Volume 21 Chapter 3 (1/2)
Louise and the others, lead by Colbert rushed into the tower and ran past the corridors
Laical devices lined on the walls of both sides, the weak illu statues, drawings and other superfluous decorations highlighted the different atinia palaces
A deep alarm echoed within the tower
”Try not toon your own, and wait for my command” Colbert said softly Beads of sweat slowly for of anxiety before
They had sneaked into the enemy base without a h he had participated in all kinds of battles during his tenure as the leader of ”Magical Research Experimental Group”, this was is first time he had taken part in such a reckless mission
Not only that, they were also fighting against elves
Would they be able to leave this place alive? In the worst case, even if their plan were to fail, he should at least let the student escape with their lives As he thought about this, his expression turned even more severe
”Where are all the elves?”
”Well, forpeople, they would be at the apex of the building” Guiche answered after hearing Louise ask softly ”That is the case with Halkeginia”
After walking for some time, they entered an empty space that looked like a hall in the intersections of the corridors Colbert stopped , and waved his staff to block the students behind him
”Jean, is there so?”
”Elves”
The word made everyone take in a cold breath
Elves dressed like guards appeared at the other end of the corridor
The beings named Elves, were existences that could take on a thousand human warriors alone There were three of those fearsome warriors before them
After that, the enemy noticed the towards them
Colbert instantly cast a ”Flame Ball” in response
With flae could output by four times, three spheres of fire, with twice the radius of a ”Fire Ball”, shot towards the Elves while dragging trails of flames
Sounds of explosions thundered across the corridor and the air itself shook as the powerful flaed the elves A merciless attack, ood-natured appearance Louise and the others stood dumbfounded behind him
”Couldn't we have taken thees?” Malicorne said
”I don't think guards would have any value as hostages, and also”
Colbert turned grilare towards the flames in the other end
”I don't think we can afford to be ”
They heard a strong gust howl across the corridor, sucking the fla every trace of fire
There was not even so much as a burnt cinder on the elves
”So that's the power of 'Firstborn Magic' What terrifying strength”
Colbertin Elvish It see about the ”devil”
”Leave this to me”
Guiche stepped to the front poracefully in the air, before turning into seven Valkyries, holding short spears, who stood in front of the Elves
”Charge, my Valkyries!”
Upon Guiche's command, the Valkyries immediately rushed forward
However, the Elves simply jumped to them with their weapons made short work of the Valkyries with a few fluid strokes
”Hey, what the heck?” Guiche's face turned green, and cold sweat rained down Colbert's brow
There was an unith hidden within the lithe bodies of the elves Maybe they enhanced their bodies within their weapons and bodies
”I would recommend that we escape while we can”
”Agreed” Colbert concurred with Malicorne's suggestion
It was pointless for theht be able to do soic, they should not simply waste their ace here
”There's a path here”
Louise pointed towards a corridor at the side
”Alright, you guys, leave now I'll hold them off”
Colbert waved his staff and summoned a monstrous serpent of flame in one swift motion
A cold and emotionless smile that he would have never shown to the students appeared on his face Colbert radiated an feeling that he would scorch anyone who touched hioosebumps travel down their spine
The colossal fla of his title, ”Colbert the Flame Serpent”, whisked towards the elves like a whip
The Elven warriors, strong as they are, did not tread forward as confidently as before, against the ferocious flae a the barbarians
”Mr Colbert!”
”Leave now! Quickly!”
After hearing Colbert's unco command, Louise and the others could only rush down the corridor hurriedly
Colbert summoned another flaht the enemy to the end here, since the enemy in question was the Elves
Colbert sneaked a peek at the ceiling of the corridor before sche coolly
”I would have to lure them deeper into the corridor first”
The two fla their prey go free One of the Elves see nowhere, and started chanting so No matter what kind of spell that was, there was no way he could win after the spell chanting was coainst the powerful ”Firstborn Magic”
”I' to let you do that”
Colbert extinguished the fla the spell for ”Flame Ball”
He ai
The ceiling exploded before crashi+ng doith a deafening noise and burying the Elves under it
The cracks were created when the airshi+p rammed into the tower Colbert stepped back whilethe flaht under the cracks
After that, Colbert waved his staff, and cast the earth ic, ”Alchee block of brick and mortar
The Elves had already used ”Firstborn Magic” to enhance their bodies, so being buried under the rubble would probably not kill them However, it should stall them for a while
”I have to move fast”
Just as Colbert was about to chase after Louise and the others, the pile of rubble, which should have been solidified by ”Alchean to distort itself, like it was alive
To prevent the guards fro theroup, descended on the terrace that had been destroyed by the cannon of the ”Ostland”
She used the ”Air Halassand entered the tower She purposefully uards
The place that Tabitha had entered was a round space that was illuic It looked like so metal door at the deepest end
The
Three armed Elves appeared
Tabitha immediately cast the ”Windy Icicle” spell towards them
Five sharp pointed arrows of ice sped towards the elves
However, they did not even reach their target before they were repelled by the strong gusts, not unlike a tornado, around the Elves
It was the wind ”Firstborn Magic”, but that ithin Tabitha's expectations She intentionally used less powerful ic to confirm the numbers of enemies
Tabitha deter the spell, ”Reflect” As expected, even a the Elves, only a select few could use such a foric”
Tabitha cast the ”Blade” spell on her staff, and swiftly slashed at the trio
The elves were stunned for a es only could cast spells with exaggerated hand motions, which made thee who attacked ni the enemy see their lip motions was a never before heard enemy for them
The vacuu out of the staff cut open the ”Wind shi+eld” and the uniform of the elf who looked like the team leader
The elf looked shocked Tabitha twirled her staff rapidly and cast a ”Javelin” at point blank range
The huge ice spear slaht into his chest plate and knocked the elf who looked like the team leader far away
”First, one down”
Tabitha calmly counted in her mind as she withdrew her staff
Tabitha's original style of battle was to use a variety of long range spells to suppress the ene the ”Blade” spell in hand-to-hand combat was not her forte
However, she would not have any chance of winning against the Elves if they were able to use the powerful ”Firstborn Magic”
As such, the only effective as to take the first strike She would use the condescending attitude that the Elves had towards barbarian Mages, and defeated them while they were still confused
As she continue to channel ic into her staff, she felt as if her heart was slowly enclosed by ice As she focused her concentration to the maximum point where she attained perfect tranquility, the world around her slowed down to a snail's pace She even ed to see each of the surprised expressions on the Elves
”This should do”
This hat she wanted, that feeling from before If she was unable to retrieve this cold, absolute-zero heart, she would never be able to win against the Elves
Just like when Tabitha the Snowstorht of the North Parterre
Suddenly, Tabitha felt a faint presence behind her This was so her intuition during her long years of working in the shadows
Tabitha quickly ducked down before a blade of light nearly sliced through the air above her head As she turned around, Tabitha went around the elf behind her and cast a ”Javelin” at him She confirmed that the Elf was knocked away at a corner of her eye, before slashi+ng the other Elf However, the enee the invisible blade, he also ic”
Tabitha saw that and could not help but panicked a little
To fight ”Firstborn Magic” head-on with Mage
Tabitha chose to chase after the enemy to attack before he could, but this was just what he wanted her to do
Warning bells rang in her head as she felt as if she stepped into a swamp
Tabitha i”, but she was slower by just a hairbreadth A hand eround
The warrior yelled so loud in Elvish, and slashed doards
Tabitha hastily turned over and parried it with center of her staff As the blade closed in on her eyes, the blue pupils of Tabitha began to shake uncontrollably Fear slowly crept into the core of her frozen heart
There was no one else who knew about what terrible things the Elves could do than Tabitha When she went to her old mansion in Orléans to save her ainst the Elves
The blade before her eyes was just barely above the tip of her nose ”Is this the end” Tabitha closed her eyes, as if she had accepted her fate
Just then, a face appeared in Tabitha'sman that Tabitha had admired secretly in her heart
Suddenly, the young ed with the main character of the book that Tabitha had read before
”The Hero of Ivaldi”
He was the hero of the legendary story that Tabitha had always yearned for since she was young
”At the time, I was a princess as saved and liberated by the hero However, this is my turn I will be the one ill save that person, the 'Hero of Ivaldi'”
”I cannot, die here”
Tabitha closed her eyes and started to chant a spell
”Rakus Wotale Isu Yise Hagaras”
Tabitha's staff began to shi+ne, and froht, a powerful wind howled into existence
The Elf looked a little shaken The prey, driven into the corner, rebounded with even greater strength
He increased pressure on the blade as he saw this, trying to cut both Tabitha and her staff
However, there was no longer any fear in Tabitha's id voice
The surrounding air instantly froze in the freezing hazy gusts The frozen air turned into threads, swirling in between the both of them
The Elf's eyes opened wide as his face turned into a shocked expression It would be impossible for her to escape unscathed if she used this spell at such a close distance
However, Tabitha froze every feeling of fear she had in her heart, and finished chanting her spell
-- ”Blizzard”
This spell, that was originally just a Triangle spell, reached the power of a Square spell Countless blades of ice rah everything it touched
The immeasurably powerful tornado of icy blades lashed out at Tabitha's petite body, and threw her against the wall
Tabitha gingerly opened her eyes and looked around, only to find a Elven warrior lie before her, the arht have been that he stepped back to dodge the spell, causing hie than Tabitha who had been in the eye of the storm
Tabitha struggled to get on her feet
After defeating the three Elves How h opponents would she has to face?
Tabitha cast the ”Night Vision” spell on herself as she arrived at the passageway outside the hall Even if she was not able to defeat the guards from the levels below, she had to try to stop them in their tracks
Just then, she heard a set of footsteps in the passageway behind her
She determined that there was only one person fro towards her slowly
Tabitha raised her staff
The silhouette of an Elf with a long cape eed from the darkness
Sweat drops appeared on Tabitha's forehead
This was because the aura shown by the other person was obviously different from the three Elven warriors just now
”He's very strong”
Tabitha's intuition, as a warrior who has fought in countless battles, told her that
The elf stoppedTabitha's presence
Tabitha immediately cast ”Windy Icicle” towards her opponent without another word However, the icicle spear turned around and lunged towards Tabitha just as it was about to reach the elf's chest
”Reflection”
Tabitha used her staff to knock away the icicle spear and instantly casted ”Blade” as she rushed forward
The elf with a long cape slowly lifted his hand, seeic”
Tabitha kneell that she would not be living for long if she allowed her opponent to complete the spell
Just as the vacuum blade rebounded, Tabitha's body was also thrown far away
”It's useless No blade can cut through my 'Reflection'”
Blue pupils stared into Tabitha, as lying on the ground, from beneath the hood
”Aren't you!”
Tabitha was frozen in place Her expression which was once as chill as ice, could not help but show hints of surprise
”The color of your hair and eyes are you the princess of Gallia?”
It was Bidashal
The terrifying elf who imprisoned Tabitha's mother and her in Alhambra
”Huff, huff ait for me, hey!”
”Can't you run faster? The Elves are going to catch up to us” Guiche urged Malicorne as already out of breath after just running for a while
”I'”
”Would it be faster for you to roll instead?”
Just as Kirche said it, a thunderous roar came from their back
Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked backwards
”Mr Colbert?” Louise's tone showed uncertainty
The explosions echoing around the after that they heard light footsteps heading their way Colbert was running towards them from the other end of the pathway
”Jean”
”It see after us were successful”
Louise and the others let out a sigh of relief when they saw Colbert run towards them
Nevertheless, they noticed soe about him
Why was Mr Colbert running with all hison his face?
”W-what is that?!” Guiche paled as he pointed behind Colbert
When everyone saw the thing was appeared from that direction, they were dumbstruck
The thing that was chasing after Colbert as he ran aas actually a giant ”arm” made of rock
”W-what the heck is that?!”
”Are you duic'!” Guiche answered, annoyed
Colbert, who had been running as best as he could, screauys, everyone, run away as fast as you can! Our ainst it!”
Even if Colbert had not told the on the pathway
”W-ill it stop chasing us?”
”Well, that will of course be when it squashes us” Malicorne answered Louise, as out of breath
”What should we do then!”
”Hey, Louise, I thought of a nice strategy” Guiche, as panting heavily, suddenly spoke
”What is it?”
”How about everyone just bon and apologize? Who knows, otiate with us”
”How could there be such a good thing like that Don't forget, ere the one who ra us speak Elvish?”
”I really thought it was a great idea” Guiche groaned loudly as he ran
”There's a door here!” Malicorne pointed towards the front
There was a small door at the end of the pathway There was no other forked paths, so there was no choice for them
”It seems like we could only hide in there”
”Yeah”
The deafening din behind them continued to press closer to them
Louise and the others made a leap of faith and rushed to the door
Guiche, who reached the door first, tried to push the door with all his strength
”I can't open it, I think it's locked”
”Move aside”
Kirche whipped out herthe spell for ”Fireball”
The door opened in a clean blast from Kirche
However, behind the door, it was a round room which could only accommodate a few persons
Kirche showed disappoint this
”Alas, it seems like we're at our wit's end”
Everyone took a look backwards, only to find the giant ”aric stormed forward, barely impeded by the walls
At this rate, everyone would turn intotheir hands
”Oh hty Founder Brimir, I pray for assistance for your Children in this time of need”
”Get a grip of yourself, Guiche!” Seeing that Guiche has discarded his wand and sat on the ground, Louise told him that as she pulled his ears
On the other hand, Colbert crouched and scrutinized at the floor of the small room with a serious expression on his face
”Jean, what's wrong?”
”This is an elevator” Colbert answered upon hearing' Kirche's question
”What's an elevator?”
”It's a ical device that uses the power of wind stones to carry people There are similar devices in the Hamlin Academy of Tristania”
”Does that mean we could control it even if we're not elves?”
”Yes, there's a good chance”
After that, Colbert began to study the round panel of a floor
”Faster, Mr Colbert!” Guiche yelled anxiously
The ground shook as loud sounds closed in on them
The giant rock ”arm” appeared before them
Malicorne attacked it with the ”Air Hammer” relentlessly
Kirche also used her ic wand to shoot ”Fireballs” at it
Meanwhile, Guiche used Earth Magic to erect a huge wall in front of everyone
However, none of their ic worked The ”arm” deers wide It was about to crush Louise and others into oblivion
”Uwah!”
”Oh, I think I kno! Everyone, get in here now!”
After hearing Colbert shout, everyone immediately entered the elevator
The elevator instantly became crohen five people entered it
Colbert used ic to activate the wind stones
After the initial feeling of weightlessness, the round panel plunged doith a whoosh
”W-we're saved”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they descended doards
However, it was not all over just yet
Rumble rumble rumble!
A heavy rumble came from above
”I have a bad feeling about this” Guiche spoke
”Oh, that's weird, because I feel the same too” Louise trembled as she looked up
The next instant, a powerful force sla
”Yiii!” Guiche was so scared that he hugged his head with both hands
A few continuous hits later, the elevator ceiling was finally ripped apart
At the sa
”Get out now!”
Everyone hurriedly crawled out of the elevator upon hearing Colbert yell out The elevator they had been riding just noas then proiant rock ”arm”
”Can't they just let us go!” Kirche could not help but exclaim
”Allow me” Louise walked forward, and raised her wand
She then closed her eyes, and focused inwards The face of her favorite familiar then immediately appeared before her