Chapter 340
The Gold Emperor, Baric Hartz.
A legendary figure who truly existed on the continent hundreds of years ago, wielding the supernatural ability to control metal and handle ten thousand weapons simultaneously.
The 'Hartz' family, which had produced such an outstanding hero, also enjoyed great prosperity, but over time, the Gold Emperor's bloodline grew thin. In the present day, the best use the descendants could find for their remaining abilities was in the Social Gathering, bending spoons as a party trick.
Thus, treated like relics of a bygone age, the Hartz family fell into decline. But one day, a child was born who had inherited the Gold Emperor's blood in full measure.
Her name was Milena Hartz.
She possessed metal-controlling powers far superior to those of her siblings, and was the only one among them to be taught the "family's unique black magic".
This was a black magic the Hartz family had painstakingly developed during the Great Necromancer era, a curse that would interfere with a supernatural power, allowing the wielder to control substances other than metal.
Of course, only while using this curse.
"You can only control one type of substance at a time, right?"
Maelyn spoke as she looked at Milena, who was sitting on the floor.
Milena couldn't hide the shock on her face.
'H-how could she…!'
It was exactly as she said.
The base ability was metal control, but if she touched an object and brought it to the eternal magic circle carved into her side, the power of the curse would interfere with her supernatural ability, changing it to allow her to control that object instead.
Using this power, she had hurled siege ladders and bricks when fighting Dick, then touched ice to freely evade magic when fighting Maelyn.
And now, while her power was changed to ice control, she could do nothing against the pouring flames.
"No wonder I thought it was strange how easily you were using telekinesis without strain."
Maelyn's eyes flashed as she summoned Darkness.
"You'll pay dearly for playing with me, Hartz family."
"…Kh!"
Milena quickly got to her feet and ran.
The tables had turned, and this time Maelyn chased her down, casting black magic.
Small fireballs bounced through the air. Milena frantically dodged the attacks, smashing through a window and diving into an empty building.
"Hiding won't help you!"
Maelyn also smashed through the window, entering the building.
'Damn, she's fast.'
Milena was nowhere to be seen. But with no sign of movement, she was probably hiding.
As Maelyn, preparing a Darkness-flame spell in her palm, stepped into a narrow hallway, Milena appeared and charged straight at her. Maelyn thrust out her arm.
Fwoooosh!
Flames poured forward, but then the corners of Milena's mouth curved upward.
"!"
The flames split apart to either side, scattering harmlessly.
'She touched the embers earlier and switched to flame control!'
Milena closed the gap to Maelyn without injury.
But the moment she saw Maelyn's relaxed expression, she realized something was wrong.
From Maelyn's other hand, a shard of ice shot forth, striking Milena squarely in the chest and abdomen.
With a choking cry, she was hurled back into the wall.
"You think I wouldn't prepare for that?"
Maelyn now spread both palms. Different magic circles layered over one another, frost in one hand, flames in the other.
'Dual casting!'
This wasn't simply creating multiple of the same spell. Maelyn was casting two completely different spells at the same time.
It was an extremely difficult control, like drawing different shapes with your left and right hands simultaneously.
'W-what do I do?'
She had already tried sending a curse at Maelyn earlier, but seeing how she canceled it cleanly with Cancellation, it was clear her understanding of curses was top-tier.
As expected, the Ivory Tower was strong.
Unlike her own Hartz family, now a shadow of its past, the Ivory Tower still commanded immense influence in the present.
Suddenly, the sky-blue-haired girl before her looked like a towering mountain.
"Khk!"
Milena turned again, smashing through another window and fleeing, with Maelyn immediately in pursuit.
Fwoooosh!
Craaaash!
Flames and ice alternated as they poured down on Milena.
She could only run desperately, darting in and out of buildings, with Maelyn relentlessly following.
'The one advantage I have over the Ivory Tower is…!'
Milena smashed through another window and leapt.
Maelyn followed right after, but hesitated for a moment.
This was the third floor.
'An understanding of terrain!'
This was Milena's third run. Her body plummeted quickly.
"You think I can't follow?"
Without hesitation, Maelyn jumped from the window, stretching out her arms.
Fwoooosh!
Craaaash!
Flames shot on one side, frost on the other, rushing at Milena.
If she controlled one, she'd be struck by the other.
—Milena, my daughter. The only light of our family.
—Go to Keyzen. Show the world the Hartz family still lives.
Milena grit her teeth and spread her arms wide.
"I'm Keyzen too!"
A sharp gleam filled her eyes.
"You think I won't grow like you?"
The eternal magic circle on her waist and the magic circles on her palms began to vibrate together.
Fwoooosh!
Ruuumble!
The flames and frost stopped just short of her. Maelyn's eyes widened at the sight.
'What? She just controlled two substances at once?'
Cough! Kuhhk!
But there was a reason Milena hadn't used this power before.
The success rate was less than 10%, and using it placed an extreme burden on her body, as it surpassed the normal limits of her ability.
Even so—
'I broke through that 10%…!'
Even as she spat blood, Milena was momentarily overcome with emotion.
The moment she landed, she roared and charged at Maelyn, who was still descending from mid-air.
'Tch!'
Maelyn quickly spotted her landing point and drew a magic circle on the ground.
Ruuumble!
An ice wall rose, and Maelyn landed behind it. Milena's eyes lit up.
'She raised it in a rush, it's thin!'
Still running, Milena pulled out a half-melted piece of ice from her pocket and pressed it to her side. The curse activated, switching her control substance from flames to ice.
A second consecutive 'Double Control' was impossible. Even if she got through that wall, Maelyn would just retreat and fire more flames or ice.
In that case—
'I'll break straight through!'
Her arms slammed into the ice wall. As expected, it was thin. With a cracking sound, it began to collapse.
If she could just get close enough to touch Maelyn once—!
Craaaash!
Milena's eyes shook violently.
A shock exploded in her abdomen, like she had been punched in the stomach, forcing the air from her lungs as her legs trembled.
Craaaash—
Through the collapsing ice, Maelyn was visible, arm extended in a punching stance.
"Magical Combat…?"
Milena's expression turned to bewilderment. Maelyn closed her eyes and slowly lowered her fist.
"Really now."
Her blue eyes fixed on Milena.
"Seeing you pull something impressive made me want to show off too."
Thud.
Milena collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
'To use your own ice as a wall for a penetrating strike…'
The Sky Calamity just now struck cleanly, and Milena's barrier gauge dropped to 0%.
She lowered her head.
"Don't go crying your eyes out too much when you get back to the dorm, Hartz family."
Maelyn said, resting her hands on her hips.
"Being able to fight me that well is something you can brag about all over town."
Milena gave a bitter smile.
"As expected, your arrogance pierces the heavens, Ivory Tower."
With a smile, Milena's body faded away.
[Milena Hartz eliminated.]
[Defense Team (15/15)]
[Siege Team (13/15)]
Maelyn let out a relieved sigh, then looked at her own fist.
In her mind, she heard Simon's voice.
—Don't focus on what your palm touches, think of it as striking beyond that point.
—Deliberately ignore the object in front of you, and focus on the target beyond.
She chuckled softly and clenched her slender fist tightly.
'Thanks for teaching me the Sky Calamity, Simon.'
It had been a rather reckless attempt, but she thought that Magical Combat wasn't bad at all.
* * *
A few days earlier.
—Simon, your biggest weakness, in my opinion, is endurance.
In Dick's siege battle lecture, Maelyn had pointed this out.
—Of course, you're strong. In a siege, you can definitely take one opponent down. The problem is, you're the type who just blasts away with all your firepower no matter who the enemy is. Overlord's the same, and especially the Royal Guard are like that. A necromancer who takes one down, then quickly burns out, isn't that much of a threat on the battlefield.
Hearing those words, Simon agreed with her, saying he'd thought the same himself.
A siege battle was a prolonged fight where combat didn't stop for 12 hours straight. Stamina, Darkness management, and sustained fighting were exactly what Simon needed.
So Simon had prepared skeleton mages, and instead of overwhelming enemy soldiers purely with firepower, he fought by igniting the surroundings with oil fruit. He had corrected precisely what Maelyn had pointed out.
However—
"…Ugh, I want to turn back time."
Even though she had just taken down an important opponent, Maelyn's face burned with embarrassment that came rushing in late.
She'd lectured others about endurance, but she herself was now completely drained of stamina and Darkness after defeating just one person.
"Haah, how embarrassing."
Of course, defeating Milena Hartz was an impressive feat. No one on the Defense Team could criticize her for it, but her own words from the past nagged at her.
She trudged toward the rooftop. With her Darkness depleted, going to the wall now would only get in the way.
She decided to recover her Darkness and also collect the arrow Simon had fired.
The arrow had Simon's school uniform jacket tied to it. It was probably in case Maelyn couldn't spot it otherwise.
"The reason you told me with an arrow instead of over comms is probably that, right?"
In truth, Dick's plan had been only to pass Milena's information via comms. But Simon had added another idea.
If you spoke over comms, the enemy could hear it too.
If Maelyn was struggling because she didn't know about her opponent, he wanted to exploit the advantage she'd have when she found out. So instead of using comms, he tied a note to an arrow and fired it.
If Maelyn hadn't been able to see it or if the situation had been bad, he'd planned to tell her over comms afterward.
Fortunately, Maelyn had checked the note alone, and managed to pay back the unsuspecting Milena with a direct hit from a Darkness flame spell.
Rustle, rustle.
Maelyn picked up Simon's school uniform jacket from the arrow.
"..."
After gazing at it for a moment, she slipped it on.
Standing next to him, she'd never noticed, but there was definitely a size difference between a male and female student. It was huge on her, hanging down to her thighs, and even with her arms fully extended, her hands were hidden inside the long sleeves.
"…Simon's bigger than I thought."
She swung the long sleeves back and forth. For some reason, it made her feel like a baby, and she laughed.
Feeling oddly restless, Maelyn went ahead and sniffed it.
Both the sleeves and collar carried Simon's lingering scent. He hadn't used any perfume, but there was a faint, natural smell.
Boldly, she buried her face in the jacket and closed her eyes.
"!"
As if by magic, her heart calmed, and her stress levels dropped.
Perfect tranquility.
Breathing in Simon's scent brought many moments with him to mind.
—Alright, you're more important. I'll teach you, so get into position.
Recalling their Magical Combat lesson, Maelyn's face flushed red.
She hurriedly pulled her face out of the jacket.
"…Ah, seriously. I'm such a pervert."
As the noble lady of the great Ivory Tower family, she had to keep her dignity.
After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she walked toward the wall as if nothing had happened.
'Still, it'd be weird to walk off wearing someone else's clothes like this, right?'
She slipped out of the jacket, then draped it lightly over her shoulders.
Now this was nice.
It felt like those moments on cold days when a gentleman takes off his coat and wraps it around a lady's shoulders.
Humming to herself, Maelyn walked toward the wall.
Her Darkness still hadn't recovered, but, for a fleeting moment, she thought she wouldn't mind if it took a little longer this time.
Do you like this personality?