The first two pillars nearest to the entrance visibly cracked right in front of my eyes.
"That's enough!" Kronos yelled to August. "The basement will collapse if this goes on!"
I immediately ran to Kronos, who was repairing the stone pillar.
"Kronos! Can't you open up a hole out of this…!?" I asked.
"I already did." He told me while nudging his glasses. "The ground, the ceiling, the walls— they were all blocked by that black wall. I can't alter any earth materials that I've never seen or studied before, and I still can't activate my magic."
"…So we were trapped?"
Like a box.
“…What… is that…?” Kuroyuki murmured.
Tracing her voice— I find a silhouette of a person climbing out from the hole.
What on earth is that… Even dad’s encyclopaedias had no records of such an eerie thing.
I told Blaze and August to gather at Kronos's group— where he's repairing the second stone pillar (from the entrance) at our left. "You alright— August?" I asked. "Are you in any condition to fight…?" "Huff… Huff… Uh… Yeah… I'm okay…" August's face was drained white, and he looks exhausted. Looks like that moment of fear dried out his will completely. "Kronos, just concentrate on your stuff," I said to Kronos. "Kuroyuki is holding them back, so this will be a quick strategic meeting." "You seemed like you had some sort of idea in your mind," Persia said to me with a serious look. "Indeed. In a group of three… I want you guys to take turns supporting me to destroy those things." "…Our copies, you meant…?" August murmured. "Kuroyuki is maintaining the wall right now. If we let one of those things enter our territory… we could gang up on it." "But how are you going to defeat those things?" Persia asked. "Aside from their weapons… our attacks would go through them." "I could dest
When I turned behind and looked— I was genuinely surprised by the sight of it.A visible crack— spreading left and right across Kuroyuki's ice wall could be seen.Behind it, was flooded with countless silhouettes. They were sticking onto her ice wall. It seems they were trying to break the wall by pushing it with their mass instead of breaking it.For some reason, Kuroyuki seems to be in pain when she tried to restore the crack with her power. It seems she's almost at her limit to maintain that wall.But if she opens up a small hole now to let them pass through, that will be the breaking point of the entire wall, and it would still collapse.Kronos is at the 4th pillar on the left, right next to us."I got this," Rumelia said to us.Which, thin threads of silver strings sprout up from the floor— sticking to t
"This is— Nngh…!"It seems Kronos realized what those are. He immediately summons another wall at my side, protecting us from the incoming bullets barrage.The silver threads protecting us from the puppet silhouettes are no more because of the black spears and bullets.The fortunate thing is, the puppet silhouettes are gone for good as well."Kuroyuki…!"After confirming that Kronos's thick wall is enough to shield us, Persia quickly turned, squatted down while looking at Kuroyuki with a worried expression."…I… I'm okay now…" Kuroyuki told me, with her face looking pale. "…Go help them.""Don't talk nonsense!" Persia scolded Kuroyuki. "The worst two elemental recoils are ice and fire! There's no way you are okay…!""H-Huff…"
'Counter cladding'!BAM— THUNK!"Gahack…!?"'Counter Cladding' is the moment of attack in response to the opponent's attack by receiving a blow. This is just a purely physical attack, unlike 'Offensive Cladding', which could affect even their phasing body.Receiving the blow, I thrust her head simultaneously with the sheathed Black Sword. It broke the black ice helm on her, causing her to stagger from the surprise attack.…It's not enough.But that's okay— I've reached my goal.THUNK!At that moment, an ice spear went through her head.I immediately relaxed as soon as I witnessed how she crumbled and turned to ashes.The pain and damage she caused to me made me kneel.… It's the first time I'd accept Kuroyuki's
"What do you want, Black Sword…!?" I yelled."My name is Night Fury."When she replied, her playful tone suddenly became stern.Did she really care about her name this much…?"Then what do you want, Night Fury…?"When I asked again— Night Fury came closer to me.She was so close enough that her mouth was just right next to my left ear— but I had to pretend that I couldn't see her."That should be my question, my dear master~ Had thou not come here in seek for power?""Mrk…!?"As she whispered to my ear, I immediately backed away while swinging my scabbard at her— which she dodged by backing away."Yet… you don't seem like you want power." She said to me."What if I am… and what if I'm
It's your turn!While lying on the ground, I quickly reach my hands for her ankles, grabbing them."Mmph…!""Wah~"I knew it wouldn't do any damage to her— so I threw her for as far as I could from Kuroyuki."Hah— Hah—"…I'm panting. It was tiring to deal with her.Thankfully I managed to guard it by switching from 'Presence Sensing' to 'Hard-Defensive Cladding'. Or else I would've been finished by those seeming-to-never-end combos…But thanks to those combos, Night Fury dropped her blade. I hurriedly took it and gripped it firmly so that she wouldn't have the chance to get her sword anymore."My master sure is a stubborn person~" She told me."Aren't you the same…""Because I am your servant~" She told me as i
AND WHY SHOULD I GIVE A DAMN ABOUT IT!!? I AIN'T DYING HERE TODAY!!! I firmly gripped on the scabbard in my hand— CLANG—! —and stabbed it to the ground, letting it to act as a support while I mustered my final ounce of strength to lift my exhausted body. "HAH— HAH— HAH— HAH—" It became even harder to breathe than it already was by standing. "Those who had forsaken me from my freedom…… must pay with their lives……." …Night Fury's murmuring is scary. In this darkness, where I can't even see my own five fingers… CLANK—!!! What—!? As if a metal rod hitting a bell, the sound echoed throughout the entire room as the ground shook. That was— the pillar…!? She's trying to smash the pillar open!?
“H-Hey…! Respond if you can hear me…!” I hear a voice— the voice of a young man. The numbing pain right under my nose made me open my eyes from the discomfort. It seems he applied pressure on my radical longitudinal crease with his thumb to wake me up. “W-Wha…?” I murmured in confusion. This voice… I turn back to a boy…? What happened…? Where am I? Is this a forest? Who is this person? …and, is that a baby golden nine-tailed fox on my lap…? When I knew it, I’ve already let myself to a sitting position. The person that talked to me had black hair; he wore an all-black hiking outfit. But for some reason— I can’t seem to see his face. “Geez, you make me worry so much, blockhead.” He naturally lands a chop on my head by saying those words to me. “Owie!? It hurt