It was then she finally recognized that her life was in peril.
The Serpentine Spear, which assumed the shape of a trunk case, was instantaneously deployed. It was a response that made her gnash her teeth, knowing she was too late, but in contrast to her predictions, the opponent’s follow-up attack did not strike.
Was it a magic that each blow would demand time to fire again?
Even while analyzing this in her head, Felt sensed that her own intuition was negating this assumption. Right, that was exactly what Kanaki had done in the previous battle with a weapon that should have been foreign to this country―a pistol.
Even though she was mentally analyzing this, Felt had a gut feeling that this assumption was erroneous. Right, Kanaki had used a pistol—a weapon that ought to have been foreign in this nation—which was exactly what was happening this time.
In other words, he was employing a rifle for a long-range snipe―
“!”
The second the hospital rooftop lit up, Felt deployed the Serpentine Spear to cover her body, and the impact was not insignificant, landing on the midsection of the spear.
After all, there was no doubt about it. Felt promptly concealed herself behind a house close at hand, activated her magical tool for communication, and called up “Flame-colored Shark”.
“What happened to the target!?”
[…He’s still cooped up in his house, as I mentioned before.]
A grumpy voice immediately returned, which she had no time to fret about.
“Hide yourself in the nearest shelter at once!”
[What? What are you suddenly―]
Shortly after, a resounding thump rang out in her ear, and a thud sounded as if something had toppled over.
Even after calling out again, a reply was not elicited. The other members’ status was unknown to her, but since the leader of the group, “Flame-colored Shark,” had been taken down, reinforcements could not be anticipated.
On the other hand, this was likewise an opportunity. Should he be sniping toward the surveillance, his attention should temporarily be diverted away from her…
The notion of returning to the hideout and joining up with Sasha and the others was briefly entertained in her mind, but it was immediately dismissed. Going out and about would be fruitless given the risk of being sniped moving unless Kanaki was killed; worst-case scenario, she would be discovered on her way back and shot from behind; or he might uncover their hiding place. That being the case, Felt opted for a frontal assault on him now having a clear idea of where he was and leaped up and onto the roof of the house.
She accelerated to top speed at once after leaping to the house’s roof. Her destination was Lilith Central Hospital as she hurried along the roof. Determined to knock down all the sniper shots in the process, Felt rushed with all her force.
Despite the lack of physical reinforcement by sorcery, she ran many times swifter than most magicians, and in a matter of seconds, she was past Miserechrom and on to Avenue Vancour, crowded with people.
Here, the Serpentine Spear attracted people’s attention, but there was no time to squander it. Avenue Vancour was the widest street in this city, yet Felt flew from a three-story building unhesitatingly. The house on the opposite side of the street was at least 20 meters away. Even Felt could not reach it and fell flat to the ground.
“Extend!”
Right before gravity began to drag her body down, Felt unleashed her Serpentine Spear. Like a serpent, the Serpentine Spear pierced the wall of the building on the other side, pulling Felt’s body back to its original form in one motion.
Having returned to its original length, Felt leaped to the roof of the building, leveraging it as a platform. The Serpentine Spear remained in her hands, but it was irrelevant, as the wire would extend again. Once on the roof, the tip of the spear, which had been stuck in the wall, was withdrawn and restored to its former form in Felt’s grasp.
Up to this point, as soon as Felt strained her eyes, she could plainly discern Kanaki’s figure on the hospital roof. Kanaki, who had been lying on his stomach, was apparently caught off guard by her movement, and he hurriedly adjusted the angle of the muzzle of his gun to her position.
The brick in Felt’s left palm was blasted away with a spectacular bang as she sprang to the side. She thought she heard Kanaki’s tongue clicking.
Now that she had made it this far, she was within range of Kanaki.
Kanaki, watching as Felt picked up speed and evaded more and more sniper fire, seemingly decided that it was time to make a run for it. Carrying his gun, he fled in the opposite direction. His speed may not be that remarkable, but his body movements were quite exceptional for a magician.
Therefore, the weight of the huge sniper rifle in Kanaki’s grasp was probably what allowed Felt to overtake him.
“I caught up to you!”
“Gah!”
Within the second she had him in range, she extended her Serpentine Spear to its fullest and slashed Kanaki in the back. From yesterday’s fight, his regenerative abilities were evident, but it would be fine as long as it could knock him off balance.
After losing his balance in midair, Kanaki was unable to reach the next roof and instead managed to slide into a back alley where he took a passive posture. As if to obstruct his retreat, Felt also descended to the ground.
There were things she wanted to say to him, but she had been exposed to too many people on the way here. The Garrisoned Corps and Security Force would be on their way shortly. Right now, the priority was to defeat him immediately and get out of here.
“…Eh!?”
Felt attacked wordlessly but was startled instantly, producing a dumb voice.
When the Serpentine Spear was maneuvered to lock Kanaki’s movements, he showed no resistance and was promptly tied up.
The force of the tightening was intense, and the comb-like blades must have been causing damage to Kanaki’s body. His body may have been ripped apart at any time due to the current circumstances, yet a smile crossed Kanaki’s face.
It was a provocation. Felt was convinced of this and was about to amplify the tightening force when Kanaki let out a few words.
“―This is enough, I suppose.”
Immediately after, Kanaki’s body turned into a spray of water and splashed out.
“…Huh?”
The spectacle struck Felt flabbergasted. The human being in front of her had abruptly transformed into a liquid and splashed around. Not metaphorically, but literally.
“Some kind of magic…?”
Her words leaked out, but there was no reaction to the Serpentine Spear, which naturally creaked if there was a reaction of magical power in its surroundings. It seemed that what was just done was no use of magical power. If so, what was that…?
That was when Felt took notice.
Each of the water droplets scattered around her was moving as though with a will and was striving to merge at a single point. On closer inspection, they were not exactly water, but rather some sort of squishy solid substance.
As she watched them attentively, they eventually united and morphed into a single piece of slime. Felt, at last, grasped the truth of the situation.
“―So, what I have been facing up to now was a slime…?”
In the immediate recognition of this fact, Felt became aware that she had been set up by Kanaki’s scheme.
In essence, Kanaki had been manipulating this slime ever since he made his initial attack on Felt, and he himself had not moved from his home throughout the entire time. At the time of the report from “Flame-colored Shark,” she had assumed that Kanaki had a body double or similar at home, but it turned out that it was this one who was the body double.
If that was the case, he is already…
“―Damn!”
For once in a long time, Felt lifted her voice and started to redirect her path back. The target was the hideout where Sasha and the others were. Her decision to pursue Kanaki was a poor move in itself and was now plaguing Felt.
Despite the Serpentine Spear’s transformation back into the form of a trunk case, suspicion was inevitably aroused in the wake of the commotion that had just taken place. Even if it was a bit of a detour, the only thing she could do now was to choose the least crowded path possible and get moving.
It was then she finally recognized that her life was in peril.
The Serpentine Spear, which assumed the shape of a trunk case, was instantaneously deployed. It was a response that made her gnash her teeth, knowing she was too late, but in contrast to her predictions, the opponent’s follow-up attack did not strike.
Was it a magic that each blow would demand time to fire again?
Even while analyzing this in her head, Felt sensed that her own intuition was negating this assumption. Right, that was exactly what Kanaki had done in the previous battle with a weapon that should have been foreign to this country―a pistol.
Even though she was mentally analyzing this, Felt had a gut feeling that this assumption was erroneous. Right, Kanaki had used a pistol—a weapon that ought to have been foreign in this nation—which was exactly what was happening this time.
In other words, he was employing a rifle for a long-range snipe―
“!”
The second the hospital rooftop lit up, Felt deployed the Serpentine Spear to cover her body, and the impact was not insignificant, landing on the midsection of the spear.
After all, there was no doubt about it. Felt promptly concealed herself behind a house close at hand, activated her magical tool for communication, and called up “Flame-colored Shark”.
“What happened to the target!?”
[…He’s still cooped up in his house, as I mentioned before.]
A grumpy voice immediately returned, which she had no time to fret about.
“Hide yourself in the nearest shelter at once!”
[What? What are you suddenly―]
Shortly after, a resounding thump rang out in her ear, and a thud sounded as if something had toppled over.
Even after calling out again, a reply was not elicited. The other members’ status was unknown to her, but since the leader of the group, “Flame-colored Shark,” had been taken down, reinforcements could not be anticipated.
On the other hand, this was likewise an opportunity. Should he be sniping toward the surveillance, his attention should temporarily be diverted away from her…
The notion of returning to the hideout and joining up with Sasha and the others was briefly entertained in her mind, but it was immediately dismissed. Going out and about would be fruitless given the risk of being sniped moving unless Kanaki was killed; worst-case scenario, she would be discovered on her way back and shot from behind; or he might uncover their hiding place. That being the case, Felt opted for a frontal assault on him now having a clear idea of where he was and leaped up and onto the roof of the house.
She accelerated to top speed at once after leaping to the house’s roof. Her destination was Lilith Central Hospital as she hurried along the roof. Determined to knock down all the sniper shots in the process, Felt rushed with all her force.
Despite the lack of physical reinforcement by sorcery, she ran many times swifter than most magicians, and in a matter of seconds, she was past Miserechrom and on to Avenue Vancour, crowded with people.
Here, the Serpentine Spear attracted people’s attention, but there was no time to squander it. Avenue Vancour was the widest street in this city, yet Felt flew from a three-story building unhesitatingly. The house on the opposite side of the street was at least 20 meters away. Even Felt could not reach it and fell flat to the ground.
“Extend!”
Right before gravity began to drag her body down, Felt unleashed her Serpentine Spear. Like a serpent, the Serpentine Spear pierced the wall of the building on the other side, pulling Felt’s body back to its original form in one motion.
Having returned to its original length, Felt leaped to the roof of the building, leveraging it as a platform. The Serpentine Spear remained in her hands, but it was irrelevant, as the wire would extend again. Once on the roof, the tip of the spear, which had been stuck in the wall, was withdrawn and restored to its former form in Felt’s grasp.
Up to this point, as soon as Felt strained her eyes, she could plainly discern Kanaki’s figure on the hospital roof. Kanaki, who had been lying on his stomach, was apparently caught off guard by her movement, and he hurriedly adjusted the angle of the muzzle of his gun to her position.
The brick in Felt’s left palm was blasted away with a spectacular bang as she sprang to the side. She thought she heard Kanaki’s tongue clicking.
Now that she had made it this far, she was within range of Kanaki.
Kanaki, watching as Felt picked up speed and evaded more and more sniper fire, seemingly decided that it was time to make a run for it. Carrying his gun, he fled in the opposite direction. His speed may not be that remarkable, but his body movements were quite exceptional for a magician.
Therefore, the weight of the huge sniper rifle in Kanaki’s grasp was probably what allowed Felt to overtake him.
“I caught up to you!”
“Gah!”
Within the second she had him in range, she extended her Serpentine Spear to its fullest and slashed Kanaki in the back. From yesterday’s fight, his regenerative abilities were evident, but it would be fine as long as it could knock him off balance.
After losing his balance in midair, Kanaki was unable to reach the next roof and instead managed to slide into a back alley where he took a passive posture. As if to obstruct his retreat, Felt also descended to the ground.
There were things she wanted to say to him, but she had been exposed to too many people on the way here. The Garrisoned Corps and Security Force would be on their way shortly. Right now, the priority was to defeat him immediately and get out of here.
“…Eh!?”
Felt attacked wordlessly but was startled instantly, producing a dumb voice.
When the Serpentine Spear was maneuvered to lock Kanaki’s movements, he showed no resistance and was promptly tied up.
The force of the tightening was intense, and the comb-like blades must have been causing damage to Kanaki’s body. His body may have been ripped apart at any time due to the current circumstances, yet a smile crossed Kanaki’s face.
It was a provocation. Felt was convinced of this and was about to amplify the tightening force when Kanaki let out a few words.
“―This is enough, I suppose.”
Immediately after, Kanaki’s body turned into a spray of water and splashed out.
“…Huh?”
The spectacle struck Felt flabbergasted. The human being in front of her had abruptly transformed into a liquid and splashed around. Not metaphorically, but literally.
“Some kind of magic…?”
Her words leaked out, but there was no reaction to the Serpentine Spear, which naturally creaked if there was a reaction of magical power in its surroundings. It seemed that what was just done was no use of magical power. If so, what was that…?
That was when Felt took notice.
Each of the water droplets scattered around her was moving as though with a will and was striving to merge at a single point. On closer inspection, they were not exactly water, but rather some sort of squishy solid substance.
As she watched them attentively, they eventually united and morphed into a single piece of slime. Felt, at last, grasped the truth of the situation.
“―So, what I have been facing up to now was a slime…?”
In the immediate recognition of this fact, Felt became aware that she had been set up by Kanaki’s scheme.
In essence, Kanaki had been manipulating this slime ever since he made his initial attack on Felt, and he himself had not moved from his home throughout the entire time. At the time of the report from “Flame-colored Shark,” she had assumed that Kanaki had a body double or similar at home, but it turned out that it was this one who was the body double.
If that was the case, he is already…
“―Damn!”
For once in a long time, Felt lifted her voice and started to redirect her path back. The target was the hideout where Sasha and the others were. Her decision to pursue Kanaki was a poor move in itself and was now plaguing Felt.
Despite the Serpentine Spear’s transformation back into the form of a trunk case, suspicion was inevitably aroused in the wake of the commotion that had just taken place. Even if it was a bit of a detour, the only thing she could do now was to choose the least crowded path possible and get moving.
