NOVEL WEB Chapter 209
Chapter 209. The Crimson Fairy
With her body, hair, and fighting aura all dyed crimson like a ruby, Shizuku faces off against Sakimori-san. Sakimori-san is definitely not going to hold back. I don’t plan to hold back either. There’s a revival potion. It’s a top-secret, ultra-high-rank item.
We’ll probably get it while leisurely destroying human civilization. I don’t know when that will be, but Sakimori-san and I are connected. As long as we both don’t die, we won’t perish. If our physical bodies are destroyed, our cores transfer to the other’s core. Unlike physical monster cores, ours are conceptual and can’t be easily destroyed. Even I can’t destroy them now.
“I won’t hold back, Sakimori-san. Ten seconds, I’ll defeat you in ten seconds. Even if it’s setting up a flag, I’ll overwhelm you.”
With a snort and declaration, Sakimori-san responds with a wry smile.
“Other than your appearance, your words and personality haven’t changed. Don’t you feel any discomfort?”
“I’m sorry to disappoint, but I feel refreshed. Regaining my existence as a fairy puts me in high spirits.”
“That’s too bad.”
Sakimori-san naturally raises his hand to cast a spell. His seamless movement might make others hesitate, but not me.
[High Accelerator]
Using the highest-level acceleration fighting skill, the movements around me slowed down as if I had stepped out of the world. In this sense of being detached from the flow of time, I charged towards Sakimori-san.
[Curse Punch]
A unique fighting skill that destroys the enemy’s spirit. Usually, it only drains some mana unless the opponent is much weaker, but it has another advantage. It can dispel other curses. Only those of lower or equal level, but looking at Sakimori-san’s curse, it should be easily destroyed.
Feeling pity for the sluggish Sakimori-san, who still hasn’t activated his magic, I punched his torso.
The effect of [High Accelerator] ended, and time returned to normal.
Sakimori-san bent his torso like a boomerang, was blown away, and crashed into the wall. The wall turned to rubble, covering his body.
He probably doesn’t even know what happened. As a mage, he can’t keep up with ultra-high-speed combat in the front line.
“You should have kept your distance, Sakimori-san. At this range, you can’t possibly…”
I stopped mid-sentence, frowning, realizing something was off. Sakimori-san should have thought of this. Why didn’t he keep his distance? He must know that my level and stats are far superior to his from my battle with Yukika-chan.
My doubts were soon cleared. The figure of Sakimori-san buried in the rubble disappeared, leaving only a small, shattered spirit stone.
[Mass Dark Lance]
[Accelerator]
My momentary doubt was interrupted by a dark spear flying from an unexpected direction. I kicked the floor, twisted my body in midair, and dodged. The dark spear pierced my afterimage and dissipated.
“Did I misread with my perception?”
While speculating what had happened, I turned my gaze towards the direction from which the spear came and saw Sakimori-san standing there. He was waving his outstretched hand with a nonchalant expression.
“A spirit stone… You created your own minion, didn’t you? One with a presence identical to yours!”
I realized he had used a fake spirit stone. It’s a specialized type that only mimics the presence without other stats or skills. It’s probably a dummy that would disappear upon contact. As expected of Sakimori-san, to deceive my perception with such a precise dummy.
“If you know, don’t ask. So, can you tell where I am, and if I’m the real one?”
“Using shadow clones for remote control… You kept your distance from the start. No, you switched with the dummy while casting magic, didn’t you?”
I can’t believe he could use such precise magic remotely. He must have switched with the real body. Or perhaps, he’s hiding somewhere else within my sight. If that’s the case, I should be able to find him by tracing the mana lines.
“Who knows? I’ll tell you after the battle. By the way, don’t you think ten seconds have passed?”
With a snap of his fingers, Sakimori-san cast another spell.
[High Icicle Field]
[Aura Explosion]
[AuraConcentration]
[Multi Body Up]
Feeling the surrounding temperature rapidly drop, I exploded my fighting spirit. Magic can be offset with aura. However, Sakimori-san’s magic power surpasses my enhanced magic power. Knowing I couldn’t completely cancel it, I increased my resistance and boosted my stats.
A crimson aura exploded, pushing back the icy world trying to envelop me. Even so, I couldn’t completely nullify it, and my body began to freeze.
But there’s no problem. Even if my movements slow due to the cold, I can quickly restore my body temperature by circulating my aura internally.
“For enduring ten seconds, here’s your reward. I’m going all out!”
“I’ve always thought so, but I don’t get Shizuku-san’s jokes.”
With a smile, I changed my expression, and Sakimori-san responded with a shoulder shrug and a lighthearted remark.
It’s a shame he doesn’t get my jokes, but I’ll go all out in serious mode.
[High Accelerator]
Once again accelerating, I approached Sakimori-san in a slow-motion world and punched his face. As expected, he burst like a balloon and vanished like a mirage.
Inside the abandoned hotel, several presences can be felt.
“Sakimori-san’s mana isn’t infinite. I’ll keep defeating and defeating until they’re all gone! Be careful; I won’t get caught by Santa’s balloon.”
With a light kick off the floor, I shot up like an arrow, passing through the shattered ceiling.
There are a few Sakimori-sans, but I only attack the ones with a presence. The rest are shadow clones. Sakimori-san doesn’t have the skill to erase his presence, so I’ll just attack those with a presence.
[Swift Wind Fist]
Closing the distance at wind-like speed, I struck. The dummy popped and vanished.
[Earth Emperor Stone Pebble]
[Accelerator]
Sensing mana from the ceiling, I quickly leaped away. The ceiling shattered, and a massive mana-infused boulder fell. It must have been launched from several floors above. The floors of multiple levels broke, and the floor I was on was easily destroyed. Squinting at the scattered rubble, I used a fighting skill.
[High Accelerator]
In a world seemingly cut off from time, I flew upwards, using the debris as stepping stones.
[Arrow Kick]
Extending my leg like an arrow, I aimed to destroy the dummy, but my kick was stopped in mid-air by a barrier. I was slightly surprised—it was a physical barrier. This means the person here is real!
“Damn.”
The barrier of the reinforced armor, enhanced by Sakimori-san’s defense magic, was quite sturdy. I quickly regained my composure and used my fighting skill.
[Swift Wind Emperor Kick]
Retracting my leg and spinning vertically, I kicked out like an arrow again. This time, it was a higher-level skill. No matter how strong, a mage’s barrier should break.
But the barrier wasn’t there, and the supposed real Sakimori-san burst like a balloon and vanished. He had blocked my strike and escaped swiftly with [Dark Move].
“I can’t defeat Sakimori-san without preventing teleportation… He’s troublesome as an enemy. It makes me want to call him cunning.”
I can’t use interference-type magic. But Sakimori-san doesn’t know level 7 fighting skills.
From level 7, it’s a different dimension. A-rank boss power isn’t something at the level of an Ancient Trent. Just as there’s a wall between the C and D ranks, there’s a dimensional difference between the A and B ranks.
Inhaling deeply, I converted my mana into aura. My mana was quite low, but it should be enough to defeat Sakimori-san.
Red particles leaked from my body and scattered around. The sparkling red particles were enchanting and powerful.
[Battle War Cry]
“Haaaa!”
Exhaling, I roared and disrupted the surroundings with my aura. The particles spread from me like ripples from a stone dropped in water.
“I’ll prevent magic activation with the noise of my aura. But it’s meaningless for Sakimori-san. Except for delicate operations like spatial movement.”
Smiling softly, I looked up. This skill, unlike magic, only lasts a short time. Maybe five minutes at most.
But that’s enough.
“Here I come.”
Crouching, with a beastly light in my crimson eyes, I soared. Punching through the ceiling like it was Styrofoam.
“Meow!”
[Dark Breath]
A tiger minion hidden along the way roared and unleashed a spell. It was Mike, who I thought wasn’t there earlier. Apparently, it had been waiting.
From its glowing fangs, it released a dark breath. Unlike familiars, Mike doesn’t have a clear weakness, making it slightly troublesome. Not having any equipment is tough. If I at least had a sword, or Selica-chan’s clothes to protect my fists, I could block the breath.
But now, without equipment, I can’t easily deflect Meke’s breath. The dark breath corroded everything in its path, turning debris and tables into a mushy clay-like substance as it approached.
[Refined Fist]
Channeling aura into my fist, I struck the approaching dark breath. A shockwave dispersed the breath easily, and Meke scurried away.
[Earth Emperor Stone Pebble]
The ceiling shattered again, and a boulder fell. Several dummies of Sakimori-san fell behind it.
[Rock-Slicing Strike]
Transforming my hand into a blade, I split the approaching boulder in half, kicked the floor, and soared upwards.
[Circle Rush]
Drawing a circle, I punched through the dummies trailing behind the boulder. Defeating the dummies, I aimed to go higher when—
“Hmm?”
The dummies unraveled into threads, spreading around me. The shimmering crystal-like threads were familiar.
[Core Magic Strings]
“Do you have enough mana to break those threads?”
Sakimori-san peeked through a hole in the shattered ceiling, taunting, but this was expected.
“You plan to deplete my mana to defeat me, isn’t it? But I can’t be stopped by a barrier that can’t even fire an emerald.”
[Mighty Twin Fists]
Raising my palms to the sky, I spun around. Like a tornado, aura erupted from my palms, tearing and blowing away the core magic string barrier.
As the dissolving threads vanished, I kicked the rubble and reached the floor where Sakimori-san was.
“You think my mana is empty now, don’t you?”
“Exactly. Shizuku, you have no mana left. Checkmate.”
Narrowing his eyes, Sakimori-san sneered. As expected, I smiled too.
“Exactly. I knew you were trying to deplete my mana. But I still played along. Because now I can defeat you.”
“You understand me well. So?”
“Guess what this is?”
I pulled out a mana potion from my pocket, showing it to Sakimori-san with a mischievous smile. I had stolen it using Pixie’s [Prank] skill while Yukika-chan was around. I thought it was fine to take one since I had three.
“Checkmate is yours. This time, I won. The schemer drowned in their own scheme.”
Drinking the mana potion in one gulp, I smiled confidently at Sakimori-san.
With this, the revenge match is over. In the form of my victory.