As I ran back and soon arrived at the battlefield,
there was no sign of Benny or Morgana. The only thing present was a large white cube.
I swallowed hard as I looked at the cube that shimmered as if it were a separate space.
It definitely felt dangerous to enter. First, I needed to hide my body.
“Whew.”
As my breath slowed down, each movement lost its sense of discomfort. It felt natural just to be there.
At first glance, I seemed to blend into the surroundings, but my senses felt oddly isolated from the environment, and I threw myself into the cube.
“…Shadow.”
And there was Benny with the cold gaze unique to someone who was ready for death.
I knew it! I was lucky to arrive just in time.
Releasing a sigh of relief inwardly, I instinctively planted my feet on the ground. If I approached quickly and stabbed him from behind while unfolding the sanctuary…
“Hmm? An assassin?”
Morgana furrowed her brows and pointed her staff directly at me.
Of course. This whole white space was her domain.
Clutching the Goddess Statue of Love, which I had kept carefully hidden, I prayed to the Goddess of Love, who was watching me from the deepest part of the labyrinth.
“Help me.”
Fwoosh-!
The Goddess Statue responded to my brief plea, bursting with intense Divine Power. By the time I passed Benny, my entire body was enveloped in pink radiance. And then…
Swish.
A translucent bullet was engulfed by that light and vanished.
At the same time, the invisibility I had been cloaked in began to dissipate. Given the amount of divine power I had unleashed, it was no surprise that I couldn’t stay hidden.
I quickly thought as I stood in the dazzling glow of divine light.
I wasn’t sure of the detailed mechanics, but Morgana’s spatial magic was nullified within the sanctuary. Probably due to the force that stabilizes the time and space of the labyrinth into a “normal form.”
Spatial magic twists ordinary space by the caster’s will to achieve desired results.
But that’s only a story pertaining to the small sanctuary that had unfolded around me. Benny would not be safe.
And the undulating, translucent guillotine positioned behind Morgana. The pressure emanating from it was anything but ordinary.
In short, I had to draw her attention.
I needed to scratch and provoke her so that she wouldn’t even think of targeting Benny.
I had never detailed Morgana’s character settings, so I wasn’t sure what she was like, but… if she’s a mage elder from the Mage Tower, I had indeed written down that she might take great pride in her magic.
That may seem like an obvious setting. Nevertheless, my experiences show that the settings I’ve explicitly written must be followed, so it was worth a shot.
I conjured up the most infuriating character type I know in my mind.
As the sanctuary unfolded and the radiance dispersed, I had already become that character in my mind.
“Ha~ck. Ha~ck. Is this even what you call magic?”
Surely, she must be looking up at me, yet I could see the condescending gaze.
But that’s not all. Leaning forward slightly, her upper body was bent. She tried to cover it with her hand, but the twisted smirk on her lips was clearly visible.
Her behavior was so infuriating, like she was looking down on an adult. Morgana’s eyes widened in surprise. Hmm. That’s why she seems even more wrinkled.
Nodding internally, I added a little nuance here.
What can you do if you’re annoyed? It was an unwavering certainty that she’d never see herself take a beating… in other words, a vibe that called for some “real education.”
“Bullsh*t spell! Mana premature ejaculation! Apologize! You better apologize for using such trashy magic in front of the God of Magic!”
“You little sh*t…!”
The reaction was immediate.
Well, I mean, how many mages wouldn’t get pissed off when someone undermines their abilities, claiming, “You have no talent, you can’t cast magic,” while negating their own spells in their domain?
Benny, who was behind me, couldn’t resist the wide area taunt and clenched his fists tight, but that’s not what mattered right now.
“Okay then! Let’s see you catch this one too!”
Clack.
Morgana struck the ground twice with her staff. At the same time, a translucent wall surrounded me. I seemed to be trapped inside a cubical box.
Clack.
When Morgana struck the ground again, the walls began to close in rapidly, as if the space itself was squeezing and trying to crush me.
If things continued like this, I’d end up as 100% Jonah juice.
Unless the Goddess of Love didn’t back me up.
Woom-
With a slight resonating sound, the walls of space vanished without a trace. Morgana, whose magic had been denied at its fundamental level, narrowed her eyes.
“I thought the first time was a hidden trick. But now I understand. The Goddess of Love is personally intervening. However, the goddess no longer has the power to…”
“Hey, hey.”
I interrupted Morgana’s words as I approached. She was vigilant yet did not retreat.
I waved my hand directly at her, swinging something up and down.
It might have looked like another instance of her striking the ground with her staff, but I meant it a bit differently as well.
“What was that clack just now? Nothing happened… was it the sound of dentures clanging?”
“W-what?!”
Surprised that I could hear the denture sounds, Morgana flinched. I smirked with a grin.
“Or was it… the sound of you pretending to get off because there’s no man around?”
“Bastard! I know space magic won’t work! But can you overcome even that with the goddess’ light?”
Screaming curses, Morgana swung her staff wildly. A long crack formed in the air following her motion, and out from inside, a huge golem crawled out. But…
“Shadow?”
-KiSHAaak!
There was Shadow on my side.
The last time I saw him, he looked even more horrific. That much stronger now, he immediately pounced onto the stylish golem, which looked like a knight.
Shadow puffed up his body entirely and swallowed the golem whole. A sound of something shattering came from within.
Creeeak, crack.
When Shadow returned to his original size, the only thing left was a few scattered debris on the floor.
“W-How did you… take down that immortal beast?”
Morgana was aghast. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and prayed.
“Sure, studies and techniques, but in front of a real miracle, you’re just a pathetic mage!”
She poured out a sweet voice that was squeezed out on purpose. But for Morgana, someone who aimed for immortality with her magic, it would be more infuriating than anything else.
“Why learn magic? Just a quick prayer and it’s all done!”
“…I’ll kill you!”
This time, Morgana raised her staff high. A transparent glow radiated from the gem at its tip, and countless cracks began to appear behind her.
Golems that looked considerably smaller and weaker than before, and magical devices resembling cannons began to activate.
These weren’t spells distorting space directly, but triggered pure physical force and destruction.
Of course, this kind of magical assault couldn’t be blocked by the sanctuary. But.
“Shadow and I will handle that! I don’t know what happened, but Jonah, you take her down in the meantime!”
“Ah-ha!”
My smile was genuine, neither to provoke nor manipulate Morgana’s caution.
“I was planning that from the start.”
To this end, I had been provoking and getting closer all along.
The agility I gained from my pickpocketing skills. The physical abilities I had grown during that time. The buffs I received within the sanctuary. And the brief enhancement from the tiny aura I gained recently.
When all of those were taken into account, it resulted in a single step.
Just one step could bridge the gap between Morgana and me.
Moreover, Morgana was only wary of the power of the goddess, not of me as a person, so I could definitely reach her at least once.
I leaned my body as if I would fall over. The center of gravity tilted forward rapidly. I stretched out my legs to endure it and released all the aura in a single kick.
Bang!
I was surprised at the speed, even after doing it myself. Morgana’s eyes widened as she closed the distance to where I could reach her with an outstretched arm.
But she was a true magician who had reached the realm of superhuman.
The mana within her body strengthened her, making her physically formidable enough to compare with a knight. It was enough to crush a level 2 adventurer, at least.
Yeah, that is, if we’re talking about a regular level 2 adventurer.
Ziiing!
With a threatening speed, the staff swung toward me. I reached out my empty hand towards it.
My hand moved so fast it was almost invisible. With long-lost instinct, I smoothly pickpocketed the staff from Morgana.
“Uh…?”
Morgana was startled. If I stabbed her heart with the Unicorn Dagger now, it would be the end… However, sadly, that’s not possible.
Because she had unfolded the sanctuary first before I could even pull out the dagger.
The Subspace Ring being a spatial magic means I can’t open it before the sanctuary’s duration ends.
So this time, I had to use a different weapon.
I raised my heavy left hand, aiming at Morgana’s chest.
“Die.”
A slight motion of my wrist launched the crossbow.
Ziiing!
The arrow shot through the air. At the same time, Morgana’s robe illuminated brightly, but it merely glowed without forming a barrier.
Having seen how it blocked Shadow’s teeth, I guessed… but indeed, her robe’s magic was also spatial magic.
In the end, she was left defenseless, and a regular arrow pierced Morgana’s heart.
“Cough…! I… I can’t believe this….”
Morgana muttered in disbelief. Soon after, her eyes filled with venom.
“I can’t die like this…!”
She clenched her fists and pretended to pull something.
The blade of the translucent guillotine that had been hovering behind her suddenly fell.
Rustle.
There was a sound of something being cut, even though there was nothing hanging on the guillotine.
I didn’t know what it was, but something was happening. And if I let her have time, she would surely make her final struggle.
Those at a high level have resilient life forces, so they have a long grace period before they die.
So what I needed was a confirmation kill.
“Stop messing around and just die already!”
I swung the stolen staff down on Morgana’s head.
Thwack!
“Even if I succeed in turning Benny and Shadow into test subjects, you’ll still fail, so just die!”
Thwack! Thwack!
Morgana’s head sunk in where the transparent gem was at the end of the staff.
Looking at her rolled-back eyes, it seemed she was dead… but just in case, I continued to strike.
After all, hadn’t she been researching immortality? There might be some insurance mechanism or something.
Thump! Thump! Splatter!
The sound of something smashing. As the splattering liquid began to coat the impact sound, I finally stopped when blood gushed up to heat my cheeks.
Good. By now, she shouldn’t be able to resurrect as a Dullahan.
Grinning with satisfaction, I kicked what was once Morgana and turned around.
“Benny! We won!”
“…Ah, yeah.”
Benny, with a somewhat grim expression, was avoiding my gaze.
How awful.
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