The Brand
Atalanta's Shield is active.
1. Black Magic Tracking Team.
2. Anyone who has come into contact with black magic.
3. Anyone who has experienced black magic phenomena.
4. Merchants who possess items related to black magic.
5. Or anyone who has witnessed suspicious symptoms.
Pre-report and entry inspection required.
Please use the special entrance for this individual.
Disobedience will result in the Magic Tower assuming no responsibility for your safety.
~From the Special Entrance Guidance of Magia Nexus~
The quiet night hummed only with the faint chirping of insects, save for the occasional murmur of the two mages on duty at the entrance post.
“…So I told that idiot, the Tower Master isn’t here today, so come back tomorrow. But the moment I said that, he started yelling at me that it had to be today! What am I supposed to do there? Shout ‘Tower Master, come here!’ into the communicator like some arrogant fool?”
“Heehee~ So what did you do?”
“…What could I do? I just kept smiling like an angel the whole time. Instead, I dumped her number to the very bottom of the waiting list. Next time she shows up, she’ll get what’s coming to her. That damned woman.”
“You must have worked hard. Ah! Speaking of which, today I was supposed to go to the Tower Master’s residence too… Huh?”
Far in the distance, a rookie mage spotted something unusual.
“…What about the Tower Master’s residence? Well, whatever it is, it’s important.”
“Senior.”
“I know, right? You have to listen carefully. Being a service worker means…”
“Senior?”
“…Even if you meet some crazy person, you keep smiling until the end—"
“Senior!”
A sharp cry cut through the air.
The senior mage’s eyes snapped open in shock.
“W-What the hell?! Did you eat your training rations?! Why are you shouting like that?!”
“T-There’s something coming…!”
“What? What’s all the fuss about?”
The junior pointed frantically toward the entrance.
The senior rose from her chair and followed the direction of the finger.
“…?”
A black speck racing across a sea of fresh snow.
And behind it, a gathering black cloud?
“Eek… What is that?”
Unable to make out the details clearly, she cast her best telescopic magic. What caught her eye first was a combatant. A combatant…? Perhaps a knight from the Imperial Knights? Either way, the momentum suggested someone desperately pursued.
“Let me take a look… At this hour, who could—?! Hah!”
Even in her nightclothes, the figure was unmistakable.
A long scar across the left eye, and a rapier gripped tightly in her hand.
Only one person in the Imperial Knights matched that description.
“Vice Knight Commander Rebecca?”
“Vice… Vice Knight Commander? Why is she out here in the middle of the night—"
“Wait a moment.”
What was she running from?
She enlarged the black cloud behind her.
“Th-That’s… bugs?! A swarm of bugs!”
“Kyaah! B-Bugs?! I hate them!”
An overwhelming number of flying insects.
A veritable tide of vermin.
“Hey! Emergency! Get down here and open the gate! I’ll activate the barrier!”
“Yes, yes!”
The emergency lights flared across the Mana Nexus’s outer entrance.
[ ─── ! ─── ! ]
A long, piercing alarm blared.
Simultaneously, 「Atalanta's Shield」 activated.
Rebecca bit her lip.
“Ugh…!”
Even from a distance, the red glow of the barrier stone atop the entrance was visible. Every nerve in her body sharpened like a needle. By now, Atalanta's Shield should have been running. She had expected this, yet the sight before her made her stomach churn as if she had gulped down distilled liquor on an empty stomach.
‘I will protect her. I will break through at all costs.’
Even if it meant destroying the entrance entirely, she would force her way through.
No, she would crush anything that stood in her way—no mercy.
She had been given the order to protect with her life.
“….”
The fragile breath she felt in her arms.
And the relentless wave of deathly energy pouring from the child.
Her chest tightened with each passing second of fading life force.
‘…My aura can’t purify it at all.’
The corrosive Decay Mana burned like fire where it touched her.
“My sword and heart belong to His Majesty the Emperor!”
A battle cry and the release of aura.
Pain so intense it blurred her vision.
She clenched her rapier tighter, forcing the agony down.
Ancient power, you who dwell beneath the earth.
The guardian who raises this shield.
Adura Lexora Exhear.
By the command of 「Ceres: Tereseia」—
Obtain life under one single condition.
What is desired is the extinction of black magic.
Para anima, servum.
The oath inscribed upon the shield.
Awaken from your slumber and serve your master.
~From 「Atalanta's Shield」~
“…Ceres!”
Ceres opened her eyes at Laura’s voice shaking her awake.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced at the clock. It was nearing four in the morning.
“Master, you haven’t slept even three hours yet. Just a little more—”
“I will not allow you to remain asleep!”
A thunderous shout echoed.
Laura startled and bolted upright.
“What in the world is happening?”
“Look outside. The barrier stone is glowing.”
“The night shift must be doing a routine check on the barrier. Whatever.”
She listened closely. A faint alarm sounded from a relatively distant location. Ceres’s residence was far from the entrance, so the noise hadn’t reached her. Just as she was about to dismiss it and drift back to sleep—
“The new moon has risen.”
The new moon.
The words her master had spoken cleared her foggy mind instantly.
“This is my fault. I should have noticed sooner. If what you said about ‘that’ curse truly dwelling within the child’s body, it will be quite harsh. Tsk, tsk… If I had known, I would have rushed my group and advanced the meeting with Aria.”
No, this is my mistake. Why hadn’t I noticed until now? Master had arrived yesterday, so that was understandable. But she herself should have known. The night the new moon rose was when the curse exerted its strongest power. She had been so preoccupied with preparing medicine that she had completely forgotten. She hurriedly dressed.
“Wait! Where are you going?! If the child is coming this way, it would be much better to wait—”
“If the child is heading here, Atalanta’s Shield should have activated by now. I must intervene immediately.”
“What?! You placed that thing right in front of the entrance?! I told you countless times to keep it inside the residential quarters of the entrance!”
It was an incomplete ancient relic. While gathering herbs in the Great Forest, Laura had stumbled upon a shield engraved with ancient runes one day. She discovered it was a magical defensive system meant to guard the old sanctuary’s territory. In short, it was a holy relic that summoned a host of low-level golems. Though each golem wasn’t strong enough to rival a knight, it could easily defeat an army of common soldiers. Most astonishingly, it also possessed exceptional detection and suppression capabilities against black magic.
“Tell me exactly what was carved on the shield that controls them!”
“…It says, ‘What is desired is the extinction of black magic.’”
“Oh dear. You’ve done well~”
There was only one problem: it would not stop until the owner’s will inscribed on the first rune was fulfilled. Normally, it would have stopped after destroying the black magic-related item and injuring its owner. But with this child whose curse had been directly ‘carved’ into her body…
“We have prepared a perfect system. It has never caused an accident.”
“Ugh, you exasperating girl! The ‘accident’ is about to happen any second now!”
“Since the incident has already begun, let’s think of countermeasures. Master, please head to the Tower first and wait. I will go protect the child right away.”
“I understand. Prepare the basics before she arrives—"
Just then.
[Master?! Tower Master!]
The emergency communicator glowed brightly, carrying an urgent voice.
“Yes, this is the Tower Master. Report.”
[This is the Second Entrance! A swarm of bugs is approaching from somewhere! Flame mages are suppressing them! Ah, more importantly!]
The noise from behind made it hard to hear clearly.
But the guess was obvious.
“I’m listening. Continue.”
[It’s black magic! It’s been detected on Vice Knight Commander Rebecca of the Imperial Knights! Because she ignored the stop signal for the entrance procedures, we couldn’t complete the entry process! No, she’s smashing through everything in her path!]
A deafening explosion followed, then the communicator cut off abruptly.
“…At least the worry about the child is a little less. Well, this too is an accident of sorts.”
Ceres let out a long sigh.