"Heh... Heh-heh-heh..."
Sheraha, who had been reeling from the shock just moments ago, let out an eerie, almost desperate laugh.
"...To think a human could look upon my Flowing Water Dance without being captivated... Honestly, it was unexpected. But even so, on this stage, my advantage remains unchanged!"
Her dance shifted again. Orbs of water manifested around her, flattening into blades that rained down upon me.
I could block them with a Magic Barrier, but each strike was surprisingly heavy—fitting for one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army. If I took too many, even my Magic Barrier might give out.
And then there were the complications.
"Hey, Connie. Could you let go?"
"..." Connie gripped my hands, her gaze hollow. She’d clearly been hit hard by the effects of the dance.
Her physical strength was far beyond mine. If I tried to break free with magic, I’d probably end up hurting her. Well, it was a bit of a hindrance, but nothing I couldn't work around.
"Heh... heh-heh-heh... What a magnificent dance this is... Heh-heh-heh..."
"Uheh... No kidding. This woman’s got a damn fine ass, doesn't she? Heh-heh-heh..."
Grimo and Jiriel were acting weird too. They were already problematic enough on a good day, but being out of their minds meant I couldn't manifest their 'mouths' on my palms.
In other words, I couldn't use the Triple Casting of Ancient Magic, Holy Magic, and Sealing Magic. My demon-slaying Grey Demon Divine Fang was off the table.
Worse, Sheraha’s water blades weren't just aimed at me. If I didn't keep the barriers up, they’d shred the students dancing nearby.
"Fufu! You can't abandon your allies even when they're dragging you down, can you? How kind of you, little boy. Call me a coward! Call me despicable! I don't care. I prepared this stage for this exact reason. To me, insults are just praise!"
Sheraha’s dance intensified. Dealing with a Demon—let alone one of the Four Heavenly Kings—under these restrictions with only single-casting magic should have been a nightmare.
"Heh." I couldn't help but smile.
This was perfect. I could test out all those spells designed for overwhelming odds to my heart's content.
Everyone had lost their ability to think straight, so I could do whatever I wanted. I could try that one combination, or maybe that other Spell Formula... This was getting fun.
"H-How creepy... I've heard of people laughing because they're in a pinch, but is that it? Just what is this child thinking...?"
Sheraha looked thoroughly disturbed, but I was already focused on that trick I'd thought of during the last fight.
My hands began to glow with a blinding radiance.
Holy Magic: Radiant Armament.
It was a spell that created weapons made of light, their shapes dictated by the mana poured into them.
"W-What is that...?"
Practitioners of Holy Magic were rare, but someone of her rank should have seen it before. Yet, Sheraha looked genuinely shocked.
I suppose what I was doing was a bit unusual.
Like the Forbidden Tool: Shiraichimonji that Sylpha had used recently, my Radiant Armament was composed entirely of Spell Formulas.
"Let’s call this 'Radiant Armament: Spell Formula Blade.'"
I bundled and folded the formulas over and over until they formed a sword of light. Let's see how well it cuts.
I used Control Magic to Trace Sylpha’s movements, then spun on my heel and lunged.
"Now, let's see that edge."
The sword came down, severing a few strands of her hair. On the return stroke, I carved further, sending a spray of blood into the air.
My strikes grew sharper as they followed the flow of the dance, carving into Sheraha’s body despite her desperate attempts to dodge.
"Ngh?! A Radiant Armament made of Spell Formulas?! I've lived for hundreds of years and I've never even heard of such a thing! This boy is too dangerous! But—how about this?!"
As I closed in, Sheraha thrust Noah—her dance partner—between us.
"Stop your blade, or you kill him! And in that opening, I'll pierce you!"
She held a sword of water behind him, ready to skewer both of us if I hesitated. I didn't. I swung my sword full-force toward Noah.
"Have you lost your mi—"
My blade of light bisected Sheraha before she could finish.
Noah was perfectly fine. The Radiant Armament: Spell Formula Blade was composed exclusively of a Purification System Spell Formula. It only interacted with demons.
It passed through Noah's human body as if he were air. Well, it might leave him with a bit of a mental hangover, but it was better than being sliced in half.
I tend to get a bit distracted during experiments and forget to be careful, so I'd made sure to include that safeguard beforehand.
Now, let's get a better feel for cutting through a Magic Body.
"Langris Style Swordsmanship: Dragon Head, Fang Tail."
I lunged, putting my whole weight into a massive swing. Sheraha barely dodged, but I was already on her.
"Guh! S-Such speed...!"
She kept evading, but it was getting harder. The number of gashes on her body multiplied.
Dragon Head, Fang Tail was a high-speed continuous dance. The trick was to make the opponent fixate on the first big swing, then use that momentum for a flurry of blindingly fast strikes. The shifts in tempo were impossible to follow.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"
Once the chain started, there was no escaping it. Slash after slash carved into her until—
"Ah..."
With a thin, lingering cry of pain, Sheraha collapsed. At that exact moment, my sword of light shattered.
"Oops. I thought I'd fixed the fragility of the Forbidden Tool: Shiraichimonji in my own way."
The original Shiraichimonji was built for pure sharpness; even a slight misalignment would snap it. I'd tried to modify the blade to be harder, but maybe that was the wrong approach.
Increasing the hardness increased the friction, making it more prone to breaking under stress. The original likely kept itself intact by making its sharpness so extreme that friction dropped to near-zero. As long as you didn't wobble, it wouldn't break.
Halfway measures are never the answer. This sword was a result of centuries of trial and error. Truly educational.
As I dispelled the remaining fragments, Grimo and Jiriel groaned.
"Ugh... M-My head... I've lost my memory of the last few minutes..."
"Hah! W-What on earth happened?!"
They'd returned to their senses. Defeating Sheraha had broken the charm. The others would follow suit soon.
"Now, how do I explain this—"
I didn't get to finish. A surge of powerful mana erupted behind me. Something was hurtling toward me, wreathed in wind.
I threw up a Magic Barrier: Strong. A sharp clang echoed through the hall.
"Sheraha! I will not let the opening you gave your life for go to waste!"
It was Zen. He'd broken his Magic Tool restraints and was wielding a spear. With a single strike, he'd punched a hole in my barrier. The tip of his weapon was inches from my face.
"Zen, huh? I forgot you two were both part of the Four Heavenly Kings."
"...You reacted even to that opening? And this barrier... its density is insane. I knew the gap between us was vast, but that's no reason to back down! Uoooooh!"
He roared, his spear-thrusts shattering my barriers one after another.
Well, let's learn from my mistake and go for a sharpness-focused Radiant Armament: Spell Formula Blade this time.
The moment the barrier collapsed, I parried his charge.
Clang! The dull sound told me the blade had snapped again.
No matter. I could make as many as I needed. I fended him off, sword after sword.
Man, this guy was fast. His technique was incredible too. Even Tracing Sylpha's movements, I was barely keeping up. He was a true master.
No matter how well I Traced the moves, my own physical stats were the bottleneck. It was just a poor imitation. Winning a straight duel like this was going to be tough.
"Whoa-ho?! Master Lloyd, what's happening?!"
"A battle?! And against Zen?! I can't keep up with this!"
"Oh, right. You're both back to normal."
In that case, there was one more thing I wanted to try. I borrowed their 'mouths.'
"⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎"
Using high-speed chanting with a Spell Bundle, I cast Illusion System Magic: Mimicry. I changed my form into that of the First Prince of Saloom, Shneider.
"Ngh...!"
Zen froze. He seemed stunned by Shneider's appearance, but he shook it off and lunged again.
"Illusion System Magic? A formidable form, but an illusion nonetheless! You can't mess with my sense of distance just by changing your face—"
Thud. My fist sank into Zen's cheek before he could finish.
"I-Impossible... It was supposed to be a hallucination...!"
"I wonder about that."
I spoke in Shneider's low, gravelly voice. Not bad. Quite cool, actually.
I created another Radiant Armament: Spell Formula Blade and went on the offensive.
Clang! Bang! These physical stats were enough to overwhelm Zen through sheer brute force.
This body wasn't a mere illusion. It was an actual physical construct nearly identical to Shneider's. I'd based this Mimicry on how the Four Heavenly Kings condensed mana to form their bodies, modifying the formulas so I could replicate a person's physical prowess instead of just their looks.
So this was the body of Saloom's strongest general. How much training did it take to reach this level? I couldn't even imagine.
But a normal sword felt too small for this body. I should make it fit.
Spell Formula Modification. I lengthened and widened the blade.
"Yeah. This is better."
I manifested a massive greatsword of light, modeled after the one Shneider used to carry. Now our reach was equal. I raised the blade and charged.
"Guh...!"
Zen tried to block with his spear, but my strike was too heavy to be stopped.
"Langris Style Greatsword Arts: Ogre God Arm."
With a heavy thump, I cleaved through Zen and his spear in one go. He collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
"Unbelievable... To take down Zen, the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings, spear and all... and in a single hit... What kind of power is that?"
"He didn't just borrow his brother's face. That body was woven from Master Lloyd’s own mana. It’s far sturdier than a natural human body. That’s why he can pull off those feats. Honestly, it’s exactly what I’d expect from him."
The two of them were muttering to themselves, but I was just relieved I’d finished before everyone else woke up. If anyone had seen me walking around as Shneider, it would have been a disaster.
Close call. I let out a sigh and dispelled the magic.