New chapter of Let’s Create a Dungeon is out! (1/3 chapters)
Magic Versus Tungsten
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(POV switch – Selmina)
I was dumbfounded. Even though I warned so much, to use Firestorm (Intermediate Magic) without confirming the opponent. And the person who cast it had a refreshed face, perhaps because it had been a while since she used flashy magic.
“E-Efu-nee…? W-Why such a stupid thing…” (Selmina)
“I couldn’t hold back and did it. More importantly, Selmina, could you extinguish the spread fire around?” (Ifu)
It’s not that she couldn’t hold back. Ifu-nee seems very refreshed, but I feel like I’ve been dropped to rock bottom. Do you understand? If that had been something that could withstand Firestorm (Intermediate Magic). If that had been…
“That was a little scary. To suddenly attack. …An enemy, huh.” (Nobunaga)
If it had been the Demon King. The swirl of flame vanished, and on the scorched ground stood the Haniwa. However, before I noticed, it was clad in a pitch-black hat and long coat, and its skin had changed from ochre to silver-gray. Just seeing that made my heart feel like it would break.
Ifu-nee’s personality may have problems, but her skill as a magician is top-class. If it’s that Intermediate Magic, then even a first-rank or second-rank demon living in the Great Forest of Owa shouldn’t be able to withstand it. Maybe third-rank or fourth-rank (Demon King) could endure it.
What does it mean to not have even burn marks? I thought maybe it was negated by some kind of Skill, but considering the ground at its feet is scorched, that’s not it. In other words, that Haniwa endured Ifu-nee’s attack with just its body. There’s no way we can win. Even so, the reason I could still stand with trembling legs, clutching my staff tighter than necessary, was because Ifu-nee was beside me.
“Selmina! We already attacked, give up! If we don’t do anything, we’ll be killed!” (Ifu)
“…Uugh, stupid sister. …Geyser!” (Selmina)
Immediately, cracks appeared at the Haniwa’s feet, and water gushed out forcefully like a geyser.
Geyser was a magic that lifts the opponent into the air with water and drops them, a plain kind of magic. It was not boiling water like a real geyser, so one couldn’t expect heat damage. And if it were boiling water, we near it would suffer damage too. This wasn’t an attack magic, but used for putting out the surrounding fire. It came from the Haniwa’s feet because that was the center.
I intended to cast it in desperation, but the fact that an excuse instantly came to mind might mean I’m surprisingly calm. But I immediately regretted thinking I was calm.
Where did the Haniwa, blown away by Geyser (Intermediate Magic), go? I searched, but couldn’t find it. Usually, they get launched right away and fall to their death without doing anything. I looked around, but it wasn’t there. The water column vanished, and then I finally found it. The Haniwa hadn’t moved a bit and was still there. Even though it should’ve been soaked all over, it probably didn’t get blown away and remained standing there.
“That startled me. I floated a bit just now. Ah, but to a body that was heated, this feels just right…? Wait, if I return to normal from a heated state, what happens?” (Nobunaga)
It was muttering something, but I didn’t understand well. Just, since it wasn’t a voice of pain, it seems the attack didn’t go through. I thought about running away even now, but this is the Great Forest of Owa. From the opponent’s perspective, it’s its house or garden. I don’t think we could escape. And Ifu-nee still wants to fight.
“With this! Firebird!” (Ifu)
Ifu-nee’s only Advanced Magic. A giant bird-shaped flame flies toward the target. It has homing capability, so dodging is impossible. If it hits the target, it forms a dome and burns the target to death. It’s that kind of vicious magic, but—
“To think ‘Body Temperature Control’ would be useful. Knowing the body temperature is helpful. I was surprised when it suddenly went over three digits.” (Nobunaga)
The Haniwa walked out slowly and calmly from the fire dome. Naturally, there were no burn marks, and from its tone, a considerable margin of composure was felt. The Haniwa that emerged looked at me. We weren’t alternating magic use or anything, but it probably thought I was next. And the fact that it did nothing means it’s confident it can endure my attack too.
“Ifu-nee, extinguish it!” (Selmina)
Then, I too will use the one Advanced Magic I can use. For that, have the still-burning fire dome behind the Haniwa extinguished. The air is heated, but I override it by using more mana than usual.
“Niflheim!” (Selmina)
In an instant, the surroundings froze, and a glacier was born before my eyes. My Advanced Magic had frozen the area in an instant. Normally, it was a magic that shone in enclosed places like caves, but thanks to using magical power with enough force to empty it, it became quite large-scale. The Haniwa was frozen inside the glacier, in a pose with arms crossed. I didn’t think it had died from this, but it probably couldn’t move until the glacier melted. Escaping before it melted was easy. Finally freed from the tension of death, a sense of relief was born.
“…Well then Ifu-nee, do you understand what I want to say?” (Selmina)
“Uh, but isn’t it fine? It was certainly dangerous, but it worked out somehow. Now we just hand over the letter to the Demon King and run away…” (Ifu)
“What if that was the Demon King?” (Selmina)
“…Eh?” (Ifu)
Don’t tell me she didn’t notice. Even after receiving so many attacks without a single wound, she didn’t think it was the Demon King? As expected of my sister, my head hurts. For now, scolding can come later. Right now, let’s leave this place quickly. The letter, if we leave it somewhere noticeable…
“An interesting conversation you’re having. What is this about a letter?” (Nobunaga)
The Haniwa’s voice could be heard clearly as if whispered right into my ear. I turned around in surprise, and the Haniwa was still in the ice. However, the arms it had crossed were now released, and it had taken one step forward. Melting the glacier it touched.
My heart was completely broken. Even with Ifu-nee by my side, even though the glacier enveloping the Haniwa was still intact, it couldn’t protect my heart. Even with both me and Ifu-nee attacking with all our might, we couldn’t land even a scratch, and with desperate effort we sealed it in the glacier—but now, it is about to come out right before our eyes.
Run before it comes out? Earlier I thought it would be easy, but that was assuming the glacier melted naturally. If it’s getting out on its own, it’s a different story. And even if we didn’t leave a scratch, we still used Intermediate and even Advanced Magic. There’s no way it’s not angry. Even so, I can’t help but want to survive, even just a little. If I try hard and reach the cave where the horse is hidden, maybe…
“Don’t underestimate me! Fireball!” (Ifu)
Ifu-nee cleanly severed such lingering hope. The Fireball fired at the Haniwa hit the glacier wall before reaching the Haniwa, and the thick wall of the glacier melted all at once. Seeing that, the Haniwa raised a voice of joy.
I won’t hold a grudge. Unlike me, whose heart was broken, Ifu-nee resisted even in this hopeless situation. Even if the result was close to the worst.
…If we survive, I’ll push all the responsibility onto her.
Soon after that, the Haniwa emerged from the glacier. Then, after a short delay, its pitch-black clothing changed to the shabby clothing from when we first met, and its silver-gray skin returned to a Haniwa-appropriate ochre color.
“Well then, about the letter—you said letter, could it be from the Empire—Quadruple.” (Nobunaga)
Ifu-nee, who probably had almost no mana left by now, still pointed her staff to resist, but in that instant, something crushed us. Along with me. Invisible pressure. Flesh crushed, bones creaked. It wasn’t being crushed by something, it was like the whole body instantly became heavy.
“Garagagu!” (??)
“What’s wrong, did something happen? Ah, is this where something happened? Don’t worry, it’s already over. How many are there? I see, then take these two to the dungeon.” (??)
Something came. But with me being crushed by something, I could only see the ground.
From the smell, Kobolds? Dungeon, meaning the Demon King’s dwelling. If we’re being taken there, it means they won’t kill us here.
Slight hope flickered in my mind, and I lost consciousness.
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