CH 28

Tyrant

“Lead the enemy to the large room in the centre of the Fifth Layer. Do you know where that is?”

“Yup, it’s alright. I had Elysia show me the map a while ago.”

“Then head there as soon as possible.”

While maintaining communications with Oz, I head for the Fourth Layer’s staircase.

Just then, the enemy had come down the stairs. Seeing me clad in a pitch-black cloak, the enemy took up stances simultaneously.

As I begin to lead the enemy to the large room, I place my [Communication Paper] to my ear and talked to Oz.

“There is only one passage that leads to the room that Mize and the others are in. I will lead the enemy through a way that doesn’t pass by there, but just in case, set up a trap to stop them.”

“Eehh-. But I don’t specialize in fixed-point installation magic.”

“No problem. If it can stall them for even a moment, I can definitely make it there in time.”

“Well, but if that’s the case, then doesn’t that mean you don’t trust me, or something…”

For Oz, whose Magical Control is low, fixed-point installation magic is her weak point, but since she was deployed as an agent of the Organization, she has learned the bare minimum magics necessary for operations. Although the person herself is grumbling in distaste, she should be able to do what is required of her.

Making sure that the bandits don’t catch up to me…while simultaneously making sure they don’t lose sight of me, I run through the dimly lit passageways at a suitable speed.

In the middle of this, a large Demonic Beast stood before me.

“A Chimera, huh…”

It’s the same type of Demonic Beast we encountered in the Fourth Layer.

Was it a different one, or did the one earlier follow us by going down the staircase?

In either case–

“– How irritating.”

I release <Bullet> from my fingertips 6 times.

The eyes of the lion, the eyes of the goat, the eyes of the poisonous serpent. In total, 6 eyes were shot out.

— <Flash Blade>

With the Chimera’s sight being stolen in an instant, its body stiffened in surprise.

In that instant, the Chimera’s body was cut into two pieces by a thin blade.

Faster than its blood could shower me, I move past it.

“I’ve arrived~!”

Oz’s carefree voice came from the [Communication Paper].

“Make preparations to intercept. We’re almost there but…I’ll thin them out a bit more.”

“Roger that. Ah…I see you already.”

Straight ahead, in the large room, was Oz’s figure.

After gathering magical power in my palm, I destroy each of the candlesticks with <Bullet>.

The vicinity was swallowed by darkness, but nevertheless, the bandits chased after me.

— They must have come to the thought that they could only reach Mize by defeating me.

They finally seem to have realized that fact.

The number of bandits is 8. Among them were 2 were skilled at using <Rage>.

Oz’s magic has high power, but it also has many gaps. So, just in case, I’ll dispose of any fast-moving enemies here.

“Tch, where’d he go!?”

With the lights gone, the passageway was dark, and the bandits lost sight of me.

The bandits stopped to look at their surroundings. And in that moment– I, who had attached myself to the ceiling, hung the 2 targets by wrapping their necks with steel threads created by <Fixation>.

“Here it is, 28’s ‘Unparalleled Darkness Slaughter’!”

“Don’t give it a weird name…the enemies will be there soon.”

Oz, who was in the large room, shouldn’t have been able to see what transpired in the passageway, which was swallowed by darkness, but it appears that she was able to guess what I would do by the time I turned off the lights.

Still attached to the ceiling, I watch as the bandits enter the large room.

The 6 bandits who had entered the room were surprised to see a petite little girl standing in the centre.

“A-a child…?”

A disturbance spreads amongst the bandits.

The petite little girl– Oz said with a fearless smile.

“Nice to meet you! And—- good-bye!”

Oz points both her arms towards the bandits.

In each hand, a special magic wand was gripped.

— TD02 (Tyrant Dragon 02)

A pair of magic wands, made from the raw materials of a Demonic Beast known as a Tyrant Dragon.

Tyrant Dragons, also referred to as Violent Dragons, are known for their ferocious nature, and the destructive power of their attacks. Its body is as tough as steel, and it is the kind of creature that can store rampaging magic power within its body. In the past, it is said that the blast of magical power released from the maw of the Violent Dragon had obliterated an entire mountain.

“…So, you were given permission too.”

Just as BF28 is my partner, TD02 is Oz’s partner.

In the recent Great War, Oz’s given responsibility as an agent of the Organization was– to assault.

To wipe out the enemy; that was her duty.

An immense vortex of light was released from TD02.

It wasn’t several shots fired individually; it was an entire volley.

The constant onslaught from the two magic wands assailed the bandits like a storm.

This is Oz’s original way of fighting.

Not long ago, Mize and the others were able to see Parallel Activation, a technique used in the application of magic. But now, in addition to that, Multiple Activation was being used.

Multiple Activation is the technique that Sieg Falchion, a student of the Hero Course, used against me in our duel previously. It is a technique that improves the effectiveness of a single magic by overlapping it with itself.

However, this technique requires a high level of Magical Control. For that reason, during our duel, Sieg used the special magic wand, Erdekaiser, in order to reproduce the technique.

Oz is now using both Parallel Activation and Multiple Activation.

Multiple Parallel Activation– it is a technique also referred to as Synthesis.

But Oz doesn’t have any Magical Control.

So, what is happening right now– is the result of a Magical Outburst.

“Ahahahaha! If you don’t do anything, you’re gonna die~!?”

Oz, who laughs as if she’s enjoying herself, continues to release an endless stream of shots with tremendous power.

What the magic wand was releasing was not magic; the identity of the shots that she continued to release are defective magic…because there was a failure in the construction, there was a mass of magic power on the verge of exploding.

Failure to construct magic leads to the phenomenon known as Outbursts.

The magic that was in the middle of being constructed distorts, causing the magic power invested in it to explode violently.

During the duel with Sieg, I ultimately made use of an Outburst to end the match.

If Multiple Activation fails, the overlapped magics repel each other, which leads to an Outburst– that is, a large explosion is triggered.

Oz dares to make use of this explosion.

The Tyrant Dragon, of whose raw material TD02 is made of, has a body as tough as steel.

And it is not only the exterior that is tough; the interior is as well. Tyrant Dragons store rampaging magic power within their bodies, which can be expelled through their mouths. When its mouth is closed, the rampaging magic is contained inside its tough belly.

Oz’s fighting methods can be said to be like that of a miniature Tyrant Dragon.

By using whatever magic comes to mind, a vast amount of magic power is haphazardly mixed, and by directing that Outburst, it is then released as the ultimate shot.

And the result of that is– overwhelming destruction.

It may take some time to prepare the shots, due to low Magical Speed, but after that, Oz is unrivalled. The storm of destruction does not allow the enemy to approach.

Just as Tyrant Dragons are known as Violent Dragons.

On the battlefield, Oz is known as a Tyrant.

“…you unparalleled muscle-brain.”

As I thought, there is no one superior to her in a one-against-many situation.

Even in the case where my preparations to fight were as flawless as possible, it would probably take around 5 to 10 minutes to finish them off.

But Oz– had annihilated all the enemies in just 10 seconds.

Translator’s Note:

‘Unparalleled Darkness Slaughter’ can be translated more correctly as ‘Unparalleled Sneak Attack’ from the original Japanese 闇討ち無双 (Yamiuchi Musou), but I decided to translate it as something cringier(or cooler, depending on your taste), since the characters for sneak attack, 闇討ち, can be separated into 闇, meaning darkness, and 討ち, meaning to attack. 無双, which means unparalleled, was kept as is.