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「A-, at any rate… I’m counting on you!」
As he said so, Raphael lowered Yua from his embrace to the ground. The flock of Magic Stone Beasts that was following them was already right in front of them.
「Yes, then… Amazing Bang…!」
A ray of light gushed from the fingertip of Yua’s right hand, several times larger than the previous ones. And not only was it larger, but it also emitted a mysterious rainbow-colored glow in its aftermath.
And its firepower was just as elevated as it looked. It penetrated through several Magic Stone Beasts at once, dragging them as it went, and by the time they were far enough to squint to see, the Magic Stone Beasts exploded.
「「「OOooohh…?! What power!」」」
「Miss Yua?! You’re really amazing!」
Without knowing it, bushy ears and a tail, similar to Ripple’s, appeared on Yua. They were emitting a mysterious rainbow-colored glow similar to the ray of light she just fired.
Regardless, its power and range were so impressive, Raphael couldn’t keep the impression to himself.
Raphael was unable to make a comparison with his Dragon Fang, which lacked the long-range capability of the light ray, but the light ray was much more potent than the dagger Artifact he was using to immobilize humanoid Magic Stone Beasts.
「I’ll keep ‘em coming!」
And thus, she continued shooting!
In no time at all, a large area in front of the Holy Knight Order was razed down, clean of enemies.
Despite some buildings being completely destroyed, the fact that she was firing from the forefront of the battle meant that none of their allies were accidentally hit, which shouldn’t pose a problem.
「Our front is open!」
「Push the battlefront forward!」
「Ou! Let’s go! Push back the Magic Stone Beasts!」
The knights charged into the empty space where there were no enemies.
「Uhh, where do I go next…」
Yua appeared confused as she looked around, observing a large number of allies all moving simultaneously.
「Miss Yua! Hold on to me! I’ll be your transport!」
Raphael shouted out, deducing that Yua may not be adept at fighting in a group. To optimize their tactics, he decided to fly alongside Yua, assume the most advantageous position, and allow her to unleash her transcendental offensive power without any reservations.
If the enemies approached them close enough, Raphael could cut them down with Dragon Fang.
「Hold on? You carry me?」
Yua tilted her head.
「You can get on my back or my shoulders! I’ll bring you to a place where you can shoot easiest!」
「Got it. Then…」
With a pyon, Yua jumped onto Raphael’s shoulder.
「Yaay. I got on Hottie God’s shoulders!」
「Haha… I am borrowing your power, this much is a given. Let’s go to the front!」
「Readily understood…!」
Springing into action, Raphael hoisted Yua and raced towards the frontline, outpacing their fellow allies. He swiftly sliced through a Magic Stone Beast that lunged towards him.
「Miss Yua! Ahead!」
「Amazing Bang!」
Yua’s light rays were certain to take down a significant number of enemies.
「Next!」
「Gotcha!」
They shifted positions and fired another round, taking down a similar number of enemies.
「There’s a lot of them over there! Now, Miss Yua!」
「Gotcha… Amazing Ba……?!」
Yua’s body jolted, before she completely froze rigid. Of course, that meant her ray wasn’t unleashed. Raphael stepped back and looked up at Yua who was sitting on his shoulder.
「Miss Yua? What’s wrong, are you tired?」
Yua unleashed a barrage of devastating attacks, leaving Raphael empathetic towards her struggle. As a Runeless, Raphael couldn’t fathom the toll such an assault would take on her.
She was probably fatigued from her fight in the southern front with Miliera and other students, and yet here Raphael had her do most of the hard work. Perhaps he had pushed her too far. If so, he had to apologize.
「………」
Even after Raphael called out to her, Yua didn’t utter a word. She seemed to be staring at a point somewhere in the distance, her eyes wide open.
「……Da……ddy?」1
She muttered under her breath, her voice small and faint.
「Miss Yua?」
Raphael traced her line of sight and beheld a colossal, rainbow-hued creature soaring through the nocturnal sky. The magnificent bird flapped its wings gracefully as it soared in the outskirts of the city of Arlman.
「Prisma?! It finally shows up!」
It moved as if it was trying to see what was going on or searching for something.
It gradually closed the distance in a circular arc, and finally came within his visual range.
The feathers that fell from its magnanimous rainbow-colored body floated in the air like threads, creating a fantastic scene as if the entire city’s surroundings were enveloped in a rainbow-colored halo.
「It’s here! That’s a Prisma!」
「It’s terrifying, yet such a pretty sight…!」
「Y-, yeah, the sight, that is…! I’m shaking to the bones right now!」
Audible groans emanated from the nearby knights. While it was fortunate that the Prisma didn’t charge directly towards them, it did allow the knights to pause momentarily and collect themselves. Nevertheless…
「Ugh…?! H-, hey, look at that!」
「From its wings, Magic Stone Beasts are—?!」
As the Prisma streaked across the sky, its rainbow-colored trails shattered and transmuted into airborne bird-like Magic Stone Beasts. The stunning halo of rainbow light encircling the city of Arlman began to metamorphose. The mass of Magic Stone Beasts that emerged was alarmingly extensive, causing a breathtaking spectacle to unfold before their eyes.
The sheer quantity of the newly spawned Magic Stone Beasts had surpassed the numbers of their prior opponents. The entire army had to engage in an all-out war, but even with their utmost efforts, they could only barely fend off the overwhelming onslaught of the Magic Stone Beasts. To compound their woes, their adversaries’ reinforcements far outnumbered their own forces.
「Ugh…?! Wh-, what number?!」
「I-, impossible! How many times more are they?!」
「S-, so many! Can we, can we even fight them?!」
The Knights all shuddered at once. Morale was visibly crumbling.
「…It is understandable they feel overwhelmed given the sheer number of Magic Stone Beasts confronting us… Not to mention……!」
As the Prisma left a trail in Raphael’s line of sight, more and more Magic Stone Beasts materialized from it. The enemy’s numbers grew exponentially before his very eyes, with the power gap between them widening incessantly with each passing moment. The presence of the Prisma encircling the outskirts of Arlman left the besieged army with no viable means of escape.
「Miss Yua! I’ll put you down, go and hide!」
「Why? The shoulder ride is super fun, though?」
「It’s dangerous! I will go and attack the Prisma! You stay back and protect yourself!」
The method of attack remained uncertain for Raphael at this point. However, one thing was clear – if he didn’t find a way to halt the ceaseless emergence of the Magic Stone Beasts, everything would be lost. The city would be completely surrounded and gradually worn down, with no outcome other than complete annihilation.
It would be ideal if Raphael could completely destroy the Prisma, but that seemed like a daunting task. He considered other options such as inflicting severe damage to immobilize it or diverting its attention away from the city. Whatever approach he chose, he had to act quickly to prevent the continuous emergence of Magic Stone Beasts. Failure to do so would result in the inevitable encirclement and destruction of the city. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense.
「—Then I’m going too…」
Unlike the surrounding Knights, however, Yua was undeterred. Or rather, she might be much calmer than Raphael was.
「Eeh…?! Well, that would be a great help, but… N-, no, it’s too dangerous after all!」
Despite being a powerhouse, Yua was still an academy student, therefore Raphael couldn’t risk bringing her into the danger zone.
「No! This is not the time to say that! We have to muster every strength we can!」
Eris, piloting a flygear, interjected into the conversation between Raphael and Yua.
「Lady Eris?! Is it okay to leave your post?!」
「Prisma is a much bigger concern! You know that too, don’t you? With that extraordinary number at hand, trying to hold siege is meaningless!」
「Yes, that might be right, but…!」
Eris was right. Their forces were finite, while the enemy’s was unlimited. They had no choice but to focus their strengths and strike its source.
「Eris! Raphael! Yua too!」
「Ripple!」
「Lady Ripple!」
「Lady Fluffy Ear…」
At that moment, Ripple emerged on her own flygear.
「Since Eris is here too, we’re all on the same page, then?! We can’t keep holding up against that many enemies! Gotta whack ‘em in the head! Sorry, Yua, but can you lend us your help?!」
「I know it’s scary, but please! Every help is needed! Think of it as helping Raphael!」
The Prisma possessed an exceptional ability to learn quickly. It rapidly developed resistance against similar attacks, nullifying and absorbing them for its own use. Moreover, it had an exceptionally high capacity for healing.
Which means that the most effective way to attack it would be to hit it with a concentrated attack all at once. In other words, Eris was on the right track.
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