Razelia Luandor vs. Scarecrow Man
This was the feeling I had just a few minutes after parting from Vanitas and beginning my battle with the man in ragged clothes.
"Dragonbone Lance, the piercing dragonbone spear."
Charging forward with the great sword "Kokumei Maru" in my right hand and the dragonbone spear in my left.
"—Scarecrow Sentry."
"Damn it, get out of the way!"
Again.
Every attack I make is intercepted by a scarecrow, preventing it from reaching the real target.
The scarecrow man, Scarecrow Sentry, has a peculiar name that accurately describes the magic he uses.
The scarecrows are created with magic from wooden crosses and resemble dirty, human-like figures with heads wrapped in rags, similar to the caster.
Their strength is not particularly high.
My magic could easily shatter them if it hits.
However, destroying them takes time.
During that time, the scarecrow man distances himself again, forcing me to start over.
The scarecrows are excellent as a wall.
More importantly...
"—Scarecrow Farmer."
The numbers are different.
The latest spell is another wall-type decoy, but unlike the Sentry, which is equipped with simple armor and a dirty sword and attacks with a crude weapon, the Farmer appears unarmed and doesn't attack, yet produces a considerable number of scarecrows almost instantly.
Twelve in total.
The scarecrows swarm and obstruct my path, blocking my progress.
"...Dragonbone Feather Dart."
Seeing the wall of scarecrows, I chose an area-of-effect spell to attack all at once.
As dragonbone shards hit, the scarecrows crumble and scatter debris around.
Compared to the Sentry, which wears armor, their strength is lower.
One by one, they fall to the ground, powerless.
However…
"Scarecrow Farmer."
"Again, huh..."
Once more, the defensive line is being rebuilt.
It's an obvious delay tactic.
While Vanitas is engaged in a fierce battle with the dragon and the suspicious man, Moritz, and Hildegard is fighting with the noisy woman, Erimes, I am forced to stay here and be held back.
...I wanted to quickly go support Vanitas and Hildegard.
This man is not to be underestimated.
"...What's the matter? Aren't you going to attack? All you do is fortify your defense like a turtle. At this rate, you'll never win against me. Are those rapiers you hold just for show?"
...
Even with my sarcastic remarks, the scarecrow man remains unmoved, holding his rapiers limply in both hands.
He won't rise to the provocation.
"Well..."
Even if I use the area-of-effect Feather Dart spell again, the scarecrows would simply block it as decoys.
...There's no helping it.
This will be my second spell of the day, and while it will consume more magic power, it's a necessary expense.
That spell should be able to bypass both the scarecrows and the rapiers.
First, I destroy the scarecrows with all my strength.
I shatter, pierce, and slice them with the Kokumei Maru and dragonbone spear, driving them into the ground.
Numerous wooden fragments scatter through the air as the sound of destruction echoes around.
Ignoring the scarecrow man as he creates additional decoys, I continued to destroy relentlessly.
Occasionally, the Sentries mix in and swing their swords at me.
But I destroy them with single-minded focus.
How many have I destroyed?
When counting became too bothersome, the moment finally came.
A blind spot.
The scarecrow man is skillful at controlling the scarecrows, but with this many, there are times when the scarecrows overlap and obstruct the view.
Moreover, now that I've closed in before the scarecrow man could distance himself, I approached the scarecrows closely on purpose, intending to pierce through the entire wall of scarecrows with my spear.
"Take this!"
"...Scarecrow Sentry, Giant Big Man."
What appeared was a giant scarecrow magic that serves as both wall and shield for its caster.
The spear, which had easily destroyed the Scarecrow Farmer, was absorbed by the immense size of the new scarecrow. The spear penetrated halfway into the scarecrow’s torso before losing its momentum completely.
Heh, this is what I've been waiting for!
This magic, which blocked Vanitas's spell, is likely the cornerstone of your defense.
I had anticipated you would use this magic, knowing that in emergencies you would rely on a scarecrow of nearly three meters tall as a wall.
And with my spell, even your most formidable scarecrow will turn to dust.
Hidden behind this giant form, you wouldn't see the trajectory of my spell.
"Disappear. ————Dragonbone Catastrophe Breath!!!!"
Catastrophe Breath is a spell that releases dragonbone particles as a breath attack.
Dragonbone is hard. Even in particle form, it remains so.
This spell, mimicking the dragon's unique breath, grinds and turns whatever it touches into literal dust.
The giant scarecrow, with the spear embedded halfway, turned to dust effortlessly, erasing even the ground as it was absorbed toward the Scarecrow Man.
"———Dodge."
"W-What...!? You dodged that!?"
Though it was through the scarecrow, the trajectory was definitely on target.
Had things gone on as they were, it should have hit and inflicted a fatal wound.
Even if it had been dodged, I had planned to follow up with a thrown Kokumei Maru to pin him to the ground.
But that was... not merely a dodge.
What kind of magic is that?
It was clearly beyond mere body movement.
It was as if an invisible force had forcibly moved his body, with an unnaturalness to it.
Could it be... a dodging magic?
"Scarecrow Sentry, Dancer."
Quick.
Three scarecrows, still with stick-like legs, spun around and approached me with a rapid sideways rotation.
In both hands, the scarecrow wields rusted curved swords, and its attire is a dress of better quality than the Scarecrow Farmer, almost like a dancer's costume.
So, he's going on the offensive now.
The crude curved swords held by the dancer-like scarecrow make shallow cuts on my skin.
"Damn it! Dragonbone Lance!"
I sweep the area with the dragonbone spear. However, the Dancer scarecrows quickly scatter in response to my attack, like scattering spiders.
These precise movements.
The scarecrow man must be controlling them, but they are clearly more agile and sharp than before.
Could it be... that he was merely biding his time?
Was he intentionally slowing down to make it seem like his skills were inferior?
Was he operating such a large number of scarecrows with ease?
Damn... I knew he was formidable, but this is more troublesome than expected.
"———Scarecrow Sentry, Tall Man."
"What!? This...!"
The scarecrow man's next move.
A towering scarecrow appears, high enough to block out the sun and cast a large shadow.
"Crush them... Tall Man."
Vanitas, Hildegard, I’m sorry.
It looks like this will take a bit more time.
——.