She’d thrown out a gravitational barrier that would double all weight. Judging it would be bad to be attacked again in this state, I cast a Dimensional barrier—and Snow dashed out from beside me.
“You forgot about me, kid!” she told Noir, raising the sword inherited from Titee and advancing on her.
“No, I didn’t forget. Gravity Greed was meant for you!” As her words ended, a strange sound echoed around us. A gravitational sphere appeared in front of Noir, threatening to crush everything. The effect of this spell was the same as before. It was transparent, yet undeniably a mass of magical energy. Large enough to easily swallow a person whole, it wasn’t something one could simply dodge.
“That’s...” After a moment’s hesitation, Snow swung her sword at the gravity sphere as it tore through the ground. It wasn’t easy to simply dispel it, but her greatsword didn’t break either. The result was a stalemate between the sphere and the sword, propelling Snow forcefully backward.
“The best way to deal with the overly tough dragonewt, Snow Walker, is to eliminate her with magic,” Noir said with a giggle. No matter how strong and powerful Snow might be, it seemed a direct power struggle against gravity magic was disadvantageous. The sphere scattered earth and debris around it as it charged straight ahead for about ten meters, Snow in tow. Just as Noir had said, Snow was temporarily removed from the battlefield.
The scattered earth and debris had become lethal projectiles like shotgun pellets, but Rouge and Titee deflected the damage to the surroundings with their magic. Titee used wind to protect nearby tents and buildings, while Rouge manipulated the surrounding trees to shield her allies.
Even seeing the damage reaching her own side, Noir still wouldn’t stop. “Now I’ll finish my revenge while I can!” She must have judged that her current magic would prevent interference for several more seconds. Noir’s claws, extending from both hands, flashed brightly as she charged low once more, at the same speed as before, this time with a gravity barrier deployed.
But I’d just intensified my deployment of Dimension: Calculash. The same move wouldn’t work on me. No matter how heavy my body felt, if I swung my sword with minimal motion and always dashed the shortest distance, I could match Noir’s speed. I parried the black claws attacking from both sides with my sword, aiming to thrust the tip into her arm.
“Even now you’re not attacking my vital points!” It seemed Noir found this targeting of specific areas humiliating. Her face hardened as her red eyes darted, evading me with abnormally dynamic vision.
Next, using footwork I’d learned from Lorwen, I slid my body into Noir’s side. Frankly, her evasion skills were poor, leaving her wide open. Without hesitation, I swung my sword from her blind spot, aiming to sever the feathers on her back.
But Noir didn’t even turn around, effortlessly dodging the strike. “Don’t underestimate me!”
Dimension: Calculash didn’t sense her activating any magic. Apparently, she could track my movements without relying on her eyes, using sensory organs beyond those of ordinary humans. Simultaneously with that realization, I decided to respond to her voice now that I’d gathered enough information.
“I wasn’t holding back. I just took my time because the longer it dragged on, the more certain I could be. But the waiting is over.” The battle had lasted only seconds, but my victory was already assured. I understood Noir’s physical abilities and traits, and I’d finished analyzing the gravity spells she was deploying. I was confident I could crush any trump card she might have.
Therefore, for just an instant, I switched Dimension: Calculash to its new version and moved to end the fight.
“Dimension: Counting!” I shifted the spell composition of the active Gravity Greed I’d finished analyzing, performing a counter spell to first remove the shackles of gravity. At the same time, I unleashed a slash of my sword, which I’d been holding back, with my full power. Even without the support of Dimension: Calculash, as long as my Responsiveness skill remained active, my aim would never falter.
As a result Lorwen, Treasured Blade of the Arrace Clan, pierced Noir’s abdomen, carefully avoiding her organs as it sank in. I immediately withdrew it, stepped back, and declared victory.
“Move any farther and you die. My victory.”
Noir groaned in pain. She clutched her wounded stomach with both hands, trying to stem the overflowing blood. She must have known that an abdominal injury was fatal. Her face was deathly pale as she pressed her hands against the wound.
I deliberately spoke of death coldly, declaring victory. It was a declaration born from knowing I hadn’t damaged any of her organs. Only I, a Dimension magic user, understood that even if she forced herself to move, she wouldn’t die so easily. I just hoped this made her realize how scary I was.
“Don’t underestimate my recovery and vitality in this state! I haven’t sacrificed my humanity just yet! I’m still far from done!” Noir let go of her wound and stood up, her fighting spirit unbroken.
“You idiot!” I cursed under my breath while gauging the volume of blood pouring from her wound. She probably wouldn’t bleed out immediately, but my knowledge didn’t extend to pinpointing the exact amount of time between unconsciousness and death. Still, watching her recklessly charge at me again, I was certain I wouldn’t be the one defeated this time.
Perhaps from spending too long gathering information on the same location with various castings of Dimension, the magic currently unfolding was nearing the next tier: Dimension: Calculash—Realize. My Future Sight spell also told me Noir’s chance of victory was gone. Just following that path to victory meant I could win now.
While effortlessly parrying Noir’s fierce attacks, I sought a peaceful way to win. Seeing my composure, she grew even more enraged and swung her claws repeatedly. “Why can’t I hit you! Why, why, why?! Are you reading my movements?! That can’t be!”
“Don’t take it personally!”
Without a doubt, she would keep fighting until she bled to death. Reluctantly, I pierced her arm with the sword tip as originally planned, then swung it sideways to sever the tendons in her right arm.
“Gaaah!!! My arm! My aaarrrmmm!!!”
That should render her unable to fight anymore.
But my faint hope was immediately dashed. Noir, blood spattering everywhere, moved her weakened right arm, claws extended toward me.
“Not yet! My saintly arm can handle this much!” Panting heavily, she tried to keep fighting to defeat me.
While retreating to dodge her attacks, I scanned her body with Dimension. Something was terribly off. Even after I’d created such a vast power disparity, her fighting spirit had only swelled. There had to be a reason. What price had she paid for this power? Was this the effect of sorcererification, or was there some other reason entirely?
“Everyone, help me! What are you all spacing out for?! Hurry!” Frustrated by the fact that she never seemed able to hit me, Noir called out to her comrades. Then, seeing Snow, who had been pushed far away, drawing closer again, she only became more flustered. “These people are enemies of Dr. Ide! You all heard that, right?! If we leave them alone, Dr. Ide will die! We’ll lose our teacher! Is that okay with you?!”
We hadn’t come to kill Ide—we’d come to save him. I considered arguing against the false accusation, but since saving him would indeed cause him to vanish, I couldn’t retort. As I hesitated, three Level 10 Jewelculi, watching from the rear, muttered something and stepped forward.
“Dr. Ide will die?”
“That’s not good.”
“Wait, Noir! We’re coming!”
Rouge had tried to restrain them, but hearing that Ide would die seemed to stop her in her tracks. This showed that Ide, like Lastiara in the Cathedral, had earned the trust of the Jewelculi.