Chapter 120: Attacking the Barrier
"It's better not to," Yuuma frowned thoughtfully. "If we fail, the situation might become even more troublesome."
Haruto lay flat on the ground, limbs spread wide. "But staying like this isn't a solution either."
Mittelt tentatively suggested, "What if we try digging a hole?"
"Sure, you do the digging, and we'll watch."
"Huh? Me, alone?" The fallen angel maid couldn't believe it. "Wouldn't it be faster if we all worked together?"
"As a maid, isn't this something you should do for your master?"
After teasing her, Haruto gazed boredly at the cloudless blue sky. "Rather than digging, it'd be better to try a large-scale attack and see if we can destroy this place."
"But what if we provoke the barrier? It might attack us…"
Unable to reach an agreement, the four of them discussed for a long time but remained seated without taking any action.
It wasn't until Kalawarna began swaying, her face pale, that Haruto and the other two belatedly realized they had been trapped for a very long time.
"We can't stay here any longer. We have to find a way out."
Haruto supported the tall, curvaceous blue-haired woman and said seriously, "All three of us are A-rank. As long as we have magic power, we can maintain our vital signs indefinitely, but Kalawarna can't."
"Warna..." Mittelt looked at her with concern, "It's all my fault, if only I hadn't..."
Haruto shot Mittelt an annoyed glance and snapped, "Enough. Instead of wasting time with empty words, why don't you go dig a tunnel? We might actually get out that way."
The melodramatic atmosphere instantly shattered. Mittelt glared at Haruto indignantly, but her anger deflated when she saw the weakened Kalawarna in his arms.
"Fine! I get it! I'll start digging right now!"
After shouting in frustration, the maid girl ran to the side and began furiously attacking the ground.
"Yuuma, try attacking the edge of the barrier."
Haruto said to Yuuma: "Though it's invisible to the naked eye and undetectable through senses, it should be about three hundred meters away. If nothing else works, try using large-scale magical attacks."
"Understood."
Yuuma spread her black wings, transforming instantly from an innocent-looking girl into a seductive fallen angel wearing black leather lingerie.
At this point, she could no longer afford to worry about potential chain reactions - she could endure, but Kalawarna couldn't.
While Yuuma and Mittelt were desperately trying to break through the barrier, Kalawarna lay in Haruto's arms with a despondent expression.
"Haruto... I've caused you all so much trouble. It's all because I'm too weak..."
Haruto felt exasperated. Did I just scold Mittelt but not you?
"Quiet. If we're really assigning blame, you're the last person who should be blamed."
Haruto hadn't intended to play the role of comforting big brother, but seeing how Kalawarna looked like she was about to faint from exhaustion, he decided to reassure her.
"If Mittelt hadn't been wandering around aimlessly, we wouldn't be trapped here. If Yuuma hadn't brought you along, you wouldn't be trapped. If I hadn't found this place, none of us would be trapped either."
When it came to sophistry, Haruto feared no one. Skillfully twisting the logic, he left the blue-haired beauty speechless.
Seeing Kalawarna's dazed state, he softened his tone, "Just rest for now. We might need your help later."
Kalawarna didn't know what she, being the weakest among them, could possibly contribute, but she obediently nodded and closed her eyes for a brief rest.
Finding a clean spot, Haruto gently laid Kalawarna down and joined the efforts to break the barrier.
He walked to the edge of the pit that was already over ten meters deep and looked down. Mittelt was still digging furiously, her beautiful black-and-white maid uniform now filthy, yet she showed no signs of stopping.
Digging a three-hundred-meter deep tunnel was no simple task - the deeper she went, the more effort it required.
"Keep it up, Mittelt~!"
After glancing at the dust-covered Mittelt and offering encouragement, Haruto turned and walked toward Yuuma.
Compared to digging through the barrier, he thought directly destroying this area seemed more feasible.
"Yuuma, any changes?"
Yuuma dispersed the black magic circle in her palm and shook her head, "No good. Attacks disappear once they cross the barrier. The same happens whether targeting the ground or sky."
"Is that so... Then we really have to try large-scale destruction after all."
In terms of martial arts, his individual combat prowess was quite strong. Although Haruto's magical talent was average, with the help of his dual cultivation ability, he had still mastered several simple large-scale spells.
Cooperating with Yuuma, they avoided the central area where Mittelt and Kalawarna were located and began destroying the barrier from its edges.
"Restless wandering dust, bewildered travelers, the roar of the earth, the call of the stars..."
"Malevolent thoughts, chaotic rebirth, untamed darkness..."
As Haruto continuously chanted the incantation, flickering arcs of electricity began to appear around him.
As the magic circle gradually completed, his eyes snapped open and he shouted in a low voice, "Appear! In the name of heavenly thunder, I summon thee! The lightning that annihilates all living things!"
Boom!!!
Thick bolts of lightning took shape under the immense magical power and violently struck down.
Soil and stones flew everywhere, trees snapped, and charred black craters appeared on the ground.
Haruto continued to output magical power, destroying large areas of this strange place.
On the other side, Yuuma was also chanting magical incantations, though she was using large-scale light magic, whose destructive power was slightly lower than that of lightning magic.
Through their coordination, this bizarre space was visibly changing at a rapid pace. Soon, nearly one-third of the environment had been completely transformed beyond recognition.
Just then, Haruto and Yuuma's vision blurred momentarily before everything returned to its original state.
If not for the fact that the magic circle was still active and the attacks hadn't stopped, Haruto would have suspected he was dreaming.
He stopped supplying magical power, and the magic circle dissolved into points of light that vanished into the air, the violent lightning disappearing along with it.
Haruto frowned as he rejoined Yuuma. "This is troublesome..."
"I've never heard of such a strange barrier either." Yuuma also wore a troubled expression. "Although we haven't been attacked by the barrier, it actually repairs itself automatically. Could someone be maintaining it from outside..."
"Impossible."
Haruto immediately rejected Yuuma's speculation.
"If someone were maintaining this barrier, how terrifying would that person's power have to be."
"Not to mention maintaining it, just setting up such a large barrier would require at least A-rank peak strength. And with such powerful confinement effects, it would likely take an S-rank or higher mage to create it."
Yuuma thought for a moment and nodded. "You're right. And what would be the purpose of keeping us trapped here anyway?"
As the two were pondering this, Mittelt flew over with a despairing expression.
"Lady Raynare..." she pouted sadly, "The hole I dug somehow suddenly repaired itself."
Haruto and Yuuma exchanged glances. It seemed not only the destroyed areas were being restored - when damage reached a certain level, everything within the barrier was being returned to its original state.
Looking at the adorable little maid who seemed on the verge of tears, the two tacitly chose to change the subject.
Yuuma comforted her, "It's alright, if it's restored then so be it. The important thing is you weren't buried inside."
"Mmm..." Mittelt nodded. "Strangely enough, when the dug hole disappeared, I was instantly teleported back to my original position, even though I hadn't even dug three hundred meters yet."
Seeing that her attention had been successfully diverted, Haruto added, "Perhaps the distance below is shorter. It seems digging won't work either."
Mittelt asked in confusion, "Is that so? Then I don't need to keep digging anymore?"
"That's it, it must be this way. No need to keep digging."
After his triple affirmation, Haruto immediately shifted to another topic. "Since we can't find a way out, I'll first try to help Warna break through to A-rank. Once she breaks through, we can slowly wait for rescue."
Haruto didn't know how much time had passed outside, but since he couldn't be contacted, Rias would definitely try to find him.
Given some time, she would surely locate this place, and she might even bring Koneko and the others along.
Haruto didn't think this barrier could trap so many people at once, especially Rias, who was S-rank.
This barrier could repair itself, but if the entire area were destroyed all at once, let's see how it could recover.
Rias's strength was more than enough to accomplish this. When it came to destruction, she was the most skilled.
With magic infused with the Power of Destruction, destroying this entire area would be a breeze.
Taking a step back, even if Rias couldn't break the barrier, after being trapped for a few days, the Gremory family would surely send stronger individuals to search for her.
If the next head of the family disappeared without a trace, Rias's brother, one of the current Maou, might even intervene personally.