Imperial Capital II-4

A body mostly covered in magical stones.

Perhaps that's why he's no longer... Wait, is his left arm missing?

"Oh my, quite the sharp eye indeed. Thanks to him, my arm has been restored."

Noiman reveals his previously missing left arm. A left arm covered in magical stones from the shoulder down is now attached.

"Though I can't move my elbow or grasp things, I can still do this."

As soon as he shoved the magical stone arm into a nearby bucket, a mass shot from the water's surface at high speed.

It landed right beside him.

Just water.

Yet water hurled at such extreme speed could pierce through iron plates.

Was that a water-based magical stone!? How was it maintaining stability in midair?

...There was no time to ponder. He quickly ducked into cover.

Several projectiles streaked past, punching through the spot where he had just been standing.

Ripping through the hard stone wall, tearing it apart.

That won't even take one hit. How to neutralize the water bullets...

First, fire an air bullet.

But the water bullets easily pierced through the air bullet, closing in swiftly.

Fortunately, thanks to the air bullet, the trajectory shifted just enough to barely dodge it.

A warm sensation traced across his cheek, sweat streaming down his back.

This won't be enough....Draw out the fire crystal.

Even if not as much as William, I've used this thing quite a bit.

Visualize a thick membrane of air right in front of me.

Push the fire crystal into this membrane and channel mana through it.

Instantly, the air membrane heats up, its temperature rising rapidly.

The air reaches an incredible heat, warping the scenery around it.

Then, take out the water crystal I'd stored in a small bottle.

The color begins to change immediately, but the transformation stops midway.

I've gathered the water vapor from the heated air into the water crystal.

The water crystal becomes moist, as if coated with water.

"I don't know what you're doing, but if you've stopped moving, now's my chance."

Noimann fires another water bullet.

The bullet began to heat up violently the instant it touched the air membrane, boiling immediately and eventually evaporating completely.

Only a hissing sound remained around the area.

"Ah, heating! No wonder your face is twisted. You can't possibly turn all the bullets into steam. How about this?"

Noimann fired bullets with the force of emptying an entire barrel of water.

Yet all the bullets evaporated, gathering into the water crystal Taro held.

"Unbelievable power. A sorcerer truly is nature itself—stepping effortlessly into realms utterly beyond human reach. Absolutely infuriating."

"Your turn."

I mimicked Noimann, shooting water at high speed aimed at his limbs.

"Expected."

Noimann instantly raised his left hand and unleashed a burst of flames.

The water meeting the fire erupted into a violent hiss, instantly turning into steam that spread throughout the room.

For a brief moment, the steam obscured both of their views.

Now! I'll use magic to accelerate and touch William's father.

I feel the heavy weight, but it's fully supported by the air, and I suddenly propel myself outward with full force.

"You're not getting away!"

The steam clears instantly, and a barrage of water bullets from Neumann follows swiftly.

Don’t get hit! Don’t get hit!

I zigzag frantically, praying with every motion.

I can’t fight here any longer.

"Alek! Evacuate!"

When I found Alek, he was bleeding from everywhere.

"Alek, you’ve weakened. You’re acting like an animal—no thought at all."

"Not even close yet."

Provoked by the man before him, Alek still tries to keep fighting.

"What are you talking about! It's over already!"

A cold presence envelops Alek, wrapping around the air like a shroud.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shoots through his side.

"You should have stopped your advance... you know."

A smirking Noiman enters his vision.

He's pierced.

It hurts. It hurts too much, but he's still okay. He grits his teeth and, with the power of air, lifts what he's touching.

He unleashes a lightning strike, blasting a massive hole through the wall.

Accelerating in an instant, he flees upward into the sky.

Staring at the hole in the ceiling, Neumann mutters.

"Looks like the lab's completely soaked."

"Deservedly so."

"It was quite a crisis, you know. I managed to overcome it—shouldn't I get praised for that?"

"Then again, if you'd shown up at the meeting on time, we wouldn't have even had to face the enemy."

"Ah, well... that was unavoidable..."

"There's no way their goal is to kill us. They're probably aiming to capture us."

"Is that so? I could definitely feel genuine intent to kill..."

The two fell silent.

Taro, having escaped upward, immediately used a healing gem. He began mending the wound in his abdomen and Alex's injury.

"Sorry... I owe you big time. I got carried away."

"Unusual. You're actually apologizing."

"I've had some thoughts."

"Is that so..."

Thanks to the shallow nature of Alex's wound, he recovered without much difficulty.

As planned, he descended to Noel's location.

"Hey, what's wrong with you, Taro? What's that you're holding?"

"I don't have time to explain. We need to leave the kingdom right now."

"I don't get it, but I understand!"

Visualize a sphere enclosing Noel, Greg, Alex, and William’s father, then use wind magic to launch it skyward like a firework.

From the distant palace, multiple soldiers began moving out. We need to get away from the kingdom...

Manipulating the sphere made of air, Coill and William began moving toward their designated meeting point.

They were to wait in the magic quadruped at a location far from the kingdom.

Traveling over land would be a considerable distance, but moving at high speed through the air made it no problem at all.

They quickly spotted the magic quadruped and descended.