MI174: Stalling for Time (Patreon)

Feeling something was off, Paul turned to the most perceptive member of the group, Kishirika, asking, "Do you notice anything unusual with my aura or body? I feel...different..."

"Hmmm~?"

With her left eye defaulting to an amplified version of the Demon Eye of Magic Power, Kishirika gave Paul a quick once over before asking, "What am I supposed to be looking for? You're using more Touki than usual, but that's not unusual on a battlefield. It's your instincts going into overdrive to preserve your life."

Though he felt there was something more to it, Paul responded with his usual, "Right..." before rising to his feet. Yae and Ganyu were dealing with the enemies without issue, but they weren't making any progress toward locating Sayu. Thus, instead of insisting he continue leading the charge, Paul took a steadying breath and stated, "We're pushing through. Zhongli, you're up."

With the corners of her smile curling upward, Zhongli replied, "As you will." before manifesting a spear constructed from pure Geo Energy. She used a 4-Star Polearm known as the Lithic Spear for general purposes but, much like Ei, preferred weapons comprised of the element she governed.

Immediately following her response, Zhongli's body appeared to vanish from her initial position as spears matching the one she had summoned abruptly pierced through the remaining enemies. The spears appeared to manifest instantaneously, but the reality was that Zhongli moved so fast that only Ei could track her movement.

Having reappeared at the far end of the corridor, Zhongli's expression remained stoic as she eyed the enemies coming from around the corner. She didn't want to let Paul out of her sight, so she raised her left hand to produce several spears around her body. Then, in a manner remarkably similar to Gilgamesh from the Fate series, she made a casual gesture that ended the lives of nearly a dozen Magic Armors and three of the feminine automatons. The former still needed to be exorcised, but their armor was so damaged that it would take them hours to recover.

Demanifesting her remaining spear, Zhongli turned toward Paul and Party before placing a hand over her heart and performing a courteous bow as she reported, "The way is open. Please watch your step."

Resisting the urge to call Zhongli a show-off, Paul turned to his Party and said, "Let's move!" in a commanding tone before taking the initiative to run ahead. The members of his Party readily followed after him, but Kishirika, having never witnessed Zhongli in action, was still stunned by the absurd display of power...

Shaking away her wayward thoughts, Kishirika ran to catch up with Paul's group. She already knew Paul commanded a force capable of conquering or, at the very least, destabilizing most countries. Luckily, he was too self-absorbed and virtuous to make the best use of them...

Noticing that Kishirika had fallen behind, Paul waited for her to catch up before asking, "What's up? Did you notice something...?"

After a brief pause, Kishirika shook her head and answered, "Nah, I was just a little disgusted by your subordinate's display of power. She's a little slower than your purple-haired shadow, but I can imagine her giving Atofe a run for her money."

Nodding his head in affirmation, Paul supported Kishirika's claim, stating, "Yeah. Ei's speed and swordsmanship are in a league of their own, but Zhongli is probably the most knowledgeable and skilled among the Spirits I've summoned. For that reason, she serves as both a representative and advisor to myself and her fellow Spirits."

Furrowing her brows, Kishirika gave Zhongli a sidelong glare. She had suspected that Zhongli was relatively high up in the hierarchy of Spirits that Paul had access to, but his words made it clear she was also one of the decision-makers in the organization he had haphazardly allowed to form. 

Voicing her thoughts aloud, Kishirika muttered, "How troublesome..." at a volume the entire group could hear.

As she was still quite a bit shorter than him, Paul bonked Kishirika on her helmeted head and said, "You need to rein in the animosity. Zhongli might come across as a little robotic, but she's one of the most considerate and righteous people I know..."

Shaking his head, Paul added, "Anyway, we don't have time for this right now. I'm more than willing to discuss this further; we just need to locate Sayu and reclaim the castle first."

Though Paul's bonk had barely registered due to her armor, Kishirika rubbed the top of her head and replied, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Lead the way, oh fearless leader. Let this Kishirika witness the greatness of you and your Party."

Adopting a wry smile, Paul replied, "Then you better not blink." before turning to his Party and adding, "We're pushing straight to the throne room." with a markedly more serious expression and tone.

Following Paul's orders, the group began moving forward at a swift yet cautious pace. The batch of enemies slaughtered by Zhongli seemed to be the last of the sentries nearby, but it was better to be safe than sorry. With Laplace upgrading the Anti-Magic Golems to be able to cast Magic, there was no way of knowing what awaited them moving forward...

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Despite the precariousness of her situation, Sayu appeared relatively calm as she evaded and analyzed the attacks of the 'Black Knight' endeavoring to skewer her with its tendrils. She had attempted to flee, but the Bunshin she sent to test the door ended up colliding with a barrier. Since then, she had been conserving her stamina and stalling, confident that it was only a matter of time before her allies arrived to assist her.

Fortunately for Sayu, the Black Knight had held its initial position, relying on its tendrils to attack her from a distance. It appeared to be observing her just as much as she was observing it, concealing the full extent of its abilities as it analyzed her movements.

Having realized she was being observed pretty early, Sayu stopped using Jutsu and focused entirely on evading the Black Knight's attacks. She was a little worried about its apparent ability to discern her from her Bunshins, but panicking wouldn't help her escape.

Catching Sayu a little off guard, the Black Knight unexpectedly retracted its tendrils and questioned, "Who are you? Why have you come here?" in a familiar yet synthetic-sounding tone.

In the brief period where Sayu stopped to consider answering, several black tendrils erupted from the ground in an attempt to skewer her from behind. While they appeared to do exactly that, her body promptly burst into a cloud of smoke, ultimately revealing a tanuki-themed daruma.

Clicking 'her' tongue, the Black Knight surveyed the area for any signs of Sayu, one of her dark purple eyes shifting to a neon shade of green as she said, "You've no hope of escaping. This place has been enclosed by my Absolute Void Eye. Tell me who sent you and for what purpose, and I will consider sparing you."

Realizing she couldn't detect Sayu with her Magic Power Eye, the Black Knight's left iris promptly shifted to a peculiar shade of reddish pink. As it did, she gained the ability to discern heat signatures and various forms of radiation.

Failing to find any trace of Sayu, a glower marred the face of the woman beneath the suit of armor. She had never encountered an opponent that could elude her 'Kaleidoscopic Demon Eyes,' so she was beginning to get annoyed.

"Fine. Have it your way..."

With her Absolute Void Eye sealing off the chamber and preventing even air from escaping, the Black Knight raised her hand aloft and produced a massive fireball nearly 5m in diameter. It was common knowledge that Fire Magic should never be used indoors or within confined spaces, as it greedily devoured the oxygen in the environment.

Seeing through the Black Knight's intentions, Sayu appeared a few meters away, seemingly manifesting out of thin air as she performed a series of hand seals. Anemo Energy could produce oxygen even in a vacuum, but its most noteworthy trait was its ability to 'react' with virtually anything. This included the Magic of Mushoku Tensei, so Sayu took a deep breath before exhaling a highly condensed burst of Anemo Energy towards the enlarging fireball.

Though she had never encountered Ninjutsu or Elemental Arts, the Black Knight quickly realized what Sayu was up to the moment she sensed not-so-subtle changes in the room's airflow. She was too slow to discard the fireball before Sayu's 'wind bullet' impacted it, but she was able to direct the explosion toward the ceiling by adjusting the flow of magical energy within.

As modifying a spell mid-cast was virtually impossible below the King Rank, Sayu realized the Black Knight wasn't the warrior she appeared to be. She had a saber strapped to her left hip and an object resembling a gun strapped to her right, but she had yet to draw either.

Interrupting Sayu's observation, the Black Knight raised her left hand. As she did, more than a dozen tendrils exploded from her armor—this time, much, much faster than before.

Though she hadn't lowered her guard, Sayu barely managed to evade the lightning-fast tendrils. Three ended up piercing directly through her hood as it lagged behind her movements, but, much like the rest of her outfit, it was designed to be discarded in a pinch. 

Seeing Sayu evade her surprise attack, the Black Knight coldly remarked, "You're really starting to get on my nerves..."

Instead of responding to the Black Knight's words, Sayu reached into her clothes to pull out a handful of tiny, sand-colored spheres with cute faces drawn on them. They appeared inconspicuous at a glance, but if Paul saw them, his face would have paled as the image of an endearing explosives expert appeared in his mind...

Correctly presuming the spheres were some kind of weapon, the Black Knight sent her tendrils to stab through them in mid-air. What she never expected was for the spheres to immediately explode, each packing the force of an Intermediate Fire Magic Spell despite their small size. What's more, Sayu anticipated her response and sent another condensed burst of Anemo Energy into the resulting explosion.

With the power of the explosives surpassing the Saint Rank, the Black Knight felt her insides stirring as her armor anchored itself in place with several tendrils. It wasn't visible from the outside, but blood flowed from her ears, nose, and mouth as her face distorted in confusion.

Though she wanted nothing more than to retaliate and punish Sayu for her indiscretions, the Black Knight forced herself to remain calm as she stated, "That wasn't Magic...it resembles Magic and is just as destructive, but Magic of that level wouldn't be able to penetrate my barrier..."

Ascertaining that her opponent genuinely wanted to talk this time, Sayu replied, "It's a secret. If you wish to know more, lay down your arms and remove your armor. My Master would probably be willing to explain if you ceased your hostility..."

Without considering her response, the Black Knight shook her head and said, "That isn't an option. I was charged with safeguarding the place until my Master's return. You and your allies can't leave without completing the castle's trials, so we'll have no choice but to fight."

Punctuating her words, the Black Knight placed her hand on the hilt of her sword in a reverse grip. However, instead of drawing it, she hesitated for a brief moment before asking, "How old are you?"

Though she was a little surprised by the woman's query, Sayu eventually answered, "Twelve?" with an inflection that made it sound like a question. She failed to see how her age mattered after everything that had transpired, but it apparently didn't as the Black Knight exhaled an audibly relieved sigh before remarking, "Good...at least I don't have to feel guilty about slaughtering a child..."

Without waiting for Sayu's response, the Black Knight began to draw her sword, revealing a blade of pure white that shone with the radiance of the sun, a stark contrast to the abyssal black armor covering her body...

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