Chapter 2
THE INSTANT MIRA’S FOOT crossed into the boss’s range, the black mist suddenly swelled and covered the floor of the chapel. When the Dark Knight and Holy Knight touched the fog, they decayed and collapsed instantly.
“Ngh… What is this?”
“That mist is a spirit-devouring curse!” Wasranvel called from the ceiling. “It works on summoned weapon spirits, too!”
He hadn’t been lying about the curse that devoured spirits. Wasranvel and Anrutine couldn’t stand against that, so they were unable to save their friend residing in the sword. It threw a wrench in Mira’s plan as well.
Mira glared at the skeleton, a little annoyed. If the enemy struck now, she would be forced into close-quarters combat. Something she very much wanted to avoid, since she did not know the power of the sword.
But still, the skeleton did not advance toward her. It was fully on guard, but it seemed she was still outside of its aggro range.
After confirming this, Mira fixed summoning points around her once again. If she couldn’t use spirit-type magic due to the black mist, perhaps some other summons would do the job.
[Evocation: Garm]
[Evocation: Alraune]
[Evocation: Wise Popot]
Three distinct magic circles appeared, glowed, and revealed reliable allies.
From a vortex of flames stepped a wolf that came to stand at Mira’s side. Following that, a burst of light in midair heralded the appearance of a small owl that flew over to perch on her shoulder. At the same time, verdant green foliage spread and covered the floor and walls alike until they resembled dense hedges.
Garm was a three-meter-long wolf with black fur and a tail thicker around than Mira’s arm. It beheld its enemy, then looked to its master, satisfied to see Mira after so long. Garm turned to the skeleton and then back to Mira again. Something about its master was…different.
“Master, you’re too cute! I love the new vibe!” A little girl’s voice rang out next to Mira’s ear, and Garm nodded along. The voice had come from the beak of the small owl, the Wise Popot. As the name implied, the creature was quite intelligent. Like Cat Sith, it was one of the few lesser summons who could speak in human language.
“You might say that,” Mira replied. “You seem to have picked up a new…vibe as well.”
“I learned lots of new words! And lots of new magic! Cool, huh?” The Wise Popot cocked its little head back and forth, blinking its big eyes all the while.
“Oho. Well, aren’t you clever!” Faced with such cuteness, Mira couldn’t resist snuggling the small owl.
Popot narrowed its eyes in delight and hooted gleefully. Watching jealously, Garm raised its tail boastfully and exhaled a billow of fire. Mira turned to face the sudden red light and intense heat, then looked up and spotted the two spirits in the rafters, who were suffering the effects of the rising flame.
“Easy, Garm. Don’t be so impatient.” Mira calmed the enthusiastic wolf, and the two spirits, now in the shelter of a large bubble, breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing them safe, Mira breathed a sigh of relief of her own.
Garm slumped down and whimpered like a sad puppy. Though she’d stopped the wolf, she was genuinely surprised by its unfamiliar technique. She patted Garm’s snout affectionately.
“It’s okay… I am very impressed. You’ve been putting in quite the effort. Well done.”
Garm was overjoyed that its hard work had been noticed, and whipped its tail back and forth at dangerous speeds.
Meanwhile, a single vine unfurled and extended into the space between them. At its tip was a doll with a flower blooming on its head—this was Alraune.
“You seem healthy,” Mira complimented it. Alraune rubbed its flower against Mira’s cheek in response, emitting a sweet scent as it did.
Alraune expressed emotions through aromas. Back in the game world, Mira had been unable to recognize them, since the game couldn’t replicate scents—but now, as Mira inhaled deeply, its meaning was very clear.
Sweet scents were for familial love, as I recall? It…smells wonderful, actually.
All were ecstatic and nostalgic in this harmonious reunion. Overhead, two very confused spirits looked on.
“Now,” Mira called out to her summons, “I understand it has been a long time, but do you recall how this formation works?”
Garm and Alraune nodded, and Wise Popot asked, “Are we exorcising a spooky-scary?!”
Although hardly any time had passed for Mira, it had been thirty years for these summons. She was unsure whether they would recall their old coordination, but it seemed they did.
“Then let us proceed as usual,” Mira commanded.
Taking that as their signal, the summons’ auras changed. Garm faced forward, crouched low to the ground, and growled like a rumbling earthquake. Alraune, who had sunk into the surrounding greenery, cast countless vines throughout the chapel. The Wise Popot launched from Mira’s shoulder and alighted on a vine, staring down the skeleton with wings spread.
This was Danblf’s anti-undead formation for enclosed spaces. Garm was extremely powerful against the undead by nature and took the front line, while Alraune filled the battlefield with the vitality of plants to counteract the aura of death. The Wise Popot had experience hunting in hellish places, and it grasped the battle state at a glance and was prepared to act as a mobile spellcaster.
The Wise Popot hooted to alert Mira that all three were in the ready position. She gave the order to attack, and Garm charged in.
It closed in on the skeleton in a single bound and swung a sharp-clawed paw. However, the paw stopped in its swing with a heavy thunk—or more accurately, it was stopped. The skeleton had raised its sword and created a barrier of light that blocked Garm’s attack.
The wolf was unshaken. It growled ferociously and renewed its offensive with vigor. The barrier made a sound like cracking glass, but miraculously held firm under the onslaught.
The skeleton unhinged its jaw and laughed. Its cackling was filled with glee, as if drunk on the sword’s power. The sword indeed harbored great strength—but such conceit would be the skeleton’s downfall.
In a flash, Mira ran up Garm’s back and leapt high above to unleash [Immortal Arts Heaven: Refined Thrust]. A raging swirl of shockwaves approached from above and behind the skeleton, where its barrier could not reach, and struck true.
Its poise broken by the impact, the skeleton screeched and swung its sword in a power arc, deflecting Garm’s claws as it staggered back. But then, it stumbled—a vine had stretched out and wrapped around its leg to bring it down. The skeleton groaned with deep hatred and reflexively hacked at the vine with its holy sword.
This was the opening Garm had been waiting for. The wolf closed in right before the skeleton’s eyes, jumped hard enough to shatter the floor stones, and swung a clawed paw. Even if the skeleton wanted to use its light barrier to block the attack, there was no way for it to bring the sword up in time. It had no way to defend itself.
The dull impact of claw against bone resonated throughout the chapel. The claw attack backed by powerful muscles had dug into the skeleton with perfect precision, launching it into the air. The enemy tried to right itself, but could find no foothold and wriggled ineffectually in midair.
There Mira met it, using her Air Step to run smoothly above the ground. She circled around the skeleton and placed her hand on the back of its skull.
[Immortal Arts Earth: Crimson Bouquet]
Mira’s mana condensed into a red flash of light and a boom shook the chapel as the skeleton slammed into the ground.
“Flame Barrage!”
Wasting no time, the Wise Popot launched a hail of fiery bullets that rained down on the skeleton. Embers flew through the air.
These coordinated attacks could not be evaded nor blocked, and every one was strong enough in itself to eradicate enemies of moderate strength. Yet still, the skeleton rose again to its feet, apparently unaffected.
“Hrmm. This thing’s sturdy,” Mira muttered as she landed on the opposite side of the enemy from Garm. A faint grin stole over her face.
Mira behind, Garm ahead. Wise Popot above, Alraune below. The skeleton swiveled around to confirm their locations and charged first at Garm. The wolf dug its hind legs into the stone and lunged, closing the distance between them and swiping swiftly with its razor claws. The skeleton held the holy sword sideways to block it with a barrier of light, then flowed into a forward slide aimed at Garm’s torso.
Its fierce kick sent Garm flying. Seeing that it had succeeded, the skeleton held its sword in a two-handed grip and took a firm step forward to strike the wolf’s unprotected belly.
The tip of the sword swung unerringly—but before it could stab the wolf, the skeleton’s arms stopped, frozen in place. Alraune’s vines had wrapped around both arms and held fast for a few critical moments before the skeleton’s great strength managed to shake the tendrils off.
That was all the time Garm needed to escape—and it bought the others another perfect opening to attack. The Wise Popot unleashed a hail of pebbles.
“Stone Barrage!”
Though they were only pebbles, they flew as fast as bullets. The skeleton raised its sword again, and the attack battered the barrier ceaselessly, as loud as an avalanche, completely disguising the sound of approaching footsteps behind.
The skeleton only noticed when it felt her breath at its back.
Too late.
Mira smirked and put her hand on the back of its skull again.
[Immortal Arts Earth: Violet Spark]
The spell’s activation was accompanied by blinding purple light and a destructive bang. It was as if a real bolt of lightning had struck from the sky. The light faded in an instant, but the concussion echoed throughout the chapel for a long while. It was so oppressive and powerful that even Anrutine, who had evacuated herself to the crossbeams above, had tears in her eyes.
This attack was strong, yes, but it also had a different characteristic from Mira’s previous attacks. It lacked a knockback effect—Mira’s hand remained firmly on the skeleton’s skull. This gave her an advantage, but it came with a risk: she could weave in a second attack, but the enemy could quickly counterattack as well.
The skeleton whipped around as it raised its holy sword in one fluid and swift motion. But before it could bring its sword down, Garm roared in and chomped down on its foe. It sank its teeth deep, shaking and slamming the skeleton about to tear it apart.
The skeleton swung its sword desperately in an attempt to escape, but Garm locked its jaws like a vise. A great cracking sound could be heard between the creaking of bones. The skeleton shrieked balefully and raised its sword high overhead.
At this, countless swords of light appeared in midair, gleaming like the sun. When it swung its holy sword down, they all rained down at once. Mira leaped back from the attack, watching with great interest.
“Hrmm? Is this some sort of unique skill?”
Most holy swords and demonic swords came with such a skill. Sometimes, it was more useful than the weapon’s regular attacks. The meteor shower of light fell before Mira and backed up her hypothesis.
The raging storm of light pierced through Garm, weakening its grip and forcing it to release the skeleton. Garm looked regretful, having lost its prey—but only for a moment. The wolf soon glowered hatefully at the skeleton and growled.
I can’t believe it shook off Garm. This enemy is no joke.
She’d expected a unique art as soon as the weapon was revealed to be a holy sword, but it was far stronger than she’d surmised. After admiring the damage, Mira restored the protective barrier around Garm with [Evocation Support: Benevolent Touch].
One quirk of summoning magic was that summoned beings could not be physically harmed for the duration of the summoning. Instead, their summoning circles came with defensive barriers and a method of forcefully dismissing them. While Garm could not be injured in the fight, he could be forced to un-summon.
Renewed by Mira’s technique, Garm charged fiercely forward and swiped its claws at the skeleton. It was lightning fast as it aimed for the enemy’s neck. Seeing the shape of Garm’s attack, the skeleton countered. Instead of deploying the light barrier, this time it held the sword at an angle and deflected Garm’s claws with the tip. the wolf’s claws dug into the floor, and the skeleton used the holy sword as an axle of rotation to jam its knee into Garm’s ribs, tearing through the defensive barrier as Garm was hurled away.
At that moment the Wise Popot launched a fireball at the skeleton from the other side. Its timing was perfect—yet the skeleton caught the fireball with its free hand and crushed it, screeching all the while.
Mira closed in from its blind spot. But as the skeleton twisted around, it faced her head-on and raised its sword aloft.
Such speed! It may be stronger than that demon…
Mira grinned wryly at its maneuvers. It was almost as if the skeleton had foreseen her charge. These moves—this behavior, this reaction speed—reminded her of a certain demon she’d fought before.
The small summoner’s eyes turned bluer than the sky thanks to her [Immortal Hidden Arts: True Sight], and a white tower shield materialized between her and the skeleton.
The foe planted both feet and swung the holy sword from its hips in a crushing downward blow. There was a flash of light as the blade effortlessly tore through the shield, and particles of light fell to the floor like a bright rainstorm.
The overpowering attack destroyed everything in the blast radius, where Mira had just been. But now she was somewhere else.
The skeleton appeared to be confused. It quickly scanned its surroundings for her location, but found only another oncoming fireball and Garm’s fangs. Focused on finding Mira, it had already missed the opportunity to evade.
It held up its sword to block Garm’s fangs with its light barrier while it caught the fireball in its free hand. But this fireball was bigger than the last, and the enemy’s boney arm struggled and creaked with its force. Even worse—Garm’s ferocious bite would not be easily denied. The skeleton was forced to stand still to defend against the assault.
A small hand reached out to land on one of the skeleton’s spread arms. Mira grinned fearlessly and grasped the skeleton’s sword hand with both of hers.
“I’ve got you now.”
[Immortal Arts Earth: Twofold Raging Strike]
As the spell activated, mana spiraled and concentrated in Mira’s hands. Her small palms focused the power into one place a moment before a vicious, destructive shockwave rippled through the air and shook the entirety of the chapel.
The skeleton’s arm shattered into smithereens, and the holy sword dropped down into the thicket created by Alraune.
Their first objective was complete. Garm leaped back from the skeleton, and the Wise Popot’s fireball changed direction, careening toward the ceiling to burst harmlessly in midair.
An enraged screech could be heard over the explosion as red light bathed the chapel.
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