Volume 2: Chapter 006: Tooru: Broken Bridges & Sugar Cubes
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Twilight hours are very short.
That short, [1a] intense moment when daylight blurs into night creates a strange atmosphere. It is no wonder that dusk is when magical power feels sore and restless.
The path to Medite Mansion at the Holy Nation grew more sparse and deserted. Eventually, it becomes quiet, as though everything is avoiding that mansion.
Kon, kon, kon…
The Holy Nation bell echoed across the land.
It is at this moment that I feel a sudden killing intent piercing through my mind as I am running on the road.
I recognise this hateful intent, I have felt it and faced it before.
“… Eska!!!”
Following my intuition, I jerk my eyes towards the Research Institute’s clock tower. There, on top of the tower is the same silhouette I had seen before.
This annoying guy keeps flashing his existence around for some reason.
I clench my teeth and turn in an instant to face him, activating my Magic Fortress at the same time. I had already decided which one to use against him. There is no way I’m letting him get away from me again.
“Magical Fortress… Broken Overhead Bridge!”
Translucent monitors appear around me as the Magic Fortress forms itself in the air.
The Broken Bridge flashes into existence, extending straight towards the clock tower, trapping the culprit within its range.
This Magic Fortress limits the range of actions for the people on it. With 20% physical element and low MP cost, it had few activation conditions.
“Got you!!”
I draw my sword as I charge down the Broken Overhead Bridge towards Esca. No matter how fast or agile he is, there is no way he could get off this bridge so long as the spell is activated. This is the Broken Bridge that leads to nowhere after all.
The clock tower’s hand stopped.
“…”
Esca had been looking around confusedly for a while.
However, it looks like he caught on to his situation soon enough, if the magic grenades rolling towards me were any indication. It is a simple, yet effective way to counter this Fortress.
He is using my Broken Bridge against me.
“Stop messing around!!”
Even so, do not forget that this Fortress is my stage. I swung my sword and marked all the grenades bouncing towards me.
“Grimind!! Addition!! Space Compressing Falling Sugar Cubes!”
“Yes, yes, pay to win, pay to win.”
My familiar, Grimind, floats by my side as he programs the Magic Fortress according to my demands.
The marked grenades transform into grains of sand and compress into little white squares, just like sugar cubes. They clatter cheerfully on the bridge, making adorable ‘koron koron’ noises.
“…?!”
Esca flashes forward with a large fighting knife.
Our blades meet with a metallic clang as we exchange blows.
“Woah, you really scared me there~~”
“…haahhh?”
“Bastard… are you some sort of super architect, hahh? Hyaahahaha!!”
It is my first time hearing his voice. It sounded unhinged with an underlying shot of excitement.
What I could see of Esca is only his wide hood and bulletproof vest. I could not see his whole face, [1b] only a mouth that splits into a slash-like grin. I finally realized why I could not see his face, he was wearing some sort of a headgear and, with his upper arms and shoulders exposed, he looked… like a particularly serious patient of the chuuni-disease.
He is obviously enjoying this situation.
“Ha….? Are you an idiot? What do architects have to do with bridges…” As we battled, I tried to analyze this (fashion-sense) killer.
“Bridges are civil engineering!!”
Honestly, the things coming out of his face hole are just useless stuff.
Even so, I manage to score a hit and break his footing.
Got you!!
Or so I thought, but he quickly regains his footing as he kicks away from the collapsing scaffolding and a magic circle flashes into existence at the toe of his boot.
“Third Summoning Stage, Spirit Wall.”
“Wha… Spirit Magic…”
Paaan!
[2] My sword strikes the wall.
[2] There is a sudden blinding flash of light and my sword is kicked away.
“?!”
Shoot.
Even a momentary gap could be fatal in a fight with a magic user [1b]. Especially those that were versed with close combat.
Teeth bared in a facsimile of a grin, he switches the knife for a gun and points it at me.
“Break one pillar off the bridge!!”
In response to my call, Grimind makes his move and the bridge shakes as it loses integrity. The shot is fired wildly to the sky.
Esca reflexively flinches at the thought of falling and takes a moment to gather his composure. I also take this opportunity to catch a breather.
“…tsk, what a faulty building. You should have really put a little more [3] Money Power into this building. Ahhh, ooops, it’s literally collapsing under my feet.”
“Apologies, this bridge project has been abandoned due to the lack of [3] funding.”
“Hah! Life is tough, naa… Oi!”
The swaying scaffolding has finally stabilized a little.
I keep my eyes on him as I reach for my fallen sword.
What’s with this guy?
He is clearly using Spirit Magic, but I can’t see the spirit…
Moreover, it’s weird enough that a guy with such an evil aura could use White Magic… Well, it’s not like White Magic is exclusively good, but, [1] there’s an expectation of White Magic users not being crazed evil murderers at least.
“As expected of one of the Supreme Magic Advisors who had a hand in defeating the Giant Soldiers… Fun! Fun! Fun! I must pass judgement over you. Are the other two also like you? Aa?”
“… Bastard, after all you’ve done, do you really think you’re qualified to pass judgement on others?”
“Eh? Don’t be mad about me passing judgement over those little insects. Really, Southerners are such softies.”
“… …”
Pishi, pishi…
It is the sound of space cracking to pieces.
“Awawawa, Tooru-sama, the Sugar Cubes! The Sugar Cubes are splintering!!”
I quickly turn at Grimind’s panicking comment.
The compressed grenades should have fallen off the bridge as Sugar Cubes are splitting and cracking. Tiny black turtles are crawling out of the cracks as though they are hatching from cube-shaped eggs.
“… Ugh.” I can feel the blood draining from my face at the weird sight.
“Come forth, Spirit of the Four Cardinals, Black Sea Turtle Bracktata! Devour this space!”
“” “” “” “Aye aye, sir!!”” “” “” “”
The tiny turtle hatchlings responded with high little voices and proceeded to nibble at the space all around them.
I am shocked. Here and there, ruptures appear within the fortress. It is beginning to creak from stress.
“How about this, eh? Scared, eh? Hyahahaha!”
“Y-you… just what are you exactly?”
This guy cannot be a normal criminal.
The fortresses I created until now had never been ‘eaten’ before. This is too impossible. At this rate, I have no choice but to revoke the fortress.
“Tooru-sama, distortions are appearing all over the place!!”
“… Damn it!!”
I call up the cancellation screen and violently slam the [cancel] button.
Suddenly, the bridge disappears from under our feet and I am falling from the sky.
I quickly create a square bit of space beneath me and use it to hold myself in the air. Esca has no such skill and is still falling.
Kon, kon…
The sound of bells rang on.
Not only could the Broken Overhead Bridge block off space, it could also suspend time. The battle earlier only took place for a moment in real-time. The moment between the ringing of the bells.
The still falling man is grinning at me through jagged teeth.
Below the hood, sharp eyes glowed menacingly at me.
The eyes of a hunter.
“Await my judgement! Good luck!! Hyahahahah!!”
“… …”
Even as he fall, he did not forget to throw that pathetic remark at me. Just before hitting the ground, magic circles appear at his feet and he spins, making a beautiful landing on the ground.
“A perfect 10!!”
Came the tinny voice as the dark-robed figure disappeared down a dark alley. By the time I reached the ground, I could not even catch the sound of his footsteps anymore.
“… …”
I leaned against the wall of the dark alley as my face contorted with pain against the feeling of my flesh being gouged out. I am sweating badly…
The chosen fortress has a much lighter demand than the one that had been used to defeat the giants, but the cost still had to be paid.
“…haahhh…”
Healing magic had already started working in my body, whatever bits of me that had been devoured are beginning to heal.
“Tooru!!”
A wave of magic washes over me. Looks like Melvis and the Leader have come searching for me.
“… What happened, why are you sitting in this kind of place? Don’t tell me you’ve injured yourself fighting Esca?”
“No… I’m fine, really.”
I breathed in deeply once and got to my feet. Now is not the time to huddle in this kind of place.
“Apologies, Leader. I have allowed Esca to escape once again. I need to get to Makia right away…”
“No need to worry. Makia-sama has just returned to the Royal Palace. A Twilight messenger just sent word about it.”
“… Is that so…”
I felt relieved, yet listless.
I cannot forget Esca’s eyes. That man is truly dangerous and should not be underestimated.
Moreover, he is a Spirit Magic user, although one that gives off a completely different feeling from Ulysses.
Compared to Makia, Yuri and I, who favour overwhelming power, this guy felt more like an assassin or a hitman.
[Gumihou: I wonder, is he the ‘Blue General’ in the past life? They seem to have the same kind of crazy]
[1] Add Details
[1a] Add to the description of twilight
[1b] Add to the description of Chuuni-Esca
[2] Adjust details for dramatic purpose. Reduce words for immediacy.
Eg:
In place of ‘That was the sound of my sword hitting hard against his defensive wall.’
Just use ‘My sword strikes the wall’
[3] There’s a punny joke here that’s lost in translation
The actual word is 魔力 normally pronounced as ‘maryoku’, meaning ‘magic power’. However, the author had include かね over the kanji to indicate that the pronunciation should be ‘kane’. ‘Kane’ is homophone for ‘money’ in the Japanese language
In the end, substitute ‘Money Power’ in place of MP (Magic Power).
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