"[Six-Element Multi-Lance Element Javelin]!"
Standing on a foothold of magical power, I relentlessly showered a massive barrage of lances down on Oswell, who had fallen to the ground.
A deafening roar accompanied the clouds of dust that billowed outward.
From within that dust cloud, a massive clump of reddish-black magical power came hurtling toward me.
A counterattack from Oswell, no doubt.
"…[Reflective Wall]."
I manifested a translucent gray wall in front of me, intending to repel the clump of magical power upon contact.
"—!?"
However, the magical clump shattered straight through the wall and continued its approach.
Though surprised, I evaded it with ease thanks to my heightened dynamic vision and reflexes from [Release Seal, Culmination].
[Reflective Wall] can repel nearly any attack.
The only time it had failed was against Oliver's rampage a year ago.
That meant this clump of magical power possessed power comparable to that attack.
"Hahahahaha! Going all out right from the start, Dragon Slayer! But too bad. That level will not reach me at all!"
As the dust cleared, Oswell stood there unscathed, sneering.
(…Looks like there is no significant advantage from attribute systems.)
Some magic beasts show differences in how attacks land depending on their attribute system.
The current Oswell seemed similar to the demonic form Gary had taken two months ago when he tried to kill Her Highness Lucila.
A demon is a human who has reflected the characteristics of a magic beast.
I did not know what magic beast Oswell had reflected, but since he was now a demon, there was a possibility of attribute-based advantages.
That was why I had tested it with [Six-Element Multi-Lance Element Javelin].
Learning there was no significant difference was already a major gain.
"My experiment has only just begun! Do not die so easily, Dragon Slayer!"
While I considered how to corner Oswell, he began to move.
The magic dragons growing from both of his shoulders opened their mouths. Immense magical power gathered at their jaws, and they unleashed it like a breath.
Though not particularly large, the amount of magical power contained within was vast, and the speed was considerable.
But it was not fast enough that I could not react.
I moved out of the line of fire.
—However, this attack seemed to be homing type, as its trajectory shifted toward me.
"—[Fifth Form, Mont Fünf]!"
I switched to defending instead of evading.
I transformed the magic sword into a shield and braced for the impact of his attack.
"Judging that evasion is difficult and immediately choosing to defend with a shield. Very rational."
"—!?"
While I held the magic shield ready, Oswell's voice came from directly behind me.
Even with my five senses sharpened by [Release Seal, Culmination], I had not noticed his approach until he spoke.
"Here—take this in return!"
Oswell clasped both hands above his head and swung them down.
I covered the top of the magic shield's barrier and used [Gravity Manipulation] to obstruct his downward swing, but I could not fully block it. This time, I was the one slammed into the ground.
"Gah!"
I immediately mitigated the damage to my body with [Ex Heal]. Countless ice pillars rained down like a storm.
I turned the face of the magic shield upward to weather the rain of ice pillars.
"Come on, come on! Lightning and tornadoes added too!"
As Oswell spoke gleefully, multiple lightning strikes and a massive tornado assaulted me.
Their power and scale easily surpassed the special-grade spells [Heavenly Thunder Hammer Mjolnir] and [Thousand-Blade Tornado Cyclone].
On top of that, giant fireballs rained down, the ground split from earthquakes—catastrophes that seemed like harbingers of apocalypse were being born all around me.
Due to the sudden environmental changes, thick clouds formed overhead, blocking out the sunlight.
"How about it, Dragon Slayer! This is the pinnacle of magic that has reached the critical point of sorcery! A realm ordinary people could never reach even if they spent their entire lives! Ahahahahaha!"
While considering countermeasures and either evading or blocking the various assaults with my magic shield, Oswell's boastful laughter rang down from above.
(So this is the critical point of sorcery. The pinnacle of… magic, huh.)
I had understood that magic held the potential to create even natural disasters, but seeing it with my own eyes was still shocking.
Charging into this catastrophe without preparation would be reckless, and even special-grade magic would struggle to counter it.
But with my accumulated knowledge and experience, I could break through this situation!
What I needed for that was—
'Luna, do you have a moment right now?'
The telepathic connection through Selma-san's [Mental Sympathy] was still active.
I used it to speak to Luna.
'Orun-san!? Are you safe!?'
'Yeah, for now. There is one thing I would like your help with—would that be all right?'
'If it is something I can do, I will cooperate! The addition of magic beasts has stopped here, so the situation has largely settled and we have some leeway. What would you like me to do?'
Luna responded immediately to my request for help.
With their original forces plus Twilight Moonbow joining them, the magic beasts were no longer a threat.
Rather, right now it was probably this disaster-like barrage of magic that was stirring everyone's anxiety more than the magic beasts.
'Thank you, that helps. What I would like you to do is gather spirits around me. Wind spirits would be ideal if possible, but any attribute is fine. Could you bring the most abundant type of spirit in this area to me?'
'Understood. The spirits… there are many wind spirits around. I will bring wind spirits to you right away!'
Fortunately, wind spirits seemed plentiful in this area.
'Yeah, please do. Can you locate my position?'
'Yes. I have already found you. I confirmed it with [Sense Connect] using Gnome's cooperation.'
[Sense Connect]—an expanded interpretation of [Spirit Domination].
It seemed she still could not maintain it for long periods, but the benefits were considerable.
For Luna—who fought by constructing magic—if she gained battlefield awareness on par with Hart-san, her importance in combat would become incomparable to before.
By replacing magical power inflow with spirits during spell activation, she could forcefully extend the range of spells to reach distances normal magic could not.
That would enable one-sided attacks from extreme long range where no one's attacks could reach.
'Understood! Please do!'
After ending the telepathic conversation with Luna, I sensed the magical power around me gradually becoming denser.
'Orun-san, I have brought the wind spirits from the surrounding area to you!'
'Thank you, Luna. You really helped!'
I thanked Luna via telepathy and put the plan into action.
"—[Rock Wall]."
First, I surrounded myself with rock walls to protect against the disaster without relying on the magic shield.
These walls would probably only last about a minute, but even one minute would be enough.
Next, I released the magic shield and returned Schwarzhauser to its normal greatsword form—not a magic sword.
At the same time, I converged the wind spirits around me to create spirit-converged magical power.
I partially altered the spell formula of my original magic to adapt to the wind spirit-converged magical power inflow.
—To make it a specialized magic optimized for this exact situation.
"Hahahahaha! Not even one counterattack? Have you already died? How anticlimactic, Orun Dura!"
Oswell's still-exhilarated laughter continued from above.
Keep underestimating me.
◇
"…Did I make it in time?"
Cracks had begun spreading across the rock walls covering me, but preparations were complete before they collapsed.
"This should be able to cut through even that disaster. —[Magic Sword Union, Alteration]!!"
I poured wind spirit-converged magical power into the altered original spell formula, activating the magic.
In response to the activated magic, Schwarzhauser transformed into magical power that shaped itself into a sword.
But it was different from the usual magic sword.
Pitch-black wind spirits swirled around the blade, and its form resembled Fuuka's beloved cursed sword Asanagi—a curved katana.
By recognizing the disaster-like magic and identifying the critical point of sorcery, I had raised [Magic Sword Union, Alteration] to the critical point of sorcery as well.
On top of that, magical power inflow from spirits.
This was truly the pinnacle of magic.
I lowered my center of gravity and readied the magic sword.
"…The image is Fuuka's iaijutsu-like fastest attack. The slash is like a kamaitachi—cutting a wide area in an instant."
To heighten my concentration and make the image clearer, I spoke the image aloud.
Then, right before the rock walls covering me collapsed,
"—Wind Demon Blade, Fūma no Tachi."
I swung the magic sword at maximum speed.
The pitch-black slashing wind cut through the surroundings in an instant.
—but my attack did not end there.
I layered [Instantaneous Ability Super Boost, Impact] onto that slash.
—[Instantaneous Ability Super Boost, Impact].
My signature original spell from the Golden Dawn Hero Party days, the one that had saved us from countless crises.
This spell exploited a malfunction in magic.
To put it simply, a "malfunction" means it does not follow sorcery.
Magic is built upon the laws of this world called sorcery. A magic that deviates from that sorcery is [Instantaneous Ability Super Boost, Impact].
I still did not fully understand why a magic that deviates from sorcery can exist.
Grandpa seemed to know something but never told me.
All he said was that [Instantaneous Ability Super Boost, Impact] was a spell that could be used without issue.
I had layered this sorcery-deviating spell onto the pinnacle magic slash.
There should be nothing this could not cut.
Even if it was a disaster-like magic.
The pitch-black slash tore through the storm and reached Oswell.
"—Wha!?"
Oswell tried to evade the slash approaching at a speed too fast to react to, but he was not completely in time—his left arm separated from his body.
The pitch-black slash continued upward, slicing through the thick clouds overhead and revealing the blue sky once more.
"…For an impromptu attempt, that turned out better than expected."
I could not help but smile at achieving the result I had envisioned.
And with its role complete, the magic sword returned to being an ordinary greatsword.