Episode 367
When Dorothy had kidnapped me, I had considered only two people who could solve my current predicament.
One was undoubtedly the Iron-Blooded Lord. To be honest, the probability that this man would suddenly come to save me was infinitely close to zero. He wasn't aware of my current whereabouts, and I also felt that Delac was acting based on his own judgment. Above all, I didn't know if he was still in Airuga.
Naturally, I considered my other option, Lise Ladygoth. How could I let her know I had been kidnapped? I had racked my brain in desperation, when I suddenly remembered the desserts I had bought as a bribe.
I had handed out the desserts to the vagrants in the back alley in order to leave any traces of me behind. Of course, I hadn't thought of this as a trick. If I had to call it something, this would be more like my last struggle. Even so, if a cornered rat pounced on a cat, given the chance, it would bite the cat's carotid artery. Regardless of whether the odds were high or low, there was a chance an escape route would appear.
The most important thing is having strong willpower.
I had tried, and I succeeded.
"Who did you call?" Ozma demanded.
I smiled without responding. I decided to actively accept Ozma's advice.
Thanks to the commotion Lise Ladygoth caused, the atmosphere in this place seemed to have eased a bit. The dizziness had disappeared and some of my physical strength had returned.
I immediately circulated my energy. The cross binding me broke in an instant. Then, I felt a ferocious presence behind me. Before I knew it, a big lion was rushing toward me.
Ryan had to be a beastman. He was literally as fast as lightning, but this was an attack driven by instinct. It was far too blatant, so dodging it wasn't difficult.
I rolled across the ground a few times before springing to my feet.
"Give me your brain!"
Was this Crow talking?
They cried out in joy and charged toward me, their running motion somewhat unusual. It seemed like a few of their joints were twisted. However, they were unusually fast. Ryan, whom I had just met, was already quite strong, but this person crossed the distance as if they weighed nothing.
What is this thing?
Startled, I reflexively struck with my palm. Then, mid-charge, Crow twisted their body in an eerie manner and dodged my attack.
Crazy.
This wasn't a human body, and neither were these human joints. Unless this was slime in human form, it was impossible to dodge attacks from such an angle. Of course, this opponent wasn't made of slime. The body hidden beneath the robe wasn't visible, but the clothes were very shabby.
At that moment, the hood fell off and their face was exposed. I couldn't help feeling dumbfounded. They had a strange appearance, and their eyes and mouth looked like they had been sewn on with thread. If the opponent had been human, they would have been such a terrible sight that people would have found them hard to look at.
Was this a relief?
Their face looked like a makeshift doll created out of tattered cloth. But how was a doll able to talk?
"Give me your brain!"
I kicked the doll's face as it rushed at me like a madman. Its head spun dozens of times on the spot.
Ugh. It wasn't a nice sight, so I couldn't help frowning in reaction.
A low voice sighed before speaking. "There's no end to this trouble."
The last remaining person then walked toward me. It was the woman I had encountered outside the Emerald Tower.
I was distracted for a moment as I considered the members of the witch society present: Dorothy the witch, Ozma the illusionist, the lion, and the doll that looked like a scarecrow.
What did the last member of this unusual group with nothing in common look like? I had no clue.
There was a bit of anticipation on my face as I looked at the final figure. Somehow, the atmosphere around me had become a bit strange. The lion had been ready to sink his fangs into me, and the doll had been babbling about my brain. Now, they had both fallen silent and retreated.
Oh? This meant that their trust in the last person was high. At the very least, this woman could be the strongest among them when it came to close combat.
My fists clenched slightly, but I relaxed my posture while calmly waiting for her to make the first move. I was already in a position that required me to buy time.
How long will it take for Lise to get here? Even now, faint vibrations could be felt around me.
This is a tower. Maybe she is smashing her way through while coming up from the lower floors.
If this were a normal space, I would probably be able to estimate the distance between me and Lise using the strength of the vibrations, but I couldn't be certain here. One thing was clear, though. Lise would arrive soon.
I saw hope ahead, so I regulated my desperate emotions. If things go well, I can get through this without my identity being exposed. In that case, it'd be better not to give any unnecessary clues.
I didn't assume the White Sun Eclipse's stance. Instead, my posture was rather awkward. This was a bit risky, but I intended to hold on until Lise came without using my main techniques.
The woman in the robe soon crossed the distance to me. She wasn't as fast as I had expected. Instead, she felt heavy, as if a siege tank was advancing toward me.
Solid, but slow. It felt almost as if she was deliberately encouraging me to attack.
I smiled and brushed away the thought of stalling for time. The moment the distance was moderately shorter, I slipped into her arms.
Was it because she was tall for a woman? That was true, but it was also because I was smaller when using my Nalu disguise. I was in a better position than I had expected.
I shot my bent knee upward, sprang from my coiled stance, and slammed my fist into the opponent's jaw. The punch was filled with my internal energy, so it landed cleanly, but the sound and impact were nothing like I had expected.
How could I describe this sensation? It wasn't like hitting a human body. It felt more like hitting an empty metal box.
What was even more surprising was that the opponent, who was unfazed by my attack, swung a weapon at me. It was only after dodging that I realized it was an axe that could have been used by a lumberjack.
Where was she hiding such a weapon? I continued fighting while still feeling bewildered.
She was strong and tough, but not fast. She relentlessly attacked me without leaving me a single opening, yet the more I fought, the more I felt like I was the one at a disadvantage. After all, none of my attacks landed properly. It was laughable, even considering the weaker offensive power of Nalu. I wasn't using the First Fire Technique or the Dark Sky Moonward Peak, but I could still turn a troll into minced meat just by using the most basic internal energy control.
She swung her axe at me while her fists and legs struck from time to time, all protected by gauntlets and heavy boots. Our movements were violent enough that her hood soon fell away, revealing a helmet that concealed every inch of skin.
So this was what I hit. This means there must be full-body armor under the robe. Well, when I hit her, I definitely felt like I had hit an empty tin can.
There are already a lion and a scarecrow here, so is this a ghost knight?
There were so many different beings. At this point, I didn't know why they called themselves a witch society.
Come to think of it, the only ones who use magic are Dorothy and Ozma. Plus, the more I fight, the more familiar this feels.
Of course, this strange person wasn't familiar at all. I had probably just fought against a similar opponent before.
Ah, I understand. It feels like fighting Third Senior Brother.
The skill level varied greatly, but how else could I put it? The feeling of this battle was similar.
Basically, she believed in her overwhelming durability and didn't care about her opponent's attacks. Her attacks were solid, as if her limbs were made of metal—which they actually were—and she pursued efficiency. Even if she lost one arm, she wouldn't hesitate to strike if it meant killing her opponent. It sounded simple, but it was a difficult mindset to fully apply in actual combat.
In my Nalu disguise, I couldn't decide the outcome, even if I fought the ghost knight all day, which was good. After all, my purpose was to buy time.
At that moment, Ozma said, "Stop it, Tin."
Is this woman called Tin? What an unpleasant name.
Tin walked away from me.
Seeing this, I obtained one more piece of information. These people aren't good at fighting together.
The reason they deliberately stepped out one by one wasn't that they wanted this to be a fair battle. It was simple: Witches were the most isolated type among individualistic mages and had no experience fighting enemies together.
"You fight better than I expected. Plus, your main strengths are hidden," Ozma remarked. "If you're fighting bare-handed without using any martial arts, mind techniques, or your main weapon, then those elements must be very distinctive, correct? If even one of them is revealed, someone could identify you immediately. You may be more famous than I expected."
A chill ran down my spine. What kind of witch is that smart?
I had been wondering why she was standing still. Evidently, she had been carefully observing my movements in battle. The only thing Ozma had gotten wrong was her assumption that I was hiding my main weapon. However, that kind of misunderstanding wasn't enough to reverse the current situation.
In truth, Ozma was the one I needed to be most vigilant around. I stared at her and considered her ability.
Illusions or hallucinations? Well, those are similar abilities. I couldn't help thinking, I should develop resistance to such abilities.
Then, it suddenly struck me how many different types of people existed in the world. I was a quick learner. If I got badly beaten the first time I met an opponent, I would usually prepare some countermeasures before the next time we met. However, this happened so often that it felt almost futile.
If I compared it to gambling, then no matter how many cards I held, ten remained the limit. Meanwhile, I felt like the opponent had hundreds of cards. The game never ended, no matter how many countermeasures I came up with, so I was starting to get tired.
Jingle.
At that moment, I heard a faint bell chime. Suddenly, darkness swallowed the surrounding space.
It is starting again. I clicked my tongue and closed my eyes. There were basically two types of illusions. The first was showing a mirage, and the second was putting the person into a semi-hypnotic state and completely dominating their five senses.
What I had encountered earlier had been the latter. The second method could fully subdue and manipulate the target at will if it worked. Naturally, a technique like that had a much higher difficulty level. It would work if I were careless, but it was hard when my mental strength was elevated.
Just in case, I recalled Senior Sister Tian's advice and checked my senses. All of them were functioning normally. At the very least, there were no physical abnormalities, which meant that I wouldn't find myself bound to a cross while I was distracted, like I had before.
Then... I opened my eyes slightly and looked ahead.
In the darkness, I heard rustling sounds and felt a violent vibration. In the distance, countless rats were rushing toward me. Their eyes glowed red, as if they were filled with blood, and their teeth and nails were sharp like hooks.
This must be an illusion too. I knew it was an illusion, but it felt very real. When I opened my eyes, I could even make out the fine veins in their eyeballs, so I was completely convinced.
Perhaps I could just charge through them? This was the only way forward, but it somehow felt wrong.
—Call my name!
Startled by the voice that I suddenly heard, I asked silently, "Vulcanus?"
Flash!
In an instant, white flames enveloped me, and the incoming swarm of rats seemed to melt in the flames. They didn't stop there, though. The flames wrapped around me and shot up toward the ceiling, sweeping away the darkness that had engulfed the area.
I opened my eyes again and saw Ozma's somewhat surprised expression. "The owner of a dragon king's blessing? A human?"
I said nothing.
Ozma continued, "Whose blessing is it? It probably isn't the blessing of one of the three kings, and the other gods must be in a very weak state right now."
I wanted to respond by bluffing, but I eventually kept my mouth shut. Who knew what kind of trouble I would get into if I started talking to her again?
The vibration was getting very close. It wasn't coming from the lower floors. It was perhaps one floor below me? I almost let my guard down, but it was at moments like this that I needed to stay sharp. I had seen mercenaries lose focus at the very last moment, only to get killed by blindly shot arrows.
Ozma narrowed her eyes. "If you don't answer, I'll find out myself."
The moment she reached out to me again, the door behind me opened wide, and an unexpected guest burst in.
I looked back, wondering if Lise had already arrived.
It wasn't her.
I could only blink in astonishment. A person I had never imagined I would meet under the circumstances had appeared. Her skin was still pale, despite being under the southern sun for a long time. Her hair, which looked like snowflakes had fallen on it, was somewhat disheveled. Her appearance hadn't changed much since the last time I had seen her, but her face was now completely exposed.
Seren Goodspring looked around and asked, as though she found this absurd, "You... What the hell are you doing?"
This is what I wanted to ask!