1111: Attack of the Great Spirit
『We’ll go with a physical attack rather than magic. Since we don’t want to damage the town, our best option is…』
（A thrust.）
『Yeah, exactly.』
We walked forward while discussing our plan, building up our mana levels all the while. Now wasn’t the time to rush.
Fran continued observing our opponent’s stance.
It seems she wanted to focus as much as power as possible until the critical moment when the spirit goes hostile. We’re up against a Great Spirit, which is unquestionably comparable to at least Threat Level A.
Any weak attacks will be shrugged off like they’re nothing.
So we need to find the core and hit it with everything we’ve got. That’s the only way.
「Here it comes!」
『Roger!』
While I couldn’t sense anything from the spirit, Fran seemed to be able to feel the response. She moved into action the moment a blast of magic came flying our way.
It pierced the ground Fran had been standing, more powerful than ever before. A deep hole, more like a small crater, had been drilled into the ground.
So the Great Spirit must have gotten serious too. Or rather, I should say she’s changed her recognition of us from a possible target to a hostile enemy.
Fran ran through the devastated n.o.ble district, dodging the spears of wind fired endlessly. I didn’t sense any people nearby. Did they already evacuate, or was it already too late…?
We need to get out of town quickly, or even more people will die.
Perhaps judging that small blasts would not hit Fran, the Great Spirit changed her patterns. Tiny wind bullets began raining down on us in waves, like shotgun pellets.
Moreover, each bullet had quite the power behind it, at least enough to kill something like an orc in one hit.
Not even Fran could escape such a barrage, yet she pushed her way forward without pause.
Because she trusted me to take care of it.
I invoked a series of wind walls in front of us, creating a corridor for Fran to pa.s.s through. She dashed through the narrow safe region.
When the walls weren’t enough, we slipped through with Dimension s.h.i.+ft instead. We refrained from using teleportation since high-level opponents are capable of predicting our destination and launching a surprise attack.
That’s something we’ve experienced many times in the past, so I have to say the Great Spirit is probably capable of doing so as well. That’s also why we didn’t try to teleport to Klimt earlier. Well, a short-range teleport is also about as fast as running considering the current Fran’s speed.
As a result of our efforts, Fran managed to approach the Great Spirit incredibly quickly.
But now comes the biggest hurdle.
『Her attacks just keep coming!』
（Nn.）
We’re literally in a bullet h.e.l.l of wind bullets, wind spears, and wind slashes. The Great Spirit’s barrage covered every inch of s.p.a.ce, making it impossible to dodge. If this was a video game boss, I’d have to call that game garbage.
The only reason we’re still standing is because of Dimension s.h.i.+ft.
Klimt told us to attack the spirit’s core, but…
『Where is it though? I can only sense a really faint presence…』
Is this really what a spirit feels like? I could only sense a strange sensation sending s.h.i.+vers down my spine. The last time I saw something similar was Ignis in Gordicia, I guess. I think it’s just Crisis Sense warning me of something with incredible power.
『Fran, what about you?』
（Nn… I don’t know. I don’t sense anything right now, probably due to your spell.）
Dimension s.h.i.+ft allows us to slip through attacks, but I guess it also prevents us from sensing stuff. Now that you mention it, I found it really hard to sense our surroundings too.
It’s not like we can’t sense anything, but it’s not suitable for situations like this where we want to maximize our senses.
『…We have no choice but to disable Dimension s.h.i.+ft then.』
（Nn.）
Fran nodded her head with a motivated stare, but that’s not a simple matter. Disabling Dimension s.h.i.+ft will expose us to the still ongoing storm of wind.
（Klimt said we don’t have much time.）
『Kuh… True.』
It seems we really do have to search for the core while on the run. I checked on Klimt’s condition again, and saw his life force starting to drain again.
『Alright. Ready?』
「Nn.」
『And… release!』
As soon as we returned to the physical realm, all the explosions and shockwaves came rus.h.i.+ng in at once. Along with wind bullets, slashes, and pellets from all directions.
We immediately put up our barriers, and slipped through any gaps in the barrage we could find. But no matter how far we ran, there was no escape from the air itself.
Fran jumped around at high speed invoking spells to cancel out any blasts she could not avoid. Even so, we could not remain completely unharmed. Mixed into the barrage of weak attacks were invisible blasts packing enough power to penetrate our barrier. Detecting something like that is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Fran took countless cuts to her limbs, sometimes deep enough to reach the bone. Still, she never broke her concentration, continuing to search for the spirit’s core.
Even so, she had yet to find it. Our limit was drawing near.
We’ve been running as fast as we can for a while now, with Fran using Awakening and Brilliant Lightning Rush. Meanwhile, I’m maintaining multiple spells at the same time.
At this rate, we’ll reach our limit in the not-too-distant future.
Then suddenly, a change occurred within Fran. Mana belonging to someone else began radiating from within her body.
『Is this Marle?』
（Nn. Marle is guiding me.）