289 Invincible Defense

Next, Luna attempted to fire a Mana Cannon from her Black Lump.

Under normal circumstances, it would be blocked instantly. But that’s where I come in. I funneled my mana into Luna, utilizing both the Blessing of Healing and Impulse of Destruction.

Bolstered by the sudden surge of power, she unleashed a massive Mana Cannon. At that exact same moment, I used Time Lapse to shred through the enemy's protection.

A dual-layered strike. Take that!

“Oh? How interesting,” Coco remarked.

Her Defense Formula began to splinter under the pressure. I don’t care if she’s some kind of “defensive genius”—magic is still just magic. Without giving her a second to breathe, I pressed the attack.

But that was when I saw it—something truly ridiculous.

“Spending that much mana on just a single layer... I’m actually worried about whether you’ll be able to last much longer,” Coco said.

With a crystalline shatter, the first layer broke, only for a second defensive effect to manifest immediately behind it. Wait, she’s stacking Magic Formulas this detailed? No, that’s not it—.

“There are roughly ten layers total,” she said casually. “And I just added a few more to replace the ones you broke. So, how do you plan to conquer this?”

“No way...” Luna whispered behind me.

Hah. So this is the woman who possesses the Noblesse Oblige strongest Shield? Seriously, does she even have a weak point?

I pulled back temporarily, and Luna leaned in to quietly whisper to me.

“What should we do, Vai-kun?”

“...Luna, if it were you, how would you destroy that defense?”

She possessed a brand of inventiveness that I lacked—it was different from Cecil’s, too. I really wanted to hear her take on this.

She pondered for a moment before declaring something completely wild.

Hah, as expected of her.

“Let’s try that,” I said.

“...Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It sounds like fun.”

As I charged forward again, Teacher Coco was wearing a smile. She’s the type who waits to see how her opponent moves before reacting.

We went with Luna’s plan. Instead of trying to shred everything with Time Lapse, I concentrated every drop of my mana into a single point—a piercing thrust specialized for a single breakthrough.

I punched through the Barriers one after another, but Coco lived up to her reputation. I was only chipping away at them; I couldn't manage to destroy the entire structure. Only a small section of her circular defense was actually being carved out.

I broke through one layer, then two, then three... I finally reached the eighth, but then my momentum ground to a halt.

“Concentrating your force on a single point, I see. It’s interesting, but you fell just short,” Coco noted.

“No, we’re just getting started. —Luna!”

In the next instant, the Black Lump I’d attached to the tip of my sword suddenly surged forward. Combined with my own Darkness, it tore straight through the remaining defense. I had hidden the lump on my blade and waited for this exact moment to trigger the extension.

Luna’s actual body was forced to stand still to control the movement, but honestly, I couldn't ask for a better partner to help me catch someone off guard.

I’m going to land a hit on her if it's the last thing I do—.