Chapter 17. Metia Destruction Battle (IV)
Clang~~~
Orange-red sparks and crimson blood splatters danced in the air. Crusch, who had gained distance with Beatrice's help, looked at her right arm. The wound was, at most, a mere graze; even an ordinary person could stop the bleeding in a few minutes.
However, under the effect of Theresia's Divine Protection of the Reaper, these small injuries were turning into unhealable, fatal wounds.
Crusch breathed heavily, looking at Theresia. She understood that the fatigue from high-intensity combat and the negative effects of blood loss were further increasing the gap between herself and her opponent. She looked at the long sword in her hand, indecision in her eyes.
—Lady Crusch, please don't overexert yourself!
—All you great people! I entrust this beautiful Water City of Priestella to you.
The worried face of Ferris and Kiritaka's request upon everyone's departure appeared in the hesitant Crusch's mind.
"Hah~~~"
Crusch sighed, looking at Theresia.
"As a swordsman, I have lost."
"Now, to protect this Water Gate City, please allow my discourtesy!"
Crusch said seriously to Theresia.
Wind began to swirl around her. Crusch compressed the wind magic to its limit and wrapped it around her Lion Heart sword.
She did not conceal the blade, because she knew that doing so against Theresia, who had already seen the full appearance of the Lion Heart sword, would just be a waste of Mana. She focused the Mana on cutting.
The combination of a top-tier sharp sword and the wind magic with the strongest cutting capability allowed her every strike to easily sever the long sword in Theresia's hand.
The Battle Princess and the Sword Saint approached each other once more. T
heresia fought nimbly. Neither Crusch's sword nor Beatrice's magic could strike her. She maintained a high-intensity offense and defense against Crusch, then seized an opening in the fatigued Crusch, thrusting her sword forward violently.
Several strands of crimson hair fluttered in the air. The fatal blow, which was a deliberate feint into an opening, followed by an extension of the sword's attack range with wind magic, only
achieved this small result. Crusch no longer had the energy to cheer Theresia's performance, because Theresia, who had bent backward to dodge the attack, still unleashed a lightning-fast strike despite her center of gravity being heavily offset.
—A feint! No! A slow motion!
The two sharp swords missed each other in the air. Crusch instantly reacted, realizing she had been overwhelmed by the opponent's momentum and misjudged the speed of the thrust. The Lion Heart sword, which she had been using for full defense, was still slashing toward the empty air due to inertia. The deadly thrust was already right before her eyes.
—I'm sorry, Ferris! Wilhelm!
Crusch unhesitatingly unleashed wind magic at Theresia's leg.
Theresia instantly stopped her footwork and dodged the danger, then kicked heavily, causing a floor tile to flip up and block Beatrice's magic next to her.
In an instant, she neutralized Crusch's attempt at a mutual-destruction counterattack and Beatrice's support. Theresia closed in again on the just-standing Crusch, the long sword in her hand tracing countless afterimages in the air.
Crusch temporarily fended off Theresia's frantic offense with her top-tier swordsmanship and the advantage of her weapon. The two were engaged in a beautiful dance, with silver sword sparks at its center. However, the dance had to end eventually.
"Ugh~~"
Her scattered focus, brought on by fatigue, was concentrated once more by the pain, but it was already too late.
Just then, the black-haired boy burst into the battle. Subaru used the iron sword in his hand to precisely block Theresia's pursuit, and then the next instant, his muscles tensed.
Theresia, who was not known for her strength, was swept into the air by Subaru.
"Sir Subaru? Thanks."
Crusch thanked him while tearing off her sleeve to wrap her new wound.
"Beatrice has gone to destroy the Metia. We'll retreat by air once she's done!"
"Understood. It looks like it's too early… to catch our breath!"
"I should still be able to buy us time to catch our breath."
"Sir Subaru!"
"Even if the two of us attacked together, we wouldn't be able to beat her, right? And she doesn't have a stamina setting, does she? Don't underestimate me; playing dirty is what I'm best at."
"I understand."
.
.
.
—City Hall Third Floor—
Swoosh~~~
Three children were rapidly moving down the empty corridor on blue-lit skateboards.
"Are you alright, I suppose?"
Beatrice's voice carried a hint of worry.
"Sister would say, 'Leave it to us!'"
"Miss Beatrice, please don't worry! We are mercenaries!"
The two cat-boys spoke with full vigor, but this was not a good sign. To continue maintaining the magical barrier beneath their feet, they had already asked Beatrice to use Yin Magic to block the sensation of pain. This meant their bodies should not have continued using magic.
Beatrice painfully lowered her head, looking at the two cat-boys stained with fresh blood. She wanted to use healing magic on the two before her several times, but both refused, saying that even if the wounds were healed, they would only worsen again, and Miss Beatrice's Mana should not be wasted on them.
—If only I could draw Mana from the atmosphere like big brother.
Beatrice bit her lip. Consecutive encounters with the Archbishop of Sin, the Witch, and the former Sword Saint had left her with less than 30% of her Mana.
Rather, it was a miracle that 30% remained at all. If it were the Beatrice of the past, absolutely no Mana would be left now.
—Transporting eight people to the Water Plume Pavilion from the air requires 3%. Escaping the battle also requires a certain amount of Mana. If I can destroy the Metia with less Mana, I should be able to squeeze out two healing spells for emergency treatment, right? But will that be in time then?
Beatrice was agonizing over the decision.
"Miss Beatrice, you don't need to blame yourself. We are doing this to get Sister to a safe place as quickly as possible. And we are almost there. In the current situation, we should still have enough breath left for Miss Ferris to find a way."
"Flying and retreating is super cool! The Captain would definitely be jealous."
"Although I fully understand your desire to do something for the person important to you, destroying the Metia like this will be very troublesome for me, okay."
A gentle voice instantly dispelled the optimistic and positive atmosphere. A silver-haired woman blocked the door leading to the Metia with a gentle smile.
"Ugh~"
"Wah~"
Almost immediately, the Tivey brothers jointly unleashed their second Howl. The terrifying sonic attack directly shattered the wall next to Pandora. The quickly advancing skateboards passed through the hole, and then the two leaped off the magical barrier, cautiously watching Pandora standing outside the door.
"Bea… Hetaro!"
Beatrice fell silent, seeing the two flashing thumbs-up at her.
"Buy me one minute."
"Leave it to us!"
"Pulling this off here would be super cool!"
The two cat-boys said with joyful smiles in a desperate situation, then approached Pandora from both sides.
"Come right at me. Please allow me to embrace and savor your resolve until the very end, okay."
Pandora said, revealing a delighted smile.
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