Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 8.2

Rudeus

FROM MY CAMPSITE above the abandoned village, I stared intently down at the spot to which I’d lured Orsted. The very instant I’d seen that smoke rising into the air, I’d fired off a Lightning at the target location with all the power I could muster.

I was confident I’d landed a hit on him. I’d practiced many times in preparation for this day, and I’d coated the floor in vegetable oil so he couldn’t evade my spell at the last moment.

But of course, one hit wasn’t going to be enough to bring him down. Nobody that fragile could have earned a reputation as the strongest in the world—not with monsters like Atofe around.

I jabbed my staff into the ground, fed it a surge of mana, and visualized an enormous thundercloud—a dark, turbulent supercell. This was the Saint Tier Water spell, Cumulonimbus. In an instant, the sky was covered in a great black cloud. Fierce sheets of rain began to fall, accompanied by bolts of lightning.

I pushed more power into my staff. I could feel it dragging the mana out of me from somewhere deep inside my body, and I let it do so freely. 

This time, I visualized ice. I visualized stopping the movements of every molecule at the center of that town, dropping the temperature rapidly.

Frost Nova.

It was a spell I’d used many times before, but never with this much power, or on such a wide area. One after another, the drops of rain pouring down on the village froze solid. Layers upon layers of ice formed rapidly, consolidating into a single giant object. Finally, when it had reached the size of an iceberg, I stopped my spell.

I wasn’t done yet. I channeled more mana into my staff and created a rock in the sky above the village. Ignoring the mana cost, I steadily expanded its size until it was too huge to evade—then launched it straight down, with all the velocity I could impart.

The rock slammed down in a fraction of a second. The ground trembled underneath my feet. An instant later a thunderous boom reached my ears, followed by fierce winds and a shockwave. 

I shielded my eyes with my arm and stared down at my handiwork. The iceberg had been shattered, and two-thirds of the great rock was embedded in the earth. It seemed impossible that anything could have survived such an impact.

“…Did I get him?”

There was no movement in the village. It seemed possible that this was really over. I certainly hoped it was.

But an instant later, the great rock shattered.

“Eee!”

Somehow, I could feel the man’s murderous rage, even at this distance.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. My legs trembled weakly, and tears formed in my eyes.

As soon as I could move, I jumped into the Magic Armor, which was standing ready at my side. Just as I’d practiced hundreds of times, I fed power to all of its individual components, took control of its limbs, and reached out to grab my staff. It took no time at all, but somehow the rage was already growing closer.

With the startup routine complete, I turned my focus to my next attack.

Mana surged out of me, through my armor, and into the staff in my right hand. I spurred the torrent on, with every intention of draining myself dry.

I was visualizing a nuclear explosion.

Pointing my staff in the direction of my enemy, I released the spell with all the ferocity I could muster.

There was a brilliant flash at the center of the village, and a wave of heat and light swept across the ground. From the corner of my eye, I saw trees incinerated in an instant, reduced to charred shadows of themselves. A powerful shock wave followed a moment later.

The Magic Armor I was wearing weighed several tons. It endured the heat and the shockwave without so much as trembling.

Once the wave of devastation had swept fully past me, I looked down toward the village. A huge mushroom cloud was rising over it. I couldn’t see the ground clearly under all the smoke and dust, but I’d fed that spell enough mana to obliterate everything in its radius. It was probably the single most powerful attack I’d ever used in my life.

“…”

And yet, I couldn’t stop trembling in fear.

I could still feel that rage, and it was far, far closer now. He was approaching me at a ferocious speed. We’d been so far apart at first, but now he was almost on me.

I clenched my jaw to stop my teeth from rattling, squeezed my shaking hands tightly, and deposited my staff in the holder on my back. Then I mounted my Gatling gun on my right arm, and picked my shield up with my left.

“Hoo… Haa… Aah…”

When I paused to take a few deep breaths, I realized even my throat was trembling.

Forcibly suppressing the fear and anxiety rising up inside me, I pointed my Gatling gun toward the cloud of dust that was rapidly approaching my position.

“Hoo! Haa!”

I needed to keep the initiative. If I let him set the pace, I was done for.

Had I even dealt him any damage? Had the poisons on the door, or the aphrodisiac incense burner, or any of the other traps had any effect at all? I’d put all the power I could into those four spells I’d just hit him with. If they’d left him totally unharmed, it was hard to imagine this pseudo-Gatling gun would even scratch him. But for that matter, had my spells even landed? Surely he couldn’t have evaded them. Their area of effect had been massive; I’d made them as huge and as deadly as I possibly could. And I’d fired them from so far away that he couldn’t possibly have seen them coming, even with an Eye of Foresight. No matter what kind of Demon Eye he might possess, at that range it—

A human silhouette approaches.

“Fireeeee!”

Shouting out the command word, I activated the Gatling gun on my right hand. As mana flowed into it, the cannon immediately began to fire Stone Cannons at a ferocious rate of speed. So many ‘bullets’ cut through the air that the sound of their whistling built into something like a scream.

The fast-moving clumps of rock slammed into their target, blowing away the cloud of dust that surrounded him—and revealing a silver-haired man in a battered cloak, his face covered in soot.

Was he hurt? Had my spells done anything at all?

Yes. I could see blood trickling from his chin, and something like a burn on the base of his neck. The damage was minor so far, but I could hurt him.

“Guh!”

Our eyes had met. His sharp, hawk-like gaze was fixed on me now. He had the look of a hunter who’d finally found his prey.

He sidesteps in an attempt to escape the barrage of stones.

Keeping my Eye of Foresight fully activated, I focused on anticipating Orsted’s movements. The man was incredibly quick, so I was seeing a number of blurry, overlapping possibilities. Still, I tried to adjust my aim to cut off his attempts at retreat. 

The travel time for each individual projectile to reach its target was virtually nonexistent. But somehow, Orsted evaded them as if he saw them coming, gradually approaching me in the process.

One step here. Two steps there. 

Glaring at me as fiercely as a bird of prey, he was slowly but steadily closing the distance between us. Now and then, a Stone Cannon would graze him, and he’d grimace slightly, but that was about it. He seemed convinced that even a direct hit would not prove fatal; he seemed to be completely unafraid.

From all appearances, my attacks were nothing special to him. From all appearances, he fought the likes of me on a regular basis.

I felt very differently. His zombie-like calm and focus were terrifying to witness. I had a growing sense that none of my attacks would work on him, and it was a struggle not to give in to despair.

Still, I was holding the advantage for now.

Trying very hard to convince myself of this, I began to move in response to Orsted. When he stepped forward and to the right, I moved backwards to the left. When he zigzagged to the left, I retreated to the right. Anywhere he tried to go, I met him with a hail of stones. As long as I could keep this up, he’d never get any closer. I had the upper hand. It was going just as I’d visualized.

In an attempt to ramp up the pressure, I used my left hand to cast a spell. My target was the ground beneath our feet, and the magic I had in mind was Quagmire.

Quickly shaping the familiar spell, I raised my hand to activate it—but in that same instant, Orsted also raised his left hand at me.

“Disturb Magic!”

My fully formed magic was reduced to a chaotic tangle by a sudden surge of external power. The spell began to fade into a meaningless cloud of mana.

“Kuh!”

But I forcefully reformed it, pulling the strands back into their proper place.

I was capable of this now. I’d finally learned how to do it. While teaching Sylphie how to use Disturb Magic, I’d also been training myself to counteract it: to complete a spell, even after it was ruined. All those hours of practice had been worth it for this one moment.

Orsted’s eyes opened wide in surprise. Was this the first time he’d seen his Disturb Magic fail to— 

Whoa.

The instant my Quagmire turned the ground beneath his feet to muck, Orsted used a spell of his own to overwrite it. He covered my swamp completely with an earthen plate.

And now, his right hand was pointing straight at me. I quickly answered with a Disturb Magic of my own—

Brilliant light blots out the world.

A jolt of fear ran through me. Pausing my Gatling gun barrage for an instant, I leapt to one side with all my might.

I can see the world again.

There was now a deep, sizable crater at the spot where Orsted had been aiming. I hadn’t even seen the attack itself. Was it some kind of Fire spell? Or maybe something stranger, like Gravity magic?

That light I’d seen just now—was that death?

There was no time to think. Orsted was sprinting at me with one hand outstretched. Disturb Magic wasn’t going to work; he could counteract it, just like me.

I pointed both my hands at him, channeling mana through them simultaneously. My intention was to stop Orsted’s advance with the Gatling gun, while also cancelling out his magic with the Stone of Absorption. But as soon as I put this plan into action, I realized my mistake.

Orsted’s spell did dissipate. But at the same time, my stone projectiles also dissolved into clouds of sand as they left my gun.

Seizing this brief window of opportunity, Orsted closed in quickly. With his right hand still outstretched toward me, he pulled his left arm back to his waist, then swung it viciously toward my heart.

“Ngh…!”

On pure instinct, I took evasive action. Using both my legs at once, I launched myself directly backward with all the force and speed I could muster.

“Guh!”

I wasn’t quick enough.

Orsted’s fist slammed against my breastplate. A whistling sound filled the air, and I watched him shrink into the distance at a ferocious speed. Soon the whistling gave way to crashing, crunching noises from behind me, and the world was full of dancing trees.

Ah. So this is what it feels like to get knocked into next week.

Just as this thought flashed through my mind, I slammed into a huge tree, bringing my flight to a halt. The sudden deceleration hit me like a hammer; it felt like all my internal organs had been smashed apart.

My vision began to dim, but I recovered quickly. The magic circles Cliff had carved into the inside of my armor had healed my wounds automatically.

When I looked down at my chest, however, I found that my breastplate was badly dented, and had very nearly cracked in half. The crack was gradually repairing itself, but the process was painfully slow.

Still, at least it had protected me from one blow. It was a good thing I’d taken the time to make this piece of the armor particularly thick and strong.

That familiar murderous rage was already bearing down on me again. Orsted was rushing straight at me, looking to deal a finishing blow. Quickly activating my Gatling gun, I fired a hail of deadly stones in his direction. He dodged them nimbly and extended his right hand at me once again. 

At this rate, things were going to play out just like last time. That was a major problem. My armor had been severely damaged by a single blow—if he landed more hits on me, he’d eventually punch straight through it.

What were my options? Dueling him with magic wasn’t going to work. I could cancel out his Disturb Magic, but the man clearly had some means of resisting magical damage, just like Moore. And I didn’t even know what kind of spells he was throwing at me.

I was at a disadvantage in a ranged fight, then. That meant I’d have to try my luck at closer range. It was the only option I had left.

I had to trust the power of the Magic Armor. I had to smack him down with my raw strength.

I sprayed another barrage from my Gatling gun to keep Orsted pinned down, and charged forward, letting out a wordless battle cry.

“Raaaaaah!”

“Ngh!”

Orsted pulled his right hand back to prepare for my attack. Leading with the shield on my left arm, I powered myself straight forward with both of my legs. My intention was to slam right into him like a battering ram.

Orsted assumes a Water God Style stance.

The instant I saw this with my Eye of Foresight, I swung my shield forward, stabbing in his direction with the blade mounted at its tip. This was a sword that did more damage to enemies with powerful defenses. Maybe it would work.

My body slammed into Orsted with a loud, metallic clang. It felt like I’d smashed right into a wall. But the impact sent him flying backward; and there was blood spraying from his arm. His eyes, still fixed on me, were burning with hatred and anger.

This was my chance. Whipping my Gatling gun into position, I quickly fired a barrage of stones. They slammed into him in mid-air, tearing what remained of his clothing apart—and revealing a bruised and battered body underneath. There were burns, cuts, and scrapes all over him. My stone bullets struck his exposed skin repeatedly, sending fresh spurts of blood into the air.

Finally, Orsted smashed into the ground with a mighty crash.

I could do this. I could kill him. As long as I could land direct hits, my spells could do plenty of damage. Yes, the stones had bounced off of him, but they’d torn at his skin and left him bleeding. Eventually, that would be enough to kill him. If I could just hurt him badly enough right now, before he—

“It seems I have no choice.”

Somehow, I heard him speak those words. Even at a distance. Even as my stone bullets screamed through the air.

In that instant, the air went cold. My body shivered uncontrollably, as if I’d suddenly stepped onto a frigid tundra. And then my Eye of Foresight stopped seeing Orsted, although he was clearly visible to my other eye. 

Before I could make sense of what this meant, he vanished completely.

“Eee!”

Struck by a sudden, intense jolt of terror, I wrenched my body into a rightward leap.

In that moment, there was a sharp clang from my left side.

When I looked over, I saw Orsted standing next to me with a katana-like sword in his hands. From all appearances, he’d just finished swinging it.

I also saw the left hand of my armor, sliced cleanly from its arm, fall to the ground with a weighty thump.

“Graaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

Before I could even react, Orsted let out a fearsome, ear-splitting bellow. The force of the cry left my body stunned and numb. This was Vocal magic, the specialty of the Beastfolk.

For an instant, I wavered on the edge of unconsciousness. But at the very last moment, I managed to pull myself together and jump to the side.

Kicking off the ground so hard he left a crater in his wake, Orsted leapt after me in pursuit.

I turned my Gatling gun toward him. But just as I was activating it, he swung his sword for the second time, slicing it in half. Broken pieces of the magical implements fell uselessly to the ground.

I still had my right arm, at least. There was a long, deep groove on the surface of its armor, but he hadn’t been close enough to cut through it entirely.

Orsted was right in front of me now, his sword still low from his strike. I immediately channeled mana into my right hand. In the same moment that I fired off my strongest version of the spell Electric, I swung my armored fist ruthlessly at his face.

But instead of striking home with a crunch, I felt my blow slide harmlessly away from its target.

Somehow, Orsted’s sword was pressed up against my arm. And behind him, electricity was crackling loudly through the forest, igniting the undergrowth and breaking large trees apart.

He’d redirected both my spell and my punch.

The instant I finally understood this, his sword moved slightly.

“Gaaaagh!”

The right arm of my armor fell to the ground with my actual arm still inside it.

The pain was overwhelming, but I didn’t even have time to grimace. Even as he followed through on his strike, Orsted was pressing the attack again.

I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t so much as brace myself.

His kick caught me square in the stomach. A horrible metallic squeal rang in my ears. I was lifted briefly off the ground. All the force of his attack had passed straight through the armor to my body. 

“Bleeergh!”

The blow to my stomach sent gastric juices up my throat and out my mouth. My vision was blurred with tears. But as I fell heavily on my rear, I aimed the stump of my right arm at Orsted and fired a shockwave at him. 

Orsted swung his sword into the air. I heard a boom as he did so, but that was his only reaction to my attack. By the time I figured out that he’d cut the shockwave itself apart, his foot had smashed into my face. My neck creaked ominously, and a jolt of intense pain ran from my head down to my shoulders.

“Nh…?!”

Without even realizing it, I’d fallen flat on the ground. After hurriedly rising to a sitting position, I managed to get back on my feet—only to see Orsted standing right in front of me with his sword held high.

I was going to die.

“Purge!”

On sheer reflex, I managed to scream the command word. The Magic Armor’s rear panels instantly sprung off, pulling me along with them. A split-second later, Orsted cut the empty suit clean in half.

I hit the ground hard, and my body tumbled for some time before finally coming to a halt.

I couldn’t see what Orsted was doing. I was out of options. It was over.

“Gack… caaagh…”

My whole body was racked with pain. The man had only kicked me a few times through my armor, but it felt more like I’d been pummeled with a bat for hours. My chest hurt. My stomach hurt. My right arm hurt. My neck hurt. My back hurt. It was painful just to breathe. For some reason, I could barely even move. I felt more exhausted than I’d ever been in my entire life.

Oh. Is this… what it feels like… when your mana runs dry?

“Aah… haah…”

Orsted’s eyes had turned to me.

I flinched in fear. My armor was gone. I had to run, or he’d kill me here and now…

Wait. My right hand. Where’s my right hand? 

“Guhhh!”

The kick landed before I even saw him move. I tumbled backward, my body screaming in agony.

I landed face-down in the dirt. Struggling to breathe, I turned onto my back—and a foot slammed down on my chest.

“Nrrgh…”

A groan of pain forced itself out of my throat.

My body felt like it was burning up. But there was something cold pressed against my throat. Glancing over, I saw that it was Orsted’s sword.

Goddammit. I’m really going to die. All that, and it still wasn’t enough… 

“So it’s you, Rudeus Greyrat. Last I heard, you’d settled down and started a family. Why would you come for my head?”

It seemed Orsted didn’t intend to kill me immediately. Maybe it was because he’d spared my life once already. Or maybe he just knew I wasn’t capable of continuing the fight.

“The Man-God… said…”

“…Hmph. So you’re one of his disciples after all. Die, then.”

He took his foot from my chest and raised his sword.

“He said…you’re trying to destroy the world, and my descendants will help you kill him one day…”

Orsted paused at this. “What?”

“The Man-God told me…he’s fighting you because he wants to protect the world.”

“…”

“He said that if I killed you, he wouldn’t hurt my children…or my family…”

I turned onto my belly and reached towards Orsted’s foot. Clinging to it, rubbing my face against it, I began to plead with him in a loud, desperate voice.

This was only thing I could do now.

“Please…don’t destroy the world. You can kill me, I don’t care. Just don’t take my children… Don’t take away their future! Please, this… This is the first time I’ve ever…been so happy. Please, just leave the Man-God alone. I’m begging you!”

Tears streamed down my face. I was a powerless failure, and now I’d even lost my dignity.

Pathetic. Just pathetic. What’s the matter with me, damn it?

“…I can’t do that, I’m afraid.”

The moment I heard those words, I bit ferociously at Orsted’s foot. 

“Fgaaaaaah!”

At the same time, I raised the bleeding stump of my right arm off the ground, channeled all my remaining mana into it, and ordered it to explode.

If I had to die, at least I’d take this bastard down with me.

“Disturb Magic!”

A sharp kick sent me flying. With my focus broken, the mana I’d gathered dissipated uselessly. It was a struggle just to stay awake now. If I used any more mana at this point, I could tell I would instantly fall unconscious.

“You may possess a Laplace Aspect, and the massive well of mana that comes with it. But casting so many powerful spells in quick succession will still drain you dry.”

As he spoke, Orsted bent down and reached his hand toward me.

I’m gonna die. He’s gonna kill me. But if I die, he won’t die. 

And if he doesn’t die…then Lucie will. And Roxy. And Sylphie. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let him beat me. I have to win!

But my body won’t move. And I’m out of mana.

Blood was pulsing steadily out of my severed arm. My thoughts were growing vague and sluggish. The world seemed to be getting dimmer.

Orsted’s hand drew closer until it was all that I could see.

Damn. Damn.

Damn it all…

I should have picked a name, at least.

***

“Hrm?!”

All of a sudden, Orsted leapt away from me.

“Mm…?”

Looking up, I found that someone else had come between us. It was a tall woman in dark pants and a stylish jacket. In her hand, she held a one-handed sword with a silvery blade. But her back was turned to me, so I couldn’t see her face.

Ah, wait. I recognize that hair…

It was wavy, it came down all the way to her waist—and it was a vibrant, fiery shade of crimson.

“Sorry I’m late, Rudeus.”

Eris Greyrat was standing in front of me.