LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 230.2
Chapter 230.2. Mid-Game
It’s no surprise that Shizuku’s lines about fighting strong enemies make her jump up and down with joy. She’s a girl who loves battle. She doesn’t care much about the potential collateral damage from strong enemies.
Well, as her partner, I’ll cover for that. Besides, if they’re that strong, their core should be worth it…
“More importantly, I get to show the Japanese military my power.”
The Japanese military’s scene is over, so next up is Amano Sakimori and his reliable companions. I’m definitely going to win Best Actor with this battle.
“Mike.”
“Meow.”
With a snap of my fingers, Mike appears from the shadows with a cute kitten-like meow. The five-meter-tall jet-black tiger sits in front of me with a low growl.
“Shinden.”
“Caw.”
Next, I summon the shadow crows, the Shindens. As they caw, nearly thirty crows follow behind.
“Shinden. Destroy those eyeballs sneaking around in the sky.”
At my command, they fly straight up, heading directly for the hidden gazers. They fold their wings like missiles and, upon contact, pierce through the eyeballs.
[Dark Missile]
Their bodies turn into jet-black missiles, accurately penetrating the gazers trying to evade. With the gazers defeated, the [Invisibility] wears off, revealing the demons.
They had the body of a monkey and the head of a bat, with bat wings sprouting from their backs. Their red eyes gleam menacingly, and their appearance inexplicably fills one’s heart with dread. I’m impressed—these demons look pretty strong.
“Lower demons, Lesser Demons! Their specialties are [Fireball] and [Magic Arrow]. They may be basic, but they have a lot of mana, and in large numbers, they can’t be underestimated.”
Standing beside me, Serika, who had been assembling the giant Western armor she brought, identified the enemy and briefed me. Seeing the lesser demons revealed, the soldiers on the ground start firing their automatic rifles in a panic.
But despite the deafening gunfire and the barrage of bullets raining down on the demons, not a single one falls. They bleed slightly blue but still descend to the ground. Then, from their palms, they conjure fireballs and launch them at the nearby soldiers.
Flames roar, explosions erupt, and the soldiers scream as they’re engulfed in fire. Even though they’re using AP rounds, not one of the lesser demons goes down.
“They’re not going down even with automatic rifles!”
“What the hell are those things?”
Shingen and the others are wide-eyed in shock at the sight. I’m equally surprised at how tough these lesser demons are. They’re taking direct hits, yet they don’t even flinch!
“Demons have high resistance to both physical and magical attacks! You can’t do much damage without a magic weapon infused with mana!”
“Resistance to both physical and magical attacks, huh? But if magic doesn’t work, that’s a problem. Let’s see how much they can resist.”
Yukihana’s warning comes through. It feels like exploiting a loophole, but if magic doesn’t work, I’m in trouble. After all, I’m a mage. And this resistance—are there three types? Physical, magical, and magic-enhanced physical attacks? It feels weird.
[Mass Flame Arrow]
To test their resistance, I decide to hit them with a fire arrow using 5 mana. It gleams like molten lava, warping the air around it with its heat as it speeds toward the front.
The flaming arrow hits a lesser demon that is attacking the soldiers. But despite a slight stagger, the lesser demon doesn’t even have a scorch mark.
This is surprising. I thought there’d be some damage, but no, nothing. However, the moment it hit, I understood why demons have resistance to both physical and magical attacks.
“I get it now, that demon’s skin is covered with a thin barrier.”
When the arrow hit, ripples appeared on the demon’s body. That’s the secret to their resistance. Is it a special skill? Though the principle is unclear, they’ve got an invisible shield. It seems to react to both physical and magical attacks.
“Alright, let’s try one more shot.”
[Wave Flame Arrow]
I send another arrow at the same lesser demon, this time with the arrow’s surface wavering. The demon, still reeling from the previous hit, grins mockingly as it takes the fire arrow head-on.
But this time, when it hits its head, the arrow bursts like a balloon. The demon, now headless, wobbles and collapses to the ground.
“Alright. If we can break through that ripple barrier, they’re easier to take down than I thought.”
I seem to have successfully matched the arrow’s wavelength to the barrier’s ripples. It turns out their actual durability is pretty low. They must have been relying entirely on that barrier, I smirk. But Yukihana and the others stand there with their mouths agape.
[Sakimori-san, say the line! Did I do something? Come on, did I do something?]
[I’ll pass; it’s kind of embarrassing.]
Shizuku, dancing in joy, requests something from me, but what could it be?
“Ah~ Sakimori-sama’s magic is perverted! Everyone else, be careful! The enemy has high resistance to both physical and magical attacks! Use martial arts to take them down!”
That’s a harsh accusation. Perverted? I don’t think so. It’s a simple wavelength. It’s designed to react to a specific wavelength emitted by mana. When it detects an attack with that wavelength, the mana surrounding their bodies solidifies. This way, they’re not constantly using magic, so it’s a low-cost mana consumption defense.
I’m not sure how they defend against physical attacks, but do they have a corresponding wavelength for that too? I need to research this later. The theory is similar to magic interference; it’s just about matching wavelengths.
“Hey, I’ll teach you the trick, Yukihana. You can do it. You’re a hard worker, after all.”
I send the mental image. Of course, I also send it to Shizuku and Serika. I make sure to give Serika detailed instructions.
“Hmm? I see… It doesn’t seem easy, but with Yukihana-chan now, it should be possible.”
“This wavelength. If the lesser demons can’t freely change it, we can modify our attacks to penetrate it.”
[We’ve always relied on brute force to break through, but this method is easier.]
Yukihana grins, and Serika attaches a device to the Western armor to adjust it. Shizuku seems to have grasped it instantly—she really does have a talent for combat.
“I’ve sent the image to Mike and the others too. Now then, let’s go have some fun hunting demons.”
With that, I mount Mike and head toward the front lines, where chaos is spreading.