Reincarnated Lord: I Conquered Fate With My Harem-Chapter 55: The Tide Changed [III]

The moment the Sentry hurled its bomb-like core of condensed energy, Miriam reacted first.

She yelled at everyone to move, grabbing Lyra by the wrist as the two blurred into streaks of gray and gold.

A thunderous detonation tore the arena in half, swallowing the place where they once stood.

Having decided to take my time a little off, I moved evasively behind a distant wall, cushioned within the swirling wind cocoon Miriam had cast on me.

Every bone in my body reacted to their dash as a shockwave vibrated through them. With my eyes lit in admiration, I acknowledged their immense power.

’Wow!’

Dust clouded the sky, which was made visible after one of the Sentry’s mad attacks. Debris rained down like shattered stars.

Yet, through the haze, two silhouettes shot upward.

Miriam burst out first—her silver-cloud hair whipping around her, wings of compressed wind unfurling behind her like blades of the sky.

Lyra followed—scarlet flames spiraling from her boots, leaving twin trails of molten fire as she flipped in the air and drew her sword.

The Sentry, on its part, didn’t let its guard down after having its attack evaded for the second time.

Earlier, it had mistaken me to be the mastermind behind blocking the attacks. But having gotten clear of the situation, it now took note of my new companions.

Seven eyes—ruby, sapphire, jade, gold, charcoal, violet, and white—flashed in a shifting sequence. Each of them represented an element cycling through its core.

Silently, I prayed that the duo should somehow reach its core, assuming it was the base of its life.

The moment the seven eyes of the sentry located the duo, they lit all at once.

"TARGETS LOCKED—ELIMINATE." Its mechanical voice resounded across the arena.

Miriam grinned, twisting midair. "Oh, shut up!"

Wind coiled around her sword, forming a razor-thin gale edge that hummed with lethal intensity.

Adjacent to her, Lyra floated, flames converging around her blade, forging a long arc of fire radiant enough to bathe the battlefield in daylight.

’If they are aware that this amount of magic uses up a lot of mana,’ I thought from the safe zone I hid in. ’But to think they can blend the magic with their blades...’

My sight flashed as two streaks shot downward.

Watching with a bewildered gaze, I muttered. "I will learn that technique too."

Then, they collided with the Sentry. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

CLAAAAAANG!

Their speed was all-encompassing, very difficult for a common eye to keep up with. But I was able to see through their every move, maybe because I was either on the same level or above their levels.

Miriam sliced downward, her wind blade bending mid-strike as if the air itself obeyed her will.

I mean, it should, since she controlled the Wind and was even the Lord of the Duchedom. If only she can get done with her will to laze about and sleep at the wrong time.

Lyra wasn’t letting out either. She turned the same opening created by Miriam into a sweeping arc of crimson fire.

Instead of faltering due to this immense attack. Instead of being defeated, the Sentry had done what nobody expected.

It was a blur for the eyes to see, but I could tell that its metallic skin glowed and absorbed the heated impact, parrying Miriam and Lyra away from its enclosure at the same time.

"Invincible. Truly invincible."

The Sentry’s eyes shifted direction to where the duo floated mid-air.

Its thoughts began revitalizing itself, just like it were a human.

’The silver-haired girl uses Wind Magic, and her fellow uses Flame Magic. Judging the nature of how mana chooses its user, it only means they are accountable to these attributes.

Hence, if I’m able to use their counter magic against them, it should serve as their weakness and defuse their attacks,’ the Sentry thought.

’Still, seeing how they are well versed in teamwork, I won’t be able to attack them individually. It’s only when I attack them in such a manner that the plan can work out effectively.’

I didn’t know what was going on, but the looks on Miriam’s face and the words of Lyra said it all.

The Sentry was learning them.

It had remained calm after their first attack and was probably calculating its next attack, using their initial attacks as the baseline.

"Tch. Even a mere artifact can have this much sense," I murmured and looked up to the duo. "Try to keep up a little longer; I will regain—"

The attack just now had left me dazed, frozen at the moment.

The Sentry’s body had spun, each elemental magic reinforcing the next.

Lightning crackled along its limbs. Water coiled around its torso. Earth hardened its legs, and arcane symbols pulsed beneath its chest.

It had moved.

Fast. Too fast. Faster than before. Faster than when I was engaged with it.

Its movement deflected the principles of weight affecting speed. With how heavy it looked, it shouldn’t—

I was still yet to be surprised.

When I thought I saw it all, its arm twisted into a spear of condensed lightning, thrusting straight at Miriam’s heart.

She barely dodged, sidestepping to her left, then skidding with speed to a corner, leaving Lyra at close range with the Sentry.

The Sentry’s plan had worked.

Not letting up, Lyra swung in from behind, slashing a blazing arc. But the Sentry was already gone.

It reappeared beneath her, palms up.

Immediately, a torrent erupted.

Lyra’s eyes widened. "Damn—!"

Even if she wanted to evade the attack, it was too late.

A jet of crushing water slammed into her midsection and sent her hurtling back, smashing through a stone pillar. Flames sputtered out around her.

"Lyra!" I whispered hoarsely, watching helplessly from the wind cocoon. "They’re losing ground..."

I had the will to join the fight at that point, but like Miriam had advised, I still needed enough strength to match the current version of the Sentry.

Even with a raised Vitality, taking an attack head-on was going to cost me.

’If only I could use healing magic. If only Linda were here. I would recover faster.’

Just then, I suddenly remembered that when I had individual powers, healing was one of them. As a matter of fact, I had inherited it from Linda.

All my powers had just fused to become the unique power I now had. Which meant I can still use the healing power.

"Miriam. Lyra. Please keep up a bit more; I will catch up soon," I muttered and activated the healing power.

...

The Sentry turned next to Miriam.

It lifted its other arm, swiftly changing elemental resonance.

With that move, stone spikes shot upward from the ground in a quick formation, boxing her in like a cage.

But Miriam clicked her tongue. "Hah. You think Earth can cage me?"

She spun, and the surrounding wind respected her move and joined her. Hurling into an aggressive swirl of wind tornado.

In its midst, her wind flared, flapping from slow to steady, then fast to fastest, until the entire cage shattered into dust.

’No way. Earth magic shouldn’t be weak against the air attribute,’ the Sentry thought, disappointed but not fully. ’Still yet, I knew this would happen. Let’s see how you avoid this.’

Miriam was able to nullify the attack but was unable to stabilize as fast as she was supposed to evade the next attack lunging at her.

Although the Sentry had launched an attack, it predicted her escape vector and was already waiting.

As soon as Miriam got out from its cage, it struck preemptively.

Its fist glowed with darkness, then—

BOOOOM!

A blast of darkness erupted, pulling the air out of her lungs and dragging her downward.

Miriam spiraled, coughing as the gravity tugged her wings inward.

Lyra seemed to have regained a little strength as she burst out of the rubble at the same time, her flame aura igniting again in fury.

But the Sentry turned its seven eyes on them both, light flashing in a coordinated sequence.

All the seven elements of magic infused in it—lightning, water, earth, air, fire, darkness, and arcane—all formulated around its fists as it landed.

Connecting with falling Miriam and knocking Lyra off as well.

THUUUD!

The two Elements collapsed into the ground with a loud thud.

Miriam spoke with a hitched breath. "Lyra... that thing... make sure Mr. Handsome is—"

Lyra was no good on her own. She spat out blood, gritted her teeth, and interrupted Miriam. "Like hell I’m going to do that. Save yourself first."

The Sentry stepped forward.

Energy surged.

Even in my immense concentration state, I felt the entire arena tremble through the layers of the protective wind shielding me.

The protective wind must have cost Miriam a lot of mana; yet, she was still decisive enough to leave it with me as she battled the Sentry.

"Not yet. A little more. Hold out a little more," I whispered, as if they were going to hear my voice.