The name of the technique was decided after Kazuki begged senpai to think about it seven times.