Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [262]
The statue isn’t moving by itself. Father Diamon is controlling it with his chanting. Wataru thought hard. It’s Father Diamon I have to stop. I have to break the spell!
Another blast-wave came and he deflected it. This time, the leftover energy from the blast careened at an angle and toppled a row of candles to the floor. No, that wasn’t exactly right. It had actually cut the candles clean in half. The severed tops fell onto the floor, their fires flickering pitifully on the stone.
These blast-waves…that’s it!
The tip of Cistina’s scepter pointed again at Wataru.
I have to direct the blast at Father Diamon!
This reminded him of something. Softball. I played softball with Katchan. I couldn’t swing the bat very fast, but Mr. Komura always said I had a great sense of timing. “That Wataru can hit any ball—not very far, but he can hit it! He’s got good instincts. Why, Ichiro Suzuki ain’t got nothing on him!”
It was all about the timing. Wataru steadied his breathing. The stone Cistina was winding up again. Here it comes.
The blast-wave shot at Wataru. He could see it cut through the air, howling. It was coming straight for his neck.
Wataru swung his Brave’s Sword and let fly another magebullet. But he had flinched when he saw the blast-wave coming, and his swing came a second too late. The barrier of light spread right in front of his nose, and the impact of the blast-wave sent Wataru sprawling. Three candelabras off to the side had their stands cut from underneath them. In the wake of the blast-wave there remained an eerie silence.
“What’s wrong? Is it all you can do to avoid getting hit? I’m afraid you can’t hold on much longer, boy!” Father Diamon’s cackling laughter echoed off the walls of the cathedral.
Cistina’s stone face was close now. It smiled, anticipating the final blow. The scepter cut an arc through the air. Wataru heard the keening disharmony of a blast-wave fired at point-blank range.
—“Ichiro Suzuki ain’t got nothing on him!”
Wataru swung his sword just like a baseball bat. This time, the magebullet fired slightly to the side, catching the blast-wave at an angle. The part of the blast-wave that wasn’t blocked by the barrier grazed Wataru’s left elbow. It stung like a razor blade cutting into his skin. His shirt sleeve ripped, and the blood splattered on his side.
“Waah!”
Far behind the statue Father Diamon toppled over backward, knocking over a pew as he fell. His white robes fluttered out like a sail, and a whole section of his sleeve ripped off and fell fluttering through the air. For a moment, Father Diamon cowered, and the statue halted its advance.
Now’s my chance!
Wataru ducked underneath Cistina’s right hand holding the scepter, and charged straight for Father Diamon.
“Wretched boy!” Father Diamon howled. He was attempting to stand, but his flowing robes got in the way. Wataru crossed the distance to the pastor in three giant leaps, and successfully pinned him to the floor.
He then grabbed Father Diamon by the collar and yanked him up. He turned, so the pastor was between him and the stone Cistina, like a shield.
“Try your spells now! Make her attack, and she’ll take you down with me!”
“Cowardly cretin!”
“That’s a funny thing for a guy who hides behind statues to say!”
The stone Cistina wobbled, its mirror and scepter held high above its head.
“Let go of me with your filthy hands. Let go!”
“No way!”
Roaring, Father Diamon tried to escape, struggling against Wataru’s grasp. The collar of his robes tore. The pastor kicked with his feet and swung his scepter as best he could. “Unhand me, thing of evil!”
Hey, good idea.
Wataru let go with both his hands at once. The pastor, struggling with all his strength to get away, suddenly found himself unexpectedly free, and his momentum sent him crashing to the floor. His bald head hit the stone with a cracking sound.
With a soft moan, the pastor curled into a ball. Wataru reached out his hand and took the scepter from the pastor’s loose fingers.
“That’s enough of this thing!” Gripping the handle of the scepter, Wataru smashed it against