Fear Not The Elf Who Knows 10,000 Spells - Chapter 23

To my annoyance, the shield didn't break from the force of my supersonic strike, even with everything else.

There was crack, so I at least managed that.

"...You're just a child—"

I stepped back and swung upward. The sword struck the knight's shield again, his arm leaning away from all the punishment it forced to endure. I slashed from his open side.

Annoyingly Jilwer is off, as I was in range of the stupid crystal shield.

The knight finally got his sword out and met my blow.

Only I never paused or slowed, I'm working on a time limit here. 7 minutes and 3 seconds till my enchanted sword is unusable.

We clashed, again and again, the knight is overwhelming me with experience and skill, but the sheer strength of my attacks are staggering him whenever our blades strike, and my speed is keeping up with him.

All the while I also kept an eye on the assassin with mana detection. She wasn't dead. She was injured but not out of the fight. I waited for her to make her move, so I can get both of them.

Yes, I can't form or cast spells within three meters of either of their—the Warrior's or the Assassin's—magic-nullifying crystals.

But my mana detection is spherical, and I can cast a spell in any spatial point in it.

I can cast a spell originating from deep within the earth, and let its physical effect take them both out.

People tend to lower their guard the moment victory seems in their grasp. So I'm going to let these two elite fighters think they're going to win, because even the strongest or most skilled would let their guard down when they are most assured of their safety.

And one is most safe in victory.

"Where did you get that sword from? Why do you have Ewiglast?" The knight shouted, and I ignored him.

So my enchanted sword turned out to have a name? Neat. Ewiglast, huh. Cool name.

Anyways, as me and the knight exchanged blows, due to not actively using spells but just mana control, I realized something.

"The Shields have trained children to do their dirty work now? All for those filthy elves!? Stop child! You don't have to continue being a monster!" The knight kept yapping.

My own mana had refilled up back to a third of my reserves. Huh? How? Since when and why?

The knight after clashing blades and locking then swung his other arm to shield bash me.

I jump-dashed back. He instantly was on me with another sword slash that I met.

Oh, quick one, wasn't he? Not wanting me outside the three meter range of his crystal shield.

Okay then. I kept parrying and weaving out of the way of the knight's strikes.

Actually some of his strikes were missing by a wide margin. Like swinging a dozen inches away from me. I first thought he was planning something, but no, he just kept missing at times.

Ah! Got it. I forgot how small I was. Flink did mention I was too small of a target for a close-quarter combat, but then immediately adjusted. I didn't think much about it because I just assumed that would be normal for skilled warriors that I'd face.

The knight is adjusting to fighting someone as nimble as me at my size.

Time to throw him off.

It took a few moments—in which I met, parried or dodge the knights sword slashes—using full mana sight to find swords lying around.

"Verfehlt! That child is of the Froststaub mountain tribe!" The assassin lying on the ground shouted in desperation.

I took control of three nearby telekinetically, they weren't in anyone's hand, or entangled in something. I floated them a bit off ground and aimed them. Negative charge mana point behind the knight. I overcharged and mana line between the positive and negative points as much as I could.

The knight, Ver-something, look at me with wide-eyes.

"The Shields got to them? And this is what a child can do?" He said in horror.

"Schnellwurf." I said back.

BOOM!

CLANK!

I'm impressed, the first shot, the knight managed to block with his shield.

BOOM!

CLANK!

Second shot also blocked but his lost his sword, or dropped it as he used both hands to hold the shield.

BOOM!

CLUNGK!

"ARGH!" The knight cried out.

Okay, that is just bullshit. That sword shot was to his back. Yes, it hit the armor but that armor must be fucking enchanted or something.

Okay, then, finding more swords. Those further away took a while to angle right.

The assassin jumping from where she was lying when my back was to her. She moved fast. Like a quarter of my speed in Jilwer.

How the fuck is she still moving with a stab to the heart—She diverted it? She diverted the spear at the last moment to avoid her heart. And she's just moving fine with a hole in her stomach.

Sure, why not? Of fucking course she's still in fighting shape. I'm dealing with shounen characters.

Oh well, contingency plan then.

I used all my mana strengthening, sending a burst of mana to my legs in the instant I jump back. The burst of extra speed pushes me past the three meter range.

The knight disk throws his shield at me.

Huh. Wow.

Okay, I'm impressed.

I sword my enchanted sword—Ewiglast, I should try to remember that name, it sounds cool—at the shield, the two items smashing together in the middle between me and the knight.

The assassin has a spear, one of the ones I shot her with aimed at my back. I'm not in range of her crystal vambraces yet.

And I'm in contact with the ground. I remembered the spell I used to destroy the Coalition encampment outside of Schwanz. I memorized that compound spell and now know it as it's own distinct magic.

"Flammenbruch." I cast upon the earth while making a barrier around me.

The ground for a mile in diameter with me as a center point turned orange with heat.

"LAU—" The knight tried to shout.

His voice was lost as the world turned to light and heat.

The explosion engulfed us, the whole area. From within my barrier I saw the world turn to fire as I flew up into the sky.

There was smoke and heat left by the spell. I had gotten better at using wind in a Non-Formed Spell way. So with an effort of will and thought, imaging telekinesis and air on a large scale, I swung my arm and pushed the smoke away.

I saw the knight at his assassin's side. Her body was more or less a burned husk. He cradled her, holding some green glowing amulet above her.

Huh, she was alive. Barely. Her flesh was melted with bones showing in a lot of places. Her body was... huh, okay. Her body was fixing itself.

Guess, that amulet is a healing item. Is that why he survived?

Still her body's healing was... too slow. I could feel the mana in her dwindling faster than it she could make. Her life force was leaving her.

"Ver..." She tried to say.

"No, no, no." The knight said. His armor was smoking. He took off his gauntlet and gloves. His skin was also melted in places, but mostly red like a lobster. He handled the blast better than she did. "Lauer, no, you... you can, you're going to be okay." He said desperately. Sorrow and pain already in his voice.

I grabbed Ewiglast with my telekinesis and launched it quickly back at myself to catch it.

"Verfehlt," Lauer spoke. "Sorry for... failing, my... lo..."

"No! Never. You have never failed. You've been the one true constant at my side. Don't leave me." Verfehlt cried out.

"Ver...fehlt... I've always..." Her face did the approximate of a smile as with her last strength, she raised an arm and caressed his face. "Live."

She said her last word and her arm fell. Her eyes stayed open, staring at nothing.

The amulet dimmed and shut its glow as there was nothing to heal. Or it ran out of power, as the knight should still need more healing.

Silence filled the battlefield, only the cracking of fires nearby served as ambience.

The knight growled through gritted teeth. His head tilted to the side like he wanted to turn to face me, but stopped halfway through the motion.

"Why?" He said through his teeth. "Why are you fighting us? We are trying to free this land from the invisible gripping hands of the elves. Has the Froststaub mountain tribe fell to their witchery as well? To their rhetoric and dogma disguised as 'wise' advice?" He hissed.

I recalled something Flink said to me. That if I'm fighting a warrior and he was on his last leg, that I must finish him quickly.

"A Warrior's last stand is a dangerous thing." Flink had said.

That even if they can't consciously use mana, they have subconsciously and through condition trained their mana and body to work together. And thus by tapping into their last reserve of strength in the face of death they can remove the limiters on their body. And also on how much their mana can empower them without damaging themselves.

Basically magical hysterical strength.

The knight laid his friend or lover down, and stood up. He had a second sword I noticed now. Shorter but still undrawn.

I held my sword in front of me, preparing for battle. Yet my enemy at least deserved an answer.

"There is no tribe." I said. "There's just me."

He blinked. Looking at me incomprehensively.

"'Just you'," he repeated in disbelief. "Then why—"

I've had enough.

"Don't try to find a reason." I just said, shutting him up. "Don't try to rationalize this. Don't make a story, or a narrative for these events. They won't satisfy you or be enough. I will fight you to defend my home and loved ones. You will fight me for opposing your ambitions and defending or avenging your loved ones.

"There is no need for any other fancy reasons. You will try to kill me and I will try to kill you. That is all."

I gave my final statement, and that shut him up. The knight's eyes hardened once more. He gave a small nod of acknowledgement and drew his sword.

I thought about how to slay him now. I mentally observed my environment with mana detection full sight to catalogue where other weapons were, where his crystal shield was—

The knight moved dashing at me with renewed fervor, but he didn't have his shield this time. Which means I can use Jilwer.

I slashed at his head faster than he could blink.

CLASH!

I blinked as he met my blow in equal speed and strength.

He pushed back, and swung his blade, again and again our sword clashing fast and hard enough to make sparks, to ring loudly as to deafen everything else.

Then in a surprise move as we locked swords, the knight threw an upper cut at me. I easily tanked the blow with my forearm, only to get a kick in the stomach.

I was launched back from him. Quickly orienting myself, for the next attack, the knight launched himself at his crystal shield that he was pushing us towards.

I moved toward him to stop him, only for him to throw his sword at my head like a bullet. I moved my head in time, getting a scar on my cheek.

I fired Zoltraak at the knight. His armor tanked the hits, cracking with every Offensive Magic hitting him.

The next Zoltraak dispersed as the knight reached his crystal shield, and he picked up a sword nearby that was a more full length one. Close to the knight's original sword in height.

I telekinetically grabbed swords, spears aimed them and fired them at him with Schnellwurf.

Sonic booms echoed with the knight tanking every fired blade from the front with his shield, and every hit from the back or side kept causing his armor to crack, or some did manage to pierce him, but he just kept going.

This is gonna be more difficult than I thought. And I still had the Ancient Einsam—

Why am I engaging this knight in a sword fight? When did this become a duel?

With Jilwer one I could think faster. I could focus it to speed up my thoughts even more, even if it doesn't increase my movement speed.

Why am I bothering with this? I don't owe this knight a clean death or an honorable fight.

Also I noticed that my own mana reserves have filled up to half now, even while using only Minus' mana.

I got a theory on how this might be possible. Her Curse might be a blessing I didn't expect. I don't think even she expected this, but the idea needs to be shelved till after the knight, Verfehlt, is dead.

As if sensing my thoughts, or plans, the knight began to disk threw his shield once more.

Before his arm could complete the motion, I cast Schnellwurf on myself targeting to launch straight up.

Two sonic booms echoed, and from my place in the sky a kilometer up I was surprised to see that Verfehlt threw his shield with the speed of a bullet. I had to use Flight Magic to abruptly stop my launch and kill the momentum. It felt like my body was hit with undersea pressure all over.

Not doing that again till I'm stronger, or have a spell to cancel inertia.

"COME BACK DOWN! FACE ME!" Verfehlt shouted.

I could fire Zoltraak over and over again, or Schnellwurf other weapons at him, but I feel like he won't fall down until it's something definitive.

I have more experience with air and oxygen now, given my stint trying to make oxygen for that first magnet slingshot test flight.

My entire mana detection range as a sphere, is five point seven kilometer radius. But I don't need to what I plan for that whole area. One kilometer was enough.

I spread my arms to each side of me. I formed a mental shell around a kilometer under me with Verfehlt as a center point. From that shell I imagined and willed air to be drained out.

The knight may have felt that I was doing a large scale spell, but not what it was.

He ran, reached and grabbed his shield holding it in front of him, facing me.

Yes, the spell didn't affect the three meters he was in.

But nature abhors a vacuum. And so eventually the air around him started to thin as it dispersed into a airless area.

"STOP... Coward... no..."

The knight grew weaker and weaker. He dashed, trying to outrun the range of the spell. I kept the vacuum shell around him, moving along side him.

He couldn't run fast enough to escape my spell. And all that movement just used up his breath and strength faster and faster.

Eventually the knight collapsed, falling to the ground.

He crawled until he couldn't anymore.

I kept the spell up for ten minutes. Minus' mana was dropping rapidly till it was a quarter the size of my full reserves.

This might be too much but I wasn't taking chances. In fact!

I grabbed Ewiglast as I floated directly above the knight. I covered the sword with Zoltraak and held it like a guillotine over Verfehlt's body.

The sword was growing heavier and heavier. I dropped it with Wurfspeer cast on it as well, and telekinetically sped up and guided the fall of the sword.

Ewiglast slammed into the ground kicked up dirt as it sliced through Verfehlt's head sending it flying away from his body.

"Alright, good. He's dead for sure." I sighed as I released the spell and floated down.

I landed next to Verfehlt's decapitated body, threw Ewiglast back into my hand with a telekinetic pull, then set the body and head on fire.

Might as well be thorough.

I did the same for the body of his assassin lover-slash-friend-slash-subordinate person.

The world was quiet with death. Even the fire ran out of energy and died. Only smoke and the spell of dead bodies was left.

"Brutal." Minus said to me.

"War isn't suppose to be pretty." I said back as I flew up to the sky again.

Minus' approving laugh through the magic link didn't fill me pride.

I readied myself to fly toward the Froststaub mountains, toward the Death Tunnel.

One last enemy to deal with.