Insanity and Magic against Civilization

In front of us were five floating screens made from magic. Each of them showed different locations where the Primordial Beings' vessels were.

The first screen showed Gura and Lamy, the second showed Ina, the third showed Moona and Amelia, the fourth showed Calliope, and the last showed Haato and Shion.

"So this is our plan? Lure out the Council and beat them up?" I asked.

"That's right. I had Shion and Ina cooperate to invent a magic that would conceal you, the Primordial Dark's vessel. But that's not enough. I also had them create a magic that would show a false presence similar to yours", Yagoo explained.

"But why would they risk their necks to protect me from the Council? Why would they fight them just for my sake?"

"It's not that they want to fight for you. They are just using you as an excuse. I'm sure the Primordial Beings inside them are willing to take any reason to beat the crap out of the Council". Suisei answered.

"From my prophetic dreams and Suisei's star fortune telling, we know that the Council will strike tonight. That's why I had the magic which gave off a similar presence to the Primordial Dark in all of those locations and hopefully, we can lure the Council and give them a beating", Yagoo said.

Bright light shone from Shion and Haato's screen.

"She's coming", Shion said as several magic circles appeared near her.

A brown-haired girl descended from the sky. She was wearing a brown cloak that draped over her body and as she descended, she was eating a berry.

"What am I doing here again?" she asked.

However, Shion and Haato didn't drop their guards down.

"Baelz said I'm supposed to do something but I forgot", she muttered.

Bolts of purple light shot from the magic circles near Shion and grotesque monsters appeared after Haato snapped her fingers.

However, a stone fort appeared out of nowhere and shielded the brown-haired girl. Cannons appeared and fired at the grotesque monsters. After a minute, the fort and cannons disappeared.

"I remember! I'm supposed to find the Primordial Dark!" the girl exclaimed and then munched on another berry.

She looked at Haato and Shion.

"Do you know where the Primordial Dark is, Primordial Magic and Primordial Insanity?" she asked.

"Why should we tell you?" Shion asked back.

"You have the presence of the Primordial Dark. That's why I was sent here."

"You have to beat us if you wanna know", Haato told her.

"Then that's an easy goal to clear!"

Cannons and guns appeared beside the brown-haired girl and began firing. The ground in front of Shion rose up and turned into a wall which protected the two of them.

"Who is she?" I asked.

"Mumei Nanashi, the Guardian of Civilization. All of mankind's achievements and legacies are part of her. From technology to magic, anything made by mankind is under her command", Yagoo answered.

Magic circles appeared near Mumei and brown bolts of light shot from it. In response, Shion clapped her hands and a purple barrier shielded them.

"Damn it, Primordial Insanity! Can't you shut that loud and annoying noise up?!" Shion shouted.

"Sorry! My abilities target everyone around me", Haato replied.

"Oh? So this "Haachama" I've been hearing is from the Primordial Insanity?" Mumei asked.

"But that's not all I can do!" Haato snapped her fingers and grotesque monsters appeared near Mumei.

They swung their fists and Mumei flew up. Cannons appeared near her along with magic circles.

And then, she made a pained expression and touched her head. This opening allowed Shion to land a direct hit using her magic.

"Owww. That hurt", she said as she dusted herself.

Mumei took another berry and ate it. However, her eyes looked more serious as she glared at the two.

"You really are intending to hurt me…"

More cannons and magic circles appeared near her. Not only that, there were also guns floating above her.

"Then you won't complain if I were to hurt you too, right?" she pointed at them and her weapons and magic began firing.

"Barrier of the Immovable Guardian!" Shion shouted and a round barrier surrounded the two of them.

"Isn't she a bit too strong?" I asked.

"That's what you should expect from a member of the Council. Normally, the Primordial Magic would be able to defeat her but unfortunately, its power isn't even a fraction of its original power", Yagoo said.

"Also, Mumei isn't just using magic. She has the backing of technology. They have their work cut out for them", Suisei added.

If a single member of the Council was able to push two vessels like this, then what kind of monsters were they?

"But there's a reason why I paired up Haato and Shion", Yagoo said.

"A reason?" I asked.

"Did you know? Haato was once paired up with Shion and she was able to defeat a group of dragons", Suisei answered.

I gulped down when I heard that. Dragons were powerful creatures that even a group of skilled adventurers would have trouble dealing with. While there might be monsters like Captain Noel and Oga who could deal with them single-handedly, I was sure that even they would have problems defeating a group of dragons.

"Haato! We're doing it!" Shion shouted.

"... Fine! I'm counting on you!" Haato shouted back.

She took a deep breath and then began laughing loudly.

"HAACHAMACHAMA!!!!" Haato had an eerie grin on her face.

Haato became unbelievably faster. It took her a few seconds to close the distance between her and Mumei. She didn't even hesitate as she dove right into the barrage of attacks.

A brick wall appeared between the two of them but Haato delivered a punch. Her fist smashed the wall and landed a direct hit on Mumei's face. After that, a strong gust of wind blew which knocked the Guardian of Civilization away.

Haato started running but Mumei materialized some guns near her. The guns began firing but Haato didn't make much effort to dodge it which caused her to be grazed by bullets.

Mumei decided to go for defense as a stone fort appeared and protected her. But Haato continued charging even if the fort's cannons were firing at her. If a cannonball was heading straight to her, Haato would just punch it and the ball would be shattered into pieces.

When she got near, her right fist began to glow. I saw that magic before back when Captain Noel used it in the Idol Fan Tournament. It was called Mana Punch that could multiply the force of a punch up to ten times.

"HAACHAMACHAMA!!!" Haato shouted and the moment her glowing fist touched the walls of the fort, an explosion occurred.

Mumei got out of the smoke but her clothes had dirt on them and her head was bleeding. Her face was completely serious as she warily looked at the smoky remains.

Haato got out and it was a scary sight.

Her clothes were stained with blood and her body had scratches thanks to the bullets that grazed her. Her right arm was bleeding badly and was purple in color. But despite all those injuries, she was smiling eerily.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Full Lunacy. The greatest ability of the Primordial Insanity", Yagoo said.

My sword began to glow and transformed into Anya.

"I see. That's a terrifying power", she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"A human's body has limiters placed by the mind. After all, the basic instinct of a living creature is to survive. That's why our muscle strength and mana capacity is limited to make sure we won't harm ourselves", Anya told me.

"Full Lunacy is a state where a person will ignore the limiters placed by their mind. They can use the full extent of their body such as overproducing mana and getting impossible muscle strength", Yagoo added.

"But there's a catch: they are called limiters for a reason. If a person would willingly ignore their limiters, they will self-destruct and end up harming themselves more than they can harm their enemy", Anya explained.

"So it's an endurance battle? It's up to whether Haato can last long enough after delivering self-destructive attacks or if Mumei can survive until Haato loses?" I asked.

"In normal cases, yes. But with Shion around, she's an unstoppable beast", Suisei answered.

"Full Heal! Nature Pulse! Indomitable Vitality!" Shion shouted as Haato's body glowed.

Her wounds disappeared and Haato looked healthy once more.

"I see! Since Shion is the Primordial Magic, her Healing Magic is top-notch! She can support Haato and they don't have to worry about Haato killing herself because of her self-inflicted injuries!" I exclaimed.

"It's a simple combination but quite unbeatable", Yagoo smirked.

Mumei chuckled as Haato began charging. She snapped her fingers and an army appeared.

All of them looked like blue spirits in the form of humans and other sentient creatures. They were wearing all kinds of armor and wielding all kinds of weapons. And to make things worse, I could tell there were hundreds of them.

A tower rose with a throne materializing on top of it. Mumei sat on the throne and munched on another berry.

"Armies are always a part of civilization. Do you want me to lessen the numbers from a thousand to just a few hundred? Or do you want me to include siege weapons too?" she asked.

But Haato ignored her as she clobbered the army.

"That's a cheat! There's no way Haato can defeat an army on her own!" I complained.

"That's just how life works, Mikage. And from what Mumei said, she can even make more soldiers appear. The Council is really frightening", Anya said.

"They are our wardens, after all", Suisei had a bitter smile on her face.

"And she's not our only problem", Yagoo told us as he looked at another screen.

A green-haired woman was standing in front of Calliope. I was sure that they were in the plains at the east of Westa but for some reason, trees were surrounding them.

"Oh dear. I thought the Primordial Dark is here but all I see is the Primordial Death", she said.

"Sorry but I'll be making sure you'll regret coming to this world", Calliope said as a black aura surrounded her.

"Oh my. How scary."

But even if she said those words, I couldn't sense a hint of fear in her voice and expression.

"Calliope Mori, the vessel of the Primordial Death", Calliope charged as she introduced herself.

"Fauna Ceres, the Keeper of Nature", the green-haired woman raised her arm and thorny vines grew from the ground.

And so the second member of the Council arrived.