Upon reuniting with Cain after two hundred years apart, I was now heading towards a certain place—what Cain mentioned as the place of our memories. I was sure that it was at Gensokyo, where the Chaos Raid base had been.
The journey from Midgard was far, and perilous, so I borrowed a dragon from the school named Leonhart. I’d met him previously when I visited the Dragon Riding Research Society. He’d warmed up to me, so I figured he’d be good to use in a hurry like this. After a long bout of flying, the location finally came into view.
“Thanks, Leo. You can drop me off here.”
From here on out, this was my own personal battlefield. I wasn’t about to let someone like Leonhart—someone with no relation to this—get caught up in this battle.
“Gyuoooar!”
Am I just imagining things? It kind of looks like this old dragon is reluctant to leave.
But either way, a little while after I parted with Leo, a familiar scene came into view.
Wow, this is nostalgic.
Though so much time had passed, Gensokyo hadn’t changed at all. After I walked for a bit through the forest, an abandoned building came into view: the old Chaos Raid hideout. Most likely due to the effect of the explosion, its exterior looked very run-down.
“Took you long enough, Sir.”
Hm. Looks like there’s already someone in there. It’s Ayane, huh? I don’t think Cain’s nearby.
She seemed poised to intercept me by herself.
“Move. I have no reason to fight you,” I said.
How is she still alive?
I had no way of knowing the answer to that, but since Cain was still alive, I could come up with a guess. Most likely, Cain had used some sleazy Ashen Eye magecraft to extend her life.
“Heh heh. You sure about that? You’re not getting past here without beating me first,” Ayane said.
Hm. Doesn’t look like I can just chat with her. Ayane was an Obsidian-Eyed mage. Usually, their role was to support others from behind. They weren’t especially well suited for one-on-one battles. There was no reason why she would ever get a leg up on me.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve shown you my serious magecraft,” Ayane said.
Hm. It’s true. I’ve never really seen her fighting seriously. But also, she mostly occupied a support role, and has never really been on the front lines.
“Activating Magecraft Equation: Release All Mana!” Ayane shouted.
In the next minute, a complicated magecraft equation appeared above the floor of the building.
I can tell that I’m already in her territory.
Ayane continued. “Activate Barrier Magecraft: Shikigami Domain!”
Hm. She’s right. I’ve never seen this magecraft before.
This was a unique magecraft, one that Ayane had developed herself.
“All right, it’s experiment time!” Ayane eerily grinned.
In the next moment, it was like my surroundings had been doused in ink.
This is a pretty large Barrier Magecraft. This might be my first time seeing a barrier of this scale. It had most likely taken a few days to prepare.
“All my shikigami in this area have souls, and will hit with a hundred percent accuracy. Think you can deal with me when I’m serious, Sir?”
If all attacks will hit without fail, then this Barrier Magecraft is probably similar to my Infinite Domain Magecraft. Well, Ayane, show me what you got.
“Shikigami Magecraft, Second Form: Crane!”
As soon as Ayane said this, many bird-shaped shikigamis appeared. I’d seen this magecraft even two hundred years ago, but their shape seemed even more lifelike than before.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Thousand Crane Formation!”
There are a lot of them—at least several thousand. Before I knew it, they completely surrounded me.
“Fire all rounds!”
Receiving their orders, the shikigami began flying at me all at once. I surrounded my feet in wind mana and started dodging their attacks.
“That’s not gonna work! There’s no getting away from them!” she jeered.
I see. In this barrier, each shikigami has their own will, and each one will endlessly pursue their target. It doesn’t look like she was bluffing when she said that they all would hit with a hundred percent accuracy.
“Activate Barrier Magecraft: Inverse Barrier!” I said.
If my opponent was using Barrier Magecraft, then I just had to use Barrier Magecraft of my own. Decision made, I reflected her attack with my Inverse Barrier Magecraft.
“That’s not gonna work! You can’t beat me in this barrier!” Ayane said confidently.
I see. The annoying part about this barrier isn’t just the shikigami endlessly tracking me. There’s no point in deflecting their attacks.
Ayane’s attacks relied on origami as its medium, which meant that she could summon an unlimited amount of shikigami in this barrier. It’d be difficult to continue dodging her attacks forever. The moment I realized this, I was cornered.
There was a loud bang as the shikigami that’d come into contact with me exploded. It was the same as before; Ayane’s shikigamis were rigged to explode.
“That’s some monstrous defensive barrier ability you have, Sir. Can’t even say I’m surprised.”
At the very last second, I just barely defended against the attack, but if this kept going, I’d be in trouble. In the blaze from the explosion, she continued to summon shikigami.
“Shikigami Magecraft, Sixth Form: Mole!”
Hm. First, she attacks me from the sky, now from the ground?
It seemed that she’d stopped trying to break through my defenses and instead launched a frontal attack on me. I immediately activated Body Fortification Magecraft, but I couldn’t fully block the damage. Though I was able to avoid being critically hurt, I’d taken some blunt damage to both my legs.
“Shikigami Magecraft, Eighth Form: Poison Bees!”
Good grief. It seems that inside this barrier, the caster can always control the flow of the battle.
I was impressed, plain and simple. Though Obsidian Eye magecraft wasn’t really geared towards battle, she used it to its maximum potential. Among Obsidian-Eyed mages, there hadn’t been a single one who could go toe to toe with me. I wasn’t sure why, but there was something strange about all this.
I get the feeling that the Ayane I know is different from the Ayane I’m fighting right now.
Right then, a memory from the past flashed through my head.