第９３２堀：死闘 (Part2)
"Yuki, I know it sounds cowardly, but the enemy will do exactly this without a second thought. If you can't even handle this much, you have no business heading into enemy territory."
With that logic, the match was set.
"I wonder how long they'll last?"
"You didn't set any restrictions, did you? I doubt it'll be a matter of minutes; I suspect it'll be over in seconds."
Indeed, Kagura and the others had challenged Yuki without imposing a single condition.
"Wait—!? What is this!"
"H-huh!? Micos-chan, I can't move my body at all!"
"W-what’s going on!? There’s nothing there, but it feels like the space around me is being solidified!"
"W-what is..."
Within a single second of the start, their movements were completely sealed. It was such a classic, yet effective, method.
"Oh? So this is the technique where you solidify your mana directly? Olive and Mist had mentioned it, but I didn't realize it was to this extent..."
It seemed Agil had at least gathered information from the fire and water sisters, so she wasn't entirely surprised, though she clearly couldn't counter it either.
"...Blast. He’s added even more troublesome techniques since that time."
"Indeed. Even if Yuki seems busy, he’s always been meticulous about his self-defense. Well, let’s consider it a win that we’ve identified one of his cards. Thanks to Kagura and the others, at least we won't be taken out in an instant."
I had completely forgotten about that. As Agil said, this was the same technique he used when he crushed the fire and water sisters. Now, the key was figuring out how to overcome it. As I was pondering a strategy:
"Hey, what do you mean we lost because of this! That’s cowardly!"
"Yuki-sensei, that’s a foul! Micos-chan and the others haven't even done anything yet!"
"Yuki, let’s restart! No, you’re not allowed to use that!"
"Exactly. This isn't combat training!"
"Well, I think I’m done. I’ve realized I can’t even stand on the same stage as him."
Excluding Agil, Kagura and the others were complaining about the one-sided, instant defeat. It was natural to be frustrated after losing like that, but...
"Honestly, you’re the ones ganging up on a single person. There’s no room for talk of cowardice."
"““Ugh.”””"
"Besides, do you think an enemy on the battlefield will wait for you? If anything, battle is about exploiting your opponent's openings, isn't it? Cowardice is the norm. What are you even complaining about now? You’ve all been on a battlefield, haven't you? Kagura, Micos, Enola... wait, no, and Stasia."
"““Nghhh...”””"
A storm of cold, hard logic followed. Arguing with Yuki was a lost cause. Still, I had secured the opening I needed. We exchanged glances and nodded. Seraria and I lunged forward in a single bound to launch a surprise attack on Yuki...
*Thud!?*
"“Fubeh!?”"
What? We hit something! Was that a mana barrier he’d deployed there too?
"Oh? Did you bump into something?"
Before Yuki could even turn around at our voices...
"Eris! Rurua! Kaya! Samantha! Cleena!"
The moment Seraria called out, I immediately retreated, and a barrage of magic was unleashed on the spot. Even if he had a mana barrier up, a full-scale assault from these five magic specialists would surely...
*Puff...*
A dud? No, this is...
"That’s mana nullification. Well, I was hit by it too, after all. However, don't think the same trick will work on me twice, Junior."
Yes. It was that absurd technique that nullifies mana phenomena. But the one gracefully flying through the air and calling out to Yuki was...
"Hey, hey. Why is Comet joining the fray?"
Comet. The former Dungeon Master of the If Continent. She, too, had been soundly defeated by that mana nullification. However...
"It’s a revenge match. I’ve rigged the mana nullification with an MCCM. You know what ECM is, right?"
"Jamming counter?"
"Exactly. If you’re going to nullify mana, I’ll just interfere with that nullification. Come on, Kagura and the others should be able to move now. Let’s land a hit on Yuki and celebrate our victory. Seraria, Deryu, everyone else, you ready?"
"No problem. Now we’re finally on equal footing."
"Indeed. It’s a blessing to have a genius on our side."
Our momentum had been stalled, but we still had plenty of chances. Now, how should we attack? While I was thinking, Comet descended from the sky to the ground.
"Well, if I stay in the air, I might get knocked down..."
*Creak.*
"““Hm?””"
The moment we heard that ominous sound from beneath our feet, the ground gave way.
"““Kyaaaaaa!?””"
A pitfall!? Since when!? Or rather...
"““Stop using dungeon skills—!!””"
The howls of the foolish, defeated losers echoed out, having fallen for his usual tricks once again. Thus, the battle between Yuki and his wives plus the others continued, but in the end, Yuki emerged victorious thanks to a classic trap. However, since Comet had analyzed the mana nullification and developed the MCCM, they were certainly putting up a good fight.