Chapter 26

"Master, anytime is fine."

We had come to a nearby field.

Orabus was waving his hand a little away from me.

By the way, Orabus is materialized. If he were in a spirit form, attacks wouldn't even hit him.

For now, I have Cloisel watching.

"--- Water, manifest."

I produce a ball of water in my right hand.

"--- Ignite."

I produce a ball of fire in my left hand.

The only magic I can do now is these two.

I really wanted to learn all four elemental magics—fire, wind, water, and earth—before challenging a duel, but there's no helping it.

It's also too time-consuming to summon a new demon now.

There's no point in wishing for what I don't have; I have to make do with these two.

"--- Fireball."

I launch a ball of flame from my left hand at Orabus.

Naturally, Orabus gets burned.

"Ah, are you okay...?"

"For Master, I don't mind if my body is injured!"

Orabus claims this.

In fact, he's fine since he only has some scorched clothes and no actual injuries.

"--- Five consecutive fireballs."

I produce five balls of fire simultaneously and launch them all.

"Hahaha, I can still go on!"

Orabus boasts while laughing.

He really seems fine.

Damn, how can I deal damage?

Actually, now that I think about it calmly, it's good that I can produce water, but how can I use it to attack?

It would be easier to use if I could turn it into ice.

But I can't do that yet.

"Hey, Cloisel, how can I use water to attack?"

"Well... shall I show you how?"

So, I decided to have Cloisel show me how to use water.

"Alright, Orabus. Here I come."

"Anytime is fine!"

"Hey!"

Instantly, a large amount of water was forcefully launched.

"--- Blown away."

Orabus was blown away and disappeared from sight.

Even though it was water, being hit with that much force would cause more than just a light bruise.

"Ah, I overdid it."

Cloisel says this lightly.

"Is he okay?"

"I think Orabus will be fine since he's a demon..."

Cloisel says this with a worried tone.

"Hahahaha, I'm still fine!!"

Ah, Orabus is back.

He's surprisingly energetic.

"Cloisel, can you teach me a magic that I can do...?"

I can't do what I just saw.

"Ahh, I'm so sorry! I didn't consider your situation, Norman-sama!"

Cloisel bows frantically.

Ah, if this continues, Cloisel might go into a downer mode.

"Cloisel, you don't need to apologize. No, I'm not angry."

I try to reassure her to prevent her from going into a downer mode.

"Really, you're not angry...?"

"No, I'm not at all angry."

"Really...?"

"Yep, yep."

I nod vigorously.

Then Cloisel seems to be convinced and says, "Norman-sama is really kind," with a full smile.

It looks like Cloisel's mood has returned to normal.

"So, is there something simpler?"

"Well, how about this?"

Then Cloisel turns to Orabus and signals, "Here I come!"

Seeing Orabus's approval, Cloisel casts the magic.

"Hey!"

Water forms into a blade-like shape and attacks Orabus.

"Ugh"

Orabus tries to defend with his arms.

Still, the sharp water cuts his arms slightly.

"By making the water thin and launching it, it becomes like a blade."

Indeed, this seems doable if I get the hang of it.

So, I started practicing launching water as a blade.

"--- Water blade."

I launch the water in a blade shape.

The blade skillfully cuts Orabus's body.

"I did it..."

After dozens of attempts, I finally managed to do it.

"Congratulations, Norman-sama!"

"Indeed, my Master is amazing!"

Both of them praise me.

"Ah, right. Orabus, you've been the target for a while, but you can counterattack now."

Orabus is covered in wounds from all the attacks.

Although he will be fine since the injuries will disappear when he returns to spirit form, I started feeling bad about attacking him one-sidedly.

"No, attacking Master goes against my loyalty!"

"But it's practice for a duel, so if Orabus doesn't attack, it won't be realistic."

In an actual duel, the opponent won't just stand there as a target.

"I see... Then, I'll do my best."

Orabus takes a fighting stance.

I also produce fire and water in each hand and prepare to attack at any time.

From now on, Orabus will dodge and counterattack.

So, I have to aim carefully.

I focus on Orabus's movements.

Suddenly—

"Huh, he disappeared?"

Orabus vanished from my sight.

"Huh?"

The next moment, Orabus was right in front of me.

He didn't disappear; he just moved too fast.

My eyes couldn't keep up, making it seem like he disappeared.

By the time I realized this, it was too late.

Orabus's fist had already hit my stomach.

"Ugh"

I was blown away as I exhaled.

I underestimated the power of a demon.

By the time I regretted it, I had already fallen to the ground and passed out.