[183] 4. Reversal of the Law (4)
"Should I go in?"
"No. The Nor use nature-affinity abilities. Tight spaces work against them. They know that and are trying to bait us."
The captain used Skima's power to make his voice boom through the cave.
"If you don't come out right now, something bad will happen to you! I'll count to three!"
His men drew their bows and nocked arrows.
They weren't Arc-type explosive bolts, but arrows launched with Skima's brute strength could pierce rock. If they were inside the cave, there'd be no time to dodge—they'd be riddled with holes.
"One!"
Silence filled the cave.
"Two!"
The captain's features twisted. Were they resolved to die?
All the Nor could do was try to seal the cave with earth magic. But that kind of makeshift tactic wouldn't hold long and would cut off their own retreat.
"Three!"
A red bead of blood appeared between the captain's brows.
Something burst from the cave. With superhuman reflexes he drew his sword and raised it to shield his face.
But by the time he realized what he'd blocked, the projectile detonated.
"Damn—!"
A blast of flame roared out and engulfed the captain.
The shock hit his men too; the startled horses reared and ran wild.
At that moment Shirone and the others spilled out of the cavern.
The captain, dismounted and smoking, glared at them. He planted his sword in the ground, looked over the chaotic scene, and shouted.
"They're with the Meka! Don't let them get away!"
They had never expected Mekas while pursuing the Nor.
Shirone had targeted that oversight.
He'd guessed right. Kanya and Rena had used drones to wait for the pursuing party to close in, then fired an Arc at the exact moment to create a chance to flee.
"There are too many enemies! Find a narrow pass!"
At Shirone's command, Kanya checked the terrain with her drone and altered their course.
Seeing through the plan, the pursuers loosed a volley of arrows.
Even shot from a hundred meters, they didn't lose speed and skittered past Shirone's group.
Clove scowled.
"I'll buy time!"
"No! Just run!"
"A Nor's honor demands a return blow!"
Clove plunged his hand into the shallow stream and cast the ancient magic Sheaving.
The creek froze, blanched white.
Crack!
The sound of water solidifying echoed through the ravine as pillars, like those inside the cave, thrust up from the frozen surface.
Shirone watched even as he ran.
The scale of that nature-based ancient magic was far larger than expected. The creek froze, and a wall of pillars rose, blocking the way and making it impossible to ride through.
A heavy crack split the air as ice shattered.
Their faces went pale. The pursuers had abandoned their mounts and were smashing through the ice pillars with swords and fists as they charged.
"The Nor and the Meka working together? Typical heretics!"
Kanya shouted, leveling her Arc.
"We're citizens! You fellow citizens have no right to meddle with the Law!"
The moment she released the trigger, a torrent of Arc projectiles came streaking out.
A swordsman cleaved one in two. Moments later two fireballs detonated behind them.
"Those who break the Law are beheaded! We are the First Citizens chosen by God!"
The Kergo pursuers raised their weapons and roared.
They bore no resemblance to the Kergo civilization from the old world—luxurious armor, gaudy accessories. They were nobles among the citizenry.
Running beside Kanya, Shirone asked, "Why are they like this? They're the same citizens—why are they fighting so fiercely?"
"It's heretic hunting. They're the most devout among the citizens—arrogant and aggressive toward other citizens. Nothing good comes from getting tangled with them."
Shirone fell silent. They were already properly entangled.
"They're annoying, but they use giant-strength abilities, so they're strong. Purgatory is outside the law—these guys can do as they please. If they catch you, they won't die gently."
The pursuers closed in with every step.
Not a single one of them failed to use Skima, and Shirone's group had the injured Guardrak slowing them down.
Guardrak called to Clove, "Clove! Cast Aeos!"
"It's dangerous! Master's hurt!"
"We're going to die like this anyway! Come on, we'll go first!"
Guardrak cast the wind magic Aeos and floated. Clove cast the same spell and rose with him.
Shirone thought of Aeos like a Fly spell. If the mechanism was similar, stabilizing the air in a narrow ravine would be difficult.
As expected, the higher they rose the more they wavered. It looked like they might slam into the cliff at any moment.
Without them there'd be no way to reach the Nor shelter. Shirone, determined to save them, relayed to his friends.
- Take one person each! Teleport them!
Kanis wanted to use Dark Port, but with four mages needing to move two Mekas and two swordsmen, they had to choose photonization magic.
Amy grabbed Tess; Shirone grabbed Rian. Kanis and Arin each seized Kanya and Rena's hands.
By then the pursuers were almost on them.
The lead Kergo raised his sword from his mount. The silver blade fell like lightning toward Shirone's head.
At that instant Shirone's group became a flash of light and shot upward.
Guardrak and Clove nearly lost their spells.
Not only did they create light—they became light. And moving the Mekas at the same time was something unthinkable in Heaven.
At least by human standards.
"How… how can they use light magic without borrowing nature's power?"
Ancient magic requires drawing on an attribute. Light is the hardest to handle.
Light is weak and diffused; even with nature's aid, concentrating it is difficult.
A Nor could cast light magic only if there was a place where light gathered—a Shining Spot.
Clove felt unsettled.
This group that had teleported up in an instant was nothing like the petty, incompetent imitators he'd expected.
When he'd seen Shirone's Shining magic before, he assumed they'd just moved light from some Shining Spot. But these people generated light from their own bodies.
And as far as he knew, in Heaven only one being besides Ra could truly command light.
Reading the Nor's emotions, Arin sent a mental message.
- Looks like the Nor don't know teleport magic.
Amy snorted. - Of course they don't. Photonization theory is one of the greatest discoveries in magic history even in our world. Don't underestimate the geniuses of the earth realm.
Amy took pride in being born in the earth realm.
But the Kergo from above weren't pushovers. Using external gravity, they sprinted vertically along the cliff.
Amy, lying flat, unleashed a Fire Strike.
The plunging spear of flame forced the pursuers to split left and right. Bypassing the cliff widely, they increased speed and closed the distance to Shirone's group.
-Tch! They're persistent!
-I'll try.
Arin extended tentacles and tried Mind Control.
Most of the pursuers resisted, but one succumbed. The soldier under Arin's sway swung his sword at his comrades, breaking the formation.
"What stupid brats!"
The captain watching below the cliff sneered, inhaled deeply, and bellowed toward the cliff.
It was Skima's Howling.
"Auuuuuu!"
The Howling's echo rolling off the cliffs struck the mages' minds and broke the Nor's Aeos. Shirone grit his teeth and held on. It was a technique that shook the mind itself, like Etella's Parma's roar.
Shirone teleported the falling Guardrak. As Shirone grabbed him, Amy flew over and caught Clove's ankle.
They used photonization magic to reset inertia. As Shirone brought Rian and Guardrak down, the others landed one after another.
"Damn! Howling's always the problem. The Nor don't do well against the Kergo."
Guardrak, embarrassed, tried to excuse himself. I suppose master and pupil weren't entirely different, after all.
Then Shirone suddenly wondered: they'd all been hit by Howling, so why was his group fine?
"Hey, why are you all okay?"
Sometimes a naive question just makes things more irritating. Kanis said it bluntly.
"Okay? My head's ringing—I'm nowhere near okay."
"But how did you cast magic?"
"We just clenched our teeth and did it. If something shakes you this much, don't call yourself a mage."
Unlike the Nor, who draw on nature's power, earth-realm magic manifests from a fusion of omniscience and omnipotence. It's a fussier method than ancient magic.
But that awkwardly honed focus had the opposite effect: it strengthened their mental resilience.
Also, many in Shirone's group had special abilities.
Arin specialized in mental power and had mental defense down as a specialty; Amy was outright immune thanks to her crimson-eye ability. And Shirone, in terms of sheer endurance, possessed an adamantine, indestructible mental fortitude said to rival the crimson-eye effect.
Clove face-planted into the creek on landing. He got up, furious, and glared at Amy.
"You! How dare you shove me in?"
He'd tolerated Amy's arrogance because it had a certain charm, but this imitator had climbed all the way up his back.
"I'll never forgive you—!"
Clove shivered and fell silent.
Amy's irises glowed red. The expression on her face as she stared at the pursuers chilled him like a ghost.
Without looking away, she said, "Don't touch me during a fight. I'll baby you later."
Clove slowly turned his head. The Kergo pursuers were closing in with predatory eyes.
Clove's face crumpled. "It's over. We'll be caught. They'll torture us to death—"
"Don't get in the way of planning. If you're not fighting, go inside."
What good does showing weakness do when the odds are already against them?
Amy grabbed the back of Clove's collar and hauled him; his legs gave out and he landed on his butt.
This time Guardrak didn't have the headspace to look after his student and asked Amy without thinking, "Is there any other way?"
"I can't be certain, but it looks like we'll make it in time somehow. Shirone, is it ready?"
"Yeah. It was close."
Guardrak cocked his head. "What do you mean? What's ready?"
Shirone looked up at the sky. His Spirit Zone, once a radial target-type, had warped into a curved shape reaching up to the heavens. Because it was an independent form, it had taken time to transform.
Without touching anyone, Shirone cast photonization on them all. It was the Mass Teleport he'd realized by risking his life on the cliff of the impassable bridge.
"Hold on tight! They'll try to run again!"
The pursuers' captain sent his men charging, then drew a deep breath and unleashed a Howling.
The roar swept over Shirone's group. Guardrak and Clove flinched, but the adamantine fortitude held. Compared to Marsha's sonic cannon, this was barely noise.
Shirone watched the captain as if to break his morale, then calmly cast Mass Teleport.
A thick flash swept them up and carried them to the top of the cliff where the Spirit Zone met the sky.
"Damn it! The Howling doesn't work!" the captain hissed through clenched teeth.