Science Shall Prevail Over Magic Chapter 2

(Helium) 2nd Chapter | Enter the Hero of Science

“Quick! Everyone, run!”
“Luna!”

“……Don’t worry, Mother. Rest easy. I’ll show you I can protect this village……because I’m a Mage.”

“Maaze……we can only rely on Luna now……please understand.”

Luna=Lanford evacuated everyone in the village to a hilltop in the outskirts of the village and stopped midway in order to block the path to the hill.

However, even if it may be true that her daughter was a rare Mage, Luna’s mother, Maaze, couldn’t hide her impulse to stop her upon seeing the retreating figure of her daughter, who was trying to bear the brunt.
Even though it was the duty of the village chief to protect the village, the ritual of sacrifice had been continuing on from the olden days.

Once every decade or so, a Blue Ogre, against which even a member of the Guild would be at a loss for what to do, let alone the villagers, would attack this village.
On that occasion, this village would offer a girl. What was transpiring was exactly that.
This time, however, the circ.u.mstances were different.
A Mage, a rare human being in this world, who could manipulate Mana at will, had been born in this village.

To begin with, Mana was an energy that infinitely existed in this world. Occasionally, it would crystallize. The human civilization developed using those crystals.
Sometimes, it would be used as fire for cooking; sometimes, it would be used as water for living beings to subsist; sometimes, it would be used as a driving force for an object to move; and sometimes, as a weapon to hunt beasts……it was an indispensable object.

Although the power of that object could be harnessed, the crystallization of Mana was entirely natural.
In contrast, there existed a race that could absorb Mana, also known as energy, in their bodies and manipulate it freely.
That race, referred to as elves, was the only race with such a potential amongst many races, which existed in this world beside humans. An elf, that could use such a power, was a precious existence.

There would seldom appear a human bearing the same power as an elf. That human was respectfully called a Mage.

As a child, Luna exhibited the same rare ability borne by one of those Mages.

The whole village was ecstatic. For such a human to be born in such a remote location was an immense honor. Now, they wouldn’t have to perform that ritual anymore.

And then, when Luna turned 17, the Blue Ogre attacked the village.
However, ‘with Luna here, that monster wouldn’t be an enemy,’ is what the the village chief thought.
Everything was entrusted to a girl.

Luna was confident, too, that she could protect everyone. After all, she was a special existence ought to be respected.

Until a group of Blue Ogres attacked the village……

“……No way……there are so many……it’s not……one.”

Ordinarily, the village would be attacked by only one Blue Ogre.
However, when Luna evacuated the villagers to the hill, what barged into her sight was a group of bluish black tough bodies clad in a bizarrely stagnant aura.
Their number easily exceeded ten.
To confront one Blue Ogre, multiple members of the Guild, who were confident of their skill, were required. Such was its level.
Even though she was a distinguished existence in this world, a Mage, it was beyond the scope of a lone 17-year-old girl’s combat experience no matter how one looked.

Upon witnessing it, the villagers, who had escaped to the hilltop, were dumbstruck.
Having abandoned the daughter who she had carried in her womb and given birth to, her mother, Maaze, broke down into tears. However, upon realizing that she wouldn’t live long either, she felt relieved.

When the villagers, who were clinging onto the hope that was Luna, realized it was hopeless, despair clutched their hearts.

“Ku……it’s going to be alright……I’m a Mage……please, lend me the power of magic (Mana)! Light Arrow of Water (Water Ray).”

Luna had yet to give up.
She manipulated Water Mana to the limit of what she could hold and fired it at the troop of Blue Ogres.

Thousands of water arrows downpoured on the Blue Ogres from the sky like rain. The spectacle was a masterpiece.
Those who were spectating the battlefield from atop hill were fascinated by the power of magic. At the same time, they marveled at the might of Mages anew.

“……N-No way.”

However, when the torrent of Mana subsided, what remained wasn’t a pile of bodies shredded by arrows. It was a group Blue Ogres that was marching forward as if nothing had happened.

Out of those capable, only a selected few amongst the members of the Guild, who were ripen with combat experience, knew that Blue Ogres were resistant to Fire and Water Mana.

But how could a 17-year-old girl, who wasn’t even a member of the Guild, who was brought up in a remote village, know that?
Upon witnessing all the Mana she could fire having absolutely no effect, the idea of trying other (types of) Mana left Luna’s mind.
Rather, having expended a ma.s.sive quant.i.ty of Mana, her body betrayed her.

————The cries of the Blue Ogres, which sounded like cheers, were akin to the calls from the depths of abyss to Luna.

“……Woah! Woah, woah, woah……”

Witnessing the unbelievable spectacle with his own eyes, s.h.i.+n was shaken.
‘Which country is it?’ ‘What period is it?’ Thinking such things over, when s.h.i.+n arrived at the location where the voice came from, what came into his view was an army of bluish black bodies.

‘……It’s different from an ogre,’ he thought. After all, that aberration of a monster was in front of his very own eyes.
A chain mail-esque object wrapped around the waist; tough hands wielding a broadsword; bluish black-colored body that could easily be mistaken with the trunk of a large tree. Its mere appearance would be enough for a normal human being to faint.

Seeing such a monster, s.h.i.+n recalled a biological weapon (Biometatron) from his past.
Across that troop, a lone girl could be seen confronting the monsters in order to block the path inside the woods. In an instant, he grasped the adversity of the situation.

At that moment, he was reminded of the Portable Terminal (Device) he was carrying. On reflex, he activated it.

“Activate Terminal (Device on), Battle Status (Battlefield) ・Load (Open).”

Even though he may not look like it, s.h.i.+n was a member of Force Hacker’s Operations Unit. He possessed the genius and training to the extent that he could face an Android Killrer with a mortal body.
Even the biological weapon (Biometatron), which was the result of the government’s confidential research in order to counter Android Killrers, wasn’t his match. He didn’t know as to how many times he had battled Android Killrers and whatnot.

What he did know, however, was that the monster in front of him wasn’t any different from that gigantic yet idiotic creature.

Through Battle Status (Battlefield), the Portable Terminal (Device) instantly captured the existing elements.

In the list of elements……N, H, O, C, Ar; familiar elements lined up.
And then, unknown1, unknown2, unknown……the terminal lined up a string of identical characters and froze; upon which, s.h.i.+n could be seen fretting a bit.

“……H-Hey……what’s this?”

With this Portable Terminal (Device), he went into and came out of countless battlefields in j.a.pan, which had been devastated for several years, yet such an occurrence was the first thus far.
‘Has the computer broken due to forced s.p.a.ce-time transfer?’ Is what he thought. However, he didn’t have the luxury of deliberating over it.

When the bluish black monsters noticed s.h.i.+n, half of them approached him roaring.
Having already repeated it countless times, he quickly carried the process out on reflex.
Element number 6: highly dense, the most stable, converges the quickest; C was selected per norm.

“Particle Bond……Stable, Carbonized Edge.”

s.h.i.+n set the converged black blade up and activated Acceleration System.
Immediately after, s.h.i.+n’s figure vanished. When he reappeared, he was by the side of the girl, who was confronting the troop of monsters not long ago.
The troop standing over the straight line, which connected s.h.i.+n and the girl, collapsed then and there after having their bodies bisected vertically.
Only a fraction of a second had pa.s.sed. However, in that fraction of a second, that bluish black troop was reduced to half their original number.

“……What’s happening……why is Acceleration System acting unusual?”

Rather than taking responsibility for das.h.i.+ng and cutting the monsters up, s.h.i.+n was entertaining questions over the abnormality of Acceleration System.