Complex Fusion Magic (2)
"You said you were going to apply Mana Block to Wind Chain, right? Is that even possible? Combining two fused spells..."
Valter asked.
"Ah, there was a bit of a misunderstanding. I'm not combining the two fused spells. I'll use them separately. That's why I need a little help."
"Help?"
Valter tilted his head.
"I'll activate Wind Chain inside the barrier of Mana Block cast by another mage."
"Then..."
Valter nodded as understanding dawned on him.
I pulled another gray bead from my robe. It was the Mana Block bead I'd made on the way here.
"While someone activates this and wraps me in its barrier, I'll prepare Wind Chain inside it. The wyvern won't notice my magic."
Valter took the Mana Block bead and said, "But there's a problem. If Mana Block completely surrounds you, won't the restraint spell you cast be blocked by the barrier too?"
"That's why the timing matters."
I pointed at the wyvern and continued my explanation.
"The instant the wyvern folds its wings, I'll activate Wind Chain. At the same moment, we'll release Mana Block. Half a second will be enough."
"Half a second..."
Valter frowned.
"So you need to match the moment of shielding and release perfectly?"
"Yes. That's the only way."
Valter fell silent for a moment, staring at the wyvern. His face was full of hesitation.
"...That's a dangerous method. If the timing is even slightly off, it fails. If the barrier drops too early, the wyvern will sense it. If it drops too late, the restraint spell will be blocked by the shield."
"I know. But right now, we have to try even that."
At my words, Valter let out a long sigh.
"...Fine. If we keep dragging this out, our mages will be wiped out anyway."
"Please recommend a mage who can block mana. You'll need to finish things off if the plan succeeds, Valter."
"Mille!"
Valter called out to a young female mage nearby.
"Yes, Chief!"
A red-haired female mage hurried over. Her robe was scorched in several places, and exhaustion was plain on her face.
"This is Mille. She's a 4th Circle mage of the Crown Magic Tower and my direct deputy."
As he introduced her, Valter handed her the Mana Block bead.
"Mille, cast this spell around Tower Master Grace. Maintain it for exactly half a second, then release it immediately on my signal."
"Half a second?"
Mille took the bead with a startled look.
"Yes. Precisely that short window. Can you do it?"
"..."
After hesitating for a moment, Mille nodded.
"I'll try. But what exactly is this spell..."
"It's a mana-blocking spell. A 4-system fusion."
At Valter's words, Mille's eyes widened.
"4-system? In something this small..."
"We don't have time to explain. Just activate it. It'll cut off mana signals within a one-meter radius around you."
Mille looked down at the bead and sent a little mana into it. Her expression changed at once, shock flashing across her face.
"This is... really a 4-system fusion. And the structure..."
She turned to look at me.
"Did you make this yourself, Lord Grace?"
"Yes."
"Wow... incredible. A fusion spell with this kind of structure... How on earth did you make something like this?"
"Thank you. But there's no time to explain right now."
I mounted the Wind Chain bead onto Roimdel's wand and said, "This is the plan. Once you cast Mana Block around me, I'll aim at the wyvern from inside it. The moment it folds its wings, Chief Valter will give the signal, Mille will release the block immediately, and I'll activate Wind Chain."
Mille nodded.
"Understood."
"The problem is the timing," Valter said in a heavy voice. "The moment I shout 'now,' if you're off by even 0.1 seconds, it's a failure."
"We'll succeed on the first try."
I fixed my gaze on the wyvern and said it flatly.
Kieeeek—!
The wyvern was turning again toward the eastern team. It evaded the mages' attacks while spewing blue flames.
"Get ready."
Valter raised his wand. His expression was deadly serious.
"Mille, activate Mana Block!"
"Yes!"
Mille lifted the bead high, and a gray dome enveloped us.
A barrier with a one-meter radius. Inside it, no mana signal could leak out.
"Grace, take aim."
At Valter's command, I pointed my wand at the wyvern.
The mana of Wind Chain began gathering at the tip of the wand, but thanks to the barrier, the wyvern sensed nothing.
Kieeeek—!
The wyvern reacted to the attacks coming from our side and changed direction.
"It's coming!"
Valter shouted.
The wyvern drew closer and closer. 100 meters, 80 meters, 60 meters...
I could see it opening its mouth, readying blue flames.
"Focus!"
My heart pounded wildly. Sweat gathered in my palms.
Forty meters.
The wyvern began to fold its wings.
"Now!"
At Valter's shout—
Whoosh—!
The gray barrier vanished, and I immediately activated Wind Chain.
Blue chains burst from the tip of the wand.
But then—
Kieek—!
The wyvern suddenly spread its wings and veered away. It shot upward sharply, as if it had sensed something.
Fwoosh—!
Wind Chain sailed right past the spot where the wyvern had been.
"Damn it!"
Valter gritted his teeth.
"We missed it..."
Mille looked equally disappointed.
"...What went wrong? The timing seemed perfect."
Valter asked.
"..."
I fell into thought. Why had it failed?
The timing had definitely been right. And yet the wyvern had evaded our attack.
Could it be...?
"Is it sensing the projectile itself?"
I muttered, staring into the air.
"What are you talking about?"
Valter asked.
"Mana Block can hide the mana signals around me. But it can't hide the mana of the projectile itself once it leaves the barrier."
At my words, Valter's expression darkened.
"That doesn't make sense. Normally, the strongest mana signal is released right before casting... You're saying it senses the projectile itself?"
Valter asked, baffled.
"I thought so at first, too. But think about it."
I pointed at the wyvern circling above us and went on.
"You said your mages have been attacking for four hours, but the hit rate is terrible. Yet that wyvern avoids every single attack. Almost as if..."
I paused and watched the wyvern's movements.
"As if it can 'see' the path the spell is flying along."
"The trajectory of the projectile...?"
Mille murmured in astonishment.
"...Then just how incredible is that wyvern's mana-sensing ability?" Valter said.
"...One thing's certain. Its perception is on an entirely different level from ours."
"..."
"..."
At my words, Valter and Mille fell silent.
Then we'd have to block the projectile's mana too... Is that even possible?
I thought to myself. What should I do?
I was still considering the problem when Mille spoke up.
"Then how about blocking the entire path with Mana Block?"
"No... impossible. We'd need to be much closer to the wyvern for that, and we'd need many more mages. Above all, we only have one Mana Block bead."
"..."
Mille had nothing to say.
"Then what about this? What if we activate several restraint spells at once?" Valter said.
"No. That won't work either. If it can sense the mana of the projectile, then firing multiple ones won't matter. The wyvern will detect and evade them all."
Valter gave a hollow laugh.
"So there's no way? We've just come full circle."
"...Let's try once more for now."
"Try again...?"
Valter trailed off.
"The result will be the same. If that wyvern can sense the projectile itself, then no amount of perfect timing will matter."
Mille nodded in agreement.
"You never know. We might have missed the timing, and doing nothing right now is worse than trying."
"Hmm... fair enough."
In the end, Valter reluctantly nodded.
I raised my wand toward the wyvern again.
This time, maybe a little faster on the timing...
No. That wouldn't matter either. If it sensed the projectile, the result would be the same.
But we still had to try.
"Ready!"
Valter shouted.
Mille activated Mana Block again, and the gray dome enveloped us once more.
Kieeeek—!
The wyvern turned toward us yet again. It was flapping its wings, evading the mages' attacks.
"Focus!"
I gathered the mana of Wind Chain at the tip of my wand. Blue light began to swirl around it.
Sixty meters.
Fifty meters.
Forty meters.
The wyvern began to fold its wings.
Now!
"Release!"
At Valter's shout, the barrier vanished, and I fired Wind Chain.
Whoosh—!
The blue chain shot toward the wyvern.
But then—
Kiek—!
The wyvern sensed it again and changed direction. As it violently spread its wings and climbed upward, the chain slipped beneath it.
"Damn it!"
Valter slammed his fist into the ground.
"So it really... won't work."
This time, too, it ended in failure.
But one thing had become clear: the problem wasn't the timing, and the wyvern's mana-sensing ability was monstrous.
So... how in the world were we supposed to deal with that thing?
***
By the time I had joined the fight here, nearly four hours had already passed.
The sky had grown dark, and the Crown Magic Tower mages were growing more and more exhausted.
What do we do? Isn't there any way?
And yet we were still only searching for a way to bring down that wyvern.
Then it happened.
Kieeeeeeek—!
The wyvern's cry suddenly turned vicious.
It was a different pattern from before.
Other mages had clearly fired spells at it, but... the wyvern did not change course. Instead, it began a dive straight toward the eastern team.
"Watch out!"
Valter shouted urgently, but it was already too late.
Kwaaaang—!
Blue flames poured from the wyvern's mouth like a waterfall.
"Aaaagh!"
"Ghk—!"
Five mages from the eastern team were swallowed by the flames all at once. They didn't even have time to raise a defensive spell.
"No!"
Mille screamed.
When the flames finally cleared, only scorched black earth remained. The five mages had vanished without a trace.
"..."
"..."
The surrounding mages' faces twisted with fear at the ghastly sight. The shock of watching their comrades die in an instant was overwhelming.
"...Damn it."
Valter clenched his jaw. His fist was trembling.
"Chief..."
"At this rate... we'll really be wiped out."
Despair seeped into Valter's voice.
"We can't hold out much longer. The mages' mana is running dry, and morale is collapsing. If that thing changes its pattern and starts concentrating on one team at a time..."
As Valter said, there really was no time left.
Is there truly no solution?
Then, in that moment—
Kieeeek—!
The wyvern turned toward the western team this time. It was unmistakable: pure killing intent.
Fortunately, it changed direction again because of another team's attack.
But that, too, was only a matter of time now.
"...Really, there's no way, Grace?"
Valter asked me in a lifeless voice.
"...I'll try fusing Mana Block and Wind Chain directly."