Black Iron Magician

Chapter 426 Surprise Attack

Every time Touko steps forward to approach the hateful enemy, the blood on the floor splashed up to a height higher than her waist. No one is bleeding yet, but what she’s doing is dangerous. But more than that, Chinatsu was quite concerned that this blood-soaked field would work to their disadvantage.

They are going to fight against a vampire, where even the slightest cut could be fatal, in this blood-filled kitchen. This would lead to a situation where the room would be covered with an unspecified amount of blood, and it would be completely unpredictable where Riara’s ability would be activated from.

Also, if they fight in a closed space full of blood, their clothes will inevitably be smeared with blood. For Chinatsu, it would make it very difficult to see the injuries sustained by Haruna and Touko, so she would have to focus solely on healing. Even though Chinatsu has a wide field of vision and can develop multiple thoughts at the same time, she is now dealing with an enemy who is competing in the world of split seconds, not just minutes. She mustn’t be late in her recovery measures, and it could be seen that she’s extremely nervous.

「You two, wait there!」

「T-Touko!?」

Furthermore, Touko told the two not to enter the kitchen. Chinatsu frowned at Touko, who’s rushing alone in this situation where they should cooperate. Also, her stomach hurts.

「Hmm~? The one who understands the situation is only Honor Student-chan, huh~? She’s making a nice face~. Compared to that, the half-baked maid has a half-baked resistance to provocation. Hic!」

Riara further provoked Touko. It’s clearly her plan to further blow away Touko’s reason and make her get swallowed by her emotions to lure her into the kitchen.

(Oh no…!)

Chinatsu grimaced, but Touko surprisingly raised the corners of her mouth.

「Hah! Half-baked this half-baked that, you sure have the nerve to evaluate me like that! But the one you call the half-baked maid can completely use ki, you know!?」

「Hmm~?」

Touko suddenly stopped and stomped on the floor. At a closer look, she’s wearing her ki all around her body, and her clothes and shoes aren’t covered with a single drop of blood. Then, she concentrated her ki on her leg.

「Chinatsu, watch carefully and then match it!」

「Eh!?」

「Seeeiyaaa!」

Touko stomped the floor again with her right leg, which was clad in high-concentrated ki. Then, the blood that covered the entire floor of the kitchen, as well as the tables, chairs, and other various household goods, and even the corpses of the animals, were blown away to the walls of the kitchen. Yes, Touko blew everything away, and the floor is spotless as if it has just been cleaned that there’s not a single drop of blood on the floor.

「Ah….」

With such a shocking start to the battle, Chinatsu sensed Touko’s intentions. Then, she immediately took action.

「Reflect Fortress!」

Before the obstacles that have been pushed away could fall from the gravity, Chinatsu used a magic that could form a wall at will. All of the objects that Touko blasted into the wall are delicately placed as if they were a puzzle that fits together perfectly. Chinatsu’s Reflect Fortress sealed the walls of the kitchen without spilling a drop of blood.

「Heh, now we don’t have to worry about unnecessary things anymore!」

「That’s true, but I wish you told me beforehand…」

「If I said it beforehand, she would know what I was trying to do. That wouldn’t make me feel refreshed.」

「…Hic! Hmm~, you’re not bad. You’re unexpectedly thinking it through. Well, you keep saying ki this ki that like an idiot, though~」

「Say whatever you want. Now, I’ve done a rough cleaning, but the source of the filth still remains. I’ll make your blood run out right here!」

「There you go again. For me, I prefer Pony-chan rather than Half-baked-chan――wait, where is sheeEAAAH!?」

Riara’s provocation words changed into a scream. After all, Riara received a surprise attack and was blown away at a tremendous speed toward the wall that Chinatsu had just created. The impact as she crashed into the wall of light was big.

「「Ah…」」

「Alright, the surprise attack succeeded!」

While Chinatsu and Touko were taken aback, Haruna made a guts pose as if to say that everything went according to plan.

Yes, it was Haruna’s Doggan Staff that suddenly came right next to Riara. While Touko was cleaning the room with her ki and Chinatsu was coating the room with the walls of light, Haruna sneaked into the kitchen. It seems that she was preparing to attack when Riara and Touko were having a conversation.

「Haruna, you…」

「Eh, was it no good? The battle has already started, right?」

「You really do whatever you want if there’s no rule, huh…. Well, I have no right to say it as someone who launched a surprise attack on Lily-shishō, though.」

「Sigh…. Well, we’re indeed in a position where we can’t choose the means. We should follow Deris-san’s example here.」

The three of them once again turned their attention to Riara who was blown away. At the end of their lines of sight, Riara was sitting on the floor, unable to stand due to the surprise, and she was holding a chipped knife, which she took out of nowhere, in both hands. Perhaps she used the knife to defend herself at the last minute.

(――Wait, wait, wait! That really surprised me! H-How can that girl attack a drunkard without reading the mood!? It would have been dangerous if that pony girl didn’t smell good! Is she really lower than me!? The attack just now was really powerful, though!?)

Riara was completely sober from her drunkenness, perhaps because she was so surprised by the previous attack. There was no way she could understand Haruna’s 『Little Peerless』 at first sight, and it could be said that she was bewildered by the unidentified phenomenon. And then, the three people who would follow Deris’s example wouldn’t miss that chance, and they showered Riara with iron balls, ki bullets, and light spears. Of course, poison and other things were added to the attacks, making them into merciless attacks.

The walls, floor, and ceiling of the kitchen are also under the influence of Maria’s barrier, so they couldn’t be destroyed to make an escape path. Even if Riara is level 9, it still takes time to break them. Thus, her only option is to do something about the attacks――

「――Curly, swallow everything!」

Riara slashed her palm with the knife and she thrust her wounded hand forward.