Chapter 175 You Said It Was Useless, Didn'T You?
The first to make a move was Ail.
Hermit Skill――[Stealth] [Aura Camouflage]
"―――!?"
By combining the effects of 2 skills, even when under close scrutiny, the combined effects of 2 skills allow for instantaneous disappearance right before the enemy's eyes. That's the powerful stealth ability that can be activated. The moment it was activated, Io lost sight of Ail.
Immediately after, Ail began to move extremely quietly.
Hermit Skill [Soundless Blink]――Overskill [Instant Teleportation]
Without making a single sound, Ail moved behind Io with a speed reminiscent of teleportation magic and swung her dagger at Io's neck――
BOOM!!
And then, a sudden explosion blew away the arm holding the dagger.
"Wha?!?"
[Divine Robe]――[Cloak of Flame]
It was one of the automatic counterattack functions of the [Divine Robe].
As if Io knew that Ail's attack would fail, Io slowly turned around.
"I told you. I, the current me, can fight against the demon alone."
Before Ail could even react to Io's statement, Io made a move.
Ail was blown away, landing on the ground, and then retreated a few meters away from Io. It was a distance that a magician with a Jobs body ability couldn't cover in one step.
However――
"!?"
In just an instant, Io closed the distance.
(What the heck?! So fast?!)
By the time Ail realized it, Io had already closed in on him.
Ail managed to defend against Io's left fist with his dagger, but the force was far beyond what Ail had anticipated.
"――Get blown away!"
"Nu, uuoooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!"
The sensation of an overwhelmingly heavy fist. He couldn't stand still. His feet left the rooftop, and his entire body floated in mid-air with Io's fist as the pivot.
It was a punch that had become an extraordinary attack, combining multiple auxiliary magic effects to exceed common sense.
[Divine Robe]――[Elemental Punch]
――was blown away.
Like a cannonball, Ail's body was launched from the rooftop of the infirmary, soaring through the skies of Necronia.
"Kuuooo!!?"
He somehow managed to steady himself in mid-air.
Then, Io approached him at high speed, with countless lights floating around him like they were following him.
Origin Magic――[Elemental Meteor Bullet]
The countless lights surrounding Io were fired at me in the next instant.
"Tch!!"
He couldn't help but click his tongue. There was no way to dodge in mid-air.
Ail swung his dagger to counter the approaching countless bullets.
Universal Swordsman Skill [Flying Slash]――Overskill [Air Tear]
He unleashed multiple sharp aura blades. However, it was impossible to deflect all the scattered magic bullets with his slash.
"Then!!"
He activated another skill.
Hermit Skill [Aura Camouflage]――Overskill [Phantom Body]
He released multiple decoys made of aura, which took the same shape as Ail but were formed with a pale blue light indicating they were created from aura.
However, Ail himself also released aura from his entire body, making the decoys so precise that they couldn't be distinguished from the real body, at least for an instant. But――,
"That's how it is!!"
The approaching magic bullets were so relentless that they didn't even spare a moment to hesitate, and they attacked not only Ail's real body but all the decoys as well.
One after another, [Phantom Body] were shot down, dispersing into mist.
Thanks to that, the number of bullets attacking the main body decreased.
Ail decided to cut them down with a dagger, enveloping his arm with an aura and swinging it――and after cutting down several bullets, he realized.
(What the...?! What is this?! I can't keep up with this using [Aura Blade]!!)
Innumerable bullets. Their true identity was Basic magic, specifically Bullet-type magic. However, Io was firing bullets imbued with all attributes except Space magic.
Still, it should be just Basic magic. While its power was certainly dangerous if taken head-on, Ail thought he could easily counter it by cutting it down.
But reality was different. The power of each bullet was so heavy it made his arm numb, and the properties of each bullet varied so much that he couldn't respond to each impact. Cutting down a fire bullet would cause an explosion, cutting down a wind bullet would sweep his entire body with a gust, and a Gravity bullet was hard and heavy with a sticky aura, making it difficult to cut. A light bullet was extremely fast, and a lightning bullet would still make his arm numb even if he covered his sword with a thick aura.
In the end, he didn't have the leisure to respond to each bullet individually.
(There's no way――!!)
So, Ail knew that his magical energy consumption would be severe, but he had no choice but to use excessive firepower to counter the bullets.
Hermit Skill [Deadly Poison]――Overskill [Destruction]
The aura's poison, which could infiltrate and shatter anything it touched, not only affected living organisms and objects but also magic energy itself.
Although its efficiency was poor, Ail used this extremely powerful skill to erase each bullet one by one, rendering them powerless.
He busily swung his dagger, and after a few seconds, the barrage finally came to an end.
Ail landed on the rooftop of a high-rise building, possibly the headquarters of some merchant guild. Ail slid across the rooftop, absorbing the impact of the landing, and looked up to see――
"Hah! No mercy!!"
Apparently, Io didn't care about human casualties, but he was concerned about damage to the building.
Just as countless bullets were about to rain down on Ail like a storm...
Ail retorted,
"Don't underestimate me!!"
In an instant, Ail sheathed his dagger and placed both hands on the ground.
Hermit Skill [Explosive Stone Generation]――Overskill [Explosive Palm]
This Hermit Skill generates "explosive stones" by infusing pebbles with aura, which can be detonated at will. It's a type of trap skill used by scout-type Jobs.
Originally, the skill's power wasn't that great, but with the "adept" Over Skill, it becomes incredibly powerful.
Ail's aura spread from his hands to the edges of the rooftop. And in the next instant, the entire rooftop seemed to explode from below, blowing everything away.
"What the...?!"
Io's eyes widened in surprise as he shouted.
The countless debris that flew everywhere became a shield, deflecting Io's [Meteor Bullet].
Meanwhile, Ail, hidden behind the flying debris, grabbed a massive piece of rubble the size of a person and began throwing it at Io in mid-air.
This was an absurdly powerful throw, made possible by Ail's enhanced physical abilities as a high-ranking explorer and "adept". However...
"It's useless!!"
Io's [Meteor Bullet] and [Divine Robe]'s automatic counterattack destroyed the incoming massive debris one after another.
"――it's not useless."
But that was exactly what Ail had been aiming for.
Ail doesn't have a skill to move through the air. However, if there's something in the air, he can use it as a foothold to move.
The rubble destroyed by Io one after another creates dust, limiting his vision, and the scattered rubble gives Ail a foothold for a brief moment, allowing him to move.
Hermit skill――[Stealth][Aura Camouflage] and [Instant Teleportation]
Ail activates those skills in an instant and uses the scattered rubble as a foothold to move through the air, getting behind Io once again.
It's a speed that ordinary people can't notice, like teleportation.
[Flying Slash]――Overskill [Air Tear]
Ail swings his sword, unleashing a flying slash that attacks Io. But it's countered by the automatic counterattack explosion――,
"But――this can't be defended against!!"
Right after that, Ail strikes Io with a dagger imbued with [Destruction].
The automatic counterattack isn't perfect. It can react to a single attack almost certainly, but if attacked twice in an instant, it can't defend against the second attack.
From his numerous battle experiences and knowledge of magic, as well as Io's behavior of destroying the scattered rubble, Ail concludes that this is correct.
However――,
"You said it was useless, didn't you?"
If the automatic counterattack magic is just one.
[Divine Robe]――[Undergarment of Thunder]
It's a support magic that increases the magician's reaction speed, and at the same time, it's an automatic magic that forces the body to react to enemy attacks.
Behind him, Ail's dagger was swung down, but [Undergarment of Thunder] forcibly moved his right hand, which held Io's staff, to block the sword. Almost at the same time, Io, who had sensed Ail's sudden appearance behind him through automatic counterattack, had also activated magic on his staff.
Origin Magic――[Magic Armor: Blade of Darkness]
Darkness with mass covered his staff, turning into a blade that negated Ail's [Destruction].
Immediately after.
"――!?"
His left hand, which had turned around to face behind him, was grasping Ail's chest, moving at an incredible speed for a magician.
The magic effect of flight was also applied to Ail, and the two of them were floating in mid-air without falling.
"...What's going on?"
While holding his left arm, Ail asked, keeping his right hand's dagger at the ready.
He calmly replied.
"――It's over."
"What are you talking about? Nothing's over yet――."
"No, it's over."
He asserted. That's because this was his goal from the very beginning.
Ail didn't take advantage of Io's gap and attack him from behind. He was lured into doing so. Everything was done to "restrain" Ail like this.
"――――."
Perhaps he sensed something. In the next instant, Ail tried to cut off Io's left arm, which was holding him.
――But he couldn't cut it.
It was nothing special. Ail's dagger simply couldn't break through the protection of [Divine Robe]. The blade, surrounded by an aura, stopped in mid-air, shining brightly on the surface of the magnificent magic garment.
"Wha――."
And just before Ail could say a word, Io's magic activated.
[Divine Robe]――[Elemental Orb Robe]
BOOM!! And, the [Divine Robe] covering Io's body suddenly unraveled like threads in an instant, charging towards Ail like a storm.
That was the [Divine Robe]'s combat conversion.
The [Divine Robe] enveloped the enemy, restrained them, and attacked using magic. The enemy wrapped in the [Divine Robe] was like an insect wrapped in a cocoon, trapped inside the orb, and Io became naked once again.
Next, from restraint to attack.
[Divine Robe]――[Elemental Orb Robe: Orb Break]
Io, still floating in mid-air, swung the giant cocoon grasped in his left hand.
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