“What do we do, Mary?” Snow asked. “Do we just have to beat them up one at a time, the old-fashioned way?”
“That’d be fine by me, but I really don’t want to waste too much time,” I replied. “I feel like the longer the battle, the more of a disadvantage we’ll be at. And while I’m sure everyone is safe down there since they’re together, the fact that Nike is at the stage is cause for worry. Will Noa be all right? I hope she isn’t panicking or anything.”
“Then should we gather them in one place and destroy them in one go? Maybe a higher-order spell of yours can do something.”
“That seems to be the simplest solution, but I don’t think that it’ll be that easy.”
I gazed intently at my enemies as I conversed with Snow. I was so used to us speaking that I totally forgot that an outsider would see me as someone cringily talking to themself. That said, that was better for me than the alternative since the Argent Armor would figure out what we were planning...
There were still a few points I was hesitant about, but I decided to run with Snow’s plan of beating them all in one blow. “I guess that’s the only shot we’ve got,” I said. “Let’s go with your plan, Snow! Be flexible and ready to adapt on the fly!”
“Your babbling ends here,” the Argent Armor said. “We’re about to put on a lovely show, you and I! You’ll dance for me until I’m satisfied!” Unwilling to continue sitting back and listening to me monologue, she made the first attack, sending fire and ice at Snow and me in relentless waves.
“Raaaah!” I shouted. “Snow, dodge them all!”
“Whoaaaa! This really does remind me of the barrage by the massive annihilation magus engine!” Snow cried.
“It was easier to evade that thing since it only fired from one place! These attacks are coming all at once from all sorts of directions!”
I was surprised to see that rather than having all of them fire at us from a distance, she had some of the suits coming up close to try to land decisive strikes. I fought them back, but needless to say, the ranged armors refused to ease up on their attacks, not at all caring if any of their shots landed on the armors approaching me.
“What a poor excuse for a commander!” I spat. “I guess she doesn’t mind a few sacrifices!”
I was quietly seeking an opening. If I wanted to use a higher-order spell and decimate them all in one blow, I wanted to gather them up in one spot. Snow’s speed and evasion capability along with my attacks were managing to keep us afloat, but if a person without cheats like mine had tried to do this, they would’ve been defeated in a flash—the state the stage was in was proof enough of that.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” the Argent Armor crowed gleefully. “You’re losing your gusto! You’ll get hit at this rate! Hya ha ha ha!” The armors were firing spells like no tomorrow.
I know I’m not one to talk, but do you have an infinite amount of mana or something? No, that can’t be... It may have been possible for the Armor of God to have an insane amount of mana, but these suits of armor were fakes acting in her stead—I was sure they couldn’t also have infinite mana.
Sure enough, I soon began to spot signs that their mana was running out. The armors’ attacks were growing fainter and slowing down. Trying to overwhelm me with numbers and throwing out spells without thought was her fatal mistake. She probably didn’t expect me to be so absurdly strong. We may not look it, but we’re a divine beast and a lady with cheats, you know?
“Ugh, quit flitting about, insect! How annoying!” the Argent Armor grumbled. “You’re irritating me! I’ll end you right here!”
The Argent Armor must’ve also realized that the tides of battle were turning. She was putting on a strong front, but her panic was palpable—the armors stopped firing spells and came at me with their swords.
“Mary, we’ve got an opening below!” Snow shouted.
“Got it. Overlight!” I yelled. I emitted a blinding ray of light at the armors, and Snow used that opportunity to duck below, where there weren’t too many of them.
“You moron!” the Argent Armor cackled. “I know what you’re thinking! It’s all too clear to me!” She laughed triumphantly as reinforcements charged at me from below. She must’ve known that I’d do this from the beginning and kept some suits of armor in reserve. Or was this the ace up her sleeve? Or maybe she’d even been going easy on me? No matter the case, we were now caught and in a tight spot.
“Hya ha ha ha!” the Argent Armor laughed. “Did you think I couldn’t hear that divine beast talking? Well, too bad for you! I heard her from the start!”
I could hardly believe my ears. Well, I guess the Argent Armor is the Armor of God, and Snow’s a divine beast, a messenger of God. They’re birds of a feather, so it wouldn’t be odd for them to be able to converse.
For a moment, Snow hesitated on her descent while the other armors flew straight for us. “It’s over for you!” the Argent Armor shouted triumphantly.
But actually, as I said, I sort of knew that the two of you might be able to converse! After all, you didn’t say a thing when I was supposedly talking to myself. I bet on the fact that you could hear Snow so I could turn the tables on you!
“No, it’s over for you,” I declared firmly.
My voice came from above the armor. While Snow had made her descent, I’d flown high up. Suddenly, my afterimage on Snow’s back wavered and disappeared as she descended even faster than before and barely glided between the suits of Argent Armor rising from below. She might’ve gotten hurt a little, but since I was no longer on her back, I knew that she could use her evasive skill to its full potential.
With faith that Snow could come out of this alive, I began my chant. “Heed my words, sinful soul! The path laid upon this place is absolute and I shall offer thee my mercy. Let God bestow upon you the open gates of purgatory!” I declared.
This was what I meant by flexibility and adapting to each situation. I trusted that Snow would act without the need for further communication, and sure enough, the armors chasing after her were caught in my magic circle, while she managed to escape from my spell by a hair’s breadth. I was happy to see that the trust built between Snow and me had borne fruit in this battle.
“Thy sins and thy defilement shall be pardoned as my flames shall purify thy soul!” I continued to chant.
“N-No! That’s a sixth-order spell!” the Argent Armor gasped, seeming to recognize what I was about to do. I was ignoring her, of course.
Fiery chains shot out from my magic circle and captured all the suits of armor. I glared down at my enemies. “Purgatorial Flames of Purification!” I shouted.
“Who in the world are you?!” the Argent Armor shrieked. “You are not a normal person!” But her screaming was soon drowned out by my hellfire. The whole horde of armor turned to ash.
“It’s over,” I declared.
Given the sheer amount of armors, I predicted that all the fake suits of Argent Armor hidden within the land, this kingdom included, had just been reduced to ashes. I mean, it’d be a problem if they weren’t. Now the Argent Armor couldn’t be a nuisance unless she personally made her way to us, and all that was left was to head for Xeoral, where her real body was.
You better sit tight and wait for me, Argent Armor. First thing I’ll do when I see you is smack you across the face for all the rude things that you’ve done until now.