MV – Chapter 120: Plant Hazard and the Minor Villain

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The botanical garden was in complete chaos. Soldiers rushed around frantically, while researchers fled in panic.

“What exactly happened here? Why are monsters emerging from those pillars? Care to explain, Yoroizuka Toko, heir to the Yoroizuka family?”

Yoroizuka Toko destroyed the stone briars with lightning magic and showed up from the entrance where no one should be in with a battered body. Why did he show up from there?

—What followed him was a horde of plant monsters. Judging by the scene, Mana could easily guess what had transpired, but she glared at Toko, waiting for a clear answer.

“Ugh, w-well, you see, this was unexpected for us too… Shouldn’t we leave this to the families to discuss? There’s a lot to consider here, and negotiating here won’t help anyone.”

Toko’s response, filled with the typical diplomacy of a family elite, annoyed Mana, but she sighed in resignation. As frustrating as it was, he had a point. It was easy to imagine they had attempted some sabotage and failed.

Mana crushed the remaining stone briars underfoot, observing the approaching monsters. She clicked her tongue but quickly regained her composure.

“Stay calm and prepare for combat. The enemies are low-level monsters like Blade Flowers and Claymore Sunflowers. They’re nothing we haven’t dealt with before. Stay focused, and we’ll take them down easily.” (Mana)

The monsters in question were familiar: Blade Flowers, with their spinning, fan-like petals, and Claymore Sunflowers, which shuffled forward on their root-like legs. 

They were known to fire their petals like blades and scatter seeds like shotgun pellets. However, after the last monster stampede, the Tateno family had prepared an elite force. Monsters that mere Star 1s can defeat won’t be any threat.

Hearing Mana’s orders, or perhaps coming to the same conclusion from their own knowledge, the soldiers regained their composure and began forming defensive positions. Once the formation was ready, these monsters would be swiftly eradicated.

Mana, thinking ahead to the negotiations with the Yoroizuka family after the battle, began shifting her focus…but then…

“N-No! It’s no use! These aren’t ordinary monsters! Their combat power is far beyond what they appear to be! I barely escaped with my life!” (Toko)

Toko pointed at the monsters and screamed, drenched in sweat and shaking.

“What? You’re saying they’re not ordinary?” (Mana)

Mana reacted to the words she couldn’t ignore and her attention snapped back to the monsters and the soldiers who were preparing to engage. The soldiers were now aiming their guns and staves, ready for the fight.

“Prepare to fire! Mages, cast fireballs! Once they’re scorched, finish them off with gunfire. They’re just low-level monsters, no need to be too tense.”

The commander raised his hand with a confident grin.

“Fire all at once! Let’s show them we’re doing our jobs!”

“Understood, sir!”

The mages raised their staves toward the approaching monsters, their mana gathering power as magic circles formed, producing large fireballs. The intense heat distorted the air, making nearby mages break into a sweat.

[Fireball!]

[Fireball!]

[Fireball!]

Several fireballs, each capable of incinerating ten monsters in one blast, hurtled toward the advancing creatures, exploding on impact and setting them ablaze.

A roaring wall of fire surged forward, engulfing the monsters. The elite mages of the Tateno family unleashed powerful magic, more potent than that of ordinary mages. Seeing the inferno consuming the monsters, they exchanged high-fives, confident in their victory.

“Did we get them?”

“Of course. Not even ash will be left.”

“Sorry, looks like the riflemen won’t get a turn.”

Even though a large number of monsters had appeared, they were still just low-level plant types, moreover, vulnerable to fire. Some of the mages began teasing the riflemen, whose services would likely not be needed.

“H-Hey, something’s not right!”

One mage pointed toward the inferno and voiced his unease.

“What’s wrong? …Wait, yeah, something is wrong.”

More and more mages began noticing it. Amidst the flames, the monsters should have been reduced to ashes…yet their shadows still moved. The creatures were stepping through the blazing hellscape, unscathed.

“They…They’re not burning!?”

“Not even singed! How is this possible?”

“N-No way! That’s impossible!”

The mages, who had been so confident in their magic, began to panic and lose their composure.

“Don’t panic! Shoot them down with your rifles! Blast them to pieces with your firepower! Destroy them individually!”

The commander quickly regained his cool and issued new orders. The highly trained soldiers, encouraged by their commander’s calm, readied their guns and opened fire.

Even if magic didn’t work, they had their rifles. The Tateno family had equipped them with the best, extremely powerful weapons, normally reserved for top-level explorers. Their bullets are made of expensive magic silver, which are said to pack the punch of artillery shells. A few soldiers could destroy a tank with these guns.

“Fire!”

The soldiers fired the small but expensive bullets that have power comparable to cannonballs without hesitation. They broke through the wall of wind as they flew on.

The bullets carrying fearsome energy landed on the monsters that were walking forward and had approached their shooting range.

—Or so it looked.

But the bullets were stopped just before they could make contact, as if something invisible blocked them. The bullets ricocheted off and clattered harmlessly to the ground, sparking on impact.

Fear assailed the soldiers again.

“What?! They have spirit barriers!”

The seasoned soldiers quickly understood what had happened. The monsters had raised spirit barriers at paper-thin distance to protect themselves. It was a terrifying realization.

Spirit barriers were like armor. When deployed, they hindered the user’s movements, which is why they were usually cast at a distance from the body. Only highly skilled individuals could deploy them close to their bodies, conserving mana while maintaining mobility. 

You need to apply flexibility to the joint areas in order to not hamper the movement of your limbs. Armor that has incomplete control, has wide range, and is soft would be useless, so the ability to deploy such precise barriers without relying on their equipment was something only a handful of people in the Surface District could achieve.

Yet these seemingly low-level monsters had such spirit barriers, forcing the soldiers to recognize the gravity of the situation.

“D-Draw your swords! We have to destroy their barriers with melee combat!”

The commander drew his sword, deciding their only option was to engage in close combat. At this point, destroying the barriers with ranged attacks seemed impossible. 

The monsters moved too slowly to mount an effective counterattack if they engaged in close quarters. This was his logic as he weaved mana and enhanced his physical strength.

[Wind Step]

The feet of the soldiers floated in midair as if a squall had formed below them, and they launched themselves forward with blinding speed. They covered several dozen meters in just a few strides —until the commander suddenly stumbled.

“Commander?! What’s wrong—huh?!”

The soldiers following behind the commander called out to him after he suddenly collapsed, but they froze in terror.

—The commander’s head had been severed and rolled onto the ground. A blade-like petal passed by from his side at a speed that was difficult to perceive.

“This is bad! Their attacks are strong! Everyone, stop advancing and deploy protective shields!”

The soldiers halted and raised their arms, casting defensive magic.

[Protection Shield!]

Spirit barriers are protective walls that activate automatically. Mana is economized in order for it to not run out, so there’s a limit to the defense it has.

However, the defensive barriers that are activated manually have a difference in the amount of mana you consciously pour in, so it is far sturdier. 

A translucent green barrier formed in front of the soldiers, deflecting the incoming flower blades with metallic clangs.

They breathed a sigh of relief, feeling safe behind their shields. But that relief was short-lived. Their judgment that their lives were hanging on the line here was too slow.

“L-Look out, this isn’t over!”

One of the soldiers pointed ahead with panic in his voice. The others followed his gaze, understanding his fear without needing words.

They understood even though they didn’t want to.

[Blossom Storm]

Flower petals filled the air, swirling like a deadly blizzard. The sight was as beautiful as it was deadly.

The second volley cracked the barriers. The third shattered them.

“W-What the hell are these things? They’re not normal monsters!”

The soldiers gazed in horror at the petal storm. They knew death was upon them. Spirit barriers wouldn’t protect them anymore. This blizzard of petals would cut them into pieces.

Resigned to their fate, the soldiers watched the petals close in…

Until a massive armored vehicle crashed through the scene, scattering the deadly petals in its wake.

“W-What’s that?”

The soldiers, who had accepted their imminent demise, were now gaping at the massive vehicle that had burst through the botanical garden’s wall, leaving a gaping hole behind it.

Just as they were relieved at having survived and were about to question what family they were from, a hatch on top of the vehicle popped open…

“Usaaa! Burn the petals to ashes-usaaa!”

“Burn, burn, burn!”

“Too hot! Don’t aim at us-usa yo!”

Out popped small, heavy spirit armor rabbits, wielding what appeared to be flamethrowers. 

They wasted no time unleashing streams of fire, incinerating the petal storm in seconds. Any petals that escaped the flames ricocheted off the rabbits’ spirit barriers with dull thuds, unable to penetrate their defenses.

“Today, I’m Lanpeach the Weeding Hunter. If you want to evacuate, I’ll be taking an escort fee. What do you say?” (Lanpeach)

And then, an awfully suspicious minor villain emerged from the armored vehicle with a grin on his face.

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