Volume 3 Chapter 25 Show My Determination
Windy felt a fear akin to facing a dragon.
But not just any dragon. Not a mere earth dragon or a lower-class wyvern. Not even a mid-level fire dragon. It was more like an ancient dragon from another dimension, wielding magic powers from ancient times.
"Could it be...?"
Deep in the forest, Windy locked eyes with Wade.
The others were gone. Sandra had taken everyone and fled. Windy briefly considered stopping them but couldn't bring themselves to do it.
"..."
Wade stared unwaveringly at Windy with steady eyes. Windy, in turn, felt a chill run down their spine.
Still, Windy had confidence in their abilities. They stood there with the awareness of being one of the top adventurers in the city, a genius.
Even if they sensed danger instinctively, running away with their tail between their legs was out of the question.
"Are you not coming? In that case, I'll go first. Following Wind"
Windy threw a small knife. Three times. With a following wind that cannot be avoided.
Wade said.
"Object Point Shift"
The knife stopped abruptly. Then it changed direction and returned to Windy.
"Wind Shield!"
Windy slightly slowed down the knife, retrieving it with a swing of their arm. This is dangerous. Throwing won't work on Wade.
"I see, you're quite good. Your skill doesn't seem like that of a beginner."
"..."
Wade didn't respond. He just stared at Windy in silence.
Windy thought it was eerie. The way Wade behaved now didn't match the light conversation they had before. He seemed like a different person, which was terrifying.
Then Wade suddenly spoke.
"The formation is complete."
"...What?"
Windy looked at Wade with a puzzled expression. Wade smirked as if making fun of Windy.
"Alright, let's do this."
Wade vanished from sight, leaving Windy astonished. This was because Windy didn't expect such speed from Wade's Slow Magic, which seemed useless.
However, Windy wasn't entirely inexperienced in dealing with adventurers like Wade. Being a speed-type adventurer, Windy knew well what would cause trouble.
"You're aiming from behind, aren't you!"
Windy turned around, but no one was there. Maybe from above then? Looking up, trying to assess the situation from a distance? In that case—
Just as Windy thought that, a fist came rushing towards them.
"!?"
They barely managed to dodge it. It was right in front of them. Yet, they couldn't see it coming. Was it so fast that even when in sight, it couldn't be visually tracked? That's ridiculous.
Even though Windy tried to think of a way out, they had no choice but to desperately defend against Wade's relentless attacks. Dodge. Dodge. Dodge. However, they couldn't avoid in a purely defensive stance.
"Storm Arm!"
Their arm was enveloped in a storm. It was a magic that shattered Clay's rock sledgehammer with bare hands. Against Windy in this state, there were no adventurers who could win barehanded. They had never met before.
Windy slammed their fist. Wade dodged, causing the tree behind him to break and snap from the trunk.
"Hahaha! How about that? Can you handle my stormy arm in close combat!?"
Windy launched a series of attacks. They punched with their right fist, creating a hole in the tree, swung their left fist breaking a thick branch, and finally smashed a rock with their right fist.
"You're just dodging! Even a rookie like you finds this magic terrifying!"
After narrowly avoiding several close calls, Wade stepped back to a safer distance. The tables had turned from a defensive stance to an offensive one, with Windy now taking the lead.
However, despite the intense situation, Wade remained expressionless, showing a hint of boredom.
"It seemed powerful, but it looks like there's no problem in testing it out a bit."
"Huh? You talk quite a lot for just a rookie like you."
They glared at each other, then simultaneously moved forward.
"Let's do this."
"Don't underestimate me!"
They closed in on each other, leaping into each other's space, ready to strike. Windy smirked triumphantly, laughing, and threw a punch towards Wade's fist.
Bang.
It was Windy who was sent flying back.
"What...?"
With an incredible force, in a brief moment, Windy lost consciousness. When they came to, they found themselves far away from where they had been standing just a moment ago, lying on the ground.
"What... what just happened!?"
Looking at their right hand—the hand that should have been wrapped in a storm—they were speechless. Because it's full of blood. Their fist was completely crushed.
"...Huh"
Windy raised their upper body with their left hand and looked at Wade standing in front of them.
Expressionless, Wade didn't even look at Windy, just checked his own bloodied gauntlet and said, "Hmm."
"Just an arm with that hit. You still got some power left. Let's go for double the next time."
At that moment, Windy realized.
Wade no longer had any intention of engaging in dialogue with Windy.
"..."
Windy involuntarily held their breath. Up until now, the opponents they had fought had all viewed Windy as an enemy to some extent. Hatred, hostility, jealousy. Windy had overcome all of that with their strength.
But Wade was different. He had no emotions directed towards Windy.
His focus was solely on how to destroy the resisting training dummy.
"――――"
Windy's next move.
It was to flee.
"――――――!"
Using the wind as a springboard, Windy sprinted away at full speed.
"I-It's a strategic retreat! There's a slight risk in my current condition!"
Making excuses to oneself, Windy ran on.
At this rate, there were hardly any adventurers who could directly catch up to Windy with wind magic that excelled in speed. If anything, maybe lightning magic or light magic that could be suspected just by its existence.
Running recklessly like that, weaving through the gaps between trees. Or like when Windy chased after the Wade party.
But...
Did the Wade party manage to escape from Windy?
"Hey, you enjoy battles, don't you?"
Something caught Windy's foot. In that moment of realization, Windy violently threw their body to the ground.
"Wind Shield!"
In a flash, Windy chants magic and bounces off the ground. Rubbing various parts like the stomach, head, and back against the ground, Windy rolls a considerable distance protected by a wind defense.
As the speed finally decreases and the rotation in sight settles, there was a presence that forcefully stomps on Windy from above.
Startled, Windy crawls on the ground and looks up.
There, Wade with a scornful look was stomping on Windy.
"What, running away? You're supposed to enjoy fighting me, right? You're supposed to evaluate the combat style of a big rookie from a condescending perspective, right? Don't run away."
A strong force presses down on Windy from above the wind defense. If the wind shield is broken, Windy will die. With that level of intensity, Wade is stomping on Windy.
Windy screams.
"Summon Tornado!"
The starting point is themselves. In other words, it's a reckless magic that swallows up and devastates everything around with a tornado. But because Windy is the master of magic, They are unharmed, while Wade is caught up and almost dies.
Then the tornado occurs. A strong wind begins to swirl. Wade is pulled by the wind, lifting his feet from Windy. In that moment, Windy quickly crawls out to escape.
"Hahaha! You were careless! If you become a magician like me, you can activate such magic instantly. I was looking forward to a bit more fun, but it's already over—"
"Object Weight Increase"
The swirling wind that was about to be activated slows down, gradually subsides, and finally stops. Wade puts his feet back on the ground, which were floating.
"...Huh?"
Windy lets out a bewildered voice. This kind of powerful magic was supposed to be unstoppable. Even escaping was extremely difficult. Crushing it was unheard of.
However, Wade said.
"Oh, I thought it might be tough, but I can target tornadoes. It's not so much about whether it's scientifically possible, but more about whether it fits the image of this world, right?"
Muttering as if analyzing, then his gaze turned back to Windy, who was still on all fours.
"Well, whatever."
With a mocking, playful half-smile.
"Let's continue."
"―――!"
Windy's expression twisted.
"No way, that can't be! Because this is a major magic in wind magic."
"..."
Wade doesn't respond. He just continues to advance towards here.
"S-summon Tornado!"
"Still going, huh? Object Weight Increase."
Windy summons a tornado. The tornado that immediately appeared is crushed and dispersed in an instant.
"Summon Tornado!"
"Object Weight Increase."
Before turning into a tornado, the swirling wind crushes and destroys the tornado. Windy's expression distorts even more.
"Summon Tornado!"
"Object Weight Increase."
Methodically, Wade dismantles Windy's powerful magic.
And finally, Wade stands before Windy.
"Ah... ah..."
"...What will you do? Will you still summon the tornado?"
Coldly looked down upon, questioned with merciless eyes.
Upon hearing that,
"―――No."
Finally, Windy reaches her limit.
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
Fear overwhelms Windy's mind. They didn't know such a magician. They didn't know such an enemy. They didn't know such an abnormal situation.
Windy was a genius. Too much of a genius. That's why they had hardly encountered anyone who could defeat them, and even if they did, Windy could see a vision of overcoming them given enough time.
However, Wade was different. He could overpower any opening he saw as a chance and turn the tables with his strength. This had become a kind of despair over time.
"There's no way I can win! No way I can win against this monster!"
"Who's the monster here, you rude person."
He was not just caught up to, but surpassed. Suddenly, a fist with a terrifying power came towards Windy as they shouted "Wind shield!" from the front.
But it exploded.
The wind shield burst from the impact, and Windy tumbled to the ground defenseless. Their butler outfit got dirty with soil. Dirt entered the mouth, and Windy spat it out, realizing.
But Wade didn't miss even such an opening.
"I've got you now."
Wade reached out to Windy from a distance. Yet, Windy's body was lifted as if pulled by a strange force.
"Now."
Wade lifted the corner of his mouth.
"It's pinball time. Endure it with all your might."
Wade's arm rises. At that moment, Windy's body had ascended to a height of about ten meters above the ground.
"Huh..."
A moment of floating sensation. Looking down, Wade was wickedly smiling with his hand raised. Windy's gaze was drawn to Wade's raised arm.
If that arm is pointing in the direction of pulling Windy in...
Surely, this is the beginning of hell.
"Wind Shield! Wind Shield! Wind Shield!"
For the first time in their life, Windy layered wind shield magic on themselves.
And right after that, they realized it was the right move.
"Take this! ORAAAAA!"
Windy was forcefully slammed to the ground with great momentum. The wind shield still held.
But it wasn't over yet. Pulled sideways, Windy was forcefully slammed into a tree.
"Ugh, ugh"
"Not done yet!"
The direction of attraction changes. It hits another tree. A different direction. Thrown into the air. Then slammed onto the ground, and into a tree.
It keeps gaining speed rapidly. Instead of stopping, even the brief moment of lingering feeling from the beginning disappears.
In the air, tree, tree, air, ground, tree, ground, tree, tree, air, ground, tree, tree, ground, tree, tree, tree, air, ground, tree tree tree ground air ground air air tree ground tree tree ground ground ground tree tree tree tree.
The wind shield shatters. Every time, Windy screams, "Windshield!" in terror. Their face contorts in fear, body curls up, crying uncontrollably.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
Wade's laughter stirs up fear. Truly, Windy is being tossed around and played with like a ball or something.
Windy didn't ask for this. If they had known they would face such a terrible fate, they wouldn't have obediently followed the young lady's orders. But regrets like that come too late. They now understand it's already too late for them.
In the midst of this, Windy suddenly realize that they've been suspended in the air for a long time. It's a sign of unrest. Following their instincts, Windy tightly open their closed eyelids and take a sharp breath.
Above. Higher than Windy, who is soaring high in the sky, Wade jumps even higher to cast a shadow over the sun.
"Hey, you're strong, aren't you? You're strong enough to destroy my party, right?"
Upon Wade's words, Windy senses death. In Wade's hand, a giant sword of incomprehensible size is raised.
"Then, show me your determination. Show me the determination that will keep me from killing you."
Windy shouted.
"Wind Shield! Wind Shield! Wind Shield! Wind Shield! Wind Shield!"
Until their magic runs out, Windy keeps stacking shields on themselves. Soon after, Wade comes down with a sword.
A sword of a size not meant for humans is swung down on Windy.
"SHATTERRRRR!"
"EEEEEEEK!"
The immensely powerful sword keeps shattering Windy's wind shields that not even a dragon could break through, one after another. The accumulated impact with each shatter is condensed in an instant, causing a storm to brew.
Windy's body is slammed down to the ground like a meteor.
Upon impact with the ground, it becomes clear that even the last wind shield has been shattered. The swirling wind mows down trees in a circular motion effortlessly.
Windy embeds into the ground as if crushing it, barely protected by the shattered wind shield, bouncing off the ground.
Then, Wade's fist comes down.
"I'll put all the pain and humiliation everyone have endured into this one blow."
Wade continued.
"If you don't want to die, endure it."
Wade's fist came down as if being sucked into Windy. Quickly, Windy, whose magic had run out, crossed both arms to take a defensive stance.
However, Wade's fist pierced through everything. Both arms were easily shattered, muscles torn apart, even reaching to crush the ribs underneath.
The left arm twisted and fell from the elbow, torn apart. The cross-section of the bone in the right arm was visible. With a splat, blood sprayed from Windy's mouth like a fountain.
"Bu... ha..."
Windy was sandwiched between the ground and the fist, but somehow still alive. She is spitting blood, unable to breathe, in great pain, but still not dead.
"Ha"
Wade sneered.
"You've shown some spirit."
"Oh well, I'll let you off," Hearing Wade's forgiveness, Windy finally lost consciousness.
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