"Kanon, are you ready?"
After resting Vierra in a safe spot, Kuon looked back behind him.
There stood Kanon, with a black cloth layered with light metal plates covering both her eyes. Kanon ensured the cloth was tied tightly so there was no need to worry about it coming off, then nodded at Kuon while swinging her white cane—the same cane that had helped her walk all this time.
"I only need to replace Vierra for a bit, right? If so, it shouldn't be a problem."
It was truly unfortunate that he had to deploy Kanon right at this moment. Kuon had intended to save Kanon for a truly emergency situation, but there was no choice since they were currently short on personnel.
Kanon's biggest problem was that she couldn't look directly at the Black Tide, because instead of a normal sight, she would only see a world filled with the highly concentrated dirty Aether from that black mud, and it was extremely painful for her eyes.
Besides, almost all of her magic was for wide-area use. This made her Aether consumption far greater than most people, even though Kanon's Aether capacity was indeed larger than most Magicians.
"Hold on tight," Kuon said as he carried Kanon on his both hands.
The rear line was located quite a distance from the main battlefield, and in this place, Kuon could entrust Vierra to the standby medical units.
"Do you understand your task?" Kuon asked once more to confirm, which Kanon then answered with full conviction, "Use magic as minimally as possible, but defeat as many monsters as possible. Right? It's a bit difficult, but some of the things you taught me have proven useful now. As long as I don't mess up the calculations, I can also fight up close with my magic."
Previously, Kanon was very weak in controlling her magic. She could manifest her ice magic naturally without needing complicated calculations, but its accuracy and damage level couldn't be guaranteed. Besides, the ice structure she produced also tended to be fragile, because the concept of ice she used was only limited to 'freezing' and 'forming' without paying attention to its forming structure in reality.
Kuon had taught her various basic things related to ice—a little bit of physics and chemistry reaction material—and it could be applied to increase the strength of her magic, but whether Kanon succeeded in executing it or not was a different matter.
Kuon's journey from the rear line to the defense line took only two minutes. Once he arrived, he immediately let Kanon down.
"From your current position, can you detect the presence of the monsters?"
"… A bit faint, but I can clearly detect those approaching."
"That's good. Then, I'll guard you from a safe distance, make sure to stay careful."
Kanon nodded. "Mhmm, thank you."
After ensuring her condition was safe, Kuon stepped back to the front and asked Felix, who had been substituting for him, to fall back and support the other members.
With one swift movement, Kuon swung the sword he had just picked up from the ground, and slashed the necks of several monsters at once. His movement was so fast and efficient, that his spot was instantly clean at the same moment his sword shattered.
He went back to using a spear in his left hand, and with [Accel] activated, began moving back and forth leaving monster corpses where he had been.
When there was another monster he missed, Kanon would create an ice spike to finish it off in one attack.
However, less than ten seconds since Kuon gave his assessment of their coordination, the monster howled again. This time perhaps even stronger than before. And along with that, the Black Tide around them began to churn uncontrollably, before finally spitting out even more monsters.
"… You've got to be kidding… this isn't even midday yet…"
No one responded to that voice. Everyone could only stare in astonishment at the worsening situation, including Kuon, who frowned uncomfortably.
20 hours until reinforcements were estimated to arrive.
***
How long had he been fighting without a clear direction? Only moving continuously, using every weapon he had, with [Accel] constantly activated without stopping.
"Kuon!"
It felt like that voice had just emerged calling his name, but his consciousness wasn't enough to respond. His body was entirely focused on continuing to fight, endlessly finishing off every obstacle in front of him.
His skin and hair, which were previously clean white without a stain, now changed color to dark along with the amount of monster blood that kept spilling like rain.
With the broken spear shaft in his left hand, Kuon mercilessly stabbed it into the head of a monster he had just caught. Not stopping there, he immediately discarded the monster's corpse, and used the same method to finish off the others.
"Kuon! Snap out of it!"
That voice emerged again, but sounded so slow in his consciousness that had been accelerated with [Accel].
The monster he had just killed had very long fangs. As if the idea was born just like that, Kuon pulled out the fang and started using it as a weapon right after his spear shaft shattered.
Even though his consciousness had been accelerated with [Accel], strangely the monsters started acting as if they were adapting, and surrounding Kuon from all directions. Their speed could also be said to match the speed of his current thoughts.
Without thinking, Kuon naturally used his Miracle Manipulation to create a large mound of metal where he stood. As a result, all the monsters around him died with metal piercing their bodies, while Kuon stood alone at the peak of the mound.
Raising his hand upward, and with his remaining Aether, Kuon used Miracle Manipulation once again.
Floating above his hand, was a rough-looking sphere, about two meters in diameter, and entirely made of mineral elements he forcefully pulled from the environment around him. But, not stopping there, with the little consciousness he had left to deploy magic, Kuon applied additional properties to that mini meteor.
"… Die."
Along with that spoken word, the mini meteor floating above his hand began to emit heat with a ridiculous temperature. Its metal color slowly showed a reddish hue from the result of constant high-temperature combustion.
"Die."
The same word came out once again, but this time it wasn't to add an effect to his magic, rather to launch that deadly mini meteor.
The target was the monsters that had started gathering in front of him, right below the metal mound where he stood.
Once the mini meteor landed and crushed the monsters' bodies beneath it, white vapor began to emerge like an explosion, accompanied by a terrifying and ear-piercing sizzling sound.
Kuon clenched his fist pointing forward, and the mini meteor shattered into several parts at once, before finally shooting in all directions and crushing every monster in its path.
Of course, magic this massive came with an expensive price. His Aether was truly completely drained since Kuon shattered the meteor into many parts at once.
His body fell powerlessly backward, hitting the pile of metal, before landing on the ground. Even so, Kuon didn't let himself lie on the ground for too long. With difficulty, he rose by holding onto whatever was around him. However, his vision instantly turned dark.
A burning pain afflicted his eyes, and Kuon finally realized that he could no longer open his eyes. No, he could still open them and see faintly, but only a dark red color was what he saw, and even that he did after pushing through all the excruciating pain.
"Kuon!"
That voice emerged once again, and only then did he hear it. Kuon turned to the source of the voice, but couldn't see the figure that was the source of the sound. However, he knew the identity behind it.
"… Kanon, right? Sorry, I was lost in thought."
"Lost in thought?! You lost consciousness for hours, ignored all our calls, and even almost attacked the others!"
'Is that true…?'
Kuon didn't have enough energy to show his surprised reaction. He could only sigh as he asked, "Sorry, it seems I truly lost consciousness. How long was I like that?"
Kuon vaguely still remembered what he did, but he didn't remember exactly how long he did it. It seemed his consciousness started to disappear while [Accel] was still active, so the little consciousness he had left started moving his body on its own without him realizing it.
If that was indeed what happened, at least it must have been only a few minutes—or at worst—one or two hours. However, Kanon's answer made him jolt.
"I don't know the exact time, but you started losing consciousness around midday. Now it's almost evening."
Kuon forced himself to lift his body, which had been leaning against Kanon, then began to rub his eyes that were still hurting.
The scenery had truly changed. Monster corpses everywhere, with blood and black mud mixed beneath a sky that was starting to change color to deep purple. The plan he made was also executed well, because their defense line was already at a further distance than he remembered.
The monster waves were still not over, but at least the current situation could be considered calmer than before. Of course, this was still not the right situation to talk casually.
Out of all things, what left Kuon astounded was the sight of the giant monster's corpse in the middle of the Black Tide pool.
Lying with its back on the ground, the monster emitted black smoke with a disgusting smell, while the Black Tide slowly began to melt its body.
'Did I really lose consciousness for over six hours?'
Kuon wanted to doubt his eyes, but the fact was right in front of him.
"… Tell me, Kanon. How did that creature die?"
Kanon naturally knew what Kuon meant, but then she shook her head. "You killed it. But, it's better to hear the story from someone who actually saw it."
Kanon stepped back, and let someone else emerge to replace her.
It was Vierra, who looked healthier than before.
"… Are your ears alright?"
"Hehe, at least better than yours. But please don't speak with a voice too quiet, my left eardrum still hasn't recovered, so I can only hear you from the right."
Now Kuon realized it; there was cotton stuffed into Vierra's left ear. Kuon wanted to ask further about her condition, but decided it wasn't necessary after seeing Vierra could still smile as usual.
"Will you explain it to me? About what actually happened while I lost consciousness?"
Vierra's smile slightly disappeared as she nodded. "The incident happened right when I returned to the fight. My right ear had recovered enough, so I hurried back to help. But, there you were, fighting uncontrollably."
Vierra still remembered everything clearly, including the horrifying details she inevitably remembered. She then began explaining it.
At that time, Vierra had just arrived at the front line, expecting the situation to worsen. However, what she saw was something else.
Her other comrades were still fighting endlessly while gradually pulling back their defense line. However, there stood Kuon, with the blade of Glans in his right hand piercing the skull of a small monster, while his left hand held an iron spear stabbed right between the eyes of a monster shaped like a wingless bat with four legs.
There was no doubt that it was Kuon, but Vierra couldn't feel his true presence. That was what was strange.
His eyes had turned red, while his gaze felt hollow as the tail of his white hair stained with blood swung in the wind.
With movements that Vierra could barely follow with her eyes, Kuon immediately moved and finished off all the monsters trying to breach his defense. But, that movement wasn't the same as what Kuon usually did.
Everything looked so rough and unpolished, but ironically that was what looked most natural to him. Kuon moved wildly, without considering his surroundings or even his own body.
The blade of Glans brutally tore through the monsters' flesh with one swing, while his spear mercilessly kept moving and stabbing the monsters that managed to survive Glans.
"It was really difficult, you know? I called you repeatedly, but you even almost attacked me."
In the middle of her story, Vierra slipped in a complaint-filled comment to Kuon who was still listening. Kuon then closed his eyes and answered, "I will make a more proper apology later. For now, please continue."
Vierra then opened her mouth again.
As she repeatedly called Kuon, Kuon didn't respond to her at all. Instead, Kuon turned away and threw the spear in his hand toward Vierra, making Vierra have no other choice but to defend and retreat from there.
Feeling the hindrance had been removed, Kuon moved again. But this time, his gaze was fixed on the giant monster far ahead, which once again let out its loud howl.
Kuon's figure was seen picking up another spear from the ground right beside his foot, but then the spear began to change shape.
Its shaft became thicker, while its sharp tip was changed into a spiral like a drill bit. In size, it was like two or three times the spear he usually used. But Kuon wasn't even holding it.
The spear, whose tip had turned into a drill bit, began to spin. Its speed increased along with the time Kuon spent holding it back. At the same time, Vierra couldn't feel even a bit of Aether from that process. Which meant, it wasn't the result of magic usage.
One minute passed, and the rotation speed of the spear even far exceeded what Vierra could imagine. Its spin was so fast that it drew wind toward it, and the monsters naturally felt wary of it.
"Watch out! Kuon!"
Vierra, with her wind magic, threw a dagger whose handle was embedded with a crystal from a monster's body, and also started to feel anxious when she saw the crowd of monsters hurriedly approaching Kuon. However, Kuon didn't react at all. Calmly he opened the palm of his hand forward—toward the giant monster, and released the power he had been holding back.
The dagger Vierra threw also never reached the monsters. It seemed attracted toward Kuon's spear, and instantly bounced off after touching it.
Along with the launching of that spear, a shockwave no less powerful than the giant monster's howl emerged and blasted away everything around it—including Kuon's own body.
Vierra somehow managed to maintain her position, but the sight she saw also made her fall to sit in shock.
Just by looking at it a little, Vierra could already guess what was going to happen. However, what actually happened far exceeded her expectations.
A loud sound emerged as an object with absurd speed pierced the air resistance. Like an explosion, Kuon's spear disappeared from his side.
Not even a second passed, the spear had pierced through the giant monster's body. Not stabbing, but piercing through, leaving blood and clumps of flesh falling from the point the spear had successfully penetrated.
A large hole appeared in the monster's body, and without being able to let out a death scream, the giant figure that had given them difficulty fell down.
"… Haha… you're truly crazy, Kuon. What the hell was that… that wasn't even magic…"
Vierra sat stunned by the sight happening not far in front of her. So did everyone else who was still fighting. They stopped moving for a moment when they saw that sight.
"So that's it, the summary of the incident from my perspective."
On the other side, Kuon who heard it couldn't believe his own ears.
Power that great, was impossible to achieve for him right now even with Miracle Manipulation. Besides, if it was truly Miracle Manipulation, Vierra should have been able to feel his Aether. But according to Vierra's testimony, there was no trace of Aether from his action at that time, which meant he didn't use magic at all other than to change the shape of the spear.
When hearing the description of the spinning spear, Kuon had one thought, but he didn't know if it was true or not.
"Did I use [Accel] in a way I didn't know?"
Vierra heard that murmur, then replied, "You mean your Gift? Doesn't your [Accel] only accelerate your own thoughts?"
Kanon wanted to ask the same thing, but decided to stay silent when she realized the tension in their voices.
"That's what I believed. I've tried using it in another way before, but so far I haven't succeeded in doing it, so I assumed it was only to accelerate my consciousness and thought process."
"… I don't have a Gift, so I can't explain this case. But… at least Felix and the people I know have never experienced a case where their Gift suddenly produces a different ability."
Kuon wanted to think about it deeper, but his head and eyes still hurt and disrupted his thinking process. If the situation was calmer, he really wanted to rest right now. However, he also realized that was impossible.
The monster waves still continued even as they spoke, and at night Kuon still had to escort the village chief to fulfill the promise between them.
The exhaustion truly piled up until Kuon didn't even have the energy to complain in his head.
And he, hadn't even started calculating the falling casualties.