My strength in battle lies in close combat.
That’s why I was only thinking about cutting down the enemies in front of me.
So, when the enemy appeared far in the distance, I had wrongly convinced myself that my strengths couldn’t be displayed.
No, it took me a while to realize that it wasn’t so.
While controlling a torrent of magic power, I poured magic into the Ore Tree to create a single giant sword.
It’s true that close combat is my specialty.
If that’s the case, then the range of my slashes can be considered my territory.
In terms of traditional attack range, it was the range that allowed me to step forward from a single sword’s reach.
The fortress floating in the sky, barely visible, was certainly outside that range.
Yes, because of that initial thought, my vision must have narrowed.
Wasn’t one of the first things I learned after joining this company to discard common sense?
Who decided that close combat means you can’t cut down distant enemies?
Is it useless because the blade can’t reach?
If so, then you just need to make it reach!
Then, I can utilize even conceptual attacks that would normally be diluted to their fullest extent.
Idiot, moron, you’re strange.
All those words are compliments to me.
In the momentary pause, in that gap, the blade of magic I had created rapidly grew in size, already reaching a length that seemed like it would pierce the heavens.
But, it’s not enough, still not enough, grow more, more!
“Stop him!”
The preparation for that attack certainly takes time, and as the knights noticed what I was trying to do, they rushed towards me while I was defenseless in my attack preparation.
Well, as the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot, so I started quickly.
This magic control is quite difficult.
If I mishandle it, this magic will cause a major explosion.
But, well, it’s not like I didn’t consider this possibility.
“I’m counting on you, Valse.”
“Yeah, yeah! It’s my turn! Today’s magic is abundant, so I’ll give it my all!”
Valse-san, who is a High-ranking Spirit I summoned after formally signing a contract, and who is lending me a hand under the promise of defeating the Sun God.
A colossal white serpent writhed, instantly swallowing the Pegasus.
The appearance of the giant serpent, looking like a monster, further increased the chaos on the battlefield.
“The enemy is just a snake! Aim for its head! If you crush it, you can kill it!”
It’s quite impressive that someone can issue instructions to concentrate attacks amidst that chaos, but unfortunately, that’s a bad strategy.
This snake is not just any snake.
It’s a servant of a High-ranking Spirit that controls space and time.
“The attack… stopped!?”
The magic spells that were frozen in time were instantly rendered useless.
The arrows were the same.
Stopped by time, their momentum killed in mid-air, and then released, they lost their inertial force, fell to the ground powerlessly, and were crushed by the giant serpent’s body.
As the giant serpent coiled around me, letting out a menacing hiss, I felt its reliability and focused on the growth of this blade.
Thanks to Suella, the magic supply is also managed.
“Oh my, there are so many enemies. I don’t really like doing things like this, you know. Because…”
Still, Valse-san kept imposing a sensation on me as if something was being ripped away.
“When I go all out, it becomes like bullying the weak against most beings.”
Her reason for disliking battles is that she finds no interest in them.
Her specialty is space-time.
She manipulates space and controls time.
“My… body…”
“What is this!?”
Space Static—not only the Pegasus Knights attempting to charge but also the Angel soldiers trying to provide support were frozen in mid-air.
“I can compress them like this, but then repairing this space afterward would be troublesome. So, this time, I’ll show you this.”
Not only the difference in magic power but also her experience in magic proficiency is vastly superior.
Humans who can be called excellent by human standards cannot possibly confront her, no matter how they try.
“See here, where do you think this is?”
If space is crushed, the balance of space is disrupted.
She chose a magic spell that would be easy to clean up precisely because cleaning up the aftermath is troublesome.
However, even this magic, which she calls easy, is a divine not just an exceptional technique for humans.
Spatial transfer exists as an advanced technique that moves objects to different locations.
However, the technique of connecting space to space does not actually exist.
Transfer gates are also an application of spatial transfer using magic circles.
I am merely moving using magic myself, not connecting spaces to move between them.
“The answer is the deep sea, a world of perpetual darkness at a depth of 10,000 meters.”
Connecting spaces.
Beyond the gaping hole in space lies darkness.
Did Isal ever have anyone who peered into that darkness where something writhed?
Perhaps, I might be experiencing something that is a first in the world, the faces of the Pegasus Knights, though I can’t see them through their helmets, surely aren’t composed.
Valse-san said it was connected to the deep sea at a depth of 10,000 meters.
In other words, at Valse-san’s discretion, the water, including the water pressure at that depth, would gush out from the slightly opened hole.
And the Pegasus Knights, though they wouldn’t realize it, she has cleverly connected another space behind them to avoid damaging our side.
So, please enjoy the experience of bathing in deep-sea water, a first in the world.
“Now, it’s time for a bath.”
The moment Valse-san snapped her fingers, the transparent membrane vanished.
With a roaring sound, the water surged from the opening and poured down on the Pegasus Knights with incredible force.
The Spatial Static was released, and they were swept away by the torrent, enemies flowing into another dimension.
“Whew, that was refreshing.”
There was no mercy, not at all.
They weren’t even given the option to fight.
Magical defense, physical defense—none of it mattered.
She overwhelmed them with simple mass and overwhelming magic power, literally wiping out their entire army.
Filled with a sense of accomplishment, Valse-san turned towards me. She gave me a radiant, sunflower-like smile, but to create such a scene, an unbelievable amount of magic power was consumed from me.
If not for Suella’s assistance, I would have been exhausted, gasping for breath.
“Is that so? That’s good then.”
At the point where I didn’t give the instruction, the consumption of that magic power was my fault.
I won’t complain since she bought me enough time until my own preparation was complete.
Rather, by eliminating nearly 70% of the Pegasus Knights at once, the enemy was visibly shaken and intimidated.
“They probably won’t come close for a while now. Ah, it really is fun to unleash a big move first.”
Can you believe that, despite creating such devastation, she claims she doesn’t really like fighting?
No, perhaps it’s *because* she doesn’t like it that the devastation was limited to this extent.
If she were a bloodthirsty combat enthusiast who disregarded consequences, this battlefield itself would have turned into a scene from hell.
“That’s good. My preparations are also complete.”
With such power, it might have been faster if I had asked Valse-san to bring down that floating fortress from the beginning.
However, it’s not good to be completely reliant.
If Valse-san has shown me her power, it’s now my turn to show mine.
“A fearsome blade. How much will it cut?”
“At least, I intend to cut the castle floating over there.”
“I was careful not to alter the terrain, you know? You be careful too.”
“I’ll do my best.”
My face, as I created a blade that pierced through the sky, not just reached it, was probably wearing an unusual smile.
A ferocity inherited from my instructor.
The strike I am about to unleash is vastly different from the attacks so far.
“Now then, compared to the tower back then, show me your hardness!”
It’s useless to try and dodge; from this position, a slight adjustment is all it takes to slice down the opponent.
Honestly, I can’t wait for what I’m about to do.
I sent a telepathic warning to my allies, giving them a few seconds to assume defensive postures. In that time, I took a deep breath.
Is my consciousness sharpened, or are the enemies coming towards me moving incredibly slowly?
With that speed, they’ll all be stopped by Valse-san.
As expected, the angels and the remaining Pegasus Knights were stopped once again.
And the moment I held my breath, I took a large step forward.
“CHAAAAAAARRRRGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
The Jigen-ryu style that requires no second strike.
The origin of my sword technique comes from that.
However, they probably didn’t anticipate me cleaving through clouds, splitting the air, and slicing apart a castle floating in the sky.
Thinking it would be troublesome if it was defended, I swung the Ore Tree downwards with such force that I intended to drive it into the ground.
My muscles screamed. Even my enhanced body wasn’t designed to swing such a colossal sword.
But, it’s not a problem.
It just creaks.
I can swing it with this level of stress.
If I miss, it will be a complete waste.
To adjust the magic blade so it would catch the floating fortress, I had already swung it down.
With a deviation of a few millimeters, this sword would miss.
It’s difficult to make fine adjustments with such a broad technique.
But I won’t miss.
I can’t miss.
Perhaps my feelings bore fruit, as my blade swung straight towards the fortress.
The opponent deployed a barrier.
This created a slight struggle.
But it doesn’t matter.
My attack is a slash that cuts through anything I intend to cut.
Mere strong defenses are no different from scrap paper.
Beyond a few tenths of a second of struggle, the barrier was broken, and the blade struck the fortress, bisecting it diagonally.
I felt the sensation of having cut it.
However, the blade, having been swung down, couldn’t be stopped and continued to cut into the ground.
The mountain was split in two, dust clouds billowed, and yet the blade plunged deeply into the ground, and only after its spell was completely released did the attack stop.
“I overdid it.”
“You went too far.”
This is not a level of destruction that an individual could create.
The bisected fortress, the parts that were no longer floating, began to fall one after another, and even the critical components were in a severely unbalanced state.
At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before it crashed.
I neutralized the enemy’s floating fortress.
That’s good, but looking at the deep, track-like mark I had carved as the price for it, I realized I had misjudged the force.
Even with this body, I couldn’t stop the blade that had shot high into the sky at the ground, nor could I cleverly release its spell and disperse it immediately after cutting.
The moment I thought I had cut through it, I had, in fact, released the spell.
However, I had infused it with so much dense magic that it couldn’t be dispersed instantly.
If I had swung it down with my full power, the scene might have been even more horrific.
Valse-san’s exasperated words were followed by the cheers of our army, who, upon grasping the situation, erupted in celebration.
And the enemy, stunned by the fall of their castle, was speechless.
“Impossible.”
“It’s God’s castle. It can’t fall.”
“That’s right! That’s an illusion shown by the enemy!”
Unable to accept reality, they imagined a reality they could accept.
“We will not be swayed by the schemes of evil demons! Have courage! Drive out the enemy!”
Unable to accept it as reality, they became death warriors.
They had the will to win even in death shining in their eyes.
Facing them, I let out a large sigh and shouldered the Ore Tree.
Today’s word:
Sometimes I feel that conventional ideas exist to be broken.
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