302 299. Rematch.txt (2/2)

The water snake was avoided, and the water droplets didn't even snatch at my clothes - but multiple ice arrows were flying from that snake's shadow.

That one's magic snatched at the edge of the cloak and tore the cloth.

The ice arrows they dodged dissipated before hitting the audience.

'Dexterity in a dexterous way!

He flew multiple spells other than the name of the magic he uttered.

That's all it takes to put words into words ...... probably a difficult magic operation for me to imitate. Like me, I'm sure Rustyala, the type of person who focuses on putting magic into words, can't do it either.

It would be a skill (or skills) that can be acquired by acquiring magic through repetitive practice rather than sensitivity.

Even though it's the same 'magical combat' on display, it's a completely different 'magical combat' than Rastiara's.

It's natural when you think about it. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You will be able to see the status of the product, and you will be able to see that it is a trap to fight by looking at the status.

''-- Magic 《Zeerewind》!

What was released was not a gust of wind magic - but a magic that shook the ground.

I raised my arms to guard against the wind, but my opponent's target was my unprotected feet.

I thought the wind magic had been woven just before, but it was an earth magic that was activated.

''Kuku ......!　Isn't that a bit unfair!

It's just a trick, but sometimes it works. During the Ballroom Tournament, I was only training for many versus many!　But since then I've broadened my horizons and done some one-on-one training!　I learned from the explorers, even if it wasn't straightforward!　Let's show them what it's all about!

Against me, who loses his stance due to the earthquake, Elmirado runs out.

She kicks the ground with the power of her 'demonization', crushing the distance that was vacant in an instant, and swings the sword in her hand while spinning a new magic.

''-- 《Growth》!　WIND!　Impulse!

The next step is to activate magic at the same time for all three attributes.

He has increased his physical abilities, has air currents on his side, and is putting magic on his sword.

His movements are fast. The previous weakness of close combat is completely made up for by 'demonization'.

However, if it's a sword attack, even if heaven and earth are upside down, I won't be able to fall behind. I play the Elmirado's sword approaching at high speed while losing my posture and try to slash my arm with the returning blade.

''--!

The moment Elmirad saw that the blow was blocked, he dodged my counterattack by leaping backwards like a cat-like beast.

My posture is still intact, but I still carefully refrained from giving chase.

From the looks of it, the power that Elmirade gained from 'Majinization' is a quadrupedal animal type. It would be the blood of a monster similar to a lion in my world. Having gained many times more muscle strength and speed than before, he should now have a strong all-around feeling like Noir-chan.

Even so, he doesn't seem to be swayed by that power, and the main subject seems to be hit-and-away with mid-range magic.

''--Magic 《Woodfisher》!　 Light!　Dark Arms!

Three consecutive spells again - this time tree branches spread out like a web from the cobblestones, a glimmer of light shines, and the darkness takes the form of an arm and tries to grab my leg.

It's Elmirade's specialty in magical warfare.

Fire, water, wind, earth, light, darkness, holy. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

The strategy is to get close to them and attack them in such a way that you don't give them time to breathe or think.

However, it is not possible to approach so easily.

It was a fixed turret before, but this time it was a moving turret. It's reaction and speed like a beast. I won't be able to bring them into a forceful fistfight by going straight through the magical rain like before.

Immediately I opt for the long term instead of the short term.

Of course, if I push myself a little too hard, I can get in between swords even if I get hit a few times.

However, without a doubt, Elmirado should have some depth too.

Due to Elmirado's nature, it's always prepared. Or rather, it's too obvious by looking at her driving expression.

''Ha, hahaha!　What do you think, Kanami!　Things will be a little different than they were before!　I will not allow you to get as close as you did before!　Never again!　Hahahaha--!

Nice smile.

He looks really happy.

And he's waiting for me to approach him now (・・・・・・・・・・). It's obvious that he's expecting me to hit him like in the old ”dancing competition”.

If I forcefully pack up and take a decent bite out of the close combat depths I'm sure he's prepared for, he might allow me to make a heroic comeback.

Hence, I'm going to try to run out of MP.

If he has a chance to win in close combat, there's no need to jump in there. I'm not going to be able to get any more than that. If not for that backhandedness, I'm confident that there is no chance of losing.

I'll keep my distance and try to wear him down with a hit-and-away approach.

Plus, I honestly wanted to ...... watch this fun-loving Elmirado for a little while longer.

Perhaps it's the magic of Nosfi's honesty, but he doesn't look as urgent as he used to.

He plays like an innocent child and uses a lot of unusual magic that I've never seen before. It's not monotonous in the way it's presented, either, but rather a series of inventive activations. I'm sure I won't get bored until the end of the duel.

I'm going to have to watch and avoid Elmirad's magic, while also paying attention to the 'display'.

I'm not going to be able to get a good look at it.

Probably, the match will be won in less than half a second.

With that in mind, the two of us continue to fight with swords and magic in the center of the Great Sacred City. Just as before, with the spectators watching us--

◆◆◆◆◆

--and twenty minutes from the start of the duel.

As expected, twenty minutes passed without any danger whatsoever.

As far as the body clock is concerned, exactly one thousand two hundred seconds or so.

During that time, Elmirade released nearly a hundred magic, with a total consumption of about 400 MP.

If you trust the 'display', you have 21 MP left to the limit.

I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of them. In contrast, I have no attrition at all.

And at the moment of one thousand two hundred and twelve seconds from the start of the duel, I see in the 'display' that MP21 has been switched to MP15. However, Elmirade is only running and does not speak the magic name. At 6 MP consumed, if this move--.

I saw that one earlier!

I jump to the side and avoid the Flame Arrow, which has become difficult to see by distorting the air with heat. I also run towards Elmirad, whose movements have slowed down due to the prolonged battle, and go to demand a close battle.

''Haha, haha!　Response time is fast!　It's usually something we know, but we can't deal with it!

No longer did Elmirad have the speed of twenty minutes ago.

The sharpness of his body has also fallen off and he is unable to shake me off.

As a result, my sword reaches Elmirado.

He tries to intercept it with his bare right arm.

His right arm is all he has left. The sword has been broken in the battle so far, and the lion's left arm is useless.

''-- 《Wind》!　Not yet!　Not yet, Kanami!

Elmirado points his right arm at my sword and explodes it with all the remaining magic power.

It's the kind of thing that causes magic power to run amok, which was Ryner's specialty, and produces power in exchange for wear and tear.

He must have heard about Ryner's outburst magic somewhere, and he has done the same thing with the lion's left arm to buy some time. And with this second outburst, both arms were completely useless.

''Yeah, I know!　Let's still do it!

The end is near.

Elmirad Siddharq was strong.

In addition to showing his physical abilities as the king of a hundred beasts, which was unashamed of his lion-like appearance, he also had a wide variety of magic.

The magic didn't have any attributes, and they were all delicate and precise. He was a wizard who could be called the king of a hundred demons, not a hundred beasts.

However, I have already been able to detect that his last move - the arm band on his right arm.

It's the result of the analysis of the last twenty minutes. I also took confirmation by pretending to go into close combat several times. Probably, it's a type that can be activated without magic power.

I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.

By using dimensional magic in my body without leaking a single bit of it out of my body, I escape the influence of the Great Sacred City's warding. Temporarily changing the attribute of the magic to flame, he performs the same construction as the magic we saw earlier.

This one also releases a silent ”Flame Arrow” while running.

I kick the ground even harder and go to close the distance at once.

Seeing me finally come forward, Elmirad loosens his cheeks a bit. I'm going to hit a counter to make it look like I'm out of magic power. Dare to act like you're running out of energy and try to lure them in by pretending they can't escape.

And the moment my sword is just in time to reach it, Elmirado holds up his right arm.

But at the same time, his bangle bursts open. My ”Flame Arrow” hit him directly and destroyed him before he could activate his magic tool.

''--what is this!

I was allowed to imitate the technique of making the 《Flame Arrow》 invisible to the extreme.

With this, the back hand was broken and Elmirado's chances of winning were zero. Not even one percent.

I don't pursue the sword and stay where I am, urging him to surrender.

'The one that's broken now is what Elle is asking for ....... Are you done now ......?

'Huh ......, was it obvious ....... This bracelet was a rather pricey one, but it ended up being wasted ....... You didn't get it again .......

Elmirado also stops and answers on the spot.

She doesn't look like she's going to continue the magic battle anymore, but ...... still refuses to admit defeat.

'I know it sounds ...... sarcastic, but Elle was strong. I was really surprised.

'It's not enough to be surprised, Kanami. I don't want your surprise, I want your defeat.

They say I wanted victory, not praise.

However, there was no way I could lose in a serious contest for the magic stone of The One Who Stole Reason. That's why I didn't give him a single percent chance to win.

Unlike Noir-chan, who didn't take a second, Elmiraad was strong enough that he couldn't be sure of winning a hundred percent without taking twenty minutes to do so - that's what I wanted to say, but I'll refrain from saying any more superlatives.

There aren't many words a winner can say to a loser, I think, and I continue to listen to him in silence.

'...... I was a little skeptical of what you were saying, Nosphy. I didn't want to believe that no one can win a hundred percent (absolutely) against Kanami, the one who steals the reason for the dimension, anymore. I wanted to believe that I still had a one percent chance of winning against Elmiraad Siddharth, that I could have another equal duel. ......, but even if Kanami can't use dimensional magic, he's also been through a lot of battles with just his sword. Her calmness in battle is too different. It seems that I didn't even have a one percent chance of winning right now. ......

I reviewed this duel with a truly frustrated look on my face.

His back hand was broken and he was talking as if he was admitting defeat, but as I looked at it, I couldn't fit my sword in.

His will to fight had not yet faded. I admit that I can't win now. But I feel a strong will to keep chasing him no matter how far away I go.

At the end of that Elmirad's self-reflection, he laughs.

While laughing, he pulls out the pendant from his pocket for The One Who Stole the Darkness Reason and tries to take a step forward to say that the duel is not over yet.

''...... Well, that's fine. Then that's it, there's no way around it now. We'll get our revenge another time. And from here on out, I'm going to have a meddling duel. It's not just me, it's the witch of Revelleo, and I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to use a few of these wagered magic stones to get the job done.

Lightbrynak!

But it was blocked by a spear of light that fell from the sky.

The marketplace shook like an earthquake as the high magic pierced the cobblestones between me and Elmirad.

Then, from the top of the tallest house nearby, a shout echoes.

''Elmiraaaaad!　What are you doing!　Do you remember our call last night!　I asked him to keep it drawn in, but no one asked him to fight for the magic stone!

The girl who would now have thrown the spear of light was there, with the sun at her back.

Nosfi, the 'Stealer of the Light's Reason' with her chestnut-colored hair fluttering, appeared on the back of a giant wolf.

It could be seen that he had escaped from that restraint by the fact that pieces of Maria's spell cloth were attached to various parts of his body.

However, admitting that means that Nosfi has been victorious against the five people in the mansion, Rustyala, Dia, Maria, Snow, and Reaper, in the past few minutes -