The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

The day of the battle with Mr. Karon.

We were preparing for the battle in front of the gates of Mearaq.

It was not a big preparation, but just to check our physical condition and the condition of our cages, which were the key to our defense.

"I can't believe they prepared something like this for us. ......"

"I heard that Master Norn arranged this, but I am surprised that he could make such a thing in such a short period of time."

I look at the shoes I am wearing and am impressed.

The shoes he is wearing now are not the ones he usually wears, but the ones with non-slip soles.

They are the shoes that Master Norn has provided for us who fight on the icy ground.

When did he find out the size of our feet?

With these shoes we will be able to fight with Mr. Karon on a stable footing.

I was worried about fighting on the ice, but with these shoes, I am sure I will be fine.

......The foothold problem is solved, but we still have one more problem.

"Leona, you haven't come yet. ......"

Leona is the only one who has yet to show up.

According to the maid, she said she would come a little later. ...... I'm worried that I might have done something to Leona because of my forceful words yesterday.

"You've got a bitter look on your face before a fight. It's not like you."

Nair, who was standing on my shoulder, said something like that to me as my expression darkened.

"No, if Leona doesn't show up--"

"That's not going to happen. Leona, who gave her life to fight for us, would not be afraid to do so now. I don't know why she's late, though."

Certainly, Leona, you would not give up.

Whatever ...... choice you make, she'll be here.

"You cared about her too much. ......"

......I may be feeling a little vulnerable before the battle with Mr. Karon.

Let's change the subject here to ease my nerves.

"By the way. Yesterday, I had a thought about my cage hand.

"...... idea?　Is it ...... a way to cause no injury, only pain?"

"That's interesting. Can I try it on you now?"

"No, I'm just kidding!　So stop clanking your cage in my ear!"

No, I'm just kidding.

Nair apologizes to me with all her might, and I lower my right arm which I have brought up to her ear.

I don't need to be so scared... maybe I shouldn't have made a straight face. ....... Well, let's get back to the story anyway.

"I thought of a name. This basket hand..."

"...... heh, heh."

I don't like Nair's reaction a bit, but whatever.

I figured that I would need a name for my own personal weapon. I can't keep calling it the silver basket hand, so I thought of a proper name.

It's for me.

A basket hand that fits on my right hand.

The combination of these two factors led me to decide on the name of my Kagote.

It is..,

"It's a heel gauntlet: ......!"

"Wow, that's stupid."

"......"

What could be more poignant?

Even before the fight with Mr. Karon, I feel as if I have done the most damage today.

"I mean, it's just a basket hand in itself, so it doesn't need a name, does it?"

"Gosh."

I am at a loss for words after being told the most obvious thing.

While I was unable to say anything back to Nair, Amako, who must have heard what we were saying, came up to me with Bulrin.

Amako, you know how cool this name is straight out of the box,

"I honestly don't think the heel gauntlet is ......."

Shocked by Amako's words, I at least looked at Mr. Aruk and he laughed. His reaction made me realize that the name "Kagome" is not so subtle, and my shoulders slump.

However, my depression was short-lived as I looked up to see a figure appear at the gates of Mearaq.

It was Leona, wearing the same armor as when we first met. I wonder if she has removed the helmet from her head, but I notice that her straight eyes are fixed on me.

"......"

Leona-san walked up to me with a serious expression on her face, and when she stood in front of me, she bowed her head vigorously.

I was taken aback by her sudden action.

"Um, Leona-san?"

"I've been thinking about it ever since. I've been thinking about what I'm ready to do and what you said.

She looked up and took out a vial of spring water from a jute bag attached to her armor, then looked at it and spun the words.

"You didn't take this water away from me because you respected my commitment."

She has no ill intentions. What she has is a firm resolve.

I should not ignore her determination and take away her water.

I have been ...... though this was just for my own self-satisfaction.

"It's easy to use this ...... but to fight through the fear of losing and the fear of fighting is more difficult than anything else. I can't do it with ...... my weak heart. I'm sure I'll break in the middle of the road. So--"

Leona's gaze turns to Aruk, Amako, Bulrin, Nair, and finally back to me.

"I want you to fight with me. I know it's not fair of me to say this, since I've been making a desperate plan to hide it from you and the others. Still, I want to fight to protect this place."

Leona bows her head more deeply than before.

I don't need to think, I don't need to check with my friends.

"Let's fight. We will fight... all of us, including you.

"Usato ......!"

And I told you, didn't I?　You can count on me.

If you reach out to us, we will always reach out to you.

Leona, you have decided to fight with us and not alone.

All that remains is for us to join forces to fight Mr. Karon and win.

We will win the battle.

Leona joined us, and we stepped out of the gates and out of the ice-covered Mialak, ready to go.

Outside the city, which is covered by Norn's wards, we see Mr. Karon, who is lying dead with his eyes closed. Perhaps, if he senses even the slightest change in his surroundings, he will wake up immediately and go into battle readiness.

The ...... operation will be executed when Mr. Norn makes the new wards.

We will hold off Mr. Karon who tries to attack us when the city is unprotected, and in the meantime, Mr. Norn will create a ward covering Mr. Karon and us.

This is the first step of the plan.

The first task is to succeed up to this point.

Well...

The bracelet on his right arm is deployed.

With a light clank, the hand from the elbow to the tip is enveloped in silver. After checking the condition of my right arm, I ask Nair on my shoulder to cast a spell of resistance.

"Nair, cast cold resistance.

"Yes, okay."

From the top of my shoulders, my entire body becomes resistant to cold air.

This will nullify the cold air emitted from Mr. Karon's axe.

"Usato, you know this, but be careful not to hit me. Unlike you, I am not strong.

"I know. I won't let them attack you. At least not until you let go of that axe of yours that's emitting cold air.

I will be the one actively fighting Mr. Karon.

It's quite dangerous to take his attacks head-on, but I haven't been playing around all week.

Training to be lean in my movements.

It's simple, but it's made a big difference in my moves. ......

--I think I'm ready.

"......!　That's the voice."

The voice of Lady Farga echoing in my head.

Looking around, it seems that everyone else can hear it too. ,

--I've seen you fight. My power does not extend beyond the city, but I can make my voice heard.

--Kalon is strong. From the point of view of the human species, his power is nothing short of extraordinary. But that does not make you inferior.

The words of Mr. Farga echoed heavily in my heart.

But at this moment his voice sounded very reassuring.

--Together we have the strength of men.

--If we can do that, we can defeat even the divine dragon.

"Yes, ......!"

I respond strongly to the voice echoing in my head.

This is the seal of approval from the divine dragon who created the weapons of the brave. There is no reason why we can't do our best after being told this much!

--Norn temporarily releases the warding.

Ripples appear and flicker on the boundary that separates the city of Mearaq from the outside world.

Perhaps sensing this, Mr. Karon, who had not moved until now, looks up vigorously and turns his sharp eyes toward us.

"Usato!"

Leona called my name and I turned to her.

"Let me tell you something now. Whatever the outcome, I will always be grateful to you. I am here now because of your words.

"......Don't say such an ominous thing about any outcome."

"Yes, that's true. I was still feeling a little vulnerable."

She smiled softly and put on the helmet she carried under her arm.

I also turned my head forward and focused my attention on Mr. Karon. The shimmering wards disappear as particles from above.

"......"

A city without people, Mearaq.

The dragon man who threatens the city, Mr. Karon.

The divine dragon, Mr. Farga, watches over the people from deep underground.

And the evil dragon leaves behind a trail of misfortune.

Thinking back, our journey so far has involved evil dragons.

From the time we fought in the village where Nair lives, to the battle between the heroes and the evil dragon that led to the creation of the curse of Samariatar. And this time, under the influence of the evil dragon, Mr. Karon was forced to awaken the dragon factor of the divine dragon, Falga-sama, and went out of control.

"We have to settle this ......"

The connection with the evil dragon is severed.

And save both Mr. Karon and Mearaq.

"Gaaaah!"

As soon as the warding disappears, Mr. Karon, raising his axe, leaps toward us with a yell.

I am the first to react to his movement, clenching my fist tightly and kicking the icy ground as he does.

The first step of the plan, to create a battlefield for him and us: ......!

To do that, all I have to do is--,

"I'll hold you down!"

As I run on the icy ground, Mr. Karon, swinging his axe, shoots a big icicle that he showed me when we first fought.

An attack that at first I had no choice but to avoid. It is still the same, but now I am not fighting alone.

The icicle that was about to strike me is broken by a fan-shaped flame that comes flying from behind and dissolves into vapor.

"I'll take care of the ice magic!"

Aruk-san, who deals with flame magic, can cancel out the ice magic.

Convinced of this, I glared at Mr. Karon, who was ten steps away from me. He is already about to swing his axe, to which I squeeze my right fist.

Mr. Karon, who has awakened as a dragon, is more powerful than I am. If I were to take him head-on, he would crush me, no matter how hard my kagote may be.

Gah!

Here!

Stopping just in front of me, I firmly saw off the axe as it swung down, and I hit the side of the blade with my fist at an angle. I slam my left fist into Mr. Karon's torso, which was opened wide by the impact from the side of the axe, causing him to turn backward.

Having succeeded in delivering the first blow, I squeeze my left fist without looking away from him and take a stance to show my right fist to my opponent.

"uuuu......!　Uhhhhh!

Mr. Karon, who is glaring at me and roaring angrily, attacks me again, but I keep on repelling his axe with my basket hand and counterattack with my left fist.

However, perhaps he has learned from the previous attack, he stays on the edge and strikes me with the arm that does not hold the axe.

"I can see that too!"

I ducked and snatched a fist on his left cheek and slammed my left fist into his unprotected jaw.

Just as his body wobbles, I place my right hand, which is fitted with a basket hand, on his unprotected abdomen.

"Healing Magic Bursting Palm ......!"

A shock of unpowered magic is emitted from the right palm, and this time it blasts Mr. Karon's body away.

As I keep my eyes fixed on him, who rolls around on the icy ground because he can't catch himself, a new circular transparent ward created by Norn-sama is created in a radius of 100 meters centered on the place where he and I are.

"Phew. ....... We will make a place for you and me to fight. At least the first step of the operation is clear."

Now there is no danger of Mr. Karon escaping.

Besides, I have proven that I can fight against Mr. Karon.

This week of training has not been in vain,

"Oh my God, that was scary!　What a way to fight!　You!"

"Whoa!"

Nair, who had been silent until then, started to make noises in my ear.

Without taking my eyes off Mr. Karon, I call out to her.

"No, you didn't hit me, did you?"

"It's too scary that a fist can pass through the opposite space I'm in!

It is true that the fist passed through the left side of my face when I dodged the attack earlier, but Nair is on my right shoulder. I was thinking about her too, but she didn't like it.

......I wish I could have pulled the axe away from Mr. Karon during the attack earlier, but I couldn't go that far. I should have been able to pull the axe away from Mr. Karon earlier, but I couldn't go that far. If I got greedy, I would have risked receiving an irreversible blow.

As I was watching Mr. Karon who stood up slowly holding his head, Mr. Ark and Ms. Leona arrived from behind.

"Are you all right, Mr. Usato?"

"Yes, I am. Yes, I'm fighting just fine.

This is where the real work begins.

With just me on my own, I'll have to repeat the same battle I just went through, but with Aruk and Leona covering me, the situation will be tilted in our favor.

"Usato, as I predicted, his axe is releasing a tremendous amount of cold air. Maybe Leona and Alc won't be able to get close enough.

"So much for ......."

"If we get too close without magic, we won't be able to move properly."

I hadn't noticed it due to the resistance spells, but it seems that there is more cold air emanating from the axe than I had expected.

I am the only one who can get close to Mr. Karon now.

"Aruk-san, Leona-san. I guess I have no choice but to pull the axe away from Mr. Karon as I had planned.

"It would seem so."

"So much cold at this distance. My armor can't protect me from it any longer."

......It's about time for Mr. Caron to make his move.

I step out in front of them, my fists ready, and call out to the two behind me.

"Aruk, you take care of the cold air and ice magic, and Leona, you limit Mr. Karon's movements. I will pull his axe away from him.

Yes, sir!

I'm on it. I'll take care of it. You take care of yourself.

Two voices respond to my words.

Hearing their voices, I jumped forward, kicking the icy ground to attack Mr. Karon.