Natasha and Erick's POV:
Erick:
- Is there a horse around here?
*It might be best to head for the stable by the gate to the east.*
Moving as fast as my wound allowed, I walked toward the stable, hoping to find something the villagers had left behind as they fled. The internal pain I felt and the dull ringing in my ears only grew louder the further I walked through the village.
- …So this is what ### meant.
I remember once ### gave me a lecture about wound care. She mentioned that if I was careless with my wounds, even though they wouldn't hurt during battle, I would feel what pain really was afterward. I also remember her telling me that I should be careful with them, because not feeling pain sometimes led us to be careless with our real wounds.
- Although I was skeptical at the time, I suppose the wounds on my stomach are worse than I thought.
*The young lady definitely won't be happy with her current condition, Master.*
- …. You don't need to remind me. This pain serves as a reminder enough.
A thrumming pain slowly grew in my stomach. Although there was no blood, the pain made me feel like I'd been catapulted into a wall. If that weren't enough, the strange ringing in my ears wouldn't leave me alone. Every now and then, I tripped over my own feet. My sense of balance was a mess.
- I seriously can't thank you enough, Ifrit. If it weren't for your support, I wouldn't even be able to stand.
*No need to thank me, Master. It's an honor to be of use to you…!!*
A disturbing, muffled cry echoed in my head as I conversed with Ifrit. I immediately went on guard as I scanned my surroundings. Although at first glance there seemed to be nothing, a strange aura enveloped the village. A strange feeling of being watched from somewhere.
*Master, there's something strange about the air. I feel energy gathering around us.*
- Remnants of the witch we fought?
*Negative, sir, the energy is different.*
A deep unease assailed me as I carefully observed my surroundings. The fact that I couldn't hear anything happening around me only deepened the feeling of unease. I didn't know what was coming, but I used a bit of Ifrit's power to keep a small pool of lava beneath me to use in case of an emergency.
- Ifrit, I need you to keep me aware of anything that makes noise around us.
*No need to mention it; I'll see to it that it's safe and sound.*
- Come on, Ifrit, to the stable.
Making a decision, I decide to ignore that unpleasant feeling and run to the stable at the East Gate. Although my determination helped me ignore the pain, my sense of balance was still severely impaired. I quickly recovered from any slips I might have made as I sped toward the stable.
.........…..
Natasha:
- Why can't I place my roots near him?
Frustrated, I slammed the table as I watched him begin to flee out of the village. Even though I had my brambles all over the area, I couldn't mount an effective attack. While surprise should be my advantage, it seems they've noticed me. I couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh as I watched him run for the door.
- I don't know exactly why, but it seems I can't pull off the surprise attack I wanted. I should assume he always has that fiery mass beneath his feet. I thought he'd let his guard down after finishing his fight with Granny, but it doesn't look like it'll be that easy.
I lean back in my chair, stretching my muscles tense from exhaustion. The continuous use of my powers for so long was beginning to affect my concentration. I couldn't help but yawn as I rested for a moment before the decisive moment. I gave the arch of my nose between my eyes a light massage and did some light stretches. The slight ache in my muscles had completely robbed me of sleep. Then I sat back down in the chair and began to concentrate again.
- If it doesn't work below, I just have to do it above, right?
...........
Ifrit, still on guard, floated suspiciously toward the village. Despite Ifrit's grave words, in the end, no incident occurred. The heavy atmosphere in the village soon eased as we galloped out at full speed toward the capital.
- Whew, that was very tense. Don't you think so, Ifrit?
*….*
Without a response, Ifrit continued floating beside me as I slowly left the village behind. The tension had momentarily made me forget the intense pain, but now that things had calmed down, the pain was hitting me again. And that wasn't the only problem.
- Whoa!
In a slip, I slide to the side of the horse, avoiding a fall only because of my arm's grip on the reins.
- My balance is still a mess after all.
I sigh heavily, seriously considering whether I'll be of any help in the battle in the capital. I try to shake my head in an attempt to shake off this feeling of turbulence and regain my balance, but only manage to slip off the horse and almost fall in the process. I slowly compose myself while thinking of some strategy when a voice echoes in my head at full volume.
*Here it comes!*
The scream was so loud it almost knocked me off my horse. To my horror, a huge vine is located in the spot I was standing a few moments ago. I possibly would have been impaled if I hadn't slipped off the horse.
- What the-?
Before I had time to be surprised, nine thorny vines rose from the surroundings like snakes and launched themselves at me. The vines' power was astonishing. Like their speed, their strength was at the level where they could easily split a tree. Ifrit quickly transformed into an axe to confront the vines. Even in an awkward position, I swung my axe, causing a wall of lava to erupt from it, burning the vines from their base. This incomprehensible situation left me frozen as I got back on my horse and accelerated even more.
- Ifrit, what the hell is going on? Why did the plants suddenly go crazy?
*This is the work of a witch. She's the owner of that strange energy I sensed earlier. I hadn't realized it because of the other witch's enormous power, but it seems she's been following us for some time.*
- And you're just mentioning it now?
*I wasn't sure if her energy was from nature or not, so I didn't say anything. I can barely distinguish her energy from the energy of the forest itself.*
- ...I see.
Although I wanted to complain about not being warned in advance, this wasn't the time to blame. Even though the wall I'd put up behind us was keeping us safe, I knew I wouldn't have much time before the next attack from a different side. As if responding to that concern, two enormous roots launched themselves at me from the sides. One on each side.
- Don't think I'll fall that easily.
With a gauntlet made of lava and the axe, I simultaneously freed myself from them. A feeling of worry was sent to my head by Ifrit. A large amount of energy was gathering around me. Before I could regain my posture, a huge vine shot out from in front of me. I quickly summoned the helmet of Ifrit's armor and smashed the vine with a headbutt.
- Good reaction, Ifrit. A second later, and I wouldn't be death.
*I'm able to detect where attacks are coming from; it's only natural that I could predict something of that level.*
Despite my intention to praise her, her cold response somehow hits me as I try to destroy the other incoming vines.
*It's a good thing we had time to improve our affinity, Master. Otherwise, this would have been our grave.*
- You're right. If I hadn't practiced like crazy back then, I wouldn't be able to summon even a single piece of it.
After spending almost a full month training with Ifrit, I was able to improve the way I powered up my body. What was once a mere temporary enhancement can now condense that energy into a piece of armor.
- Though it's a shame it's not durable enough to stop those lightning bolts from before.
*That's asking too much, Master. The power behind those lightning bolts was simply absurd.*
Thanks to the newly learned skill, I managed to cut down the brambles that were hurtling at me. About three brambles were thrown at me continuously. While I wasn't able to block them all, the ones that passed struck the breastplate I had created with my power. The body enhancements I applied to my torso and head also managed to counteract the pain in my head and my balance. The only downside to my new ability was that I couldn't use it for long periods of time. I hadn't used it before because I wanted to scare the witch with that pillar so I could talk. But everything went awry. While in retrospect it would have been much better to use them to reduce the impact during my previous fight, there was no way I could concentrate enough to summon the armor while dodging that number of attacks that exceeded the speed of an arrow.
- Ifrit, we have to find a way to lose this witch. Otherwise, we won't hold out much longer.
A resounding blow struck my back and stomach as two brambles collided with the breastplate protecting me. Despite the number of brambles I'd cleared, their number simply wouldn't decrease. I felt like I was fighting the entire forest.
*Master, I have an idea, but to do so, we'll have to sacrifice the entire forest.*
A bitter smile crossed my face, understanding what he meant. Such a huge sacrifice wasn't something I liked to make, but I also understood that it was necessary. However, despite my expectations, the vines suddenly stopped. A strange quiet filled the forest as I looked around in perplexity.
- Just what-?
Before I could finish, a huge projectile passed right over our heads and landed a little in front of me.
- What the hell was that?
..........
Natasha:
- Where the hell did that armor come from? That's totally unfair!
Thanks to his speed, I couldn't maintain a perfect view of the hero. I grabbed all the brambles I'd been growing over the months and threw them at the hero, but they all bounced off his strange armor without leaving a scratch. The sight was frustrating. I knew that on their own, my brambles wouldn't be able to do it.
- If my brambles aren't capable of damaging it, then what am I supposed to attack him with? Rocks?
As I laughed in frustration, a certain artifact came to mind. I quickly got up from my seat and lunged at my bookshelf in search of a book I'd once read. I pulled out book by book until I found one in particular.
"Siege Weapons Manual for Dummies"
Among the vast collection of books my teacher had, this was one that caught my eye. After begging her to give it to me, she reluctantly agreed after staring at her for a few minutes.
I hurriedly opened it, searching for a specific page. I flipped through several catapult prototypes until I found what I was looking for.
- Trebuchet...
A scale model catapult was crudely drawn in the book. Its proportions were much larger than the room I was currently in.
- ...I'd like to practice a little before trying it, but...I simply can't afford that luxury.
Resolute, I began investigating with the help of some evil eyes around, looking for large stones.
- Here's one...two...Here's another!
I quickly began to concentrate as I imagined the shape of the gigantic catapult. Staring at the book, I replicated the artifact until I had practically recreated it. With the help of the roots at my side, I positioned the stone and began making the necessary adjustments.
- This will be the test shot, so I hope it doesn't miss by much.
Focusing on my trebuchet, the brambles I was throwing at the hero stopped. I couldn't focus on so many points at once, and manipulating the trebuchet had proven to be a bigger challenge than I'd initially expected.
- There it goes!
With that, the roots that made up the trebuchet creaked from the force as the enormous rock had been thrown with tremendous force. After crunching, the trebuchet crumbled after a single shot. I wasn't entirely happy with the result, but the throw itself hadn't missed by much.
- Let's prepare the next ones. If I can get used to handling them, I could combine them with the brambles to ensure he can't block them.
Having understood the general process, I quickly set about assembling two more.