Yue took a deep breath to calm herself. Just then, a cheerful voice rang out across the battlefield.
“Yue-saaaaaan! Is that bastard still alive? If so, let me get a few good hits on him too... Whoa, what happened here? Did you cause an earthquake or something?” Shea bounded up to Yue, leaping from one pale-blue mana platform to the next.
“He ran away...” Shea could guess more or less what had happened from those few words. His resilience surprised her. Shea smiled bitterly and comforted Yue.
The two of them exchanged information and replenished their mana. While they were describing their respective fights, they saw a flash of rainbow-colored light above the palace, followed by a red streak.
They watched as pillars of light descended to the ground, shattering the city’s walls and vaporizing tens of thousands of monsters in an instant.
Silence followed. The two of them looked at each other and said a single word in unison.
“Hajime.”
“Hajime-san.”
No one else could have caused that. They two girls were one in mind.
“Let’s go to the palace for now.”
“Yeah...”
Yue and Shea looked down one last time at the wasteland that had once been the outskirts of the capital. With weary smiles, the two of them flew off toward the palace.
Chapter III: God’s Apostle
Noint flapped her silver wings. It was not to gain altitude, but to shoot a torrent of magically-enhanced feathers at her enemy.
They cut through the air as they sped toward Hajime, who was floating eight thousand meters up in the air.
He raised his revolver, the legendary artifact he’d created that had ended the lives of countless powerful foes, and fired. Schlag let out a roar, and Hajime’s bullet powered through Noint’s feathers, shredding them. He had angled his single shot to cut through a swathe of the angel’s projectiles. Then, he stepped into the hole he’d created, letting the rest of Noint’s wall of feathers pass him by.
In order to truly avoid your opponent’s attacks, you needed the courage to step forward.
“Hyaaah!” A cute voice interrupted Hajime and Noint’s deathmatch. It seemed starkly out of place on this battlefield, where two powerful enemies were putting their lives on the line.
The one who’d screamed so unceremoniously was, of course, Aiko.
For the first time in her life, she was experiencing a mid-air dogfight. Though Noint fired feathers at the same rate Hajime’s Metzelei spat out bullets, he continued dodging each deluge by a hair’s breadth.
“Sensei! Stop screaming! You’ll just bite your tongue!”
“I can’t just stop screaming on— Ah!? I-I bit my tongue...” Aiko ignored Hajime’s warning and instantly found herself regretting it. Tears sprang to her eyes, and not just because she’d bitten her tongue.
Hajime knew Aiko, who wasn’t particularly strong physically, wouldn’t be able to handle movements that were too sudden, which was why he’d continued using Riftwalk and tried to dodge with as little movement as possible. Unfortunately, even that required moving faster than a rollercoaster, and Aiko was already dizzy.
That being said, there weren’t any alternatives. He could hardly just dump her somewhere.
He couldn’t ignore Noint’s attacks for even a second, and even if he could have she’d have just targeted Aiko if he left her. As inconvenient as it was, fighting while holding Aiko was the only way to keep her safe.
Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to keep this up for too much longer. A trustworthy ally was on her way.
Hajime shot down another wave of feathers with Schlag, then turned to Aiko. She was clinging to him for dear life, and had her eyes shut tight.
“Sensei, just hang on for a little longer. One of my comrades is coming here. She’ll take you down to safety.”
“O-Okay! B-But what about you, Nagumo-kun!?”
“I still need to kill this emotionless puppet!”
“Aww, I’m sorry I’m just a burden...” It frustrated Aiko that she was just dragging her student down. Hajime didn’t have time to reply. Instead, he hugged Aiko tight and did a backflip in mid-air.
He watched as a blast of silver light passed just over him. It was the same mysterious skill that had disintegrated the tower Aiko had been confined to.
Aiko did her best not to scream as she was swung about wildly. As she was pressed up against Hajime’s chest, she noticed just how steady his heartbeat was. The fact that he was calm even in this situation helped ease her worries a little too.
This isn’t the time to be thinking about that! Aiko mentally berated herself and clung tighter to Hajime.
“Don’t worry about it. I expected to run into trouble when I came here.”
“Y-You didn’t... have to go so far for me...”
Of course, Hajime had known he would need to fight the Holy Church eventually if he wanted to obtain all of the ancient magic, so it wasn’t entirely for Aiko’s sake. However, it seemed Aiko had misunderstood Hajime’s intentions.
It probably didn’t help that Hajime was practically hugging her as he fought. I’m probably gonna have to resolve this misunderstanding soon.
“I see you still aren’t taking me seriously.”
“Whoa!?” Hajime was startled to hear Noint’s mechanical voice right next to him.
He instantly lifted his prosthetic arm and fired a shotgun blast out of his elbow. Using the recoil, he gained himself some distance as well. Noint raised one of her swords to block while she swept the other in a wide arc.
Her glimmering silver swords were two meters long and thirty centimeters wide. Not only did they look intimidating, they had a very sinister ability as well. Anything wrapped in Noint’s mana was granted the effects of her special magic, Disintegrate. A single touch by them would inflict a fatal wound.
However, Hajime couldn’t move too fast or he’d injure Aiko, so he was forced to use Schlag to redirect the blade while he fell backward.
Noint’s sword passed inches above Hajime’s face, cutting off the tips of his bangs.
The only reason Schlag wasn’t disintegrated was because Hajime had hardened the azantium coating with Steel Skin. Even that wasn’t enough to let his weapons or artificial arm stay in contact with Noint’s swords for more than a few seconds, though.
As it was, blocking the blow had shaved a few centimeters off Schlag’s coating. If he kept it up, his weapons would be destroyed before long.
Noint let the force of her slash swing her around, her glimmering silver hair fanning out around her like a halo. As she completed her turn, she swung down with her second sword, the one she had used to block earlier.
The speed of her second swing was so fast that Aiko couldn’t even follow it with her eyes. She just saw a silver flash.
Hajime dodged to the side, using the recoil from a second shotgun blast. Once he was clear, he took aim with Schlag and fired three times.
Three streaks of red light headed straight for her. One went for her head, another her heart, and the last her stomach. However, Noint’s reaction time was inhuman.
The moment Hajime fired, she held her sword up vertically, blocking all three bullets.
Hajime pulled back even further and sent out his Cross Bits for a follow-up attack. They fired powerful explosive slugs that created huge red shockwaves on detonation.
Noint dissipated the shockwaves with a beat of her wings, but that gave Hajime more time to flee.
“Awawawawa. I can’t even tell what’s...”
“Sensei, could you stop making those cute noises in the middle of a duel? It’s kinda killing the mood.”
“C-Cute!? Nagumo-kun, that’s not something you can say to your teach—”
It was more serious than Hajime made it seem. Aiko’s oddly cute screams were sapping his concentration. In a fight between two people of their caliber, even a millisecond’s distraction could get you killed. Noint had been right when she’d said Hajime wasn’t taking
this seriously. Of course, Hajime wasn’t at all flustered by having a cute woman such as Aiko hanging around his neck, but the noises were still distracting.
“To think you could defend so well against my attacks while guarding that dead weight... You are far too strong. Strong people such as you are unfit to be my lord’s pawns.”
“Thanks for the praise. Can’t say I’d want to be the pawn of some shitty NEET who throws a tantrum every time things don’t go his way, so I’m happy to hear I’m not wanted.”
“There is no use in trying to taunt me. For I have no emotions.”
“Hm? I’m not trying to taunt you, that’s just what I really think.”
“......” Noint silently spread her wings and crossed her swords in front of her.
Does she really not have any emotions? Looks like she’s trying to shake off her anger and prove it’s not bothering her to me... Hajime quickly discarded the thought. There was no point in worrying about it.
After all, he’d be killing her either way. Regardless of what she was thinking, regardless of what she felt, she would die by his hands.
Noint flapped her wings again and unleashed another barrage of feathers. This time though, they weren’t aimed at Hajime. Instead, they gathered in front of Noint and arrayed themselves into an odd formation. As they overlapped over one another, Hajime realized she was making a magic circle out of the feathers. Noint glared coldly at Hajime through the shining silver magic circle. Once it was complete, she cast her spell.
“Hellfire Tsunami.” Noint summoned a burning tsunami that scorched the very atmosphere.
So she can use elemental magic too. She simply hadn’t cast her elemental spells before because she’d believed her feathers would be enough.
In other words, she hadn’t been fighting seriously either.
Crimson hellfire bore down on them, and all Aiko could see was red. The tsunami was large enough to blot out the horizon.
Aiko looked up at Hajime, expecting him to have a solution. Sweat rolled down his cheek as he desperately looked around the tsunami, searching for the spell’s core. So long as he could find it and shoot it, the flames would disperse.
Of course, that required an ungodly amount of precision, but Hajime was more than up to the task. He had trained his sharpshooting skills extensively.
However, Noint’s spell was on a far larger scale than anything Hajime had faced before. Anyone on the Divine Mountain would have thought noon had come, since that was how bright and all-encompassing the flames were. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Time ran out before Hajime could find it.
The massive tsunami swallowed Hajime and Aiko up. Anyone watching would have been convinced they had died.
The tsunami that spanned a couple hundred meters should have left not even their ashes behind, but Noint continued staring at the center of the tsunami.
“So you can withstand even this...” As she muttered that, the spell ended and the flames dispersed. At the center of the spell stood Hajime and Aiko, surrounded by four of his Cross Bits. They were both unharmed.
The Cross Bits formed a pyramid around Hajime, their ends connected to each other by wires. Screens of crimson light filled the space between the wires.
“This is still a prototype, so I was a little worried... Thank god it worked.”
“Y-You...”
Hajime sighed in relief.
This was the latest of his weapon enhancements. He had used creation magic to enchant wires with spatial magic, then equipped his Cross Bits with said wires. He’d also covered the surface of his Cross Bits with spatial magic-enchanted ore. Unlike physical shields, barriers made by partitioning space were theoretically unbreakable.
However, these were still in the experimental phase. Until now, Hajime hadn’t tested them against a proper attack, so he’d had no idea how much they would be able to take.
Aiko looked blankly from the barrier that had saved her life to Noint. The apostle was already preparing her next attack.
This time she sent a few feathers at Hajime while she crafted over a hundred magic circles at once.
She was determined to bury him in an avalanche of magic.
Hajime guessed that his new barriers might be able to take it, but staying on the defensive would put him at a disadvantage. Especially because he wasn’t certain if they could survive Noint’s disintegrating light, should she choose to fire it.
Furthermore, his barrier’s greatest strength was also its biggest weakness. Since it partitioned space, Hajime couldn’t attack through it. And so, Hajime dismissed his barrier and prepared to flee. He needed to keep his distance and continue dodging until Tio arrived.
Just as he was about to leap back, he heard singing rise up from the Divine Mountain.
Hajime avoided Noint’s barrage of feathers and looked down. Ishtar was standing on the mountain, surrounded by an army of bishops and templar knights. The bishops were holding hands in a big circle and singing prayers.
Seeing the hundred-odd bishops chanting solemnly like that, Hajime was reminded of the time he’d heard a choir singing hymns back on earth.
But what on earth is the point of all that singing?
“Ah!? What the? My body’s—”
“Nagumo-kun!? Ah, wh-what is this...”
Hajime and Aiko felt something strange happen to their bodies. Their strength left them, and their mana began to disperse. It was as if their energy was being drained away. Moreover, motes of light started sticking to them, making it hard to move.
“Ngh, this must be some kind of debuff magic. So this is the strength of the Holy Church’s best. Looks like they’ve got their defensive countermeasures all set up.” Hajime’s guess was spot-on.
When Ishtar had realized one of God’s Apostle’s was fighting, he’d gathered all of his followers. In order to support Noint’s battle, Ishtar had made them all sing the Hymn of Ruin.
The Hymn of Ruin was a powerful spell that dulled a target’s movements and sapped their strength. Unlike most spells which required a magic circle, this could only be activated by multiple bishops singing in tandem. It was the Holy Church’s trump card.
“Ishtar? He is someone who fully understands his role, unlike you. A good pawn.” Ishtar was gazing up at Noint with an expression full of rapture, and she reciprocated with her cold, unfeeling eyes.
He seemed ecstatic simply knowing he was helping Noint in her fight, as if there were no greater pleasure in life than serving her. Indeed, he was a convenient pawn who did as his masters bid.
Pawns or not, those guys just made this fight that much harder. This is going to be a huge pain.
Hajime bolstered his flagging strength with his vast reserves of mana and continued dodging Noint’s attacks. However, his movements weren’t nearly as sharp as before. Plus, Noint’s attacks were too strong for him to fend off forever in his weakened state.
A flood of lightning bolts shot out of Noint’s magic circles, each one tracing an erratic path toward Hajime.
Hajime shot down a number of them with Schlag, but he wasn’t able to dodge them all, and one bolt grazed him. It wasn’t terribly powerful, and the shock only made him stiffen for a moment.
However, that moment was all Noint needed.
“Wh—!?”
She closed in on Hajime instantly and swung her swords in a cross-shaped formation at him. With his reaction delayed, Hajime was only able to block the downward swing with Schlag. The sideways one grazed past his neck, drawing blood.
“Gaaah!” If the cut had been a few millimeters deeper, it would have severed his carotid artery. Cold sweat poured down his back.
Still, he knew he couldn’t let the fear get to him. Even as he screamed in pain, Hajime shot his elbow shotgun and used Aerodynamic to try and get out of Noint’s range.
Noint followed after him, of course, so he fired his Cross Bits wildly in her direction, keeping her on the defensive long enough to put some space between them.
“Nagumo-kun!?”
“I’m fine, just shut up!” Blood dripped from Hajime’s neck and onto Aiko’s cheek. He’d been protecting her from his Cross Bit’s shockwaves with Diamond Skin, but she’d still taken quite a beating. She was barely conscious, yet she was more worried for her student than for herself.
However, Hajime had no time to reassure her. Even as he gave her his curt reply, Noint fired off another barrage of feathers at him.
Hajime shot some down with Schlag and shredded others with his Gale Claw. The few that got past he endured with Diamond Skin. The motes of light, coupled with his exhaustion, meant he couldn’t dodge them all anymore.
Noint rushed forward, then pulled up just in front of Hajime. She spread her wings, which emitted a dazzling light. For a second, Hajime was blinded.
However, his perception skills were top-notch, even without his sight. He could tell Noint had circled behind him, so he turned around and fired a barrage of bullets into her.
His bullets shot right through... and destroyed the clone Noint had made out of feathers.
She had made a fake version of herself as bait.
“Ah!?” Hajime shivered. His instincts screamed at him to run. But he wouldn’t make it in time. There wasn’t even time to curse.
He snapped his arm back and pulled the trigger. Luckily, he’d aimed straight for her head. Unluckily, all Noint had to do was tilt it to the side to dodge.
She then raised one of her swords and cut diagonally downward into Hajime’s back.
Hajime used Diamond Skin’s derivative skill, Focused Strengthening, to guard his back. He still steeled himself to take a decent amount of damage.
For a short moment, his Diamond Skin held, but then the disintegration magic lining her sword destroyed his barrier and the tip of her blade dug into Hajime’s flesh.
“Gaaah!”
“Nagumo-kun!”
It felt as though his back was burning. Worried, Aiko opened her eyes and looked up at her pupil.
Even as he was cut through, Hajime planned for the next move. He used the force of Noint’s blow to somersault himself forward.
Then, he turned around to see Noint closing in for a follow-up attack. He knew his weakened body wouldn’t be able to move in time, so he covered one of his Cross Bits in Diamond Skin and had it act as his shield. The others he had flank Noint and attack her from both sides.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 6 Page 9
