Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 269: Antagonist of Earth (14)

As the rising tower of tension built higher and higher, its weight on the world growing heavier and its presence more unignorable by the second, inevitably, it would at some point reach the breaking point.

"...!? Tsk!"

Before the masked figure could follow through with his nonverbal threat of lopping off the other’s head, Hanami Chisa suddenly flicked her wrist, the metal fan in her grip knocking the sinister opposing blade away and immediately jumping away to create distance, hopping across numerous sakura petals floating with the wind to gain height at the same time.

"You may have your reasons, as do I. However, the importance of one is simply far greater, and should you not be a man who would show his face to an unhostile interlocutor, nor even use his authentic voice, for what purpose need I pay you even the slightest consideration?"

Her dispassionate voice rang clear through the hot air of the land of black rock and lava around them, soft rains of ash still falling from the sable sky above, remnant of the earlier violent eruption.

She was correct, by her own right and the world’s, and even the opposing unknown would not deny that.

"Your right is nothing. You deserve nothing. Should you wish to impose your will on the world, it simply does not do to hide behind a mask and a false voice, playing pretend."

Standing in the air atop her obedient pink petals as if flying, the Blossoming Shrine Maiden gazed down at her adversary, a nameless, titleless, utter nobody.

No name. No face. Not even a single syllable of a voice.

Strictly speaking, it was true.

He was ’no one’.

Someone like that, they couldn’t possibly possess any real power.

Not over her, not over any Challenger who puts their life on the line day after day.

’...Irrelevant.’

Releasing his grip on the sinister blade, its shape reminiscent of the sorts used in her homeland, the weapon promptly fell and vanished into what appeared like a spatial pocket, replaced by another just as swiftly as one could blink.

This time, it was a sword made out of solid ice.

"...Hmh. Even now, you wish to proceed in the direction of conflict..."

An incidental noise emanating from her throat, evidence of her reluctance to fight someone she thought there was no need to, Hanami Chisa murmured.

She was not one fond of discord even prior to entering the Tower, though it was not as if she had lacking experience dealing with such troubling circumstances, but ever since then, she couldn’t help but feel that these hurdles continued to rise without end.

’It is unfortunate.’

If there was one thing she had learned from meeting others while climbing the Tower, it was that, for one reason or another, there really were many people who... to put it in a word, were simply――just sad.

These sad souls, making enemies and using force to get their way.

Whether they simply did not know of the joys of peace, or did not care for it due to hurt, it was truly unfortunate.

’It is not my appointment to do so, but... Well, if I could influence even this hapless individual towards a positive light, is there not a better way to make this place just a bit more joyful, while it still lasts.’

Thinking that, Hanami Chisa waved her hand, the at first glance purely decorative fan opening to its fullest extent and causing a substantial breeze to wash over the area, a horde of fluttering petals mixed in as if it were natural.

The light breeze grew into a gust, then a gale, and before anyone had even moved an inch, the two Frontliners abruptly found themselves in the eye of a storm. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

An impenetrable wall of raging winds and petals around them, all that existed in the world was now this violent twister, encasing them in the space of the basaltic plateau and above like trapped cage fighters, albeit within a larger area.

As of yet, no proper attacks had been carried out, and although this move was undoubtedly a major one, it was true that its only purpose seemed to be to lock them both into the same place, although it could certainly be argued that this was only detrimental to Hanami Chisa, the one with the capability to move swiftly through the air.

Naturally, such would be the judgement of the masked figure. What was she thinking?

Regardless of the response he expected or wanted to hear, the answer from her to his unasked question was actually received!

In the form of showing it to him directly, that is.

"...!"

Reacting just in time no doubt thanks to his enhanced Trait of Heightened Senses, the masked figure hastily jumped out of the way of an approaching swarm, a rush of razor-sharp petals that cut even the soundwaves travelling through the air as they passed by, inches away from slicing the durable fabric of his outfit’s hood and sleeves.

Except, there wasn’t just one, but rather countless such swarms of petals, surging and coordinating like a living hivemind to chase him down.

Needless to say, it was far too many flying projectiles for one man to simply ’dodge’ or ’evade’, a hyperactive bullet hell scenario one would have to be extraordinarily lucky to even remain alive after the fact.

So, the masked figure, his mind racing a million times a minute, chose not to.

Instead, he raised his sword, its lightly-transparent blade suddenly emitting an incredible white glow while the serrated end was swiftly brought down like a flash of lightning.

Following the arc of the blade was an utterly dense mist, and before its trajectory, a wave of that same coldness was unleashed, washing through and over, above and within, all across and infecting the rampaging winds themselves to chill the air and the atmosphere of the tornado’s eye.

In the proceeding moments, the power of what should have been a land of inviolable hot air and steaming ash, flowing lava and black smoke, all turned to naught.

Without any warning, the already extreme conditions of the Thirty-Fourth Floor’s frankly torrid environment, primarily its acutely hot and arid air, clashed with the sudden expansion of a cooling force just as great in intensity.

"Gh...!"

Overwhelmed by the sudden, drastic change in temperature, the air surrounding the blade of ice abruptly exploded into concentrated mist, a compressed force that couldn’t help but expand, and rapidly, billowing outwards to envelop the entirety of the storm’s eye in a fraction of a second.

No petal was left untouched, all overwhelmed by that vast disruption, and for some reason, the Blossoming Shrine Maiden of Hanami Taisha could no longer sense her fifth limb, the extension of herself that was her bloom.

’This--?!’

Just like that, she felt an unforeseen sense of powerlessness overcome her, and before she realised it, her loose-fitting, voluminous clothes were fluttering for an entirely new reason altogether.

It wasn’t just the numerous swarms she commanded that failed to obey her, but even those that served as the temporary ground beneath her feet.

She was falling.

They were all gone, wiped away as if they had never been there in the first place, and it was only when she was plummeting back down to where she belonged, an invisible ground hidden behind such sickly, impenetrable white mist, that she realised.

"Agh...!"

Scanning the area with gritted teeth and a look of utmost urgency, she impacted the ground with a heavy boom, the already-brittle volcanic rocks having somehow turned even more fragile so as to shatter effortlessly into a small crater, absorbing much of her fall’s contained force.

Not squandering precious time being concerned by slight pains or splinters of rock sticking to her skin and dirtied wear, she raised her body and straightened her back, a futile attempt to watch out for her opponent’s next move.

"..."

After all, he was not there.

This exasperatingly thick fog covering everything wouldn’t let her eyes pierce more than an arm’s length in front of her, and it certainly didn’t help her nerves that the encircling air was, for the first time on this Floor, cold. Unsettlingly so.

Still, maintaining her usual composure, and ignoring the naturally-rising goosebumps across that accompanied the steam of her breath, she glanced down, and then back.

Belatedly, she noticed the ground was painted pink.

Rather, that was the natural result of her nigh infinitude-class amount of subservient petals having been absolutely subdued by the opponent.

――Everything was veiled thinly in a layer of white frost, indicating the true happening behind her loss of control.

It was only then that she realised how eerily quiet it was. No, more than just quiet, it was truly, utterly silent.

The wild winds she had caused were frozen alongside her blooming petals, having caused everything to come to a complete standstill.

Worse, if she tried to summon more, they would just be instantly frozen and thoroughly rendered useless.

It certainly didn’t help that such raw coldness was one of two plants’ core weaknesses.

Although...

"..."

...For some reason she would never fathom, the opponent was not attacking her.

Hanami Chisa had no doubts that her adversary knew where she had landed, and it was no question that he also knew her primary weapon, her identity, her most vital lifeline, was so mercilessly crippled.

So then, why did he remain idle?

It was definitely possible that he did not want to kill her, albeit perhaps too hopeful. After all, he had also been the one to at least inform her what he wanted from her before utilising more forceful measures.

Either way, she should do anything but stay here―that much was obvious.

Chisa’s magical energy was top-tier among Frontliners, and despite not having been Awakened for long, she already knew that well. Naturally, this included her skill at control, and even using her mastery to sense the magical presence of foes within the effective range of her flying petals.

That effective range extended well beyond the small eye she had formed atop this plateau. Notwithstanding that, she could not sense even a sliver of the presence of magic.

Unexpectedly, she noted that all this frost and mist was in fact not a result of magic.

It carried not a trace of magic energy within it, and that was something she could tell without a shadow of a doubt.

Despite the fact that no such thing could be capable without the assistance of at least some magic, how could that be?

If she concentrated, she could pick up another, foreign power that seemed to be at the wheel, but that wasn’t anything she knew the identity of... even if it was subtly familiar.

’Nevertheless, it is unsafe to remain here. I should retreat and recoup myself... This person is dangerous.’

Reinforcing her belief that conflict with this masked entity could not end well in any case, Hanami Chisa thus chose her destination as the First Floor, her plainly exhausted figure promptly vanishing from Thirty-Fourth Floor, along with any sense of caution previously present.