24. Carrs & Ignacio & Frederica vs Orobas

The difference in power between them was not like――ants and elephants. It was not that bad.

The difference between those who could use Mana and those who could not…

The difference between Carrs and Ignacio, and {Orobas} was not so hopeless.

If {Orobas} was a cavalryman who straddled a horse, wore armor all over his body, and had a weapon, then Carrs and Ignacio would be naked humans.

‘You can kill him by dragging him off the horse and strangling him’…

――The weak side would think so.

But if a cavalry and a naked human actually fight, in a matter of seconds the naked human would be pierced, torn, or kicked by the horse and died. After all, the difference in ability between the two was absolute.

In the field full of flowers,

Where beautiful flowers were in full bloom,

Carrs and Ignacio stood there.

In front of them was {Orobas} with arms that grew from the whole body. 

Ignacio with her rapier and Carrs with his spear, both of them attacked {Orobas}’s face.

{Orobas} strengthened its face with Red Mana.

But, the inscription on the spear sucked in the Red Mana and let the attack pass through it, and damaging the face.

By the stab, {Orobas}’s cheek skin peeled a little.

“It was an attack with my full strength, you know? Hah!”

“Even if there are no scratches, the Mana was sucked! Let’s keep this pace!”

Just five minutes had passed since the battle began between Carrs, Ignacio, Frederica, and {Orobas}.

―― But, all of them were about to reach their limits.

Carrs’s left hand was injured by Wind Magic, and now he was holding a spear with his right hand. 

Ignacio was front kicked on her right leg, and the bone was cracked.

Frederica didn’t have any external injuries, but her breath was rough, and her Mana was about to run out.

“[Y, you, all, ――w-w-w-we, weak, akk…!]”

Green particles floating around {Orobas}’s body.

“Both of you, step back!”

Carrs and Ignacio stepped back to left and right side of Frederica.

Same with {Orobas}, green particles also floating around Frederica.

{Orobas} turned the green particles into a gust, and Frederica turned the green particles into a water sword.

“[Di , Die――!]”

” ‘Aqua Shooter’ ―!!”

BANG!… the Magic offset each other.

Carrs and Ignacio launch an attack after seeing it.

Ignacio’s thrust was blocked by one of the arms on {Orobas}’s body and another arm hit Ignacio’s belly. 

Carrs sneaked through the arm’s defenses from the side and thrusted his spear to {Orobas}’s body but {Orobas} put more Red Mana into its body. The spear was repelled.

“Urrgh?!”

“Bastard…!”

Two vanguards and one rearguard.

While Frederica preparing for Magic, and Carrs and Ignacio went up to a close-range battle. But, Frederica and {Orobas} Magic Creation Speed was almost the same, so their Magic offsetting each other.

Carrs and Ignacio at the same time were beaten by the arms that grows from {Ortobas}’s body and retreated to Frederica’s side.

“Hah! If it keeps like this, we will lose!”

Carrs laughed.

Seeing, the situation where all of them were gradually being cornered. Carrs was convinced that if they kept repeating the same move again and again, they would reach their limit for sure.

“How could you be so carefree in this situation …”

Ignacio’s hands were shaking.

Although Ignacio cannot handle Mana, she was a master in handling swords and martial arts. Inevitably, the outcome of the battle, she could imagine it.

What came to her mind was their appearance being murdered brutally.

Carrs squinted at Ignacio’s quivering hands.

“Igna-chan, I guess we have no choice but to gamble. this guy is…”

Once again, green particles floating around {Orobas}’s body.

And, around Frederica’s body too. She was preparing magic to offset. 

However, suddenly Carrs stood in front of Frederica.

“Carrs-san?! What are you doing!”

“Frederica, target that guy directly ―― The next Magic attack from him, I’ll receive it.”

“Are you stupid?! If you do tha――”

“My body may be torn apart. However, it is just ‘Maybe’. Then, there are some possibilities I’ll stay alive!”

Carrs ran forward.

{Orobas} released blade of the wind. Carrs tried to catch it with the belly of the spear, but the blade of the wind slipped through the defense of the spear and hit Carrs’s neck directly.

――一For a moment, Carrs had the illusion that he had been decapitated.

But, the sensation below the neck disappeared. 

Carrs looked down and laughed at his bodies that still intact. Blood was oozing from his whole body.

“Well, it’s not a big deal …!”

When his senses returned, Carrs had knelled on the ground.

Carrs easily swallows the pain where normally an ordinary person would scream.

“Why can you laugh? You’re dying right now, aren’t you? “

Ignacio said with a shaky voice. She was trembling fear.

“Hihihi, it’s fun…! I even saw the other world for a moment.”

Carrs slammed Ignacio’s shaking shoulder.

“Let’s enjoy to the fullest, Igna-chan. This kind of fight. It’s rare you know?”

“YOU…..”

Carrs stood up and held his spear.

Ignacio followed Carrs’ back with her eyes. Then she, closed her eyelids and held her rapier up facing the sky. And, Her body stopped shaking.

” ――Your stance is bad now, but it seems that you resolved already. So, I’ll resolved myself, in the name of Rosso. “

Frederica released green particles.

“I’m ready! Both of you, get ready!”

A water sword was released.

{Orobas} mobilized all the arms of its whole body and received the water sword. The water sword destroyed the arms, but it did not reach {Orobas}’s body.

However, the arms that protected {Orobas}’s body were gone.

Ignacio and Carrs walked in step and slashed from the left and right.

Carrs used his spear. Ignacio unleashes a refined rapier thrust. Both attacks hit {Orobas}’s body, but only left scratches. Still, {Orobas} Mana had been reduced gradually thanks to the assistance of the Seal’s Sealing Technique.

Both of them kept attacking recklessly.

Slash, Hit, hit, keep hitting even though it was barely damaging {Orobas}.

“[It, Hu, hurts?!]”

Blood splattered. The Mana of strengthening was absorbed by the sealing technique, and the rapier scraped the skin.

Seeing the chance, Carrs tried to land another attack but at the same time {Orobas} was accumulating green particles again.

“Step… step back! Ignacio! Carrs!”

Frederica shouted.

However, Carrs and Ignacio, the two warriors, knew that if they missed the chance, there would be no next.

Two flashes.

Spear and rapier teared {Orobas}’s skin. However, at the same time, a certain thing reached its limit.

“Tch…!”

“――――?!!”

Nothing happened with their bodies.

However, the weapons reached its limit first.

{Orobas} concentrated Red Mana on the place where the spear and rapier landed.

The rapier and spear shattered completely. The inscription also gone. 

There were no weapons in their hands.

――(“If so, with fist!”)

The two came to the same thought at the same time, with Carrs holding his right fist and Ignacio holding her left fist. But {Orobas} was not that stupid to miss the chance it got.

――And so, the strong gust blew them away.

—————————————–

Carrs and Ignacio was blown away to the left and right by the gust.

Rolling in the flower field, both of them fainted.

The remaining Frederica was rattling and shaking her teeth while accumulating her Mana.

“No…! No way!”

“[Hi, hihiii! T, The, the end. Yo, your―― lo, lose.] “

Frederica fell on her butt.

Despair filled her head.

She felt death was approaching her slowly.

Every time she heard the sound of flower getting trampled, it felt like a hole in her heart getting bigger.

Even so, she still accumulating her leftover mana little by little. Frederica was sure than she could make the next blow faster than {Orobas}. However, only one more Magic attack wouldn’t be enough to kill {Orobas}.

Frederica lost hope, turned her face down and closed her eyes.

――”It’s over.”

Frederica was at the edge of despair.

But, she suddenly heard another sound of flowers getting stomped――it was human footsteps.

“…….”

“…….”

Bloody and hollow eyes.

Carrs and Ignacio stood up and made a stance.

Frederica opened her eyelids and rejoiced when she saw them.

“Both of you! I’m glad that――?”

The two..

There were no weapons in their hands.

Yet they made the usual stance where Carrs held a spear and Ignacio held a rapier.

They naturally perform the movements that the body remembered, and aimed at {Orobas}’s back.

{Orobas} was unaware. But even if {Orobas} noticed them, it was useless. Because neither of them had a weapon.

(They’re not conscious――…)

Frederica almost lost hope again, but she looked at them and rethought again.

Neither Carrs nor Ignacio was conscious. But surely an intention to kill {Orobas} could be seen in their eyes.

――The leftover Mana Frederica had.

She decided how to use it.

” ‘The Sword of Water, Be the Courage for the Young Princess. The Spear of Ice, Be the Hope for the Warrior’――”

Frederica remembered the chant of a technique that she learned from her guild friends.

“――’HyouSuiRaSou’!!!!!!” [TN: the kanji, ‘氷水螺装’, roughly it means, Equip Spiral Ice and Water]

A swirling water rapier was formed in Ignacio’s hand, and a swirling ice spear was formed in Carrs’ hand.

Finally, {Orobas} noticed the presence behind it. The demon-like murderous intentions behind… It was as if the assassins who had prepared to took the live of their target.

“[Yo, you, b,b,both――!]”

At the same time {Orobas} turned back, Carrs and Ignacio stepped on the ground.

{Orobas} grew new arms from its whole body. But the two kept going forward without stopping.

―― But, a black drop…

….came out in the verge of death.

The《Sub-source Colors》Mana that was sleeping inside Carrs and Ignacio came out, and those colors….  lit at the tip of the ice spear and water rapier.

It was the Mana turned the things it touched into dust.

The two thrusts from water sword and Ice spear, turned the arms which grew from {Orobas} whole body, into dust, pierced its skin, flesh, and bones.

“[I, — !!?]”

The jet-black thrust penetrated {Orobas}’s head and chest.

Frederica took a few seconds to understand what happened in front of her.

“It’s Black Mana… the Mana of Destruction!!”

Normally, handling Mana were learned in the order,

《Three Main-source Colors 》→ 《Four Sub-source Colors》

There was no rule that it must be that way, it was just a matter of difficulty. 

Manipulating the 《Sub-source Colors》Mana was much more difficult than the 《Three Main-source Colors 》. In particular, the difficulty level of Black Mana was high due to its ferocious nature. It was not something that Non-Magicians can handle.

However, the two broke that common sense. The Mana that was sleeping within them corresponding to their emotion who want to destroy and kill the enemy. And unconsciously drawn out at the edge of death.

Frederica knew that Carrs and Ignacio were both unmistakable geniuses, or else something like this would not happen.

“Wow… these two, they will become remarkable figure if they learn Magic!”

It was a water rapier that pierced {Orobas}’s head.

It was an ice spear that pierced {Orobas}’s heart.

{Orobas} collapsed on the spot with a miasma and died.

“Did it die? ―― we won!!!”

Frederica ran to Carrs and Ignacio.

But before she reached them, they fell on their head.

“Carrs! Ignacio!”

“What should I do, what should I do!”

Frederica remembered her《Four Sub-source Colors》

White Mana――The Mana of Regeneration.

“I’m not good at handling it, but I need to do it now!”

Frederica illuminated the two with White Mana.

{Orobas} ―――― Defeated