Ais couldn't hide her shock as she stared at the scene before her.
"Whatever it touches shall be stained in jet-black."
During the Monsterphilia festival, after slaying six rampaging monsters, a disturbing new threat, a carnivorous plant, appeared suddenly. Ais, sensing danger, rushed to the scene and narrowly rescued a boy who had been with Tiona and the others.
Not long after, three additional carnivorous plants emerged. Ais prepared to fight but found herself without a proper weapon. Her cherished sword, Desperate, was being repaired, and the temporary blade borrowed from the [Goibniu Familia] broke due to her usual intense handling.
Her strikes proved ineffective. As Tiona and the others provided cover, she tried to guide the boy to safety. It was then that she noticed a beastman child stranded nearby. Just as Ais attempted to shield the child and narrowly avoid being ensnared by the plant's tendrils, the plants' attention shifted entirely in another direction.
The carnivorous plants charged off, allowing Ais to escort the child to safety. When she turned to see what had drawn the monsters' attention, she was stunned.
The boy she had saved was now facing the carnivorous plants. And not just holding his ground.
"What reflects shall fall into the twilight."
He avoided every strike of their tendrils, deflecting them with a weapon that gleamed in his hands, the Harpe. At the same time, he chanted.
Tiona and Tione were just as astonished.
"Parallel Chanting." A high-level technique that allows the simultaneous execution of four actions: attack, movement, evasion, and incantation. Only a select few among advanced adventurers can manage it.
But wasn't this boy, a friend of Lefiya's, just a Level 1 lower-class adventurer?
"The city of perpetual night, the new moon."
More incredibly, he summoned shadowy tendrils from beneath his feet, which struck the plants' tendrils with a force akin to blunt weapons, redirecting and parrying their attacks.
In other words, he was layering skill use atop the already challenging parallel chanting.
"I am the wandering slayer."
And yet, Tiona and Tione's impressions were correct. Toki was undeniably a Level 1 adventurer. In fact, he himself didn't even realize that his skill required incantation.
But fate had blessed him not just with one or two gifts, but three: a keen intellect, unparalleled spatial awareness rivaling that of top assassins, and an innate skill from birth.
"Manifest."
For Toki, his abilities were like extensions of his body. His volatile magic coursed through him as naturally as blood. His mental reserves, or mind, rivaled even those of the legendary mage Riveria Ljos Alf.
"Judgment's Power!"
And now, that immense mind was unleashed.
"Infinite Abyss!"
In an instant, twelve pitch-black serpents emerged from Toki's shadow, lashing out in all directions and sinking their fangs into the plants' tendrils. Each serpent dwarfed its target in both length and girth. Yet, strangely, their teeth did not pierce.
(Just as I thought…)
Toki had anticipated this result. He poured more mind into his spell, transforming his skill into magic. But the outcome remained unchanged.
No matter how much power he unleashed, as a lower-class adventurer, defeating the carnivorous plants was beyond him.
Still…
"In the name of Wishe, I beseech thee!"
It was enough.
"O ancestors of the forest, proud kin, heed my voice and gather upon the meadow!"
Lefiya began her chant, tears streaming down her face.
She had waited. She couldn't chant until Toki finished. If she completed her high-speed chant too soon, it would render his efforts as bait meaningless.
So she had held back, even as frustration brought her to tears. Despite her skill with high-speed chanting, she was just a stationary turret. She had no choice but to endure.
"Bonds entwined, a pact of revelry. Dance within the eternal ring."
The magic Lefiya had mastered was her ultimate spell, a hymn like a love song dedicated to him.
"Come forth, fairy circle, lend me your power!"
Magic surged, coalescing. Toki infused his shadow with his remaining mind.
"Elf Ring!"
The spell's name rang out as the golden magic circle shifted to a deep jade hue. Yet the carnivorous plants ignored it entirely, focusing on Toki and his overwhelming magical presence.
Even now, Toki held his ground. Though he made no attempt at a direct attack, he seemed to effortlessly perceive the battlefield from above, deftly maneuvering his weapon and serpents to fend off the plants' relentless tendrils.
"The harbinger of the end, white snow. Stir the winds before twilight."
And so began Lefiya's second verse. Her rare magic, capable of completely mastering an ally's chant and effect, took shape.
"Sealed light, frozen earth."
The one known as the Thousand Elf now sang solely for him.
"Rage, triple winter, I am Alf!"
Hearing her chant, Tione, who had been frozen in awe, snapped to action.
"Toki, the chant is almost complete! Withdraw now!"
Before she could finish her warning, the serpents vanished like mist, dispersing into the air.
The carnivorous plants, momentarily disoriented, failed to notice their impending doom.
"Win Fimbulvetr!"
Three icy blasts erupted, freezing the very atmosphere and encasing the plants in crystalline frost. Their movements ceased entirely.
"Hah!""Here we goooooo!"
In perfect synchronicity, Tiona and Tione unleashed spinning kicks, shattering two of the frozen monsters into fragments.
"Ais, ""…Loki?"
Unnoticed until now, Loki approached and handed Ais a sword.
"This is…""Found it earlier. Thought it might help."
The blade was one Ais had admired earlier that morning.
(When did she…?)
Without hesitation, Ais drew the sword and reduced the final frozen plant to splinters.
….
"Hey, boyfriend! You okay?"
After the battle, Toki sat just outside Lefiya's magic range, his breathing steady. Tiona ran to check on him.
"Yes, I'm fine." Toki replied, rising with a faint smile, though his hair was partially frozen.
"You're amazing, kid." Loki said, appearing behind Tiona.
"Thanks for helping out my family."
"It was pure coincidence, really." Toki replied modestly, though his smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Toki, are you okay?!"
Lefiya rushed over, but as Toki raised his hand to reassure her, he collapsed.
"Ah, w-wait…"
A sudden wave of exhaustion overtook him, and he fell into a deep sleep.
….
Meanwhile, in a secluded room, two goddesses conversed as the sun began to set.
"By the way, Freya." Loki began.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"This morning, you mentioned there was someone else. Who are they?"
Loki referred to their earlier meeting, during which Freya had cryptically hinted at another mortal who had caught her interest.
"Oh, that…" Freya's lips curved into a playful smile.
"Rather than being charmed, I'd say I'm intrigued. That one's soul is split into two colors. Not entirely rare, but… the shades are unique."
"What colors?"
"Black, the purest black. Not unusual, but the other…" Freya's expression softened with amusement.
"Transparent. A pure, untainted clarity that's far rarer. And the two coexist without mixing."
Thinking of the mysterious mortals, Freya's smile deepened.
"The lower world never ceases to fascinate me."
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Note: Honestly, I feel like this might be too overpowered, but since Lefiya's the heroine, I needed Toki to be exceptionally strong to create compelling dynamics. The next chapter wraps up content from the first volume of the original DanMachi light novel.
If you guys want to read up to 20+ chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on Patreon. You can read up to chapter 35 there! Patreon.com/Veltoria