Magic-Sealing Doesn’t Guarantee Victory (2)
My spirit may have been broken, and I’d fallen to the level of a mere water flea, but my mind was still working just fine.
I’d been analyzing the otherworlders’ abilities and incorporating them into “Fantasy Killer”.
It’s my one and only magic that can repel anti-magic interference. But there are countless spells that obstruct magic, and at present Fantasy Killer is nearly useless against most of them. To raise its precision, I need to analyze more interference spells and add them into the formula. Until I finish that, I’m a being beneath a water flea.
Well, even if I get captured, it’s not a problem. As a precaution, I stashed some lethal poison gas inside the treasury. It’s a “Lost Numbers” development that my brother seized. Nobody knew what it was because the container was sealed so tightly, so it had been left sitting in the evidence vault.
I’ve no idea what its creator was thinking. But keeping measures against kidnapping is practically a royal duty. Having it isn’t strange at all.
But there’s still a problem.
“Can’t… move.”
“Everyone, carry the princess!”
““““Aye!””””
The knights grabbed the carpet I was lying on by the edges, lifting it to get me away. Sorry. My armor’s so heavy I can barely move even with Body Enhancement.
“Where should we take Her Highness? The Imperial Capital isn’t safe.”
“Should’ve prepared a proper shelter…”
True enough. The otherworlders are doing their best—running desperately, dodging Mr. Coote’s strikes. They barely escaped the first blow by tumbling, and since then they’ve just been fleeing in panic.
“We never heard about a monster like that!”
“You bastards, protect us!”
One of the otherworlders—don’t know his name, but the one who nullifies magic tools—used an Imperial soldier as a shield to block Mr. Coote’s strike. For the record, that poor soldier got cleaved in half armor and all.
So, they didn’t know I had a pet. Well, Coote’s been working behind the scenes since we entered the Empire. Maybe they assumed the chaos during the Arland war was just wild monsters running amok. Normally, a mage has only a few familiars, after all.
Too many familiars can break control, but in my case Coote and Helios are the only real contracts. The dogs and cats are under Coote’s control, not mine. And whenever one of the “bad” ones disappears… well, Coote just looks a little fuller afterward.
“Capture the princess! If we take her hostage, we’ll win!”
““““Over our dead bodies, scum!””””
The knights around me slammed knee strikes into the charging Imperial troops.
“Princess, let’s take shelter in the Treasury!”
“Not sure that’ll work…”
After all, I wasn’t sure if I could even access it.
“… Wait, where’d you pull that out from?”
“!!”
Right—the Treasury.
I summoned the key into my palm, commanded the door to open, and the Treasury appeared as if it had always been there. The knights carrying me rushed straight in.
“Damn, we can’t get in! Hey, otherworlders, what’s going on?!”
“This ain’t the time! And our powers are always active, dumbass!”
Looks like these two can’t turn their abilities off. My own anti-magic girl can target specifically and toggle on/off, but not these clowns.
That makes them tricky. Their nullification scatters spell formulas. To fight it, I’d either need to strengthen the formula or keep recasting faster than it unravels. That kills most ranged spells. Maybe the Great Emperor could muscle through, but me? I’m not confident I could control it yet.
—If Alice were a bit older, this wouldn’t be a problem.—
The spirit of light perched on my shoulder.
“Are you all right?”
—Barely. Goddess’ power is mostly sealed. Flying is about all I can do.—
The wind spirit flopped down beside me, clearly drained.
“What do you mean if I were older?”
—Once you grow, not even the Goddess’ power could suppress you. In this world, the Spirit King’s power outweighs hers.—
Hmm. So once my chest starts to grow, these otherworlders will stop being threats. A bright future! But it doesn’t help me now.
—No chance. You’re too young—you can’t wield even ten percent of the Spirit King’s power. Don’t push it, or you really will break this time.—
The only reason I survived was because I absorbed Iris’ soul. When her darker half devoured the Demon King, she went berserk, dragging the Spirit King’s power into rampage and using it to try an inter-world transfer. Reckless doesn’t begin to cover it.
To teleport to another world, observation is crucial. Otherwise you risk appearing midair, deep underwater, or even in space.
The Celestial Gate connects to Heaven, which overlaps this world but isn’t another. There’s info about other worlds, sure, but no active targeting. Iris ignored that, forcing the transfer anyway, and in the process scarred both our souls. Minor now, but too risky to strain again.
“So I can’t go all-out for a while, huh?”
—Absolutely not.—
Even the spirits forbid it.
Meanwhile, the Imperial soldiers kept hammering at the treasury’s barrier. Hopeless. Even I can’t break that door. Without magic, they never will.
“Wish they’d give up already. Mr. Coote and the pack are just toying with them now.”
And yet they don’t stop.
“Take back the Saintess!”
“Seize her from the filthy sub-humans!”
“… Wow. I never liked religion, but this is next-level awful.”
I’m no Saintess. And I’m Arland’s princess, thank you. You clowns are kidnappers!
Maybe they think Saints belong to their church by treaty? Well, Arland never ratified that nonsense.
“They’re zealots.”
Alicia sighed, her eyes heavy with pity. “No reasoning with them. They live in their own world.”
Sure enough, they kept attacking blindly, even as their comrades were slaughtered.
Then Helios’ anguished roar rang out.
“GUOOOOOOOOOO!”
“… Helios, you idiot…”
He was swarmed, on the ropes.
Despite being a dragon—a true apex species—Helios had spent most of his life as a recluse, only hunting weak prey. He lacked combat experience. The fanatical onslaught scared him, just for a moment, and they seized the chance to mob him.
Unlike the war-hardened Coote’s pack, Helios hesitated. And with his magic blocked, he couldn’t fly, and his breath was reduced to a Fireball at best.
“Should we put that dragon down?”
“… He does look cool, though.”
I nearly agreed with Alicia. But come on, having a dragon as a familiar is cool! Like raising a slime in a game until it becomes the ultimate boss. He just needs time. He’ll get stronger.
Still, I can’t let him die here. But the entrance is blocked. Mr. Coote and Titan are keeping the two otherworlders busy, though. They’re dodging desperately. If I pull Mr. Coote away now, they’ll bolt like slimes slipping through cracks. And otherworlders like these? If you don’t kill them fast, they come back to cause trouble later. I refuse to fall back to water-flea status again!
Wait—that’s right. Inside the Treasury, my armor works fine. It feels lighter. Their nullification doesn’t reach in here.
That means… I can fight! I’m back!
“Mufufu~ I don’t feel like losing anymore.”
“Don’t get cocky.”
Takuto’s chop missed me, but since I moved too suddenly, I tripped hard.
“Maybe we should kill him…”
Alicia’s eyes went cold, but I waved her off. It was just play! Why so murder-happy?
“Outside, with magic and tools sealed, it’ll be a pain.”
“What about you, Takuto?”
“Just feels a little heavy. I don’t use much magic anyway.”
“You’ve got a holy sword, though.”
Heh. He can’t fool me. His favorite iai blade has been sanctified—I noticed immediately.
“Yeah, but it’s not special. Just tough enough to cut through spells. The Goddess doesn’t have the power left to make true holy swords anymore.”
“Useless, then.”
“Ahem. I’ve got Caliburn, but without more soldiers to empower, it’s not much better than plain old Body Enhancement.”
Caliburn shines when it strengthens masses of troops. A hundred soldiers barely counts.
“What about Fantasy Killer? Your anti-magic counter?”
“Still adjusting it in my head. At least a week to finish. These two’s interference is stronger than even my maid’s.”
Not easy, but once tuned, it’ll work.
“Even so, neutralizing a Goddess’ power in a week is insane.”
Kazuhito muttered.
“So… we hole up here for now? Worst case, abandon the capital?”
“Muu… but we haven’t collected reparations yet! Or taken territory!”
No way I’m withdrawing. Not after summoning the fleet. Time to clear out these zealots—
“Make way!”
“Move it!”
“What the—”
“Princess’ clone? What’s that?”
The knights scattered, revealing one of my clones. On its helmet, the words Safety Ignored – Production First.
“It’s the new engine. Time to test it.”
The clone said.
“Let’s take it over there.”
Floating with Levitation, the clone carried… a rocket engine.
“Ahah. I’ve got an idea.”
I stepped closer, and the clone edged away nervously.
“What? You wanna fight?!”
“We built this ourselves!”
“Which means I built it too, right?”
“Well… yeah.”
“What were you planning to test?”
“A burn test. The space age is coming. We’ve gotta launch satellites.”
Brilliant! I’ve always wanted satellites. With those, we’d spot invasions instantly. I’ll launch forty out of my own pocket.
But first…
“Let’s try it out right here—point it outside and fire it up.”
Sanitation 101: burn the filth.
What do you think about this chapter?
