### Another Side
“This is bad, leader, it’s too bad! Seriously, I mean it! Seriously, leader!”
“Hey Minami, control your vocabulary and your laughter.”
Minami clutched her stomach, laughing almost to the point of hyperventilation, slamming her hands on the desk repeatedly. Katsu, who had been her childhood friend for years grappling with her uncontrollable laughter, seemed unable to comprehend what made her find it so amusing. Instead, he pointed out her deteriorating vocabulary due to the video playing before them.
The figure of Jirou on the screen was truly invincible. The selected participants, who lunged at Jirou like in a gag movie, were sent flying one after another. The scene of mobs being blown away like in a game might look easy, but in reality, it couldn’t be achieved without considerable skill. Understanding this, none of the people present denied Minami’s reaction.
The place they were in was the Party Room, a space they used regularly. They had adjusted their schedules to take about three days off work to watch the selection exam Jirou was participating in. They had chosen this location because they thought it would be more convenient to have a well-equipped environment, anticipating a long-term battle. They had heard that other parties were gathered in similar ways, and some administrative staff had also obtained permission to gather in groups to watch the broadcast. Thus, Kaido and his friends had gathered among themselves to this point.
“Well, you can’t help it, Katsu-kun. It’s hard not to laugh, be amazed, agree, or be taken aback by Senpai’s invincibility. You can’t just react with silence.”
“That’s right, Himik. It seems older sister has found a good person to set her sights on. Don’t you think so, Miik?”
“Indeed, Miik. To be able to be with someone with such talent, older sister certainly isn’t one to be underestimated.”
“If you’re going to show off, do it somewhere else.”
“Now, now, Karen-chan.”
Multiple large screens displayed footage of familiars from various directions, and Kaido’s group was watching the broadcast from their preferred spots, whether it was on sofas, zabutons, or regular chairs. However, Kaido, who was surrounded by pre-teen girls, was playfully teased by Kitamiya, as if he could be reported for keeping them.
It was as if they were always this close. They were crammed three people onto a sofa meant for two. Kaido sat boldly in the center, with the two smaller girls nestled beside him, practically at zero distance, pressed against him. It was a scene that could make some people shed tears of envy, and others would undoubtedly dial 110. For Kitamiya, rather than wanting to scold them for being frivolous during an important moment, her own unfulfilled romantic experiences and frustration at not being able to honestly rely on Katsu caused her to speak with a hint of jealousy.
Amelia, gently admonishing them, looked at Jirou on the screen with a sense of resignation.
“I just thought about it, but can anyone here block Jirou-san’s attack from earlier?”
The large-scale magic that Jirou had unleashed earlier as a greeting to his instructor was a derivative of Amaterasu, one of Jirou’s trump cards, as Amelia deduced from the knowledge in her library. Its power was such that it could melt and erase everything in its path. It was a flashy attack that seemed to have caused many participants to drop out just by touching it. Amelia, understanding Minami’s “this is bad” feeling to some extent, pondered what she herself would do and posed a question to the surroundings, devising several defensive measures.
“Haa, that was quite amusing. And, um, a way to block the leader’s attack? It seems like the best solution would be to not let him fire it in the first place, doesn’t it? But that seems difficult. If you’re talking about how to deal with it once it’s fired, I have a few methods.”
The first to respond to Amelia’s words was Minami, who had been doubled over with laughter at Jirou’s absurdity. After managing to calm her breathing and return to normal, she pondered for a moment and then declared with certainty that she had several methods, counting them on her fingers. There was no gasp of amazement or impressed reaction to her statement.
“That’s right. For me, I’d focus more on dodging than blocking. Defending against that head-on would likely consume all my magic power and stamina.”
A sense of agreement permeated the air. As if to prove this, Kaido followed Minami’s words, stating that he could also handle it.
“I’m like Kaido-senpai and would aim to dodge. My physique doesn’t have the power to bounce it back like the instructor, and considering what comes after, dodging is cheaper than blocking. With the lengthy preparation time for that attack, I think I could even dodge it if it were launched from beyond my detection range.”
Katsu nodded in further agreement with Kaido’s words. However, while both focused on dodging, they didn’t say it couldn’t be blocked.
“I would attenuate and block it. It would consume quite a bit of magic power, so it’s not a method that can be used many times, but I could block it about three or four times.”
Kaido, a frontliner, and Katsu, who could also be a frontliner. Kitamiya, who was purely a backliner unlike the two, pondered for a moment and then stated her optimal solution. It was a method that, in a way, could be considered a royal road for a mage. However, it was also a method that couldn’t be realized without considerable skill precisely because it was a royal road.
Minami, Kaido, Katsu, and Kitamiya. None of them were surprised that each of them asserted they could handle it.
“You’re amazing!!”
Amelia, who had initiated the conversation, had a premonition about this, so while she expressed admiration, she wasn’t surprised. She was also half-convinced that the word “impossible” wouldn’t be uttered by these people. After seeing Jirou’s grueling training schedule that day and witnessing his subsequent actions up close, she had thought it unlikely that this party would ever say such a thing. Therefore, as expected, everyone present stated that they could do it.
“That’s right, and Tadashi has a trump card too, doesn’t he? Right, Miik?”
“Yes, Miik. With what we lent him, even an attack like that will be nothing, won’t it?”
“Ho, young ladies, I wish for you to tell me about that matter in detail, gozaru.”
And to go even further, it seemed influenced by the leader’s invincibility on screen. Kaido, whose attention was drawn away from the footage of invincibility by the twin angels’ statement that they had further trump cards, said, “Hehehehe, it’s our secret plan to blow Senpai’s mind! We’ll save the best for last. He said with a sense of superiority, not flustered by the twins’ sudden revelation, and placed a finger to his lips, emphasizing it was a secret.
“Hehehe, then I shall put my gray matter to full use and predict it upfront to spoil the surprise. That way, I can significantly reduce Katsu-senpai’s reaction when he reveals it!”
“Wha-!? Minami-chan! Spoilers are a no-no, a no-no! Absolutely not!”
“Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about, gozaru. What I’m doing is mere speculation, not a spoiler, gozaru. It’s just that I might happen to hit the bullseye in the process, you see~ Well, if by any chance my prediction comes true, the astonishment of praise might not be for Kaido-senpai, but for me who made the prediction, gozaru.”
Minami, with a sly, wicked smile, faced Kaido, who had made a large cross with his arms. Seeing this, Katsu thought that knowing his childhood friend, she might actually predict Kaido’s trump card. It was truly a spoiler killer. Kaido, flustered by Minami, who was about to embody it, thought, “This is the usual scene in a way,” and glanced at the screen.
“Ah.” Katsu, noticing a change on the screen, unintentionally let out a sound.
“What’s wrong, Katsu? Hmm? Ah.”
“Eh, what happened to you two? Ah.”
“What is it, everyone? Is there something changing on the screen? Ah.”
“Eh, what is it? When everyone reacts the same way, I’m getting scared to look.”
Seeing everyone open their mouths in astonishment towards the screen, Amelia, understandably scared, hesitantly looked at the screen that everyone was watching.
“Ah.” Amelia also opened her mouth in the same way and looked at the scene.
### Another Side End
A shiver-like sensation ran down my spine, and I looked in the opposite direction of the instructor. One direction was clear, and I could sense the instructor in a straight line ahead. However, the opposite direction was still obscured and difficult to see. Nevertheless, there was a dense power emanating from the Dragon King in the opposite direction. I underestimated how easy it would be to find the two figures standing there boldly, without hiding, and drank a potion to replenish the magic power for the large-scale magic I had used earlier as a greeting, anticipating contact on the first day.
With preparations complete, just as I was about to move forward on the path I had created myself, I felt that shiver from earlier. Looking back, I saw a dark, ominous cloud gathering inexplicably, and the space there seemed to be gradually distorting. And because I was very familiar with that method of attack, I didn’t hesitate to sprint towards the instructor at full speed.
“Hold on!! Why are you firing something like that!! Are the other candidates trying too hard!? If so, try harder! Specifically, block that!!”
As someone who had experienced an attack akin to a natural disaster, I had to do something about that power. I considered attacking myself to counter the attack, but I knew from the timing that it was going to be fired after I finished my own. In that case, the Amaterasu·Nichiryu I had just used wouldn’t be enough. Takemikazuchi probably wouldn’t reach. I considered other methods, but blocking that would be a bit difficult.
In that case, escaping out of range would be the best option. “Will I make it!?” I sprinted at full speed with my legs reinforced by magic, running on the slightly melted, heated ground. I placed my left foot before my right foot could burn, and my right foot before my left foot could burn. In theory, it was just a repetition of cooling, stepping, cooling, stepping. I felt like I was closing the distance to the instructor at quite a speed, but I couldn’t afford not to. If I could put some distance between myself and that attack, so be it.
“Ground Zero.”
For some reason, I thought I heard the Dragon King’s voice. And a storm erupted. Even that storm was merely a wind generated by the violence that followed, pushing from behind. Having put some distance between myself and the impending attack, I suddenly stopped to prepare for it. A wave of destruction, perhaps. Facing the approaching scene, I let out a wry smile, thinking, “They’re really going this far.”
It was an area-of-effect attack centered on the Dragon King. The last time I experienced it, monsters in the dungeon unhesitatingly fled at full speed. The immense wave of destruction approaching me was understandable, given that. “Fu, let’s do this, partner!” Escaping outside the range at this speed would be difficult. “Ooh!” In that case, meeting it head-on was the optimal solution. An attack that couldn’t be blocked or dodged.
Quickly wrapping the roots of the Ore Tree around my arm, I began circulating magic. Thirty seconds until the attack reached me. To think that it could reach this point without any attenuation despite the considerable distance – what a ridiculous attack. “There’s no choice but to counter absurdity with absurdity!!” At this point, with my magic being consumed, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to test this technique.
“O darkness, a single thread connecting to the path of Yomi, that which swallows myriad principles.”
I began the incantation. Although it wasn’t yet usable in extremely close combat, I had acquired this outfit magic as a means to counter such wide-ranging attacks. “Deep, deep, deep, deeper than anything, this garment, manifesting according to the guidance of eternal darkness.” The darkness enveloped me from over my armor, and like shedding a garment, I stripped it from my shoulders and let it crawl onto the Ore Tree.
“Now, I shall create the blade of Yomi.”
By the time I uttered the name of the magic, the wave of destruction had reached my eyes. I swung the Ore Tree, held high, into the wave of destruction. “Izanami!!” Born from the results of both the evolution of the Ore Tree and my own growth, it was the strongest dark-attribute blade I possessed. The effect of that dark blade, a technique developed specifically to counter the Sun God. It was.
“What is this insane amount of magic power!? Even with Izanami, I can’t keep up with the magic consumption, you idiot!!”
Magic absorption. A blade that absorbs the magic, the very life force of the object it touches. It specialized in absorbing the opponent’s magic power rather than physical attack power. Thanks to that, I could resist the Dragon King’s attack. The drawback of Izanami was that the magic it could absorb from the opponent was less than the magic it consumed, making it a deficit-inducing magic that significantly depleted one’s own magic power unless the opponent’s magic power was very high.
Moreover, its physical attack power was scarcely more than that of the Ore Tree, making it truly difficult to use. That’s why the Dragon King’s strike, which far surpassed its magic consumption, was like a delicious meal. The destructive magic, drawn into the dark blade. Absorbed through the Ore Tree and blended with my magic, it rapidly generated high-purity magic, further deepening the blade of Izanami.
“Alright!! Thanks for the meal!!” Having absorbed the attack in about ten seconds, I immediately dispelled the Izanami outfit and prepared myself to face the instructor in perfect condition. However, I thought I heard a voice say something was impossible earlier. Was it my imagination?
A word for today:
What is impossible is an impossibility.
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