―――Battleship Elpis
“Demon-Human Blue Battle Frenzy!”
Bel’s blue magic power concentrated on her leg armor, seeping into the gaps. Swollen with immense magic power, the leg armor transformed, and Bel’s beautiful form shifted into its true demonic shape. Horns, wings, and a tail, previously hidden by her fake hair ornament, were clad in a magical armor, and her sharp, vicious legs scattered immense gales of wind. Her target was a former ally. Yet, she had no hesitation now.
“Neck, acquired!”
Ange, wearing a black robe with one cat ear, switched into her true assassin mode, completely removing her sanity limiter. Her sole target now was Riod’s neck, and she had become a persistent shadow wielder who would pursue it to the ends of the earth. Hidden within her black clothing and beneath her sleeves, numerous concealed weapons likely drooled in anticipation of her preferred prize.
“My, my, what a racket. Here, Bel-kun. It seems to be a gift from her.”
The blood spear launched by Estoria, even as she was scorched by flames, was indeed heading straight for Riod’s heart. However, the situation changed with a single glance from Riod. As if responding to his strong gaze, a spatial distortion appeared directly in front of him. The distortion then appeared near Bel, whom Riod subsequently fixed his gaze upon. The distortion in front swallowed the blood spear and spat it out before Bel, who had circled to his rear.
“—!”
The power of the blood spear, launched by Estoria’s strong arm, was considerable, even as the spear itself melted. Perhaps due to the spear’s properties, Bel saw the entire spear pulsing. This was clearly different from their surprise attack. One would expect allies to coordinate their movements beforehand, but Bel and Estoria’s animosity was common knowledge. Such a thing was impossible.
“Hmph!”
Judging that its properties were unknown and it should not be received based on its appearance, Bel intercepted it with a blue wind slash technique, the “Blue Wind Devouring Slash.” Thinning its color, she blew the blood spear away into the depths of this space.
“Aaah! Hey, what are you doing?!”
“It’s your fault for carelessly throwing things around.”
“It was a desperate move! A de-spe-rate move!”
“Didn’t you also boast about your regeneration speed?”
Their argument, which showed zero cooperation, showed no signs of stopping even in the midst of battle.
“My, my, it seems even easier to fight than I thought.”
“Is that so?”
—Jalari.
Riod felt a strange sensation in his left foot and heard the sound of chains scraping. Looking down, he saw a black chain with a weight attached to its tip wrapped around the place where he felt the oddity.
“Hooh…! With that, it is indeed possible to pass through just before entanglement. I believe it’s a special weapon from Traage?”
“As expected of the Guild Master, you are well-informed. I’ll take your ankle!”
What Ange was wielding was a kusarigama, a new weapon she had started using on Kelvin’s recommendation. Normally, even if Ange threw knives or kunai in an “Unblockable” state, they would become inapplicable targets the moment they left her hand, rendering Riod’s earlier interceptions possible.
However, with this kusarigama, even if she threw the weight and the chain moved towards the enemy, the sickle remained in Ange’s hand. Therefore, she could toggle the intangibility on and off at her will. If even light could be rendered intangible, it would not reflect in Riod’s eyes.
“Ankle, you’ve expanded your defensive range considerably.”
“No, no, the main target is still the neck? However, it’s close to the Guild Master’s eyes, so I thought you might dodge even at the last moment. Even after activating my switch, I’ve learned to compromise!”
“I-Is that so. It’s a good point. And your positioning is also not bad.”
Looking down from directly above, Ange, Bel, and Estoria had positioned themselves in a triangle around Riod, the center of the battlefield. The greatest threat when facing Riod was undoubtedly his “God Eye.” By forming this formation, at least one of them would not be in his line of sight. Despite their bickering, they were at least doing the minimum required.
“Oh, you still have room to spare? Let me tell you, that chain is a custom order from Kelvin. It won’t break easily.”
“Heh heh, Bel-kun, you’ve come to trust Kelvin-kun quite a bit. Has your affection for your sister transferred to him as well?”
“…I feel like I’m going to explode from stress just today.”
“Uncle, don’t bother with such a pitiful girl, deal with me instead!”
“Ahah! If you’re too distracted by the other two, I’ll take your head instead!”
The unleashed death triangle unleashed continuous attacks from its corners. Ange, using her body and one arm to secure the chain, threw various hidden weapons with her free hand. Bel created blades with the wind from her leg armor and unleashed them with a variety of kicks. Estoria retrieved another blood spear from somewhere and, ignoring Bel’s warning, threw it with all her might.
(I see. Even if some of the attacks are blocked, the goal is to hit with at least one through sheer volume. Is this Ange-kun’s doing, knowing my weaknesses so well?)
Riod increased the power in his left leg, which was being tightly pulled, and thrust his longsword into the floor. Then, facing the storm-like onslaught, he spread both hands wide.
“—However, you haven’t seen this before, have you?”
“Gah…!”
“Hah!?”
Ange and Estoria, facing his palms, let out surprised cries. There, a pair of rolling eyes glared open. Having eyes on one’s palms is impossible for demons or vampires, let alone for any except exceptionally rare races. It was certainly impossible for a human.
“The God Eye allows the use of all types of magic eyes. Therefore, it’s not strange to use them in such a manner, is it? I can use composite magic eyes by combining magic eyes.”
Even as Riod spoke, the three’s attacks were being absorbed by the magic eyes and nullified. They instantly understood it was some kind of spatial manipulation ability. However, no matter how much they understood, they could no longer stop it.
“Ange-kun would pass through it, and Estoria-kun has near-immortal regenerative abilities. Indeed, I shall bestow these upon you. Bel-kun, please accept them.”
Likely something similar to the magic eye that manifested on his palms, a fifth eye opened on Riod’s forehead, and he glared menacingly at Bel. It wasn’t necessarily to return the stare she gave him first, but the eye spat out all the absorbed attacks. Its destination, naturally, was Bel.
“Blue Wind Counter Barrier!”
The combined attacks collided with the barrier created by Bel. The barrier deflected the added force, which was amplified like a rubber ball, changing its direction diagonally and flying towards a giant machine installed in the space, colliding with it. While not all the machines were destroyed, the damage was immense.
“Oh, please don’t break too much. Even under Kuromel’s magic control, these are the ship’s vital organs. Repairing them will be quite a chore.”
“Tch! You look more demonic than I do.”
“U-Um, it’s outside my defensive range, perhaps?”
“…Guild Master, what is that form?”
At some point, he had used a flame magic eye, and the upper half of Riod’s clothes had burned away, revealing his upper body.
“From now on, I shall face you with my all. Therefore, I want you to use all your strength, skills, and abilities without hesitation. However, all of them will be analyzed.”
It wasn’t just the magic eyes on his palms or forehead. His exposed body had countless eyes opened, each exuding a different atmosphere.
