Chapter 161

Volume 2

Chapter 132.2

Chapter 132 . 2 : Fierce Combat

Charles shouted at him with a flustered voice . He was still groveling on the ground after falling from his griffon .

Alfred  heaved a sigh and   turned his griffon to chase after Christina-tachi . His flying speed was faster than them and so easily caught up to them .

「AS IF I’LL LET YOU!《Enchant Physical Ability》」

Vanessa also suddenly increased he speed as she unsheathed her long sword and leapt towards Alfred . And thus she slashed her sword at Alfred who was flying at a low altitude .

But, Alfred also unsheathed the long sword that was placed on his saddle and thwarted Vanessa’s attack .

When their sword clashed, Vanessa staggered back .

Though Vanessa  grimaced at the overwhelming difference in strength, she landed safely on the ground . And then, she sent her warning to Christina-tachi .

「BEHIND!」

「EH?  」

Celia who was running at the back of the formation  reacted to Vanessa’s voice and  glanced behind . Then, Alfred who had noticed that something was coming at from a short distance away in front of him was startled .

「《Wind Cutter》」

Celia stretched her arm out as she chanted the aria . Countless small wind blades came out from the magic square that appeared in front of her palm .

「《Photon Bullet》」

Slightly slower than her was Christina who had also seen Alphonse and decided to add another attack .

Though those two spells had low killing power, their invocation speed was fast and could be fired in rapid succession . He made his griffon fly higher in seeing the incoming attacks that were enough to endanger his life .

Alfred  controlled his griffon and did  a barrel roll to dodge the incoming magic . After flying to a safe height, he jumped from his griffon and  landed on the ground .

After their rider was gone, the griffons flew back towards Charles-tachi who were left behind .

On the other hand, Vanessa fixed her stance and then slashed her sword at Alfred just as he  landed on the ground .

「PLEASE RUN WHILE I STALL HIM!」

Vanessa screamed as she attacked Alfred . Christina-tachi  reluctantly broke into a run .

Alfred  calmly stopped Vanessa’s attacks with his  sword . And then stepping back lightly after their swords had  been locked together for a few seconds .

This crumbled Vanessa’s balance .

「Your stance is too rigid . 」

Alfred  calmly thrust his sword aiming at the gap  born due to her crumbling balance .

Vanessa calmly reacted to that strike as she retreated .

But, her attire was caught by his sword . It was supposed to be a thick robe and yet Alfred’s sword easily tore it like a piece of paper .

Alfred was startled as her face came into view .

「You……………… What happened to your hair?　Did you dye it? Nay…………… Oh, whatever . I’ll have to kill you if you keep resisting, Vanessa . 」

Though Alfred showed a worried look on his face, it was instantly replaced with an indifferent expression .

Vanessa  gritting her teeth shouted――,

「WHY, WHY ARE YOU HERE! ? Sword of the king! 」

She slashed her sword while shouting at him .

「………… Because this is a direct order of his majesty . 」

Alfred  repliedas he parried her strike . s

「THERE’S NO WAY IT’S HIS ORDER! NO, DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT IT’S HIS MAJESTY’S TRUE INTENTION! ? OLDER BROTHER! 」

「I have no intention of chatting with you . 」

After blatantly telling her that, Alfred flicked off Vanessa’s sword which had entwined with his .

「KUH!」

「This is the end . 」

Alfred saying so thrust his sword  towards Vanessa’s neck . By then, Charles-tachi already caught up to him .

「Well done, Alfred! Leave that rebel to this guy and chase after the princess . Refrain from killing the others . 」

After ordering one of the knights who had come with him to bind Vanessa, Charles ordered Alfred to chase after Christina-tachi .

Though Vanessa put up some resistant, she was eventually pinned down by several men .

Alfred  heaved a sigh and  ran towards the national border to chase after Christina-tachi . His speed was twice that of Christina-tachi who had strengthened their physical ability with magic .

Following after him was  Charles who took a few knights with him  while leaving behind one knight to watch over Vanessa .

◇　◇　◇

「I-IT CAME! B-BEHIND US!」

Kouta was the one who shouted . He was the first one to notice Alfred as he had looked back to confirm the situation in the middle of their sprint . Alfred was chasing after them with a breakneck speed .

Celia confirmed that and,

「《Lightning Rain》」

She chanted the aria of a spell .

A while later, a gigantic magic formation appeared high above Celia which then released numerous lightning bolts toward Alfred .

The lightning  bolts exploded upon contact with the ground creating a huge cloud of dust .

「Leave him to me . You guys keep going . 」

Celia said so with a resolute face .

「L-Let me to help you too!」

Kouta hurriedly offered his help . But, Celia blatantly refused his offer .

「You can’t you know . Since Vanessa-san’s primary duty wasn’t  fulfilled, you’ll only become a hindrance even if you stay with me . Please leave this place to me . 」

「But! 」

「It’s fine! 」

Despite chatting with Kouta, Celia was continuously controlling her magical power and was sending wave after wave of lightning bolts from the magic formation in the sky without even taking a break .

「Your highness, are you really okay with things turning this way! ?　What will happen to Vanessa-san if we leave her as it is? 」

Kouta is asked  Christina with a sour face .

Christina could only bite her lips . And then, her feet slowly moved . And brought herself to Celia’s side .

Celia stared at Christina with a dumbfounded gaze .

「Our opponent is Alfred . There’s no guarantee that we can escape from him . In that case, let’s fight him in this place and find another way to survive . 」

Christina resolutely said so .

「Your highness…… . . I Understand . 」

After a moment of hesitation, Celia resolved herself .

「In that case, let me in too . 」

Kouta said so in high spirits .

「…………… Well, let me in too then . Let’s do our best .   It’s not like I can leave Kouta alone . 」

The only one left, Rei  heaved a sigh and then saying so joined them .

Thus, all of them prepared themselves to fight against Alfred .

「In that case, each one of you please take the left and right side . Me and sensei will attack him with magic from the front . 」

Christina  issued her instructions to Kouta and Rei . Kouta-tachi  moved according to her instructions and took their posts .

Because of the rapid firing of magic, their front view was completely blocked by a  dust cloud . But, maybe because his movement  had been hindered by Celia’s magic barrage, Alfred didn’t rush at them .

But, such carelessness  was a taboo in the middle of  battle .

Alfred’s figure that had vanished within the cloud of dust  revealed itself .

「GUH」

Rei who had been keeping  watch on their left side received a surprise attack . When he was about to warn the rest of the party, a punch into his guts made him faint in agony .

Thereupon――、

「UWAAAAAAAA!」

Kouta who had found Alfred  pounceding at him while shouting in a loud voice .

But, Alfred landed another punch to Kouta’s guts and make him faint .

The two Japanese youth were dispatched in no time .

「Aren’t they the friends of the hero who escaped from the royal castle? in that case――」

Alfred  crouched to examine Kouta-tachi and then looked at Christina and Celia .

Their bodies trembled .

But, Celia  mustered her courage to stand before Christina as if to protect her .

And then she chanted a spell .

「E, 《Earth Prison》」

Following Celia’s chant, a magic formation appeared on the ground .

But, Alfred stabbed his sword to the ground and completely obliterated the magic formation .

「It’s futile . This sword can absorb magical power . 」

Alfred walked slowly towards  them while saying those words, reducing the distance between them .

「《Blast Shoot》」

Even so, Celia didn’t giving up, she chanted the aria for a wind bullet .

But, Alfred easily brushed that away with the shield that was on his arm .

「………… . . Who are you? You seem like a skilled magician but I can see that you’re lacking combat experience . I can’t feel any killing intent from your attacks at all . 」

Though Alfred  asked that question, Celia had no intention  of answering him .

At that moment, Charles who had brought several knights with him arrived at the scene .

「Yup, we finally cornered them . 」

Charles  chuckled when he saw the unconcious Kouta and Rei .

「The magician over there . Remove your hood . You’ve forced me to crawl on the ground . I won’t let you go . 」

Following that, Charles ordered Celia to remove her hood .

But, Celia did not obediently remove her hood .

Charles is clicked his tongue and then――,

「Oi Alfred . 」

He gave an order to Alfred by jerking his chin .   His sign might have been something along 「Remove her hood by force . 」 .

Alfred  heaved a sigh and  went towards Celia with his sword tightly grasped in his hand . Celia and Christina retreated bit-by-bit .

But, Alfred instantly closed in on them and swung his sword aiming to cut Celia’s hood .

Celia unintentionally shut her eyes tightly .

At that instant, a gust of wind  gently caressed her cheeks . Almost at the same time, she could hear a high pitched sound of metal clashing against metal――,

「……」

Celia slowly opened her eyes .

There, she saw Rio’s figure standing before her .

His unsheathed sword was locked against Alfred’s .

「Sorry, I’m late . 」