Episode 4 Black Magic

At the end of the path that I was walking for the first time, not surprisingly, was a room I have never been before.

It was a round-shaped hall and unlike my cell and the experiment room which were a little cramped, the room was very spacious and open.

When I looked back, the masked man had already exited the room without me noticing.

Alright, let me see what kind of pain is waiting for me today, although it’d be better if they just use this kind of hall for a dance party instead.

Damn it, I guess it won’t pass by me unless I think it as a boring joke.

No, maybe it will feel better if I’d just gone mad?

While I was busy thinking about that, from entrance at the opposite of the hall, something or someone while making a gacha-gacha sound was coming to my direction.

What appeared in front of me was a white-masked man who I was already familiar with.

However, it looked different that the usual masked man.
He was not wearing a white robe but protector shining with a dim light.

Maybe, an armor is a better way to say it.

“「 Now we will begin No.49’s maneuverability test. No.49, use black magic to destroy the doll in front of you」”

Oh this is the first time they have actually explained the instruction, I guess the result of this experiment is really depending on my action.

In this experiment, with that much of short briefing, they are telling me to use my magic.

To go as far as modding me in those experiments so that I can use magic, I have no idea about the meaning behind it.
However I do know, they are not that kind of people to give me enough times to think and learn how to use magic by my own.

The armored man in front of me, maybe I should call it armored doll as what they told, I do not know the theory behind it but it was moving like a human.
 Probably by using strange magic of theirs.

And that weird moving foll was walking toward me with noisy gacha-gachasound like it did when it first appeared.

To sum it all, I need to wreck this doll with magic or it’ll beat me hard with those steel gauntlets it is wearing!

“Uooo, that was dangerous!?”

The doll lifted its hand and a punch came to me from upfront.

When I was in elementary school, my friend was playing around with my handicraft that I had worked on hard for my summer project and accidently destroyed it so I gave him a punch in the face.
That was the last time I got in a fight.

Of course, I do not have any hand-to-hand fighting skills, or secretly a fighting genius or such.
Just a normal guy with big figure.

Even so, I managed to avoid the without-a-feint punch that was coming straight for me.

As a matter of course, it would not end in just one punch, the doll made a big turn and sent out continuous punches to me.

“Da, dammit――”

I bent back and retreated to my behind continuously, but at this rate I will get push against the wall within seconds.

They told me to use magic, but I can not use it right away even if I wanted to.
It is true that I got magical power inside my body, but if I were going to do something about it, I need to focus my sense――

“Guaa, ouch!”

The doll’s steel fist hit the tip of my shoulder.

Judging from the hardness and the impact, I thought my bone would get crushed if I got hit by it, but now that I had taken one it was not as bad as I thought.

Of course, it was still hurt.
Maybe this doll do not have that much power as I had thought? Or maybe the weird alteration had strengthened my body like a transformed hero?

Nah, it doesn’t matter right now.

“Oraaa!!”

Planning to return the favor, with all my might, I send a straight punch with my right hand toward the doll.

The doll did not show any sign of evading and my fist felt like it got absorbed by the with mask when I hit it.

I could feel the impact of that contact, a dull connecting sound was raised and the doll was sent flying to its back.

“How, how’s that…”

It felt like a good punch from the contact but I had never punched someone before so I did not know how much damage it took from that one hit.

But I did send it flying, it should not be able to get up and stay dead――

“God dammit, it won’t get defeated that easily huh.”

The doll without any struggle stood up again.

Although there was a crack that looks like spider web on its mask where my punch landed.

Even though the punch was strong enough to make a crack on the hard mask, when the doll casually stood up again it made me think maybe I have to use magic to destroy it.

If I kept exchanging blows with the doll, who know when will it end.
Then, I should take this seriously and try to use magic.

Those guy were saying as if it is normal that I can use black magic already, so it shouldn’t be impossible.

I have no idea what the hell is a black magic supposed to look like, but using the feeling of magical power inside my body, I focused my mind.

For that, I need to focus my concentration…

“――Guhaa!”

In front of the doll that was re-attacking me with continuous punches again, I could not take my breath and concentrate at all.

Even if I kicked or punched and sent it flying again, it will probably just get up again soon.

Right now, I had hit it a few times already but apart from the dents on its armor, it did not bring any change to the doll.

But I can not focus if I kept being attacked and this place is a huge hall with nowhere to hide, so to create a situation where I will not get attacked I need to――

“I guess I have no choice but to wrestle with it.”

If I stayed very close to it, at least I will not get punched.

A completely amateur’s way of thinking and I do not know if it will work but had no choice but to bet on it.

So far this doll only attacked me with big-swinged punches, that probably means it doesn’t has any other skills like a hand-to-hand experienced fighter would.

If that is the case, I’ll grapple it from behind and it shouldn’t be able to splendidly turn around and try to tear me off itself.

“Deryaaaa!”

I quickly went around the and got myself behind the slow-reacting doll without any hard effort and gave it a yakuza-kick at his back before it could turn around.

 

//TN: The simplest way I can describe a yakuza kick is when you secretly went behind someone who is standing in front of a river and you kicked him hard at the ass so that he falls into the river//

 

The doll fell down right before me and before it could get up again, I jumped on its back.

It looks like my plan worked.

I could not do it splendidly like a judo pinning technique but I succeeded to keep the doll from getting up.

As I expected, the doll kept trying to get itself up.
The struggling of power continued between the doll and me.

If I can just keep this on, for like only 10 seconds…

“Guu, Uu, Oooo…”

The magical power within me circulated, and the flow accelerated and its amount also increased.

I could feel the object that they implanted inside me in one of the experiments was reacting to the magic flow.

I somehow know, if I released this magical power to the outside just like that, it would be enough to destroy this doll.

When I noticed, instead of sweats, black smokes were coming out from my body.

I did not feel any unpleasant feeling about the smokes, as I know they were my uncontainable magical power that is gushing out from my body.

Gigigigi-like creaking sound came out from the doll and it struggled even stronger and I almost at my limit.

But, this is the end.

“Daaaaaaa!!”

At the very moment the doll brushed me aside, I released the magical power I had compressed in my right arm.

My right-hand fist, the moment it touched the doll’s back a violent pitch-black magic stream, like a drill, is piercing through the armor and went through the doll’s body that was made of unknown material.

I think I was able to gouge its stomach along with the floor from the feeling of it.

“……”

I did not feel any power from the doll, and I kept myself lying on the floor afterward, without trying to get up.

“I, I did it…”

I wonder if that was magic.

I only released the flowing magic using my punch, that was all.
Oh well, the doll stopped moving now, that is a relief.

――Gashang

“Eh?”

Sound of clashing armor made of metal, and sound of moving doll entered my ears.

I was sure I had defeated the doll my very hand, and it was still lying face-down without any single movement.

――Gashang, Gashang, Gashang

But, without doubt, I am hearing the sound.

Of course it is, it is not that strange at all.
The sound was coming from the other side of the door.

In other words, there were not only one doll.

“……Haha”

The door finally opened.
A line of dolls rushed in, in total of 10, forming a side-to-side line and made their move toward me.

They looked like the one I just crushed but with one difference.

All 10 of them, were holding a double-edged sword in one of their hands.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Up till now, I had prepared myself the resolution to die after all those painful symptoms I suffered, but this is the first time I really think I am going to die.

Then, without any miss on the timing, all of them charged at me while pointing the blades to me.

“……I’m so fucked”

From the author : A dead-end! Would you like to continue from a save point? Nah, just kidding this is not that kind of stories.
I’ll continue the story properly.

Kurono had learned Drill Punch!