Arifureta Zero: Volume 1 Page 12

  This was his umbrella’s second ability— Wall Blast. It utilized a fusion of wind and fire magic to create an explosive blast. Normally, that blast was meant to knock down enemy attacks, but Oscar had combined it with his transmutation to make it into an offensive spell as well. It had taken him nearly half a month to enchant his umbrella with the spell.

  The fiery shockwave and the barrage of rocks that accompanied it destroyed the knights’ formation.

  “Corrin, hang on tight!”

  “O-Okay!” Corrin clung to Oscar’s neck as he stabbed his umbrella into the ground in front of him.

  The ground a few meters in front of him froze over.

  This was the fourth of his Black Umbrella’s abilities— Flash Freeze. This was just a straight port of the intermediate ice spell, Flash Freeze. So long as he maintained the spell, it would freeze all of a set area in front of the direction he was facing.

  “Not this time!” The knights didn’t know what Oscar was up to, but they weren’t waiting to find out. Those still standing launched Crimson Javelins at him. Oscar found himself facing a crossfire of magical lances.

  Using his Onyx Boots to enhance his leg strength, Oscar leaped forward. The javelins crashed into the wall behind him, exploding in a torrent of flames.

  The knights fired another barrage at him, and this time Oscar bent his back right before the javelins struck, making them pass harmlessly over his head.

  Normally bending so far backward would have caused him to fall, or at least made him stop to regain his balance. Instead, the ground he’d frozen over allowed him to keep sliding.

  “Curses, someone stop him!” The knights watched as Oscar slid his way across the ice field he’d made for himself. He moved at an alarmingly fast pace. Any time he seemed about to run out of ice to slide on, his umbrella made more for him.

  The knights pelted him with spells, but he proved difficult to hit. His speed and unorthodox posture helped him avoid every spell thrown his way.

  Eventually, his wild slide took him right to Forneus.

  “Hiii! Get away from me! You fools, do something about him!” Forneus legs gave out under him, and he fell backward.

  “I won’t let you— Celestial Flash!” A shockwave of light split the ground between Oscar and Forneus. It left deep furrows in the ground.

  However, Oscar got back to his feet and leaped into the air.

  “Fool, you’re finished now!”

  “You can’t dodge midair!”

  Two more knights unleashed their Celestial Flashes. They came at Oscar from both sides, catching him in a pincer attack.

  “Actually, I can.” Oscar didn’t seem worried at all.

  He leaped up a second time, propelling himself even higher into the sky.

  This was another feature of his Onyx Boots, Footholds of Light. He’d enchanted the boots with one of the most basic light spells, Holy Shield. Except he’d reversed the effect, allowing his boots to create platforms made of light to jump off of, even in midair.

  “What the!?”

  “Impossible!”

  The Celestial Flashes crossed paths underneath him and slammed into opposing walls.

  Oscar swung his umbrella down at one of the knights, making blades of wind shoot out from it. The knight’s armor saved him from instant death, but the wind blades were still powerful enough to slice through the metal and leave him bleeding.

  Then, Oscar landed right next to Forneus.

  “Don’t move. You move even a finger, and I cut your head off.”

  “B-Bastard, who do you think— Hiii!” Forneus tried to protest, but quickly fell silent as Oscar transformed the tips of his umbrella into blades and rested them against his neck.

  “You knights don’t want your bishop to die, right? Then you better not move. Ping, you too.” The knights froze in place. Ping and his cronies had been trying to sneak away in the confusion. However, they froze in terror when Oscar’s chains burst out of the ground in front of them.

  After seeing Oscar beat down an entire squad of knights with a little girl in his arms, they were absolutely terrified of him.

  “Now then, Bishop Forneus... Tell me.”

  “T-Tell you what?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? Where Dylan and Katy are. The other two kids you stole from the orphanage. Actually, if you’ve got any other kids in there too, free them as well.”

  “Free them?” Forneus had been trembling in fear thus far, but an edge of anger creeped into his voice.

  “Yeah, you heard me. I have no idea what you’re planning on doing with them, but whatever it is, it can’t be good. Return the city’s children to their parents.”

  Forneus made to protest, but then he hesitated. After a second of deliberation, a hateful smile split his face and he nodded.

  “Very well. These children were chosen for this duty by Ehit himself. There is nothing to “free” them from... Still, if you really want to see them that badly, I’ll bring them out. Enjoy your little reunion!”

  “What are you scheming?”

  “I’m just here to watch your touching reunion. See how your family has been transformed into part of Ehit’s loyal army!” Forneus’ eyes opened wide. His gaze was directed not at Oscar, but at one of the knights.

  “Don’t move!” Oscar’s warning was unnecessary. The knight wasn’t trying to move. Though, his mouth had been moving this entire time. As his helmet covered his face however, Oscar hadn’t noticed. Nor had he noticed the magic circle engraved on the inside of the knight’s helmet glowing.

  He’d been using Telepathy to communicate with the people inside the building.

  Unbeknownst to Oscar, they’d already unleashed the ultimate weapon. And so, his warning came too late.

  The knight didn’t move, but the building’s door did. It creaked open.

  “Grooooooooorrr!” And, from behind it, a beast’s voice echoed through the room.

  “What the!?” Oscar turned to the source of the noise, but a giant clod of metal filled his vision.

  “Ah!?” Fortunately, he managed to get his umbrella up to defend him just in time.

  The lump of metal crashed into his umbrella with a loud thud, and the shock of the impact traveled down his arm. The force of it sent him flying backward.

  Had he not strengthened his umbrella, and had it not weighed eight kilograms, Oscar doubted it would have been able to block the lump at all. Even if he might have come out of the impact alive, it could have killed Corrin.

  Corrin screamed, and Oscar sent his chains running across the ground.

  He remotely transmuted the ground below them to cushion their fall. Then, using his boots’ Footholds of Light and Updraft spells he’d enchanted them with to adjust his position in midair, he landed on his back, protecting Corrin. His coat further cushioned the impact, making the landing perfectly smooth.

  Eventually, he rolled backward and got to his feet, sticking the tip of his umbrella into the ground to grind him to a halt.

  “Raaaaaaaaah!” He heard another roar, this one much closer.

  “Huh!? Ability ten, Hallowed Ground! Activate!” Normally, Oscar didn’t need to call out the name of his abilities to activate them, since he could control mana directly and all. However, he was so flustered that he forgot all that and called it out anyway.

  Whatever it was they’d brought out was incredibly fast. It had managed to keep up with Oscar after blowing him away. Then, it mercilessly followed up with another attack.

  Golden light surrounded his umbrella, and a dome-shaped barrier surrounded him.

  Blows so powerful enough to shake the earth slammed into it. Three of them in total.

  It seemed there was more than one of whatever Oscar was facing. Swords and maces slammed into his barrier, and small cracks formed at the points of impact.

  “Ngh! So strong... Who on earth are you people!?” On the other side of the barrier, Oscar finally got a good look at his opponents.

  They looked human, but un
like any humans he’d seen before. Their muscles bulged, they exhaled plumes of white smoke, and their eyes were bloodshot.

  The one directly in front of Oscar was the one who’d sent him flying at the start. He was wielding a giant warhammer, which Oscar recognized as the lump of metal that had tried to kill him.

  Their blows were fast, powerful, and well-coordinated. Frankly, they surpassed the templar knights in every way. They were even masters of their chosen weapons. Oscar guessed they were the elite guards Forneus had brought with him.

  Oddly, he couldn’t shake this strange feeling he had upon seeing them. For one thing, they all looked too young to be soldiers. They all look no older than teenagers. Actually, no, they barely look over fifteen. They were practically boys.

  Moreover, everything aside from their weapons looked to be crudely made. Forget leather armor, they seemed to be dressed practically in rags. The same kind of rags that Corrin and Ruth were wearing...

  “Onii-chan!” Corrin’s shout snapped Oscar out of his musings. He looked around and realized the knights were all chanting powerful spells. It looked like they were determined to bring him down right then and there.

  Stop spacing out! Don’t forget you’re protecting Corrin right now too! Oscar mentally berated himself.

  It didn’t matter who he was fighting, he would eliminate anyone threatening his little sister.

  “Don’t blame me for this!” A wave of light pulsed out of Oscar’s umbrella. He’d activated Wall Burst. The three boys trying to break his Hallowed Ground stumbled backward.

  After they did, Oscar held his umbrella high, dispelled his barrier, and began twirling the umbrella. White smoke poured out of its tips.

  This was the seventh of his umbrella’s abilities— White Prison. The smoke was actually the high level earth spell, Petrification.

  “Raaaaaah!” The three boys’ legs were petrified, and they roared in frustration.

  Oscar nimbly leaped over them. A second later, a barrage of magic spells smashed into the ground he’d been standing on.

  The entire tunnel shook from the force of the ensuing blast. Cold sweat poured down Oscar’s back as he realized the knights were willing to harm their own allies to get to him. The three kids were close enough to be affected by the blast’s shockwave.

  Oscar landed a ways away. Two shadows burst out of the dust cloud the knights’ spells had raised and dashed toward him.

  Though these boys were extremely powerful and more skilled than he’d expected, Oscar could still deal with them as long as he handled things calmly. At that point, Oscar’s only option was to go all out and crush Forneus’ spirit so he’d be willing to spit out Dylan and Katy’s location.

  “Wh-What are you doing?” Oscar didn’t even try and hide his surprise this time. He’d instantly put up another Hallowed Ground when he’d sensed the two new assailants coming, but when he saw who they were, his mind went blank.

  Shaken, Oscar shouted again.

  “What are you doing, Dylan, Katy!?” The two people attacking his barrier right now were indeed Dylan and Katy. Dylan was holding a knife, while Katy wore clawed gauntlets.

  “Dylan! Katy! What’s wrong!? It’s me, Corrin! Don’t you recognize me!” Corrin was just as shocked as Oscar.

  However, neither Dylan nor Katy responded. Instead, they simply stared at Oscar with blank eyes, bloodlust oozing from every pore.

  The knights hurled another barrage of Gale Claws, Crimson Javelins, and Celestial Flashes at Oscar.

  “Shit!” He cursed aloud. Oscar thought back to what had happened seconds ago. The knights hadn’t hesitated to kill those boys along with him.

  Oscar dispelled his Hallowed Ground and activated his glasses’ blinding flash. While they were still disoriented, he used his Metamorph Chains to grab Dylan and Katy and fling them away. At the same time, he leaped in the opposite direction.

  He barely managed to get everyone out of the way in time. However, now Dylan and Katy were charging him again.

  Their eyesight recovered way too fast! Things weren’t looking good. Dylan and Katy closed in on him with polished movements. They definitely hadn’t been like that before. Their proficiency with their weapons was unbelievable, given their utter lack of training.

  “Gwah!?”

  “Onii-chan!”

  He obviously couldn’t fight back, but he knew dodging would be hard from his position. On top of that, he needed to keep Corrin safe as well. In the end, he was forced to take the blows.

  Katy’s clawed gauntlets scraped his neck, while Dylan’s knife plunged into his side, and then his thigh. It was only because his Metamorph Chains fouled their aim that he was even alive. Still, his wounds were serious. He was bleeding profusely.

  “Dylan, Katy, come back to your senses! It’s me, Oscar!” Oscar leaped backward with an Onyx Boots-enhanced jump and tried to communicate with Dylan and Katy.

  However, the two of them didn’t stop. Ignoring his words, they cut off Oscar’s chains. Then, with unbelievable speed and coordination, they chased him down.

  It was almost as if they were different people. In Oscar’s eyes, there was no way they should have been able to move with such practiced ease.

  But still... Dammit, those two are definitely Dylan and Katy! He’d watched over them their whole lives. There was no way Oscar would mistake them.

  It was then that Oscar noticed something. Both Dylan and Katy’s faces were oddly flushed. Not only that, but their eyes were bloodshot and their breathing was rougher than before.

  Whatever they were doing to power themselves up was taking its toll on their body, but they still didn’t stop.

  “Gah! Dylan, Katy, I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt a little!” Oscar stuck his umbrella into the ground. It unfurled beneath him, and electricity began running along its surface.

  This was the ninth of his umbrella’s abilities— Spark Plasma. Spark Plasma was one of the strongest lightning spells. Normally it shot bolts of electricity at enemies, but by combining the spell with a metal surface, Oscar had transformed it into an electric barrier. And, by adjusting the amount of mana put into the spell, he could also control the voltage to only stun instead of kill.

  Dylan and Katy reacted instantly, however, and leaped out of the barrier’s effective range. The toll of pushing their bodies so far was beginning to show, though. They stumbled as they landed, falling to one knee. Worse, blood dripped from their nose and mouth.

  “Dylan! Katy!” Oscar cried out again. He instinctively tried to run toward them, but the blood loss had taken its toll on him as well. His legs gave out and he sunk to his knees. The lack of blood left him dizzy. Moving around like he had only made him lose blood faster, too.

  He didn’t even have the strength to hold Corrin anymore, so he dropped her. She tried to help him up with tears in her eyes.

  “Well, are you enjoying your reunion?” Oscar turned to Forneus, who was smiling sadistically.

  “What did you do to them, Forneus?” His tone was surprisingly flat. Corrin shivered. She’d never seen Oscar like this before.

  “This was all thanks to His guidance. These children were chosen. They have become a core part of Ehit’s flock. You see, they are the very foundation of what will soon be Ehit’s Legion.”

  “Ehit’s... Legion?”

  Oscar took stock of the situation while he talked. He was surrounded by templar knights, and while Dylan and Katy were no longer bleeding, their faces were still flushed. As much as he hated talking to that fanatical windbag, he needed to squeeze as much information out of Forneus as he possibly could. He’d take any hint that would help him cure his family.

  However, Forneus had caught on to Oscar’s plan. And so, he didn’t bother answering further questions. Instead, he smiled and switched to a different topic.

  “You’ve surprised me, Oscar. I thought you were just another heretic, but after looking at all those magic items of yours, I’ve changed my mind! They’re all artifact-level! I di
dn’t believe Ping at first when he told me you’d beaten down my knights. I thought those were just the words of a coward... But you’ve proven me wrong! You made all of those items, didn’t you Oscar? I can’t possibly imagine you being a loser, or a failure!” Forneus spread his arms wide, carried away by the fervor of his own speech.

  Ping, who had hidden behind the building, poked his head out and glared hatefully at Oscar.

  “What’re you getting at?”

  “Work for me, Oscar. Kneel before me, and profess your faith in Ehit. Devote yourself, body and soul, to the service of our great lord!”

  “And if I refuse?” Oscar glanced back at Dylan and Katy. Ever since Forneus had starting talking, they hadn’t moved. Their loyalty to him made Oscar sick to his stomach. At the same time though, he knew what his answer would have to be.

  “Can you really bring yourself to?” Though it irked Forneus how little Oscar thought of working for Ehit, it did little to temper his joy at having him dancing in the palm of his hands. And so, he continued, making sure Oscar had no escape.

  “If you show your sincerity to Ehit, I am sure he’ll be willing to grant numbers 44 and 45 his protection. Though, if you refuse, it’s possible they will join him in heaven very shortly.”

  In other words, either I join and he brings them back to normal, or he keeps pushing Dylan and Katy until they die.

  Oscar ground his teeth. The word “fury” didn’t do the wrath in his gaze justice.

  Still, there was nothing he could do. After all, there was no telling what Forneus would do to Dylan and Katy if he attacked.

  He could kill all the knights and then threaten to kill Forneus if he didn’t turn Dylan and Katy back. However, there was no guarantee that would work. Forneus was a zealot through and through. Oscar doubted threatening his life would be enough to make him do something he’d see as a betrayal to his god. It was a risky gamble.

  Besides, can I even beat the knights with my current injuries? His black umbrella had a healing spell built into it, but even if he could activate the spell instantly, the healing itself would take time.

  He doubted his enemies would wait patiently for him to recover. More importantly, the blood he’d lost wouldn’t come back.