At the same moment Katia and Lucius faced each other.
"......So, my opponent is you?"
The other assassin — Nina — likewise found a young girl standing in her way.
"A little unexpected, but I can see the logic. At least under the current circumstances, you'd need that magic to stand any chance fighting me seriously."
Addressing the girl — Sarah — Nina spoke in her usual friendly manner. She knew that Sarah's magic would be effective precisely because of what it was.
But... as for the magic in question —
the Fairy's Dream Palace —
there was no sign that Sarah was being affected by it in the slightest.
The reason was the cage of light that had been deployed between the two of them.
That's right. One of Sarah's Bloodline Magic abilities —
the Spirit Veil.
The very cage of light.
This forcibly cut off the magic power that served as a medium for the enchantment effect of Nina's —
the Fairy's Dream Palace.
As long as it remained active as a barrier, she would at least not fall under its influence immediately.
Since all of their Bloodline Magic users already met the activation conditions for her magic, the —
Spirit Veil —
was currently the only means of countering Nina.
Therefore, the only ones capable of standing against Nina were Ermes and Sarah.
Thus, even Nina herself conceded that it was only natural for Sarah—one of the two—to leap forward as her opponent.
The plan was straightforward: block her magic with a barrier, seize the opening, and trap her inside a cage of light itself. Without any direct magical firepower of her own, Nina would have no means of breaking the barrier, and her neutralization would be assured. Only those two could execute such a countermeasure against Nina.
—However.
And yet, she—
"Sorry, I'm asking this in all seriousness. —
Are you
going to be all right
?"
"...!"
A quiet follow-up question. Sarah, who knew full well the extent of the threat Nina posed, drew a sharp breath.
...That's right.
Indeed, if they could simply trap her, neutralizing Nina would be a done deal.
But preventing exactly that was what Nina was capable of.
With her extraordinary sensory abilities, she could read the flow and surges of magic power to pinpoint both the location and rough nature of any spell being cast. Her evasion was so precise it made one wonder if she possessed her own form of short-term precognition.
The only reason she wasn't moving right now was that Sarah hadn't yet attempted to trap her in magic. Once that began, Nina would deploy every ability at her disposal to dodge the spell and move to neutralize Sarah in return. And because of the restriction
placed on her,
there was no way she could hold back either.
To properly stop someone like that... one would need to be as skilled in the handling of magic as Ermes himself. And if even he would surely struggle against her, there was no conceivable way that Sarah—a support-type mage by nature—could handle her.
...And yet, even so.
"...Thank you for your concern. But—I already know exactly what I'm getting into."
Sarah called out to Nina through the cage of light in return, with the same warmth and affection she'd always shown — just like back at the academy.
At the same time, she recalled what Ermes had told her when he'd first proposed this matchup.
He wanted Sarah to face Nina alone.
When he'd asked her so earnestly, a surge of joy at being trusted so directly by Ermes welled up inside Sarah — but at the same time, her composed, rational side registered confusion and denial.
Namely — that with her current power, it was impossible.
She told him as much, apologetically —
"Yes. In all likelihood, it would be quite difficult to stand against her alone under normal circumstances."
"...Eh?"
Ermes, for some reason, agreed with her. He even praised her for having a solid grasp of their respective combat capabilities...
...and then went on to explain, in concise terms, the reason he judged that everything would be fine.
"Lady Nina right now—
can't bring out
her full
power."
"
"What?!"
"More precisely... she's preventing herself from going all out, I suppose."
Even with that clarification, a single sentence wasn't enough for her to fully grasp the meaning.
She looked to him for continuation, and he nodded and went on.
"Most likely, what the Archbishop granted her..."
Restriction
"She's probably conserving her own abilities within the bounds of not violating the restriction. To avoid inflicting excessive damage on us — keeping our losses to a minimum, as much as possible."
"How did you... figure that out?"
"Well, I've fought Lady Nina numerous times at the academy. That experience, combined with her past actions, and the clincher was the combat record against Lady Lily.
Even if she could use my magic — I thought it was far too easy for Lady Nina to let Lady Lily escape."
His expression carried conviction, drawn from information only he could piece together.
"Furthermore... it also appears that Lady Nina herself has placed some kind of"
Restriction
"on the Archbishop. In terms of content — the safety of his family, who are likely being held hostage... and also, restrictions on his own action commands."
"Action commands...?"
"Yes. I'm also confident about this based on her actions up to now — the Archbishop has not been able to issue Lady Nina a 'kill order.'"
"...!"
"I don't know how she managed it, but Lady Nina likely negotiated or played her hand well. And so, even with her situation, her cards, and even her actions restricted, she's putting up as much resistance as she can.
She's fighting. Lady Nina, too — in her limited circumstances, but still doing everything she can."
"..."
Sarah fixed her gaze on Ermes, surprise mingling with her stare.
"Based on all of this, I've concluded that if it's 'the current Lady Nina,' Lady Sarah would be capable of handling her alone.
Capturing her would be ideal, but... there's no need to push yourself. Just like with Lady Katia, I'd ask you to buy time until things are resolved."
Ermes quietly returned her gaze.
His face held trust, gratitude, and — for reasons unclear — something that looked almost like guilt.
He had lowered his head and asked this of her.
"I'm sorry for pushing such a dangerous role onto you.
But please — with your own hands, would you save Lady Nina?"
And so, the present.
Sara, standing face to face with Nina, placed a hand to her chest... and gave the answer from that moment.
"...Of course I will."
Ermes probably didn't know.
Just how happy she had been when she heard those words. How much warmth had flooded the heart she was now holding in check.
She had wanted to become someone who could change others, the way he did.
That man she admired — who always solved everything on his own, and actually possessed the power to do so... was entrusting something to her, of all people, along with his unwavering trust.
...She naturally had no intention of being so arrogant as to think she was the sole reason he'd become that way.
But she was aware — at the very least, she had been one of the contributing factors.
That was why, this time, it was her turn.
With resolve settling deep in her chest, Sara fixed her gaze on the girl before her.
"...Nina."
The girl with golden eyes — possessing a strange, almost ethereal delicacy.
She looked at this girl who was usually bright and carefree, but who now harbored a worn, almost decadent air.
...Knowing Nina's circumstances, she had truly wanted to help her.
Of course, she didn't understand everything. There might be dire, unavoidable circumstances at play, and Nina herself might be shouldering a darkness that Sara and the others couldn't even begin to imagine.
But... taking all of that into account, she had still decided to save her.
Then there could not exist a single reason in this world to stop her.
And so, Sara—the girl who had been called the Holy Maiden of the Academy—declared, as the self that Ermes had affirmed.
"I will save you. ...No, rather—I will
make you
be saved."
An act of salvation so thoroughly arrogant.
She proclaimed it in words. Nina received them with an expression that betrayed hints of exhaustion, then lightly dodged the barrier that had been deployed—
And the second clash began.
◆
"Good."
Lucius against Katia. Nina against Sara.
Confirming that the fight had begun according to the matchups arranged in advance, Ermes murmured softly.
Yes—up to this point, everything was going according to plan.
And having pitted each of the Frodit siblings against their respective opponents, what naturally remained was—
"My opponent will be the High Bishop."
Saying so, Ermes looked toward the deepest part of the enemy formation—where the opposing supreme commander stood.
...He couldn't say whether the man was surprised. Perhaps this, too, had been foreseen.
But—there was no doubt that it was unexpected.
After all, the source of the High Bishop's power was—
Ancient Magical Tool
: The precognition ability granted by Skaldrogiya.
Ermes would be the most easily predicted target—in other words, the most vulnerable opponent for the High Bishop.
...But.
Currently, that precognition had developed a flaw thanks to Liliana. Even now, Ermes's actions were probably still being anticipated at a high level, but once it had been cracked, it could no longer be perfect.
Moreover... even if Ermes was the most readable, that didn't mean they could leave the task to someone else.
After all, the depth of the High Bishop's ability was still unknown. There was no doubt they were still hiding cards that this side couldn't see.
As long as that was the case, they couldn't send a half-measure for the sole reason that it was harder to read. In that sense, Ermes was still the right choice.
—And.
Above all, Ermes had a secret strategy. ...No, honestly, just hearing what he was about to say, it might not sound like much of a secret strategy.
Its content was a countermeasure against the High Bishop's precognition.
Until now, they had countered it by making maximum use of Liliana—an existence that "couldn't be read"—to increase the number of uncertain variables.
...But let's return to the premise here.
Was their goal—to "break the High Bishop's precognition"?
The answer was, of course, no. The fundamental objective of this battle was—to "defeat the High Bishop."
These two were not the same thing.
In the extreme case... if they could just defeat the High Bishop, there was no need to do anything about the precognition.
Yes, in other words.
—All they had to do was drive home a "future that couldn't be avoided even if you knew it coming."
That was why he had created this situation.
His subordinates in the Northern Alliance engaged the magical soldiers centered around Liliana, while the strongest Bloodline Magic users—one girl each—were pitted against Frodaid's siblings to hold them in place.
And so... one way or another, he had managed to create a one-on-one situation with the Archbishop.
"————"
And thus, Ermes—
The boy who had toppled every obstacle in his path through his extraordinary magical ability, intellect, resourcefulness, and conviction, now drawing upon his pride and his power—
"...Archbishop Johan."
—having first finished the chant for the very first spell he would use,
made his declaration.
"I'm coming straight for you right now, and I'm going to take you down.
This future—
If you can
stop it—
Then try."
Go ahead and foresee as much as you like. Make all the countermeasures you want.
Use whatever unknown magical tools or spells you have—I don't care how many you throw at me.
All I'll do is respond to every last one, break through, and crush you flat.
The Archbishop stopping Ermes in a one-on-one fight. That outrageous future—
Even if
you foresee it—
Even so—
to realize it—
could he—
or not.
Arrogantly, challengingly posing the question, he kicked off the ground, and then—
The northern rebellion's. And—the battle that would determine this country's future.
Those few minutes that would decide its fate—had begun.
The decisive battle—I'll be rushing through it from here on out...! Please stick with me to the very end!