#35: The One Who Rules The Four Elements—First Gate, Opened (Part Two) — Only I Can Choose as Many S-Class Rare Items and Broken Skills as I Want With the Awakened [Schrödinger's Cat]!

At the same time the inorganic woman’s voice ended, a compressed bundle of words was rapidly spat out from Misha’s mouth. They were whispers, so I could not understand what she was saying.

Between the words, Misha struck the ground with the tip of her staff in a steady rhythm, as if placing periods. As if reacting to that, the glow of the magic circle pulsed.

The woman’s voice was heard again.

“99% until completion of activation sequence.”

…I see. Apparently, 0% was the goal.

That was easy to understand, which was nice.

“Let’s go, Nyankoromochi. We absolutely defend her!”

“Nyan!”

…I’ve been giving instructions on momentum for a while now, but does she understand me…?

We clashed with the four wolves.

Four monsters against two frontliners was honestly rough, but—

I could not afford to complain.

We must not let them interfere with Misha.

I did not know what kind of thing the skill “One Who Rules the Four Elements” was.

But surely, it had enough power to turn this situation around. Otherwise, the thoughtful Misha would not tell me to overdo it.

If Misha said it—

Then it had that much value.

“80% until completion of activation sequence.”

The countdown progressed.

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!”

Nyankoromochi and I held the front line.

Slash!

I cut one down—three left!

But then—

“Guoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!”

The goat head roared again.

The fourth pair of wolves.

“Ha ha ha… This is rough…!”

There were five left.

One slipped past our shaken flanks and attacked Misha.

“Don’t do whatever you want!”

I attacked the wolf with Heavy Strike Lv3 as I turned around.

“Gogah!?”

As expected, it did not die, but the attack from the side threw the wolf off balance, cutting off its charge toward Misha.

“50% until completion of activation sequence.”

Stepping in further, I swung my sword down at the wolf and finished it off.

Four left!

But at that point, the goat head summoned new wolves yet again.

That made six—

My heart nearly broke, but I shook my head. I must not give up. Misha would surely reverse the entire situation.

I fought while believing in Misha.

Just as Misha believed in me.

Nyankoromochi and I challenged a force three times our number. Was it a mercy that the goat head could not move because it was summoning?

“25% until completion of activation sequence.”

The percentage decreased moment by moment.

Even so, I could not help thinking it.

Not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet—!

Wounds had already been carved all over my body. Fangs, claws, and body slams came at us with three times the number of moves. Damage piled up.

“As if I’ll let you!”

My slash cut down one wolf.

But that was only a desperate resistance.

We were already at our limit.

Of course, my heart had not broken. I had not given up. Probably Nyankoromochi had not either.

We absolutely would not let them pass behind us. We had more than enough spirit for that.

But even so, impossible things were impossible.

It was not an amount two mere frontliners could hold down. If fighting spirit alone could overturn a battle situation, there would be no losers in the world.

The difference in numbers was not so light—

That it could be overturned by such talk of guts.

Our thin embankment burst. The wolves tried to run past behind me. Aiming for the frail mage there.

“5% until completion of activation sequence.”

Even so—

“As if I’ll let you go!”

I roared.

I could no longer maintain my sword range. My body. I had no choice but to stop them with my body!

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!”

I slammed my body into a wolf. I grabbed another wolf and stopped its movement. It was a chaotic melee. I did not care if they bit me or scratched me!

Put up with me, you bastards!

Nyankoromochi was desperately holding off two wolves as well.

Not yet.

We were still standing firm. It was truly, truly down to the wire now, but we could still be Misha’s shield.

As if to shatter that effort of ours, an angry roar echoed.

“Guoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!”

It was the goat head’s voice.

Immediately, two more wolves were added.

Seven in total.

That was already—the final decisive push.

But I would not give up.

“Ha ha ha… We’ve just got to do it…”

As if I would break.

It was then.

“Thank you, Ios, Nyankoromochi. It’s all right now.”

As if overlapping the end of Misha’s voice—

A voice of salvation, like a gospel, reached our ears.

“Activation sequence complete—release of One Who Rules the Four Elements Lv1 approved.”

At the same time, with a bagin! sound like glass shattering, one-fifth of the outer circumference of the magic circle shining underfoot cracked.

The shattered particles of light floated softly into the air—

Then flowed and wrapped around Misha’s staff. The staff was enveloped in light—and to me, it looked just like a long, slender cannon.

Misha held it with both hands and readied it horizontally around her waist.

“Heavenly Treasure Staff—Blaster Mode!”

Kiiiiiiiiiiiin—

An unpleasant sound reached my ears. Particles of light converged at the tip of Misha’s staff.

“Ios, don’t move, okay?”

And then, Misha continued.

“Go!”

Goun!

An arrow of light was fired.

Without even time to scream, the wolf pinning me down was blown backward with incredible force. After the wolf slammed into the wall, it stopped moving entirely and vanished into dust.

Perhaps startled by the sheer power, the other wolves hurriedly backed away.

“Ha-haaan. That’s a bad move, meow.”

Misha’s staff spat out arrows of light one after another and blew the wolves away. They either died in one shot—or, even if they did not die, they were left staggering.

What power.

In an instant, the situation reversed.

“Misha, is that the ‘One Who Rules the Four Elements’!?”

“That’s right! But—sorry, with my ability, I can’t maintain it for long! Do it now!”

“Of course! Let’s go, Nyankoromochi!”

“Nyan!”

We ran toward the goat head.

On the way—

One of the wolves Misha had blown away earlier blocked our path. It was the one that had bitten me over and over earlier.

The wolf attacked me.

As I passed by it—

Heavy Strike Lv3!