episode_0312

Knife Franz Academy’s cadets and the Luminous Holy Kingdom’s Great Demon Saint Army have joined forces. It was a moment when the collapsing kingdom’s army surged once more.

Shadow soldiers in black armor poured out like waves. These were not human. They were puppets made of Magi. Because of that, even if you struck them down, they would continue to revive and rejoin the army.

The reason these endless soldiers are troublesome is because they perform the role of meat shields excellently. They absorb the kingdom army’s firepower from the front, then the cannons positioned in the rear spew fire.

The cannonballs, of an unknown material, were not easily stopped even by magic. That’s why they were even more of a headache. There was no way to deal with them without breaking through the shadow soldiers blocking the way.

It was the Great Demon Saint Army that overturned this existing battle situation.

“Holy Ray!”

“Holy Ray!”

The priests’ bodies glowed golden. It’s a light attribute magic specialized in dispelling shadows. Having established a sanctuary in the middle of the battlefield, the Goddess’s blessing was even more abundant.

Mana and Magi are mutually antagonistic. The Empire’s shadow soldiers melted away like snow in the sunlight poured forth by the priests.

Where the golden beams of light passed, darkness did not exist. New shadow soldiers filled the void, but the priests continued to spread the Goddess’s blessing.

“Light shall be in the darkness.”

When the priests’ light faded, the Saintess’s eyes shone. She held light and darkness in both hands, launched them, and an even more intense light infused everyone with strength.

When the rate of destruction surpassed the rate of revival, Aspi, who had been watching the situation, raised her sword.

“Now!! Show the valor of Knife Franz!!”

The wind of counterattack blew. Along with the newly joined academy’s knight cadets, the soldiers who had regained their strength charged.

Their role was to neutralize the shadow soldiers. Specialized in demon hunting rather than one-on-one combat, the cadets skillfully cut down the shadow soldiers.

The soldiers didn’t just watch. Should they be pushed back by mere green youths? They wielded their swords and spears, using every ounce of their strength.

That fierce assault disrupted the shadow soldiers’ command structure. Could the revival and reinforcement be hampered simply by the intensified offensive? It was the moment Aspi’s suspicions transformed into certainty.

‘There definitely is a magician controlling them…!’

She raised her sword and leaped into the sky above the battlefield. Her momentum captured everyone’s attention.

“Please pierce the ranks—!!”

She sent her mana on the wind, requesting support in a loud voice. In response, countless magic bullets flew from the rear.

The direction was the Academy’s magic department cadets’ formation. Aspi smiled faintly and started walking.

Then, the Saintess appeared. It was to temporarily halt overall magical support and concentrate firepower.

Tier, who had approached right behind Aspi, clasped her hands and prayed. Two lights began to flicker from her.

“Mother, who still bestows light upon me, who has forsaken purity… I shall spread your name with all my being and life—!!”

She spread her clasped hands, arms outstretched. The clouds that had darkened the sky parted. The gap was filled only with light.

“Divine Grace.”

That intense light that empowered the kingdom’s army shot out as a single beam. It tears through the shadow soldiers, following Tier’s gesture.

Rip-

The front of her habit ripped slightly. Aspi’s eyes widened. It was because Tier’s chest swelled even more. No, to be exact, it returned to its original size.

“Still using pressure magic…?”

“Sh, shut up! What are you doing? I opened the way!”

Leaving Tier, who was blushing, behind, Aspi threw herself into the gap between the broken shadow soldiers. Those mere puppets could not stop her, as she disappeared like the wind.

Whiish—

A wind blew across the battlefield. The soldiers who had been safely shelling from the rear simultaneously felt a sense of oppression. Instinct told them not to raise their heads.

A few soldiers whose survival instincts were weaker saw it. Unstoppable intense rage and power. They were prey. Prey before the eyes of a predator.

However, Aspi didn’t have time to look at them. She closed her eyes and heightened her senses. Every hair on her body stood on end. Even the slightest tremor was transmitted to her.

The flow of Magi connected to the shadow soldiers. The end of that flow lurked throughout the Empire’s rear. A mass of Magi so thick it made her frown.

‘…Found them.’

Aspi raised her wind spirit sword and mustered all her strength. It was the moment she was about to step into the air.

The neck of the first black magician she had targeted fell off. A trace of pure white sword energy was drawn around him.

Right next to him stood a very small girl. The Knife Franz devil, Aspi’s senior and night-skill teacher, in a maid outfit.

Aspi’s face brightened.

“Yuri-sama…!!”

“I’m a little late. Sorry, Aspi.”

“No, you came at just the right time.”

Her presence here meant that Princess Narita had also awakened. In that sense, and as reinforcements, Aspi felt reassured.

A pale green wind settled beside Yuri. Despite the height difference where two heads could fit, they naturally leaned against each other and scanned the battlefield.

“The smell is too strong… I can’t see well.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Thwack-

Aspi jumped first. She closed her eyes and sharpened her wind spirit sword. Short, but strong. She stabbed the air dozens of times.

A faint wind carrying mana fell on various parts of the Empire’s formation. It was a kind of marker. Although they didn’t say it, Yuri immediately understood the meaning.

After exchanging a brief glance, they nodded. Immediately afterward, the two of them disappeared completely.

What reappeared were only blazing sword wounds. Magicians’ heads fell off in various parts of the rear units.

“Uh… uh uh…!!!”

“Th-the enemy… appeared…”

“They’ve…disappeared…!!”

The Empire’s soldiers could only stand still. Because the enemy was invisible. Their bodies and minds were rigidly frozen by the intense killing intent.

Before long, all the magicians marked by Aspi had been beheaded. The two executioners looked up at the battlefield. The number of shadow soldiers had visibly decreased significantly.

Shudder-

Aspi and Yuri flinched slightly. Then, looking at each other, they flew away across the sky. The soldiers fired their magic cannons at their backs, but nothing hit them.

“Th… They ran away…?”

“Th-they’re gone…”

“Running away like they’re tailing, what bad luck! Khihihi-”

Two soldiers sighed in relief as the two monsters left the Empire’s formation. As they looked at each other and talked a moment, their frozen rationality returned.

Someone suspicious had butted into their conversation.

“Who… who are you…!!”

“Me? Ghost. I came to mark the coordinates, hihi-”

Black fog flickered in the air, and a pretty woman poked her upper body out from within. The soldiers knew it was magic, but it wasn’t a phenomenon they could understand.

“Then, this is it—”

The woman disappeared back into the fog. She is undoubtedly a monstrous woman. The Empire couldn’t comprehend the free use of subspace and teleportation magic.

If such magic were commercialized, why would they equip transport vehicles with magic engineering devices? They could simply open a portal and transfer troops and supplies, wouldn’t they?

That was the limit of the Ubiet Empire, which, lost in realism, did not pursue the ultimate in magic. Soon, a large dark cloud filled the sky of the battlefield.

That wasn’t a cloud. It was black fog. Suddenly, something blocked the sky, causing everyone to look up.

And they felt it getting warmer. From inside the black fog, burning rocks emerged.

It was a meteor the size of dozens of carriages.

***

Using Nix’s subspace magic and teleportation magic portals, Lulu unleashed a super-large meteor. A mushroom cloud rose from far beyond the horizon.

Such power from such a distance, I whistled. It wasn’t the tiny spark I extinguished when I mastered the [Dispel] magic.

I smiled contentedly, looking at Lulu.

“Did you bring me here to show me this?”

“Th-that’s not it…”

“Amazing. If anyone asks you your profession, tell them you’re a Great Sorcerer. I told you to.”

“Re-really…?”

I stroked her small head of red hair and it swayed under my hand. It’s hard to believe that such a small woman is a human weapon that can change the course of a war.

“Hmm… hmm…”

Looking aside, I saw a dark head approaching me. Nix begged to be stroked too. I stroked both their heads, then turned away.

“You’re leaving…”

“I have to. No matter what.”

Yuri had already returned to the battlefield. I will also send the troops gathered here, including Lulu and Nix, to the battlefield.

From now on, it’s my fight.

There is a black star that fills the sky. Of course, that’s just how it looks; in reality, it’s just a girl endlessly spewing black tentacles.

“It’s a date after a long time…I’m excited.”

My beloved woman had grown so much that I couldn’t embrace her even if I spread my arms. I think I need to prepare before I meet her again.

Thump-

I walked briskly across the wasteland. After the troops of Lulu and Nix returning to the battlefield had gone far enough, I kicked off the ground and sprang out.

I needed to encounter the one responsible for all of this. I sensed the presence of a corrupted black magician who drew the souls of the battlefield under the black star.

Duke Darius. My sworn enemy.