But here we were—Melissa was coming at me in a murderous rage. What he said was happening right before my very eyes, so I had to accept it.
Melissa slashed her claws wildly about, relying on brute force just like an animal would. His boast about unleashing her powers beyond their full potential wasn’t bullshit. Her movements were faster and her magic far more powerful than I’d ever seen it in practice.
But in exchange, her movements had grown incredibly simplistic. She was all reflex, charging only toward her enemy. Dodging her was easier than breathing in and out.
“Gree…?!”
But all of this was only true if nobody else got in the way—!
A sudden pain rushed through my leg. I felt like I’d been stabbed with a poisoned needle. A burning pain spread quickly from the entry wound.
I’d felt this before. It was damage from Thunder magic.
“You asshole…!”
“That’s what you get for forgetting about me. To be completely ignored certainly does sting. Though I suppose I understand why you would want to focus on her right now. What tremendous magic energy. I guess that’s to be expected from the Priestess of Eltania.”
Of course this asshole wouldn’t neglect me while I was entertaining Melissa and begging to be attacked. Meanwhile, Melissa kept flailing mindlessly at me while Victor shot thunder needles.
“Mylene!”
“Let us handle Melissa while you—”
It would be easiest if I could let them handle her, but—
“You think I’ll allow that?”
—we had another foe to worry about.
The muscular man blocked Albert and Colette’s way. He was a sort of errand boy for Victor in function, but from his stance and the look in his eye, he projected competence.
This situation is so bad it’s funny— Mother! Fucker!
“Shit! Snap out of it—grrng!”
Melissa’s brute force strikes had so much momentum behind them that I couldn’t block them. Her blows were easy to dodge, but doing that would open me up to a shower of attacks from Victor.
“Mmf!”
“Shit! He’s heavy…! Albert, don’t be a hero!”
And I couldn’t rely on my backup either.
Not like I was counting on them swooping in to save me, but Albert and Colette were quite a force when paired together. Still, I’d miscalculated believing they would put up a good fight.
The muscular man brushed away the sword, causing Colette to sway out of her defensive stance. The sheer volume of magic would be difficult for Albert to block. To stop Victor’s flunky, Colette would have to take his attacks while Albert went on the offensive—that was the exact opposite of their usual dynamic.
We’ve gotta break the stalemate…
“Don’t take this personally!”
And to do that, I needed Melissa to go nighty night.
With a little restraint, I sank my fist into her jaw. That was the smoothest way to rattle someone’s brain and knock them unconscious.
However—
“Dammit, why won’t you just black out?!”
“Ha-hah! It won’t work! She’s in a forced state of consciousness—she won’t lose it that easily!” Victor cried out in maniacal glee as he shot more thunder needles at me.
To add insult to injury, this motherfucker wouldn’t stop riding my ass.
He could easily kill me with one attack if he wanted to. Yet he was holding back. And that was because—
“If you want to stop her, killing her is your best bet! Or you could blast off her legs if you wish! Either way, she won’t feel the pain!”
—this psycho wanted me to personally take Melissa’s life. That was the story—or in his words, the comedy—that he wanted to tell.
This birthed a strong urge in me to prevent that from happening—which might have been what he was going for. In that case, I had to hand it to the guy.
“Oof…!”
But those needles of his just kept flying in a relentless taunt. He probably meant to make a laughingstock out of me for a while.
Damn, this dude is no fun. I can’t think of any way to land an attack.
If this kept up much longer, the needle-inflicted damage would be no laughing matter. One wrong move and it was curtains.
There has to be some way out of this… Do I have no choice but to use my last resort?
“Myle-e-ene!”
I clenched my eyes in pain as an angry shout rang through the auditorium. I shifted just enough of my consciousness to hear the rest of what Colette had to say.
“We’ll manage somehow, I promise! So trust me and hang in there! Curse your way through it if you have to!”
Through the loud clamor of sword hitting sword, I heard her cry out to endure it. Like that was so easy. I knew she and Albert were barely holding their own as it was.
But “Trust me,” eh? Not a bad seduction line, if I do say so myself.
“Shit…I’m a sophisticated lady with a lotta charms—don’t make me wait long!”
“That joke wasn’t half bad! Keep it up!”
In my past life, I’d done a lot of mercenary gigs with a group, but looking back, I hadn’t really trusted anyone I worked with. In the bitter end, the only person you could rely on was yourself. That was how I’d survived to my own bitter end. But this was my second life. It might be fun to try something new.
I twirled away from Melissa’s swinging nails and used my momentum to repel the volley of thunder needles. Not even a magic shield could stop my hands from tingling from the force of my magic orbs and Victor’s needle attacks.
This all would have been easier if I had a sword. But while I was filled with regret, a smile was creeping onto my face.
That was because doing what I thought I hated—waiting—was actually not as bad as I thought.
“Aha, so that’s your move! Oh, I was right about you, Mylene, you never bore me! And that’s it. Your chaos is true theater!”
“Oh, shut up. Nobody likes your shitty threepenny drama!”
That’s right. Don’t snap. Don’t panic. When you’re in battle, light quipping is ideal.
Now that I had firsthand experience dealing with Melissa’s movements, I turned my attention to Victor’s attacks. I focused on making one action at a time—not a millimeter wasted—as I seamlessly weaved my evasive maneuvers into a steady flow.
But unexpectedly—
“Beautiful…! It’s like you’re dancing! What a polished performance of extreme intricacy!”
—it turned into a dance. The pretentious asshole’s unwelcome applause pissed me off…but I could use it.
“More—give me more! Ahh, I’m getting a vision…a vision for a new kind of performance! Yes, a synthesis of acting and music!”
A bolt of thunder clapped between each step I took in a dramatic counterpoint. In his excitement, Victor had turned his thunder needles into thunder hammers, spreading a cacophonous roar through the proscenium.
It was the absolute worst call and response ever. His words and actions were in direct opposition. If this were a play, he’d be throwing rocks at the actors.
But my heightened sense of focus helped me feel his flow of magic on my skin. Struck by it, my body moved.
Aha…I think I got the hang of this.
A seamless dance with no form. It had something in common with a beast’s method of fighting. Up until now, I’d moved in a way that would help me kill with the highest efficacy—but if I emphasized evasiveness, I could use this type of movement for defense. It was a new discovery.
Having said that, it would all be over if Victor threw a tantrum. I’m sure he had the firepower to blow this entire auditorium away with a spell if he put his mind to it. So before he could…
I shot Colette and Albert a sideways glance.
Colette was drawing the beefy man’s attacks while Albert danced with Wind magic, boldly diving in for the attack. Ideally, they would defeat baldie before Victor lost his temper. Then I could leave Melissa in their hands, and the odds would suddenly turn in our favor.
But Victor might deliver the final blow before we could make that happen.