Chapter 21 | The Assassin Comes to the Rescue
Hurriedly, I began an incantation.
“Arrange!”
Twenty guns popped out from the Leather Crane Bag. It was enough firepower to save the remaining hostages and then some. I set them in midair using magnetism from earth magic.
After careful research on the Leather Crane Bag, I’d discovered how to draw out the exact quantity of the items I wanted from its depths.
I’d selected guns over cannons so as not to harm the captives.
The barrels were filled with Fahr Stones crushed down into a powder. The amount of force packed into a single rifle required delicate adjustment. Even the slightest error in volume risked causing an explosion when fired.
Rifles were superior to heavy armaments when it came to accuracy and maneuverability. Their smaller firing force also meant lower recoil, which enabled me to use them while they were hovering instead of rooting them to the ground.
They were the perfect choice for my current situation.
“Aim!”
Using magnetism, I leveled each of the barrels at their respective targets.
Aiming twenty rifles at once would’ve been impossible for an ordinary mage. Rapid Recovery and Limitless Growth had allowed my brain to become capable of more than any regular person, so it was no problem for me.
The guns locked onto their targets, accounting for environmental factors.
“Rifle Volley!”
After pouring mana into it, the Fahr Stone powder in each barrel reached its critical point, causing the guns to fire. Every shot blasted off the head of one of the orcs with a hostage tied to it.
It was an extremely powerful and precise attack that not even the hero could pull off.
Blood and gray matter splattered everywhere. The now-headless orcs collapsed one after another.
I’d also launched a bullet at General Orc’s head, thinking I might get lucky. While it struck his head, that’s all it did. He was as tough as you would’ve expected a demon to be.
“Epona! Gather the hostages!” I yelled. It was impossible for me to carry all the hostages and escape, but I could definitely handle killing orcs while Epona gathered up our classmates and fled.
“Lugh?”
“Quickly!”
Still pale, Epona collected all of the hostages. The orcs tried to get to them first, but Epona was significantly swifter.
With them out of the way, she would be able to fight without any issues.
The cost of saving them had been exposing one of my secret attacks in front of my assassination target, but it was a fair trade. It’d been the only way to save Epona and the hostages.
“Oh-ho-hooo, this is unexpected. You’re the boy who raised the signal flare. You’ve ruined my plan. But ah well. On to the next one. This is checkmate. Hoh-hoh-hoh.”
General Orc turned around and took off running, moving at an unbelievable speed considering his sluggish appearance. Then, as if to ensure their leader got away, the remaining orcs charged at us.
…Everything up to this point suggested their goal was to kill Epona. What are they planning?
The time for pondering was later. I had monsters to slay.
“Epona, what are you doing? Finish off these small fries and go after the demon. As long as he is alive, the enemies will keep coming,” I insisted.
“Y-yeah, I know. I know that, but…”
Epona tried to move forward but only vomited again. She looked at the rescued hostages. Evidently, she was still recovering from having killed a few.
…It looks like I won’t be able to rely on her.
“Okay, then rest right there. I’ll kill these orcs,” I declared.
“UGAAAAAAAA!”
“GROOOOOOOUUUGGHR!”
Sixty guns emerged from my bag. That was the maximum I was capable of controlling at once. I prepared another Rifle Volley.
After revealing this technique to the hero, there was no reason to hold back on it anymore.
It only took me a few minutes to wipe out all of the orcs. However, we’d completely lost sight of General Orc.
“I had no idea you were this powerful,” remarked Epona with a tired expression on her face.
“…More importantly, we’ve lost sight of the demon. I’m going to see if I can find him,” I replied.
I strengthened my Tuatha Dé eyes to their limit and climbed the tallest tree I could find. It didn’t take long to spot where General Orc had scurried off to.
He said he had a follow-up plan… I see. So that’s what he meant.
Unconsciously, I bit my lip at the sight of it.
“They’re gathering their scattered strength into one spot. I can’t believe how many there are.”
Fearing being wiped out by the hero, the monsters had abandoned a three-pronged strategy and were instead gathering together as one force. Together, they marched slowly toward the academy with General Orc at the center of it all.
In response, the academy was gathering what remained of its forces to meet the impending attack.
In less than ten minutes, things were going to descend into an all-out battle. And that’s exactly what the demon wanted. General Orc knew Epona couldn’t handle harming her compatriots and aimed to create a chaotic brawl where that would be unavoidable.
I conveyed the situation to Epona.
“Go, Epona. If you don’t, everyone in the academy will be killed.”
Even after hearing that, Epona still didn’t move.
I pulled her by the hand, but she knocked mine aside.
“I can’t do it. I’ll only hurt more people in a fight like that, and I won’t be able to battle properly. I’ll get more and more heated, I’ll lose myself, and I’ll go blind to my surroundings and kill again. Just like I killed Mireille!! I’ll kill everyone, even you, Lugh!”
Epona sank to the ground.
“Did you forget my promise? I won’t die. And if you should lose yourself, I’ll stop you.”
“That’s impossible. You can’t stop me, Lugh. You didn’t last time, did you? Nobody can stop me. I don’t want to kill anymore,” Epona whimpered, smiling at me through tears.
…That’s right. I did fail last time. I’d said I would stop Epona, but then I was unable to, and Tarte got hurt. I gathered my thoughts with a deep breath and readied myself.
At this rate, our school was going to be overwhelmed. Tarte, Dia, and all my classmates would be killed. The hero was our only hope of victory.
But Epona couldn’t get up. No matter what I said, she wasn’t going to stand.
If words aren’t enough, I’ll show her with actions and sincerity.
“Can you give me one more chance? This time, I will keep my promise. To tell the truth, I’ve been holding back my real strength. Just watch. I’ll show you that I am strong enough to stop you.” With that, I took off running.
I strengthened myself to the max.
Using my near-limitless mana, I discharged as much as I could at once. My body housed at least ten times the magical power of a regular mage, and I was using all of it to boost my strength.
I can’t be reluctant to show my full strength anymore.
“Amazing, so this is Lugh’s power,” muttered Epona. She had to understand now that my promise hadn’t been a bluff.
I still hadn’t done enough for her to trust me, though. I was going to use my full strength to wipe out the orcs. Even if killing the demon proved impossible, I wanted Epona to know I could handle the rest.
Hopefully, that would restore the hero’s trust in me. If it did, she could take down the demon.
To protect Dia and Tarte and to keep the promise I’d made to my friend Epona, I was ready to play every card in my arsenal. It didn’t matter if the hero knew all my tricks. I would just make new ones.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login