(EP-253.2) Caged #8

253 – Caged Bird #8

At Mirna’s words, Opal tilted his head to the side.

“You seem to be a descendant of Judas Draco. Your doctrinaire attitude resembles his. But it seems you haven’t inherited his wisdom.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Firstly, I am not a hero. We are neither heroes nor champions.”

“… Not a hero?”

“That’s right, just a liar. This world is a sandcastle built on the lies of goodwill. That is the original sin of me and your ancestor Judas— and of Isabelle and Vald.”

Phut-.

With a light leap, two blades headed towards Mirna. Mirna also drew the longsword she had prepared at her waist to block his blades.

Kaaaak-! Sparks flew instantly with a clang.

“You’re quite capable for one of this era. But your stomach is empty. Seems you lack real battle experience?”

Opal fiercely kicked his knee upwards. Mirna, struck in the solar plexus, opened her eyes and mouth wide, rising into the air.

“Kuh-!”

“It’s best to take down the most dangerous one first. But don’t worry. I won’t kill you. I need you to join my army.”

Mirna seemed to have taken a critical hit without even having a moment to react. Seeing her ruby-red eyes roll back white, my heart sank.

“Lady Mirna!”

“…….”

Fortunately, her life didn’t seem to be in danger, but having been struck in the solar plexus, she wouldn’t be able to move for a while.

Swish, swish—.

“Opal!”

At that moment, the sound of blades being drawn from leather sheaths was heard. Stella drew two daggers she had prepared in advance, and lunged at the fairy hero.

Sak, sasasak—.

Stella’s skill with the daggers was impressive, even to someone like me who knew little about swordsmanship.

But like an instructor handling a child, Opal evaded every attack effortlessly, not allowing a single hit.

“The gaps between your attacks are too large. Using dual weapons like that is meaningless.”

“Grr… Why can’t I hit you…!”

“It’s only natural, foolish sister. Did you ever think I showed you my true skills even once?”

Swaak! Swaaak!

Continuing to evade, Opal swung his two swords. His movements were simple and precise. The clinical neatness of his actions seemed almost artistic.

“Shall we end this little game?”

“Grr…!”

Kak, Kagagagak-!

Stella barely managed to evade and block Opal’s attacks, but if this one-sided assault continued, she too might fall to him.

I couldn’t just stand by, so I quickly gathered my magic. I didn’t need to take him down; we only needed to buy time. So I chose a spell that wouldn’t affect Stella and finished the incantation.

━Mero Mero Beam!

Crackle-!

A purple lightning bolt shot from the tip of my tail wand. No matter how skilled Opal was, it would be impossible to dodge my spell while fighting Stella.

“… This magic.”

Finally hit by the lightning, Opal’s movements ceased.

“Professor Stella, now! He won’t be able to move for a while…!”

“Got it!”

Stella, who had been on the defensive, reversed her grip on the dagger and swung it down at Opal with all her strength. However, the strange humming sound coming from Opal’s body was very ominous.

Uuuuuuuung-.

Probably because of that, Opal, who should have been unable to move, began to creak and shift. At the same time, he landed a punch on Stella’s solar plexus, exploiting the large opening she had made to deliver a fatal blow.

“Guah! Damn it!”

“Too shallow. You dodged well.”

“Shut up!”

Fortunately, the attack wasn’t deep, and only made Stella step back a few paces. Opal then spread his arms, seemingly showing off his body.

Uuuung, uuuung.

A crimson light began to pulse between the chrome-like metal on his body.

“I don’t care for the new, but the magic engineering of the fairy artisans is impressive. The only thing that gets better with the passing of time is the advancement of technology.”

I asked.

“Does that strange body of yours also have that anti-magic coating stuff?”

“Indeed. Ordinary mages can’t even scratch me. But you… there’s something unsettling about you. Are you that half-fairy I saw in the hallway?”

Ssak-.

A soft breeze blew, and at the same time, I saw the fairy swordsman lowering his stance impossibly low, extending his blade toward me.

The problem was that seeing and reacting were two different things. Just when I thought things might turn disastrous.

“Shadow Bind-!”

With someone’s powerful incantation, the fairy swordsman’s feet were bound. Soon, a woman with red eyes shining through the flames, locked eyes with Opal.

“… Draco’s shadow magic? You should have been unconscious for days. How did you manage to stay conscious?”

“We have two lives!”

“Ah, so the descendants of the Dragon King finally touched the forbidden. Not that I have room to talk.”

“Theo, set up a barrier! It’s hard to control the power!”

It was Narmi.

Narmi clapped her hands.

Then, the corpses and victims of the illegal experiments scattered around started to rise one by one. They soon clung to the motionless body of the fairy swordsman.

“Do you think these corpses can stop me?”

“Well, let’s see about that!”

Sassaak.

Narmi’s hands quickly formed a seal.

─Forbidden Art, Corpse Explosion!

Paang-! Paaang-!

With the sound of balloons bursting, the victims clinging to Opal’s body exploded.

The impact was beyond imagination, and if I hadn’t quickly deployed a mana shield, it wouldn’t have been surprising if my body had been blown away. However, the problem was that Opal survived that intense explosion.

“A corpse explosion with necromancy? The descendants of the Dragon King are still insane. And you’re no different, using forbidden magic so casually…”

“Tsk, the power wasn’t enough-.”

Narmi clicked her tongue. However, her attack wasn’t entirely ineffective, as Opal’s chrome body now appeared scorched and creaky.

Zuuuung….

At the same time, the loud operating noise subsided.

I could sense with a mage’s instinct that the protection magic cast on his body had ceased functioning.

Edited by: faker