Leave Some for Us

"Auror?! Wasn't he a mage?!"

"So the rumors were true…?"

Leon's party reeled at the Auror Line coiled around X's blade. Senses honed by high-level martial training made the truth impossible to deny: that was no magic. That was Auror.

Leon, having already healed his face with his own divine power, fixed a hard, wary stare on the fact standing right in front of him.

"You know what it means to point that sword at me?"

"It means I'm going to beat the living hell out of a guy who goes around beating up a helpless girl. Same way you did."

"…You're declaring yourself an enemy of the Hero chosen by the Goddess."

"Did the Goddess tell you to go around beating people like that?"

"It means the Goddess affirms my will…!"

"Bullshit."

X sneered. There was no one alive who knew Deus Lute better than he did. That goddess prized the greater good, yes — but she never stopped emphasizing the small kindnesses. Leon being chosen as her Hero was nothing more than this world's plot forcing the issue. That was the power of protagonist correction, the kind that trampled Probability itself.

Circe asked quietly, on the edge of a fight.

"…What are our odds?"

"Slim."

The other side was the Hero Party. Even if they weren't at their peak — still in their growth period — they were among the very best students in the academy. Worse, they would surge in power to stop the coming apocalypse until their strength became something no one could touch. Even X had to admit this fight was absurd on its face.

"But that's only if they were all together."

The other side was missing critical pieces right now. One: they hadn't grown enough yet. Two: without Circe, they were weak in a group fight. Which meant there was only one thing he had to do in this battle.

Become Circe's sword.

He steeled himself and stepped forward. First order of business: drawing every eye.

"You remember the last time you prayed at the Sanctum?"

"…What are you talking about."

"Have you even set foot past the Sanctum's threshold since you were ten?"

"What the hell are you saying?!"

"The Goddess is going to weep, you bastard. A so-called Hero going around beating kids, and you haven't visited the Sanctum even once."

"Shut up!!"

The instant Leon flared and lunged, a bolt of vicious lightning crashed down on him from the side.

KRA-KOOM—!!

"Kh…!"

Sensing the strike, Leon cleaved the lightning with his sword. The moment the magical bolt met his blade, it vanished without a trace. That was Protego Sword Art — the swordsmanship that cut through origins themselves.

"Circe! It's not too late — stop this!!"

Leon shouted a warning at his attacker. Circe ignored the cry and prepared her next spell.

"I'll stop when one thing happens. When you've been beaten black and blue like that kid until you come to your senses!"

Dozens of ice lances formed in the air beside her. She was exploiting the simple weakness that he couldn't cut down multiple targets at once.

"X! Go beat him down! Try not to kill him if you can!"

"I'll… give that one some thought…!"

The ice lances launched, and X shot forward like an arrow. Leon flared an Auror Blade and locked his defense down tight. Even that couldn't stop an attack coming from every direction.

"Something behind me…!"

Leon's battle sense screamed warnings from all sides. Ahead: X charging in, and a swarm of ice lances. To both flanks and behind: three unidentified White Light Swords. He couldn't possibly block it all alone.

But Leon was not alone.

KANG—! KENG—!

An arrow and a dagger flew in and knocked the White Light Swords aside. At the same time, a massive wall of light rose in front of Leon. The ice lances slammed into the barrier and stopped dead. X had no choice but to halt as well.

Frey, who had raised the wall of light, cried out in anguish.

"Please stop! X, please understand! That child's power was stronger than we expected!"

"That's why I asked. Were you even going to treat her…?!"

"Kh, that's…!"

X immediately poured a spell into the ground. A violent shock rippled through the earth below — a 4th Circle earthquake spell, shaking the terrain itself.

"Frey! If you keep the barrier up I can't get out!"

"Ah, I'm sorry…!"

Caught in the range, Leon and Frey staggered, unable to keep their footing. A barrier didn't just block an enemy's charge — it blocked your own side's advance too. And it still couldn't stop X's White Light Swords.

Only when they pass through the barrier — dematerialize them…!

The three White Light Swords shot from in front of X and slipped through the barrier like ghosts. Every tip was aimed at Leon, edges honed to a killing sharpness.

Not that Frey stood idle.

"If that's truly what you want…."

TA-DA-DANG—!

Glowing fists hammered out in rapid succession toward the swords threatening Leon. Three strikes faster than a single breath, bursting the air as they smashed the White Light Swords with perfect accuracy. Having dropped the barrier, Frey clenched her fists and settled into a forward stance.

"We'll talk after the violence is over."

And then, a single breath ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later—

TAP—

Frey appeared right in front of X.

That's not even teleportation…!

Frey's movement was faster than X could even finish being shocked. One step put her in his face, stance set, and the fist of light she'd drawn back launched like a cannonball.

KWAANG—!!

He barely caught the punch with his sword and arm. The impact of that single blow sent him skidding far backward, and his internally reinforced arm went numb as if it had been paralyzed.

Faster and stronger than I expected…!

He already knew Frey's fighting style. Her devout faith had reached its limit. What remained was to hone herself. The pure extreme of martial arts that a cleric could attain. Frey was a Warrior Monk who had reached the pinnacle.

If a frontal contest was meaningless, then all that was left was to shake her will.

"So these are the fists you used to beat Lola like that, huh? The hands that are supposed to heal people were just fists for beating them down?"

"I won't ask you to forgive me."

"Yeah. The forgiveness you need to beg for is from the Goddess. But is She going to forgive you? Looking at those fists, I don't think so."

The words struck Frey like a dagger. Just as X had said, the light protecting her fists flickered and guttered. For a cleric whose conviction and faith were her power, the meaning was unmistakable.

…I don't think this is right, do I.

Even now, her fists were trembling. The memory of having to beat a young girl was seared into her mind — a nightmare she never wanted to live through again, never wanted to remember.

"Can you stand before the Goddess and call yourself a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Saintess?"

That single line from X drove in like a wedge, and her legs wouldn't move.

"Yeah. Leave the dirty work to us."

"It's always been that way. Why act surprised now."

Then, from behind X, a shadow lunged for his throat. From his blind spot, an arrow flew. A dagger aimed at the neck. An arrow aimed at the heart. Rosaria and Diana's combined assault was as silent as a hidden blade.

Not that X was unaware.

"I've heard of Scarlet's hidden arts and Artemis's archery too, you know…!"

KAANG—!!

He swept the dagger from his throat with his sword and knocked the arrow from his heart with a White Light Sword. All three of them were 4-Star warriors. The density of their Auror was roughly equal.

"Ah, right. Our junior from way, way back."

But in terms of skill, Rosaria was several steps ahead.

CHWA-RA-RA-RAK—!!

The moment he deflected one dagger, ten concealed weapons burst from her coat. Fired from point-blank range, there was no dodging them, no blocking them all with a sword. And behind his head, arrow after arrow kept coming, each one razor-sharp. There was nowhere to run.

I can't take both of them alone…!

X deployed every defensive measure he had. White Light Swords to knock aside daggers and arrows. A shield spell to stop a few more. And his still-incomplete Auror Armor to keep the damage as low as it could go.

THUK, PAK—!

"Kh…!"

Even so, he had no choice but to take a few daggers and arrows.

"Auror Armor too? What are you, some kind of monster…"

Rosaria, dual daggers in hand, clicked her tongue as she slashed at his vitals. X slammed his sword down to block the attack and gritted his teeth right in her face.

"The monsters are you people, beating the weak without mercy."

"You think we wanted to do that…?!"

"Must be nice, being able to forgive yourself that easily, huh?"

"Y-you, you… you son of a bitch…!"

"You don't think for yourselves at all — you just do whatever Leon says and call that normal?!!"

"Who the hell are you to lecture us!!"

"Are you going to kill an innocent person just because Leon doesn't like them?!!"

They were locked in close combat when—

"If you're going to stand in our way too…."

Circe's spell, which had needed time to prepare, was complete.

GROOOOOOH—!!

The Book of Eibon screamed as its pages flipped. And then, gradually, the turning of those pages began to slow. At the same time, the daggers being thrown, the arrows being loosed — all of it slowed.

"Then there are just more people to beat down."

Circe's broken-tier unique magic, Time Control, was cast. Under normal circumstances, Time Control was a 7th Circle spell — something Circe at her current 4th Circle could never hope to cast. But what she held was the most alien artifact in this world: the Book of Eibon. A broken-tier item that absorbed every last bit of a mage's Rebound until every page of the book was gone.

"Circe, you…!!"

Even Rosaria, the fastest combatant in Leon's party, was helplessly slowed once time itself bound her. And a fist packed with X's internal energy and rage was never going to miss a slowed-down Rosaria.

"One down first…!"

His fist drove dead-center into Rosaria's solar plexus.

"Ghk—…"

As she went flying, tumbling across the ground, he loosed several binding ice arrows after her.

"Grrrk…"

Her hands and feet froze over as she gasped and writhed in pain. For the finish, he fired a White Light Sword that cracked her across the head and knocked her out cold.

"Rosaria!"

Diana, who was close with Rosaria, broke formation to go save her bound friend. Tactically unwise — but unfortunately, there was no one in this party to point that out.

"X!"

"On it!"

That one call was enough. Like a party that had fought together for a long time, he grasped her intent instantly. Leon's party, on the other hand, did not.

"Damn it…. Frey, stop Circe!"

"Diana would be better for that right now than me…!"

"Wait, then — Diana!"

"I'm busy!!"

Leon wasn't normally the one who commanded. With little experience directing, he was too busy trying to punch through the magical barrage and make snap decisions to even swing his sword once. And the party, having never taken orders from Leon, trusted their own judgment more.

"Looking at them like this, they really are a ragtag mess…"

Circe kept pouring on magical fire to pin Leon and Frey's feet. While those two were tied down, X moved. There was only one person to go after now.

"That sword again…!"

Three White Light Swords shot toward Diana like arrows.

"I knew you'd try that again…!"

True to the name of Divine Archer, she returned fire in a high-speed volley. Five arrows flew with perfect accuracy toward the White Light Swords. At this rate, arrows and swords would collide and intercept each other.

Slither—

If the White Light Swords hadn't passed straight through the arrows.

"What even is that thing…?!"

While Diana fumbled in shock and nocked her next arrow, X charged straight at her, White Light Swords in tow. Even facing that charge, Diana calmly waited for her moment.

I already knew he'd come for me.

An archer was always the first one targeted. Knowing that, she'd always built herself a foothold for a reversal.

Come a little closer. I'll put holes through your whole body.

Arrow traps she'd scattered in every direction aligned at her gesture, all aimed at X.

Here he comes…!

The instant Diana tried to trigger her prepared traps—

"Forgot every last one of the Threcian Mountain ranger's rules, did you."

"Y-you, how do you know that…?"

The words from X's mouth shook her.

"Arrows are supposed to fly at monsters. Not people."

"Sh-shut up!!"

Panicked, Diana triggered the traps in a rush.

CHWA-JA-JA-JAK—!!

Dozens of pre-placed arrows flew in from every direction. But she had been too hasty. If she'd waited a little more calmly, it would have been a fatal blow. That hesitation gave X one extra step of room.

"You broke a ranger's code. You should've snapped your own bowstring."

He slipped free of the dozens of arrows and arrived right in Diana's face. The White Light Swords slammed into both her hands and the spot between her brows. X took the remaining blade in his hand and brought it down on the crown of her head.

TAAAK—!

"Guh…!"

Brutal impacts hammered her forehead and the top of her skull in succession. Diana, weak in close combat, had no chance of holding out.

"Grrrk…"

The moment she collapsed, unconscious, he bound her arms and legs in ice. He kicked her bow and arrows far away, then turned.

"Two left…"

"Dodge!!"

With Circe's warning, something came screaming in. An Auror Blade in a massive crescent, as large as a person. It tore a path of destruction from a distance and arrived right in his face.

Leon's Blade Shot…!

Blade Shot — a technique that detached the Auror Blade and launched it at range. The internal energy cost was so high it was only used against truly strong opponents.

KAAAANG—!!

Thanks to Circe's timely warning, he got his defense up fast. He caught the Blade Shot on a sword wrapped in Auror Line.

KAGAGAGAGAGAK—!!

"Ghhhkk…!"

The sound of Auror scraping violently against his blade stabbed at his ears. The enormous pressure shoved his feet back, gouging the earth. If he held like this, his body would be split in two along with the sword.

Then I deflect it…!

He adjusted his grip and shoved sideways with everything he had. At first the Auror didn't budge, but bit by bit it started to give, and then it sheared completely off-course.

I held this time, but I won't survive a second one…!

His palms were torn, and something in his arm muscles had given out — he couldn't put any strength into them. This was what it meant to have raw, stupid amounts of internal energy slammed into you. But there was no time to tend to his body.

"How dare you do that to Rosaria and Diana…!"

Leon, delivering a painfully stock line, forced his way through the barrage and came flying in. He charged furiously, sweeping his sword in a wide arc. X ignored the wounds and the pain and raised his sword to defend.

KAANG—!!

An impact so fierce he nearly lost his grip in an instant. A single attack completely shattered his defensive stance. If he hadn't had ice arrows prepared in advance, he would have been cut down then and there.

"Magic again…!"

Leon sprang back to dodge the arrows. In that window, X quickly downed a recovery potion. A light, cooling sensation washed through him. He hurled the bottle far away and gritted his teeth.

"Your own comrades are precious, but someone else's are disposable…?!"

"I never thought that. What happened with that child was unavoidable. But I will apologize for how we treated her."

"Say that to Lola, you son of a bitch…!"

He fired another spell into the ground, sending out a shockwave. Leon, having experienced it once already, immediately drove his sword into the earth. The impact was enough to break his stance, but he held on by gripping the planted blade.

"If you think you can waste my time with this—. Ghk!"

When Leon lifted his head, what he saw was the sole of a boot. X had used Leon's face as a stepping stone to leap.

I never planned to take Leon one-on-one from the start!

His target from the beginning had been Frey, who was pressing Circe.

"Circe! Please stop! We're comrades!"

"I'll think about it after I've beaten Leon's face in!"

"The Goddess will never forgive that!!"

"Don't blame the Goddess for something you just don't want to do!! Kh…!"

Circe was quickly being forced onto the back foot. Even when she raised a barrier, Frey clenched her fist and swung, and it shattered like glass. She chained every spell she had and laid traps, but Frey just plowed through them, stubborn and unstoppable.

So this is a Warrior Monk…! She's a real pain to deal with!

Frey wielded walls of light with complete freedom, attacking and defending at the same time. Even Circe's ice-shard magic couldn't pierce those barriers of light.

"You didn't even treat the people you hurt…!"

In that situation, Circe glanced past Frey, then immediately started baiting her.

"All you are is a brute who only beats up the weak with those fists…!"

"A brute…?! Did you just finish that sentence, Circe…?!"

Frey smashed through Circe's barrier and closed the gap. Her fist drew back again, blazing with light, about to launch—

SWEEEK—!!

She sensed something flying in from behind and intercepted it with a spinning back-kick. Reflexes that bordered on miraculous.

"I figured you'd do that."

What X had thrown was a fireball that exploded on contact. A special one, with mana condensed to an extreme degree.

"Oh no…!"

KWOOOOOOM—!!!

The instant the fireball was about to detonate, Frey leapt away on one foot and vacated the spot. A feat bordering on divine.

"…She dodged that."

Frey stepped as if teleporting and arrived at Leon's side. In that brief window, she had already rescued the unconscious Rosaria and Diana. X stood in front of Circe like a shield, sword raised.

"Unfortunately, the ambush failed."

"Frey is the second strongest after Leon. In a one-on-one, she's even stronger than he is. Our odds were never good to begin with."

Circe let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the two who were still out cold.

"Thanks for putting them down with knockouts. I left the party, but if those two died, I think I'd have some ugly dreams."

"You asked me to."

"…Yeah."

They'd knocked out the relatively weaker Rosaria and Diana, but Leon and Frey — the core of the party's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fighting strength — were still standing.

The odds are definitely low.

This wasn't a prepared stage. It was a sudden fight. What they could use was extremely limited. If they resumed combat and took them one-on-one, it was a guaranteed loss. That didn't mean they had any reason to back down. If the ambush had knocked Frey out, it would have been a sure thing — but even without that, it didn't matter.

"Circe, if we clash like this, he'll use that, won't he."

"He will. He doesn't think. Look at him."

Circe pointed ahead, and a voice thick with resolve rang out.

"Circe—!! If that's really what you want, then brace yourself—!!"

Leon, looking as if he'd made some kind of resolution, poured out Auror in a rough, vivid surge. He was clearly intending to use that Auror Blade again.

"Called it."

"How did you even fight alongside that?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

Seeing it, Frey beside him went pale and desperately tried to stop him.

"Leon!! Circe is over there too!! Are you seriously going to use that technique?!"

"Frey, Circe chose a different path from us. It's regrettable, but as long as she stands before us as an enemy, she gets eliminated."

"Circe is our comrade!! If Circe is gone, who's going to command our party?!"

"I'll think about that later. Don't interfere any further."

"Leon—!!!"

Watching it, X couldn't help a groan of exasperation.

This insane psychopath bastard. Who even wrote this guy. Wait. Was it me.

That scene, too, was in no small part X's own fault.

"Please stop, we don't have to do this!!"

Frey couldn't bring herself to defy the Hero's word. As a Saintess who served the Goddess more closely than anyone, the words of Leon — the chosen Hero — were the Goddess's words, and they were absolute. Even if it meant trying to kill Circe, the friend and comrade who had shared life and death with her in a previous life, in a moment of utter desperation.

"I've already decided."

In the end, Leon brought his sword down. A Blade Shot woven with both Auror and divine power launched. It was even larger this time, as if he meant to make dodging impossible. He had probably poured most of his internal energy into it.

But that was a massive mistake.

"Circe."

"Already ready."

GROOOOOOH—!!

Once again the Book of Eibon screamed. As the pages slowed in their turning, the Blade Shot slowed dramatically as well.

"This slow…"

"We can dodge it walking."

X and Circe, standing in its path, simply walked out of the way. The Blade Shot carved emptily through the air and kept going. Circe shook her head with a look of pity and sighed.

"I told him to break the habit of using that technique the moment things go south. And he still couldn't kick it. Used it again."

"Two of his comrades were already down, and the enemies happened to be bunched up. He probably thought this was his moment. I figured he'd do that."

Leon, having poured out everything, was gasping for breath. He couldn't believe what had just happened in front of him.

"They dodged it…?"

No one had ever dodged a Blade Shot. That was why the technique had been developed to prioritize raw power, wasn't it?

"There's no way…"

Ironically, it was only after it failed that he understood why.

Circe was always there to support me…

Circe's Time Control had bound every enemy. The magic Circe poured out had cowed their opponents. Circe's strategies had always been built around Leon's techniques. But she wasn't here now. And she never would be again.

Too late, he realized what he had lost.

Regardless, X and Circe quickly conferred on their next move.

"We've drained Leon's power, but Frey's still in the way."

"If we slow her with Time Control, can we take her?"

"Let's not use Time Control. Three times is excessive. And even if I cut her for real, it probably wouldn't even leave a wound…"

That was when it happened. The shadows at X and Circe's feet multiplied, and the surroundings began to brighten. The two of them realized, a beat late, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that something was above them.

"…Wait. There's something overhead."

They looked up — and witnessed a sight they could barely believe. Countless stars hung in the empty air like a galaxy. Each point of starlight radiated intense light and heat. Hundreds of them waited for someone's command.

Circe recognized what those stars really were.

"…Those are all explosion spells."

"Explosion spells?"

Frey and Leon, X and Circe — all of them were staring, dumbstruck, when a voice came from behind.

"Commoner. I'm up now."

It was Lola. Before they knew it, she was standing beside X, her eyes blazing with furious rage. X nearly lost his mind for a second, then hurriedly asked,

"Young lady, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, thanks to the potion. But more importantly…"

Lola's gaze turned vicious, and the explosion spells in the sky blazed even brighter.

X realized, a beat late, what Leon's party had been talking about. You couldn't fight a mage who could rain down explosions of this scale and number in any ordinary way. This was the true power of a mage who had received Mana's Favor.

Even so, X's anger hadn't cooled.

"Young lady. Just one request."

"What."

X gripped his sword hilt tight and glared fiercely ahead. Lola was furious — and X's own rage had boiled over just as much.

"That might be hard…"

Lola raised one hand high, and the stars embroidering the sky glittered like a meteor shower.

"Don't know—!"

She dropped her hand, and a ferocious bombardment fell toward Leon and Frey.

The starlight exploded.