Chapter 7: VS Carnaria Liberius ②

My lips were dry with tension, and I wet them with my tongue.

First, I’ll test the waters… and draw her into a shootout.

I paid close attention to Carnelia’s movements. She had to be sizing me up, just as I was her.

A quiet moment passed as we kept each other in check.

Then, suddenly, Carnelia ducked down for just a moment—and fired. The dry crack of a gunshot echoed across the training ground as a bullet flew toward me.

“Water, become a blade and pierce my foe—Aqua Lance!”

As I chanted, water appeared in the air, forming an arc before shooting forward.

It intersected with Carnelia’s bullet, and the resulting splash scattered, showering the white training ground in shimmering droplets.

“Not bad, Michelle. Just as I’d expect.”

Carnelia laughed, twirling her rifle and reloading it with ease.

“I excel at shootouts!”

In terms of mana, I have the upper hand. If I can drag this into a war of attrition, I’ll have the advantage.

“I shall press my advantage and finish you!”

Blades of water spun from my sword, cleaving the air as I launched them one after another. I circulated my mana without pause, weaving the next blade without a moment’s delay and unleashing them in a continuous stream.

Carnelia, now on the receiving end, was barely managing to parry them all, and a hint of desperation began to creep into her movements. A flicker of tension crossed her previously composed face. I didn’t miss it.

…I can do this. One more push and she’ll break.

My blades of water were endless. I kept the flow steady and remained on the offensive. If I could just drag this out into a battle of endurance, I could overwhelm her. That sense of certainty bloomed deep in my chest.

“Time to get serious. First Step—’Rapid Axel’!”

With that declaration, the flow of air around Carnelia visibly changed.

The bullet fired by Carnelia’s magic suddenly picked up speed in midair, accelerating until it was sharp and fast enough to seemingly rip the air apart.

“Kuh…! Seal of protection, manifest now—Protect!”

I chanted, my voice unable to hide its panic, and a transparent defensive barrier instantly deployed in front of me. The first accelerated bullet struck the barrier sharply, deflecting off with a ripple of pale light.

“For now, this should…”

The moment I muttered that, the countless magic bullets in my field of vision began to accelerate one after another with no warning. Their movements weren’t just straight lines; they changed trajectory, tracing slight curves, their movements controlled by a cunning magic that seemed to be searching for a gap in my defense.

“I take that back. …I’d better end this quickly, or I’m in trouble.”

I spit the words out with a click of my tongue and immediately began a new chant. But as I tried to fight back, the bullets’ speed increased even more, and the slightest predictive error caused my sorcery to miss.

And their trajectories bent as if they had a will of their own. A few minutes—no, maybe it was just tens of seconds.

I was so focused that my sense of time became a blur. But gradually, my chanting started to fall behind, and I had no time to even catch my breath.

As if being swept away by a current, the tide of battle slowly but surely turned against me. More and more bullets began to slip through my magical barrage.

The first, I barely deflected with my shield.

The second, I cut down with my saber.

For the third, my chant was too slow, and I barely dodged by twisting my body at the last second.

—This is… a bit much…!

A fourth bullet grazed my cheek like a gust of wind.

“What’s wrong? Where’d all that momentum go?”

“Oh, be quiet…!”

All the while, Carnelia shifted her position as if gliding, repeating her shots in a way that almost looked like a dance. My water sorcery was flexible, but it took a moment to deploy. In contrast, her reactions were fast, her movements refined and without waste. That difference was small, but it was steadily, surely, adding up.

“First Step—’Bullet Increase’.”

With those light words, Carnelia’s rifle roared to life again. The bullets that had been coming one at a time were now flying two, then three at once.

The magically enhanced rounds tore through the air, changing angles to assault me from the left and right simultaneously.

(…W-Wait a second… Isn’t this… bad?)

By the time my thoughts began to panic, it was too late.

“W-Wai—!”

My reaction was too slow, my sorcery’s deployment delayed—and in that instant.

CRACK!!

A powerful impact slammed into my forehead, and the world shook for a moment.

The scenery warped, and stars exploded in my vision.

“Whoa, are you okay?”

Carnelia rushed over in a panic.

I clutched my forehead and collapsed to my knees, pleading with teary eyes.

“Owww… That echoed in my skull…!”

Even if it was a training round, she showed no mercy. It just plain hurt. No, it really hurt.

“In any case, it’s my win.”

I kept my hand pressed to my forehead for a while, enduring the throbbing pain. In that time, an unpleasant question bubbled up through the gaps in my thoughts.

(…That’s strange. Just a little while ago, I was supposed to be the more skilled one.)

Carnelia used to be much sloppier. Her accuracy and her positioning were crude, and if I had just faced her head-on, I should have won. And yet, the girl she was now—she was strong, as if she were a completely different person.

(…When did the gap between us get so wide?)

I had always assumed my victory was a matter of course, but before I knew it, I had been left behind.

An icy chill spread through my chest. It felt like a crack was widening, and the position I had always believed to be so solid was beginning to crumble.