Instantly, red lights extended in four directions, like shadows emerging from his hand. They went along the floor and along the walls, reaching as far as the audience. Even after reaching the tops of the walls at the height of the stands, the red lights didn’t stop, quickly deploying through the air. Flying skyward, the red lights instantly connected with one another, forming a red ceiling around the roofless fighting arena.
“Ngh…” He’d deployed his skill to envelop the entire vast fighting arena. That tremendous effort left Jade with a severe look on his face.
Normally, he would have to set up Sigurth Wall first for this composite skill. But he’d take the time for that, given the situation. It was a happy accident that he’d gained the ability to use his composite skill without any preparation by practicing Millia over and over.
As if it had been waiting for Jade’s skill to complete, the blue flame that Gald had summoned began to rain down on the stands.
A terrific cracking noise rang out in the fighting arena, shaking the whole edifice. The red wall deployed over the stands was blocking the shower of blue flame. The audience, running about frantically, screamed even more as the place rumbled as though hail was hitting the roof.
“Huh! Wow, so that’s the composite skill everyone’s talking about? To think it’d be equal to my Flama!” While Gald offered insincere praise, the blue rain came down even harder.
“Ngh…!” Jade’s whole body broke out into sweat. He was managing to hold down multiple layers of his skill at once, but protecting the entire arena was incredibly taxing. His strength was being rapidly sapped, the strength of his braced legs weakening.
“A god core strengthens all physical abilities—that includes the mana that already flows through the body. Right now, my magic powers are bottomless. How long do you think that composite skill of yours will hold out against them?”
Gald had been smiling like he was enjoying himself, but now he suddenly turned serious, glaring at Jade with resentment. “You lucky bastards in Silver Sword were blessed with skills—so I’ll destroy you with magic alone. I’ll make all the idiots out there who think skills are the strongest understand the power of magic…!”
“…So that’s your goal…?!”
No sooner had Gald said that than he summoned a blue ball of flame in the palm of his hand, tossing it at Jade.
“Damn it…!”
While maintaining the barrier overhead, Jade dodged the blue flame that came at him. He knew from experience that the blue fire was not just magic. His instincts warned him that he couldn’t afford to come in contact with it. He was using all his strength to keep Millia in the air, so he didn’t think he could use it to defend himself.
Jade evaded a second and then a third ball of flame coming at him. The more he moved his body, the dizzier he got, his field of vision narrowing. He could tell that skill exhaustion was rapidly setting in.
The Flama rain still did not cease. Gald remained where he stood, continuing to send out multiple orbs of blue flame. He wore down Jade’s endurance like a hunter slowly driving down his prey.
“Ah…”
For a moment, one of Jade’s legs weakened and buckled.
Skill exhaustion—the moment he thought that, one of the fireballs that pursued him split into multiple small balls, taking the opportunity to rain down on his leg with a bam-bam-bam!
“Agh…!”
Smoke streamed up from Jade’s leg. There was no bleeding, but the blue flame had melted flesh and burned the wound shut. The pain was so intense that he was seeing stars.
Yes, this was wearing him down.
Jade had realized what Gald was after. Right from the start, he’d been aiming to take the audience hostage, forcing Jade to use up his skills and drain his stamina.
“Gotcha!”
Immediately, a new fireball flew for Jade. He couldn’t move his wounded leg at all, and it didn’t seem like he would be able to dodge any more. He instantly raised his greatshield.
“Millia…!” He allocated just a slight amount of the barrier deployed in the air to his shield. Thanks to his quick decision-making, the blue flame hit his shield and dispersed.
“Ohhh, this is the first time I’ve ever seen an ordinary person take a hit from Flama and stay conscious. Usually, the pain makes them pass out, among other things—oh, but I guess that’s about all you can take?”
A hole had opened up in the wall of Millia Jade had deployed in the air. Half the audience was still inside the arena.
“If there’s a hole opened up…does that mean I can attack from here?” Cackling, Gald swung his finger like a conductor, directing the Flama that was raining down to fall on the open hole.
“…!”
It was him or the audience. His skill was stretched too thin, and Jade could no longer protect both—the moment he made that decision, he undid the allotment on his shield without any hesitation. That repaired the hole in the aerial wall, but at the same time, the red light of the skill vanished from his greatshield with a bashoop.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Right, done!!”
Gald, who had been trying to do that from the start, unleashed a Flama in the shape of a giant arrow at Jade. Jade was unable to evade or defend and could only watch as the blue arrow approached. But even so, he did not release the aerial wall protecting the audience until the end.
A sickening sizzling rang in his head.
“…!”
The Flama arrow had pierced Jade’s stomach.
Jade coughed up blood, and his knees buckled. His greatshield rattled to the floor with a great crashing sound. The red barrier in the sky decomposed before their eyes, the hole spreading. When the red barrier vanished entirely, the shower of blue fire relented.
“Did you really think I’d kill the audience? They’re important witnesses to tell of Silver Sword’s humiliation!”
As Gald laughed, Jade passed out, collapsing face-first on the ground.
“…J-Jade Scrade…was beaten…?!”
The audience went quiet, staring at the unmoving tank with a hole in his stomach. The sight was so hopeless that they stopped fleeing for a moment.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Gald’s shrill laughter rang out in the dead silent arena. He approached Jade with a teasing step and laid one boot on his head. “Hey, hey, so how does it feel to get beaten with magic alone, no skill or anything? Piddling stuff like magic never even crossed your mind, did it? Huh, could it be you can’t hear me anymore?”
Finally, Gald kicked Jade in the head, throwing back his own to laugh. “I’ll never accept that magic is weaker than skills!”
That was when Gald turned around with a start. His face twisted with joy as he saw a familiar man from the corner of his eye.
“If it isn’t Lowe!”
Lowe and Lululee were running down into the arena.