Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Experts
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They say you can spot a Union Expert from a mile away.
This is because the badges, forged from rare meteoric iron, emit an ethereal glow.
A precious light that an ordinary person might see once in a lifetime, if ever, was now present in duplicate.
This meant that two of the strongest individuals, each capable of handling an entire city on their own, had arrived.
At this rare sight, the crowd gathered around the entrance held their breath, their eyes fixed on the Union members.
The members who dismounted their horses began to direct the people with perfect coordination, sending them back toward the city.
Everyone seemed accustomed to what needed to be done in such situations.
The three friends, to whom all of this was unfamiliar, exchanged glances in lieu of greetings.
After only the black-suited figures remained.
Sienna finally delivered her belated report to the two Commanders.
After explaining the documents and evidence, she spoke cautiously.
"I didn't expect you to come in person, Commander. And Commander Magda as well…"
"We simply followed the report you sent, didn't we?"
Adrian said with a playful expression, glancing back and forth between Loan and Lucas.
"I hear the youngest ones did quite a remarkable job."
Loan and Lucas straightened their chests and spoke in unison.
"You praise us too highly."
"Thanks to you two, I was even able to bring Magda along. She's a heavy hitter, but she rarely bothers to show up on-site."
Loan subtly shifted his gaze behind Adrian.
To the figure who had remained on horseback the entire time, who possessed mana that felt like it could explode like a star, and who was staring intently at him.
Was this what a witch from the legends looked like?
Wearing heavy makeup, she had a striking appearance with high, sharp cheekbones and deeply sunken cheeks.
The Union suit she wore was also bizarre, adorned with frills on the collar.
Yet, there was an air of languor and weariness about her.
Loan placed a hand on his chest and greeted this impressive woman.
"Loan of Oz, Faith Division. Greetings."
"You certainly are a strange one."
"..."
"Don't get too proud. I didn't come here for you. I'm merely interested in Le Tell's grimoire."
"Ah..."
Loan sent the grimoire that had been floating behind him forward.
Carried by the Convection, the grimoire responded to a powerful will and naturally came to a stop beside Magda.
The flow of magic that followed was incredibly smooth.
Loan's and Magda's gazes met.
Both were surprised.
"It seems I was too complacent. I should have pressed the Governor-General about it."
A flicker of regret crossed Magda's face before her usual languid expression returned.
She continued, speaking to Loan.
"Since I've more or less taken it by force, I suppose I must pay the price."
"Pardon?"
He wondered just how valuable Le Tell's grimoire could possibly be.
Perhaps she had come for another reason and was just making an excuse.
While Loan was at a loss for words, she finally dismounted her horse.
Then, she turned toward the quarantine zone and asked.
"Is that the problem?"
"The barrier… you mean?"
Not fully understanding her question, Loan blurted out the words.
The thought that had been on his mind simply slipped out.
Magda's reply was unexpected.
"If it's a problem, then it should be eliminated."
Loan's and Lucas's eyes widened.
Magda paid them no mind and strode forward.
Adrian followed behind her.
With a mischievous look, he gestured for Loan and Lucas to stay back.
Then, he drew the longsword from his waist.
The scabbard and hilt were plain and unadorned, but when the sword was drawn, the entirely black blade felt rather eerie.
"What are they planning to do…"
As Lucas muttered to himself, Adrian took a position to the left of the quarantine zone's entrance, and Magda to the right.
The two of them looked incredibly small before the towering barrier.
As if they had choreographed it beforehand, they raised their hands simultaneously.
Magda formed a hand seal, drawing a vivid magic circle of light in the air.
Wind began to scatter around her in concentric circles.
Soon, her body slowly began to levitate.
Adrian's longsword was enveloped in a dazzling white light.
The pure blackness of the blade was completely hidden.
As the white light grew in size, surpassing Adrian's own height, he lunged forward.
Magda, now level with the barrier, stretched both hands upward and tilted her head back.
The magic circle had already grown to fill the sky, obscuring her vision.
Between Magda, the magic circle, and the sky, crackling blue lightning seemed to arc ceaselessly.
At the end of that chaotic display.
As if struck by lightning, a brilliant crack spread across the western barrier.
An intense light leaked out from within.
Unable to withstand the force, the wall soon exploded from the inside out.
KABOOM—!
As the western barrier shattered into countless pieces and crumbled.
In the sky above the eastern barrier, crimson meteors—
—crystals of flame, gas, and minerals on the verge of explosion—were raining down, followed by a tremendous roar.
BOOM— KABOOM—!
The eastern barrier, too, was left without a trace of its former shape.
Thus, the shadow of the city that had become a hotbed of evil lost half its influence.
And it happened in an instant.
‘Are they even human?’
Loan was dumbfounded by the immense power displayed by the two Commanders.
The Aura Blade that Commander Adrian had demonstrated was terrifying.
‘I did sense a peculiar flow of mana…’
If an opponent were to unleash such an attack on him, he had no idea how he would counter it.
Just imagining it made the hair on his head stand on end.
But then, when he recalled Commander Magda's meteor magic, his heart felt strangely calm.
Fourth Class. It was the first time he had properly witnessed magic of the highest level within that class.
The power of the meteors was one thing, but the mana storm that had raged during the casting of such a mighty spell was even more impressive.
The reverse flow of mana, gushing up toward the sky-covering magic circle as if pouring out a soul.
An unreal spectacle, as if an incomprehensible being from the far reaches of the vast sky was mercilessly drawing out mana.
Despite having performed such a miracle, Magda remained unscathed, a blazing embodiment of mana itself.
Loan recalled something Arthur had told him long ago.
‘A great mage strikes fear into their opponent by their mere presence.’
Perhaps that was the essence of magic.
‘I'm so envious.’
As Loan stood there, lost in thought, Sienna spoke to him.
As if she had read his mind.
"You are of the Faith Division. Your role and purpose are here."
He knew. He had chosen the path of magic knowing full well.
So there was no need to waver.
"Yes, senior."
The conviction that one day, he would become a mage who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Magda.
Loan poured his heart into that short reply.
"Don't overdo it. Hold the center."
With those words, Sienna suddenly shot forward.
Her speed was incomparable to when she had been matching pace with Loan.
The Faith Division, led by Adrian, had already departed into the quarantine zone. As if trying to catch up, Sienna soon disappeared from sight.
They were the beaters now.
‘Charging in like that must put immense pressure on the enemy.’
Having lost one branch and now their barrier, Le Tell would surely be in turmoil.
In that opening, the Union intended to herd the scattered enemies from the three branches into a single point.
That was why they were so fast.
Loan thought that if he hadn't learned the Narrow Path, he would have been left completely behind.
Just then, someone called his name.
"Loan!"
It was Sophie.
Loan and Lucas had fallen to the rear of the Faith Division, so they ended up running alongside Sophie, who was at the front of the Honor Division.
Sophie was serving as the vanguard of the Honor Division and as an escort for their mages.
A knight for the mages, so to speak.
‘She must have practiced hard in a short amount of time.’
Her posture was quite stable, even while sprinting at full speed with a shield and sword.
It was clear she had practiced using the notes he had given her.
While Loan felt inwardly pleased, Lucas was constantly looking around.
He asked Sophie.
"The Honor Division's formation is unusual, isn't it?"
The swordsmen and mages of the Honor Division spread out wider and wider in a fan shape as they advanced, the distance between them eventually becoming too great to discern with the naked eye.
"Is it okay for them to be that far apart?"
Lucas asked again, but Sophie seemed not to know either, narrowing her eyes and giving a tiny shake of her head.
Loan, however, could see that a powerful mana barrier was spread out between them.
And he was well acquainted with the name and formula of that magic, thanks to his books.
‘Barrier of Cognition.’
It extended thin threads of mana in all directions, and if a predetermined target was exposed to these threads, all connected individuals would become aware of it simultaneously.
Connected by the Barrier of Cognition, the Honor Division could obtain the same information, make judgments, and react all at the same time.
‘The members at both ends are probably running along the inner walls.’
A perfect encirclement.
If they continued to press on like this, Le Tell would have nowhere to run.
As they ran, Sophie turned to ask Loan a question.
"How far are we running?"
"There's a wide, open square in the center of the quarantine zone. Their branch is behind it. I think the final battle will happen there."
"So the seniors will be herding them in, like an embrace."
"Yeah. It seems they intend to leave only the center as an escape route."
They were closing in thickly from both sides, forcing the enemies from the three branches to converge into one.
Inevitably, they would have to face off in the square.
Loan glanced back over his shoulder.
The witch—or mage—with the languid expression was approaching from the very back, moving with an otherworldly grace.
In the very center of the Honor Division. At what could be the turning point of the battle, there was Magda.
Loan said.
"Let's protect the center."
He resolved to do so, however little his contribution might be.
The enemy would surely target this spot.
And Loan's prediction soon proved to be true.
The clash of mana against mana, felt from a distance.
From the left flank of the entire Union formation, a powerful wave of energy erupted, making the atmosphere hum— Vwoom.
Immediately after, a vast, murky cloud of mana that had been surging up from the ground was seen scattering in all directions as if it had exploded.
The annihilation of mana itself.
He hadn't seen it happen, but he knew that a horde of ghouls had been obliterated in a single blow.
‘It's Commander Adrian.’
The eerie white incandescence he had seen earlier had once again manifested in the west.
And in the east.
There, numerous dark and bright manas clashed, and soon, the light began to push back the darkness.
It was too far to see clearly, but he could faintly make it out from the halo of mana.
The seniors of the Faith and Honor Divisions must be driving the eastern Le Tell branch group toward the center.
Meanwhile, Loan stepped into the central square.
He spread his Convection wide, to the front and to the sides.
He wove his incantations into the Barrier of Cognition that the Honor Division seniors were sharing, mixing in a thread of his own senses.
It was like adding wind to a thin thread.
Amidst the clashing and dying mana, he felt an eerie mass pushing its way down toward the center.
"They're coming."
As expected, Le Tell had chosen a frontal assault.
Countless ghouls.
Followed by mutated dark priests, running in support.
CLANG— THUD— THUD—!
In an instant, Sophie and the other knights of the Honor Division raised their shields and formed a protective line.
Someone called out to Loan, who was standing at the front.
"Watch yourself, Oz."
But Loan was focused solely on the approaching horde of darkness.
A familiar yet unfamiliar figure was commanding the ghouls and dark priests.
Seeing her for the first time in five years, her crimson lips moved slightly.
He read her lips.
‘You've grown, little brother.’
Loan immediately launched a Sheville.