Chapter 72
Chapter 72 Strongest Sage, Inserts Poison
"Alma, here"s another arrow!"
"Un!"
I continue to parry Elhart"s attack while Alma and Ruli shot him with arrows .
Fighting while using as little mana as possible, and being careful not to get shot and get pushed back is unexpectedly tough .
Apparently, being a vanguard in a practice battle isn"t easy .
The sole consolation here is the fact that Elhart"s brain has been damaged by the traceback, so his magic construction is very coa.r.s.e and easy to nullify .
However, this tough fight is worth it as the two"s prowess clearly rise in the midst of this fight .
Ruli"s magic engraving speed becomes remarkably faster and Alma rarely misses her shot now .
The difference in running tension between fighting monsters in a dungeon and fighting a demon is big .
"Kuh . . . Why"s my magic disappearing! My power shouldn"t have fallen this much!"
Elhart doesn"t notice that I"m nullifying his magic as he keeps trying to use them .
It"s true that I"ve been doing stealthily . . . . But having it this unnoticed is a problem in itself .
If the situation becomes too stable, the tension decreases and the effectiveness of this battle training turns weak .
If we get another chance, I should get myself wounded on purpose and stir the situation a bit .
. . . . Well, this fight is about to end soon .
『Looks like the effect is starting to manifest . 』
I informed the two while continuing the fight .
『 . . . Effect?』
『I feel like my arrows. .h.i.t easier . . . or rather, he"s slower?』
『Correct . 』
The magic circle I gave to Ruli this time is an arrangement of poison magic called 『Magic Poison』 which interferes with demon"s mana, stiffening them .
The effect is slow-acting, or rather it will demonstrate itself once the acc.u.mulated amount of poison pa.s.ses a certain mark .
The fact that he"s slower now means that the amount of poison Alma shot has pa.s.sed that mark .
It"s only a matter of time before the demon completely loses its ability to move .
" . . . Nu? Since when did you b.a.s.t.a.r.d became faster--No wait! It is I who turn slow!"
After a slight delay, Elhart himself noticed the effect of magic put on him .
However, the pattern he showed afterward is quite an unusual one amongst what I predicted .
"Me, beaten by a sham . . . . I won"t allow thaaaaaaaaaaaaat!"
"Mu? This is . . . . "
Elhart"s dull movement suddenly turned fierce unlike what he showed up until now, I immediately activated Physical Reinforcement magic .
However, Elhart"s change didn"t end with just that .
"d.a.m.n you--d.a.m.nyoud.a.m.nyouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
The moment Elhart"s speech crumbled, his eyes shined red, and his whole body was wrapped in mana .
It"s a phenomenon called 『Evilize』 .
" . . . . 『Evilize』 huh . Been a while since I saw that . "
When a demon is cornered, this situation may happen rarely .
The amount and intensity of mana of demons who have undergone 『Evilize』 increase tremendously, and their physical ability becomes incomparably higher than their usual state as a result .
Demons who undergo 『Evilize』 die at the same time the effect of 『Evilize』 ends . . . . However, that doesn"t change the fact that demons who use 『Evilize』 is a force to be reckoned with .
I"d better stop the practice and deliver the finishing blow here .
"KILL!"
Looks like the 『Evilized』 Elhart is targeting the two behind me .
His evilized feet kicked the floor and he jumped above me .
Seeing that, I constructed a magic while giving order to the two and shot it at Elhart .
『You two, don"t move from where you are . 』
『I understand!』
『G-gotcha!』
They probably couldn"t catch up with the sudden turn of event . The two remained in place as they nodded .
And the two--moved ahead, before the coming Elhart .
"DIE, DIEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Elhart easily caught up with the two who didn"t act as ordered .
My magic also missed its target, destroying the ceiling .
And Elhart"s sword reached the two--slipping through them .
" . . . Aa?"
Elhart looked surprised as his sword slipped through nothing .
I had expected this move .
The things Elhart cut just now were illusions I created with magic .
It was an impromptu illusion, I merely hid the two with an extremely simple magic .
If Elhart still retained his sanity, he would have immediately noticed the oddity .
However, Elhart didn"t notice it .
Because his awareness was turned at my magic instead of the two slow-moving girls .
"This is how you use camouflage magic . "
And it"s not just an illusion .
I"ve put highly concentrated 『Magic Poison』 inside it .
With how much 『Magic Poison』 has acc.u.mulated inside his body, even an 『Evilized』 demon can do nothing about it .
As he swings his sword, Elhart hardens--and perish in that position .