The Weight of Strength
The next day, Medrup and I joined Rowell, Aegina, and Bagloros at the Kaderon Kingdom border to reclaim Minasid, where we suspected Ryban’s clones had gathered.
It was the very place attacked by the Beast Legion just yesterday. Traces of the assault lingered here and there, yet the visible damage was minimal—only a single section of the wall had partially collapsed.
Had the monsters appeared inside the town or city proper, the devastation would have been horrific. Because they manifested outside the walls, and at a considerable distance, the defenders had managed to hold until Rowell arrived.
From what we heard, every region struck by the Beast Legion had been either a well-fortified border zone or an outer fortress perimeter—places equipped with sturdy walls or rapid communication via crystal orbs. It was as though the attacks existed solely to alert Rowell and the Mage Guild of their presence as quickly as possible, regardless of success or failure.
Of course, the assaults occurring across the various kingdoms had nothing to do with Ryban’s clones; they were the work of the Dark Priests. Leaving everyone behind to strike at Minasid carried its own risks. Yet Medrup judged that, given how drastically the quality and quantity of the Beast Legion forces had diminished compared to previous attacks—and that their goal of luring me to El Nergavil had already been achieved—there would be no further offensives.
Even so, elite mages from the Mage Guild and forces such as golems and chimeras remained stationed around the mobile magic circles, prepared for any unexpected assault.
“Are you certain it’s all right not to call Orcan?”
Lauti could not leave the vicinity of the Tower of Destruction, but Orcan could have been brought along without issue.
“Orcan is currently dealing with some troublesome matters among the tribes. If we informed him, he would rush here at once, but this may be a historic moment for tribal unification. It would be best not to interfere if possible.”
Medrup’s eyes and voice carried a quiet confidence as he spoke. True enough—Ryban’s clones might have rebuilt part of the Beast Legion, but neither the clones themselves nor the monsters they had gathered could compare to the original legion.
In all honesty, Rowell, Bagloros, and Medrup alone could have handled this.
Still, the feeling was strange. There had been a time when facing even a single Demon Commander required every one of us to stake our lives. Now we were marching against Ryban—clones though they were—with such ease. I could feel anew just how much stronger we had all become, especially Rowell and Medrup.
“By the way, Anak. How many layers is your equipped barrier at now? Ten? Or have you improved beyond that?”
“Unfortunately, only nine. Lately it feels as though my skill has dulled; I keep omitting one during adjustments or calculations.”
“That won’t do. Peace is wonderful, but you mustn’t neglect occasional practice. The technique of layering your equipped barrier is an extraordinary talent. I’ve half a mind to record it and pass it on to other mages.”
He had actually made the same suggestion several times during the Great War. My method, however, was specialized solely for my own body—too intuitive to quantify precisely—and, to be honest, I preferred to keep it as my own private skill rather than share it.
“Very well. Are we ready?”
At Medrup’s question, Rowell drew Grandias instead of answering.
“We’re ready.”
“Then let us be off.”
Medrup raised his staff lightly. The surroundings flashed, and the landscape changed in an instant. It was not a portal but teleportation—long-distance travel that would normally have been impossible in a single cast. Even without interference from disruption towers or other obstacles, performing it so effortlessly spoke volumes about the Yellow Sage.
“Medrup, where are we?”
“The outer region. Even so, dropping straight into the center would be dangerous. Our destination lies that way. Once we leave this forest, the castle will come into view.”
Though the trees and undergrowth were dense, there were no signs of monsters or magical beasts.
“According to my earlier scan, the monsters have all gathered toward the castle. They may have sensed our presence, but their lack of movement suggests they are waiting for us.”
“What about the clones?”
“That is uncertain. The crystal orb confirmed several black shadows inside the castle, but whether every clone is within or some are elsewhere remains unclear.”
If the clones were modeled after Ryban’s various forms, the interior of the castle would not be an ideal battlefield for them either. Should they choose to attack, the open ground between the walls and the main keep would likely be more suitable than the castle halls.
“Then the real battle begins the moment we cross the walls.”
Rowell’s expression had returned to what it had been in the old days—calm yet warm, neither consumed by the tension of battle nor dismissive of it. That was the face he wore when he was truly serious.
Rowell never grew needlessly sharp or cold like Anak, Orcan, or Aegina, nor did he let anger overtake him. There had been moments during the Great War when he grew furious, and those moments had been terrifying for both allies and enemies alike. Yet the times when he displayed his true strength were precisely when he wore this expression.
“……”
I quietly summoned sentences into the air and called forth the Dark Elementals, wrapping them around us. There was no need to summon large or clumsy creatures that would only get in the way, nor was there any reason to call forth Irshagas or Morotai.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Don’t think of going ahead alone, Bagloros.”
Once my summoning was complete, we began walking toward the castle. With Medrup and Bagloros present, and Rowell and Aegina at their full strength, there was no real need for me to stay on guard. Even so, we felt no movement around us until the walls finally came into sight.
As expected, the battle began only when we drew near the walls.
“They must be packed in behind there.”
As we left the forest and approached the walls, a strange oppressive presence and the distinctive stench of the Beast Legion drifted toward us on the wind.
“Yes.”
There was no need to send the Dark Elementals ahead. Bagloros answered and wrapped black energy around both arms while Rowell and Aegina prepared for combat.
“They’re coming.”
At Bagloros’s words, countless shapes rose into the sky from behind the walls, and the massive gates toppled forward. The sky was filled with the same winged gorillas, winged lions, and serpent-tailed eagles we had fought to the point of exhaustion in the past. The creatures emerging from behind the walls were likewise monsters we had once battled.
Some were so enormous that even after smashing through the gates they could not fit, so they simply climbed over the walls instead.
“It seems they intend to send only the small fry first.”
“It brings back memories, doesn’t it?”
There were certainly many monsters. An ordinary army would have been annihilated by such numbers. Yet compared to the scale we had once faced, they posed no real threat.
“I’ll handle the skies. As for the ground……”
“Leave it to me.”
Bagloros spoke only those words before charging forward. Yes. It really was just like the old days.
“…Well, at least he talks now.”
While I muttered to myself, Bagloros, cloaked in the veil of night, collided head-on with the vanguard of the monster horde. Every time he moved, the black mist of night spread across the battlefield, and the death cries of countless monsters followed in its wake.
It had been a long time since I had seen that sight.
As I watched Bagloros’s movements, the sky above us darkened. The countless monsters that had filled the heavens were now directly overhead. I looked toward Medrup. In the past, the Dark Elementals or Rowell and Aegina would have moved, but there was no need.
“It’s a little early, but how about a sunset?”
Following Medrup’s hand and staff, an enormous surge of mana stirred, and suddenly a fierce blaze covered the sky. It was exactly like a sunset. The flames dyed the heavens themselves crimson, and the countless monsters that had been about to descend upon us turned to ash and scattered into nothing.
The heat could have reached us, yet autonomous barriers Medrup had already deployed around each of us held firm.
“It has been quite some time since I used a large-scale offensive spell. How about it—does this old man’s skill seem rusty?”
“Not at all.”
He had cast such a wide-area spell alone, without any incantation or preparation, and had even erected separate barriers for each of us. This was no longer a matter of rust or polish; it had already surpassed the realm of humanity.
Of course, that did not mean the enemy had been completely wiped out. A few stragglers that had lagged behind survived the flames and now hovered in the air, startled. But what difference did that make?
When Medrup waved his hand again, a massive sphere of light appeared and scattered into countless arrows of light, erasing every remaining monster from the sky.
“Well, the skies are more or less dealt with.”
The ground was no different. The four-tusked giant mammoths that had once carried the mana disruption towers, the golden bulls large enough to transport other Demon King’s soldiers, the lizards spewing black venom—none of them mattered. Every time Bagloros swung his arms, four or five monsters were swept away. Whenever the veil of night parted, the growing piles of corpses reminded me of a magician’s sleight of hand.
After severing the head of a horned gorilla as the final act, Bagloros returned to us. Not a single drop of blood stained his body; the black energy he wore had kept everything at bay.
“It’s over.”
Neither I nor Rowell nor Aegina had needed to step forward. With Bagloros and two waves of Medrup’s hand, the Beast Legion had been annihilated.