[V5C17] Cackling Foam
Translated by Jodas 5: The Magic BattleWith Sevil on its back, the red lion leapt high, high into the sky, easily flying over the wall of earth.
At the same time, Tia made her move. She jumped over the wall of earth Rikard had summoned, aiming directly for Frederik.
(…Frederik hasn’t given up yet!)
With his back to the wall, he baited the charging red lion just up the wall, then parried the first strike from the curved sword. Thanks to the wall of dirt, Agniol took a little longer than usual to change direction.
With that opening, Frederik counterattacked with his spear — but then, Tia intervened.
Inserting herself in the fight with a mighty leap, Tia grabbed the shaft of Frederik’s spear with both hands. Tia’s weight pulled the spear down just enough that the attack missed Sevil.
“Pefufun!”
“Well done, Tia!”
“Sevil, Frederik’s chanting! A long one!”
At Tia’s warning, Sevil wasted no time slashing at Frederik with her curved sword.
The instant her sword’s blade made contact with Frederik, he finished his incantation.
Countless blades of howling wind burst forth. This was probably a low-precision attack magic. Regardless, if let loose at such an intimate range, there wouldn’t be enough time to dodge.
Just as the first of those wind blades was about to reach Sevil, someone stepped in to guard her. Gerald, using his drawing board as a shield.
While protecting Sevil with his drawing board, Gerald looked to Tia.
“—Tia!”
“Piyopp!”
Tia activated her Magical Leaping Device, and dove straight towards Gerald.
At just the right time, Gerald tipped his drawing board over, allowing Tia to use it as a springboard.
A blade of wind then knocked Gerald over.
Sevil jumped in from behind Gerald to swing her curved sword at Frederik.
That curved sword, letting off glittering particles of ice, cut into Frederik’s shoulder — dealing the finishing blow.
“Gerald Anker, Frederik Lange, knocked out. This concludes the magic battle.”
They won. Sevil’s slash had sealed the deal.
(But…)
Tia, who had leapt high up, looked down on Frederik. Frederik likewise looked up at her and smiled.
His lips spoke thus:
“I won’t let you have my bracelet, my rival.”
“Just watch me take it, my rival.”
The magic battle may have been decided, but their battle as rivals wasn’t over quite yet.
A smile naturally floated to Tia’s face.
Above their heads, Röhm’s voice rang out. She was probably saying something along the lines of ‘the magic battle is over, so stop fighting already.’ As if that would stop them. But Tia’s attention was glued to Frederik, enough that the words failed to reach her ears.
With her bare feet, in the form of a girl’s, she aimed for Frederik’s bracelet. Harpies were far more accustomed to using their feet over their human-shaped hands. Their feet were also much stronger.
“I thought you’d try that!”
Frederik retracted his arm and angled his spear. However, Tia perched on the shaft of that spear regardless, then hunched her body over in a tremendous bend. Her mouth bit onto Frederik’s bracelet.
“Wah!” Frederik let out a yelp of surprise.
In that moment of shock, Tia slid her tongue in the space between the bracelet and his arm. With her teeth clamped around the edges, she pulled with all her might.
“Mmgh!”
Tia pulled the bracelet out of her mouth and raised it high.
“I got it!!!! I got it! I did it! I took Frederik’s bracelet!! Aha, aha, pefufufu… Piro! Piroro!”
Frederik gave Tia an exasperated look, but he couldn’t hold himself from letting out a snort, then hunching over in laughter.
“Ha, haha, you sure got me… I lost in the magic battle and I even lost my bracelet. I lose this round, my rival.”
His voice wasn’t like the usual sweetness he gave towards little kids.
It was a voice that was both dismayed at losing to a respected rival, yet also completely satisfied.
Tia was thrilled to hear that. She’d become his rival for real. He’d recognized her as his rival. Frederik Lange, the best flight magic user there ever was, did!
As Frederik and Tia made eye contact and laughed, a voice once again rang out above their heads.
“I repeat, the magic battle has concluded. Everyone please make haste and get as far away from Helena as you can. Please hurry, and get away from Helena.”
“…Piyo?”
“…Huh?”
Tia and Frederik, who had been making eye contact, both moved in sync to look towards Helena.
Helena was lying collapsed at the base of a large tree.
Out of those blades of wind Frederik unleashed at the very end — one of them had incidentally flown in Helena’s direction, hitting her directly.
With the hems of her robe and skirt seriously out of place, Helena crumpled indecently, sobbing.
“Ah… ah… ah… It’s so sad… I’m so sad, you know? Aren’t I? I’m very, very sad… I’m sad…”
“HEHE, AHAHAHA, KYAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
For whatever reason, they could hear two voices coming from Helena’s direction.
In addition to the voice repeating ‘I’m so sad, I’m so sad,’ there was a woman’s voice layering on top, cackling loudly.
— Ear-splitting laughter, filled with malice.
“Oh shit.” Frederik hissed. Rikard had already broken into a sprint, pushing Wren and the others to evacuate.
“I’m not mad at all… After all, I’m not allowed to get mad… I’m Saint Helena… I have to be merciful…”
“AHAHAHA!! KYAHAHAHAHA!”
Gradually, Helena rose to her feet. Her expressionless face seemed to have been drained of all emotion.
Expressionlessly, Helena continued to repeat ‘I’m so sad, I’m so sad.’ Yet Tia could tell where the second, unnerving laughing voice was coming from.
“Helena’s necklace is laughing!”
She wore a necklace decorated with countless blue glasslike beads. That was the source of the laughing.
A blue stone twinkled brightly.
Agniol, in the form of a red lion, shivered as she raised her face.
“Grand one, ride on my back. Other little one, too! I feel a scary presence—!”
Sevil and Gerald hopped on Agniol’s back.
Frederik chanted the incantation for flight magic, then grabbed Tia by the waist. Even though his mana had been depleted below the designated point by the magic battle, it wasn’t like he was completely dry. He still had enough mana left to use flight magic.
Helena’s emotionless face started to take on an expression of sorrow, as if she had forgotten to wear that emotion until now.
She touched her hands to her pale cheeks, and her eyes welled with tears.
“I’m sad, I’m so sad… I want you to know that this sadness is my expression of rage.”
As Frederik took to the skies with Tia under his arm, he muttered under his breath.
“Why don’t you just say you’re mad then? Such a pain…”
“KYAHAHAHAHAHA!! YOU FOOLS! YOU FOOLS! I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”
The necklace’s intensely malicious cackling reverberated across the forest. This was no ordinary magical device.
This was a type of magical device made in the ancient era, holding tremendous power and a will of its own — an Ancient Magical Artifact.
Helena’s fingertips reached towards her necklace.
As she did, countless bubbles started to appear around her.
Some were only fist-sized, but others were big enough one couldn’t get both arms around them.
One of the bubbles enveloped the wall of earth Rikard had made — the next instant, it exploded with a loud BANG!
As if in coordination, little bubbles popped in rhythm afterwards.
Helena continued to sob as she spoke with a merciful tone of voice.
“…’Eurydice, the Cackling Foam,’ laugh in my stead. Then, deliver the hammer of justice upon those rat bastards.”
Taking in the scene from a distance using far-sight magic, Dammer gritted his teeth at Frederik’s defeat.
Ultimately, not one of Frederik’s attacks had landed on Tia.
Just as he was cursing “Dammit, you piece of shit!” Things changed.
Helena caught a stray attack from Frederik and started to go berserk.
(It’s now or never…)
If someone were to take a hit from Helena’s attacks without the magic battle barrier, it was possible they may die instantly.
Perhaps there might be other fatalities as a result, but it wasn’t like he gave a shit about that. All the responsibility fell on Helena, who went berserk, and her two teammates who failed to stop her.
Twisting his face into a malicious smile, Dammer laid his hand on one of the stakes that maintained the magic battle.
If he pulled this out, the magic battle barrier would be lost, and people would die as a result of Helena’s rampage — He wouldn’t have to worry about that white-haired girl’s accursed chirping any more.