An unbroken chain of spellcasting, with scarcely a gap between them.
As if she still felt it wasn't enough, just as the magic circle deployed once more, a voice came beside her ear.
"Where exactly are you aiming?"
From the very start Nanoda had been evading the attacks, using the smoke screen kicked up by her opponent's strikes to block his line of sight; she circled around to the old man's right side and brought a blade stabbing straight down.
…To her surprise, that mallet-like staff of his, as though it were hard steel, swiftly and precisely intercepted the attack, and likewise canceled out the Severance Magic.
"I already told you, didn't I—I'm an expert at dealing with the Demon Race. Demons mainly come in two kinds: those skilled in magic and those skilled in close combat. Whichever it is, I have a way to deal with them."
Old Wilhelm swung his mallet-staff, and in a way utterly at odds with his somewhat hunched frame and aged face, his mage's robe was stretched taut by his bulging muscles—the whole sleeve burst apart into twists like fried dough as his solid, powerful arms unleashed astonishing strength.
"And here I thought you only knew the two kinds of magic, attack and defense." Nanoda had already pulled back her distance before taking the force of the blow.
Just as expected—a Mage who can't fight up close is no good Mage.
With a thunderous "BOOM," the staff stirred up a sonic boom and a vast gale of wind, yet it didn't so much as graze her.
"Magic only needs to be usable and effective. That's enough to deal with you!"
It was Demon-Slaying Magic again—but unlike before, the very moment he loosed the pillar of Demon-Slaying Magic light, Old Wilhelm hoisted his mallet-staff onto his shoulder and broke into a run; the magic was merely a means to create an opening.
A geezer who looked seventy or eighty years old, shouldering a great mallet that weighed seventy or eighty catties, and still able to charge along, fast and brimming with vigor.
Nanoda had in fact considered a one-hit-kill strategy, but her opponent really did seem to know some intelligence concerning Yuna.
"He really is a pain to handle."
A thorny enemy indeed.
The two of them were quite in sync—neither had used their full strength, still feeling out each other's trump cards.
Yet Nanoda could be certain: this old man had been provoking her the whole time, truly wishing to fight her to the death.
"Hey! What's the matter? Don't you want to know how your disciple died? Don't you want to avenge your disciple?"
The shadow of the mallet had already come smashing down, and Nanoda, who had only just dodged the Demon-Slaying Magic, was still lost in thought.
"Why? You're trying so desperately to provoke me—but the more you talk like this, the less I believe what you say."
Just as Yuna trusted Nanoda, so too did Nanoda trust Yuna.
"Then you really are heartless. I have a disciple too, and I cherish my disciple dearly—that I saw with my very own eyes."
The mallet fell. Nanoda let out a sigh; her body absorbed external Mana, and her Mana volume climbed up another notch. She was also quite confident in using Mana to strengthen her body.
Clang! The mallet-staff of unknown material and the broken horn of unknown material rang out in collision; the ground shattered and caved in, dense cracks spreading out in every direction, and neither side gained the slightest advantage in raw power.
Wilhelm couldn't understand it. He'd slain demons his whole life and fought wars his whole life; in the past, no matter how faint the chance, even amid the perils of the battlefield, he had always been able to sense victory—that warrior-like intuition, and the countless experiences behind it. Even if his body had aged somewhat, he didn't feel he'd grown weaker.
A hero of war, the Lord Protector whom the people of Ohaly looked up to in admiration.
He who bore such a lofty reputation could not lose—could not lose to a single member of the Demon Race.
But why—unlike all the times before—why could he not feel even the possibility of victory?
Would the one to fail be himself?
No—he had gradually begun to see through her invisible slashes, and his eyes could barely keep up with her speed; moreover, he hadn't yet thoroughly unleashed all of his Mana.
In the same way, although her opponent was a combat master with no major openings, Nanoda had also adapted to that brutish Demon-Slaying Magic, and the old man's battle habits had all been taken in by her eyes.
Staff and twin horns turned into afterimages, colliding again and again, the ground beneath their feet caving in time after time, the air thrown into such disorder it was as if a hurricane had risen—wild grass torn up by the roots in the wind, scattering everywhere. The least Mage-like clash of all.
The first to stay his hand and choose to pull back the distance was Old Wilhelm, sweat seeping from his brow. He deliberately used the force of the recoil to let himself be sent flying backward by Nanoda's blow, while muttering under his breath: "That demon was right—you really are the most troublesome enemy who would hinder our unification of the continent. I have to eliminate you here and now!"
Nanoda was about to press the pursuit, when her Mana Perception suddenly sensed a crisis.
Up in the sky, the magic concealing Mana vanished, and fully over a hundred magic circles—their Mana charging complete—unfolded; pillar upon pillar of Demon-Slaying Magic, covering nearly every angle, rained down, falling in but the blink of an eye upon the very spot where the two had just been trading blows.
"BOOOOOOM!" Like countless pillars of light, like a thunderclap crashing down on level ground, white light swallowed everything.
Old Wilhelm unfurled Defensive Magic all around himself, and only barely managed to withstand the aftershock.
The mallet-staff nearly slipped from his grasp; his veined, bulging arm hung down limp. At this moment he could only clutch that arm, trembling as he propped himself up on his staff. One whole side of his body had lost all sensation, and along with it he'd lost some seventy or eighty percent of his Mana.
"Seems there comes a time when one has no choice but to admit his age. Still, fortunately…"
Before he could finish, a streak of flowing light pierced through his shoulder; the gale brought on by the impact flipped Old Wilhelm clean off his feet, and he tumbled over and over, trailing blood, rolling several times before he came to a stop.
A broken horn was driven fast into the ground not far away.
"I'll ask you just one thing—who is the one behind this scheme?"
Shattered remnants of Defensive Magic lay scattered everywhere, the black cloak riddled with gaps; the place that should have been blasted into a deep pit alone retained a single foothold.
For the first time in the battle up until now, blood dripped from between Nanoda's palms.
"Heh—you really are a monster."
Nanoda gave a nimble leap, flashing straight to a spot right in front of Wilhelm.
"Would you like to hear my story?"
With great difficulty, Old Wilhelm used his one still-sensate arm to flip himself over. From the half-circle gone from his shoulder blood flowed unceasingly; he gazed up at the sky, gasping for breath in great gulps. "I'm not interested."
"Because of my outstanding talent, I fought for the kingdom my whole life. Only when I looked back did I realize—it wasn't because I loved fighting that I kept on fighting. I craved fame… craved that others would remember me…"
Greed, doing whatever it takes—it fits the way Humans fall into corruption rather well, doesn't it?
If a person is utterly forgotten, then they are truly dead. So at the very least, while I'm not yet so old I can no longer move, I want to leave something behind for Humans.
A war of unification that will remain in history, sung of without end—whether people praise me or condemn me, such a me will never be forgotten by anyone! A renown passed down through the ages!
So, just as that demon said—success or failure, whether in the future I'm remembered as a hero or as a sinner, no matter what, this battle is mine! Cough cough cough cough!"
Old Wilhelm coughed violently, blood spilling over, feeling his vision begin to blur.
"What a wretched old man. I'll ask you one last time—the existence scheming behind it all, the demon you spoke of, just who is it?"
Nanoda could be certain that all the so-called intelligence she'd received was nothing but bait—a long-premeditated plot, as though laid in wait ever since her return.
"Hahahahaha, the demon has been right beside you and me all along!
And then—like I said, I've won!"
Old Wilhelm, heedless of the clots of blood he was spitting from his mouth, suddenly broke into wild, unrestrained laughter.
In the sky within his vision, a shadow blotted out the sun.
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Naruto: Is it reasonable to beat up an Otsutsuki with Hamon, right?
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone