Black Iron Magician

Chapter 102 Bad Move

「Solid Dirt!」

As Mani chant his magic, the soil began to rise up from the floor and crowd on Oda’s shield. It was just like the ability of Staff Fortress Coalesce that Therese used a short while ago, and in a blink of an eye, the shield was transformed into something more robust.

(Solid Dirt… earth magic, was it?)

Seeing Mani’s magic on the shield, Haruna recalled a memory from the knowledge she had learned. Haruna, whose head isn’t so good, had somehow struggled to study. As a result, she could memorize the low-rank magic of each attribute. Solid Dirt is magic that can be acquired at level 60, and she can estimate Mani’s ability with it.

At the same time, she judged that it was possible to destroy it with a frontal attack. She steps in front of Oda, who’s holding the ridiculously large shield, and swings the black staff.

「Hah!」

The black staff crushes the mass of soil that covers the surface of the shield, showing the face of the shield with a single blow. Even though he was in a defensive position, Oda was shocked by the tremendous impact and felt as if his body had floated in the air for a moment. Well, he’s not mistaken since he was pushed backward by the overwhelming force.

(What part of her is a magician!? I received this much shock even though my defense received support magic from Mani…! Still, I can endure it. If it’s one or two more blows, I can somehow――)

Oda was surprised by Haruna’s power, but he somehow managed to remain calm. With his numb left hand still trembling, he peeks forward through the gap of his shield.

(…… She is not here?)

For some reason, there’s no one in front of the shield that he’s holding firmly. Haruna, who gave him the violent blow earlier, was supposed to be there.

「Look down, Oda! She’s under the shield!」

Fuchi’s advice flew again, he shouted that she’s down. Following his advice, Oda immediately lowered his view slightly.

――She’s there. Haruna is crouching right in front of the shield as if touching the floor. Even while thinking that her petite body became smaller when she’s crouching, he’s wondering why she’s doing so. Is she hiding? No, it’s wrong. There’s no need for her to do so. Then, what?

Before Oda could expand his thoughts any further, Haruna was already making her next move. She kicks the shield from the side, not from the front. It’s the so-called foot sweep. In this case, the target is a shield, so it may be better to call it a shield sweep. Then, Oda’s large shield, which he was holding strongly, was blown to the side with Haruna’s kick.

The worst thing is that Oda’s fingers, which were holding the handle of the shield, got entangled with the handle and bent in a strange direction due to the impact. The shield went away, his fingers broke, and he could no longer rely on them, at least not during this battle.

And the person who ruined his fingers and shield, Haruna, is stepping into the reach of the defenseless Oda. It’s not the time to have a cramped face because of the sharp pain of broken bones. As if ruling over death, the black staff is approaching Oda.

「I won’t let you!」

Fuchi jumps high and throws two kunai at Haruna who is about to attack Oda. Although there’s no change like Haruna’s stone, the two kunai are heading straight to Haruna.

(Ahh. It can’t be helped since it’s his first time, but that’s a bad move.)

Deris, looking in the distance, lifts his mouth when nobody is looking. Yes, the move Fuchi made to support Oda is correct at a glance. However, the opponent is Haruna, who grabs the arrows from all directions with her bare hands and sends them directly back to all the shooters. The defense rate is currently close to zero, so you can assume that almost 100% of the arrows will be returned.

(Uhehe……)

―― By the way, Lily, who’s supposed to be the referee, is watching Deris with an ecstatic expression for some reason.

「Hup.」

Fuchi’s kunai were thrown with amazing accuracy, but the attack was too straightforward. Haruna swung her hand which is not holding the black staff to flick them. It looked like that to Fuchi. However, it was different. Between her fingers of the hand that she swung, as if they were destined to fit in there from the beginning, the two kunai are sandwiched between them without a single scratch on Haruna’s skin.

(……!? How could she pick up them with one hand even though their speed and timing were subtly different!?)

Haruna didn’t even see the thrown kunai. Her gaze is set on Oda, who is starting to fall behind, and Oda can’t divert his gaze either. If he did, it’s going to be bad.

She aims the black staff at Oda, who’s frightened in front of her, and the kunai at Fuchi, who’s in the air and has no place to escape. With each has the seasoning of weight and poison, Haruna starts to move to send the decisive blow. For the two, her movements seem so slow as if they are watching the scene on the verge of death, and they feel as if their hearts are being grabbed.

「Shackle Grass!」

Suddenly, grasses sprouted through the gap of the stone pavement on the floor. Yes, they still have their friend. It was Mani, who was the farthest away from Haruna in his role as rear support. After chanting 『Solid Dirt』 to reinforce the shield, Mani chant 『Shackle Grass』 to entangle the enemy’s legs with grass and take away their mobility. Haruna’s line of sight is straight ahead toward Oda. This magic, which is a surprise attack, won’t miss. That was what Mani thought.

(I’m glad I learned 『Magi Power Detection』.)

(Guhehe……)

Haruna is not looking at the floor. She is not, but she was using her sensing ability to sense the flow of magic power. Mani was using earth magic, so she searched for the corresponding magic name of the earth magic from the amount of magic power that spread and filled the entire of her foothold.

(If he were to do it, he’d use Shackle Grass for distraction and stalling.)

Haruna was thinking so before the magic was activated. Of course, she already has the countermeasure.

「Gravas.」

It was chanted so that it could fit the entire venue of the mock battle, and the entire area is trapped in a gravity cage. The body of the three became heavy, and so did the grasses that Mani created. They somehow able to endure the gravity, but the pressure is unendurable for the fragile plants. They were supposed to entangle Haruna’s legs, but they fell flat in the space of supergravity. Most of them are fell down parallel to the floor.

「Okay~! The mock battle ends~!」

In the midst of the tension, a loose and idiotic voice could be heard. It was the voice of Lily, the referee. She somehow looked like abandoning her job, but it seems that she was doing her job properly.

「!?」

Lily suddenly appeared before Haru and caught both of her hands. Before she realized it was Lily, Haru reflexively tried to land a knee kick into Lily’s abdomen, but she stopped shortly before. She once again reads the meaning of Lily’s declaration in her head.

「――Thank you for your hard work~. Uhh, I used my head too much and my head hurts…」

After Lily’s declaration, Haruna returned to her original bright and lovely girl mode. The match is over and it’s Haruna’s win. Haruna and Lily are chatting in such an atmosphere.

「Eh? W-Wait… W-We haven’t lost yet, you know!?」

Oda objects. They were pushed, but they haven’t lost yet. He probably wants to say that.

「No, it’s enough. Eyeglasses-kun is crushed by the staff and Detective-kun is stabbed to death. Or maybe poisoned? Well, either way, that would have happened if I hadn’t stopped her, you know?」

「T-That’s… But, Mani is still safe! Even if I and Fuchi were out of the match, it’s not that everyone loses at the same time, right!?」

「You sure hate losing, huh… But, it seems that Detective-kun and Mild-kun are convinced, you know?

「Eh?」

Oda reflexively looked back at the two. Then, Fuchi and Mani silently nodded and pointed to the sky. The place was just above Haruna.

「Ah…」

Like the tail of a scorpion, the jet-black spearhead was pointed at Mani. It was Crime Lance. When Haruna was about to attack Oda and Fuchi, she was also preparing to attack Mani. If they continued to fight as it was, Mani would have been pierced by the dark spear.

「There you have it. With the obvious result, Haru-chan won the first mock battle! Goshujin-sama~, Lily has accomplished her job~!」