Ending Maker Chapter 17
Ending Maker Chapter 17
Chapter 4 - Holy Staff #2
The original event went like this.
By the quiet valley stream, Cordelia's beautiful singing voice spread softly through the air.
Her clear voice and lovely melody made even the small animals that had come to the stream to drink prick up their ears, and at last even the fairy folk living nearby—the fairies—began to react.
The fairies, gathering in twos and threes, were first startled by Cordelia's song, and then startled a second time by her dazzling appearance, which radiated a goddess-like beauty beneath the fantastical moonlight.
And one of them opened its mouth and spoke.
'Let's invite her to the queen's night revel.'
'The queen will be pleased too.'
'We can't keep this to ourselves. The song is too beautiful.'
Cordelia was briefly flustered by the fairies' appearance, but soon found herself inclined to accept the invitation of the cute and lovely fairies.
And then—
'Could it possibly go that far?'
Yuder, who had been hiding in the underbrush and watching the situation, stared at the valley stream with a devastated expression.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
Well, sure, the song in the original did deal with stars, after all.
It was likewise a song about stars, and the person singing it was the same, and instead of beauty and mystique it gave off cuteness and loveliness, but it was pleasant to listen to, at least.
'Hoo... I really have lost my mind.'
Yellow Storm, cute and lovely?
Yuder shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned his gaze farther away with anxious eyes.
And at some point.
When Cordelia, submerged up to her shoulders, had shivered from the cold and sung Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star all the way through about three times.
'They're here.'
Far off in the distance, small clusters of light began to appear.
At a glance they could have been mistaken for fireflies, but the light was far too bright and beautiful for that.
Yuder sent a signal out from the underbrush, and Cordelia, seeing Yuder's signal, nodded.
In truth, she had already noticed as well.
"From the western sky too~ from the eastern sky too~ twinkle, twinkle, little star~"
Cordelia sang slowly as she rose from the water where she had been deeply submerged. She still had a towel wrapped around her body, but as she emerged from the water, a chill ran through her and she shivered involuntarily.
But this was no time to be coughing.
Steeling her resolve, Cordelia gazed up at the beautiful moonlight and sang with a little more feeling.
"Shining so beautifully~"
The clusters of light drew near.
Blue light, yellow light, green light.
They were slightly larger than a palm, but apart from the butterfly wings on their backs, they were fairies whose appearance was nearly indistinguishable from adult women.
There were five in all.
The fairies swarmed over to Cordelia's side, chattering away, each raising their voice.
"The song is cute."
"Why is she wearing a towel while bathing? How can she bathe like that?"
"Dunno, but her voice is pretty."
"Her face is pretty too."
"Thrilling. Always fresh. Pretty is best."
At the last fairy's words, all the other fairies nodded as if in agreement.
'Just like the game.'
After all, fairies were probably the most looks-obsessed race in the world.
In any case, the creatures approached Cordelia, who was pretty and sang well, without any hesitation.
The one who was actually surprised was Cordelia.
'C-cute.'
Palm-sized fairies actually existed, and they were even moving right before her eyes, so no matter how much of a tomboy Yellow Storm was, her girlish heart could not help but stir.
"Who are you?"
"What's your name?"
"Wanna play with us?"
"The queen's night revel is about to begin."
"The queen likes pretty ones."
At the fairies' suggestion, Cordelia smiled bashfully, and Yuder, who had been listening from hiding, let out a sigh of relief.
He had been worried because the song was different, but it seemed she had managed to get through it well enough.
'Honestly, isn't Cordelia's appearance more important than the song itself?'
Listening to what they had just said about inviting her, it was basically because she was pretty.
In any case, although the process had changed somewhat, things had begun to proceed roughly according to the original event. So Yuder cleared his idle thoughts and turned his gaze somewhere other than Cordelia and the fairies.
The next step of the original event.
Cordelia hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to accept the fairies' invitation.
But right after that—
"GRAAAH!"
A beast's roar burst out.
It was close to a wolf, but the owner of the roar was not a wolf.
A Bicorn.
A lewd monster in the form of a horse with two horns, also called a fallen unicorn.
It was an appearance right on schedule. But not everything was the same as the original.
"Cordelia!"
Yuder sprang up from the underbrush and shouted. He had no choice. He threw himself toward Cordelia and shouted once more.
"Get out of the water!"
The Bicorn's roar echoed out.
But there was nothing at the spot where the Bicorn had appeared in the original.
He urgently looked around, but it was the same.
What that meant.
The thing had appeared, but he could not tell where it was.
In that instant, something flashed through his mind.
It was intuition.
That was why Yuder had shouted at Cordelia to get out of the water.
"GRAAAH!"
The moonlight reflected on the water's surface shattered. The Bicorn surged up from underwater and charged at Cordelia.
"Cordelia!"
Yuder kicked off the ground. At the same time, the Bicorn with violet fur and a red mane rammed its head into Cordelia.
It was a sudden collision.
The fairies screamed and scattered, and instead of being sent flying backward, Cordelia was launched upward and then thrown onto the Bicorn's back.
It was telekinesis, one of the Bicorn's specialties.
"NEEEIGH!"
The moment it captured Cordelia, the creature laughed in delight, dashed out of the water in a single bound, and tried to flee the area with its red eyes blazing.
But Cordelia would not allow that.
"Get lost!"
Cordelia twisted her body. She thrashed fearlessly on the Bicorn's back, then broke free of the telekinesis and threw herself onto the water.
In that instant, with a loud thud, the water sprayed up violently, and Cordelia, who had plunged into the water, floundered before righting herself.
The Bicorn looked at Cordelia.
The fairies shouted something, and Yuder sprinted toward Cordelia and the Bicorn.
And Cordelia shouted.
"Out!"
It was an urgent cry. Before she could even finish saying "Outboxer," she hastily tore off the towel wrapped around her body.
A red leotard.
Since it was essentially a one-piece swimsuit, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. No, right now there was something far more important than that.
Cordelia spread out the towel.
The fairies reflexively looked at the towel, and the Bicorn did the same.
But Yuder did not.
Because the moment Cordelia shouted "Out," Yuder understood.
He had grasped why Cordelia was calling him and what she was demanding of him!
"Light!"
A large magic circle was drawn on the inside of the towel.
It was a 1-star spell that did nothing more than produce light.
But the magic circle had not been drawn for nothing.
Numerous formulas amplified the spell.
The mana Cordelia poured in became pure, intense light that engulfed the entire world.
"Aaaah!"
"GRAAAH!"
Exposed to the tremendous brightness, the fairies and the Bicorn groaned and shut their eyes. For a moment, they were completely blinded.
And the same was true of Cordelia, who had kept her eyes open in order to focus the light on the Bicorn.
But there was one person.
Yuder, who had shut his eyes the moment Cordelia shouted, was not blinded. The instant the fairies' screams ceased, Yuder opened his eyes and kicked off the ground.
Thud!
Thirty-Six World Steps.
The footwork technique using internal energy accelerated Yuder. The distance between Yuder and the Bicorn shrank in an instant.
The Bicorn opened its eyes.
But it still could not see properly. Yuder rushed at the creature and swallowed his breath. In a single moment, he cut off his breathing and put strength into his clenched fist.
'I'll catch it.'
He would not stop at driving it away.
Now that they had come this far, he would bring the thing down.
Yuder did not draw the ceremonial sword at his waist. He channeled power into the Sun's Necklace wrapped around his fist like brass knuckles and threw a punch.
Bang!
Yuder's fist struck the Bicorn precisely between the eyes. The creature let out a shrieking scream, but it was not over yet. Yuder stepped through the Thirty-Six World Steps and rained down a flurry of blows on the Bicorn's head.
'Thunderclap Strike!'
One of the martial arts his father had taught him over the past three days.
It was a rapid technique that delivered seven punches in the span of a lightning flash: four opening strikes followed by three finishing strikes.
BAM-BAM-BAM!
Yuder's fists struck the Bicorn's brow and cheek in rapid succession. If they had been ordinary punches, they would not have even registered against a Bicorn, which could face a bear with sheer brute strength alone, but what Yuder used was a martial art employing internal energy.
Moreover, the holy power emitted by the Sun's Necklace would not tolerate the existence of a Bicorn, a creature of demonic nature.
"GRAAARGH!"
All seven strikes landed, but it was still a Bicorn. The creature staggered for a moment, then swung its head wide, trying to ram Yuder.
It was fast and powerful.
But at the same time, it was the blow Yuder had been waiting for.
Whoosh!
The Bicorn's horn stabbed through empty air. Yuder, who had used the Thirty-Six World Steps to instantly widen the distance, was satisfied.
It was not because he was proud of himself for dodging that attack.
It was because he had fulfilled his assigned task.
Because he had bought enough time.
A short time.
Yuder let out a breath. He smiled at the voice he had been waiting for.
"Fire Missile!"
Cordelia.
A red magic bullet blazed through the darkness and surged forward. Burning the air as it advanced, it struck the Bicorn's head and exploded at the same time!
KABOOM!
A thunderous roar erupted. The aftermath of the explosion shook not only the air but even the water's surface, and the fairies shrieked.
But instead of cheering, Yuder and Cordelia immediately prepared for what came next.
Because no level-up effect had appeared for either of them.
Because there was a high chance the thing was still alive!
"Dig!"
Cordelia chanted spells in succession. After collapsing the ground beneath the Bicorn's feet to make it fall, she gritted her teeth instead of preparing the next spell.
Her head hurt. Perhaps as an aftereffect of using Fire Missile, chanting spells in succession was too much.
As Cordelia staggered, the Bicorn did not miss the opening. Its eyes blazed menacingly through its fire-scorched, ruined head as it charged at Cordelia.
'Just as planned.'
It was true that her head hurt.
It was also true that chanting spells in succession was too much.
But chanting was not the only thing she could do.
"Bind!"
Cordelia thrust out a magic stone and shouted.
It was a magic stone personally crafted by Count Chase, containing a Bind spell.
Originally, the Bind was meant to be used if Yuder tried any funny business(?), and perhaps because it carried her father's concern, its binding power was exceptionally strong.
"GRAAAGH!"
Bound by translucent golden ropes, the Bicorn plunged into the water with the same momentum it had been charging with and floundered.
"Ugh."
Cordelia had not come through completely unscathed either.
She had already been staggering, and the spray kicked up by the Bicorn knocked her flat on her back.
But they were in the middle of a battle.
Yellow Storm's mind did not stop for even a moment.
'A little over ten seconds.'
The amount of time the Bind could withstand the Bicorn's struggles.
'A little over fifteen seconds.'
The amount of time Cordelia herself needed before she could use magic again.
It was enough.
There was no shortage of time.
'Right? Outboxer009.'
One of the two things Count Bayel had passed on.
Something she had already heard about in the carriage.
So it was something she had been looking forward to at this very moment.
Outboxer did not betray Yellow Storm's expectations.
When Cordelia drew the Bicorn's attention, he had already begun his preparatory movements.
'What he learned was two things.'
Count Bayel had properly recognized Yuder's martial talent.
But at the same time, he had not made the mistake of being blinded by that talent and overlooking Yuder's physical condition.
So over the course of three days, he had passed on only two things.
'A flurry for use in ordinary combat.'
Thunderclap Strike.
It was a good technique. Once mastered, it could truly unleash a seven-strike combination in the blink of an eye, and its power was not weak either.
But in the end, it was only a technique for normal attacks.
'The one blow that would be the finisher.'
In truth, it was not a proper technique for the current Yuder.
Because the preparation time needed to use that one blow was far too long.
Moreover, during the preparation time spent concentrating his power, he had to remain practically defenseless.
But that was precisely why it was powerful.
In sheer power, it was not even comparable to Thunderclap Strike.
Cordelia, slumped in the water, looked at Yuder.
She smiled at the golden flash concentrated in Yuder's fist.
'Thunderbolt Fist.'
From that fist, lightning would burst forth.
Yuder stamped his foot into the ground.
He brought the lightning down upon the Bicorn's head.