Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 156 - Decisive Battle IV
"Muhahahahahaha!"
The battle resumed.
This time, it was Aisha and Badigadi.
I couldn't help but marvel, the way North God III had wielded the King Dragon Sword earlier was nothing compared to how Aisha used it.
Aisha toyed with gravity like it was her personal plaything, hitting Badigadi from every direction she pleased.
From the front. From the side. From behind. The King Dragon Sword swung from all of them.
No matter how Badigadi attacked, he couldn't land a clean hit on her.
And even when he did, the King Dragon Sword's gravity ate up most of the damage.
"Troublesome brat! But I quite like you! Hahahahaha!"
Aisha didn't respond. She just brought another strike down.
This one sliced through the Fighting God Armor like butter, exposing the black skin beneath.
"Fuhahahaha! A return gift for you!"
The hand Badigadi had lost came flying back through the air, straight at Aisha.
She reacted, but she didn't defend.
Instead she treated it like an opening, launching a spell directly at the wound.
"Flame Emission!"
Four words. The spell hit Saint-class.
Still, a fire attack like that clearly wasn't enough to put Badigadi down. If it were, I would have finished this fight myself already.
"Ugh......"
She'd taken that punch. Aisha couldn't quite hide that it hurt.
I raised the Arrogant Water Dragon King and began the incantation.
"O miraculous angel, bestow the breath of heaven upon the drumbeat of life. The sun hangs at its zenith. The holy emissary of God abhors crimson. Descend upon the sea of light, unfurl wings of pure white. Thus shall the crimson be banished, Shine Healing."
Healing magic was one of my weak points, so I chanted the full incantation. I could have cut it short, but Badigadi wasn't threatening me. If I could give Aisha the best support possible, that was exactly what I should do.
"Thanks, big brother!"
Aisha leaped again. She drew the folded short sword tucked at her waist, the one belonging to Eris, and drove it into Badigadi's wound before it could close. Then she poured lightning magic through it.
The current traveled down the blade, bypassed the Fighting God Armor, and hit Badigadi directly.
No effect.
"Hmph! I like your fighting style! But I don't like your nasty little tricks!"
The hand that hadn't regenerated yet came swinging back at her.
This time, Aisha activated the King Dragon Sword's gravity manipulation and threw it straight into a teleportation array.
"Ugh......"
The moment she did, Badigadi realized one of his hands was sealed.
Then, in the next instant, three of his remaining five hands vanished.
Hands and gauntlets both, pulled back into the armor.
The two that remained grew thicker.
With wet, crunching sounds, they swelled even larger.
Two hands left. Massive, thick, and heavy.
Aisha stepped back and settled into a stance.
That stance...... was one of Water God Reida's techniques.
Badigadi didn't seem to care. He threw a punch at her.
One instant.
One sword strike.
It was like a flash of light had cut through the air.
But even that astonishing blow couldn't sever Badigadi's hand. The Fighting God Armor was pierced and immediately started knitting itself back together.
Aisha didn't give it the chance. She shifted her stance.
Something I'd seen in films from my past life. An iai draw.
Beside me, Eris whispered under her breath.
"Light Blade......"
The words had barely left her lips when Aisha swung.
The sword,
Was like light.
No.
Not like.
It was light......
Even Badigadi felt something was wrong. He thrust both hands forward and let the Fighting God Armor take the full brunt of it.
"Hah......."
Aisha drew a slow breath and let it out.
That technique had a cost, huh.......
"Fine swordsmanship. Fine spirit......"
The Fighting God Armor hadn't fully recovered. Badigadi walked toward her anyway.
"A fine duel, too. Your brother, and you as well....... Laplace was never this much trouble. Not like you two."
He raised his fist.
A fist like a cannon.
And brought it down.
Aisha fired the King Dragon Sword's gravity and put distance between them.
Watching the battlefield, I saw it. Aisha was starting to fall behind. She was human, sustained close-quarters combat like this would wear her down eventually.
I glanced over at Orsted. His expression hadn't changed.
I called his name.
"Orsted."
"Hm? What is it, Rudeus?"
"Do I need to step in?"
"You may. But even if you don't, Aisha won't lose."
"Won't lose isn't the same as winning."
"True. I don't know what the outcome will be either."
Orsted kept his eyes on the battlefield.
In his eyes, Aisha was probably something close to a disciple. She'd studied under him for years, and he was exactly the type who couldn't help caring about real talent.
"She may take some injuries, your sister."
How could I let my sister get hurt, she'd only just come back......
"That won't do."
The corner of Orsted's mouth twitched.
"If you're genuinely worried, I can step in. My mana reserves are reasonably full this time."
Mm...... No, that wouldn't do either. The whole point of this plan was to keep Orsted's mana intact. If he had to step in, that was as good as losing.
"No need. I've got enough mana left to be useful. I won't push myself, just giving Aisha a little support."
"Badigadi has already taken considerable damage from you. Add the attrition from North God III before that, and you can afford to have a bit more faith in your sister."
"Mm. I'll read the situation."
I stopped talking to Orsted and looked between the battlefield and my own position.
Mm.
Range was fine.
"Rudy, can we help?"
Sylphiette, Roxy, and Eris moved closer.
"Yeah. Sylphie, Swamp. Roxy, ice magic. I'll handle gravity. We'll pin Badigadi down together. I'll cast first, follow my lead, and don't hit Aisha."
They nodded. Eris planted both hands on her hips.
"What about me, Rudeus!"
"Eris...... you don't even have your sword."
"I can use fire magic!"
I patted her on the head.
"Alright. Eris helps too."
Eris's magic.......
Still at the level from back when I was her tutor, if I remembered right.
Intermediate. Fire only.
-------
"Mm?"
On the battlefield.
Right as Badigadi was fully hitting his stride,
He felt a familiar pull of gravity. Then Roxy's ice magic crashed in. Then Sylphiette's Swamp.
Eris's fire magic couldn't melt even a sliver of Roxy's ice.
But even though Eris looked like she was trying to keep her expression serious, I caught the corner of her mouth curving upward.
Right. Eris hadn't changed......
She still had a certain fascination with setting things on fire......
"Big brother, sisters-in-law — perfect timing! Thank you!"
The instant Aisha finished speaking,
The air changed.
Completely different from before.
She sank into a stance, her weight dropping visibly lower.
Badigadi felt the shift, that crushing, suffocating pressure, and lunged forward, trying to break through our combined magic.
"As if I'd let you."
I shoved everything into it. I stopped caring about my mana. Whatever I had left, I burned it all right here.
Badigadi was locked down.
Aisha opened her mouth.
"In the storybooks...... it goes something like this."
Her stance,
Was exactly the same as North God III's from moments ago.
North God III stared at the scene, eyes wide, and screamed.
"Don't...... You can't do that! Aisha Greyrat!"
Aisha ignored him.
She walked toward Badigadi and spoke.
"Right hand as the sword."
The sword in her right hand rose toward the sky.
"Left hand as the sword."
Her left hand closed around the hilt.
Both hands on the weapon.
That greatsword she had been swinging one-handed this entire time, now held in both.
"You can't do this!"
North God III roared. Nobody listened.
"Called by this sword, exhaust all creation of its fate, and grant a singular death."
Aisha lifted the King Dragon Sword high above her head.
"My name is Aisha Greyrat."
The leaves and branches scattered around them floated up into the air.
My wives and I let our spells fall.
Because of the King Dragon Sword's gravity manipulation,
Badigadi couldn't descend. Couldn't rise. Couldn't move at all.
His limbs still struggled, but he couldn't leave the spot he stood on.
Total defenselessness. So this was what would have happened if Badigadi hadn't interrupted North God III earlier......
Every last drop of Aisha's mana seemed to be pouring into this.
"In this moment — I swing this sword to slay Fighting God Badigadi!"
"Secret Technique — Gravity Rend!"
THUNDER AND LIGHT.
Badigadi took it dead-on. No defense. No escape.
-----
When the light faded, I looked at the battlefield.
The Fighting God Armor covering Badigadi had been shattered across most of its surface. What was left regenerated slowly.
"Muhahahahahaha!"
He was still laughing.
North God III was on his knees nearby, pounding the ground with one fist, the picture of someone drowning in regret.
This chuunibyou kid...... those lines Aisha just recited, were those the lines he'd been saving for himself......
After that swing, Aisha's mana had clearly taken a heavy hit. Her movements had slowed.
She raised her sword.
"You're going to lose. I'm running low on strength and mana, but my brother is still standing over there. My sisters-in-law still have plenty left. With your Fighting God Armor mostly destroyed, you can't block their spells."
"Indeed, I am going to lose. Monster of a girl."
"Then seal yourself willingly. You were a fine opponent."
"Is this your way of showing respect? Hahahahaha! But! I refuse to concede!"
Badigadi didn't wait for the Fighting God Armor to recover. He charged straight at Aisha.
I cast immediately. A water blade I'd been building up for a while shot forward.
Without the Fighting God Armor, Badigadi had half his body sheared clean off.
His upper half went flying. His lower half tumbled forward from the impact and collapsed at Aisha's feet.
Badigadi was immortal. As the chunks of his upper body started crawling back to reconnect, Aisha raised her sword and looked down at him.
"I didn't want it to come to this. Does sealing you really require cutting off every one of your hands?"
"Muhahahahaha, it would seem so!"
His voice had gone shriller. His body was smaller.
"You were a fine opponent. Without this sword and everything you'd already burned through, I couldn't have won."
"I think the same of you, little girl."
The moment he finished, what remained of his hands swung at Aisha.
But by now, Badigadi was a shadow of what he'd been. His body was less than half its original size, and still he came at her.
Aisha swung. She took every hand off, then used the King Dragon Sword's gravity to throw them all into the magic array.
"My body — what do you intend to do with it?"
"Can you promise not to harm my family?"
"I cannot. I lost this battle, so the debt is not repaid. If I am asked again, I will stand against you as an enemy."
"Then I have no choice but to seal your body along with the rest."
"Muhahahahaha."
Still laughing.
Badigadi's head came off.
Along with the rest, it was thrown into the sealing magic array.
➤ Next: Paul, Keith — Heartbreak