Black Iron Magician

Chapter 390 Things That Crawl Out

The things that crawled out of the gaps between the dragon scales were something viscous. There are more than 20 in sight, and the number is still increasing. Some are white, some are red, and some have a poisonous purple color. They may look like slime with an eerie shape, but if they look closely, they can see the difference in the details. Some are so big that they have to look up, and some are about as tall as a knee. The appearance of these indescribable objects, which blocked the way to their destination, the head, made Haruna and the others more cautious.

「Damn, something disgusting came out. Was he keeping these monsters under his body?」

「I think they are not monsters. In a sense, maybe they are Rimudo-san himself.」

「Haa!? They don’t look like dragons at all!」

「Even if they don’t look like dragons, they are probably Rimudo-san’s immune cells. There’s a possibility that they are parasites, but… they don’t look like that. It’s surprising that he could freely take out his cells from his body.」

「C-Cells?」

Hearing Chinatsu’s words, Touko stares at the unidentified enemies once more. Even in this storm, they are skillfully clinging to the ground in their own ways, showing no sign of being blown away. Some of them use sticky tentacles to cling to the ground. Even if they were cells, would they really be able to move like that? No matter how you think about it, each of them seems to have a will, and they are acting while thinking.

「Is there such a smart and big cell!? Cells are supposed to be small, right!?」

「In the first place, the parent body, Rimudo-san, is this big, you know? It’s no wonder even if the immune cells are as big as us, and it’s no wonder even if different races have different cells. Our cells are also working to eliminate foreign enemies such as viruses, and in this case, their work has extended to the outer layer of the skin, and we are the target. I am not an expert, so I can only say this, but it is certainly not something that can be measured by our common sense. Well, it doesn’t change the fact that they are enemies, so we’ll just have to beat them while moving. Now, let’s go! Go go go!」

「L-Let’s go! Damn it, I don’t care anymore! I will do it!」

‘Let’s go!’ Chinatsu gave the signal by showing the light letters in front of everyone. The continuous reasoning gave Touko no room for argument, so she has no choice but to follow Chinatsu’s lead.

「So, Commander Chinatsu! Do you have any advice on how to deal with these guys!?」

「Let’s see…. Judging from their unpleasant presence, I think it’s better not to touch them directly. They seem to have poison, or maybe they can melt you. If we see them as monsters, I think they are at least level 7. There are also many that seem to be level 8, so don’t let your guard down.」

「I see, it’s perfect for training! Also, there’s one more thing I want to ask!」

「What?」

「You see, we are clinging to the ground with our hands and feet. How are we going to fight…?」

「Ah….」

Yes, even if the battle started, the four of them are in the middle of super-difficult rock climbing. They are clinging to the rock surface so that they won’t fall from Rimudo, that’s why they can’t use their hands and feet to attack. If they try to do it without any plan, they will be caught in a strong wind at that moment and get blown away. After that, what awaits them is falling to the ground, or in short, death.

「Haruna can do it, though?」

「Ha?」

When Touko looked at Haruna, she saw Haruna standing on the dragon scales while carrying her Doggan Staff.

「Haaaa!? Why the hell is Haruna standing there!? She is going to fall!」

「She’ll be fine. Look at her feet.」

「Her feet!? …… H-Huh?」

Chinatsu pointed out at Haruna’s feet which are deeply stuck in the ground. The holes aren’t the same as earlier, which she made to hang her fingers and toes. She dug her feet into the ground as if they were bunker bolts and secured herself so that she would not be blown away by the wind. As a result, Haruna was able to stand up and she even took out her Doggan Staff from her pouch.

「Seriously?」

「Seriously. As expected of Haruna, to think that she stands on a moving roller coaster…. What a wonderful idea! It’s my dream and I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time, but Haruna beat me to it! She really understands it well!」

「I don’t care even if it’s your dream or anything, just don’t do it, okay? Don’t trust my ki too much, okay?」

「Eh…. N-No matter what? It will be fine with Touko’s ki, right? Come on, please become Gii-kun’s substitute.」

「I don’t understand what you’re saying damn it! It will be too unstable it’s just the soles of our feet! Even if you could stand up, you wouldn’t able to withstand the wind pressure! Your center of gravity would shake and you wouldn’t be able to fight! Only Haruna could do that! You mustn’t imitate her!」

「… F-Fufu. My dream has yet to come true, huh…. Then, I’ll compromise by crouching. If it’s like this, my knees will touch Touko’s back, and it’s still easy to keep my balance. I will deal with the enemies that Haruna missed, so you can just focus on climbing, Touko.」

‘Ah, she won’t compromise more than this’, Touko thought so.

「… If that’s what you will do, I will cooperate as much as I can. However, you have to stay calm, okay? If you can do that, I will become Gii-kun’s substitute or whatever!」

Touko concentrated her ki on her limbs and on her back which supports Chinatsu. Her posture has changed to that of a lion, and she’s no longer being overwhelmed by the excited Chinatsu. Now, she just believes in Chinatsu and does what she can. Touko, now free of unnecessary thoughts, has regained her wildness.

「We have a deal. Don’t worry, I won’t break my promise! Grearms!」

Chinatsu pulled out Iwatōshi from the scabbard and applied 『Grearms』, a level 1 Holy Magic, on its blade. This magic, like 『Death Scythe』 of the Abyss Magic and 『Vadarizates』 of the Blue Dragon Magic, has the effect of giving an attribute to the target. It doesn’t give a powerful slashing effect, but it gives a super-fast regeneration to the target. As a result, Iwatōshi will revive no matter how many times the blade breaks. Iwatōshi has an unparalleled sharpness from the beginning, so this effect is more compatible than the powerful slashing effect.

Haruna in the front also has finished applying Death Scythe on her Doggan Staff, and Hund is ready to support everyone in various ways as a catcher. All that remains is to intercept the immune cells of Rimudo.

「HERE I GO DAMN IIIIIIIIIIIT!」

A shout from the bottom of the heart was raised and it became the signal to start the battle.