Gawain that bastard spewed fire like a dragon. Of course, Lorcha’s water pillars quickly extinguished those flames.
“Why don’t you just surrender? If you do, I might consider sparing your life. Or at least grant you a painless execution.”
“Ha… surrender… If I surrender, do you think you’ll just leave me alone? You’ll definitely drag me off to some experiment and use me as a test subject for the rest of my life.”
Well, I didn’t really have that in mind. But seeing him jump to conclusions like that before I even did anything, he must be iron-deficient. Since he’s lacking iron, I, who made a contract with the Spirit King of Steel, should help him. Even if he’s a villain, helping the sick is the principle of benefiting humanity.
“Scales of the Steel Dragon, pierce the enemy!”
I launched thin steel scales at Gawain. Of course, they could cut through human bones like tofu, but… they had to hit to be meaningful. Those steel scales melted before they even touched Gawain’s body. The entire iron mine had been heating up like a sauna since earlier. If this keeps up, I’ll be at a disadvantage due to respiratory burns from the hot air.
Lorcha must have thought the same, as she unleashed a fairly high-level spell.
“Horn of the Water Dragon, pierce and kill!”
Cone-shaped water pillars erupted from the ground. But Gawain dodged our attacks with acrobatic movements.
“If you thought you could beat me with these tricks, you’re sorely mistaken. Come on, fight me properly!”
Lorcha gritted her teeth. Certainly, her magic power had skyrocketed after contracting with the Spirit King of Water. But using high-level water attribute magic here was problematic. Most of them weren’t suitable for use inside an iron mine. Water attribute magic tends to be large-scale, and if we’re not careful, both Lorcha and I could end up buried in the mine.
“Well, your mom couldn’t even beat a beggar old man on a bed, but you’re fighting pretty well, huh?”
His taunts had been sharp since earlier. Even when I managed a community in the past, I’ve never seen someone with such a level of trash talk. Is this the wit of someone who’s been overworked for 12 years?
“Hahaha! You’ve been trying to provoke me with such lowly words!”
“Yeah, the lowly thing is the brothel your mom worked at.”
“Too bad! My mother died giving birth to me in a fire!”
“Ah, so she went out crispy like a well-done steak. At least you saved on cremation costs, so you’re quite the filial son, huh?”
Does her dictionary not have the word “tact”? Gawain was laughing gleefully as he burned his body. The veins on his body turned into flames, and his eyes glowed with blue fire.
“Let me tell you something good.”
“What, the location of your mom’s grave? Or the brothel she worked at?”
“Science lesson!!! Water evaporates and steel melts!!!”
Gawain spewed blue flames. Both Lorcha and I knew this was dangerous.
“Water Dragon, coil around!”
“Steel Dragon, spread your wings!”
A giant water dragon coiled around Lorcha, and a steel wall shaped like wings formed in front of me. This should be enough to block the flames.
“Hahaha! You fools! How long do you think those petty spells will last?!”
The water dragon protecting Lorcha was evaporating, and the steel dragon’s wings protecting me wouldn’t last long either. It was beyond common sense. Gawain was pouring out flames hot enough to melt steel like a tidal wave. Yet, I couldn’t sense even a hint of mana from him. That meant this was his physical ability.
He can spew flames of this level without mana? And it’s his physical ability? That’s incomprehensible. In my past life, I read some medical books for work, but I’ve never heard of a body that spews fire. Common sense says humans aren’t Charizards, so how the hell is this possible?
“Shall we turn up the heat? Enough to turn you both into well-done steaks like our mother!”
Damn, this bastard’s been saving up his trash talk. Why did Lorcha provoke such a sensitive idiot with such harsh taunts?
“Shall we raise the temperature? Enough to make you both crispy!”
It’s already hard enough to endure, and now he’s raising the temperature? We’re definitely going to end up crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, like some tribal chief. That means we’ll have to use the Spirit King’s power to block it…
The problem is, I don’t have many Spirit King spells I can use right now. Moreover, the defensive spells can only protect one person at a time.
“Spirit King of Steel…”
“Spirit King of Water…”
It seems Lorcha is in a similar situation. I just finished my contract, so even the Spirit King’s magic is unstable. That must mean Lorcha, who just finished her contract, is in the same boat.
“Protect my friend.”
Sacrificing myself to protect a friend isn’t my style… but I can’t let someone who’s suffered for 12 years because of me get burned. But what came out of Lorcha’s mouth was quite shocking.
“Protect my precious friend.”
We were both stunned by each other’s spells. Damn it, why are you trying to protect someone else when your magic is unstable? Protect yourself first. Even if it’s unstable, overlapping two Spirit King spells could have easily blocked the fire attack. But why break a perfect defense to create two incomplete shields? I can’t understand it.
Before I could protest, a droplet shaped like a whale enveloped my body. And the spell I cast created a giant steel dome with thorns to protect Lorcha.
Then, Gawain’s blue flames engulfed us. Fortunately, water attribute magic is perfect for blocking flames, so I wasn’t badly hurt. Though Lorcha’s spell evaporated, leaving me exposed to hot steam.
But I was worried about Lorcha’s condition. Steel heats up, after all. Could she really be unharmed inside that scorching steel dome?
Gawain, that bastard, seemed exhausted from spewing such intense flames, breathing heavily. Any ability has its limits. I hurried over to Lorcha.
I quickly dispelled the magic and checked her condition.
“Lorcha! Are you okay?”
“Uh… aside from it being a bit hot inside, I’m fine.”
Lorcha brushed her hair back to show she was unharmed. Seeing her safe, the anger I had been suppressing surged to the top of my head.
“Hey, are you insane? You should’ve protected yourself! What were you thinking, protecting me out of nowhere? If I hadn’t cast a defensive spell on you, you would’ve turned into a crispy steak like that bastard said!”
“That’s my line! You’re already not in great shape, and you’re worrying about me first? Why are you meddling in others’ business? If I hadn’t cast a defensive spell on you, you would’ve been toast this time!”
We couldn’t find common ground. We both did something stupid, and we both saved each other’s lives. We knew that better than anyone, but all we could feel was anger. Both of us.
Because the other almost died. Because the friend we cherish so much almost died. The anger that the other almost died was greater than the relief of being unharmed ourselves.
“Hahaha… You brats are having a petty lovers’ quarrel in front of me? That’s… practically advertising that you want to die!”
“Hey, stop bluffing.”
“What?”
“Right now, you don’t have the firepower to kill us. Where do you get off lying about dying?”
“…How did you…?”
It’s simple. If he could’ve spewed flames like that from the start, we would’ve died instantly. But he started with weak flames and gradually increased the temperature. He’s not an idiot; he wouldn’t fight while adjusting his power output like that. Unlike in games, in real battles, you start with your ultimate move.
So, there’s only one answer. That bastard couldn’t spew strong flames from the start and had to gradually heat up his body. By continuously raising his body temperature, he could unleash powerful flames. And once he reaches his limit, he’d have to cool down.
And after cooling down, the flame temperature resets. Of course, even the initial flames could burn most monsters or knights to death… but against two archmages who’ve contracted with Spirit Kings, it’s impossible.
“Now the tables have turned, you bastard.”
“Kukuku… You thought I didn’t have the cards to deal with you two? You underestimated me…”
Damn, does he have another trick up his sleeve? I hurriedly tried to shield Lorcha.
“I hate relying on the thing Lancelot gave me, but… let me bid you farewell first.”
Gawain said that and set off a smoke bomb. If he thought he could block our vision with just a smoke bomb, he’s sorely mistaken… Damn, it smells like paralysis poison.
“Lorcha, close your eyes and cover your nose and mouth.”
The poison could seep in through the respiratory system or even the mucous membranes of the eyes. That bastard Gawain took the chance to escape.
We chased after him once our vision cleared, but it was fruitless.
We exited the iron mine, but he was gone. Only Glacia, covered in wounds, and Airi, with her clothes torn in places, greeted us.
“By the way, Airi… did you see a skinny blond man running this way? He went by the name Gawain.”
“Not at all.”
As my anxiety grew, the worst possible scenario flashed through my mind.
“We’re heading to Holstead Mansion right now!”