The First Wave (4)

(Saber POV)

"The very notion of transmuting plasma into an explosive instrument appears to be an endeavor riddled with insurmountable intricacies...! God, even the words I'm saying are starting to become complicated!"

Fuming with frustration, I kicked a small stone that was below my foot and thought back about what happened earlier.

***

Having made a swift exit from the clutches of the formidable Boss Monster, I purposefully avoided any entanglement with its minions. My path led me to the precipice of a cliff, a location that had caught my attention earlier—a canvas for my audacious experiment.

With an air of determination, I ventured to the edge of the cliff, my mind focused on the task at hand. It was here, amidst the untamed landscape, that I had set the stage for my intellectual endeavor.

As the hands of time marched on, I plunged headfirst into my experiment. Fifteen minutes elapsed since the commencement of my audacious endeavor. The air was charged with anticipation, and my heart pulsed with a mixture of exhilaration after my sudden realization.

"So... If I can somehow weave the threads of Electric Magic into an intricate electromagnetic wave and stoke it with the flicker of Fire Magic's flames, perhaps—just perhaps—I might coax the elusive creation of plasma," I mused, my thoughts knitting together in a delicate dance of possibility. But my excitement was curtailed by a series of potential pitfalls that gnawed at my plans.

BAAAAAM!

My concentration faltered as the echo of a distant explosion reverberated through the air. My train of thought was derailed, but the interruption proved to be a painful lesson—one that left me scalded and singed, the victim of my own overzealous endeavors.

"Just as I thought..." I muttered through gritted teeth, my fingers probing the stinging aftermath of the ill-fated explosion. "This is more challenges than I anticipated." Pain radiated from the affected areas, a visceral reminder of my haste and the repercussions it bore.

Resuming my contemplation, I assessed the hurdles that lay ahead. I found myself grappling with the practicalities of my pursuit. My brow furrowed as I enumerated the missing pieces, obstacles that loomed larger than ever. "Without the requisite tools—high-voltage electrodes, primitive generators, and an array of other instruments—I'm stuck," I acknowledged with a tinge of frustration. "Creating the essential electric field required for the ionization process remains a distant goal... At least, for now."

I continued to dissect the intricacies of my plan, my musings dancing on the edge of feasibility. "And then there's the matter of the vessel," I lamented, my voice laced with a rueful acceptance. "The very vessel I employ — the bottle of glass's fragility, its composition — it's all a problem." The explosion I had inadvertently triggered earlier stood as a testament to the dangers inherent in my makeshift approach.

"Plus, without nitrogen or hydrogen as companions to oxygen, the explosion's potential is far from being catastrophic I envisioned," I mused, my thoughts settling into a state of candid introspection. I acknowledged the limitations that bound my ambition, the raw materials and circumstances that confined my pursuit within the realm of the possible.

With a heavy sigh, I shifted my gaze skyward, my gaze meeting the vast expanse above.

Ignoring the blood that stained my clothes, I closed my eyes, allowing my thoughts to drift and coalesce. The explosion from earlier almost gnawed at the edges of my consciousness.

"Does creating a plasma bomb, too, truly lie beyond the boundaries of this world?" I mused aloud, my words almost a whisper to the wind. My mind attempted to rationalize the situation, but a niggling doubt lingered, a doubt I was reluctant to confront. "No," I chided myself, a stern voice cutting through my hesitation. "I cannot surrender to a mere excuses or self-doubt."

The path forward crystallized in my mind. My determination grew stronger as I resolved to master Electric Magic, an arcane discipline that held the key to the ionization process required for creating plasma. The thought was exhilarating—electricity crackling in the air, coursing through my veins as I harnessed its raw potential. With each spark, I envisioned plasma taking shape, a manifestation of controlled chaos.

Yet, my concentration was shattered by a distant, thunderous roar. Irritation welled within me, a storm of frustration that mirrored the creature's clamor. "That monster truly needs to be silence," I grumbled, my annoyance amplifying the tumult of my thoughts.

In a moment of impulsive inspiration, I seized a bottle and emptied its contents. The ground before me became a canvas for my magic, intricate patterns weaving into existence as I manipulated properties like ethyl alcohol, oxygen, Methoxybutane, methylpropane, peroxide, and hydroperoxide. The resulting concoction, a strange clear substance—I barely spared it a second thought though.

"Ignite," I declared with a flicker of magic. Flames erupted from my fingertips, igniting the volatile mixture. A blaze of brilliant light flooded the surroundings, momentarily rendering everything else inconsequential.

The luminance faded as quickly as it had appeared, but I paid it no heed. My frustration fueled an audacious idea—I hurled the bottle, its contents now a swirling vortex of bullshit properties that I didn't bother on figuring out, far into the distance.

"Random bullshit, go!" I scoffed, my incredulous words punctuated by a surge of strength that propelled the vessel into the horizon.

With that gesture, a strange blend of frustration and exhilaration coursed through me.

As the echoes of the explosion reached my ears, I resumed my contemplation without much care about what happened to the monster and heroes below.

"Let's continue..."

...

..

.

Moments later, as the intense shockwave of the creature's resounding roar once again reached my ears, a visceral annoyance welled within me. Its transition to the second phase, much like the scripted events in the novel, felt like an intrusive disruption, a distraction from the fervor of my research.

"How should I deal with it..." I mused aloud, determination igniting a spark of creativity within me.

And then it struck me—an easy strategy that harmonized my mind with the practical needs of the moment. A triumphant grin curved my lips as my plan crystallized. "Aha!" I exclaimed under my breath, the thrill of the impending action coursing through my veins.

With newfound purpose, I projected my voice, puncturing the clamor of the battlefield. "Lead it below the cliff's edge!" I shouted, my words ringing clear as a clarion call. I knew that Julius, the hero at the forefront of the battle, would understand the intent behind my words.

In response to my directive, Julius swiftly issued orders to his comrades, orchestrating the movement of the battle in accordance with my plan.

As the Chimera's attention shifted, its gaze fixated upon Lady Eveline, I seized the opportunity to execute the next step of my stratagem. My lips curved into a sly smirk as I hurled the last remaining bottle of oil, meticulously enhanced with an array of components including oxygen and other volatile compounds that amplified the explosion's potential.

"Ignite!" I commanded, my magic sparking to life with practiced precision. The bottle crashed upon the ground and in the same breath, the blaze of flames erupted in response to my will. The explosive mixture yielded a detonation that resonated through the air, the earth quaking beneath the force.

The cliff, now transformed into an instrument of calculated destruction, plummeted downward, its trajectory aligned with the very heads that posed a threat.

Heroes always make a grand entrance, they say?

Back to the present.

"Oh, you're still alive?" I remarked with a mixture of surprise and amusement, observing the Chimera's feeble attempts to move despite its injuries.

"You know," I remarked with a wry twist of my lips, my tone tinged with an exasperated edge, "I'm currently harboring a profound sense of irritation. And do you want to know why? Because I couldn't even complete my intricate experiment, all thanks to the incessant noise generated by your three incessantly noisy mouths."

Gathering the last reserves of my mana, I conjured a pair of oversized, menacing eyes above the creature's body, each detail sharp and vibrant. With a controlled gesture, I sent them crashing down onto its form, a manifestation of my remaining magical energy.

"Frozen Ember," I intoned with a steely focus. The incantation hung in the air like an unspoken promise.

As the words left my lips, a spectacular transformation ensued. The ice that encased the creature exploded outward, igniting into a blaze of flames that possessed an icy, ethereal hue. The flames danced and twirled, slowly but relentlessly devouring the creature from the inside out.

The Chimera's struggle intensified, its body writhing in a futile attempt to escape the inevitable. Yet, destiny had been sealed. The colossal weight of the fallen cliff bore down upon two of its heads, immobilizing them. The serpent-like head, severed from its tail, lay severed, adding to its incapacitation.

Despite its fierce nature, the creature was ensnared by both its injuries and the mesmerizing dance of the Frozen Ember. The flames engulfed its form, seeping into every crevice, until they found their way to its core.

I watched, a tense witness to the culmination of my efforts. Time seemed to stretch as the inferno raged within the Chimera. Then, a sound like shattering glass pierced the air, marking the culmination of this battle. The fire had breached its core, and the once-mighty creature succumbed to its fiery fate.

As the flames subsided, leaving nothing but the residue of their spectral beauty, a heavy silence settled over the battlefield.

"I'll just-!?" I blurted out, my sentence cut short by a most inconvenient misstep. In my attempt to gracefully retreat, I managed to tread on an innocuous rock, setting off a most undignified sequence of events.

My footing betrayed me, however, and suddenly I found myself sliding. It was as if the world had slowed down as I saw the sky turned blue again while I was falling. Before my head had a chance to form any coherent thought, my déjà vu sense tingled like a persistent alarm clock.

What a great way to end the day, huh?