The Villainess Who Was Dumped Got Married into My Family, a Mob Noble from the Frontier, and Turns Out, She's an Amazing Capable Wife? - Chapter 56: The Second Battle

Chapter 56: The Second Battle

The battle began suddenly. 

The first move was a fireball. 

“Gyahahaha.”

With a mocking laugh, he launched a massive fireball towards me.

It was the same as before, but the situation was different now. 

The fireball was so large it filled the cave passage, leaving no option but to retreat. 

I stepped forward again. 

From the tip of my sword, I constructed a barrier vertically, just big enough for one person, and punctured a hole through the gigantic fireball.

“Gyahah, thought so—”

“Hmm?”

I heard his voice from above.

Half of the face was still Jelasis, engulfed in flames but clinging to the cave’s ceiling. 

Jelasis had cleverly revealed only half of his face from Alicia’s direction, appearing like a normal fiery demon.

Jelasis, now half-faced, said,

“You choose not to fight alongside Alicia.”

“…Is that your real body this time?”

“Who knows?”

Surrounded by will-o’-the-wisps, fireballs circled Jelasis before shooting out.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM

I dodged numerous fireballs while creating barriers under my feet to leap forward. 

Jelasis, enveloped in flames, countered with a flaming dagger, and our weapons clashed with a harsh sound.

“You’re quite strong.”

“Of course.”

I had survived this harsh world with just a single barrier.

Though I could use other magics, everything was tied back to my barriers.

“But you look quite tired. How long can you keep this up? Gyahah!”

“Ugh.”

Jelasis taunted, transforming back into the demon made entirely of flames.

The flames emanating from his body were even more powerful than before.

“Gyahahahaha.”

The flames enveloping him expanded, turning the area into a sea of scorching heat.

The barrier could no longer fully block the immense magic power and heat, and I started to feel my skin burning.

“Hey, Jelasis—”

Despite the difficulty breathing, I took a deep breath.

I absorbed the heat and magic power through my lungs into my body. 

It felt hot, like my lungs were burning, painful, but not to an unbearable level.

“…?”

Noticing my condition, Jelasis tilted his head, puzzled.

“You think you can kill me just because I’m tired?”

I quickly changed the way I was forming barriers. 

I’ve gotten used to your magic, learned it. 

Now, I’ll limit my defense to just the magic power of the fiery demon in front of me. 

I’ll only block fire attributes.

Then, I stepped boldly into the sea of flames.

“…Why?”

Seeing me walk through the sea of heat with ease, Jelasis tilted his head, puzzled. 

He partly returned his face to normal and asked.

“I know the magic power you carry is minimal.”

“It’s enough to deal with you, even just the remnants.”

The idea is simple: by removing flexibility from the barrier I created, it becomes stronger. 

By simplifying what the barrier has to defend against, it uses less magic power.

Trying to defend against everything is too hard. 

But, if I narrow it down, the barrier can be much stronger.

I rebuilt it to only block Jelasis’s magic and fire. 

I call this optimization.

It lets other attacks through but absolutely blocks his magic and fire. 

It’s tough to tailor a barrier to someone else’s magic, but I’ve already done it three times.

My barrier is excellent at sensing. 

That’s why I learned all sorts of magic to use them decently. 

To understand and counter the magic power at the root of the magic I touched.

“Your scorching heat won’t work on me anymore.”

From here, why not make it a pure sword fight?

“That’s bluffing.” 

“You’re one to talk.”

It’s true I can’t turn my barrier into an attack, and it’s hard to set up an offensive barrier, so calling it bluffing is right.

But I won’t say that. 

What’s wrong with showing a bit of bravado in front of someone important? 

We’re students.

It’s a time when acting a bit tough seems fitting.

“What happened to your confidence? For someone possessed by a demon, is that all you’ve got?”

“Grr.”

As our swords clashed, Jelasis’s confident expression faded.

It makes sense: I had a long sword, and he had a short dagger. 

Usually, a more manageable weapon would let him use his fire powers better. 

He could wear down an opponent with heat and then deliver a fatal strike once their movements slowed. 

But against me, someone who ignores all magic, that advantage disappears, and the difference in our weapons’ reach means he’s the one being pushed back.

“You’re a virgin, aren’t you?”

Are you trying to throw me off with that nonsense?”

That’s something to be saved for the right moment. 

“I’m not some animal.”

Let me ask instead, which one of us is the monkey in heat?

You made some remark about kissing, looking all smug, didn’t you?

“Pity, your first kiss wasn’t with someone you liked.”

I stepped in and chopped off Jelasis’s arm.

Blood sprayed out this time. 

Too bad, I aimed for the neck but the flames he shot out from his arm threw off my aim.

“Who was your first kiss with? Patricia?”

“…”

Jelasis glared at me.

“Hit a nerve?”

That’s rough. 

She’s good at deceiving fools. 

So, Jelasis is a fool, too.

“What do you know?”

“Doesn’t matter. Even if you say something profound, it doesn’t change anything.” 

We’re enemies in this place, and you were the one who declared war on me, right?

“This time, cutting might just kill you.”

“I don’t know how you’re neutralizing my magic, but there’s a flaw in your barrier. You can’t use it to attack.”

“And?” 

“I have the advantage since I can still fight even with one arm lost.”

With that, Jelasis burst into flames like a rocket and started moving. 

“Gyahahahaha! See? You’re just a human.” 

Becoming a demon covered in scorching heat again, he compensated for his cut arm with flames, flying around the sea of heat and the cave walls without limit. 

“Wow, impressive.”

“Gyahah, die—!?”

Jelasis stopped in his tracks. Because our eyes met.

“In the forest, there were often those who tried something like that.”

They intended to disorient and attack from a blind spot, but if I knew they were coming from behind, it was no issue. 

In the forest, both enemy soldiers and monsters did similar attacks using trees.

Just place my sword in front of me, and they impale themselves on it. 

Projectiles are ineffective against me, so I don’t need to visually track them, just turn towards where I feel the strongest intent to kill. 

Since I’ve neutralized Jelasis’s flames, the situation is exactly the same. 

“Guh…ugh…guhah.” 

Jelasis coughed up blood, seeing the sword deeply embedded in his chest. 

But his eyes were still alive.

“Got you… now I can kill you… I told you, I have the upper hand…”

“Just die already.”

I twisted the sword, but Jelasis didn’t stop. 

Holding onto my arm so I couldn’t pull out the sword, he said, 

“Let the madness burn you, be consumed from the inside by flames of jealousy—” 

After those chant-like words, I felt something scorchingly hot rising from within.