Clash (2)
Just to a kid like this, the illusion magic got dispelled?
Rubshi observed Sugar with eyes that had lost their light.
The mana inside Sugar’s body showed signs of agitation from repeated use—casting spells, exploding mana to gain propulsion, and rushing forward like that. If you watched closely, those flows gradually organized themselves. It felt as though something was being drawn in, the quantity growing, empty spaces filling.
Thin strands of mana drifting through the air gradually converged on Sugar.
“ … ”
“Huu… Anyway. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Sugar, having caught her breath somewhat, looked up at Rubshi.
Her lifeless gray eyes. In contrast, the vibrant pink and sky-blue hues of Rubshi’s own eyes.
Rubshi gently reached out her hand.
“What on earth are you…”
“You moved, so I assume you’re not hurt.”
“ … Even if you got caught in that explosion, you wouldn’t have suffered serious injuries.”
“Huh? Human?”
“Yes, human. A living person. That’s why…”
Her slender, gloved hand touched Sugar’s head.
“Thank you, Sugar. I never imagined you’d throw yourself in to save me like that. Such a kind child.”
Sugar quickly turned her head away.
“If you’re thanking me, send me home.”
“Yes. I will definitely do that. Don’t worry.”
Rubshi smiled faintly and rose from her seat.
Sugar pulled out her wand and straightened her posture as well.
Looking ahead, a fusion that had transformed from a wall-like shape into a humanoid form was steadily approaching.
“Wow, turning a person into a corpse like this…”
She covered her mouth, as if disgusted. Too naked an object. No separate fetish needed.
“I didn’t want to show this because of that.”
“What nonsense.”
Sugar, forcing down her nausea, faced it directly. She pointed her staff, widened her eyes, and stood tall with her head held high.
She didn’t know much magic.
But she had to return. Her injured friend was waiting for her.
“When did you get that staff?”
“There is such a thing.”
It was a private gift exchanged between the two of them with precious feelings. I’m sorry for you, but I don’t want to tell you.
“Ah, no need to feel sorry.”
Now, by chance, they were fighting on the same side, but for now, this woman was still a member of the cult.
Life was full of surprises.
Smiling like that, Sugar fixed the pink hairband that had tilted slightly from her earlier violent movements.
The golem hurled its body.
“Icy Road.”
The first spell was cast by Rubshi.
Immediately, a wide sheet of ice formed in front. The blood-soaked flesh mass would have no choice but to slip…
At that moment, she jumped.
The corpse fragments scattered toward them in an instant.
“ …!”
Due to the sudden visual obstruction, Sugar shrank back. It wasn’t a major issue for Rubshi, who relied on hearing.
After pulling Sugar behind her, she immediately pointed her staff.
Tap, tap—
With her index finger, she tapped the handle twice. Instantly, an intangible force shot out and pierced the ‘fragment’ floating at the center of the corpse fragments.
The lifeless corpse fragments fell to the floor with a thud.
Simultaneously, mana bullets came flying in.
Looking around, more disciples had appeared and surrounded them again.
“This cult really has so many people! Do we really need to proselytize? Ah, since they’re all going to die today, I suppose I’ll have to proselytize again!”
Sugar dodged left and right, picked up a stone the size of a human face.
Heavy, but she poured mana into it without checking front or back. It flew away in the blink of an eye, canceling the mana bullet.
Before the stone lost its strength and fell to the ground, Rubshi pointed her staff.
At that moment, it exploded with a bang, and each scattering stone fragment shot toward the disciples, infused with mana. From the shape, it looked like some kind of blade.
“They said they’ll die. At least, these people should be saved as much as possible.”
Is saving the right thing? Looking at her with intent, another disciple blocked Sugar’s path. Drawing a sword, he swung it roughly, infused with mana.
“Uwaak!”
Because he was trying to poke at the head, Sugar quickly lowered her posture.
Smallest height wins!
“These people are trying to kill me!”
“Like this…”
She had acknowledged the possibility earlier, but it seemed they were going in this direction.
“Claude! All the disciples! Don’t touch the kid!”
Whether or not, the disciple swung his sword at Sugar.
Sugar slid out from between the disciple’s legs in her lowered posture. Immediately stood up, turned her body, and kicked toward the vital point.
With the rotational force and Sugar’s mana combined, it went in quite well.
“Ugh!”
While writhing in pain, Sugar quickly grabbed the sword she had missed.
One hand with a wand, one hand with a sword. What kind of hybrid was this.
Still, Sugar was energetic. She approached with the feeling of becoming a saint in her heart.
However, in an instant, a dagger flew, and that feeling quickly faded.
Sugar quickly dodged, and in return, frowning, she threw the one-handed sword in her hand.
“Sugar! Aim for the hand or leg!”
Following Rubshi’s words, she adjusted her position slightly.
When she poured mana, the sword thrown by the disciple who had thrown the dagger struck Sugar’s thrown sword on the opposite leg. Uugh, making a pained sound, the posture collapsed. She was good at shooting quickly, at least one.
Without time to catch her breath, another disciple rushed in. But Sugar didn’t dodge, instead pushed off the ground toward the opponent and leaped.
“Protection.”
This was the magic Sugar had learned as the first step in tier 3. A magic with the intention of the one who taught it, and a heart filled with that.
Throwing the body wrapped in a protection shield as a bullet to smash into the abdomen, it was quite effective. Collapsed, she couldn’t breathe. She had expected to be able to run away, but not to face it, so the opponent couldn’t respond.
Now, catching her breath and looking around, most of the disciples had fallen.
At that moment, Rubshi was seen throwing a disciple’s staff far away. It seemed she had processed them all in the meantime.
“Now, how many are left…”
Muttering while looking around at Rubshi.
Seeing a disciple lying down pretending to be unconscious, pointing a staff at her, Sugar quickly picked up a rolling apple. It had rolled out from the fruit bag that was miraculously intact even in this chaos.
Running toto to, she stuffed an apple into the mouth of the disciple chanting the spell. With a ugeok- sound, the chant stopped.
Now, she could really catch her breath.
While Sugar was wiping the sweat from her forehead, Rubshi looked up at the crows in the air.
“Claude. Are you going to continue this meaningless slaughter like this?”
It wasn’t meaningless. In the end, it was the two of them who would run out of mana first.
Still, Rubshi seemed fine. Leaning on the staff with both hands, standing in a neat posture.
If it weren’t for Sugar, and if the cult’s disciples weren’t the opponents, she could have shown even more. Quite bold.
[ … ]
The crow that knew this well quietly flew up.
Without a word, just flapping wings. Flying endlessly without knowing how high the sky is.
Simultaneously, dozens of other crows followed behind. They seemed to be hiding on the trees.
Looking at the subordinates who could still move standing blankly, it wasn’t a retreat command.
If the crows were going to leave this place, they would fly to another place, not just high above the two people’s heads.
An action whose intention was unknown.
Rubshi, frowning and watching the situation, finally was shocked.
“ … No way!”
“Why? Why is that suddenly doing that?”
Rubshi’s expression darkened. Even though the bright afternoon sunlight was shining on them, it was endlessly dark.
Disappointment. Doubt.
Betrayal toward a colleague she once believed in.
“Why… to this extent… me…”
Sugar, feeling an unpleasant premonition, approached, and Rubshi looked at the sky and opened her mouth.
“Sugar. You go quickly. Run at full speed. With the skill you saw earlier… you might barely escape.”
“Why suddenly? What is it that makes you say that… If it’s so dangerous, why aren’t you running away?”
“ … Even though you’ve gotten involved in this because of me, you’re worried.”
“No, you’re annoying, but getting hurt openly is a bit…”
“No matter where I go, that thing will follow me. It’s better to stop it here. It’s a city with many people right next to it. I keep saying it. The cult doesn’t harm ordinary citizens.”
“The human behind those crows is full of the intention to harm!”
“At least not to that extent.”
“Ha…”
“It’s okay. I can somehow stop it. But I can’t guarantee there won’t be harm to you. Remember the vow? The vow I made not to harm you.”
“ …”
“Go. I’ll make sure to keep my vow.”
Sugar closed her mouth.
Clutching the staff tightly, not knowing what to do, she slowly backed away, then turned around.
No need to worry about this woman.
They hadn’t met much, and hadn’t built a particularly good relationship. Every time, she was annoying and scratched at people’s feelings. Apostle of the evil cult.
If they fought among themselves and self-destructed, that was also a good thing.
For Sugar, there was a dream to go to Stille with her friend. The best was if there was no Shadow Cult on that path.
In another world, herself continued a life that couldn’t be expressed as ‘living’ after being captured by these people.
So, it was rather a good thing. If they fought each other and died or got injured. It had nothing to do with Sugar.
She stepped away step by step from the battlefield of fighting.
Far away, the crows spinning in circles in the sky could be heard screaming here.
An ominous scene. The atmosphere touching the skin was felt.
“ …”
Just run while ignoring the nerves.
Putting mana into the legs, running at full speed.
And returning to the orphanage, taking care of the injured friend as if nothing happened—
“Ouch! How are you leaving me like this!”
“Sugar! What are you doing!”
“If you get injured and can’t move! Those crows will come after me next! So you have to stop them!”
Standing next to Rubshi while holding the staff, stepping forward.
Before that, the space where the crows were circling began to twist.
The sky tearing apart.
With all the crows except one throwing their bodies, something appeared.
Completely black void. The very small fragment of ‘that’.
Sugar couldn’t close her mouth. Because they were doing this even to their own team. Too much.
“You haven’t even received baptism…! I can’t withstand that power…!”
Rubshi desperately hugged Sugar. If it had gone this far, it was already too late, so she tried to save her somehow.
Even though she revered that person, since she was an apostle, she would know his power better.
Even with that reaction, Sugar silently looked at the sky. When doing so, she felt as if she was facing the fragment of the Evil God eye to eye.
Although it was just a very small part, even that, humans couldn’t do anything about it. Her legs trembled, sweat poured, but she didn’t turn her eyes away.
Can I handle it? I don’t know.
But. Can’t I try?
In the original story, herself had endured the body from age 14.
Clutching the staff tightly, staring straight ahead.
For now, I can only stop it, but with a firm will to one day erase you from this world.
“Protection!”
The void rushed in.
Just flowing down from top to bottom. Without any aggressive intention, flowing as it was.
Still, it was fatal to humans.
Her breath was blocked, she felt like she was losing herself. While struggling in the completely black power, she wondered if this thing had an end.
Still, if she focused on the hand, she felt something touchable.
This was the wand-shaped staff that Sugar had given to her precious friend. Holding one and using it together while returning. The feeling of warmth passing through each other’s hands.
Following that, this time focusing consciousness on the head, she felt like she was doing something.
Pink hairband.
Friend gave it as a surprise gift. I don’t know what it is, but some magic was cast. Even this was precious to her heart.
If I kept repeating this, I wouldn’t lose myself.
She opened her eyes with a blink.
Her breath was coming, but she held it back. The barrier had long since neutralized and disappeared, and the flow of internal mana had become strange. The mana passages seemed to expand and contract and crush, but she held it back. She could hold it.
After an eon-like time.
“Haa… Haa…”
Seeing the blue sky again, the strength in her legs loosened.
The Evil God’s mana was wrapped around like mist, invading all the natural things in the forest, while the cult’s disciples were screaming and writhing, Sugar’s surroundings were fine.
[ What is this… ]
The crow’s mouth opened wide. Opening and opening, something inside came out and became a human figure.
A man in black gown and beak mask. That dressed man looked down at Sugar from the air.
“Sugar… How did you…”
Rubshi looking at Sugar with those eyes was strange. When his mana touched Sugar’s shield, at the moment it touched her body, instead of resisting each other, they just melted. She couldn’t close her mouth at the series of phenomena.
Even those who received baptism couldn’t do this. The body was all broken, and only barely managing to keep the life.
Of course, because of the influence, Sugar’s body staggered, but it was not comparable to being crushed.
“Ugh… I feel like throwing up… Just leave me… Go catch that human…”
“ …”
Rubshi looked at Sugar without saying anything.
Her empty eyes looking at Sugar.
“ … Rubshi?”
Those eyes were creepy somewhere.