Innocence Seekers: April Light/Chapter 3/Episode 35
This is the eleventh episode, "Battle of Fuenod" (フエノッドの戦い), of the third chapter of Innocence Seekers: April Light.
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Episode text
Wakaba, Aoi and Benio were running along the hallway when they came across around 25 Donsilan mages.
–Benio: Just how many are there?
–Aoi: If this ship weren't reliant on magic, it should realistically only hold around a hundred. But so far, all of us have taken out around 350.
–Wakaba: It feels like there are thousands on board this ship alone. Does an advanced spaceship really need that many people?
–Aoi: I'm not sure. But we have the enemy to worry about.
Aoi began to cast a spell, and a blue magic circle appeared beneath her feet. Thousands of ice needles appeared in front of her.
–Aoi: Ice Needle!
The ice needles were hurled straight toward the enemy mages. Despite the enemy putting up a shield to protect themselves, around three hundred needles managed to pass through and hit the mages, causing them to wince in pain.
–Wakaba: Come on, let's go!
–Benio: Ah, right!
The three girls ran past the mages. Before the mages could recover enough to pursue the girls, Wakaba cast a spell. A green magic circle appeared behind her, and almost immediately belted out an incredibly loud sound, stunning the mages.
–Benio: You can use sound magic, Wakaba?
–Aoi: Of course she can; after all, manipulation of the air is her specialty.
–Benio: By the way, have you found all four of the barrier generators?
–Wakaba: Well, almost. Wait...
Wakaba stopped running. The other two girls stopped as well.
–Wakaba: I've found them!
Wakaba took out her bow, and aimed it towards the wall at a shallow angle. A green magic circle appeared beneath her feet, and four magic arrows appeared.
–Benio: You're going to shoot through the walls?
–Wakaba: Well, I have my Inherent Ability.
–Benio: But what about your mana reserves?
–Wakaba: I've got that covered as well. Benio, just trust me on this.
–Benio: Ah, okay.
–Wakaba: Here goes...
Wakaba shot the arrows, and all four went through the wall. The girls waited for a minute.
–Aoi: Did we do it?
Another ten seconds passed, before the girls received a telepathic signal.
–Lyra: <You did it. All four barrier generators have been disabled.>
–Wakaba: <Ah, understood. Is there anything else we need to do?>
–Lyra: <No; just remain where you are.>
–Wakaba: <Okay, then.>
Wakaba turned towards Aoi and Benio.
–Wakaba: Aoi, can you put up a barrier to protect us?
–Aoi: Ah, I can. Hold on...
A blue magic circle appeared beneath Aoi's feet, and a barrier appeared to surround the girls.
–Benio: So, what's the plan now?
–Wakaba: So far, we're on standby. I suppose it is to force the remaining forces on board to split.
–Benio: Right. But if we're not actually attacking, then wouldn't they ignore us?
Wakaba shot her bow several times in the direction from which they came.
–Benio: W-Wait! What are you doing?
–Wakaba: Well, the enemy was coming, so I thought I'd thin the numbers a little.
Aoi looked towards where Wakaba shot her bow, and saw fifteen enemy mages approaching.
–Aoi: Here they come.
Suddenly, a pink magic circle appeared between the two groups.
–Benio: Wait, what's going on?
–Wakaba: It's Tamaki.
–Aoi: Wait, how did she get here in the first place?
–Wakaba: Shuttle, I presume. And knowing her Inherent Ability, I presume she can also perform precise teleportation.
–Benio: But with the two fleets flinging attacks at each other...
–Wakaba: The details don't matter. What matters is that she's here.
Indeed Tamaki did emerge from the magic circle.
–Wakaba: Tamaki!
Tamaki turned around.
–Tamaki: Ah, Wakaba, what is your group doing all the way out here?
–Wakaba: Well, we just disabled the barrier generators. We were told to stay put for the moment.
–Tamaki: Anyway... I better head straight to the CIC. And with these mages in the way...
Tamaki took a grenade from her bag, pulled the pin, and threw it towards the mages. Almost immediately after landing, it exploded, sending shrapnel flying everywhere, including into the barrier Aoi put up, as well as Tamaki's own barrier.
Even before everything cleared up, Tamaki ran off and past the mages.
In the CIC, Lyra and the admiral were locked into a fierce battle.
–Admiral: You just won't go down...
–Lyra: I think you've underestimated me.
Both combatants were considerably worn out. Lyra's left arm had a rather big cut, while the admiral was nursing burn marks across her torso and right leg.
–Lyra: In terms of raw power, I'm probably no better than Aria. But the people with whom I lived have told me that I cannot completely rely on my power. For much of my time on Haralni, I have deliberately limited my power, and did not even think of removing my limiter even when the going went tough. Thanks to that, when I had my limiter removed only a few months ago, I was now able to easily defeat foes even more powerful than I am.
–Admiral: I see. I guess it's time for me to get serious.
A large orange magic circle appeared beneath the admiral's feet.
–Admiral: It's time for me to remove my limiter.
A massive burst of orange light emerged from the magic circle. Almost immediately, she charged straight towards Lyra, with sword in hand. The attack was so fast, Lyra barely had any time to react, and could only manage to get her staff in the way.
–Admiral: I see your friends have already taken care of the other officers. I have to say, I am impressed.
–Lyra: I was confident of their victory. But anyway, I won't go down that easily!
Lyra counterattacked by firing multiple white beams toward the admiral, who reacted by putting up a magic shield to block the attack.
–Admiral: Yet you always rely on your light spells. Maybe if you had more variety, you could defeat me.
–Lyra: Who said I only rely on light?
A white magic circle appeared beneath Lyra's feet. Suddenly, the admiral found herself surrounded by darkness.
–Admiral: What?! You can control the darkness?
–Lyra: To be precise, I'm blocking all of the light from entering the barrier I just put up. Darkness is merely the absence of light; control light, and you can control darkness.
–Admiral: Then again, if you think I only rely on my eyes, then you're wrong.
Water emerged from the darkness and headed straight towards Lyra, who failed to notice the attack. It struck Lyra, and upon contact the water froze, covering her right side in ice. The admiral then shattered the light barrier surrounding her.
–Lyra: Is that all?
–Admiral: Don't play tricks with me!
The admiral fired another spell, but this time Lyra dodged the blast of water.
–Lyra: It's just as you said. If you specialise in one type of spell, you won't win.
A white magic circle appeared beneath Lyra's feet.
–Lyra: Field defence, Burning Man, activate.
The magic circle disappeared. Almost immediately, the ice on Lyra began to melt and the resulting water began to boil as it dripped down.
–Lyra: Let's see if your freezing water can get through my defences now.
–Admiral: We'll see about that!
The admiral fired another burst of water towards Lyra, but this time the water evaporated before it hit her. Undeterred, the admiral charged with her sword, but Lyra counterattacked by throwing a single metal pellet towards the admiral. When it hit, the admiral winced in pain as the hot metal made contact.
–Admiral: I can still tell that you're not giving all of your strength.
–Lyra: Maybe I don't need to.
Lyra pointed her staff at the admiral's feet, and fired a beam of light on to the floor right in front of the admiral. The impact site began to glow orange and melt, forcing the admiral to jump back.
–Lyra: Back on Haralni, I've used my light magic to start fires. Not knowing any dedicated fire spells myself, it is pretty useful.
A massive orange magic circle appeared beneath the admiral's feet.
–Lyra: You're going to use your water spells again? That won't work, no matter how many times you try.
–Admiral: Hm. Those spells were just child's play. This one is far more powerful.
The admiral held out her left hand, and shot a massive burst of water towards Lyra. In response, Lyra counterattacked by firing a beam straight into the attack, and the two met somewhere in the middle, causing steam to appear.
–Admiral: Good. But can you handle this?
The admiral sheathed her sword and held out her right hand. Almost immediately, another burst of water emerged from the hand, and met Lyra's attack, pushing it back. In response, Lyra fired a single magic bullet towards the admiral, hitting her and forcing her to abort the attack. As a result, Lyra's initial attack blasted through the water and hit the admiral, dealing significant damage.
–Admiral: When did you-
–Lyra: You were too focused on my big attack. As such, I only needed a single bullet to stun you. From fighting you, in many ways you're like the other pendant holders. You rely too much on your power.
–Admiral: Even if that is true, skill can only take you so far. It is useless in the face of overwhelming power.
A large magic circle appeared beneath the admiral's feet. She unsheathed her sword, and held it in front of her. Suddenly, there was a massive burst of orange light. The admiral had entered Full Burst mode, and her weapon transformed into two massive swords attached by an orange chain.
–Lyra: I see. Full Burst mode. That complicates things.
The admiral launched one of her swords straight towards Lyra, who barely had any time to react. Somehow, Lyra managed to get her staff in the way and deflected the sword into the wall. The admiral pulled on the chain, taking the sword back.
Meanwhile, Himawari and Louise, having completed their battle, attempted to enter the CIC. However, Lyra held out her hand to signal them to stay outside.
–Lyra: This is my battle, you two. I will fight her, and I will do it alone.
–Himawari: Lyra, are you really sure you can handle her by yourself?
–Lyra: One hundred per cent.
–Admiral: It seems your friends are concerned for you. Aren't you going to call for their help?
–Lyra: No. Because I don't need their help.
Lyra pointed her staff towards the admiral.
–Lyra: I will defeat you, myself!
A large white magic circle appeared in front of Lyra. A large magic orb appeared in front of it.
–Admiral: You're not going to enter Full Burst mode?
–Lyra: I don't need to. I will defeat you without it.
–Admiral: Talk about overconfidence...
The admiral sent a massive burst of water straight towards Lyra. Unlike the previous spells, this did not originate from the admiral herself, but from the gash in the wall made by her sword. However, Lyra noticed this and jumped up to avoid the attack, while at the same time loosing the magic orb she was preparing.
–Lyra: Somehow I knew you would do that.
Lyra prepared another large magic orb.
–Admiral: Hmph. Take this!
The admiral threw one of her swords straight at the magic orb Lyra was preparing, and managed to pierce it. However, from the orb emerged hundreds of magic ribbons, which wound themselves around the sword, preventing it from being retrieved.
–Lyra: You know, had you attacked my other orb, you wouldn't be in this situation. This one was a trap.
–Admiral: You...
As the admiral was trying to pull the chain, Lyra commanded the other orb to attack. A barrage of magic bullets emerged from the orb, forcing the admiral to put up a barrier.
Meanwhile, Lyra ran up to the barrier and held her staff up as if to strike it.
–Lyra: Secret Skill, Light Blade.
Lyra swung her staff down, and although it missed the barrier, this was intentional. Suddenly, a small but powerful blade of light emerged from the staff, piercing and shattering the barrier. As a result, the admiral took the full brunt of what was left of the barrage.
–Admiral: Even in Full Burst mode... why won't you just go down already?!
–Lyra: You're keeping too many openings. But, you know, I think I've had enough fun for now.
–Admiral: Wait... this battle... to you... it's just a game?!
–Lyra: Well, it feels like it. Up to now, though, I've never had any thoughts of using lethal force. But now...
Lyra swung her staff straight towards the admiral's neck. The admiral responded by putting up a magic shield.
–Lyra: If I kill you, then so be it. The Reds and Greens only seek one of the four admirals. And if you're not lucky, well, you'll know what your fate will be.
–Admiral: Hmph.
The admiral attacked with her remaining sword, which was blocked by Lyra's light blade. While the two blades were interlocked, Lyra kicked the admiral's side, forcing her to stagger. Lyra swung her staff again, this time aiming for the admiral's left arm. Again, the admiral blocked the attack with a magic shield, and also counterattacked with her sword. Lyra saw the attack and ducked under it. She cast a spell, and a white beam emerged from her left hand and struck the admiral, sending her staggering backwards.
The admiral responded to Lyra's attack by letting loose a massive burst of water towards her. Lyra responded by parting the attack with her light blade, before charging towards the admiral. With one mighty swing, she brought the light blade down hard towards the admiral's right arm. The admiral somehow managed to get her sword in the way of the attack, but Lyra responded by grabbing the admiral's sword by the blade with her left hand, and pushing the light blade into the sword.
–Admiral: What are you... Ack!
Lyra only responded with an invisible spell, one that shot a ray of intense infrared radiation towards its target. It only barely missed the admiral's left eye, but it burnt off her eyebrow. Meanwhile, Lyra managed to slice the admiral's sword in half.
–Lyra: So, with one weapon trapped in my spell, and the other broken, what will you do?
–Admiral: I...
The admiral fired a massive magic beam from her right hand, but Lyra nonchalantly swept it away with her staff, and it only hit a wall.
–Lyra: I think it's about time you surrendered.
–Admiral: Surrender? Not a chance. I was sent here to fulfil our mission, and I will not abandon it under any circumstance.
–Lyra: Very well, then.
Lyra readied her staff. The admiral put up a barrier to protect herself; however, it was futile. Lyra swung her staff hard down on to the barrier, and the impact of the light blade on the barrier caused the latter to shatter completely. Just as she was about to thrust the light blade into the admiral's heart, a voice called out to her.
–Voice: Lyra, stop!
Lyra turned towards the doorway. It was Tamaki, who was panting heavily.
–Lyra: Tama-chan?
–Tamaki: Lyra, please don't kill her! You don't want to be seen as a murderer, do you?
–Admiral: Hmhmhm. Your friend's call for mercy shall be the sign of victory for me.
–Tamaki: Not so fast, fiend! You came to destroy the homes of my friends, and for that... I will not forgive you!
Tamaki began to cast a spell. A pink magic circle appeared beneath her feet.
–Tamaki: Lyra, stand back!
–Lyra: Ah, right!
Lyra leapt back to the opposite side of the CIC.
–Tamaki: Now, to sleep, fiend!
A pink aura surrounded the admiral. The admiral tried to cast a counterspell, but Tamaki's spell acted too quickly for the admiral to be able to affect its progress, and she was knocked unconscious. The pink aura disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.
–Tamaki: Anyway, Lyra, just what was going on? Why did you intend to kill her?
–Lyra: Well... to me, it was the only way I could stop her. In some ways, I'm glad you came. Unlike you, I don't have any spells that put people to sleep.
–Tamaki: Still, it's not an excuse to kill. Even though Miho does it all the time...
Himawari and Louise entered the CIC.
–Louise: Tamaki, how will you upload the virus?
–Tamaki: Well, I just need to find the appropriate control panel. Hopefully it isn't damaged.
Tamaki inspected each control panel, before stopping at one.
–Tamaki: This must be it.
Tamaki pressed several buttons. Several screens appeared, and a keyboard emerged from the control panel. Tamaki typed on the keyboard, then when she finished typing, she pressed another button.
–Tamaki: It seems this ship has been cut off from the network.
–Himawari: Then how are we supposed to get the virus to spread?
–Tamaki: In cases like these, the admirals have the override codes. Thanks to my Inherent Ability, I now have the code.
Tamaki typed the code on the keyboard, then pressed another button. She began to cast a spell, and a pink magic circle appeared beneath her feet.
–Louise: Wait, why are you casting a spell?
–Tamaki: Well, I need to alter the computer's memory, first to falsify the required parameters for reconnection, then to upload the virus itself into memory.
The girls waited two minutes. Suddenly, one of the screens turned green. Tamaki continued with her spell, and after three minutes the same screen turned yellow.
–Lyra: Tama-chan, did you do it?
–Tamaki: That's it. Now we wait for the virus to spread.
On board the Spica, Kanade was observing the battle. Suddenly, the Spica's instruments were recording a mass failure of the enemy fleet's barriers. Almost immediately after the barriers failed, the allied fleet stopped attacking.
–Kanade: I guess she did it.
–Aria: <Kanade, I think the battle is over. The enemy are now in disarray, and our forces have ceased their attacks.>
–Kanade: <Indeed the battle is over. But we couldn't have done it without Tamaki. We really need to thank her.>
–Aria: <Agreed. I'm going to deactivate the planetary barrier.>
–Kanade: <Got it. Also, please return to the Spica.>
–Aria: <Okay, then.>
Kanade exited the CIC, and headed into the living quarters, where Miho was looking after Uzuki.
–Miho: Ah, Kanade, did we do it?
–Kanade: The mission is a complete success. And it's all thanks to Tamaki.
–Miho: Well, that's Tama-chan for you. Even in very difficult situations, she always finds a way. Even I have needed help from her from time to time.
–Kanade: Anyway, where are the others?
–Miho: Yayoi headed back to the surface. I believe she was heading to Chiyohara. I don't know about the others.
–Kanade: Anyway, I think it's about time you and Uzuki returned to the surface. We'll take care of things from here.
–Miho: Okay, then. But should we wait for the others?
–Kanade: No; they'll be taking their own shuttle back.
Uzuki began to wake up.
–Uzuki: Mm... Miporin...
–Miho: U-chan? Is something the matter?
–Uzuki: No...
–Miho: Anyway, let's head back home.
–Uzuki: Ah, okay...
Uzuki got up from her bed. Miho grasped her hand, and both girls headed out of the living quarters and into the teleportation room.
End of Episode 35
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Commentary
Burning Man is an example of an elemental field defence spell. As such, it is capable of stopping fairly powerful spells, but it only affects certain elements. In this case, it primarily affects water and ice spells, and may also affect plant-based spells by causing them to burst into flame. Only more powerful versions affect earth and metal spells, and it has no effect on any other elements (in fact, the most powerful versions actually increase the damage dealt by electricity-based spells, and convert wind spells to fire spells).
While Lyra says that she doesn't know any fire spells, her command of light actually allows her to use heat in a roundabout way (e.g. the infrared ray). The ability to use spells of one element to obtain the effects of another is a mark of skill among mages; the most prominent example being the ability of mages specialising in wind magic to manipulate heat and/or electricity.
"... pulled the pin, and threw it..." – No, Tamaki did not throw the pin itself. I expect the readers of this story to, at the very least, have a bit of common sense.