Escape (1)
The battle unfolded on a far smaller scale than expected.
That wasn't to say the combatants' level or the reach of their attacks could be called anything but enormous — but Alfia was reluctant to move from her position, and the intruder had committed to simply holding the line, and so this was the result.
A merciless exchange of bombardments.
Whenever [Sound] threatened to sweep away the entire area, the flame lances drove it back.
Terrifying as the back-and-forth was, its substance was simple enough that a moment's breathing room opened up. In that gap, Zard, who had just recovered, began observing the battlefield.
Who... is that?
It was a question that occurred to everyone on the field.
A monster of talent. That Alfia, who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Empress and the Beast — and the intruder was matching her with magic, no less. Even seeing it with his own eyes, the sight refused to be believed.
He himself was Level 7, yet a full step behind Alfia at the same level. And this intruder was brazenly countering her eighteenth offensive — a magical assault — with magic of his own.
Cold sweat broke out at the sheer impossibility of the technique on display. If he had been the one standing there, he would have braced himself to contest her and resisted with everything he had.
Once more, [Sound] and the flame lances collided.
In raw power alone, [Sound] left the flame lances far behind.
And yet, astonishingly, the intruder was holding [Sound] at bay through the crude, brutish method of simply firing dozens of lances at once.
What was more, one of the attacks had punched straight through [Sound] and reached Alfia herself. This went beyond a question of endurance — the sheer result drew nothing but pure admiration from Zard.
Landing a ranged attack on Alfia. How many people in all of Orario could claim such a feat?
For him, at least, it was utterly impossible.
Though it doesn't seem Alfia is at full power either...
Given the location, a mage who relied primarily on large-scale attacks could hardly commit her full strength.
But that condition applied equally to her opponent.
Considering how unnervingly light the collateral damage around them was, the odds were high that the other side was deliberately suppressing their area of effect just as Alfia was.
Not that it made the exchange any less absurd, even accounting for that.
Really — who are they? They don't seem to be with the Evils.
No member of the Evils would show that much concern for their surroundings. Which meant he had to look toward the adventurer side of things, and yet...
...Not a single suspect comes to mind.
No matter how he thought about it, he had never seen a mage of that build slinging flame lances around.
Anyone skilled enough to cross blades — spells — with Alfia should have been a name he'd heard whether he wanted to or not.
"Old man, what are you scheming?"
It was only natural, then, that Zard's suspicion fell on Zeus.
Nine times out of ten, trouble arising in a situation like this was the handiwork of that rotten old geezer.
But unexpectedly, the old man — Zeus — didn't so much as glance at him, wearing a sour, indifferent expression.
"No idea."
"...What?"
Hearing that, Zard couldn't hide his shock.
Whatever else he might hide, the old man was not the type to conceal something like this.
If anything, he'd always shamelessly bulldozed his way through these situations before, so Zard had assumed it would be the same this time...
"I genuinely don't know who that is. I'll have Hermes look into it later."
"Wait, hold on. Then who the hell is that person? They weren't ordered by you — they really just popped up out of nowhere?"
Impossible. It couldn't be.
The obvious thought rose in his mind — and shattered against the reality thrust in front of his eyes.
"No matter how well someone hides, there's no way someone that strong has never generated a single rumor until now?!"
"Don't shout."
"Then when am I supposed to shout?! Then explain that!"
What Zard pointed at was the magical duel still raging on.
The silent yet ferocious battle between Alfia and the intruder.
"If someone like that had been in Orario, there's no way the Captain and I wouldn't have known!"
"Right, that's impossible."
"Then why—?!"
"Hard to say. Maybe they came from outside the city."
The unknown certainly existed outside Orario's walls. Zard knew that as well as anyone.
But still — even so, was it truly possible for a human that powerful to be born somewhere that wasn't Orario?
Under normal circumstances, he would have said absolutely not.
But now? Now that the most irrefutable evidence of all — reality — had been shoved right under his nose?
The answer had already been decided.
"Impossible."
Conviction that went beyond mere doubt.
Even with reality displayed before him, Zard's belief remained firm.
"Yes. Impossible."
And Zeus readily agreed.
At those words, Zard felt a strange relief. Even with certainty on his side, nothing beat the assurance of the old god's confirmation.
"But the lower world has always turned the impossible into the possible."
And in proportion to that relief, his unease swelled.
"'Impossible' is no basis at all."
Zeus stared at the intruder with oddly glittering eyes.
It was a curious sight indeed — this male god gazing at someone who was not a beauty, and not even a woman, with eyes like those.
"...Let's think about this differently, old man. Isn't there a chance they're a secret weapon some other Familia prepared in secret?"
"Zard, my boy — how do you intend to convince anyone with a hypothesis you can't even convince yourself of?"
Jolted, stung by the rebuke, Zard flinched and fell silent.
It was a desperate, wrung-out excuse, but truthfully Zard himself felt this theory didn't hold water either.
Even if you tried to hide the sky with your palm, the world held no eternal secrets.
Let alone hiding a powerhouse like that. Even their own Familia or the Hera Familia couldn't manage it.
After all, a strong one at his level could sniff out other strong ones with their nose alone.
The scent of the strong was not something that could be hidden, no matter how hard one tried.
"Well, still, they certainly don't seem to be someone from outside Orario."
"...Then?"
"Hard to say. It's not as if I know everything."
"...What kind of answer is that? Do it like you always do — use your divine power and find out."
"Can't."
Zeus's gaze had stayed fixed on a single point throughout the entire conversation.
Not on the breathtakingly beautiful Alfia — the woman he normally had to stop himself from slipping a hand straight down her cleavage — but on the intruder, wrapped up tight in a black coat.
His eyes locked on a man instead of a woman — what manner of shame was this for a man? And yet no matter how he strained, his head would not turn away.
Nothing comes through.
Yes — nothing at all came through.
Divine intuition. The divine eye.
What fate did this child carry?
What temperament did this child possess?
Would they grow great? Were they clever? Could they handle money? What were they thinking at this very moment?
Ability, character, future, thoughts.
The information every god naturally came to know, differing only in degree — fragments of omniscience lumped together under the name of divine intuition.
That intuition, which he had never doubted for a single instant, was now veiled.
As though blindfolded, as though struck blind — no matter how he looked at that intruder, nothing surfaced.
And that very strangeness made it all the harder to look away.
Vesta... you say.
What had suddenly surfaced was the face of a goddess in Heaven.
Certainly a cute appearance — but how had the alias of that thoroughly unappealing spinster shut-in goddess ended up in this one's mouth?
It shouldn't be time yet.
He didn't know the full schedule of Heaven, of course, but he was fairly well acquainted with her, so he knew.
There should still have been a long while left before her descent.
Then how...?
A miraculous coincidence — it didn't feel like that alone could explain it.
His all-seeing power was strangely inert, but his divine intuition was still unquestionably alive.
And I sense a familiar presence, too.
Though veiled, something unbearably familiar leaked from the intruder like an aftertone.
The power of Hestia? No... that didn't seem right...
How interesting.
It had been a very long time since a man had made him feel this way.
Yes — it felt like the first time he'd laid eyes on that peach of a boy.
"Ghk..."
As the fight dragged on longer than expected, a faint impatience began to creep in.
They're stronger than I thought...?
And that wasn't just a comment on raw power.
The speed and timing of attacks, the control of tempo, the chaining into follow-up strikes.
And even the defense that demolished the attacks I'd barely forced through as if brushing away a fly.
My Mind, steadily draining, began to gnaw away at my mental fortitude as well.
Not that I was in any real danger right now.
My magic was exceptionally efficient to begin with, and this level of relentless bombardment was downright leisurely for me at present.
The problem was what came after.
There's no gap to run...
I could feel Mind accumulating around me by the second.
I wanted to escape quickly, sensing some kind of scheme at work — but the barrage of [Sound] kept interfering far too much.
So this is how they all felt, fighting me...
Now I understood why everyone who'd fought me had called it a nuisance.
Whether it was no-chant, or magic that was simply near-chantless, I couldn't tell — but a rapid-fire barrage of spells that could only be called high-speed was, in essence, a cage.
A cage a hunter builds to trap a rabbit. The feeling of my air supply being tightened little by little made my skin crawl for no good reason.
I've bought all the time I promised...
The agreed five minutes had long since passed. It was about time I disengaged, and yet...
...She doesn't seem to intend to let me go.
For someone who'd been going on about chasing down her sister earlier, her gaze (eyes closed though it was) was locked firmly on me.
Apparently she had no intention of letting me slip away peacefully.
"...Excuse me."
"Conversation, mid-battle? You must be quite at ease. Gospel."
BOOM—!
I answered the freshly fired [Sound] not with interception, but evasion.
Twitch — Alfia's brow shifted slightly.
Whether or not she noticed, I brushed the dust off my hands and made her an offer.
"I've already bought the full time we agreed on. I'd like to slip away now — would that be alright?"
"...What?"
"You said you want to find your sister, and I'm scared of you and want to run away fast. I thought our interests were perfectly aligned..."
I'd thought it a reasonably rational proposal, but apparently the woman saw it differently.
"...I see. It seems I've been underestimated as well."
I could tell from her magic alone — suddenly swelling in a way that made my blood run cold.
...I'm dead.
At that unnatural surge of magical power, the thought escaped me before I could stop it.
Master, what on earth did I ever do wrong?
— Your existence.
That's just cruel, honestly.
"Um, excuse me! I don't know what's bothering you so much, but I'll apologize first, so...!"
"No use talking."
"Wait! If you fire that much magic, the whole area gets blown away!"
[Root of blessing, curse of birth. I, who have taken half a divinity—]
This is hopeless — she won't listen to a word anyone says?! So this is the Hera Familia (certified crazed psychos)...!
This was no time for such idle thoughts. Alarm bells were shrieking inside me like they were about to burst.
Just like when I'd faced the Black Dragon — it heralded the descent of a calamity that could not be resisted.
I have to stop it!
This was no time to worry about consequences. That spell had to be stopped, no matter what.
Chime— A small bell-like tone rang out.
And then — the explosion.
Less than a single second of condensed power. But its effect was by no means small.
The robed figure became light itself. How many people in this city could follow that speed even with their eyes?
...One, certainly — but it was fine. That one wasn't Alfia.
Against a mage, go for the throat...
No matter how skilled the mage, it all meant nothing if they couldn't complete their chant.
If my own Firebolt couldn't be activated without its call, then other mages had it far worse.
Strangle a mage's neck, and they lose their greatest weapon.
So it was only natural that my hand drove toward her throat.
I didn't intend to snap it. But I was fully prepared to choke her out.
This was no time to quibble about not laying hands on a woman or some such.
Whether her defensive spell was a barrier or a counter-magic didn't matter — it was meaningless if it never activated.
That was what I'd thought, and yet...
"...Huh?"
The instant before my fingers closed on her throat, a transparent wall stopped my hand.
It was sound. For some reason, I knew it instinctively.
Don't tell me—
In that moment, one chilling hypothesis surfaced.
If — if this barrier was the same defense she had shown all this time.
...It's sustained?
A form of defensive magic activated in advance, the barrier simply persisting afterward.
It wasn't unheard of. Lady Riveria's magic had something similar.
The problem was how it was used.
Ataraxia.
The small chant I'd heard each time she defended. Based on that sound, I had unconsciously mistaken this barrier for an activation-type defense.
No — not a mistake. I'd been led into it.
Don't tell me this was the same?
Gooseflesh rose up my arms, but I was still fine.
By my feel, it would take about two seconds to smash through this barrier physically. A fatal opening, to be sure — but my opponent was a mage mid-chant. I was still faster—?!
As if laughing at that flabby prediction, the woman cut her chant short and seized my wrist.
By the time I came to my senses, I was upside down, plummeting headfirst toward the ground.