Chapter 161 – #34_Redcliffe(5)
#159
One.
What is Magical Combat?
Many apprentice witches ask this question during class.
There is one game that countless witches allude to.
Chess is a small war that takes place on a narrow board of 64 squares.
This is because magic combat is very similar to chess in that it requires a number fight to read each other’s intentions and a showdown of resourcefulness and calculation.
But whenever I give an analogy like this, there is always an additional explanation behind it.
Magical combat is not a fair game in which each other exchanges turns with the same pieces, the same time, and the same rules.
The stage is not a chessboard with a total of 64 squares, but a chessboard with 10,000 squares, and sometimes a board with a wider area than that.
Depending on how much magic you have, the ‘number of pieces you can have in one game’ is determined.
Depending on how skillfully you can use magic, the number of pieces that can be moved in one turn is limited.
Depending on how good magic you have, the ‘movement and performance of objects’ will change.
It is a brain game that puts all these variables on the board and competes to see whose magic is more refined and how sharp it has been polished.
In that respect, Della overwhelmed everything about Shiu.
As a witch of her 20th order, Della, who has honed her own magic over her many years.
Siu, a wild witch, was improvised after only one generation.
It hurts to even compare the two.
Since the skills of the players are different, naturally, there is a big gap in the hands held by each other.
But.
“Keugh!”
The battle that was expected to end in one minute keeps getting longer.
– Quaang!
The blade that Siwoo swung vigorously was blocked by the ‘hardened fire’ developed by Della.
It was a vicious blow that could split a large granite boulder in two simply by force, but it was not enough to pierce Della’s defenses.
At the same time, Siu blocked the flames erupting from her station with her shield, and before the flames that wrapped around her shield disappeared, she again powerfully swung her longsword at the wall of fire escorting Della.
– Quaang!
“What is this…”
Until the first time Siwoo rushed at Della, she held that judgment high.
Of course, it was an evaluation made by the strong who were sure of their overwhelming superiority while looking down on the weak.
Della’s only weakness is that there are intervals as much as magic is manifested through ‘relay ceremony’.
The more you try to use stronger magic, the more relays you need and the longer the delay is.
Therefore, the best choice for Siwoo, who has no magic power, operational power, or level of magic, was to drive Della without giving her a gap.
– Quaang! Quaang! Quaang!
It prevents a large attack by clinging to it in waves without giving it a chance.
As you can see, it is an idea that anyone can think of.
But not everyone could do it easily.
Della’s ‘Hardened Fire’ is building an automatic counterattack system like an autonomous defense system.
When attacked, it pours out flames accordingly.
As long as it is an intelligent life form, it has no choice but to shrink instinctively in the face of strong flames.
Even if you block the flames, you will backtrack in fear when the flames and heat block your vision and your skin is scorched.
– Quaang!
Even so, the sword of shadow crashes into the wall of flame once again.
Sparks pouring down and hot flames brushing Siwoo’s cheeks.
His face, already exposed under the helmet, is red from burns.
In a fleeting moment flowing through the colorful flames, Della’s eyes met Shiu’s.
Odd eyes with black eyes and golden eyes stare at Della without wavering.
Even in a situation where a slight mistake could result in serious injury or loss of life, it continues its onslaught without losing sight of its target like a hunting dog chasing its target.
Della was now convinced.
This man knows this isn’t the first battle like this.
That he is an experienced person who has been through similar situations.
“Are you really Count Gemonai’s secret weapon…?”
It was reasonable to ask such a question, but the answer was not heard.
It wasn’t about ignoring it.
There was no way her voice could reach Siwoo, who was swinging his sword in a half-trance.
Della, unable to know such a fact, gritted her teeth.
If you step back for 5 seconds, no, 3 seconds, if you show a gap, the scumbag trash that can be made into ash powder sharpens her fangs and aims for the scruff of Della’s neck.
What made her even more resentful was that she couldn’t get rid of him, who clings to her as of now.
-Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
Della shifted her gaze for a moment to see the cause.
A single black ribbon that started from Siwoo’s back and moved freely through the air.
Like a hungry viper, each time the fast-moving ribbon penetrates the nucleus, the composition of the equation is disrupted, and the relay itself shatters like pieces of glass.
“Benefit…!”
The relay ceremony is what Della needs to use her magic.
When the number exceeds a certain number, large-scale magic can be used instead of sloppy magic such as hardened fire.
As if Siwoo knew that, he was obstructing and destroying the development of the relay ceremony itself in the first place.
Because of that, I haven’t been able to go over 40 since a while ago.
As time passed, Della’s relaxed face began to harden.
Scattering relay ceremonies is not free.
Since it is a magician, the cost of magical power is definitely required.
As she continued to consume her senselessly, Della’s leisurely magic power was slowly being used up as if her clothes were getting wet in the drizzle.
“You poor bastard!”
Della screamed involuntarily.
This isn’t a duel.
A duel is a high-level confrontation in which each other’s resourcefulness and ability are aimed at using magnetic magic that has been polished and polished as a weapon.
It was a great insult to Della to drag her into a mud fight as recklessly as a dog lingering on her arm.
“Okay, I have a way too.”
Della redefined her magic while maintaining her wall of fire.
At this rate, she could see the end of playing around with his pace.
The two words ‘defeat’, which he hadn’t even thought of, came to his mind.
In exchange for lowering the cost of the required magic power, it weakens the power.
The magic she aims for is ‘Dancing Fire’.
It is an insignificant magic that wraps around the arms and legs of the enemy and cooks them golden brown.
However, as he has physical restraint, it would be helpful to hinder Siwoo’s violent movements.
“Burn up!”
As Della swings her arms around, several of her scattered relays start vibrating.
At least 5 relays were required for the transformed dancing fire, and 16 relays that Della had just conjured up and interlocked and scattered.
In addition, there are already 38 relays floating in the air.
Even if the ribbons that are mercilessly slaughtering relays destroy a majority of the newly planted 16 relays, if only 5 or more remain, Dancing Fire will activate.
In that short period of time, not only did the form of magic transform, but additional insurance and deception were placed at the same time.
Della is also a witch of the 20th hierarchy, receiving the title of ‘Great Witch’.
It was not an easy opponent to defeat helplessly like this.
Great.
Now this damn stalemate is over.
-Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
I thought.
That is until the black ribbon, which used to pierce random relay ceremonies, pierced only 16 relay ceremonies installed to activate “Dancing Fire”.
“……How?”
The counterattack of conversion, which squeezed out half of her remaining magic power, was canceled in the blink of an eye.
This accuracy is no coincidence.
He did not destroy the relaying ceremony at random, but chose the ‘relaying ceremony to be the core’ and destroyed it in order.
At that moment Della remembered.
On the outside, this man seemed weaker than the upper homunculus.
What if this man, whom he regarded as existing in a far lower position than himself, had not induced a dog fight in the first place?
What if there had been even the slightest hesitation during this stalemate?
The goddess of victory would have kissed Della on the cheek without hesitation.
But the reality turned out to be the exact opposite.
As soon as he entered the battle, he jumped into the flames without hesitation.
It does not miss the slightest momentary weakness, digs into it, and does not give up the initiative.
In the end, he overturned the situation in an overwhelming inferiority.
The factors that made the difference between winning and losing were not grandiose.
While Della was thinking about the game with his hands behind his back, this man was thinking about life and death risking his life.
He said that this could come from an untrained person?
Absolutely not.
A ring that indicates that you are a guest of Count Zemanai.
A man with a stigma.
Formidable fighting sense.
An unusual shadow that disrupts the composition of the magic formula and the armament made of it.
Possibly an eye that reads the flow of magical power.
And even the ribbon that covers the gaps.
Undoubtedly.
He is the secret weapon of the Jemanai family, created to hunt homunculus or achievements by replenishing the shortage of witches.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to put himself on the defensive like this.
It wasn’t just about discussing superiority and inferiority in strength.
He is a very difficult opponent, as if he was specialized in the match against the Great Witch.
Della acknowledged Siu.
He is an opponent who is not lacking in the unreserved use of his skills.
A good opponent who needs to show his skills with all his might.
His outward powers and prejudice against him as a man were still covering the truth.
“Okay, if you want a dogfight, I’ll join you.”
Almost no magic power left.
This will probably be the last move.
Della took advantage of Shiu’s shield holding up a wall of fire made of hardened fire.
At the same time, the mana invested there is turned into body strengthening.
Magical power that runs through circuits that extend throughout the body.
The durability of the spiritual body increases to the highest hardness.
Needless to say, the witch’s own body is the fastest way to apply magical power.
All remaining mana is extracted and invested to maximize physical strength and self-defense.
He immediately steps forward and digs into Siwoo’s open arms before swinging his sword.
Meat battle.
It was an action that Della would never have attempted, but winning or losing this battle was more important now.
If Siwoo had mechanically beaten the wall of fire so far, he thought he was just digging through.
If you like close combat, you can do the same here.
If it’s just a blow, I’ll take it through self-defense.
After that, I will use the anti-elasticity of the self-defense to increase the distance, buy time, and deliver the final blow with the relay ceremony already scattered.
When you made a firm commitment and threw yourself out.
Was it a coincidence?
I made eye contact with him.
The moment she faced the intense gaze fired from the half-flying helmet, Della naturally knew.
The fact that she threw away her pride and even her final outbursts, which she plotted, were read by his eyes.
“Crawl….!”
Shi-woo, who had been clinging to him like hell until now, stopped attacking and opened the distance as Della threw her body.
It was a development that Della had hoped so much for so long, but not now.
Right now, her mana is invested exclusively in strengthening her body and activating her self-defence.
Self-defense is triggered only when he responds, and only when he buys time can he reactivate the relay ceremony to deliver the final blow.
Only then would it be like wasting her mana pointlessly.
Della hurriedly turned the flow of her magical energy that had been invested in her spiritual body.
When her last chance was blown away like this, she tried to activate the relay ceremony that she had hurriedly turned off.
-Bang!
And half a beat later, a black ribbon digging into Della’s side.
Ribbon, who had not intervened in the battle while flying through the air to destroy the relay ceremony, fires a cross counter as if he had been waiting for it.
It was an unexpected attack because he had never been involved in direct combat before.
“Ugh!”
A monstrous scream and drool escaped from her mouth as Della’s body collapsed on its side in the air and tumbled miserably to the floor.
