tiletta: (Default)
tiletta ([personal profile] tiletta) wrote2024-02-21 12:09 am

Falling in Love with the Captive Noce - Episode 6

⭠ last episode | Episode 6 | next episode ⭢


Mitile & Akira: Eeek...!

Mithra: « arsim »

Mithra fired off an icy spear at the giant snake immediately.
The large spear pierced right through the snake's throat — or so I thought.

Mitile: !?

The snake's body warped before us. A hole opened up in its body.
Mithra's ice spear whistled through it harmlessly.

Bradley: ... Oh?
Akira: W-What on earth was that?!

Mithra: « arsim »

One after another, Mithra launched more spears of ice at the fiend.
But the snake seemed to be able to change its shape at will, morphing and warping its shape to evade the volley of attacks.

Mithra: ... How troublesome...
Mitile: Mithra san! It looks like something's coming out from that snake's body!
It looks like some kind of purple steam...
Bradley: ...! Mitile, on your broom, now!

As soon as he barked the order, Bradley deposited me on his broom and kicked off the ground. In a rush, Mitile did the same, soaring up after us.

Akira: Mfft! S-Saccie!? Why are you placing your paws on my mouth...
Mitile: There's even more purple mist coming from the snake now!

I glanced down to see the snake excreting more and more of that poisonous mist.
Only Mithra remained on the ground, languid and unbothered as he always was.

Mitile: Mithra san!
Akira: W-Will he be fine down there!?
Bradley: Of course. Well, watch.
Oi, Mithra! How's it going?
Mithra: It's exhaling poison. It's pretty thick.
Mitile and Kenja sama would die if they came into contact with this.
Akira: That'll kill me!?
Then that was a really close shave! Thank you, Bradley! Thank you, Saccie!
Mitile, how about you? Are you alright?
Mitile: Y-Yes, I am! Bradley san told me to take to the air...
... And I managed to escape the mist! All by myself!
Bradley: Aight, let's ride on that upwind. Try to keep up, kid.
Mitile: Got it!

Bradley: « adnopotensum »

Bradley: Okay, I've got a barrier up. We've got Mithra holding the fiend’s attention, but we can't be too careful.

Without warning, Bradley grabbed Mitile by the shoulder and hauled him close.
He lowered himself to Mitile's eye level. He focused his eyes on the snake like he was taking aim with a gunsight.

Bradley: Hey, little Southern Wizard. You said it yourself earlier — that you feel like a burden, because you don't have the power to do anything?
So how 'bout this: wanna take a shot at defeating this brute?
Mitile: Huh... M-Me?
Bradley: That's right, you. Now, I'm not sayin' you gotta do it all by your lonesome. You don't got the magical strength in you to pull that off yet.
Mitile: ......

Mitile's lips pressed together in a firm line as if he were biting back his frustration. His eyes steeled with resolve.

Bradley: Hahah. That's what I was lookin' forward to see. Keep that fire.
See if you can figure out this puzzle. You’re up against a giant snake that spews mist from all over its body, and physical attacks don’t do a thing.
Mitile: The puzzle of this giant snake…
Bradley: A battle's won with more than just magical strength. Power alone won’t guarantee your victory.
If that were true, Mithra would have long since turned me to stone.
You got that, kid? If you don't got the brawn, then you make up for it with your brain.
As long as you've got a functioning brain up there, even someone like you can figure out how to take down that giant snake.
Mitile: Bradley san...
I won't let you down! I'll do my best!

Mitile nodded, fiercely determined. His eyes glittered like kindled flames.
His face, still childlike in its youth, was resolute. Inspired by his display, I too, found my resolve.

Bradley: Mithra! I'm going to train this kid for a bit! You stand there and count to one hundred while you keep the fiend busy with those ice spears of yours!
Mithra: Please do not order me around.
... Well, I do agree with the bit where you intend to impart some knowledge to that boy though.
Very well. I shall go along with your scheme.

Mithra raised an arm into the air. Above him, countless ice spears took form.

Bradley: And you, Kenja, you hold this.
Akira: You mean this orb of ice? Oh, it's not cold at all...
Bradley: This will keep time. Listen up, kid, once this orb completely melts, Mithra will kill the fiend.
Mitile: Right.

[ Spear attack noises ]

Mitile observed Mithra's battle with the giant snake with rapt attention.
His gaze was focused on Mithra's fluid movements.

Mithra snapped his fingers. Buoyed by the tailwinds of the blizzard, his spears hurtled towards the giant snake.
Like before, the snake remained unharmed. None of the attacks worked.
Without skipping a beat, Mithra curled his finger.

Mitile: Ah, the spears that passed right through it are returning like a boomerang!
Akira: Nice, that should do it...!

But even a rear attack did not work.
The snake's body continued to shift, opening up holes to allow Mithra's spears to pass through, or it curved to evade the spears leaving itself unharmed.

Mitile: How even... the attacks were from a blind spot, too!
It's almost as if it has eyes on the back of its head!

Akira: (...... This orb of ice is melting fast. It won't last much longer...)

The purple mist started to twine around Mithra's body, wrapping around him like a thin cocoon.
Mithra kept up the onslaught of attacks. The giant snake kept expelling more of the mist at Mithra.

Akira: Oh, about that mist...
It's mist, but instead of being hissed or spat out, it seems to be emitted from all over its body.
Mitile: Now that you mention it...
Akira: Sorry. I've got nothing else; it was just a thought that popped into my head…

Water from the melting orb started to pool up in my hands. I felt myself growing nervous as something gnawed at me from inside. The answer to the puzzle felt so close, yet so far — but I couldn’t figure it out.

Suddenly, we heard a loud cry, wild and free, from overhead. It was in stark contrast to how dead-ended we felt.
I glanced up. A flock of birds flew past.

Akira: (Wow, that's a sight. They almost look like they're one giant bird.)

Mitile: ... Wait...!

Something about the birds made Mitile frantically glance around.

Akira: Mitile?
Mitile: I've got it! I've practised this lots of times! I can do this...

Mitile held a small stone within his grasp. He caught the giant snake within his sights and opened his mouth to say:

Mitile: « scin......

[ Mitile smiles to himself. ]

Mitile: .........
« allitnic sealsispilce » !

At the sound of Mitile's spell-word, his stone shot towards the giant snake.

Bradley: Interesting.

Alas, due to the strong winds, the stone dropped to the ground midway with a plop.

Mitile: Oh no!
Bradley: Not using your new spell-word anymore? You giving up on it?
Mitile: ... No, nothing like that. I’m the one that needs to improve, so it’s my spell-word that matters.
I’ve practised saying this spell-word over and over again, so many times…

Mitile: « allitnic sealsispilce » !

[ Mitile tries again. ]

Mitile: « allitnic sealsispilce » !

[ And again. ]

Akira: (... The orb's already half-melted...)

Mitile: (panting) I-I can't hit it. The winds are too strong…

Mitile's spell-word rang out many times in the cold air. Each attempt took more out of him; he looked exhausted.

Akira: (He's not used to spending so much time out in this sort of harsh weather... And he's used so much magic too...)

Bradley: Giving up already?
Mitile: I'm fine!
Please let me show you I can do it. It has to be me. I have to be the one who figures it out.

The orb of ice in my hand had melted down to about the size of a marble.
There was only so much time left.
Mitile took a deep breath.

Mitile: « allitnic sealsispilce » ...!

This time, Mitile's stone went straight for the snake's belly.

Akira: It's a clean hit...!

But the stone was quickly repelled.
A slim shape shot out from the snake's skin, and then it slapped the stone away.

Akira: What was that!?
Mitile: ... It's the tail of a small snake!
Bradley san! That's no giant snake!
It must be an amalgamation of many tiny little snakes, isn't it?!
Bradley: So it is. Now, what do you do?
Mitile: These little snakes individually exhale poisonous mist. They also work together to evade Mithra san's blows... That means...
Mithra san! You can't keep piercing through the snake with the spears, it won't work!
Please use some sort of magic that'll envelop and attack the snake's entire body in one go!
Mithra: Just in the nick of time. Well, coming from you, that wasn't a terrible performance.

Mithra: « arsim »

Mithra raised his magical tool - a skull - overhead.
The skull started to exhale frigid winds that made up a ferocious blizzard.

[ No BGM ]
Even though the 'giant snake' tried to make its escape, it was too late. It was also denied the opportunity to scatter apart.
In an instant, it was frozen solid in its entirety..
The purple mist that surrounded Mithra faded away with the white winds of Mithra's blizzard.

Mitile & Akira: We did it...!

We got on our brooms and returned to where Mithra was.
I stared up at the giant snake, frozen in motion, and then I grasped Mitile's hands excitedly.

[ BGM starts ]
Akira: You were great out there, Mitile! Who would've expected that giant snake to have that sort of trick!
Mitile: Ehehe...
I thought that the flock of birds from earlier looked like one giant bird... And then I wondered if the same applied to this snake.
That's why I figured I'd try to strike its body. I'm not as strong as Mithra san or Bradley san, so it wouldn't need to evade my attacks.
I thought that maybe something different might happen, and it did!
Bradley: You passed, little Southern Wizard.

Bradley clapped Mitile's back in both encouragement and praise.
Mithra watched Bradley and Mitile. After a moment's thought, he too did the same to Mitile.

Mithra: Uhh, I guess you were a little bit useful. For a Southern Wizard.
Mitile: Come on, Mithra san! If you're going to praise me, can't you do it properly?
Mithra: I am doing it properly. I said you did well.
Mitile: ... Ehehe. Y...ay—

Mitile smiled from the bottom of his heart. It was a wide and bright smile.
And then he toppled over.

Bradley & Mithra & Akira: Mitile!?
Mithra reached an arm out and caught Mitile before he fell.
In a panic, Mithra patted Mitile's face.

Mithra: Wh— Mitile!? Did you come into contact with that poison!?
Akira: Are you alright, Mitile?!
Mitile: Mmh......
...... (slow, quiet breathing) ......
Bradley & Mithra: .........
Bradley: Hahah, he's just passed out asleep from exhaustion.
Akira: Phew... That's a relief...
Mithra: (exasperated sigh) ... Please don't scare me like that.
At any rate, I think he lacks training if he's passing out from something as simple as that.
Bradley & Akira: .........
Mithra: What's wrong? Why are the both of you looking at me funny?
Bradley: No, listen. It’s because you’re the outlier here. You just took a nice cosy bath in all that lethal snake poison, but you’re still fighting fit. I don’t wanna hear you say it’s something anyone can train for…
Akira: (Yeah, like... I kinda want to know what sort of training someone needs to go through to reach a Mithra-level of good health...)


next episode ⭢