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 96: Sage Festival ―It's Your Win

Chapter 96: Sage Festival ―It’s Your Win

Even when the heart was pierced, it kept moving stubbornly, like a true monster. 

However, the magical essence that fills the world is equal for everyone. 

Humans, too, absorb this essence from birth and live by it. 

That’s how they’ve survived and thrived until now.

“Ugh—”

I spat out the blood that had pooled in my mouth. 

Even though I was tough, I couldn’t do anything about the blood I had lost.

I should avoid a long fight.

After all, Edward showed his all-out effort.

“Now, it’s my turn.”

I’ll show Edward everything I’ve got, too.

“No, not yet!”

Edward stood up quickly and moved his arms as I approached. 

“It’s still my turn!”

A multitude of water droplets, about a hundred in total, were produced from his blood-soaked hands. 

They were more like soap bubbles, with compressed wind magic swirling inside. 

If touched, they would burst, releasing a violent wind. 

Even without touching, they would collide, mix, and unleash a chain reaction of gales. 

It was a spell that combined the flashbang shown earlier and all four elemental magics learned at the academy.

“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to manipulate the air’s composition?”

He knows I could block all magical attacks.

[It’s so bright, and the noise is overwhelming!— Oh, Ragna is walking through this immense magic field, with a sword in hand, as if nothing is happening!]

Amidst the loud explosions, flashes, and gales, I calmly took one step after another towards Edward.

“Has it already been reconstructed?”

“Yes.”

My barrier had already adapted to Edward’s magic. 

The noise and flashes beyond the acceptable range had been optimized. 

No matter how loud the explosions or how bright the light, only a manageable level passed through the barrier.

Maintaining it was tedious, but it was more troublesome than any magic. 

Either way, Edward was now rendered powerless.

“With the barrier restructured, if I’m confined within it like on that new moon night, I’m practically powerless, right?”

“That’s right.”

I expanded the barrier into a cube, enclosing Edward. 

It absorbed all the magic within, making the magical soap bubbles he created vanish.

“But you’ve probably thought of a way to escape, right?”

The fact that he could still talk meant he wasn’t giving up.

His eyes, filled with determination, told me he still had something up his sleeve.

“You saw through it, huh?” 

Edward said, breathing heavily.

“But… this is truly the end.”

He was more exhausted than I thought, probably due to the heavy strain from the soap bubble magic earlier.

“This is the end. Turning your body into air to escape won’t work, you know?”

I had mastered this magic that created a space of magical power, like a mental realm, to prevent demons from escaping.

“There’s no way I can do that!”

Though it seemed like he could, it was still difficult unless he sold his soul to a demon. 

But Edward simply laughed.

“Of course, I’d have a countermeasure for any magic I’ve seen. There’s only one countermeasure against your magic…”

“—An attack from outside the barrier, huh?”

I finished his sentence, causing him to momentarily look flustered before bursting into laughter.

“Haha! Hahaha! You really do see through everything I think!”

“Not having a countermeasure would be foolish.”

“With your barrier, you wouldn’t need to think about such things, right?”

“No, I thought about it because it’s you.”

To be accurate, it’s more like I was forced to reconstruct it. 

If the last resort was a non-magical attack, I would be a sitting duck with my barrier fully concentrated on Edward’s magic.

The initial flash wasn’t magical, so it was calculated to affect me enough.

“What are you planning, Edward?”

I could have easily ended it by cutting off his head, but for some reason, I asked instead.

I was curious about what he was going to do. 

It excited me. 

I wanted to keep fighting.

“It took some time, but everything is ready now. As long as I can’t do anything within your magical barrier, you won’t reconstruct it. So… this will work!”

[Everyone, look up! What’s happening? A black cloud, a thundercloud, has appeared above the coliseum!]

Edward’s words were followed by the host’s voice.

“I see, a lightning strike.”

“It starts as magic, but the phenomenon itself isn’t magic. So it will reach you.”

I thought he was needlessly exhausted, but it turns out he had been secretly creating this thundercloud from the start. 

I can’t even understand how he managed to do this.

“Lightning needs a path to strike, and I’ve made one through my previous actions.”

“You’re a genius.”

“If I’m a genius, then what are you? Even if I, a genius, have done all this and pierced your heart, you haven’t even flinched. What are you?”

Well, what am I?

“I’m a Brave.”

That’s all I could say.

“Haha, a lineage that has fought since before the founding of the nation speaks differently. But no matter how good your reflexes are with physical enhancement, you can’t beat the speed of light—you can’t dodge this lightning!”

With Edward’s shout, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky.

However, no sound followed, no matter how long we waited.

[W-What!? Something like an invisible titan is grabbing the lightning!? It’s grabbing the lightning! An invisible titan!]

“…Hah, to think it would come to this.”

Hearing the excited voice of the host, Edward fell to his knees, his voice resigned.

“It’s a secret technique I’ve never shown anyone.”

The titan was actually a greatly expanded version of the barrier I wore.

I wanted to beat Onyx so badly that I came up with this fighting style, thinking if I had a titan body like a dragon, I could win. 

It’s not cost-effective and can only last about five minutes, but in this case, after canceling the barrier and fully redeploying it, it would only last about twenty seconds, which was enough.

“Grabbing lightning like that… I can’t win against such a technique.”

“That’s just a side effect.”

By maximizing output, the barrier also wrapped around whatever it touched.

It’s a sign of lack of control, but it worked for defense.

By transforming into a titan at the last moment and grabbing the thundercloud, I managed to stabilize the lightning just in time.

“Well, given the current situation, it’s a convenient weapon.”

“It’s truly the wrath of God. Though my lineage deserves punishment, I will bear it all. Do it, Brave.”

“There’s no such wrath. But let me tell you one thing. Giving your all against a single opponent is an honor in the Brave family.”

“Hahaha, this match—it’s your win.”

As Edward laughed, I mercilessly brought down the spear made of lightning.

Go with pride, Edward. 

The lightning, charged with intense energy, struck Edward along with the barrier, leaving not even a shadow behind.

―That was fun. We’ll never fight again, though.

At the same time, 

The barrier surrounding the royal capital vanished.