“Renée…?!
“What?”
The Duke was greatly disturbed for a moment, but perhaps because of the sense of security he felt from being behind Brian, he immediately regained his composure.
Brian, on the other hand, only tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Impossible. You fool, die a miserable death.”
“Unfortunately, I’m already dead. Well, this body is alive, though.”
Unlike the Duke, Brian seemed to believe that the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” had already been defeated.
Perhaps what Lawrence had failed to do was top secret.
“Watch out! That woman, some strange power…!”
Godo, who had lost one arm and was crouching, shouted to Brian.
Brian, however, replied coolly.
“It’s probably a physical reflection.”
“Wh-what?”
“It’s a rare kind of magic. Once the seeds are broken, it’s nothing.”
Translator’s Note
“Once the seeds are broken” means “Once you figure out how it works”
And he held up his sword toward Iris Lune.
“Magic Sword Release”
Brian’s words were the key, and the dazzling silver sword was clad in blue lightning.
–He’s clearly wearing armor that looks like it has magic defense, and he must have a protective amulet.
And his weapon is a sword that seems to deal magic damage… I see, it’s going to be tough to fight him head-on.
Iris Lune assesses Brian’s combat capabilities.
If Iris Lune were to get serious, there might be a number of ways to deal with him…
–Should I use it? No, I’ll fight as “Iris” as much as possible. If I use that, I won’t be able to disguise my presence the moment I step out of the barrier.
Iris Lune dismissed the idea that had come to her mind. She wanted to find a way to break through with magic alone.
–I’ll try that strategy. It’s indoors, and it’s just right.
It was almost at the same time that Iris Lune decided on a course of action and Brian came rushing in.
“Kieeeeeeei!!”
A swift and sharp step that belied the fact that he was wearing full armor. Lightning slashed through the air!
And the magic sword cut through the air in vain.
“Wh-what? Did she disappear?”
Brian looked around, having lost sight of Iris Lune, and the others were buzzing.
Iris Lune was looking at their backs.
“«Death Cloud»”
“Wha?!”
Seeing the fog of death spewing out, the men finally turned toward Iris Lune.
Iris Lune was sitting on the fireplace, dangling her legs.
“Tag, you’re it…”
“«Short Teleport», huh!”
As expected, Brian quickly figured out what had happened.
It’s the lowest level of teleportation magic, which can only move you to a very nearby location.
It’s a surprisingly useful magic for adventurers, such as passing through keyholes to enter a room, passing through iron bars, jumping to high places and pulling up companions, and so on.
But if you want to use it in combat, it’s useless unless you can cast it without chanting. This requires a lot of power from the caster.
Brian immediately turned around and slashed at her.
But by then, Iris Lune had already released the “Death Cloud” and moved to the corner of the room with another “Short Teleport.”
“Damn you, you little!”
“You said, ‘Once the seeds are broken, it’s nothing’, right?”
“You!”
Dodging Brian’s attack again, Iris Lune uses “Short Teleport” and hangs from the chandelier.
“«Death Cloud»”
The fog of death is released again.
“Not a chance!”
Brian jumps with a running start, and his lightning sword is about to catch Iris Lune. Iris Lune teleports again, and Brian’s attack only ends up half-destroying the chandelier.
Meanwhile, the remaining guards and non-combatants began to move stealthily. Towards the hole that Iris Lune had blown open to enter the room.
“You two, get out of here while you can!”
“Oh no, you don’t! It’s a dead end, «Masonry»!”
“Wha…”
The stones scattered around floated up and blocked the wall like a puzzle being assembled. Furthermore, even though they were originally stacked stones, they fused together as a single piece of rock.
A guard who saw the hole being blocked in front of him was speechless.
“If you don’t know, I’ll tell you. You can’t leave the boss room until you defeat the boss.”
“This is my drawing room!”
“Oh yeah, it is.”
While being yelled at by the Duke, Iris Lune manipulated magic, extending stones from the surrounding walls to block the original entrance, the door.
“Make a path with magic!”
“…«Explode»!”
Of the two magicians who had set up defenses, the one who seemed to be the Duke’s subordinate cast an attack spell.
It blew away the wall, creating a hole.
But.
“«Masonry»”
Iris Lune, having decided to teleport again, chose to block the hole instead of attacking.
The escape route was quickly closed.
“Thanks for wasting your magic for me. Want to try again?”
“Grr…”
The magician’s face turned red and then blue. The Duke’s emotions gradually began to mix with impatience.
“Hey, you guys watching!”
Brian, who seemed to have run out of patience, yelled at the guards and the light warriors who seemed to be the leader’s bodyguards, who were just standing by.
“You guys attack too! She’s using a heavy-consumption teleportation spell so much, there’s no way her magic can last forever.
Wear her down! Wear down her magic!”
“B-but with our swords!”
“Receive Enchant!”
At Brian’s words, the Duke’s subordinate magician begins to chant.
“«Enchant Force»!”
The Enchant spell imbues the warriors’ weapons with the brilliance of magic.
It’s a magic that adds extra damage with magic power. With this, they should be able to damage Iris Lune, who is in a physical reflection state.
However, this Enchant spell finally pushed the magician to his limit.
“A-agh… hg…”
As if he had clawed at his chest, the magician fell down.
He had already consumed a considerable amount of magic to defend against magic. He seems to have run out of strength with the attack magic and Enchant.
He was blowing blood from his mouth and his breathing was ragged, seemingly unconscious.
“This one’s no good anymore!”
The Duke snatched the amulet from the magician’s pocket.
The Night Python’s magician, who was still defending, seemed to no longer see the need to protect him and removed him from the range of his defensive magic. The fallen magician’s breathing stopped with the next “Death Cloud.”
“I’m sorry, I’m almost…”
“Hurry! Wear down her magic!”
The Night Python’s magician also groaned, and the leader ordered in a guttural voice.
The hellish game of whack-a-mole continued.
The warriors ran around the room in a frenzy, and Iris Lune teleported every time they approached and unleashed area attacks.
“Agaa…”
The remaining magician also fell quickly, and now only the amulets protected the pathetic victims trapped in the boss room.
“As expected, they have amulets. But when they run out, that’s the end of you.
It’s a short time to taste despair, but enjoy it to the fullest.”
When Iris Lune stood on the table and looked down, everyone’s gaze wavered.
“Gugyaaaaa!!”
“U…ga…”
“Chigu, jou…”
“Guooooo…”
The official who apparently didn’t have an amulet died immediately, and then the warriors who apparently used up their amulets fell.
Godo, who should have still been alive, also died at some point.
The only ones left were the Duke, the leader, and Brian.
“Tsk! Another one burned…!”
Brian threw away the blackened gold plate that was spewing white smoke.
“We’re running out of time, Brian! You’re a former Grade 7 Great Adventurer!? Can’t you defeat a single brat! What do you think I’m paying you so much for!”
“I know!”
The Duke screamed hysterically.
“You must be… reaching your limit… too!”
For the umpteenth time, Iris Lune dodges Brian’s sword and teleports.
And it was when she released the next “Death Cloud”.
There was a sound like something popping, and Brian, who had been rushing towards her, stumbled and fell. His sword did not reach Iris Lune and rolled on the floor.
His last amulet had popped.
“Too bad.”
Brian barely raised his face and glared at Iris Lune. Iris Lune looked down at him.
“From the beginning, I’ve only used as much magic as I can naturally recover.”
“Monster…!”
Those were his last words, and Brian died.
“…Monster, huh. Those guys who can do such terrible things to a defenseless girl, and me. I wonder which one is the real monster.”
“No! It can’t be! B-Brian, gaaaaaa!!”
“Ha… I guess I’ve lost my edge.”
The Duke scratched his wax-hardened head, and the leader laughed as if he had given up on everything.
They each had only one amulet left. Neither of them seemed to be combat specialists, and it was already only a matter of time before Iris Lune killed them.
“I’d really like to torture you to death, but the Duke still has a use. Die cleanly. …«Pain Whip».”