Episode 7

A violent downpour of gunfire poured in. A rain of magic bullets, colored by varied elemental mana, closed in on Pariaach—yet every shot flowed off in completely the wrong direction.

“My aim’s getting thrown off. What is that child?”

“An incomprehensible existence. It’s like we’re being blocked by something invisible… whoa.”

A knight’s sword came at Aaron from behind. He dodged it with room to spare.

The battle had shifted from a one-versus-many fight into a chaotic melee.

“Come on, come on, come on! Let’s play more!”

Pariaach drifted as if floating, slipping past Aaron and Selen’s attacks as though mocking them.

“Spells won’t land, and we can’t attack the knights carelessly. What a pain…”

“Bringing them was a mistake. …This is clearly hostile. Are you prepared?”

“N-no! My body’s moving on its own!”

She avoided a downward swing. The knights’ faces were full of agitation and confusion.

“Poor knights. Are you going to beat up people who can’t resist?”

“…I hate nasty kids.”

They pushed through the knights’ attacks and aimed for Pariaach, but their strikes never reached. Just before a bullet could hit, it traced an inexplicable arc and veered away. They had seen it happen over and over.

“Here we gooo—Magic Missile!”

From the magic circle Pariaach drew, clumps of mana fired all at once. The mana lumps rained from above, attacking Selen’s group indiscriminately—including the knights who were being controlled.

“!? I won’t allow it—Sanctuary!”

A silver barrier wrapped around Selen, Aaron, and all the knights whose freedom had been taken. Bathed in the silver radiance that drove off evil, the knights remained unharmed. But the light felt weaker than usual.

“Ooh—nice effort. For some disposable knights.”

“…No life is meaningless. Everyone who lives should be equal.”

“You’re the one saying that? —That’s what irritates me.”

Mana bullets fired again from the magic circle, twice as many as before. They burst midair, multiplying further, and slammed into Ciel’s barrier.

Ciel endured the violent impacts and held her ground.

“You shouldn’t even be able to put out half your usual power. Still, that pedigree’s impressive.”

“The reason I’m who I am… is because I was saved by that person… and supported by so many.”

“Ohh…?”

Pariaach stopped attacking. He aimed a smile at Ciel—like a child who’d found a fun new toy.

“A defective concubine’s brat sure grew up far, didn’t you? You were one step from being thrown away.”

“…”

“A puppet that moves when told. Just like the knights you’re desperately protecting. —Did you pity them because you saw your old self?”

Pariaach’s words tried to pry open old wounds. Ciel did not avert her eyes.

“You changed a lot after you met Lagias, didn’t you? The country and the ducal house must’ve been shocked.”

“I won’t deny it. He showed me my path.”

“That’s just a convenient interpretation. —Lagias doesn’t care about you at all. You’re nothing but a handy tool to him!”

Pariaach suddenly closed the distance and kicked Ciel’s barrier. The mana-wreathed kick cracked the barrier.

“Those eyes, that attitude… I don’t like it.”

He backed off again, wary of Selen’s counterattack, and sprayed Magic Missiles wildly.

The controlled knights were practically hostages, and the careless magic left everyone unable to move.

“You act like you know every tragedy in the world! Are you playing some miserable princess? It pisses me off—seriously!”

Black and white spheres appeared in Pariaach’s hands. Their different mana wavelengths did not blend, instead swelling into a massive chaos.

“This is… composite magic? At this scale, it’s bad.”

“Hahaha—don’t lump me in with you. I’ve got years on you. —This is ancient magic.”

The spheres generated a pull, trying to swallow nearby objects. A sword a knight had dropped was dragged in and erased.

“Really, you’re one of the ‘keys,’ so I should keep you alive, but… I’m done. I’ll dispose of the clueless, mistaken woman right here!”

His face twisted with rapture. A magic formula surfaced across it—the same pattern confirmed in the incidents shaking the Kingdom of Diabalet.

“Ciel! The barrier won’t hold! …I hate to say it, but the knights are as far as we go. Release your dispersed power and redirect it to yourself!”

“…I’ll be fine.”

“Stop pretending! Everyone knows you’re not at full strength. If anything happens to you—”

“I’ll be fine. Because… he’ll come. If we hold out until Zeke-san arrives, we win.”

She smiled through sweat. There was no fear in her eyes—only sincere trust.

“Ghk… hahahaha! Even now, you leave it to someone else? And that someone is Lagias? Everything about this is irony and farce! —He’s not dead, but he can’t come out either. That calamity is being removed from the stage. The new world doesn’t need him.”

Ciel’s barrier began to fracture. The other barriers were taking damage too.

The spheres before Pariaach grew larger, their power intensifying.

“You shouldn’t be looking away, Saintess. Even now, you cling to hypocrisy—impressive.”

“—You shouldn’t be looking away either. You’re wide open.”

“Izosaar!? Why are you—? You’re right there!”

Ciel had cast barriers to protect each person—Selen, the knights, and Aaron as well. No—he had been included.

If you focused on the Aaron inside the barrier, his shape wavered.

“That was… an illusion?”

“Correct. A basic, flashy-but-empty trick even kids can use. …That’s why you missed it. The surprise factor.”

Compared to Zeke’s ice decoys seen two years ago, it was nowhere close in quality—but it was good enough.

“This domain you spread out—it affects others with you at the center. The more mana you pour in, the more things get distorted… am I wrong?”

“For a marquis’s third son… a burden who can’t even be a spare…!”

Aaron had taken Pariaach from behind. The rapier in his hand crackled faintly with electricity.

“That’s fine. Third son, burden, whatever. Even if my entire existence is denied. —But you just insulted my friend.”

“What’s so great about Lagias!? He’s a calamity. If it goes wrong, he could destroy this entire world!?”

“Then I’ll become that calamity’s hands and feet. That is how I live.”

Pariaach couldn’t move freely while controlling the ancient magic. It was so powerful that it restricted him—because one mistake in control would drag him in as well.

Aaron leveled his rapier, glowing pale blue-white. The thin blade didn’t shine extravagantly. That silent, honed flash offered no time to blink.

“Izosaar-style Court Swordsmanship: Jade!”

A thrust nearing lightspeed pierced Pariaach.

Pierced through the center of the torso, Pariaach fell quietly.

With its mana supply cut off, the ancient magic dispersed like mist.

“My senses are back.”

“Yes. It looks like the knights have been freed too.”

Everything affected by Pariaach was undone. The knights sat down and stared up at the sky in relief. Their leader, Maenof, was off to the side, sprawled on the ground—bound with rope and unable to move.

“The marquis house’s prodigy… was it?”

“The Royal Guard Corps’ genius with many faces…”

After confirming Pariaach’s silence, Ciel released the barriers.

Aaron, the one being discussed, quietly increased his distance from Pariaach. Even as he held his rapier ready, he still had not lowered his guard.

“Ladies… it may be too soon to relax.”

Light leaked from Pariaach’s fallen body, faintly glowing from the point where the rapier had pierced him.

“!? That can’t be… it should’ve been a fatal wound.”

“Ahh… this body was a fairly special custom job, too. I expected Lagias, sure—but getting done in by the third son is unexpected.”

“Whew… I did feel like it lacked impact.”

Pariaach rose, floating up. The magic formula on his face flickered on and off.

—Crack.

“Third son? I’ll punish you another time. I’ll prepare a special stage just for you.”

“Good grief… being popular is exhausting.”

From his words, it was clear he intended to leave. Hearing that, Selen raised her magic gun.

“Don’t mess with me. After all that, you think you can just run?”

“That’s right. So many innocent people, you—”

“So what? People die anywhere, anytime. If you feel that bad, why not save them with your precious sacred arts? Oh wait, you can’t… it doesn’t work on the dead. Hahaha!”

—Crack, crack.

Laughing, Pariaach began weaving magic. The unfamiliar magic formula made all three tense.

“…Miss Selen. It’s wiser not to shoot carelessly. That isn’t a real body. Meaning, if he wants, he can self-destruct at any time.”

“Despicable…”

“How unfair. Besides, how many people have you hurt with that gun? Don’t justify yourself when it suits you.”

The woven magic formula assembled into a three-dimensional structure, covering Pariaach.

“This time was a failure, but… binding Lagias alone is still a win—!?”

—CRACK, CRAAACK!

A sound like something splitting rang out from overhead.

After a noise like shattering glass, a large figure fell from the air—Dex, unconscious and battered.

“W-what!? Why is Dex falling from the sky!? …Which means—don’t tell me…!?”

“Hah. What a pointless little game.”

Zeke landed from above. Unlike Dex, he showed no sign of injury—wearing the same arrogant demeanor as always.

“How did you…? There shouldn’t have been an escape route.”

“Don’t measure me by your standards.”

Zeke’s sneering contempt radiated absolute confidence.

Pariaach broke into a cold sweat, unable to laugh properly.

“What’s wrong? You can still dance, can’t you?”

“…I told you. There’s no way you can do anything to that monster.”

A change appeared in the magic formula covering Pariaach. The geometric pattern shifted color, rewriting its underlying equations.

It linked Pariaach and Dex—and also Maenof, farther away.

“I’ll retreat nicely this time… but for a substitute plan, I’m taking this. And I’ll kill the hypocrite saintess—because I personally want to.”

“You think I’ll allow it? If you interfere, I’ll erase you.”

“…Are you some kind of womanizer?”

Hearing the exchange, Ciel’s face turned red. Selen looked oddly dissatisfied.

The magic formula completed, and eerie light swallowed Pariaach and the others. When their vision cleared, the three were gone.