Episode 44: “Fiine’s Unique Magic”
(It’s always me, it’s always just me… but there’s no use dwelling on that.)
Going to the front line hadn’t been something she resented.
Soldiers capable of magic were most useful there, and she’d trained her whole life precisely for this.
But in truth, very few people actually shared Fiine’s way of thinking.
Aside from a handful of genuinely brave soldiers, the Magic Corps on the front line was made up almost entirely of commoners — those who hadn’t been permitted the option of rear support.
The vast majority of nobles, despite holding high rank, were fleeing combat entirely.
Fight and risk your life for the sake of the people. Whatever ideal the Magic Corps was supposed to stand for had clearly, visibly, collapsed.
The fire surt drew closer. Hot wind stirred through Fiine’s hair.
(I’m already pretty much at my limit too…)
She’d been endlessly generating earthen golems while simultaneously fighting off enemies with other spells.
She’d been repeating that, without pause, since last night.
No food, no water, her body at its absolute limit. What she really wanted, more than anything, was to collapse into a cot in one of the tents right now.
(But Yuria’s still out there, still pushing herself.)
She’d said she wanted to save as many people as she possibly could.
If there are lives that are certain to be saved because I carry them, then I want to keep going as far as I can — that’s what she’d said.
Even with the whole system rotten at its core, the soldiers actually fighting on the front line were still doing everything they had.
If that was true, then Fiine couldn’t afford to give up either.
“…Guess I have no choice but to use my unique magic too.”
She drew in a deep breath.
She’d rather not have resorted to this method if she could help it. But there was no other option left.
Self Marionette.
Fiine’s unique magic.
It let her treat her own body as a puppet under her control, operating it semi-automatically through magic.
By doing so, she could move far beyond her own physical limits.
In other words, it was a form of magic built entirely around close-quarters combat.
She bit into her right index finger and, using the blood, traced a magic circle onto the back of her left hand.
Wrapped in a dazzling burst of seven-colored light, Fiine’s body lifted gently into the air.
The sensation of using Self Marionette was distinctly different from anything else.
It felt as though she were watching herself from somewhere far away.
She kicked off the ground and flew straight at the fire surt.
Leapt wasn’t quite the right word for it — flew was closer to the truth, given how far the jump carried her.
The single greatest advantage of this state in close combat was that it let her skip the time normally needed to trace a fresh magic circle.
Through Self Marionette, Fiine’s own body had become, in effect, a magic tool in its own right. No new circle was needed.
Fiine’s ice-wrapped fist drove straight into the fire surt’s eye.
As it let out a great scream, she followed with an equally ice-wrapped kick straight to its head.
Having turned herself, in effect, into a weapon of pure ice, Fiine brought the fire surt down in almost no time at all.
“Fellner! Next one!!”
But the fighting didn’t stop. Monster after monster kept appearing; soldier after soldier kept falling.
(I can still do this. So I have to.)
Driven by that sense of duty, Fiine kicked off the ground once more.
*
Her hands and feet wouldn’t move, not even a single step.
Fiine’s body had finally reached its absolute limit.
But the fighting still didn’t stop. A horde of monsters spread out before her, endless.
(—No, I can’t… not anymore, I…)
In the next instant, Fiine’s consciousness went completely dark.