Chapter 50

Niki’s face immediately distorted in pain. He still managed to stay on his feet, however, and point his left hand, which maintained the ball of green light, straight at Sugamo. “Aestus!!” The word of activation shot from Niki’s lips like a howl. The jet of air that erupted from Air Boost sent Sugamo flying like a toy balloon, rapidly depleting his HP. Sugamo careened through the air, crashing straight into Yuuma and the others. “Erk…!” Yuuma dug in his heels as hard as he could, trying to resist the burst of wind, which seemed to be traveling at least fifty kilometers per hour, but it was a lost cause. Yuuma, Kenk, Aria, and of course Sugamo were all sent tumbling across the floor tiles, pushed back nearly all the way to Sawa and the others. Fortunately, the petrifying mist had already been dispersed by Sugamo. If that gust had mingled with the cloud, then every single student in the lobby—with the exception of Niki, Haizaki, and Sugamo—would probably have been stone now. They had one other thing to be grateful for as well. The gust of wind from Niki’s Air Boost spell had also sent Nunono and the other fourth-floor students sprawling. It would probably take them a dozen seconds, at least, to stagger back to their feet and regain formation. Yuuma and the others needed to overwhelm Niki and Haizaki while they could. This was their only chance. “Yuu!” someone shouted from behind. Yuuma shouted in return, without turning around. “Sawa, let’s go!” “Roger that!” Sawa answered in a heartbeat, taking her place at Yuuma’s side. They made quick eye contact and nodded at each other, ready to go. However. As soon as they started to move, they both fell over at the same time, jerked backward by an unseen force. “Huh…?!” “What in the…?!” They gasped in surprise and turned to look behind them. A glowing, bluish-purple hand had sprouted from the floor and was wrapped tightly around Yuuma’s right leg. The fingers and wrist were almost entirely smooth, making it look like a rubber toy of some sort, but it was gripping his leg with incredible force. He could have pulled as hard as he liked, but Yuuma’s leg didn’t budge. Yuuma and Sawa weren’t the only ones who had been snared by the glowing hands. Nagi, Kenk, Aria, Sugamo…even Nunono, Ren, and the other fourth-floor students…had all been captured. The students in the main lobby shouted in surprise and terror as the bizarre hands grappled them around their legs and torsos. This was the high-level shadow spell Swarming Hands. It immobilized all targets in its area of effect, regardless of whether they were friend or foe. While the spell caused no damage, it did provide an extremely tenacious form of binding. Only high-level frontline classes and large-sized monsters were capable of pulling free from the spell’s clutches. The duration of Swarming Hands depended upon the caster’s shadow magic skill, but it always lasted for at least sixty seconds. Long enough for Niki to heal up using a potion or magic and recast his AoE petrification spell, with plenty of time to spare. Yuuma glanced toward the west side of the lobby, still tugging at his leg even though he knew it was pointless. Shin Haizaki was kneeling on the ground, with both hands pressed against the floor. Multiple thin, purple-blue lines extended from that point, connecting to the hands that gripped Yuuma and the others. They needed to free themselves right now. It wasn’t just panic; something didn’t seem right. If Haizaki was capable of using such a powerful spell, then why hadn’t he done so earlier? It wouldn’t have mattered if the fourth-floor students got caught up in the AoE, since they were already under his control anyway. Why didn’t he just have Niki knock Yuuma and the others back with Air Boost at the onset and then immediately immobilize everyone with Swarming Hands? That way, Niki could have easily turned them all to stone. With these thoughts still running through Yuuma’s head, he opened his mouth, ready to order Nagi and Tomori to start casting Dispels. However, just then— Yuuma gasped as an eerie sensation of cold began creeping from the magical hand wrapped around his right leg. There was no mention in the guidebook of Swarming Hands causing the Cold status. So then what is this feeling? Yuuma thought as he glanced toward Sawa’s face. What he saw there left him even more speechless than before. A strange crest of some sort had appeared on Sawa’s forehead, and directly underneath it was the number 59. While Yuuma stared at it, taken off guard, the number changed to 58 and then to 57. Based on his sister’s expression, the same phenomenon was playing out on his own forehead. “Ah…!” A small gasp escaped Sawa’s lips. Yuuma put two and two together just then as well. This was Haizaki’s demon exploit, Guild Leader. According to what Yukimi had told them, Haizaki had to keep touching them for a full minute for the exploit to activate. Apparently, that could be done through the Swarming Hands spell as well. 55, 54… Once the timer reached zero, every last one of the students on the first floor would be under Haizaki’s mental control. Yuuma didn’t know why Haizaki was doing this, but it was not a future that Yuuma was going to let happen. Not if he could help it! “Nagi! Tomo! Cast Dispel on—!” Yuuma started to shout, and then suddenly his voice disappeared. His mouth was still moving, he could feel his voice box vibrating, but there was no sound. Glancing around, he realized they had been surrounded by a drifting green fog. It was the wind spell, Silent Fog. One of the best anti-caster spells in the entire game, as it eliminated all sound within its area of effect. Glancing behind him, Yuuma saw Nagi and Tomori with their left hands raised into the air. Their lips were moving, but there was no sound of chanting, and no elemental orbs appeared before their hands. Noise from outside the spell’s area could apparently still reach them, because Yuuma could hear footsteps padding their way. Looking up, he saw Niki approach. Niki held his right hand to his left shoulder, his longsword now sheathed. He must have cast the spell with his right hand, since his left arm had been disabled. 49, 48… Niki’s voice interrupted the countdown blaring in Yuuma’s head. “I was wrong about you, Teruki. You’ve got guts. You’ll make a fine addition to our followers.” Sugamo, who was sprawled on the ground near Yuuma, flailed around savagely like an animal caught in a trap, his mouth moving overtime. However, his leg, which was trapped by one of the hands, didn’t even budge. 43, 42… There was only one way out of this predicament. Yuuma let his cleansing steel chain slip to the floor and, using his now free hand, reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled free a single purple card. Monsters transformed into cards using the Monster Tamer’s capture spell could be summoned again using the aperta word of power. But there was no sound inside the Silent Fog. Niki stared down the bridge of his nose at Yuuma, with an expression on his face that clearly suggested Yuuma’s attempts were futile. However, there was one thing that none of the other students—except for Kai Kisanuki, of course—probably knew. And that was there was a second way to summon familiars. Yuuma tapped the card with his left hand and then hit the SUMMON button at the top of the menu window that appeared. An intricate three-dimensional magic circle unfurled around the flat card, and a faint silhouette came into view. As soon as the magic circle disappeared, a young girl, dressed in the Yukihana Elementary School uniform, landed soundlessly. Her long, straight, glossy black hair billowed in midair, before spilling down her back. Niki’s jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. The other students around them must have had identical expressions on their faces. Sumika Watamaki. The idol of nearly every student in Grade 6-1. As well as the Night Fiend, who had struck terror into their hearts. Yuuma wordlessly lifted his right hand into the air and pointed at Niki, who was now rooted to the spot, just five meters away. Even without a voice command, Sumika crossed her two thin arms in front of herself and then flung them out wide. Her arms, from her elbows down, including the sleeves of her uniform, transformed into sharp blades. Her pure white face—devoid of mouth, eyes, and nose—was full of murderous intent. The air around them buckled as Sumika shot forward with terrifying speed. Recovering from his shock, Niki lifted his sword to block. Sumika swung her right sword arm downward as she left the Silence spell’s area of effect, zipping forward almost too fast to see. A moment later, the sharp whiz of metal cutting through the air reached Yuuma’s ears. Niki met the slash with his own blade but was unable to block fully with only one hand. His arm was flung wide. Not missing a beat, Sumika next swiped with her left sword arm at Niki’s now entirely exposed torso. The front of Niki’s jacket was torn open, and then the breastplate inside was rent apart like candy filigree, fresh blood spraying out from within. His HP, which had already dipped more than 20 percent, fell by another 10. If Niki’s left arm had still been usable, he might have been able to fight his way out of this situation by activating some spell with his left hand while fending off Sumika’s attacks with his right. But his shoulder was completely shattered, and he was unable to lift his left arm. On top of that, every single move seemed to be causing him extreme pain. The practiced edge he had shown back at the ancient castle or during their attack in the first-floor shelter was nowhere to be seen.