Chapter 60

Glast Subjugation Battle (9)

– ‘So, be strong.’

– ‘I dedicate the last sentence of this book to you, who marked the end of my life.’

– ‘Lucy.’

The last page of Archmage Glokt’s travelogue.

Although it is now a memory that has faded over time, it was also an unforgettable memory.

The moment she closed the last page next to Glokt’s remains, the girl had no choice but to accept.

The great wizard who accomplished this long-lasting feat was fully anticipating how his only family member and disciple would face his death.

This is evidence that Glokt himself, more than anyone else, acknowledged, accepted, and waited for death with detachment. That’s why the girl also had no choice but to let him go.

Will the day come when all the pain of loss is healed and even the scars disappear in the end?

Will there ever come a day when we can sit back and relax, saying that what is lost is lost and that it is all just past pain?

That’s where the memory of the girl leaving Glokt’s cabin with her dull white hair ends.

The day I set out on the road. What the weather was like... I couldn’t remember.

*

The cool, straight magic tower rises with the power to pierce the sky.

In the passage leading inside the underground waterway, dark red magic gushes out like hot spring water, threatening to devour anyone who approaches.

Considering the amount and source of magical energy flowing inside, Tailley and his party seem to have entered the subjugation of Qum, a researcher of astrology.

I hope to overcome this as quickly as possible. However, Kum is a boss that takes a lot of time. It is a time-challenge type boss that has no way to defeat it with regular attacks, and you must withstand attacks until it is consumed by the magic power of its own star.

Having said that, my situation is also the same.

I have no intention of moving away from the entrance to this underground waterway until Taily finishes the final battle.

Since no one has the heart to let them up on stage, they just stay firmly in place and push away everyone who approaches them.

– Grumble

– Whirr!

The mercenaries all took out their weapons. I quickly observed the figure.

It is of a different class from the mercenary force that appeared during the Ofilis incident.

At that time, those who were immediately empty were quickly gathered together overnight.

However, this time it is Elte’s last move, for which he has spent ample time preparing.

The appearance of each mercenary is unusual.

It is different from the last mercenary unit, which had no military uniforms and uniform uniforms. Their movements are systematic, their weapons are neatly maintained, and their shiny armor is as good as that of the royal guard.

Not only that, they are all middle-aged to elderly veterans. Most of them are retired soldiers or skilled workers with less than 10 years of experience. The stab wounds carved on the forearms or around the face testify to the maturity of the experience.

Sue appears to be a little over fifty. All of them are skilled veterans, and that’s how many they have.

Those people are forming a formation against four students without even letting down their guard.

For convenience, they are divided into simple infantry, magic soldiers, and archers... It is just that they are divided that way for convenience, and it does not mean that one class cannot handle other weapons.

They are that mature.

“Life or death doesn’t matter, except for Lortel. End it quickly and quietly.”

Before he could finish his sentence, an old swordsman standing at the front of the infantry kicked the ground.

With his quick and accurate judgment, he would probably be the leader of an infantry unit.

In an instant, I finished assessing the opponent’s strength and the direction the tip of the sword was pointing was my neck.

He leads the conversation and stands at the center, making him clearly the most important member of the other party. The defense on such a topic is not very thorough. There is no other goal like this.

While everyone was concentrating on Elte’s words and letting their guard down, the decision was made to kill the opposing party from the very top. It was a quickness worthy of his long career.

– Kaang!

But the sword cannot reach me.

What got in the way was Yenika’s staff.

A strong defensive magic unique to the earth spirit surrounded Yenika’s staff.

Since I had already noticed that Yenika’s defensive magic had been implemented, I didn’t even move from the beginning.

Realizing that his strike was in vain, the mercenary leader quickly kicked the ground and tried to widen the distance again.

In order not to allow that movement, Yenika stretched out her hand and tried to summon the fire spirit... but the archers’ magic arrows flew out and pierced Yenika’s defense shield.

Support for the archers who assist the incoming friendly forces. While Yenika’s movements became stiff for a moment, the infantry leader widened the distance again and pushed himself into the formation.

“Ugh...!”

Yenika waved her hand away to shake off the arrows, then quickly checked out of the corner of her eye to make sure I wasn’t hurt.

“Thank you, Yenica.”

“Careful, Ed. He’s definitely methodical in his movements.”

One by one, the archers disperse and disappear through the darkness of the forest. The archers’ arrows, which do not know when and where they will fly, put pressure on the defense magic so that it cannot be disarmed.

Fighting while wearing defensive magic is like fighting while carrying a rock.

Defensive magic is something that is implemented at the right time as needed, and is not the type of magic that can be worn around the body at all times like a shield. All similar magics have poor magic efficiency.

If you let your guard down, you never know when you might get an arrow stuck in the back of your head. The pressure is quite big.

“As expected, spirit masters are picky.”

Elte has already confirmed Yenika’s power.

It goes without saying, but there is no way that no countermeasures have been taken when the opponent’s strength is already known.

Elte took out a scroll from his pocket and unfolded it. Inside, there was a large-scale drawing of a legal structure that looked complex at first glance.

Legendary grade magical engineering supplies ‘Belarusian Prejudice’.

It is a high-end magic engineering item worth dozens of gold coins per piece. Considering that it was a consumable item, it was a fairly expensive type of magical engineering equipment of the legendary level.

Its ability is to suppress magical power.

It was compatible with the night butterfly flower reagent used by Elvira.

Although the night butterfly flower reagent is relatively easy to manufacture, it has the disadvantage of not lasting very long and having little effect if the opponent’s magic sensitivity is high.

However, Elte’s magic engineering supplies are of a different class. There was a reason why there were dozens of gold coins per piece.

Even with a decent amount of magic power, it is impossible to free yourself from the magic suppressing effect of that magic circle.

It has a fatal disadvantage in that it has a relatively narrow activation range, takes time to operate, and preparation for activation is clearly visible. However, in this numerically inferior situation, it is not very meaningful.

“If that thing activates, it’s over.”

Lortel declared, adding defensive magic and activating it.

“In fact, most of our power is magic, and if our magic is suppressed for even 10 minutes, we will be quickly overwhelmed.”

“What are the chances of suppressing the mercenary group before that magical engineering product is activated?”

“A mercenary unit that is that well-trained and experienced must be prepared for a long-term war.”

My goal from the beginning was to hold out until Taily’s final battle was completed, so time is on our side.

I stroked my hair once, took a deep breath, and swallowed. Anyway, if you do something with that magic engineering product, you have a chance of winning. Fortunately, a few ways came to mind.

“Hwaap!”

Meanwhile, a mercenary who still looked young jumped out from the crowd.

He looks relatively energetic. In other words, it is highly likely that he still has limited experience compared to others.

There is a difference between courage and courage by a single sheet of paper.

-Kang!

The blade flew, but it could not advance any further as soon as it touched Lucy’s pale skin.

It feels like hitting a rock. The mercenary who threw the knife felt goosebumps all over his body.

Lucy didn’t even give me a look

– twang.

I tapped the man’s greaves in a motion that felt like knocking on a door.

The light armor shattered due to that light knock. Of course, it didn’t end there.

– Boom!

With a loud noise that sounded like an explosion, the energetic mercenary fell.

It floated through the crowd for a while and got stuck in a nearby zelkova tree. It was a level of shock that wouldn’t be surprising even if a few bones were broken.

As always, Lucy is a wizard and doesn’t use battle magic very often.

It’s hard to describe because it’s magic. It’s just overwhelming physical force... it’s just violence.

Compress that magnificent magical energy into your body to its limit. The physical force it emits and overwhelms the surroundings... makes any interference with the girl’s body impossible.

There is no law of destruction. There is, but there is not.

It is a move that pours an overwhelming amount of magic power, even more than Lucy’s magic power, and exceeds its physical power. Of course, there is no way that would be possible.

The more ignorant the means, the more ignorant the response becomes. However, since all of those ignorant countermeasures are based on magical power, Lucy’s mana compression will never be destroyed.

None of the mercenaries move.

Those who have lived through various limbs over the past years have a unique sense of pride. No matter how scary an enemy appears, it will never abandon its comrades and run away.

That doesn’t mean you can’t fight it.

That’s why I have no choice but to stand helpless.

“You are the leader. All we have to do is catch him.”

Lucy, who had arrived right in front of Elte, raised her head and let out a clear voice.

Elte gritted his teeth with trembling hands and activated his magic engineering supplies. A unique power that suppressed mana was unleashed from Elte’s hands, but Lucy did not flinch.

You can pump out sea water, but you can’t freeze it.

That fact was so obvious that not only Lucy but also Elte understood it.

The moment Lucy was about to extend her hand towards Elte...

“Hey.”

A blonde boy stood between Elte and Lucy. I didn’t look very good because I was running and rolling.

“You know, right? You could die.”

Lucy’s mana is compressed to the limit, and each movement of her hand is like getting hit by a truck.

If you hit a vital spot or fall and hit even the wrong part, you die instantly.

Elte, who is untrained and wearing only one layer of cloth, could be killed instantly if he is caught by Lucy’s hand even once, although he may be a mercenary member wearing several layers of armor and safety gear.

It’s strange. He is not a person worth worrying about Elte’s life. There was some confidence that even if Elte lost his life to Lucy, he would not stop him.

The following questions revealed that it wasn’t Elte he was worried about.

“Is it okay to kill him?”

Lucy Mayril, who was born with the blessing of an archmage, has an unavoidable fate.

A promise I shared with Glokt during his lifetime to become one of the axes that would prevent the disaster that would one day come to Sylvania.

Do not murder.

Avoid getting blood on your little hands even if you accidentally do so.

At least while I am in Sylvania, I will lead a life as a student.

I was destined to open my eyes one day and wake up to face the world, but for now, it’s okay to sleep for a while and enjoy that lazy life.

However, the moment you get blood on your hands, that life is over. The life of leisurely strolling around the bachelor pad and taking a nap in a sunny place must come to an end.

The day she touches blood for the first time is the day Lucy wakes up.

Lucy would know that fact well. The star’s blessing imprinted in my life is by no means a power given for free.

“Leave this alone.”

Lucy looked straight at him with blank eyes.

Tension continued to exist among the mercenaries. Although she looks like a small girl, in reality, it is like facing a huge weapon in front of her eyes.

He is a person with a level of power that can blow up an entire area if he wants to.

You might think that I’m crazy when I see her confidently speaking in an orderly tone in front of someone like that... but I can only think of that because I don’t know Lucy.

“...okay.”

As the compressed mana is released, a frenzy swirls around the area once again.

After one storm, Lucy’s enormous magical power turned into smoke and dissipated.

A feeling of embarrassment spread among everyone. I couldn’t believe how Lucy released all her power with just one word.

Ed hit Elte on the back of the head with the handle of the dagger, captured him, and held the knife to his neck.

With that head taken hostage, the situation was over.

The mercenaries no longer had the will to fight.

“Then it’s over.”

Lucy said this in a low voice and turned her body back. If you look at the sky, you will see a row of gigantic magic towers.

If this situation is over, Lucy no longer needs to be attached to Ed.

“Where are you going?”

But Ed Rosstaylor called Lucy out.

“I have somewhere to go.”

Ed Rosstaylor is the type of person who does not necessarily get deeply involved in other people’s affairs.

Lucy knew that fact well, so she just said that.

Of course, I didn’t expect an answer to come back.

“If you go... are you sure you won’t regret it?”

-Lucy paused,

as if those words had hit the nail on the head, and stood still without answering, looking up at the sky.

And then... he lowered his gaze again...

and then answered something in a quiet voice... and then disappeared just like that.

It was a high-level spatial magic.