Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 145: The One Who Commands the Eternally Unmelting Frozen Sea 2

Episode 145: The One Who Commands the Eternally Unmelting Frozen Sea 2

“Rururaaa♪”

After several exchanges of attacks and defenses, the Sea Angel’s fighting style began to change. While the barrage of light bullets remained the same, instead of ice spikes, it started manipulating large chunks of ice carved out from the frozen ground.

It controlled four ice chunks at once. Each one was as large as me, flying toward me, blocking off any escape routes.

“([Replicant Form]!)”

In response, I mimicked ice scythe chains, forming about eight of them—reminiscent of the good old eight-legged style. By hooking the long-reach ice scythe chains onto the ice blocks, I managed to avoid direct collisions while performing irregular aerial maneuvers.

I nearly got caught in a pincer attack but narrowly dodged it. Then, using the rebound from striking the ice with my ice scythe chains, I altered my trajectory again. The sudden change in movement caused the Sea Angel’s light bullets to miss. And in that brief opening, I slipped in an attack.

“([Throw]! [Thousand Blade Genesis]! [Lock On Aim]!)”

I hurled a fragment of the ice chunk that I had chipped off during the earlier clash. At the same time, I unleashed a burst of steel blades, hoping to overwhelm the Sea Angel’s processing capacity.

“Ririrerere♪”

As expected, it easily countered the attack. The two chunks of ice that were closing in on me from above were shattered into pieces. And then the fragments were fired like bullets, neutralizing my attack. Even the ice chunks that were used up were immediately replenished from the frozen ground.

As the Sea Angel’s light bullet targeting caught up to me, the situation reversed, forcing me into evasive maneuvers.

“(For now, at this distance, that ‘Freeze’ ability won’t reach me. After all this time without it being used, it’s probably out of range, right?)”

The distance between me and the Sea Angel was now about half of what it had been when I first started running away. I had been collecting data on its “Freeze” ability. So far, it had only used “Freeze” when I got within about ten meters of it. I was trying to figure out if that was its maximum range or if there were other factors involved. 

There was also the possibility that the Sea Angel didn’t use it from a distance because of the accelerated |Mana| consumption. My research wasn’t thorough yet, but for now, I assumed it couldn’t use “Freeze” at this distance.

“(Though, fighting at this range is still pretty tough.)”

Cutting the distance in half meant the time until impact was also halved. I had my [Projectile Prediction] skill, which gave me some leeway. But I’d already had a few close calls. On top of that, my attacks weren’t landing. So I had to change the situation somehow.

“(Maybe I should just charge in… No, wait, calm down. It’s not too late to try a few more things first.)”

I held myself back from relying on a reckless strategy. The “Freeze” ability consumed a lot of |Mana|. Even with the Sea Angel’s vast |Mana| reserves, it would probably run out after using it about thirty times. But it wasn’t stupid enough to keep using “Freeze” blindly like a one-trick pony.

It was still playing around for now. But if it really wanted to kill me, it would bombard me with “Freeze” up close while launching powerful attacks at the same time. 

Moreover, with the Sea Angel’s |Mana| recovery speed, even if I managed to deplete its |Mana|, it would recover quickly enough to make stalling ineffective. I needed a breakthrough.

“(For now, nothing will start unless I move! [Compact Shoot]! [Sparkle Pluto]!)”

I took advantage of an opening and fired in all directions. I didn’t forget to boost it with [Weapon Skills], but I didn’t enable the homing function just yet. 

I continued firing several more times, unleashing magic bullets from my entire body. And after the fifth volley, I was ready. The Sea Angel seemed to notice something, freezing for just a moment. And I took that opportunity to strike.

“([Heavy Shoot]! [Sparkle Pluto]! [Lock-On Aim]!)”

I fired my sixth barrage from all over my body. But this time, every single magic bullet headed straight for the Sea Angel.

The Sea Angel shattered two of its ice chunks into fine pieces and turned them into ice swords to block the magic bullets from the front. The remaining two ice chunks moved into the sky.

Just like with the White Weasel, the magic bullets I had previously fired were now falling from the sky with a delay.

The Sea Angel, being far more attuned to |Mana| detection than the weasel, noticed it earlier. But that actually helped me synchronize the timing with my “real attack.”

“(Just barely in time!)”

As I dodged the light bullets by moving sideways, I infused |Mana| into two different artifacts. While firing magic bullets, I had been secretly mimicking these items.

One was the scarlet wings. Just like before, I prepared three pairs—six wings in total. The other was something I mimicked only once. If I tried to use two of them, my |Mana| supply wouldn’t be able to keep up, so I focused on just one. It required a lot of |Mana|, so the scarlet wings were ready first.

“([Shoot]! [Lock On Aim]!)”

From the fiery red wings, I unleashed a barrage of condensed projectiles, as if shooting out a sunset. The Sea Angel seemed to realize I still had tricks up my sleeve and immediately activated a defensive [Skill].

“(Rara♪)”

Hexagonal ice crystals appeared. They were like the kind you’d see under a microscope in a science experiment. Three large crystals, big enough to cover the Sea Angel’s entire body, materialized.

The ice crystal shields blocked the crimson magic bullets, but they quickly cracked. It was probably due to the poor compatibility with heat-based attacks.

“Ruru?!”

The Sea Angel let out a surprised sound. At that moment, the delayed magic bullets I had set earlier began to rain down, distracting it with the manipulation of its ice swords. Its reaction was slightly delayed.

Even so, it managed to summon an additional three ice crystal shields. As expected of a Beast King.

The final ice crystal shield barely managed to block the crimson magic bullets. And then—

“(This is the real deal! Heat Ray Magic Eye, activate!)”

—A blinding white beam burned through the shields like tissue paper.

“Lulureaaa!”

The white light struck the center of the Sea Angel’s body, burning through its membrane-like skin. It let out a cry of agony, writhing to escape. Its sudden burst of speed was incredible, far faster than before. My aiming [Skill] couldn’t keep up with it, but the white light’s duration was almost over, so it didn’t matter.

“(Finally landed a hit… but this fight’s going to be a long one! [Lightning Strike]!)”

“Rururuuu…”

Riding the high of my earlier success, I unleashed a lightning strike. But of course, it was blocked by another ice crystal shield.

The way it used its defensive [Skill] without hesitation revealed a shift in its emotions. The overwhelming pressure coming from the “Polar King” had intensified even more.