{1}
"This is the person...... who defeated all the regular guards......?"
The girl in her mechanical helmet was the first to shout.
"W-Who are you!? We are the official members from Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>!"
"............"
Maha. The man who called himself by that name did not reply.
All he did was to climb up the crater one step at a time.
"D-Did you hear what I had said? What are your motives—"
"It's pointless."
Sheltis interrupted her. He pulled out the twin swords from the sheaths behind him and held them in reverse grips.
"He has no intention of communicating with us."
There was a strong animosity in the pressure emitted from Maha's body. They were looking at the person who downed the squads from Tenketsu Palace <Sophia> one after another, so there was little chance of him listening to them. The sneak attack from earlier proved just that.
...... Earlier, that guy just referred us as witnesses.
There's the mysterious water tank with a Yuugenshu in it. That man must be the guardian of the tank, and he will eliminate all who gets close to it.
"Kagura."
Sheltis lowered his voice to barely within Kagura's auditory range.
"I'll be moving in. Stay away from me."
"Eh? But......"
"Don't worry."
With that said, Sheltis refocused his sight on Maha.
— I'sa said this person is a puppeteer.
They are casters who direct their shinryoku into objects to control them — the amount and type of objects controlled will depend on the capabilities of the caster. It would be tough for Sheltis should Maha increase the distance between the two of them.
— If that's the case, I'll just have to strike before he can use his 'puppets'!
A whirlwind was created from his leap.
"Ta". Sheltis stomped his foot hard against the ground and created an afterimage. With the speed of his feet that was fast enough to stir up a whirlwind, he pressed his body as low as he could and dashed towards the crater.
The surroundings became a blur due to his high speed. He shortened the distance between himself and Maha in a blink of an eye and raised his brilliantly shining sword against the rays of the sun—
Just then.
"I, define the universe."
Sheltis could see the lips of the robed man curving upwards.
"Za...... da...... dadadara...... ka......"
Strange sounds were coming out from the man's mouth.
...... What's that?
Maha was right before him. At the moment when the battle would be decided with a swing of his sword — an ominous chill spread throughout his body.
"Zazakazada............ da...... zakarakara...... zadadadazakakakazadazakazada............ rada...... rakazazakakadada...... za...... zaza...... karakara...... zadadadada............"
*Psh*.
Objects sprang out from the slope of the crater.
Golden stakes.
Countless stakes shot up from beneath the ground with the speed of bullets, and the sharp ends of the stakes stabbed towards him like the tips of a spear. Hundreds of stakes appeared.
— All of them are his puppets!? What an incredible amount. Is it really possible for a person to control all of them?
"Ugh!"
A flash.
As the wide area attack approached, Sheltis swung the swords in his hands. He sliced, wrecked and severed the sharp tips of the stakes that were flying towards him one at a time before parrying them all away.
The fallen stakes stirred up a cloud of dust before losing their golden luster and turning into soil.
...... They're not made of gold? Then why are stakes made of soil shimmering with a golden luster?
"Define. The dream of a world covered in roots."
As Maha said that in a low voice, the ground beneath his feet began to rumble.
*Sha*. His ankle was ensnared by something. Sheltis moved his sight in that direction.
"...... Roots?"
His right ankle was ensnared by a dull, cypress-colored root. The root, thicker than a human's arm, was bound around his ankle in a spiral.
"Define."
A certain object clawed out from the ground next to Maha's feet.
Two lion statues with flowing manes.
"Replicated with soil. Color - 'deep red'; nature - 'gallant'; shape - 'lion'. Two shall appear before me. Defined to eliminate the enemy before me."
The two large lions were as tall as humans were.
They were originally just lion statues made of soil. However, their eyes gave off a fiery glow as the color of their body turned ruby red.
"...... Could it be?"
After he saw what happened before him, Sheltis realized what the Maha's spell was.
The two lions roared beside Maha. They were the mystical beasts of the floating continent that were rarely seen by anyone.
"Sheltis!"
"Don't come here!"
He stopped Kagura from sprinting over. Next, he chopped away the roots that were binding his ankle.
— Kagura would be attacked if she make any sudden movements.
The two lions were baring their teeth in hostility. As the two lions closed in on him from both sides, Sheltis moved in and closed the distance between them.
He jumped upwards and dodged the razor-sharp claws above him. Next, he blocked the paws of the other lion with the sword on his left side.
"Haa!"
While enduring the burning pain from his left shoulder-blade, he slammed the sword in his right hand towards the jaw of a lion.
The beast gave a painful cry. It then turned into sand and rained onto the ground below...... Where was the other one?
As he lifted his head, he could hear the screams of the young girl from afar.
"Kagura!"
He sprinted at subsonic speed, leaving the winds behind him.
With its sight locked onto the defenseless girl who was rooted to the ground, the lion was about to mercilessly pounce on her. Sheltis tossed the sword in his right hand. The blade grazed past the mane of the lion, forcing it to stop in its tracks momentarily.
Taking advantage of the brief window of opportunity, Sheltis slashed the back of the mystical beast with the sword in his left hand.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yup......"
The red lion turned back into soil before the girl as Kagura trembled with her head lowered in fear.
"Sheltis, this spell is—"
"Define. The world shall turn into stones."
Kagura was interrupted by the chants of Maha.
Rrr...... rrrrrrr...... rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............
The ground beneath their feet rumbled and began to sink. In contrast, giant boulders as tall as large castle gates were sprung up at their sides. They were surrounded by countless high-density and impermeable boulders that were closing in on them.
Both of them were enclosed in a boulder cage within mere seconds.
"We're trapped?"
"...... No."
A chill ran down Sheltis' spine as he raised his head to stare at the boulders that were blocking out the sun. Trapping them within the boulders was merely the first phase of the attack. The second phase was to use the cage itself to—
"Eliminate the opponents by crushing them."
*Kra*— the boulders with a total weight of more than ten tonnes burst apart.
The stone ceiling above their head came crashing down like a tidal wave. The boulders were sizes of adult males despite the fact that they were split into fragments of the original. The sheer amount of rocks was unfathomable.
"We'll be squashed!"
"Hang on tight!"
As he grabbed the shrieking Kagura, Sheltis began to leap through the minute spaces between the boulders.
Swiping aside the unavoidable sharp fragments with his blades, Sheltis jumped onto the slanted surface of a giant boulder that was falling downwards. He dashed to the peak of the boulder before jumping towards another incoming one. Sheltis made his way to the top of the cage with Kagura in his arms by climbing up the boulders and squeezing through the minute spaces.
"...... Incredible. That is some crazy athletic ability."
Exclaimed the girl who he was carrying on his left shoulder. Sheltis chose to ignore her statement.
— We're out.
After breaking free from the collapsing cage, the two of them landed on the peak of the leftover boulders. Sheltis glared downwards at the robed man who was some distance away from him.
............ I'sa was right.
Despite the fact that they were both puppeteers, their 'object' controlling abilities were miles apart. Maha could accurately control such heavy boulders to trap his opponents; moreover, his spell allowed him to destroy the boulders as he wished. He was probably much stronger than any other shinryoku-practitioners Sheltis had ever seen in Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>.
............ But something felt off.
The main focus of Maha's art was not the control of the objects. Instead, it on was what happened before that—
"Define."
A large bird statue appeared besides Maha.
The stone statue emitted a golden glow due to the shinryoku within it. It underwent gradual changes as Maha defined it in detail.
"Replicated with organic matter extracted from the grounds. Color - 'black'; nature - 'incensed'; shape - 'bird'. Appear before me with fire in your body. Defined to get within range of the enemies before me and destroy them."
After the formation of its sharp beak and claws, the strange-looking pitch black bird flapped its powerful wings.
Heeding the instructions of Maha, it flew slowly towards the boulder that they were standing on. The slow-moving actions were not something replicable by the birds of nature — its speed was no faster than that of a walking man.
...... Strange.
With its huge size and slow speed, it was practically begging to be destroyed.
"Wait!"
"Eh?"
Before he knew it, Kagura grabbed tightly his left sleeve.
"Organic matter extracted from the ground............ fire within its body?"
The girl was mumbling what Maha had chanted earlier. She kept repeating those words while ignoring the giant bird which was closing in on them.
"Incense...... fire within its body............ organic...... extracted...... which means...... organic compounds?"
She suddenly lifted her head as though she was electrocuted.
"Sheltis, that's not a bird. It's a bomb that's shaped like one!"
"...... A bomb?"
"Nitroglycerin! That bird itself is a huge explosive chemical compound! You can't strike it down or the vibrations will set off an inferno and a shock wave!"
"What should I do then?"
"You should—"
Her yell came too late.
Sheltis made his move long before Kagura could finish her sentence. The pitch black bird slammed itself into the boulder beneath their feet. And then—
Their sights were dyed white.
An inferno and a shock wave spread outwards at supersonic speeds, and engulfed and swept aside everything in their paths.
The boulder that the young girl and man were standing on earlier was reduced to small rocks. The plains was razed by the inferno, and turned into scorched land.
{2}
"Define. Chant the 'forest' of the world."
Giant roots sprung from the ground as well as from the fallen leaves and petals on the ground.
Zazaa............ aa......
A giant patch of 'green' rose upwards as though it were trying to block off the rays of the sun. Riding on the wind, it came sweeping towards Sheltis. If he were to be engulfed by that, it would probably be the same as jumping into a whirlpool in the sea — his consciousness would taken away.
"...... If only Leon were around."
That great-sword wielder could part waterfalls with his sword. If so, it would definitely be easy for him to sweep this green waterfall apart in one strike.
— There was no way that could be stopped by two swords.
He secured the twin swords in the holster at his back and focused his gaze on the green waterfall in the air. Just as the green swirl was about to reach him...
— *thud*.
Acceleration. Sheltis moved just before the roots and tendrils came into contact with his jacket.
He repeatedly dodged the tsunami of petals which brushed by his side. Countless after-images were formed as he alternated between acceleration and deceleration constantly.
At an extreme speed undetectable by the eyes of a typical human, Sheltis appeared before Maha in a flash.
"Define."
However, the robed caster began to construct yet another spell.
"Replicated with poison extracted from the ground. Color - 'white'; nature - 'timid'; shape - 'snake'. Fangs with deadly poison, ten of them shall appear. Defined to seal the enemy before me with poison."
Snaked-shaped clay figures began to appear around the feet of Maha, transforming under the influence of the golden shinryoku. Multiple lifelike poisonous white snakes appeared, and barred their poisoned fangs towards Sheltis.
"...... Don't get in my way!"
Sheltis dodged past the snakes that were attacking him from all directions. He then drew his swords and dashed straight towards Maha.
— Five meters left.
Just as he broke past the army of snakes, the tall man suddenly stopped moving.
"Define."
Gold shinryoku enveloped the whole of Maha's body.
The glow of the advent-type spells that conjure matter was glowing way brighter than ever before.
"Replicated with the ores beneath the ground."
The earth split.
Giant ores rose up from within the fissures. The ores with the masses of hills blocked Sheltis' path towards Maha.
"Color - 'brown'; nature - 'savage'; shape - 'dragon'. Attention to details is unnecessary. Large sized body and fangs, unparalleled razor-sharp claws. One shall appear. Defined to crush all enemies."
The ores began to pulsate as the golden shinryoku shrouded them.
Ten meters long. Its giant body was encased with basalt-like black scales.
The inverted triangular-shaped head was akin to that of a lizard, and two horns extended from the back of its head. The wings on its back was degenerated, but in exchange it was blessed with the evolution of the four thick and muscular limbs, each of which was larger than an adult human—
"Earth dragon...... he's got that too!?"
The largest creature on the floating continent — one of the species of dragons. Its four limbs were developed specially for moving on the ground, and it also had a long tail. They were viewed as one of the most violent species among the dragons.
The earth dragon gave a roar. But just as Sheltis lifted his sword to face the overwhelming creature before him......
Severe pain.
"...... Ugh......? Ka............"
An indescribable dull pain shot up from his spine to the back of his head.
...... Shit, at a time like this!?
He increased his grip so as not to drop his swords.
...... Just hang on. Just a while longer will do.
...... Just a while more.
His opponent was not endowed with unlimited physical strength either — that earth dragon was the proof of that. Maha must be in a state of exhaustion from casting such a large-scaled spell within a short amount of time.
— If I can down this dragon!
The ground rumbled as the earth dragon pounced towards him. Sheltis leaped away from the giant limb which came crashing down from above him. He then twisted his body to dodge the tail that swept past him.
His body reached its limit after avoiding all that.
Sheltis collapsed onto the ground as he could no longer steady his body.
...... My body...... can no longer move?
He was at his limit. It took him a great deal of effort just to fend away the searing pain that could rob him of his consciousness at any moment.
"Define."
Maha's voice rang through the plains.
"Replicated using clay—............"
His chanting was interrupted by a gunshot.
It felt like time was brought to a standstill. Maha and the earth dragon stopped moving.
"............"
Maha silently turned his body towards the source of the sound. Sheltis' eyes widened.
"W-What are you doing there lying on the ground!? To think you were acting all cool just a while ago!"
The young girl aimed her stun-gun at Maha.
Her hands and lips trembled slightly — but she still stood firmly.
"Kagura? Why......"
"Why didn't I escape? Obviously because I am here to support the undependable you!"
With that said, she did something incomprehensible.
She tossed away the stun-gun, her only weapon, and hugged the machine pearl <Machina> after kneeling on the ground. It was painfully obvious that she was defenseless.
"Just hold on for another fifty seconds."
"......W-What's going on?"
"Do I even have to explain? I'll analyze Maha's chants for you. That's right, I'll decipher everything!"
The silver machine pearl <Machina> gave off a pale greenish glow.
"I believe that you will protect me."
Despite her cold and calm tone, it was a display of her unwavering faith in him.
{3}
Peace returned to the plains once more.
"Yes, that's right. In regards to this incident, everything is fine now. I mean, we've just resolved it...... Yes, you're speaking to Kagura and Sheltis. Two cadet guards."
Kagura remained calm as she reported to the Tenketsu Palace <Sophia> Headquarters.
"What happened to the opponent? That is a difficult question. We did win, but I do not think that's the end of everything. Mmm, it's just like what I had reported earlier. Yes. We'll submit a detailed report when we return— Yes. That is all."
Phew— Kagura sighed as she disconnected the call.
"It was originally an operator who picked up the call, but Instructor Yumelda popped up out of nowhere and gave me a harsh scolding."
"What did she say?"
"We are to prepare a report as well as a letter of repentance. And also, she mentioned you as well, Sheltis. Here's what she said: 'Consider the fact that you've ended up victorious, I'll not dwell on the fact that you ignored my orders. However, seeing how energetic you are, you are to resume training from tomorrow onwards'."
"...... Spare me from that."
He pressed his hands against his aching head and sat down on the ground.
"It's not the end of everything, huh......"
As he dwell on the words Kagura said in her report, Sheltis took a glance behind him.
— The dull yellow robe.
The robe worn by the man who calls himself Maha had fallen onto the ground, and was flapping haplessly against the wind.
"...... That's a really scary opponent. I never thought that man was a dummy made of sand."
Kagura bit her lips as she stared at the golden sand on the robe.
That's right, their opponent was just a dummy created by the 'Golden Hexahedral'. Thanks to the strike from Sheltis, their opponent reverted back into golden sand, leaving behind the robe on the ground.
"But...... you don't seem too surprised."
"I saw through that quite a while ago."
Sheltis nodded blankly.
"You realized that? When?"
"Right from the beginning, I guess. It didn't feel like I am fighting against a human being. And also his breathing, or the lack of it. It may be hard to distinguish it due to the robe covering his whole body, but you'll notice that he's not breathing if you look carefully."
"I see. So that's what the robe is for. I never realized that...... That's careless of me."
Kagura smiled wryly.
"Oh, I have to apologize."
"For?"
"The thing on your head...... It's broken."
Ahh, that— Kagura shrugged as she glanced at the fallen mechanical helmet. With her face basking under the sun, she put on a very happy smile.
"It's alright. I was thinking it's getting a little too tight for me. I'll make another one."
"Really? I thought it was rather huge."
"This thing here, they're different from yours."
As she said that, she touched her straight ears that were covered with warm fur.
"Right?"
There was a mischievous and childish smile on her face, which made her look very approachable.
...... So she can actually wear such a nice smile.
She had finally showed him her act of trust. Not words nor her knowledge, but her brightest smile.
"Alright, let's head back. There's still the report and the repentance letter waiting for us. Let's change your swords to pens and finish our work quickly."
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