“Okay!” his women responded. Miyaji, flanked by his women, attacked at twice the speed they had been moving at before.

“Stardust Mirror!” I shouted.

“I’ll destroy your flimsy mirror in an instant!” he shouted back. My protective walls were quickly shattered, and the women came pouring in. Relying on strength in numbers . . . I didn’t hate it as a tactic, but I also didn’t really want to be on the receiving end of it.

“This is just another way to use my weapon! Reflect this, if you can!” Miyaji yelled and turned his musical instrument into the gaudy-looking guitar and swung it at me. I already knew this was a cursed weapon.

“Die! Shield Demon King!” Armor was still harping on that. Talk about a paper-thin character!

“Please don’t think we were just standing around doing nothing for all that time!” Raphtalia said.

“Raph!” Raph-chan was with her, leaping forward and casting some magic. Her tail was all fluffed up.

“Dream Illusion: Shadow Single Strike!” It was a combination attack, bringing together Raph-chan’s and Raphtalia’s magic. The chamber was suddenly filled with countless copies of Raphtalia, making it impossible to tell which was the real one.

“I won’t allow that!” Armor shouted. “What?!” When he actually attacked one though, the fake vanished in a puff of smoke. Armor and Miyaji’s women had no idea which one was the real Raphtalia, allowing her to successfully perform her attack. Two slices appeared in the side of the room from her sword stroke.

“You mock me! Taste the hammer of justice!” Armor raged on. He swung his axe. The armor from which I had given him his clever name was now covered with blood. I caught his axe on a mirror and turned it aside, eliciting an annoyed grunt.

With a boing sound, Miyaji and his women were protected by that same mysterious barrier from before. Itsuki’s magic must have landed between castings. While Miyaji was actively performing, we couldn’t hope to get that lucky again.

“You’re tough . . . but there’s more I can do!” Raphtalia responded.

This “Hero’s Melody” had an innocuous name for all the trouble it was causing. Repelling such a powerful attack from Raphtalia was another—in this case unwanted—example of the power of support magic. In this case, it appeared to boost stats and provide the defensive covering.

“What . . . what’s this?” someone spluttered. “My insides!” Wow, wonderful! So Raphtalia had woven in a Point of Focus to perform a defense rating attack! The defensive covering had seemed to stop her attack at first, but it had been unable to prevent the follow-up effect.

Maybe it was magic that reduced the damage by a certain amount, rather than simply a wall like Shooting Star Shield that stopped it.