And since I used that mana perception field, the familiars all know my location. If a horde of immortal familiars come for me, I’ll be in for a world of drudgery...
I turned to the humanoid covered in rags.
“You seem quite strong,” I remarked. “As a show of respect, I shall offer you five seconds of my precious time. Now then, give me everything you’ve got.”
I wasn’t sure if it understood my words, but the moment I finished taunting it, it shot out four Dark Lances at me. In the blink of an eye, the humanoid appeared right in front of my nose with another Dark Scythe and swung down. It certainly lives up to its status as an ancient monster from the age of the gods... It’s strong, and too fast for me to keep up with.
Luckily, my toughened mana barrier managed to repel the scythes and lances that assaulted me. As the monster recoiled from my deflection, I took that opening to swing down my Dark Scythe at it. However, my weapon never made contact, the creature’s body turning into dark mist to pass through without harm.
“You can transform?” I muttered. “An unusual move indeed...”
This allowed it to evade any physical and magical attacks, making it near invincible. I could only call it cheating. Trying to damage mist was like trying to catch a cloud. But while this move seemed like a huge boon, I knew that it had one fatal drawback that I could take advantage of: A vaporized body implied that it had turned into countless small particles. In other words, its power was also split into tiny little pieces, making it more susceptible to the effects of magic. Those with a smaller body were more vulnerable to magic than larger frames, so if a vaporized form was assaulted by a thick mana wave from an opponent who ranked higher, it would create devastating results. At best, they would merely faint, but at worst...
I glared at the humanoid familiar with disappointment. “You were killed by the founder and became his familiar, didn’t you? Surely, you should’ve learned what would happen if you turned into mist against a superior foe.”
I instantly emitted a wave of thick mana, and the monster’s body scattered, unable to maintain its shape and form. As promised, I had given it exactly five seconds of my time. It’ll take a while for every single one of your damaged particles to regenerate and become anew. Blame your own shallow thinking.
I turned back to Lilka, who once again was on the ground, looking up at me with mouth agape.
“With how often your knees buckle, you ought to have a crutch,” I remarked wearily.
Lilka smiled sheepishly. “I told you to run in hopes that you’d survive, but you took care of it without breaking a sweat, huh? Man, I feel embarrassed for overreacting.”
She tried to stand, but her knees were trembling, and she staggered as she leaned on me. With a gasp, she quickly released me from her grip.
“S-Sorry!” she said. “I didn’t mean to hang on to you! Honest! I just can’t seem to put strength into my legs...”
She gave an awkward chuckle, but she really did seem barely able to stand as she staggered about. She isn’t just scared... That mana wave I unleashed earlier must’ve affected her as well. After all, she was right behind me. This must’ve been mana sickness of sorts, and it’d take some time for her to recover. I clicked my tongue with annoyance as I channeled my mana into my body, giving me enough power to carry her with my right arm as I hoisted her on my shoulder.
“Huh?! W-Wait!” she stammered.
“Don’t scream in my ear,” I grumbled.
“B-But... No, I’m good! I’m heavy! I know I am!”
“I told you to shut the hell up.”
“Wh-Whaaat?!”
I channeled some mana into my legs, allowing me to race through the corridor with incredible speed. Lilka, perhaps surprised by how swift I ran, began to shout and cry with astonishment. Ugh... I told you to shut up. If we dawdle, your Scarlet Wind friends might not make it out alive, you know. We can’t relax just yet.
After Lilka got all her screams out, she caught her breath and turned to me.
“Um! Excuse me!” she yelped. “I’m super grateful that you’re carrying me, but this position is a bit embarrassing...”
Her cheeks became flushed. Embarrassed? Why? Because if I slightly turn around, your butt’s right next to me? Judging by this position, it’s not like you can change that. Or is it because your thighs are exposed by the hot pants you’re wearing? Is that the issue?
“Just bear with it,” I snapped. “It’s your fault for being dressed this way.”
“Hey, I’m wearing these pants because they’re easy to move around in!” she cried.
“And I don’t care. I don’t lust after brats like you, so rest assured.”
“‘Lust’?! And ‘brat’?! Aren’t we the same age?! Can’t you just carry me like a princess or something?”
What a stupid request. Do you even know what situation we’re in?
“That I cannot do,” I replied.
“Wh-Why not?!” Lilka cried, but then her gaze traveled down to my missing left arm that peeked out under my fluttering coat. “O-Oh... You don’t— I’m sorry.”
“Why do you look so apologetic? I don’t want your measly pity.”
“I know. But still, I’m sorry.”
I quietly ignored her silly look of sympathy as I ran faster still. With every step I took, more familiars emerged to attack me, and I didn’t have time to fight every immortal monster that barred my path. I’d occasionally hurl a Dark Ball at one, then race past them when they flinched. Or, when I had the chance, I’d channel mana into my legs and kick them away. Unlike the smooth entrance I was able to make, monsters seemed to now wait for me at every corner for their chance to strike, perhaps because I had an intruder in my arm.
“Mayday! In front! In front!” Lilka shrieked.
“I know!” I roared. “I told you to shut up!”
She kept screaming in my ear—frankly, an offense to my senses. At the end of the corridor was some kind of beast with its jaws yawning wide, completely blocking the exit. I wasn’t sure if this was some kind of monstrous snake or dragon, but a large monster was troublesome to deal with in the narrow corridor. Since my only arm was busy carrying Lilka, I couldn’t even swing a scythe down. I couldn’t use an explosive spell either; if the corridors crumbled away, it’d only cause further annoyances. I decided to call out my own shadow familiar.
“Sea dragon, use Breath,” I ordered.
As though to answer my call, a shadow stretched out from my feet. When I’d defeated Strafe in the Devil’s Sea, I also took a sea serpent with me, just in case. Its head popped out from the shadow as it unhinged its maw. Sea serpents usually unleashed a powerful torrent of water, but as my shadow familiar, its attacks were changed to the dark element. The attack blew a hole right through the open jaws and pierced through the corridor behind it; I leaped through the opening before the wound could regenerate.
A stunned Lilka started laughing.
“You’re amazing! Awesome! Just epic!” she shouted. “You’re so strong!”
She squealed with excitement as she slapped my back.
“Stop that! You’re being annoying!” I snapped.
I roared at her for making a ruckus, but she seemed unfazed as she slipped out of my arm and acrobatically glided onto my back. I was now piggybacking her as she tightly wrapped her arms and legs around my body.
“And who gave you permission to act by yourself?!” I said, glaring at her.
But Lilka only smiled. “I mean, I was just embarrassed, you know? I think this’ll be better!”
“Cut your bullshit!” I shouted. “If you can move and stand on your own legs, run alongside me!”
“In front! In front! There’s a monster!”
I whirled around and followed her finger to spot a floating, dark sphere. Countless magic circles appeared behind it. The sheer numbers were impressive, but its activation time was far too slow. With my arm now free, I swung my Dark Scythe around, slicing the spherical creature in two.
“One shot! You got it in one shot again!” Lilka shouted.
She was making so much grating noise in my ears, but at least she was clinging onto me without taking away the use of my right arm. I guess this is an improvement...