Maydare Volume 4 Chapter 7 - The Price of Magic

 Makia x Thor shippers come get your food

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I remembered well that I fell headlong into the sea.

But I had no memory of what happened after that.

“Cough…cough cough.”

I was coughing violently and spitting up water.

There was an intense pain running through my body, but I slowly got up.

The beach in winter spread out around me, and I was covered in salt water, seaweed, and sand.

It was cold. Biting my trembling lips, I consciously warmed myself up to the inner “heat” in my body. I had never been so glad to be a【Fire】Blessed Child.

I was sure that I was caught in that explosion and fell off the cliff. 

There was no way that I, who had a constitution that was weak against water, could have survived falling into the rough winter sea.

But I was alive.

Right before I slammed into the surface of the sea, I felt like I heard Thor’s voice, but…

“Thor…!”

That’s right. Thor saved me.

In the sea, I felt the warmth of his strong hands pulling me up.

And then, I finally noticed the black lump next to me.

In the black cloak of the royal knights, what seemed to be Thor was lying face down.

“Thor, Thor!”

I managed to use my weak hands to flip Thor over and see his face.

“!?”

This was definitely Thor, but there was a lot of blood pouring from his head to his right eye.

“No…!”

It was a horrific injury.

The bleeding was so intense that it was hard to see where the injury was.

But Thor must have jumped into the sea to save me and was injured by some impact. Or maybe he was attacked by the enemy underwater. 

His face was pale and his body was cold. In addition, he was on the verge of running out of magic power.

But there was no indication that he was running out of magic power during the fight with the Twilight magicians.

“Why…? Don’t tell me that he used some kind of special magic in order to save me?”

I looked up at the sky with a start, I found a distortion of space that seemed to have been cut into a square just above us. It was black and distorted, and even now it was fluctuating wildly.

“What…is that?”

My heart pounded wildly when I saw it.

If that was a distortion in space, then Thor must have used some sort of spatial magic and rescued me from the sea.

I assumed that it was a type of spatial magic, but…I also felt like it was something else.

Unconsciously, tears ran down my face. 

If only I had been more levelheaded. If only I hadn’t fallen into the sea at such a critical moment…

“...Why are you crying, Milady?”

It was Thor’s hoarse voice.

I dropped my gaze and tried to catch Thor’s voice as he dimly regained consciousness.

“Please don’t cry. I can’t bear it when you cry.”

“But, Thor!”

That was all Thor said, and then he lost consciousness again.

“Thor…!”

I was about to cry much more, but I desperately held it in and wiped away my tears.

There was no time to cry in a place like this. If this was somewhere on the school island, then there were already ogres all over the island, and if they found us, it was all over for for me and Thor.

I would not let Thor die.

I would protect him no matter what. I’ll save him, I’ll save him, I’ll save him——

It was so painful that I felt like I felt like I was going to be crushed, but I lit up the flames of my heart one more time.

Then, I moved slowly, dragging Thor, who was about to run out of strength.

I didn’t have any magic power left to use levitation magic, so I carried him with my own strength.

I was glad that I endured Bishop Eska’s painful training. If it was the old me, I would have gotten too discouraged to carry him.

I guess that training also trained me to be able to endure even when things got difficult or tough…

After moving a little, I immediately realized something.

This was the beach close to the glass bottle atelier we often used.

It was considerably far from the western cliff we were at earlier.

“But, there are magic potions at the atelier…!”

Most importantly, it was warm there.

I had to treat Thor’s injuries and rest his body. Running out of magic power could cause you to lose your life if you weren’t careful.

Suddenly, I recalled Thor’s words from long ago.

If I can’t protect you, then my life has no worth.

“Haa…haa…”

It was painful. It was difficult. 

The fear of not being able to save Thor struck me more than those feelings.

I was constantly on the lookout for ogres in all directions. The tension of the situation was sapping away my strength even more.

As I just barely maintained my mental state, I finally reached the atelier.

There were no ogres here.

It seemed that they hadn’t come to this area. Thank goodness.

I glanced at my watch. It was just past noon…

The closing ceremony started at nine. Only three hours had passed since then.

But in just those three hours, our school and our surroundings had been completely transformed.

I barricaded us in the atelier, laid Thor down on the sofa, and firmly locked the doors. 

The inside of the glass-bottle atelier could be seen from the outside because it was a glass bottle, but the mode could be switched so that the inside of the atelier wasn’t visible from the outside.

But the outside could be seen from the inside, so I could see if there were ogres nearby. In that sense, it was an ideal place for hole up in.

I turned on the small-scale magic heater made for the Everyday Magic Tool Contest and placed it next to Thor to warm him up. I was thankful for this tool that was able to heat up so quickly.

…I see. It became useful at a time like this.

I almost felt like crying at the fact that something we made was able to save the life of an important person in this way.

I couldn’t light a fire in the fireplace. If smoke gets outside, they would know there were people here.

“Thor, Thor, you’re okay now.”

I frequented spoke to the unconscious Thor.

I took off his clothes and wiped his injuries with a clean towel.

In the middle of that, my chest went cold. Thor’s right eye was severely injured.

More that that, his right eye…was gone.

It was dark and hollow, a gaping hole.

I didn’t know how it happened. 

But, with this, Thor’s right eye was already…

“No, Makia, don’t you cry.”

I was about to sob convulsively, but I held it in.

I had to endure the sadness and pain. Thor was in much more pain than me, of course. 

First, I had to treat his injuries and protect his life.

The life of the boy who was the most important to me in the world…

I searched for potions in the atelier. We had disinfectants, the O’Drielle family’s special magic ointment the “Ribito salve,” and salt apples with plenty of magical mass, which created magic power.

I had to disinfect Thor’s injuries and treat his major wounds.

In order to do those things, I had to recover as much magic power as possible.

I forced myself to bite into salt apples and take them into my body. I felt like vomiting them out because of the fatigue, but I still forced myself to eat them.

Slowly, I felt a little bit of my magic power return.

My body would spasm intermittently, but now wasn’t the time to care about that.

And then, I cast healing magic on Thor.

“Myr vis makia——Heal. Stitch it up.”

I was weak at healing magic and took a little bit of time, and I managed to use the magic to close up the large injuries on his head and body. I used the Ribito salve on the smaller wounds.

Now Thor was able to avoid bleeding to death. If I had been able to use more serious healing magic, enough to completely heal deep wounds and his right eye, I could have even been able to take away his pain.

It was in situations like these that I was made acutely aware of my lack of strength.

Until this morning, I had been pleased with myself and praised myself for having worked so hard over the past year.

However, now I was torturing myself with the feeling that I should have worked even harder.

No, there was only so much you could do even if you worked hard.

But, if I had been a great magician who could have done more, I could have helped Thor properly and perfectly.

No, I would have never put Thor in this situation in the first place…

It was all my fault. It was because I messed up. Thor couldn’t abandon me…

“Uuu…uuuu…”

Don’t cry! I already told myself not to cry.

Thor was still hovering between life and death.

Even if his wounds were closed up, the fact that he was out of magic power was more serious.

I made the salt apple juice I always drank according to the recipe and poured it into Thor’s mouth to have him drink it.

However, I didn’t know if he was actually drinking it. The juice spilled out from the corner of his mouth.

Thor still didn’t regain consciousness. I felt like his body was getting colder and colder.

“No, this isn’t enough…!”

What should I do? What should I do?

I would have done anything if there was still something I could do.

“...Ah…”

Suddenly, I remembered something.

It happened a long time ago, before I met Thor…there was only one time when I almost ran out of magic power.

It happened because I had unintentionally ended up continuously shooting fireballs because my curiosity caused me to chant a high difficulty spell that was above my level.

It created a big problem because a large number of fireballs appeared at Deliafield. As a result, I ran out of magic power.

My experienced grandmother came to our house and gave me a treatment when I was on the verge of death from fainting from my lack of magic power. It was something like an old-fashioned shock therapy…

“...”

There was no time to hesitate. I gulped down the salt apple juice I was about to give Thor and closed my eyes.

I took a deep breath, feeling the magic that was being produced within my body and flowing through my veins.

I never would have thought that this was how I would be kissing the person I loved.

“I’m sorry, Thor. I’m sorry.”

I whispered, then put my hand on Thor’s chin and gently pressed my lips against his.

Aah, it was just like kissing ice…

My magic power flowed from my mouth. It was probably very hot.

I repeated that, as though doing artificial respiration.

If I poured it in all at once, it could destroy his body, so I did it little by little.

It was hard to say that I had recovered all my magic power too. But I poured it all into Thor, just before my limit.

Now all I could do was pray. Pray for the recovery and stabilization of Thor’s magic power, and for him to wake up.

Please, Maydare.

If this world needed this magician named Thor, don’t let him die here.

Please, please.

I didn’t want anything more than for Thor to live.

“...Cough, cough.”

Thor was choking. His body was twisting in pain as he seemed to regain consciousness.

I took his hand and tried to calm him down. His hand had regained a slight heat.

“This…is…”

“Thor. Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness…you’re awake!”

All the tension slipped out of my body, and I felt dizzy.

It was as if I was lacking oxygen. My breathing was wild and my body was convulsing, but I squeezed Thor’s hand and endured it.

He’s okay, he’s okay…my state of tension that had been continuing for so long was suddenly broken off.

“Milady, milady, is that you?”

“I’m right here, Thor.”

Thor looked for me with his one eye, and when he found me, he let out a little sigh of relief.

“Thor, are you hurting anywhere? Are you cold? You saved me when I fell into the sea, didn’t you? Your body was so cold…ah, you ran out of magic power and lost consciousness.”

And, his right eye was…

“But, Milady, the inside of my body feels warm…to a strange degree.”

Thor murmured.

His expression said, This is strange, but did he notice something at one point?

“Milady, did you by any chance…”

Thor half-opened his mouth and slowly opened his one remaining eye wide.

I, who was crying, realized that Thor had realized it, and my body suddenly heated up.

“I’m, I’m sorry, Thor! This was the only way I could think of…! I, I stole your first kiss!”

I vehemently apologized.

Even if you were a boy, it must have been a shock to find out you were kissed by a girl while you were unconscious.

“No. That isn’t my first kiss.”

“...Huh?”

However, Thor readily enlightened me with that knowledge.

I was the one who was probably more shocked now, and my eyes froze into dots.

No, that can’t be. No, I shouldn’t be surprised. If it’s a lady-killer like Thor, then…

I fell into a dark and gloomy depression.

Ignoring my state, Thor casually asked a question again.

“...What about you, Milady?”

“Huh?”

“Was that your first kiss?”

“...”

I was so embarrassed that I looked down.

“That, well, that was my first kiss.”

My face was probably as crimson as a ripe apple.

As for Thor, he let out a long, long sigh as he was lying down with his right hand on his forehead.

“I apologize, Milady. In order to save me, you had something important stolen away from you.”

For Thor, stealing the lips of the lady he pledged his loyalty to in this way was an act of failure as a knight, or something that shouldn’t have happened.

Really, when it came to this boy, he was incredibly dense.

“I don’t really mind it. Because…it was with you.”

Thor didn’t know that I loved him.

This couldn’t be called a maiden’s ideal first kiss.

The other person was unconscious, and was currently sighing with regret. He didn’t look happy at all.

But still, if I could save Thor’s life, then it was a first kiss that was worth more than anything to me.

The tears I had been holding back spilled freely.

“Milady…”

“Thor…you said it before. That the most comfortable place for me was no longer with you.”

I quickly wiped away my tears and continued.

“It’s as you’ve said. I have gained so many more precious things here. The days I’ve spent with my friends in this atelier were a comfortable alternative to Deliafield.”

“...”

My attitude probably hurt Thor, who had continued to work hard in his desire to go back to how things used to be, and instilled a sense of loneliness in him.

Even so, my heart ached when I thought of Thor’s courageousness as he desperately tried to protect me, never giving up his affection for me.

“But, you know, Thor. You’re mistaken about something.”

An absurd misunderstanding that I didn’t need you anymore.

That’s not true. That’s not true at all.

There was a reason why I didn’t think we could go back to how our relationship was before.

“For me, being next to you is too stimulating. I can’t stay calm next to you. Just seeing your face makes my heart flutter. When you touch me, my heart pounds and it feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest.”

“...Huh?”

“That’s right…we can’t be the ‘knight and lady’ you want anymore.”

While I was pouring out my deepest thoughts and sobbing, Thor looked blank with amazement, an expression I had never seen before on his face.

Of course. Thor couldn’t understand my feelings.

But, I couldn’t go back to the hierarchical relationship where one protected and the other was protected.

Unless I settle this love, these feelings.

“...I…I’m sorry…Thor.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I’m troubling you with this.”

I knew that much. 

I knew that this wasn’t the kind of relationship Thor wanted.

“I’m sorry…Thor. But I love you.”

But I always, always wanted to tell you this.

At that moment in my previous life, when even my life dissolving, I wished that in my next life that I would be the kind of girl who could express my feelings to the person I loved.

Until now, I had been unable to express my feelings as though someone was stopping me, but finally…

The silence felt painfully long.

“Thank you very much, Milady. …For saving me.”

Eventually, in a calm tone of voice, Thor simply thanked me.

This was how my confession was accepted by Thor.

Aah…

I slowly dropped my gaze.

I felt a little sad, but I regained my composure and shook my head.

That’s right. I myself wished that I didn’t want any more than this.

I just wanted Thor to know how I felt.

“...What are you saying? I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

I wiped the tears that were pooling in my eyes one more time.

Then, like always, I put on the face of Thor’s desired “Milady.”

“Going back all the way to start, you were the one who saved me. And, Thor, have you noticed? You…lost your right eye.”

When I finally informed him about his right eye, he put his hand lightly on his lost right eye and let out a chuckle for some reason.

“There’s no problem at all. I’ll give you at least one of my eyeballs.”

“B-But, Thor…!”

“Or am I not worthy enough to be your knight without one eye?”

Thor was still smiling and teasing me at a time like this.

But I shook my head in desperation.

“Of course not! But I don’t know how this happened. Did you do something? In order…to protect me.”

I brushed Thor’s bangs away with a trembling hand.

And I continued to stare at that dark and sunken right eye spot without averting my gaze.

His beautiful violet eye became hollow and lost. It was terribly frustrating to think that that eye would never return.

“I used Twilight’s secret arts.”

“Secret arts…? The ones you learned from Lapis?”

“Yes. I don’t think you remember, Milady, but when we were in the sea, we were caught in Twilight’s encirclement barrier. It blocks normal teleportation magic, so in order to escape, I had no choice but to use the secret arts I had just learned to break through.”

Thor removed his hand from right eye and stared at it.

“I’m inexperienced…and forcibly did it with all my strength. I’m sure that I lost my eye as a result of that. That is what spatial magic is.”

“That’s awful…”

I had no recollection of what that secret art was like.

But I did remember that when I fell into the winter sea and regained consciousness on the beach, I saw a distortion of space above my head, like a square had been hollowed out.

Was that the Twilight secret art Thor used?

For example, if it was like the〈Scarlet Witch〉magic I used, which consumed a lot of magic power and overworked my body, then I could understand why Thor would run out of magic power.

And Thor was able to take me and escape from the sea to that beach.

Knowing the truth made my heart ache even more.

“Why are you crying, Milady? You’re the same crybaby you always were.”

“Because…I can’t help but feel sorry for you. All I do is get protected by you, and I can’t stand how spineless I am.”

“Milady…”

“I’m such an idiot. Until this morning, I was proud that I had worked so hard this past year. But you were much more desperate and worked harder than I did.”

Thor had been secretly learning a magic that made him undergo great hardship.

I didn’t know the details, but when I recalled that the Twilight magicians who had lost parts of their bodies and replaced them with mechanical parts, I realized the horrifying nature of the magic left behind by the〈Black Demon King〉.

“What are you saying? I…I’m satisfied enough just by gaining the power to protect you. …Because I want to die if I can’t protect you.”

Thor looked into my face and reached out his hand to wipe away my tears, which continued to flow without drying up.

His hand, his fingers, traced my cheek and touched my lips.

“...”

“...Thor?”

His gaze and gestures were so heart-rending and adult-like that I didn’t think I could bear it right now.

He seemed like a man much older than me, and my heart was pounding in my chest.

“Say, Milady. I was a little startled earlier, and my mind went blank, so I didn’t hear it…can I hear it one more time?”

“H-Hear what?”

“Do you love me…?”

“...!”

My face turned bright red.

Thor was so sneaky.

He was touching my lips, staring at me so intensely and whispering to me to confirm my feelings one more time. Even though he lightly ignored it earlier.

“Ah, I, I…well, you know…”

I stumbled over my words, and my gaze wandered this way and that.

Only Thor was staring at me with a mature gaze.

I mean, how much longer was he going to touch my face? And put some clothes on!

“I’m telling you this now, Milady, but I’m a much dirtier man than you think.”

“Oh, but you’re so beautiful!”

I assured him with an unintentionally strong tone.

But it wasn’t just his looks, it was his sudden smiles, his noble singlemindedness, the lonely way he looked into the distance, and even the sense of loneliness I sometimes felt in his eyes…

Everything set my heart aflame.

But while I was being tossed around, the insecure me that lay deep within me suddenly made an appearance.

“But…but it would only cause trouble for you, Thor.”

Those were my feelings.

“...Why would it?”

Thor gently lifted my chin with the fingers that had been touching my cheek and lips.

“When did I say it like that?”

It wasn’t scary, but it wasn’t gentle.

But his voice was the kind that slowly cornered you, caught you, and didn’t let you go.

Was this what they called a devilish sex appeal?

“Milady, I’m sure that even you don’t know about it.”

“Thor…?”

“Something, something I’ve always wanted…”

Thor’s expression was painful and somewhat desperate. His breath was strangely close to me, and my heart was pounding so fast, it felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

…But then, it happened.

Feeling a strange pressure, something like murderous intent from the left side, Thor and I turned our heads in that direction at almost the same time.

“!?”

Startled wasn’t the word for it.

The atelier’s glass window reflected a man who wasn’t even hiding his irritated face.

“Ah…eh…”

White bishop’s vestments and a mitre.

The evil face that didn’t match his holy clothing was contorted, resembling a demon summoned from an ancient black magic book.

It was Bishop Eska. Bishop Eska, who trained me.

“There’s a demon outside, Milady.”

“That’s Bishop Eska!”

I didn’t know if Thor said that on purpose or if he really thought that it was some kind of demon.

In the first place, this atelier should have been changed to a mode where the inside couldn’t be seen from the outside.

However, Bishop Eska’s expression was full of disgust, as if he had seen something he didn’t want to see…and he even pulled out a bazooka!

“W-Wait a minute, Your Eminence!”

I jumped out of the atelier with an agility that surprised myself. And then I stopped the bishop who was about to destroy our precious atelier and pulled him inside.

“You idiots! Don’t hole up in here and flirt during a state of emergency! You made me see something nasty!”

Bishop Eska shouted at us. What would we do if the demons heard his loud yelling?

No, I couldn’t deny that we were flirting, though…

“Why are you here in the first place, Bishop Eska?”

“Today’s the end of the semester. I’m responsible for watering the branches of the World Tree at the end of the semester. When I went aboveground, the Heavenly Empire’s demons were swarming everywhere, so I thought I had no choice but to deal with every single one of ‘em. Well, that’s why I’ve been kicking the enemies to death until now.”

That reminds me, Bishop Eska was an expert at exterminating demons.

In the first place, I learned how to defeat demons from this bishop.

“So, how’s the situation?”

Thor, who was wearing clothes before I knew it, asked Bishop Eska.

The bishop narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.

“Don’t worry. So far, no students have died. It’s a good thing they were all gathered together for the closing ceremonies. Some of them are injured, but there are plenty of potions here, so they’ll pull through for now. However, there have been several deaths among the teaching staff.”

My heart was chilled by that news.

I had been helped by many teachers at this school. 

The teachers were surely fighting on the front lines to protect the students.

It seemed that no one knew who was still alive and who died. But it was horrible to think about it.

That’s right…what happened to Uncle Medite?

At that time, Uncle was ready to protect the students, even if it meant dying.

“Um, do you know if Uncle Medite…Professor Medite is safe?”

“Medite? Oh, that Medite monocle guy? I don’t know. Never saw him.”

“...I see.”

“But it seems that the poison developed by the Medites for use against ogres have been released everywhere. It seems to have a pretty good effect.”

“...”

That report alone didn’t dispel my worry.

I was worried about Lapis, Frey, and Nero as well.

I wondered if they escaped from the Twilight magicians after that…I was sure they were worried about me.

“Be at ease, Milady. The knights are led by Sir Lionel, so they will protect your teammates. For Lady Airi’s guards, the best of the knights were chosen.”

Perhaps sensing my uneasiness, Thor told me those things.

I also remembered that I had to tell him about something.

“I also saw Airi and Prince Gilbert in the first labyrinth. I’m sure they’ll be safe there.”

“Is that so…thank goodness.”

Thor’s expression of relief made my heart feel a little lighter as well.

However, I didn’t know what was going on in that place right now. All that was left now was to go check it out with our own eyes.

“Hey, you.”

Bishop Eska stood in front of Thor, grabbed his bangs, and pushed it up.

His distorted face twisted even more as he stared at Thor’s face.

He was staring right at the hollow where his right eye should be.

“Kuhahaha! Kid, you lost an eye. You forced open the ‘Black Box,’ didn’t you? Damn, Twilight’s magic isn’t very fuel efficient.”

“...”

I looked at Bishop Eska and Thor alternately, confused.

Right after that, the atmosphere suddenly changed, and Bishop Eska’s face turned serious.

“Hey, you two look pretty tired, but hurry up and go to the Great Lighthouse.”

“Great Lighthouse?”

“You guys still have work to do. If you don’t want this school to be overrun by the enemy, follow me. I’ll take you to that black-hearted guy.”

Black-hearted…it didn’t hit me right away, but then I remembered that Professor Ulysses was at the lighthouse.

I wondered if Professor Ulysses was safe now in that place, where he was repairing the broken magic crystal and ordered the spirits of the school to protect the students. 

“B-But sir, we have very little magic power left. We need magic power to do anything, don’t we?”

I thought he was going to yell at me for being careless, but he understood that point and rummaged through the deep sleeves of his white vestments and took out something.

They were strange, round fruits.

“W-What are those?”

“You can’t even imagine how sublime these fruits are. It’s the sacred fruit of the World Tree Vabilophos. Ah, mea dea. Save these weak and wretched lambs. Thank you, thank you…”

He made a cross over his chest, and just when I thought he was worshipping the small fruits, he suddenly shoved them into my mouth and Thor’s mouth.

“!?”

I choked on it, but I bit into it and swallowed it down.

It was a small fruit, about the size of a plum, and since it was soft and juicy with no seeds, I was able to eat it quickly.

And what a sweet and sour, fragrant-smelling fruit. It had the texture of an unripe grape.

“Huh…”

I could immediately feel the effects.

The pain in my body immediately disappeared. The wounds I couldn’t heal were also quickie closed up.

My magic power was restored, practically overflowing from me. I couldn’t call this anything except a miracle.

I learned firsthand that the sacred tree that was admired and worshipped by people all around the world wasn’t sacred in name only.

“Haa, then maybe Thor’s eye came back too…!”

Thinking that it might be possible with the power of the miracle fruit, I hurriedly turn to Thor.

He had his hand over his lost right eye, but he slowly removed it.

However, his right eye was still missing, a hollow and dark hole.

“...No…”

“Unfortunately, it isn’t just a simple external wound. You know that better than anyone, right, Thor Bigreitz?”

Bishop Eska’s words were inciting, but Thor only remained silent.

“That’s the ‘price’ to pay for that magic. Twilight’s magic fiddles with space, cutting it, pasting it, connecting it, or flying through it. In the process of doing so, a part of your body is suddenly transported to some other space. Even if you have the fruits of the World Tree, it’s impossible to recover what’s lost rather than healing a wound.”

Hearing that, I gritted my teeth.

Then, Thor’s right eye would never return.

“But if it’s him…he might be able to do something about it.”

Bishop Eska cast his gaze to the side and muttered.

——And then, it happened.

The outside of the glass bottle atelier was suddenly enveloped in intense light.

“!?”

We ran out of the atelier amidst a continuous stream of strange, unfamiliar sounds and unusual waves of magical energy.

“What is…that…”

I was stunned.

Giant arrows of light were piercing the large-scale teleportation magic circle that was supposed to be floating in the southern sky.

It was as though cracks were appearing in the sky.

The giant magic circle was breaking where the light arrows hit it. It was like ceiling wallpaper peeling away.

Bishop Eska took out something that looked like binoculars from his pocket and stared fixedly at the sky.

“Oh, so he’s finally done it.”

“...Is that Professor Ulysses’s power?”

“Yep, it’s definitely the magic of that black-hearted shitty prince. He must’ve mixed several spirits together and hit it with magic containing their enormous power. The shape of those light arrows suggest that the power of the great moon spirit, Artemis, is the core…oh, by the way, I can destroy that huge teleportation magic circle too.”

“Then why didn’t you do it sooner?”

Thor asked in a slightly contemptuous tone.

“You idiot. We had to evacuate the students first. That’s because…”

Bishop Eska grabbed our heads and made us crouch down on the spot. 

And then, without an incantation, he carefully put up a magic wall around us.

“If you destroy a magic circle of that size, it will explode without fail.”

Bishop Eska told us. Immediately after that…

There was a violent explosion, and the great magic circle in the sky caused continuous explosions.

A tremendous blast and wave of heat assailed the school island.

Bishop Eska’s magic wall was solid and didn’t move, so we were safe, but even so, the surrounding trees and buildings were blown away. Only the atelier behind us seemed to have been protected along with us, so it stayed intact.

After trying to endure and waiting a little while, the impact of the explosion subsided. 

I hurriedly looked up at the sky.

It was a relief to see the large teleportation magic circle destroyed and about to disappear.

However, I saw what appeared to be Twilight magicians flying around it. I wondered what they were doing…

“Haha, suck it! The enemy’s in chaos! We’re taking this opportunity.”

“...Sir, will the large-scale teleportation circle be deployed again?”

Thor asked calmly.

From my point of view, I thought that it would be impossible to deploy something like that again, but Bishop Eska nodded.

“That’s a possibility. Even the enemy would have expected it to be destroyed at some point. If you plan to use it in war, you should also want to see how long it’ll take to re-deploy it.”

Even as he said that, Bishop Eska, who was walking in front of us, had a fearless smile on his face.

“But we can’t just keep getting beaten up either. The arrows of light you saw just now are a signal that all the students have been evacuated. In short…it’s a starting signal that Lune Ruschia, said to be an impregnable fortress, is about to counterattack.”

Lune Ruschia’s starting signal of its counterattack…

I hugged my body, which was trembling with excitement.

And I secretly resolved myself. Next time, I wouldn’t lose. I wouldn’t make any more mistakes.

The feeling of seeing someone I loved about to be killed before my eyes and not being able to do anything…I never wanted to feel that kind of despair again.

We took advantage of this commotion and moved out.

We had to hurry around the beach and head for the big lighthouse where Professor Ulysses was located.

However, as soon as I walked on the beach, I began to feel an inexplicable sense of offness about the surrounding landscape.

I couldn’t help but stop and look from the beach to the sky facing the ocean. My eyes widened.

“No way…”

The sky was——

Red, red, like the twilight of this world, it was being repainted in the color of sunset.

Even though the time was still early afternoon, just past noon.

---

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