บท 130: -128- [ Hotaru ] and [ Kamakiri ]
The battle unfolded abruptly, without any hint of surprise. As the massive eagle swooped down from the sky and its sharp talons descended mercilessly upon Akabane Tenzen's head, the situation quickly turned into a one-sided affair.
Akabane Tenzen was prepared for this.
However...
"A rather unexpected target for an attack, isn't it? Shouldn't you be targeting the automaton?"
Akabane Tenzen didn't lift his head to look at the sky as he coldly voiced his thoughts.
Beside him, a girl with pink, straight hair and a veil on her face that bore the character "fire" suddenly moved. She shot up like a rocket, her slender arm striking at the descending eagle's body with a powerful blow.
"Thud!"
A bone-jarring impact echoed from midair.
The palm strike from the pink-haired "fire" girl carried immense force, sending the much larger eagle flying away as if she had launched a cannonball with her delicate palm. The eagle scraped against the air, producing a sharp whistling sound as it flew backward, crashing heavily into a burning building.
"Caw!"
The massive eagle let out a mournful cry, but it was engulfed by the flames and burned to ashes within the sea of fire.
However, this was just the beginning.
"Come!"
Rozen formed hand seals, converting his magical power into psychic force that rippled out in all directions.
Instantly, humanoid puppets emerged from the flames around them.
Akabane Tenzen reacted immediately.
"Puppets used by our clan members?"
Akabane Tenzen observed this all silently.
As he said, these puppets were all used by members of the Akabane clan. While they weren't automatons with built-in magic circuits, they were carefully crafted and well-equipped puppets that closely resembled humans. Even though they fell into the flames, parts of them remained unburnt.
Using his "Heaven's Eye," Rozen saw this situation and unhesitatingly channeled the power of his "Telekinesis" to control these puppets, using them as his weapons.
"Go!"
As Rozen's hand seals shifted, the group of puppets moved, lowering their bodies and charging out from all directions, surrounding Akabane Tenzen.
At the same time, the weapons held by the puppets began to gleam, emitting a dangerous aura.
"You can already use 'Magic Resilience'?"
Akabane Tenzen squinted his eyes.
After all, the fact that Rozen had learned "Magic Resilience" hadn't been revealed to the clan members yet. Only Karyusai Shouko and the sisters of the "Setsugetsuka" series knew about it.
He believed that this should come as a surprise to Akabane Tenzen.
Unfortunately...
"Using it on these things that can't even match the term 'automaton,' it's such a waste."
With an indifference in his tone that hadn't been present before, Akabane Tenzen gave orders to the "Fire" girl before him.
"Deal with them, Hotaru."
As his command echoed, the girl named Hotaru immediately raised her head. Her entire being transformed into a gust of hot wind that swept out in all directions.
"Thud!"
The palm strike enveloped in the hot wind landed on one puppet wielding a Japanese sword. With a burst of sound, the puppet was shattered into pieces.
"Thud!"
Another heavy sound followed as a puppet clad in thick armor was kicked by Hotaru and sent flying. It had no resistance and crashed into the sea of flames, disappearing from sight.
Hotaru rushed toward the encircling group of puppets. With every swing of her slender arms and legs, a burst of hot wind followed, enhancing the force of her strikes on the puppets. Each blow either shattered or launched the puppets with terrifying strength.
When Hotaru had dealt with all the puppets, her pristine white attire remained untarnished, without a speck of dirt.
"See that?" Akabane Tenzen's voice was cold. "This is the power of automatons."
What Akabane Tenzen wanted to convey, Rozen already understood.
"I know. in the eight tiers of magicians, I am inferior to you."
Akabane Tenzen admitted this calmly.
"If we were to duel under equal conditions, focusing solely on technique, I might not be able to defeat you."
However, technique wasn't everything.
"Without sufficient power, even with exceptional technique, you can still be overwhelmed."
Just like now, the automaton named Hotaru had dismantled the puppet group Rozen controlled.
"Even if you use your "Heaven's Eye' to foresee every move, Hotaru's speed has already surpassed your reaction time. She doesn't give your 'Magic Defense' time to activate, and your control can't keep up, making it impossible for you to evade her attacks."
Akabane Tenzen pronounced his merciless judgment.
"You can't beat me now."
Akabane Tenzen extended his hand toward Hotaru.
A surge of magic erupted from Akabane Tenzen's hand like flames, flowing gracefully through the air and eventually converging into Hotaru's body.
"Boom!"
A plethora of heat surged from Hotaru's body, enveloping her completely.
Just as Hotaru prepared to charge toward Rozen to deliver a fatal blow...
"Hum!"
The sound of the air humming resonated again.
Rozen's pure Telekinesis acted a step ahead of Hotaru's movements, influencing the shattered puppet fragments scattered on the ground.
In the next moment, countless fragments levitated, all infused with the psychokinetic power of "Magic Resilience." They shot toward Akabane Tenzen like arrows, an onslaught of attacks.
"——!"
Akabane Tenzen's eyes widened.
"Hah!"
Rozen had already changed his hand seals, paying no heed to Akabane Tenzen's declaration. Countless fragments, like bullets, rained down upon him.
Clearly, Rozen hadn't relied on the Akabane clan's puppets to defeat Akabane Tenzen.
Rozen was well aware that the Akabane clan's puppets couldn't match automatons in power. So, he didn't harbor any hopes for the clan's puppets.
"Was the previous attack just a feint?"
Akabane Tenzen instantly grasped the truth.
"Too late!"
Rozen didn't hesitate to channel his psychokinetic power, causing the fragments charged with "Magic Resilience" to land on Akabane Tenzen.
After unlocking all the magic circuits, Rozen's magical power had exceeded Akabane Tenzen's by a great margin.
As a result, Rozen didn't hold back in infusing all the fragments with the psychokinetic power of "Magic Resilience." He enhanced their accuracy and intensity to the maximum, even at the cost of consuming a substantial amount of magic. The goal was a single, devastating strike.
In this manner, even if Akabane Tenzen activated his magic defense, he would still be riddled with holes due to his lower magical power compared to Rozen's.
Unless, Akabane Tenzen used the rest of his power.
Such as...
"Kamakiri."
Akabane Tenzen ordered calmly.
In response, a girl with the character "sickle" on her veil leaped forward and appeared before Akabane Tenzen.
In the next moment, amid a surge of magic, including the humanoid automaton girls and Akabane Tenzen himself, everyone vanished from their original positions.
"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"
The ground where Akabane Tenzen stood was riddled with holes from the fragments infused with "Magic Resilience."
It was only at this moment that Akabane Tenzen's group reappeared in a different direction.
It was...
"Space transfer!"
Rozen's pupils shrank.
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