Chapter 101
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101
The destruction of Knecht had to stop here.
He just had to return to Riaze immediately, cancel Uin's deployment, and steer the situation to their advantage.
Leaving the Magic Tower, Ar walked through the chaotic streets toward the Teleportation Hub. The wails of the people echoed in his ears, but Ar's expression remained completely unchanged.
"The Teleportation Hub..."
"You do not need to worry," Sturman replied.
He had entrusted the defense of the Teleportation Hub to reliable hands; there shouldn't be any problem using it.
There couldn't be.
In the distance, one of his trusted subordinates, stationed throughout the town, came running toward them.
"...Captain."
After receiving the subordinate's report, Sturman couldn't hide his dismay.
"The Teleportation Hub has been destroyed."
"...By whom?"
The subordinate, perhaps not having received a full report himself, hesitated for a long moment before answering.
"They say it was... a monster in the shape of a small maid."
A monster in the shape of a small maid...
There was only one entity that fit that description.
"The Blade Maid."
Destroying the Teleportation Hub first could only mean one thing: they knew its function and had cut off their escape route.
Which means—have they realized?
Having calmly reached this conclusion, Ar immediately turned his head toward Sturman. They were still a great distance from the Hub, which appeared as a mere speck on the horizon.
If they were going to decide on an alternative plan, they had to do it now, while they were still safely out of the Blade Maid's line of sight.
"I need a detailed report on the exact situation—"
But a flying dagger was faster than his words.
The subordinate, who had been relaying the message, let out a brief shriek and collapsed. His throat had been pierced, stifling his scream, and the short cry didn't even reach where Ar stood.
Clutching his neck, the man writhed on the ground like a worm before finally growing cold and still.
From this distance, it was a small mercy that his face—smeared with blood and tears—was not visible.
"..."
As the message echoing in his head abruptly cut off, Sturman drew the shortsword at his waist without hesitation. The green-haired knight escorting Ar on the other side also drew his bow, warily scanning the area before them.
"...This is the worst-case scenario," Ar muttered, stopping in his tracks. His voice was so quiet that even the knights right beside him couldn't hear.
No matter how many scenarios he prepared, his opponents were monsters from the Primordial Core. They were entities from an unknown realm, their abilities a complete mystery.
Devising a flawless plan against such monsters was an absurdity.
From the very beginning, he had never expected his plan to proceed without a single hitch.
At least the other things haven't been discovered. Most likely, all the enemy knows is...
At most, they knew that Marmolia had become a homunculus. The only conclusion they could draw from that was that humans were involved in this series of events. That was undoubtedly why they had immediately blocked the escape routes.
He was certain of it: Swallow hadn't yet discovered that he was the mastermind. Therefore, the next step was already clear.
They had to escape before Swallow discovered their existence.
"...We must leave Knecht."
Ar's voice was exceedingly calm. Seeing him maintain such composure while Knecht burned in chaos, the magic scholars looked on with bewilderment.
Accepting their reaction as natural, Ar continued his train of thought.
The situation is certainly at its worst. However...
Had he not considered such a possibility? He had already devised a backup plan for when the Hub was unusable.
"Chaos is spreading among the citizens. If we use Transference now to escape through the nearest west gate—"
"No."
When a magic scholar tentatively offered a suggestion, Ar cut him off sharply.
"They aren't the kind of monsters to allow such a simple escape."
This was an enemy who had preemptively destroyed the Hub. There was no way they would permit the simplest method of escaping the city walls. Even thinking about it simply, there was Swallow, and the Demon King Melju de Limp Agrea, who was presumably his ally.
With the possibility that they were monitoring escapees from the sky, a conspicuous act like mass Transference would be suicide.
"We are returning to the Magic Tower."
If the Teleportation Hub was destroyed, they would simply build another one.
"We will construct a temporary Hub."
Transference was a low-tier magic, which meant its principles were simple. A Teleportation Hub didn't differ in principle from Transference. The only difference was the scale—traveling a short distance versus crossing from one city to another.
What determined that difference was the total amount of mana used. Simply put, a Teleportation Hub was just a device that powered Transference with the overwhelming amount of mana stored in its crystal.
"With your skills, you can surely create a mechanism similar to the Hub, can't you?"
The magic scholars fell silent at Ar's question. No one answered hastily, but at the same time, no one denied it. The magic scholars of the Third Eye had reached great heights not only in alchemy but also in magic. It was no exaggeration to say they had a perfect grasp of basic principles like those of Transference.
As long as they knew the principles, they could implement them.
As for mana, the most problematic element, the Magic Tower was practically overflowing with it. They would need to read the flow of the mana veins beneath the Magic Tower Polaris for the specifics, but judging by the scale of the tower, transferring a few people would be more than feasible.
Only after observing the magic scholars' reactions did Ar turn to Sturman.
"Sir Sturman, how much time do we have?"
"...About fifteen minutes," Sturman replied immediately. This time, however, his answer carried a hint of uncertainty.
Approximately fifteen minutes until Uin arrived.
"We must hurry."
With the situation having changed, the moment Uin arrived in Knecht, things would spiral out of control. Besides, Uin had already clashed with Swallow once before. If she were to face him again here, there was no way it would end without casualties.
No, it would be worse than just casualties.
Without having obtained the "Apocalypse Finished Product," the current Uin could never defeat Swallow.
This time, she would truly die.
Ar turned back toward the Magic Tower and quickened his pace.
He stopped after only a few steps.
"..."
A sense of incongruity stopped him in his tracks. Ar let out a soft sigh. The reason he couldn't move forward was the footsteps—or lack thereof. The footsteps of the two people who should have been right behind him were gone.
When he turned his head, he saw the two knights of the Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights standing perfectly still.
Their gazes were fixed on the distant Teleportation Hub.
"Captain," Sturman called out to Ar.
The green-haired knight beside him glanced over, gauging Ar's reaction. They had already readied themselves for battle.
Then, without warning, Sturman swung the shortsword he gripped tightly. The green-haired knight also gripped his bow like a club and struck downward.
To an onlooker, it would have looked as if they were swinging at empty air—
Clang!
The loud, metallic sound of clashing blades rang out.
Sparks flew from the shortsword and the tip of the bow. The unnatural force of the impact sent the green-haired knight stumbling back a step.
Rene was still standing by the distant Teleportation Hub, a figure so far away she was nothing but a speck.
"It seems she has noticed us."
—And from that impossible distance, she was staring right at them.
A series of sounds tore through the air.
Clang! The harsh sound of deflected metal rang out three times in rapid succession as long iron needles clattered to the ground.
"Captain, please go on ahead and prepare," Sturman said, adjusting his grip on his sword. Despite his fierce eyes, his voice trembled with urgency.
He looked at the green-haired knight. "I'll handle that monster. You protect the Captain."
"You will die."
"...An old soldier doesn't die."
"...That's baseless."
After his curt reply, the green-haired knight flicked his hand. An arrow of pure magic materialized in his palm. He nocked it and drew the bowstring.
With a creak, the arrow, drawn back with all his strength, pointed toward the Hub.
"I will stay."
At the same time, his gaze met Sturman's. In that brief moment, a shared resolve passed between them.
"You must know that the enemy is a monster who has slaughtered thousands of subjugation squad members."
"I know."
"If that is your wish, then we shall stay together."
"I will stay alone."
"We have to get back and stop Sir Uin. I understand your loyalty, but how long can you possibly hold out alone—"
"Still, I will stay alone."
"..."
"Isn't the time we're wasting precious?"
As if he had said all he needed to, the green-haired knight turned his gaze back toward the Hub. Sturman looked at Ar, his eyes still filled with anxiety.
"Captain."
"..."
"Please, honor the old knight's resolve."
Silence fell.
It was a truly brief silence.
Ar turned his head, his gaze directed not at Sturman, but at the green-haired knight.
"Sir Gwyn."
The green-haired knight, Gwyn, looked back at Ar.
Ar did not call Gwyn by his name lightly. Whenever he did, it was to assign an important mission.
"I will not forgive a death that is not part of the plan."
The response was silence. The green-haired knight called Gwyn did not say he understood, nor did he promise not to die. He merely put more strength into the hand drawing the bowstring, the creaking sound growing louder.
"Isn't the time we're wasting precious?"
Gwyn wasn't wrong. Ar silently took a step toward the Magic Tower, and the magic scholars, who had been watching with anxious expressions, immediately followed.
Sturman, who had been standing frozen, finally took a heavy step forward after one last look at Gwyn.
"...She is an enemy that can never be stopped alone. Captain, do you truly believe it is possible to block a homunculus single-handedly?"
"I know what you are thinking, Sir Sturman. I do not doubt your strength, and I know how reassuring your support would be," Ar's voice was stiff as he answered. "But right now, you would only be a hindrance."
As he spoke, Ar cast a brief glance backward.
The wind began to howl.
Rene, who had been testing them with iron needles from afar, was finally charging.
*
The hand pulling the bowstring taut released, and a sharp shaft of light flew toward the enemy.
Rene, who had been throwing blades from her sleeves, now pulled a different one from her pocket. It was a broad, butcher-like blade attached to a cord, allowing her to swing it even at a distance.
Riiip!
The arrow of condensed mana was sliced in two by the blade, dispersing into the air.
The Blade Maid frowned slightly as she deflected the arrow, never breaking her charge.
It wasn't a simple mana arrow. An optical illusion distorted its path, making it appear somewhere it wasn't.
"Tch."
The Blade Maid had clearly realized this, which was why she had used the broad blade to slice through its general path. Slightly taken aback by the unusual attack, she aborted her leap, planting her feet firmly on the ground.
"..."
Their eyes met. An eerie, dark light glowed in the Blade Maid's right eye.
The moment their silent assessment ended, the Blade Maid kicked off the ground and lunged forward once more. At the same time, she threw another blade to keep Gwyn from making any foolish moves.
Once again, the metallic clang of clashing steel rang out, and in that brief interval, the distance between them collapsed.
A distance of well over 150 meters.
She closed the gap in seconds and brought her blade down in a vertical strike.
Boom!
The ground shook, and stone fragments sprayed in all directions. Gwyn, having dodged backward, nocked an alloy arrow to his bow.