[Side Twilight Moonbow] Labyrinth Strategy 3 Current Skills
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Time rewinds slightly,
"Carol!"
Sophia begins to run, trying to chase after Caroline and Luelia, who have gone to the farthest edge.
"Watch out, Sophie, below!"
Logan, having regained his balance after being kicked by Luelia, senses something and shouts at Sophia.
Hearing his voice, Sophia instantly changes direction.
Immediately after, a massive jaw rises from the ground.
"...A crocodile?"
Luna mutters as she looks at the rising creature.
It was a giant crocodile, seemingly made entirely of rock and stone.
"Heh. Boy, you're sharp to notice that," Ozwell comments with an impressed tone, having already anticipated the appearance of the crocodile.
"I'm not thrilled by your praise. I'll knock that smug grin off your face soon enough, so get ready. I won't forgive you for hurting Carol!" Logan retorts, his gaze filled with murderous intent.
"Haha! You've got some fire, huh? But do you really think a brat like you can make it all the way to me?" Ozwell mocks, challenging Logan as he snaps his fingers.
At that moment, the space around Ozwell warps, and a large number of magical beasts crawl out from it.
"With this much of a difference in our forces, the outcome of this fight is already decided, don't you think? If you don't resist, I can kill you quickly," Frederick says in a languid tone, addressing Logan.
Behind them looms the giant crocodile, while in front are the magical beasts and Frederick. The numbers are overwhelmingly in Ozwell's favor.
However...
"...Outmatched? This is what you're calling outmatched?"
Logan tilts his head as if unable to comprehend what they're saying, then declares,
"With this much, I could handle it myself. And on top of that, Sophie and Lu-nee are here too. I don't see any way we lose. I'm more worried about Carol. You guys are getting wiped out first."
Previously, Logan had defeated Luelia in a surprise attack, which led to a slight sense of overconfidence in him. That overconfidence had caused his rift with Caroline, but now, fully aware of the consequences of his past mistake, Logan is determined not to show any more signs of hesitation.
He states the facts, boosting his own resolve to break through this situation and reunite with Caroline as quickly as possible.
"Heh, you're pretty confident, huh?"
Hearing Logan’s words, Frederick lets out a voice of admiration before activating his magic.
It was his specialty—support magic that applied debuffs.
The three affected by the debuffs were supposed to fall to their knees.
—That was supposed to happen.
"—[All Ability Increase Status Up] [Triple Stack]"
Instantly, Logan casts a buff that exceeds the debuff on himself, Sophia, and Luna, nullifying the effect.
"Tch! So you had that, huh?" Frederick clicks his tongue in frustration, realizing his debuff had no effect.
At the moment Logan used his support magic, the massive crocodile behind them began to move.
—However, Sophia’s [Telekinesis] interfered with the crocodile’s movement.
"—[Shadow Swamp]"
Logan’s [Shadow Manipulation] transformed the shadows at the crocodile’s feet into a swamp-like substance.
The crocodile’s body began to be gradually consumed by its own weight.
"[Heaven’s Thunder Hammer Mjolnir]!"
A giant bolt of lightning, summoned by Luna’s magic, struck down from the sky, completely sealing the crocodile’s movement.
Despite taking a special-class spell, the crocodile didn’t seem to suffer much damage.
Observing the sequence of events, Sophia solidified her strategy.
"Lu-nee-san, deal with the giant crocodile! Log, take care of the magical beasts! I’ll fight that boy! If we have room, we’ll support each other!"
"Understood!!"
Following Sophia's instructions, Luna immediately distances herself from the two and fires a mid-level attack spell at the crocodile while activating her original magic in the direction she intends to move.
"—[Decoy Magic Light Induction]!"
With this series of actions, the crocodile’s hate is directed toward Luna.
Upon confirming this, Luna is about to shift her focus to an offensive action when a voice, resembling that of a young man, echoes in her mind.
<Luna, if you want to break this ugly thing, let me help you destroy it.>
A gnome, a earth-type fairy, who disliked the rock crocodile created by Ozwell, offers to assist Luna in her destruction efforts.
Though Luna had noticed the gnome’s presence, she had always assumed it was just observing, so she was surprised by the offer for help. However, since it was always difficult to get the whimsical fairy’s cooperation, she agrees without hesitation.
<...Alright, understood. Gnome, please help me!>
<Thanks, Luna!>
Upon Luna’s agreement, the gnome interferes with the world through Luna.
<—That ugly rock has no place in this world. Shatter it!>
With the gnome’s power, cracks spread across the entire body of the crocodile.
"The gnome can’t break it…?"
The gnome is an earth-type fairy, so interference with earth and rock is within its natural abilities. The gnome had intended to completely destroy the rock crocodile by interacting with it, but it was only able to cause cracks across its body.
<...Huh. So this is the creation of the human who’s trying to step into the realm of magic, as the princess said? You’re making some interesting things!>
<I appreciate your admiration, but this isn’t the time for that. I’ll take care of it with spirit magic. Gnome, please assist me.>
As the gnome admires the creation’s resilience, Luna, having completed the spell formation, calls out to the gnome.
<Ah, I see. Fine. It’s interesting, but I still don’t like its existence, so let’s smash it right away.>
"Then here we go! —[Lava Fall Volcanic Fall]!"
[Lava Fall Volcanic Fall] is a composite magic, based on the earth-type special-grade spell [Meteorite Fall], with the addition of fire magic. It involves a giant stone being melted by extreme heat into lava and then dropped.
The crocodile attempts to burrow into the ground to escape the magma.
<Don’t run, idiot.>
However, the gnome changes the ground around the crocodile into an ultra-hard substance, preventing it from diving into the earth.
While this is happening, the lava makes contact with the crocodile, and with a shock, the magma envelops it.
This magma was originally a giant stone created by the gnome, which was then transformed into magma by Luna’s magic.
In other words, this magma is something the gnome can most easily manipulate.
<Hahaha! I’ll burn you from the inside out!>
The magma infiltrates the crocodile’s body through the cracks in its skin.
Even though its exterior was covered in hard rock, the inside was still like a regular crocodile. There was no way it could withstand the extreme heat of the magma, and the crocodile quickly turned into a black mist.
"You’re quite the confident one, stepping forward to take me on yourself, Sophia Cloudel."
Frederick speaks toward Sophia, who faces him directly.
Hearing his words, she shakes her head.
"I don’t have any confidence. After all, I’m the weakest of the ‘Twilight Moonbows’... But, precisely because of that... I’ll be the one to face you!"
"…So, are you saying that even the weakest one of you is enough to handle me?" Frederick asks, a puzzled look on his face.
"You can take it that way."
Sophia responds calmly, despite Frederick’s unreadable expression.
"I see... Haha! Well then, let’s see what you’ve got!"
With Frederick's words, the battle between the two of them begins, with magic flying through the air.
A lightning arrow fired by Frederick is forced off course by the force field Sophia creates using her abilities, narrowly missing her as it passes by.
Sophia, having heard of the Empire’s "Hero" Felix’s defense methods from Orn before, uses a similar force field. Though it’s nowhere near as strong as the original, it’s enough to deflect most attacks before they reach her.
"Tch! A freakin' ability user!"
Seeing his attack deflected by Sophia’s power, Frederick clicks his tongue in frustration.
"[Rock Bullet]!"
Sophia fires rock bullets at Frederick in response.
Frederick activates [Agility Up] to dodge the attack.
With Frederick specializing in support magic—mainly sabotage and debuffs—and Sophia being a mage active in the lower levels of the Great Dungeon, she holds the advantage in a magic duel.
Gradually, the battle shifts in Sophia’s favor.
"—[Shadow Legion]"
In response to the overwhelming number of magical beasts, Logan counters with sheer numbers of his own.
As Logan activates his ability, a variety of animals made of shadow, including dogs, birds, and even elephants and bears, appear around him.
These shadow animals begin to move exactly as Logan imagines, and the shadow legion clashes with the magical beast horde.
Logan himself joins the fray within the shadow legion, using both magic and spear techniques to turn the magical beasts into black mist.
By utilizing a wide range of shadow animals, Logan is able to adjust his tactics and strategies to the situation, making him a one-man army comparable to an A-rank exploration party.
Additionally, he possesses individual strength on par with an S-rank explorer.
The horde of magical beasts summoned by Ozwell was no match for Logan.
—However,
"Damn it, these beasts aren’t decreasing at all!"
Logan has already defeated more magical beasts than the number Ozwell initially summoned. However, Ozwell continues to summon more beasts, so the overall number of beasts remains largely unchanged.
Frustrated by the situation, Logan grumbles.
"Log! I’ll help!"
"Lu-nee, thank you!"
Luna, having defeated the giant crocodile, joins forces with Logan.
While Sophia has the upper hand, the battle has yet to be decided.
With Luna, now aided by the gnome’s assistance, joining the fray, the pace at which the magical beasts are being eradicated increases dramatically.
"Come on, keep going. There are still plenty of magical beasts left!"
Ozwell's cheerful voice echoed from the farthest depths as he watched Logan and Luna fight.
"Like I don’t know that already! Lu-nee, are you feeling any headaches or anything?"
"No, I’m fine. I still have plenty of stamina left!"
A considerable amount of time had passed since Logan and Luna began their battle. There was still no sign that the number of magical beasts was decreasing, and from Ozwell’s relaxed demeanor, it seemed that he still had a lot of beasts in reserve.
While Logan and Luna were fighting the beasts, they also tried attacking Ozwell directly, but every time they attempted, a magical beast would intercept the attack, preventing any damage from reaching Ozwell.
The magical beasts themselves weren't particularly strong. However, because they were human, their stamina and concentration inevitably started to wear down over time.
And finally, a magical beast that Logan had overlooked was closing in on him.
"Damn it…!"
Realizing he couldn’t avoid the beast's attack, Logan tried to move to protect his vital points.
"—Don’t hurt my friends!"
With that shout, Caroline appeared between Logan and the magical beast, slashing with both of her short swords and turning the beast into black mist.
"Carol...?!"
"That was close, Log. You okay?"
Caroline, facing Logan, smiled her usual cheerful smile and spoke to him.
"Ah, yeah...—Wait, Carol, behind you!"
Logan, stunned by Caroline's sudden appearance, finally noticed the magical beast approaching from behind her and shouted a warning.
In the next moment, that beast was struck by multiple slashes.
"Caroline, don’t rush ahead and get all careless in front of the magical beasts!"
From behind Logan, another woman’s voice rang out. Surprised, he turned around and saw Ruelia standing there.
"Hehe~ I knew my big sister would protect me!"
"Honestly..."
Until just moments ago, Luelia, who had seemed intent on killing Caroline, now appeared to be a sister helplessly being dragged along by her younger sibling. Logan’s confusion grew stronger.
Ozwell, too, seemed perplexed. As the magical beasts stopped moving, he turned to Luelia and asked her a question.
"I should probably ask... Why are you coming back so friendly with Caroline?"
Under Ozwell’s cold gaze, Luelia, sweating nervously, forced a defiant smile and spoke.
"Just as it looks. Sorry, but I can’t help the ‘Doctor’ anymore."
"How unfortunate... I had come to like you—!"
Ozwell’s words, which started off sounding disappointed, were abruptly cut off. He inhaled sharply in surprise, and a lightning arrow had pierced his chest.
"Well, then, I’ll be stepping back too. ‘Doctor’, this is our thanks for all the care you’ve given us. Hope you appreciate it."
Frederick, the one who had launched the attack on Ozwell, spoke with a languid tone while walking toward Luelia. Sophia did not try to stop him and instead moved to stand beside Luna.
Frederick and Sophia had not been fighting seriously until now.
Frederick, considering the outcome of Caroline and Luelia’s confrontation, had to be cautious about his position, so he couldn’t afford to kill Sophia. On the other hand, Sophia, knowing that Frederick was Caroline’s brother, couldn’t bring herself to defeat him against Caroline’s will, so she had only been stalling him.
Both of them realized that the other wasn’t fighting seriously, and they had merely been going through the motions to prolong the confrontation.