Elf Tensei Kara no Cheat Kenkoku-ki

Vol 05 Chapter 22-2: Conclusion

「What should I do now?」

As I withstood Ashno's continuous attacks, I continued to ponder. I had a lethal strike in reserve. But it could only be used as a surprise attack, and only once.

If I missed, any chance of victory would disappear. I wanted to aim for Ashno's bandaged right hand, her weak point, but the moment I got into close range, I would be instantly killed by the high-density wind surrounding her.

「You've been aiming for something since a while ago. Do you have a trump card?」

「Well, who knows?」

It seemed she had even read that I had a trump card. While leaping over a wide-ranging wall of flames that Ashno had just conjured, I converted an entire magic stone into a lightning strike. However, just as I had once defended against the hero's lightning, Ashno increased the air pressure around her, turning the air into an insulator to block it.

It looked like I had no choice but to rely on my trump card. But this complex magic required time to concentrate on the calculations. 1.3 seconds. That was all I needed.

「1.3 seconds against Ashno… feels like an eternity.」

I clicked my tongue while dodging the subsonic scatter shot fired by Ashno. Then, a barrage of arrows came flying at me. It wasn't Ashno's doing. They were arrows fired by Imperial soldiers.

Arrows filled the sky, too many to count. Normally, I would have used wind to block them, but this was Ashno's domain. Trying to control the wind here would be futile.

I pulled out two knives from my pocket, including the spare one, and slashed away only those arrows on a direct collision course. However, it was impossible to avoid them all. I managed to dodge the fatal shots, but several arrows still pierced my body, causing blood to spill.

「Voldeck! Why are you interfering in the battle?」

Ashno shouted in anger, her face contorted with fury. Looking in the direction she faced, I saw Duke Voldeck standing with hundreds of his subordinates, his eyes bloodshot.

「Lady Hero! Now is the time! Your opponent is weakened! Quickly, kill that demon! A monster you couldn't kill with ease! We can't let it live!! Hurry!!」

I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. That was one way to look at it. To the Empire, an opponent that even Ashno, their strongest, couldn't kill was indeed a threat.

「Ashno, why are you so surprised? This is war, not a duel. I don't plan on calling it unfair.」

I told her this while pulling the arrows out of my body.

「But this is…」

Ashno was visibly shaken. It was a fundamental misunderstanding. Duke Voldeck's decision was correct. But in this instance, it turned out to be a mistake. I should thank Voldeck. The range of those arrows included Ashno, and she had to relax her offensive in order to defend against them. Moreover, it distracted her attention. That gave me enough time to concentrate on my calculations. The 1.3 seconds I couldn't possibly have secured while fighting Ashno one-on-one were finally mine. I used up another magic stone and unleashed my magic. Two magic stones remained.

「[Microwave Irradiation]?.?」

I released microwaves, further increasing their intensity, creating a magic that heated the entire surrounding area with microwave radiation. Simply put, it was like throwing the opponent into a microwave. Due to its uniqueness, the spell required 1.3 seconds for the calculations.

As expected, Ashno immediately reacted. She sensed my magic power grow to its limit, so she activated defensive magic of earth and wind. Earth walls rose, and the density of the wind barrier increased. It was a quick response.

「But this time, that won't be enough to stop it.」

The force I unleashed was microwave radiation, making both the earth and wind barriers ineffective. Ashno's left hand, which she extended to activate her defensive magic, was rippling. Her blood was nearly boiling.

Ashno leaped backward trying to stop the rest of her body from receiving the effects of the magic. Microwaves spread easily, so distancing herself was the only correct response. Her instantaneous decision limited the damage to just one hand. However, the intense pain robbed Ashno of her freedom. She landed and, overwhelmed by the pain, clenched her teeth and fell to her knees. That was the moment I had been waiting for. The moment to land my other trump card with certainty.

「[Charged Particle Cannon]??!!」

The ??[Charged Particle Cannon]?? was actually simpler in terms of computational load than [Microwave Irradiation]??. But against someone like Ashno, it would almost certainly never hit. And because it required a large amount of electrical power, it could only be used in a situation where it was guaranteed to hit.

And that time was now. I used the last two remaining magic stones to activate the magic. I accelerated heavy ions to near-light speed and shot them. It was the fastest and strongest attack I could perform at that moment.

「I won't let you!!」

Ashno concentrated all her magical power into creating a focused wind barrier. Concentrating all her magic into her most proficient element, wind, she formed the ultimate defense. My ??[Charged Particle Cannon]?? collided with Ashno's wind barrier, light and wind clashed and fought for dominance. I gritted my back teeth and poured the remainder of my magical power into the [Charged Particle Cannon]????, increasing its force.

…And finally, I overpowered her. Most of its force was negated, but the ????[Charged Particle Cannon]?? ultimately caught Ashno. When the light ceased, there was nothing left. Only the gouged earth remained. Was Ashno dead? I searched the area with wind magic, but I couldn't sense any trace of her. All I knew was that she was no longer here.

「Ah!! The legendary Hero was defeated!?」

「Is that elf stronger than our Hero!?」

「A monster, he's a monster!!」

The Imperial soldiers fled in terror. Ashno seemed to have been almost a deity to them. It was our victory, only one task remained. The enemy commander was foolish enough to come this far forward. I couldn't let such negligence and carelessness go unpunished. Killing him here would also protect the seal.

「[Lightning Strike]??!」