Chapter 199
The time we spent staring each other down was less than ten seconds.
When the Mediator kicked off the ground and charged, the already-gouged earth was torn up even further.
"—Run!!"
"—We'll get caught in the crossfire!!"
"—Somebody help me!!"
The subterranean people fled, shrieking pathetic complaints that were utterly unbefitting soldiers.
The female evil overlord was buried somewhere beyond the cloud of dust, but I had no time to worry about that.
'Ssshhh!'
I ducked under the Mediator's right hook as it came at me. Though I should have had plenty of room, the air pressure nearly swept the hair off the back of my head.
A left straight came next—if I took it head-on, the bones in my arm would be pulverized.
Clang!
When I slashed upward with the short dagger I had received from the Frontier Count, I couldn't cut through the Mediator's left arm even though the blade contained Celestial Silver; I merely knocked it upward.
"Then how about this?"
If physical attacks were useless, then—reaching toward the Mediator's wide-open chest, I unleashed 【Lightning Magic】.
'Gah, hff.'
Electricity crawled over the Mediator's body, emitting a pale-blue light.
Some of the electricity I couldn't fully control seared my left hand, and I immediately healed it with 【Recovery Magic】.
"—Guh."
I immediately jumped backward.
Rather than falling, the Mediator came at me with a yakuza kick from its right foot.
I put some distance between us.
Smoke was hissing out instead of black flames, but the Mediator was glaring at me.
(Strong.)
It felt much stronger than when I fought it in the Kurvaan Holy Kingdom.
At that time, the Holy King and Frontier Count had taken the lead in pummeling it, but it had been neither so agile nor so tough.
Whether that was because it had possessed young Rui's body or because this was its home ground, I didn't know—but...
(In terms of strength, it's still in the "dragon" class.)
Apparently, the Mediator of the "Surface World" is a dragon. Then perhaps the Mediator of the "Hidden World" has another name besides "Mediator," but I don't know it.
All I knew was that it was a creepy bastard in human form.
'...What, is that all?'
The Mediator placed its right hand against its neck and slowly rotated its head. The smoke seeping from the gaps in its armor subsided, and fresh flames spouted out instead.
'If you thought magic of that caliber could defeat a Mediator, that's beyond laughable—it's pathetic.'
"..."
'Your movements are better than a human's, but that is all you are—die.'
The Mediator lunged again. Its punches and kicks followed simple trajectories, making them easy to dodge—but those very simple attacks were the most troublesome.
It didn't give me time to catch my breath.
Nor did it show me any opening to escape.
Meanwhile, I analyzed the Mediator with 【All Creation】 while dodging its attacks.
The armor was made almost entirely of Celestial Silver. It had been specially processed to turn it dark purple, a process intended to dramatically increase its hardness. The black flames pouring out were its very life force. I could detect no traces of a living creature, such as muscles or bones, behind the armor.
Dragons were reptile-like creatures.
Then what was the Mediator?
(This thing is—a magitech life-form.)
In terms of its type, it was like the Juggernaut I fought in the "Labyrinth of Awe."
It possessed intelligence far beyond the Juggernaut's—and could act as if it were alive.
Although its construction was completely different from the Juggernaut's, they shared some traits.
(If I crush the core inside it, it will die.)
I wondered what mechanism made it move. In the Lef Magitech Empire, they might call something like a Juggernaut "Heroic Gear," but the Mediator was on an even higher level.
I wondered how much I could understand even with 【All Creation】.
In that it transcended human understanding—in other words, was Overlimit—it might have been comparable to a Talent Jewel with nine stars or more.
(But no doubt someone made it.)
After dodging the Mediator's kick and using 【Wind Magic】 to put some distance between us, it closed in again in an instant and threw a punch.
'Your attacks are useless. Run as far as you like. I do not tire in the slightest.'
"Isn't that giving me a hint?"
'Even the Children of Calamity range from strong to weak. You seem to be one of the weaker ones.'
"Oh, is that so—"
I slipped through the Mediator's attacks and launched a spinning kick driven by my whole body's spring and enhanced by 【Support Magic】.
The kick landed squarely in the Mediator's stomach, sending it flying into a pile of rubble and raising a cloud of dust.
"—Now that's underestimating me."
'...Something is wrong with you. How many Talents do you have?'
The Mediator rose after tossing aside the rubble, still without a single scratch.
To break through that armor, I needed a Celestial Silver weapon too—which, of course, was impossible.
"Come here already. Weren't you going to eliminate me? Or are you going to tuck your tail and run if I have a hundred or even two hundred Talents?"
'...'
That was a cheap provocation, even if I do say so myself.
But it worked on the Mediator—was this really a magitech life-form? It felt just like an ordinary living creature.
'Die!!'
The Mediator kicked off the rubble, leaped into the air, and came plunging down from above.
It was counting on its own armor for this move. It must have been absolutely convinced that nothing could break through it.
(Even if its combat ability is high...)
I raised my right hand.
There was no way I could let a chance like this slip away.
What I unleashed was—【Fire Magic】.
It was the highest-level magic I had learned: 【Fire Magic★★★★】.
Flames composed solely of pure heat surged up, swelling into a massive inferno that engulfed the Mediator.
'Fool, I told you magic doesn't work.'
The Mediator slipped through the flames and closed in.
(Its intelligence is low.)
I gave a sly grin.