Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 244: Arc 4, Act II, - 89: The Encircling Gale
’Frost told me to keep people far apart when facing Gale. Here I am, making a plan to corral them in like chickens in a pen.’
"Move back!" Daiyu sprinted down the tents to the front, greatsword strapped securely to her back. She pressed down on the tiara upon her head.
Her fingers pushed certain parts of the metal and they folded and bent, converting the golden tiara of purple gems into a pale-gold circlet with amethysts encasing her forehead.
’But we don’t know Gale’s weaknesses, just that strength.’
Asobi ran to the left side, away from the encampment, but close enough to the circling winds that she had to keep her hat from flying away.
’So we play into it.’
Fumeko drew her dagger and blinked to the right side, crouching down behind the little inclines of rocks here and there, awaiting an opening.
’It’ll make Gale confident not to change their strategy.’
Arabella adjusted her own silver circlet and removed the feathers in her hair, placing it into a compartment in her armour while her and Jotou rushed forward.
’And it’ll only make it that much more frustrating to Gale if they lose thinking they had the advantage.’
Jotou searched in her run, able to swiftly pick up a loose rock into her hand. The Ashen Whisper and the Thundering Blade dashed into the wind.
The blonde unsheathed her blade and blocked her face. Arabella waved her hand in a circle, diverting all the sand in their vision to make room for them.
Winds of ear-splitting extents jetted past them, but fortunately, it was now only wind and not sand. The specks and grains could only obscure so much before the figure became clearer and clearer.
’Waiting on you psychopath-’
"Crr...ACk, TFFFF!!!" The earth rumbled, the sands bounced, the terrain cracked. "Stone Surge!" Daiyu stomped her foot down from one end in front of the encampment.
Connected pillars of stone emerged in long prisms, surging up to curve around the front of the encampment, creating a barrier of earth in nearly an instant.
The earth had surged to one side, as far as Daiyu could control it. She huffed a breath and stared ahead, needing to run to the other end and do the same to completely protect the soldiers.
However, something else took her gaze. Although she could barely see it, she recognized the yellow flash that struck through the whirling winds and into the bright blue sky...
"BLASSSSTTT!!!!" The thunder carved through the wind and sand towards the figure. Jotou spun the armite sword arcing with electricity and glared back up.
The whirlwinds fluctuated, like a ripple in a still pool of water for but a second. The gusts cleared in a narrow tunnel towards her and Arabella.
There, a figure finally emerged. Hands out, tannish skin and long silver hair fighting within the hood over their head. From their hood to their robes and shoes were sparkling patterns of silvers.
The face, unable to discern—an androgynous complexion. Clean-shaven, sharp-jawed, greenish glazed over eyes. He tipped his chin up, the windstorm continuing around them as he stood still, "You’re the Thundering Blade."
Was it a statement or a question? His face barely creased when he spoke, his shoulders never once shifted from their slumped position. He stared, morose in his gaze.
"Encircling Gale?" Jotou queried. Arabella kept her hand up, shifting any crumb of sand away from them.
"cRaCk! RUMBLE!!!" More pillars emerged from behind them, creating two walls to block entry.
"Hm. Clever, but pointless," Gale raised his head slightly. "Your doom is certain. I have been halted by walls stronger than metal," he faced Jotou; the wind seemed to carry his voice.
"Well, it depends on the metal really. Solid stones formed by magic in a slanted position at least a few metres thick could be stronger than like an iron door-"
"Stop with this insolence," Gale had no concern as he faced the blonde.
"What?" Jotou smirked and sparked her blade, "No excitement, no anger, no nothing? Come on, this might be your last day to be a walking body," her legs twitched.
He sighed and took a deep breath and every escaping breath released air in a whitish-green hue, forming back to the winds encircling his arms.
"Not a talker," Jotou readied her sword. Arabella unsheathed her sabre. "You’re not leaving here alive Gale!" Jotou rushed forward and the sandless winds picked up.
In crescent shapes the sand arose to Arabella’s command, attempting to swipe against the incoming wind only for them to be pushed back.
"BUFF!" A sphere of wind buffeted Jotou and Arabella back.
"Arabella! Be careful!" she had her sword to her eyes; the blonde strands flew back, her yellow headband was taken by the wind, her coat flapped and whipped at her own legs.
"Shoulder-Charge!" lighting surrounded her form and she slid forward, creating a break in the wind for Arabella to follow behind. The shield of electricity dissipated and the winds went back to dragging the heels of their feet through the sand.
Gale stood in place, his form obscured by the winds. With a wave of his hand, the circling winds picked up the sand from the sides and flung them into the wind’s momentum!
"CHfff!!" Arabella blasted the sand away with an arm out.
"Shoulder-Charge!" she slid forward more, forcing her way through, but a shorter distance than last time, each gust stronger the closer they got.
Their skins began caving inwards to the force and their feets could not find stable ground any longer. Soon, they would find gravity could not hold them down anymore.
With a slit-eyed stare Jotou faced the sand, picked up by the winds and almost flung into the air alongside her friend. "THUNDERING STRIKE!"
...The sparks fizzled from her spine, down her shoulder into her arm already in a swinging motion... Bit by bit like ants, the electricity swarmed up the metal of the blade.
Would the tip of the blade even reach? Her swipe so close... The sand shifted, her blade, struck the ground... and nothing. It was all in a moment of frozen time...
Nothing but the fizzle of fading lightning into the ground. The blonde waxed her eyes, thinking the spell failed but her affinity told her a different story.
"BLASSTTT-RUMBBBLLLEEE!!!!!!!" She directed the blast downwards and the earth cracked beneath the sand. The rocks all the way up the plateaus vibrated, Daiyu could feel her pillars shake.
What happened in there? Hotaru and Feyan in the middle of healing could feel the earthquake; they turned to each other with bubbled eyes and looked out the tent.
Fumeko blinked high and blinked back down to the shaking rocks and Asobi winced, holding onto the side of the chasm. Why did the wind start to die down?
The circling storms of sand fell like a rain of sparkling dust. "GAH!" Jotou fell onto her side with a groan. ’Thank hell my adventuring gear.’ She flopped to her back, her sword still in her grip.
Around her was a barrier of constantly shifting sand that dropped as soon as the quake ended which Arabella had risen up. She glared to Jotou on the ground and Jotou let out a chuckle.
A crater slowly filled up with the sand around it; no glass made from her lightning, but the impact of the thunder had caused enough of a force to send debris flying. Cracks formed from the edges of the crater, expanding outwards every second till it stopped.
The two peered to where the Encircling Gale was before, where now a shell made of compressed winds stood. ’That plan works too. Now for the next part.’
The gusts dissipated and the fallen elite soldier got back up on his feet. Well, more so flew back up. The whitish-green winds picked him up by his shoes and hands as he levitated in the air, just disappointment across his face.
Arabella shot the sand up from beneath his feet and flew two crescent blades of sand to his form. "BUFF!" Without a shift of his hands he puffed it away.
"Woosh!" Shadows warped and formed from above and a gleaming purple dagger struck forth. With an upwards whip of his left hand, the cyclones forming and surrounding his arm was thrusted in the direction.
"BAK!" thwacking Fumeko away. She blinked in the air and appeared back on the ground, disappearing again into shadow elsewhere.
Jotou got herself back up, raising her sword. Though what she could accomplish whilst Gale lifted himself into the air was anyone’s guess.
The sands stirred beneath him where he levitated and corkscrewed up, ensnaring his ankles to tethers of sand. With a huff and both her hands, Arabella pulled her arms down.
With it the sand slithered, anchoring his form from flying any higher. Winds brewed into twisters and for once his brows furrowed. In a mere scoff, the air-like blades slashed his constraints, freeing him.
No moment was given to react; Gale took to the skies with cyclones spinning around his limbs, two twisters spiralling up from the ground to his feet.
In white lights rivalling the Sun’s radiance, slinked a gigantic serpent in the air; it’s maw akin to that of a dragon, it’s long body scaled in whites and it snarled before, "ROAARR!!!"
The Encircling Gale took notice, shifting his winds right and left into the walls of the chasm. "CRASH!" "FWOOSH! Crumble..." It vacuumed the bits that broke off into the swirls of air.
The gusts whipped forward like extended limbs. "Swoosh." But it passed through like noting was there.
"HAHAHAHHA!" the laughter of the blonde swivelled Gale’s attention. "Here I was thinking the elites were some sort of threat! Can’t even tell an illusion!"
"...You dare?" emotionless his face remained and yet his winds whipped towards her in an unimpeded rage. Unable to control the larger bits of rock, Arabella leapt to one side—Jotou ran to the other.
Towards the levitating man she dashed; the tornadoes connecting him to the ground began to swirl and pulsate to chase her.
"Woosh!" The brunette appeared from above, blocking the light over his head. "BASH!" He did not turn as the winds effortlessly threw her back.
Fumeko blinked down to the ground, holding her side and batting an eye. "Ggh!" she saw the tornadoes beginning to pick up again. She took the thin ends of her scarf in each hand and pulled them forward.
In a flourish, the dark purples turned into a lighter shade and extended into a hoodless cloak around her entire form. She hid her hands within and sprinted away.
Meanwhile, the blonde could only outrun the winds for so long. However, this is exactly where she wanted to be, eyeing the man floating above.
Was it thick enough? Was it enough to make some sort of contact? With all the sand and rock churning within—highly likely. Those brown eyes glared up and her blade turned to the incoming hurricane.
Sparks spiralled in her irises and down her sword she had pulled back. She drew the blade from below into a curl upwards, "Thundering, Strike!"
The blade connected to the tempest and yellow light flashed across into the skies... The particles of silica went into a bright red, the various rock and debris broke into smaller crumbs...
She gave no regard and instead sent the shockwave upwards in the split-second. "BLASSTTTT!!!!"
