1110: The Great Spirit"s Weakness
Klimt stood silently as he extended his mana, his eyes fixed on the spirit.
Meanwhile, the Great Spirit of the Wind was practically unresponsive.
Neither of the two made any movements, but I definitely sensed some connection between them. A tug of war for control.
Beads of sweat appeared on Klimt’s forehead, and his face began to distort.
He must be having trouble. Klimt spoke to us without turning his head.
「Fran-san, I have a favor to ask.」
「What is it?」
「I want you to attack the Great Spirit.」
「…Will she fight back?」
If we get into a real battle with the Great Spirit, isn’t everyone here pretty screwed?
Klimt nodded his head, looking panicked and exhausted.
「I’ll move the Great Spirit out of town first, then you’ll have to avoid her attacks at all costs. I would much rather avoid such risks, but it’s the only way.」
The only reason we’re safe right now is because we are next to Klimt. The Great Spirit is unable to attack us due to the chance of hitting him, the summoner.
That explains why Urth and Zenos managed to survive, and why the barrage of magic suddenly stopped once we broke through the tornado wall.
However, attacking the spirit will mark us as a full-fledged enemy. She will start fighting back with no holds barred. Klimt knew this fact well, but he also recognized that he was backed into a corner. He had no choice but to ask a child like Fran for help, despite his personal beliefs.
「Okay.」
Fran responded with a firm nod. It’s not like she’d ever abandon Alessa, so I guess we have no choice either…
『We have no clue what the Great Spirit is capable of. Let’s prepare ourselves for possibly the strongest enemy we’ve ever fought.』
（Nn!）
Klimt then informed Fran of the spirit’s weakness.
「She has a core somewhere inside. Aim there.」
「Where’s somewhere?」
「I can only say for sure that it’s in her upper body… You can use spirit magic, right?」
「You can tell?」
Klimt looked confident when he asked if Fran was capable of spirit magic. Pretty sure we never told him about that, but he seemed to know somehow.
「Yes, since the spirits are reacting to you. As long as you have the spirit magic skill, you should be able to search out the core, probably.」
P-Probably…? Well, I guess it’s such an emergency that we have to rely on such uncertain factors. Klimt may look calm on the surface, but perhaps he was nearing his limits.
「So I just attack the core?」
「Right, the undead from earlier’s attack weakened the Great Spirit. I’ll be able to control her completely if we can weaken her even further. Only then will it be possible to send her back.」
「You’re sending the Great Spirit back?」
Isn’t the Great Spirit practically his trump card? She’s even the namesake of his alias.
However, Klimt nodded back to Fran with a wry smile.
「This is the best outcome, both for the spirit and for me.」
Being forced to always concentrate on the spirit’s seal apparently sets great limits on Klimt’s abilities. Perhaps it’s better to finally unload that burden.
「How did the undead hurt the spirit?」
Yeah, I was wondering that too. Maybe we can try something similar for our attack.
Klimt, however, shook his head regretfully.
「Evil energy, so not anything we are capable of wielding. Infusing evil energy harms spirits, as well as causing them to go out of control.」
「Evil energy…」
We can easily apply evil energy, but maybe that’s too dangerous if it would make her go berserk?
All I can say for sure is that it’s a huge gamble.
「It seems that undead’s weapon also had a mana devouring property. With the addition of evil energy, that’s how he managed to break through our barriers. Perhaps mana-absorbing attacks are effective in piercing a spirit’s defenses.」
Absorbing mana? That sounds similar to the magic sword Soul-Drain wielded by the swordsman Valusa we fought in the town of Dars. Maybe Raydoss succeeded in ma.s.s-producing weapons like that.
Either way, this means our Magic Absorption and Magic Plunder skills might work. That’s good to know.
「Are you ready?」
「Nn! I can go anytime!」
「Then I’ll move the Great Spirit outside of town. This will take a lot of my energy, so don’t expect to have much time left.」
「…Got it.」
After Fran nodded, Klimt focused himself more deeply than ever.
「Beginning now!」
Klimt’s whole body erupted with a tremendous amount of mana, so powerful that Urth and Zenos fell flat on their b.u.t.ts.
The Great Spirit began moving at the same time, slowly but surely. Despite being so huge, we could not sense any physical signs of her movement. Her footsteps made zero sound, and she did generate any wind as she pa.s.sed.
Almost as if she was a moving hologram.
We waited a few minutes with bated breath, and the Great Spirit arrived at a spot about 100 meters from town. Apparently going any further will exceed the range of Klimt’s orders.
「Now go and hit her with everything you’ve got.」
「What if the Great Spirit dies?」
「Color me surprised if you actually manage to kill a Great Spirit. There’s no need to hold back.」
In that case, let’s send her off with a bang.
『Looks like we’re allowed to go all out.』
「Nn. Okay, I’ll get serious.」
「Oh, and please avoid any damage to the town if you can help it.」
「…Got it.」
「That pause is making me a little nervous!」
Me too!
『Fran. No need to raise any flags, okay?』
（Flags?）
『…Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you’re really careful.』
「Nn!」