Why? Does she want to make a more confined space so I have nowhere to go? If so, then why not just fill up this entire room with roots? Why does she have to create greenery specifically? Trees, leaves, foliage...
I carefully glanced around and noticed that the greenery was shifting. Little white flowers began to form on them. A feeling of dread weighed on my heart as I shuddered and swiftly retreated to Lilka’s side.
“H-Huh?!” Lilka yelped. “Wh-What’s going on? Why’d you suddenly—”
“Wind!” I interjected. “Create a barrier of wind! Right now!”
“Huh?!”
Lilka looked at me quizzically, but as I pushed her to follow my orders, I was acutely aware of the flowers ready to bloom at any moment. Since Alraune was going through the trouble to create these flowers, they surely weren’t just for show.
“Um... Wind’s Embrace!” Lilka shouted.
Once again, this was a chantless spell. A shield of wind surrounded us both, the whirlwind protecting us from outside forces. Moments later, I saw that the flowers had all bloomed, only to disperse a copious amount of pollen in the air. The pollen was so thick that I could barely see across the room, but thanks to the wind, it was all blown away from us.
That was close...
I dreaded to imagine what would’ve happened if I’d just stood in the middle of the room and been exposed to the pollen. I could only assume that taking even a single breath of it would have given me some dangerous affliction—hallucination, paralysis, or even deadly poison. My magic barrier might have been able to guard me against the pollen, but if the roots busted a hole through it, I would’ve been a goner.
As if on cue, roots began to approach the shield of wind.
“Your precision in weaving through the tiny gaps in my barrier is most impressive,” I said. “But can you attack and use magic disassembly at the same time?”
I summoned my Dark Scythe and slashed at the roots closest to us—Alraune couldn’t disassemble my attack in time. Thought so. Both the barrier-piercing attack and magic disassembly required extreme precision, but I assumed that both used some kind of magic template. In that case, there was no such thing as being able to conveniently use both at once. Since I knew this much, I could easily find a way to deal with her. And although the founder’s familiars couldn’t be defeated permanently, that meant I only needed to damage her enough for her regeneration to give us the time to escape.
Regrettably, I wasn’t able to clear this hurdle alone. Most of my spells had already been analyzed by her, making them susceptible to her magic disassembly, and the room was conveniently morphed into her own domain. How unpleasant. How very, very unpleasant. To think a day would come where I’d ask for help from the girl who killed me in my dream... But I’d rather rely on her than die here. I can’t take being toyed with by the founder’s lackey.
I calmed myself down and drew my face close to Lilka’s ear. She looked at me, shocked, but I ignored her.
“Listen, girl,” I muttered. “I need you to do as I s—”
“Y-You’re too close!” Lilka cried.
“Shut up. Do as I say, and I’ll let you return home to your friends.”
I glowered at her, and she nodded back vehemently before I whispered my commands into her ear.
“Wait... That’s it?” she asked.
“Keep that timing in mind,” I muttered. “And keep your wind barrier up.”
I turned my back on the shocked girl and raced ahead. As mana coursed through my feet, I leaped out of the barrier and into the thick of the foliage and pollen. My goal was, of course, Alraune. I was almost certain that this pollen was magical in nature and had some sort of special effect. My magic barrier protected me, but it wasn’t an effective solution when dealing with roots that could easily punch a hole in my defenses. I instead filled my entire body with mana, making me more resistant toward magical effects. Even if I took a breath or two of pollen, I knew that I could, at the very least, fight back.
Countless tree roots wriggled at me, their sharp tips trying to prevent me from reaching Alraune. My magic barrier would have only made me a larger target and inhibited my movement, but by forgoing its protection, I nimbly dodged the roots that shot in for the kill. I inhaled a bit of pollen and my body became slightly numb, but it wasn’t enough to completely paralyze me. This pollen is meant to stun me, huh? A nasty effect. I had some resistance to it, but my luck would only run out with continued exposure. It was a race against time before I became completely paralyzed.
I created a Dark Scythe and swung it as hard as I could, dispersing the pollen in front of me. It came as no surprise that the countless roots managed to use magic disassembly and nullify my attack. My slash might’ve been destroyed, but for a moment, her vision was obscured by my attack—and that was the opportunity that I needed. At once, a powerful gust of wind blew over the room, pushing the pollen away. Alraune stared at me, wide-eyed. This wind, of course, came from Lilka’s magic, exactly as we’d rehearsed. For a few moments, I was freed from the thick cloud of pollen, and immediately activated my chantless spell.
“Lightless.”
The forest that stretched within this space was dyed black with my dark mist. Alraune had managed to turn this room into a lush forest and created a troublesome domain to her advantage, but two could play that game. And unfortunately for her, repainting someone’s advantage with my own was one of my specialties.
I created my Farmer’s Scythe once more and nonverbally cast Shadow Move to slip around through the darkness. I teleported from one shadow to another, allowing me to move as I pleased, and the mist born from Lightless was treated as my shadow as well. Within the domain of Lightless, I could instantly teleport—and of course, my destination was behind Alraune’s back. I’d unleash a flurry of my Farmer’s Scythe at point-blank range so that she wouldn’t have time to use magic disassembly or fight back with her barrier pierce ability.
I melted into the darkness and teleported around, when suddenly, the mist around Alraune vanished. I couldn’t believe it. No longer able to teleport behind her, yet unable to change my destination, I was spat out by the black mist near my designated point, and rolled in front of her. The monster gazed down at me, and I locked eyes with her.
“You little weed...” I growled. “How dare you look down at me!”
Cheeky monster! Does she know who she’s in the presence of?! I saw her roots nearby dispersing the mist via magic disassembly. She swiftly dispelled Lightless. While I was unable to ambush her, I was at least able to approach her. I leaped to my feet and raised my scythe into the air. Any sort of defense was negated in the face of the scythe of death, and surely, she was unable to defend my attack... But try as I might, I was unable to swing my scythe down. As I looked up at the hilt, I noticed several roots wrapped around the scythe, locking it in place.
“You wench!” I roared.
I immediately unleashed a flurry of Dark Balls and peppered her with my attacks, but she easily dispersed them with her magic disassembly without a scratch to her name. All too late, my gaze traveled to the branch-like wings on her back—they were covered with blossoms as they bulged and bloomed right before my eyes, dark petals dancing in the wind. To my surprise, the pollen managed to overcome my dark mist and swallowed me whole. I tried to jump back, but a root wrapped around my leg, locking me in place.
My attacks and strategies were completely destroyed. Now that I couldn’t even move, I immediately stopped my breath so that I wouldn’t inhale any more pollen, but I could only last for so long. My close combat strategy worked against me, and I was out of ideas.
“Damn it...” I grumbled.
The dark particles of pollen surrounded me and I felt my consciousness fading away. I couldn’t even grit my teeth anymore as my vision began to blur, and Alraune gazed down on me like I were some pitiful weakling.
“Lofus!”
Amid my fading consciousness, I heard someone call out my name.
No one here can call my name... An auditory hallucination... I’m nearing the end.
A moment later, my vision, obscured by darkness, was cleared by a strong gust of wind.
Wind... Lilka?
Countless Air Cutters sliced through the wind and attacked Alraune, but her magic barrier parried them all. The monster turned away from me and cast a weary gaze at the girl.