Through the mana congregating at the tip of the wand, the chant rewrote the world――
Whistling wind became blades, cycling towards the eye of the storm, dispensing destruction in its wake.
[Garfiel: ――――!!]
At the center of the maelstrom―― the target of the whirling blades, Garfiel roared into the sky.
The razors struck at Garfiel’s torso, shearing at his adamant flesh. Blood spilled from the gashes, but his timely leap saved him from being cut in two.
Presented with a choice between counter-attacking and evading, Garfiel immediately chose to flee. Even as hesitation flickered in his eyes, he shielded his head with his arms and slid out of the wind blades’ path.
But these ambushing blades had been launched with the intent to decide the fight.
The wind did not allow Garfiel an easy escape as it vigorously hounded his retreat. Kicking off the ground, he clicked his tongue at the invisible slashes,
[Garfiel: Fuckin’, damn it――!]
The moment he landed, Garfiel screamed as he met the incoming wind blades head on.
Driving his heels into the ground, with his foot as the axel, a rectangular section of the earth tilted upwards and sprung into the air. The wind blades crashed into the uprooted soil and took a layer off of its surface before dispersing.
Obeying gravity, the floating platform collapsed to the ground, sending up billows of dust.
Witnessing such a ludicrous scene, any average person would have fallen speechless and dumb.
But the attacker was no average person, and this wasn’t the first time she’d seen Garfiel do this.
[???: Sshi!]
[Garfiel: Tch!]
Bursting out of the plumes of dust was a girl with her short skirt fluttering.
Beneath her neat, peach colored hair, her light-red irises were gleaming with indomitable resolve. Mana exuded from the tip of her wand, warping the atmosphere and sending out blades of wind.
Effective for a far greater range than a first glance might suggest, this flawless control was only befitting an expert of Wind Magic.
Contrary to their fragile appearance, the wind blades’ slashes are more powerful than that of an average sword blade. Garfiel readied his claws at his hips, preparing to intercept, but even his claws would be at a disadvantage against those blades.
Keeping this pose, Garfiel lowered his stance in preparation for another backward leap. But his movement was interrupted by Ram’s off-hand strike.
[Ram: Fula!]
[Garfiel: Ghk!?]
A short chant. A strike from the lowest class of Wind Magic. The attack struck Garfiel from behind, staggering him before he could take a single step backwards. It dealt no damage. But it had stopped him.
Garfiel looked up just in time to see Ram swinging down her blade,
[Garfiel: ――――]
What’s the best course of action here? Before he could consider this question, Garfiel’s body moved.
His claws and fangs, his innate weapons, would not be enough to counter the wind blades. And, being caught off guard, it was too late to dodge now. Which left him only one option.
[Garfiel: Rrrrrrraaaaaaaaghhhh!!]
Roaring, Garfiel lunged forward, clamping his hands together to catch the invisible sword between his palms. The barehanded-swordcatch works against normal swords, but when facing an invisible and incorporeal blade, it’s not so clear whether it’ll do any good.
Nevertheless, although the blade was made of wind, it certainly physically “Existed”. Clamping the blade’s edge between his palms, Garfiel disrupted its course, and, instead of being sliced clean in half, he got away with only a few lacerations on his skin.
The attack has been foiled, Ram judged belatedly.
[Garfiel: Too… fuckin’ close!]
Garfiel shot out a front kick aimed straight for Ram’s torso as she landed.
His leg pierced through the air with force enough to shatter a mountainside, but it would not reach Ram, who bent back her body to dodge. Reclining so far that she might as well be lying on the ground, Ram whipped out another wind blade aimed at Garfiel’s foot.
[Garfiel: ――――Hhk!]
On one foot, Garfiel leapt up, avoiding the strike that would’ve severed his limb from the ankle down. He successfully dodged Ram’s blade, but,
[Ram: Your feet are off the ground]
The instant her whisper grazed his ears, a heel struck Garfiel’s body from above, knocking him back to the ground.
This unexpected attack came from Ram, who rebounded from her stance after launching her wind blade and cartwheeled back with a kick.
Unable to avoid the strike mid-air, all Garfiel could do was hold up his arms to shield himself. The bones in his arm creaked as he was sent shooting back, bouncing off the earth and crashing to a stop against a tree trunk.
With the air knocked out of his lungs, Garfiel glared at Ram, his golden pupils burning with rage.
But,
[Ram: Ul-Fula]
An overwhelming windstorm capable of crushing a whole region of the forest swept up―― with Garfiel at its center, lashing him and the woodlands alike with its invisible fury.
[Garfiel: Gh, gha―― hk!]
The raging wind stuck at Garfiel’s body, cutting him, tossing him, smashing him against the ravaged trees.
Tossed to the point that he could no longer tell up from down and left from right, being separated from the ground left Garfiel no means to defend himself, and no option but to be helplessly trounced by Ram’s magic.
When the wind had stopped and the violence of the storm had passed, Garfiel was left barely able to stand.
Covered in blood, his head tilted back as he fell to his knees, his consciousness halfway gone.
Through the mana congregating at the tip of the wand, the chant rewrote the world――
Whistling wind became blades, cycling towards the eye of the storm, dispensing destruction in its wake.
[Garfiel: ――――!!]
At the center of the maelstrom―― the target of the whirling blades, Garfiel roared into the sky.
The razors struck at Garfiel’s torso, shearing at his adamant flesh. Blood spilled from the gashes, but his timely leap saved him from being cut in two.
Presented with a choice between counter-attacking and evading, Garfiel immediately chose to flee. Even as hesitation flickered in his eyes, he shielded his head with his arms and slid out of the wind blades’ path.
But these ambushing blades had been launched with the intent to decide the fight.
The wind did not allow Garfiel an easy escape as it vigorously hounded his retreat. Kicking off the ground, he clicked his tongue at the invisible slashes,
[Garfiel: Fuckin’, damn it――!]
The moment he landed, Garfiel screamed as he met the incoming wind blades head on.
Driving his heels into the ground, with his foot as the axel, a rectangular section of the earth tilted upwards and sprung into the air. The wind blades crashed into the uprooted soil and took a layer off of its surface before dispersing.
Obeying gravity, the floating platform collapsed to the ground, sending up billows of dust.
Witnessing such a ludicrous scene, any average person would have fallen speechless and dumb.
But the attacker was no average person, and this wasn’t the first time she’d seen Garfiel do this.
[???: Sshi!]
[Garfiel: Tch!]
Bursting out of the plumes of dust was a girl with her short skirt fluttering.
Beneath her neat, peach colored hair, her light-red irises were gleaming with indomitable resolve. Mana exuded from the tip of her wand, warping the atmosphere and sending out blades of wind.
Effective for a far greater range than a first glance might suggest, this flawless control was only befitting an expert of Wind Magic.
Contrary to their fragile appearance, the wind blades’ slashes are more powerful than that of an average sword blade. Garfiel readied his claws at his hips, preparing to intercept, but even his claws would be at a disadvantage against those blades.
Keeping this pose, Garfiel lowered his stance in preparation for another backward leap. But his movement was interrupted by Ram’s off-hand strike.
[Ram: Fula!]
[Garfiel: Ghk!?]
A short chant. A strike from the lowest class of Wind Magic. The attack struck Garfiel from behind, staggering him before he could take a single step backwards. It dealt no damage. But it had stopped him.
Garfiel looked up just in time to see Ram swinging down her blade,
[Garfiel: ――――]
What’s the best course of action here? Before he could consider this question, Garfiel’s body moved.
His claws and fangs, his innate weapons, would not be enough to counter the wind blades. And, being caught off guard, it was too late to dodge now. Which left him only one option.
[Garfiel: Rrrrrrraaaaaaaaghhhh!!]
Roaring, Garfiel lunged forward, clamping his hands together to catch the invisible sword between his palms. The barehanded-swordcatch works against normal swords, but when facing an invisible and incorporeal blade, it’s not so clear whether it’ll do any good.
Nevertheless, although the blade was made of wind, it certainly physically “Existed”. Clamping the blade’s edge between his palms, Garfiel disrupted its course, and, instead of being sliced clean in half, he got away with only a few lacerations on his skin.
The attack has been foiled, Ram judged belatedly.
[Garfiel: Too… fuckin’ close!]
Garfiel shot out a front kick aimed straight for Ram’s torso as she landed.
His leg pierced through the air with force enough to shatter a mountainside, but it would not reach Ram, who bent back her body to dodge. Reclining so far that she might as well be lying on the ground, Ram whipped out another wind blade aimed at Garfiel’s foot.
[Garfiel: ――――Hhk!]
On one foot, Garfiel leapt up, avoiding the strike that would’ve severed his limb from the ankle down. He successfully dodged Ram’s blade, but,
[Ram: Your feet are off the ground]
The instant her whisper grazed his ears, a heel struck Garfiel’s body from above, knocking him back to the ground.
This unexpected attack came from Ram, who rebounded from her stance after launching her wind blade and cartwheeled back with a kick.
Unable to avoid the strike mid-air, all Garfiel could do was hold up his arms to shield himself. The bones in his arm creaked as he was sent shooting back, bouncing off the earth and crashing to a stop against a tree trunk.
With the air knocked out of his lungs, Garfiel glared at Ram, his golden pupils burning with rage.
But,
[Ram: Ul-Fula]
An overwhelming windstorm capable of crushing a whole region of the forest swept up―― with Garfiel at its center, lashing him and the woodlands alike with its invisible fury.
[Garfiel: Gh, gha―― hk!]
The raging wind stuck at Garfiel’s body, cutting him, tossing him, smashing him against the ravaged trees.
Tossed to the point that he could no longer tell up from down and left from right, being separated from the ground left Garfiel no means to defend himself, and no option but to be helplessly trounced by Ram’s magic.
When the wind had stopped and the violence of the storm had passed, Garfiel was left barely able to stand.
Covered in blood, his head tilted back as he fell to his knees, his consciousness halfway gone.
