Chapter 164
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「What are you doing?!!」
Puru shouts. I use Condenser to tear apart the Dragonaut and quickly return to the girls.
Angelica, holding back tears, turns her face toward Puru first, then finally toward me as I rush over.
But right now, more importantly—
「You idiot!!」
I slap her cheek just before she can self-destruct.
Angelica falls over with a thud, collapsing flat against the ground.
「Angieeee!! And Ichiro!! What do you think you’re doing?!」
My body moved on its own from the shock.
These two really are parent and child.
Their behavior patterns are way too similar.
Why would she try to self-destruct?!
As Angelica remains face-down on the ground, I come to my senses and quickly ask, 「The Thunder Claw?! Is the Thunder Claw okay?!」
Just then, above the Tri-Head Dragon, the storm clouds beautifully disappear with a crackling, electric sound.
Still lying on the ground, Angelica turns only her face toward us and says:
「I tried my best, but continuing at this point is impossible.」
Puru’s gaze pierces into me accusingly, but I deliberately ignore it.
While splitting my thoughts between 「ah, what should we do about this,」 I feel exhausted watching the Tri-Head Dragon, now freed from Thunder Claw’s lightning, screaming and beginning to recover at an explosive rate.
「Puru, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t come back. Even though I promised.」
Angelica gets up and apologizes to Puru.
Then she looks at me and—
「Ichiro」
She calls my name.
「Ichiro, Ichiro, Ichiro—」
She keeps calling my name over and over, as if savoring each syllable.
I can’t remember the last time she called me by my first name.
I’m not sure anymore if this emotion welling up in my chest is mere nostalgia or something else entirely.
「Ichiro,」
But somehow, I understand how she feels.
There are certainly emotions that can’t be put into words.
Whatever feelings she wants to convey to me—
No, that’s not necessary.
「Angelica. Can you try again from here?」
I ask her.
「But, my mana is already—」
Such words of weakness don’t suit her.
No, that’s wrong. It’s just what I wanted from her.
I knew it was pushing my ideals onto her.
—Ichiro! We’re leaving these idiots behind!
But back then, when she built up her unwavering self through her own power, she was incredibly cool. That’s why I—
「If it’s mana you need, I’ll provide as much as you want, however much you need.」
Always,
「Trust me.」
I just need to do what I can.
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Angelica forms a mana circuit with me once again.
Then she immediately begins activating Thunder Claw.
Just then, Orphe finishes eliminating all the Dragonauts and comes over to us.
「What’s going on? The magic is disappearing too— but more importantly, hey, Ichiro, haven’t we met somewhere before? I really think we’ve definitely met somewhere…」
Is she completely lacking any sense of tension?!
This isn’t the time for that kind of conversation, you muscle-brain!!
Behind us, the energetic Tri-Head Dragon’s body begins to ripple with bumps and waves as it enters transformation mode.
Yet Orphe just tilts her head up with a 「Hmm?」 in a contemplative pose.
She looks like she’s playing detective, but I’m starting to realize this girl isn’t actually thinking about anything.
「Ichiro, Angie’s finished preparations.」
Puru informs me.
Right at that moment, the Liquid Dragon completes its evolution into a four-headed dragon.
The Magic Sword Nidhogg is still pathetically stuck in its body. Despite this, the four-headed dragon waves its arms around with a 「Ugyao!」
「Angelica, don’t worry. Raise the output to maximum.」
At my words, she nods.
And finally, the four-headed dragon’s mouths begin to glow.
This is it — that super dangerous beam attack, like some kind of Starburst of Destruction or whatever.
「Orphe, the enemy’s about to fire an incredibly dangerous beam. Maybe we should run…」
「Run? — There’s no need for that.」
Completely dismissing my warning, Orphe shows a fearless expression while keeping her back turned to us.
This is what you’d call pure swagger.
「I can handle it once.」
「Then—」
「But only once.」
「That’s all we need. I’ll make sure we end this in one go.」
At my request, she finally sighs and agrees.
「After the battle’s over, I’ll tell you where we met before.」
「Absolutely. It’s a promise.」
Orphe takes her stance with her dual swords and dashes back to the front line.
「Flowing: Yang」
Just as she murmurs this, the four-headed dragon spews out a massive beam.
It’s an attack with overwhelming destructive power, beyond any monster attack we’ve seen before. Yet Orphe swings her crossed dual swords as if it’s nothing.
「Void」
For an instant, there’s a piercing sound that stabs at our eardrums — and in the next moment, that massive beam disappears without a trace. Shing — Orphe sheaths her dual swords.
「The rest is up to you.」
Seriously? To deal with that beam so easily—
She proved herself to be an incredibly cool woman who follows through on her words — and now it’s our turn.
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Today’s third Thunder Claw strikes the four-headed dragon directly.
Though I can sense the dragon’s anger at being hit again, the lightning bolt unleashed at maximum power — without any concern for mana consumption — completely immobilizes the dragon and binds it in place.
While mentally taunting the dragon who can’t even make a sound anymore (Ha-ha, you stupid idiot! Your mama’s ugly!), I feel my mana draining at an incredible rate, even though I should be nearly full after chugging magic potions.
I remember my training with Sena.
She takes in natural energy from outside her body — the supernatural power called qi — and makes it her own power.
According to Sena, natural qi is a paradoxical power that 「exists everywhere and nowhere.」
The Stinger she taught me was originally a technique that used qi. Her training was meant to enable exactly that kind of ability.
However, whether due to lack of training or not, I could never manage to take in external qi and make it my own power.
But now I have to — no, I will succeed at doing this on my first try.
First, I recall Sena’s teachings.
Focus consciousness on breathing, heart rate, and internal blood flow, pushing oneself to the boundary between meditation and excitement.
Then, erase the distinction between inside and outside the body, becoming one with nature.
She said that would allow one to manipulate qi at will—
She emphasized that breathing and the state of consciousness were the most important things. So I—
Take my consciousness deeper—
Even deeper—
Deeper—
All things follow the same path.
Difficulty is not difficulty.
To do and not to do are neighbors.
There is no barrier between can and cannot.
The heart is always calm, yet never loses its fire.
That state of mind is truth,
And reaching that realm is the ultimate secret.
Suppress the impatient heart, release the suppressed heart, soothe the released heart, ignite the soothed heart, stroke the back of the ignited heart, spur on the stroked heart, the spurred heart—
Then, suddenly.
A small hand touches my back.
It’s Sena, manifested from one of the three remaining talismans.
Through her palm against my back, I feel her heart.
—It’s okay, Ichiro.
She always spoiled me and supported me.
—Because I know you can definitely do it.
And she never lets me take the easy way out.
—So, Ichiro,
So I—
The world changes its form.
「Ichiro…? What is this absurd ‘power’?」
Puru asks me with an astonished expression.
「What do you mean? It’s just mana. Wait, did I do something weird again?」
Though I give this typical protagonist-like response, I understand that this is the ultimate secret Sena and the others spoke of.
And then one more thing. I instantly convert the qi I’ve taken into my body into mana.
Even completely ignoring conversion efficiency, I tremble at the enormous amount of qi that returns more than what was put in.
When I turn around to express my gratitude, she’s already gone, and her handmade talisman falls to the ground, disappearing into particles of light.
「Angieeeeee!! We’ve got manaaa!!
Take as much as you neeeed!! So please, hit it with maximum powerrr!! With enough force to destroy this monster in front of us in one shooot!!」
Which comes first, the end of my words, or—
Above the four-headed dragon, the storm clouds become heavier and duller than ever before, turning into something massive and black like a black hole that devours everything. Yet even then, it shows no signs of stopping its growth, transforming into something huge enough to cover the entire Virtuous battlefield.
Along with a thunderous roar that would instill fear in any living being of this world, intense lightning bolts strike through the four-headed dragon via the Magic Sword Nidhogg — again and again and again, without pause, again and again. Even as smoke rises, even as it screams, even as it struggles, the lightning continues to pierce, pierce, and pierce.
Still, the lightning shows no signs of weakening, and finally, its power exceeds the dragon’s magical resistance. The spark that forms a straight line between the storm clouds and the ground through the Magic Sword Nidhogg becomes a planar force that continues to pierce through every part of the four-headed dragon’s body with destructive power. It continues to illuminate us endlessly with a dazzling amount of light that resembles a carpet of light.
After continuing like this for who knows how long, as this dreamlike scene gradually fades away, only the leaden storm clouds remain. These were what had blocked the blue sky, created darkness, and dominated the world.
And then, eventually, even the storm clouds disappear — and light returns to the world.
There is no sign of the four-headed dragon, and moreover, all traces of Fog that had been so prevalent in this Virtuous land have vanished.
「This is our victory!!!」
I raise my arm and declare our victory.
Cheers of 「Yayyy!」 rise from behind.
And then Puru, Orphe, and Angie jump on me.
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