417 Chapter 417: Dragons and Curses (2/2)

\”Are you just trying to come up with what sound like a fancy Spanish name? I'm pretty sure Grimoire is not Spanish.\”

\”Oh, shut it. It sounds cool, doesn't it? Anyway, more importantly…\” she gestured toward the many formation array circles that now surrounded us. \”It's over. I've managed to set up all my formation arrays.\”

\”Okay.\” I shrugged. \”So what do they do?\”

Thornbush began materializing all over us, thorned vines and plants engulfing the arena and turning it into a beautiful but deadly garden. Gleaming black roses bloomed to life along the bushes, their sinister petals gleaming dazzlingly as they drank in the light. Lethal thorns sprouted from the snaking tendrils, turning the perimeter into a barbed fence that kept everyone out and me and her in. There was no escape from this garden of darkness – I could tell that the thorns were enchanted. They weren'tjust powerful and sharp. Each of them was dripping with a lethal curse that would force whoever seeking an exit to pay a very high price.

Most likely one's life.

\”Beautiful, isn't it?\” Miura inquired, admiring her own handiwork. \”I'm very proud of this technique. You should be honored – this is my ultimate technique. Up till now, there has been no one capable of breaking through it…with the exception of Captain Kureha, but she's a monster. And even she ended up heavily injured when smashing through my Garden of Black Roses. You should be honored that I'm forced to use it against you.\”

\”Yeah, I'm so honored.\” I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. I could feel a tremendous pressure weighing down on me, the curses from the black roses slowly strangling and suffocating me.

\”Come on…you use flower magic as well. You ought to be able to appreciate it. Except…as you probably know best of all, every rose has its thorns.\”

\”Uh huh. You sure talk a lot, huh?\”

\”Well, I do need to pass the time while waiting for the curses to take effect. And…as I said, there is no escape from here. You're trapped here, away from the light of the outside, and as long as you remain within my Garden, you will receive the full brunt of my curses. You'll die a lonely death, away from the eyes of everyone.\” She brushed her fingers through her hair. \”Well, don't worry. I was speaking metaphorically. You won't actually die – the boundary field will keep you alive.\”

\”I was never worried about that.\” I charged at her. \”And if I get rid of you, I assume the curse will be lifted.\”

\”You might be right.\” Miura toyed with her ominous grimoire. \”But don't forget…this entire space is now my territory.\”

\”!!!\”

Black bolts of energy streamed through the place where I had been hurtling along, and I dodged in midair, cleaving apart several of the bolts with my swords. Then vines lashed out, trying to ensnare me. I cut them apart with blurring strokes, my two blades transforming into a whirlwind of black and white blurs. Even so, I could feel myself slowly weakening as the curses continued to squeeze the life out of me.

I wouldn't be able to last long here.

\”Oh my…this is dangerous. I really can't underestimate you. To think you still have such power and can still move like that even when under the effects of my cursed Garden.\” Miura closed in on me, swinging her scythe. I had the impression that she had somewhat recovered from her injuries and nourished herself before I brought both swords up to parry her curved weapon. We sprang apart and I assessed her more closely, my glasses scanning her figure.

Yeah, her injuries had mostly mended superficially and her bleeding had stopped. It wasn't as if she had fully healed herself, but she had managed to apply emergency firstaid with her grimoire. Seemed like the Garden of Black Roses was both a place of blessings and curses. Blessings for its owner and curses for trespassers.

\”Huff…\”

I dropped to a knee, feeling giddier than ever. Miura smiled and descended upon me, her scythe swinging toward my neck.

For a moment, I closed my eyes. And then smiled.

\”Bloom, Hundred-Colored Flowers.\”

\”?!\”

Miura tried to move back in shock, but she was too late. Both of my swords shone brightly before erupting into countless vines that caught her. She tried to slice some of them apart with her scythe, but there were far too many of them, and a good number of tendrils wrapped around her arms and legs, restraining her. She thrashed about desperately, and had shadowy bolts blast and cut apart the vines that had ensnared her, but black petals blossomed into being between her spells and my vines, absorbing the dark projectiles and splitting apart into confetti-like pieces.

\”What is this?!\”

\”I'm sorry…but I'll be taking your mana for myself.\”

\”Eh? How…?!\”

Miura's complexion grew paler as she found herself weakening drastically. Her movements grew slower, more sluggish, and her breathing much heavier. She slumped, held up only by the vines now protruding from both of my swords. Any effort on her part to cast any new spells was quickly dispelled, her mana diverted away.

\”What's…what's going on…?\”

Her eyes widened when she saw buds appear along the vines that entangled her. Slowly but surely, each of them bloomed, transforming into glowing flowers. A myriad of colors, a diversity of species, and each flower spread out its petals and blossomed majestically under the dark shade of her crumbling Garden.

\”Isn't a Garden with nothing but Black Roses boring?\” I asked wearily, forcing a smile as I drank in her mana. \”Let's liven things up with a little more color.\”

\”That's…that's my mana inside those flowers…\”

\”Yeah, and I'll be receiving them gratefully. Thanks for the meal.\”

Miura struggled one last time, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't break free. With each passing second, she felt drastically weaker, her strength and mana slipping away from her grasp and flowing into me.

\”Damn…damn it!!!!!\”

All around us, the Garden of Black Roses disintegrated into countless, dissipating black petals, leaving very little trace that it had once existed.