169 168. Pallinkron Legacy vs. Living Legend PT.txt (2/2)

'Snow, all you have to do is re-dose your trauma memories. Fortunately, I have the actual thing here.

Palinclone's right arm, which had become squishy, turned into a black liquid.

That change was the same as Tida's. She had released her power as the 'one who steals the Dark Reason' so that only Snow could see it.

Seeing this, Snow let out a small scream.

''Hee, i--!

You sure you want to do this, Snow? How many times do we have to do this?

Threatened, Snow begins to tremble.

--I can't watch.

The danger of his second companion finally brings back the will to fight that he had lost.

Don't think about anything else.

If you're in pain, you don't need to think about anything or anything else!

--Just save our people!

That simple idea was a perfect fit to break out of the current situation.

I'll be able to put the power into my limbs.

I'll save my friends - and in order to do that, I'll have to defeat the Palinkron. And we have to catch the Sith we let escape and save Dia.

I try to assign a tactic for that.

Due to the reckless restriction of his thoughts, his thinking ability is diminished. Not even less than a tenth of what it normally is.

But I can still use it. I can still fight.

The Palinkron was about to give the trembling Snow a thud.

But it is stopped by the Reaper's scythe.

I finish assembling the once crumbling battle plan once again.

Let's keep this up and let the Reapers and Snow keep the Palinkron at bay for just a little while longer. And in the meantime, I will attempt to capture the Sith once more.

Although the Sith has escaped from its restraints, it is still breathing heavily and has not been able to leave the battlefield. She seems to be having a hard time building up her white wings while preventing Maria's fire magic.

I can see that they haven't been defeated yet, and I can see hope.

I was a little confused because of the depths of Palinkron's 'magic circle'. That's for sure. But that's all.

Immediately, I run to catch the Sith.

''Sith!

He shouted to his friends, to show them that he was already okay.

But the Reaper's expression remained blue.

He glanced down while facing Palinclone.

''This, this 'magic circle' ......, could it be ......!

He looked at the 'magic stone line' (line) around him and was terrified.

''That's right, the 'Grim Reaper'. It's the 'magic circle' that swallowed you a thousand years ago - the spell 'World Devotional Circle'. I'm sorry, but I've already put up the entire northern part of the 'mainland'. Your natural enemy magic.

Palinclone turns his hand toward the Reaper. Then, just by squeezing his hand, Reaper's expression changes drastically.

''--Ah, ah, ah, ah!

He suffered as if he couldn't breathe and dropped the scythe in his hand.

I had seen that scene before. In the past, when I first met him, he had the same expression on his face when he stopped feeding the less magical Reapers from the 'connection'.

Perhaps this 'magic circle' has the effect of absorbing magic power. Therefore, the Reaper's magic power becomes depleted.

As soon as I could, I instructed the Reaper to rescue him.

''Snow!　Follow the Reaper--

But when she turned her attention to Snow - she had relied on him - she was running away with her back to him.

''--eh.''

My voice never reached him.

Snow ran her trembling body and climbed over the barrier and escaped from the garden. I could only watch his back.

I can feel all my calculations going haywire.

Then he realized that the calculations he had made with less than a tenth of his thinking power by sealing off the 'parallel thinking' were completely off the mark.

Ah, if this is the case, the only thing that can properly fight a Palinclone is--

And you, Radiant. You're the biggest pain in the ass. You're the one who can't take a hint, and you've been known to beat me. Didn't I forget that you defeated me in a mock battle?

It was just Sera.

Having finished kicking out the surrounding soldiers, Sera-san was heading towards where Palinkron was.

Thankfully, her movements are calm. She is not looking at the enemy, Palinkron, but at Rustyala and the Reaper, who are suffering.

To that Sera, Palinclone holds up his hand and mutters.

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get it right. --Focus the target of the spellcraft 'World Devotional Formation' on Sera Raydiant.

All of the light from the garden's 'magic line' (line) converged and struck Sera.

The light was a beautiful pure white that was so beautiful that it could be looked at. But that beautiful light made me terribly uneasy. If I touched that thing, I would never get it back. I didn't know why, I thought.

I stopped walking towards the Sith, turned myself around and headed towards Palinkron.

I had no choice. I didn't have a choice.

If I didn't do this, instead of wiping them out, I would be annihilated. That's how much anxiety I felt from the light.

In the meantime, Palinclone spoke to Sera.

'I know you were careful not to touch me, but you're still naive. This whole battlefield is already in my hands, you know?　The power of the one who steals the dark reason isn't everything to me. I'm a knight who fights by 'spellcraft' in the first place.

Sera's running speed instantly slows down.

'Kook, what is this!　I'm losing strength--!

Visibly, Sera's magic power is fading.

No, it's not just her magical power. Sera's existence itself seems to be fading away.

The power of the Palinkron's ”magic circle” is pregnant with a bad omen that seems to make people disappear.

While running, I 'pay attention' to Sera's sudden change.

Then I notice her abnormality.

Her status 'display' is not stable. The numbers are visibly decreasing.

It's just like the ”magic stone line” is sucking up the ”level” - the ”magic power”.

I'm not going to be able to get the same kind of results as the others. Feeling that, I swung my sword at Palinkulon with all my might.

''Palinkulon!　Stop!

'Haha!　That's better, boy!　but it's going to be brilliant!

Palinclone happily prevents my sword with his sword.

My swordsmanship and physical strength were overwhelming, yet I was comfortably prevented from doing so. As Palinclone said, it was a lackluster blow, though it had power on board. That's how disjointed my body and mind are right now.

I know the importance of unity of mind and body from my battle with Rowen, but my mind is not following my will to fight. I don't feel like my sensitivity is working properly now. It is also doubtful that I am drawing the ”swordsmanship” correctly.

Still, I have no choice but to wield the sword.

I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of them.

The light from the ”magic circle” has focused on Sera-san, so she seems to be able to move a lot better.

This ”magic circle” is not good for us ......!　At least you sisters can go to ......!　If we don't, we'll be slowed down: ......!

The Reaper joined Rustyala, holding Sera's body, which was nearly twice his size, in his arms. Then he chanted a magic.

''--'Connection!''

I generated a magic door and the three of us passed through it without hesitation.

This reduced the total number of friends from the battlefield to four, making the situation two against two. The situation that was overwhelmingly advantageous turned into an eventuality in the blink of an eye.

However, I am grateful for the Reaper's calm decision.

It would have been life or death for both Rastiara and Sera had they continued to be here. It would have been suicidal to fight the Palinclones while worrying about it. I have to say it was a wise decision.

I will be able to focus on the palinklons without worrying.

By concentrating on the sword alone, I will gradually regain my brilliance. However, as a matter of course, Palinclone disrupts my concentration to prevent me from doing so.

''--But 'boy'. What are you fighting for?　You don't have a sister to care about anymore, remember?　You take me down, and then what?　What and who are you fighting for, when you've lost even yourself?　Is that really what the boy wants?　Right?　Hey, hey, hey!

The more I listen to it, the more my body relaxes.

Every time I hear a word, I think about that word.

And my mind starts to chip away at it.

After surviving the battle in Hooz Yaz and Lauravia, I vowed that no one would play with me anymore, and I would not mistake my wishes for anything else. So I was confident that if Palinclone was going to fight around the magic of mental manipulation, I was confident that I could resist.

But this attack was impossible.

It won't come to play or trick me. It's not magic or magic. It's just speaking the 'truth'.

I can clearly see the taut will to fight is being ripped away from me.

The reason I can move a little bit now is probably because of what Hailey told me beforehand. Her story has helped me keep the shock to a minimum, which is huge.

The speed of the sword I wielded slowed down in proportion to my mind fading.

The power of the 'Sword Technique' and 'Sensitivity' that he had inherited from Rowen was no longer a shadow of what he had seen.　He could see that the sword in his hand had become a treasure in his hand.

Even though I had such an advantage in my abilities, the shameful thing was - the sword of Palinkulon was gradually beginning to push me.

If this continues, the result will be the same as that day.

I would lose again. When the defeat slightly grazed my mind--

”-- 'Infinite Staggering and Cilia no Zui', 'Swallow the Stars', 'Midgall's Blaze' --!

A forbidden flame rushed through the garden of light.

Arti's fire, which was my enemy then, now gushed out as my ally.