CH 142

Chapter 142: Shaman VS Spirit Master ( 1 )

I’m quietly creeping along the walls in my white ghillie suit.

The goal is only one: murder.

Reina is the only one in this fairy square and I’d very much prefer ending this in a fast, pre-emptive surprise attack, since she still has Seyram, the water spirit, guarding her.

“… OK, they haven’t noticed me”

I take a quick look inside from the entrance. She’s there. Sad, holding her knees, she is a small girl that evoked strong feelings of wanting to protect her, but to me, it simply makes her an easy target. Heheh, I’ll make quick work of this… My greatest advantage over her, if I had to say, would be the simple fact that I feel no sympathy or affection in the slightest for that pretty face.

Her charming looks have been granting her the favor and good will of others for as long as she was alive. That’s what she expects from the world. So yeah, someone like me can be considered her natural enemy.

“Tch, not close enough”

My modus operandi is to use blackhair binds with a knife to kill her from a range.

But I’m just barely too far to make it fatal wound. There’s no problem with my control of the tentacles, but I doubt I can accurately hit her in the vitals from here.

Should I dash in and close the distance?

No. Reina herself aside, if the spirit beast even slightly notices me, it’ll react automatically. So I should use this chance I have while they still haven’t noticed.

“Crawl in –– Blackhair bind”

I sent out a blackhair tentacle, armed with a knife, let it move like a snake and stealthily make its way across the grass.

I made sure to be completely silent, but the grass was too short to hide it completely.

“!? Wh-what’s, is someone there!?”

Reina, noticed. Shitshit, I was almost there.

“Tchh, should’ve stayed still bitch!”

I leap in from the entrance and have my blackhair spring into action, its knife in a dead set course towards her neck ––

“KYAAAAAA!!”

She screamed, and from the fountain, something jumped. No, not out of the water, but the water itself.

“Khoo…”

What came out, making that strange breathing-like noise, looked like a woman. A semi-transparent woman made out of water. Long hair flowing like a stream, a sculpted, inhuman face like a store-front mannequin. She had the figure of a model and wore a fashionable watery one-piece dress.

This is the last guardian beast, water spirit Seyram.

And she easily fulfilled her role of guardian.

“Can’t say I’ve ever been counter-tentacled before”

From her hand, Seyram extended an Aqua Bind wrapping around my own blackhair. The knife was smothered in water and wouldn’t budge.

Damn, I’ve been out-tentacled.

“N-no… why, are YOU here… ”

“I wonder. But you understand what I came here to do right?”

I say as I undo blackhair bind. I couldn’t move it in that state anyway.

“Please, don’t do this… Why, why can’t you just leave me alone! I, I didn’t do anything bad at all!”

“Ahh, so you get it after all. You see Reina, you didn’t do anything, anything at all –– That’s exactly why I can’t forgive you!”

If I can’t overpower it, I’ll use numbers.

I released the seal in both my palms and let loose numerous Redhair Twines. Each of these is quite thin, but they should be enough to hurt Reina. If just one of these can touch her, she’ll ––

“NOO!! Help me, Sey-san!”

“Rururuaaa”

On her call, Seyram responded in a singsong voice. Raising her arms as if to cast magic, she instantly creates a huge swirl of water. So this is how she plans to counter my numbers.

Faced with the raging current, my redhairs, thin as needles, were easily rinsed into non-existence. They’re only tentacle forms of my Rotten Bog after all. Naturally, they’d dissolve in so much water.

I can’t see any way of breaking through the barrier and reaching Reina with my acid hairs. Shit, full points in defense too.

Think, what can I try… I didn’t get the time to think.

“Ugho!?”

Just then, I felt a strong pain as if a fastball hit me straight in the stomach. I moaned loudly in pain and fell to my knees.

“U-ughh… stupid… spirit, that fucking hurt”

I got hit with one of Seyram’s attack spells. I know this since I caught a glimpse of a super fast waterball approaching me right before the hit.

“Ooo, khooo….”

“Ah! Sey-san, what’s, you’re hurt!?”

“Hah, hahah… looks like Pain Return works on it”

This is great. Looking at Seyram holding her stomach in pain was incredibly reassuring.

Now, in the worst case, I can use the same tactic as with the armor bear on it. But even if I do put it in a near death state, I have to make sure I still have enough strength to finish off Reina.

I can’t just have her running off. And, as a final solution, I could have Reina herself kill me. I’m pretty weak after all, can’t do what I can’t do ––

“Ruruu! OAAA!!”

Must not have expected that, Seyram’s mad. Behind her, the fountain starts moving. Forming a strong current, the water in the fountain begins to whirl.

What, she’s not trying to hit me with a tsunami right? But she should know by now that attacking me will only work against herself.

And regardless, I don’t recall having any reason to wait for the enemy to prepare their move. I, kinda don’t have anything to counter it though.

Whatever, I’ll make due with some harassment to start. I throw as many blackhair tenties as I can. At Reina, by the way.

“AAAAAA!!”

But before I can, Seyram comes at me. Literally, her woman-shaped figure shoots towards me.

Under her dress, I can see the same swirling currents that took out my red twines. Looks like she’s connected with the water in the fountain. Her lower body is now a long, winding tempest of water, which kind of reminds me of a lamia, a monster that is half human, half snake.

And I am practically a sitting duck with this veritable monstrosity zooming towards me.

“UAAA!?”

I scream and attempt to run the hell away –– But I’m caught. Two watery arms catch a hold of me, and I am now face-to-face with the see-through woman.

She hugs me closer, and I went –– inside her.

“Fugh! Agbl, blubblublbub!?”

Naturally, I’m inside her body made of water. Seyram is a spirit, and I’m sure there’s some magical mojo going on with her, but physically speaking, the body is still water.

Inside that sort of environment, I’m more than liable to drown.

“Grha, blugagh!”

But I still have Pain Return and drowning is also pain, no doubt. That means Seyram is also feeling –– Nothing!?

“Khooo… ”

Seyram lets out a gentle voice. Here I am, madly flailing in my watery cage, but she isn’t showing any signs of pain.

Oh no… don’t tell me, because she’s made of water, she can’t drown!?

Not just that, Seyram doesn’t technically breathe either. And since what I’m suffering is a shortage of oxygen, she doesn’t need it in the first place, and so, can ignore it.

Since she got hurt for the waterball, I guess she takes damage physically… But damn, I didn’t think she could figure out a way to counter my Pain Return that fast.

Stupid beast, trying to outsmart me.

“Gah, gblubblu… ”

Now’s not the time to analyze. I need to get out of this fast, and I mean in the next minute.

I have no time and not many ways to fight back. I can’t think of any way to blast out from the inside.

And finally, I have no chance of getting backup. This is simply because I left behind everyone, even Rem, so that I could carry out my plan.

“G-glub… ”

This is bad, I don’t think I can hold on much longer ––

“ –– Fuh-fuck! I can’t do this man!”

Ueda’s yelling was drowned out by an explosion.

Near the fairy square, Ueda, Nakai, and Yamada were all sent flying by the blast. They crashed a ways off, and had, for a moment, lost consciousness from the shock.

“Oi, you dudes alright!? Wake up!”

""

As a mage, Shimokawa was positioned to the rear and so avoided the shock wave that hit the other three. He desperately called out to them, and, still groaning in pain, they somehow stood back up.

“About time we end you. My sweet Reina will be lonely if I don’t return soon”

They hear the irritated voice of a man from beyond the curtain of black smoke. It was the guardian spirit SOUMA YUUTO.

“Hey dudes, can I call it quits?”

“Yeah, this is ridiculous”

“Shit Momokawa! What’s taking so long!”

The plan had worked.

They’d successfully lured the guardian beasts all the way to their fairy square. And with the clone Kotarou’s sacrificial Rotten Bog, Engard was somewhat damaged.

At the same time, the other 4 had exited the square and blocked the entrance with the logs prepared beforehand. They then hardened the blockade with Shimokawa’s fully powered Aqua Shield.

Just like Kotaro planned, all the guardian beasts they lured out had been trapped inside the fairy square.

After that, they only had to hold the beasts inside while Kotarou convinced Reina to de-summon them.

But the beasts would obviously try to break out. Engard used it’s massive body to tackle the blockade together with its fire breath.

They didn’t know how long they held on, and certainly didn’t have the leisure to check.

They’d reached their limits.

After the seemingly endless bursts of Engard’s fire, Shimokawa’s water barrier had been exhausted and their laboriously constructed log defense was blasted apart. The three warriors who had been using all their strength and stamina to push the logs had also grown weary.

“GRRRR….”

Called Engard in a low and ferocious growl. It walked out of the smoke greatly annoyed. One could almost hear it saying, ‘Thought you could imprison me?’

Kotarou’s acid bog had only acted as a small deterrent. Though its crimson fur now had spots that were blistered, Engard boasted no less strength.

Engard boiling in rage, and SOUMA coldly intent on murder. To make things worse, Ramdane glided behind them, not a scratch on it.

They had followed the plan and bought time. But the fight had yet to end since it was now obvious that Kotarou hadn’t succeeded in canceling Reina’s spell.

How much longer? How much longer could they hold out? Having no clear goal weighed heavily on the four.

“D-dudes, we can… we can use that”

Shimokawa said, despair evident in his voice.

“Legit?”

“Bro, we might as well… ”

“Oi, you guys can’t be serious!”

They still had one more thing to try that Kotarou had suggested. It was a veritable last resort as the contents of the plan were of quite the dubious nature.

“Well yeah, can’t exactly call it safe”

“It’s now or never, we gotta do it now!”

Ueda and Nakai were ready. They screwed up their courage with a yell and took out the item Kotarou had given them.

“Shit, SHIT… I’ll do it, I’ll do it dammit!”

Dragged along with their gusto, Yamada also grabbed that something from his pocket.

The three of them now held a small pouch. Its mouth was loose, the contents slightly spilling.

It was a white powder.

It was the goma drug.

“On the off chance they break out of there, use this. It, should help you fight better than normal –– since it makes it so you can’t feel pain or fear”

When Kotarou had indifferently handed them this power drug, these three vanguards, for the first time, felt a chill looking at that diminutive boy. And they finally realized that they were facing a Shaman.

They wanted to complain about suddenly being handed such dangerous goods, but Kotarou was right after all. They wouldn’t win in a normal fight against the guardian beasts. After sustaining some damage, they’d be hard-pressed to continue fighting while in pain.

They were facing inhuman beasts whose loyalties lay solely with Reina. If they were to surrender, they would not be granted any mercy.

So they must fight. Fight as long as their bodies hold. As it was their only way to survive and buy the most time.

And to do that, it was as Kotarou said. They needed to suppress both fear and pain with the drug.

“Relax, I adjusted it so that you won’t get addicted with just one shot. No really, once will be fine, trust”

They never did believe him on that –– But now it was their last hope.

Thus, Ueda, Nakai and Yamada, all three partook in the forbidden substance.

“Uh!, GHH!”

“GGHHOOO… ”

“Uh! OOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAA!”