"Unfortunately, the same applies to elemental attributes and magic. None of your attacks can reach me."
The simultaneous four-attribute magical assault proved utterly useless against Abyss.
The group clicked their tongues at the sight of fire, water, wind, and lightning all veering away from him, but they immediately shifted their tactics.
"Then how about this!?"
"Oh...?"
Melt, who had refrained from attacking until now, finally unleashed the magic she had been meticulously refining while her companions bought her time.
Abyss let out a small gasp of admiration as over a hundred purple blades manifested, surrounding him in a spectacular display. Without hesitation, Melt directed the entire swarm at him.
"[Sword Storm Full House]!"
Like a relentless gale or a torrential downpour, the glowing purple swords of mana rained down upon Abyss one after another.
Any ordinary Magic Armor Beast would have been reduced to a pincushion, gasping its last breath before an attack of such overwhelming volume and momentum. Yet, Abyss remained unconcerned by Melt’s full-power assault, walking leisurely through the storm of steel.
"I truly am sorry to disappoint you when you are trying so hard, but this is futile. I commend your spirit and the logic of attacking my entire body to find a single blind spot where a blade might slip through, but... hmm?"
Abyss had been addressing Melt while watching the magic swords shatter around him with a rhythmic metallic clatter, but he stopped mid-sentence. He looked down in surprise as the ground beneath him heaved and a pillar of water erupted.
As he turned his gaze toward the geyser-like jet of water surging from directly below, Yugo and the others felt a spark of hope. Perhaps this sudden strike would finally connect. Unfortunately, even that water was erased in an instant.
...No, it wasn’t just the water from below that vanished. Setsuna’s Wind Arrow, which had been diving from above using the geyser as a screen, was likewise snuffed out.
Sakura’s water strike had served as a decoy for Melt’s magic swords, which in turn had acted as a decoy for Setsuna’s shot. Even though Abyss had likely been unaware of the incoming arrow, it failed to touch him.
"My, my...! Honestly, I am impressed. I did not think you were capable of such intricate planning. However, it is all quite meaningless."
"Is it really?" Anhel countered. "At the very least, we’ve been gathering plenty of data on your ability during this exchange."
"And what of it? You will never find a way to break my [Word]. All your hard work will only lead you to the realization that you cannot defeat me. The more you struggle, the closer Despair draws."
Abyss spoke with a wicked, mocking smirk.
It was infuriating, but his words weren't entirely baseless. They had thrown every variation of physical and magical attack at him from every conceivable angle, even using multi-layered feints and surprise strikes. Not a single blow had landed.
The [Word] ability functioned automatically, even when Abyss wasn't consciously tracking an attack or vocalizing a command.
The more they learned, the more hopeless the situation seemed. Amidst the frustration, however, Marcos felt an intense sense of discrepancy.
(If he can block attacks without speaking, why did he vocalize earlier? Why would Abyss perform such a redundant action? No, that’s not it. This discrepancy goes deeper. What is the True Nature of the Discrepancy!?)
If Abyss could nullify attacks passively, why had he gone out of his way to declare his commands at the start of the battle?
Marcos considered if vocalization was required to "set" the initial parameters of the ability, but attacks Abyss hadn't even mentioned were being blocked automatically now.
Perhaps he had set those parameters during his previous fight with Cyan and the others? But if that were true, it made even less sense that he had vocalized the nullification of basic punches and slashes again—attacks that would have surely been "set" during that earlier encounter.
Confused by this strange inconsistency, Marcos worked his brain to its limit, desperately trying to untangle his knotted thoughts.
While Yugo also exhausted his tactical knowledge to find a breakthrough for [Word], Abyss finally went on the offensive.
"Now then, I believe that is enough. I’m starting to grow bored of humoring you."
"–!?"
"Kyaa—!"
Abyss concentrated his magic into his fingertips, firing it as sharp, laser-like beams of light.
The girls dodged instinctively, but the resulting explosions at the impact sites tossed them through the air. Melt, caught mid-jump, was blown straight toward Abyss.
"Oops! An excited member of the Audience diving onto the stage? How theatrical."
"Melt!"
Seeing Melt hurtling toward him, Abyss spread his arms wide as if to welcome her.
His arrogant composure, treating her like she was nothing more than a nuisance to be caught, made Melt’s blood boil. She clenched her fist in a surge of pure rage at the provocation.
"Guh! You...! Don't you dare look down on me!"
"Heh... A charming little rebellion, but nothing you do matters."
As Yugo’s shout echoed across the rooftop, Melt let her fighting spirit flare.
Abyss stayed his hand, choosing to wait for her strike. He intended to let her hit his invisible barrier, watch her hope break, and then strike her down.
(An attack using the momentum of her fall? Or perhaps more magic swords in mid-air? It matters not. Everything is futile before the power of [Word].)
Standing perfectly still without a single defensive posture, Abyss simulated Melt's next move in his mind. He was absolutely certain that any attack she unleashed would be nullified by his divine authority.
That very conceit, however, created the faintest, most infinitesimal opening.