Chapter 787: Intermission: Far North Star ~ ~ Fangs of the Tyrannical Beast ~ ~ (1/2)
A sudden mock battle between Iris and Polaris. The battle started when Polaris, who is good at Barrier Magic, set up wards around the deserted island.
The first to move was Iris. With her arms crossed, she brought forth a magic circle at her feet and announced.
[Before me lies darkness, opposing me is a foolish rebel……]
[……Chanting?]
[Black dot piercing through the target. Release, σφαῖρα σκοτάδι.]
(T/N: Sfaira skotadi / Darkness Bullet)
[…………………]
With her chant, a huge number of magic circles spread out around Iris, and jet-black bullets were released from them. There were more than a thousand of them, and as if they were converging, they closed in on Polaris.
In response, Polaris suspiciously raised an eyebrow for a moment, before she just stood there without defending or evading. The jet-black bullets struck Polaris' body…… and didn't even manage to make a scratch on her body.
[……Hoohh… Defensive Magic? No, your body itself is tough huh.]
[Ahh~~ Iris Illuminus…… Could it be that? Perhaps, you were seriously making light of me?]
[Unnn?]
[I'm not saying that chanting has no advantages at all. But at our level, chanting to cast your magic is just a useless process. With your magic power, there's no way that you're unable to use chantless magic, right?]
[Now, I wonder about that?]
[……Well, fine. However, don't use it as an excuse when you lose.]
With a slightly annoyed expression on her face, Polaris held up one hand to the sky, and a large number of magic circles appeared, filling the sky.
[If you want a magic battle, I'll give you one!]
[……That's a magnificent view.]
Muttering, Iris turned her attention to the magic circle that Polaris brought forth. The magic technique written on the circles was simple and concise, on the level of low-level magic, but the number of magic circles she summoned was incomparable.
(……Hundreds of thousands, or perhaps, even millions…… She's the type of person who crushes people with numbers huh. Thought she's just a musclehead.)
Thereupon, Polaris swung her hand down, and just like a torrential rain, magic was released from the magic circles, and a tremendous explosion enveloped Iris.
Of course, Polaris doesn't expect Iris to be dealt with with just this much. With her guard still raised, she looked at the dust clouds. A few moments later, the smoke cleared to reveal Iris, whose shoulder area of her clothes had slightly darkened.
[……The power of each shot is low, but the power is increased by concentrating the shots on several points and making them land almost simultaneously huh. That's quite an impressive technique.]
[I'm honored by your compliment. So, what do you think? Are you starting to get eager yet?]
[Yeah, I guess so.]
Nodding at Polaris' words, Iris uncrossed her arms and looked at Polaris, she declared.
[Heed my royal decree. My army, my swordmen, gather, line up, and destroy the fools who stand before me.]
[……You're starting to irritate me. Stop underestima———- !?]
When Polaris saw Iris start chanting magic again, a vein popped out of her forehead and she stepped forward, intending to attack Iris. However, her action was interrupted by the chantless magic Iris shot at her from her left hand.
[It's not that I'm looking down on you or that I can't use chantless magic. It's just that chanting makes it ”easier for me to reconfigure the magic in the process”.]
[……This is!?]
Hundreds of gigantic magic circles floated around Iris…… and all at once, ”they were sucked into Iris' raised right arm”.
[Technique Conversion———— ”Magic Armament: Black Arm of Thousand Swords”]
(T/N: 千剣の黒腕 / Senken no Kuro Ude)
Thereupon, Iris' right arm transformed. It turned into a black, sinister sharp-edged arm, looking like it was covered in thorns……
At first glance, it looks as if she has materialized magic power and is wearing it on her arm. However, the terminology ”Magic Armament” that she mentioned earlier was something she was unfamiliar with…… Keeping her guard up, Polaris waited for Iris to make her move.
Iris swings her black right arm down. Having a bad feeling about Iris' strike, Polaris immediately took evasive action. Thereupon, a black flash of light passed right next to Polaris, and a line appeared on the ground, as if a sword had sliced through it.
[……Slashing Properties Endowment? Or perhaps, she simply released magic power from her right arm? Either way, with the ground slashed like this, I don't think it's just materialization of magic power.]
[I wonder about that. I'm not really some teacher at a magic school, so I don't really have to explain everything to you. Go figure it out yourself.]
The next moment after she said that, multiple jet-black swords appeared around Polaris and attacked her all at once.
(This is…… there isn't a magic circle from where it appeared from. Even a single hint of its appearance can't be felt from the flow of magic power…… Swords of magic power…… Black arm of thousand swords…… So that's how it is!)
Repelling the incoming swords, Polaris speculated about the power of the Magic Armament that Iris used.
(Perhaps, that right arm…… is a ”fusion of magic techniques”. In other words, that right arm of hers has now been transformed into an arm with the magic properties of a sword. That's why she can unleash a slash with a swing of a hand, and she doesn't need to go through a magic circle to use Sword Magic…… How troublesome. I can read any hints from the flow of magic power. This inevitably delays my response by a fraction of a second.)
Once activated, Iris' Magic Armament allows her to use magic instantly without the need of magic circles, and for those who fight by reading the flow of magic power in their opponents and surroundings, it's difficult to know when she makes her move.
In addition, the power of each shot is considerable……
[Hill of fools, jet-black earth, blades lurking in the shadows, seeking flesh and blood……]
[————Tsk!?]
When Polaris saw Iris start chanting again, she tried to stop her, but a huge jet-black sword from Iris' right arm prevented her from doing so.
[Before my finger stands the Sacrifice. Greedily devour them———- Technique Conversation, Magic Armament: Black Legs of Shadow Edge.]
(T/N: Kageha no Kuro Ashi)
This time, both of Iris' legs looked like black thorns. When Iris stomped her foot, the shadows around Polaris extended like spears and attacked Polaris at once.
Of course, that wasn't all, as jet-black swords also continued to attack her.
[Come on, let's bring in some more…… Roaring Cages of the Underworld, Open! The Madness of Nightmares, Swallow all Creations————– Technique Conversation, Magic Armament: Black Garments of Prison Gate.]
(T/N:獄門の黒衣 / Gokumon no Kuro Ginu)
[Another one……]
It was a scene worthy of being called a tempest of magic. If she gets delayed with something, Iris will add more Magic Armament and increase the density of her attacks. Even if she tries to attack, it's extremely difficult to get past her magic that is faster than chantless magic, and in addition, the magic power of Iris herself is enormous, so all the magic that she released is extremely powerful.
Evading the barrage that could crush her with their sheer volume if she stopped, Polaris slightly smiled and occasionally waved her arms to destroy the incoming magic.
[So you do have it in you…… and it's even beyond what I imagined. Iris Illuminus…… However, looking at how you took control of the battle just irritates me!]
At the same time as she shouted this, Polaris placed her hands, which were filled with a huge amount of magic power, in front of her body, as if she was going to pray.
[……”Starry Hill”.]
[Mhmm…… Houuu…]
Seeing the activation of her magic, Iris stopped her attacks once. Then, with a look of admiration on her face, she moved her gaze to the surrounding scenery that had changed from what it had been a moment ago.
What should have been a deserted island in the daytime had somehow turned into a hilltop under the starry skies.
[……This is the first time I've seen this. The highest level of Barrier Magic, dragging the opponent into the space created by the caster…… ”Large-Scale Spatial Barrier” huh……]
Large-Scale Spatial Barrier…… It can be described as the profoundest form of Barrier Magic, a magic that forcibly drags the opponent into a field in their favor.
What's troublesome with this magic is that it is difficult to escape from the inside because it can be as vast as the caster wants it to be, depending on the magic power of the caster.
Therefore, Iris stopped attacking for a moment. As long as you've been captured by a Large-Scale Spatial Boundary, everything within it is within the enemy's attack range……
[I've heard that the Large-Scale Spatial Barrier has completely different effects depending on the user…… Now then, I wonder what this space is like?]
[You're still as composed as usual…… I'm beyond irritated now, but I know that I'd feel just as refreshed soon. But well, let's see how long you can keep your composure up!]
[This is also…… quite the spectacular view.]
As if in response to Polaris' words, the space finally bared its fangs on Iris. The stars that had been twinkling in the sky, all fell to the ground at once…… raining down towards Iris.
The shooting stars raining down incessantly filled the space with thunderous roars and explosions. When Iris blocked them with a powerful Defensive Magic, Polaris flew to her, fists at the ready, and swung her arm.
Holding no feints, just a simple straight right punch…… However, the strike from Polaris' body, which has been trained beyond its limits, penetrated through Iris' Defensive Magic and head straight into her body.
Once her Defensive Magic had been broken, the rest of the shooting stars rained down like waves, and explosions and smoke engulfed Iris' body.
Confirming such a scene, Polaris clapped her hands…… and the Large-Scale Spatial Barrier that had been created converged with Iris at its center, and disappeared with a tremendous explosion.
An attack with a Large-Scale Spatial Barrier, a strike with a body that boasts an unbelievable amount of physical strength, and for good measure, a Spatial Annihilation Attack…… She doesn't expect that a battle between peak Count-ranks wouldn't be settled by something of this level, but Polaris still expects that she dealt a certain amount of damage.
Yes, this shouldn't be the end. Thinking that this is just the start, Polaris' mind slacked a bit after seeing her consecutive attacks cleanly hitting Iris, and within the smoke that covered the deserted island, Polaris raised her stance.
[……I see, since you said you use Limited Future Vision, I thought you would have some special way of battling…… but it's more like you're an all-rounder with an unbelievably high basic stats. Interesting.]