Dream Life Vol 3 Chapter 15.2: “Rebellion”

“Father! I’ll use magic!” (Zack)

　Without hearing my father’s reply, I began chanting my dark magic, the [Dancing Black Butterflies – Spangle Waltz].

“O Noctis, God of Darkness, Lord of the night and tranquility. Give me thy black butterflies that take away my movement. I offer the power of mine life as payment. Bind mine enemies, Dance, Black Butterflies, Spangle Waltz!” (Zack)

　It takes about thirty seconds to activate, using less magic power than the last time. Unlike the last time it was daytime, it was dark outside, which made it easier for the spirits to build up their power.

　Jet-black swallowtail butterflies fly away from my right hand. The narrow corridor is filled with black butterflies, blocking the light of the magic tools that illuminate the corridor at equal intervals, casting shadows on the enemy soldiers. The butterflies flew to the end of the corridor, as I willed, and stuck to the enemy soldiers’ faces one after another.

　I breathed a sigh of relief that this would buy me some time, but the next moment, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

　The black butterflies stuck to the faces of the enemy soldiers, but they did not care about that, they were slashing at them. The butterflies stuck to about 30 enemy soldiers, but only two or three fell, and most of them did not stop moving even when the butterflies stuck to them.

(Why! Why doesn’t it work? No, now’s not the time to think about it. If dark attributes don’t work, then I have no choice but to physically eliminate them…) (Zack)

　Hiding my agitation, I decided to use my original magic, this time with the wind attribute.

“I’ll use the magic again! This time there might be a strong gust! Don’t let it blow you away!” (Zack)

　I shouted and started chanting a spell.

　The enemy’s movements were monotonous but very powerful. Then, Brett and Sid, who were inferior in skill to the fearless attackers, were cut down by the enemy in succession. When the two fell, a pool of blood formed under their bodies and was quickly absorbed into the carpet.

　My father said, “Mark! Kevin! Get Brett and Sid!” and ordered them to rescue the two men, while he himself went to the front line with his sword at the ready. My father and the soldiers standing guard managed to fill in the two holes and prevent the front line from collapsing.

　As I watched the scene, I cast my original wind magic.

　The weakness of wind magic is that it disappears when it hits an obstacle. With fire magic, the heat of the flame can damage the surrounding area, but with wind magic, the magic disappears the moment it hits the target of the attack, and no other damage can be inflicted.

　Of course, it is possible to inflict secondary damage by blowing the target away, as with [Air Hammer], but a blade made with the wind attribute will disappear as soon as it hits the target.

　I wondered if I could turn this weakness into an advantage and come up with this magic. I decided that although the magic was not practical, it could be used only on an occasion like this.

“O Wentus, God of Wind, who commands all the winds in the world. Grant me an explosive mass of air, I offer the power of mine life to thee as payment. Defeat mine enemies! Bursting Air Mass, Explosive Balloon.” (Zack)

　From my right hand, dozens of transparent balloon-like spheres are hurled toward the enemy. They are about 15 centimeters in diameter and fly over the enemy’s head in a dizzying motion.

　The enemy soldiers did not show any interest in the transparent balloons. The balloons flew over the heads of the enemy soldiers as I had ordered.

“It’s going to explode! Please hold on!” (Zack)

　Immediately after I shouted, dozens of balloons exploded simultaneously.

　With a low rumbling boom, the air shook violently, and I heard a ringing in my ears. Then, amidst the echoing sound of ringing in my ears, the enemy soldiers fell one after another like stringless puppets.

　This original magic, the [Explosive Balloon], is an application of [Mallet of Air – Air Hammer].

　[Air Hammer] is a magic that strikes a mass of air with directionality, but the improvised [Explosive Balloon] is a magic that keeps compressed air floating in the air in the image of a balloon.

　Its original use was to defend against long-range attacks in open areas. The image is a combination of a balloon and explosive armor, and when the balloon is hit by an attack spell or arrow, the balloon explodes to deflect or cancel the attack.

　Because it was a passive defensive magic, rather than an active defensive magic, its duration was quite long, but the magic power consumption was too great to be useful.

　This time, I came up with the idea of using its explosive power. When the balloons are in position, they explode all at once. Naturally, the impact force of each balloon was far weaker than that of an air hammer, but the blasts would come from various directions right above and to the side of the head, shaking heads violently and causing concussion. This time, it was a spur-of-the-moment attack, but it seems to have gone exactly as aimed.

“Stop the enemy soldiers now! The enemy’s body will be in their way and they won’t be able to move forward!” (Matt)

　Of the soldiers following us, those who were not damaged were still trying to advance, but with more than 30 heavily armed soldiers in metal armor lying on the ground, their bodies were trapping their feet and preventing them from moving forward.

　Some of the soldiers regained consciousness and tried to struggle to stand up, but they seemed to have lost their sense of balance and their legs wobbled repeatedly, which further hindered the enemy’s advance.

　My father took advantage of this opportunity to put a stop to the enemy soldiers on the front line and then took away the shields they were holding.

“Anyway, we are able to buy some time.” (Matt)

　My father muttered this and ordered my brother, “Build a barrier by stacking shields! The spearman should attack from between them!” and picked up a shield himself.

　We managed to hold back the enemy soldiers attacking from the north, but soon enemy soldiers came up from the opposite side, the south stairway. Since the distance from the stairs was only about 20 meters, the enemy soldiers quickly closed in on us.

　On the south side were Mel, Beatrice, and Guy.

　Immediately I too drew my sword and headed for the front line. Liddy and Sharon had also begun casting spells and preparing to cover me.

　“Let’s stop the enemy in their tracks!” I shouted, and with my shield at the ready, I slashed at the approaching enemy soldiers from above.

　On my left side, Mel was holding her bastard sword in a centered stance, and with a spirited “Hah!” she pierced the neck of an enemy soldier who held a shield above his head to block my attack.

　Beatrice, who is right next to me, takes advantage of her long reach to aim at the gap between the shields and bury the enemy soldier.

　I then use my magic fighting skills and kick at the enemy soldier whom Mel mortally wounded, causing confusion to the advancing enemy soldier.

　Meanwhile, Liddy and Sharon finished casting their spells.

　I ordered Guy on the far right, “Guy! Get down!” and I lowered my head until I was kneeling. Mel and Beatrice also lowered their stances in the same way, securing a line of sight for Liddy and the others.

　Immediately after that, Liddy and Sharon’s magic flies overhead. The two of them, perhaps anticipating that we would break the enemy line of fire, released their signature spells [Air Hammer] at exactly the same time.

　The mass of compressed air released by the two of us blew away the enemy soldiers who were about to lose their balance and engulfed the following ten or so.

　Me, Mel, and Beatrice immediately slashed in to put a stop to the confused enemy. Behind us, Liddy and Sharon were chanting spells and preparing to release the next spell.

　Within a minute or so of the enemy getting up, the three of us in the vanguard succeed in burying about five enemies and forcing them down about five meters.

　Guy, perhaps deciding that he could not keep up with our coordination, switched to support with his bow.

　We, the three vanguards, silently retreated to stick to the walls on either side. Immediately after that, a two-meter-wide vacuum blade spun around 30 centimeters from the floor, just at knee level, and flew through the air with a sound that cut through the air.

　Liddy and Sharon’s aim seemed to be to stop the enemy in his tracks, and they seemed to have chosen [Whirlwind Blade – Wind blade].

　It leaps over the fallen enemy soldier in the front row and hits the trailing leg that is trying to advance by trampling its allies. As expected, he was unable to sever the leg protected by the shin guard greaves, but he still succeeded in cutting through the armor and causing the three soldiers to fall.

　Mel, who had been timing her attack, leaps out like a wildcat with her cutting spirit. Mel’s target was the two enemy soldiers who had been hit by magic in the legs and were toppling over. She slashed the enemy soldiers’ necks with precision, killing them both in an instant.

　Beatrice had jumped out as well, and a pile of dead enemy soldiers had been built up in front of us.

　We repeated such battles several times, but the enemies appeared as if they were a bottomless fountain, and there was no end in sight.

“Mel! Beatrice! I’m going to use the [Bursting Air Mass – Explosive Balloon]! Hold them back for a minute!” (Zack)

　Without hearing their replies, I cast the spell. Guy filled in the hole I had left and stopped the enemy soldiers from advancing.

“O Wentus, God of Wind, who commands all the winds in the world. Grant me an explosive mass of air, I offer the power of mine life to thee as payment. Defeat mine enemies! Bursting Air Mass, Explosive Balloon.” (Zack)

　With the completion of the spell, a transparent balloon flies from my right hand toward the enemy soldier’s head. This time my target is the stairway. I thought that if I could attack the enemy soldiers in the middle of the stairs, I could buy some time.

　About 30 balloons slowly fly away until they reach the stairs.

“Explode!” (Zack)

　I shouted, and all the balloons popped at once, and the boom echoed through the corridor.

　Immediately after that, I hear the sound of soldiers in metal armor tumbling down the stairs.

　In the meantime, Mel and Beatrice had eliminated the remaining enemy soldiers in the corridor, and we were finally able to catch our breath.