16. Should I Check the Blood?
Gilbert endured the scorching heat and moisture that pierced through his aura, leaving him parched and dry as if the ground itself might split open at any moment. He swung his sword with grim determination.
'How he managed to revive is still a mystery, but his strength hasn't changed from the past.'
Of course, even so, Ignis's flames were not to be underestimated in the slightest.
If the Imperial Capital's defense troops and the magic academy mages had not deployed their barriers the moment he entered the fray, half of the Imperial Capital would have been reduced to ashes by now.
In the general perception, mages excelled at strategy and war but were ill-suited for actual combat. On a battlefield, a mage's magic under the protection of knights was a catastrophe in itself. Yet in a battle against a small number of opponents, mages became the absolute priority target—and the easiest to bring down.
'But he's still fast...!'
Ignis was determined to overturn that perception. Just as he had three years ago, he continued to wield mana with terrifying speed.
The reason Ignis the mad fire mage had become the nightmare of the Imperial Capital was precisely this: his magic was unnaturally fast. Mana reserves, the power and range of his spells—those were secondary concerns. He was undeniably a top-tier mage, and if he possessed those abilities, the magic academy would have had a few of its own. Yet three years ago, when Ignis rampaged, neither the knights nor the academy mages could easily defeat him. The difference lay in application.
Mages who were strong in defense had strong combat senses, on par with warriors who had seen every kind of battle. Simply by fully utilizing those senses and adapting his magic fluidly to the situation, he was already enough to be a nuisance. On top of that, Ignis possessed astonishing reflexes.
A mage who could read an opponent's aura and movements in an instant and respond by unleashing devastating flames at the perfect moment—that was the mad fire mage, Ignis.
"How did it come to this, you hunting dog? Your breathing is already ragged. It's nothing like before. Did you run out of strength already?"
Gilbert wanted to snap at him to shut up, but he didn't have the breath left to speak. Instead, he gripped his sword tightly and slashed through the flames.
There were monsters in the world who maintained their peak strength even after aging, but Gilbert was not one of them.
Gilbert's body had long passed its prime. His physique itself had not been neglected in training and remained healthy and sturdy. Compared to active knights or warriors, it would be difficult to find someone as capable as him. Therefore, to measure his current state, one had to look back to his prime. Compared to that time, the present Gilbert was...
'Damn it. Age doesn't lie. He's become pitifully weak.'
The more one fought strong opponents, the more the difference from the past became impossible to ignore. Even in his prime, Gilbert had not been a hero-class monster, but just below that level, he had been near the pinnacle of strength.
Yet the era that seemed eternal had collapsed in vain under the storms of time. Even three years ago, his prime had passed, but not to this extent, Gilbert had thought.
'……I never expected this situation. But it's the perfect time to retire.'
Gilbert tightened his grip on the sword. Even when retiring, he had to complete his assigned duties properly. Otherwise, he would have no face left before the commander who had granted him retirement.
"Hm?"
Ignis sensed the change in the aura. He was unconsciously gathering the flames he had spread around for defense when Gilbert moved first.
BOOM!
With a thunderous roar, Gilbert launched himself forward with all his might, kicking the ground. Ignis, startled by the overwhelming momentum, hurled the flames he had not yet fully gathered at Gilbert.
"Idiot!"
Ignis mocked him. Even so, it was impossible to cut off all his flames head-on.
Even three years ago, he had not closed the distance head-on. Instead, he had dug in from the outside in a spiraling pattern to slice through his neck.
Moreover, since he was weaker now than before, from Ignis's perspective, Gilbert's action was nothing but suicide.
That was why Ignis had been shooting flames and laughing, but the next moment his mouth twisted horribly.
Gilbert's aura was still alive.
"Don't come. Don't come, don't come, don't come!"
Instead of slicing the flames with the blade, Gilbert was piercing through them with the tip of his sword. Ignis went mad, swinging flames wildly.
To pierce the flames, Gilbert had concentrated almost all his aura into the sword. His entire body was rapidly turning black.
No heat remained. The only sensation left was the agony of burning bones, yet Gilbert did not stop.
'It's fine. It's okay. The body is still moving!'
From a third-person perspective, the time it took for Gilbert to rush at Ignis was merely a blink of an eye.
In that instant, Ignis created mad flames to stop him, and Gilbert silently pierced through them.
"Don't come...!"
And finally, with a chilling sound that tore through flesh and bone, Gilbert's sword pierced through Ignis's head.
"Don't revive again."
The sword that had pierced Ignis's head drew a straight line downward and struck. At that moment, the flames that had been burning everything around vanished, and the mad mage's body turned to ash and scattered.
"……Ugh."
Gilbert, having confirmed the defeat, lost his strength and collapsed. It seemed like his colleagues were shouting something from afar and rushing over, but it was neither clearly visible nor audible.
'Damn it. Even though I managed to live and retire, I still can't escape the Hound tradition in the end.'
Various thoughts came and went, but among them, the most troubling was naturally the image of his wife and young daughter.
'I still had so many things I wanted to do for you.'
With eyes slowly closing regardless of will, Gilbert sensed his end...
*CRACK.*
"This brat, with a face full of regrets, dares to die on his own accord."
"...?!"
Just before consciousness completely cut off, he suddenly felt cold liquid pouring all over his body. Gilbert was surprised that he could feel the cold.
"Eh?"
It was not just his senses. The body was moving properly according to his will, just as the lie that he could not even move a finger had been. His voice came out as well.
With the moving body, he looked up and saw someone continuously pouring something onto his body.
"……Commander?"
"Still not fully poured, so stay still."
Their commander, Isaac, had a box tucked under one armpit and was taking out a beautifully shaped bottle from it and pouring the contents onto himself.
"What is the pattern drawn on that box...?"
"Yeah. Borrowed from the magic academy. I borrowed the one the barrier-deploying guys had for a moment."
It was as if he had stolen it wrong, but Gilbert decided to keep his mouth shut.
"I was worried because I rushed to get it, but luckily I got the right one."
"Yes, well, it's the magic academy's thing..."
The magic academy's medicine was so enormously expensive that ordinary people could not even dream of it, but it was also famous for its effectiveness.
In fact, it felt as though both external and internal injuries were rapidly recovering.
"It's done. The outside burns are okay now, but just in case, get a proper check."
"It's not just the outside, but the inside feels moistened."
After Gilbert stood up, he sat on the floor. Thanks to the medicine, his stamina felt a bit restored. Gilbert bowed to their commander and said,
"Truly grateful, Commander. I owe you an immeasurable debt that I can never repay in my lifetime."
"No, that's fine. There's something I want to ask."
"Eh?"
Gilbert tilted his head, wondering what sudden question.
When I arrived, only you were lying there. So I don't know, but... Did you win?"
To this, Gilbert smiled wryly and answered,
"Yes. I won."
--
Selemin realized that she had not felt truly angry in a long time.
'Why did it suddenly become a place I have to go, and then tell me to join these two and come back? What are they doing there?'
Since it was an order, Selemin had set out to track the bundle of grudges they had created together with Haria and Gina at the scene.
After walking far from the Imperial Capital, they finally arrived at the dilapidated hut. And inside, there was one motionless golem.
They knew that the criminal's power was contained in the golem due to the reaction of the soul and mana, but that was the end.
The golem was a pile. To make them come this far.
'Did that man sense it because I only heard a rough approximate location?'
But they could not not check, and since there might be a trap, they had sent the two with it. But then what?
'Where did they end up going?'
Feeling that something was abandoned was very displeasing, so Selemin, walking irritably, was approached by Gina.
"Hey. Now it's your turn."
The moment the soul was found, the power left in the golem also disappeared, but if they asked the magic academy, they might find out something.
So it was the way back with it, but after Haria, Gina who was carrying the golem was now pushing it to Selemin.
"Okay. Give it here."
"……Eh?"
But when Selemin, who was lost in her own thoughts, readily accepted it, Gina was rather startled.
In normal cases, the pattern was that she or the other would start the fight and shoot out some killing intent, then one side would back down or others would mediate.
It was to be called their own kind of fun or an expression of affection, so when Selemin showed an action that deviated from her usual pattern, Gina could not help but be startled.
"? What are you doing?"
"Eh, no. I just thought I could take it too."
"Is that so? Thank you."
After expressing gratitude to Gina, Selemin walked away irritated at Isaac again. At this sight, Gina looked at Haria with a face full of fear.
"Why is she like that? Did something happen with the commander?"
"Well..."
It was as if she did not know, but contrary to what she said, Haria's eyes were filled with deep vigilance and clearly staring at the back of Selemin's head, which was different from usual.
Gina, realizing the meaning in her eyes, decided not to ask further. Because of her life full of waves that made her lose her composure, she felt sorry, but she did not want to get her head bashed in among the beasts.
'……I want to get married.'
So the woman who wanted to get married and the woman who was somehow irritating, the woman who seemed like a suspicious colleague, walked back to the Imperial Capital in silence.