Chapter 75

I mounted the beast-type golem with Maisen to chase after Eberheid.

Lifting my head, I could see the ruins floating straight towards the city of Romane.

At first, I intended to go alone, but when Maisen bowed his head and said, "I must see this through," I decided to take him along.

In the city of Romane, there is a pair who had a falling out with Maisen.

He must be worried about them.

"Abel, can't you go any faster! At this rate, we'll reach the city by the time we catch up..."

"Mu, it's impossible..."

I covered my mouth and slowly shook my head.

"S, so that's it... I see..."

Maisen hung his head in disappointment.

"If we go any faster, I might throw up... I don't want to break the constant speed..."

"Then it's fine! P, please, Abel! If that thing reaches the city... I don't mind throwing up! I'll catch it with my hands!"

What will that solve?

It will just add more people to the list of those who suffer.

I tapped my temple and stroked my throat.

I've calmed down a bit. It should be okay to accelerate again soon.

Increasing the speed any further would put a strain on the beast-type golem, but... in any case, the Hidim Magimetal will break if it disperses.

I don't mind that.

"... Hold on tight."

"Got it."

As I swung my staff forward, the beast-type golem accelerated.

The distance to the flying fortress quickly closed.

Maisen and I leaned forward, sticking to the back of the beast-type golem.

"Amazing! At this pace, we'll catch up in no time..."

The wind lifted my hand, and my staff almost flew away.

I quickly reached out, managed to grab it, and pulled myself up.

Just as I was relieved, my body started to float.

"Abeluuuuu!?"

Maisen somehow grabbed my hand and held me back.

But the wind was tossing us around, and I couldn't tell up from down. There was no time to give the command to slow down.

Somehow, Maisen pulled me up and slammed me back onto the back of the beast-type golem.

"Thanks... I thought I was going to die."

"I thought I was done for too..."

By the time we calmed down, the fortress was almost directly above us.

I slowed down the beast-type golem to avoid overtaking it.

"Turpun"

I swung my staff and chanted.

I created a metal sphere of Hidim Magimetal from the air.

Outdoors, there was no need to limit the size.

I made it twice the diameter of the one I embedded in the beast-type golem.

I launched it without any weight, and it hit the floating fortress.

Just before the metal sphere hit the fortress, it encountered something transparent.

It was an automatic barrier.

But it wasn't a problem.

Cracks appeared in the space, and the barrier collapsed. The metal sphere then collided with the fortress.

I was a bit worried if the attack would penetrate the barrier, but it seemed to be fine.

"Did it work?"

"... That barrier is self-repairing."

Maisen gasped at my words.

"Self-repairing? I don't understand... Is that bad?"

It seems I gave him unnecessary worry.

I need to explain properly.

"Yes, it's fine. At that rate, it takes about fifteen seconds for the barrier to fully repair."

"Only fifteen seconds!? That's... impossible..."

"Right. If it takes fifteen seconds, it's the same as not having one in this situation."

"Eh!? Is that so?"

"Of course, if you stand still for fifteen seconds during combat without weapons or armor, you're definitely dead. Probably, that repair function isn't designed to recover during combat."

"Is that how it works...? I'm not an expert in magic, but it still feels wrong. Fifteen seconds..."

Maisen was muttering to himself, holding his head.

When I tilted my head, he stopped talking.

It seems he finally understood.

If it's designed for continuous self-repair, it needs to be strong enough to withstand several attacks or repair fast enough to block all continuous attacks.

Even without combat experience, I understand that much.

If I keep firing metal spheres at that fortress, it will fall.

I've never seen other magic fortresses, but... it might not be designed for combat.

As I observed the fortress for any movement, I saw Eberheid on the roof.

He was staring at me, and our eyes met.

"Eberheid, come down here!"

I shouted, but there was no response.

At this distance, he couldn't hear me anyway.

Cannons emerged from various parts of the floating fortress.

The sight of the cannons lined up was quite impressive.

It was fully in attack mode.

Eberheid, standing on the top of the fortress, pointed at me.

All the cannons aimed at me.

I gave up on persuasion and floated ten magic circles to create Hidim Magimetal.

"Turpun"

As I launched the first metal sphere, the fortress's cannons fired beams of light.

The metal sphere neutralized the light beams and broke through the newly repaired barrier.

I would finish it in the fifteen seconds before the next self-repair.

I launched the remaining nine metal spheres and created new magic circles.

I didn't aim specifically.

The metal spheres embedded in the walls of the floating fortress, piercing through them. They destroyed the cannons one by one.

Smoke rose from various parts of the fortress.

No projectiles were coming our way.

Hidim Magimetal is a metal that can be created and destroyed instantly.

Each time, I had to prepare it, but I could adjust its properties to some extent.

This time, the Hidim Magimetal had the property of attracting magic power.

As a result, the magic power projectiles from the floating fortress were attracted to the Hidim Magimetal and dispersed.

It wasn't a strong attraction, but since they were aiming at us, the effect was excellent.

I thought I couldn't see Eberheid on the top of the floating fortress, but it seemed he had collapsed, and I could only see the edge of his hand resting on the edge.

I had a few plans in case I couldn't destroy the fortress, but it seemed unnecessary.

It was resolving more easily than I thought.

"Abel... How far can you...?"

Maisen was looking up at the collapsing fortress with his mouth half-open.

Just as I was thinking the fortress would fall soon, the air around us suddenly changed.

The bottom of the floating fortress split open, revealing a giant crystal.

The crystal began to emit a suspicious purple light, and a high-pitched sound echoed.

"What is that...?"

"... I've never heard it before, but it might be the sound spirits make when they run out of power. Normally, it's a small sound that humans can't hear... but if a large number of spirits collapse simultaneously, it wouldn't be strange for such a sound to be heard."

That's probably the launch platform for the Divine Arrow.

It will fire a laser-like mass of magic power from the giant crystal.

I can't destroy it with metal spheres.

Stopping the operator, Eberheid, might... no, depending on the fortress's structure, once the command is given, it might not stop even if the operator is incapacitated.

After floating the magic circles, I threw away my staff and raised my hand to the sky.

"Hey, Abel! Without your staff..."

The staff is just to improve precision.

If you prioritize power, it's better without it.

"Shikha ei hada"

A large flame appeared in my hand and began to compress.

As it got smaller, I added more flame and compressed it again. Eventually, it turned into a white, glowing mass.

When I was sick with a headache and deeply resentful of the world, I combined all my knowledge and, driven by something, created this magic circle.

Theoretically, this can destroy anything. Honestly, I never thought I'd use it in my lifetime.

This is probably the true maximum power I can unleash at this point.

I aimed straight at the sky and fired.

As I launched it, the giant crystal, the launch platform for the Divine Arrow, glowed intensely.

The view was covered in blinding light, and I couldn't see anything.

A loud explosion echoed, and the ground shook.

The giant crystal shattered, the floating fortress cracked, and it disintegrated.

"Preto anka"

Since I had thrown away my staff, I had to start with the incantation to draw the magic circle.

"Vayu bahon"

I launched a mass of wind into the sky, clearing the debris and preventing it from falling on us.

I then caught the falling Eberheid and gently placed him on the back of the beast-type golem.

"Hey! You're keeping him alive!?"

"... What to do with Eberheid from now on is up to the city."

I don't know what Eberheid was thinking.

But I consider him a friend to discuss magic with.

I couldn't bring myself to kill him.

"If we keep him alive, he might do something bad... but, it doesn't seem like he will..."

Eberheid was limp, staring at the remains of the floating fortress with lifeless eyes.

That was probably everything to him.

I don't think I did the wrong thing.

If left alone, the city of Romane would have been destroyed.

Still, seeing Eberheid's exhausted face, my heart ached a little.