Chapter 49: Driving the Wedge

The moment Light Magic was fired from the black greatshield in front of me, the two Asterisks I controlled dove under Aegis’s arm holding the shield.

“[Shield Mode]!”

Invisible shields deployed from the Asterisks, pushing Aegis’s arm upward.

Simultaneously, the beam of light fired directly above the crouching Lucifer flew diagonally upward.

That was close…! I think not trying to block it with the Asterisk shields was the right answer.

If I had normally taken it with the [Shield Mode] shields, the Asterisks would probably have been destroyed. If things went poorly, Lucifer too.

Damn, using a cowardly weapon…! But I won’t miss this chance!

“Asterisk, [Barrel Mode]!”

The two Asterisks that slipped inside Aegis’s shield transformed, pointing all twelve muzzles at point-blank range.

“[Full Burst]!”

The spinning Asterisks fired a volley of magic bullets like gatling guns.

Taking several hits squarely, Aegis retreated as is, then readied its greatshield again, perfectly blocking the remaining rain of bullets.

I immediately returned the Asterisks to my waist and replenished the consumed magic power.

How’s that! That must have hurt quite a bit!

Because it transformed into the greatshield, I landed hits on the shoulders and thighs where the armor became thin.

Since they aren’t live ammunition, they don’t have that much power, but they should definitely be dealing damage.

That being said…

I retreated as if sliding on the snow, taking distance from Aegis.

I’ve lost both of my main weapon Kodachi, and my only decent means of attack is Asterisk.

Whether I can shatter that greatshield with Asterisk is a bit of a stretch.

The other side also lost their shield [Floating Sword] ‘Fragarach’, and their only defense is that greatshield, but…

“No matter how you look at it, I’m at a disadvantage…”

I have no deciding factor, while the other side has that Light Magic.

I think if I shatter the Crystal Material in the center of that greatshield, they won’t be able to shoot magic anymore, but since I lost my weapons…

Should I slam Asterisk into it…? No, I can only see a future where it shatters into pieces.

Even though it’s reinforced by my [Shield], I can’t imagine it’s harder than the Crystal Material installed in the center of that greatshield.

It’s said that Crystal Material becomes harder than Orichalcum depending on the amount of magic power poured into it.

So I have to hit it with something harder than that… Wait, there’s nothing like that anywhere? Huh? Checkmate?

No, I don’t necessarily have to destroy the greatshield. If I slip past it and deal damage to the main body… Wait, how?

As if not giving me time to worry, Aegis charged in, raising a cloud of snow. Shield tackle again!

Firing Lucifer’s thrusters, I dodged it and took distance.

But Aegis persistently chased after me, biting into me. This…!

“Asterisk, [Barrel Mode]!”

I detached the two Asterisks from my waist, sent them around to Aegis’s back, and fed it magic bullets.

However, it couldn’t deal much damage to the thickly armored back, and Aegis didn’t stop.

I fully opened the lower rear thrusters and escaped into the sky. That beam might fly at me again, but Lucifer can evade even in mid-air.

But no pursuit came, and Aegis just chased after the falling Lucifer while hovering.

What’s wrong? Did she stop shooting because it’s useless? Or… ran out of magic power?

…How many times did she fire that beam? Three times?

With that much power, half-baked magic capacity wouldn’t cover it. She either can’t fire anymore, or even if she can, it’s about one shot left.

But ‘can’t fire anymore’ and ‘can only fire one more shot’ are vastly different.

Every time she points the greatshield at me, the doubt ‘Is she actually just pretending she can shoot when she can’t anymore?’ floats in my mind.

Kuh…! Don’t rush. If I rush, it’s exactly what the opponent wants.

I let out a big breath inside the cockpit, took a deep breath, and calmed my heart.

Since the Kodachi are gone, my only weapons are Asterisk and Lucifer’s own hands and feet.

If I use ‘Battle Spirit Method’, I might be able to shatter that greatshield, but one of Lucifer’s arms will undoubtedly become useless.

A one-armed Lucifer with no weapons vs. Aegis with no shield but perfectly intact limbs and a weapon.

…Seems not much different from now. Either way, it just becomes a disadvantageous situation?

At worst, there’s even a possibility the shield won’t shatter even if I sacrifice an arm… I have to find a way to break this situation somehow… Hmm?

While glaring at Aegis’s greatshield, I felt a sense of incongruity. What is it?

“Huh? Over there… ah!”

When I magnified a part of the greatshield displayed on the main monitor, the tip of the Kodachi shattered by the earlier [Zero Impact] was still stuck there.

It pierced through the shield [Floating Sword] ‘Fragarach’ and stuck all the way into the greatshield behind it!

The location is near the center of the greatshield. It’s stuck there like a wedge driven into stone.

Pearl probably hasn’t noticed. That tip probably hasn’t reached the back of the greatshield.

If I’m going to aim, it’s there. That’s undoubtedly the most brittle spot.

Aiming at the timing it landed on the snowy surface from hovering, Aegis charged again with a shield tackle.

No, it’s not a shield tackle with the shield out front. It’s a lance charge with the Assault Lance!

The moment I moved sideways to dodge, Aegis stopped moving and pointed the tip of its lance at the moved Lucifer.

With a roaring don!, the tip of the lance was shot out towards me.

“Wha?!”

While I was surprised, the spearhead split open bakat, and the contents inside spread out in mid-air before my eyes.

A net, fully spread out basaa!, fell from above Lucifer’s head.

A casting net…! That Assault Lance was a net launcher!

It functions as a spear, and in emergencies, it can be used as a net launcher. Since it loses its spearhead, it’s a trump card in the truest sense.

『To deal with a Lightning Frame, the standard tactic is to somehow immobilize it.』

With a don, Aegis placed its greatshield and readied it towards me.

Light began to gather in the central jewel again. You bastard…! You really did save one more shot?! But you’re not the only one with countermeasures!

“Asterisk, [Blade Mode]!”

At my voice command, six small blades popped out from Asterisk.

Spinning kururururu, they flew like Shuriken, a weapon from Eashen, and shredded the net covering me to pieces.

“[Zero Gravity]!”

Blowing away the casting net, I used the last [Zero Gravity].

The machine is already in tatters from repeated unreasonable maneuvers. This is genuinely the final attack.

With the charging Lucifer, I somehow reached Aegis before the beam was fired.

“Bushin Style Secret Technique, Kouha Rasenshou (Light-Conquering Spiral Palm)!”

Lucifer’s palm, imbued with battle spirit, hit Aegis’s greatshield directly, accompanied by spiraling light.

I aimed at just one point. The place pierced by the tip of the Kodachi acting as a wedge.

Just as I heard the sound of metal creaking mekii…!, the greatshield Aegis readied shattered into pieces.

Simultaneously, Lucifer’s arm from the elbow down shattered into pieces.

Alright, with this, all shields are gone! The counterattack starts here!

I delivered a knife-hand strike to Aegis’s right wrist with my remaining left arm, making it drop the Assault Lance.

Then, with the readied left arm, an all-or-nothing strike to the solar plexus where the cockpit is.

“Bushin Style Secret Art, Raion Reppa (Thunder Sound Rending Blast)!”

The left fist, imbued with all my magic power and ‘Qi’, pierced into Aegis’s solar plexus like a body blow.

The left arm shattered, and Lucifer’s magic power was depleted too. Inside the cockpit blinked red, and an alert signifying danger echoed.

But with this…!

“Wha…?!”

I was dumbfounded by Aegis’s appearance displayed on the main monitor. The cockpit wasn’t shattered.

What shattered was Aegis’s left arm.

The moment Lucifer delivered the body blow, it sacrificed its left arm to defend the cockpit!

Even so, it’s hard to call it safe; the armor of Aegis’s cockpit was cracked and already in tatters.

Lucifer, having lost both arms, staggered backward and fell to its knees gakuri.

『────My win.』

Aegis picked up the dropped Assault Lance and tried to swing the blunt instrument down at the kneeling Lucifer.

Not yet! It’s not over yet!

“Asterisk! [Barrel Mode]!”

As if answering my shout, the Asterisks left behind by [Zero Gravity] wedged themselves in front of Aegis’s eyes, pointing their twelve muzzles.

Lucifer’s magic power is almost gone, but there’s just enough left to manipulate Asterisk one last time.

And the magic power inside Asterisk is still there!

“[Full Burst]!”

Firing a volley at the cockpit as if to exhaust the last of the magic power.

Eventually, the magic bullets ran out, and the Asterisks stopped spinning and fell heavily dosari onto the snowy surface.

Aegis, having taken the barrage, slowly fell backward.

Did I do it?! How is it?! Kuh, the alert is annoying…!

In the next instant, the combat inability warning sound BEEEEP! echoed.

Eh, which one?! Me?! Her?!

Instantly, the red blinking inside the cockpit returned to normal, and the result screen was displayed on the main monitor.

『Victory by Cockpit Destruction』

“…Yes!”

Victory confirmed, I unconsciously thrust both fists up. Then, released from the extreme tension, I leaned deeply back into the seat.

That was dangerous… Barely. Seriously barely. I was confident in my large amount of magic power, but to think I’d use almost all of it…

I really have to train magic control more and learn to use it in appropriate amounts… I don’t think I can keep going with full-power bursts from now on.

Even so, Lara’s foresight is amazing. Just in case I got hit by the net launcher, she added Blade Mode to Asterisk.

Because of that, she ended up adjusting it right up to the limit, but I’m glad she made it in time.

The blades in this Blade Mode are small, and honestly not suited for attacking. However, only the blade parts have a thin coating of Mithril she got from an acquaintance of her senior, making them easily cut even iron casting nets.

I thought at worst I could crush the main camera, but it became the key to victory. I’ll treat Lara to a large serving sweets set at ‘Parent’…