The Fire Mage
He glanced at the scene ahead, raising his head.
The Troll, its side wound stopped bleeding, was attacking Manir while only raising its upper body. Manir was breathing heavily, his head bleeding from being hit several times by the Troll, and his arm looked broken.
That guy...
Joseph marveled at the power that knights possessed. Just being able to handle that massive monster alone already seemed to surpass the physical limits of humans. But even as such a person, he didn't have the strength to kill the Troll. Moreover, Manir's sword was still stuck in the Troll's leg, making a proper counterattack difficult. He would occasionally pick up a fallen weapon from the ground and swing it, but more often than not, it would break on impact.
Manir's limit is coming too.
If Manir fell like this, there would be nothing left but total annihilation. There was no time to think about anything else right now. He had to do what he could.
Joseph immediately swung his staff and summoned eight Mana Orbs. And he poured all his mana into four of those Mana Orbs to their limit. A large amount of mana was rapidly depleted, and he felt his entire body's strength fading. It was a sensation of mana drying up throughout his body, an unpleasant feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.
As a large number of Mana Orbs rose around him, his gaze focused. And that gaze included the demonic beasts as well. Soon, the demonic beasts turned their direction toward Joseph.
"Block!"
At that moment, Auger bit his lip and stabbed his sword into the back of the demonic beast that was about to attack Joseph. "Block it! We need to buy time to cast magic, or we'll all die!" Auger shouted toward the surviving conscript soldiers.
Their gazes then turned to Joseph as well. A mage. A monster more monstrous than the monsters themselves, who could dispatch even mediocre demonic beasts in one strike. That mage was staring at the Troll with blood flowing from his head.
"Uh... ugh, uwaaaaa!!"
One of the conscript soldiers, seeing this, shouted and rushed toward the demonic beast. They didn't want to die. They understood about magic and Joseph, even if they knew nothing. They had to buy time. Only then could they survive.
"Uwaaaaaaaa!!"
The others immediately swung their weapons toward the demonic beast. The weapons that had been swinging wildly in fear now aimed straight at the enemy's core. It was possible because they were desperately fighting to survive.
Kung!
And at the same time, Manir, who couldn't dodge the Troll's swinging arm, flew into the air. It was partly because he was exhausted from buying time, and partly because his attention was stolen by Joseph's Mana Orbs. Manir rolled on the ground a few times but didn't move.
Damn...
Joseph clicked his tongue softly. The only one who could buy time here, Manir, had fallen.
The Troll turned its head and looked at Joseph. "Grrrr..." It made a gurgling sound like boiling phlegm and openly revealed its hostility. The Troll, perhaps because its legs were uncomfortable, was limping slightly as it approached Joseph step by step.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
"Damn it! Get out of the way!" Auger shouted while stabbing his sword into the neck of a wild dog demonic beast.
Joseph needed to buy time to cast magic. According to his memory, there should still be more time for Joseph.
"Get back!"
But Joseph shouted and stopped him. Auger's movement, which had been trying to rush toward the Troll somehow, stopped. If he approached, there was a high risk of being swept away.
First, stop moving!
Immediately, Joseph swung his staff. Siiiiiiik──!! Four Mana Orbs flew quickly toward the Troll's head with an eerie sound. The Troll saw this and swung its arm.
"Return!"
As he chanted, the Mana Orb at the front turned into a white wall. As expected, the Return didn't withstand the Troll's attack and shattered in an instant. But it didn't matter. The remaining three orbs had risen as intended above the Troll's head.
"Slicer!"
He chanted the next spell. One of the Mana Orbs shrank instantly. The Troll's movement stopped for a moment. Its gaze was directed at the condensed Mana Orb. It understood what that was through the wound on its side.
"Grruk."
It slightly retreated its body that was approaching. At the same time, it swung its arm. Then, the wind that hadn't been properly condensed hit the Troll's arm and exploded.
Slicer was powerful enough, but it took a long time to condense the wind. Because there was no one to buy time for unlike before, the magic exploded before it could be completed. But that wasn't even calculated.
"Flame Bite!"
Joseph chanted continuously. The remaining two Mana Orbs exploded beside the Troll's face. With its arm swung wide, the Troll's face, whose center had been disrupted, erupted in flames instantly.
"-----!!"
The sudden hot pain felt along the skin made the Troll cover its face.
Now!
Flick!
Joseph swung his staff again. Then, the four Mana Orbs he had been floating around him flew toward the Troll's feet this time.
I have no confidence... but there's no other way!
Joseph chanted while looking at the Mana Orb that had flown near the Troll's feet.
"Wind Runner!"
Then, unlike Slicer, the size of the Mana Orb began to swell rapidly. At the same time, the white light of the Mana Orb suddenly changed to blue light.
Huiiiii──!
A sound like a gale blowing came from the Mana Orb. Because the size had increased, it could be confirmed. A rough blue whirlwind began to stir inside the Mana Orb.
Make it succeed!
It was originally a supportive magic that boosted the user's speed with wind power. For that, strong control of wind was essential. But this time, Joseph had no intention of controlling it. Rather, he wanted it to run wild as much as possible.
"Burst!"
With Joseph's shout, the blue whirlwind inside the Mana Orb tore through its shell instantly. And then it ran across the Troll's legs and throughout its body.
Huiiiiiiiii──!!
A sharp sound that would tear the ears rang out. Legs, belly, chest, arms, neck, head. The rough whirlwind wrapped around the Troll's entire body like a bind.
"--------!!"
The Troll's scream, unable to gather its senses from the fierce wind, mixed with the whirlwind sound and exploded.
Joseph didn't stop there. He immediately shot the remaining two Mana Orbs toward the whirlwind.
"Flame Road!"
Flame Road was originally a magic that created a wall of fire in front of the user's face. If used as intended, it would just be a magic to restrain the opponent. But this time it was different.
Hwaruk──!
The flames bursting from the two Mana Orbs mixed with the Wind Runner's whirlwind and began to grow. Unquenchable flames and non-dispersing whirlwind mixed together. Thus, the flame whirlwind swallowed the Troll.
Kwaaaaaaaa──!
He poured all his mana. To maintain it as long as possible and run wild as much as possible.
"...What, what is this."
"What kind of thing is that..."
Everyone present was momentarily stunned by the red whirlwind that soared into the sky beyond the Troll's body. The clumsy knight. The frightened soldier. The mad demonic beasts.
Pewang──!
And a moment later, the red whirlwind extinguished the flames and exploded in an instant.
"..."
In the place where the fire wind had disappeared, there was only a charred, black lump of flesh that was barely standing, its whole body trembling. The Troll, or rather the thing that was the Troll, had its knees buckle.
Kung!
When the Troll's knee touched the ground, the shock made the shape of its body wobble and it collapsed to the ground.
"Huek!"
A painful groan escaped Joseph's mouth. Immediately, he threw off the robe he was wearing. Because he had been hit by the heat wave nearby, his whole body was hot. His whole body was drenched in sweat, and his vision was blurry. His lips were parched and cracked, and his throat was stinging. A desire to jump into cold water and sleep immediately welled up.
Can't. It's not over yet.
But Joseph kept staggering and supported himself with his staff. With his blurry eyes, he somehow gathered strength and looked around.
We have to chase the shaman.
"Are you okay?!"
At that moment, Auger came running toward Joseph. Looking behind him, all the surviving soldiers were rushing to finish off the remaining demonic beasts. When Joseph nodded, he nodded back with a relieved expression. But he couldn't hide the shocked expression on his face. He had definitely thought that fighting the northern demonic beast would be no ordinary thing, but he couldn't even say what the magic a moment ago was. A fire whirlwind several times larger than a human's height. This was not something that could be compared to the fire mage on the battlefield.
"The shaman, there was a shaman."
Joseph swallowed dryly and forced out the words. Auger looked surprised as if he had just remembered.
"Shaman! W-where?!"
He hurriedly scanned the surroundings. Joseph shook his head and pointed to the lower part of the hill. The place where the shaman had ambushed Joseph and raised a cloud of dust. Because the ground had collapsed and turned into sand, the footprints left were still clearly visible. One shallow footprint and two deeply imprinted footprints. The direction led to the forest.
***
Crack-!
The pendant hanging on Horve's neck cracked, and its effect was lost. At the same time, his throbbing headache informed him that the connection with the Troll had been severed.
"Damn it, shit!"
He ran through the forest in a panic, spewing curses. What the hell was that just now. A fire whirlwind? Insane sight. Not even the fire mage, why was there such a guy.
I should have killed he earlier!
I didn't think the soldier protecting him would throw himself at it. Soldiers are creatures that move for money in the end. If their own life is in danger, they should bow their heads first, not charge to take the hit instead.
"Idiot! Eh!?"
Horve realized where he went wrong. He shouldn't have given them time. Then, he should have moved before winter. No, he shouldn't have made a deal with Viscount Dober. He shouldn't have tried to compete with the fire mage. If he wanted to shine on the battlefield, he shouldn't have. Countless thoughts swirled in Horve's head.
"There! It's this bastard!"
At that moment, a voice came from behind him. The soldier chasing him had caught up to him. Horve turned around. The guy with sharp eyes was panting as he chased. At first there were two, but now one had disappeared. Fortunately, due to the heavy armor, the guy's speed wasn't that fast. Horve was also not familiar with the forest, unlike the other. Horve ran deeper into the forest. His breath was at the limit of his throat, but stopping would mean death anyway.
Soon, the entrance to a small cave appeared inside the forest. It was originally his hideout where he hid to make artifacts. It was quite large because it was the entrance where ogres and trolls passed.
"Li, light!"
He stammered and chanted. Then, a small light orb rose beside him. There was no time to make a torch. He jumped into the cave. Passing through the demonic beasts' hideout, a table for making artifacts soon came into view.
"Hah, hah..."
And in the corner next to it, poorly carved wooden pendants were there. Failed artifacts. They were discarded because they couldn't control the demonic beasts, but now was not the time to measure something else. There's a monster that can match the suddenly appearing fire mage. He had to kill the guy somehow. Kill him and survive. And then again. He would prepare once more. The deal with the viscount was still valid. Becoming a noble mage, there was no path to proving himself as the foolish mage Horve gone. The failed artifact. If he forcibly activated this, he might be able to summon other uncontrolled demonic beasts.
Just as he was about to swing his staff down.
"You bastard!"
A hand axe flew toward him.