Fran set me up and slumped heavily in front of the magic stone.
In this state, she concentrated on breathing slowly and steadily.
Her appearance was very similar to the one she had just a moment ago when she was kneading her magic to use the Black Lightning G.o.d’s Claw. Only, it was a lot deeper now.
I guess she planned to build up her power little by little over time, rather than kneading it all at once.
To be honest, I really wanted to ask her to stop. The fact that she had failed earlier meant that it was still too early for Fran. Forcing her to use such a technique would be quite a burden on her.
I was worried about her because she shared higher-level skills such as Magic Control with me, so she could succeed if she pushed herself.
However, she had already controlled a large amount of magic power within her body and had entered a meditation state. It would be dangerous to stop her at this point.
Besides, she didn’t have any other choice than this.
It couldn’t be helped. I would just help Fran by maintaining the Wind Barrier for now.
Still, there seemed to be less waste in the flow of her magic power than before. Could it be that she had grasped something by trying to use it once?
There was far less distortion in the flow of magic power circulating in her body and the density of her black lightning. Of course, it was not perfect, and it didn’t mean that the burden on Fran had decreased.
The evidence of this was the painful expression on the face of the enduring Fran. Just by looking at her face, I could tell that a great deal of pain was. .h.i.tting Fran.
But I shouldn’t heal her now. It would only be a hindrance for her to be hit with other magic while performing such a delicate and precise magic operation.
I gave Fran a shout of encouragement in my heart and watched her quietly.
But then, Rhyn unexpectedly raised her voice.
「Zelyse is coming!」
『…! I see』
This was not good. But I didn’t call out to Fran. Fran must have heard Rhyn’s words, but she didn’t react to it at all.
I didn’t ask any more questions either. We shouldn’t interfere with Fran right now.
But still, I couldn’t catch any sign of Zelyse. He must be using his permeability ability to fool the Vivian Guardian’s eyes.
But Rhyn seemed to know. Was it because she was a spirit of time?
Fran breathed quietly beside Rhyn, who had an anxious expression on her face as if she were a human girl.
Then, after a short and intense time, I sensed a shadow jumping into the water.
It must be Zelyse. He then took out a magic stone from his pocket and threw it out at his feet. Then a powerful magic power was emitted, and the scenery around him changed completely.
Apparently, it could manipulate the wind and create a dome. Was that a kind of magic stone weapon too?
Inside the dome of air created in the water, Zelyse pulled out his magic sword, Zelyse.
「I got you! Can you stop right there, please?」
It was Zelyse. His expression was quite impatient. The magic stone weapon was supposed to have strong protection, but even so, he seemed uneasy.
Was that how highly he regarded Fran? In addition, he was probably wary of her because she easily defeated his magic stone soldiers before.
But he was a step too late.
「!!」
Fran opened her eyes wide and used all her strength to deliver a blow with all her might. Her ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and all the other parts of her body transmitted all of their power in a beautiful blow.
「Black Lightning G.o.d’s Claw!」
At the same time, she shouted, my tip got covered with black lightning.
The Black Lightning G.o.d’s Claw that Fran had tried to release before was a technique where she created a black lightning blade and wielded it in her hand.
However, the original form of the Black Lightning G.o.d’s Claw was to be wrapped around a weapon.
Naturally, this one would be easier to use.
Fran knew that too. After all, the reason she chose to use it in the first place was that she was worried about me.
To wear the Divine Attribute twice in one day is too reckless. It was obvious that I was going to be in an even worse state than I was after being tattered by the Sword G.o.d Transformation.
But now, if we didn’t destroy this magic stone weapon, many people would suffer. We had to succeed.
Besides, it would still be less damaging for me to be used with the Black Lightning G.o.d’s Claw for a moment than to use the Sword G.o.d Transformation for the second time today.
That was why Fran didn’t activate her Black Lightning G.o.d’s Claw until the moment she released her strike. I was sure she was trying to minimize the amount of time I had to wear the Divine Attribute.
「Haaa!」
『Oraa!』
Clank!
The response was dull.
It was not so different from the time when she had just unleashed her Heaven Judgement at the magic stone weapon before. However, the result was very different from before.
『We did it!』
「Nn!」
The huge purple magic stone that had been in front of us vanished completely. Then, a large amount of magic power flowed into me.
『UWOOOOOOOOH―!』
What the h.e.l.l was this? It was an unprecedented, tremendous torrent of magic power! It was a magic power that couldn’t even be compared to the magical stone of a magic beast with a threat level of B.
『――』
My mind went blank, pa.s.sing over any sense of pleasure I ever had.
(Master?)
『――』
(Master!?)
『――F-Fran?』
「Are you okay?」
『A-ah, yeah. Sorry, I’ve shown you something unsightly』
It was a close call. If Zelyse had attacked us now, I would have been completely useless. The magic stone used in that magic stone weapon was indeed a high-grade magic stone.
Aah, this was bad, I was still a little disoriented. I needed to pull myself together.
「…Oi oi… You really…!?」
But Zelyse was still Zelyse, he just stood there with a look of surprise on his face.
「I finally understand what ‘that me’ from that timeline meant when he said to be careful with just you…」