Chapter 19: Three Will Come (6)

The number 3 has symbolized completeness since ancient times.

Therefore, our ancestors believed that only when three elements came together could something become complete.

Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Land, Sea, and Air.

Food, Clothing, and Shelter.

Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis.

Legislative, Judicial, and Executive.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And, Tank, Damage, and Healer.

Only when all three of these roles are present can a party be said to have a proper balance.

Here, the tank was Evie.

I am strictly not a healer… but for this dungeon, I am a supporter, a buffer.

In any case, a being close to a healer.

Therefore, Rine was the damage dealer.

Generally, across most games, especially in a fantasy setting like this, if you were to ask which class can deal the most overwhelming firepower, everyone would undoubtedly think of the mage.

Furthermore, was Rine just any mage?

She is a level 20 archmage.

Although she is currently demoted to a level 3 mage for certain reasons, it is simply impossible for the fragments of that talent to completely disappear.

Don't they call it a thorn in a bag?

Just as a thorn in a bag cannot be hidden, the talent that Rine possessed was bound to be revealed no matter what.

So why hadn't Rine stood out at all in this battle until now?

Because she wanted not to stand out.

To stab and kill in a single breath, without even allowing a gasp, the very moment the thorn finally revealed itself.

Yes.

This strategy was one that would only be completed when the three of us came together.

Fwoooosh──

As Rine finally released her magic, the once calm flow of mana began to swirl around the magic circle.

So much so that the hem of Rine's clothes, standing in the eye of that storm──the center of the magic circle, fluttered.

Watching that scene, I wore a small smile.

And the moment I stopped singing, I felt the cool wind that had been enveloping me also calm down.

It was time to sing a new song.

From the 「Song of Swiftness」 to the 「Song of Wisdom」.

“Evie!”

It was time to sing the so-called 'Execution BGM'.

“Now!”

At my shout, Evie──

“──Ha.”

Let out a dumbfounded laugh, as if to say 'it's finally time'.

“Took you long enough…!”

And then, she showed a distorted smile filled with anticipation, as if to say 'the time has finally come'.

Then, with a 「Sleight of Hand」, she swiftly switched the bow back to a dagger—if this were a game, without consuming a turn—and then.

“Hey, drunkard!”

He kicked off the ground with all her might.

After constantly hitting and running to create distance, this time she charged in first.

“■■, ■■■──!!”

The Drunkard, not to be outdone, roared and faced the charging Evie, raising its axe high.

Thump──!

The fiercely swung axe smashed the floor.

Evie, who used a large fragment that flew up from it as a literal stepping stone to jump even higher in the air.

“Closing time!”

As if to pay it back, raised the tip of her reverse-gripped dagger high.

And the moment the tip of the blade, catching the light, flashed.

“■■──!”

As if it instinctively remembered what she had done to it before.

As if to say it wouldn't happen again, the Drunkard immediately raised the arm opposite to the one holding the axe.

To protect its heart.

──But, it was wrong.

It wasn't the heart.

The flashing tip of Evie's blade, who smirked the moment she saw that, was aiming for something else.

From the very beginning, it was something different.

Having already swung down its axe, the Drunkard had no choice but to raise its other arm.

In other words, the one holding the liquor bottle.

That's why Evie let go of the dagger.

From the Drunkard's perspective, there probably wasn't even a moment to show bewilderment.

Even after watching the shadow, with the towering pillar of fire at its back, suddenly drop the dagger in its right hand and then catch it again with its left hand──

──Swish!

Drawing a band of light.

Because it was a perfect 「Feint Attack」.

And the moment Evie landed gracefully on the ground.

Crack!

The sound of something hard cracking echoed.

Crack, crack, it went.

Only then did the Drunkard seem to realize.

That the target of that flashing dagger's tip was, from the very beginning, not its heart but──

──Clang!

The 'liquor bottle', which soon shattered into pieces with a sharp sound.

And with that, the liquor that was in the bottle naturally poured out with the fragments, drenching the Drunkard's body.

Of course, that didn't mean the Drunkard fell into an 'Intoxicated' state.

Hadn't it been drinking that liquor to gain buffs from the start?

There was no difference whether it drank it or was doused in it, and in fact, it was no different from applying a buff.

“■■■, ■■■■──!!”

As if to prove this, the Drunkard let out an even more thunderous roar.

Not only that, but the magical aura enveloping it also began to burn even more fiercely.

It had become 'perfectly flammable'.

'──Literally, that is.'

Didn't the several streams of fire, already burning fiercely, prove what kind of result was produced when fire touched that liquor?

That liquor was practically no different from oil.

In short, it had entered a 'Fire Vulnerability state'.

『──Bind.』

And the Drunkard still didn't seem to have noticed, but huge magic circles were already fixed at Rine's feet.

That's right.

Magic circle's'.

'Stacked' in multiple layers.

So exquisitely that it looked like a single magic circle.

As if gears were interlocking with each other, rotating.

『Burn──』

──All to cast a single spell, 「Fireball」.

The maximum number of circles a level 3 mage could use for a single spell was two, and a 2nd Circle spell was the limit.

That was the same for an 'Empowered Cast' of 「Fireball」.

But, as mentioned before, Rine is not an ordinary level 3 mage.

Even if she physically can't use magic above 2nd Circle── what if, she could gather and fire it all in one go (turn)?

The story changes.

『Burn──』

「Delayed Casting」.

A fragment of lost time and memory possessed by a level 20 archmage.

Using this 'unique skill', Rine could, instead of immediately casting a specific spell on her turn, carry it over to the next turn.

In other words, of the total nine circles available in this battle, excluding the one consumed for 「Rock Shield」, she could divide the remaining eight circles into four 2nd Circle 「Fireball」 magic circles──

『Burn──』

And unleash them all at a single desired moment (turn).

With this, all conditions were met.

The Drunkard was in a state of vulnerability to fire, and now, once the final chant was over, four 'Empowered Cast' 2nd Circle 「Fireballs」 would fly simultaneously and burn it to ashes without a trace.

So now all that was left was to watch──

“──Heut!?”

Was it because I was so certain of it that it brought about this misfortune?

For a moment, I saw it.

Evie, who was creating distance to avoid being caught in the impending explosion, slipping on the liquor-soaked floor and losing her balance.

Well, in truth, whatever I thought to myself was just a coincidence, and if I were to pinpoint the cause of that result, it would surely be because I had stopped the 「Song of Swiftness」 and switched to the 「Song of Wisdom」.

It was rare for a critical failure to occur on an evasion roll.

Because if the Dexterity stat surpassed the opponent's hit roll value, you would be given another chance to roll an additional die if you failed the roll.

But as long as it wasn't 0%, whether the probability was 1 in 6, 1 in 36, or even 1 in 10000, if you kept rolling, it was bound to happen eventually.

It just happened to be now.

Splat!

As Evie fell to the floor, the liquid underneath her splashed in all directions.

“■, ■■──!”

The Drunkard, which had seemed so close to being caught but never was, showed no intention of missing this first real opening Evie had shown.

At least, the axe it raised high was saying so.

“──Ah.”

She's going to get hit, this one.

Evie must have had the same intuition.

That no matter what she did, it was an angle she couldn't possibly dodge.

As she looked up at the identity of the shadow cast over her.

At this rate, a direct hit was certain.

Moreover, since her posture was already broken and she was in a 'Fallen' state, it would surely be a critical hit.

Rine couldn't 'react'.

Not only had she already consumed all her circles for that 「Delayed Casting」, but even if she had any left, it was impossible now that she had closed her eyes and ears to focus all her senses on the formula, sensing only the flow of mana.

──So, it was up to me.

Knowing that, the moment Evie lost her balance, I had already taken a step forward.

『Take a look at your liver values, you alcoholic bastard!』

“■■■──!?”

--

Mental Resistance!

The damage of Vicious Mockery is reduced by half!

--

Though it was halved, the damage of 「Vicious Mockery」 definitely landed on the Drunkard.

And with that, the aggro naturally shifted, and its gaze turned towards me.

It was instantaneous.

“──!”

Thump!

As it kicked off the ground and charged, it swung its axe down at my head.

And, it stopped just like that.

The axe in front of my eyes.

Evie, who had belatedly gotten up and was about to rush over.

And the droplets of water that had splashed up around her.

An eternal second── the 'Time of Fate' had arrived.

To decide my fate, which was about to be 'ground up' by this heavy axe blade.

--

Attempting Evasion Roll

Difficulty 15

--

My fate.

--

DEX Bonus +3

--

This world began to roll my soul (Soul Stone) and wait for the result.

Clatter──

『The die』

And

『Is cast!』

I had the power to seize that 'Time of Fate'── the 「Moment of the Star」.

--

⚂ / ⚄

--

And so, by flipping the stopped dice──

--

⚅ / ⚅ (6 / 6)

--

I overturned my fate, which had been stopped in eternity.

--

Evasion Success!

--

──Thump!

The axe blade that had passed me by as I instinctively twisted my body smashed the floor.

And though I lost my balance from the resulting 「Tremor」 and fell over again.

“──Rine!”

Thanks to that, I could see Rine's hand, which was now aimed forward.

“Blow it away──!!”

As if in response to my shout, which I had put all my strength into.

“──!”

Along with the sight of her tightly closed eyes flashing open.

Tinged with a different color than usual, a vivid light of mana.

『──Burn!』

With the final, fourth chant, the four magic circles, which had been interlocking and rotating rapidly like gears, all came to a halt.

──Fwoooosh!!

Summoning four flames that burned more fiercely than any other fire burning here.

And only then, did the 「Drunkard's Specter」 seem to realize its mistake.

Nevertheless, as if unable to accept it, it belatedly thrashed about and roared at Rine for the first time, but.

“■■■, ■■■──!!”

It was now nothing more than a death throe.

──Flash.

And

First, a flash of light.

And the sound followed.

That was the explosion.