Summoned Strength

The concrete cracked and folded under the strength of the swing. It seemed to be a polite greeting, but also a sign of intent. Not that summoning a military-grade spirit wasn’t already doing that. But just a single strike was enough to break the floor. This was a far greater escalation of threat than Miho counted on. And worse, nothing she possessed could compare to that. With her limiters in place, she would have to be creative.

“You’re bold or an idiot to come back,” a deep voice said from behind a wall. Miho didn’t know who they were, but they addressed her with familiarity. It left her with only one guess.

She crossed over the damaged floor, trying to get closer to the voice while distancing from the elemental. “The summoner of Cu Sith. Ye like playin’ in the shadows.”

“My job’s to kill pests, not pour tea.” There were still no signs of the man it belonged to. She scanned around, but they clearly wanted to keep out of sight. Which begged the question of why he even announced himself. Perhaps that she survived pissed him off, and this was a point of pride. She could only be grateful for a source.

Miho thought through the tattoo spells she had. There had to be one that she could use. The problem of metal elementals was the difficulty in their creation, more than the pact. Metal was one of the core magical elements, but unlike the others, it possessed a natural magic resistance, making manipulation of it a strain. Mana would refuse to flow through naturally, taking its own paths. It acted like it had a will of its own. Added to a spirit’s will, control broke down more than succeeded.

If she could use that weakness, she might have a chance with the summon. But her spells didn’t line well with that strategy. She needed another option. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the elemental shooting out a rod from one of its limbs.

She was already moving; otherwise, it would have pierced her chest. It still cut through her sleeve as the chunk of metal penetrated a half meter deep into solid concrete. “Dammit…” Miho pulled off her ruined suit jacket. Hints of blood soaked into her shirt from where minor cuts caught her.

Clapping her hands together, Miho focused on her spell. Her left arm still stung from the rough treatment, but she pushed through. “Blazing Lord of the Mountain descend from the heavens to strike low those who don’t prostrate before ye!” Once again, the gorilla spirit took form before her. While it managed well enough against Cu Sith, she didn’t see much success with the elemental. She was using a middle-grade spirit; the difference was too great.

It would just be a distraction at best, but having something else on the field would help. She sent her beast out after the elemental. With all of its limbs, it was creating a storm of strikes, quaking the ground. The only advantage was that the gorilla was far smaller and more agile, but even one strike might be enough to shatter it.

While they fought, she concentrated again on her catalysts. Strain stressed her body as she called upon two active spells. And she knew that it would only get worse for her. She needed to commit fully. This was a foe that she couldn’t hold back against.

Pushing mana through the catalyst, the tattoo lit in blue as she opened her hand. “Celestial Moon Tear, Yamaguchiya!” Cracks in the air formed, creating a tear that revealed a crescent shaped moon surrounded in a beautiful sea of stars and nebulas. Beamed from the heavenly body, a crystalline shard rapidly expanded out into an azure spear.

Yamaguchiya was her strongest weapon permitted, though still definitely weaker in grade than the elemental. But it possessed the property to sever mana, something that could battle an elemental, a being of pure mana form.

Sparing one of its many limbs, the elemental forged its liquid metal into a lattice sword, swinging it down at Miho. “This’ll be a good enough test…” Using the spear, she plunged the head into the concrete a couple of centimeters and braced the rest of the weapon overhead, letting the massive sword slide off the shaft.

Once spared, she pulled Yamaguchiya free and spun it around. With a swift arc, she cut down on the blade of the elemental’s weapon. Sparks of resistance flared up at impact. She groaned, fighting with her strength to push through. There was a slight give, and then sharply the spear sliced through. The liquid metal crashed to the floor, starting to flatten out before fading into mana particles.

It took more than she thought, but it worked. When a lower grade clashed with a higher grade, the superior would win out. Even with her spell’s aspect, that strength could be canceled out by the higher tier. Her weapon wouldn’t be the immediate advantage, but it rebalanced the scales.

She jumped back as several more strikes came in from other limbs. The lack of a well-defined frame and multiple limbs gave it more flexibility to strike with fewer obstructions. Miho lacked Yori’s mobility, finding strikes cutting into her arms. Blood soaked deeper into her sleeves. ‘It’s not deep, but I can’t keep this up…’

Her mana beast jumped into the air, climbing onto the elemental. Though the changing shape prevented it from getting a solid foothold. It grappled and tore at the endless loops of metal, seeking lasting damage. But its form remolded with ease. Only what she cut away seemed not to have been restored.

It did at least give enough of a distraction that she finished her other spell. At her feet, a small pool of water formed. She left it behind as she followed up with the gorilla to make any sort of meaningful strikes against the entity.

Miho had battled many magical beasts on the Mado side of different scales. It wasn’t the largest she faced, but it possessed a versatility and flexibility all others lacked. Even breaking through its defense proved challenging.

Trying to form crescent magic attacks with her spear for range turned out to be useless. Nothing but her blade had enough strength to best its magic resistance. And the spear couldn’t change shape or length. She needed to risk getting closer.

The elemental threw off her beast and sent a dozen rods from its body jutting out to gore it. Most didn’t land, but two ran through the arm and body of the gorilla. It pinned the creature down as Miho attempted to close in. She parried and blocked blow after blow from the spirit until it finished the newly forged weapon. Like a scythe, it came around her defense before Miho could react. The sharpened edge of the liquid went straight through her waist, cutting deep.

Biting through the pain as blood gushed out, she grabbed for a hold on its weapon and swung out with her spear. She lacked the same strength of two hands, but screamed, trying to channel mana into the arm for enhancement. In a swift swing, she cut through the whole limb, tearing away the weapon from the elemental.

Panting, she really started to feel the heat and sweat from the fight growing. But in her moment, trying to enjoy the minor success, dozens of rods flew at her. Blood sprayed in the air as the force was enough to throw her back with the metal. It pinned her down at the shoulder and leg with numerous heavier gashes and cuts from close calls. “Shit…”

She looked up, seeing it preparing another weapon with the intent to finish. Miho gritted her teeth, trying to look for a way out. But the water pool appeared next to her once more. Her eyes darted over to see that her plan finally panned out.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her lightning spell. Pressing her one free hand into the pool, lightning charged the water. Out of the pool jumped a colorful koi and dove back in. Across the room, the connecting pool released the fish as the gathered lightning discharged upon the discovered summoner. Pained groans came from a distance as they collapsed with their pact broken.

Quickly, the elemental began to break down into particles, releasing Miho from its hold. She sighed heavily, as the battle was barely won. Her whole body was wrecked, and there were still other sorcerers out there. “Please, Yori…”