chapter4 · 067-ep67

Episode 67: VS Kujō ②

It looked like Kujō-san had grown two arms out of his back?

As I watched, the gathered Magic finished taking shape.

They were translucent, but their outlines were clear, with shoulders, elbows, and fists just like ordinary arms.

It was only their size that was anything but ordinary.

Wasn't a single fist about as big as my upper body?

"Is that an Achievement reward too?"

"No. This one's a Job ability."

Kujō-san lightly closed his right hand.

The two arms behind him made fists as though following his lead.

"Arcane Manipulator. A Unique Job evolved from Mage."

"Mage?"

"Yeah."

I couldn't help repeating it.

No, hold on.

This man didn't look like a Mage at all.

All he'd done so far was punch and kick me.

"I can shape Magic more or less how I like and control it outside my body. Arms are the easiest shape for me to use, so that's what I made."

"I see..."

So that's why they were arms.

Wait, this was no time to be nodding along like that.

Kujō-san had his own two arms plus another pair behind him.

And if I attacked him directly, there was still Auto-Counter.

I'd finally gotten past that Skill, only for things to become even more of a hassle.

But one thing caught my attention.

Those arms.

To the naked eye, they looked like enormous translucent arms. Through Interference Eye, though, they looked a little different.

Magic extended from behind Kujō-san and flowed through the arms, connecting all the way to the tips of their fists.

There was a flow to it.

Maybe that was only natural, since he'd said they were made of Magic.

But I could see where that Magic entered and which way it flowed.

So this was Interference Eye.

"Can you keep going?"

"Yes."

"All right, here I come."

As soon as Kujō-san said it, the arm hovering on the right shot toward me.

"Whoa!"

Fast.

If I hadn't fixed triple-stacked Agility in place, I might've taken that hit head-on.

I leaped sideways, and the huge fist flew past me.

The other arm came at me the moment I landed.

I leaned away.

A gigantic fist passed right in front of my face.

I'd thought something that big would be easier to dodge.

Not at all.

The fist itself was so large that shifting a little to one side might still leave me in its path.

I backed up farther to put some distance between us.

But the arm on the right didn't stop. It extended after me.

"Hey, wait...!"

I retreated again.

Still coming.

How far could that thing stretch?

What was the point of putting distance between us?

I dodged the fist and circled right, only for the other arm to move in front of me, cutting me off.

Kujō-san himself had barely moved.

Those two arms extending from behind him were taking turns closing off my escape routes.

Then I couldn't just keep dodging.

I deliberately reached out my right hand toward the next fist flying at me head-on.

The instant I touched it, Contact Perception kicked in.

Even though it was made of Magic, I could feel it on contact.

In that case, I knew what to do.

Instead of taking it straight on, I turned my body in the direction it was pushing me.

The huge fist passed right beside me.

"All right."

"I see. That's another Skill of some sort, isn't it?"

Kujō-san nodded to himself.

Well, it would look that way.

Because it was.

I reached for the next Magic arm that came at me.

This time I wasn't just going to redirect it.

Shock Grant, right before contact.

The moment my palm struck the Magic fist, I drove a shock into it.

The translucent fist shuddered, and its shape broke apart around the fingers.

Oh.

Maybe this would work?

Another hit might destroy the whole arm.

Just as I thought that, I saw Magic flow into the part that had broken.

The fingers came back.

Then the fist.

In less than a few seconds, the enormous arm was back to normal.

"...It repairs itself?"

"As long as there's Magic left."

I see.

The flow Interference Eye had shown me wasn't just moving the arm. Apparently, it also rebuilt the parts that broke.

Not that knowing how it worked made it any less of a pain.

There were two arms.

Even if I dealt with one, the other would still be there.

In fact, its fist was coming at me right now.

I hurriedly ducked.

The fist passed over my head.

When I looked up, Kujō-san himself was right in front of me.

"Huh?"

When had he gotten there?

I'd been so focused on the Magic arms that I'd lost track of him completely.

His fist came toward my face.

I leaned back to dodge.

A Magic arm was already waiting for me there.

"Guh!"

It struck my shoulder.

I went flying sideways and just managed to land on my feet.

Ow...

This time I'd fixed three Agility enchants in my battle armor, and no Endurance.

I could move fast, but a hit still hurt like normal.

"You all right?"

"Yes. I can keep going."

I answered while lightly holding my shoulder.

Kujō-san didn't pursue me.

He waited a little way off again.

Must be nice to have room to spare.

I was fighting pretty desperately over here.

Still, I was learning a little about those Magic arms.

I could use Contact Perception if I touched them, and Shock Grant could temporarily break their shape.

Through Interference Eye, the arms seemed to be made of ordinary Magic.

That didn't solve anything, but it was better than knowing nothing at all.

If I could somehow get past both arms and reach Kujō-san himself—

"Let's turn it up a little, then."

"Huh?"

Before I could answer, the fist on the right came flying at me.

Fast.

Noticeably faster than before.

I dodged sideways, and the other arm came after me.

When I pulled back to avoid it, Kujō-san had already closed the distance.

"...!"

I dodged his fist.

A Magic arm came from right behind me.

I was about to touch it and redirect it with Contact Perception when the other fist joined in too.

Hold on.

He wasn't moving this fast a minute ago.

My battle armor hadn't changed, but suddenly I had no room to breathe.

Seriously, this guy.

He hadn't even been going all out before?

Kujō-san's breathing had barely changed.

He still looked completely at ease.

Meanwhile, I was scrambling around with triple-stacked Agility fixed in place.

So this was what the government's front line looked like.

No wonder Kanzaki couldn't do a thing against him.

I dodged the fist coming from the right.

I touched the one approaching from the left and guided it outward.

But Kujō-san came at me himself in the meantime, attacking directly.

"...!"

He kicked me in the right side of my stomach.

It hurt.

The force of it drove me backward.

...There really wasn't a second to rest.

Seriously, was this even possible?

I couldn't break both arms at once with Shock Grant.

And if I was busy redirecting one with Contact Perception, the other fist came at me.

What was I supposed to do?

The huge fists didn't wait while I thought.

One came from the right.

I sprang sideways and avoided it.

But another came from the left.

I couldn't dodge that one in time.

I smashed it with Shock Grant.

The right fist was on me immediately after.

"Whoa!"

I barely managed to pull back.

Just barely.

I tried to retreat farther, then stopped.

The wall was behind me.

And the Magic arm I'd just broken with Shock Grant had already regained its shape and was pointed my way.

Both Magic arms were ready to come at me.

I really had nowhere to run.

I was getting close to my limit, too.

Should I release Battle Armor Form?

Then triple-stack Endurance and take the hits.

No, no.

I didn't want to.

That would definitely hurt.

It might even land me in the hospital.

That man might actually do it... I felt like.

Then what could I do?

Something I could use.

I looked at the Magic arms in front of me.

Interference Eye still showed me the flow of Magic, just like before.

I guess there was only one thing left.

The idea that had been circling in my head.

—Stagnation.

An Observer Skill that stagnated the flow of forces and phenomena I touched with my hands.

I hadn't intended to use it.

The Observer stuff was a bit much.

I'd thought so right up until now.

But the fists were right in front of me.

There was nowhere to dodge.

...Then I didn't have a choice, did I?

I extended both hands toward the Magic fists closing in from either side.

I wasn't going to try pushing them back.

I only had to touch them.

A hard sensation met my palms.

At the same time, I focused on the flow of Magic I could see with Interference Eye.

—Stagnate.

At that instant.

The Magic flowing through both arms slowed all at once.

"...!?"

The fists stopped.

The Magic that had been flowing from Kujō-san's back all the way to the ends of the arms seemed to jam up at the points I touched.

And then—

Their shapes began to crumble from the fists onward.

This was nothing like when I'd used Shock Grant.

Magic tried to flow in and replenish what had scattered, but it couldn't get through.

Unable to hold their shapes, both arms vanished before my eyes.

"..."

Kujō-san stopped moving too.

Even his body, which had been coming toward me, halted in place.

He glanced behind him, then looked back at me.

The room had gone quiet.

Well, of course it had.

Two giant arms that had been right there a second ago had vanished the moment I touched them.

If our positions were reversed, I'd be staring too.

But I couldn't help it.

I really hadn't wanted to take those hits, and Shock Grant didn't look like it would be enough.

Kujō-san was the one who'd told me to use what I had.

...Though I'd genuinely intended not to use any Observer Skills.

Well, I'd think about that later.

"That's enough!"

Saeki-san's voice rang across the quiet training room.

He walked between Kujō-san and me.

"Kujō-san. We're done here, aren't we?"

Kujō-san didn't answer right away.

He was still looking at me.

After a moment, he finally let out a small breath.

"...Yeah."

"Then that's it."

At Saeki-san's words, I finally canceled Battle Armor Form.