Chapter 633 – #128_Maze(4)
#633
1.
“Ssssh…”
A breathing sound.
It was like the sound of steam at first, then like the sound of air escaping.
Alice made a rough guess that fit the situation.
The sound martial artists, overly hyped on kung fu, make when they’re showing off, talking nonsense about building up energy and releasing power.
It was exactly like that sound.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a situation to laugh off.
Even Manya and Malisha, who thought it was just a show-off from a pretentious kid, were about to burst into laughter, weren’t they?
But Alice’s intuition warned her.
The short moment of hearing that unique breathing sound, the fine hairs on her body standing on end.
The heavy pressure weighing down on her heart.
The chill running down her spine as if it would freeze her spinal cord.
The tingling in her extremities.
“Manya! Malisha! Fall back!”
-Crack! Bang!
The tension that had been building like a time bomb, about to explode at any moment, detonated in a blast of sound.
Manya, spinning several times in the air like the world’s best figure skater, and Malisha, who screamed, “Deshaaaah!” as she was flung away.
Alice clearly saw the scene unfolding slowly in her vision, which had awakened to the scent of battle.
The moment he inhaled, golden magic flared up as if it were burning.
The moment his firmly planted foot kicked off the stone floor, his backhand, spinning like a ray of light, struck Manya’s abdomen.
Then, on the opposite side, his elbow smashed into Malisha’s chest with a sound like metal hitting metal.
The series of movements happened in the time it took Alice to finish the syllable ‘wa’ and start the syllable ‘ter’.
In other words, in the blink of an eye, in the time it took to pronounce half a syllable.
“Hoo…. Bloom.”
The man exhaled as if organizing his breath, chanting an incantation.
The inky shadow that had been swirling around his body transformed into armor.
In his left eye, which was raised towards Alice, the reflected light of golden magic fell like sparks.
What is happening right now?
Even as she swallowed her screams and cries, Alice’s judgment was quick.
Her hand was already reaching into her pocket, throwing the bottle containing the ‘Seed of Mercury’ onto the floor, and she was putting as much distance as possible between herself and him, replaying the situation from just now.
Manya and Malisha were each taken down in one blow, without being able to do anything.
Manya was a 17th-tier witch, and Malisha was an 18th-tier witch.
They were witches who specialized in concealment and sealing, respectively, and it was hard to see them as having self-magnetic magic optimized for combat.
However, they were at a level high enough for their autonomous defenses to activate, and in fact, the moment his attack hit, their autonomous defenses activated without error.
Yet, he suppressed their autonomous defenses with his bare hands and subdued them both in an instant.
She didn’t dwell on her thoughts for long.
Because right in front of her, she saw the figure of the guy wielding a spear with a terrifying momentum.
“Infinite change!”
Alice quickly regained her composure and instantly determined what she had to do.
The judgment she made was that she had to avoid close combat.
How a mere first-generation witch could display such martial prowess was something to think about later.
The shock that the rumors she had dismissed as nonsense, that he had put up a good fight against Bianca, that he had already reached the level of a great witch, might be true, was something to deal with later.
Alice’s instincts were screaming.
The important thing was to prevent that guy from getting close.
-Squelch!
Alice, the ‘Mercury Witch,’ used mercury as her weapon.
The alchemical reagent she had spread on the ground beforehand turned into thousands of liters of mercury, writhing and changing.
The pool of mercury, responding to Alice’s magic, surged greatly and transformed into a huge barrier, cutting off the distance between them.
Because of the urgent situation, it didn’t take the form of a proper shield.
It was just piled up like a lump.
But mercury is a metal that flows at room temperature.
When combined with its own heavy specific gravity and Alice’s self-magnetic magic, which was adept at manipulating fluids, it became the best barrier that could offset most attacks.
-Kwaaang!
The tremendous blow that was inflicted on it rebuked Alice’s complacency.
The barrier that had taken the spear strike was torn diagonally.
Beyond the unique shimmer of mercury, she could see the figure of the guy who showed no signs of stopping.
“Are you kidding me?!”
She took a step back and shouted without realizing it.
It was unbelievable.
That such a thing was possible with pure brute force.
The specific gravity of mercury is 13.6 times that of water.
The weight of this barrier alone was close to 100 tons.
If he had collided with this much fluid with all his might, his momentum should have been reduced a little, but he was pushing through like a bulldozer, approaching her.
Still, it was encouraging that she had stopped the most threatening first attack.
Alice broke open vials of reagent on both sides in succession, creating additional mercury.
Then, the mercury, which had just been a lump, began to take a certain form and circle around her.
Some were in the form of droplets.
Some were in the form of shields.
Some were in the form of spears.
Some were in the form of round rings.
This harmony, which swirled around Alice like satellites orbiting a planet, was ‘Mercury Alchemy.’
It was the alpha and omega of Alice’s combat style, using ultra-high frequencies to manipulate mercury into a certain form.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
The continuous explosions were the sounds of the guy’s hands and feet, and the sharply swung spear, colliding with various mercury alchemy.
Each blow was a spine-chilling attack.
However, Alice’s true strength lay in defense.
The mercury, which changed freely, blocked physical attacks from all 360 degrees without any gaps and pushed back with its heavy weight.
The ultra-high frequencies flowing between the mercury had jamming capabilities in themselves.
The explosive power he had shown had given Alice a sense of crisis, but she was relieved for now, since she had stopped the most threatening initial attack.
-Squelch, squelch, squelch
Alice, who had completely controlled even the mercury that had been drawn out first to stop his movements.
When the lump of mercury blocking her vision disappeared, she saw the guy standing there, spear aimed at her.
“I didn’t think it would be this much. So, the rumors were somewhat true.”
There were many rumors about the male witch, as there was a lot of interest in him.
But there weren’t many witches who seriously believed them.
Because the content wasn’t very credible.
That his abilities were comparable to a great witch.
That he had stopped Gehenna from collapsing.
That he had fought a battle on par with the Witch of Desire.
Who could believe this?
It was more believable that a chimpanzee who had been learning chess for a week had beaten a grandmaster.
But now that she had seen it with her own eyes, she had no choice but to admit it.
The unease that didn’t subside even though she had prepared for battle.
The feeling of not knowing the bottom of her opponent was something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
She had to run away.
Even if he went back to Tiferet later and told on her, causing her trouble, she had to get out of here first.
The problem was whether she could recover Manya and Malisha in the process….
Alice felt the sweat running down her neck and swallowed hard.
The brief lull was over.
Alice waved her hand as if directing.
Lances that had been floating in the air rushed towards the guy.
Mercury Spear.
It was a magic that was like a basic attack for Alice, simply firing mercury alchemized into the form of a lance at the speed of sound.
“Ssssh!”
With the sound of the guy inhaling, the black armor, which looked heavy at first glance, ran through the room like the wind.
-Bang! Bang! Kwaaang!
Dozens of spears swept through the room like a bombardment.
The explosions that shook the air and the dust that spread in all directions.
He easily evaded the lances and circled around Alice, looking for an opening.
But if she thought that this attack was just a one-off, she was mistaken.
The Mercury Spear was Alice’s basic attack and also the starting point of a combo.
The strength of alchemy was that it was a magic that could change its form in a variety of ways, allowing her to relentlessly push the enemy.
-Gurgle!!!
The lances that had been smashed into the ground, breaking it, lost their shape and returned to lumps of mercury.
The mercury, which had spread out like a puddle, naturally drew a magic circle and naturally continued the second and third attacks.
It was like a single drop of water falling on the surface of the water, creating a series of waves.
-Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
As expected of Alice, who stood at the pinnacle of fluid manipulation alchemy, what was drawn from the magic circle was a myriad of attacks.
Bundles of silver tentacles were swung sharply like whips.
Mercury droplets poured out in all directions like a shotgun.
Thorns suddenly popped out from unexpected places.
Organic mercury compound vapor, much more lethal than ordinary mercury, poured towards the guy.
In addition, dozens of defensive measures, fully prepared for defense, surrounded Alice, ready to intercept.
This banquet hall was as good as in Alice’s hands.
The one who controls the space wins the fight.
The fight was going smoothly according to Alice’s combat principle.
Yet, for some reason, the unease didn’t go away.
That was how amazing his ferocity was.
He deflected the attacks coming from all directions with his spear, and dodged them with his agile movements.
He didn’t panic and dealt with attacks that came from blind spots.
A young witch who hadn’t even been around for 10 years, and an original witch at that, with mature movements that made it seem like she had experienced dozens of real battles.
Not only that.
That red spear that was being swung around was dangerous.
Even though he hadn’t used it properly yet, the red spear, which was exuding an ominous aura, was a weapon that Alice’s abilities couldn’t even gauge the potential of.
If that got involved in the fight, she wouldn’t have a chance of winning.
Repeating the same kind of battle would only lead to Alice’s defeat.
Then she had to make a gamble here.
“Infinite change!!!”
The mercury that had been scattered in all directions was sucked into Alice’s hand.
The mercury, which was sucked in and condensed like meteorites being pulled by a neutron star.
The mercury, which had been so full that it filled the space, was reduced to just a few liters when it was contained in Alice’s grasp.
Essential Mercury.
If it were shot out as a spear, it would pierce through all things in the universe, and if it took the form of a shield, it would defend against all attacks that threatened its master, the essence of mercury that had been condensed, ignoring fluid dynamics.
She had to think.
One move that would stop that tremendous charge, protect Alice’s body, and at the same time, prevent Manya and Malisha from getting caught up in it.
Alice’s intuition told her.
It was impossible to satisfy all three.
If there was something she had to give up….
It was defense.
“Haaah!”
The Essential Mercury took the form of a huge lance along Alice’s right arm.
The tip of the spear, aimed straight ahead, had an intense momentum as if a giant had swung it, and it was aimed at the guy.
If the guy tried to counter it as he had done before, the lance, which would be shattered into pieces, would transform into the form of tree roots and grab him.
Of course, her right arm, which had to withstand that tremendous blow, would be crushed by the impact, but this was the only way to escape while taking Manya and Malisha with her.
Alice’s eyes, which had been hardened with the determination to endure the pain, widened.
-Wooooooom!
A black ring appeared above his head.
The moment the unidentified ring made a strange accelerating sound, his figure disappeared.
All that remained was the afterimage of overwhelming magic that Alice couldn’t even unleash with all her power.
“Space magic…?”
No.
That was just moving fast.
When she made that judgment, she felt a murderous intent spreading from behind her.
Realizing that all her plans had gone to waste, Alice turned around and saw.
-Crack!
A body that had been strengthened beyond measure.
Now, he was tearing and breaking space just by moving.
The defensive measures that had been deployed behind her to stop the black knight from swinging his spear at Alice’s waist stuck to him, but
they were rendered useless by a single spear strike.
“Damn it….”
-Kwaaaang!
Before she could even curse, Alice’s body was sent flying like a paper doll.
just swatting some flies