[ Newly Acquired Magic Engineering Combinations
Reinforced Claw Fingers (Common)
Magic tool that has the ability to instantly pull objects or enemies a short distance closer. Disposable.
Craigle Magic Ink (Common)
Special ink needed to implement certain magics. Disposable.
Permeating Photosphere (Common)
A magic tool that shines acting as lighting for a certain period of time. Disposable.
Onia's Hellfire (Rare)
A fire attributed trap installation tool. Not available for indoor use and other certain terrains.
Telos' Frosted Blessing (Rare)
Temporarily exponentially increases physical-type defense. Beware of the side effects that lead to exhaustion.
Thousand-year-old wooden wand struck by lightning (Very Rare)
Exponentially increases the resonance level of spirits of all attributes. Spirit-type magic power efficiency exponentially increases.
Glockt's Eyes (Legendary)
Temporary surge in all resonance-related skill's proficiency. Terrible efficiency with Curse-type magic. Defensive magic becomes unavailable. Become immune to all elemental-type magics.
Dell Heim's Sandglass (Legendary)
Return physical status to a few seconds prior removing all damage and injuries. Disposable.
.
.
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By nature, Magic Engineering proficiency was very difficult to train. Though, if you were able to produce even one rare-grade item, your proficiency could skyrocket. From the higher grades onwards, each and every single item was a useful tool to the very end.
Before clearing the storyline of
As such, getting my hands on a legendary-grade magically engineered item was extremely important. Because obtaining every single needed material was extremely difficult, and the fact it took a massive amount of labor, others that had tried doing it before had given up investing any further in their magic engineering skill.
"With this much, this is quite a successful haul I've gotten…!"
I stuffed away as many various scrolls as I could while I ran towards the lab's exit, all while holding Lucy.
Once passing through the Soul Library, everything else would be easy. The enemies guarding the path to the underground waterways exit were usually nothing more than the level of easy monsters. And since I wasn't even a subject of their research, even after escaping the researchers wouldn't try to chase and catch me.
Either way, I'd trained enough to the point that my vitality could defeat the few of them that stood in my way. With Lucy on my back, I ran past all the monsters, sending all the other enemies blocking my path away with Elemental Magic.
Bo-Boom!
I ran across the marble hallway and through the countless junctures, heading straight for the exit without any hesitation.
Kyaaaak!
There were vampire bats that were hanging high up, to the point that you couldn't see them at the ends of the ceiling. They spread their wings as they came flying straight down.
Looking at me, they screamed in joy as if they had found their new prey. They relentlessly flew at me, trying to sink their teeth into my skin to drink my blood.
Fwoosh.
Needless to say, I burned every single one of them to the ground.
The grotesque-looking experiments, the escaped gremlins, and other such monsters were all no match for me.
Compared to the start of the first semester, where I couldn't even properly handle beginner magic, near the end of the second semester all of those low-ranking monsters were no match for me. By maintaining my completely ridiculous lifestyle, I was able to train myself to that point.
[ Elemental Magic's Proficiency has Increased.
Magic Power Resonance's Proficiency has Increased. ]
Should I say that experience was the true flavor when it comes to hunting? Packages of experience, unique to monsters, kept pouring out.
I'm sorry Taylee…! I'll just take a bit…!
Still, while doing my best to avoid dealing with any other monsters, I had nearly reached the exit.
As I frantically spurt down, a massive iron door came into view.
Looking at it from inside, it was a magnificently large iron gate. But from the outside, it would only look like a regular stone wall. That was because they would have hidden it using camouflage magic.
Opening the door and going outside would lead to the underground waterways. Of course, you couldn't simply open it. The door could only be opened using the decryption magic shared only by those that knew the existence of the lab.
If you couldn't decipher it, then you would just have to destroy the whole thing.
Taylee could break through the entire door by using his Swordmaster's Skill to cut through it, but I didn't have the talent to do such a thing.
Originally, I was going to hide in the area and wait until Taylee entered, then sneak out of the open exit. However, I didn't think I could afford to do that right then.
But it didn't matter, because now I had the master key. I pinched and pulled Lucy's cheek, the girl sleeping peacefully and breathing lightly on my back.
Her squishy cheeks started to droop down as Lucy woke up.
***
Is she preparing to fight…?
An enormous amount of mana began to flow and spread out through the waterways.
Lortel Kehelland realized that Yennekar must have gotten into some type of incident. She wondered if maybe she had met a magic golem that was roaming in the underground waterways. But she wouldn't need to gather this much magic power to attack against a mere low-ranking golem.
Lortel herself had also run into some of the magic golems while walking through the underground waterways. Though they are tricky enemies, against which direct magic power wouldn't work effectively, they still weren't extremely difficult to fight by any means. Using magic to at least break down their inner wall, then switching to using external physical force against them, she could easily win.
Lortel Kehelland had once even faced a fully-powered Yennekar back during the Joint Combat Practice.
No matter how many upperclassmen members would attack her, there were only a few that would actually be able to defeat her. That was because Yennekar had fighting power that exceeded even some of the faculty's.
And if she was against only the first years, it wasn't even worth discussing.
However, for some reason time seemed to have stalled out for her. She didn't know what was happening, but if something were to go wrong with her and hindered her search for Ed… Then it was a chance for Lortel.
In fact, Lortel had found a clue while walking around to the secret laboratory.
Somewhere around here they're using concealing magic.
In terms of her magic power resonance, even Professor Glast had recognized her talent, assigning her to Class A.
Within a few meter radius, no matter how small her response to magic power might be, she would never miss it. Yennekar, who specialized in spirit-type magic senses, was bound to be a little worse in that field.
Somewhere nearby there was probably an entrance to an even more secretly hidden facility.
Otherwise, the winding structure wouldn't make sense. No matter how hard you tried to find your way, the structure of the place would always make you end up right where you were before. In the first place, it wasn't even possible for such a structure to function properly as a waterway.
They called it an underground waterway, but it was clearly just trying to imitate one. Instead, it definitely had to have a different purpose as a facility.
"Alright… I shouldn't let my guard down in this situation."
Suddenly, Lortel looked down at herself in the reflection of the water.
Her hair was neatly combed to make it look as glossy as possible. Her reddish-brown hair color, which was rather pleasant to look at, emphasized the beauty of her pale skin tone. The blue rose-shaped hairpin and the semi-robe, which had gilded edges all around it, had been added to make her stand out a bit more… She really was a girl that dressed like she was going out on a date.
On a positive note, she was a girl that had fallen in love. However, it was kind of inappropriate seeing her do such a thing in a place like that.
Lortel sighed deeply as she took out the hairpin, untying her hair. She took a string from her school uniform pocket and tied her hair to one side like usual. Just in case her hair got messy, she once again put on the robe hood that she hadn't been using and took off all her expressive ornaments, stuffing them into her pocket.
She appeared a bit pleasingly simplistic, but it was as if she had returned to her regular appearance. Lortel nodded her head as she pinched herself.
She wanted to look good, but this was still a plain as day crisis situation.
Though she didn't want to lose to her rival, she couldn't risk the life of the one she loved for it.
She's been weighing the values of everyone else her entire life, but she was sure that there were definitely things she should never have to weigh.
As for what that may be, she should never doubt the value of that person's life.
After thinking that far, Lortel started to get really worried for Ed.
Ed Rothstaylor was a mysterious person that felt like he would somehow manage to overcome whatever crisis came his way. Even the actual sense of it being a crisis had been somewhat lessened due to Ed's heavy and reliable image.
However, she couldn't just solely depend on that 'feeling' and forget about the severity of the situation.
Professor Glast was an extremely meticulous person.
If you were to get kidnapped by someone like that, even Ed wouldn't be in a great situation.
She was sure that he was stuck somewhere, in some sort of trouble.
Panic, confusion, difficulty, crisis. Even if he was a person that was able to build up a wall to distance himself from such words, given the depth of the situation there was a high chance that he still wanted help.
Regardless of causing Ed to owe her a favor, this was a situation where, if she really did care for Ed, she had to lend him a helping hand.
Having lived the life of a merchant that had always replaced human relationships with debt, she had forgotten that completely obvious fact.
Suddenly, Lortel had become self-aware. Now she was the one who wanted to help someone else, purely with good intentions.
She had lived her entire life on a road of commerce, where she could only judge another person's values through gold coins… It felt as if now she was seeing a new light.
In the end, her heart started to fill with the prospect of a new relationship that she couldn't use money to get her hands on.
"Okay…"
Lortel had decided.
"Ed… He's in a crisis situation right now, one where he needs help. Right now, Ed is…"
Boom!
At that moment, about five steps behind her a wall exploded, bursting open.
Being heavily coated in Intermediate Concealment and Sealing magic… It was an ironclad type of security, but in front of advanced explosion magic it was just a piece of paper.
Bo-Boom! Poooom!
Cra-ack.
That plate of iron, which was solid enough to bounce off any attack, was now burning hot and flowing down the waterways with steam coming off of it.
It was an advanced magic that even the teaching staff would have to fully concentrate just to channel, but still would have trouble properly casting it.
Being carried on Ed's back, swinging one hand in the air, a girl cast that magic and revealed the secrets of the secret laboratory to the world without mercy.
"..."
Ed Rothstaylor popped out of the smoke.
Lortel was scared out of her wits, to the point that she had forgotten how to breathe for a moment.
"E-Ed?"
"Oh, Lortel. You were here?"
There were a few scratches on his relaxed face, but overall, he looked completely fine.
The first feeling that came up inside of her was relief. The fact that Ed, who had been kidnapped, was alive and well was such a great comfort to her.
And the emotions that came following where… bafflement… so-called dumbfoundedness.
"That… Ed…? What…?"
"I was kidnapped."
"I-I know that, but…"
Ed moved his arms to reposition Lucy, who was on his back. Between his arms, all the way to his inner pockets, he had completely filled them with all sorts of parchment scrolls.
"It's great that I met you here, Lortel. Here, take some of this from me. It's hard for me to carry it all by myself."
"Wh-What?"
Ed strode towards Lortel as he poured out all sorts of parchment scrolls in front of Lortel.
"Wh-What is all of this…? These are all advanced production formulas…?"
Lortel had eyes that could convert any type of object into monetary value.
All the production formulas that Ed had poured out, as if they were nothing, were items that were not easily obtainable. There was even a legendary-grade magically engineered item production formula mixed in with them… she wanted to ask just where in the world he managed to get all of it.
No, before that, she wanted to ask… Why was he completely fine?
"Ed… W-Weren't you caught up in a major crisis…?"
"Yeah, that's right. But it all worked out somehow."
Only then did her eyes turn to Lucy, who was on Ed's back.
Lucy Mayreel.
The ridiculously strong top first year student that had taken the initiative.
No matter how talented of a magician one may be, in front of Lucy they were nothing more than a child. In the first place, it wasn't a competition that she could win.
At that moment, Lortel's intuition started ringing its alarm.
Her heart, which was always calm and composed in the face of a crisis, had suddenly reminded her of the existence of a newfound rival.
Lucy, who was riding on Ed's back peacefully sleeping, as if she didn't have a care in the world.
No matter how she looked at it, Lucy doesn't have any romantic feelings towards Ed Rothstaylor. In the first place, she wasn't someone that she could consider a rival in love.
However, it wasn't all that simple. Lucy was always hanging around Ed, to a strange extent.
She was also the one that had run towards Ed faster than anyone else to save him when he was pushed into a corner. Lucy, the one that—for some reason avoided—other people's touch, was sleeping soundly on Ed's back. She was even drooling.
She had no idea whatsoever just what level of closeness Lucy had with Ed.
Currently, it might have been just the level of a colleague that she was the most comfortable with, but if things start to develop in another direction… That feeling of distance between them would start to come together at an unbelievably fast rate.
That was dangerous.
That was really dangerous…!
She's a ticking time bomb! If I don't nip the seeds of trouble in advance, I will surely end up regretting it!
And… the promise…!
"..."
The extremely shy and passive Yennekar Palerover was a coward that couldn't convey the feelings in her heart.
On the other hand, what was Lortel herself like?
No matter what anyone said, Lortel herself was definitely the most aggressive when it came to making progress.
First, she had grabbed him by his collar, stealing a kiss from him—even confessing her love and doing all sorts of things for him without trying to hide her ill desires.
Who doesn't know how to feel embarrassed?!
The first time she stole a kiss from him back at the camp, on her way home she kept losing her breath and nearly ended up setting fire to the entire forest.
On a day she is meant to meet with Ed, she would wake up early in the morning in a hurry, making sure she could dress nicely.
She was playing hard to get with a foxlike appearance, scratching at her opponent's heart. But above all else, it ended up being her own heart that was being scratched at because she was embarrassed.
Well, at that point… wouldn't it make sense for him to be swayed…??
At the very least, he must have been at least aware of it.
At least in front of her, shouldn't he avoid making skinship with other girls or showing such a friendly appearance with them…?
Lortel had strengthened her heart.
At that point, she had to get stronger. At the rate things were going, at any given moment she would just end up becoming a real pushover.
Apparently, Ed's body didn't have any injuries, and the major problem seemed to be settled.
Lortel was a merchant.
The basics of business were give and take.
If she didn't push hard there… and wasn't able to take the initiative and win Ed over…
She'd really head up majorly regretting it.
"Then, Ed…"
"Hold onto a few of those parchment scrolls for me. By chance, if there is any material in the store, it would be great if you could look through it and prepare it for me. Next time I stop by the Elte Store I'll pick them up. Also, let me know if there is anything you want to buy. Besides the Legendary-Grade scrolls, I'm okay selling any of the others. Since you've helped me so much already, it's fine if you want to buy it a little cheaper."
"What? R-Really? But this is…"
"Please. Who else can I trust besides you? Just who?!"
Lortel quickly lifted up her head.
"I-Is that so?"
"In the first place, there aren't even many people I know. Plus, you should know that they aren't very reliable. You're the only smart one I know, so it only makes sense that I would do this."
You're the only one I can trust – The only one – You –
It's not a line that has a great meaning to it, but it still echoed throughout Lortel's heart.
"R-Really?"
"Is there even a reason for me to lie…?"
Lortel snorted. No matter how you looked at it, that was crossing the line.
Up until now, just how much has he done for her after she had given him her heart? But now he's already asking for that kind of request, which was completely ridiculous and over-the-top. There was a limit to how much you could treat a person as a pushover. Growing up in an extremely cold-hearted world revolving around business, she had become a person that wasn't used to the excitement that stemmed from love, but she could at least still distinguish between public and private matters. That was why she was a professional merchant.
Lortel looked straight at Ed, holding in her breath and straightening her spine. Then, speaking up to him confidently, in the most composed tone that she possibly could manage. Ed, I think you are crossing the line.
"…Do you need a receipt for it, too?"
She's a pushover…!!!
"I have a report!"
It was around the time that Lortel was sighing with a blank face, as if she had just put down a lot of baggage.
While she and Ed were talking about the parchment scrolls, a man had suddenly jumped out from one side of the waterways.
A man with absolutely no combat abilities had come running directly though the dangerous underground waterways. Seeing him run through the water, making those splashes, it looked as if it was absolutely urgent.
***
It was bright. But there wasn't anything like a source of light in the underground waterways.
Looking at the source of the light, there were all kinds of elemental spirits in all sorts of forms.
Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Grass, Ice.
Eagle, Rabbit, Lion, Wolf, Sparrow, Lizard.
There were so many different types of elements and animals that it was impossible to list them all one by one. However, you could define them as a single colony. They were the spirit army of Yennekar Palerover.
A one-person army.
The number of spirits that had formed solely from Yennekar Palerover's resonance level… You couldn't count them all even if you were to use your fingers, going through each hand multiples times over.
One high-rank spirit, four mid-rank spirits, hundreds of low-rank spirits.
Between all of those spirits, there was a girl that was tidying her skirt as she held onto her oak wand.
She was standing around as if nothing was happening, her collar fluttering upwards, though she was clearly being protected by numerous spirits. It was probably impossible to even get any closer to her.
At that point, she wasn't an opponent that Taylee could beat.
That fact dawned on him over and over again. Eventually, he had no choice but to admit it.
If there wasn't a reason to fight, then Taylee would have conceded his defeat and backed down on his own.
However, there is a reason to fight. He had to save Ayla.
And to save Ayla, his one and only life partner, he would be willing to risk his life hundreds of times over.
"Wh-What is going on? What's wrong with the atmosphere?"
Ziggs looked back and forth between Yennekar and Taylee's party with a puzzled expression.
Taylee and Elvira were already ingrained with fear of Yennekar Palerover. The moment Elvira had seen her face, she was already preparing for combat.
Dorothy, who had passed out, and the magic golems that had been destroyed… There was even Assistant Professor Cleoh, who had fallen unconscious. Given all sorts of circumstantial evidence, it seemed clear that Yennekar was doing something destructive.
Here in a closed environment, with no witnesses. Thinking that maybe it was a reasonable decision to treat her with hostility, Ziggs and Adele nodded their heads.
Yennekar had a stronger image of being an innocent girl, loved by everyone in the academy.
It was obvious that they wouldn't understand why Taylee and Elvira would be shaking in fear.
"What, what's wrong Taylee? Calm down!"
In the first place, she wasn't an opponent that they could defeat if they fought.
They couldn't be fooled by her petite body, cute appearance, and dilly-dally kind personality.
Ziggs, who had fought alongside Yennekar during the Occupation of Ophelis Hall, knew well just how much of a relief it was to have her as an ally.
Now that all the first year members were running at her together, there was no guarantee that they would be able to defeat Yennekar. It wasn't a good idea to unnecessarily lose some of their power.
If you could resolve a situation with words, it was the better action to take.
In the first place, the reason that Yennekar Palerover had manifested all of those spirits and was taking that stance was probably in response to Taylee's party initially being hostile.
There was a high possibility that Yennekar had no intention to fight at all.
Right at that moment, Ziggs, who had thought it was right to mediate between the two, tried to raise his voice.
Suddenly—
"Stop arguing."
A familiar voice came from along the passageway on the west side of the waterways.
Taylee's party and Yennekar all looked in that direction
A blond-haired boy, who was carrying a small magician girl on his back, appeared through the darkness down the passageway. His clothes were a little worn out, and there are quite a number of scratches across his body.
"Ed Rothstaylor…!"
The boy's name was called out twice.
Yennekar called out his name with an expression on her face as if the flower were in full bloom.
As for Taylee… he called out his name in a low, echoing voice.
Elvira looked towards Ed with a rather cold look before quickly grasping the situation.
The person that had appeared behind him was one of the three first year Class A students and the real power behind Elte Company, Lortel Kehelland.
And the girl on his back was an extremely rare genius magician that no one else could even catch up to, Lucy Mayreel.
"Ed! Ed! Are you okay?! You're not hurt, are you?!"
Ed nodded his head toward Yennekar, who was jumping around calling out his name, to tell her that he was okay and thank her for her concern.
Ed, who walked right into the middle of the hall, stood next to Yennekar and looked directly at Taylee's party.
Taylee, Ziggs, Elvira, Clevius, Adele.
In the war of the stars amongst the first year students, each and every member of Taylee's team was recognized as an ace.
But Taylee still didn't have a choice but to swallow his spit. He was starting to grip his sword even harder.
Looking at the group of people that were standing around Ed… he was so nervous that he could barely manage to breathe.
Ed, Yennekar, Lortel, and Lucy.
No matter how powerful Taylee's party might be, there was too much of a difference in power between the two groups.
If by chance they were hostile… if it really is a situation where they had to go into combat, then did they really have to go and charge against that ridiculous wall?
"Taylee."
Elvira called out Taylee's name in a low voice. The implied meaning was as follows.
We need to retreat.
Elyira was already completely fed up with Ed's fighting style.
Ed fought more like a schemer than a proper magician.
He already had a record of blocking three of them despite their wide gap in specs compared to him. That was when he could only barely handle beginner magic and just a bit of archery.
Now that he had three other colleagues helping him at that level of power… Even if they had time to arrive first and control the battlefield… Still, their chance of winning would always be zero. They could never win.
No matter how precious Ayla might be to him, it wasn't a smart idea to attack an enemy they had no chance of winning against.
If Ed ended up saying that he was going to block their path, then he would never be able to break through.s
"Go, Taylee."
It was Ed who broke the tense silence first.
Calling Taylee's name out quietly, Ed was relieved inside. He barely made it in time.
He was going backwards from the furthest part of the secret laboratory, and now he had come to the crossing point with Taylee, who was moving forwards through it.
From now on, it was a baton pass. Unfortunately, Ed still had work to take care of.
The Occupation of Ophelis Hall and the Battle for the Sage's Seal.
As the previous storyline progressed, there was a variable that had not yet been fully dealt with.
Now he had to completely remove him from the stage, to the point that he could no longer intervene and get in the way… There was no need to measure at all how to treat them, as they were just an existence that simply needed to be eliminated.
"Ayla is waiting for you."
In a quiet voice, Ed spoke.
It was time to finish up the meeting at the crossing point, as both parties had to go and do what they needed to take care of.
The one that needed to capture Glast, Taylee.
The one that needed to capture Elte, Ed.
-x-X-x-
The report given by the company staff member…
At any moment, things were going to explode.
"There's news that the soldiers hired by Golden King Elte have entered Acken Island! It seems that they are planning to take advantage of the confusion within the academy to attempt to take over Ms. Lortel's forces."
"With a large amount of Elte Company's manpower having been taken away, we are completely defenseless!"
The fact that time didn't wait for anyone was something everyone knew without needing a reminder.
The reason that man's time seemed to fly by like an arrow was because I'd been living such a hectic life.
Spending every minute of the day just trying to make ends meet, before I knew it we were already at the final chapter of Act 2.
It only seemed like it was a couple of days ago that Yennekar had taken over the student center, creating a mess… Taking care of my test grades, watching the storyline, and finishing any work back at the camp meant that, before I knew it, nearly half a year had already passed since that major incident.
No matter how passionately and thoroughly you lived, living a life where you were busy out of your mind meant there was bound to be something you couldn't take care of.
Those things that you couldn't fully finish due to your busy schedule tended to end up popping up right when you were the busiest, most out of your mind, and sensitive.
Most of Act 2 had gone well, without any major issues.
"The Occupation of Ophelis Hall" and "The Battle for the Sage's Seal", both of which had a slight twist to them, had still both ended up being completely stitched up.
However, in the process there was something that popped up and definitely still remained that I had to postpone, and still hadn't completely resolved.
In the storyline, The Golden King Elte had been completely and utterly defeated, so he didn't even have the chance to make a comeback.
Because he ended up getting demoted a bit earlier than was planned, he ended up having time to put up a final struggle. More than a resolved issue, it was better to call it a postponed one.
"Yes, that's correct. His dismissal from Elte Company seems to have finished, but seeing as he accepted it in a much calmer and more composed manner than I had expected, it seems that he is up to something."
"I was worried that by chance Ed might also get hurt. That's why I called you, to see if there was anything else wrong with safety."
"I see. Since there's no way to know what Elte will do now that he has definitely been pushed against a corner, I'll have to make sure to always keep my head on straight."
Lortel had mentioned it before, when I had visited the Elte Company. I was sure that she had thought of her own ways to deal with this issue.
Act 2 was the last chance to get everything prepared in time, right before the ridiculous upcoming hardships that would start in the second half of the storyline.
It was a period of time where Taylee needed to seriously grow, to the point that he was strong enough to stand head-to-head even against the other main characters of the storyline.
Pretty soon, all of the hardships that appeared in Act 2 would be over.
Now, with Professor Glast's defeat, Act 2 needed to be concluded neatly and surely.
I couldn't just stand still and let remnants of the past survive to create unnecessary new variables.
I'd talked about it many times already, but my advantage was that only I could see through the entire flow of the determined future… It was my best weapon, one that I couldn't give up to anyone. If I wanted to survive in this world with that weak body of mine, it was an absolute advantage that I absolutely couldn't throw away.
If he is meant to leave the stage during the second act, then he will leave the stage during the second act.
Elte was a wealthy merchant that had gained numerous experiences from living in a world of business. Just how big of a variable would take place if I let him survive out there and maintain his power until the end? There was no need to explain everything in detail.
I'd already had enough experience. The butterfly effect caused by a single third-rate villain that should have been removed at the start of the story was enough to shake the entire world greatly.
That couldn't be helped. That was because I was that third-rate villain.
I was determined to watch over and deal with the situation.
At the very least, I had to survive. It wasn't about others, it was about me.
However, if it wasn't about me, it was a different story.
***
While carrying Lucy on my back, I trudged along towards Taylee's party. Lortel had followed me from behind as Yennekar, who finally straightened her head, smiled as she followed suit.
"I-If you come any closer…!"
While the hand that was holding onto his sword trembled, Taylee shouted. Elvira was also glaring at me with a cold sweat running down her back.
Shortly after, in the moment that Taylee tried to raise his sword, Ziggs had grabbed onto Taylee's sword hilt and lowered it again. Then he walked forward, standing between me and Taylee.
"Ed."
Spear from Nature Ziggs. He was one of the people on Taylee's side that would end up becoming more reliable than anyone else.
"We don't want to fight with you, Ed. We just want to save Ayla."
"Alright. Then go and save her. I don't really want to fight with you guys, either."
From his determined expression there must have been some misunderstanding, but either way I didn't want to fight Taylee either.
"If you go straight down from here, the path will be nearly cleared. It's annoying having to explain all of the details of the situation, so when you go and save Ayla ask her instead. Since she was the one who got kidnapped with me, she'll be able to explain the situation to you."
"Ed… Then…"
"There's something that I need to urgently take care of, so I have to go. Get out of my way."
Momentary silence.
There was a brief exchange of glances between the others that were following me and Taylee's party, who were facing me.
Ziggs lowered his gaze, looking at Taylee for a moment before nodding his head. He lowered the arm that he stuck out towards Taylee and stepped aside with him.
With the two guys that were practically leading the entire subjugation force getting out of the way, the rest of the party swallowed their spit as they also moved off to the side.
I also looked towards Lortel and Yennekar as we trudged our way through the cleared path.
While I was passing through the path, their gazes on me stung.
With Yennekar, who had recalled all of her spirits, Lortel, who had her robe on, and Lucy, who was sleeping soundly… I took them with me as we went out towards the exit.
When I looked back, I saw Taylee and his team all staring at us as they started to regroup themselves.
"Taylee."
He looked like he had seen a ghost. But that was understandable.
There was still a lot of work left to be taken care of in the underground waterways.
There were a few smaller named bosses and other monsters that were in the way they would need to take care of… Celestial Researcher Koom, Devil of the Underground Waterways, Cyclops, and Inquirer Glast all remained.
One of the bosses was Lortel, but… that couldn't be helped. We are in a hurry to deal with Elte.
In the first place, Lortel was only a boss given certain conditions, so it wouldn't matter much if they were to skip her.
Besides that, there would also be many other difficult and arduous trials. The experience and rewards from those would be very helpful and beneficial.
Especially having to endure Glast's Celestial Magic, which would be too painful for a human's mind to handle.
"Good luck."
There was no need to explain the entire situation or give long words of encouragement.
Saying those two words, my party and I finally hid into the darkness of the underground waterways.
Taylee was just standing still, looking at my back as I went further and further away, but…
Until the very end, he didn't say a word.
***
We picked up the pace.
Trudging through the water, Lortel, Yennekar, and I headed towards the exit.
"My father's removal from the company is nearly certain already, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a means to turn things around."
Lortel summarized the situation in a composed tone of voice.
"In the end, his removal from Elte Company was based on accountability. The main reason for his removal came from the company's loss in terms of long-term transactions… So if he becomes free from those responsibilities, then he will be able to survive once more."
"Then…"
"Yeah… he's trying to get his hands on evidence that this company's loss is fabricated."
If it was according to the original storyline then during the Battle for the Sage's Seal, Elte should have fallen after being backstabbed by Lortel.
There wasn't even a chance for him to make a comeback. As soon as the responsibilities for the long-term losses were dumped on him, the notion should have been passed, settling his downfall.
However, there was news that the bill of his removal had yet to certainly pass. Hearing news that the bill for his removal had not yet properly passed…
"Is he using the forces from inside the company to fight back?"
"According to the original plan, his dismissal should have quickly passed before he would even have a chance to make such a resistance. But since the plan was moved forward quite a bit, it seems that it didn't go all that smoothly."
Thanks to that, Elte was able to secure enough time to return to Silvenia.
"He will go flipping over every single paper in the company's branch, but there won't be any evidence that will change the situation. I'm not stupid enough to leave such a piece of evidence behind like that."
"Then will the conclusion be the same as last time?"
"Yes. The surest way would be for him to capture me and either torture me or do something else bad enough to make me spill the whole truth."
Whatever it would take, it was certain that he would try to capture and torture Lortel, who was the mastermind behind the plan for Elte's dismissal.
"No, Ed!"
I was in the process of quickly organizing the situation and thinking of some sort of countermeasure.
However, Yennekar—who was following right behind me—suddenly pulled on my sleeve. It was so sudden that I almost dropped Lucy.
Yennekar stood in front of my path as she crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out, her body shaking.
"You can't follow Lortel, Ed."
"Yennekar?"
"You're going to get hurt again!"
Yennekar herself didn't think she would raise her voice so high, startling herself and letting out a gasp.
"Did you already forget that it was only a few days ago that you collapsed from overworking yourself?"
Yennekar wasn't good at getting mad at others.
Her body wasn't used to having her raise her voice or question others like that, so she couldn't help that her voice was a bit shaky.
Nevertheless, Yennekar glared straight at Lortel, which was something unfamiliar to her.
"This is about the Elte Company. Technically speaking… this has nothing to do with you… It would be great if you didn't get hurt any more Ed…"
Even when she was angry, it was very much like Yennekar to gradually lower her voice, afraid that it wasn't okay.
And what she was saying wasn't wrong in itself.
Either way, Elte's dismissal was all a part of Lortel's situation.
If you were to look at it from my point of view, without knowing the circumstances, frankly whatever the power structure within Elte Company was—it didn't matter to me as long as I was fine.
It was a reasonable argument, but it didn't work for Lortel.
With how the situation was turning out, even if I acted like I didn't know about the full situation happening to the company, Elte still would not leave me alone.
Besides that, it was also possible to use a plethora of other excuses to somehow get me involved in all of this somehow…
"What Yennekar is saying is right."
Contrary to my expectations, Lortel agreed with what Yennekar had said. I thought the two of them were like cats and dogs, but…
"Getting you involved in this any further is purely because of my selfishness. The right thing to do is to have you moved to a safe place and take care of yourself."
"Well, thanks for the concern, but unfortunately this isn't just someone else's business."
I couldn't get those two to understand just how important it was to kick Elte off of the stage.
If I couldn't explain it, I had no choice but to blindly push forward. Either way, it was an urgent situation. There didn't even need to be another condition for me to make an excuse or claim that I didn't have time to explain.
"What did you say, Ed?"
"It's not just someone else's business. Now, let's hurry up and get out of here."
After saying that, there was a moment of silence.
I didn't think I had said anything that amazing, but there was still this emptiness in the air where it seemed like time had stopped.
The first one to respond was Lortel.
"Just what are you talking about, Ed?!"
No, Yennekar actually came first.
Lortel had opened her mouth as she was to say something, but as if something urgent had come up she quickly took a few steps back. Her ears were completely red, like she had been caught off guard by something completely unexpected.
"Let's just move for now! There's no time!"
Really, if Elte had managed to already invade Silvenia's Commercial District then it wouldn't take long to figure out Lortel's location and reach the underground waterways.
Everything Elte wanted was inside the underground waterways.
Lortel Kehelland, who could prove that the long-term sales loss was all just a ploy to overthrow Elte.
And the one that could support the credibility of that testimony was me, Ed.
There was even the Sage's Seal, which he had been putting in so much effort to buy.
There was no way that the academy's forces, led by Headmaster Obel, would just sit still as a third-party force was entering Silvenia's grounds. But at the very least, during the ongoing chaos he wouldn't be able to afford to care about Elte.
During that time, I had no idea what Elte will do.
"What are you talking about, Ed?! This isn't someone else's business?! Did you two become more than strangers?! Was it because of your contract with Lortel?! That must be it, right?! Because if Lortel loses power of the company, that is also going to disrupt your distribution of those magically engineered items, right?! Yes, if that's the case then surely this isn't just someone else's business!"
It felt like her brain was suddenly spinning, but Yennekar's ability to judge a situation seemed to have doubled.
Quickly following me as we left, Yennekar even made an excuse for me that I hadn't come up with yet.
Yennekar… was she smarter than I thought??
"Yeah, that's right!"
"Right! Yep, Okay!"
Since it was such a sudden situation, I couldn't explain it all to Yennekar. Just by looking at what was going on, she was able to figure things out and even come up with her own judgment… She was definitely a top student.
It would have made sense for her to ask me about why I was carrying Lucy on my back, but seeing how busy I was she just grabbed her oak wand and held onto it tightly as she followed closely behind.
The first thing that had to be done was going back to Elte Company's Silvenia Branch and figuring out the current state of the situation.
It would be good to stop Elte from doing anything strange over there, at least until Taylee is able to finish up the final chapter.
So for a while, we ran towards the exit at full speed. I would have been tired regardless, but having to also constantly carry Lucy on my back had me extremely out of breath.
As I ran through the underground waterways, which seemed to go on endlessly, I would occasionally see the traces of a battle.
I had thought that it was probably just traces of Taylee passing by. From the beginning of the underground waterways, you would already have to deal with many magic golems and a mid-boss… so it would make sense.
As we came up near the exit, there were the signs of a huge battle that took place.
Act 2 Chapter 2's mid boss.
High-Rank Magic Golem Hayton and the top third year alchemy student, Dorothy.
The magic golem Hayton was completely smashed, fragments spread all around the entrance of the waterways. In the middle of it all was Dorothy, who was completely unconscious.
"He must have gone wild."
The start of the second phase wasn't all that difficult. With Taylee's specs as they were, he should have been able to break through in a straight line with almost nothing blocking his way.
It was also the first time I had gone backwards from the secret laboratory, all the way to the underground waterways. It's quite refreshing to arrive after the fact and see the remains of the battle.
I ran to the entrance to quickly judge the situation and look around. The magic golem Hayton had been completely destroyed.
Then, I looked at Dorothy, who had fallen with her face covered in spit and tears, as if she had fainted in fear.
If someone saw that, they might even think she had been tortured. Though, I'm sure that Taylee wouldn't think of doing such a thing.
"That guy Taylee. How awful is he acting, not caring one bit that she's his upperclassmen. I mean, seeing this, he really must be heartless."
I sighed as I looked at the fallen Dorothy's appearance. That was the Dorothy that wouldn't be looked down upon wherever she went, so I had no idea she would have ended up being smashed in so horribly.
"Oh, yeah! You're right."
After saying that, Yennekar replied with an oddly shaky voice. I didn't really say that expecting some type of response, though…?
"He must have been a bit violent! Yeah!"
"Yennekar…"
Yennekar answered, wiggling her fingers around while Lortel—strangely—pitifully looked at her.
It was like she was saying, 'why did you lie if you're just going to get caught anyway?' Starting to have my doubts, I looked down at Dorothy again and noticed that the shawl that was covering her body was something I had seen somewhere before.
The shawl with those cute cosmos embroidered on it… It was definitely what Yennekar usually wore over her school uniform.
Come to think of it, I wondered why Yennekar was only wearing a school uniform, so I looked back at her. Yennekar gave a hiccup as she let out a small scream.
"Beek! I'm sorry! I lied!"
"You did this, Yennekar?"
"I didn't mean to do this, but this and that happened, and things ended up being like this because of that! But I'm really not the type of person to be so cold-blooded…! Don't get the wrong idea! Really… I'm serious."
"No, I mean… I'm sorry. I said all of that without realizing that you did it."
I felt guilty, looking at the way she was trying to defend herself while waving her arms around, so an apology just naturally came flying out.
"I didn't have much time to explain my situation, that's why… Ed…! Don't get the wrong idea…! This is… I was supposed to start talking about it when Mugg flew back to me, but… D-Don't look at me like I'm a violent person…! Don't look at me like that!"
From my point of view, I had no idea just how Lortel was looking at her, but I still needed to listen to Yennekar's situation.
That was because I needed to know what was going on out there while I was locked up.
"Let's hear your story while we head towards the exit!"
Now that we'd come all the way there, all that was left was a long staircase and then we would be outside.
Being trapped in the damp and deep underground waterways, it felt like I was cut off from the outside world.
First, let's get out, breathe in some fresh air, and then think of a course of action to take right now.
While thinking that, I quickly ran up the stairs.
Lortel and Yennekar quickly caught up to me, following behind.
After walking up the long staircase, we eventually exited the underground waterways.
The fresh air filled my lungs and I could look up and see the vast, open night sky. Finally leaving the stuffy underground waterways, the feeling of openness filled my heart, but…
"..."
The sight that was in front of me was different than I had expected.
The marbled entrance underground waterways were extremely large.
Right in front of it, there was a wagon that was parked… It was clearly Lortel's.
Before she entered the underground waterways, did she order her staff to stand outside the entrance?
But the vast majority of those staff members had already been subdued.
One, two, three… A large number of mercenaries, more than I could count, besieged the entrance to the underground waterways.
"You were faster than I expected, Father."
"After threatening an employee of the company, they had told me that you were heading to these waterways. You still have a lot of holes in your personal management, Lortel."
Regardless of the starry, bright night sky, the around the entrance of the underground waterways was covered in a thick darkness.
Normally, the academy would never have allowed that number of mercenaries to enter.
However, the majority of the academy's faculty were busy repairing the damage at Trix Hall… While the rest of them had been sent out in search of Professor Glast.
Taylee was the first one to find Professor Glast, quickly chasing after him after gathering some classmates. But as for the faculty members, who only heard the news through a documented report? They were late to respond and take action.
In the first place, if Taylee tried to slow down to work with the faculty members it might have already been too late, and who knew what would have happened to Ayla. Considering that, it wasn't impossible to understand why Taylee had taken the initiative.
However… At the very least, I wished that the faculty would have stopped Elte from entering the academy grounds.
That kind of mistake… Elte was a meticulous person by nature, so he must have taken advantage knowing that.
"How did you pass over the bridge leading to Acken Island? There is only that one entrance."
"You don't have to use a bridge if you can travel over the water."
Taking advantage of the darkness in the night, several small boats full of the mercenaries were taken into the academy. He was as meticulous and sneaky as a snake.
"The academy will make a large-scale issue out of this."
"At the very least, it's better than losing my life. Don't you agree? If we can finish all the work relating to the company here, later on I will accept any wide-scale condemnation or responsibility in regards to this issue."
His splendid and brilliant appearance had faded quite a bit.
Just from a brief look, Elte's appearance looked as if he had run out of money, as he was suddenly now wearing a plain, unobtrusive outfit. Some of his ornaments were still as valuable as always, but compared to his former prowess, it was a fact that he definitely looked much shabbier.
He was a person that was holding onto a loose rock on the edge of a cliff, on the brink of falling into the abyss.
There was a sense of desperation, so there's no need to recklessly try and predict his actions.
Seeing him lead a mercenary group of that size to merely deal with three or four students… Indeed, to a stranger they might think of it as an overreaction.
"If Headmaster Obel comes forward, a mere merchant like me would be subdued in an instant. That's why I need to finish handling all of this before that happens."
"Taking advantage of this chaos and even getting your hands on the Seal, could there be anything better than that?"
Elte responded with a smile at Lortel's question.
The chaotic situation that was happening within the academy was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Elte's eyes.
If he didn't make good use of that moment, he wouldn't get another chance.
"I don't feel like leaving the stage quite yet, Lortel."
I stood still, raising my head to look at Elte.
Act 2's fake boss. In the end, he was a villain that got backstabbed by Lortel as he left the stage.
When I saw his determined face… I didn't feel as much animosity as I had expected.
Selfish, evil in nature, willing to even murder for his glory and prosperity, and someone who uses others without hesitation.
I knew it well.
Whatever the story might be, the existence of such a described villain was essential.
If there was a protagonist that was good-hearted and noble, influencing the others around him, then there needed to be a villain that was born evil, with an ill-hearted personality that met his demise.
It was ironic that, in life, it was easier to be a villain than it was to be the main character.
Even when you were just taking care of your own life, to other people there were many times where you might just look like a cold-blooded villain.
Of course, Elte had gone too far. He has crossed that bare minimum line of morals that you should never cross, over and over again.
Nevertheless, I had no animosity towards him.
The reason that Elte was so stubbornly blocking our way was… ultimately, just to survive.
He didn't want to be left alone as a villain that fell off the stage after being defeated and dying off.
Just like that… he was surviving.
That had nothing to do with how clean of a human he was. That was just something any living person would crave.
For me, it was definitely not a story that was much different from mine. I was in the exact same situation.
Therefore, I didn't morally condemn Elte.
However, I also had no intention of conceding to him.
Rumble!
Boom!
Suddenly, an earthquake struck with no warning.
Elte, the mercenaries he brought, the company employees he captured, Yennekar, and Lortel were all completely caught off guard, not expecting it. They quickly lowered their body because of the sudden shock.
It was completely different from when Lucy's attacks would hit the ground.
While it seemed as if the sky and earth were shaking, I quickly fixed my posture.
With a flash of light in the sky, lightning suddenly struck all over Silvenia.
Clearly seeing the Seven Large Stars forming in a straight line in the night sky, Glast could have been using the Celestial Magic Devildom's Arrival.
It was the largest and most wide-scale of Professor Glast's Celestial Magic.
The huge amount of mana that was circling in the air had met with Professor Glast's Celestial Magic and responded with the various Celestial Magic Circles that were engraved throughout the academy.
Soon after the explosions, huge towers made of magic power began to rise. Just looking at how tall they were hurt my neck.
The scale was greater than anything you could imagine. Each tower seemed to have pierced through the clouds. It was so high that it would take at least half a day just to reach the top of it.
That was Professor Glast's tower of magic power construction event, which took place as soon as Taylee and his party entered the secret laboratory.
To continue chasing after Professor Glast, who fled towards the towers made from magic power, they would have to head into the deepest part of the secret laboratory—where the entrance to the towers was.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each of the towers acted as an antenna, absorbing the Celestial magic.
There wasn't just one but two… three… four…. ten that would be built up.
To twist and ignore the very providence of the world, you would need to do at least that much.
As if trying to say that, the final stage of the story was starting to rise.
Flick!
Lucy, who was still on my back, flicked open her eyes as if she was responding to the massive amounts of magic power.
"Resurrection of the dead?"
She then raised her head, looking up at the sky and muttering those words to herself.
I stood upright under the procession of dark red mana that was filling up the entire night sky.
While the world was shaking, Elte stared straight in our direction.
Right behind us, the rest of the stage was taking place.
I understood his intent to grit his teeth and do whatever he could to survive and make it back up onto that stage.
Unfortunately, Elte's journey would have to come to an end.
It wasn't a beautiful story about good triumphing over evil on a well-designed stage.
In a filthy contest between two villains that had died off… It was ridiculous to try and argue about what was good and what was evil.
Elte no longer had a role to play.
He was a person that was not favorable towards me, with no possibility of having a positive influence or acting as a means of strength for me in an emergency.
I was afraid that he would have to leave the stage, because I didn't feel like leaving the stage myself.
After all, I also had to survive.
***
Boom!
Taylee's party was able to push through an early straight line from the underground waterways, straight to the monster research room.
The monsters that were blocking their way weren't all that strong, but more importantly, all the large pathways were already fully cleared.
Ed Rothstaylor had probably cleared the way as he had escaped.
The traces of the battles were clean, as if he didn't waste any unnecessary movement.
They were wondering if perhaps he had set up some sort of trap to try and sabotage Taylee and his party, but there was not a single trace of it.
Even by the Soul Library, Ed had completely cleared the entire area with not a single enemy left.
Ed Rothstaylor… Did he really just support and cheer on Taylee and his party?
If that was the case, then just what was the 'emergency' that he was talking about when he quickly ran out of the underground waterways?
In the situation in the education district, where a student had been kidnapped and even the Seal had been stolen… Just what could be more urgent for him to take care of?
With that suspicion in mind… Taylee and his party continued to push deeper into the secret laboratory.
They needed to save Ayla now.
That fact was more important to them.
-x-X-x-
'And that is why you must be strong.'
'I dedicate the last sentence of this book to you, who has been the period to the end of my life.'
'Lucy.'
The last page in the record written by the archmage, Glockt.
It was a memory that had faded over time already, but it was still one that couldn't be forgotten.
Sitting next to Glockt's dead body, the moment she flipped over the final page the girl had no choice but to accept it.
The archmage that has succeeded in his posthumous work could fully predict just what his one and only family member and disciple would feel once he died.
The evidence was in Glock admitting to, accepting, and patiently waiting more than anyone else for his death. That was why the girl had no choice but to send him off.
The pain of losing someone eventually faded away as the scar came to disappear… Would such a day come?
Will the day come when she would be able to lightheartedly admit that what was lost was already lost, and all the pain she felt had faded?
With her frizzy white hair hanging down, walking out of Glockt's hut, that was where the girl's memory ended.
The day she set out on a journey. What was the weather like…? She couldn't remember it well.
***
The tower of magic power stretched far and wide, rising up high as if it were piercing the sky.
In the underground waterways passageway leading to it, dark red magic power surged up like a hot spring, as if it would eat anyone that approached it.
Considering the amount of magic power flowing around inside, and the source of it all, it seemed as if Taylee and his party had entered the Celestial Researcher Koom's subjugation.
I want them to break through that boss as fast as possible, but Koom was a time-consuming boss. He was a time-challenge boss that couldn't be destroyed with standard fighting tactics. You needed to withstand all his attacks, until he was eventually overtaken by Celestial Magic.
Having said that, my situation was the same.
Until Taylee finished the final chapter, I wasn't going to step aside from the entrance to the underground waterways.
I didn't feel like pushing anyone else up onto the stage, as I stood iron-willed in my position, pushing anyone who approached away.
The mercenaries all took out their weapons in unison. I quickly turned my attention towards them.
The class of those mercenaries was different from the ones that appeared during the Occupation of Ophelis Hall.
At that time, only those that weren't busy had gathered, all in the span of one night.
But as for this? This was Elte's team, one that he had spent more than enough time preparing for.
The appearance of each and every mercenary was extraordinary.
It was completely different from the last mercenary group, which had no military discipline or uniformity. Their movements were systematic, the condition of their weapons were good, and the glittering armor they wore was no less than those of the royal guards.
Not only that, but they were all middle-aged veterans that were in their best condition. Most of them were retired guardsmen or those with at least over ten years of experience. The scars and cuts around their forearms and face showed their experience and maturity.
There seems to be a little over fifty of them. All of whom were experienced veterans.
Such people were taking their formation seriously, without any carelessness as they went up against four students.
For convenience's sake, you could say they were divided into simply infantry, magicians, and archers, but… that didn't mean that, just because they were in a certain field, they couldn't use another's weapon.
They were that experienced.
"Aside from Lortel, this isn't a matter of life or death. Let's finish this quietly."
Before he could finish saying that, an old swordsman that was standing in the front of the infantry kicked off the ground.
Quickly and accurately judging the situation, he was probably the leader of the infantry.
In an instant, he finished determining his opponent's power and already had the end of his sword pointed towards my neck.
Seeing as I was leading the group with my words and standing in the middle, he must have guessed that I was the most important member of the party. But even given that, my defense wasn't properly set up at all. There was no better aim than now.
While everyone was carefully listening to Elte's words, he decided to jump in and attack our party from the head down. He was quick-witted, given his long career.
Clang!
But the sword never reached me.
It was Yennekar's wand that was blocking the way.
A sturdy defense magic that was a specialty to Earth spirits had enveloped Yennekar's wand.
I noticed that Yennekar's defense magic had already been set up, so from the beginning I wasn't going to move.
Realizing that his attack was meaningless, the mercenary leader quickly kicked off the ground again, trying to widen the distance.
In order to stop his movements, Yennekar reached out her hand, calling out for a fire spirit, but… the archer's magic arrows flew in, getting stuck in Yennekar's defense.
The archers had joined the battle to assist their forces, which had entered the battle. While Yennekar's movements were strained for a movement, the infantry leader widened the distance as he pushed himself back into formation.
"Ugh…!"
Yennekar shook off the arrows with a shake of her hand as she quickly checked, glancing off to the side, if I was hurt.
"Thanks, Yennekar."
"Be careful, Ed. Their movement is definitely systematic."
Archers scattered out, one by one, into the darkness of the forest—disappearing from view. Not knowing where or when the archers' arrows would come, it added pressure to prevent her from lifting the defense magic.
Fighting while putting up defense magic was like fighting while carrying a heavy rock.
Defensive magic was one that you cast at the right time, when you needed it. It wasn't the kind of magic that you always wore around your body like a shield. Similar types of magic were not entirely that effective in terms of magic power.
If she let her guard down, she wouldn't know when an arrow would come flying out to hit the back of her head. The pressure it created was quite great.
"As expected, Elementalists are quite difficult."
Elte had already confirmed Yennekar's fighting power.
Naturally, there would be no way that he wouldn't have come up with some type of countermeasure, given that he already knew about his opponents fighting power.
Elte took out a scroll as he opened it up. Inside there was a large, complicated-looking magic circle that was conspicuously drawn out.
That was the legendary-grade magically engineered item Belarus Prejudice.
It was a high-end magically engineered item that cost dozens of gold coins per sheet. Thinking of it as a consumable, among the legendary-grade magically engineered items it was a fairly expensive type.
The ability to suppress magic power.
It was highly compatible with Elvira's chestnut flower reagent that she used last time.
Though the chestnut flower reagent might have been easy to manufacture, it had the downfall of a short duration that didn't last long, and if the opponents magic power resonance was high enough then the effectiveness was nearly zero.
But Elte's magically engineered item was in a completely different class. There was a reason why just one sheet of it would cost dozens of gold coins.
No matter how high your magic power resonance might be, you couldn't be freed from that magic circle's magic power suppression.
The fatal disadvantage of it was that the range is relatively small, it took time to operate, and the preparation for activating it was obvious. However, that didn't matter much given the current situation, where we were inferior in terms of numbers.
"If that activates, it's over."
Lortel confirmed that fact as she added to the defense magic.
"In fact, since most of our power is in the form of magic, even if it's just ten minutes of magic power suppression we will be quickly defeated."
"Is there any chance that we can defeat the mercenaries before he activates that magically engineered item?"
If you were against well-trained and experienced mercenaries of that level, you should already be expected to fight a drawn-out battle.
My goal in the first place was to hold out until Taylee concluded the final chapter. That way time would be on our side.
I swept up my hair all at once, taking in a deep breath. Either way, that magically engineered item was their only chance of winning. Fortunately, a few ideas came to mind.
Elte himself had little combat ability anyway, so if we could somehow get close to him, we could defeat him.
My head was spinning as I thought about how we could get close to him…
Whoosh.
I felt a sudden shake. It was from Lucy moving around while still on my back.
Lucy put her hand on my shoulder as she stretched, lifting her body back part way. She then looked up at the tower of magic power.
"..."
Even a dangerous battle would only feel like a mosquito buzzing around for that girl.
Lucy gave no attention to the mercenaries surrounding her as she kept looking straight at the tower, not moving her head.
Her eyes, which always looked dazed and sleepy, were wide open for some reason.
Holding onto her witch's hat with one hand, just in case it might fly off, Lucy kept on staring up at the sky for a while.
"Lucy."
I could predict what was happening.
Lucy… She probably instinctively figured out what that tower of magic power was built for.
You shouldn't misunderstand the fact that, because she gave the impression of being dazed and stupid, that the inside of her head was completely empty.
Lucy was far from being considered ordinary, even just purely in terms of her knowledge of magic.
No matter what she read, she could memorize it all at once, so you would never be able to see her studying regularly. The sheer amount of knowledge she had made it feel lackluster to just call her a genius.
Given her ridiculous level of reaction to the magic power, the scale of this Celestial magic, and Professor Glast's track record… She had the ability to sufficiently infer just what he was planning to do.
Flick.
Lucy, who gently came down from my back, looked around. Little by little, magic power began to flow through her body.
***
Seeing the pressure coming from that vast scale of that magic power, the type that exceeded any limit, up close was like a looming mountain.
You couldn't know the sheer scale of it all just by measuring it up close with your eyes. That feeling of unknown brought along an even bigger fear.
That was why a cold silence filled the air around us.
The mercenaries weren't hastily rushing any closer into range.
If the students lifted up the defensive magic and switched to attack, then they would suffer great damage. But the mercenaries would suffer an insurmountable amount of damage as well.
Lortel, who could freely use intermediate magic at her own will, and Yennekar, who could even use high-ranking spirits.
Rather than rushing into an all-out war, it would be better for them to maintain the current situation of the battle and wait for Elte's magically engineered item to activate. Either way, it was up to the students to make the first move.
It was a reasonable response given the effort.
That was only if their opponent's power was really what Elte and his mercenaries had predicted.
"There's somewhere I want to go."
Lucy brushed off her clothes as she continued to talk like it was nothing.
"I'm going to clear the way."
"..."
According to the original storyline, Lucy should have been taking a nap on the roof of Trix Hall.
During the Act 2 epilogue, after the incident she would wake up from her drowsy sleep and recall the event, saying, 'Oh, that's what happened', and that was her entire role.
However, if you ended up provoking Lucy by waking her up during phase 1, then Lucy would suddenly end up meeting with Professor Glast, who was on the run.
Then, once Lucy found out the entirety of the situation, she would be persuaded by Professor Glast.
All by herself, Lucy would defeat Taylee and his party, then quietly walk down the underground waterways by herself as the curtain fell.
"Wh-What is going on?"
"I-Is that really just a student?"
The magic power that started to rise suddenly wrapped around Lucy's body. The scale of it all overwhelmed everyone that was watching.
Panicked expressions spread amongst the mercenaries. No matter how long they may have lived for, they would have never seen magic power of that magnitude being unleashed without any preparation or casting.
A raging storm was not a natural wind. It was simply a physical force created as a byproduct of spewing magic power.
Since the wind was hard to bear, everyone had to change their stances.
The mercenaries began to all gulp in unison.
She was a student. Even though they didn't let their guard down, the students still had the advantage in terms of power.
The most dangerous member against their opposing forces would, of course, be the top second year student, Yennekar Palerover.
If you were able to somehow deal with the spirits she summoned, then you would definitely win.
That may have been what they had thought, but sadly the stronger force on their side was not Yennekar. At that point, there wasn't any meaning even if they were to yell in anger.
The wind was getting stronger, and the source of the ongoing storm all came from one small girl.
A lazy magician whose school uniform didn't even properly fit, as she stood around with her collar hanging down.
When the girl's magic power finally came to the point where it couldn't become any larger, it reached a point where you would believe it could devour the entire world.
Whoosh!
...
Silence had once again returned.
Just like the start, it wasn't windy at all. The forest scenery was completely quiet.
All the fluttering collars had calmed down, and all that was left was the occasional sound of the grass bugs that lingered and surrounded everyone.
It felt as if the calmness and clearness within one's mind and soul had returned after the roaring storm.
That difference in feelings had left not only the enemies, but also Yennekar and Lortel unable to move.
However, all the experienced mercenaries knew the fact well.
The magic power hadn't disappeared.
That magnificent magic power had compressed to its limit, fitting inside that small girl's body. By that point, they had a sense of just what type of magic Lucy used. No. In the first place, it wasn't magic.
Lucy walked forward.
With her bouncy footwork and fluttering sleeves, she looked like a rabbit running towards Elte, who was holding the magically engineered item. Just looking at her lively footsteps made it look like she was happily going out on a picnic.
But the mercenaries that were well aware of Lucy's condition couldn't get in her way.
Rather, the crowd of them began to divide along both sides, creating a path for Lucy.
"Wh-What are you doing?! Stop that student! Stop her!"
Completely surprised, Elte shouted urgently.
Clearly, the aftermath of that impressive magic power was enormous, but at that moment there was no sense of danger.
She was just a girl with a small figure, one that was walking forward with droopy eyes.
A scene where dozens of large mercenaries wouldn't even think of blocking her way. It was impossible to understand this situation.
At that point, Elte had realized there's no way it would be common for such a girl to freely play around with that amount of mana.
A girl whose face he didn't know, but the rumors about her? He'd heard them. An unidentified monster living in Silvenia. That girl was the top first year student, Lucy Mayreel.
"Are you all crazy?! Get a move on!"
"Hyaaaaah!"
In the meantime, a mercenary that still looked rather young jumped out from the crowd.
He looked relatively full of vigor. With that in mind, was highly likely he was inexperienced compared to the others.
There is a fine line between courage and recklessness.
Clang!
The blade struck her, but the moment it touched Lucy's fair skin, it stopped.
It felt like he had struck a rock. The mercenary that used the blade felt goosebumps cover his body.
Lucy didn't even look at him.
Thud.
As if she was knocking on a door, she lightly knocked on the man's armor.
That light knock completely smashed his armor to pieces. Of course, it didn't end there.
Slam!
That mercenary, once full of vigor, flew far away with a boom that was like an explosion.
He flew away for a long time, passing through the crowd before being rammed into a zelkova tree nearby. It was such a shock that it wouldn't be surprising if a few of his bones had broken.
As always, Lucy was a magician that didn't use combat magic very well.
It was hard to describe it even as magic. It was more like overwhelming physical strength… Or just violence.
She had compressed that magnificent magic power to its limit, putting it inside her body. Activating it and having a completely overwhelming force… She was able to make it impossible for anyone trying to interfere with her.
There was no way to defeat her. Well, there was, but there really wasn't.
You would have to get an even more overwhelming amount of magic power, one that exceeded the physical strength of Lucy's magic power. Of course, that wasn't possible.
The more ridiculous the standards were, the more ridiculous it had to become to deal with it. But the ridiculousness all stemmed from the amount of magic power she had, which was completely impossible to surpass.
None of the mercenaries were moving now.
Those that had lived many years had a unique pride to them. No matter how intimidating an enemy appeared, they would never run away or abandon their colleagues.
Which was why they couldn't confront her.
They had no choice but to stand there, helpless.
"You must be the leader, mister. All I have to do is defeat you, and this will be over."
Lucy, who was right in front of Elte, raised her head as she spoke in a clear voice.
Elte clenched his teeth as his hands trembled, activating the magically engineered item. The unique force that was supposed to suppress mana was emanating from Elte's hands, but Lucy didn't budge.
You may be able to hold back some of the ocean's water, but you could never hold back all of it.
That fact was so obvious that not only Lucy, but even Elte understood it.
In the moment, Lucy reached out her hand towards Elte…
"Hey."
A boy with blonde hair between Elte and Lucy. Because he ran up, his appearance was rather disheveled.
"You know, right? This might even mean death."
With Lucy, who was full to her limit in condensed mana, just one swing of her hand would hit like a truck.
If you got hit in a vital spot even once, or if you got knocked out and another dangerous part got hit, you would instantly die.
Maybe that wouldn't be the case for the mercenaries, with layers of armor and safety gear on, but for Elte, who hadn't trained and was only wearing a single layer of cloth? He could die instantly after getting hit by Lucy.
It was a strange thing. That guy was not a man that would worry about Elte's life. There was some certainty that, even if Elte was killed by Lucy, he wouldn't have tried to stop it.
The ensuing question revealed that it wasn't Elte that he was worried about.
"Are you okay killing him?"
Lucy Mayreel, who was born with the blessings of an archmage, had an inevitable fate.
A promise made with Glockt while he was alive that, when the day came where disaster struck Silvenia, she would be one of the pillars to protect it.
To never kill another.
To avoid getting blood on those small hands of hers, even if it was a mistake.
To, at least as long as she was at Silvenia, to live a life as a student.
Eventually, the day would come where she would need to have both eyes wide open, as she was destined to face the world. But for now, it was okay to sleep a while enjoying that lazy life of hers.
But the moment her hands became stained with blood, that life was over. That life of leisurely walking around the academy, looking for a place with good sunlight to sleep, would all come to an end.
The day that she first got blood on her hands, that was the day Lucy would wake up.
Lucy herself must have been well aware of that fact. The Blessing of the Stars that was imprinted into her life brought strength that didn't come free of cost.
"That's enough."
Lucy looked straight at him with those dopey eyes of hers.
Tension remained amongst the mercenaries. She might look like a little girl, but in reality they were facing a massive weapon.
She had power at a level that made her capable of blowing up the entire area if she wanted to.
Seeing him speak in such a commanding tone in front of such a person might make him look like he was out of his mind… But that was only because they didn't know Lucy.
"…I got it."
As the compressed mana was released, a storm once again erupted in the area.
After the storm subsided, Lucy's immense magic power dissipated into smoke.
A feeling of confusion spread throughout everyone that was there. They couldn't believe that Lucy had released her strength after hearing those words.
Ed then hit Elte in the back of his head with the hilt of his dagger as he grabbed him and brought a blade to his neck.
Having taken him hostage, the situation was over.
Already, the mercenaries didn't have an ounce of fighting spirit left.
"Then I guess it's all over."
Lucy spoke up in a low voice as she turned her back. Looking up at the sky, there were still those massive towers of magic power pointing straight up.
Now that the situation had been resolved, Lucy didn't have a reason to stick next to Ed anymore.
"Where are you going?"
"I have somewhere to go."
Ed Rothstaylor had a personality where he didn't unnecessarily dig deeply into other people's affairs.
Lucy was well aware of that fact, so she left it at that.
Of course, she didn't expect him to give back a response.
"If you go… Are you confident you won't regret it?"
She froze suddenly.
With those words, as if they went straight to the point, Lucy stood still while looking up at the sky without answering.
And then, lowering her attention again…
She responded in a quiet voice… before disappearing, using advanced Spatial-type Magic.