“Well, Kotori has calmed down.”
It feels like Ayukawa is looking at me as if she’s seeing something unbelievable, but no problem.
The activation of the technique is instant; with my “speed,” I should have been able to cover it up.
《No, maybe she’s simply puzzled that the bleeding suddenly stopped like that.》
“Don’t make it complicated!”
Anyway, more importantly, the undine is such an interesting creature!
Amorphous yet structured, flexible yet striking!
Its attack method is the highly lethal water cutter that it just demonstrated.
Since it’s a water spirit, it’s reasonable to assume it has other attack methods as well.
With a technique, there could be dozens of ways, without it, a few. Without any magical power… well, with this team, we can manage.
Alright, let’s see how the Snow team handles this.
How will they move?
“Chup”
“Huh!? Aki! Shield up!! Everyone, behind Aki!”
““““““!!”””””
Everyone reacts to Snow’s voice.
Aki stomps on the ground, and what appears is a large black shield!
Its enormous size completely covers his large frame, and everyone hides behind it—
“Chup”
Whoosh!!
The water blast pierces the ground with its power, but—
“Whoa, oh!? But, haha! We can block it!”
“As expected of Aki!”
The black shield cannot be pierced. As expected of an S-rank gift, it’s incredibly strong.
… Aki’s power is impressive.
It’s versatile for defense, useful both in one-on-one and group battles.
—Let’s add it to my collection.
It could be an inspiration for developing new techniques! I’d like to see his ability again sometime.
“Aki! Slowly push forward! I have an idea!”
“Understood, though, that line makes me a bit nervous!”
“Natsu, let’s support them too! Even if it’s just a decoy, use simple summoning magic to distract it!”
“Got it!”
“Oh. Oh no, oh no, oh no! What should I do? I feel like I’m the most useless here…!”
“It’s okay, Kotori! With your salt gift, you can take her down! When I give the signal, use your gift—ah!”
Snow suddenly falls silent.
It’s the unconscious mistake that every young mage falls into.
A failure that comes from being powerful and talented.
Underestimating the monster.
Thinking, “The textbook says this, so I’ll do this. I have these cards to play, so if I do this, it’ll win.”
Always imagining the best move from their perspective.
Therefore—
“Oh”
“Chup” “Chup” “Chupi”
The undine increased its water from the spring, silently spreading it, moving through the ground.
Right behind Aki’s shield—
A clone of the undine emerges from beneath their feet, aiming a water cutter at Snow.
“““““Chu—””” But! However, ‘Land Preservation’!! The area is already preserved!”
Boom!!
“Huh?”
The water cutter does not pierce through everyone!
I’ve designated and preserved the space where the undine appeared!
And it’s done!
An overwhelmingly considerate and non-combative yet handy ability, perfect for a sidekick character!
“Wh-what, Kasuya !? You—”
“Aki, focus forward! Only you can block that! I’ll preserve any undine that appears behind the shield!! Snow, I’ll leave the finishing blow to you!”
“…Haha, you really are something! …I’ll leave the back to you, Kasuya !”
“Uh, oh, got it!”
Wow, that surprised me—Aki’s voice was so refreshingly confident, it caught me off guard.
As expected of the princess’s bodyguard, his aura is on another level.
“…Heh, understood. I’ll leave the defense to you two! Kotori, get ready!”
“Chupi. Chup, chupupupu!”
Dealing with attacks from both the front and the back.
Now then, Undine, what’s next? What else can you do?
A wide-range attack using your watery body? Or maybe you’ll try to drown us!? Ah, I can’t wait! Show me more and more—!
“Show me your power…”
“Chupuuuuuu”
Huh?
It’s already gotten pretty close.
“Kotori, I’ll stop her movements. After that, it’s okay if you hit us both—please use your salt pillar on her!”
“Eh, b-but… wouldn’t that be dangerous for Lady Snow!? Also, a physical attack on an enemy with a watery body won’t do anything, right!?”
“With your salt, it’s different. I have high hopes—or rather, I trust you.”
“Ah, oh no… I have no choice but to do it now…”
Huh?
Snow suddenly jumps out from behind the shield, dodging the Undine’s attacks.
“Chup!”
Oh, there’s one aiming for Snow from behind. Alright, I’ll capture it with land preservation. Bam!
“Thank you, Kasuya !—Oh, spirits of the stars that exist everywhere, stars that form all things, hear my voice!”
No need to thank me.
While I’m thinking that, Snow touches the Undine and stops its movements.
“Now, now, now’s the time, I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”
“Kotori!”
“Yes! Activating gift, ‘Salt Pillar’!”
With a clap, Kotori places her hands on the ground, creating a finely controlled, slender pillar of salt.
The pillar pierces through the immobilized Undine.
Splash.
Huh, no way, we already defeated it…?
“We… we did it!”
“Nice job, Kotori! I believed in you! Amazing control!”
They’re all pretty strong…
The women embrace in celebration, while Aki and Natsu clap their hands with a sigh of relief.
The spring where the Undine emerged is now still.
But…
“Cursed Eye.”
Flare.
Ah, as I thought.
This spring is still alive.
Hmm, the water of the Undine was infused with magical power.
It used that to compress water, giving it the ability to freely change shape…
Hmm… A watery body… Does it have the property of amplifying magical power?
If that’s the case, what about using it with cursed power?
Let’s try flowing some in.
Zzzzt.
“This might be useful.”
I secretly touch the spring, making sure no one notices.
“Chup”
The Undine suddenly emerges from the water, looking surprised.
“Heh, pretending to be dead, were you? Too bad.”
“Chuu—”
Cursed power manipulation.
I pour in cursed power all at once, suppressing the Undine’s magic.
The Undine falls motionless, but with cursed power running through it, it’s like magic.
It melts into a pliable form. It changes according to my will.
Mimicking Aki’s gift, I shape it into armor, a shield, a sword…
“Heh.”
I’ve got myself a nice new toy.
I’ll try using it in the next fight with those bandits.
“Kasuya ! What are you doing? Oh, could it be, is that Undine material?”
“Ah, Snow, yes, I found this!”
I hand Snow only the core of the Undine.
She probably won’t notice the remains.
“Wow… it’s beautiful…”
Snow holds up the blue, gleaming Undine core to the sky.
The blue light shines softly against her white cheeks.
“It’s really beautiful! It’s just like your eyes, Snow.”
“What?”
Oops, this isn’t the time to be getting distracted.
The second floor is far more interesting than I imagined.
A new way of using cursed power, utilizing the remains of the Undine.
Maybe, just maybe, there are more treasures hidden here.
“Just now… did you mean… Kasuya , that…”
“Come on, Snow, let’s keep going! Isn’t dungeon exploring fun?”
“Ah, wait, Kasuya , hold on…”
Alright, this is just the beginning!
Yes!
