Chapter 8 Part 47
Translator : PolterGlast
A swarm of black and
silver bullets devoured the blood elements that gushed forth.
When Vitora caught
sight of the rapier that sprang into the open space, Irisdina swung it without
hesitation with her blade strengthened by magic power.
"Tch!"
Vitora parried the
cleave with the blade she created with blood element, but Irisdina's rapier
instantly devoured and sliced through it. A single wound was carved into the
vampire princess's chest.
"Too shallow,
huh!"
"You!"
Vitora, impatient due
to being pushed into a close distance, drew out her elements without any
hesitation.
Then, she slammed it
into Irisdina at point-blank range and jumped back from the spot with all her
might.
Her impatience was
something she had never shown before.
The unfulfilled desire
to be satisfied, and the unpredictability of Irisdina's power that unilaterally
canceled out her power. It reminded Vitora of the death that might come again
and brought her impatience for the first time in her life.
"How unpleasant!
What's with this discomfort!?"
Vitora raised her
right hand high and produced a huge crimson sphere of light.
The crimson sphere
quickly became huge, as if it were a manifestation of her frustration. The
crimson sphere quickly grew so large that it swallowed up the cleared grounds
of the Francilt mansion.
"Hmph!"
However, a black
silvery spear shot out from the rising dust and smoke pierced the crimson ball
of light and dispersed it.
What was released was
an Intermediate Magic, [Throwing Spear of the Abyss].
However, the fact that
a Spirit Magic was erased by a mere single shot of Intermediate Magic, made
Vitora's face even more impatient.
"I see. The power
and the deployment speed of my magic are both much higher than they have ever
been before. I feel a little complicated when I think that this is due to the
influence of your blood."
"You..."
"Oya~, is it okay
to be too focused only on me?"
The next moment, a
strong chill ran down Vitora's spine.
The moment she
reflexively leaped from the spot, both of her legs were cut off by the
five-colored blades that flew like a flash of light.
"Guh!?"
With her face
contorted due to the searing pain, she turned her gaze toward where the slash
had come from and saw Nozomu sprinting toward her with his blade at the ready.
He had retrieved his
katana while bypassing the barrage of bullets coming from Irisdina.
"~! Don't come
any closer!"
"I won't let
you!"
Vitora quickly
deployed multiple [Thin Garments of the Ice Demon] and tried to release them.
However, the barrier deployed by Irisdina protected Nozomu and intercepted the
blood-colored battle formation that was coming at him.
Compared to Vitora's
magic, the barrier seemed too unreliable. However, [Thin Garments of the Ice
Demon] was unable to break through that paper-wall-like barrier.
A few seconds of
confrontation. In the meantime, Nozomu, who sheathed his blade, unleashed an
overt strike.
"Hmph!"
A single attack burst
forth, flying simultaneously with the drawing of the blade. The [One Billion
Severance] broke through the battle formation along with the magic barrier and
struck Vitora's body.
Vitora's eyes widened
in surprise as she was cut in half from the shoulder to the side.
"Gah!? What the
hell, that technique shouldn't have been this powerful!"
"Yeah, a mere
[One Billion Severance] wasn't enough, so I mimicked Iris's technique and
layered ten shots on top of each other."
It only took a few
seconds, though.
Originally, Nozomu was
able to unleash a superb technique such as [Phantom] in about half a second. In
a few seconds, it was not impossible for him to stack multiple [Phantom]s on
top of each other.
Until now, he did not
have even a few seconds due to Vitora's onslaught, but now that Irisdina had
joined the fight, he was able to create enough "build up" for his
attacks.
"Fuh!"
While Vitora was
holding her cut body, Nozomu was closing the gap between them and swung his
fist filled with elements.
After finishing her
regeneration, she reflexively raised her hand to catch Nozomu's fist.
"Ugh..."
A rivalry between the
vampire princess and the Dragon King's elements. Nozomu was convinced of
something when he saw the spectacle of scattering elements and purple lightning
in front of him.
"Hey, you're not
channeling my elements into the dragons vein right now, are you?"
"~ !?"
Vitora's eyes shook as
she heard Nozomu's words.
Despite having immense
power, Vitora was still a newly formed spirit. Naturally, it would be difficult
to say that she was able to use her power to its fullest extent.
(Above all, for some
reason, I began to have trouble using my powers after being hit by that
silver-haired girl's magic power. That girl, not only my elements but even my
abilities ...)
"Uooooo!"
"Guuuuu!?"
Nozomu, who saw
through Vitora's agitation, drew out his power even further.
The sudden increase in
pressure blew Vitora away, creating a large gap. Seeing this, Nozomu lowered
his hips and sheathed his blade once again.
Once again, a chill
ran down her spine. Vitora reflexively turned her gaze to the sky.
The blood elements
that reacted to Vitora's thoughts turned into icicles and attacked Nozomu from
a blind spot.
"Nozomu,
above!"
"~ !"
Nozomu, reacting to
Irisdina's cry, jumped back from the spot. Immediately after, countless icicles
pierced the ground.
"Tch, I don't
care what happens now!"
A Dragon Slayer with
his immense power of "destruction" and a girl who could seal both her
power and abilities.
Vitora, deciding that
a half-hearted attack would be pointless, began to transform her entire being
into an attack.
(What is necessary is
to prevent those two from working together. To minimize the time they are close
to each other. Considering that my power will be nullified by that girl,
instead of using a super wide-area technique to disable her, it would be best
to break through with a single point of power and speed so fast that it cannot
be perceived)
Considering the fact
that several of [Thin Garments of the Ice Demon] were nullified, a technique
with a wide area of effect would have been less effective.
It was obvious that
Irisdina's ability would significantly reduce its power.
"Haaaa..."
The elements that
danced in the air, the elements that were sucked in through the dragons veins,
and the elements that formed her body and soul, all gathered to a single point
and converged repeatedly.
Vitora's humanoid body
disintegrated and soon became a single ice spear dyed in the color of blood.
She no longer has a
fleshly body. As a spirit, she could change her form at will.
The ice spear was too
huge for a human to hold.
It was about the
length of six people.
The huge spearhead and
its thorn-covered hilt were beautifully shaped and specialized only in piercing
power. The tip of the spear was pointed at Irisdina.
"~ !"
A sudden acceleration
from zero.
Irisdina reflexively
erected a barrier.
Vitora overcame the
disadvantage of compatibility with her own techniques and pushed forward toward
the heart of her natural enemy.
"Iris!"
Nozomu jumped in from
the side and pushed her down.
The ice spear, which
just barely missed, pierced the [City Isolation Barrier] in the blink of an
eye, and flew into the night sky. The ice spear quickly turned its tip and
charged at Nozomu and Irisdina again.
"Damn!"
"Kyaa~!"
Lifting Irisdina's
body, Nozomu leaped from the spot. Immediately afterward, Vitora hit the
ground, causing a local earthquake, rolling up the ground with the impact.
The ice spear, which
had changed direction again on the ground, began charging toward Nozomu and
Irisdina for the third time.
"~ !"
While still holding
Irisdina in his arms, Nozomu ducked under the ice spear that was plunging
toward him, scraping the ground.
Vitora, which had
flown into the air, disappeared up into the sky again. Perhaps it would charge
at them again, accelerating up from the sky.
Sure enough, the
accelerated Vitora charged from the side as if creeping on the ground.
Reflexively, Nozomu
attempted to swing his katana, which he held in one hand, but the speed of his
opponent was so great that he had no time to raise his katana.
"Nozomu, put me
down."
"Guh! Iris,
sorry!"
He put down Irisdina,
who was embracing him, and swung the blade with both hands, but it was still
repelled unilaterally.
"Take this…"
Irisdina shot a magic
bullet at Vitora as she flew away, but it didn't hit her.
In the first place,
there was too much difference in their speeds. It was so fast that even the
magic bullet, which had almost no weight, was left behind.
"Damn, this is
not good. Its speed is getting faster and faster."
While repeating the
assault, the speed of the ice spear gradually increased.
Vitora's tactic has
the same concept as Nozomu's technique. It was a single point penetration by
concentrated power.
It might be because
she gathered and solidified all of her power that had been flowing out of her.
The strength of the ice spear had become strong enough to repel even Nozomu's
attack.
On top of that, Vitora
would attack aggressively beyond the range of human eyes to see.
For Nozomu and
Irisdina, who excelled in close- to medium-range combat, this was a difficult
situation.
"Ugh!"
"Kya~..."
Vitora, who repeatedly
accelerated more and more, finally accelerated until it was enveloped in a
shockwave.
The ice spear, which
flew at such a speed that it could not even be seen, pierced, crushed, and blew
away everything in its direction of travel.
Nozomu and Irisdina
kept moving around to avoid direct hits, but they were gradually exhausted by
the rain of debris that was being scattered around them.
At this rate, they
would be left with nothing to fight back with.
Nozomu, judging this
to be the case, leaped to Irisdina's side as if cutting through the gap between
the assaults.
He began to talk to
her, with his back turned to hers.
"Iris, I'll
manage to stop Vitora's assault, so please, I need you to take her down with
the biggest blow you can muster."
Nozomu sheathed the
blade he had drawn.
Irisdina, who had
guessed what he was going to do just from that, raised her voice in surprise.
"Wait a minute,
even you can't catch something flying at such speed!"
"But magic can't
catch an object flying at such speed, can it? And besides, the spear itself
seems to be getting thinner and longer..."
In fact, Vitora's
speed was already too fast for Irisdina's naked eye to perceive.
There was no magic in
her arsenal that could restrain an object flying at such a speed.
Furthermore, the
spear's thickness, which had been the size of an arm, had been compressed to
the size of a fingertip, and the surface area seen from the front had also been
significantly reduced.
A super-dense spear,
coming at them from so far away that they could not see it.
Up until now, the
spear had only failed to hit the target because the target was moving around,
and it seemed impossible for Irisdina to stop and intercept it with her rapier
from the front.
"Certainly, my
magic can't reach it ... Wait, are you actually able to see the spear flying at
that speed?"
"Only vaguely
visible, somehow..."
"As usual, you
are beyond normal..."
Nozomu seemed to be
able to somehow see the spear, which in Irisdina's eyes was only a blink of
light. Irisdina sighed at him.
The two stood back to
back, and a relaxed atmosphere flowed between them, which was out of place on
the tense battlefield.
"But I'm glad.
I'm glad that I'm entrusted with your back."
"What are you
saying, at a time like this..."
"Because I've
always been protected by you. So it's a breath of fresh air."
At the mention of that
word, his heart skipped a beat.
Certainly, Nozomu had
rarely fought alongside Irisdina.
A heat gradually
spread from his back. Naturally, his feelings grew stronger and his field of
vision widened.
"Are you two all
right?"
"This
voice..."
"Shina-kun?"
At that moment,
Shina's voice came wafting into their ears like a gentle breeze.
If one looked closely,
one could see a green spirit hovering around Nozomu's ear, emitting a pale
light.
Thanks to Vitora's
having retrieved all of her erosive elements, apparently the spirits she had
contracted with were now able to come to this place.
"From here on,
I'll ask the spirits to watch the Vampire Princess's movements. They will tell
me the timing and direction of the attack."
"... Alright. I'm
counting on you."
"Yes, leave it to
me."
Immediately after
that, a flash similar to a meteor shot out through the night sky.
"It's here. Sixty
degrees to the left, 80 degrees from the ground, coming from above us!"
"Kuh!"
"Hmph!"
The crimson ice spear,
trailing a tail of light, charged from above their heads again. The moment
Nozomu and Irisdina jumped away from the spot, the spear pierced the ground
with a thunderous roar.
The ice spear reversed
on the ground and went back into the sky.
And again, it repeated
the assault.
"Next, it will
come from right behind Nozomu. It will fly right through the ground!"
"~ !"
With Shina's support,
Nozomu and Irisdina were able to have some leeway compared to before, but it
was still not enough to turn the situation around.
Vitora, too, seemed to
be gradually getting used to the situation, and the accuracy of her assaults
was gradually increasing.
Then, as she repeated
several assaults and breakaways, she flew high into the sky with even more
momentum than before. She began to accelerate more than ever, spiraling.
"She's
accelerating while circling above us. Just how much more speed does she intend
to increase? ... Even the spirit of the wind can't keep up with it
anymore."
The ice spear kept
accelerating, circling in a circular motion.
Vitora eventually flew
out of the detection range of the spirits in Shina's hands.
"~, it's out of detection!"
"Damn, what do we
do now?"
"I'll extend the
detection range until the very limit. But that's going to reduce the
accuracy..."
"No problem. I'm
getting used to it. As long as I know the direction and timing, I'll take care
of the rest."
"... Okay. Don't
die on me."
"Muu, you two are
getting somewhat closer."
"Well, you're
physically closer to him though. More importantly, it's coming."
Nozomu and Irisdina,
the two of them stood back to back once again, readying their weapons and
silently sharpening their respective blades.
The black and silver
magic power was continuously enhanced, and the five-colored elements were
layered on top of each other on the [Mumei] blade.
On the other hand,
Irisdina also enveloped her rapier with black and silver magic power, and
applied dozens of reinforcement magic in the blink of an eye.
One second, two
seconds ... The scent of fresh air wafted through the air, and only the sound
of the wind rustling in the breeze echoed in their ears.
A moment of silence.
Despite the situation where a lethal assault would be approaching in a few
moments, their hearts were naturally calm and serene.
"~, here it
comes! Three o'clock to the right of Irisdina-san! In about three
seconds!"
"~ !"
Instantly, Nozomu
moved. In a moment, he poured all his remaining concentration into this moment.
The world in his field
of vision stagnated and lost its color.
One second. In the
gray world, a red dot, approaching at super speed, was clearly visible in
Nozomu's vision.
"Fuuh~!"
Two seconds. While
turning to the side of Irisdina, he stepped forward with his right foot and
strengthened it in accordance with the interlocking muscles.
Three seconds. Drawing
the [Mumei] blade. While perfectly synchronizing the movements of his muscles
with the strengthening, he pulled out the blade with which he had been
overlapping [Phantom] in one stroke.
[Phantom Flash]
Nozomu, awakened as a
Dragon Slayer, delivered his most powerful blow, colliding with Vitora's ice
spear, which was approaching at supersonic speed.
"~ !?"
"Guuu~!"
Nozomu's entire body
felt a shock that could have shattered every bone in his body.
At the same time, the
ground rolled up by the shockwave.
The red spearhead and
the five-colored extremely sharpened blade competed with each other. A startled
expression leaked out from the ice spear.
She probably did not
expect to be confronted head-on. Or was she unconsciously trying not to
consider it?
Either way, that
agitation would bring this battle to a conclusion.
"It's
over..."
Irisdina, jumping over
Nozomu, raised her rapier.
[Magic Sword - Lunar
Eclipse]
The magic sword which
is her trump card, layered with enhancement magic.
The blade, which was
bound with layers of black and silver magic power, swung down and broke the
extremely thin hilt of the red ice spear into four pieces.
"Gah!?"
"Fuuh~!"
A groaning cry of
anguish. With resistance gone, the freed [Phantom Flash] severed the Ice Spear
vertically.
The severed ice spear
disintegrated and the vampire princess appeared.
Her appearance was no
longer that of a spirit.
Her crimson skin has
returned to that of white, and her body, which should have been made up of
elements, has returned to a body of flesh.
"My loss, huh..."
"Did you undo
your spiritization?"
"Yeah, it's
because of the power of that Francilt's girl, ... Irisdina. I can't even move
my fingertips anymore."
The woman who had
fallen on her back, Vitora, appeared unable to move a single finger.
Although there was not
a single physical wound, her magic power was abnormally weakened. It was as if
she were a sick person who had been bedridden for many years.
"Now go ahead and
kill me. Then it will be settled."
Vitora glanced at
Nozomu and Irisdina, who looked downward at her, and smiled with satisfaction,
and then told them to kill her.
Irisdina slowly thrust
the [Lunar Eclipse] into Vitora's chest, but she quickly released the magic and
sheathed her rapier.
"You are not
going to kill me?'
"The original
reason you came to this city was to establish diplomatic relations with the
Francilt family, and by extension, the Kingdom of Forsina. At this point, I
would like you to fulfill that duty."
The establishment of
diplomatic relations between the Francilt and Waziart families, and by
extension, between Forsina and Dizzard Empire.
Irisdina was pressing
Vitora for her commitment to this.
"Oh. Besides,
you've destroyed this city to this extent. I have to make sure that you fulfill
your responsibility for that. I'll make you pay for the damage you've
done."
On top of that, she
won't forget to demand compensation for the things she broke. It seemed that
she was going to take as much as she could get, including compensation.
"...Very well.
It's the privilege of the victor. I will accept all your conditions. And then,
Nozomu Bountis. What do you want from me?"
Vitora, who had
accepted all of Irisdina's conditions, turned her gaze to Nozomu as she
continued.
There was a smoldering
heat in her eyes, as if she expected something from him.
"Me? I don't
really..."
"Nozomu, that's
not good. This victory undoubtedly is thanks to you. Besides, you were the most
inconvenienced in terms of your position. You should be compensated
accordingly."
Although she was
slightly suspicious of the color of Vitora's eyes, Irisdina waited for Nozomu
to accept the compensation.
Although Irisdina
liked his naivete, she wanted Nozomu to receive his compensation properly on
this particular occasion.
More than anything
else, Vitora had put her own greed first and forced Nozomu to do something he
didn't want to do. Irisdina thought that Vitora should pay for her actions.
"Even if you tell
me that now... Then, in that case, I want you to be one of my backers. Lend me
your strength when you think I need it."
At first glance, this
seemed like a simple request. But for Nozomu, this was the best and most
convenient request. Because it could be taken as a form of compensation that is
not limited to a certain extent.
Nevertheless, for
Nozomu, it would give him a good reputation and an excuse to those who had
suffered in various ways as a result of this incident.
Besides, Nozomu has
been exposed as a full-fledged Dragon Slayer because of this one incident.
He was aware of the
need to take in all kinds of power in order to protect himself and the people
around him.
Vitora, on the other
hand, was somewhat surprised to hear Nozomu's request.
"...Are you
serious? Getting the backing of us vampires?"
"It would already
be public knowledge that I'm a Dragon Slayer... And besides, Iris and the
others will continue to be involved with you, right? Then it's not a bad thing
for me to continue to have some influence over you guys. Am I right?"
"Nevertheless,
you could have demanded something a little different..."
"I have the least
political power of all of you. I have my limits."
Nozomu smiled an
unbecoming smile that was meant to be as implied as possible.
Vitora pondered his
words for a while, but then gave a small nod.
"Very well.
Except for what Irisdina Francilt asked for, I will support your back with
everything I have..."
"Hmm? No, I don't
really need everything, I simply need a little help when I need it..."
"What are you
saying? You need political power, too, don't you? In that case, you should show
them that much. If you use me, no fool will be so quick to touch you. Am I
right?"
However, she easily
retorted with words that were heavier than expected, and Nozomu's thin plating
was easily peeled off.
Next to him, Irisdina
was looking downward at Vitora, who had collapsed with a cold look in her eyes.
Her gaze was filled with some kind of suspicion.
The battle was over,
but the atmosphere was strangely warm, and the [City Isolation Barrier] were
disappearing.
Then Shina, who had
been supporting them with her spirits, Mars and the others, and Rugato, who had
seen the battle come to an end, came running up from behind.
"Nozomu-kun,
Irisdina-san, are you all right!?"
"Ane-sama, are
you all right?"
"These guys, you
sure making me nervous!"
Shina rushed to Nozomu,
and Somia rushed to Irisdina.
Then, Mars opened his
arms and held all four of them together in a tight embrace.
Victor, Mena, and Lisa
were also watching them from a little further back.
"Master, are you
all right?"
On the other hand,
Rugato came over to the fallen Vitora.
He was somewhat
nervous as he held his Master up, but when he saw that she was safe and sound,
he smiled with relief.
"Pardon me."
Rugato drew a
formation and used his magic to conjure up an umbrella of darkness. The sun was
beginning to rise in the eastern sky.
Sunlight is poison to
vampires. Normally Vitora would feel nothing with her inexhaustible magic
power, but at this moment, she is completely weakened.
"A~, my
apologies, Rugato, for taking care of me."
"No, it is my
duty to serve you ... I see you have grown up."
The butler, who has
served Vitora for many years, must have his own thoughts about his Master.
He muttered these
quiet but thoughtful words so that only she could hear them.
Vitora smiled somewhat
shyly at the words of her only attendant.
"Are you
satisfied?"
"... No, not yet.
I've got something I really want now."
Confirming where his
Master's gaze was directed, Rugato contemplated silently.
His smile was
different from the earlier smile, a sighing, somewhat meaningful smile.
"I see..."
"Well, I'm going
to bear with it for now. I can't move my body and I've got things to do."
A Dragon Slayer clad
in chains. Staring at the chained swordsman, Vitora turned her gaze, which
earlier had contained a slight passion, to the northern sky.
"Ai,
everyone!"
In the meantime, Tima
and Jihad brought a large number of soldiers with them.
Tima hugged the
silver-haired Irisdina and was glad she was safe.
Jihad took one glance
at them and then surrounded Vitora with all his soldiers.
"Vitora-dono, I
will have you detained. You know the reason, don't you?"
"You think you're
the victor here? I was defeated by that Dragon Slayer and that girl, not
you."
The soldiers were
pressured by Vitora, who grinned belligerently at them.
Even though she was
completely exhausted, the soldiers were dealing with a monster that had almost
destroyed Arcazam. Even if she was full of wounds, she was still a formidable
presence to them.
In fact, even Jihad
had a bit of sweat on his forehead.
"Why don't you
stop right there?"
"Oi, have you
forgotten your promise to me?"
In the midst of all
this, words that could be described as a warning resounded.
The two who called out
to her were Nozomu and Irisdina.
"I get it. I was
just making fun of him a little bit. For now, we'll just be obedient and let
them take us captive."
Silently, Vitora
closed her eyes and fell asleep.
With his magic
umbrella, Rugato held his Master in his arms and bowed to Nozomu and Irisdina.
And then, Jihad and
the others took them away.
Nozomu and Irisdina
watched Vitola and Rugato leave. The tension that had been building up in their
hearts calmed down as if the tide had subsided.
The white chains
hovering over Nozomu's body disappeared, and Irisdina's silver hair gradually
returned to its original color of lustrous black.
"Iris, your
hair..."
"I guess it's
because my magic power's back. What do you think?"
Irisdina scooped up
her hair, which had returned to its original color, as if to offer it to him,
and gently showed it to him.
"It's beautiful.
Silver hair was beautiful too, but black suits Iris the best after all."
In response to the
words that came out of his mouth so honestly, Irisdina blushed and smiled.
A wide smile without a
single shadow on her face. As if caught by her smile, Nozomu's heart naturally
became lighter, and a smile appeared on his mouth.
Her whitened hair had
become a lump in Nozomu's heart.
He had gone out of
control out of anger and turned his blade on his friends. A symbol of his guilt
and his own immaturity. It melted and dissolved like ice, along with the knot
in his chest.
Looking up at the
eastern sky, the morning sun was fully visible.
"Finally, it's
over..."
"Yeah, although
you and I still have a lot left to do."
Nozomu, who has
practically made it public that he is a Dragon Slayer. He has to explain and
prove himself to many people, including about the blood covenant ritual between
him and Shina.
Then there is
Irisdina, who has become something other than a human being. She, too, has her
life completely overturned.
She will probably be
hit by another big storm many times in the future.
But for now, the two
of them looked at each other in the light of the rising sun and smiled with
relief at the dawn of a long night.
"Oh right,
Nozomu, if you have some free time, will you go out with me?"
"Eh?"
"I have something
I need to tell you."
