[Ronant] The barrier shattered, and the army began to advance.
But something about the way the barrier had broken felt off.
"Teacher, what is it?"
"Hmm. What do you make of how that barrier broke?"
"So you found it unnatural too?"
"If even you could spot something amiss, surely I wouldn't miss it."
If even that idiot disciple of mine felt something was wrong, then it was settled.
It didn't seem like it had been broken by the grand magic we'd prepared. That spell had been an advanced formula even I didn't fully understand, but the mages wielding it were mediocre at best. They were supposed to be church mages, but with skill like that, they looked like they were being jerked around by their own magic rather than controlling it.
But if that wasn't the cause, then what had broken the barrier?
The instant the spell made direct contact, it had looked like some other impact had been applied to the barrier at the same time.
If that was the case, then was there something else operating besides us?
What was its objective?
An elven feint designed to lure us in? If so, pressing forward would be dangerous. Still…
"From here on, we'll split off from the main force. Follow me."
"Wha—!? Wait, Teacher!?"
"What's the fuss? That blockhead
"Is that really the issue here!?"
"I'll leave a messenger behind, at least."
"That's your answer!?"
My instincts were telling me something.
The mysterious presence that had broken the barrier—I had to confirm what it was.
If that was the case, there was no need to hesitate.
I reverse-calculated the approximate position based on the way the barrier had fractured.
And with that, we began our advance.
But we were hit with relentless ambushes from all directions in the forest, and we were stopped in our tracks almost immediately.
Elves were firing spells and arrows from between the trees.
"I see. Our footing is terrible and we can barely advance, while they're using the trees to their advantage. The entire forest is one giant trap, then."
"Don't just stand there admiring it—do some work too, Teacher!"
My disciples were desperately returning fire against the elves.
The battle was evenly matched.
We were taking damage, but none of my idiot disciples had dropped out yet.
A little disappointing, honestly.
"So this is what elves amount to?"
"Teacher!? Are you even listening to me!?"
Put aside the elves and you'd call me the greatest mage in the world.
That was my current assessment, but actually seeing elves in the flesh quickly taught me I was wrong.
The fact that I could only fight my idiot disciples to a standstill was proof enough.
Elves were no match for me.
"Hmph."
I constructed a spell.
And activated it.
An elf was punched clean through by my magic, and died.
"Is that enough for you?"
"Y-yes."
I annihilated every last elf and resumed walking through the now-quiet forest.
"The speed at which that spell was constructed…"
"That too, but—is it really possible to create that volume of magic all at once?"
"No, wait—that spell didn't even have homing capabilities to begin with. Adding secondary effects to a spell like that… that person truly is a genius."
To make such a fuss over child's play. Pathetic.
Hmm?
I deflected an incoming spell.
Oh ho.
That had some real power to it.
These ones had a completely different level of training from the elves I'd just wiped out.
Reinforcements?
I confirmed with my clairvoyance.
Same tactics as before—using trees as shields and attacking from long range.
A bit tough for my disciples to handle, perhaps.
Let me see.
Shall I put in a bit more effort?
I constructed a spell.
Ten times the number compared to before.
Double the power.
And I boosted the homing capability to account for the distance.
I could feel the elves catch their breath, but I had no reason to show mercy.
The magic I unleashed tore through the elves' bodies one after another.
Some deployed defensive barriers, only to be punched through along with them.
Some launched counter-spells trying to cancel them out, but couldn't neutralize everything and were skewered.
Some tried to flee, but the homing spells tracked them down regardless.
I teleported.
Before me stood the only elf who had managed to block all of my magic.
But she hadn't blocked everything unscathed—her entire body was stained crimson.
"You can even use teleportation? You monster."
"I'm not the monster. You're simply too weak."
"Shut up."
The elf gathered her last remaining strength and began constructing a spell.
Too slow.
My spell, which I'd started building after hers, activated first. The elf lost her life without any ceremony.
"Magnificent."
"Don't be absurd. There's nothing impressive about defeating opponents of this caliber."
"But they were elves? They're said to surpass the Human race by far when it comes to magical prowess. Someone who can butcher them this easily is only someone like you, Teacher."
"If *that person* were here, they'd dispatch them even more easily. The Hero from before was far stronger than this lot."
"Teacher, why did you withdraw that time?"
At my disciple's question, I paused to think.
My disciple had already seen through it, I was sure—had I gone all out, I might have won.
Alone, my odds would have been less than half. But together with my disciples, we might very well have pulled it off.
Still, I had no intention of taking that gamble.
I was too soft.
I didn't want to see my disciples die.
And I didn't want to see the Hero die, either.
I had once had a disciple of my own.
Due to political matters and various entanglements, I hadn't been able to raise him to his full potential with my own hands.
Our time together had been a mere thirteen days.
A talent I could have nurtured far more had I kept him close.
He fought primarily with a sword, but if anything, his true talent lay in magic.
If I had trained him myself, perhaps he wouldn't have fallen to the Demon race.
But everything after "if" was pure speculation.
In thirteen days, there was almost nothing you could teach someone.
Even so,
It was true that I had taught him at the request of a certain someone.
But once I began teaching others, I felt as though I had discovered something precious.
Had that person foreseen even this?
I couldn't say.
I could never hope to see through the intentions of someone like them.
I had confirmed that the younger brother of my former disciple had grown into a fine young man.
Whether that truly eased the guilt of having failed to properly guide Julius—well, that was another matter entirely. Still, there was a certain bittersweetness to it.
Which was why fighting at that time had never been an option for me.
"Just a whim."
"Huh…"
To hide my true feelings, I deflected the question with a vague answer.
Well, if I ever ran into that Hero again, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go at it with a little more seriousness next time.
In terms of raw power, I would certainly lose. But as long as winning wasn't the only goal, there were countless ways to fight.
Maybe I could even teach him a way to fight without losing.
Though whether we'd ever meet again was anyone's guess.
For now, surviving this battlefield came first.