“My big brother seems weird. He just keeps getting attacked…”
“Could that be how strong the weakening effect is…?”
Replied Sakura.
Meanwhile, Phi and the others saw Yuugo struggle against the summoned mail beetle, and felt more and more that something was not right.
And as they all started to think that something was definitely wrong, Uno yelled loudly with a panicked expression.
“We’ve got trouble! I can’t communicate with the control room! I didn’t instruct them to summon that monster armor beast either!”
“What!? So Yuugo acting strangely is also…!”
“There is a good chance he is being debuffed more than necessary! He practically can’t react to attacks!”
Upon learning that the exam was out of Uno’s control, they also panicked.
Sakura sensed danger and took out her magic item to execute an attack… but it was deflected by the barrier.
“Bubeh!? T-this barrier is in the way!!”
“Hey! Let’s all attack it together! We’ll break this barrier down!”
“Don’t be silly Velda! Even a gigantes couldn’t break it. It won’t go down so easily!”
People could not interfere as long as the barrier stood.
Doing something about it when a rampaging gigantes did not break it felt unrealistic.
“Mister Castle! How do we deactivate the barrier!?”
“It should be operated in the control room! But that also has a barrier, even if it isn’t as strong as this one! It won’t let anyone in!”
“Then we just have to go there and check!”
“Okay! Let’s try to remove the barrier!”
After yelling what they were going to do, Melt and the others left Uno and ran to the control room.
Uno struggled hard with how to remove the barrier, Neries panicked as she saw up close as the mail beetle continued to beat Yuugo.
(W-what should I do!? What can I do!?)
Yuugo could not bring his real power to bear thanks to the weakening magic. Not only that, but the Darkness status condition meant his vision was blocked.
She was the only one who could fight properly, but… what should she do? She could only support, so what could she do?
She already used magic to cure status conditions, to no avail. Strengthening magic also did little against the overly powerful weakening.
She felt the pressure of a situation that got worse by the minute, and bad thoughts were brought back to her mind as she breathed heavily.
That day and the deep wounds in her heart. The day they were unilaterally beaten by the monster armor beasts they met in the insectary.
The fear and despair she felt that day enveloped her heart… And Yuugo’s voice echoed.
“Neries, calm down! Raise your head!!”
“…!?”
Neries reacted to his voice, saw him grappling with the mail beetle, and gulped.
It was as though he saw her panic, and yelled to Neries.
“Don’t lose your head! And don’t give up! Your hard work wasn’t for nothing! You can break through this! Believe it!!”
“Yuugo…!”
Yuugo tried hard to hold the mail beetle back, and was flung away by sudden moves.
He managed to withstand the combo attacks that followed, and while she was flustered, Neries began looking for anything she could do.
(What can I do? Is there something, anything… Ah!!)
Neries thought about the magic she could use, and remembered something that could work.
She quickly gathered magic energy in her staff, concentrated it in the tip and converted it into light, and fired it between Yuugo and the mail beetle.
“Light, burst! Flash!!”
“Jyu, gih!?”
It was not offensive, it was a support spell meant to create an opening.
It did what the name said, it created a flashing light, and had the effect she expected.
“Yuugo, now!!”
“Ou! Orah!!”
“Gijyujih!?”
The mail beetle’s vision was burned by the sudden light, and it staggered.
Conversely, Yuugo’s vision was covered in darkness, so he could not see the light. He calculated more or less where his enemy was, and swung his fist with magic energy infused.
It caught the mail beetle right in the stomach, sending it flying to the opposite wall.
It did not finish it, but it did get Yuugo through this danger for now, and Neries ran towards him, out of breath.
“Are you okay, Yuugo!?”
“Thanks, you saved me, Neries. How is it doing?”
He still could not see.
Yuugo could not tell how the mail beetle was after striking it away, and Neries checked instead. It staggered to its feet, and had a pained expression.
“…It’s already up. It looks like it’s still suffering a little from the light, but it will be back to normal soon.”
“I see. Then… There’s one option.”
After hearing Neries’ report, Yuugo exhaled and performed a super transformation.
He was clad in the violet armor that excelled in defense, turned towards her, and spoke.
“Neries… Give me instructions. Tell me where it’s moving.”
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