Chapter 354: Siren Duo

354 – Siren Duo

My field of vision is distorted, probably because of the sirens’ dissonance. I feel nauseous. I’m unable to think about anything. This feeling must be the [Confusion] status condition… It must be their [Song of Turmoil].

In a moment of clarity, I slam my head into my partner.

“Gaah!?”

She screams out, but my thinking becomes slightly clearer. Simply having someone with a hard head next to you is a countermeasure for confusion. She’s specialised in recovery, so it’s also a good that I can ram without holding back, heedless of damage.

Aro had a hand raised to my head and looked as though she was about to use a skill, but upon seeing me, she smiles in relief and lowers her hand… If I hadn’t cancelled it by myself, I would have had magic shot at my head.

I shift my attention to the treant and nightmare. The nightmare is cowering on the ground, its legs curled up around it. It probably understands that moving around badly wouldn’t end well.

As expected of the nightmare. Being unable to relocate at all is problematic, but to be honest while I’m enduring this with Aro’s support, the nightmare and treant would just get in the way, so huddling down like that is for the best.

The treant is…staggering away from me. Damn it! It’s genuinely confused! Just a little is okay, so please learn from the nightmare’s example!

“Gishaaaaaaah!”

With the treant’s war cry, a black light expands around it. It’s the [Gravity] skill… For that matter, this is the first time I’m hearing it raise its voice like that in a while.

The [Gravity] that the treant released with all its magic power reaches Aro, the nightmare, and me, and exerts a strong pressure on us. Aro leans against my neck and manages to fall to her knees, but as the nightmare is affected while already hunched down, the tips of its legs sink into the ground… Don’t wrap the treant up in thread later, okay?

“Guoooh!”

Roaring, I shoot a [Wind Slash] towards one of the sirens. With my vision still warped, I can’t aim well. The [Wind Slash] passes far below it. D-damn it! Should I try aiming a little higher…?

The other siren shoots a [Wind Slash] towards my back. I flick it with my tail to erase it. Singing discordantly, the sirens revolve around me.

…With my concentration as thrown off as it is just now, their movements are making matters even harder. If I focus on one of them, I’ll become negligent of the other. In that gap, the siren behind me will attack Aro and the others. To counter that, I should… As I try and think the problem over, the dissonant cacophony causes my thoughts to go astray.

Rather than thinking about things I don’t need to, perhaps I should focus all my attention on one thing. No matter how much I try and think about the problem, it’s too much for me as I am now. So I should give my undivided attention to what I’m doing and not pay attention to anything else.

The sirens just came from a battle with an adam, so their MP can’t be very high. If they idly shoot off [Wind Slashes], the ones who will struggle most will be the sirens. So then, then the sirens that will become impatient for victory will definitely change their strategy. That can be my next plan. Once that happens, they’ll surely have to show more openings than they are right now. Should I wait for that chance?

I calm my mind to the highest degree, and focus my attention entirely on dealing with the [Wind Slashes]. Occasionally, Aro creates a lump of earth with [Clay] and shoots it at the treant to try and restore its sanity. When she has an opportunity, she also creates a tornado with [Gale] to keep the two sirens in check.

The two sirens rotate around me, I deal with their [Wind Slashes], the treant uses [Gravity] and [Clay Sphere] on its allies, and Aro tries to bring the treant back to sanity. That continues for some time, the battle becoming repetitive.

The frequency of the sirens’ [Wind Slashes] slowly falls over time. Perhaps they’ve become tired of singing, as my [Confusion] symptoms are clearing up slightly. Their backs will be against the wall soon enough.

Taking advantage of Aro’s [Gale], I shoot a [Wind Slash] towards one of the sirens. However, perhaps because I’m still not in peak condition and because the siren is cautious of me, it dodges the gale with minimal movements and shifts its flight speed to slip past the [Wind Slash]. At that moment, coincidentally, the treant’s [Clay Sphere] – in other words, a ball of earth – hurtles towards it. It seems that, as the siren was mentally exhausted from continuing to sing while avoiding my lethal attack, it has focus spared for the treant that has been continuing to act erratically.

It doesn’t do much damage, but does seem to finally cause the sirens to abandon their current strategy. With its face contorted, the siren hit by the [Clay Sphere] shakes its head to remove the dirt. It then signals the other siren with its eyes. Continuing to sing their dissonant melody, the sirens circle closer to me, spiralling in towards me like a whirlpool.

The closer they get, the clearer I can hear their voices, and the more unwell I feel. But I don’t think I’d lose in close quarters. If you’re coming then come. I’ll blow you both away with a single strike. I was getting tired of the mental attacks anyway.

The sirens’ melody changes. The dissonant song of jumbled highs and lows blends over into a violent, frightening song. As it does, my disarrayed mind gradually calms down. I’m not feeling any new status conditions though… Is it [Song of Death]? If so, then I need to end this right away. I tense my forelegs.

With a twitch, the nightmare stops groveling on the ground and raises itself. In front of the nightmare’s body, a black light emerges. It must be the [Dark Sphere] skill. Now that the confusion song is over, it must have thought there was something it could do and tried making a [Dark Sphere].

But the sirens are far faster than the nightmare. Besides, the song might have stopped, but the aftereffects of [Confusion] should still be remaining. I don’t imagine the nightmare can aim very well, but… It must have some sort of plan.