Chapter 185

#185 Tuberosum’s Chalice and the World Inside the Library (5)

If Gale is defeated and we reach the normal end, Dorothea and the colleagues must bear the burden of the Sentinel in her stead.

But if we lose to Gale and end up at the bad end, well, that just doesn’t make sense.

“What kind of ridiculous rule is this?”

“I wouldn’t expect someone of your caliber, the embodiment of irrationality itself, to understand the will of the book. So just play along, alright?”

Despite Gale’s mockery, Dorothea stood her ground.

“Games only hold meaning when both parties agree to enjoy them. What kind of legitimate play can there be when you forcibly abduct those who enter the library? Have you no conscience for what you’ve done, you paper thin fiend?”

“I can’t argue with that point.”

Even while agreeing, Gale didn’t step back.

Dorothea narrowed her eyes.

“Are you really going to continue pushing this?”

“But this is a rare opportunity, isn’t it? There aren’t many stages where you can fight without worrying about others’ eyes or interruptions.”

*Thud!*

Gale struck the ground with her staff, and a cheerful sound echoed.

In contrast to Dorothea’s long, heavy wooden staff, which looked like something an ordinary wizard would wield, Gale’s metallic cane was shorter and more streamlined.

With her hat and frenched coat looking like something out of a magician’s performance, she resembled a magician on stage.

“One song, please, Dorothea.”

“Tsk.”

Dorothea grimaced but couldn’t bring herself to flatly refuse.

To her side, the Tin Knight and the White Knight had stepped forward and were now facing off against each other.

[‘Tin Knight’ ignites his fighting spirit before the tag match!]

With his overly excited demeanor, Dorothea sighed and scratched her head.

“Alright. I’ll play along, but you owe me a favor later.”

“A favor? Sure.”

“…I hate to say it, but shouldn’t you check the details first? What if you ask for the trophy after winning or something?”

“Witches are usually faithful to contracts. You don’t look like the sort who’d commit malicious extortion. If I’m wrong, I’ll just humbly accept being mistaken.”

“Your head’s as flower-filled as always.”

Sighing, Dorothea tightened her grip on her staff.

Without looking back, she said,

“Adel, Sophia. Stay out of this. If anyone tries to meddle, take care of them.”

“Got it!”

“Understood.”

Adelheid and Sophia stepped back.

The soldiers and creatures in the audience held their breath.

The King and Queen stared intently from their thrones.

The very being who prepared this stage trembled lightly, almost like the stage itself.

And then.

The Tin Knight and the White Knight leaped into action.

The first strike was launched by the White Knight.

Given that the White Knight’s spear was nearly twice the length of the sword wielded by the Tin Knight, it was logical.

Swift and straight, the strike sliced through the air.

The Tin Knight raised his shield to block, but the moment the spear made contact, a deafening sound erupted.

*Clang!*

“……!”

Adel, watching the duel from a step back, widened her eyes.

Typically, the Tin Knight would deflect such a thrust with his shield and then dive straight into the enemy’s range. But this time, his body was pushed back by at least one step.

It wasn’t that he failed to deflect it.

The force of the thrust was so overwhelming that even the residual power pushed the Tin Knight back.

And as if that were just a prelude, the White Knight’s flurry of attacks crashed down upon the Tin Knight.

*Boom!*

Neither force nor speed was lacking in this assault.

The trajectory of the spear was direct, devoid of gimmicks or distractions, yet each strike felt heavy and precise.

With every exchange, the Tin Knight was forced back, leaving deep gashes in the ground.

However, that was all it seemed to be.

Not a single scratch appeared on the Tin Knight despite facing a stronger and faster opponent.

The technique of handling magical power. The flow from one attack to the next. Psychological warfare that constrained and guided the opponent’s movements.

While the White Knight clearly had the hardware advantage, the experiences and skills of the Tin Knight did not yield easily.

In fact, contrary to expectation, the Tin Knight began tipping the scales in his favor, one step at a time.

[‘Tin Knight’ says he thinks he’s figured out the pattern!]

*Clang!*

The step that had retreated shrank to half a step.

Then he held his ground, and after that, he advanced, diving straight into the White Knight’s range.

*Scrape!*

A massive cut appeared on his chest, but the White Knight remained undeterred.

As if he expected this much, he calmly widened the gap and swung his spear again.

The two weapons, infused with magical power, collided.

***

Dorothea’s group had gathered a total of four legendary treasures from the kingdom.

A key that unlocks any lock by Opium.

The Tuberosum’s Chalice, which allows one to see what should be unseeable.

A belt by Amaryllis, enhancing the wearer’s physical capabilities overall.

Gloves by Hyden, making it possible to store all sorts of items.

And of these, the one that dramatically boosted Dorothea’s power was undoubtedly the last one.

As she waved her hand, dozens of animal corpses fell from the air.

Mostly fresh remains, with only slight decay, primarily wolves, but also including massive birds and bears.

As the dark magic of necromancy touched the corpses secured during their travels, they sprang back to life as if granted new life.

Neither mere bones nor hastily constructed forms by magic, they appeared robust enough to truly believe they had been resurrected.

*Growl!*

The swarm of undead faithfully followed their master’s will and charged toward their enemies.

Gale remained still.

On one side stood the magically enhanced beasts, and on the other, the small, delicate girl.

The outcome seemed as clear as day.

The necromancer specializes in debuffs through various poisons and curses and uses the undead for sheer numbers.

The alchemist excels at pure physical attacks more than any other school due to material transformation.

Wizards command the elements freely, with no match for extensive destruction.

Then what about the enchantresses?

Some say they aren’t suited for battle to begin with.

While they excel at crafting magical devices, they have little means to directly attack or destroy, so they’re more focused on supporting from behind, making them less suitable for direct combat.

That assessment isn’t entirely off the mark.

Certainly, most enchantresses are novices in battle or can only enhance their familiars with various enchantments.

However, some enchantresses thought:

“─If we can only enhance or support, why not enhance ourselves?”

*Crack!*

The head of a menacing wolf was crushed into bloody mush, teeth and all.

This wasn’t due to some oversized weapon or attack spell.

It was simply the result of Gale driving her cane downwards.

What followed was a relentless display of violence.

*Thud! Crack! Smash! Splatter!*

Each step Gale took, they turned into cheerleaders falling around her.

The force behind each of her strikes was so brutal, it felt like the undead’s bodies were mere blood-filled balloons.

Of course, Dorothea wasn’t just going to sit idly by.

*Thud. Rumble.*

A clear bead rolled to Gale’s feet, along with a few green spheres.

And the next moment, they exploded with intense magical power.

*Boom!*

Erupting magic, toxins, and curses.

Dorothea, having learned from Shylock, mixed in her own excessive magical energy, made her spell so threatening it could instantly turn a vigorous young man in his twenties into a nearly comatose drug addict.

Logically, one wouldn’t make an attack that could potentially kill the opponent unless one intended to.

Of course, Dorothea didn’t hesitate.

Power control is something to do when you have the luxury; it’s just sheer recklessness to try when the opponent is a monster.

Sure enough, Gale emerged from the explosion relatively unscathed, save for a little ash.

Countless magical characters floated, as if possessing a will, enveloping Gale’s body.

“Tch!”

Just as Dorothea clicked her tongue to grab a new catalyst from Hyden’s gloves.

[‘Tin Knight’ says to cast a barrier!]

“What?”

Dorothea found it difficult to follow the Tin Knight’s advice immediately.

This wasn’t too strange, really.

It’s rare for novices to execute orders from a pool of knowledge instantly.

It was the small lion’s incredible speed and instinctive reactions that were the anomaly.

*Thwack!*

After Gale kicked off the ground, her form flickered and vanished, only to reappear above Dorothea.

A single strike that could crush rock descended without mercy.

“Wow!”

Gale’s exclamation filled the air.

A golden rope extending from somewhere spread over like a net and caught her cane.

Dorothea didn’t possess Adelheid’s reflex speed or instinctive movements.

However, she had prepared adequately.

“I thought you didn’t help at first, but clearly you came through!”

“Don’t talk to me mid-fight!”

“Still, I’m glad you answered me!”

“I hate you!!”

As Dorothea grabbed the rope and poured in her magical power, the golden rope exploded, surging toward Gale.

Gale swung her cane to fend it off, but the resilient, expanding hair couldn’t be severed easily.

It was the limit of a staff, not a blade.

However, that was only momentary.

『Cut』『Flame』『Sustain』

Various magical characters intertwined to create new words with different meanings, and in an instant, Gale’s cane glowed red-hot.

*Scrape!*

Like a knife slicing through butter, the taut golden rope was cut cleanly.

Restoring magical energy wasn’t particularly hard, but against that attack, it lost all meaning.

So rather than trying to bind Gale again, Dorothea struck the ground with her staff.

Black magical power spread like waves, prompting the wolves that Gale had once struck to revive and rise again.

Some even combined into a three-headed wolf, or rather, a ‘three-headed wolf’!

Gale swiftly knocked down the resurrected wolves, but in that time, Dorothea drew out a new catalyst.

Shattering a tightly sealed jar, a spectral woman with wild eyes glared menacingly at Gale.

*Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!*

It was a scream that could weaken the mind and body just by hearing it, haunting enough to make one fear its return in dreams.

While most of the sound’s vibration targeted Gale, the slight dissemination caused audience members to bleed from their eyes, noses, and ears, collapsing from the intensity.

Even Gale seemed shaken this time, with about a fifth of the magical characters swirling around her darkening and falling away, causing her to wobble momentarily.

Gale aimed to strike the woman with her cane, but it sliced through thin air.

The low-level spirit summoned with crude necromancy was impervious to physical attacks yet could easily fall to the sword of a knight or magic from a wizard, but this one was a custom creation from Dorothea.

Each scream from the woman eroded Gale’s barrier rapidly.

At that moment, Gale combined the characters again.

『Sound』『Sound』『Sound』

Dorothea’s face turned pale.

Just as she reflexively covered her ears.

Gale’s staff slammed down onto the ground directly beneath the woman.

─────────! ! ! ! !

Sound that transcended a certain threshold is too difficult to convey in words.

The shockwave-level sound made the judge tremble, and soldiers stumbled backward.

It wasn’t just loud; it possessed conceptual power, and the spirit Dorothea had summoned could no longer withstand it and vanished.

Gale puffed her chest out triumphantly, while Dorothea readied her next spell.

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