Chapter 30
“Dammit, my eyes!”
The pink-haired girl covered her eyes with her arm. The holy light occupied every inch of space, every corner. Her magic, “Shadow Swap,” was forcibly interrupted.
Oops. I accidentally made the hammer’s glow… a bit too enormous. The entire banquet hall was a sea of white, and I couldn’t see a thing.
I heard Lian Qi yell at me— “Not good! Liluo is burning!”
“Eh? Eh? Eh?”
I suddenly remembered: Liluo is a vampire. She’s afraid of sunlight… is she also afraid of Holy Light?
I hurriedly made the glow stop. The banquet hall instantly returned to normal, and everyone’s shadows stretched out from under their feet. I looked at Liluo; she had stopped burning. I finally let out a sigh of relief.
I just heard the pink-haired girl laugh smugly. “Such a shame. You missed your one and only chance to defeat me. And all because you were protecting a vampire.”
“Hurry up and use ‘Shadow Transfer’ on me!” the black-haired man, still bound by the golden chains, yelled at her.
“Shut up. Why don’t we both show our trump cards?”
Following that, I don’t know what magic the pink-haired girl activated, but the shadow behind her split into a crescent-moon smile.
“Yo? You actually woke me? Is this target tough?”
I was astonished. The shadow… actually spoke?
“Shut up. I just want to end this quickly,” the pink-haired girl glanced at me coldly.
“Then you owe me one.”
The shadow, which had the pink-haired girl’s silhouette, “crawled” up from the ground.
“Your magic really is special,” I said, spinning the hammer in my hand, expressing my heartfelt admiration for the second time.
“I am her ‘Parasitic Shadow Demon’.”
The shadow spoke with the exact same voice and tone as the girl.
“But… she has to pay a price to awaken me. If she does it too many times, she will become my shadow, and I will become her.”
I remember Aijieliya-jie taught this in her Transmutation-school class—adding a “cost” or “limitation” to one’s Inherent Magic can increase its power. That must be what this pink-haired girl did.
“Looks like I’ll have to be careful.”
“Either way, you’re dead,” the shadow said dismissively. “I can’t believe I was awakened just to deal with a little girl like you. But oh well, it’s my master’s command.”
“It’s not just her! There are two more behind her!” the pink-haired girl reminded it from behind.
“Shut up. Give me one minute.”
The shadow had barely finished speaking when it dove back into the floor, turning into a flat shadow and moving rapidly toward me!
Wow—! Such amazing speed! It’s almost as fast as the moles that great demon used to conjure! I timed it, and just as it “shot up” in front of me—I smashed the hammer down!
BOOM—!
The floor tiles were flipped up, and the shadow was smashed back into its original form. I smiled, and said to the dumbfounded girl, “Thanks for letting me feel that ‘whack-a-mole’ feeling again.”
“Impossible—! That’s my trump card! It can even fight against a fifth-tier mage! Who… who are you!?”
“That’s a secret,” I said, spinning my hammer with a smile.
“Dammit!” The pink-haired girl flinched and took half a step back. She suddenly remembered something, and once again stepped on my shadow.
“I’ve stepped on your shadow, so you can’t move! Now you’re helpless, right? Your hammer can’t—”
I spun the hammer and threw it at her.
…
The words were still in her mouth. With a thud, she was hit square in the face by my hammer, and she pitched over, falling to the ground unconscious.
After dealing with her, I symbolically dusted off my hands and looked toward Lian Qi’s side—only to see the black-haired man’s armor had grown several times larger! When he stood up, his helmet nearly touched the ceiling. Although his back was still tied with a room full of golden chains, they were irrelevant to his current size.
“Eh? Is he… controlling that giant armor from the inside?” I said in surprise. These two really are fourth-tier mages. Their trump cards are so imposing.
A heavy voice came from inside the armor— “Today, all of you will die here!”
A black flame ignited in the armor’s hand. A black greatsword condensed into shape, from hilt to blade! He raised the giant sword and brought it smashing down on Liluo. In the nick of time, Lian Qi grabbed her and dodged. CRASH! A deep trench was left where Liluo had just been standing.
Such terrifying destructive power! He could demolish this entire building in minutes! Lian Qi has to protect Liluo, so she can’t fight all-out. I have to go help!
In my haste, I realized my hands were empty. My hammer? My hammer? Right, I just threw it. I looked back—it was currently keeping the unconscious pink-haired girl company.
Without a second thought, I charged over, completely forgetting I was wearing high heels. I accidentally slipped… and fell to the ground…
…
I pushed myself up from the floor, trying to stand. My foot… it’s not listening to me. It hurts… How could I twist my ankle at the most critical moment? I really regret wearing high heels! The hammer is still a few meters away. I have to get it—
Just then, a figure with flying golden hair-flashed past me.
“Qifeng? Right—! Silly girl, quick, help me get my hammer!” I said instinctively, but then I had a second thought… wait, Qifeng can’t lift the hammer at all.
However, she seemed to understand my intent. She ran over, touched the hammer’s handle, and then ran back, holding her hand up as if to give me a high-five.
In that instant, I understood, too.
She really is my childhood friend. How do we have such perfect sync~
We high-fived as we passed each other. At the same time, she activated her magic. A golden chain connected my palm to the hammer’s handle.
I gave the chain a light tug, and the hammer came flying right back to me.
…
Even though I call Qifeng a “silly girl,” she’s not silly at all. Especially not in a fight. Her teamwork is perfect.
The feeling of gripping the hammer in my hand again was so reassuring. Qifeng, also in perfect sync, made the chain disappear. I spun the hammer in my grasp like a pinwheel, aiming at the black armor, which was raising its giant sword again. Such a big target… I can’t possibly mis…
“Take this…”
I ignored the pain in my foot and threw the hammer!
Target: the black armor! A one-shot throw!
The pure white hammer spun as it skimmed across the floor.
The black armor, still in the posture of raising its sword, was just about to swing when it noticed the hammer flying toward it. Although the helmet had no expression, the person inside controlling it must have been shocked.
With a monstrous KABOOM!
The armor was struck by the Holy Light hammer… it cracked… was penetrated… and collapsed like a giant, crumbling statue. The giant sword and the severed arm crashed to the ground with a CLANG right in front of Lian Qi and Liluo.
“Fei’er, nice job!” Qifeng clapped her hands happily.
I stuck out my tongue, embarrassed. If I had missed that throw, I would have been too ashamed to face her and Lian Qi…