I sighed, staring at the cloudy sky. It didn't look like it was going to rain any time soon; it was just cloudy. The sound of the rushing canal reverberated in the whole city, the sound was oddly enchanting. There wasn't a beauty like this in the New World.
A shame that it would be destroyed.
Not to mention, the air quality in this world was superb, as if nature had flourished without complications. The mana concentration in the atmosphere was also rich, almost begging to be harvested.
However, we weren't here to sightsee and study.
We were here to remove the greatest thorn in Nazarick's history and bring back the lives of the three maids that Sung-bastard stole. The second-rate necromancer was the main target, but the main target was being covered by an extremely powerful target.
Reinhard van Astrea.
This was his world. We called it the Grand New World. The magic here seemed to be more refined, and there were actual gods here, actual gods similar to my Father. If these beings were to ever notice our presence, they may jeopardize our mission. If they cared.
Or they may be the kind of impotent gods that most mortals worshipped. Demiurge used every available tool and scientific method he had, and he proved without a doubt that there was some higher power in here.
The main evidence was Reinhard van Astrea. The newly established intelligence network in the so-called City of Lugunica had its appendages everywhere, and every relevant piece of information was processed and then summarized for Nazarick.
What we found raised Reinhard's indicated danger level to the maximum. He could wish or ask for anything he wanted; the man was apparently blessed by the world. There was also some hidden force that Demiurge had theorized provided those blessings and the overall magic of this grand new world.
Demiurge's intelligence report was admittedly incomplete, derived primarily from testimony provided by captured members of the so-called Witch Cults. They knew more than the most accomplished scholars and had some connections with the powerful witches.
Demiurge wanted to capture an Archbishop, but it proved rather difficult. Still, within the given time, we were bound to come across one. Maybe even a witch.
"What a useless man."
I muttered out of sheer disappointment. The demon named Muzan Kibutsuji died.
Still, he proved to be a worthwhile subject. When that Sung-bastard had attempted that resurrection ability of his, Muzan remained dead; his soul was gone. It was extinguished the moment his heart stopped, the result of Demiurge's spell.
Arise... what a dumb chant.
Demiurge did something; I do not know the specifics, but he proved something. The soul or the 'spiritual essence', was used to resurrect/arise a living being. Sung-bastard then bound the resurrected being to his will. In essence, it was a high-tier resurrection spell with an extremely restrictive bind imprinted on the subject after resurrection.
There were spells with a similar function, even items.
In theory, the imprinted bind could be yanked away, but it warranted further study. The three maids may die or vanish in the process. Caution was the number one priority.
"There you are." A voice rang from behind. It was that Sung-bastard.
"Explode Mine." I activated immediately. I was found out sooner than expected. My invincibility, pristine as it is, could not escape the monstrous senses of this second-rate necromancer and that red-haired knight.
The mines, boosted and over-magicked, exploded with wondrous volume. The mine at this point was like a high-explosive bomb. The whole tower, which I was standing on and peeking out of a narrow window, collapsed.
As the massive cloud of smoke cleared, the figure of that Sung-bastard in the distance appeared. He was standing on the flat roof of another house, half-repaired. He had escaped with his life intact, albeit with some injuries, since he didn't have any proper AOE protections.
"Explode Mine"
The entire flat roof of the house that Sung-bastard was standing on exploded, demolishing several houses along with it. The building blocks clattered as they struck the stone ground, shattering upon impact. I placed a lot of mines earlier.
Wham! Reinhard had struck me, dispelling my hastened camouflage and revealing my entire form. I was now fully visible. I held my ground, shifting only a couple of inches from the powerful force. While the stacked spells were intended to grant me complete immunity to powerful knockbacks, I was still moved. There was nothing absolute when it came to Reinhard-knight, as expected.
Was there even a spell that this knight couldn't pierce?
"Full Double Counter."
Reinhard's entire arm disappeared, taking some of his upper torso as well.
All the force he had unleashed was turned back on him, doubled in its impact. His whole left arm disappeared, not severed. As I was about to cast [Obsidian Blade], that hulking glowing summon appeared from behind and grappled me.
I elbowed the summon, and it was sent backwards. I was also stacked with several physical enhancements and damage boosts. Anyways, the thing had a name: Mahoraga.
Whatever this thing was, even my Father had no idea about its origins. But we did find a working theory as to how to possibly defeat it.
"Banishment"
A powerful PVE spell. It was ineffective against players; the spell was for summons, fairies, celestial beings, and other spiritually connected constructs. Mahoraga simply disappeared; it wasn't dead yet. The banishment only lasted for several minutes. The theory had worked.
Reinhard's arm and upper torso fully regenerated. Partly because of his innate regeneration and also that strange, chimeric beast seemingly forged from the forced union of several creatures. Still, he remained in place, I didn't hold back on all the debuffs this time.
An amalgam or a corrupted doppelganger, it looked like. Tsk. Megumi Fushiguro, where was that kid anyways? Hiding inside the shadows?
The entire stone ground that I was standing on was instantly covered with a dark, thin mass. Then the undead shadow army arrived.
"Mass Hold Species." "Mass Earthquake.""Fly!"
I said as I zoomed straight to the atmosphere. The undead shadow army was swallowed by the shifting ground. The entire city radiated in surprise and terror. The ant summon quickly followed, escaping the mass hold spell. Then a dragon suddenly appeared and whacked me straight to the ground.
"A dragon!?"
That Sung-bastard had a dragon too!? I was genuinely surprised. A powerful punch then struck me from behind; it was Reinhard again. The debuffs, it was supposed to last a while!
"Full Double Counter."
I muttered. Reinhard's left arm disappeared from the reflected damage. He didn't even feel any pain. He was about to kick me, but I managed to grab onto him.
"Penetrate Magic: Death!"
I activated an eighth-tier instant-death spell enhanced with meta-magic.
Reinhard flopped, dropping to the ground like his strings had been cut. With him dead, I inflicted as much damage as possible. The goal wasn't to kill him but to kill everything he had cared for; what use was a hero when they couldn't save anything?
A brilliant radiance immediately followed the moment I turned my back from Reinhard's corpse. I couldn't help but be surprised; the last time he died, it took some time for him to resurrect, but now, it was an instant!?
Reinhard shot forward, punching me again. "Full Double Counter!" The punch eviscerated Reinhard's right arm, but my extreme resistance was pierced. I was sent flying backwards, groaning in surprise and pain.
"Goddamned humans!" I muttered as I shot straight towards the sky while I was sent away. Sung-bastard had returned from the fight despite the tattered clothing, and Reinhard-knight closely followed while his other arm slowly regenerated.
"I need backup now! I can't focus and I am forced to stop time!" I messaged.
"Time Stop." I cast it, and this time it worked. The fight no longer occurred in the thresholds with its alien passage of time. Here, time flowed straight and consistently; [Time Stop] was now in effect.
"1 second has passed," I muttered.
(The next chapter is still another fight.)