Water Magician-Chapter 650 : Breaking Through the Front
Chapter 0650 Breaking Through the Front
Translator: Jay_Forestieri
Editor: Tseirp
“Marie... who is that?”
Abel plainly didn’t remember.
“Marie Cloche. You know, the Phantomkin who attacked the Imperial Palace during the reception.”
“Oh...”
Abel seemed to recall.
“She was a fire-attribute magician, right?”
“Yes. She certainly uses fire magic, but...”
“Does she also do close combat?”
“Abel, you had the same impression?”
“Somehow, yeah. Ryo, did you think that too?”
“Somehow—her footwork gave me that impression.”
“Footwork, I see.”
Abel nodded repeatedly at Ryo’s observation.
Abel knew Ryo’s powers of observation were sharp in moments like that.
“She’s quite a troublesome opponent.”
“Troublesome indeed. A Phantomkin who uses magic on the level of an Akuma like Leonor, and also handles close combat. Abel, I’ll take Marie-san.”
“Understood. So I secure and protect the Emperor and escape, right?”
“Please.”
The two of them went down the hill and arrived in front of the ‘Summer Villa’.
“<Water Jet 8>.”
The villa gate was sliced by lines of water.
They stormed in from the front.
“Marie Cloche! We’ve come to take back His Majesty the Emperor!”
Ryo’s kendo-honed voice rang out, resonant and commanding.
Of course the Phantomkin, surrounded them... but—
“<Icicle Lance Shower ‘Fan’>.”
Ice spears fanned out and pierced the throats of the ‘vessels’ with deadly precision.
The moment they were pierced, every one of the ‘vessels’ vanished.
Seeing that, the other Phantomkin could not move.
The robed and mantled men who had attacked were extraordinary beings, and it was instantly clear even to the Phantomkin—who overwhelmingly surpass humans—that they could not win.
So they merely encircled at a distance; no one stepped forward.
After a short time, the front door opened and a woman came out.
Ryo remembered her: Marie Cloche.
“Ah, finally you’ve come to rescue him. You’re late... huh? A robe? Have we met somewhere?”
“You defended against our attack when we raided the Imperial Palace.”
“Oh—yes, I remember! Dynamic Steam Mine, right?”
“Uh... yes, I used that magic too.”
Marie Cloche nodded broadly; Ryo tilted his head.
He had indeed unleashed the <Dynamic Steam Mine II> spell back then, but how did she recall that?
“Yes, you came to rescue Emperor Darwei, right? He’s sleeping in that bedroom over there.”
“Sleeping?”
“He gave a blood donation a little while ago. I think it’s better not to move him for a while.”
“Blood donation?”
Ryo was surprised to hear that familiar phrase.
Come to think of it, Twilight Land had such a system.
Collecting human blood via a donation system for use by vampires...
Could it be that Phantomkin, like vampires, needed human blood?
“Do Phantomkin also need human blood like vampires?”
Ryo asked frankly.
“Huh? No, that’s not it. The reason Emperor Darwei’s blood is needed is by order of the Leader. It seems necessary to open some ‘Corridor’. I don’t really know the details.”
Marie shrugged.
From the way she said it, it didn’t seem to be a job she liked.
“We can’t disobey the Leader’s orders, you see. Ah, we’re taking care of the Emperor’s condition properly. The blood donations are spaced out, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“O—okay...”
At that, Ryo had a sudden flash.
It seemed unrelated at first... but perhaps the phrase “We can’t disobey the Leader’s orders” had stuck with him.
“By any chance, is that Leader the Phantom King?”
When Ryo said that, Marie’s eyes opened wide.
Literally round with surprise...
“How do you know that word?”
But the question was asked in a low, almost hushed voice.
“Because he said it.”
“Huh?”
“A Phantomkin acquaintance of mine had their body taken over by the Phantom King. I fought them, and the Phantom King himself said those words.”
“That idiot Leader... if that’s what happened, you should say so properly! He always wants to look good, like he never fails. That kind of image crumbles quick!”
Marie cursed and ranted on about the Phantom King.
Ryo was silent, saying nothing.
After venting, Marie glanced at Abel as if remembering something.
“Oh, by the way, you can go to Emperor Darwei’s bedroom. And you—yes, you the swordsman— were in the Imperial Palace too, weren’t you? You sliced up a Shadow Stalker.”
“Yeah, I was.”
“But the one who will fight me is the magician over there, right?”
Marie said, smiling faintly at Ryo.
“Do we really have to fight?”
“Yes, of course. Personally, I don’t mind you taking Emperor Darwei back, but if he’s taken back without me doing anything, the Leader will be angry. And...”
Marie’s smile shifted, just a little.
What had been an easy laugh turned into something with a hint of ferocity.
“You’re strong, aren’t you? I like fighting strong people.”
“Oh... a battle maniac...”
“Yes, I won’t deny it.”
Ryo looked up at the sky and sighed.
Why was he always in situations like this?
“I’m a pacifist, you know.”
“Liar.”
“Huh?”
“You’re smiling too.”
“That’s impossible!”
Ryo did not realize... he was smiling faintly.
“A person who truly loves peace wouldn’t move their feet like that.”
“Eh...”
“So you can do close combat as well as magic?”
“You too, Marie?”
There, two battle maniacs faced each other.
Abel went to the bedroom Ryo had been told of and confirmed Emperor Tuin was lying there.
He checked the pulse and understood there was no problem.
Then he opened the window on the courtyard side where the two were facing.
“The Emperor is fine.”
He informed Ryo.
Ryo nodded at that.
“Now then, shall we fight with no reservations?”
“Yes. No problem.”
The two of them laughed.
But that smile... was the smile of those about to throw themselves into battle.
“Let me introduce myself properly. I am Seven-Star General Marie Cloche.”
“Ryo Mihara, Duke of Rondo of the Knightley Kingdom.”
“Nice! Knightley!”
“Huh?”
“That’s cool.”
“Right! Compared to that...”
“Yeah... why am I stuck with Choouchi...”
Marie lamented.
Then, as if remembering something, she lifted her head.
“You’re a water-attribute magician, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then you’re Henoheno Moheji.”
“Huh?” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Ryo was surprised by the sudden accusation.
He did recall using that alias... but he had just given his real name.
“You called yourself Henoheno Moheji to Garibech and Yun Chen, didn’t you?”
“Why...”
“That kind of obvious alias is no good.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s like telling everyone you’re a reincarnator.”
“...Excuse me?”
Ryo failed to grasp what he’d just heard.
What exactly had the woman in front of him just said?
“...Did you say ‘reincarnator’?”
“Yes, I said it. Ryo, you’re a reincarnator, aren’t you?”
“That means...”
“Yes, I’m a reincarnator too.”
Ryo realized she was the third reincarnator he’d recognized.
“The first thing that made me think so was Dynamic Steam Mine. Mines—don’t you hate mines? And steam? Water vapor? Right, that magic turns the moisture in the air into mine-like traps. It was the spell name more than the spell itself that gave me the feel of a reincarnator.”
“B-but...”
“Also, it doesn’t have to be a spell you made. The namer might not be you.”
“Right.”
“But I got certain earlier. Ryo Mihara... black hair... you look Japanese through and through.”
“That much...”
Ryo had no comeback to Marie’s observation.
Since she was only pointing out facts, there was nothing to argue.
“Oh, and I’m Japanese too.”
“But your hair is green...”
Marie let her long hair, a deep green, fall down; she was a beautiful woman with large black eyes.
Green hair, of all things.
“Oh, that’s a choice you can make when you ‘incarnate’. I tried green this time—stands out, doesn’t it?”
“It certainly does... Wait, ‘incarnate’?”
An unsettling word had come up.
“Yeah... we call it incarnation. Basically, after a Phantomkin’s body is destroyed, the soul wanders this world.”
“What...?”
“And when a ‘mass’ suitable for the soul to enter is found, the soul goes into it and becomes a Phantomkin.”
“Umm... the people who are ‘vessels’...?”
“They were made as ‘vessels’, so they remain vessels forever. A soul never enters them; they’re dolls.”
Phantomkins were complicated, it seemed.
“Now then, shall we get on with the fight?”
“So we’re really fighting?”
“Of course. If I let you take Emperor Darwei away without fighting, that would be terrible. Even if that wasn’t the case, I wanted to fight you, Ryo.”
“It can’t be helped.”
At that moment, Ryo finally noticed the sword Marie held in her left hand.
It was sheathed, but thin and curved...
“A katana?”
“Yes. It just feels right.”
Marie smiled and drew the sheath.
“You didn’t have this when you attacked the Imperial Palace the other day, did you?”
“You remembered well—it broke just before that... The smith was furious, but he forged a new one like this for me.”
Marie showed it off.
“Oh... it’s beautiful.”
“Isn’t it?”
Ryo complimented it and Marie nodded.
“What’s your weapon, Ryo?”
“This.”
Ryo said, drew Murasame, and manifested the blade.
“Ice blade!”
“It’s called Murasame.”
Ryo looked pleased.
“When drawn, jewels scatter... something like the Nanso Satomi Hakkenden.”
“Exactly! ”
Marie nodded and Ryo nodded back.
“Nice! I’ll match my Kotetsu against you!”
“Oh! Then, let’s go!”
And so the curtain rose on their fight.
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