Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: That Dazzling Figure That Shines Brighter Than All Else 

His father was a taciturn man. 

When he closed his eyes and thought back on it, he was able to recall his face immediately. Lacking any excitement, his expression never changed. It was as if all his emotions had faded away. He was a man who sat atop a wheelchair like a statue. Yakagi Kazamitsu. 

Whenever he was at home, he would sit in the rocking chair by the veranda, looking up at the horizon beyond the sky through the glass of the window. He was that kind of magician from the Orient. 

True to his taciturn nature, he was quiet and didn’t speak much. Because words brought consequences, he was the type who preferred not to open his mouth at all. And even though their family lineage was one of excellent magicians, the relationship between Suimei and his father was not all that different from any normal father and son. 

But Suimei hardly had any memories at all of exchanging words with his father in their everyday life. The most his father had ever spoken to him was while he was instructing him in the ways of magicka. Other than that, he was only verbose on rare occasions: demonstrating the mysteries; advocating that a magician should be calm; and just the once at the end, as if recalling a passion he had left behind somewhere, the ideology of the Society and the goals of their leader. 

“What I desire is definitely there. That’s why, using the mysteries, I must pursue my possibilities.” 

Any stranger would have likely thought it was a childlike aspiration with no grip on reality. And as a child, Suimei had thought the same thing. But his father advocated the Society’s ideology until the very end. 

“There was a woman I wanted to protect.” 

A woman damned by the curse of ruin. Her sorrow was matched only by the wet, stabbing pain of cold, hard rain. A woman who could bloom in neither shadow nor sunlight. Because of the destiny that she carried with her body, everyone had given up on her as someone who would die miserably. She was a pitiful woman, an unfortunate that people averted their eyes from. 

She was always with his father, always sobbing into his arms. He only ever saw her smile from the bottom of her heart just once. Even her smile on the verge of her death was one filled with pity for her husband. Right up until the end, he said he would protect the woman he loved, but when it was all said and done, that was a lie. 

“I couldn’t protect… your mother.” 

That was what Suimei’s father had said before breathing his last. It was at the end of a fight with an ancient dragon revived in the modern age. Suimei had unleashed a spell to stop the beast, and his father had acted as his shield. 

Why did he only say it after all that time? He should have had plenty of opportunities to say it before then. Why had he hidden it away within him? Even before his only son, he’d kept quiet for so long. 

When Suimei asked, his father replied: “I didn’t want you to carry the burden. You’re a child born of an unfortunate woman and a foolish man. If I spoke of it, you would undoubtedly pursue the same path I did and have your wish denied to you, just as I did. That’s why I never said anything.” 

But then why tell him at the very end? What made him change his mind and utter the curse anyway? What made him release the self-imposed stricture of keeping it absolutely hidden? Now that he was at death’s door, his father was incomparably talkative after all. Not just compared to usual, but far more than even when he’d taught Suimei magicka. 

And his father let out a long sigh. Was he mocking his own hidden shame? Or did he perhaps find it amusing that he’d taken to talking up a storm all of a sudden? Either way, what he confessed after that long sigh was truly unlike him. 

He had regrets. He didn’t mind that his body was crumbling away as it was, but he didn’t want the dream that he aimed for together with that women—those feelings that they shared together—to be forgotten. Those feelings had never been rewarded, not even in the bitter end. So even if it was ultimately a thorny one painted in grief and anguish, he wanted his one and only son to remember the road they’d walked. To remember that there were a man and woman who’d aimed for a happy dream that they ran toward with all their might once. 

But only after all that time, only there and then did he speak of it. What did he expect Suimei to do? There was only one answer he was willing to give. There was no way he would decide anything else. Suimei was also a magician, just like his father. That’s why he’d never forget those words. 

“Suimei. For me, who only ever chose magicka, and Shizuma… I don’t have anyone else to pass this down to, so I’m entrusting it to you. Pursue the Society’s ideology. If the principle of the world that the leader desires truly exists in this world, then there isn’t a single person that cannot be saved. That’s why?” 

In place of me who couldn’t save her, save the woman who can’t be saved. 

And then, with a single sorry, the man who dreamed of a future with a happy family left this world. Without listening to Suimei’s reply, he passed on what he had to pass on, and then truly did become just like a statue. All without ever realizing the dream he imagined as he tranquilly stared out the window, the dream he never stopped wishing for… of being a family that you could find anywhere. 

He was selfish. Though he’d forced Suimei down the path of heresy, one fraught with nothing but danger, he preached that happy dream in the end. That’s why it had never come sooner. 

That was why Suimei howled at the red dragon who was unleashing its final roar. 

“I’ll show you that I can absolutely fulfill your dream! Absolutely!” 

But this was all quite some time ago now. The day he’d lost his father and screamed at the tyranny looming over him, what he’d really shouted then was a vow. A vow that he wouldn’t ever reconsider even once. And that’s why he was here now. In this world, there didn’t exist anyone who couldn’t be saved. He walked forward to prove that. 

It was a childish, idealistic wish. It had no hold on reality, and there was practically no prospect of it coming true. It was an uncertain desire, like a silhouette within the dark morning mist. But nonetheless, it was his dream. One he was determined to make come true. 

Magicka, science… Regardless of the field of study, the wisdom that lay at the end of the struggle to explain all the principles of the world was the Akashic Records. It was a record of the past, the present, the future, and even matters of parallel worlds. If even one future was recorded in it where those who could not be saved were happy, then it was possible to save them. That was the ideology of the Society’s leader, whose goal was a reality where anyone and everyone was happy. If that could be realized, then surely, surely it would prove that the path these two were walking down was not pointless. 

That’s why, right here and now, Suimei pledged that vow to himself once more. 

“Father, just as you said, those words you left me very well may have been a curse that bound my future. But I am your son, a magician. That’s exactly why I want to try and see what it was you were aiming for. That’s why?” 

Just like you, I will go and help those who can’t be saved. Prove that I can save them. Be it in our world or this one. 

That declaration, like he was persuading himself, reverberated in his throat. He would never forget it. Closing his eyes, he turned those words into courage. He would save her. He would keep going so that he could save that girl, who, even now, was crying because of her misfortune. 

And when he opened his eyes, he could see the foul evil and carnage spread out in the clearing before him. Just looking on the corruption of these beings could make one nauseous. And like a swarm of carrion-eating maggots, they were packed together far beyond what his eyes could see. 

It was a strange story, really. It was exactly because he didn’t want to face these things that he’d ranted and raved in the castle. So how ironic was it that he voluntarily chose to face them now? 

“Hmph.” 

As self-mockery filled his mind, Suimei scoffed and blew it away. And then, recalling what Rajas had said to Lefille, he glared over those in front of him from right to left. 

These were likely the subordinates the demon general had brought along. He really did have some nerve to gather so many of them so needlessly. Was it a thousand? Ten? The number didn’t really matter at this point; he wasn’t pleased with the amount either way. 

But Suimei took one step, and then another, towards that sea of repulsiveness. 

When he approached, the demons seemed to notice him. They rushed in, all striving to be the first to reach him. The Evil God was gunning for this world from the astral plane, and by its support, these grotesque creatures had been granted a grotesque superpower that was not mana, not life force, and not strength from their astral bodies. It was a blackened aura that swirled in and around their hands like raw power. 

“Man…” 

How stupid. Demons? Cliché evil monsters that hated humans. Something straight out of a fantasy book or game. Why did a modern magician like him have to fight against such silly things? Yes, how stupid. He was pursuing the Society’s ideology and his father’s wish. So why should this boy with such a humble dream have to fight against something like a Demon Lord trying to bring the world to ruin? 

That cold, sober portion of his heart assessed the situation with a distant look. 

Man, how stupid. There could be nothing dumber. 

As he shut both his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh with a tired expression, a demon came rushing at him with its claws clad in black power. Straightforward. Like a wild boar. Without even a feint, as if it knew nothing of the subtleties of battle. 

“Evanescito et exito.” 

[Vanish and begone.] 

With those words, a flash of lightning shot out past the demon’s upper body. It happened in the blink of an eye. The only signs left that anything had happened at all were the pale magicka circle at Suimei’s feet and the hand he casually held out like a blade in front of him. That, of course, and the demon that was blown back with its arm torn to shreds, but Suimei didn’t care at all about that right now. 

He suddenly sensed a psychic cold from deep within the hedge of demons, and focused his senses on it. It was a mass of power. Was it supposed to be some kind of cover? Just like the demonic arts used by heathens, the aura the demons unleashed turned into a bolide and shot out from the group of them without hesitation or mercy. 

Of course, it was aimed at none other than Suimei. But it was slow. Compared to a HEAT round from a tank cannon, how could something like this possibly be described as fast? Even if he gave it a generous benefit of the doubt, Suimei would easily have time to fire off three separate magickas by the time it reached him. 

Without so much as glancing at the incoming meteor, Suimei simply stepped to the side. He let it fly right past him and explode on impact as it collided with something behind him. Yet even that could do nothing against him. If he expanded his golden defensive magicka, not even a fighter jet going at Mach 20 would be able to penetrate it. The rubble from the explosion certainly didn’t stand a chance. He needn’t even pay any mind to the meager blast of heat it sent towards his back. No, what he wanted was ahead of him. He would only look forward. 

Even when a demon came flying in from the skies overhead, he refused to yield. 

“Volvito.” 

[Grovel.] 

A single word was all it took. Without even looking at the demon that had tumbled to the ground with that lone word, he charged mana into his right foot and trampled over it as he advanced. How weak and pathetic. It seemed that Suimei had grossly overestimated the threat these things posed. With his knowledge of battle, perhaps this was the only inevitable result. Seeing them now, it was unthinkable that they could ever do him harm. They weren’t even obstacles on his path forward. 

So why must he be forced to stoop to fighting these things? How stupid. It was utterly outrageous, but he didn’t stop. He’d already made up his mind. 

“I…” 

I decided to come here. I decided to walk down this path. I decided it all back then. 

Even if he tripped, even if he fell along the way, he’d decided on that fateful day that he would never stop advancing. That he would prove it wasn’t impossible to save those who wanted to be saved. He would attain the Akashic Records, and properly realize his father’s dream—the wish that they both longed for. 

Heading into the middle of a demon army was a foolish path, but it was the one he was walking now towards a greater good. 

“Archiatius overload.” 

With those words, a magicka circle shining brightly like a rainbow expanded around Suimei. At its full diameter, it was about five meters across and was filled with a complex clutter of words and numbers. It released the shackles that were yearned for since time eternal. 

Suimei had unleashed his mana. His furnace raged and rotated with a roar like the booming of an internal combustion engine. The explosive shock wave of mana it released spread into the surroundings, even emitted lightning. A strong gale swooped down like a tornado, and the wall of demons was blown up into the heavens by the force of it all. 

The air howled and the earth shook. Anything and everything around him not firmly rooted into the ground was hurled upward, smashed to pieces, and reduced to rubble that hung in the skies overhead. The sight of it was awe-inspiring. And just as his rampaging surplus mana began stabilizing, those grotesque beings gushing forth in droves once more came swooping down on him. His furnace was like an explosion that triggered an avalanche. Except in the place of snow, it was their collective pitch black aura that came down on him. They all charged like wild boars, scrambling to get to him first. 

Suimei fixed his coat, which had been ruffled in the maelstrom of mana. The demons swarmed around him as far as the eye could see, like there was no end to their numbers. But looking at them trying to block his way, strangely enough, what came back to mind was what his father had said on that day. 

“My wish will be denied to me, huh? Ha, bring it on!” 

Suimei shook off those words with a laugh. Who cared about some Demon Lord? Even going back to his own world could be set aside for now. All that mattered was protecting that girl, and he wouldn’t let anyone stop him from doing that. 

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” 

An emotional voice rang out in the clearing. Was it a battle cry? Or was it the sorrowful scream of a woman struggling against despair? 

Pouring her violent emotions into her sword, Lefille slashed at the demon general Rajas with a vertical strike. What wrapped that slash, was a deep crimson storm firing out a glimmering red light. The earth, the mountains, the sky, all things large and small, no matter their scale, up until now, it had cut apart anything and everything. However, Rajas stopped the blow by sticking out his arm wrapped in a jet black aura like it was a shield. 

The power of the spirits which massacred many monsters and demons was repelled without even touching his skin, let alone cutting into his flesh. It was as if he was telling her with his body, that such a power didn’t even itch him. 

“Grrr…!” 

“HAHAHA! What’s wrong, swordswoman from Noshias?! Is that all a bastard like you can do?!” 

“SHUT UUUUUP!” 

When Rajas poured his scorn on her, she screamed as if to strike back at him. What followed was a torrent of red slashes like an early summer storm. Middle, low, rising and falling, back to low and then overhead. She unleashed all kinds of strikes one after another in a violent fury. Rajas’s unusually sturdy fist cloaked in dark miasma countered each blow unerringly. 

Webs of red lines and clouds of inky darkness burst forth as their powers collided. Both opponents dug their heels into the ground, and unable to withstand the ferocity of it, the earth broke apart underneath their feet. 

Comparing the two side by side, things were slanted in Rajas’s favor. Lefille was at a disadvantage. If she took even a single step back, he would press forward two. If she let fly ten blows, he would throw eleven. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get the edge on him, and her injuries were adding up. 

“HAAA!” 

As he drove her back, perhaps having realized his chance, Rajas lunged forward with a big, powerful attack. With her keen sight, Lefille could see that it left him open… 

Yet her body wouldn’t respond. Normally, a wide attack like that would give her time to counter with five separate slashes. But her injured body couldn’t even manage one. It took all her might just to lift her sword and use it as a shield as she resigned herself to the fist clad in its dark aura. 

The impact drove her backwards a great distance. Anguish from the heavy blow ringing through her entire body leaked from her lips as a grunt. 

“U-Ugh…” 

Falling to one knee, Lefille gasped for air. Rajas looked down at her with a smirk. 

“Heh, this is just a repeat of that time, isn’t it?” 

“…A repeat?” 

“That’s right. Of back when we attacked the naive land you bastards called home.” 

Hearing those words, memories of the day the demons attacked Noshias came flooding back to her. Even now, she could still see it all. What had appeared as she resolutely fought her way through the seemingly endless horde of small fries was Rajas. And wielding a darkness several times more deadly than what she’d seen from any demon, he destroyed everything. 

Before that overwhelming power, both then and now, she was also forced to her knees. 

She’d never felt more helpless than being unable to do anything as she watched her countrymen be brutally slaughtered right in front of her. And it wasn’t just the once. The day changed, the place changed—she fought many times over until the royal capital fell—but in the end, history only repeated itself. Every time they fought, Rajas would get the better of her and knock her down. Then, meaning to protect her, someone would inevitably sacrifice themselves. Her countrymen and comrades, those important to her… Every time without fail. She was always being protected because she was powerless against this demon. 

“N-Ngh…” 

Seized by such nightmarish memories, Lefille groaned. The corners of Rajas’s mouth lifted into a twisted grin. 

“Isn’t that right? Your damn power can’t win against me, can it?” 

She couldn’t win. Those words deeply pierced her heart. It was the brutal, merciless truth. It was as if, in concert with the sound of great thunder off in the distance, storm clouds had gathered over her. The sound of Rajas’s voice made it even worse. His grating laughter made her hate herself. 

“Shut… up…” 

“Does it vex you? To have a sore spot pressed like that? But you know, you ran away. In spite of that grand declaration about protecting your damned people, you turned tail and fled. Over and over again, no less. You just refused to let go of your own damn life.” 

“Shut up… Shut up…! Don’t say another word!” 

“Shut up, you say? Do you loathe hearing of your own damned foolishness that much? Your own ignorance born of pride? Heh, that’s it, isn’t it? Nobody ever wants to face their own shame. They don’t want it to be seen. They don’t want it pointed out. Even more so when they already know just how shameful it is. But you still abandoned them and left them to die, didn’t you? You ran away just because you valued your own life more, didn’t you? Am I wrong?” 

She wanted that mouth that was mocking her to shut up. He knew nothing. Nothing about her own wishes being denied. Nothing about how she’d died a little on the inside every time it happened. Nothing about the people who’d put their hope in her. Nothing about what she’d suffered because of all of it. 

“Let’s see. After running away from your damn country, do you know what happened to the other humans?” 

“Wh-What… did you say…?” 

“Your comrades, your friends, you family. All those who risked their lives so that you could run. Do you know what fate befell them in the end?” 

“Wh-What… did you do…?” 

“Nothing much. I just plucked off each and every one of their limbs, and tortured them ever so carefully to death! Why, it was actually quite enjoyable, you know? Those who so bravely sacrificed themselves for the one they believed in were reduced to bawling and screaming in pain and fear. By the end, they were shamefully cursing that damned Goddess you bastards believe in! Although, most of them didn’t make it that long, so it got a bit boring, heh, HAHAHAHAHA!” 

His loud, sickening laughter rent her heart asunder. Lefille’s mind turned to the faces of the people she’d lost—the faces of the people who’d been tortured. Just how much pain had they been forced to endure? Just how bitter were they? Just how much despair had they been forced to taste? She saw the vacant eyes of each and every person who died for her staring in her direction. Their resentful, otherworldly voices shook the very depths of her heart. 

“No way… Father… Everyone…” 

“Do you understand now? About exactly what happen to your damned homeland? About the miserable end of all those you loved? FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” 

“You bastard, how dare you… HOW DARE YOU?!” 

“Is it vexing?! Does it make you angry, swordswoman of Noshias?! But know this: it’s all on you. This is the sin that a bastard like you who ran away must carry.” 

“UAAAAAAAAH!” 

As Rajas loudly insisted that she was the root cause of what had transpired, she lashed out at him with everything she had. It was a sword strike with all her body and soul behind it. It didn’t follow proper form. It didn’t keep in mind the balance of her body. It was merely a straightforward, and therefore foolish, yet powerful attack as she lost sight of herself in the extremities of anger and confusion. 

“Too soft!” 

But alas, it was easily repelled. Rajas’s fist struck out and warded off her blade. Then he mocked and taunted her, telling her she could never reach him. Not with her sword, her feelings, or her screams. 

“Grr!” 

But Lefille wasn’t done yet. Clenching her jaw so hard that her teeth creaked, she again angrily lashed out with her sword. 

“Hmph.” 

Like his malignant, stifled laughter coming to the surface, the aura in Rajas’s hand suddenly expanded. 

“Urgh… Ah…” 

Just then, a despair that felt like it would sap all the power in her body was revived in Lefille. 

Seeing Rajas’s gesture, a scene she’d seen many times over replayed itself in her head like a bad movie. With that, her heart that had been temporarily reinforced by her anger, finally crumbled. This was his technique. This was the reason Rajas was called a demon general. It was a tremendous power that no normal demon could wield. She had seen it and the devastation it wrought many times over in their battles. This was his technique that could blow away a fortress without leaving a single trace behind. 

A mass of darkness clotted with deep violet swelled up in his hands, and a ball large enough to engulf a single adult human took shape, then stabilized. Like a calm before a storm, it momentarily ceased moving. Rajas then lifted it towards the sky as if preparing to bring it down. 

She wouldn’t be able to evade it. She knew this attack had the destructive power to annihilate an entire fortress and leave behind only an empty plot of land. Its range was enormous. There was no escaping it. The only thing she might be able to do was gather as much of the power of the spirits as she could and try to protect her own body with it. 

Moments later, she was swallowed by the surging sea of blackness. 

“U-UAAAAAAAAAAAH!” 

The whole area was swamped by that stagnant darkness. The feeling of having everything destroyed. The feeling of having everything stolen. The feeling that the end was inevitable. The darkness that brought such feelings to the surface suppressed all her other senses. 

And then, after hallucinating that she had been drowning in that darkness forever, when she finally opened her eyes, everything else in the area had been blown away. The trees, the rocks, the corpses of the convoy, the corpse of the mage girl… Everything. 

“Ug, ha… Urgh…” 

She’d endured, but at a heavy toll. After using such a large part of her power, she was only an old rag of herself. It was like he said—a repeat of before. Thanks to the power of the spirits, she was the sole survivor. That was the pain and guilt that she carried. 

Seized by the lingering darkness of the attack, her body trembled as it convulsed repeatedly. Unfazed, Rajas drew nearer. She panicked with each of his approaching steps, but her numb body offered no resistance as Rajas grabbed her by the hair. He lifted her up into the air, letting her body hang, and then… 

“What are… Ugh!” 

She was struck by a hard blow to the stomach. That single heavy strike from an arm the size of a log pierced through the trivial amount of spirit protection she could muster, and racked her body with a sharp pain. 

“There’s still more.” 

Rajas raised the corners of his mouth into a sick grin, and the battering began. One blow, then another and another without pause. His fists crashed into her like boulders. Each and every time, sounds of anguish leaked from her lips. But instead of begging for it to stop, all she could do was gasp and cough in pain. 

“Gah?Hahh… ack…” 

Finally, after one last blow to her abdomen, he tossed her aside like trash. 

“Ah, hahh, ah…” 

Writhing and groveling with her drooling mouth gasping for air, she was like a worm. No, even below that. It hurt. It was painful. But more than her body, her heart was in agony. It was mental and physical anguish. Her heart laid bare by Rajas, she could no longer move. She couldn’t put any strength into her body. She couldn’t think of anything. She wanted it to end already. 

And yet, even still, Rajas continued to torment her. 

“How unsightly.” 

“H-Hnngh…” 

“Looking like this… What would those pitiful fools you wanted to protect think?” 

As Lefille was trying to stand herself up by leaning on her sword, that question hit her like a barrel of bricks. She pondered his question, but there was no need for that. There was no reason to think about it. After all… 

“You couldn’t even save anyone if you wanted to like this, could you?” 

She already knew the answer. 

“If you could go back again, nothing would change, would it?” 

She already knew. That’s why… 

“Isn’t that right? You can’t protect anything. Not a single person.” 

She just wished he would stop. 

“Urrgh…” 

Everything was just as Rajas said. It wasn’t just her countrymen from her homeland, she’d been unable to protect anyone from the trade corps. Even if she could return to the invasion of Noshias, nothing would be any different. And when that realization set in, she was no longer able to hold back her screams and tears. 

That’s why she couldn’t win against this demon. Not ever. It was painful. Worse than her wounds, the cruel reality that was thrust before her was what hurt. The bitterness of not being able to do anything. Of being helpless. That’s why she wanted those words to stop. 

“Admit it. No, you’ve already started to admit it, haven’t you? That you yourself are just that worthless.” 

“I… I am…” 

“It’s your damn fault. Everything. With no exception. Because a bastard like you exists, everyone died.” 

“Ah?” 

“Isn’t that right?” 

“A-AAAAAAAAAAAH!” 

The sword that was supporting her fell, and her knees feebly buckled beneath her. She stuck her arms out awkwardly to catch herself, but even her shoulders were frozen now. The strength and willpower to even hold her sword had all vanished from her body. 

“So you’ve finally broken.” 

That judgment inspired almost a hint of joy in Lefille. He was right. She was already broken. It was just as Rajas said. She no longer had the will or the power to fight. She’d lost everything. Her loved ones, her pride… It was all stolen from her. What happened to her body now hardly mattered. 

“Hmph, a bastard like you is no longer worthy of even being killed by my hand. Just like those fools you loved, I think tormenting you to death will do nicely.” 

As he said that, Lefille could see Rajas signaling to his subordinates. When he did, there was a surge in the dark power that protected the demons’ bodies. 

At the ends of her distorted field of vision, she could see the warped figures of demons closing in. They were all scrambling to be the first to kill her. What she could see clearly were the claws all ready to reap her life. The demons’ filthy appearances. Their vulgar laughter. Their eyes filled with nothing but evil. She perceived it all as if time had slowed down. 

“Aah…” 

But all she could do was sigh a single sound. 

Why was it? Why did it have to end like this? Having everything important stolen from her, being smeared in humiliation… It wasn’t just that she’d lost. Why did even her heart have to be so twisted and crushed too? 

Up until now, she’d lived righteously. She should be living a righteous life still, but things just hadn’t gone that way. Why was that? Why had it all led to such a miserable end? There was no hope. Who’d invented such a silly word? Why was there a name for something that didn’t exist? 

That’s right. It was useless to just wish for that kind of thing. Just clinging onto it was meaningless. In the end, it was nothing but a cruel deception that dragged people further into the depths of despair. And for someone like Lefille who’d believed in it all the way up until now, just how much of a fool did that make her? 

What poured out along with her tears were curses at the injustice of the world. And then… 

“Someone… save me…” 

What escaped her lips was the same desperate cry a little girl might make for help. After all this time, did she still think someone might save her? Did she still have hope? That the terrible thing that she’d just learned wasn’t real? 

And as death approached, just when she shut her eyes, the lightning making a ruckus in the skies flashed right in front of her with a thunderous roar. A torrent of pale light blinded her and everything was swallowed by bright light. The demons who were swooping down on her, the sky sealed in darkness, the vast empty plot of devastated land, Rajas… Everything was swallowed in white. 

As the light and thunderous roar faded, she saw that the demons swooping at her had vanished without a trace. Looking around suspiciously, she realized that the intense sorrow limiting her sight had been gently wiped away. With fresh eyes, she saw… 

“Bastard, who are you?” 

He flipped open his coat as he landed with a thud. 

Right before Lefille’s eyes was certainly someone that she recognized. It was a young man in dark clothes she’d never seen before. 

The reason Suimei wasn’t also blinded by the brilliant, scorching white light was because he was prepared. He’d known exactly what was going to happen and closed his eyes. 

And the moment the light vanished, quietly and quickly, he threw open his eyelids. And then, seeing the disastrous scene before him, somewhere between exasperated and fed up, he let his anger seethe. 

Man, even here there are real villains, huh? Laughing at those living nobly and calling them foolish, trampling on the already downtrodden, casting the miserable into further depths of grief and despair… There are shameless assholes who really think that’s okay. 

There were people who tried to live righteously, and there were those that tried to tear them down in the name of pride. They had no idea what it meant to be selfless or work hard for others. To Suimei, those people could never be forgiven. Stealing away that modest hope called happiness was pure evil. And these beings were the incarnation of that. 

As the remnants of the lightning crackled in the air, Suimei briskly walked over to the girl. Incessant tears streamed from her lightless eyes. It was like a fountain of emotion, and he tried to stem their tide with his finger. This time for sure. Tears begone, just this time, begone. Her eyes were red and swollen. Her body was beaten like a rag. It was painful to even look at, so he could only imagine how much she was hurting. And quietly, he apologized for being late. 

“Ah…” 

A fragile voice leaked out from within her heart that had yet to recover. Fleeting like a sigh, it was none other than the dim, dim flicker right before her heart crumbled. 

This was a girl who’d been struggling under the weight of grief, always blaming herself. This was a girl who’d never been able to forgive herself. Why was it that someone like her had to go through this kind of suffering? She’d lived more honorably than anyone else, stayed true to her ideals more than anyone else. So why was she forced to walk this road with no salvation at the end? Why was it that the world continued to push her down further into the depths of misfortune? 

“Aah…” 

Those under the weight of tears, remember. In this world, there is no rain of sorrow that cannot be cleared away. 

Those who carry anguish, remember. In this world, there is no blaze of pain that cannot be extinguished. 

Those intoxicated with villainy, do not forget. In this world, there is not a single speck of land for scum like you. 

“Bastard, who are you?” 

“Magician Yakagi Suimei.” 

Right here, right now, as a modern magician, Suimei would definitively prove that. 

A gust of wind swept through the area. Was it called by the quiet voice of the young man beside her, or was his voice itself the gust of wind? Within the heated air, that voice accompanied by a clear wind shook her, but in a different way than Rajas’s had. 

“A mag… ician, you say?” 

Rajas was scowling with a sharp expression as he repeated Suimei’s words. Because he was wearing different clothes from before, it seemed Rajas didn’t recognize him, but he seemed to recall eventually as a look of understanding came over his face. 

“I see… You’re that bastard mage boy who got in my way last time, aren’t you?” 

In response, Suimei stood back up while remaining silent, and directed a harsh gaze his way. Seeing him like that, Rajas sneered as if admiring him. 

“You have some nerve to struggle all the way here as a mere mage. There were quite a few of my subordinates around, right? Hmm?” 

“Yeah, pointlessly many. You’ve got some nerve to gather such filth. I don’t even know how many times I felt like puking.” 

“When someone in such shabby shape after wading through such filth says so, it’s nearly believable! HAHAHAHAHA!” 

Rajas laughed out as he ridiculed him sarcastically. Certainly, Suimei was visibly worse for wear. There weren’t any serious wounds that were obvious, but his black clothes were battered and frayed, and based on the reserved way he was behaving, he already seemed to be plenty drained. His breathing was ragged, he lacked energy, and there was a shallow cut across his face. As expected, the path he must have taken to get here was a difficult one. 

Judging the compromised state Suimei was in, Rajas was still smirking after laughing at him. He then questioned Suimei in the same irritating tone as always. 

“So, bastard, how did you get all the way here? With their numbers, did the demons chase you here?” 

“All I did was brush aside anyone who stood in my way.” 

“Oh? You’d dare risk such foolish prattle in your condition?” 

Rajas laughed once more. Did he only see Suimei’s declaration as an injured man’s bravado? Certainly, Suimei making such a claim in his current predicament seemed like nothing more than a bluff. 

“Then let me ask you this: what drove you to come here that you would put yourself in that state?” 

“I don’t think that’s something you really need to ask at this point, is it?” 

“Impossible. Are you saying that you came to save that woman?” 

“What makes that impossible?” 

Suimei returned Rajas’s question. He had indeed come all this way to save her. He came all this way to be her strength. Even though she’d brushed away the hand he held out for her. Even though nothing said he had to be here. Even though nothing more could be done. Suimei stood there resolute and dignified. After missing a beat, Rajas let out a remarkably loud laugh. 

“BAH! BWAHAHAHAHA! I seriously didn’t think you could be so dumb! Are you really saying you’ve come to save this woman?! Have you lost your damned mind?!” 

It was just as Rajas said. Suimei was out of his mind. He’d walked through an army of demons without a care for his own life. He was virtually marching towards certain death. Just what would come of him showing up here? There was just desolation and grief here. Even though he’d shown up, this was a battlefield. A killing field. A place people came to die. And yet… 

“What, are you suggesting a woman like this is worth saving? This woman who ran for dear life and can protect nothing? This miserable, worthless woman?” 

“Yeah.” 

Just what was he thinking as he closed his eyes and nodded? It was foolish, and rightfully so, his heart acknowledged that he was a fool. Seeing this, Rajas once more spoke up. 

“Hmph. What would make you go so damn far? You didn’t have to suffer for her. You could have just looked the other way. Saved yourself and abandoned her.” 

“That won’t do, you see. If I’d done that, I wouldn’t be able to save her.” 

“Wuh??!” 

Rajas knit his brow at that most unexpected answer. And immediately following that, as if Suimei was throwing down the gauntlet… 

“Those who grieve from misfortune, those who cannot be saved… I walk the path to save them. And there’s no way I’d abandon that. That’s why…” 

That’s why I came here like this. 

Suimei made his declaration in a solemn voice. That he was going to save her and fight him. Spinning his words with determination, Rajas seemed to be taken aback momentarily, but he recovered himself before long, and after a short pause, he opened his mouth as if remembering something. 

“Pfft?” 

His answer to Suimei’s determination was a tremendous laugh. 

“HAHAHAHAHA! Ridiculous! That’s why?! You clawed your way through my subordinates to march yourself right up to the chopping block for that?! And what’s this nonsense about saving those that can’t be saved?! You ran all the way here on such idiocy?! Come now, even fools have their limits! BWAHAHAHAHA! To think such a laughable?” 

“So what?” 

“??!” 

What stopped Rajas in his tracks was the cold voice that Suimei let out. A wind that was far colder than the gales of the far north stopped every heart present, freezing everyone’s breath—even Rajas’s hideous laughter—in an instant. 

A terrifying chill filled the area. It was not a physical cold. No, it pierced far deeper than that. It was a chill that threatened to freeze your very soul. Even the ground that had been scorched by Rajas’s power appeared to be frosting over. As for Suimei, who was the cause of all this, he was staring fixedly at the demon general that was still sneering at his determination with unshaken, steely eyes. 

“Stop looking at me like that immediately, boy. I don’t like it.” 

“Do you think I’ll stop just ’cause you asked?” 

“Then I’ll just make you stop by force!” 

Rajas unleashed an ear-splitting roar that felt like it shook everything in the area. The shock wave of it sent dust, sand, and pebbles flying, and what came rushing at Suimei in the middle of all of it was an arm the size of an evergreen tree. Standing his ground against the attack that threatened to reduce him to nothing more than roadkill, he recited a signature chant that couldn’t be heard anywhere else. 

“Moenia, quinquepartita expansio!” 

[Rampart, fivefold expansion!] 

Five shining, golden magic circles appeared in front of his hand as if taking shape from something else in the form of a shield. And when they aligned, Suimei had his golden defenses. Rajas’s dark aura crashed right into, sending brilliant sparks scattering violently. But before long, perhaps because it was unable to endure the attack, or perhaps that was its intended purpose all along, the second magic circle burst away, and the third quickly followed. 

“OOOOOOOOH!” 

“AAAAAAAAH!” 

The remarkable fist that was trying to dig through Suimei’s magic circles, and the mana throwing golden, glowing particles into the air. The broken earth that was unable to withstand it, and the shock wave being emitted. All that eventually gave birth to a tornado-like current that demonstrated the dreadfulness of the collision. As both of their war cries mingled together in the whipping winds, Suimei’s fourth magic circle began spinning. And immediately following that… 

“NUU??!” 

The enormous power that was supposed to be pushing against Suimei was turned inside out in an instant. With a bellowing cry, Rajas’s massive body gouged the earth as he was sent flying backward into it, skidding all the way over a ledge in the distance. 

“Tch, even with the interference of the dampening rampart, he got blown away with that much force…? That damn muscle freak…” 

While rolling his shoulders, Suimei spat out an insult over the horizon where Rajas had disappeared. As expected, he was exhausted. Considering the number of enemies he’d had to fight to get here, that much was unavoidable. But then he turned to Lefille. 

“Stand up, Lefille. We’re gonna beat that guy.” 

He chose his words carefully as he spoke to her. They’d fight together. Struggle together. It was as though he was asking her to cooperate?no, it was as though he was encouraging her. Earnestly, and sincerely. And to show it, he looked right at her with his straightforward and dazzling eyes, alive with an odd scarlet light. It was like the passion in them was burning like molten iron. His eyes were hot. They were the eyes of a man that would never forget his convictions. 

But the answer he wanted wasn’t something Lefille could give anymore. All her hope had been smashed to pieces by Rajas earlier. 

“It’s impossible.” 

Hanging her head down, she could only give up. 

“Huh…?” 

“It’s impossible. We can’t beat him. You or me. It’s our fate to be killed by him here.” 

“Hey… What’s wrong, Lefille?” 

Even hearing that she had given up, Suimei only questioned her in bewilderment. He’d never doubted that she would join forces with him here. That they would fight together. That the two of them could defeat Rajas. But Lefille was now saying there was nothing they could do. 

“We can’t win against Rajas. That demon is too strong. Even if we joined forces here, we can’t win.” 

“You never know until you try, right?” 

“No, I can tell. He’s strong. The soldiers of Noshias—men and women known throughout the world for their power—all fell before his power. There’s no way that just the two of us can take him. And now that it’s come to this, it’s fated both you and I will die at his hands.” 

That was it. Their destinies had already been decided. Her prophecy of doom must have sounded like nothing but faintheartedness to him. But it was the truth. No matter how strongly they felt, no matter how brave they were, before such overwhelming strength, the endless dream would come for them. 

Faced with her weakness, Suimei slumped his shoulders and closed his eyes. Was he discouraged? She couldn’t see his expression with his head hung, but she assumed so. 

“Are you alright with that Lefille? Are you really alright letting it end like that?” 

“Yeah. It’s already done. Anything and everything… I’ve already given up on them. I’m just tired now.” 

“I see…” 

Suimei could hear what she was saying. Surely he understood now that everything was about to end. That there was no meaning in resisting only to increase their misery. If they withstood just a little more pain, that they would finally be at peace. 

Suimei suddenly stepped over to her, but it wasn’t the gesture she was hoping for. He had his back to her. In fact, that black cloth dangling in front of her eyes made it look like he was standing there to protect her from the oncoming threat of Rajas. 

“Suimei-kun?” 

“Then I’ll just do what I want to do. If you’re saying that you won’t move from where you are, then it means I’ll just crush that scum right here.” 

Suimei spoke in a voice like he believed in the hope of his words beyond a shadow of a doubt. But it was far too naive a claim. Lefille’s voice became rough as she denied it. 

“What are you saying?! You likely don’t even know Rajas’s true power! That guy is completely different from the demons you defeated before, you know?!” 

“He probably is. But if I give up here, I won’t be able to save you, and I won’t be able to reach what I’m striving for.” 

What he was striving for. Was that what he’d proclaimed to Rajas earlier? 

“You mean saving those who can’t be saved? Ridiculous! There are unfortunates all over the world! They meet terrible ends all the time and no one even bats an eye!” 

“Even so.” 

“That kind of ambition is nothing more than a pipe dream! An illusion! Make-believe! Something only a child would say!” 

“Even so.” 

“Even so, what?! By glossing over things with those words, are you saying that you can guarantee that we’ll be saved?!” 

“Yeah.” 

“There’s no way… There’s absolutely no way that can be true. It’s impossible. Just impossible…” 

How could it be otherwise? In this world, no matter where you looked, there were those who were starving. There were those fallen to their knees in sorrow. There were those who perished in bitter anger everywhere. One was right in front of Suimei now. There was no denying their pitiful misery. They were people who could never be saved. Never. 

He should have known that. If he had sound judgment, if he so much as looked at reality, it was obvious. His declaration was just a fanciful illusion that could never be realized. However, even so, he shook his head as if gently admonishing a child who wouldn’t listen. 

“Lefille, that’s not something for you to decide. Whether or not someone can be saved is what I intend to find out with this dream I’ve been pursuing.” 

“Just what do you think will come of striving for something like that, that vague and unreliable dream? Even if you chase after it, you won’t find anything, will you? All that comes at the end of a dream is despair that betrays all your hopes.” 

“That may be so.” 

“Then?” 

“However, I have no intention of looking back. You know? If I turn back, then the dream I’m chasing will no longer be there in front of me. Beyond the horizon where I give up on that dream, I’m not there. Not me now, and not me who swore to fulfill it that day. That’s why… Well, just look and see for yourself. The hope I’m striving for and the way of life that’s gonna take me there.” 

Look and see, he said. Looking up at him as he made that declaration, he seemed almost blindingly bright to Lefille. It was likely something nobody in this world had ever seen before—the brilliance of his soul. 

Rajas, who had been blown away, was now approaching again. He shattered the earth underneath his feet with each stomp. He was livid and it showed on his face. His gaze that looked like it could kill someone all on its own was perfectly lined up with Suimei’s. 

“Boy, you bastard…” 

“Just disappear already, you fucking scum.” 

“SHUT UUUUUP!” 

Matching his roar, the aura in Rajas’s palm began to expand rapidly. Darkness packed in against darkness while casting a dark violet shadow of destruction over the surroundings. It was Rajas’s technique that had blown away Noshian fortresses—the very same one that had leveled the area here on the mountainside. 

“You and that damn woman can perish together with this!” 

It was over. This was the end. Lefille no longer had any power of the spirits left within her. She couldn’t withstand this attack again, and there existed no magic in the world which could oppose it. That’s why… 

“Suimei-kun, enough already… Let’s give up…” 

Even though nothing more could be done, Suimei didn’t heed her at all. As if declaring this was all a mere trifle, he began chanting. 

“Mea aegis non est aegis. Prae omni oppugnatione est solida. Prae omni impetu est invicta.” 

[My shield is not a shield. It is sturdy before any and all offense. It is unshakable before any and all attacks.] 

Responding to his chant, mana swelled around him. The air filled with a golden light that challenged the darkness, and that light began rotating like a whirlwind. 

“Invincibilis, immobilis, immortalis. Id est ardens aureum castrum ut colligit spiritus astorum. Eius nomen est?” 

[Invincible, immobile, imperishable. It is the shining golden castle that collects the breath of the stars. Its name is?] 

Before long, the golden lights each headed to different locations as if to fulfill their own roles, and with the excitation of golden lightning, they took shape. A crackling sound could be heard intermittently in the area, and then… 

“Mea firma aegis! Speciosum aureum magnale!” 

[My firm shield! The brilliant golden fortress!] 

With those last few words, the magic circles formed atop one another. And one beat behind their alignment, everything was snatched away by the darkness. The area was engulfed by midnight. 

“?!” 

This was the end of everything. With this attack, her flesh, her soul… All would be lost to the blackness. Or at least, it should have been. 

Despite what she thought, things didn’t stop there. She’d shut her eyes as she sensed inescapable death approaching. Yet when she opened them, she and Suimei were still there, both perfectly fine. They were still alive. 

As the dust settled, it became quite clear Lefille wasn’t the only one who was shocked at this turn of events. 

“R-Ridiculous… My power that can level fortresses did nothing?!” 

As the demon’s astonished voice rang out, Lefille looked around. Her eyes were met with a breathtaking spectacle. 

All around her were geometrical patterns, words, and numbers. And surrounding them was a golden light emitted by mana. The magic circle drawn on the ground had something like the hour and minute hands of a clock on it, and the other magic circles in the area expanded as if to fill and protect the space. Large magic circles, small magic circles… Everything she’d seen just before the dark attack was still in place. That was when she realized what all these golden circles were protecting. Indeed, it was as if she and Suimei were enclosed within a fortress made of magic circle ramparts. 

“Ha. Don’t put my golden fortress on the same level as some crap made from stone and wood. This bad boy is modeled after a military base from my world. If you want to get through it, you’d better bring something twice as powerful as a red dragon’s roar.” 

“From your world, you say? You bastard, it couldn’t be…!” 

“That’s got nothing to fucking do with you!” 

As Suimei flung his right arm out to the side, a golden sword took shape in an instant. With it, he blew away Rajas’s bewildered voice, the cloud of dust, and all the smoldering fires in the area. 

“YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAARD!” 

And then, perhaps at last judging this young man to be a formidable enemy, Rajas rushed in savagely. He was coming straight for Suimei. His defensive fortress reverted into mana, and Rajas took for granted that he would be faster than the tip of his golden sword. On one hand, Rajas’s fighting style was simplistic. On the other, it was also fast and powerful. 

Even though he was facing off against such a large opponent, even though one attack from him would reduce a normal human to ground meat, Suimei ran forwards, stood his ground, and entered one-on-one combat. 

He was challenging death. Lefille wasn’t wrong about that. But even so, Suimei’s vigor didn’t waver. 

Dodging Rajas’s boorish attacks and fighting back with his golden blade of mana, Suimei would weave his words to strike with magic. If he took even a single fist, it would be fatal. Yet despite the stakes, he showed no fear. As if the passionate emotions kept hidden within his heart were sustaining him, he looked as solid as an iron statue from behind. He would not break. He would not bend. His figure was stronger and more profound than anyone else’s there. 

As the demon’s miasma grazed his skin and clothes, small wounds began multiplying across Suimei’s face and body. But even so, he didn’t stop. The ferocious yell of that young man blew away the imminent dread before her, and even the weight that burdened her heart. It took everything with it. 

Enchanted by his passion as he fought like that, Lefille suddenly came to her senses. 

Just what am I doing? 

While he was fighting, she just sat behind him and watched. Having given up on everything, having thrown away everything, having even denied his dream, she was down on her knees. Just watching. All she did was stare as she took for granted that absolutely nothing could be done. After coming to that conclusion, she could do nothing else. 

“…” 

And she continued to watch him still. She was entranced. By the figure and the blinding radiance of the hot and passionate emotions of this young man who wished for the happiness of all who shed tears at the injustice of the world. This young man had the audacity to proclaim that he’d save those who couldn’t be saved. He was going to prove it. And being so enchanted by that, was it really alright for her to just sit by and do nothing? 

Suimei was repelled by a blow from Rajas’s fist, which sent him flying all the way to Lefille. His body was in bad shape, however, his strength to stand and his spirit to fight back hadn’t diminished at all. He dug his heels into the ground as if to declare that he was holding on. That he hadn’t lost yet. 

And before she knew what she was doing, Lefille called out to him. 

“Suimei-kun… Why do you go so…” 

As she tried to ask why he went so far, while keeping his gaze fixed forward, he made the following declaration. 

“Because I want to protect you.” 

Hearing those words, something that she had forgotten came back to her. Deep in her shattered heart, a passionate emotion began to bubble up. 

“You get it, right? You should also have something you want to protect. You came here because you were willing to stake your life on something, didn’t you?” 

“Ah…” 

Something she wanted to protect. That was right. She had the same conviction, the same emotions. That’s why, even though this boy was injured, he didn’t give in. He stayed standing, and stayed fighting. 

So was she really, really okay with letting things end like this? With just giving up? No, she wasn’t. That wasn’t what she wanted. Not at all. She wanted to run once more towards her dream. Just like this young man who would never stop, who held those same feelings. The same young man who was once again facing off against an incredible enemy in order to follow his own path. And when she realized that, she could no longer just stay sitting there. 

“I?” 

That’s why, once more… Once more, she wanted the power to fight. So even in pain and covered in blood, even in this condition, she offered up a prayer. 

“Oh Alshuna, great Goddess we serve. I who was unable to do anything, who was unable to change anything on my own, humbly beseech you. Please grant me the courage to change just this once. I pray that once more, just once more…” 

It was a wish and a demand. A ritual so that she could once more take up her sword. The Goddess would likely never come to her aid. She knew that. The Goddess wasn’t of this world. She was an existence who only watched over them, even now. And so in order to change herself, she spoke those words only for herself. 

And then, when she opened her eyes, her body was filled with power like it had never been before. As if falling to her knees and capitulating had all been a bad dream, the weakness that had seized her heart was now nowhere to be found. 

The one who gave her that power, the courage to overcome herself, was none other than the young man standing before her. Precisely because he taught her to believe, precisely because he demonstrated what that meant to her, precisely because she was able to witness it, she was finally able to stand again. 

Gripping the sword that she had dropped, she swung it with both hands with all her might. The wind it generated was like a red slash that cut through in between Suimei and Rajas. 

“Wha?You bastard! Just where did that power come from?!” 

“Lefille…” 

The freshly standing Lefille was greeted with a surprised expression and a delighted one—there was no need to say whose was whose. Lefille unleashed all the power that she held, the power of the spirits. A red wind, just like the red gale which answered to the scarlet spirit Ishaktney in battle, appeared. It was like all the air bowed before that crimson glimmer. And unable to withstand the gale, Rajas took a step back. 

“N-No… This is…” 

Rajas covered his face with his arm as if shielding it from the wind. Pointing her sword at that demon, Lefille made a declaration to revive her heart. 

“Rajas. Look closely with those damned eyes of yours. This is the power that will destroy you bastard demons. The power of the spirits born of the Goddess.” 

“The power to destroy us, my ass! You’re nothing but a stupid little girl who ran away from her own death!” 

“Silence. I won’t run away anymore. I will stay true to myself, no matter what fate that may bring!” 

“You stupid little girl! KEEP PRATTLING!” 

Along with a shriek, Rajas faced the large sword and red gale with his arms and fists shrouded in dark miasma. But just this time, Lefille would not be repelled. With a red tempest wrapped around her blade, she let loose a single diagonal slash, and this time, it was Rajas’s remarkable fist that was repelled. 

“Guaah! Wh-What?! It’s completely different from…” 

Of course it was different from before. Lefille was no longer the girl she’d been before. Her weak, old self had died. The woman who stood to face Rajas now with newfound strength was Lefille reborn. The attacks that had overwhelmed her before would no longer work. Rajas no longer had the leisure to taunt her. 

“HAAA!” 

Having no ear to listen to his bewilderment, she drove in her sword again and again. It was the complete opposite of what had happened before. She did not fall behind in speed, and she was the one who threw out more strikes. Each and every single one of her thrusts had the power to push him back. 

Had he gotten desperate? Rajas lashed out with a backhand as if trying to swipe her away. It was a crudely unleashed fist, but an abominably lucky blow. Rajas perfectly caught a gap in Lefille’s swings and targeted her vitals. If he hit her, it would have devastating consequences. But that was if and only if he hit her. 

Like the air gleaming around her, Lefille became a red gale. No one could keep up with her movements. The red wind that didn’t even cast a shadow surpassed the speed of anything and everything. Such speed was truly unfathomable. With a quickness that could be mistaken for teleportation, she slid into Rajas’s flank. 

“You bastard, just when did?” 

By the time he noticed and turned to her, it was too late. As she finished materializing and swung down with a slash at the same time, she caught Rajas’s chest square on. 

“Guugh-AAAAAH!” 

She tore open Rajas’s chest, which was built like a massive boulder. It wasn’t deep enough to be a fatal wound, but that dark miasma that was the source of the demon’s power started gushing out like vapor. It was the perfect opportunity. 

“Gala Valner!” 

Swiveling her massive sword overhead, she took a large step forward, and with that moment and all her strength, she let loose a single strike like she was trying to cleave the sky. As she brought her stance down right against the ground, all of the red wind in the area emulated her movements, changing into a massive slash that tore apart heaven and earth. It struck Rajas, but… 

“How tenacious.” 

Even having taken Gala Valner, he was still standing. He was torn up from head to toe, and his miasma was leaking out all over his body. His limbs had all stopped moving, and he was certainly unsteady, but he was still standing. After taking Suimei’s attacks and now Lefille’s, just how robust was this demon? 

“Ugh…!” 

His face twisted with panic, Rajas suddenly took a large leap back. And just as Lefille stiffened up, wondering what he was planning on doing, Rajas’s massive body fluttered up in the sky. Was he going to retreat in this last moment? 

“Wha? W-WAIT!” 

“I’ll hand over this victory, swordswoman of Noshias.” 

He likely judged that he would be at a severe disadvantage if things continued as they were. As he spat his annoyed farewell, Rajas attempted to flee. It seemed he’d kept some energy in reserve, and he used it to put great distance between them in the blink of an eye. 

“HAAAAAAAA!” 

As if to cut down the escaping figure, Lefille once more unleashed Gala Valner at Rajas. But the red wind never reached him. It weakened over the great distance it had to cross, eventually dissipating as mundane wind. 

She’d failed to strike him down. At this distance, no matter what she did, she’d never hit him. If she could fly through the skies like Rajas, it would be a different story, but Lefille had no such power. 

Thus, this was as far as she could go. Even though Suimei had gone so far for her, even though he’d saved her, she’d let her enemy get away. 

“Shit…” 

The conclusion of this fight would have to be deferred. To have come so far only for it to end this way left a bad taste in her mouth. Perhaps just one more step. Perhaps just one more attack and she could have edged him out. Then just maybe… 

But that wasn’t how it had gone down. As she was grinding her teeth in disappointment, she could suddenly sense mana swelling up behind her. No, swelling was too mild an expression for it. This was an intense wave, like mana had explosively multiplied. And the cause, naturally, was none other than… 

“S-Suimei-kun…?” 

Was this young man’s mana bottomless? Running through an army of demons, fending off Rajas’s power, then fighting him… How had he not used up all the power in his body? But just like that, he was now walking forward, radiating mana. His gait was steady with an air of composure, as if he were strutting. In a few strides, he stood beside Lefille. And what came next was the powerful call of a magician’s voice. 

“Abreq ad Habra…” 

[Hurl your thunderbolt even unto death…] 

The enormous blade of wind clad in a red glimmer turned to regular wind behind him and vanished. It was dangerous. To think that woman would recover in such a short period… No, it wasn’t just that. She’d actually gained power that far surpassed what she’d had before. He didn’t know what happened, but all of it was the fault of that mage. That’s why he’d been forced to taste the bitter defeat that was retreat, and he ground his teeth at the thought. 

“Don’t you dare forget the disgrace you brought me, you damn humans. Because when these wounds heal, I will definitely be paying you back…” 

Gripped by that feverish anger, Rajas rose up higher into the sky. 

“It’ll be dangerous to go through those storm clouds with these wounds, but I have no choice.” 

Rajas gazed up at his narrow path of retreat. If he continued to fly too low, it was possible that he would be chased. He would ordinarily think that was impossible, but he’d just had the tables turned on him spectacularly. If he passed through the clouds, they would surely lose sight of him. He’d be safe then. 

It was annoying, but he’d been badly wounded by the fight that woman put up. If he passed through a storm in this condition, it wouldn’t be pretty. However, it was a sacrifice that had to be made in the name of escape. To get away for sure, this was his only option. 

And just as he was fretting about the storm clouds… 

“Wha…?” 

Looking up, he was met with a most stupefying sight. In fact, he could scarcely believe his eyes. The storm clouds weren’t there, or anywhere else in the sky for that matter. 

“??!” 

Thrown into consternation at the sudden shock, Rajas looked around frantically. Something that should have been there… simply wasn’t anymore. The dark, rumbling clouds were gone. Even though the lighting had been flashing until just moments go, there was no sign of a storm at all now. He strained his eyes, thinking that they were playing a trick on him, but could still see nothing. All he could descry were regular clouds obstructing the starlight overhead. 

Up until moments ago, he was certain that thunder was reverberating in the air. Even during the battle, it was annoyingly noisy. So just what did this mean? Had he imagined it? Had there been thunder and no storm? Pondering this mystery, Rajas casually lowered his gaze. 

“Wha…?!” 

He was speechless at the disastrous scene that spread out below him. It was a spectacle that stole his breath away. 

There was a plain between the foot of the mountain and the forest. And the army that he’d gathered there, much like the clouds above, was gone. In their stead were smoldering fires that continued to burn, protruding and caved in masses of earth. There were those imprisoned in ice that would not melt in all eternity, those who were repulsively spread out in a sea of acid and poison to dissolve into nothing indefinitely, and to top it all off, the disgusting shadows of what appeared to be his kin. Most astonishing of all, however, was that even this much devastation didn’t add up to the number of subordinates Rajas had brought with him. The majority of his army seemed to have completely vanished from the face of the earth. 

“J-Just what happened here…?” 

There was no way this could be real. Not even an entire army of humans could wreak this much destruction. He knew that for a fact after the skirmishes he’d had in Noshias. But the fact that he was seeing it with his own eyes told him that someone had done it. And he had an idea of who that someone might be. 

“All I did was brush aside anyone who stood in my way.” 

Like a whisper in his ear, he could hear that man’s words once more. Was this what he’d meant? 

Without a doubt, he would have encountered Rajas’s subordinates on his way up the mountain. Without a doubt, they would have tried to stop him. That meant that when he’d spoken of those who stood in his way, he’d meant Rajas’s entire force. He could envision his ranks closing in on and swarming him now. Then did that mean that young man had “brushed aside” an army Rajas had brought to defeat the hero? 

“Ridiculous, to destroy an army more than ten thousand strong all on his own…” 

As he arrived at that answer and a chill ran down his spine, a thunderous roar reached his ears from behind. It was impossible. There were no storm clouds in the sky anymore, so where had that sound come from? 

“It couldn’t be…” 

Thinking back on it very carefully, Rajas couldn’t actually remember seeing a single storm cloud since he’d arrived. He’d only thought they were there because he’d heard thunder. But no, there weren’t any then and there weren’t any now. So for him to be hearing thunder… 

“It couldn’t be…” 

The lightning he’d seen and the thunderclaps he’d heard had to have come from something else altogether. 

“It couldn’t be!” 

And the roar reverberating behind him now sounded exactly the same as the “thunder” he’d been hearing for a while now. Slowly he turned around to find the answer to his own doubts. 

Along with a thunderous roar which shook the earth, as if pale blue lightning was shooting up into the sky in reverse, a circle threatened the dark sky as figures and letters were drawn into it. 

And before long, what took shape was a large?no, a colossal magic circle. All throughout it, medium-sized magic circles were taking shape too. This was undoubtedly of a sufficient scale to fire off some mighty magic. 

And standing at its center was none other than that man. The human who had called himself a mage. 

The lightning tore apart the earth, the wind raised a howling shriek, and everything around him was being randomly destroyed. With that man as its center, there was a burst of power that blew away sand and pebbles, turned them to charcoal, and erased them from existence. 

And that was a mere tremor. A taste of what was to come. The power that formed this magic, the power that forcibly manifested this phenomenon, was too strong. The surplus power and repellent force were endlessly battering down everything around him. The lightning that bleached the air, the tempest that broke out like a squall… It was all just a meager premonition of the phenomenon to come. 

“Th-That’s just the portent…? That kind of ridiculous?” 

Yes, the demon general Rajas likely had no way of knowing. This was the Abra-Melin Abraham system of magicka, commonly known as sacred magicka or holy magicka. It was magicka that borrowed the power of a sacred guardian angel and was widely regarded as the most powerful of all magickas created to repel, disperse, and enslave devils?hurl your thunderbolt even unto death, abracadabra, the word’s most famously known spell. Using that as the prototype, it was transformed into offensive magicka by modern magicka theory, and it was one of the ultimate cards Yakagi Suimei could play to counter devils and evil spirits. 

As if manifesting from a heat haze, the image of a woman appeared behind that man. Though modeled after a human woman, it didn’t have the slightest hint of life to it. It looked just like a sculpture made of inorganic matter colored in a mix of white and ash. It was neither sublime nor sinister. However, for some reason, it had a dreadful amount of power. 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…” 

As the sculpture opened its creaking mouth, it unleashed a remarkably shrill scream and called a pillar of lightning from the heavens. 

He’d never heard of this or anything like it. That such a human or such power existed. Not even the hero from another world should be wielding anything like that. The hero was summoned and given the power of the Goddess. This was completely different. An unknown. 

It was true that the hero possessed power far beyond that of the common man. Summoned heroes received an immense amount of divine protection from the Elements. But this man had none of that. It was inconceivable. He manipulated events that he should have no control over, bundled together phenomena, and altered the world created by the Goddess at will. That lightning before him now was holier than anything else, and more dreadful than anything else. No human in this world could wield such unthinkable power. Certainly not. But then… so who was this man? 

“Magician Yakagi Suimei.” 

“Wait, he said magician… What’s that?! That man isn’t a mage?!” 

The thousands of branching lightning bolts in the area left behind a shrill echo in the air and accumulated at the center of the magic circle as they built up. The sculpture’s screaming was incessant. A pale flickering filled the world from the ground to the ceiling of the sky. He could see the face of the woman who’d been gripped with fear and shock just like he was now, and the crimson eyes of that hateful man projecting his iron will. And lastly, the presence of inescapable death. 

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” 

“Now then, villain who sips on the lamentations of the people like honey. Before the grand desire that we magicians of the Society strive for, rot away and begone.” 

He could plainly see that man’s mouth putting together those words. 

And immediately following that, he touched the center of the magic circle with his finger. 

And in that moment, a deafening thunder broke out. The thousands of rays of lightning that had been concentrically gathering as a beam of light in that magic circle turned into a single massive pillar and swallowed everything in Rajas’s vision. 

And in that light, not a hint of the darkness of the Evil God the demons believed in existed. Absolutely nothing and nowhere. 

And before that torrent of light created by the holy lightning, the shrieking, resentful Demon General Rajas was completely consumed.