Chapter 225 The Rescue of Two
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Huh?”
It was just a momentary event.
When a giant monster appeared in front of them, Shaina and Ouza from ‘Spear of Shouhyou’ were about to approach Aliecrus (a giant goat-like creature with rabbit-like legs) to fight back, a bright crimson light descended from the sky, blowing away the upper body of Aliecrus. The momentum of the crimson light also pushed away the monsters that Niya and Harmon were holding back from the outside of south gate, stopping behind Niya.
Amidst the sudden turn of events where many couldn’t react, Niya, who shared vision with others, called out to Momoka.
”Did you make it in time?”
”Yeah, I made it in time.”
As Niya turned her head back, she saw Momoka standing there. However, upon seeing her, Niya furrowed her brows.
Compared to when she first saw her through Iko’s perspective or eye, Momoka’s overall glow had visibly weakened, her crimson-tinted hair had turned peach-colored, and the tips had completely returned to white.
Niya quickly understood that it was a sign that the time limit was approaching, and asked Momoka,
”How much longer can you hold on in that state, Momoka?”
”If I hold back and fight, maybe about five more minutes.”
”I see.”
Realizing her own mistake from Momoka’s response, Niya bitterly muttered so.
From Momoka’s reply, it seemed that this state was the type that would quickly deplete her ability when exerted.
Unaware of this, Niya had instructed Momoka to go all out.
This instruction was given to boost the morale of those who were feeling timid in the worsening situation, and indeed, there were those who found hope and were inspired by Momoka’s performance. However, as a consequence, Momoka’s operational limit was rapidly approaching.
”If Momoka, if you refrain from any combat actions from here on, how far will that time extend?”
”Niya, that’s—”
”Just answer me!”
”I think… it might be about twenty minutes.”
”Still 20 minutes… Alright, Momoka, don’t act until I give the signal. Let me make it clear that these words are not out of concern for your well-being. They are words spoken as the commander in charge of this situation. Dealing with small and medium-sized opponents is not a problem, but with large ones like the one we encountered earlier mixed in, our current forces won’t be able to hold the line. That’s why I want you to take care of the large ones. I can’t afford to waste your energy unnecessarily for that purpose.”
”…Understood.”
Understanding that Niya’s words were not those of a guardian worried about her, but those of a comrade fighting alongside her, Momoka grasped her role and decided to obediently follow Niya’s instructions.
”Heh, I don’t really get it, but it’s reassuring to have Momoka here!”
”Oh! It’s not just Momoka, I’m here too! Harmon!”
”Hm?”
”Let’s go!!”
With such a rallying cry, Jott, who had been out on reconnaissance with Iko, jumped down from the tree.
”Jott!? Why are you here in a place like this?”
”My partner is up in the sky with an item box, so I came here because I have no work. Hehe, I usually only do reconnaissance and hardly get to fight, but finally, the time has come for me to show you all my skills—”
”Perfect timing, Jott! Use your magic to prevent the monsters from invading!”
Interrupting Jott, Kilk gives instructions while cutting down monsters.
”When hunting, you use that earth wall to corner your prey! But now, use it to reinforce the protective fence of the settlement!”
”Wait a minute! I came here to participate in combat! And yet you’re telling me to build earth walls in the back!?”
”Preventing monster invasions with earth walls is more effective than just you joining the fight!”
Despite feeling bitter tears at the de facto notice of being sidelined by Kilk, Jott follows the instructions.
”Damn it… Kilk, remember this later!”
Muttering curses towards Kilk, Jott draws a knife from his waist and uses its tip to inscribe a spell on the ground.
Jott can handle magic, but he’s not exactly a magician; he doesn’t even have a magic activation device.
So, when he uses magic, he writes a spell on the ground to activate it.
”Hey! Is this good!?”
”It’s enough! Keep up that wall!”
Jott’s earth wall isn’t particularly strong; it’s originally meant to drive prey into a corner, so its strength isn’t that great.
However, a earth wall created with magic can be repaired as many times as needed as long as there is magic power. As long as it’s not destroyed in one blow, it can keep being repaired even if it’s hit, preventing monsters from invading.
This allows them to deal with monsters that lack breakthrough power, significantly reducing the burden of defense.
”Okay! It’s become much easier with this!”
”Just so you know, there’s a limit to how much the earth wall I can repair, Kilk! If it’s being hit all over at once, no matter how much I focus on repairs, I won’t catch up! At most, seven or eight hits is the limit!”
”Even so, it’s enough! I’m counting on you, Jott!”
Everyone who was feeling nervous because they couldn’t keep up with the situation now calmed down as things got easier.
(Thanks to Jott, everyone were feeling more relaxed, and they were able to handle the troublesome monsters while preserving Momoka’e power. If we keep up with this pace…)
Niya thought they could win without any problems, but difficulties came unexpectedly, mocking her expectations.
”Oh no!”
As Jott’s almost panicked scream was heard from behind, the earth wall started crumbling.
Shaina, who noticed it first, pierced the monster trying to break through the wall with her sword and shouted at Jott.
”What are you doing!? Put more magic power into it!”
”It’s not my fault! The ground suddenly dried up and became brittle!”
As Shaina reflexively stomped on the ground to confirm Jott’s words, instead of the damp soil, she felt a dry, sandy sensation under her feet.
”What’s this? When did this happen? Ugh, in that case!”
Shaina clenched her left fist, and as she opened it, water overflowed from her palm and splattered it on the earthen wall.
The dry wall absorbed all the moisture, but it dried up again in just a few seconds.
”What!? What’s going on here!”
”Everyone! Don’t let any enemies slip through! Jott! If maintaining the wall is impossible, are you ready to join the fight?”
Niya was the first to notice it, so she shouted to everyone, and the others began to realize it a bit later.
The vibrations echoing from the dry ground beneath them indicated something was tunneling underground.
”It’s bad! Monsters are trying to invade the settlement from underground!”
”What do we do!?”
”Jott! Can you create a wall underground to stop them!?”
”Don’t be ridiculous! I’ve never heard of anyone creating walls underground! I don’t even know the ideogram for ‘below’! Even if I could, the ground here is too fragile for it to be of any use!”
Just a moment ago, everything was calm, but suddenly it all fell apart. In the midst of a crisis where many people were losing their cool, Momoka, who had been maintaining silence until now, approached Jott and crouched down.
”Momoka?”
”Let me do it.”
Saying so, Momoka placed her hand on the symbol drawn on the ground. A crimson light flowed through the symbol along Momoka’s body, and a shiny black wall emerged, pushing up from the ground towards Jott’s mud earth wall, repelling monster attacks effortlessly, keeping the monsters at bay.
”As I thought, with this power, I can create a sturdy wall.”
”What is this… just a formula for making an ordinary earthen wall, why is it producing something like this?”
”Jott.”
”Y-yes?”
”I want to create this underground too, how should I do it?”
”As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know any symbolic characters that can grow walls ‘downwards.’ If there’s another way, it would involve erasing the part of the formula that determines the direction and directly extending it downwards using magic control.”
”I don’t really understand magic control, so Jott will use my powers.”
”Me!? Don’t be ridiculous! I can’t do that, so I’m deciding to create a wall with a spell! And using someone else’s magic to cast is impossible!”
”Then I’ll do it!”
Shaina interrupts the conversation between the two.
”I may not be as skilled as a professional magician, but I can control magic to some extent! Did you say you were Jott? Come here and help me restrain the monsters in my place!”
”Everyone keeps telling me what to do… Fine! If that’s how it is, I’ll just do as I’m told!”
Jott, who had been taken advantage of by those around him since he arrived for support, explodes with frustration at the situation. However, he seems to have accepted it, as he jumps into the battle, while Shaina goes to Momoka.
”Just so you know, this is my first time manipulating someone else’s magic, so there’s no guarantee it will work. So don’t blame me if it fails.”
”It’s okay, Shaina can do it.”
”…I hate hearing those words the most right now.”
Shaina sighed, feeling like she couldn’t afford to fail anymore. She took a deep breath to focus, then knelt down on the ground, placing her hands in a supportive position.
”Okay? When I give the signal, keep channeling your magic with a constant wavelength. Even if you can’t control it, you should be able to do that much.”
”Uh, maybe…”
”Not maybe, you will do it. It’s already difficult to control someone else’s magic, and if the wavelength is disrupted, controlling it becomes impossible. You’re counting on me, so I’m counting on you too, okay, Momoka?”
”…Got it, I’ll give it a try.”
”Alright then, ready? ――Now!”
At Shaina’s signal, both of them simultaneously poured their power.
To control someone else’s magic, one has to mix it with their own magic.
Then, they blend their own magic with the other person’s, intertwining it with their own to take control of other person’s magic.
In simple terms, it’s easy to say, but it’s actually very difficult. Even if the other person entrusts control to themselves, handling that magic power satisfactorily is said to be difficult even for skilled magicians.
However, Shaina can use a bit of magic, but her magic control skills are inferior not only to skilled magicians but also to ordinary magicians, and moreover—
(What kind of dense magic is this!? Is this really magic? My magic can’t even mix with this, it’s completely overwhelmed!)
What Momoka is pouring in is not magic, but “Crimson” extracted from Neil.
Facing a completely different and heterogeneous power from what she knows as magic, Shaina deals with it calmly despite feeling anxious.
(Mixing is impossible, so I have no choice but to create a path with my magic and guide the flow. In that case, it’s also impossible to stretch it out flat, so I’ll have to stretch several vertically in a grid pattern—)
Shaina, who chose to create a path with magic instead of mixing magic, rapidly depleted her magic power and was losing her physical strength quickly.
Unable to peek at the situation underground, she wasn’t sure if things were going as planned.
Enduring significant physical and mental strain, Shaina slowly released her hand from the ground.
”Did it work?”
”Haa, haa… Well, let’s pray that it did.”
The vibrations of digging into the ground were getting closer to the two of them.
All they could do now was hope that the walls were extending in a proper grid pattern and that the monsters couldn’t escape through that grid.
Thud, thud… A dull sound like hitting something hard underground echoed.
Momoka and Shaina listened tensely to the sound, which repeated several times before abruptly stopping. Did they give up because they couldn’t break through? Or did they manage to escape?
Uncertain about the situation underground, the two of them were filled with anxiety at that moment—
――BOOOOOOM!
Suddenly, the ground ‘erupted’.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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