“Space-time Magic Level 21: Primordial Predator!”
Rainbow light poured from Zoras’s magic circle, and out came a disturbing creature formed of nothing but a great big mouth. Again.
“Yaaagh!”
The giant teeth rushed toward me, far too fast and far too big.
Since I couldn’t dodge that by just flying around like I normally did, I prepared a spell, always having the magic circle ready to go. “Space-time Magic Level 12: Slow World!”
I placed the magic circle behind me as I ran. A purple light surrounded the creature, slowing its movements. It quickly passed through the purple light and returned to its original speed, but that pause let me narrowly evade. The beast slammed into the roof right next to me, opening a hole.
“You can barely dodge with that,” said Zoras, who had already used Gate to move around to where I leapt to. He was using the Predator, with its speed and wide area of effect, to herd me into a space of his choosing. He was good at this combo.
I knew that, but I couldn’t deal with it. Even if I could anticipate his actions, I couldn’t touch him unless I used gravity magic. I’d have to catch him off guard with a gravity spell while dealing with the vicious, one-sided beating he was giving me…but I clearly didn’t have the skill to pull off a stunt like that.
“You really don’t have any more time,” he said. “This won’t be as nice as it was before.”
His staff came at the side of my face. I thought my neck snapped. My consciousness wavered as my body went flying. I tried to pull back my fading mind.
I’d promised Lunaère I would defeat this man and come back alive.
“Uuugh!” I swung my sword, but it passed through Zoras because he still had Garden of the Muse up. It didn’t hit.
“A reckless strike. You’re so desperate it’s actually sad,” he said with a snort of laughter.
I made a magic circle for Gravity Bomb right in front of Zoras.
“You think I’m going to let this opening go unused? Are you really that desperate?” he said as he thrust the staff into my gut. It felt like the colors of the world inverted. My mind, my body…they both screamed in agony.
But I refused to drop the magic circle. I kept the point of my sword trained on him. “Gravity—!”
“Boreas.” Once again Zoras’s spell scattered my magic circle. My Gravity Bomb was wiped away a moment before I could cast it.
“Don’t think your desperation will let you win!” he said as he swung his staff up to smash my chin. I flew defenselessly up.
“Ugah!”
Through my patchy vision I saw Zoras looking up at me. If he struck me with a magic attack now, while I was defenseless, it could be the end of me.
I can’t win. I don’t know if the difference is in experience, or in tenacity, but we’re not in the same league. His fighting style is too perfect. There are no gaps.
“This is the end. Primordial Predator!”
He pointed his staff at me as I soared through the air. A giant monster came at me, mouth gaping.
“Aaaarrgh!”
There was no dodging. My only choice was to roll the dice and try intercepting with my own magic attack.
I quickly put together a magic circle for Gravity Bomb, but I realized partway through that the creature would kill me before I could cast it.
I acted cool as Lunaère left, but in the end, I couldn’t hold my own against Zoras. I pulled all of Locklore into this fight, and this was how it was going to end.
I heard Zoras laughing. “Don’t worry. Once I kill you, I’ll send the lich girl to join you.” At first he’d seemed like a perceptive, calm, gentlemanly type character, but maybe this was just a chance for him to show his true nature: cruel and sadistic.
If I stopped, he would kill Lunaère next, and Locklore would drown in a sea of curses. I didn’t have the luxury of giving up.
I kicked at the teeth of the monster as it approached and tried to twist away from it. But it didn’t work. Pain shot through my left shoulder as its jaws clamped down over my arm. I couldn’t get it off.
“Kanata, I never thought you would hold out this long. I will remember you…” said Zoras.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I pointed my blade toward my own shoulder. “Gravity Bomb!”
“Graaaaah!”
The creature cried out in what sounded like a shriek. My arm was torn to pieces, and the explosion sent me tumbling across the roof, but I did manage to make it out of that life-or-death moment alive.
“What in the—!”
Even Zoras didn’t anticipate that move from me. I could tell he was thrown off for a moment.
And, though I didn’t plan it this way, the explosion happened to throw me near Zoras. I let myself be taken along while I activated my other magic circle, the other casting of Gravity Bomb I’d prepared using the Twin Minds Method right before I cast the first one.
I wasn’t thinking about consequences. Everything was a blur. I hadn’t even fully steadied myself on my feet before I launched my Gravity Bomb at Zoras from close range.
“Eat this!”
He looked at me, his eyes wide in disbelief. “This can’t—!”
This was my first time ever successfully dual casting a high-level spell like Gravity Bomb with the Twin Minds Method. It wasn’t even like I was consciously aiming for it. I just cast as if on autopilot, because gravity spells were the only way to effectively hit him.
If the first Gravity Bomb hadn’t happened to throw me right in front of Zoras, this all would’ve been pointless. I guess luck was on my side, there was no other explanation.
Zoras was swallowed by the imploding and exploding light of Gravity Bomb.
I thought it’d worked, but he immediately appeared in another location. He must have dodged in the nick of time using Gate.
“Heh heh, that was close,” he said. “I nearly panicked. Though, even a direct hit won’t kill me outright. I could move away and recover anyway. Such resistance is futile. This only showcases the difference in power between the two of us.”
I raised my sword in my one remaining hand. “Looks like Lunaère-san was right.”
“…What do you mean?” Zoras frowned with displeasure.
She’d said, “The caster’s mental resources are split as long as they are using the spell, creating significant openings in their actions. He likely won’t be able to use any other spells effectively.”
That was Lunaère’s evaluation of Garden of the Muse right before this battle started, but Zoras actually was capable of casting high-level spells with high precision while maintaining it. It was proof his skill as a magic user far surpassed Lunaère’s expectation.
But he still had limits.
“Just after you cast another spell while you’re maintaining Garden of the Muse…you’re wide open,” I said.
He could use the spells without issue, but it must really be dividing his cognitive resources. He very obviously reacted more slowly to my spell when he cast Primordial Predator while holding Garden of the Muse.
“That’s good,” I said. “I was really starting to think you were undefeatable, but I’ve finally got you figured out.”
And with that, I had hope. I could keep on fighting.
-6-
“YOU FIGURED ME OUT…? Is it really appropriate to be saying that in this situation?” said Zoras with a look of irritation. “You are incredibly stubborn. I still have to fight the lich girl and finish my mission so I can flee this world before Zero’s curse swallows it.”
“The curse’s time restriction doesn’t matter. Lunaère-san will take care of that. We can take our time and fight. If we do, she’ll come to back me up eventually. That works better for me.”
“How optimistic of you! It doesn’t matter how much you struggle, you will be destroyed along with Locklore! You’re just the opening act for the lich girl. So stop getting in my way, small fry!” Five magic circles appeared around him. “Space-time Magic Level 15: Primordial Polygons!”
There was a flash of rainbow light, and five disconcerting geometric shapes appeared. Then they flew at me at high speed.
I jumped side to side to dodge them. They zipped past me and sliced through the roof of the castle as easily as a knife through butter, then they rose again on their own and came back at me.
So basically, they were powerful, fast flying, and tracking. And this spell made several copies of them at once. That was an incredible and terrifying spell…but it wasn’t enough to break me by now. I’d passed that point a long time ago.
“I’ll slice you to pieces!” shouted Zoras as the five shapes flew randomly past, cutting up everything around me.
While I was focused on dodging, Zoras disappeared. I knew by now that when he did that, it meant he was going to come at me from a blind spot.
I dodged an incoming polygon, and behind it was Zoras, his staff already swinging toward me. I couldn’t block his attack. He would pass through my guard with Garden of the Muse. My only option was to dodge completely.
I focused all my attention on the tip of his staff and ducked. Just as I thought I’d dodged, he kicked me in the stomach.
“Urgh!”
I barely had any HP left. My left arm was gone too, meaning I had limited moves at my disposal. I pulled a healing potion from my magic bag.
“I won’t let you heal now!” Zoras swung his staff down.
I just managed to dodge, but the potion flask got smashed instead.
A polygon came at me from behind. I immediately jumped and dodged, but Zoras was chasing me, with another swing of his staff incoming. I took the hit in my right shoulder so I wouldn’t have to take it in my chest or gut.
The impact lifted me up into the air, the five polygons whirling around me.
“You are just too persistent. Just give in and die already!”
I couldn’t dodge, not with everything coming at me at once.
“Space-time Magic Level 12: Slow World!”
I threw the magic circle below me. That would slow down the polygons coming from beneath, shifting them out of sequence with the others. Zoras was also down there, meaning I could hold off his magic attacks. He could handle this with Gate regardless, but it was a big help knowing he had to add in one move before attacking.
I moved down to escape the polygons’ attack. I heard two of them collide into each other above me.
As expected, Zoras came flying in to attack me using Gate. I launched myself from the surface of one of the passing polygons, then another as I moved left.