The Bad Woman
I took Meredith’s hand. The tremors caused by the paralysis were transmitted directly to me. "Master. Just listen." I stopped Meredith, who was trying to turn her head in surprise to look at me. It wouldn't be good for her body to turn her head while she was still stiff.
"Do you think I can cast it if I just match the spell components?"
"N...o...."
I guess not. But I couldn't just jump into that fray with my bare body. Onyxia was not only wielding blades in both hands with ease, but she was also mixing in kicks with deadly precision. If I jumped in to help half-heartedly, I would only be a hindrance to the protagonist. I didn't know anymore. It was all or nothing now.
"You said you'd do it before we went into actual combat, right? Do it now."
It was a training method where she would make physical contact to circulate mana and get my body accustomed to it. Meredith closed her eyes and focused. The hand I was holding seemed to heat up. The pain traveled up my arm and reached my chest. Agony surged in. It felt like my heart had suddenly dropped out of my chest.
The pain I felt in my hand began to subside. I turned my gaze toward Meredith. She looked quite surprised. Was she being considerate because she saw me in pain? She was such a kind and grateful person. But now was not the time for that.
"Don't... stop."
I gritted my teeth against the pain. As I clenched my jaw, a strong pressure built up in my head. My vision began to darken from the edges. I couldn't lose consciousness. The moment I lost my reason to the pain, the hand of Meredith that I was holding would surely not be safe. That couldn't happen. Hands were the most important thing to a mage. As her disciple, I couldn't let that happen.
The pain swirled inside my body. As my heart beat, the pain spread throughout my entire body. No. It was a little different. It felt like there was some organ that was similar to my heart, but wasn't my heart. If I felt it closely, my pulse and the pain were beating at different intervals. There was another circulatory system that overlapped exquisitely. The pain that had spread throughout my body returned, spread out again, and returned. The pain scattered everywhere gathered at one point and collided with each other. It rotated while colliding, twisting, splitting, and merging. As the heart that scattered the mana beat, several flows were created. As time passed, those flows became clearer, and by devouring the surrounding flows, they became a giant trunk. That trunk organized all the flows that had been running wild and became the sole flow. The trunk, which held all the flows in its hand, became as docile as if the rampaging from earlier had been a lie. The organ that had felt close to my heart until a moment ago now felt like a small roundabout. Pain flowed out of it naturally, and flowed back in naturally. Thus, a small band was completed.
A mana ring forming near the heart. Ah, this was it. It was such an old concept that I had forgotten it for a moment. In old fantasy, this was called a Mana Circle. I felt the circulating ring, but it hadn't become entirely mine yet. Just like how a river forms along an old, dried-up waterway when a downpour hits a desert. Meredith had merely awakened the path that was already inside my body. Now it was time to draw upon this power.
I had already taken out the reagent. The spell slot, the reagent, the incantation. All the elements needed for this spell had gathered into one.
"Light."
⟨ Light ⟩
The surroundings brightened. It was a useless spell in the current situation, but I could transform it into a useful form. I didn't know the principle or the reason. While learning magic from Meredith, I had come to know well how absurd the things I had done while experiencing the dungeon were. It was no wonder the protagonist had made such a dumbfounded expression. But the trivial reasons weren't important. What was truly important was that the evidence called experience remained within me.
I carefully let go of Meredith's hand, grabbed the light floating in the air, and slowly stretched it out. Yes, as if there were an invisible bow. The moment I released the drawn string, the light shot out. What kind of expression was Meredith making right now? I was too afraid to check, so I couldn't bring myself to look back.
Until now, even when I met a somewhat strong enemy, if I twisted my body here and there, a clue would appear. I carried a main weapon for surprise attacks and ambushes, and I held an extra dagger in my left hand to create variables. There is a flow to combat. For the weak to defeat the strong, one must aim for that one moment when the momentum wanes. But for Onyxia, there was no such opening. She was the one who taught me swordsmanship. She knows me too well. And I know her too well. If there are no variables, the outcome is eventually decided by weight class. Onyxia's level is at least 3. I am 2. If it goes to a weight class fight, there is only a guaranteed defeat at the end.
Sparks flew as metal met metal. I could feel my stamina gradually dropping. I was out of breath, and my whole body was damp. It was a huge relief that Onyxia didn't look pristine either, as if her journey here hadn't been smooth. If only I had been the one accumulating fatigue, I would have lost in the blink of an eye. There were no variables I could draw out from myself. Then what about Meredith? Meredith was definitely saving a Level 0 spell slot for the way back. But the powder that was scattered at the beginning was the problem; since it had a yellow tint, it was probably paralysis powder. It was hard to believe that help would arrive before I was pushed back. Hazel could move, but she didn't have the power to turn this situation around. If I had known this would happen, I would have at least given her a few scrolls.
The path was blocked. Should I beg for mercy? From that Onyxia? She wouldn't take my life. Because I set her up as that kind of character. She was my disciple, after all, and once a comrade. The relationship between the two of us could be considered good if I just resolved the feelings I had. If I suffered a major injury, I doubted I could even make it out of this dungeon. Yes. Let's endure it. For myself, Meredith, and Hazel. It was the moment I made that resolution.
How should I describe it? There was light. Suddenly, a bright light flew in and struck Onyxia's left arm. The impact caused the dagger in her left hand to slip from her grip. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I gave her time to regroup, I wouldn't be able to win anymore. I closed the distance and lunged. Fighting at a distance where stilettos could reach was conceding my advantage. Since she lost her dagger, I would decide the match at close range, where she was that much weaker. The stiletto lunged toward the center of my body. Clearly a sword for checking. I used my sword to push it away. I moved my blades around, keeping the two swords locked so she couldn't easily recover. A kick came, aiming low. Bottom right. I twisted my leg slightly and brought my knee to meet it. It was a little lacking. I couldn't block it with my knee and got hit in the surrounding area. My joints ached. But in the meantime, I had closed the distance. Even in such a situation, she seemed unable to focus entirely on me, as if she were uneasy about her back. Is she anxious because she thinks Meredith has been freed from the paralysis? Of course, that wouldn't happen. Hazel must have done something. I had never heard of anyone being able to imbue light into a magic arrow. Except for what Hazel did in the dungeon. It was only after all these things combined that I could reach her. I plunged my dagger into her chest. Onyxia's eyes widened.
"Jiun... you..."
There was a sensation at the tip of the blade. It was a hard object. A demon's heart? I put strength into it, drove it deep, and twisted. Smoke erupted violently from the wound pierced by the sword. Did she even prepare for something like this? As the black smoke obscured my vision, my thoughts reached my companions who were separated. I ran to where Meredith had collapsed and took a defensive stance.
"They're gone," Hazel said, twitching her ears. Still, I couldn't let my guard down. Even after the wind cleared away all the smoke, Onyxia did not show herself. She ran away. It was a choice worthy of her.
The way back was twice as hard as the way we came. We didn't run into any gnolls. We had cleared out many of them, and seeing corpses left behind in places we hadn't fought, it seemed Onyxia had also taken out quite a few. However, I was completely drained because I had to keep walking while maintaining tension, not knowing when she might appear. Meredith, whose paralysis hadn't fully worn off, borrowed the protagonist's back. At first, she refused firmly, but she couldn't escape the two of us urging her. Her refusal was slurred, and it was clear that if we had left her alone, she would have walked a few steps and collapsed. We were lucky. In the worst case, we would have had to camp to recover our strength, or wait endlessly for a carriage to pass by, but we were able to find a carriage shortly after reaching the main road. The coachman, who received the proper fare, looked at our state for a moment and said.
"Looks like you had a rough time."
I could only laugh. "So... who is he, that person?" asked Meredith, who was hanging limply and swaying weakly with the vibrations. Her voice was much better than before, at least. At those words, the protagonist didn't hesitate and said.
<The Bad Woman END>