After clearing out the monsters on the front line, Ermes and the others had retreated to the area near the barrier.
The students near the barrier — most of them were also Class B students — greeted them first with cheers.
They must have witnessed Ermes's rampage on the front line as well, but despite their astonishment, they seemed to more or less accept him.
...Or rather, they had probably sensed it all along.
That there was no way Ermes, who had demonstrated such extraordinary ability in terms of guidance and knowledge in Class B, could truly possess a Bloodline Magic as unremarkable as he had declared.
While no one had perfectly predicted Ermes's true strength, every last one of them had been thoroughly stunned... but even so, the groundwork for accepting him was already there.
It was truly just as Albert had told him earlier.
Grateful for that, Ermes turned his attention to the battle situation ahead.
The first wave of smaller monsters and the second wave of larger monsters had been mostly annihilated.
What remained was the third and final wave — a composite unit of distinctive monsters that had only just begun its advance...
"...Ermes. Those ones—"
"Yes, I see it. ...They're definitely the strongest."
Judging by their forms, this was a group of monsters with some kind of specialized, sharp abilities.
And as a rule, monsters that were the most dangerous tended to be exactly this kind.
...Most likely, those were the main force. Without question, they would be tougher opponents than anything before.
But there was no reason to fear.
Ermes's own abilities, Katia's support, and now the thoroughly reliable Class B students at his side.
They were far more dependable than students who had cowered in fear of the battlefield, or faculty who had lost the will to fight altogether. His magic power was heavily drained but still holding. With proper coordination with these students, a complete lockdown without significant risk was well within reach.
With that conviction, he and Katia exchanged a nod. Just as they were about to ask the depleted front-line students to recover—
"—Wait."
And there, she finally noticed.
"Where is Lady Sara?"
"—What?"
Hearing Ermes's voice, Katia and the Class B students all widened their eyes.
She was gone.
Sara, who had been there just moments ago, tending to the injuries of wounded students —
Without anyone noticing, in the span of a single moment, she had vanished without a trace.
Ermes immediately sent out magic sensing in all directions. ...There was a faint trace, but it was far. So distant he could only discern a general direction. Judging from here,
"...She was... taken?"
Reaching the same conclusion as Katia, who murmured in disbelief.
"—Impossible."
Hearing that, Albert shook his head and pointed.
"When did—no, more importantly, how did they do it?! The barrier is still intact, as you can see! As long as it stands, no enemy of Sara's should be able to get through—"
"...What are the barrier's conditions?"
"Huh?"
"Lady Sara's 'Spirit veil' has the characteristic of being able to block targets and manipulate conditions. Given that, what exactly was the barrier enveloping this school building set to block... Does anyone know?"
This question, born from Ermes's deep understanding of magic, was answered by another Class B female student.
"I-I heard. I think... it was set to block 'anyone with above a certain level of magic power.' That way, stray magic wouldn't get through, and monsters couldn't enter either. Conversely, if you suppressed your magic power, people — students — could come and go."
"So then... any student could pass through?"
"—Ah."
With that deduction, Katia and the front-line students realized.
They had already been told about the mastermind behind this entire incident — the one who had set the monsters upon them — Clyde von Helmuth.
Monsters could not pass through her barrier. Neither could magic.
But "Clyde himself," alone, could slip through.
Understanding this, Katia raised an objection.
"Bu-but! Monsters can't get through, right?! Without monsters, Clyde is just a mage who's somewhat good at General-purpose Magic! No matter how caught off guard she was, there's no way Sara would just let herself be taken—"
"That dark wall enclosing the academy."
But even regarding that question, he already had an answer.
"That is not Clyde's magic. It's clear he has an accomplice. Either that accomplice directly helped him... or he borrowed power through some kind of magical tool. With his own abilities plus an unknown magic being wielded, even Lady Sara could feasibly be caught off guard."
There was no rebuttal — not because it was impossible, but rather because everyone recognized it was the most likely deduction.
"That man — I thought it was strange he wasn't showing his face, and now this—!"
Katia gritted her teeth in frustration at having failed to see through it. ...But it was hardly surprising. They had already been playing catch-up. On top of that, predicting the enemy's objective would have been extremely difficult. If anything, managing to grasp the situation this quickly was fortunate enough.
At least now the situation was shared. The problem remained.
—That they would need to split their strength between rescuing Sara and facing the main monster force that Clyde had unleashed, now bearing down on them.
"..."
As long as the barrier remained, there was no doubt Sara was still safe.
But that was only as of now. There was no guarantee it would continue, and if this barrier fell, the current students alone would be unable to defend the entire school building. It would mean their annihilation.
Therefore, rescuing Sara was urgent. But on the other side, they likely already had Clyde — who had exited the barrier, positioned monsters beside him, and could wield unknown magic. A half-hearted fighting force would be cut down; only a major deployment could be sent.
But in that case, could the students hold against the monster main force that had already approached to the halfway point—
(...No.)
That was wrong. The bad habit was surfacing again.
Perhaps due to his past life, he kept defaulting to trying to handle everything alone.
That was no good. What had he learned by watching Sara at this academy? Hadn't Albert just scolded him for precisely this?
If he believed they could be relied upon, then he should have the courage to entrust them.
Exhaling softly, Ermes raised his head with resolve.
"...I'll go rescue Lady Sara."
"That's expected. You're the one who can pinpoint her location most accurately and who's strongest against the unknown magic."
"A lone elite is best suited for this. No objections."
Katia and Albert nodded. But what that meant was—
"—In the meantime, the monsters will be left entirely to all of you. They are without question more powerful than the ones before. Our numbers have grown as well, but I predict it will be a hard fight regardless. However..."
"..."
"Even so, I believe you can handle it as you are now. I want to believe that. ...May I ask you to take this on?"
—How could one describe the Class B students' reaction at that moment?
Surprise. Bewilderment. A faint trace of hesitation, and a fear they couldn't shake.
But those feelings were overshadowed — rendered utterly insignificant — by a far greater emotion.
"—Leave it to us."
The joy and pride of being trusted by him.
As if to represent that sentiment, Albert responded with deep emotion.
"Leave Sara to us on our end."
"Yes, I'm counting on you."
As the two exchanged words, Katia watched them from the side with renewed admiration and spoke.
"...I'll take command, if that's alright. I know it might seem like I'm butting in as an outsider."
"Say no more — if it's Lady Katia, no one would have any objections."
Albert's consent came without a moment's hesitation. The Class B students behind him nodded as well.
She was indeed in Class A now, but they were former classmates. And they all knew how she had been back then — never jealous of Sara, treating everyone equally in her own way, and being exceptionally fair and capable.
She gave a look of acknowledgment to her former classmates, then turned back to Ermes.
"That's how it is. Don't hold back — beat that idiot up enough for my share too. ...I absolutely will not let anyone die here."
"Thank you. That's reassuring."
He nodded with a smile. ...At that moment, for some reason, Katia quietly extended her fist.
"Hm?"
"...Lady Katia?"
"When you're about to fight, this is what you do, right? ...I've been envious ever since I saw it during the tournament match."
It made sense. She was referring to the post-tournament exchange where Sara, Albert, and Niina had acknowledged each other's efforts.
...That was something typically reserved for after a battle, though.
Well, no matter. He smiled wryly and, facing his master who was looking away in embarrassment, extended a similarly clenched fist and lightly tapped it against hers.
With a soft sound, will and promise were exchanged.
For them, no more words were needed. Ermes and Katia each dashed off toward their respective battlefields.
—And so, the defensive battle entered its final stage.