Chapter 28
Satou here . There are so many words that become common unnoticed, but I don't think there's a lot of people who know the origins of those words . You can look it up to a certain point on internet search engines these days though .
◇
"It should be fine here . Anyone wanna have a go?"
We've come to a copy sub-space of the great desert to test out the Unique Skills the gods loaned .
This particular sub-space has been reinforced multiple times over to prevent it from breaking down when testing anti-god magic, fit as a proving ground .
It's still hot though, so we're all on board of the fully air conditioned big airship .
Aze-san is with us today . I can't just nonchalantly send her back while knowing that she's being targeted by both Demon God and god Zaikuon .
"Master, I shall volunteer myself, so I report . "
Nana came forward as the first player .
"Then, I'll be your test partner . Are you fine with Inferno then anti-demon lord [Lesser Mythology Down]?"
Pretty extreme suggestion from Arisa .
"You should start with a watered down advanced fire magic before you go with inferno . "
"I mean it's god's Authority and all, it should be fine, no? Nana's [Castle] can block Inferno already, if you're still worried Master, how about putting up Castle inside the god's barrier?"
"Master, there is no point if it cannot block Demon God's attack so I insist . "
I suppose they're right-- .
"I get it . Let me stand by next to Nana then . "
This way, everything should be fine in case something goes wrong .
Arisa sighed, "You're as big a worrywart as ever aren't you, Master", but it's better than risk injuring Nana, so ignore that .
I take Nana with me to the center of the great desert .
『Are you ready?』
『Hold on a bit . 』
I called for time through Tactical Talk .
"Nana, Unique Skill . "
"Yes, Master . Activating Unique Skill, 『Paladin Shield』 so I announce . "
Vermilion light blinked on Nana's body, then a 100 meter wide dome enshrouded us .
"Can you change its size?"
"Yes, Master . It is possible to alter the dome's size from 1/10th to 10 times the current size, so I report . The smaller it is the better its defensive power maxing out at three times the power, while at the biggest size its defensive power will fall to less than half, so I report . "
Apparently she just somehow gets all those details .
Once Nana had activated her golden armor's [Castle] inside the dome, I gave the GO signal to Arisa .
『Here I go, Inferno . 』
A crimson conflagration flared up in the desert, swallowing us whole in an instant .
Just as Inferno came into contact with the Paladin Shield's dome, a half-transparent shield with god Karion's holy mark embellished on the center part manifested over the dome's surface .
"Master, its frontal defensive power has soared up, so I report . "
Just as its appearance suggests, the shield part seems to specialize in blocking .
Arisa's inferno eventually dispersed .
『Arisa, try shooting intermediate level fire balls from three directions . 』
『OK, Blast Shots . 』
Powerful fire balls coming from three directions blazed at the Paladin Shield dome .
"Master, the shields won't appear, so I report . "
"Seems like it'd only show up if the attack is at least at a certain destructive level huh . "
Then when Arisa shot advanced level fire magic from two directions, the shields manifested on both .
"Its defensive power gets lowered with two shields, so I report . "
I see, these shields are like a manifestation of the dome's defensive power density .
"It blocks melee weapons too, even the dragon fang sword . "
Stabbing a dragon fang sword at it peels off the shield-shaped surface, but new shields get produced anew from inside every time .
It's similar in mechanism to the Divine Dancing Armor the Demon God used .
He might have created that magic in the image of god Karion's [Paladin Shield] .
"Master, it is not possible to maintain the defensive function for an extended period of time, so I report . "
Nana is correct, it can only defend itself against dragon fang weapons for 10 seconds at most .
One it passed the time limit, the Paladin Shield dome began to oscillate and eventually crumble down .
But managing to defend against the fang that [Pierces All] for 10 seconds is still quite a feat .
"Nana, is it possible to overlap this Paladin Shield?"
"Yes, Master . "
Looks like three of it can be overlapped at the same time .
『Arisa, do it!』
Now that we've got a grasp on its general characteristics, time for the final check .
I also prepared myself to deploy [Castle] and disposable Phalanx installed in my own golden armor anytime .
『Make sure to block this one, okay! <<Lesser Mythology Down>>』
Anti-demon lord type [Mythology Down] exploded out .
The first layer of Paladin Shield blocked against [Mythology Down] only for an instant before it crumbled into pieces, the second one cracked, while the the third one was hit by the shockwave .
This [Unique Skill] appears to be a severely weakened version of god Karion's Godly Shield, that one managed to withstood against my [Mythology Down] before breaking .
Well, I don't suppose they'd lend their strongest cards .
"Master, there is something I would like to try so I report . Requesting permission . "
"Any problem with usage limits of Paladin Shield?"
"Detecting no foreseeable problem for two more use, so I report . "
After some more checking, we found out that she could safely use Paladin Shield for six times, afterward, one use gets restored with each full hour .
"Starting experiment so I report . "
Nana activated [Castle]-- .
--Ooh .
The multi-layered barrier of Castle shined red before turning vermilion all at once .
"Experiment success . Reporting the successful combination of 『Castle』 and 『Paladin Shield』, the creation of 『Paladin Castle』 so I report . "
"That's incredible . . . "
Never would have thought you could do that .
These stuff exist everywhere in manga and light novels, but to actually make it works on it in reality must be thanks to Nana's flexible thought process . Common sense would have blocked it if it were me .
"Master, requesting Arisa to attack for evaluation purpose so I entreat . "
"Alright then . Should we try Inferno?"
"Mythology Down if you would please . "
Nana said that with a look of confidence .
"Got it . 『--Arisa, please . 』"
The latter half was with Tactical Talk while I gave the GO sign to Arisa at the former .
I wait for Arisa's [Mythology Down] to land while making the same preparations as before .
Roaring sounds and tremors shook the surrounding area .
However, even though the Mythology Down managed to peel off several layers of Paladin Castle, it failed to pierce through the vermilion-colored protective barrier before running out of fume .
『Ouh, gureato~?』
『Amazingly awesome nodesu!』
『Nn, sturdy . 』
The girls raised a shout of joy .
『Whoa that's awesome . Maybe it could even defend against the real [Mythology Down] if Nana used her Warship Wand?』
Hm, I'm not sure about that .
As the non-lesser variant breaks down multiple adjacent dimensions along, I don't think even Paladin Castle can defend against that .
At most both would counterbalance each other, I think?
"Master, should we give it a try so I inquire . "
Nana's expressionless face had this excited air around her, but since it's too dangerous, I don't think we should, not until she's capable of deploying multiple Paladin Castle or escaping out it herself once the barrier is deployed .
"No, let's not . See if you can combine with the mobile [<<Absolute Throne>>] or the [Castle] deployed by the large airship later . "
"Yes, Master . "
For now, this should suffice as a proving test for the Unique Skill loaned to Nana .
Even though it can't be used in a frontal battle against Demon God, it should be good enough to block the first strike at least .
◇
"Sera's disappeared nodesu!"
"Mwu . "
Sera was wrapped in an emerald green light once she activated the Unique Skill god Tenion loaned to her, [Hermit Hide], and apparently, that was when she was gone from the other girls' view .
Sera's dot has also disappeared from my Radar and Map .
According to her Marker, she's in a [Mapless Area] .
"Wonder where has she gone off to?"
"Zena, can't you find her with your wind magic?"
"I will give it a try . ■■■ . . . . "
"I'll check with Space Magic too . "
"Spirit Magic . "
"Guess I'll give it a shot too then?"
Zena-san's wind magic, Arisa's space magic, Mia's spirit magic and Hikaru's force magic got deployed but none managed to find Sera .
Princess Sistina who blurted the idea first also tried to look with earth magic, but she came away empty handed as well .
"Tama, can you tell?"
"Nyu~? Here, but not here~?"
Asked by Liza, Tama tilted her head along with her entire body, her eyebrows looked like they were about to loop .
It's like, she knows that Sera is present but not her exact location I guess?
For it to not only elude the girls, but even Tama's detection, this [Hermit Hide] is pretty high performance .
--Oh?
The half-transparent Sera tiptoed toward me while holding back her laughter .
She was going to kiss me, but I stopped her attempt by putting my finger on her lips .
No pranks that could invite misunderstandings while Aze-san is here if you'd please .
"Over there nodesu!"
Looks like Sera's Recognition Inhibition has elapsed .
Not certain whether it's because I toucher her or because Sera broke off her concentration .
"Mwu, guilty!"
"Hey! I'm gonna give you snacks if you're pranking!"
Calm down, Arisa .
"How were you able to see through it?"
"Apparently my constitution is such that illusions and the likes don't work on me . "
I replied to Sera .
Sera looked half-transparent to me from the very beginning when she activated the Unique Skill .
But the fact that I would lose sight of her if I averted my eyes for a while is a testament to its higher performance compared to ordinary illusions .
It's more than high performance enough .
Doesn't seem like it consumes a stupid amount of mana like Mana Camouflage nor needs super tightrope walking control either .
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login