The Resolute Departure (3)
Chiria returned to her seat, and as I looked around at the others, everyone had wide eyes in shock.
"You saw that, right, Parlen? I told you before. He's unbeatable. The Captain's someone you absolutely have to avoid facing head-on."
"Someone you have to avoid facing head-on..."
"This time, I'll give it a go."
With that, Parlen raised his hand.
He stepped in front of me, raised his shield, and assumed a thrusting stance.
It hit me anew as we faced off. There was no way I'd beat this guy with ordinary swordsmanship.
A shield is a real pain for anyone swinging a weapon. In one-on-one fights, unless you've got exceptional skill, it's tough to take down someone with a shield.
You have to smash the shield, knock it away, or render it useless before you can claim victory.
And this shield was held by a veteran knight.
Sure, I could Happy Moment time, slip behind, and crack his skull—but the point wasn't just winning. It was to gauge each other's abilities.
This guy had heard from Ragi that a head-on clash was impossible, yet here he was, facing me squarely.
So...
I accepted the challenge. I channeled magic into my sword and thrust.
Parlen seemed ready to deflect it with his shield, but he tilted it to match my blade's angle.
Thud!
This was a world with powerful magic swords. Mine pierced Parlen's shield like a lance from a mounted charge.
The tip went through, but the blade didn't sink deeper.
Normally, it'd punch straight through to gut the knight behind it, but where there were magic swords, there were magic shields too.
Parlen's shield shimmered with mana resistance.
He'd tilted it to maximize that resistance.
Like angling armor on a tank—increasing the effective thickness while creating the perfect angle to glance the blade away.
The moment he blocked, Parlen thrust his sword at me from his prepared stance.
Pushed back with my sword still lodged, my stance crumbled—and he targeted that opening, his blade tip flying straight for me.
This man was a master shield knight, no doubt.
But...
The instant my sword stuck, I dropped it.
Before his tip could reach me, I pressed my body tight against his shield side, where no sword tip could follow.
Finally, I drew the hunting dagger from my belt and aimed it at Parlen's throat in our clinched position.
With my ability to observe frozen movements, I was practically immune to counters.
"I yield."
Parlen admitted defeat cleanly.
"Parlen, you're incredibly skilled with that shield. I learned a lot watching your moves. Sorry about wrecking your valuable gear, though."
"Equipment breaks in battle—it's to be expected. No need to apologize. Just hand over 350 gold coins by the Ashurin standard, and I can get a new one."
This guy was sharp with money. No wonder he got along with Ragi.
"...I'll get you a new one soon."
"Make it 400 for Uncle Parlen. You got a discount because you went with me last time. They might not cut the price now."
Figures. Their bond seemed more like shopping buddies than fellow knights from the same order.
Even elite guards like the Royal Knights bought their own magic gear, apparently.
...Man, I was suddenly missing Ferio's support.
No, no—this level should be coverable by requesting funds from the royals, right?
"Captain, to be honest, Chiria and I didn't think you had the skill to kill Garia. We figured you were just some lucky bastard who snagged the enemy captain by chance and rode that to fame."
Parlen's profile mentioned his squad and company commanders often met untimely ends.
He got along with peers and subordinates but rebelled against incompetent or unfair superiors.
"Less my luck and more Garia's bad fortune. Chiria thought the same, huh?"
I glanced at Chiria. She clutched her spear like a broom, shrinking back with a tiny voice.
"Not anymore. Chiria believes in the Captain now. I'll follow you."
...No need to be that embarrassed.
"I've been saying it since yesterday! You can't catch a monster like that division commander on luck alone! Don't judge Kirgil by appearances. That's the most dangerous type—looks all loose, then bam! strikes hard."
Looked like the passers had gotten together for drinks or something. Ragi's words confirmed it.
"So you were trying to seduce the Captain too?"
"Hey! Uncle! Don't spill all my secret moves like that!"
I'd wondered why Ragi kept throwing those weird flirts my way. So that was her technique.
Seduce unbeatable foes first, skip the easy marks? They tested every damn trick in the book.
Any normal person would hesitate to cut down someone showing them affection.
I'd felt it too. Even when Pana tried casting on me, knowing her goodwill made me reluctant to get rough.
Finally, Damish eyed me nervously, clearly dreading a bout.
Lives on the line, gear shattering, buildings crumbling... Yeah, these spars were pretty intense.
"I... I'm not as good as the others..."
After seeing all those aggressive demons, this timid one felt off. Right—half-breed.
"Damish, I won't counterattack, so attack me without worry. This is just to see what you can do."
"Ah, understood. Ah, introductions first...? Ah, you've already drawn your sword? Ah, then... let's just start."
His fumbling made me uneasy. With his personality, frontline duty was out.
Damish swung his sword at the stationary me.
The motion was basic. A two-handed greatsword made it slow too.
Still, the weight gave it power.
But his mouth was faster.
"Pandel Sinkarashi, sow seeds upon this earth."
⟨ Earth Prayer ⟩
Green sprouts burst up from where his sword struck the ground, spreading toward my legs.
"With this land's bountiful branches, embrace me in your arms,"
⟨ Earth Embrace ⟩
As he swung his sword upward from the strike, the sprouts sharpened into thorns, surging from below like spears through where I'd stood.
"Harvest those fruits to affirm your grace,"
Damish slashed at the thrusting branches. Their tips sheared off and launched skyward.
"And thus repay your grace."
⟨ Harvest Strike ⟩
The severed branches rocketed toward me like missiles.
A prayer of thanks to his god doubled as an attack spell.
I'd seen it in the entrance exam, but I wanted to test something specific against Damish's assault.
So, timing it as the branches arrowed in, I recited:
"And thus repay your grace with this flesh."
⟨ Hijacked Prayer ⟩
With those words, the arrow-like branches hesitated.
Huh, it worked a bit?
I'd aimed the ancient words at redirecting them toward my legs.
Even a prayer to a god—not a mage's spell—could be hijacked with my ancient tongue.
Magic and prayer shared common ground, it seemed.
Though prayers were harder to steal than straight magic.
I'd tried it on Ashu before. As a saintess with ironclad faith, it hadn't fazed her at all.
"Uwaaah... Ah! I'm... sorry... I'm lacking... It doesn't usually fail like this. Nerves... my nerves. Da-Damish will try again..."
Damish panicked, thinking his prayer had failed on its own.
Not his fault—I'd interfered mid-chant. No one suspected a thing.
Hardly surprising. Other mages said I was the first to ever hijack spells.
"It's fine. Show me another spell or attack."
"Th-then, here goes."
His movements quickened instantly.
He'd chopped downward before; now he swept the greatsword wide left and right—aiming to cleave my torso up close, my legs farther out.
I'd just thought he wasn't frontline material.
Scratch that. Pure swordplay alone, and he'd bulldoze enemy lines, shields and all.
His headband-concealed horns looked thicker now. A sparkling trail lingered on his swings...
"[...I pray to you.]"
⟨ Earth Embrace ⟩
Finishing his prayer, Damish spun his sword wide and slammed it down, as if to split the earth.
"Wh-what!? These branches!?"
The ground didn't split, but the impact's vibration made sturdy branches erupt around Damish like a cocoon, shooting skyward.
They curved, enclosing the center.
"What is this...?"
A spherical bunker of tough branches, conjured on the spot right before my eyes.
Damish had built an instant shelter.
"...Not an attack, but damn useful."
"Ho, intriguing."
Only then did Paradilan, who'd been quietly observing, step forward.
"Waning heat, lesser fire spear, scorch your enemies with fervent flame."
⟨ Fire Spear ⟩
A man-sized magic flame spear plunged down on Damish's wooden bunker with the academy president's chant.
Hmm... I'd love to correct the president's pronunciation too.
High-ranking divine being, so maybe it was fine?
"Waaah!! I surrender!! Mercy!! Please!!"
"Tough against fire too, not just solid. Extremely practical defense."
Intrigued by the bunker's durability, Paradilan chanted more spells in rapid succession.
Fire, ice, lightning spears hammered down mercilessly.
Thud!! Thud!! Thud-thud-thud-thud!! Zzzap~
Standing nearby, it felt like he was unleashing white-hot blasts.
"Pandel Sinkarashi, embrace me in the earth's arms. Pandel Sinkarashi... Eek!! Stop!! Please stop!!"
⟨ Earth Embrace ⟩
Damish's desperate prayers echoed from inside the bunker.
Loud and clear on your magic power too, President.
Looks like the president found his favorite punching bag.
Maybe he just wanted to pop it like bubble wrap.
Not why we picked Damish, right?
"Oh, right. Kirgil, one question."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Is my ancient tongue pronunciation accurate?"
Didn't expect him to ask first.
This seasoned elf mage must have his own intel network.