A brilliant radiance like the sun. The heat I could feel at my back.
Tinno's eyes went wide at the sight of the pillar of flame that had suddenly spiraled upward, swallowing the curses whole.
Sister Lucia's water-attack magic was plenty powerful, but among offensive spells that manipulated the elements, fire magic boasted the greatest destructive force.
Fire magic—offensive sorcery that reduced all things to ashes—was so overwhelmingly powerful that it demanded careful choice of where it could be deployed. A difficult art, and an element that Hunters tended to shy away from.
And yet, and yet—in the Imperial Capital, there existed a single Mage known for fire magic.
Below, the half-destroyed buildings of one of the Empire's foremost magic academies, the Zebrudia Magic Academy, came into view—its barriers still unrepaired. And from its vast courtyard, the pillar of flame had been launched.
The name slipped from Tinno's lips before he could stop it.
"A-Abyssal Flame Annihilation...!? You... you actually exist!"
"Ohh..."
The Master let out a small sound of admiration at the beautiful yet terrifying crimson vortex.
But still... even if the target was a curse radiating miasma, to just fire off attack magic without any confirmation whatsoever—what a terrifying Mage. Now it was easy to see why people in the streets called her a witch.
At Level 8, she was absurdly powerful, on par with the Master—well, no, not *quite* that far.
Laughter rang out from the courtyard.
"Ahh-ha-ha-ha-ha! Flesh to ash, bones to ash, blood to ash! Burn it all away!"
From what Tinno had heard, Abyssal Flame Annihilation—fire-specialized and the source of endless legends—had never been caught because she incinerated all evidence of her crimes. He'd always figured it was an exaggeration, but seeing it actually deployed in battle like this... calling it a tall tale wasn't quite accurate, and that was the painful part.
But curses weren't living creatures. Whether they even had physical form was uncertain. The damage didn't seem to be zero, though—which was precisely why the Church handled curse purification. A Mage of Abyssal Flame Annihilation's caliber would surely know that, but...
The Spiritfolk of the curse burst out from within the vortex of flame. Just as Tinno had predicted, its body was virtually undamaged.
But its eyes were bulging. Its cheeks twitched as it glared down at Abyssal Flame Annihilation. It had barely opened its mouth when a fire dragon materialized and bit into the curse.
Two consecutive casts of the highest-tier attack magic, with no regard for effectiveness... That woman was a brute, wasn't she?
If it wouldn't burn, she'd just keep burning it until it did. Come to think of it, the Black World Tree had been dealt with the same way...
The crimson dragon clamped its jaws around the Spiritfolk curse and raced wildly through the sky—an attack that would certainly catch the eyes of the capital's citizens, albeit for an entirely different reason than before.
Then, from below, Sister Lucia appeared astride her staff. Her robe's hem fluttering behind her, she looked even more displeased than usual.
Sister Lucia matched her altitude precisely to where the hovering Master was looking, then—deftly keeping pace with the carpet's speed while flying—shouted: "Big brother! What have you brought along?!"
"Well, I figured you'd manage to deal with it somehow, Lucia—"
"H-Haaaahhh!? Honestly! Every single time, always—"
...Thank you for your tireless efforts, Sister Lucia. As always.
Even Tinno, who only got dragged in occasionally, had it rough—so Sister Lucia, who got roped in constantly as his sister, had it incomparably worse. He could only imagine her suffering.
The Spiritfolk curse that had broken free from the fire dragon came charging toward them, panting with exhaustion. It was completely fed up.
Between its rage and the Black Knight's lamentation from behind, the Master was starting to get flustered too.
Come to think of it, Spiritfolk who lived in forests were generally bad with fire magic... weren't they? It was one of their few weaknesses despite their excellence in all manner of magical aptitude. Probably because forests burned. They hardly ever used fire magic and didn't particularly like fire. And honestly, even if you were undamaged, having fire suddenly hurled at you would make anyone angry— Wait, but why was it coming after *them* when Abyssal Flame Annihilation was the one who'd set the fire off!?
"Big brother, get into the building—"
Sister Lucia made a wide loop and, without a moment's hesitation, positioned herself between them and the curse. Brother Anthem, Sister Citry—all of them had stood fearlessly before curses without batting an eye, but this was some terrifying fortitude. Tinno felt he'd grown, but keeping up with them seemed impossible.
Sister Lucia gripped the staff she'd been straddling, raised it high, brought it down hard in midair, and cast her spell.
Her skirt fluttered gracefully. A vortex conjured in the air by her technique rapidly swelled into a massive tornado and was unleashed at the three curses. Behind the Spiritfolk, Marin's Lament emitted waves of dark energy, but the tornado engulfed them and trapped all three inside.
It was far flashier than when Sister Citry had been lobbing explosives—at least it seemed to be under control. If she'd unleashed it in the city center, the collateral damage would have been enormous.
Fire was then hurled from Abyssal Flame Annihilation into the tornado. The flame-infused whirlwind blazed up spectacularly, like firewood soaked in oil.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Burn it all away!"
"Sorry, Klie-san! Master, that black ash seems to have boosted her mood and her firepower!"
Near the shouting Abyssal Flame Annihilation, the familiar Mage of the Magic Staff, Altobaran, was bowing and scraping apologetically. He looked like he'd been through the wringer. The Master gave Altobaran a cheerful little wave, then looked up at Tinno and said: "Tinno, let's go to that big building!"
"Y-Yes... Mastaa!"
As the Master commanded, Tinno steered Car-kun and evacuated toward the large building where several Mages had gathered outside.
He pushed open the double doors. The building turned out to be an auditorium.
Even more Mages had assembled inside, and at the center, on a pedestal, a pitch-black staff was enshrined.
Tinno involuntarily held his breath. He didn't have the eyes to see magical power, but he had a Thief's instincts. Even for a non-Mage like Tinno, it was clear that staff harbored tremendous power. The Mages all turned their gaze toward Tinno and the others as they entered.
Mastaa... could it be... so that's it! She knew about this staff— In Tinno's mind flashed the Master's extraordinary magical prowess, showcased at the Martial Emperor Festival.
"...No, no, that was a fake Mastaa, wasn't it..."
But the real Mastaa had to be stronger than the fake—obviously. Besides, even if the one who'd fought wasn't the real thing, the one who'd stopped that terrifying sword Treasure Weapon was undoubtedly the Master.
Would the Master's combat abilities—previously kept mostly hidden—finally be laid bare for all to see?
As Tinno watched with bated breath, the Master approached the staff... and approached... and didn't take a single step further.
Even in this emergency, the Master was blinking and glancing around at the Mages surrounding the pedestal. Just then, the auditorium ceiling suddenly burst open, and a water dragon plunged down near the center of the hall.
Debris rained from above as the academy's Mages screamed and scattered in every direction, like spiders fleeing their web. No matter how talented they were, it showed their combat experience was thin. Tinno hurriedly grabbed the Master's hand and dodged the falling rubble.
The water dragon had probably been fired by Sister Lucia.
If it could defeat the curse, then one ruined auditorium was a small price to pay—was Tinno's sense of judgment just completely numbed at this point?
But unfortunately, the presence hadn't faded.
A gaping hole had been punched through by the water dragon. As Tinno cautiously brought Car-kun closer, a dark light rose from the hole like steam.
It was no good—ordinary magic attacks simply couldn't defeat that thing. If Tinno's instincts were right, the power housed in that light hadn't changed at all since earlier.
To take that kind of sustained barrage and remain unscathed... How on earth did the Master plan to defeat this?
The curses floated gently upward from the hole. The Spiritfolk looked at the Master with an expression of pure spite, then turned its gaze to the pitch-black staff on the pedestal—and the dark light enveloping it vanished in an instant.
A bad premonition, one which Tinno had lost count of how many times he'd felt today, shot up his spine.
...Wait. Could this possibly mean... this was really, really bad?
"Um... M-Mastaa?"
"Th... Th... This is—"
The Spiritfolk's face twisted violently, and it shuddered as it approached the pitch-black staff. This was unmistakably the calm before the storm. It was so furious it couldn't even speak properly.
The staff was placed into the Spiritfolk's hand. The room temperature plummeted several degrees in an instant. In a voice that seemed to echo from the depths of hell, the Spiritfolk spoke: "Heh... You humans... You dare call this... a pathetic imitation... of the World Tree?! What... What utter—!"
The sheer killing intent froze Tinno's body in an instant. It was violent, overwhelming murderous will—enough to make even his heart feel as though it would stop at any moment.
He was within arm's reach of Car-kun—one finger's movement would touch it—but in this state, he couldn't use it.
The Spiritfolk's short hair began to writhe and extend, undulating like a reflection of its fury. Before long, its speech was no longer broken.
Those eyes fixed on Tinno—no, on the Master standing right beside him. Receiving a gaze that wasn't merely intimidating but seemed utterly otherworldly, the Master shrank back slightly and said: "...Isn't it kind of cold in here?"
"!? Wha—is this the time for that!?!"
H-He moved!
The exasperated retort from the depths of Tinno's soul restored his body's freedom. He grabbed Car-kun, seized the Master's arm, and immediately leaped aboard.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime display of decisiveness and agility. Car-kun, reading Tinno's intent, surged forward.
The crushing killing intent at his back was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. The few Mages still lingering in the auditorium were frozen, unable to do anything before the wrathful curse.
They burst out of the auditorium with momentum. There, they crossed paths with Sister Lucia rushing in from outside, and Abyssal Flame Annihilation.
Eyes met. Sister Lucia had grown a tail and ears.
The two came to a stop near the entrance, raised their staffs, and cast their spells almost simultaneously.
"Wallstorm!"
"Ash Return Flame!"
Heat and wind at his back. A thick wall of wind sucked in the black flames unleashed by Abyssal Flame Annihilation, transforming into a blazing wall of fire. It looked like Sister Lucia and the others were buying time.
Sister Lucia's attacks hadn't dealt much damage to the Spiritfolk, but they'd managed to halt its movement. If you couldn't defeat it, you bought time—truly the mark of a first-rate Hunter.
Tinno let out a breath of relief—and then, that was when.
A sinister spear of light pierced through the wall of flame and stabbed into the Master, who was still dangling there.
A flickering of black and white light unlike anything Tinno had seen before. Beyond the momentary breach in the thick wall of flame, the Spiritfolk's face, blazing with fury, was faintly visible.
Terrifying... How utterly terrifying. If he were targeted with a face like that, Tinno would absolutely never be able to use the bathroom at night again.
Tinno's mind went blank for an instant. Hanging from his hand, the Master let out a small sigh, then said with a serene, thoroughly hard-boiled expression: "One... more... to go..."
"Eh!? Wh-What do you mean!?!"
More to the point, taking that attack head-on without a scratch—what kind of body were you made of?!
The fact that the Master was always unharmed was nothing new, and Tinno had hesitated for a split second on that front, but if that had hit him instead, there wouldn't be a single scrap of flesh left. What kind of logic was this? Even with Barrier Rings, the attacks being absorbed were far too many.
Shuddering once more at this abnormality, the Master—still dangling—said with a serious expression: "Tinno... This is the final plan. Let's go to Luke."
"!? Eh!? Why!? Wh-What's going on?!"
Why Luke of all people, at this particular moment? He'd be the least useful person right about now—no, no.
Calm down. Calm down, Tinno Shade. Luke may not be useful, but right now, Tinno was nothing more than a delivery boy. He had to think—at the very least, figure out what Mastaa intended— After a moment of silence, he said cautiously: "I... I understand. So, Mastaa, what you're saying is—Luke's sword will cut open the future!"
The Master accepted Tinno's strained interpretation and replied with a troubled expression: "Well, Luke's the only one left..."
Mastaa... Sister's still here too, you know...