Episode 159: Ultra-long range sniper
Deep in the underground sewers of the old city.
The center of the Gekkokai exists there. The results of all research are stored here, and of course this is not a place that should be allowed to be invaded.
However, Geist dared to lure the holy knight.
"Did you come?"
The seven holy knights who launched the surprise attack arrived at the deepest part.
Shu and Iris are also hiding behind the scenes, pretending to be the only one greeting them...but in any case, they don't intervene, so they're actually alone.
The Holy Knights readied their weapons without being alert.
Holy Knight Reidos, who led them as the unit commander, made a declaration while pointing the tip of his saber, his magical weapon.
"Are you the leader of the Gekkokai? First, I recommend you to surrender. Disappearing the magic armor is a godless act. Normally, you would have to be executed here. But you must be captured. In order to figure out the mechanism for erasing it. We need to catch it before it hurts."
There was only enough distance from Leidos to Geist that they could approach each other in just one step. Also, Holy Knight Eustia and Holy Knight Lagos are pointing their pistols at them as support. These two men's job is to search for the enemy, so their role is to apply pressure from the rear instead of going forward.
Even if that's not the case, there are seven holy knights for one old man.
There's no way you can win.
However, Geist didn't seem upset at all.
"HM"
There are no preliminary movements.
However, the moment Geist said those words, the holy knights could not move. At the same time, they felt pain all over their bodies and groaned in unison.
"Idiot..."
Reidos, who has accumulated many achievements as a holy knight, is confident in his own power.
The pain all over my body told me that I was being attacked, but I couldn't give up on it at all.
"Are you arrogant as a Holy Knight? But let me tell you. Even if you're all seven of us, you won't be able to defeat my plan. I know you better than anyone else. I'm a former Holy Knight. You made a mistake in not looking into me."
“Gah… a former Holy Knight!?”
"You are always like this. You pride yourself on being infallible and crush the weak. You try to control power and remain strong. You mistakenly think that whatever you do in the name of God is forgiven. ing"
"what"
The Holy Knights, including Reidos, tried to refute.
However, Geist waved his hand lightly, as if not allowing even that. Then, severe pain ran through the Holy Knights' entire bodies, and at the same time, their bodies were forced to move without permission.
Holy Knight Gordon, who uses wire magic, notices this phenomenon.
“Hey, this uses the same thread as me!”
"Don't make it the same as such a vulgar magic outfit. This is the power of a magic stone."
“Gya!?”
Gordon's arms instantly flew away. The blood splatters stain his fellow holy knights, but that's not all. It is unusual for a holy knight's limbs to fly off due to an unknown attack.
It's not limited to holy knights, but those with strong magical power naturally protect their bodies with magical power. If this is activated intentionally, it becomes a magical power barrier against unsystematic magic, but if you are a holy knight, you can prevent most fatal injuries even with the magical power that you unconsciously wear. Only the same magic equipment or magic can break this. There are some fierce warriors who can even use magical equipment and magic, but those are only a few.
There is no doubt that a physical attack will not tear a holy knight's body to pieces.
If it's possible, it would be an attack that involves magical power, such as magic equipment or magic.
Then Gordon fainted from the shock of the severe pain and blood loss, his whole body feeling weak. However, his body did not fall, and he remained suspended in the air.
(If it's thread...!?)
I was able to see through Geist's attack from Gordon's words and the way his blood flowed down several thin lines onto the ground.
In other words, long, thin thread-like objects pierce through his entire body and are sewn together.
Unfortunately, the thread is extremely thin and strong, avoiding vital points that could cause fatal injuries. If you try to force yourself to move, the threads will tear your body and cause severe pain, but if you stay still, you won't die. It was like torture.
(I let my guard down. I should have neutralized it at the same time as the attack)
Leidos regrets it.
But I can't blame him for his decision. If he had decided to kill them from the beginning, he would have killed them as soon as he burst in and completed his mission. The strength of seven holy knights can do that. It can be said that the boss who placed the unnecessary order was to blame.
Of course, this was the result of Geist's collaborator Balgate manipulating them in this way, so even though they were winning tactically, they were losing strategically from the beginning.
(But we're fine with this)
Severe pain running throughout the body.
And it's a critical situation where everyone can't even move.
Although it must be said that the operation was a failure, Leidos was able to remain calm. This is because they are aware of the second arrow that will be activated if they fail.
Even though it is a measure against Hades that cannot be expected, it can become a deadly trump card against Geist.
(Please, Floria Rayburn!)
An arrow of light broke through the ceiling of the underground space and flew towards Geist's heart.
◆◆◆
The holy knight Floria of the ``Celestial Eye'' lowered her bow after firing a surefire arrow.
In her eyes, she can see an arrow flying toward Geist's heart, and it has already crossed the border. Even her arrows, which easily surpass the speed of sound, take time to cover this distance. However, the strength of Floria's magical equipment is that it always hits the target. She cannot evade her attacks and has no choice but to block her head-on. However, there was no way he could prepare to defend against an arrow fired from such a distance that he couldn't even detect her firing, and it was thought that this arrow would definitely pierce Geist's heart.
“As expected, Floria-sama.”
"Don't panic, Leanne. It hasn't hit yet."
"But it's guaranteed to happen, so there's no need to worry about that..."
"There's a possibility that the enemy is the Hades. That's why I won't let my guard down until I see the moment when I can take down the evil cult leader with my own eyes."
She was cautious.
And anticipating the threat of Hades, he did not let his guard down. This is despite the fact that he has absolute confidence in his own magical equipment.
However, the holy knights who have awakened so far have died due to their carelessness.
Floria doesn't let her guard down even if she just crosses one border.
However, she focused her vigilance too much on Hades.
That's why I didn't notice the wild magic until just before.
“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
"Huh!?"
It reacts to the roar of a beast and creates a magical barrier to protect itself.
That decided Floria's fate. It's just a reflection, and the barrier strength is minimal. However, it was effective enough to protect him from fatal injuries.
Floria was blown away by the tremendous impact, and the commercial facilities surrounding the cathedral were destroyed. She is a human-sized cannonball. Her destructive power was tremendous, and just by being blown away, it caused tremendous damage to the surrounding area.
More than ten buildings have collapsed, and more than twice that number are damaged.
There are probably many people buried alive.
However, the biggest damage was to the cathedral where Floria was originally located.
After returning, she draws her bow and aims at the cathedral. There was a horrifying sight.
“Isn’t that a lie?”
It can't be helped that she divulges that.
The cathedral, which was a majestic and strong structure as it was in the royal capital, had been shattered to such an extent that its original form was no longer recognizable. Amazingly, even the earth has been gouged out, creating craters.
I couldn't believe my eyes, but I realized that this was reality.
“Just go over there!”
Apply positive magic to your aching body, causing it to recover instantly. She also imbues arrows with magic and makes them fly, making her one of the most powerful magicians. This level of recovery is easily completed.
Furthermore, he strengthened his physical abilities and reaction speed with unsystematic magic, and returned to the destroyed cathedral.
I had seen this scene once through the secondary effects of the magic outfit, but seeing it in person again was terrible. The priests who were working there were buried alive, and almost all of them died. The few who survive will die if not treated immediately.
(This much damage... and the characteristic traces of destruction. There's only one culprit.)
Floria had an idea of the culprit.
If you combine the devastation that caused you to think a meteorite had fallen and the act of destroying the cathedral, you will instantly arrive at the answer.
"I never expected it to come at such a timing. 'Violent Dragon'!"
"Kuhahahahahaha! I can't believe you survived my blow! You're an awakened person!"
“The fact that you know me means you’re aiming for me… Gekkokai!”
A large man with long hair and sharp eyes that reminded you of a lion, sitting on the rubble.
This is ``Ryuu'', a black cat executive who has been announced as the most wanted criminal by the demon religion. It is said that his appearance has not changed for over 100 years, and he is said to be an awakened magician. Even though he is Floria, he is not someone you can let your guard down against.
"I am! I'm looking for the best fighting partner! The strongest Holy Knight! A partner of Teme's caliber will come true!"
"The sinner who turned the power given to him by God into evil...I will kill him here!He will atone for his sin of destroying many cathedrals with death!"
“Come on, you dog from the church!”
A battle on a nationally destructive scale is about to begin in the neighboring country of Armand Kingdom.
◆◆◆
A surefire blow from the arrow entrusted by Holy Knight Reidos.
However, it was stopped by a man in black with his bare hands.
"I see. So these guys were also decoys. If we didn't have advance information, we would have died, right Geist?"
"This is a plan that I spent decades working on. I can't let it end like this. Of course it involves gathering and manipulating information. It was even factored in that I would be targeted."
After seeing the Awakened Magician's arrow, you can react and stop it.
There is probably no other monster like that other than Hades Shu Arclight. More precisely, there is no one other than the combination of Shu and Iris.
Iris stopped time the moment a mysterious light broke through the basement ceiling. Despite being the quickest to react, the arrow still reached just short of Geist's heart. Shu used death magic to kill the kinetic energy and grabbed it.
Iris wouldn't have been able to react if she didn't have advance information that she would be shot by the Holy Knight of the Heavenly Eye. Just to react to this surprise attack, he had prepared by slowing down his sensory time.
"Good job, Iris."
That's why Shu praised him for being able to stop it like this. Slowing down perceived time means that the world moves more slowly. Iris must have had a really boring time.
“It’s special because it’s Shu-san’s request!”
"I'm really glad I didn't make you my enemy. No, really."
"Hmph! I'm growing too!"
The ability to manipulate time is one of the powers that Shu is concerned about. In particular, his ability to send magic to the past and interfere with cause and effect is extremely strong. It was as if Iris had acquired a different type of instant death ability than Shu. As expected, there is a limit to the amount of magical power that can be used at once, so it is not possible to go back 100 or 200 years. However, it is theoretically possible for Iris to annihilate Shu if she carefully prepares by organizing a ritual.
However, it is reassuring if this foul ability is also an ally.
"So, Geist. Are those holy knights enough for the Philosopher's Stone?"
"That's enough. There are five holy knights who will act as catalysts for the ritual. The condition is that they be high-ranking holy knights."
"So you're saying it's okay to kill two people?"
"No. The Philosopher's Stone cannot be created with just the five catalysts. We will extract the magic equipment from the remaining two, integrate them, and incorporate them into the Philosopher's Stone."
"I see...then it's finally time."
"Hmm. Let's begin the ritual. Let's have you move to the corner of the room."
"You seem to be calm, but you still look pale. Did you eat something strange?"
"There's no need to worry too much. The ritual will be a success."
Geist was obviously sweating strangely and looked like he was not feeling well. The activation of magic is directly connected to one's ability to think and calculate, so its effectiveness depends on one's physical condition. From Shu's point of view, he was a little worried about whether the Philosopher's Stone would be successfully generated.
(Well, if the person himself says he will succeed, then that's fine.)
Shu and Iris decided to move to the corner of the room and watch the ceremony.
Then Geist waved his arms lightly. Then, the Holy Knights, whose entire bodies were pierced by his threads and their freedom taken away, began to move on their own. By moving the threads, their bodies are moved, and they writhe in pain as their wounds are torn open. But not to the point of death.
When Geist stood in the center of the room, a bluish-white light illuminated the floor from there, and the spell unfolded. Also, a regular pentagon is drawn surrounding him, and five of the holy knights are fixed at the apex. The remaining two, including Gordon, whose arm was torn off, were pinned in the corner of the room.
The creation of the Philosopher's Stone requires a complex technique, and at the same time requires precise magical manipulation.
Even if Shu is a monster, it's not magic that a person with enough training can use alone. Therefore, Geist decided to prepare a catalyst.
"Mr. Shu. What kind of magic ceremony is that? To me, it looks like you're just activating the magic to create magic stones in parallel. It doesn't look like you can create a philosopher's stone with something like that."
"Iris is right. That's a technique for stealing the magical equipment from the Holy Knights... five Holy Knights and generating magic stones. The Philosopher's Stone has nothing to do with it."
"Then how do you make the Philosopher's Stone?"
“Ah, actually, the underground sewers in this old city area are made up of simple magic formations.They are used to specify ranges and concentrate power.There are probably other magic formations planted in various places as well. It seems like they are connecting various magic formations using underground magic formations and making them resonate... and converting the entire royal city of Melgate into a great magic formation.Five Holy Knights are assisting in this process. That means there are enough magic stones.”
That was also the reason why our partner, Valgate, was in charge of the water supply business. Complete the invisible magic formation called the underground sewer and make it a path of power. Then, magic circles are placed in various places and linked together, so that the city itself functions as a magic circle.
This is truly the work of a wise man.
And the magic meant by the city magic circle is the creation of the Philosopher's Stone.
"The lives of all the humans in this city... well, I condense a certain kind of soul to create the Philosopher's Stone. The magic power gathered will be of the highest class. A magic stone that can instantly activate any forbidden spell. ...In other words, the Philosopher's Stone is completed.''
When Shu read the plan at Balgate's mansion, he noticed this city magic circle. I didn't know the details of the other magic circles prepared in various places, but I immediately knew that at least their function was to concentrate power from the entire city. From there he made a prediction and learned Geist's true purpose.
"In short, everyone in this city will be caught up in the generation of the Philosopher's Stone, their souls will be sucked out, and they will die. The Philosopher's Stone is created from the hundreds of thousands of humans in this city."
"Huh... so we're in danger too!?"
"No problem. We have death magic power."
Shu exuded a black aura from his body, surrounding himself and Iris. If you are inside the jet-black sphere that looks from the side, the magical effects will be destroyed and you will not be able to reach it.
"Now then, shall we wait quietly until the Philosopher's Stone is completed?"
“As expected.”
They go through trouble to get what they want even though they know they will get dragged into it.
Iris was a little taken aback by Shu's actions.
uhh... why a chapter 159 doing in chapter 134 ?
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