Before launching the surprise attack, Aesc and Shiomi had carefully discussed their strategy. They ultimately decided to lure the northern fairies into splitting their forces while waiting for the right moment to strike.
Mab proved far more patient than they expected. Despite three days of failed assaults, she refrained from personally taking the field to resolve the stalemate.
Shiomi seized the opportunity when Mab's army began to show signs of restlessness. Striking from the rear, he plunged into their ranks, throwing the entire formation into chaos and halting the siege's momentum.
This unease was not limited to the northern fairies. The defenders of Gloucester were also showing signs of fatigue—many fairies had already abandoned the city, fleeing into the mountains beyond its walls. The fall of the Wing Clan's territory was only a matter of time.
Ultimately, the war's outcome would be decided by individuals of overwhelming power. Thus, swiftly defeating Mab became the key to ending the conflict.
Mab charged forward with her sword raised high, each swing releasing sharp waves of cutting wind. Aesc moved like a feather in the air, her movements light and fluid, slipping past each strike with effortless precision.
For the battle against Mab, Aesc had insisted on facing her alone, leaving Shiomi to confront Mab's elite forces.
"Move quickly," Shiomi had told her before the battle. "Don't make me finish off the entire army before you defeat Mab. If that happens, I can't promise I won't lose control."
It was half a jest, half a serious warning.
Now, on the battlefield, Aesc dodged and countered Mab's fierce attacks with refined Magecraft.
As the purest surviving descendant of the Northern Fairies, Mab wielded the combined might of her extinct kin—her power even surpassing Sub-Bell's.
Aesc, who had originally planned to travel to the Fang Clan to ring the final bell, had been forced to abandon that plan as the situation changed too quickly. Even so, Mab had no chance of defeating her in a short time.
Realizing this, Kenrack ordered the Queen's Guard to attack Shiomi.
"Well now... quite impressive," Shiomi remarked, blocking Kenrack's thrust with his spear. "Are all northern humans this skilled in combat?"
"No need for words!" Kenrack barked, giving no time for conversation as he pressed forward. His spear flashed again and again, moving in perfect rhythm with his soldiers' coordinated strikes.
"We're all human," Shiomi said calmly as he parried. "Do you really intend to fight me to the death?"
He could tell that most of the Queen's Guard were human. Though battle demanded ruthlessness, he had no desire to slaughter them—their lives were already far too short.
If he could make them surrender without further bloodshed, all the better.
"Do you really believe that yourself?" Kenrack stood behind the royal guard, his eyes fixed on Shiomi's movements.
"Your lives are far too short compared to the fairies. Isn't it a waste to throw them away for Queen Mab?" Shiomi asked, as if seeking confirmation. "If you still value your lives, withdraw while you can."
Kenrack took a step forward, pressing a hand over his chestplate. "Then allow me to ask you this—could the Sage abandon the Savior and surrender to our army?"
"What?" Shiomi's eyes widened in surprise.
"You can't, can you?" Kenrack shouted, his voice resolute. "I'm the same as you. I won't betray the one I love for the sake of my own life. We could never betray our beloved Queen!"
"That's true…"
Shiomi lowered his gaze.
No matter how they were born, once humans found meaning in their existence, they became remarkably tenacious and strong-willed. He had known this long ago, and he should have realized that words of persuasion were meaningless. Yet he still spoke them—only to confirm one thing.
To confirm that the humans fighting for Queen Mab were not manipulated or coerced, but driven by their own will.
"In that case, come at me. I won't hold back."
Shiomi raised his head again. The sharp gleam in his eyes alone was enough to make the well-trained guards instinctively step back. But their hesitation lasted only an instant.
Kenrack stepped forward, spear in hand, banishing their fear.
In a flash, the clamor of clashing weapons filled the air.
These soldiers were far from ordinary. They infused their bodies with Mana for physical reinforcement, and their precise coordination made them formidable. Together, they had crushed the Southern Fairy army. Now, surrounding Shiomi, they could at least delay him in close combat.
It should be fine, right?
Aesc cast a worried glance toward Shiomi, now surrounded by the enemy. That moment of distraction cost her—she failed to dodge Mab's next strike and could only brace her wand to block the heavy swing of the sword.
"Still have time to look away? I really am being underestimated!" Mab pressed her advantage, forcing Aesc back step by step.
Yet even after reinforcing their bodies with Mana, their physical strength remained evenly matched.
"I'm not underestimating you," Aesc said through a strained smile. "But you're the one I have to defeat—not my husband!"
Light flared from the top of her wand, and Mab instantly sensed danger.
Though Aesc appeared distracted, she had deliberately exposed a weakness to draw Mab closer.
"At this distance, even you won't walk away unscathed!"
Mana surged violently. On the flat, riverless plain, a towering wave suddenly burst into existence, crashing into Mab and hurling her several meters away.
The next moment, Aesc's figure vanished into a glowing mirror.
Before Mab could think, her instincts reacted—she raised her sword to block as Aesc reappeared behind her, bringing her wand down in a crushing strike.
The blow failed to land cleanly. Aesc retreated, disappearing into the mirror once more, then struck again from above.
Mab quickly rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the attack. Without looking back, she focused her Mana and unleashed a blast diagonally upward, colliding head-on with Aesc's next emergence.
The explosion blasted both of them apart. Aesc landed on the ground, staring at Mab, whose power still radiated fiercely.
This tactic, though effective against most fairies, had little impact on equals. Whether sparring with Shiomi or facing Mab, it failed to decisively turn the tide.
Realizing this, Aesc shifted her grip on the wand.
"What are you doing?" Mab asked, frowning. She could tell that holding a wand like that would make precise Magecraft impossible.
"I've given up," Aesc said. "Rather than drawing this out with spells, brute strength will do just fine."
She charged forward, her wand blazing with Mana. The weapon was infused with reinforcement Magecraft, enough to make the air itself tremble.
Even for her, taking the full force of this strike would be painful.
Mab, who never liked evading, stepped forward to meet her.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Mab's fighting spirit flared. She spun, swinging her longsword in a wide arc, clashing directly against the wand.
The two forces collided—Mana crashing against Mana, incompatible energies grinding together until they erupted outward in a blinding shockwave that consumed the battlefield.