Ch.206206. Time of Distortion (4)

Charlotte dodged the thrown chain, creating distance.

Until just recently, that child who had burrowed into his arms, sobbing and repeatedly apologizing, was now charging at Michelle like a wild buffalo.

It was an unexpected scene in many ways. Things had worked out well in Lebrant, but…

‘I guess things couldn’t go smoothly on this side too.’

Pimpert’s mental interference magic was, understandably, the most terrifying enemy for humans.

“Grrrr…!!”

What an incredible defensive stance. Just looking at her eyes, it was clear that Charlotte was currently in a berserk state.

Still, I need to gather more information. Junon charged at Charlotte again, feinting with the chain.

Clink! Clang!

The chain bounced away, and unlike before, Junon launched a preemptive attack with his magic armor.

Charlotte countered by freely using water-attribute magic and her unique rapid freezing magic to push back.

Using an ice wall as a springboard to leap upward, she prepared ice spikes and water cannon magic circles.

Junon mercilessly neutralized them with Spell Break.

With her magic attacks that should have been fired into the air neutralized, Charlotte had to immediately deploy different magic to engage in close combat, and this precarious gap ultimately allowed Junon to launch a preemptive strike.

Bang!

“Kyaak.”

The dark blue demon spirit surrounded itself with magical power for defense.

Junon faintly noticed that there had been some change in it as well.

“So it doesn’t strike directly…”

Perhaps because of the experience of being defeated once during the early semester evaluation, it wasn’t striking with brute force. This extreme wariness probably meant it was aware of having been subdued before.

Its habit of trying to create distance and lead into a ranged battle became apparent at a glance.

And another thing that could be felt was anger. How dare you subdue me back then? That kind of atmosphere. It seemed unlikely to flee until this was settled.

‘If I face it directly, I could settle this. But… there would be no aftermath.’

Charlotte wasn’t at full strength either, with her movements slightly sluggish due to accumulated damage to her left leg.

However, the same applied to Junon—he couldn’t afford to face her at full strength either.

The Distortion Pimpert. To face that, Junon needed to conserve his strength.

He needed help.

For example, the red-ponytailed woman behind him right now.

“Can you get up, Michelle?”

“…Thanks to you suddenly appearing.”

“Really? Then I’d like your help.”

“Thank you.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Michelle grabbed the outstretched hand and stood up.

Though she didn’t show it, having nearly had her breath cut off by Charlotte, this hand must have felt incredibly welcome.

At this point, there was no one else present who could help her.

“Grrrk…!”

As his gaze shifted, the girl possessed by the demon spirit immediately created distance, as if on guard.

‘Suddenly backing away? Could it be…’

Though only a single ally, Michelle realized this was the most reliable support she could have in any situation.

Despite their fierce battle just moments ago, she showed no wariness. She had only instinctively raised her guard against Michelle’s blue flames and devised countermeasures while charging, not being this cautious.

If one were to compare this extreme wariness, it was like paying meticulous attention to an opponent who had defeated you once.

Even though her magical power had been considerably burned by exposure to the blue flames, she was still several levels below in terms of raw power.

In other words, was she afraid?

Seeing this, something vaguely came to mind. The day they first encountered Charlotte, when giant Kud Rat corpses were strewn about in Tveshar, he too had been found with his eyes closed.

After that day, Charlotte had come seeking help to control herself, and the berserk control training had begun.

It was becoming clear.

He, covered in wounds all over his body, had likely subdued not the beast, but Charlotte herself.

“How did you turn her back during the early semester evaluation?”

Asked directly, Junon scratched his head awkwardly with an “Uh? Well…” before realizing that the Tembris party had arrived then, and honestly confessed.

“I forcibly injected my magical power into Charlotte’s body and pushed it out.”

“Injected your magical power… to push it out?”

It wasn’t incomprehensible. The cause of Charlotte’s berserk state was unrefined, murky dark blue magical power overthrowing her reason and controlling her brain with instinct.

If one were to unilaterally push out the unrefined magical power and fill it with clean human magical power, Charlotte would naturally regain control of her body.

However, when examining the process in detail, it becomes apparent that it involves tremendous risk.

Controlling magical power within the body is a procedure that even Professor Dalia, who specializes in medical arts, must approach with utmost care.

If even the slightest thing goes wrong in someone else’s body, not your own, even greater problems arise for the caster.

Junon was now awkwardly acknowledging that he had done just that.

“How can I help you?”

There was no time to doubt. If it was possible, if this man could make it a reality, he was the one who could save Charlotte right now.

“She’s in a berserk state, but subduing her isn’t impossible. Her close combat power is quite exhausted now, around B-rank, and her magic power is estimated to be at the strongest end of B, maybe A-.”

“Was there any evidence that she wasn’t completely brainwashed?”

“Charlotte chose this herself. To face the lycans before being brainwashed…”

“I was wondering why there wasn’t a single imperial soldier’s corpse around. So that’s what happened.”

It might have been impossible alone, but with him, things were different.

Currently, Charlotte had entered a berserk state, becoming several times stronger than her original power. In this state, it would take two or three Tembris party members fighting at full strength to capture her.

However, she was now primarily exhausted from fighting the lycans, and had accumulated damage from the blue flames, making this quite feasible.

She wasn’t with the Tembris party members. But there was no doubt this person was comparable to their strength. The protagonist who caused the greatest upset in the faction war was right in front of her—this black-haired man.

“I can only use about 30% of my power. If I pour out all my remaining magical power, it would be enough, but… there’s a limit to each use.”

“Hmm. Then you can still provide ranged support?”

“I can restrict her movements with magic armor.”

“I understand roughly. Let’s see… so that’s the plan.”

With this, all information had been passed on.

She was curious about how he would fight, having created two major upsets in Mistellis.

Michelle listened attentively as he spoke without even a moment’s hesitation.

“I’ll still take the vanguard role. But I’d prefer if you leaned more toward the sorcerer position rather than wizard or mage.”

“Sorcerer position… You want me, not you, to deliver the finishing blow?”

“It’s possible, right? If that firepower hits properly without being blocked.”

“Well, it’s not impossible…”

Michelle couldn’t help but think this was inefficient.

Currently constrained by the immunity buff, she had planned to support Junon to lead the close combat advantageously.

However, Junon’s desired flow of battle was for him to push Charlotte into close combat while Michelle seized the opportunity to launch an attack.

Though they hadn’t filled all positions, the key was a clear division between defense and offense.

In other words, a formation close to the orthodox Kenik 6-formation.

This was an extremely disadvantageous formation in a situation where one’s power was constrained, as it was now.

“What, can’t you do it? Or don’t you trust me?”

“No, no! If you set up the angles, I could easily fire twenty shots. And… I’m not dismissing your skills either.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you. This is the best plan for me.”

The best plan.

Those words gave Michelle a strange sense of discomfort.

‘Come to think of it… that’s strange?’

How on earth had he managed to arrive here?

Every imperial soldier who regained their senses spoke of facing a massive nightmare, so what more needed to be said?

With the mental shock from the nightmare unfolding before their eyes being no small matter, how could he pinpoint this location and come here alone?

He seemed perfectly fine, casually warming up against Charlotte, who was recovering her strength by tearing out and eating lycan hearts.

He was completely different from the soldiers who showed severe aftereffects, each burdened with terrible memories and broken.

“Shoot according to your instincts. With your skill. Got it?”

“…Don’t trust me too much.”

“I trust you because you’re trustworthy. I’m going first!”

Slash!

Junon had already darted forward, mercilessly shattering Charlotte’s ice spikes…

There was so much she wanted to ask, but she couldn’t ask it right now.

***

The world of demon beasts is survival of the fittest. No further theory is needed.

The weak are merely vessels that supply blood, flesh, and magical power as food for the strong.

So they fight desperately. Even on the verge of death, they never lose their will to fight, constantly craving the magical power of their enemies.

If they can seize even a moment’s opening to turn the tables, the one who becomes prey can change.

Thus, the victor, with a body full of wounds, takes everything from the weak as nourishment to recover.

And then they set out to find another prey.

To build strength by consuming and devouring.

To someday change the food chain with their own hands.

To reach the goal of being the ultimate victor at the top of the pyramid.

It didn’t matter if they suffered great injuries.

They could recover by consuming others, and if something challenged them, they would kill it and absorb its power completely.

Power alone was enough.

Because a life form with strong power would never be defeated.

But the demon beast occupying the girl’s body knew. It knew that the bipedal creature before it was a defier of that law.

It was just a slightly taller bipedal creature.

A species called human.

A species incomparably weak compared to other demon beasts spread throughout nature.

Except for small animals, their strength doesn’t match their size at all, nor are they particularly sturdy or quick to recover. Their movements aren’t very fast either.

Their magical power isn’t impressive either, and if charged at directly, their internal organs would be crushed like tofu.

Yet it doesn’t charge in.

Because it had been subdued by this creature with a weak body before.

Because it had experienced having its presence erased by this human it had considered mere prey.

Because it remembered that day when he didn’t let go, his black hair fluttering.

The demon beast, with one defeat imprinted on it, was instinctively keeping its distance from him.

It had to be a ranged attack.

In close quarters, the moment it was caught, it would suffer the same fate.

Crunch-

Water droplets condensed in the air freeze in an instant.

An ice spear formed into a spike shape targeted only one person.

He immediately charged in, breaking and avoiding the ice spears to approach.

Slash!

“Grrrr!”

The ice barrier created for defense split in an instant. That creature had undoubtedly grown stronger than before.

Meanwhile, it had only recovered from the accumulated damage of the blue flames by tearing out and eating three lycan hearts. It absolutely couldn’t afford to give up distance.

It forcibly drew in moisture from the area.

With surging water currents, it completely transformed the local terrain into a frost zone.

So that it could fully use the host body’s main magic anytime, anywhere.

Though the numerous magical formulas put strain on the body, it didn’t matter. That could be resolved later with other prey, and once the faint remaining consciousness of the host was erased, there would be no more strain.

Thus, the forest area froze solid.

Now, it could attack the bipedal being from anywhere.

“A Frost Field, huh? I didn’t know you could use this A-rank magic.”

Though it couldn’t understand human language, it could tell from expressions whether someone was afraid or not.

But why.

Why did that human have such a calm face?

That expressionless face, neither showing threat nor desperately charging in, was eerily frightening.

And that eeriness returned twofold.

Crash!

“!!!”

With the sound of breaking glass, the magic circle shattered, making the blue hair stand on end despite it not being its own body.

The ground that had turned into a frost zone instantly reverted to leaf mold.

It was his doing. But, but!

What was that insignificant magical power in his hands that could cause this?

Finding a completed magical formula shattered before its eyes brought even a vague emptiness.

Whoosh-

“Grrrr!”

An arrow flew. For the demon spirit, this was no time to be distracted.

What stood before it was not prey that was mediocre in both body and magical power, ripe for consumption.

It was a natural enemy. The greatest obstacle to overcome.

Swish!

“Kak!”

It tried to block approaches with its remaining magical power, but each time, there was that annoying woman drawing her bowstring from the side.

When it restricted movement with projectile magic, he would immediately rush in and break it; when it blocked the view with ice walls, he would wrap around chains to jump through the air.

If it tried to make the terrain advantageous or use magic with slow casting speed, the spells would shatter like glass before completion.

Each time it tried to rush in to bind his limbs, arrows would fly to interfere.

Somehow, neither physical attacks nor magical attacks were effective at all.

How could this bipedal creature that couldn’t even match its size overwhelm it? The demon spirit felt it for the first time that day.

The emotion called ‘fear’.

“Kyaaaak!!!”

Unfamiliar with the emotion of fear, the demon spirit denied it and resisted fiercely.

Yes. That was just a slightly taller bipedal creature.

Its magical power wasn’t that abundant, intuitively speaking, and it was a weak being that couldn’t match its size at all.

In summary, it was mediocre in both body and magic, weak and just right to be eaten.

To such a being, I can’t possibly lose.

Thus, self-hypnotizing, it drew out all its senses and desperately used its remaining magical power in the close combat it had feared.

However.

That approaching figure with black hair fluttering was not prey.

Thud.

“Finally caught you.”

There was a massive wall before its eyes. A massive fortress-like wall that wouldn’t collapse no matter how much it crashed into it.

His pitch-black eyes, at a height it dared not look up to, turned this way.

As if looking into an abyss, the startled demon spirit immediately tried to flee, but it was already too late—its entire body was bound by chains.

Despite colliding with full force, it couldn’t break through.

The demon spirit, which had once occupied the girl’s body and looked toward the top of the pyramid, was defeated again, surrendering control of the body.

If it could speak, it might have asked:

What kind of being are you?

Pop!

The magical arrow lodged in the collarbone began to burn away the last remaining presence of the demon spirit.