Standing as the final obstacle was the grey-haired man Laplace, bound to Ermes by no small amount of enmity.
Sensing from his magic power that Laplace was already in a combat-ready stance, Ermes simultaneously lowered his center of gravity and stepped forward — forward.
"Laplace... that person...!"
"Guh — Lady Liliana?"
Liliana moved into position directly in front of Ermes, her expression sharp.
She glared straight at Laplace and shouted.
"What did you do to my brother!?"
Her beautiful blue-green eyes brimming with fury and hostility, she pressed on.
"You did something to my brother, didn't you? Otherwise, he would never...!"
Liliana knew exactly what kind of person Laplace was, and that he had embedded himself alongside the First Prince, Helck.
This was, therefore, a natural emotion and a natural question. In response, Laplace widened his eyes ever so slightly — as though amused by her ferocity — then:
"Nothing at all."
He twisted his lips into a grin and answered.
"If anything, I merely enlightened him."
"Enlightened him? About what—"
"About
just how dangerous
this country is.
About how cornered it is, both where you can see and where you can't, and what kind of end it will meet if left alone. That's all I did — as a patriot worried for his homeland, you know."
With a tone so deliberately theatrical it was almost frightening, Laplace deepened his grin as if carving into the very air.
"And so, that ever-responsible prince sprang into action right away, didn't he? Yes, exactly as we predicted. And this is the result. Do you understand now, hermit Third Princess?"
"That's—! But, for Father to fall so easily…"
She had expected it, no doubt, but being told so bluntly must have driven the shock home all over again.
Liliana's gaze wandered for a moment before she seized upon something.
"That's right—there's no way they could breach the Royal Palace so easily! Father personally handpicked the finest mages in the kingdom for precisely this kind of emergency, a unit directly under his—!"
"Oh, you mean the King's personal mage corps?"
But Laplace crushed even that feeble rebuttal with a merciless glare.
"That one. I just wiped them all out by myself a moment ago."
"————"
"That's why I was late getting here. If it weren't for that, why wouldn't I have rushed straight to the place where the biggest threat was?"
"……That's… impossible."
"If anything, I was surprised. The finest mages in the kingdom? Ha ha—"
"That was it?"
"And they were supposed to protect this kingdom with that? Put 'poster children for peacetime complacency' in the history books — well, not like there'll be any history books."
Liliana recoiled in shock. Seeing her like that seemed to satisfy Laplace to some degree.
"Well then, Third Princess. I'm not exactly free enough for a long chat… so why don't you see yourself out!"
He kicked off the ground, flooding himself with Magic power, and began his Chant to attack.
In response, Ermes stepped forward, placing himself between Laplace and Liliana, whose expression had gone vacant with shock.
He whispered something to Liliana, drew her back as she snapped to her senses, and stood to meet Laplace head-on as he finished his Chant and charged.
"—You're definitely the toughest opponent, Ermes. But come on—you really think you can take me on while protecting the princess?"
"By all means, try if you can. Besides... personally, I'd like to return the favor for all those things you've been spreading around."
And so, they exchanged words of provocation and fighting spirit.
The second clash between Ermes and Laplace began.
It was a fight between two who already had some read on each other—even if not the full picture.
And so the battle unfolded just as both had anticipated—opening with Ermes entirely on the defensive.
"—!"
"Sorry, but I've already got your weakness figured out."
Laplace's Bloodline Magic—
the Evil God's Fire Curtain.
.
Its precise details couldn't be analyzed through that inexplicable sensation... but there were things he could still tell.
Right now, black walls were being deployed one after another around Ermes.
If you get caught by those—
—
it's over.
.
He had to focus entirely on dodging by the narrowest of margins. No—there was nothing else he could do.
Because this was Ermes's weakness: if relentlessly pressed with no room to Chant, counterattacking became nearly impossible.
Normally, Enhanced universal magic could handle most situations to some degree, but against an opponent whose volume, power, and technique exceeded all limits, defense quickly became impossible.
Thus, against Laplace's onslaught—backed by both his extraordinary power and a terrifying magic that meant "once caught, it's over"—there was simply nothing to be done—
—And yet.
"............"
"...Tch. Stubborn."
Even so, Ermes continued to deflect with composure.
He evaded with precision and peerless accuracy, where a single misstep meant the end. At times he even aimed to redirect or nullify, refusing to land a finishing blow.
What made this possible was his transcendent skill, combined with—
"—Hey."
At last, Laplace noticed something was off and spoke up.
But Ermes showed no sign of responding. Seeing that, Laplace's suspicion only deepened—and he gave voice to it in his mind.
(What's going on? This guy...
...isn't even showing
the slightest sign
of protecting
the princess
at all...?)
That was indeed the case.
Throughout this battle, he hadn't shown the slightest concern for Liliana.
He was devoting every nerve to dealing with Laplace alone. That was precisely why he could hold his own against Laplace to this extent—but needless to say, it was nothing short of the folly of ignoring the person he should be protecting most.
(…Can't be helped. This sort of thing isn't really my style, though…)
Then naturally, he should strike at that weak point.
There's also the personal desire to outdo her, but she's not the kind of opponent where he can afford to let personal feelings take priority.
Having understood that precisely, Laplace shifts his attention.
Behind Ermes, who stands facing him. He activates magic aimed at Liliana, standing there defenseless.
A black wall envelops Liliana like a box, seizing her without any means of resistance—
—
can't
.
"Wha—!"
For the first time, Laplace's expression clearly changes.
Because the magic he had activated—the black barrier—had been aimed squarely at Liliana... yet materialized just beside her instead. The coordinates had shifted only slightly, but that deviation was decisive.
It wasn't a miscalculation. Laplace of all people would never make such a blunder in a situation like this.
It wasn't Ermes' doing either—he had been watching his every move with the utmost care.
Then the cause of this phenomenon must be—and that's when it hits him.
Liliana's hand. There, he sees the same jade dial that Ermes was holding.
"...What the hell is going on here?"
Cold sweat trickling down his face, Laplace groans.
"She wasn't some useless princess after all—what the hell is happening!?"
◆
"...I'm sorry, Lilili-sama."
Before the battle, these were the words Ermes had spoken to Lililiana.
"Lord Laplace is a formidable enemy. Even I would find it difficult while protecting you at the same time."
"But—!"
The man had single-handedly annihilated every mage directly serving the king—and just what kind of monster was he? Lililiana's thoughts were being consumed by despair, but—
"That is why I must ask."
Even amid all that, his voice was composed and unwavering. It pierced straight through Lililiana.
And then, with a voice filled with clear determination, he continued:
"Can you protect yourself from Lord Laplace's attacks with your own magic, Lilili?"
"—"
These words, coming after he had just explained the full extent of that man's threat.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the point where she'd shake her head and declare it impossible without a second thought.
But in his words, and in his gaze—there was unmistakable trust.
And above all, there was expectation.
An emotion she had never received from anyone before, now directed clearly at her by the one person she most wanted it from.
The moment she became aware of that—something ignited within Lililiana.
"Please leave it to me, Master."
Before she knew it, she had already answered.
Her tone was stronger than she herself had expected. Feeling a flush of embarrassment as Ermes looked slightly taken aback, Lililiana tried to cover it up with a charming, bashful smile and an upward glance.
"In return... if I do well, I want you to praise me quite a lot."
Hearing those words, he gave a light smile.
Having completed her Chant, she met the charging Laplace head-on.
And just as expected, Laplace unleashed a terrifying spell in her direction midway through.
That his claim of being a fearsome opponent was no lie became clear the moment
she attempted to disrupt his spell —
the instant she tried to interfere, she understood.
Excluding Ermes, it was the most precise, airtight magic she had ever faced. The Lililiana of before would not have been able to disrupt so much as a thread of it.
But now, she had the emerald magic given to her by her master — the power to understand magic on a deeper level.
And above all — there was her master's trust and expectation, as he had declared, fighting without a moment's concern for himself.
— And what kind of disciple would she be if she could not answer that?
The desire to take pride in her own strength — that feeling had truly taken root in her heart just moments ago.
Burning that feeling into resolve, with the greatest concentration she had ever mustered, she succeeded in interfering with the magic of what was likely a top-class foe.
...She understood. She knew that her success was only because Laplace had let his guard down against her, and because most of his attention was devoted to Ermes.
It would never work a second time. If he came at her seriously, she would be utterly helpless.
With her current abilities, this was her limit. Just once, managing not to be a burden — that was all she could manage.
— But someday, without fail.
She would aim for that place, so that she could be a disciple her master could be proud of.
With that resolve burning within her, Lililiana fixed her gaze on Ermes. This time, she would show him her unwavering trust in her master.
◆
"Well done."
Ermes spoke words of heartfelt praise.
In response, Laplace showed a momentary flicker of composure shaken by Liliana's unexpected resistance.
——For him, that was enough.
"Allow me to remind you not to underestimate my prized disciple."
"Ngh, I can't——"
The offensive and defensive roles reversed.
This time, Ermes gave Laplace no time to regroup, pressing the attack with his current Bloodline Magic pushed to its absolute limit.
……But the opponent was no less formidable.
Laplace responded to the onslaught instantly, returning the situation to a stalemate. He repurposed that black wall for defense this time, perfectly blocking every strike of Ermes's Bloodline Magic.
To make matters worse, a thin smirk even surfaced on his face as he appeared to be mulling something over. Timing his move to coincide with the activation of Ermes's magic in order to flip the situation once again, he deployed a black wall with a different atmosphere than before——
But then.
"I've been thinking about it for a while now, you see."
Ermes took the magic he had activated——
And deliberately
did not release it.
.
Using the activation as a feint, he closed the distance to Laplace even further.
"Your magic is a barrier-type, no matter how you look at it. And yet, back at the academy before, I was able to deal significant damage to you with that same magic."
He carried the fight into close combat. Laplace was superior in that area as well, but here, the advantage finally swung Ermes's way.
"Even without being able to analyze the magic, there are things I can understand. The kind of wound, the memory of the battle, the residue of magic power. Ever since I shared your pain, I've been thinking about it——and I figured it out."
While gradually forcing his opponent back——he delivered his conclusion.
"Perhaps you are,
a counter-type
mage.
"
"!"
"You use your opponent's magic against them, turning it back to inflict harm. I don't know if that's the whole picture, but it's surely one of your primary offensive methods."
During combat, misdirection didn't work as well as usual.
Noticing the faint but unmistakable stiffening of Laplace's expression, Ermes knew he'd hit the mark.
And that was precisely why he gave this answer.
If using the opponent's magic was his main form of attack, then the solution was simple: don't use magic.
"In close combat, then,
you can't
wield the same level of offensive power. You analyzed me as being 'unsuited to defense' — well, allow me to return the favor. You, on the other hand, are unsuited to offense."
The only real threat was that black wall he used to encircle and trap his opponent — but conversely, once you saw through it, his offensive threat was cut in half.
He'd already analyzed that the wall required a certain amount of charging time. In that sense, fighting at this distance was the optimal solution.
Then, using an overhead strike as a feint, he swept his leg and launched Laplace into the air.
With a measure of payback for all the trouble he'd been put through, Ermes unleashed both a cutting remark and a kick.
"Just like you — I've been preparing countermeasures against you too."
The full-force kick detonated against Laplace's head.
Laplace, to his credit, managed to instinctively interpose his arms to cushion the blow and reduce its impact — but even he couldn't avoid taking damage, and went flying, tumbling spectacularly across the ground.
"Kgh, that smarts..."
Of course, Laplace wasn't so easy to finish off with just that. He immediately got back to his feet, his fighting spirit still burning, and fixed his gaze on me.
I may have landed a solid hit, but the fight was still far from over — or so he might have thought.
That's not how it was going to play out. Because—
"Sorry to keep you waiting, El."
His beautiful, dependable master.
She had rushed to this very spot at this very moment, bringing the forces of the underworld with her.
Following behind Katya, Sarah, Albert, and then Yurugen arrived from the rear.
The mages of the Troake family had assembled here. The four who'd arrived were nursing minor injuries, but every single one of them was safe.
They'd cut through the flood of assassins that had attacked the Troake household and made it here.
"...Everyone..."
Liliana whispered with a look of disbelief, on the verge of tears. And from behind her came—
"Give me a break. You already took out all of them? How many troops did you even send their way?"
Laplace muttered with a stunned expression.
Detailed descriptions of Katya, Sarah, and Albert — people he hadn't seen directly — had been passed along to him. With everyone here having instantly recognized him as the mastermind, they all turned their hostility toward Laplace at once.
The tables had turned.
"...Ugh. Time's up, damn it...!"
He understood that the numbers were hopelessly against him now, no matter how you looked at it.
As Laplace's voice rang out, dripping with genuine frustration, Ermes finally realized they had overcome one crisis — at least for now.
First strike — countered.
Chapter 3 Prologue — this will probably be a good stopping point next time. Stay tuned!