Chapter 1-51 : The Head Hunting Princess VS The Tempest Queen (part 3)
I swung my blade horizontally toward Rin’s neck.
She was distracted by the tree I planted, and I was sure I would get her.
However, when my blade was only about a few inch away from reaching the red line on Rin’s neck, suddenlyー
「ー【STURM】！！」(Rin)
ーBWOOOOOOOSHH!!
「Ukhh!!」(Alice)
Strong winds swirled around Rin and spread quickly, forming a tornado. It blocked my blade and sent me flying backward.
Did she notice me? Dammit! I was so close!
I quickly stabbed my wakizashi into the floor and held onto it so as not to be blown away further by the wind.
I raised my head and looked at Rin.
She turned around and grinned at me.
「Phew… That was close. I thought I was done for, but too bad for you; I realized your plan at the last second~」(Rin)
She looked relaxed as usual, but I could see cold sweat running down her temple. It seemed that she was panicked for a second.
But, as expected from Rin. She noticed I would attack her from behind and quickly cast【Sturm】.
That spell is powerful, but there are consequences. Other than the fact that it costs a lot of MP, Rin won’t be able to move while channeling that spell. Also, since this is a wind spell, it can be blocked by an earth wall.
That’s right! Earth wall!.
I held the handle of my wakizashi with one hand and reached the other hand toward the ground.
「You think I will let you~?」(Rin)
However, before I could cast the spell, Rin boosted the power of her tornado.
The wind became much stronger and more violent in a split second. It was so strong that it lifted my entire body.
I was still holding onto my wakizashi that was stuck in the floor, but the wind continued to push me away until, eventually, my blade was pulled off the floor.
Losing the only thing that was holding me in place, I was blown away outside the battlefield and slammed hard into the solid wall surrounding the arena.
「Gha!!」(Alice)
The impact took a little bit of my HP away, but that wasn’t the worst part.
Rin’s wind was so strong that it got me stuck on the wall. I couldn’t move. Moreover, it also inflicted some slash-type damage on me, leaving cuts all over my body.
I could see blood starting to flow from the cuts, and I noticed two debuff icons under my HP bar: 〈Bleed〉and 〈Bruise〉.
〈Bleed〉caused me to continue losing HP, while〈Bruise〉prevented me from moving wounded body parts freely.
This is really bad.
「I never thought I would have to cast【Sturm】at its maximum power. It sucks a lot of my MP, so I didn’t want to use it.」(Rin)
Fortunately, it didn’t last long. To save her MP, Rin stopped channeling her spell, and the tornado disappeared. At the same time, I fell to the floor.
Now I got the chance to use an ointment to remove these debuffs, but my limbs, especially my arms, felt really heavy and hard to move due to〈Bruise〉status. Moreover, there were so many cuts all over my body. I couldn’t apply the ointment properly.
Ignoring my condition, Rin continued.
「Alice, you can’t move in that state, can you~? As a reward for giving me a hard time, I’ll finish you off with my other ultimate spell!」(Rin)
Declaring she would end the match, Rin stretched her arm toward me. A small wind began to swirl around her arm like a small tornado, and at the same time, lightning sparks started to appear around her body.
「This is a combination of lightning and wind magic. It takes a while to activate, so it’s hard to use in combat, especially against someone who can move quickly like you. But you can’t move now~」(Rin)
「ー!」(Alice)
No, no, no! This is bad! Forget about ointment. I have to get away from here now!
I tried to move, but no matter how much AGI I had, it was pointless if I was still under the〈Bruise〉status. I couldn’t move my legs as freely as I wanted.
「Alice, it was fun, but it ends here~【Tempest Railgun】!」(Rin)
Rin shot a charged tornado-like bullet wrapped in lightning sparks toward me.
I can’t dodge it, but I can’t just stay still and receive such a powerful attack.
Luckily, I still have some MP since I drank a mana potion earlier when I made the tunnel, so I can still cast my spells.
「【Earth Grand Shield】!」(Alice)
Without thinking twice, I cast the slightly more powerful version of【Earth Shield】 and deployed a huge, sturdy earthen wall in front of me.
I doubt it could hold Rin’s ultimate spell, but it was better than doing nothing.
And just as I expected, Rin’s tornado bullet penetrated my wall like it was nothing and immediately destroyed it. It then hit me directly.
「GAAAAAAAAAA!!」(Alice)
It pushed me and slammed me into the wall, greatly reducing my HP.
Taking so much damage, I fell face down on the ground.
That was such a powerful spell, but thanks to my【Earth Grand Shield】reducing its force slightly, I managed to survive with 10% HP left.
「Ughh…」(Alice)
I’m still alive, but I don’t have much HP left. Moreover, I still have〈Bleed〉status.
Do I still have a chance to win…?
I felt despair. It was nearly impossible for me to win.
I started to think of giving up, but then I heard footsteps.
「Alice, are you still alive?」(Rin)
It seemed that Rin was walking toward me.
It gives me hope.
I never thought she would be so careless and come closer.
A ranged attacker, like a magic user, shouldn’t get too close to their enemies. She should know that.
Does she get close because she worries about me?
No, it doesn’t matter.
Now that she’s within range, it’s my chance to use this ‘trump card’ and strike back.
「…【Graviton… : Ten Folds…】」(Alice)
While lying face down on the ground, I whispered and cast a spell on myself.
Right after, I felt my entire body was being pressed against the floor by a great force as if there were a big boulder on top of me.
Of course, I didn’t make myself suffer like this without a reason. It was a setup for my attack later.
「Ara~ You’re still alive. I didn’t expect you would survive that. That’s Alice for you~」(Rin)
「…..」(Alice)
Rin didn’t seem to notice I had just cast a spell.
I slowly looked up and saw my best friend smiling. She was looking down at me from the edge of the arena floor.
「Alice, you did your best, but you have no chance to win. I don’t want to hurt my best friend more than this, so can you please give up~?」(Rin)
「…No…」(Alice)
「Hm~?」(Rin)
「I said… Not a chance…」(Alice)
Rin, you’re so careless.
I lost hope a moment ago, but now that you’re standing right in front of me, I have a chance to win.
She must be thinking I can’t do anything in this state. After all, a melee fighter who depends on speed is not a threat when they can’t move their limbs freely.
That’s not wrong, but I still have magic.
「You’re still not giving up? You’re persistent as always~ But, Alice, you lose.」(Rin)
「No… Rin… You lose…」(Alice)
「Fufu~ You still have the nerve to joke around in that state. Alright, I’ll finish you off now.」(Rin)
Rin stretched her arm toward me, but before she could cast her spell, I cast mine.
Rin, you shouldn’t have come closer.
「【Swap Gravity】!」(Alice)
「ーUgh!?」(Rin)
Right after I cast the spell, Rin fell hard to the ground and lay face down just like me; at the same time, I no longer felt the force that was pushing me down.
「Wh-What on earth is happening!? I can’t… move! Alice, what did you do!?」(Rin)
「Simple… I just swapped our gravity…」(Alice)
「Swap what!?」(Rin)
Rin looked so confused and shocked.
She must have never thought I had another ‘trump card’.
Since I had learned earth and dark magic, I got the chance to learn gravity magic as well.
Of course, I can’t learn advanced spells yet.【Graviton】and【Swap Gravity】are basic spells. They’re not powerful ones, but they can be useful depending on how you use them.
【Graviton】allows you to apply gravity on yourself. People thought that it was a useless spell since you only made yourself heavier. However, this spell is actually a setup for【Swap Gravity】, which allows you to swap gravity with a nearby target within a certain range.
This is a great combo technique, but it’s not easy to use.
First of all, it’s a very risky move since I have to cast【Graviton】on myself first and won’t be able to move because of that, exposing myself to my opponents’ attacks.
Second of all, my【Swap Gravity】only works if my target is nearby.
If Rin hadn’t gotten close and had chosen to finish me off from a distance instead, I probably would have lost.
Other than that, this technique has another flaw. My【Swap Gravity】spell had a very short duration. It was only ten seconds.
That’s right. I only have ten seconds before Rin can move again. I have to hurry.
She used her two most powerful spells on me. I doubt she has enough MP to cast another【Sturm】.
「Khh…!」(Alice)
I slowly stood up and walked staggeringly toward Rin.
I was still losing HP because of the〈Bleed〉debuff, but my arms were heavy and slow. I didn’t want to waste a few precious seconds to drink a potion to heal. If I did that, I wouldn’t have enough time to finish her off. She would break free and kill me for sure.
I glanced at my HP bar as I walked.
《HP: 5%》
「Hahh… Hahh…*breathe heavily*」(Alice)
「Fufu… I never thought you had such a secret weapon. Well done, Alice~」(Rin)
《HP: 4%》
Lying flat on the ground helplessly, Rin smiled at me.
Instead of feeling annoyed, she looked proud for some reason, judging from her expression.
I couldn’t help but smile too.
《HP: 3%》
「Aa-ahh… I should have kept my distance and attacked you from afar. I made a huge mistake as a magic user.」(Rin)
She was regretting her decision.
But… I still don’t understand why she approached me.
《HP: 2%》
I’m starting to lose consciousness.
My sight is blurry, and my body feels heavy.
Almost there… Just a few more steps…
《HP: 1%》
Seeing me approaching, Rin closed her eyes.
She seemed to have given up.
I held my wakizashi as tightly as possible with my shaky hands and…
Swung it toward her neck…
I… wiー
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And we have a cliffhanger. Damn.